Recently, Emperor Jingming had taken a liking to playing chess with the Empress Dowager. The game itself wasn’t the focus, nor was winning or losing the key point. The main purpose was that chess consumed a lot of time, allowing him to exchange plenty of gossip with the Empress Dowager.
“Seventh Brother has run into trouble,” Emperor Jingming said leisurely as he placed a piece.
The Empress Dowager gave Emperor Jingming a deep look.
Why did she see schadenfreude in Emperor Emeritus’s upturned mouth corners?
The Empress Dowager calmly asked, “What trouble has His Majesty encountered?”
If the Emperor Emeritus could feel schadenfreude, the trouble couldn’t be too serious.
Emperor Jingming blinked, his schadenfreude becoming more evident, “Some officials have suggested that Seventh Brother should expand his harem.”
The Empress Dowager’s hand, holding a chess piece, paused, “Expand the harem?”
Would someone as henpecked as His Majesty dare to expand his harem?
No, given His Majesty’s behavior of practically hanging onto the Empress’s leg, would he even want to expand his harem?
The Empress Dowager lost interest in the game and frowned, holding the chess piece, “How did His Majesty respond?”
Emperor Jingming’s lips twitched, his tone indescribably complex, “That boy stormed out.”
“Stormed out?” The Empress Dowager’s eyes widened involuntarily.
“Yes!” Emperor Jingming slapped the table, filled with indignation, “How can he handle matters like this? It’s not some irreconcilable major issue with his officials. Even if he’s unwilling, he should at least express his stance to the officials. At most, they might argue. How can he just avoid it?”
The relationship between a ruler and his officials is a constant process of probing and compromise. What use is avoidance?
The more Emperor Jingming spoke, the more dissatisfied he became, “I thought Seventh Brother had quite a bit of resilience, but I didn’t expect him to be so willful…”
Emperor Jingming was full of jealousy.
Faced with officials squawking like ducks, he had wanted to storm out countless times. Did he do it?
Why was Seventh Brother, that little brat, allowed to do so?
The Empress Dowager’s face darkened slightly, “Jiner is the Emperor now. The Emperor Emeritus shouldn’t be too harsh.”
Emperor Jingming glared, “He may be the Emperor, but I’m still his father. He can handle state affairs, but family matters still need to listen to me.”
The Empress Dowager raised an eyebrow, “Then what does the Emperor Emeritus think about the officials’ suggestion to expand the harem?”
Emperor Jingming snorted, “I won’t interfere in such matters. Let him solve it himself. Actually, what’s there to avoid? He should just follow the officials’ wishes.”
Did he think he could have only the Empress as his woman?
Even if he didn’t like other women, he could keep them around just for show.
The Empress Dowager chuckled and forcefully placed a chess piece, “I win.”
Emperor Jingming: “…” Why did she have to sound so murderous just because she won?
This woman’s temper had grown since becoming Empress Dowager.
Hmph, he would storm out too!
Emperor Jingming left, flinging his sleeves.
The Empress Dowager’s expression remained unchanged as she instructed a palace maid, “Peel me a plate of grapes.”
Yu Jin’s abrupt dismissal from the court had infuriated the officials. They were all rolling up their sleeves, ready to teach the new Emperor a lesson at the next court session.
This bad habit of dismissing court on a whim couldn’t be indulged!
However, the next day, when the officials gathered outside Qianqing Gate, they only heard young Lezi’s announcement: “His Majesty is in a poor mood. All officials may disperse.”
After young Lezi disappeared, the officials realized: His Majesty wasn’t physically unwell but in a poor mood…
What kind of excuse was a poor mood?
The officials dispersed with angry hearts.
On the third day, the officials, whose anger had reached its peak, still couldn’t see the Emperor.
Jiang Si watched Yu Jin walk in after practicing swordsmanship and asked with a smile, “Are you not going to court again today? Aren’t you afraid the angry officials will tear you apart?”
Yu Jin wiped the sweat from his brow and said nonchalantly, “Once, twice, thrice, and it’s over. After these three days, they’ll probably be too worried to be angry, and instead hope that I’ll quickly return to court.”
As Yu Jin predicted, the officials soon suppressed their anger, overwhelmed by worry and anxiety.
The new Emperor was different from the Emperor Emeritus. Could he be an incompetent ruler?
Did ordinary people think they could overthrow an Emperor just because he was incompetent? Don’t joke. Even the most incompetent Emperor had to be endured.
They hoped the Emperor would return to court soon. At least if he attended court, there was still hope.
After countless days of disappointment, the officials finally welcomed the new Emperor back to court.
At this moment, the officials nearly burst into tears. They looked at each other, and for a while, no one dared to be the first to criticize Yu Jin’s willfulness in dismissing court for days.
Finally, all eyes fell on Minister Gu.
Let the tall one take the lead.
Minister Gu coughed lightly, “Your Majesty, state affairs cannot be trifled with. Do you know how much impact your absence from court for several days has had on your officials and subjects?”
Yu Jin wanted to roll his eyes as he listened.