Chapter 1267: Terrible Fix (1)

Qi Xiuyuan still treated Mu Yangling like a child. Not only did Mu Yangling feel depressed, but the officials were also speechless.

At her age, how could she still be considered a child?

However, Qi Xiuyuan ignored their gazes and continued to teach Mu Yangling a lesson in front of everyone. “You’ve been mischievous since you were young. I thought that you would be more stable after marrying Haoran, but who knew that you’d still be so mischievous after becoming the mother of a few children? The Crown Prince and Wenjin are both smart and promising talents. Don’t let them become naughty as Haoran under your guidance. Otherwise, I’ll directly order them to stay in the palace and not allow you to teach them anymore.”

These teachings sounded a little intimate and felt like something that should be said in private, but no one felt that it was inappropriate for Qi Xiuyuan to say it at the court meeting.

Everyone could see that the Emperor was protecting Mu Yangling and the two children. No matter how much they said today, it was because they were “mischievous” and innocent; what they said could not be taken seriously.

After leaving the Imperial Court, they were not to pursue what was said and done today.

The ministers looked at each other and felt that this was a good idea. The changes in the official system that Queen Consort Rong proposed were too drastic. Every time there was a revolution, a group of people would be eliminated or even die. Who knew if they would become one of those?

What’s more, after the reform of the official system, there were more restrictions on officials. Removing the restrictions for civilians to sue officials was actually the most unimportant change proposed. Thus, the officials were naturally glad to be able to pretend that nothing had happened today.

However, not all the officials agreed. For example, the Imperial Secretary and the imperial censors gazed at the Emperor with bright eyes. Resisting the urge to go forward and cozy up to him, they shouted in their hearts, ‘We totally agree with Her Highness—of course the official system needs to be overhauled! We’ve been dying to see the Imperial Censorate turned into a Supervisory Ministry!’

Qi Xiuyuan ignored their thoughts and waved at Mu Yangling in disdain. “Alright, quickly bring the two children out. Also, you’re not allowed to go out before Haoran comes back.”

Mu Yangling pouted and left with Little Bear and Little Treasure.

The ministers could not help but sigh in their hearts. Seeing as the Emperor was so good-tempered towards the Queen Consort, the Emperor and King Rong were indeed close brothers.

The civil officials muttered to themselves, while the generals who came out of the Qi family’s army said, “Since His Majesty watched Her Highness grow up, he treats her like his younger sister. Naturally, they’re closer.”

Two of the older ones even stroked their beards and laughed. “Speaking of which, I viewed Her Highness as my daughter 20 years ago. Hahaha…”

Don’t think that Qi Xiuyuan had won simply by chasing them away. He was hinting that Mu Yangling, Little Treasure, and Little Bear’s words didn’t count. No one was allowed to take them seriously or pursue the matter. However, just as how water splashed was bound to leave behind traces, how could everyone truly unhear what they’d heard today?

Therefore, Qi Xiuyuan was still in a terrible fix.

As soon as he announced the dismissal of the court, the Imperial Secretary hurriedly dragged two old imperial censors to look for the Emperor. He expressed that the establishment of the Supervisory Ministry as proposed by Queen Consort Rong was highly feasible. If implemented, it would be very beneficial to Great Qi.

The two old imperial censors behind the Imperial Secretary immediately expressed that they would choose upright and honest imperial censors to take up a position in the local regions. They would definitely do their duty well and eliminate corruption.

Before Qi Xiuyuan could think of a way to get rid of them, Rong Xuan showed up with the Minister of Official Personnel Affairs and the Minister of Revenue. He stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I believe Her Highness is absolutely right—redrawing the provincial boundaries is urgently needed. Right now, place names across Great Qi are a mess. It’s not too bad while the newly reclaimed northern and western regions are still exempt from taxes for the first three years, but once that period ends, if jurisdiction still isn’t settled, the locals might end up fighting over who owes taxes to whom.”

The Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs and the Minister of Revenue hurriedly nodded. Although Queen Consort Rong had gone overboard with her words, it was undeniable that she had some very pertinent ideas. It was a pity that they didn’t know who had given her these ideas. It would be great if such a talent could be of service to the country.

That’s right. No one believed that Mu Yangling was the one who came up with the reform of the residence system, let alone that it was a dream.

Not many people believed that there were ghosts and gods in this world.

Qi Xiuyuan and Rong Xuan didn’t believe it either. However, at this moment, there was a monk, Yuan Hui, living in the palace. That monk was strange and rarely spoke. But because everything he had said so far had been extremely accurate, it was difficult for them not to believe him.

When Qi Xiuyuan was still an assistant commander, Yuan Hui stood out and said that he could become the Emperor. Later on, Qi Xiuyuan did indeed become the Emperor. Of course, this was not the most important thing.

Qi Xiuyuan felt that he had become the Emperor thanks to his and his brothers’ hard work, and not because of Yuan Hui’s words.

What really convinced him was that incident where he was betrayed by Emperor Jingyan to Great Jin and trapped in the forest. At the time, the news couldn’t be sent out, and Yuan Hui was the first to deduce it.

Just based on this, although Qi Xiuyuan would not completely believe him, he would not completely disbelieve him either.

This time, they recalled Yuan Hui’s comments about Mu Yangling and Haoran.

Yuan Hui had said that Haoran was his lucky star. With Haoran around, he could be the Emperor and be safe and sound.

As for Mu Yangling, she was Qi Haoran’s lucky star. With her around, Haoran would be safe. Moreover, she had spirituality and was related to the fortune of the entire Great Qi.

All these years, she had indeed been involved in all the political affairs in Great Qi, directly bringing to fruition some of those projects. For example, in agriculture matters, she didn’t even need to rely on them. She only had to write a letter to the Ministry of Works and the Department of Agriculture and they would stand up for her.

Nowadays, most of the seeds used for farming in Great Qi came from the Harvest Grain Stores. The farming techniques were all based on the booklets she had issued, and farming was the foundation of the country. From this, one could see her influence on Great Qi.

She had also influenced Haoran. In addition to valuing sea trade now, Haoran had reformed the military system, opened a factory to build cannons. Basically, she was involved in most of the major events. Even he was often influenced by her, such as the education of the princes…

Qi Xiuyuan sighed. He didn’t want to believe in supernatural stuff, but Yuan Hui’s predictions always proved to be correct. He had said that Ah Ling was blessed with the good fortune of Great Qi. As expected, she was already considering the destruction of Great Qi.

Having suffered a huge blow today, Qi Xiuyuan was in a daze. Seeing that everyone in the Imperial Study had a request and that things were chaotic, he immediately waved them away impatiently and said, “Alright, it’s getting late today. My beloved ministers, do take your leave and deal with the government affairs at hand. We’ll continue the discussion tomorrow.”

Qi Xiuyuan paused for a moment before saying, “There’s no court tomorrow. Dear ministers, please come to the Imperial Study to discuss politics.”

The people from the Imperial Censorate were excited. Did this mean the Emperor was keen on taking up their suggestion?

The Minister of Official Personnel Affairs and the Minister of Revenue looked at each other and heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that the matter handed over by the Emperor had a chance of being resolved.

Qi Xiuyuan chased everyone out, leaving Rong Xuan alone. After everyone left, he immediately complained to Rong Xuan, “What do you think is wrong with Ah Ling? Why did she say those things in front of so many people? Fortunately, I managed to muddle through. Otherwise, if those civil officials and generals cause a ruckus, she’ll be skinned alive.”

Smiling, Rong Xuan said, “She’s certain that Your Majesty will protect her. Besides, who asked those people to bully Little Bear in the first place? She’s standing up for her son.”

Rong Xuan, who also knew Mu Yangling well, said with a smile, “Besides, she’s right. Those problems do exist. I think she brought it up on the spot with the intention of forcing us to address those issues directly.”

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