TFSRITA Chapter 76

Emperor: “Alright.”

Then came the sounds of writing the imperial decree and sealing it with the jade stamp.

The concubine… was truly impressive!

Ying Qing hadn’t expected that a few tears would lead to such smooth progress.

After shedding those inexplicable tears, it seemed that whatever she said, Ji Yecheng accepted it calmly, no matter how unreasonable it might be.

She stole a glance at Ji Yecheng and saw that his lips were slightly curled, no longer pressed into a straight line as usual; his cold and stern features softened considerably.

Ying Qing felt uneasy. “You don’t even want to think about it before agreeing?”

“I’ve said it before, I’ll do as you wish,” Ji Yecheng replied softly.

There’s a modern saying: When is a man most charming? When he’s swiping his card for you.

Ying Qing felt that Ji Yecheng was like a man swiping a card for her—whatever she wanted, he’d just swipe and make it happen.

She swallowed hard, but thinking about her plans, she firmly suppressed her somewhat racing heart and focused on reviewing the memorials!

That day, the imperial decrees issued from the Taiji Hall left many dizzy from the shock of their contents.

The first decree: The top scholar, Jia Heng, was appointed as the governor of Northern Wilderness, effective immediately.

The second decree: The flower champion, Wen Zhao, was assigned to serve in the Hanlin Academy, taking on the academy’s lowest official position, a role usually reserved for those with little hope of promotion or who had offended someone.

Ying Qing’s actions were quite straightforward; according to the original host’s memories, it was this flower champion who had been the one to drug the original host, placing Jia Heng by her side.

In addition, there were a third and fourth decree…

Each decree was absurd, seemingly without reason. Many sympathized with the top scholar and flower champion—one sent to govern a place where the people lived in misery, the other’s career seemingly cut short, along with many others.

Just as everyone was reeling from the shock of the imperial decrees, the emperor declared: “These decrees were issued by the concubine.”

The ministers exclaimed, “A sorceress in power!”

“Your Majesty, please wake up!”

“Old ministers feel ashamed for the late emperor!”

Ying Changxiang simply thought, “…Whatever, I’m old; it’s fine as long as I can keep a low profile. Let my daughter stir things up as she pleases. After all, it’s useless to persuade her. I’ll just focus on my duties, and if my daughter ever falls from grace, I’ll be there to catch her.”

In an instant, all the ministers began to react vehemently, arguing passionately against the concubine’s regency. The leading voice among them was Minister Ran.

However, before the emperor, all these discussions were ignored.

No matter how loudly the officials protested, Ji Yecheng had only one message: “If you don’t want to hear what I don’t like, stop speaking.”

One furious minister blushed in anger, banging his head against the ground, but it still couldn’t change the emperor’s cold and ruthless demeanor.

The emperor even threatened them: “If you keep this up, I’ll give the concubine a place here to govern!”

Ministers: “!!!”

What else could they say?

They didn’t dare oppose too fiercely, only submitting memorials day after day, urging the emperor in vain.

Yet none of their attempts succeeded.

Ying Qing continued to report to the Taiji Hall every day.

As each decree she hoped for was issued, the once complicated memorials began to simplify. After Ji Yecheng’s sarcastic remarks about the peace memorials, those types of submissions ceased to appear. Occasionally, if someone still tried to show off their writing skills, Ji Yecheng would indeed follow Ying Qing’s advice, asking them to submit ten various pieces of poetry and prose.

Ten pieces were no small number, especially within a limited timeframe. After a few rounds, no one dared to show off anymore.

In a short time, the official submissions throughout the Great Qian Dynasty adopted a simple style.

However, the accusations of the concubine causing chaos in the country resurfaced. Ji Yecheng, who wanted to quickly crown Ying Qing, had no choice but to pause his original plans, allowing her to stir up the court. As a result, many criticized him as a foolish monarch.

Ying Qing didn’t take it to heart; she continued to stay in the inner palace, defiantly provoking the ministers. While she didn’t create chaos over major issues, many of her policies inevitably conflicted with the interests of the powerful aristocrats. The truly benevolent intentions for the country and its people often clashed with the interests of many.

For instance, she prohibited monopolistic practices among merchants and banned price gouging, along with several other regulations, even pressuring Ji Yecheng to reform the Ministry of Revenue and implement a standardized accounting system, revealing just how much money had inexplicably vanished from the ministry’s coffers.

Thus, a significant upheaval ensued.

Because so many interests were infringed upon, they didn’t consider whether the policy was good or bad; they simply saw it as unfavorable to them. The proposer of these policies was a woman—Ying Qing, a concubine!

In almost no time, the title of concubine became a thorn in the side of certain individuals, one that must be removed.

Ying Qing was completely unaware of the need to rein in her actions; instead, she fought even more diligently with her wits and courage, seemingly intent on fundamentally shaking their interests.

Time flew by, and soon it was the Spring Festival.

On New Year’s Eve, the palace hosted a banquet where civil and military officials, along with various noble families, brought their families together, making it a nationwide celebration.

On this night, everyone set aside their differences and embraced harmony and prosperity.

Even when facing Ying Qing, they were all polite and amiable.

After the evening banquet, while the sky had not yet completely darkened, the festivities concluded.

The palace servants, who had no days off, began to clean up the venue.

Ying Qing returned to her quarters, exhausted from the day. She decided to take a bath, feeling warm all over and had the matron apply some skincare ointment before changing into her nightclothes, ready to sleep.

Just then, a voice called from outside her chamber: “Your Majesty has arrived.”

Ying Qing immediately felt a jolt and glanced down at her loose-fitting red cotton nightclothes, which exposed her collarbone and a bit of skin. She quickly said, “Bring me my outer robe.”