At that moment, all the officials in the grand hall had their attention fixed on the letter proving that the Fourth Prince had colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, while Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan stood off to the side, bored and dozing.
Xi Qingyue felt that Lu Qianning was still far too gentle. Why bother kneeling and using a letter as evidence? She could have simply beaten the Emperor into issuing an edict. Going around in circles like this was such a hassle.
A quarter of an hour later, Su Xingchen held the letter in both hands and reported solemnly to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, we have verified the contents of this letter. It is indeed written in the Fourth Prince’s handwriting. Not only did he collude with Northern Yue, he also promised to hand over ten cities in the north to them. Furthermore, the Fourth Prince’s maternal uncle, Wei Xiong, was aware of this. As the Grand Commander of the Army, he intended to give away the cities to Northern Yue before the battle had even begun. We respectfully request that Your Majesty recall Wei Xiong, lest he cause even greater losses to Great Jing.”
The other officials also stepped forward one after another. “We respectfully request that Your Majesty recall Wei Xiong and send someone else to defend the northern border.”
Upon hearing this, the Emperor froze for a moment. The letter he had been too lazy to read was actually genuine—and it promised ten cities. Had his Fourth Son’s head been kicked by a donkey?
Had he not treated Consort De and the Fourth Prince well enough? Even if they wanted Wei Xiong to hold military power, they should not have gone this far. Wei Xiong’s position as Grand Commander was only granted during wartime and would be revoked once the war ended. It was practically useless.
Unless… unless they were planning a rebellion?
At that thought, the Emperor’s heart turned ice-cold. Did they think his continued existence was an inconvenience?
He said nothing, but his face shifted from green to purple to white and back again. Xi Weilan watched the changing expressions with undisguised fascination.
Suddenly, the Emperor slammed his palm against the armrest of his dragon throne. His voice was filled with barely restrained fury. “Investigate this! The Grand Court of Justice, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate will conduct a thorough joint investigation. The Fourth Prince is dead, but the others involved are still alive. Everyone connected to him must be investigated thoroughly. As for the Wei residence, place it under strict guard from this moment onward. No one is to leave until the truth has been uncovered.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Grand Court of Justice immediately accepted the order.
Lu Qianning smiled faintly. With these letters, the Fourth Prince’s guilt was beyond doubt. Now, they only needed to investigate everyone else connected to the Fourth Prince and the Wei family.
Afterward, the officials began an intense debate over who should be sent to defend the northern border. Their opinions differed widely, and this time the Emperor did not make a hasty decision.
Seeing that Xi Qingyue and her sister were practically falling asleep, he raised a hand to silence the bickering officials. “This matter can be discussed later. I summoned Little Nine to the palace today not only to clarify the circumstances, but also to thank the Little Miracle Doctor for saving my daughter’s life.”
Xi Qingyue thought the old Emperor was being incredibly hypocritical. He made it sound as if he had summoned them to the palace to seek justice for Lu Qianning. He really knew how to make himself look good.
“Little Miracle Doctor, you saved My daughter. Is there anything you want? As long as it is within My power, I will grant your request.”
Xi Weilan’s eyes lit up. “Really? We can ask for anything?”
The Emperor did his best to make his expression appear gentle. Smiling, he nodded. “Yes, anything at all. I will certainly fulfill the Miracle Doctor’s request.”
At this point, none of the other officials dared mention that the sisters had killed the father and son of the Wei family. The Wei family was practically branded as a traitorous household plotting rebellion. Who would still dare speak on their behalf?
Xi Weilan tipped her head back and asked, “Then can I become an official? If I become an official, no one will dare bully me.”
The entire hall erupted in laughter.
“Hahaha! The little girl wants to become an official. What an absurd idea!” someone teased, unable to contain his amusement.
Xi Weilan planted her hands on her hips and angrily pointed at the laughing officials. “No laughing!”
The Emperor found her amusing. As a thought occurred to him, he asked tentatively, “I hear that the two of you are the granddaughters of Duke Anguo. If you return to the Duke’s residence, who would dare bully you?”
At that moment, Xi Qingyue slowly spoke. “Your Majesty, my sister and I will not be returning to the Duke’s residence. Our father died three years ago, and our mother has also passed away. We have no connection to the Duke’s residence. If Your Majesty truly wishes to reward us, then please make us commanderies princesses and allow us to establish independent household registries.”
The Emperor was pleased to hear that they would not be returning to the Duke’s residence. A Miracle Doctor should not belong to any particular household. As for conferring the title of commandery princess, he did not mind—but he still needed them to offer him something worthwhile in return.
Just as he was thinking this, Lu Qianning’s voice rang out. “Father, my Eldest Sister, Seventh Sister, and I have all sworn sisterhood with them. They have also saved my life several times. I believe conferring the title of commandery princess upon them would be entirely appropriate. Besides, Yue can bring someone back from the brink of death. She can surely make Father several years younger as well. For someone possessing such medical skill, I believe the title of commandery princess is almost too modest.”
As she spoke, she truly thought so herself. The main reason was that the two girls loved to roam, and they would soon be leaving. Giving them some other official position would be impractical, while making them princesses of a different surname would be difficult. Compared with those options, commandery princesses were the most reasonable choice.
That way, they could travel freely while possessing a status that no one would dare challenge. If they encountered some overbearing young noble, they could even kill him without consequence.
The moment the Emperor heard that she could make him younger, he was instantly tempted. He nodded at once. “Very well. I approve.”
The other officials were not thinking about opposing the decision. Instead, they were considering how to invite the two girls into their homes so they could examine their family members.
However, the Emperor gave them no opportunity. He immediately rose and said, “Since there is nothing else, let us end court for today. Little Nine, bring them with you and follow Me.”
“Yes, Father.”
Lu Qianning smiled as she picked up Xi Weilan and led the sisters out of the hall. They still had to discuss the commandery princesses’ residences and titles.
The other officials immediately began whispering among themselves once more.
“Alas, Duke Anguo didn’t come to court today. I wonder whether he would be pleased or heartbroken if he learned that his two granddaughters had become commandery princesses—and would even be given independent household registries.”
Great Jing’s laws were extremely strict when it came to women establishing households of their own. But things were different once they had been granted the title of commandery princess and bestowed residences. With the Emperor’s permission to register independent households, even their biological parents would have no authority to interfere.
Duke Anguo would never be able to acknowledge his two granddaughters now.
Xi Qingyue thought the same. She was deeply dissatisfied with the household registration system here.
She had money and ability, yet establishing a household as a woman was still so troublesome. She had already made up her mind: this system needed to be changed. She would have Lu Qianning do it after ascending the throne, so that every woman could establish her own household as she pleased, without having to depend on anyone else to exist.
Inside the Emperor’s study, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan sat across from the Emperor, while Lu Qianning stood to the side, acting as a spectator.
The Emperor looked at the eight-year-old child across from him and said with a smile, “If you can truly make Me several years younger, I will grant you an estate of eight hundred households and fifty qing of perpetually inheritable fertile farmland. That is even more generous than the treatment given to imperial commandery princesses.”
Xi Qingyue nodded with a smile. “Fine. But both Lan'er and I must receive the same. Also, give each of us a residence near Big Sister Lu’s.”
The Emperor’s expression darkened as he looked at the three-year-old girl. “She is still so young. If I give her a residence, the two of you will only live in one place anyway.”
Xi Qingyue shook her head. “That won’t do. We should make her a princess as well. I have things she doesn’t, and if people laugh at her when we go out to play, what then? Besides, she’ll grow up. I’ll manage them for her in the meantime. In return, I’ll come back again in a year. By then, I’ll be even more capable, and I’ll make you seven or eight years younger. That’ll be far more effective than taking pills.”
The Emperor was delighted by this. He had already made up his mind, and his voice suddenly turned stern. “If you can truly make me several years younger, I’ll grant you everything you’ve asked for. But if you dare deceive me, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”
As he said this, he drew a finger across his throat.
Xi Qingyue smiled and nodded. “No problem.”
Beside them, Lu Qianning was secretly amused. She really was good at making grand promises. Who knew what things would be like a year from now?
