Chapter 85
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" Not just a Woman? What do you mean by that?", Xing snorted, "And go sit in your 'Dragon throne' or whatever! You are making me uncomfortable standing and staring at me like that! ", she stood up and waved her hands for him to move. She already has enough people to look at her with reverence.
"I meant it as a compliment", he said and sat on his chair obediently as if it was a natural thing,
"By the way, the reports of grey wolf attacks from the East are increasing and I'm being forced to repudiate the law banning the hunting of grey wolves in our kingdom. I'm telling you because you seem to.... control them? And.. ", the Emperor paused as Xing shouted,
" You can't! ",
Xing placed her hands on his table," Control them?", she asked knitting her brows. How did he arrive to such conclusion? Did brother say something to him?
" Back during my stay near your village, I saw a pack of wolves forming a perimeter around our camp. Is it not your doing?", he asked raising his eyebrows. He wanted to ask about it for a long time.
"Ah! That's how!", Xing nodded relieved, 'Guess brother is not a blabbermouth',
"I don't control them but I ask them for help from time to time", she smiled sweetly remembering the pack near her home, "Ah! I miss pengpeng!", she paused for a moment but then her face turned serious... If he means the East, then pengpeng's brother is the leader of the pack there. Their pack had strict rules that they cannot even hurt humans much less kill them,
" The wolves... never... I mean it.. Never... Kill humans! You cannot let the humans kill them", she spoke pointing her hands at the Emperor and her eyes glistened inside that bright room with concern and confidence.
"Ha", the Emperor snorted, "You weren't this zealous to defend your family yesterday", he rested his chin on his hands and looked at her with a playful grin and pushed the memorials in front of him towards her with his other hand.
"My family can save themselves but those wolves cannot", Xing cleared her throat and looked at those memorials and indeed there were many reports of them attacking villagers and even that they killed a couple of kids from a village near the mountains in the past month alone.
Xing contemplated seriously placing her forefinger on her red lips. She knew for sure animals in the forests only scare humans away but never kill them unless they are seriously threatened. Killing children is something they won't do, ever.
So what made them do this or is there some conspiracy behind this? East... Xing wondered, past month.. So is this the work of Shihong too? Since Lord Chu refused to join him is he making trouble in some other way?
Xing looked at the name of the village and it looked awfully familiar. Then she remembered where she read about that village before.
The Emperor was observing her as she was contemplating. When he learned about this divine ruler and arrived to the conclusion that it would be her, he wondered how she might aid in the development of the nation.
But when she spoke about herself he knew her influence is great and with his brother by her side they can be a really good allies to the throne and without even the support of other families those two can be the pillars who could hold the nation in the future.
"AH!", Xing's sudden shout jolted the Emperor.
"I almost forgot this", she took out a small ledger from her sleeves and placed it on the table,
" This is the report I recently received from the East. The village where the children died", she turned the pages in the ledger,
"Here", she pushed the ledger towards the Emperor,
"Those kids were killed by the hunting dogs of the Hong family as those poor kids accidentally came across their smuggling activities. They even had eyewitnesses from the village that the wolves were the ones who saved the bodies of the children by driving out the dogs who had dragged them deep into the forest. Awful people! Killing little children! You must punish them! Launch an investigation! The nerves of those Hong family to even blame the wolves! ", Xing was furious.
The Emperor took a look again at the memorials asking for justice for the two children and of course they were sent by an Official Rong and Official Ruan who are the brother-in-law and the cousin of this Lord Hong . What was more pathetic is that the parents of the children who were killed have signed with their fingerprints too. They must be illiterate and those scum officials took advantage of it and used them.
The Emperor knew the fur of the grey wolf fetches high prices and that's why they were hunted almost to extinction previously and it was his grandfather who put the ban on hunting those beautiful creatures. Now the greedy nobles want to make money out of killing those poor creatures again?
The Emperor rubbed his temples and sighed deeply, so this is how the nobles control everything! If there isn't this contradictory report from her, he would have no way to know the truth and if he hadn't actually encountered those amazing animals before he wouldn't have bothered to ask her about it too. And the commoners have no means to meet the Emperor directly and they will be played by the nobles that the Emperor does not care about them and if he issued orders to hunt those wolves that would have made the people hate the government for hurting those creatures who actually helped them.
So how many people are suffering injustice like this? How many innocents are being blamed by the nobles to save their own skin? And how many have I personally punished unjustly without proper knowledge of the actual situation? How can these situations be resolved? If this is one place in the Kingdom, of all the provinces and prefectures how many noble families and how many officials are oppressing and taking advantage of the commoners like this?
Xing looked at the Emperor in deep thoughts and his shoulders were drooped and his face didn't have that usual mirth.
"Kouki!", she called calmly, " These situations cannot be resolved immediately. It takes time. You don't have to take my word on the matter with the Hong family too. Properly investigate with honest personnel selected by you. You'll find the truth", she paused seeing the Emperor's gaze on her.
"I trust you", he said and sighed, "I wish I could do something and not just sit and watch in this wretched place!", he seethe fisting his hands.
Whoa! He surely is a rare breed of ruler! Caring this much for the people! I can help you!
"Hmm... About that!", Xing smiled and that lifted the Emperor's mood too, "Lord Chu will be visiting you soon and will be giving back his military tokens and also the list of the corrupt officials in this ledger to you. You can make his report public and ask the Justice Department for a detailed investigation. Just like your sudden visit to the Western Province brought changes there, this could change the Eastern Province too", She sat back in her seat leaving the Emperor perplexed .
"Lord Chu handing over the military token,..? That too with the Martial Tournament in a couple of months? And how did you make Lord Chu betray his partners in crime?", he placed both his palms on the table and his eyes were wide.
She is amazing! She said to expand the Imperial Army and she had already found a way? And she has ways to improve the Eastern Province already? The Emperor was flabbergasted.
" Well! I have my ways. You need not know it", she gave a playful smile and continued, "Keep this ledger with you to crosscheck with the list Lord Chu gives. Appoint new officials but teach the old officials a good lesson before dismissing them so that no one dares to succumb to corruption in the future. Show the nobles you are the highest authority in the land. And if you want I'll give all my properties in the East to you and you can distribute it among those.. "
" No need! It will belong to you and your children ", the Emperor interjected. He had already made plans to make the entire East under his brother's governance after he accepts his title of Rui Wang. It would be better since half of the East is owned by her too.
Xing who considered that vast amount of properties as a burden as she has lost the motivation to avenge Lord Chu as her mother passed away and found out that Shengli is rich, found it a bit sad that she cannot get rid of those responsibilities. But speaking of children....
"Hey, Kouki!", Xing called him excitedly, "How about making Chu Weiye Empress?", she came straight to the point making the Emperor flushed and he coughed slightly.
The Emperor took a sip of tea and composed himself and chuckled reminiscing what happened some days back, "Your father advised the same thing too although I didn't understand why he said that back then and now I do. Placing someone who is not much of a threat with no powerful backing next to me might be good as I will have a little more power unlike my Imperial father",he chuckled softly, " How similar you two are in your thoughts! Back when you advised about Ming family too....", 'Guess I was the one who refused to acknowledge the similarities between you two!'
"Ha ha! I'll take that as a compliment,your Majesty! If there is nothing more, may I take my leave? He'll be waiting for me!", Xing gave a slight bow.
The smile in the Emperor's face froze, 'Ah! Right! Even though I can spend some time with her, she'll return back to him as she belongs with him! Even if her being here feels normal for him as if she is meant to be here, her place is with his brother in her heart. And she easily speaks about me taking women too as she has no feelings for me.
It is true and I could understand it, but why does this make my chest constricted and why do I feel painful?'
" Yes", he forced a smile patting his chest, "But Mingxia! Feel free to visit anytime", he felt his chest hurt and rubbed it a little to release the pain.
Xing nodded and turned to leave, Who'll come to this place again! Ha! I going to meet my Prince! May be I should ask him to make a painting of me. I wonder how I'll look in his painting,Xing was wondering and was about to leave when Lord Zhong entered the study with Eunuch Xin shooed away by him.
Seeing her leaving, Lord Zhong wrapped his arms around her shoulders,
"Come in, brat! I need to discuss something with you"
Xing could not escape his hold and was almost dragged back into the Imperial Study by the Great General.
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" Not just a Woman? What do you mean by that?", Xing snorted, "And go sit in your 'Dragon throne' or whatever! You are making me uncomfortable standing and staring at me like that! ", she stood up and waved her hands for him to move. She already has enough people to look at her with reverence.
"I meant it as a compliment", he said and sat on his chair obediently as if it was a natural thing,
"By the way, the reports of grey wolf attacks from the East are increasing and I'm being forced to repudiate the law banning the hunting of grey wolves in our kingdom. I'm telling you because you seem to.... control them? And.. ", the Emperor paused as Xing shouted,
" You can't! ",
Xing placed her hands on his table," Control them?", she asked knitting her brows. How did he arrive to such conclusion? Did brother say something to him?
" Back during my stay near your village, I saw a pack of wolves forming a perimeter around our camp. Is it not your doing?", he asked raising his eyebrows. He wanted to ask about it for a long time.
"Ah! That's how!", Xing nodded relieved, 'Guess brother is not a blabbermouth',
"I don't control them but I ask them for help from time to time", she smiled sweetly remembering the pack near her home, "Ah! I miss pengpeng!", she paused for a moment but then her face turned serious... If he means the East, then pengpeng's brother is the leader of the pack there. Their pack had strict rules that they cannot even hurt humans much less kill them,
" The wolves... never... I mean it.. Never... Kill humans! You cannot let the humans kill them", she spoke pointing her hands at the Emperor and her eyes glistened inside that bright room with concern and confidence.
"Ha", the Emperor snorted, "You weren't this zealous to defend your family yesterday", he rested his chin on his hands and looked at her with a playful grin and pushed the memorials in front of him towards her with his other hand.
"My family can save themselves but those wolves cannot", Xing cleared her throat and looked at those memorials and indeed there were many reports of them attacking villagers and even that they killed a couple of kids from a village near the mountains in the past month alone.
Xing contemplated seriously placing her forefinger on her red lips. She knew for sure animals in the forests only scare humans away but never kill them unless they are seriously threatened. Killing children is something they won't do, ever.
So what made them do this or is there some conspiracy behind this? East... Xing wondered, past month.. So is this the work of Shihong too? Since Lord Chu refused to join him is he making trouble in some other way?
Xing looked at the name of the village and it looked awfully familiar. Then she remembered where she read about that village before.
The Emperor was observing her as she was contemplating. When he learned about this divine ruler and arrived to the conclusion that it would be her, he wondered how she might aid in the development of the nation.
But when she spoke about herself he knew her influence is great and with his brother by her side they can be a really good allies to the throne and without even the support of other families those two can be the pillars who could hold the nation in the future.
"AH!", Xing's sudden shout jolted the Emperor.
"I almost forgot this", she took out a small ledger from her sleeves and placed it on the table,
" This is the report I recently received from the East. The village where the children died", she turned the pages in the ledger,
"Here", she pushed the ledger towards the Emperor,
"Those kids were killed by the hunting dogs of the Hong family as those poor kids accidentally came across their smuggling activities. They even had eyewitnesses from the village that the wolves were the ones who saved the bodies of the children by driving out the dogs who had dragged them deep into the forest. Awful people! Killing little children! You must punish them! Launch an investigation! The nerves of those Hong family to even blame the wolves! ", Xing was furious.
The Emperor took a look again at the memorials asking for justice for the two children and of course they were sent by an Official Rong and Official Ruan who are the brother-in-law and the cousin of this Lord Hong . What was more pathetic is that the parents of the children who were killed have signed with their fingerprints too. They must be illiterate and those scum officials took advantage of it and used them.
The Emperor knew the fur of the grey wolf fetches high prices and that's why they were hunted almost to extinction previously and it was his grandfather who put the ban on hunting those beautiful creatures. Now the greedy nobles want to make money out of killing those poor creatures again?
The Emperor rubbed his temples and sighed deeply, so this is how the nobles control everything! If there isn't this contradictory report from her, he would have no way to know the truth and if he hadn't actually encountered those amazing animals before he wouldn't have bothered to ask her about it too. And the commoners have no means to meet the Emperor directly and they will be played by the nobles that the Emperor does not care about them and if he issued orders to hunt those wolves that would have made the people hate the government for hurting those creatures who actually helped them.
So how many people are suffering injustice like this? How many innocents are being blamed by the nobles to save their own skin? And how many have I personally punished unjustly without proper knowledge of the actual situation? How can these situations be resolved? If this is one place in the Kingdom, of all the provinces and prefectures how many noble families and how many officials are oppressing and taking advantage of the commoners like this?
Xing looked at the Emperor in deep thoughts and his shoulders were drooped and his face didn't have that usual mirth.
"Kouki!", she called calmly, " These situations cannot be resolved immediately. It takes time. You don't have to take my word on the matter with the Hong family too. Properly investigate with honest personnel selected by you. You'll find the truth", she paused seeing the Emperor's gaze on her.
"I trust you", he said and sighed, "I wish I could do something and not just sit and watch in this wretched place!", he seethe fisting his hands.
Whoa! He surely is a rare breed of ruler! Caring this much for the people! I can help you!
"Hmm... About that!", Xing smiled and that lifted the Emperor's mood too, "Lord Chu will be visiting you soon and will be giving back his military tokens and also the list of the corrupt officials in this ledger to you. You can make his report public and ask the Justice Department for a detailed investigation. Just like your sudden visit to the Western Province brought changes there, this could change the Eastern Province too", She sat back in her seat leaving the Emperor perplexed .
"Lord Chu handing over the military token,..? That too with the Martial Tournament in a couple of months? And how did you make Lord Chu betray his partners in crime?", he placed both his palms on the table and his eyes were wide.
She is amazing! She said to expand the Imperial Army and she had already found a way? And she has ways to improve the Eastern Province already? The Emperor was flabbergasted.
" Well! I have my ways. You need not know it", she gave a playful smile and continued, "Keep this ledger with you to crosscheck with the list Lord Chu gives. Appoint new officials but teach the old officials a good lesson before dismissing them so that no one dares to succumb to corruption in the future. Show the nobles you are the highest authority in the land. And if you want I'll give all my properties in the East to you and you can distribute it among those.. "
" No need! It will belong to you and your children ", the Emperor interjected. He had already made plans to make the entire East under his brother's governance after he accepts his title of Rui Wang. It would be better since half of the East is owned by her too.
Xing who considered that vast amount of properties as a burden as she has lost the motivation to avenge Lord Chu as her mother passed away and found out that Shengli is rich, found it a bit sad that she cannot get rid of those responsibilities. But speaking of children....
"Hey, Kouki!", Xing called him excitedly, "How about making Chu Weiye Empress?", she came straight to the point making the Emperor flushed and he coughed slightly.
The Emperor took a sip of tea and composed himself and chuckled reminiscing what happened some days back, "Your father advised the same thing too although I didn't understand why he said that back then and now I do. Placing someone who is not much of a threat with no powerful backing next to me might be good as I will have a little more power unlike my Imperial father",he chuckled softly, " How similar you two are in your thoughts! Back when you advised about Ming family too....", 'Guess I was the one who refused to acknowledge the similarities between you two!'
"Ha ha! I'll take that as a compliment,your Majesty! If there is nothing more, may I take my leave? He'll be waiting for me!", Xing gave a slight bow.
The smile in the Emperor's face froze, 'Ah! Right! Even though I can spend some time with her, she'll return back to him as she belongs with him! Even if her being here feels normal for him as if she is meant to be here, her place is with his brother in her heart. And she easily speaks about me taking women too as she has no feelings for me.
It is true and I could understand it, but why does this make my chest constricted and why do I feel painful?'
" Yes", he forced a smile patting his chest, "But Mingxia! Feel free to visit anytime", he felt his chest hurt and rubbed it a little to release the pain.
Xing nodded and turned to leave, Who'll come to this place again! Ha! I going to meet my Prince! May be I should ask him to make a painting of me. I wonder how I'll look in his painting,Xing was wondering and was about to leave when Lord Zhong entered the study with Eunuch Xin shooed away by him.
Seeing her leaving, Lord Zhong wrapped his arms around her shoulders,
"Come in, brat! I need to discuss something with you"
Xing could not escape his hold and was almost dragged back into the Imperial Study by the Great General.
" Not just a Woman? What do you mean by that?", Xing snorted, "And go sit in your 'Dragon throne' or whatever! You are making me uncomfortable standing and staring at me like that! ", she stood up and waved her hands for him to move. She already has enough people to look at her with reverence. "I meant it as a compliment", he said and sat on his chair obediently as if it was a natural thing, "By the way, the reports of grey wolf attacks from the East are increasing and I'm being forced to repudiate the law banning the hunting of grey wolves in our kingdom. I'm telling you because you seem to.... control them? And.. ", the Emperor paused as Xing shouted, " You can't! ", Xing placed her hands on his table," Control them?", she asked knitting her brows. How did he arrive to such conclusion? Did brother say something to him? " Back during my stay near your village, I saw a pack of wolves forming a perimeter around our camp. Is it not your doing?", he asked raising his eyebrows. He wanted to ask about it for a long time. "Ah! That's how!", Xing nodded relieved, 'Guess brother is not a blabbermouth', "I don't control them but I ask them for help from time to time", she smiled sweetly remembering the pack near her home, "Ah! I miss pengpeng!", she paused for a moment but then her face turned serious... If he means the East, then pengpeng's brother is the leader of the pack there. Their pack had strict rules that they cannot even hurt humans much less kill them, " The wolves... never... I mean it.. Never... Kill humans! You cannot let the humans kill them", she spoke pointing her hands at the Emperor and her eyes glistened inside that bright room with concern and confidence. "Ha", the Emperor snorted, "You weren't this zealous to defend your family yesterday", he rested his chin on his hands and looked at her with a playful grin and pushed the memorials in front of him towards her with his other hand. "My family can save themselves but those wolves cannot", Xing cleared her throat and looked at those memorials and indeed there were many reports of them attacking villagers and even that they killed a couple of kids from a village near the mountains in the past month alone. Xing contemplated seriously placing her forefinger on her red lips. She knew for sure animals in the forests only scare humans away but never kill them unless they are seriously threatened. Killing children is something they won't do, ever. So what made them do this or is there some conspiracy behind this? East... Xing wondered, past month.. So is this the work of Shihong too? Since Lord Chu refused to join him is he making trouble in some other way? Xing looked at the name of the village and it looked awfully familiar. Then she remembered where she read about that village before. The Emperor was observing her as she was contemplating. When he learned about this divine ruler and arrived to the conclusion that it would be her, he wondered how she might aid in the development of the nation. But when she spoke about herself he knew her influence is great and with his brother by her side they can be a really good allies to the throne and without even the support of other families those two can be the pillars who could hold the nation in the future. "AH!", Xing's sudden shout jolted the Emperor. "I almost forgot this", she took out a small ledger from her sleeves and placed it on the table, " This is the report I recently received from the East. The village where the children died", she turned the pages in the ledger, "Here", she pushed the ledger towards the Emperor, "Those kids were killed by the hunting dogs of the Hong family as those poor kids accidentally came across their smuggling activities. They even had eyewitnesses from the village that the wolves were the ones who saved the bodies of the children by driving out the dogs who had dragged them deep into the forest. Awful people! Killing little children! You must punish them! Launch an investigation! The nerves of those Hong family to even blame the wolves! ", Xing was furious. The Emperor took a look again at the memorials asking for justice for the two children and of course they were sent by an Official Rong and Official Ruan who are the brother-in-law and the cousin of this Lord Hong . What was more pathetic is that the parents of the children who were killed have signed with their fingerprints too. They must be illiterate and those scum officials took advantage of it and used them. The Emperor knew the fur of the grey wolf fetches high prices and that's why they were hunted almost to extinction previously and it was his grandfather who put the ban on hunting those beautiful creatures. Now the greedy nobles want to make money out of killing those poor creatures again? The Emperor rubbed his temples and sighed deeply, so this is how the nobles control everything! If there isn't this contradictory report from her, he would have no way to know the truth and if he hadn't actually encountered those amazing animals before he wouldn't have bothered to ask her about it too. And the commoners have no means to meet the Emperor directly and they will be played by the nobles that the Emperor does not care about them and if he issued orders to hunt those wolves that would have made the people hate the government for hurting those creatures who actually helped them. So how many people are suffering injustice like this? How many innocents are being blamed by the nobles to save their own skin? And how many have I personally punished unjustly without proper knowledge of the actual situation? How can these situations be resolved? If this is one place in the Kingdom, of all the provinces and prefectures how many noble families and how many officials are oppressing and taking advantage of the commoners like this? Xing looked at the Emperor in deep thoughts and his shoulders were drooped and his face didn't have that usual mirth. "Kouki!", she called calmly, " These situations cannot be resolved immediately. It takes time. You don't have to take my word on the matter with the Hong family too. Properly investigate with honest personnel selected by you. You'll find the truth", she paused seeing the Emperor's gaze on her. "I trust you", he said and sighed, "I wish I could do something and not just sit and watch in this wretched place!", he seethe fisting his hands. Whoa! He surely is a rare breed of ruler! Caring this much for the people! I can help you! "Hmm... About that!", Xing smiled and that lifted the Emperor's mood too, "Lord Chu will be visiting you soon and will be giving back his military tokens and also the list of the corrupt officials in this ledger to you. You can make his report public and ask the Justice Department for a detailed investigation. Just like your sudden visit to the Western Province brought changes there, this could change the Eastern Province too", She sat back in her seat leaving the Emperor perplexed . "Lord Chu handing over the military token,..? That too with the Martial Tournament in a couple of months? And how did you make Lord Chu betray his partners in crime?", he placed both his palms on the table and his eyes were wide. She is amazing! She said to expand the Imperial Army and she had already found a way? And she has ways to improve the Eastern Province already? The Emperor was flabbergasted. " Well! I have my ways. You need not know it", she gave a playful smile and continued, "Keep this ledger with you to crosscheck with the list Lord Chu gives. Appoint new officials but teach the old officials a good lesson before dismissing them so that no one dares to succumb to corruption in the future. Show the nobles you are the highest authority in the land. And if you want I'll give all my properties in the East to you and you can distribute it among those.. " " No need! It will belong to you and your children ", the Emperor interjected. He had already made plans to make the entire East under his brother's governance after he accepts his title of Rui Wang. It would be better since half of the East is owned by her too. Xing who considered that vast amount of properties as a burden as she has lost the motivation to avenge Lord Chu as her mother passed away and found out that Shengli is rich, found it a bit sad that she cannot get rid of those responsibilities. But speaking of children.... "Hey, Kouki!", Xing called him excitedly, "How about making Chu Weiye Empress?", she came straight to the point making the Emperor flushed and he coughed slightly. The Emperor took a sip of tea and composed himself and chuckled reminiscing what happened some days back, "Your father advised the same thing too although I didn't understand why he said that back then and now I do. Placing someone who is not much of a threat with no powerful backing next to me might be good as I will have a little more power unlike my Imperial father",he chuckled softly, " How similar you two are in your thoughts! Back when you advised about Ming family too....", 'Guess I was the one who refused to acknowledge the similarities between you two!' "Ha ha! I'll take that as a compliment,your Majesty! If there is nothing more, may I take my leave? He'll be waiting for me!", Xing gave a slight bow. The smile in the Emperor's face froze, 'Ah! Right! Even though I can spend some time with her, she'll return back to him as she belongs with him! Even if her being here feels normal for him as if she is meant to be here, her place is with his brother in her heart. And she easily speaks about me taking women too as she has no feelings for me. It is true and I could understand it, but why does this make my chest constricted and why do I feel painful?' " Yes", he forced a smile patting his chest, "But Mingxia! Feel free to visit anytime", he felt his chest hurt and rubbed it a little to release the pain. Xing nodded and turned to leave, Who'll come to this place again! Ha! I going to meet my Prince! May be I should ask him to make a painting of me. I wonder how I'll look in his painting,Xing was wondering and was about to leave when Lord Zhong entered the study with Eunuch Xin shooed away by him. Seeing her leaving, Lord Zhong wrapped his arms around her shoulders, "Come in, brat! I need to discuss something with you" Xing could not escape his hold and was almost dragged back into the Imperial Study by the Great General.
