Chapter 11: An old minister has been poor all his life, serving as an official for thirty years, with clean hands and no corruption

The Golden Hall of the Great Abyss Kingdom’s imperial palace.

This magnificent palace, which symbolized the highest imperial authority under heaven, was filled with an unusually solemn and grave atmosphere.

The civil and military officials stood in orderly rows inside the great hall, dressed in immaculate court robes and arranged according to rank.

Every face was tense, as though a storm were about to break.

The commotion at the Zhaoyang Hall and the Chuxiu Palace the previous night had been far too great to escape the notice of these court officials with their countless sources of information.

The dignified Noble Consort Jing, head of the imperial harem, had actually been placed under house arrest by an eight-year-old country girl who had only just been brought back to the palace. Even her entire fortune had been thoroughly confiscated!

What was the kingdom coming to?

If this Crown Princess of unknown origins were allowed to continue running wild, wouldn’t the entire court of the Great Abyss Kingdom descend into chaos?

At the very front of the civil officials stood an old man with a full head of white hair and a face brimming with righteous indignation.

He was none other than the Left Censor-in-Chief, head of the kingdom’s censors.

His court robe had been washed until it had faded, and several patches could be seen on it.

He stood perfectly straight, like an unshakable pillar holding up the sea and heavens. From head to toe, he radiated the noble brilliance of honesty and incorruptibility.

The Left Censor-in-Chief narrowed his eyes as he silently reviewed the contents of the impeachment memorial hidden in his sleeve.

Today, he would not only impeach that little demon. He would also use this opportunity to properly admonish the increasingly tyrannical emperor.

He had already decided exactly how loud his voice should be and how sorrowful his expression should look, so that he could display the bearing of a loyal minister before the entire court.

His name would go down in history.

Today was the day!

“His Majesty the Emperor has arrived—!”

The chief eunuch’s shrill, piercing announcement rang through the hall.

The Golden Hall fell so silent that one could hear a pin drop.

“We pay our respects to Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Long, long live Your Majesty!”

The civil and military officials dropped to their knees in unison and shouted their greetings.

Steady, powerful footsteps came from behind the screen at the rear of the hall.

Su Zhen strode forward in a majestic black-and-gold robe embroidered with nine dragons and walked up the white jade steps.

However, after the officials had finished paying their respects, they cautiously raised their heads, preparing to hear the emperor’s instructions.

The entire Golden Hall sank into an eerie silence.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

Several elderly ministers rubbed their eyes in disbelief, wondering if their advanced age had finally caused them to see things.

Because the ruthless and cold-blooded tyrant, Su Zhen—

was not walking up to the dragon throne empty-handed.

In his arms, he was carrying a small pink quilt made of priceless Shu brocade, bundled into a neat roll!

A round little face, flushed from sleep and chubby with baby fat, poked out from inside.

The newly appointed Crown Princess of the Great Abyss Kingdom, Su Yaoyao, was sleeping soundly in her Tyrant Dad’s arms!

A glistening bead of drool hung from the corner of her mouth. With every breath, it formed and popped into a tiny bubble.

The worldview of every civil and military official in the hall shattered into dust.

This was the Golden Hall!

The sacred court where the Great Abyss Kingdom discussed important matters of state and military affairs!

His Majesty had actually carried a little girl who was still sleeping in late to the morning court?!

What had become of the Great Abyss Kingdom’s century-old court traditions?!

The Left Censor-in-Chief trembled with rage, his white beard quivering violently in midair.

Absurd!

The height of ridiculousness!

He was just about to step out of formation and begin his grand impeachment—

when several eunuchs serving before the emperor emerged from behind the hall, carefully carrying a chair.

It was a specially made miniature throne.

The entire chair was crafted from pure gold, and its back was encrusted with so many diamonds and rubies and sapphires that they nearly blinded the eye.

Under the bright candlelight of the Golden Hall, the little golden throne radiated an impossible-to-ignore aura of nouveau riche extravagance.

The eunuchs cautiously placed the diamond-studded golden seat beside the dragon throne, which represented the highest power under heaven.

It was only half a step away!

Holding Su Yaoyao, Su Zhen bent down slowly, his movements as gentle as though he were handling a priceless treasure. He carefully settled his daughter, still wrapped in her little quilt, onto the diamond-studded golden seat.

Then he thoughtfully tucked the quilt around her.

“Phew...”

The movement disturbed Su Yaoyao.

She smacked her lips sleepily, then slowly opened her limpid, peach-blossom eyes.

She raised her short, chubby hands and rubbed her eyes. Then, right in front of the entire court, she opened her mouth and let out a tremendous yawn.

“Yaaawn... I’m so sleepy...”

Su Yaoyao complained furiously inside her head.

[What is this nonsense?! It’s not even dawn yet, and the roosters haven’t even crowed! Why did they drag me out of bed?!]

[Lining up for morning court in ancient times is even more inhumane than mining coal on a resource star in the interstellar age!]

[Lack of sleep is going to affect the development of this eight-year-old body, okay?!]

Hearing his daughter’s aggrieved complaints, a trace of indulgent amusement flashed through Su Zhen’s eyes as he sat on the dragon throne.

If not for today’s grand confiscation spectacle, he would never have had the heart to wake his precious daughter so early.

After finishing her yawn, Su Yaoyao looked around in confusion.

When she saw the mass of old men kneeling below her in court robes of various colors, she finally became somewhat more alert.

[Oh, right. I’m here to watch the show from the front row.]

[How can I watch a show without snacks?]

Su Yaoyao fumbled around inside her quilt. Under its cover, her consciousness connected with her portable interstellar storage space.

The next second—

under the horrified, unbelieving gazes of the entire court, the Crown Princess pulled half a golden-brown, sizzling roast leg of lamb out of her pink quilt!

It was the leftover snack she had eaten while staying up late to draw blueprints the previous night, then placed in the storage space’s preservation cabinet.

Now, it was still at the perfect temperature.

Su Yaoyao held the half leg of lamb, which was even larger than her face, in both hands.

She opened her mouth and took a huge bite, tearing off a large chunk of crisp, roasted meat.

“Chomp, chomp, chomp...”

Her cheeks bulging as she chewed, she swung her little legs back and forth above the floor.

The rich fragrance of cumin and chili powder mingled with the overpowering aroma of lamb fat roasting over a fire.

It swept through the solemn Golden Hall like a tornado.

The sound of countless people swallowing nervously mingled with sharp intakes of breath.

On one side were the trembling officials, who scarcely dared to breathe.

On the other was the Crown Princess, sitting on her diamond-studded golden chair, her mouth slick with grease as she devoured roast meat.

Was this still a court session?

The Left Censor-in-Chief could no longer tolerate such unbearable humiliation.

The Great Abyss Kingdom’s century-old dignity was being destroyed one mouthful of cumin-seasoned lamb at a time!

“Your Majesty!”

The Left Censor-in-Chief stepped out of formation, his voice shrill and tragic, like a cuckoo crying blood.

With a trembling finger, he pointed straight at Su Yaoyao, who was gnawing on a leg of lamb beside the dragon throne.

“You little demon! You have thrown the imperial harem into chaos, and now you dare come to this sacred court and run wild!”

“Above us are the hundred years of the Great Abyss Kingdom’s court traditions, and the spirits of our imperial ancestors!”

“How can we allow a mere child to sit here wrapped in a quilt, gnawing on a leg of lamb while listening in on affairs of state?!”

The more the Left Censor-in-Chief spoke, the more agitated he became. His eyes reddened as though he had suffered some terrible injustice.

“If Your Majesty does not immediately strip this little demon of her position as Crown Princess and drive her out of the hall—”

“then this old minister will die right here in the Golden Hall today, to prove his convictions!”

His words rang out with force, filled with righteousness and moral indignation.

Several other civil officials also stepped forward and fell to their knees, shouting, “Your Majesty, please think twice! Abolish the Crown Princess!”

The atmosphere was taut, ready to explode.

Everyone assumed that in the face of the chief censor’s remonstrance unto death, even a tyrant as biased as the emperor would have to show some consideration for public opinion.

Yet Su Zhen merely leaned coldly against the imperial throne. Turning his head, he took a snow-white handkerchief from the eunuch and gently wiped the cumin powder from the corner of Su Yaoyao’s mouth as she watched the spectacle.

“Slow down. Don’t choke. The roast mutton is a little tough. Tomorrow, I’ll have the Imperial Kitchen roast you a tender suckling pig.”

Su Zhen’s voice was so gentle it seemed sweet enough to melt, completely treating the Left Censor-in-Chief’s hoarse cries below as though they were nothing but air.

Su Yaoyao bit into her mutton and blinked innocently with her clear, wide eyes.

【Tsk, tsk, tsk. That old man has some impressive lung capacity. What a shame he didn’t become a tenor.】

【So this is the corrupt official who has three hundred thousand taels of embezzled silver hidden at home? His acting is incredible.】

Seeing that the tyrant was completely ignoring him and was instead putting on a touching display of fatherly affection with that bastard, the Left Censor-in-Chief felt his fury and humiliation surge to their peak.

So he wasn’t going to give him any face, was he?

Fine!

Then he would make a huge scene today and see who ended up unable to save face!

“Corrupt emperor! Demon child!”

The Left Censor-in-Chief rose to his feet, hair disheveled, and cried out toward the heavens in grief and indignation.

“I have lived in poverty my entire life! I have served as an official for thirty years and remained incorruptible!”

“For the sake of Dayuan’s state and people, I eat nothing but plain porridge and simple vegetables at every meal. I cannot even bring myself to have a decent court robe made!”

“Now that the imperial court has fallen into chaos, what meaning is there in my continuing to live?”

He closed his eyes, his face taking on the resolute expression of a man prepared to die.

“I have no choice but to remonstrate with my life, in repayment for the late emperor’s kindness in recognizing my worth!”

With that, the Left Censor-in-Chief turned around.

Head lowered and eyes shut, he charged toward the thickest coiled-dragon pillar in the Golden Hall like a mad old bull!