Volume 1: This Heart's Inclination Chapter 3: The Country's Abomination

  Southern Qi's Jing Tai first year, end of January, early spring, night.

  This night, someone swooped down from the sky and snatched away underwear, someone burst out of the water with stolen underwear. Apart from this, it was a very ordinary spring night, people were sleeping soundly under different roofs, dreaming of promotion, wealth, death, and old wives under the dim starlight.

  Someone really got promoted tonight.

  "Your Majesty is still young and has just ascended to the throne." In the Jingyang Hall of the Southern Qi imperial palace, the slightly plump young empress dowager sat upright, speaking softly to the three elderly ministers below, "The late emperor's will appointed the three dukes as auxiliary ministers, all promoted to upper pillar country, granted the right to enter and exit the palace forbidden area and present memorials. In the future, Your Majesty's world will be entrusted to you."

  "We dare not betray the trust of the late Emperor and Empress Dowager!" The three officials bowed their heads, "The Empress Dowager is pregnant with the late Emperor's posthumous child, please take good care of your body."

  "A few of you, gentlemen, are loyal and dedicated to the country. I have always been at ease with that." The empress dowager wiped away her tears, "The previous emperor passed away too early, leaving behind a vast nation, an orphaned child and a widowed mother. With internal affairs unsettled and external lands un pacified, how can I bear the burden of this complex world..."

  The copper lamp flickered, the light and shadow floated, the Empress Dowager's expression was sorrowful and pitiful, several old ministers all had wooden faces, their eyes cast down, their gaze like fighting cocks, only scanning the three feet in front of them.

  With just a sweep, Da Si Kong Zhang Ning's body stiffened slightly.

  In front, on the phoenix throne, under the empress's green skirt corner, a pair of embroidered golden phoenix shoes were faintly visible - crimson red with gold trim, and above them seven-colored mandarin ducks, with emerald feathers mottled, vivid as if alive.

  The national mourning has just passed, the palace is dressed in white, the Empress Dowager sets an example, with silver hairpins on her cloud-like hair, and even the ornaments on her head are all silver, looking as pure as snow. Who would have thought that under this plain skirt, there is boundless splendor!

  The three people's breathing stopped for a moment, and then they turned their eyes away, exchanged a few words with the empress dowager, and retreated out of the room. As they were about to leave, they heard the empress dowager say happily: "Bring the emperor here."

  Dai Sizong Zhang Ning turned halfway at the doorstep and saw the palace maid bring in the two-year-old emperor. The empress dowager glanced at her son and suddenly said, "Why does the emperor look so unwell?"

  Zhang Ning couldn't help but take another look at that lovely child with a big head resting on the palace maid's chest, a pair of shiny black eyes staring at people in the hall, and rosy cheeks that seemed to be emitting last night's warmth, where was there any "ugliness"?

  The palace maid replied smoothly, "Replying to Your Majesty, you didn't sleep well last night and kept crying."

  The three officials turned around and glanced at Your Majesty's smooth little face and eyes that showed no signs of redness or swelling.

  The little emperor raised his head and smiled as he reached out to touch the palace maid's red lips painted with rouge.

  "My poor child," the empress sighed anxiously, "still having restless nights? Zhang Tian Shi said last time that there are too many women in the palace, and the yin energy is too heavy, which is not good for Your Majesty's dragon body. I was thinking that the women in the palace are also pitiful, where can they be sent to? Now it seems..."

  San Gong silently listened, thinking to himself, "The meat of the play has arrived."

  The poor little emperor touched a handful of rouge, smiled and licked it, his pink tongue slipping around the edge of his lips.

  "Do you still remember the old rule we had?" The Empress Dowager leaned forward, as if chatting with the eunuch Li Autumn beside her. "After the death of our first ancestor emperor, those who served in the palace all followed him underground; those who didn't receive his favor were all made to build temples for the country's blessings, wasn't that what happened?"

  "The Empress is wise and hasn't forgotten a single thing." Li Qiurong's old face with the texture of orange peel didn't change expression.

  San Gong's body trembled slightly, and his feet stopped at the threshold, unable to move.

  Human sacrifice...

  This cruel old custom has long been abolished, and yet this woman can still mention it so lightly?

  She knew she was going to clean up the morning shift, knew she was going to eliminate dissidents, but didn't expect it to be so fast, so ruthless, and so resolute.

  The atmosphere in the palace was a bit solemn, only the emperor's laughter echoed, he buried his big head in the palace girl's chest, bumping into each other with a loud noise.

  "Let it be then." The Empress's tone was as casual as if she were commenting on the weather.

  "Yes." Li Qiurong's tone was as if she were saying "yes" the weather is nice.

  "Too..." Zhang Ning suddenly turned around, but was pulled back by Situ Wei's strong grip on his sleeve when he was halfway through turning, cutting off the half-spoken words.

  The Empress Dowager "suddenly" raised her head, as if she had just discovered that the three officials had not yet left.

  "Is there anything else, Imperial Concubine?" She smiled brightly at Zhang Ning, "What's wrong, isn't the outer court busy? Do you have any advice on matters within my palace?"

  "The three words 'my palace' were bitten very hard, like biting a tendon, rolling between the teeth, and rolling out a bloody breath."

  Zhang Ning closed her eyes and swallowed a mouthful of air stuck in her throat.

  This is an internal court affair, and the Empress Dowager has the power to make a final decision. She dares to defy the great unrighteousness of heaven by doing this thing, so she will absolutely not allow anyone to obstruct her.

  She made a decision lightly after they left, but she insisted on letting them hear it, which showed her determination and was not an impulsive idea.

  This is provocation and warning.

  They can only endure it too.

  The three officials cursed the deceased emperor for dying so early and for favoring this woman before his death, allowing her to usurp power and listen to politics behind the curtain, while they had no choice but to retreat.

  The Empress Dowager smiled faintly, behind her, Li Qiurong presented a book with the names of all the concubines of the previous emperor, on the left were those who had been favored, on the right were those who hadn't, and in between was a red line that marked life and death.

  The Empress Dowager Zong Zhenghui glanced at the list, didn't say a word, Li Qiurong's sparse eyebrows drooped, silently handed the roster down.

  The fate of a group of golden orioles was decided by a glance from the most noble woman in the imperial court.

  "Wait."

  Li Qiurong immediately stopped in her tracks, motionless.

  The Empress Dowager raised her hand, and the golden red treasure condensed into a five-petaled plum-shaped long shield that streaked across the air with a brilliant light, like the bloody knife shadow falling from the executioner's platform.

  The roster was presented again, and this time the Empress Dowager personally picked up a red brush and drew a heavy circle around a certain name on the right side, also drawing a hook that extended to the left.

  "She had served in the bedchamber before. I remember that on the night of Your Majesty's passing, she was the one who was on duty. It's just that after Your Majesty passed away, Tong Shi forgot to record it." The Empress Dowager spoke as if she were talking about forgetting to pick up cabbage.

  "The Empress is wise and has indeed forgotten." Li Qiurong's tone was as if she were saying that the cabbage had been forgotten to be picked.

  The notebook was closed, and the name circled in red was very eye-catching.

  "Yì Shìlán".

  The Empress Dowager waved her hand, leaning on the soft pillow of the golden lotus, and suddenly said wearily, "I heard that the Yi family had a strange encounter in the past. Although the thing in their hands has not appeared for many years, it is said that only the direct female descendants of the Yi family can possess it. Yi Shilan seems to be the eldest daughter of the main house of the Yi family?"

  "I understand." Li Qiurong slowly bowed and backed out, "I will investigate carefully."

  The emperor's big head was rubbing against the palace maid's chest, suddenly opening his mouth and letting out a "ah woo".

  "Ah……" The person who was being embraced couldn't control themselves, let out a soft cry, and immediately came to their senses that disaster was imminent. They knelt down in alarm, their face deathly pale, yet they didn't even dare say words of apology, only hugging the emperor and trembling with fear.

  The Empress Dowager waved her hand, and a eunuch came forward, picked up the Emperor, kicked down that palace maid, and dragged her out by the hand. As they exited the hall, the eunuch still smiled at the three officials who stood frozen in place.

  The three men turned their heads silently.

  The emperor suddenly lost his grip, blinked his eyes and pouted, as if he was about to cry. A slender palace maid hastily stepped forward and picked him up, her big head tilted towards the vast expanse in front of her, disdainfully turning her head away.

  The Empress Dowager lazily glanced at the Emperor and said, "You're already two years old, why are you still drinking milk, and being so picky?"

  The tone was like blaming, but there was no sense of unhappiness at all.

  "After returning to the palace, Your Majesty was born with a weak body. The imperial physician said that it would be best to nourish you with human milk until adulthood." Li Qiurong's tone was always as flat as a man's chest, making one worry if his throat had been squeezed straight early on.

  "I heard that the new nanny has been changed, and he often cries at night?" The Empress Dowager frowned, not seeming to be worried, but rather as if she had thought of something unpleasant.

  "Yes."

  "What happened to the wet nurse? Didn't the emperor like her very much? What did she do to get kicked out of the palace?"

  "It was said that her family's young child was seriously ill, and the old slave was worried that she might also have a hidden illness, so she simply sent her back home." Li Qiurong narrowed her eyes, recalling the shocking waves of her former wet nurse.

  The Empress Dowager waved her hand indifferently, "It's no small matter that Your Majesty is making a fuss at night. Since he likes that wet nurse, summon her back again."

  "Yes."

  The emperor burst out laughing and grabbed a handful of the senior palace maid's chest.

  The three officials walked very slowly and hadn't gone far when they heard the conversation inside, several people with expressionless faces, but their eyebrows and eyes were slightly twitching.

  This convulsion continued until the three returned home.

  That night, the Grand Marshal closed the door and practiced his swordplay. The sound of his sword sliced through the air, adding a 380th mark to the study door.

  "Two years old! A two-year-old has already started getting up at four in the morning to practice horse stance! He can't even walk yet!"

  That night, Da Si Tu crushed his favorite jade walnut, and Xiao Se let out a long sigh.

  "At two years old, I had already started reading the Four Books, but he can't even recognize his own name!"

  That night, Da Sima drank all the wine stored in the mansion and let out a long howl towards the sky.

  "Two years old! He's still drinking milk at two years old!" Bang, smashing the wine jug, for the first time in his life he cursed loudly, "Drink, drink his mother's!"

  That night, the lower-ranking officials in the three palaces secretly speculated that a two-year-old who couldn't walk or recognize characters and still drank milk was which family's spoiled brat...

  That night, in the bright yellow canopy, that two-year-old freak who couldn't walk or recognize characters and still wanted to drink milk, pushed away the nanny on duty with a look of disgust and scolded unclearly, "Drink! Drink... mother's!"

  The entire hall was filled with palace maids kneeling all over the floor...

  That night, in Wanshou Hall, the Empress Dowager heard someone report on what had happened among the three assistants to the government and smiled casually.

  "These three, but toothless tigers, fallen phoenixes, let them make a fuss...” She tilted her head to glance at her loyal subordinates, the smile in her eyes gradually fading, “Actually, I've always only cared about one person.”

  "You said..."

  "Alright." The young empress dowager lifted her smooth chin, a hint of an unusual expression floating in her eyes, "Rong Chu."

  That night, the three officials of the imperial court, having vented their emotions, stood together in the courtyard, gazing at the faint moonlight, cool and smooth, but with an ominous tinge of pale red around the edges, like the sky's blood diluted by the Milky Way.

  The three officials let out a sigh of concern at the same time, thinking about the turmoil in the Southern Qi court over the past month, with His Majesty passing away suddenly, the Empress Dowager taking power, quickly ascending to the throne, and wondering what this ordinary woman relied on to gain the support of the inner five guards and outer three households' armies, and seized the supreme position of Southern Qi?

  Suppose one day, this woman with a smile that hides a sinister intent, were to truly use her slender hands to manipulate the vast mountains and rivers. At that time, who would be able to stop her? Who could save the Southern Land, the Blue Dynasty?

  At this moment, all three of them had a name flash through their minds.

  Charming...

  They all shook their heads immediately.

  The Duke of Jin in the Southern Qi, no one knows his good and evil, no one knows his joy and anger, no one knows how deep his heart is. Not in the court, but holding the underground power that others can't reach, not involved in politics, but enough to easily influence the political situation.

  His powerful wings spread out, like a shadow shrouding the mountains and rivers of Southern Qi, with no end in sight.

  What kind of person would dare to entrust with trust?

  Three officials sighed and looked up at the sky. Suddenly, a shooting star streaked across the horizon, leaving behind a deep red trail that tore through the azure sky.

  "A monster has emerged from the country, who can behead it?"

  Digression

  This chapter is still quite important.

  Dear friends, happy 520.