Chapter 106: Prince Jing, That’s Enough
The current Emperor really is a woman! The Empress Dowager admitted it herself—that she’s a woman!!!
All the civil and military officials looked at the Emperor. Even though rumors had been running rampant, they had come today wanting to ask for clarification. But hearing the Empress Dowager admit it with her own mouth, they still found it unbelievable.
A woman as emperor—it was unprecedented, utterly shocking to the world.
Chen Qian looked at the Emperor, suppressing the thrill of his imminent revenge. He called out to the ministers, "Xiao Jin deceived the world and fraudulently took the throne as a woman! Now that the truth is out, are you all just going to stand by and watch?"
Someone was immediately incited. "A woman cannot be emperor! Your Majesty deceived the world to seize the throne; you are unfit to rule!"
"Deceiving the world to seize the throne, unfit to rule!"
"Xiao Jin, return Da Wei’s territory!"
"Return Da Wei’s territory."
SHIIING!
The Imperial Guards rushed in, drawing their weapons in unison.
Well, it wasn’t enough to completely cow the herd, but it did have some deterrent effect.
The shouting gradually died down. The crowd looked at the Emperor, who remained seated steadily on the Dragon Throne, so exquisitely handsome, so arrogant and unrestrained, that one could not discern many feminine traces.
Even now, she showed not a hint of panic or guilt. Her proud, disdainful eyes glinted with a dark light, and a slight curve touched her lips, as if she were watching a farce.
Song Qinghe, who had been silent all this time, cupped his hands slightly. Even now, he maintained a polite demeanor. "I mean no offense, Your Majesty, but as things have come to this, I must ask you to give the world an explanation."
The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhou Jing, who stood one step behind Song Qinghe, also cupped his hands. "May I be so bold as to ask Your Majesty, are you truly a woman?"
The others who wanted to know the answer also came to their senses, cupping their hands in unison to demand, "May we be so bold as to ask Your Majesty, are you truly a woman?"
In truth, to determine one’s sex, you could just have someone strip them and verify it. But in the current situation, no one could—and no one dared—to go up and strip the Little Emperor.
The Imperial Guards had them completely surrounded. The three brothers of the Xiao Family stood beside the Little Emperor, and the Regent King had also turned to face them, his protective stance perfectly clear.
They were shocked, their anger boiling, yet they could only suppress it, waiting for a true answer, waiting for the moment to erupt.
Leaning on her younger brother, Chen Qian, for support to steady herself, the Empress Dowager shrieked, "Xiao Jin, why don’t you get the hell down from that throne?"
The Empress Dowager had never thought she would be the one to personally drag Xiao Jin from the throne. But the Emperor’s identity was no longer a secret.
For the sake of her position as Empress Dowager, she had endured Xiao Jin’s disrespect, the house arrest, the poisoning. She knew that sooner or later, she would die at the Emperor’s hands.
They, mother and daughter, were already enemies. Now, to protect herself, she had no choice but to end all of this herself. Besides, the Emperor had brought this upon herself.
If the Emperor hadn’t resisted, if she had been allowed to rule from behind the curtain with the power of the Chen and Liu Families, things would never have come to this.
The Emperor had brought all this about with her own hands. No one else was to blame.
As she thought this over, the Empress Dowager managed to convince herself. With her awe-inspiringly righteous expression, she looked less like a sinner atoning for her crimes and more like a hero cloaked in glory.
How ironic! She was the main culprit, yet here she was, putting on a show.
Now, all eyes were on the Emperor, awaiting the final verdict.
From beginning to end, Xiao Yang’s posture and expression never changed.
"Yes. I am a woman."
In this situation, there was no point in hiding it anymore. It wasn’t as if she was ever afraid to admit it.
"But today, let’s sort a few things out first."
She eyed the crowd disdainfully. "Being raised as a man—was that a decision I made when I was born?"
Prince Jing immediately played his part, glaring at the Empress Dowager. "She did it!"
"Before the age of ten, I was an ignorant child. Being a Prince, then the Crown Prince—was that my decision?"
"It was not."
"My father, the Emperor, died unexpectedly. I became Emperor at ten, and the Empress Dowager controlled the court. Was that my decision?"
"No."
"Until last year, I was a Puppet Emperor while the Empress Dowager controlled the court. But she has a guilty conscience. She, too, believes a woman cannot be emperor. She knew it was wrong to make her daughter disguise herself as a man to be emperor. She was terrified, guilty as a thief. So, while she enjoyed the power and glory of being the Empress Dowager, she abused me, hating me for not being born a boy."
"She was about to beat me to death! I had no choice but to fight back, seize power, and rule in my own right. What did I do wrong?"
"You did nothing wrong!"
The officials were rendered speechless. ’That’s enough out of you, Prince Jing. Whose side are you even on?’
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
The man standing behind the Empress Dowager raised his hands and began to clap. His eyes, full of ambition, shone with appreciation. "What a sharp-tongued Majesty you are. That was a truly brilliant speech."
Someone asked in confusion, "Who is this man?"
A plant in the crowd exclaimed, "He... that face... could it be the Seventh Prince, Xiao Sheng?"
Xiao Sheng calmly stepped into the center and looked directly up at the Little Emperor, with the expression of an elder chiding an ignorant junior. "I ran into trouble when you were just born. I imagine you don’t recognize me, but you should have heard my name."
Xiao Yang remained expressionless. "Never heard of you. Are you someone important?"
Prince Jing shook his head so fast it became a blur. "He’s very bad. He was chopped into one hundred and thirty-one pieces."
"I am your imperial father’s brother, Prince Zhuang, Xiao Sheng."
Prince Jing nodded. "Dead for fifteen years. Now he’s a zombie."
"Since you’re already a dead man, what do you want, coming here?"
Prince Jing supplied, "He wants you to get down so he can sit up there himself."
"Enough!" Xiao Sheng’s face darkened as he snapped at Prince Jing. ’That idiot! Does he have any idea what’s going on right now?’
Prince Jing stuck his neck out, stubborn and unyielding. Xiao Sheng was furious, but at least the man had acknowledged his identity.
"My imperial brother has no heir, but we, his brothers, are still here. The burden of this territory should not fall to a woman."
"Since this is a mistake, it is time to correct it."
"So, you want to be Emperor."
Xiao Sheng choked. The bluntness inherited by both the Little Emperor and Prince Jing felt like it could choke a man to death.
’He did want the throne, but first, he had to drive the Emperor off it. Then, he’d prove his identity, and finally, everyone would discuss the selection of a new emperor. His arranged people would recommend him, Prince Jing would make a show of refusing, and then he would ascend the throne by popular demand.’
’But now she was asking him directly. What could he say?’
"Let’s not talk about who will be emperor. First, you must step down from the throne. Since you are a woman, how can you still sit on the Dragon Throne? How utterly improper!"
Xiao Sheng wanted to change the subject, but Xiao Yang latched on and wouldn’t let go. "Say you don’t want the throne. Say this isn’t all your conspiracy."
Xiao Sheng: "..."
"We are talking about how you, as a woman, are unfit to be emperor! Do you think you can get away with this by just making a scene?"
"First, I am a woman. I haven’t denied it. If everyone wishes to elect a new emperor, that’s not out of the question. But as long as I sit on this throne for even a quarter of an hour longer, I have the authority to punish treacherous villains."
"I am the seventh son of Emperor Taizhong, and you dare call me a treacherous villain?"
Xiao Yang looked down on him with cold disdain. "If you are real, then you are a man who massacred entire families, whose hands are stained with blood, a man filled to the brim with evil. You are not worthy to judge me. If you are fake, then you are a person of unknown origin and identity, harboring a conspiracy. You are even less worthy to stand here and question me."