Chapter 117: Prime Minister Disregards Law, Decency, and Shame—Can He Be Punished?

"Take it easy, take it easy," Ning Shan whispered in his daughter's ear, "your mouth's about to stretch to the ear's root."

Ning Jinli lowered her head, pursed her lips and laughed, "Dad, you've been in Royal City all these years, never seen him before?"

Ning Shan said: "Although I'm an official in Royal City, my external rank is too low to enter the palace. Only when, a few years ago, the Prime Minister brought him back to Xuan Guo did I catch a glimpse of his back from afar on a Royal City street. Today, because His Majesty's coronation is especially important, even a lowly official like me has been summoned to attend the ceremony."

"So what do you think of him?"

"Hmm… indeed he's extraordinary, more majestic and domineering than the image described in the histories."

Hearing her father's high praise, Ning Jinli felt even more delighted.

While the father and daughter whispered, Xiao Qidi had already placed the royal coronet on his head, signifying the formal completion of the coronation.

Next, only the final segment of the ceremony remained.

The earlier heavenly sacrifices and the coronet were mainly symbolic, whereas the final segment held crucial practical significance.

"His Majesty has completed the coronation today and will henceforth personally handle state affairs," Si Tu Wei turned to face the many ministers, "According to Daxuan protocol, I ask all of you who were entrusted by the former king to assist His Majesty in governing to hand over the Royal Seal to Him."

"From now on, you must cooperate even more, relieving His Majesty's worries and solving problems, so that Daxuan grows ever stronger, worthy of the former king, worthy of His Majesty, and worthy of Daxuan's people!"

After a generous speech, Si Tu Wei turned to Xiao Qidi, slightly bowed and said, "His Majesty, please take back the Royal Seal!"

Xiao Qidi's expression remained calm as he nodded at the attendant eunuch beside him.

The attendant eunuch stepped forward half a pace and shouted, "Director of Ceremonial Affairs, Keeper of the Seal, receive the Royal Seal!"

As the words faded, two squads of eunuchs emerged from behind the side screens of the great hall, each holding a square bronze tray lined with dark silk, marching toward the ministers.

"What is the Royal Seal?" Ning Jinli asked softly.

"Well…" Ning Shan thought briefly and explained, "You can think of it this way: the feudal states of this era are like a massive corporation. The company has a single boss who is both chairman and CEO, and beneath him are many direct departments, each with its own departmental seal and a corresponding boss seal."

"Every important document of a department must bear both the departmental seal and the boss's seal to be valid."

"Before the boss began to manage affairs, those boss seals were distributed by the previous boss to the heads of each department."

"Thus, the department heads can use the departmental seal they already hold together with the boss seal they've received, without needing the boss's approval, and can stamp both themselves."

Ning Shan stopped there, and Ning Jinli had roughly understood.

"So, the Royal Seal is the boss's own seal. Starting today, the Royal Seal returns to Xiao Qidi's hands, and any minister overseeing a department will need his approval to stamp documents, right?"

"Yes, that's exactly it."

"It really is a hassle…"

"There's no way around it; that's how the times are. Later, when the king's power became more centralized, it wasn't so troublesome—a single Imperial Jade Seal handled everything."

"The Imperial Jade Seal? The jade seal engraved with the eight characters 'Mandated by Heaven, May Longevity and Prosperity'? It hasn't appeared yet, right?"

"Of course it hasn't. It was created only after Xiao Qidi unified the Six Nations and formally established a centralized system, symbolizing the emperor's legitimacy and supreme heavenly authority."

The father and daughter whispered here, while other officials murmured among themselves.

The great hall was filled with waves of buzzing sounds rising and falling.

"Silence!" the attendant eunuch shouted.

Only then did everyone fall quiet.

At this moment, more than twenty Royal Seals had all been placed into the bronze trays held by the eunuchs.

Only the two most ornate bronze trays held by the last two eunuchs remained empty.

They approached Si Tu Wei from the left and right.

Si Tu Wei solemnly knelt, took out a Daxuan King's Jade Seal and several Daxuan King's Military Tokens he carried, raised them high and placed them into the tray, then performed a deep bow before standing.

Finally, the eunuchs brought the Royal Seals, jade seals, and military tokens before Xiao Qidi to verify each one's authenticity one by one.

The verification process was especially tedious, and Xiao Qidi examined everything very carefully.

Seeing this, Si Tu Wei outwardly maintained a pretended respect, but inwardly sneered mockingly.

The kid pretends quite convincingly.

If I didn't know he was a puppet, I might have almost thought he was Xiao Qidi himself.

By the time Xiao Qidi finished all the verifications, two hours had passed.

He nodded, signaling the Director of Ceremonial Affairs and the Keeper of the Seal to take their items and withdraw.

Si Tu Wei slowly straightened his back, a cold smile in his eyes as he glanced at Xiao Qidi, thinking that at last it was over.

In a while, once the ministers have left the palace, I can make that puppet who got a taste of the king's coronation spit out everything he just collected.

From now on, Daxuan's true absolute ruler is me; no one can move a single hair of power!

Xiao Qidi sensed Si Tu Wei's cold smile and deliberately tilted his body slightly, one hand supporting his forehead, closing his eyes to rest.

Si Tu Wei frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"The coronation ceremony is over; hasn't he had enough?"

Because it would be improper to erupt in front of all the ministers, Si Tu Wei could only suppress his anger and wait.

After half a incense stick's worth of time, Xiao Qidi still maintained the pose of closed eyes and resting.

Si Tu Wei could no longer hold back, "Your Majesty, I report, the coronation is over, and the officials should now retire to rest; Your Majesty… should also rest."

Xiao Qidi slowly lifted his eyelids, his dark eyes flashing with a chilling, cold light.

That single glance sent an inexplicable shiver of cold up Si Tu Wei's nape.

Si Tu Wei was secretly startled.

"What's happening…"

"Why does this person's aura feel increasingly off?"

"Has he really taken himself for the king?!"

"His Majesty!" Si Tu Wei, after a brief shock, grew more and more angry, stepped forward, lifted his head, and said, "You should rest!"

As he spoke, he kept repeatedly signaling Xiao Qidi with his eyes.

Xiao Qidi, unhurriedly, sat up straight again, "Today's coronation took time and effort; thank you, ministers, for your hard work. However, I still have an important matter to inform you all."

Si Tu Wei was almost laughing in anger.

What is this!

He changes his words quite quickly, now pretentiously calling himself "I."

That would be one thing, since he still has to continue impersonating Xiao Qidi in front of outsiders; dropping the self‑reference is understandable.

But what important matter could he possibly have to inform us about?

"His Majesty," Si Tu Wei's eyes showed a hint of angry warning, suppressing his displeasure, said, "If there is any matter, you may choose another day to summon the ministers for discussion. You were just crowned today; there is no need for such fatigue."

"I am in the prime of my youth and strength, and do not feel fatigued," Xiao Qidi said coldly, "Prime Minister, you are so eager—could it be that you fear some unsavory matters being known to the ministers?"

Upon hearing this, hundreds of officials in the great hall all froze, all turning their gaze toward Si Tu Wei.

The atmosphere instantly became unusual.

Si Tu Wei's complexion shifted slightly, a trace of puzzlement flashing in his eyes, and he muttered, "I do not know what Your Majesty means by this."

He truly could not figure out what this puppet meant.

Could it be that he intends to expose his identity? To step forward and tell everyone that he is an impostor?

He wouldn't be that foolish, would he?

"Do not know? No matter," Xiao Qidi's voice grew more imposing, "I will tell you! Si Tu Wei, kneel!"

The other ministers were so startled they held their breath.

Si Tu Wei's eyes were full of astonishment, but given the setting, he could only clench his teeth and kneel on both knees.

Xiao Qidi immediately rebuked, "You, as Prime Minister of Daxuan, have an ambiguous relationship with the Empress Dowager, disregarding propriety and honor. Do you know your crime?!"

When the words fell, the ministers were dumbfounded on the spot.

What relationship Si Tu Wei had with the Empress Dowager before was already fairly well known.

But out of respect for royal dignity, no one would speak of it openly.

Unexpectedly, this young His Majesty, having just been crowned and taken power, brought this matter out in public himself.

Ning Shan and his daughter Ning Jinli, standing at the far edge of the officials, were also shocked, but now the great hall was so quiet that even a breath could not be heard, and the two could not argue.

They only sensed that Xiao Qidi was planning something big today.

Otherwise, why would he publicly expose the wound?

Si Tu Wei racked his brain but could not fathom what this puppet intended, so he swallowed his fury, steadied himself, and said:

"Your Majesty, I can only say that I once had a rapport with the Empress Dowager. Since she aligned with the former king, I have kept my distance; I hold only respect for her, with no intention of offense. I do not know which propriety or honor I have neglected?"

"Still trying to twist the words?" Xiao Qidi said softly, "If it were not that you later remained ambiguous with her in private, causing you to fear that the affair would be exposed in the future, you then disguised your subordinate Lao An as a eunuch and presented him to her, ordering Lao An to ingratiate himself, helping you escape the relationship. Could Lao An become the Marquis of Le'an?"

Hearing this, Si Tu Wei's heart jolted.

These matters were secrets he had hidden extremely well, even Xiao Qidi did not know them; how could this puppet know?!

"Your Majesty!" Si Tu Wei, without time to think, immediately defended, "Such absurdity must be fabricated slander! I offered Lao An to the Empress Dowager out of filial respect, believing he would serve. As for disguising him as a eunuch… I am truly wronged!"

Xiao Qidi gave a cold smile, "So you admit that he indeed was not a eunuch?"

Si Tu Wei was speechless, biting his molars, "I only know he is a eunuch; whether he deceived me, I truly do not know."

"Si Tu Wei, open your eyes and see what this is!" Xiao Qidi pulled a roll of silk from his sleeve and flung it down the steps.

The silk unfurled in midair, pieces drifting before Si Tu Wei.

A sharp‑eyed minister behind him blurted out, "These seem to be letters, written on silk, and there are so many that ordinary people could not afford them, no, even most of the high officials present probably lack such wealth."

Si Tu Wei trembled all over, suddenly realizing the characters on the silk were extremely familiar.

He hurriedly grabbed them and saw they were secret letters he had previously written to the Empress Dowager and Lao An!

These two had not destroyed the letters?!

"Prime Minister must know what the contents are," Xiao Qidi said coldly, "If that is still insufficient to prove what I say, I can produce more, to show all present and even the Daxuan populace."

Si Tu Wei broke out in cold sweat, hurriedly snatching the silk letters from the ground and stuffing them into his chest.

His heart raced with fear, yet he grew more confused.

The fellow sitting on the throne was the puppet he had cultivated himself; how could he now bite back?

What was even more puzzling was how the puppet could possess secret letters!

Even if Jiang Peihuan and Lao An had privately kept the secret letters he wrote to them, they should not have ended up in the puppet's hands!

What on earth is happening?!

"Si Tu Wei," Xiao Qidi called out, a complex expression flashing in his eyes, "Originally I should have beheaded you, but… recalling your past merits, I will spare you death. Effective immediately, I strip you of the Prime Minister position; you shall never return to the Royal City again… retire to your hometown."

"You…" Si Tu Wei covered his chest, a mouthful of fresh blood spilling from his throat.

Xiao Qidi's cheek tightened, "This is the last bit of favor I leave you; you should be grateful that I once heard some of your inner thoughts."

Si Tu Wei's eyes trembled, staring fixedly at Xiao Qidi.

A moment later, as if seeing a ghost, he staggered back several steps, collapsed onto the ground, "You… you are… Xiao Qidi? You are Xiao Qidi! You truly are Xiao Qidi!"

At that moment he finally realized that the one sitting on the throne today was not a puppet at all!

But the genuine Xiao Qidi himself!

"Prime Minister, what's happening?" the uninformed ministers couldn't help whispering to each other.

"Who else could that be but His Majesty? How could the Prime Minister utter such inexplicable words?"

"Could it be that the contents of those secret letters were so shocking that the Prime Minister knew he could not argue, and after being dismissed by Your Majesty, he panicked and went mad?"

"What should we do now?"

"..."

Ning Shan muttered in puzzlement, "Si Tu Wei shouldn't be mentally deranged, but his words were indeed odd, as if he originally thought the person crowned today shouldn't be Xiao Qidi."

"Exactly, he really thought so," Ning Jinli smiled, a hint of understanding at the corner of her mouth, "It seems that strategy was employed very successfully."

Ning Shan was at a loss, "What does 'using their own scheme against them' mean?"

Ning Jinli gave a hehe laugh, "This is a long story, and it even involves a secret history that even you, Dad, don't know. After this matter is over, I'll slowly tell you; it'll be quite exciting."

In the hall, Si Tu Wei seemed to have lost his soul, hunched over, sitting limp on the ground, motionless for a long time.

Ning Jinli said softly, "He probably has nothing left to struggle over; at least he can preserve his life and retire to his hometown, which counts as a good ending—he should be satisfied, right?"

Ning Shan pondered, "He might not necessarily not want to struggle a bit more, but if he does struggle, he won't have such a good outcome. His next choice will determine whether he can meet a good end."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Ning Jinli was completely bewildered.