Chapter 203: Showing Off in Front of Xiao Qidi and the Officials

"Has Duke Rongrui recovered his health?" Xiao Qidi said with a half-smile, "Weren't you always sick and keeping to yourself before? Now you look full of spirit."

His words carried a barb.

Earlier, whether he was dealing with the Empress Dowager and Lao An, or competing for power with Si Tu Wei, the Xiao clan nobles led by Duke Rongrui all remained silent.

Each one seemed to be standing apart from the matter.

It appeared they helped no one, choosing neutrality.

But Xiao Qidi was clear that if he himself were defeated, or if he fought the power-holding heavyweight ministers to a mutual loss, those who inherently possessed supreme status would immediately replace him with someone else from the royal family.

Duke Rongrui and the other Xiao clan nobles need not contribute to Daxuan's achievements in daily life, yet they can enjoy noble status and numerous privileges.

Especially after the Longyuan Governor case was uncovered, Xiao Qidi followed the leads and, through his paternal aunt and several paternal uncles, had already grasped a large amount of evidence that the Xiao clan nobles were exploiting the people.

If this gang of parasites is not eradicated, it will surely continue to harm the entirety of Daxuan.

As soon as Xiao Qidi returned, he went to court to announce various new systems and personnel orders, directly touching the deep interests of the Xiao clan nobles, precisely to force the usually reclusive Duke Rongrui to show himself.

"Thanks to Your Majesty's blessing, I'm much better." Duke Rongrui replied offhand, without performing a salute, and said directly, "Your Majesty swallowed Yu Guo and destroyed Shayue Guo; you must be overly high-spirited."

Xiao Qidi said lightly, "How do you mean that?"

Duke Rongrui raised his head and spoke righteously: "Since the founding of Daxuan hundreds of years ago to now, there has never been a province or governor or anything like that established. Your Majesty, with a hot head, arbitrarily changed the system, and without heeding the ministers' advice, you want to replace the eastern border's great general with an enemy general and an obscure little general. All these measures are like child's play!"

Xiao Qidi's expression unchanged, "Then what do you think would not be child's play?"

Duke Rongrui stroked his beard, pacing as he said: "At the very least, we should first discuss with us nobles, then gather a few of the highest-ranking ministers in court for detailed discussion, and also seek opinions from other officials, gradually decide, and only announce when everyone is satisfied. Your Majesty, although you now personally rule, you are still too young in handling state affairs..."

As soon as he finished, the dozen or so ministers before him all nodded in agreement, saying Duke Rongrui was right.

Meanwhile, the majority of the other ministers all showed expressions hard to put into words.

Everyone could see that Duke Rongrui, unwilling to let his own interests be harmed, had also set his sights on that big piece of fat—the former Yu Guo territory—some sighed silently, some dared to be angry but not speak out.

Duke Rongrui again spoke at length: "Since Si Tu Wei died, the court has yet to establish a prime minister; I suppose that's also why Your Majesty feels there's no important minister to consult with, and thus forgot to chat with us nobles? I'd like to suggest to Your Majesty that the urgent task is to find someone to serve as prime minister, then establish other matters."

Xiao Qidi showed a hint of interest, "Oh, I wonder if Duke Rongrui has any candidates in mind?"

Duke Rongrui then pointed at the minister who had first opposed Xiao Qidi earlier, "This Minister Wen is very suitable; I have high hopes for him."

"Many thanks for your appreciation, Duke Rongrui, many thanks!" Minister Wen beamed with joy.

Many of the other ministers repeatedly frowned.

Although Minister Wen holds an important post in court, his actual ability is probably mediocre; he relies entirely on ingratiating himself with the nobility to get by.

Any official present picked at random would be more suitable as prime minister than him.

"Isn't this nonsense!" General Duan could no longer bear it and shouted loudly, "Just because you favor him, does that make him fit to be prime minister?"

Duke Rongrui sternly rebuked, "I am discussing state affairs with Your Majesty! When is it your turn to interrupt? Seize him! Drag this brat out!"

As his voice fell, the commander of the Imperial Guard outside the hall led people in.

Xiao Qidi was not at all surprised by this, for even the Imperial Guard of the palace, from commander down to deputy general, mostly had ties of marriage or friendship with the Xiao clan nobles.

Compared to Duke Rongrui, who possesses both status and seniority, Xiao Qidi is ultimately just a junior youth; in situations that would not endanger Your Majesty, the Imperial Guard naturally leans toward obeying Duke Rongrui's orders.

"Duke Rongrui," Xiao Qidi's eyes flashed with a chill, "Let me remind you: this is Grand General Duan Wu, the great meritorious minister who destroyed Yu Guo; he too is qualified to discuss state affairs. Treating him thus, aren't you afraid of making the officials cold-hearted and the populace ridicule?"

Upon hearing this, Duke Rongrui waved his hand, signaling the Imperial Guard to halt, but did not let them withdraw.

Then he showed an expression of sudden realization, "Ah, so this is the Grand General; my apologies, my apologies."

"Hah, no need to give me that act of first showing strength then putting on airs," Duan Wu sneered repeatedly, "I say to Duke Rongrui, if you think so highly of your lackey Minister Wen, why not just take him home? Then you could see him every day—how nice."

Duke Rongrui's old face twitched as he pointed at Duan Wu's nose and cursed, "You are simply rude! Utterly uncouth!"

Duan Wu stepped back into the officials' ranks, grinning, "Sorry, I'm used to being coarse; my apologies, my apologies."

"You… you…" Duke Rongrui flushed red with anger.

Seeing this old thing suffer a setback, Xiao Qidi's lips curled slightly upward, "I know you're also worrying for Daxuan, but the prime minister position—I already have someone in mind; there's no need to let Duke Rongrui and the deputy general make an unpleasant fuss over this."

Duke Rongrui glared at Duan Wu, struggled to compose himself, and asked, "Who has Your Majesty chosen?"

Xiao Qidi's face sank, "You hold no office in court; I appoint ministers—do I need to seek your approval?"

"Your Majesty!" Duke Rongrui's tone hardened, "Daxuan is our Xiao family's Daxuan; appointing officials concerns Daxuan's stability, so it is naturally related to me; although it's not a matter of seeking approval, I should have the right to participate in the decision!"

Xiao Qidi smirked inwardly.

Hundreds of years ago, the entire Xiao clan worked together to establish Xuan Guo.

Back then, talented individuals indeed abounded, making an indelible contribution to Daxuan's development and growth.

However, as Daxuan consolidated, the Xiao clan nobles, generation after generation, began to simply enjoy the fruits.

That would have been fine; Daxuan could still afford to support them and was willing to do so.

But nowadays, this clique of nobles has become ever more excessive; no longer satisfied with merely enjoying the fruits, their greed has swollen, bringing Daxuan nothing but harm.

If in the future they ever unify all under heaven, these people would become the greatest calamity of the world.

From Xiao Qidi tracing back several generations of Daxuan monarchs, they all sensed this hidden danger, but due to familial ties and their ancestors' merits, they could never nor found it convenient to act against them.

But Xiao Qidi felt that, having reached his own time, the moment had ripened.

He had no feelings toward these relatives, so acting against them would entail no psychological burden.

In the past, the so-called blood ties that nobles like Duke Rongrui used to coerce the Daxuan monarch had no effect on him whatsoever.

Furthermore, the more Duke Rongrui acts arrogantly and domineeringly, the more the majority of ministers will resent him.

Thus, with sufficient evidence, striking at the right time, even those ministers who adhere to old rules and respect noble status would not become obstacles to his purging the clan.

Xiao Qidi does not care whether he will be judged by ministers or posterity as a cold-blooded killer who slaughtered his own kin.

He merely does not want, when he wields the blade, to be interfered with by some obstinate court officials.

After all, if this were to cause the court to collapse, that too would be a consequence Daxuan could not bear.

"Your Majesty, don't you think I am qualified?!" Seeing Xiao Qidi remain silent, Duke Rongrui raised his voice to press the question, his gaze turning extremely sharp.

Watching Duke Rongrui press aggressively, and seeing Xiao Qidi seemingly in a predicament, many ministers inside the hall felt uneasy.

They had once doubted whether this young monarch had the ability to rule Daxuan, but he dispelled their doubts with facts—in just a few months he swallowed Shayue Guo and annexed Yu Guo; tell me, which ruler in the world today could accomplish that?

This clearly foreshadowed that Daxuan had successfully taken the first step toward unifying the world.

But when these ministers had already been won over by Xiao Qidi, hoping to jointly create a great unified prosperous age with him, Duke Rongrui stepped forward; his recent words and deeds could be said to be bullying Xiao Qidi in public by relying on his status and seniority, and that would not be excessive.

Yet those ministers who had already leaned toward Xiao Qidi dared to be angry but not speak out, for otherwise they would surely be charged by the Xiao clan with the grave crime of offending the nobility—Great treason.

Seeing Duke Rongrui domineering the main hall as if he could cover the sky with one hand, Duan Wu was about to explode with rage.

He had just wanted to rush forward and give Duke Rongrui two slaps, when a hand quietly reached out from behind the crowd and grabbed his arm.

"Who is it?" Duan Wu turned his head, fuming with anger.

Upon seeing that the person pulling him was Li Yao, he couldn't help but stare, "Ah? You've also returned to the Royal City? How come I didn't see you just now?"

Li Yao lowered his voice, "I've only been in the main hall a short while, and hundreds of officials, big and small, are crowded inside; it's normal you didn't see me. Stay calm—everything is under His Majesty's control."

"Please, Duke Rongrui, calm your anger," Xiao Qidi said slowly, "Since you think it's appropriate to appoint Minister Wen as Prime Minister, why don't you also explain how you would manage the territories of Yu Guo and Sha Yue State?"

"That's about right," Duke Rongrui said, stroking his beard and giving a sideways glance, "Your Majesty, please grant me a seat; I'm old and shouldn't stand for long."

Xiao Qidi immediately ordered a seat to be granted.

The seat was placed at one side in front of the main hall.

Duke Rongrui, however, pointed to the eunuch attending Xiao Qidi and said, "Come here, move my seat a bit."

The eunuch was stunned, and many ministers also showed looks of shock.

Duke Rongrui looked around, a faint sneer on his face; he had deliberately done this to give offense.

Today he must certainly put on a show of might and intimidate Xiao Qidi this brat in front of him; he shouldn't think that becoming king makes him extraordinary—he needs to warn him, for all past Daxuan kings have always been courteous to the Xiao clan, and he cannot be an exception.

This state, however, bears the surname Xiao.

Even after unifying the world, it will still have to bear the surname Xiao!

After all, the so-called king is merely a tool for managing the state on behalf of the royal clan; one must not mistake his position.

Young people, after just assuming rule and achieving some success, are prone to become conceited and forget themselves; otherwise they wouldn't, upon returning to the Royal City, arbitrarily announce those orders on their own initiative.

As the person of highest seniority in the royal clan, it is fitting to give him a warning at this critical juncture; otherwise, once this brat's wings grow strong, he will be harder to control.

"Go." Xiao Qidi waved his hand at the eunuch beside him.

The eunuch secretly sighed, lowered his head and walked down the steps, "I don't know where Duke Rongrui would like to sit."

Duke Rongrui stood with his hands behind his back, "Just let me sit where I'm standing; I need to have a good talk with His Majesty, which naturally requires facing him directly."

The eunuch had no choice but to move the chair that had been placed at the side to behind him.

Only then did Duke Rongrui sit down; he raised his hand to beckon, and the Commander of the Imperial Guards immediately brought a few Imperial Guards to stand on his left and right.

This blatant act of not putting Xiao Qidi in his eyes seemed especially imposing to the dozen or so ministers who fawned over the royal clan, but the rest of the ministers grew angrier the more they saw it.

One should know that even the Le'an Marquis Lao'an, who was deeply favored by the Empress Dowager and wielded tremendous power, and the former Prime Minister Si Tu Wei, who stood above all others and below only one, had never done anything so excessive.

The attending eunuch's face went black, and he turned to head back beside the throne.

"Hold on, did I let you go?" Duke Rongrui placed his hands on the armrests, slightly raised his head, and said in a slow, deliberate tone, "I've been standing too long; my legs are uncomfortable, and I still need a leg rest."

The attending eunuch suppressed his anger, "Servant, I'll go fetch a stool right away."

Duke Rongrui said arrogantly, "A stool is too hard; it will dig into my leg."

Understanding his meaning, the attending eunuch had no choice but to lie down in front of him.

"Hmm, not bad, you little eunuch are sensible; our Xiao clan just likes sensible juniors." Duke Rongrui half-narrowed his eyes, lifted both legs, and heavily rested them on the eunuch's back.

"How unreasonable…… Duke Rongrui, you…… you are too excessive!" Finally a minister could no longer bear it and blurted out a sentence.

Duke Rongrui's eyes snapped open, "Insolent! Drag the one who just spoke over here!"

Two Imperial Guards rushed into the ministers, dragged out an official, and kicked him to the front of Duke Rongrui.

"You say I'm excessive?" Duke Rongrui stared straight at him, "Where am I excessive?"

The oppressive aura emanating from the highest-ranking member of the royal clan made this minister's back turn cold.

He stammered, "This…… this is the imperial court hall; one…… cannot be this…… rude to His Majesty, otherwise the rules will be broken."

Duke Rongrui gave a contemptuous glance at the expressionless Xiao Qidi, then smiled and said, "Such rules are set for you subjects; am I a subject?"

The minister trembled all over, "You…… you are not."

"Then who am I?" Duke Rongrui asked deliberately.

The minister gritted his back teeth and said, "You…… are the noble Duke Rongrui of the Xiao clan."

Duke Rongrui was not yet satisfied with that answer and asked again, "Anything else?"

The minister hemmed and hawed, not knowing what to say.

Duke Rongrui raised his voice and said:

"Let me tell you, I am still your sovereign's paternal uncle; never mind him, even when his father was alive he had to call me elder brother. I am the most noble among all nobles in Daxuan—the head of the Xiao clan."

"Xiao Qidi is your sovereign, that's correct; you ought to treat him with the rites of ruler and subject, but to me he is my junior, and I, representing the entire royal clan, have given him the sovereign's authority to exercise."

"In other words, he is there to serve the royal clan; a junior tasked with affairs who fails to handle them properly—shouldn't I, as his elder, educate the Xiao clan on his behalf?"