Chapter 205

Duan Wu and Qi Zhan were both stunned.

"General Mu Cheng, you just arrived at Daxuan, how could we let you go to certain death? No, no!"

"General Mu Cheng, even if we go, the two of us juniors must go first."

Mu Cheng waved his hand and said, "The younger generation is formidable. In you, I also see Daxuan's future. You are still very young, with plenty of time to contribute to the people of the world; don't waste it."

He then looked toward the young, upright figure seated on the throne, his eyes showing both satisfaction and resolve.

"His Majesty of Daxuan would even shake his own royal clan to eliminate evil for the people. Such boldness, unrivaled by any other ruler in the world, I am willing to die for."

After speaking, he took a deep breath and stepped forward solemnly.

"General Mu Cheng, your good intentions, I will first accept on behalf of His Majesty," Li Yao again blocked him, speaking formally, "Whether it's the two of them or you, as long as any one of you now moves to cut down Lord Rong Rui, numerous civil officials will still exert great pressure on His Majesty, and the court will inevitably become turbulent."

"This…" Mu Cheng furrowed his brow, his expression growing serious.

Duan Wu was about to lose his temper, "This won't work, that won't work; I say, Lord Li, you think of a solution."

Li Yao, hearing Duan Wu's angry complaint, soothed, "Calm down, calm down. His Majesty already has a plan; he is merely observing the situation, giving the ministers a chance."

"Is that so? Don't lie to me." Duan Wu narrowed his eyes.

Li Yao smiled, "Do you still not trust His Majesty's abilities?"

"You're right…" Duan Wu scratched his head, "I'm just being concerned and causing chaos…"

Inside the great hall, at this moment, the ministers pleading for Lord Rong Rui had already reached two‑thirds of those present.

The remaining one‑third, though not pleading, all chose to remain silent.

Only a handful wanted to support Xiao Qidi, but constrained by the overwhelmingly one‑sided situation, they could only hesitate, anxious.

Lord Rong Rui gradually regained his composure, restoring confidence in his heart.

He propped himself on the chair with both hands, slowly sat down, wiped the cold sweat from his face with his sleeve, and subconsciously showed a hint of smugness. But after Xiao Qidi gave him a seemingly emotionless glance, his heart jolted, and he quickly lowered his head.

"This kid…"

Lord Rong Rui clenched his teeth in secret, analyzing to himself, "The degree of this kid's cold‑blooded ruthlessness is truly rare; perhaps… if he gets angry, he won't even care about the ministers' thoughts."

"Hiss… No, no, I underestimated him. I must give him a way out."

"Otherwise, the Xiao royal clan of Daxuan would truly be wiped out by this unfilial thing."

After pondering for a while.

Lord Rong Rui adjusted his emotions, forced a crying expression, suddenly fell to his knees and wailed, "His Majesty! I was wrong! I was wrong!"

His shout startled the other ministers who were earnestly urging Xiao Qidi, causing them all to shut their mouths at once.

The great hall fell silent in an instant.

"How curious, Lord Rong Rui actually admits he was wrong? Wrong where?" Xiao Qidi finally spoke, with a half‑smile, meaning deep.

Lord Rong Rui pressed his forehead to the ground, speaking in a mournful, funeral‑like tone:

"My mistake is… my mistake is taking myself too seriously!"

"His Majesty's father, his grandfather, even his great‑grandfather have warned me more than once; centuries ago, it was only because of kinship support that Daxuan could secure its place in this world!"

"Countless members of the Xiao royal clan shed their heads and spilled hot blood for Daxuan, which earned Daxuan everything!"

"Therefore, His Majesty's father, grandfather, and great‑grandfather also instructed me that, no matter what, we must continue to safeguard Daxuan and also take good care of the members of the Xiao royal clan!"

"These three generations of former kings, each one admonished me to do my utmost to ensure the royal family's livelihood; otherwise it would be a disgrace to the ancestors and kin."

"I have taken the former kings' injunction as my lifelong aspiration, devoting all my effort to planning for the royal family. This is also to relieve His Majesty of worries, so that His Majesty need not be distracted caring for the royal family and can focus entirely on governing Daxuan's realm!"

Lord Rong Rui grew increasingly emotional, shifting from a pretended wail to genuine, uncontrollable tears.

His highly moving voice made some ministers begin to choke back tears as well.

Xiao Qidi's heart remained unmoved; he rested a hand on his cheek and said calmly:

"Lord Rong Rui, stop for a moment, don't cry yourself to death. How come I never heard of any former king entrusting you to look after the royal members? I have heard that my father, grandfather, even great‑grandfather all reminded the royal clan that the higher the status, the more one should restrain oneself and be considerate of the common people. Why does what you say differ from that?"

Lord Rong Rui hurriedly replied, "His Majesty lived in the Wasteland Nation during his childhood, so he didn't know that the former king's injunction I just mentioned is a normal matter; it was all privately conveyed by the former king… If not forced by circumstances, I truly would not speak of it."

"Fine, very well, let's assume everything you say is true," Xiao Qidi's smile turned cold, "Then tell me, what relation do those former king's injunctions have to what you and the royal clan have done? And how does that relate to your initial claim that you know you were wrong?"

Lord Rong Rui continued, crying, "Because I keep the former king's charge in mind, I spare no effort to seek welfare for the royal clan, and inadvertently I have overstepped… that is where I erred. His Majesty, my intentions were good, but my eagerness for the royal clan caused me to lose restraint. I ask His Majesty… considering I bear no malicious intent, grant me and the Xiao royal clan a chance to amend."

At these words, many ministers burst into tears on the spot.

They wiped their tears, praising Lord Rong Rui's sincere effort.

They also said that his actions were understandable, and must not be punished as crimes, otherwise it would chill people's hearts.

Some even said that the royal ancestors sacrificed too much for Daxuan; now Daxuan is strong, and even if the common people have to endure hardship, letting the royal members enjoy blessings is also a honor for the people.

If there were no Daxuan royal clan, where would the Daxuan people's homeland for survival come from?

Even if they offered blood‑sweat money to support the royal clan, it would be justified; if Daxuan's people are dissatisfied, it is because the people lack enlightenment, and they must not blame the royal clan.

Listening to the many ministers' sincere words, Xiao Qidi's expression remained steady, but his back molars were nearly grinding to pieces.

Before meeting Ning Jinli, he had already recognized the flaws of the royal aristocracy.

After meeting Ning Jinli, not only did he hear her speak of many future events, but with her help he learned the script of her era.

Thus, over the past several months, Xiao Qidi, even though he was swamped by affairs of many nations to the point of darkness, often going days and nights without rest, still forced himself to carve out time to read the books Ning Jinli gave him.

When paper books were inconvenient, he would take his phone to view the electronic documents Ning Jinli downloaded for him.

He neglected sleep and food, like a sponge that can never be saturated, continuously drawing knowledge and ideas of the modern world from those endless books.

Those cultural essences, condensed over millennia, have already merged and permeated his mind.

This also made him more profoundly realize that the era he lives in is riddled with countless restrictive limitations.

And because of this, his resolve to break those constraints grew even stronger.

If even he does not break them, then no one in the present can.

If he knowingly refrains from breaking the limitations, then… even if his world eventually unifies Huaxia, in the ensuing thousands of years countless tragedies will repeat.

It would be better, at the beginning of his unification of Huaxia, to use the millennia‑spanning ideas he has absorbed to lay a more solid foundation for Huaxia.

Good thing I didn't let Jingli come to listen… Xiao Qidi rubbed his forehead, laughing from anger at the officials' remarks, muttering to himself, "If Jingli heard these words, she'd probably be so angry she'd fall ill."

Gradually, the wailing inside the hall grew quieter.

The pleading officials, having shouted themselves hoarse, finally eased up a bit and fell silent.

Xiao Qidi rubbed his buzzing ears and spoke slowly:

"Your stamina exceeds my expectations, sirs. Although just now the ones shouting were civil officials, your energy and physique seem extraordinarily vigorous—it would be a waste not to put you on the battlefield. If you have excess energy with no outlet, why not let me take you to fight a few battles?"

As his words fell, the few officials still having a bit of strength and chattering nonstop were frightened, hastily covering their mouths.

Xiao Qidi let out a long breath, "Finally quiet; I really have a headache from your noise."

Immediately another official said, "Your Majesty, we officials are only so agitated and rude because we wish to stabilize Daxuan; please forgive us, we—"

"Shut up!" Xiao Qidi's face darkened, and he suddenly let out a low roar.

A towering, overbearing aura instantly spread, enveloping the entire hall.

Everyone present was shaken by this invisible, mighty pressure, hastily throwing themselves to the ground in a full prostration.

Xiao Qidi scanned the room, calling out several officials' names in turn, ordering them to rise.

"Just now, you few officials spoke the most and shouted the loudest," Xiao Qidi stared at them and asked slowly, "Now I ask you to imagine: if you were not officials in the court but ordinary commoners, what would you feel?"

The named officials kept their heads lowered, silent.

Xiao Qidi continued:

"Imagine this situation, listen well."

"You live in a thatched hut with bare walls, your parents are bedridden and near death, your wife must care for your two unweaned children while daily going up the mountain to gather herbs to brew medicine for your parents; you barely manage to grow some grain on a few poor fields, enough for your family to scrape a few mouthfuls to survive, with a little left over to hire a doctor for your parents."

Just hearing this, the officials' expressions turned solemn.

Xiao Qidi continued: "Finally, your parents begin to improve, so you and your wife no longer have to wake from hunger at night or faint from exhaustion while working; your pair of children, who were almost starving to death and reduced to skin and bone, no longer need to rely on you and your wife bleeding yourselves to feed them; the children can finally get some milk and survive."

At this point, a soft sigh of relief rose from the hall.

But before they could finish exhaling, Xiao Qidi's voice sank, stern: "Just then, a group of county officers stormed your home and hauled away all the stored grain you had set aside for your family to survive the winter, claiming it was to be offered to those above!"

"You say, without this grain, your whole family will die this winter! You beg the county officers for mercy, to give your family a chance to live!"

"You also say, this little bit of grain—how would the nobles above even notice? Losing this tiny amount would cause them no loss, yet the county officers tell you, every scrap, however small, adds up; whatever can be scraped together must be handed over! You may starve to death, but how could that impede the nobles' feasting and drinking?!"

"Then… the county officers, finding your seized grain too meager and lacking any valuable possessions, dragged you, your wife, and your children away to sell for money; as to whether you end up eaten as rations or enslaved, they don't care."

"And your elderly, sick parents are of no use to them, so they casually burn down your thatched hut, where you've lived half your life, together with them."

At this moment, the officials trembled all over, drenched in sweat.

Xiao Qidi waited a moment, then asked the few officials he had named, "Come tell me, when you face such a situation—being bled and eaten by nobles, your bones picked clean, your family ruined—do you consider it an honor? Won't you blame the nobles for their insatiable greed and madness? Won't you hate Daxuan to the core?!"

Thud—

Several officials' legs went weak; they knelt, hands braced on the ground, their whole bodies trembling.

"Answer me!" Xiao Qidi rose to his feet, glaring at them.

Minister Wen was among them; he steeled himself and spoke:

"I… I… report to Your Majesty… I… I feel that even so… I… I would not hate the nobles. Because… the nobles are noble… if I were a commoner, I… I ought to willingly offer tribute…"

Xiao Qidi narrowed his eyes, "And the rest of you? Do you still think that way?"

A few others, heads down, glancing left and right, exchanged a look, then stammered:

"I… I report to Your Majesty, we… deeply agree with Minister Wen's words."

"Whether we are officials or commoners, how could we defy the nobles? We ought naturally to devote everything to them."

Xiao Qidi slowly descended the steps, approached those officials, and looked down at their bowed backs as they knelt: "Minister Wen, and you few, since you say that, I will dismiss you from office, confiscate your estates, and let you start from utter poverty to become ordinary commoners—how does that sound?"

"We, your servants, are willing!" they replied immediately.

"Hahaha!" Xiao Qidi burst out laughing, "You're willing? You could never be willing!"

"You merely understand too well—those who can read are already one in ten thousand in this age, and you, who are well‑read in the classics and capable of governing, are rare treasures, hard to find!"

"I cannot simply let the court lose an official at will—at least not now. So you feel secure, assuming I won't dismiss you just because you risked your lives to remonstrate; otherwise Daxuan would not only have an unstable court, but would also find it harder to attract learned scholars to serve."

Every word Xiao Qidi spoke struck precisely at those officials' thoughts.

Although the officials felt a chill down their spines, at least their hearts felt somewhat reassured.

Xiao Qidi paced slowly, the cold and anger in his dark eyes intertwined with helplessness, surging: "I ask you few one last time—do you really intend to keep being obstinate? Do you truly mean to block me from executing Lord Rongrui? If anyone has changed their mind, stand up; this is your final chance to repent."