Chapter 43: Secret Currents Stir in the Court! Ministers Begin to Take Sides!

Chu Ruoyan’s figure was already outstanding among her peers, but before the Empress Dowager, it was insignificant by comparison.

After living so many years, Chu Ruoyan felt aesthetic anxiety for the first time.

She wondered whether she could ever attain such proportions.

Does Li Chen also prefer this kind?

For the entire afternoon, Chu Ruoyan’s gaze never left the Empress Dowager—studying her smooth, supple skin, her slender waist, imagining what it would feel like to touch.

She didn’t want to miss a single detail; if she were a man, she’d be dragged out and executed for this.

As for what the Empress Dowager said all afternoon, she didn’t hear a single word, returning home in a daze.

The Empress Dowager had praised her for being sensible, saying that in the inner palace, one should listen more and speak less.

A dull, harmless girl like her could survive in the inner palace, unlike some imperial consorts who spent their days gossiping.

The Empress Dowager had no idea that Chu Ruoyan’s mind had been filled with such lewd thoughts.

At her father’s question, Chu Ruoyan stammered: “I didn’t understand what the Empress Dowager said.”

The head of the Chu family exclaimed in delight: “Yes, exactly! That’s the right attitude—not understanding. You’ve learned it well.”

Chu Ruoyan was truly confused now: I wasn’t paying attention, so why does my father think I’m so clever?

Forget it, forget it—don’t think about complicated things yet. I need to deal with Xiao Ming first.

Back in her room, Chu Ruoyan lay on her bed, recalling Li Chen’s commanding presence that morning—he was the very embodiment of her ideal.

Li Chen in his dragon robe was a form of uniform seduction to any woman.

If I entered the palace, could I see him dressed like this every day?

Thinking of this, her legs unconsciously rubbed together; a faint tremor ran through her, and again, she was damp.

As expected, Xiao Ming didn’t show up tonight, nor did he send any message.

This left Chu Ruoyan even more puzzled about his intentions—only now did she realize she didn’t even know where Xiao Ming lived.

She just hoped that in the next few days, Xiao Ming wouldn’t do anything reckless.

In a secret chamber beneath a small house beyond the seventh ring of the capital, the Saint’s lingering soul within the necklace continuously prodded Xiao Ming with words.

It urged him to imagine his goddess falling into another man’s arms.

But at this moment, Xiao Ming was breaking through to the mid-stage of Po Xu Realm—the most critical phase.

Anyone else, under such interference, would have spat blood and failed.

But Xiao Ming unleashed a terrifying surge of power from his entire body.

As the space within the chamber trembled slightly, he successfully broke through.

A realm that normally took months—even with elixirs—to reach, he achieved in just a few days.

The Saint’s lingering soul had to admit: this tactic was even better than elixirs; his disciple’s will had never been this resolute before.

He seemed to be learning how to use Xiao Ming properly.

Normally, Xiao Ming’s lickspittle nature would have made him rush to tell Chu Ruoyan immediately.

But considering the late hour and that Chu Ruoyan had already rested, he suppressed his restless heart and held himself back.

Four more days—I know you’re anxious, but you must wait for me!

Xiao Ming couldn’t sleep, so he simply continued cultivating.

This sight moved even the Saint’s lingering soul, who, though he’d said it many times before, still felt compelled to say: If you’d trained this hard and endured solitude from the start, no woman could have resisted you.

Many people couldn’t sleep tonight.

At the Ministry of Justice’s mansion, several high-ranking court officials gathered for a secret meeting.

The Ministry of Justice, as the empire’s legal enforcement body, held immense responsibilities and power.

It not only handled all kinds of cases but also bore the heavy burden of maintaining order in the capital and ensuring the people’s safety.

These were only part of its duties—it also supervised officials and dispatched agents to inspect all provinces of the Tian Ce Dynasty. In short, the Ministry of Justice was brimming with powerful cultivators, massive in scale, and the capital’s true instrument of violence.

Feng Huai, Minister of Justice, was the head of this institution; his prestige made most officials in the capital tremble at his name.

In the capital, whether the children of minor officials or the descendants of noble families, if they broke the law, the Ministry of Justice would arrest them.

Even if someone under the Empress Dowager’s protection committed an offense, they could only send a maid to plead for mercy—no one dared directly overstep authority.

In a place like the capital, the second-generation heirs caused trouble frequently.

Thus, Feng Huai had extensive connections; many nobles in the capital owed him favors.

At every banquet, he dared to boast that no official in the capital dared disrespect him—he held too many secrets, and it was only a matter of whether he chose to punish them.

If he wanted, he could summon any official; if that official didn’t arrive on time, they’d soon be locked in the capital’s heavenly prison.

Of course, some of these claims were exaggerations, but his power was undeniably great.

Moreover, his patron was the Emperor himself—more precisely, the late Emperor.

During the late Emperor’s reign, even Zhao Wenyuan and Guo Po were courteous to him.

!

Even after the late Emperor’s death, he needed no one’s support—he was an unshakable force within the court.

But since the new Emperor, Li Chen, ascended the throne, Minister Feng Huai had been seething—his special privileges were being stripped away one by one.

For example, the authority to mobilize the Imperial Guard—after all, the Imperial Guard was the royal family’s exclusive army.

For a subject to command even a portion of them was an extraordinary privilege.

He could also freely enter temples reserved only for imperial blood relatives.

Feng Huai didn’t know who had accused him, claiming he abused his power by mobilizing the Imperial Guard as his personal bodyguards, parading through the streets and damaging imperial dignity.

Others accused him of using the Imperial Guard to obstruct other departments’ operations, even seizing prisoners captured by them.

He was even accused of interfering in talent selection by other departments.

After investigating, Li Chen revoked all these privileges, leaving Feng Huai furious.

In truth, his power was already immense—he didn’t need so many special rights.

But he was just upset; once you have power, you never want to lose it.

The officials Feng Huai had summoned today were all powerful ministers of the court, former retainers of the late Emperor, and those dissatisfied with Li Chen.

A group of old power brokers gathered here, beginning by lamenting how great the late Emperor had been, endlessly invoking “back in my day.”

Whenever someone said “back in my day,” it proved they were now in decline.

After recounting their former glories, the old ministers had drunk heavily.

Emboldened by alcohol, they began hurling treasonous insults at Li Chen.

Their curses were far harsher than those of the scholars at Yunlu Academy.

The scholars still used refined language; their insults were carefully worded.

These old ministers spat nothing but vulgarities.

In their eyes, when they helped the late Emperor secure the empire, Li Chen hadn’t even been born—why should he strip them of their privileges?

The Crown Prince had always treated them with respect—what was Li Chen, anyway?

In the ministers’ view, anyone else as emperor would be better than Li Chen—he understood nothing of human relations; if Tian Ce Dynasty continued under him, it would surely collapse!

With alcohol in their veins, these old ministers said anything they wanted.

Seeing the mood was right, Feng Huai finally revealed the purpose of his gathering.

“Gentlemen, the late Emperor treated us well—we cannot stand idly by as Tian Ce Dynasty declines. Clearly, Li Chen is unfit to be emperor. When the Second Prince returns, I will lend him my full support! What do you say?”

At these words, half the old ministers sobered up instantly.

(End of Chapter)