Chapter 891

"Di Qing, why have you broken into the palace forbidden grounds?"

Striking first once again, and with her identity as Empress added on top, Di Renjie, even though his mind was full of questions, could only lower his head and reply,

"Your Majesty, forgive the offense! It is only because for the past half month, Your Majesty has not held an early court.

When I asked the palace guards, they merely made excuses that Your Majesty was unwell.

It happens that today the Heavenly Dao Golden List is to be announced — this is truly the most important matter of all.

My colleagues on the Luan Terrace and I dared not act on our own authority, and so we have presumptuously come to the Great Ming Palace, hoping to deliberate with Your Majesty."

"Oh!"

Wu Zhao had just returned to Changancheng and had also seen the Heavenly Dao Golden List.

She had expended great effort this time in coming to the Nine Provinces, and indeed had a scheme in mind.

Seeing clearly what the Heavenly Dao Golden List announced, she too wished to borrow the might of Great Tang to realize her own ambitions.

After a moment's deliberation, she said,

"I went among the common folk to observe the people's hardships, and have only just now returned to the palace.

Let it be this way! I shall first go change and wash up. Di Qing, wait for a while in the outer court. I will come to deliberate as soon as I can."

"As Your Majesty commands!"

Di Renjie could only accept the order.

691 What is the mission of our Great Tang?

After dismissing Di Renjie, Wu Zhao led Wuxia into the sleeping palace.

Sun En and Chahetai stood like door-gods, one on each side at the entrance to the sleeping palace.

Di Renjie was fine looking at Sun En, but the more he looked at Chahetai, the stranger he found him.

Although he could not quite identify Chahetai's identity, at a glance he could tell that this man was a man of the Great Yuan.

In his heart he was even more puzzled — how could it be that after Your Majesty went out to observe the common folk, she brought back a Yuan man?

Wanting to step forward and question Sun En, he did not expect that the usually affable Sun En would not so much as give Di Renjie a proper glance.

After some hesitation, just as he was searching for the right words,

Su Dingfang tugged at Di Renjie's sleeve and said softly,

"Di Ge Lao, since Your Majesty has ordered us to wait in the outer court, it is best that we obey the command."

"Very well!"

Di Renjie thought it over and felt it was reasonable.

This was, after all, the palace forbidden grounds; he and Su Dingfang coming here was already an unauthorized intrusion.

Fortunately, the Empress was wise and did not punish them.

For now, Di Renjie could only withdraw to the outer court together with Su Dingfang.

No sooner had they stepped out of the inner palace than they were surrounded by a group of Great Tang's senior ministers, all clamoring to ask how the Empress was.

After all, the Empress had not held court for half a month already; although senior ministers like Di Renjie and Su Dingfang had been presiding over state affairs,

a state cannot go a single day without its sovereign, and having not seen Wu Zetian for so long, these Great Tang senior ministers naturally harbored various thoughts of their own.

Now that Di Renjie and Su Dingfang had come out of the inner palace, these men naturally pressed them with eager questions.

Di Renjie actually still had many questions, but he was, after all, the Prime Minister of the realm.

Suppressing his full heart of doubts, he wore a calm and composed face as he soothed the ministers.

Hearing that the Empress would, after a while longer, ascend to the outer court to deliberate on great matters,

these Great Tang senior ministers, who had each been nursing their own thoughts, gradually quieted down.

"The Empress has arrived!"

After a long while, the eunuch's rasping duck-voice rang out.

Then fragrance filled the entire great hall, and Wu Zhao was seen striding in with head held high, surrounded by palace ladies and eunuchs, ascending into the great hall.

"We ministers bow to His Majesty, ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years."

All the civil and military officials, led by Di Renjie and Su Dingfang, immediately bowed and shouted the long-lived salutation.

Wu Zhao walked slowly up to the dais, and only after sitting upon the Long Yi did she slowly say to the ministers,

"Rise, my lords."

"Thank Your Majesty!"

After the formalities, Wu Zhao slowly said,

"On this occasion I traveled through the various regions of Great Tang to observe the common folk, and happened to encounter the former third prince of Yuan, Chahetai.

Seeing that he was steeped in learning and harbored hidden strategies, I specially invited him back to court.

I wish to enfeoff him as the Yuan King of Great Tang. What do my lords think?"

Chahetai had naturally followed Wu Zhao to court this time as well, and was standing right below the dais.

Only he did not belong to the ranks of Tang officials, so whether civil or military, it was not proper for him to stand among them.

Thus he stood awkwardly near the eunuchs, feeling thoroughly ill at ease.

He did not expect that the first matter Wu Zhao raised upon taking court would be about him — after a string of praises, she truly and directly enfeoffed him as the Yuan King of Great Tang.

Chahetai could not help being overjoyed, and nearly stepped forward to Xie En.

But the Great Tang ministers were first stunned, and only then did they react.

"Impossible, absolutely not!"

The first to leap out was none other than Zhang Jianzhi,

"Your Majesty! This Chahetai is neither a member of the Great Tang imperial clan, nor a man of merit — how could he suddenly be enfeoffed as a king?"

"Quite right! What Lord Zhang says is reasonable. This Chahetai has neither merit nor accomplishment, and is moreover a prince of the enemy Great Yuan — how could he be enfeoffed as a Prince of the Blood of our Great Tang?"

"I object!"

"I also object!"

……

One stone stirred up a thousand waves.

Wu Zhao had only just finished speaking when, before Chahetai could be glad for long, the ministers of Great Tang, led by Zhang Jianzhi, rose one after another to object.

Instead, the head of the civil officials, Di Renjie, and the head of the martial generals, Su Dingfang, stood there without moving.

"Di Qing, do you also object?"

Wu Zhao had long anticipated that suddenly ennobling Chahetai as a king would draw opposition.

But she had not expected that Di Renjie and that general would not object, so she immediately turned to ask Di Renjie first.

Only then did Di Renjie, unhurried and composed, step out from the ranks and report,

"Replying to Your Majesty! This subject feels that what Your Majesty said must have Your Majesty's own reasoning.

I beg Your Majesty to make it clear!"

Seeing Di Renjie kick the ball back to her, Wu Zhao could not help but nod in approval.

It seems that no matter which world, Di Renjie is a dragon among men, a phoenix among women!

"Honored ministers, do you know where, besides observing the people's conditions, I went on this trip?"

Naturally, none of the Great Tang ministers knew; they could only quietly watch Wu Zhao continue speaking.

"I, together with Wuxia and Celestial Master Sun, went to keep the appointment of the Qinglong Society and made a trip up to Qinglong Peak."

"Ah…"

The ministers burst into an uproar. They could never have imagined, even if they racked their brains, that their own Majesty had actually gone up to Qinglong Peak!

Although the Qinglong Society had gradually become somewhat friendlier toward Great Tang, and last time had even sent Yaoyue to extend an invitation.

Yet the Qinglong Society had, after all, had a prior grievance with Great Tang, and being the foremost great power under heaven, its interests clashed somewhat with those of Great Tang.

How could Her Majesty the Empress personally take such a risk and go to Qinglong Peak?

Just as the ministers were about to voice their objections en masse, Wu Zhao, well prepared, immediately began to recount, slowly and steadily, the events of the trip to Qinglong Peak.

But her account made the ministers unconsciously close their mouths.

After all, Qinglong Peak was incomparably mysterious; the vast majority had never even seen it, let alone gone up.

Therefore countless people wished to know what Qinglong Peak actually looked like.

Now, Wu Zhao's narration, though without excessive embellishment or explanation, was still enough to leave all the ministers in awe.

When she came to describe the grandeur of the Scripture Pavilion, the Divine Armory Hall, and the Elixir Tower atop Qinglong Peak,

The ministers were even more dumbstruck, gasping out in astonishment.