Chapter 180: Chapter 159: Horses Trample Jinluan Hall

In Jinluan Hall, the civil and military officials stood in the hall, deathly silent.

They were originally against having that rebel from Yizhou listen to orders in the hall. Even if he supposedly had merits in restoring order, he was nonetheless a rebel. A rebel who dared to break into the hall and assassinate the emperor—though that emperor was a usurping counterfeit. Allowing a rebel into the court was ultimately too outrageous.

But now, even if they had objections, it was useless. The current situation was the idea of the Emperor on the dragon throne. To avoid the officials’ opposition, the Emperor had even bypassed the court and sent a trusted eunuch to deliver the decree.

This was the first time their Emperor had revealed his thoughts.

In the past, Prime Minister Jia Wen held sway over the court, and the Emperor trusted him implicitly, to the point of complete obedience. In less polite terms, Jia Wen held the Emperor hostage to command the ministers. At that time, the Emperor had never shown his own judgment.

But now...

Had their Emperor lost his mind?

Thinking of this, some ministers secretly raised their heads, observing the Emperor on the dragon throne with sideways glances.

The Emperor on the throne still appeared young, his naive and pure face even showing a hint of clear stupidity.

Perhaps it would be better to let Prime Minister Jia Wen continue as Emperor, for this Emperor seemed to lack the demeanor of a ruler.

There was noise outside; it must be that rebel entering. Clearly, their Emperor’s purpose had been achieved—though they still did not understand why the Emperor insisted on this course of action.

But soon, they had no time to ponder these things.

For a warhorse had already charged into the hall.

"Who dares!"

Seeing a warhorse in Jinluan Hall, the civil and military officials instantly descended into chaos.

"Who dares to ride a horse before the Emperor! What crime warrants this!"

"Who!"

The rider on the horse also turned his head, looking around.

"Who said that! Stand out and let me see!"

...

Seeing the burly man on horseback, standing nearly seven feet tall, the ministers were silent for a moment and chose not to stand out. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Not standing out was merely a loss of face, but standing out could truly mean death—strictly speaking, intruders like this were usually dealt with by the palace guards. And during their moment of silence, the armored guards had already rushed over, surrounding the man and his horse in the hall.

"Dismount! Dismount!"

The guards clashed their shields, holding their spears, advancing step by step.

But it was all meaningless.

"Is this how you treat guests? Bringing me all the way here just for this?"

The burly figure on horseback shook his head.

"Very well, if this is how you want to play it..."

"Don’t act rashly!"

In this tense atmosphere, the old eunuch who always accompanied the Emperor ran in from outside the hall.

"No one move! This warrior is just a rustic from the countryside, ignorant of etiquette, that’s why... Warrior, salute! Quick, salute the Emperor!"

"I’m sitting on a horse, too lazy to salute."

Saying this, Du Chengfeng on horseback raised his head, looking towards the young Emperor on the dragon throne.

But amidst the ministers’ uproar, the young Emperor on the throne also raised his head.

"Why do you say that, my dear subject! Quick, bring a seat!"

".....???"

This time, it was not only the civil and military officials who were in an uproar; even Du Chengfeng himself was somewhat taken aback.

"What are you standing around for? Quickly, bring a chair for my dear subject!"

Saying this, the young Emperor even stood up, kicking the guard beside him until a servant brought over a chair, then stopped.

Looking at the chair placed before the officials, then at the excited young Emperor, Du Chengfeng thought for a moment and chose not to dismount.

He was unsure of the Emperor’s intentions.

In fact, not only Du Chengfeng but even the civil and military officials were unclear about what the young Emperor was planning—granting a seat before the Emperor was an honor even the late powerful Prime Minister Jia Wen never received. Such a grand gesture was bestowed upon a rebel; this was simply...

"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

Some of the elderly ministers could no longer stand it, flinging their sleeves and turning to leave.

And as these elder ministers departed, more and more ministers chose to leave the court.

If the Emperor’s previous actions were within what they could tolerate, then granting a seat to such an arrogant rebel was truly disheartening.

It was even worse than when Prime Minister Jia Wen was in charge; though he was also arrogant, he at least maintained a superficial harmony.

But now...

"Dear subject, see those leaving?"

Just as the elder ministers were about to leave Jinluan Hall, the young Emperor’s voice rang out behind them.

"When Jia Wen was causing chaos, they never opposed him. Now that Jia Wen has been executed, they are unhappy... They must have colluded with Jia Wen in secret and perhaps even supported this usurping traitor. Behind the scenes, they might even seek revenge on you, dear subject."

"... Hmm?"

Hearing this, the elder ministers who were about to leave couldn’t step away.

These elderly ministers turned their heads in shock, re-evaluating their Emperor. The young face still carried an air of naive ignorance, with even a hint of clear stupidity—yet this time, these elders saw through this facade, detecting the deeper things hidden beneath.

Once upon a time, they believed that Prime Minister Jia Wen was the one committing outrages and holding the Emperor captive to control the ministers.

But now... was it not clear?

Who was holding whom?

"Why are you all looking at me like that, my ministers?"

Amid the officials’ gazes, the young Emperor still smiled.

"When Jia Wen was usurping, none of you opposed him, right? If you were to investigate Jia Wen’s remnants, who knows how long it would take..."

Saying this, the young Emperor shook his head.

"Of course, I understand my dear subjects might have been coerced... So rest assured, I won’t wrong the innocent."

Here, the young Emperor paused.

"But, I also won’t let the wicked go unpunished."

As he spoke, the young Emperor looked at Du Chengfeng on horseback.

"I’m counting on you, my dear subject."