I started as a concubine, and I made the crown prince cry with my delicious food.

Emperor Mingde's words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.

Xiao Jingshi and Ye An'an were both stunned.

"Father! Absolutely not!" Xiao Jingshi was the first to react, immediately rising and kneeling. "Father, you are in the prime of your life, while your son... your son is of limited talent and learning, how can I shoulder such a great responsibility! I beg Father to rescind your decree!"

He wasn't being modest.

Although he was the crown prince, the heir apparent, he never imagined he would sit on that throne so soon. In his heart, his father was an insurmountable mountain, sheltering him from the wind and rain, allowing him to gallop freely on the battlefield.

But now, the mountain says it's tired and wants to rest.

"What do you mean by being ignorant and unlearned!" Emperor Mingde glared at him. "If you are ignorant and unlearned, then aren't all the civil and military officials in the court a bunch of good-for-nothings?"

"Your victory in the Southern Frontier this time, with 30,000 exhausted troops, decisively defeated a 100,000-strong barbarian coalition. Such a feat is comparable to that of the founding emperor! In terms of military merit, you have achieved more than enough."

"You lost your memory and ended up in the enemy camp, yet you not only managed to escape unscathed, but you also stirred up internal strife among the barbarians and even turned the enemy chieftain's daughter against her. With such cunning and strategy, who in the entire court can match you? In terms of wisdom and strategy, you are more than capable."

"As for governing the country, you have been overseeing the state for many years and are already adept at handling government affairs. Moreover..." Emperor Mingde glanced at Ye An'an beside him, his eyes full of approval, "You have also married a wise and capable wife, one in a hundred years. She can stir up the winds of change in the capital as a merchant, and she can also invent all kinds of military rations and ingenious weapons to help you defeat your enemies. With her assisting you, what else do I have to worry about?"

Ye An'an blushed when her name was called and quickly knelt down, saying, "Father, you flatter me. I don't deserve such praise."

"Alright, all of you, get up." Mingde Du waved his hand. "My mind is made up, and I'm not discussing this with you."

He stood up, walked over to Xiao Jingshi, and personally helped him up.

"Jing Shi, listen to me," he said earnestly, "Being an emperor is not about enjoying life, it's about responsibility. I'm entrusting this burden to you not because I want to be lazy, but because I know you are more capable of shouldering this responsibility than I am."

"Daliang may seem stable now, but it is actually beset by internal and external troubles. Although we have won in the southern border, the barbarian tribes are still strong and could return at any time. The national treasury is already empty due to years of war. The court is deeply entrenched and riddled with problems."

"These problems require a young emperor with the courage and ability to implement sweeping reforms and solve them. I am too old; I lack both the energy and the courage."

"Your mother and I only wish to enjoy a few more days of peace and quiet, spending our golden years with our grandchildren. As her son, you can't possibly refuse this wish, can you?"

The father and son looked at each other.

Xiao Jingshi saw an unquestionable decision in his father's eyes, as well as a deep weariness and expectation.

He knew he could no longer refuse.

"Your subject... obeys the decree." He took a deep breath, knelt down again, and solemnly kowtowed.

This bow is a tribute to the bond between father and son.

The second bow is a gesture of respect between ruler and subject.

From this moment on, he will be the one to protect the world of Liang.

Seven days later.

The Liang Dynasty held the fastest and most unique succession ceremony in its history.

There were no elaborate rituals or grand celebrations.

Emperor Mingde issued an abdication edict, proclaimed himself the Retired Emperor, and moved with Empress Wei into the Ning Shou Palace, which had been renovated specifically for his retirement.

After offering sacrifices to Heaven at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Crown Prince Xiao Jingshi ascended the throne in the Qianqing Palace and changed the reign title to "Yong'an," becoming Emperor Yong'an.

Crown Princess Ye An'an was then naturally made Empress and took over Kunning Palace.

The twins, a boy and a girl, who were still in swaddling clothes, were named Crown Prince and Princess Anyang.

Everything happened so fast it caught everyone off guard, yet it all seemed so natural.

In the imperial court, the officials' feelings were complex. They had not yet recovered from the enormous shock of the Crown Prince's resurrection when they were greeted by the ascension of the new emperor.

Those who had harbored ulterior motives after the Crown Prince's "death," or even secretly associated with the Fu and Zhang families, were especially anxious, fearing that the new emperor would settle scores with them later.

Their fears soon became a reality.

The first grand court assembly after the new emperor's ascension to the throne.

Xiao Jingshi, dressed in a black dragon robe and wearing a twelve-tassel crown, sat upright on the dragon throne. He was no longer the gentle crown prince; he exuded the aura of an emperor who had been tempered by blood and fire, a presence that commanded respect without anger.

He simply sat there quietly, his gaze calmly sweeping over the anxious officials below, and the entire hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"My beloved ministers, if you have something to report, speak up; if not, the court may adjourn," the head eunuch beside him shouted in a high-pitched voice.

No one dared to speak up.

Xiao Jingshi wasn't in a hurry. He waited for a while and, seeing that no one stepped forward, spoke calmly.

His first words made everyone's hearts leap into their throats.

"During my two months in the southern border region, I have heard that many things have happened in the capital."

coming!

Everyone knows that the reckoning is about to begin!

"I've heard," Xiao Jingshi's voice remained calm, revealing neither joy nor anger, "that the former Grand Tutor Fu Yuanshan and the former Imperial Merchant Wang Hai openly proposed in court to choose a new 'mistress' for my Eastern Palace?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Yuanshan and Wang Hai's cronies instantly turned pale and their legs went weak.

Fu Yuanshan himself did not attend court because Emperor Mingde had ordered him to stay at home and reflect on his mistakes. However, his cronies were on tenterhooks.

"I have also heard," Xiao Jingshi's gaze fell on the Minister of Revenue, "that Wang Hai and the shops under the Zhang family's name, instead of helping the country during the most critical time of the war in the southern border, hoarded grain, inflated prices, and made a fortune off the national crisis?"

The Minister of Revenue knelt down with a thud, sweat pouring down his face: "Your Majesty, please be wise! I...I am guilty! I failed in my duty of supervision, please punish me!"

"Punish you?" Xiao Jingshi's lips curled into a cold smile. "I will not only punish you."

He slammed his hand on the armrest of the dragon throne, the sound like a thunderclap!

"Someone come here!"

"The Minister of Revenue should be dismissed and investigated!"

"By imperial decree, immediately seize all properties under the names of the Wang and Zhang families in the capital! Thoroughly investigate all their accounts!"

"The Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate shall jointly conduct a trial! Anyone who colluded with the Wang and Zhang families to profit from the national crisis shall be severely punished without exception!"

"And another thing!" His gaze, sharp as a knife, swept over the trembling officials below. "Throw Grand Tutor Fu Yuanshan into the imperial prison! To await his fate!"

"I'd like to see who gave them the audacity to provoke me!"