The Empress remarried, and I retaliated by wiping out the court.

The next day, Luo Hanyan slowly woke up from her dream.

She had a bizarre dream in which a fake seductive woman encountered a real lecher, and then her virginity was inexplicably taken away.

I woke up to find the sky had fallen!

The dream was real!

"woke up?"

Ye Wudao looked at her with a smile: "My beloved concubine is quite alluring today!"

Luo Hanyan pulled the blanket over herself, obscuring the beautiful view.

"Your Majesty, you will take responsibility for me, won't you?"

Ye Wudao smiled and pulled her into his arms: "I not only want to take responsibility, I want to take responsibility every day, what should I do?"

Luo Hanyan blushed as she recalled yesterday's madness: "Your Majesty is so energetic, my body can't take it."

"That's alright. People are often pushed to their limits. You'll never know how capable you are until you push yourself!"

Luo Hanyan: "..."

She strongly suspected Ye Wudao was driving, but she had no proof.

After teasing Luo Hanyan, Ye Wudao stood up feeling refreshed.

After the palace maids helped him bathe and change his clothes, he left the Qianqing Palace.

Outside the palace, heavy snow was falling, but a shocking pool of blood stood out starkly in the snow.

The Imperial Guard in charge of the execution yesterday came over and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, Feng Yu has finished the execution. When I had given him 150 strokes, he was already dead. But I remembered Your Majesty's entrustment and gave him another 50 strokes to ensure that he was as dead as could be."

Ye Wudao nodded in satisfaction: "Cao Ji, a generous reward!"

The two Imperial Guards, carrying the reward, left with profuse thanks.

Luo Hanyan heard this conversation clearly inside the hall.

Wasn't Ye Wudao supposed to be a useless emperor?

How come a commander of the Imperial Guards died just like that, and the others didn't even dare to utter a sound?

Thinking of what Ye Wudao said yesterday, that if she betrayed him, the consequences would be a hundred or a thousand times worse than this, she couldn't help but shudder.

"Ye Wudao is already this terrifying even before he has gained power."

"If he ever regains all power, he will surely settle scores with all those who have opposed him!"

"No, I can't just sit here and wait to die. I have to tell Father about this!"

Luo Hanyan called out from the shadows:

"Xiaochan!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a girl dressed in black night clothes suddenly appeared behind Luo Hanyan:

"Miss, would you like to leave here?"

Luo Hanyan shook her head: "Only by staying in the palace can I create the greatest value for my father. Give this letter to him and tell him not to underestimate Ye Wudao, so that he can prepare in advance."

"yes!"

The girl took the letter, and her figure slowly disappeared into the darkness...

…………

The Imperial Study.

Ye Wudao stared blankly at the empty dragon table, completely stunned.

No.

What about memorials to the throne?

"I, as emperor, don't even have a single memorial to the throne?"

How can they manage national affairs like this?

Cao Ji, holding his whisk, gave a wry smile and bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty, since the late Emperor fell seriously ill, state affairs have no longer been sent to the Imperial Study."

Ye Wudao narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Cao Ji lowered his head, not daring to look up.

"Memorials from various prefectures and counties were first sent to the Office of Transmission every day. After the Office of Transmission processed them, they were sent directly to the Cabinet. The nine cabinet ministers drafted and reviewed them, discussed national policies, and then handed them over to the Office of Ceremonial Affairs for transcription. After that, they were sent directly to the Six Ministries for implementation."

Ye Wudao sneered: "So, you're saying that I, the emperor, have been completely sidelined, and don't even have the power to review memorials?"

Cao Ji's forehead was covered in cold sweat, but he dared not deny it.

Ye Wudao clenched his fist.

He had thought about how pathetic the original owner was as a puppet emperor, but he never expected it to be this pathetic!

Power had been completely usurped by powerful ministers, and the entire court, from top to bottom, had long since developed a system that could function normally even without an emperor.

The emperor's only function was to sit on the dragon throne and tell the world that the Great Yan still had an emperor.

As for who the emperor was, nobody cared.

Ye Wudao was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"So what did I do after the morning court session every day before?"

Cao Ji was taken aback.

"Your Majesty... In the past, I would go back to the inner palace to listen to music, watch dances, and fight crickets."

Ye Wudao: "..."

Good guy.

The three essential items of an ancient playboy are now complete!

He turned to Cao Ji and asked, "Tell me, where are all the memorials kept now?"

Cao Ji hesitated for a moment, then whispered:

"In the Wenyuan Pavilion, nine cabinet ministers take turns reviewing memorials. No one may approve any memorial without the cabinet's approval."

Ye Wudao sneered, "What is the Cabinet anyway? Since they won't send it to me, I'll go get it myself!"

…………

Wenyuan Pavilion.

More than ten long sandalwood tables are lined up here, piled high with memorials, military reports from the border, and tax ledgers from various prefectures and states across the country.

Li Juzheng and others were engrossed in reviewing memorials, but among them, a young civil official was subtly at the center.

This man was only in his early thirties, dressed in a dark purple official robe, with narrow eyebrows and a handsome face, but his every move exuded a feminine charm.

He was Jiang Huaishang, a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and a trusted confidant whom Regent Xiao Linyuan had personally promoted.

Minister of Revenue Wu Qingxun put down the memorial in his hand, smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Lord Jiang, last night His Majesty caused quite a stir in the city. I originally thought there would be some major chaos in the court today, but it seems that it was all bark and no bite."

Jiang Huaishang put down the memorial and laughed: "You're still young after all. You think you've regained imperial power just because you killed a censor. Little do you know, true power has never been on that emperor's sword."

"Gentlemen, look around. Of the 383 memorials submitted today from all the states across the land, has even one been sent to the Imperial Study?"

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged smiles.

Jiang Huaishang's lips curled into a contemptuous smile.

"How dare someone who can't even see the emperor's memorials call himself emperor?"

He gently patted the memorial on the table.

"The power of the world does not lie in the Qianqing Palace, but in the Wenyuan Pavilion."

"If His Majesty obediently acts as a mascot, the Regent might allow him to live a few more years. But if he still thinks about seizing power... then he is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, courting his own destruction."

The voice just fell.

A cold voice suddenly rang out outside Wenyuan Pavilion.

"Oh? Minister Jiang, you have quite the audacity! I'd like to know, since when did I, the emperor... need your permission even to read memorials?"

Before Jiang Huaishang could react, Ye Wudao had already strode into Wenyuan Pavilion.

All the cabinet ministers knelt down:

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Ye Wudao's cold gaze swept over Jiang Huaishang. He didn't say "no need for formalities," so the other party had no choice but to kneel on the ground.

Ye Wudao said calmly, "Minister Jiang, repeat what you just said."

"This... I'm afraid it's not a good idea?"

Jiang Huaishang broke out in a cold sweat immediately.

He genuinely looked down on Ye Wudao, but Ye Wudao was acting like a madman, biting anyone he could get his hands on. He didn't want to lower himself to the level of this lunatic.

What does "bad" mean?

Ye Wudao squatted down and patted Jiang Huaishang's face with his hands, uttering a word with each pat: "You, fucking, don't, understand?"

A strong sense of humiliation surged into Jiang Huaishang's mind, and he said in a deep voice, "Why does Your Majesty ask a question you already know the answer to?"

"You're asking a question you already know the answer to?"

Ye Wudao sneered and suddenly kicked Jiang Huaishang in the face.

The kick was extremely powerful, sending Jiang Huaishang sprawling backward.

"Ouch!"

Jiang Huaishang screamed in pain as his nose was struck, and blood gushed out on the spot.

His breathing was rapid, his eyes blazing with anger: "Ye Wudao, I am a cabinet minister, how dare you touch me?"

Ye Wudao leaned closer and sneered, "I am the Emperor. You dare to speak ill of the Emperor and spread rumors. Even if I kill you today, no one will dare say anything. What, you're not satisfied? Come and hit me..."

Looking at Ye Wudao's extremely irritating appearance, Jiang Huaishang's eyes were filled with resentment.

He raised his eyebrows in fury: "Your Majesty's health is of paramount importance, and I would naturally dare not strike Your Majesty. However, I am a confidant of the Regent. My life is not important, but if Your Majesty kills me, you must give the Regent an explanation, mustn't you?"

"I'll dredge you up with tape!"

Ye Wudao immediately kicked him again, coldly saying, "You dare to use the Regent to intimidate me? What is he? And what are you? You dare threaten me? I'll exterminate your entire family, believe it or not!"

After saying this, Ye Wudao narrowed his eyes, knowing that he had to make an example of someone today, otherwise he would never see any memorials in the Imperial Study.

"Guards! This man has threatened the Emperor, displaying arrogance and disrespect. Drag him away and execute him!"