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

One month later, in the Imperial Study.

Ye Wudao lay on the dragon throne, rubbing his throbbing temples.

A month has passed since the Regent's coup, and he has taken control of half of the Imperial Guard's forces.

On the day Xu Kenong was killed, Ye Wudao swiftly appointed Zuo Zongnan as the Grand Commander of the Imperial Guards, Fu Lilin as the Commander of the Longwu Guard, and Zhang Guozhong as the Commander of the Shence Guard.

Besides the Imperial Guards, he held two-thirds of the power of the Imperial Army, making him the biggest winner of this coup.

However, the nine powerful ministers have deep-rooted influence in the court, and now they have even sent elite troops into the palace to protect the empress. His path to seizing power is long and arduous...

Suddenly.

A pair of fair, white hands covered Ye Wudao's eyes, and a seductive voice came from his ear:

"Your Majesty, guess who I am?"

"You guessed right, I'm yours tonight..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Wudao laughed: "I couldn't have guessed."

Luo Hanyan smiled and said, "Then let me give Your Majesty a hint: the granary I manage is the largest in the harem."

Ye Wudao couldn't help but think of that woman who was so difficult to control, and he said with a smile, "I still don't know."

"Then let me remind you one more time, Your Majesty's favorite thing is for me to wear a purple bodice..."

Ye Wudao shook his head: "I am a righteous gentleman, I know nothing about this purple battle robe!"

"snort!"

Luo Hanyan got annoyed, let go of her hand, turned her head to the side, and pretended to be angry:

"Is Your Majesty still blaming me? That day, it was my father who led troops to the capital; I had no say in the matter!"

Since what happened a month ago, Luo Hanyan has not shared a bed with Ye Wudao for a month.

You know, Ye Wudao used to wish he could keep her in bed all the time!

Ye Wudao raised his hand and gently enveloped Luo Hanyan's snow-white, slender neck, coldly saying:

"Do you think I'm unaware of your intentions?"

A flicker of panic crossed Luo Hanyan's beautiful eyes: "What is Your Majesty saying? This concubine does not know..."

"Are you genuinely unaware, or feigning ignorance?" Ye Wudao said with a smile, "Haven't you resorted to plenty of underhanded tactics? I've simply turned a blind eye."

"What is Your Majesty saying...?"

"Take your maid Xiao Chan, for example. If I'm not mistaken, she's a master of the Transformation Realm, only a step away from becoming a Grandmaster!"

Upon hearing this, Luo Hanyan's pupils contracted.

She never expected that Ye Wudao would find out so much about her maid's background!

She giggled and said, "That's because my father was worried about my safety and sent someone to protect me. If Your Majesty likes it, you may have it."

Ye Wudao lifted Luo Hanyan's snow-white chin: "Then I shall accept it without hesitation. From now on, she shall be mine."

A female master at the Transformation Realm is perfect for cultivating the "Yin Yang Intercourse Ode"!

Luo Hanyan's face stiffened.

No.

I was just saying it casually, just being polite, but you really didn't hold back!

"Your Majesty, Xiao Chan and I have been as close as sisters since childhood. I can't even sleep without Xiao Chan..."

"That's easy, next time we sleep, we'll just have her sleep with us, right?"

Luo Hanyan rolled her eyes. Two women sharing one husband? Dream on!

She said, "Your Majesty, I really can't bear to part with you. As long as Your Majesty doesn't bring this up again, I will do whatever you ask."

Ye Wudao pulled Luo Hanyan into his arms, their noses touching and their upper bodies almost pressed together, their breaths mingling. In this small space, the atmosphere of intimacy rose sharply.

He gently bit her earlobe and whispered, "How about this? As long as you can keep quiet, I'll do whatever you want!"

Luo Hanyan seemed to realize something; her pretty face instantly turned bright red, and her breathing became rapid.

"Your Majesty, this is the Imperial Study!"

"It's alright, no one's coming in..."

…………

One hour later.

The cicadas outside the door have paced back and forth countless times.

She tried several times to push the door open and rescue the young lady.

The young lady must have angered Ye Wudao because of what happened a month ago; the sound of her being tortured was miserable.

"That scream... That bastard Ye Wudao, how dare he treat Miss like that! I won't let you get away with this!"

Despite her anger, Xiao Chan dared not go in rashly, because her mistress had instructed her not to go in no matter what happened.

Hearing the screams, Xiao Chan's worry and anxiety intensified.

Just as she couldn't hold back any longer, the door to the Imperial Study opened, and an unnatural blush appeared on Luo Hanyan's face.

She came out, supporting herself on the doorframe, and her first words were:

"Xiao Chan, from this day forward, you belong to His Majesty..."

Xiao Chan tilted her head: "???"

…………

The Wenyuan Pavilion is quite different from what it was a month ago.

With the help of the nine powerful ministers and Ye Wudao, the memorials from various prefectures were first sent to the cabinet. After the cabinet reviewed and approved them, they were sent to the Imperial Study, where they were reviewed by the emperor and the nine empresses. Then they were handed over to the Directorate of Ceremonial for transcription and then sent directly to the Six Ministries for execution.

Compared to before, there is now an additional procedure to send the memorials to the Imperial Study.

In contrast, the nine powerful ministers added an extra clause: memorials must be reviewed jointly by Ye Wudao and the nine empresses, and if they disagree, all nine must vote together.

This clause, while seemingly favorable to Ye Wudao, actually greatly restricts his rights.

It should be noted that Ye Wudao is only one person, while there are nine empresses. If there is a disagreement and the vote is nine to one, Ye Wudao will face the situation that "government orders cannot leave the imperial study".

But Ye Wudao agreed anyway.

There is no other reason.

He has already won over four of the nine queens, and his vote count has reached half.

If he puts in a little more effort, turning the Imperial Study into his personal fiefdom won't be a problem.

Zhang Shouzhi put down his vermilion pen and snorted coldly.

"This is utterly absurd! Since ancient times, the imperial harem has been forbidden from interfering in politics. Now, nine empresses are being allowed to discuss state affairs together—this is an act that will bring chaos to the country!"

Upon hearing this, Minister of War Sun Bofu stroked his beard and chuckled.

"Lord Zhang, you are mistaken. Is that Ye Wudao's harem? Those are merely nine pairs of eyes we sent to the Imperial Study. Ye Wudao is just a puppet emperor; what right does he have to call himself a harem?"

Upon hearing this, everyone smiled knowingly.

Zhang Shouzhi put down the memorial and said calmly:

"The nine empresses each represent a family. Although the Imperial Study appears to belong to the emperor, it is actually still under the control of the nine officials."

"If Ye Wudao dares to act recklessly, even with nine votes to one, he won't be able to leave the Imperial Study with a single imperial decree."

The other senior officials nodded in agreement.

Only the newly appointed cabinet minister, Ho Shu-chen, kept his head down and remained silent.

Others may not know, but he was recently promoted by Ye Wudao to replace Jiang Huaishang.

How could he not know that the four empresses in the Imperial Study were now on Ye Wudao's side?

If it were a real vote, it might not be nine to one!

Just then.

An urgent memorial, delivered by express courier, was presented to the long desk.

Wu Qingxun opened the package and his face immediately darkened.

"Urgent report from Shandong: There has been no rain for months, the land is parched and barren, seventeen counties have already suffered complete crop failure, and refugees are everywhere. If this continues, a popular uprising is imminent!"

Minister of War Sun Bofu frowned: "How much grain is left in the national treasury?"

Wu Qingxun shook his head.

"The national treasury is in deficit. Last year's war in the north consumed five million shi of grain. Now, the national grain reserves are only enough for the capital for one month."

Sun Bofu then asked, "Where is the silver?"

Wu Qingxun smiled bitterly, "There's no way we can afford that now. In recent years, we've spent money on river repairs, disaster relief, and military support. In addition, there are deficits in various regions. The Ministry of Revenue can't even scrape together 100,000 taels of silver for disaster relief."

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

The imperial court has neither money nor grain; this situation is unsolvable!

Zuo Zongming suddenly laughed and said, "Hundreds of thousands of people in Shandong are waiting to eat. Why not let His Majesty worry about such a troublesome matter?"

Zhang Shouzhi's eyes lit up. "Indeed, since His Majesty intends to interfere in the cabinet, I'd like to see if our Emperor can conjure up grain and silver with just his words!"

"Absolutely! Absolutely!"

"Let His Majesty experience what it means to have a country that is difficult to govern!"

"Once he's been humiliated and beaten to a pulp, he'll naturally come back begging to us."

"Then we won't be so easy to talk to!"

As they spoke, the smiles in everyone's eyes were impossible to hide...