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World's First Traitor System (44)
🕑 Added 2024-02-01 22:12:25 +0000 UTCChapter 44 - The Regent Minister
“Minister of Rites, please speak,” Xiang Ning said helplessly.
“Yes,” Li Bin said in a loud voice, “The Eldest Prince has recently returned from the Blazing Fire Sect after completing his cultivation, and his cultivation level has reached the Nascent Soul Realm.”
Eldest Prince?
Xiang Ning was stunned for a few seconds, seemingly because the memory was too distant and she couldn't remember who he was for a moment.
The ministers were also whispering to each other in discussion.
"Ah? It's him!?" Xiang Ning finally remembered, but her expression instantly became much uglier.
The so-called Eldest Prince was her half-brother from the same mother but different father! The folk customs in Great Chu were open, and it was common for women to remarry after divorcing their husbands.
However, Xiang Ning’s mother, the current Empress Dowager Li, was the first woman in Chu to remarry after a divorce!
Although Li came from a humble background, due to her outstanding talents, she was taken in as a disciple by a powerful cultivator when she was young. By the time Li finished her apprenticeship, she was already a famous female cultivator in Chu.
At that time, many people pursued Li, and she eventually married someone from a collateral branch of the Great Chu imperial clan.
Thus, Li became a relative of the Great Chu imperial clan. Because Li's lineage was very high, even though she came from a humble background, her marriage to the Great Chu imperial clan was considered a good match.
But what no one had expected was that she actually divorced her husband not long after getting married. Not long after that, she was actually selected to enter the imperial palace by the late emperor and became one of his favored concubines.
At that time, there was a public secret:
When Li entered the palace, she was already pregnant, so the late emperor waited for Li to recuperate for a few months after giving birth before favoring her.
Even so, the late emperor favored Li almost to the point of exclusive favoritism!
Xiang Ning was the late emperor’s own flesh and blood daughter, but she was only Li’s second child. Xiang Ning’s elder brother was named Xiang Chong.
Not long after Xiang Chong was born, his birth father died in battle on the border.
At first, Xiang Chong was raised in the imperial palace. To show his favor to Li, the late emperor gave Xiang Chong treatment equal to that of a prince, just without the title.
But in private, the servants serving Xiang Chong, in order to curry favor with their master, all called him “Eldest Prince”.
After the late emperor’s death, the “Eldest Prince” naturally became the “Eldest Prince”.
When Xiang Chong was young, because his status was awkward, Li took the initiative to suggest sending him to the Blazing Fire Sect to cultivate.
The Blazing Fire Sect was very powerful and was recognized as a first-class sect. More importantly, the Blazing Fire Sect had intricate connections with the top cultivation paradise, the Pure Land of Brahmanic Sound.
It was rumored that the current sect master of the Blazing Fire Sect was actually the undisclosed husband of a powerful figure from the Pure Land of Brahmanic Sound. And this mysterious powerful figure was Li’s master.
"Minister Li, what do you mean by this?" Xiang Ning said with an ugly expression. For the minister to mention her half-brother in the imperial court made Xiang Ning very unhappy as the emperor of Great Chu.
Li Bin replied, "Great Chu is in need of talents right now. The Eldest Prince has profound cultivation and great ambitions. If the Eldest Prince enters the court to assist Your Majesty, Great Chu's fortunes will surely prosper, and we may even unify the realm in the future!"
Li Bin’s voice resonated loudly within the imperial hall. The excited expression on his face seemed to corroborate his words.
Xiang Ning was so angry that her entire body trembled!
‘What kind of nonsense is this?’
‘Xiang Chong is only at the Nascent Soul Realm. Even if he is stronger than I, how could he possibly enable Great Chu to unify the realm? Li Bin is usually low-key. Why does he dare to shockingly propose such an outrageous suggestion today? He must have received instructions from someone...’
Xiang Ning became increasingly alarmed and anxious as she thought about it more. As a member of the Empress Dowager’s clan, the only one who could order him was the current Empress Dowager, her own mother.
‘Mother has something to discuss yet didn’t consult with me? Does she not consider me as her own flesh and blood? Xiang Chong is still my elder brother after all. If mother wants to arrange a position for him in court, she only needs to privately mention it to me. How could I possibly refuse?’ Xiang Ning was immersed in depressed emotions and temporarily forgot to reply.
Suddenly, the Empress Dowager, concealed behind the beaded curtain, spoke up. Her tone was gentle yet carried undeniable majesty. "Your Majesty, do you agree to the Minister's proposal?"
Xiang Ning was shocked! She subconsciously replied, "This is a major issue, please allow your daughter to reconsider carefully..."
"Reconsider carefully?"
"What the Minister proposed is truly a strategy that benefits the country and people. If Your Majesty can't even handle such simple governance matters properly, you really are too immature. In my opinion, letting your elder brother enter the court to assist in governance must be implemented immediately!"
After the Empress Dowager finished speaking, dead silence filled the imperial hall.
The officials didn’t dare to speak, while Xiang Ning’s face had turned deathly pale. She finally realized that she really was merely a tool for her mother to wield power. Even if imperial power was not restricted by ministerial power, it still couldn’t escape the fate of being oppressed by the empress dowager’s clan!
"Your Majesty, issue the decree," the Empress Dowager said softly.
No matter how powerful the Empress Dowager was, she still couldn’t bypass the emperor to govern with her own edicts as empress dowager.
"Yes..." Xiang Ning was extremely reluctant in her heart, but finally compromised. Since she didn’t want to speak, she just nodded at the eunuch Chen.
Xiang Ning knew that the old eunuch must have already prepared the edict in his belly. She didn’t even know what position the Empress Dowager had arranged for Xiang Chong.
"By the Mandate of Heaven, I, the Emperor of Great Chu, decree:
My imperial elder brother Xiang Chong is a man of noble character and unparalleled talents and virtues, worthy of important tasks. I hereby appoint Xiang Chong as Regent Minister, in charge of all important military and political affairs of Great Chu, with a rank surpassing the Three Excellencies!
He is also bestowed the privilege to ride a horse in the imperial city, exemption from bowing when entering the court, and exemption from kneeling when granted an imperial audience, as well as permission to enter the palace wearing sword and shoes!"
After the old eunuch finished reading aloud in one breath, disbelief was written all over Xiang Ning’s face!
Why? On what basis?
Xiang Chong had been cultivating in the Blazing Fire Sect for many years and had done nothing for Great Chu. Yet as soon as he returned to Great Chu, he was conferred a prince title? Moreover, Regent Minister?
Regent? Xiang Ning was almost twenty years old and not a child emperor, so why would she need a regent? This arrangement was tantamount to an insult!
"Mother, what exactly is going on here!?" She forcefully suppressed the anger and grievance in her heart and asked the Empress Dowager concealed behind the curtain in a low voice.
But the Empress Dowager didn't answer her daughter’s question at all. She only said lightly: “Your Majesty has already issued the decree. As the Son of Heaven, the emperor's words bear the weight of nine cauldrons, they cannot be reversed.”
"This is..." Xiang Ning still wanted to argue but saw a stalwart figure walk in from outside the palace.
The newcomer wore golden battle armor and held a huge sword in his hand, exuding an aura like a hegemon of the battlefield, very majestic.
Someone couldn't help but cry out in surprise: “That’s the Overlord Battle Armor! The founding emperor Xiang Yu wore it when conquering the world."
Another person added, "The Sword of Prince Huai? The first Emperor after the fall of the Great Qin, Prince Huai's sword? The Emperor's Sword!"
Xiang Ning finally identified the person, it was Xiang Chong.
She clenched her fists, trying hard to control the anger within her! Xiang Ning was furious because of the two sets of equipment on Xiang Chong.
"The Sword of Prince Huai, the Overlord Battle Armor, both of these treasures are stored in my Chu Emperor's treasury. It must be the Empress Dowager opening the treasury and handing over the treasures to Big Brother. These are treasures second only to the Overlord Spear in our Chu, how could the Empress Dowager do this?"
Xiang Chong strode forward confidently. He crossed the courtiers and ascended the royal steps, unexpectedly standing directly in front of Xiang Ning.
Just as Xiang Ning was about to speak, Xiang Chong suddenly lowered his body and whispered in her ear.
"Sister Ning, you wouldn't be angry with Big Brother over such a trivial matter, would you?"
