"The Emperor has decreed—"
Everyone knelt down, quietly listening to the imperial decree.
Setting aside the florid praises, they all held their breath waiting to see what reward Yun Jiao would receive: "...Promoted to Attendant Lady, bestowed the title Qiong, thus decreed."
Concubine Li was stunned, and Attendant Lady Sun gripped her handkerchief even tighter.
The Yun Family actually received a title!
A title meant being half a rank higher; now, in a blink of an eye, Yun Jiao would not only no longer need to bow to her, but she would have to turn around and bow to her instead. Thinking of this, Attendant Lady Sun ground her molars in anger.
Furthermore, the title "Qiong" was really quite good.
It signified beautiful jade, exquisite and wonderful, considered one of the best among titles.
However, Yun Jiao did not want it.
Titles were extremely important to the harem concubines; after receiving a title, others would no longer call her Yun Attendant Lady, but Qiong Attendant Lady... She didn't want to be called Poor Attendant Lady every day! Such bad luck!
Wasn't the rollback method precisely to brush out a favored title without spending points?
Erase it!
Just then, as Xie Zhixing was about to attend the court meeting, he unexpectedly returned to outside Xianfu Palace.
The first time he didn't understand, the second time he couldn't resist and turned back to the West Wing of Xianfu Palace: "Yun Family, if you could choose, would you want to be promoted to Consort, or a title? If a title, what kind would you want?"
Could one actually choose between a title or promotion???
Even knowing Servant Consort Yun was favored by the Emperor, Ying Lu was still beyond shocked to hear such words.
Ying Lu recalled how other concubines cautiously sought favor before the Emperor; if they knew this side of him, they might faint on the spot from anger.
Yun Jiao bowed her head: "This concubine dare not decide, but entrusts the decision to the Emperor."
If the decision is not right, she would let the Emperor decide again.
Even without mind-reading, Xie Zhixing easily understood her thoughts and raised his eyebrows abruptly: "Alright, don't play games with me, just tell me what you want." He wanted to attend the court smoothly, and as long as her request wasn't too excessive, he wouldn't mind granting it.
He wanted to see how big of a request she dared to make.
Would she take advantage openly or retreat strategically?
Xie Zhixing took in all her expressions, and seeing her open her lips slightly, a familiar light dizziness spread in his mind.
She was actually using repeated rollbacks to gain thinking space.
One sentence from the Emperor overheated Yun Jiao's CPU.
Xie Zhixing: "..."
I have never seen someone this silly!
Now it seemed there were three options placed before seasoned palace intrigue gamer Yun Jiao:
[Option 1: Promotion to Consort (losing the title)]
[Option 2: Promotion to Attendant Lady (gaining a title)]
[Option 3: Your Majesty, this concubine wants nothing, only your favor]
After thinking it over, she decided to try each option.
Yun Jiao: "Your Majesty, this concubine wishes to be promoted to Consort."
Xie Zhixing: "Alright."
Yun Jiao: "Your Majesty, this concubine does not wish to be a Consort, only wants a title."
Starting to feel a bit impatient, Xie Zhixing: "…Alright."
She raised her face, risking disrespect to decipher the Emperor's intent from his expression.
Whereas his handsome face remained blank, with emotions hard to discern.
This once again stumped Yun Jiao.
Without a favorability hint, the Emperor's depths were unfathomable, making it impossible to read his thoughts from expressions!
After the fifth rollback, an irate Xie Zhixing finally understood; she truly didn't know what she wanted, had no concept of wealth, honor, or rank. So, suppressing his anger, he feigned ignorance and spoke coldly: "Qiong, Zhao, Duan, Jing, Wen, Zhuang, Shun, Wan, Jin, Liang, Zhen, Xi... all are good characters. You may choose one, and I will grant it to you."
All are top-tier good titles, allowing her to select at will.
Ying Lu, standing by, was numb from listening.
What made his hair stand on end was that Servant Consort Yun actually picked unabashedly: "This concubine thinks the character Xi is good."
Thus, the morning's scene played out again.
And this time, Yun Jiao was promoted to Attendant Lady Xi.
-----------------
Ying Lu had thought his Emperor might someday be utterly bewitched by beauty, only for the Emperor to order after leaving Xianfu Palace: "Investigate her thoroughly."
His voice was indifferent, as always.
"Yes," Ying Lu responded, realizing the Emperor might be playing a very large game, his heart skipped a beat.
The latter half of the court session proceeded smoothly, and Xie Zhixing's good mood was shattered while handling Prince Kang's error in the Ministry of Rites, as two brothers stepped forward to plead. Prince Kang didn't retort, just knelt trembling with a pale, delicate face, kowtowing and admitting fault: "A mistake was made in the ceremonial rite; this younger brother recognizes his error, truly deserving of a myriad deaths."
Ancient people held sacrifices in high regard, though Prince Kang's mistake wasn't actually severe. Xie Zhixing didn't intend to punish him harshly, lest ministers argue he lacked brotherly love and was harsh on his siblings.
But then Prince Kang knelt right there.
He kowtowed forcefully, echoing throughout Jinluan Hall, leaving his fair forehead immediately red. As a dignified member of the Imperial Family, he was normally extremely noble. This self-abasing act drew unwitting sympathy from ministers.
"This younger brother knows his fault, willing to kneel before Qiankun Palace, seeking the Emperor's forgiveness."
After speaking, Prince Kang coughed violently.
No matter how severe the coughing, he did not raise his head, showing utmost respect, a pitiful figure seemingly terrified by a tyrannical brother.
Xie Zhixing: ...
What is wrong with him?
Why does everyone act like he's about to execute his third brother?
Sitting on the throne, Xie Zhixing observed the ministers and his brothers' expressions.
One side: The Emperor is so ruthless and unforgiving.
Other side: Prince Kang, cautious though at fault, is truly pitiful.
"Since Prince Kang requests to kneel, then go kneel, until the winter festival is over!"
Xie Zhixing, overwhelmed by anger, spoke coldly.
Prince Kang's already pale face blanched further.
He stood up, shaky, then bowed deeply again: "I...thank the Emperor for his grace."
After speaking, Xie Zhixing regretted it.
Over-punishing Prince Kang for such a minor slip became proof of the Emperor's unkindness in others' eyes.
Yet despite this, Xie Zhixing was irate enough to feel a writhing knot in his heart.
The mistake in ceremonial rites tarnished the Emperor's own face.
The third brother botched the task; raising it during court was a caution for him, and he then performed this green-tea act of self-indicting, undoubtedly forcing the Emperor into a crucible using his frail body. As longtime rivals, Prince Kang knew him too well, knew how to provoke him—how could Brother tolerate such an impertinence? One hated minor errors and theatrics.
On the throne, Xie Zhixing's thin lips pressed tightly.
He was angry with Prince Kang and himself for losing composure.
If he could do it over, he certainly wouldn't have conceded to his brother.
Only, once spoken, the word cannot be taken back...
As Xie Zhixing was thinking this, a light dizziness spread in his mind, and Prince Kang knelt again with a thud, kowtowing: "This younger brother knows his fault, willing to kneel before Qiankun Palace, seeking the Emperor's forgiveness."
Prince Kang's head lowered deeply, hiding the smile in his eyes.
Let the ministers and everyone see how unkindly tyrannical their big brother is!
The next moment, above, came the Emperor's gentle voice:
"What nonsense, quickly assist Prince Kang up."
Prince Kang froze in shock.