DLWAV CH45

Before this, Xia Jingyao had never imagined that one day, Ao Ruize would openly admit their relationship in public.

After all, even in modern times, their relationship still wouldn’t be considered a widely praised tale.

No, it should be said that before this, Xia Jingyao hadn’t even believed that Ao Ruize liked him back. He had even prepared himself mentally for Ao Ruize to turn against him as soon as the First and Fourth Princes were eliminated.

From the start, he had convinced himself that Ao Ruize only got entangled with him because he wanted to recruit him.

But now, Ao Ruize had publicly revealed their relationship in front of the entire civil and military court…

So, did it even need to be said what this meant?

Looking at Ao Ruize on the imperial steps, Xia Jingyao felt his throat go dry.

Scorched by the heat in his heart.

In response to this, the first thought of the civil and military officials was—

This is the Taiji Hall, the most solemn place in the Great Yang Dynasty, not a place for you two to flirt and talk of love!

Also, can you show a little respect to the First and Fourth Princes? They are in the middle of a rebellion!

Then they realized.

The Crown Prince and the Duke of Wei both had a preference for cut sleeves (homosexuality).

And they were having an affair?

The nerve called “reason” in the minds of those censors snapped instantly.

How can this be allowed?

How can the Crown Prince of a nation be entangled with a man?

Moreover, this man has an unclear relationship with his older brother.

If word gets out, won’t it make people laugh?

They immediately rolled up their sleeves, ready to risk death to admonish the Emperor.

But the next second, they were held back by their friends beside them.

“Think about the gold mines in Fuzhou.”

“The saltworks in Zhaoxian.”

“The Oirat.”

“The Commodity Exhibition.”

…

“Think again about the salary you receive every month now, which is fully three times what it used to be.”

“The public housing the Ministry of Revenue is building.”

…

“The pension you can receive after you retire.”

…

Those censors: “…”

After a brief silence, they silently rolled their sleeves back down.

There was no helping it; His Highness the Crown Prince simply gave too much.

Unlike them, Emperor Yuanxi’s first reaction was: Thank goodness, thank goodness. The one having an affair with the Crown Prince is the Duke of Wei, not those widows in the Duke of Wei’s residence.

—Heaven knows how stifled his heart was before.

Then he realized: The one having an affair with the Crown Prince is the Duke of Wei?

The wall the Crown Prince climbs every day belongs to the Duke of Wei?

So what is the difference between this and having an affair with those widows in the Duke’s residence?

Emperor Yuanxi immediately wanted to dissuade Ao Ruize.

But the next second, he remembered that Ao Ruize’s body was already ruined.

First, Great Yang already had a Crown Prince who couldn’t reproduce anyway. Even if a scandal of homosexuality was added, it didn’t seem like it could get much worse.

Second, the Crown Prince couldn’t reproduce regardless, so what was the use of forcing him straight?

It was better to let him be; at least it would keep him in a good mood.

Moreover, he reckoned the Duke of Wei wasn’t a social climber—after all, he was already among the most powerful people in Great Yang. Getting involved with the Crown Prince at this time brought him only harm and no benefit.

As for the fact that he once liked the First Prince… well, widows in Great Yang could remarry, and Emperor Taizu even married his aunt.

Thinking of this, Emperor Yuanxi and the officials present all tacitly watched their noses, noses watched their mouths, and mouths watched their hearts, pretending they hadn’t heard anything.

But the First Prince didn’t think this way.

He finally realized that he hadn’t been wrong just now. There really was something going on between Xia Jingyao and Zhao Ruize.

They had hooked up long ago!

The First Prince’s eyes nearly split with rage. “Sluts! Sluts! You pair of adulterers… dog men…”

The good atmosphere was instantly broken.

Ao Ruize finally remembered: Oh right, the First and Fourth Princes are rebelling, aren’t they?

He should show them a little respect.

So he ordered directly, “What are you still standing there for? Drag them down—”

The guards finally reacted. Without further hesitation, they charged forward.

The First and Fourth Princes’ factions knew they had failed completely, so they instantly lost their will to fight.

Soon, both the First and Fourth Princes were captured.

The splendidly dressed Consort Xian was also pulled down from her seat. In the struggle, her hair ornaments fell to the ground one by one, shattering into pieces instantly.

Only now did they fully realize the situation.

They were afraid, and they regretted it.

Especially Consort Xian.

She hadn’t expected the First Prince to be so stupid, ruining such a good hand of cards.

She also realized that even if Ao Ruize had ascended the throne, she could still have become the Empress Dowager.

Because no matter what, she was Ao Ruize’s biological mother. It was just that the power in her hands would definitely have been less than if the First Prince had become Emperor.

But now, let alone becoming Empress Dowager, whether she could see the sun for the rest of her life was questionable.

Consort Xian immediately turned to Ao Ruize. “Old Eight, Old Eight, Mother Consort knows she was wrong, Mother Consort knows she was wrong…”

But the next second, her mouth was covered by a guard.

Emperor Yuanxi finally noticed Consort Xian.

But he had no intention of stopping the guard. Instead, he turned directly to Ao Ruize. “I think it’s better to change your mother.”

The mother of Great Yang’s future Emperor couldn’t be a woman with a stained record.

Ao Ruize naturally wouldn’t refuse. “That is good.”

Emperor Yuanxi nodded with satisfaction.

Cutting ties when necessary—Ao Ruize was always more outstanding than he imagined.

He didn’t doubt for a second that Ao Ruize was cold-blooded enough to disown his own biological mother.

After all, before this, he was a ruthless man who, for the sake of a younger sister (Fifth Princess) not even born of the same mother, beat the Oirat Little Prince to death in a fit of anger and annihilated the Oirat nation.

So in this matter, if anyone was to blame, it was Consort Xian for her lack of virtue, to the point that even her own son didn’t want to acknowledge her.

Therefore, hearing this, the officials below just frowned but ultimately said nothing.

One can imagine Consort Xian’s feelings upon hearing this.

The next second, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted directly.

Soon, the vast hall was cleaned up.

Except for quite a few empty seats, everything was as usual.

The officials remaining in the hall finally processed what had happened.

Great Yang’s first coup d’état just ended like this?

It took less than fifteen minutes from start to finish.

Shorter than the duration of a single play—

For a moment, they didn’t know whether to sympathize with the First and Fourth Princes or to praise the Crown Prince for his strategic planning and flawless calculations.

Forget it, let’s sympathize with the First and Fourth Princes.

After all, the Crown Prince had long ceased to lack those few words of praise.

Just then, Ao Ruize stood up.

He said, “Imperial Father, since the matter is resolved, this son and the Duke of Wei still have some matters to attend to, so we will take our leave first.”

At first, Emperor Yuanxi didn’t react, so he just nodded. “Go ahead.”

Then he saw Ao Ruize walk directly toward Xia Jingyao.

The next second, he grabbed Xia Jingyao’s hand and, under the gaze of everyone, strode out of the hall.

Emperor Yuanxi: “…”

The entire court: “…”

Is our Crown Prince being a little too brazen?

But what could they do?

They could only continue to pretend they saw nothing and raise their wine cups again.

“Come, dear ministers, let Us toast you again!”

“To Your Majesty!”

…

On the other side, Ao Ruize took Xia Jingyao directly back to the Eastern Palace.

Only then did he turn to look at Xia Jingyao behind him.

Xia Jingyao was also staring at him fixedly, his eyes filled with Ao Ruize’s reflection.

As their eyes met, Ao Ruize couldn’t help but lower his voice. “Alright, now Consort Xian is no longer my mother, so I shouldn’t count as your enemy anymore.”

With things having reached this point, how could Xia Jingyao not know that Ao Ruize had long guessed what was in his heart?

He slowly stepped forward and hugged Ao Ruize. “Mmh, so I am very happy.”

Happy that he won the gamble.

No, he didn’t just win the gamble that Ao Ruize was sincere toward him; Ao Ruize clearly loved him even more than he had imagined.

Otherwise, how would he dare to publicize their relationship in broad daylight?

And after hearing the news, Emperor Yuanxi didn’t voice any objection.

Could he reasonably guess that long before this, Ao Ruize had already inoculated the Emperor against it?

Thinking of this, Xia Jingyao’s heart burned even hotter.

Ao Ruize, however, was a bit unhappy. He raised his hand and pinched Xia Jingyao’s chin. “You treated today’s events as a gamble, but I didn’t.”

“Because from beginning to end, I never doubted your sincerity toward me.”

Xia Jingyao: “…”

Hearing Ao Ruize say this, Xia Jingyao actually felt ‘a little guilty.’

What could he do?

Meeting Ao Ruize’s reproachful gaze, Xia Jingyao raised his arms around his neck and pressed his lips against the corner of Ao Ruize’s mouth.

A moment later, their lips parted.

Above was the bright moonlight of the fifteenth of the eighth month; in front of him was the lover he wished he could hold in the palm of his hand.

What else could Ao Ruize do but choose to forgive him?

But before he could speak, Xia Jingyao’s voice rang out again. He pursed the corners of his lips: “If… if you’re still not appeased, you can lock me up… until your anger subsides…”

Ao Ruize: “…”

Ao Ruize subconsciously thought: Imprisonment play? Not necessary.

After all, he was just a little unhappy, not petty to that extent.

However, the next second, he noticed Xia Jingyao’s gaze suddenly flickering, and his breathing seemed to have quickened a lot.

Ao Ruize: “…”

Is there something wrong here?

Like, is Xia Jingyao smuggling in his own agenda?

Could it be that deep down, Xia Jingyao didn’t actually disbelieve him, but deliberately staged this scene just to play a kinky game with him?

Ao Ruize’s Adam’s apple couldn’t help but bob up and down.

Meeting his burning gaze, Xia Jingyao’s neck instantly turned redder.

So what more was there to say?

Ao Ruize immediately bent down, and before Xia Jingyao could react, picked him up, turned around, and walked toward the bedchamber.

“Then this Solitary One won’t hold back.”

And just while Ao Ruize and Xia Jingyao were busy playing the game of making a ragdoll, Great Yang was undergoing earth-shaking changes from top to bottom.

On the 16th of the 8th Month, Yuanxi Year 25:

Emperor Yuanxi ordered Crown Prince Zhao Ruize’s name in the imperial genealogy to be moved from under Consort Xian’s name to under the late Empress Chen’s name.

On the 17th of the 8th Month:

Emperor Yuanxi stripped Consort Xian of her title and confined her, along with the First Prince’s family and the Fourth Prince’s family, to the outer palace of the Imperial Mausoleum. He also ordered the Ministry of Justice to interrogate the First and Fourth Princes’ factions and punish them according to the law.

In the 6th Month of Yuanxi Year 26:

Good news came from the harem. The four pregnant concubines successively gave birth to four princes and one princess.

In the 10th Month of Yuanxi Year 26:

The first crop of sweet potatoes was harvested, yielding over a thousand jin per mu.

From then on, the Great Yang court began to vigorously promote sweet potato cultivation.

…

In Yuanxi Year 27:

The Great Yang Dynasty opened three more foreign trade ports in Fuzhou and Zhangzhou.

In the same year, Great Yang’s maritime trade tax revenue reached four million taels, and the national treasury’s annual income reached thirty million taels.

In Yuanxi Year 29:

All academies, official roads, dams, and city walls in Great Yang… were fully repaired.

On the 3rd of the 5th Month, Yuanxi Year 30:

Emperor Yuanxi fell critically ill.

By the sickbed, the emaciated Emperor Yuanxi held Ao Ruize’s hand tightly and said with difficulty, “You are very good. Ten thousand times better than me… than me. Great Yang… is entrusted to you.”

Ao Ruize simply said, “Okay.”

Two days later, Emperor Yuanxi passed away.

In the 6th Month of Yuanxi Year 30:

Ao Ruize held the enthronement ceremony in the Taiji Hall, changing the era name to Yongping (Eternal Peace).

Looking at the thousands of civil and military officials below shouting “Long live the Emperor,” Ao Ruize just wanted to say:

“Can I say that initially, I just wanted to come down here for a vacation?”