Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: She’s a Woman, Not an O!

In the evening, Xiao Yang stared at the mountain of memorials piled before her. She poked her head out from behind the stack and looked at the Regent King.

A small head, filled with big questions.

"What’s the meaning of this?"

Rong Yin: "These are all the memorials from the court. Now that Your Majesty has reclaimed your authority, it is only natural that you handle them personally."

The corner of Xiao Yang’s mouth twitched. "That’s really not necessary."

’Are you sure this stack of memorials, taller than I am, isn’t meant to work me to death?’

"Oof."

She flopped back, leaning against her chair, and said weakly, "My body is still very weak. I’ll have to trouble the Regent King with these."

Rong Yin’s eyebrow rose almost imperceptibly, a flash of understanding in his eyes. ’I knew she would try to slack off!’

"I am aware of Your Majesty’s poor health, which is why I will review them together with you."

As he spoke, he split the stack down the middle. "Half for you, half for me."

Xiao Yang’s eyelid twitched. She was utterly speechless. "How humane of you."

Rong Yin nodded, completely unabashed. "It’s only right."

Xiao Yang scoffed. "You didn’t want to be the Emperor when I offered it, and now you’re here tormenting me. Do you find this amusing?"

Looking at her indignant expression, Rong Yin’s lips suddenly curled into a smile. "I hadn’t noticed before, but now I’m starting to think it is indeed quite amusing."

Xiao Yang: "..."

’If I could lift a sword right now, I’d definitely cut him down.’

Of course, there was no way she was going to work diligently. Xiao Yang slacked off, pretended to work for a bit, and then made her escape.

While Rong Yin was still diligently reviewing the memorials, she was already fast asleep and snoring.

As it grew late, Rong Yin had no choice but to take the memorials back with him to handle.

Feng Xian looked at the boxes of memorials, even more than before, and was speechless. "Why are you handling all of them? I honestly can’t tell if you’re the Emperor or if she is."

Rong Yin: "She’s lazy."

Feng Xian was curious. "Isn’t she afraid you’ll usurp the throne?"

Rong Yin lowered his gaze. "She’d be overjoyed."

Feng Xian: "Then what are you hesitating for?"

For a moment, Rong Yin looked lost. "I don’t know. At least for now, I don’t want the throne."

The throne he desperately wanted, the throne he struggled internally over but dared not touch, was the very thing the Little Emperor avoided like the plague, offering it to anyone she met.

He felt that even if he did obtain the throne, there would be no sense of accomplishment. Instead, he would have the absurd feeling of having picked up something someone else had thrown away.

’I’ve definitely been infected by the Little Emperor. There’s something wrong with my head.’

「The next morning.」

Although Xiao Yang was supposed to be a patient, she still couldn’t escape her fate of being dragged out of bed at the crack of dawn.

She was the Emperor, and she had to attend the morning court session.

"His Majesty has arrived!"

Xiao Yang entered Jinluan Palace through a side door and sat on her dragon throne.

The civil and military officials stood in neat rows, then bowed in salute.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

"All my ministers may rise!"

’I have to admit, even though being the Emperor is a pain in the ass, moments like this are pretty awesome.’

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After thanking him, everyone rose. It was then that they noticed something different about the hall.

The screen behind the dragon throne was gone, and so was the Empress Dowager’s chair.

With the fall of the Chen and Liu Families, the days of the Empress Dowager ruling from behind the curtain were officially over.

This Little Emperor, whom no one had ever thought much of, had accomplished the impossible.

"This subject has a memorial to present."

An official stepped forward, holding a memorial, and began his long-winded speech.

Xiao Yang felt herself dozing off as she listened.

"Your Majesty!"

One of the officials below suddenly shouted, scaring the sleepiness right out of Xiao Yang.

Seeing that she was now awake, the official reined in his displeased expression and continued, "Your Majesty, the governor of Lingzhou, Qiu Changyu, is corrupt, has perverted justice, and shows a wanton disregard for human life. The evidence is conclusive. I implore Your Majesty to purge this treacherous official and deliver justice for the people of Lingzhou."

Having reviewed memorials for a few days, Xiao Yang at least knew that this governor of Lingzhou was part of the Empress Dowager Faction—he was the husband of a cousin from the Chen Family.

Their impeachment wasn’t about seeking justice for the people; it was just a case of everyone hitting a man who was already down.

Seeing that the Chen and Liu Families had fallen, they wanted to trample all over their associates and get a piece of the pie for themselves.

"I am aware."

Xiao Yang accepted the memorial but didn’t give a clear response.

"Does anyone else have something to report?"

One by one, the officials stepped forward. Most of the memorials today were impeachments, and all of them targeted people connected to the Empress Dowager Faction.

’They can’t get any real work done, but they sure know how to find fault with others. And these are supposed to be high-ranking court officials?’

’I was the one who took down the Empress Dowager Faction. Don’t I know who needs to be dealt with? Do I really need them jumping up and down, hounding me about it?’

Her head starting to throb, Xiao Yang ended the court session early and left.

Xiao Lv approached her. "Your Majesty, Chen Guangzong is causing a ruckus in the Heavenly Prison, demanding to see you. He insists that you must grant him an audience, saying that if you refuse, the empire will fall into turmoil and your throne will be at risk."

’Isn’t he just planning to use the fact that I’m a woman as leverage?’

’All he can do is try to trade this secret for the lives of the Chen Family. Does he think it’s some kind of Death Exemption Token?’

"Tell him my empire and his clan share the same fate."

Even if her identity as a woman were exposed and she was driven from the throne, the Chen Family would absolutely be buried with her.

’Wait, there’s actually no need to hide it anymore.’ Thinking of this, she suddenly looked at Xiao Lv seriously. "Brother, let me tell you a secret."

Xiao Lv: "What is it?"

Xiao Yang: "I like men."

Xiao Lv: "...???"

He stared at her for a long while with an indescribable expression. "Your Majesty... you do remember that we’re blood brothers, right?"

The corner of Xiao Yang’s mouth twitched. "I’m not so deranged as to make a move on my own brother."

Xiao Lv let out a breath of relief, only to tense up again the next moment.

"The Regent King is technically your uncle."

Xiao Yang was exasperated. "I was just teasing him! Besides, you think too highly of me. A man like that... you think I could actually land him?"

Xiao Yang was just joking around, but Xiao Lv was actually giving it serious thought.

The Regent King’s attitude toward the Little Emperor wasn’t bad. He had personally carried her back and had done a fair bit of waiting on her during those few days he watched over her.

Before, if you told anyone the Regent King would voluntarily get close to and serve the Emperor, who would have believed it?

But now, the impossible had become possible.

Seeing Xiao Lv’s expression shifting unpredictably, Xiao Yang said, exasperated, "Alright, what I mean is, I’m a woman."

The truth that others would guard as a life-or-death secret didn’t seem so hard for Xiao Yang to say. She didn’t even want to be the Emperor anymore, so why bother clinging to this gender charade?

’My relationship with Xiao Lv is pretty good right now. If he takes the throne, since I’ve been emperor, I could at least snag the title of Prince. Then I could keep ten or so handsome men... tsk tsk~’

Xiao Lv’s expression changed abruptly. Xiao Yang thought she had shocked him and was about to offer a few words of comfort, but then Xiao Lv said with a grave face, "Your Majesty, it’s not a huge deal if you want male companions, but you are the supreme ruler. You cannot sacrifice yourself to this extent."

’Sacrifice? What the hell?’

Xiao Yang was silent for a moment, and then it dawned on her.

’No, I’m a woman, not a bottom!’

Xiao Yang tried to explain helplessly, "I’m not joking with you. Back then, the Empress Dowager, in order to..."

"Your Majesty, I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave. I will relay your words to the Heavenly Prison exactly as you said them."

And with that, Xiao Lv practically flew out of the room.

Xiao Yang: "???"

’What the hell? Did his avoidant personality just kick in?’