Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: What on Earth Is Sitting on the Dragon Throne!?

The Little Emperor on the Dragon Throne was slumped to one side, sound asleep with his head tilted back. The person who was usually ignored now had an overwhelming presence.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

Xiao Yang groggily opened her eyes to the sight of a bunch of decrepit old men.

She couldn’t help but yawn. "What is it?"

The eunuch Liu Sheng bowed. "Your Majesty, the officials are discussing this year’s military funding. General Li is asking Your Majesty how the military provisions should be allocated."

Xiao Yang’s eyes were still misty from sleep. Upon hearing this, she snapped, "What’s the use of asking me about that stuff?"

’How could a Puppet Emperor like her have any say in military provisions?’

As she spoke, she looked down and was suddenly met with a pair of eyes as sharp as a falcon’s.

Standing among the ministers was a young man in his early twenties. His face was cold and severe, with sharp features, and his expression held the arrogant defiance of someone confident in their own strength.

He had a tall, imposing figure, and even his loose official robes could not hide the powerful, well-built physique beneath.

Martial yet handsome, he was, without a doubt, a ruggedly handsome man.

The court’s youngest Second-Grade National Guardian General—Li Wei.

The Li family was a lineage of military generals, a household of loyal martyrs. When Li Wei was fifteen, his grandfather and father were betrayed and killed in battle. Their bodies were desecrated. At that young age, he donned armor, rode into battle, and annihilated the enemy, personally retrieving the remains of his kin.

Afterward, he repeatedly achieved miraculous feats, building an illustrious reputation and fighting his way to his current position on his own merits.

Now twenty-four, he had been in the army for nine years without a single defeat. An incredibly badass figure.

Xiao Yang slowly sat up straight. This was a sign of respect for the strong.

"Li Wei."

Her gaze shifted to the side. Both the Regent King and Li Wei exuded the aura of the powerful. However, Rong Yin’s was more the majesty and strategic prowess of a man in power, while Li Wei’s was the sharp, murderous edge of a military general.

Li Wei grew furious just looking at the Emperor’s unbearably fragile appearance. ’Did his soldiers risk their lives defending the border for a good-for-nothing like this?’

"If Your Majesty isn’t fully awake, why not go back and sleep your fill before returning?"

"By the time the enemy breaks through the palace gates, perhaps you’ll be wide awake!"

"General Li!"

Xiao Yang, the one being scolded, showed no reaction, but the Empress Dowager’s sharp rebuke suddenly rang out, "Showing contempt for His Majesty and cursing the Da Wei empire! What crime have you committed?"

With the Empress Dowager enraged, someone immediately stepped forward to plead for him. "Calm your anger, Empress Dowager. General Li merely had a slip of the tongue."

If someone pleaded for him, it was only natural that someone else would attack him. "One thinks before one speaks. General Li clearly holds no regard for the Empress Dowager and His Majesty. He should be punished severely."

SLAP!

Xiao Yang slapped the Dragon Throne, instantly drawing everyone’s gaze.

She looked at the crowd lazily. "What’s the big deal? What’s there to argue about?"

The Minister of Revenue, Liu Zhongwen, stepped forward. "General Li was disrespectful to Your Majesty and cursed Your Majesty’s empire. This is a grave crime. I implore Your Majesty to punish him without leniency."

’Liu Zhongwen is the Empress Dowager’s cousin, a key player in her faction. He controls the Ministry of Revenue and is, without a doubt, a majorly corrupt official.’

"He should indeed be punished."

She turned her gaze to Li Wei. "Since you love scolding me so much, I’ll grant you the title of Scolding Concubine."

"Your Majesty!"

The entire court, both civil and military officials, was stunned. ’Could something like this really happen a second time?’

Li Wei’s expression instantly became terrifying, as if he were about to commit regicide.

’Making a man a concubine... Has the Emperor decided he doesn’t want his empire anymore?’

The Empress Dowager was so furious her voice cracked. "Absurd! Emperor, stop this nonsense."

Xiao Yang replied, "It is not I who is being nonsensical. It is all of you who are messing with me."

Xiao Yang stood up and walked toward Li Wei, who was glaring at her with sharp disgust. "You think I’m humiliating you? What a coincidence. So what if I am?"

"You know perfectly well I have no power, yet you insist on questioning me? What’s wrong? Can the mighty National Guardian General no longer lift his blade? Are you unable to cut down the Regent King or kill the Minister of Revenue, so you can only turn your blade on me, the Emperor?"

"You had all the energy in the world for scolding me, so how is it that after one word from the Empress Dowager, you don’t dare let out so much as a fart?"

The Empress Dowager’s voice was shrill. "Emperor, shut your mouth!"

Liu Zhongwen and Prime Minister Song also tried to stop her. "Your Majesty, watch your words."

"Watch my words? You all can do as you please, but I’m not allowed to talk about it?"

Xiao Yang stood before Li Wei, looking at the man with utter mockery.

"General Li, a man of such unyielding pride. I’m standing right here, humiliating you. What can you do about it?"

Li Wei didn’t speak, but his eyes seemed to be on fire. His temples throbbed, and the muscles in his arms bulged.

It looked as if he might kill the Little Emperor with a single punch in the next moment.

Prime Minister Song didn’t want to intervene, but it wasn’t just Li Wei; the other military generals also looked ready to make a move, which was not good. "Your Majesty, calm your anger. Do not provoke General Li."

"This is what you call provoking?"

Xiao Yang turned her head, her gaze sweeping over the others. "Some of you support Li Wei, and some of you want to trample him, but don’t use me as your excuse."

Her gaze finally landed on the Minister of Revenue. "Lord Liu, you keep saying Li Wei is cursing Da Wei’s territory. In that case, let me ask you: where are the supplies he requested?"

Liu Zhongwen’s expression soured, but he still answered, "They are being prepared."

Li Wei frowned, a hostile glint in his eyes. His fists clenched and unclenched. "It will be winter in the northern borderlands by the tenth month. The soldiers at the border haven’t had new clothes in three years. Last year, several thousand froze to death. If the court’s supplies still fail to arrive, it will surely lead to a catastrophe."

’Although he truly hated the Emperor for the humiliation, the Emperor was indeed just a puppet. He had simply misdirected his anger at her...’

The most important thing now was the matter of the supplies.

Liu Zhongwen said, "For the past two years, the National Treasury has been empty, with expenses far exceeding revenue. General Li is requesting too much in military funding and supplies. We simply cannot produce it at a moment’s notice."

"Tch! Useless trash!"

Xiao Yang was full of contempt and scorn. "The great Minister of Revenue doesn’t even know how to make money? The nation’s purse strings are in your hands, and this is the result? How can you have the gall to remain in your post? If you can’t do the job, then give the position to someone who can. Don’t just occupy the latrine without taking a shit."

Liu Zhongwen’s face flushed red with anger. "Your Majesty, for all these years, I have been diligent and responsible! Even if I have no great merits, I have toiled tirelessly! For you to say such things, it truly chills my heart!"

Xiao Yang sneered. "Without results, it’s all for nothing. The National Treasury needs Silver, not your tireless toil. You were made an official to contribute to the nation, not to show off how noble you are."

"Xiao Jin!"

The Empress Dowager roared, "You will be silent!"

Xiao Yang stood before all the officials, and tilting her head up, she could just see the Empress Dowager behind the beaded screen.

It was only a beaded curtain; though it created a barrier, one could actually see through it quite clearly.

"It’s fine if the Empress Dowager wants me to be silent. If you want to rule this country, then don’t bring your troubles to me. Liu Zhongwen is your man, so make him embezzle a little less and at least pay the military funds."

"Otherwise, if Li Wei gets dissatisfied and simply lets the enemy army march straight in, I, the Emperor, will die, but neither the Empress Dowager nor the Liu Family will be able to escape!"

Everyone was dumbfounded. ’What was wrong with the Emperor today? Did he eat dynamite?’

’Confronting Li Wei and Liu Zhongwen was shocking enough, but now he was directly confronting the Empress Dowager too. Was he trying to overturn the heavens?’

However, that wasn’t all.

Xiao Yang walked past Rong Yin, her tone mocking and contemptuous. "The Regent King, a youthful prodigy, admired by Emperor Taizhong and valued by the late Emperor. And the result of your regency is that you don’t seem to have anything under control. Heh..."

That final "heh" was more eloquent than a thousand words, the very pinnacle of scorn.

The Puppet Emperor, dealing equal-opportunity emotional damage to all!

The entire court—the Empress Dowager Faction, the Regent King Faction, and the Prime Minister’s faction—all fell silent.

Because the Emperor had just emotionally eviscerated all of them, for a moment, no one was in a position to laugh at anyone else.

Only the courtiers from the Emperor’s faction, made up of those from poor families, had bright eyes. ’His Majesty is finally rising up!’

Even when the court session was declared over, none of the civil or military officials had recovered from the Emperor’s performance.

Xiao Yang flicked her sleeves and departed with what could only be described as swagger.

’As someone who transmigrated here, she didn’t have much of a sense of responsibility. She couldn’t manage the officials, let alone the empire.’

’So she didn’t care what sort of creatures the courtiers were. But she would make them all wonder just what sort of creature was sitting on the Dragon Throne!?’