PFC Chapter 339 The long-awaited court session: the awe and worship of the civil and military officials!
Chapter 339 The long-awaited court session: the awe and worship of the civil and military officials!
By the time it was over, it was already afternoon.
The sunlight outside the window shifted from east to west, and the light inside the hall turned into a soft, warm yellow.
Jiang Qingxue lay on her side in Qin Mu's arms, her face pressed against his chest, her long hair scattered on his arm.
Her cheeks were still flushed, her eyebrows still held the lingering passion of spring, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, showing that she was in a very good mood.
Qin Mu looked down at her, his fingers gently stroking her hair.
"What are you laughing at, so happy?" he asked.
Jiang Qingxue raised her head, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"I'm wondering if I might also be pregnant?" she said.
Qin Mu smiled, his fingers lingering on her hair.
"It's not that easy," he said.
He was telling the truth. It's a law of nature that the strong rarely bear offspring. His current strength is far too great; it's difficult for ordinary women to inherit his bloodline. Therefore, he was indeed somewhat surprised when he learned that Xu Fenghua was pregnant.
Jiang Qingxue's eyelashes trembled slightly, and a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes, but she quickly concealed it. She raised the corners of her mouth again, her tone light and cheerful.
"It doesn't matter," she said. "Then Your Majesty and I will try a few more times. We'll get it eventually."
Qin Mu looked at her serious expression, smiled gently, and said nothing.
The hall was quiet for a moment. Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting the shadows of the two people onto the bed curtains.
After a while, Qin Mu spoke up: "I still have important matters to attend to."
Jiang Qingxue curiously raised her head and looked at him.
"The day after tomorrow is my wedding to Zhao Qingxue," he said.
Jiang Qingxue's eyes dimmed slightly. That dimming only lasted for a moment, and she quickly regained her composure, a polite smile returning to her lips.
"Then I would like to congratulate Your Majesty on your successful wedding," she said, her voice soft and gentle.
Qin Mu smiled and nodded.
"it is good."
Then he lowered his head, leaned close to her ear, and said with a hint of a smile, "Come on, my beloved, let's continue."
Jiang Qingxue's face flushed again, and she softly hummed in agreement, burying her face in his chest.
The sunlight outside the window moved westward inch by inch, from one end of the window frame to the other, and then from the window frame to the windowsill.
The light inside the hall gradually changed from warm yellow to orange-red, and then from orange-red to dark gold.
The petals of the winter plum are still falling, one after another, landing on the bluestone slab, gently lifted up by the evening breeze, and then set down again.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Qingxue fell into a deep sleep.
Her breathing became long and even, a faint blush lingered on her cheeks, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, as if she were having a sweet dream.
Qin Mu leaned against the bedpost, looked down at the person in his arms, reached out and brushed a stray hair that had fallen on her face behind her ear, then gently pulled away the arm that she had been using as a pillow, and got up and got out of bed.
The night was already deep.
Moonlight filtered through the windowpanes, spreading a thin layer of silver frost across the ground.
He walked to the window, pushed it open, and the night wind rushed in, carrying the chill of early winter. In the distance came the sound of a night watchman's drum, deep and muffled like a heartbeat.
He stood there for a while, then turned around and walked back to the bedside, tucked the blanket around Jiang Qingxue, and then turned off the light.
the next morning.
As dawn broke, Qin Mu got up.
He put on his court robes, fastened his jade belt, and stepped out of his bedchamber. This was the first time he had appeared at the morning court session in a long time.
In the front hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, civil and military officials were already lined up on both sides according to their rank.
The palace doors slowly opened, and Qin Mu's figure appeared at the entrance.
The morning light shone in from behind him, making his moon-white figure stand out clearly.
He stepped onto the imperial steps and sat down on the throne.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!" The ministers all knelt down and bowed, their voices echoing throughout the hall.
Qin Mu leaned back in his chair, propped his chin on one hand, and glanced at the assembled officials.
"How are the preparations for tomorrow's wedding going?" he asked.
Prime Minister Li Si stepped out of the queue, walked to the center of the hall, and bowed deeply.
"Return to Your Majesty,"
His voice was steady and clear: "Everything is ready. I have checked the offerings at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the positions of the officials in charge of ceremonies, the procession of the guards, and the seating of the guests three times, and there is nothing that has been overlooked."
Qin Mu nodded.
"Okay," he said.
"Is there anything else?" Qin Mu leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping over the assembled officials. "If there is nothing else, the court may adjourn."
His voice was soft, with a hint of languor, as if this morning court session was merely a chore he had squeezed out of his busy schedule to attend.
The hall fell silent for a moment.
The ministers looked at each other, exchanging complex glances.
They came to court today not just to hear a simple question like, "How are the preparations going?"
They had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
They need an answer, a clear and unquestionable answer regarding the future relationship between the Qin Dynasty and Liyang.
This is not only about national policy, but also about the future position and status of each of them.
Li Si stepped out of the ranks, his white beard trembling slightly in the morning light.
He walked to the center of the hall, bowed deeply, and the hem of his official robe dragged on the ground, making a slight rubbing sound.
He straightened up, his eyes, which had seen the vicissitudes of life, looked at the young emperor on the throne. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke: "Your Majesty, we have a question."
Qin Mu looked at him without saying a word.
The gaze was calm, as calm as a stagnant pool, but Li Si felt an invisible pressure as he was looked at, like a mountain pressing down on his shoulders.
"Speak," Qin Mu said.
Li Si took a deep breath, the air filling his lungs and carrying the heavy atmosphere of the hall, which made him more alert.
"Your Majesty," his voice was steady, yet tinged with a barely suppressed, cautious probing, "how should the relationship between our Great Qin and the Li Yang Dynasty be arranged after the wedding?"
After he finished speaking, the hall fell even quieter.
All eyes were on Qin Mu, on his smiling, ever-composed face, and on his deep, all-seeing eyes.
They waited, holding their breath.
Qin Mu leaned back in his chair, his fingers paused on the armrest for a moment, then continued tapping.
The "tap, tap" sound was exceptionally clear in the silent hall, like a needle dropping onto a porcelain plate, tapping again and again on the tip of everyone's heart.
"A detailed plan will be made after the wedding."
He spoke, his voice still very soft, with a hint of nonchalance.
His gaze shifted from Li Si, sweeping over the figures in purple, scarlet, and green robes in the hall, over the faces filled with expectation, trepidation, and awe, and the smile on his lips deepened.
But one thing is certain—
He paused, then said slowly and deliberately, "From this day forward, the Li Yang Dynasty will be a vassal state of the Great Qin. Its army and laws must be subordinate to the Great Qin and it shall not act arbitrarily."
The moment the words fell, the hall fell into a deathly silence.
The silence lasted for a long time.
Then, the silence shattered.
Like a frozen lake being struck by a giant rock, cracks spread outwards from the center.
Li Si's pupils contracted slightly.
He stood there, his gray beard trembling slightly with excitement.
He has lived for so many years, assisted the late emperor, supported the new emperor, witnessed countless storms, and experienced countless life-and-death situations.
He thought he was no longer easily agitated by anything.
But at that moment, when he heard Qin Mu say those words, his eyes suddenly felt a little sore.
A vassal state.
The army and the law must be based on the Qin Dynasty.
No one may act on their own initiative.
These words echoed repeatedly in his mind, each word like a boulder falling from the sky and crashing into the lake in his heart that he thought was already calm and still, stirring up towering waves.
He recalled that a few years ago, the Liyang cavalry lined up on the opposite bank of the Lancang River, a dark mass that stretched as far as the eye could see.
That year, the people of the eastern border of the Great Qin could not sleep at night. Every household was digging cellars to store dry food and sending the elderly and children westward.
That year, he debated with his ministers in the court for three days and three nights, and the final strategy he adopted was to "hold the line and not take the initiative to attack".
It's not that we don't want to fight, it's that we can't win.
Liyang has Li Chunfeng, Gu Jiantang, Zhang Julu, and a million-strong army.
And what did the Qin Dynasty have? It had a national treasury depleted by years of war, an army that had been emptied out, and one thing—he dared not think further.
But at this moment, Qin Mu sat on the dragon throne and spoke in a nonchalant and casual tone.
From that time onward, the Liyang Dynasty became a vassal state of the Great Qin.
Without bloodshed.
Without losing a single soldier.
He never even left the imperial city.
Li Si's tears finally fell.
The tears slid silently down his wrinkled cheeks, dripping onto his dark purple official robe, leaving a small, dark stain.
He raised his sleeve and quickly wiped his tears, but the more he wiped, the more tears flowed, and he couldn't get them clean no matter what he did.
He simply stopped wiping and just stood there, tears streaming down his face.
Standing at the head of the military ranks, Wang Ben looked at Li Si's appearance and felt a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.
He was a military general, and unlike Li Si, he wouldn't shed tears, but his feelings at this moment were even more intense than Li Si's.
His hand was on the hilt of the sword, his knuckles turned white from the force, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
He had only one thought in his mind—to win without bloodshed.
For civil officials, these four words represent political achievements, glory, and monumental accomplishments worthy of being recorded in history.
But what do these four words mean to him, a military general?
This means that the soldiers who had been enduring hardship and sleeping outdoors on the border would no longer have to die.
This means that the number of young faces he personally sent away that never returned will no longer increase.
This means that from now on, the people on both sides of the Lancang River will no longer have to worry about the spread of war, no longer have to dig cellars, no longer have to store dry food, and no longer have to send the elderly and children to the west.
Wang Ben's Adam's apple bobbed; something was stuck there, unable to be swallowed or spit out.
He suddenly remembered someone