After becoming a top-notch peasant woman, she continues to be a top-notch

"I am the emperor, I can kill anyone I want?" Qiao Chao said gritting his teeth.

Zhen Yue sat by the pool with her hands in her sleeves, staring at the pool and said "hmm" casually.

"Even Ah Chu and my third and second brothers asked me to take back my promise. What do they mean now?" Qiao Chao said with grievance, and put a hand on Zhen Yue's shoulder, "You are the only one I have now."

At this time, Chunxiu came over and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is here."

When Qiao Chao heard this, he was furious: "Let him stand outside and don't let him come in!"

Chunxiu glanced at Zhenyue. Zhenyue didn't say anything but just nodded. Chunxiu understood.

Chunxiu walked out and told the Crown Prince.

Ah Chu hesitated for a moment and could only stand outside in the yard to bask in the sun. The young eunuch following the Crown Prince saw this and quietly left to find Mu Qingshi.

"Crown Princess, His Highness has been punished by His Majesty to stand outside the courtyard gate."

Mu Qingshi sat up, "What's going on?"

The young eunuch told the story, and Mu Qingshi thought, "You mean the Queen is also in there?"

"Yes."

Mu Qingshi breathed a sigh of relief, "It's nothing, Your Highness, it's okay to be punished occasionally, it's just standing in the sun, it's not like you haven't been in the sun before." Fighting in the war was much harder than this before.

Little eunuch:?

Mu Qingshi was not worried because Zhen Yue was there. If Zhen Yue was not there, she might have been anxious. However, it has been so long, and she also knew her mother's abilities. She thought that His Highness would be fine soon.

At this time, Zhen Yue was listening to Qiao Chao muttering and cursing. Suddenly, her fishing rod began to move. Zhen Yue was startled and quickly grabbed the fishing rod. Qiao Chao on the side also shut up and started watching.

Zhen Yue pulled the fishing rod hard, feeling that this might be a big fish. She kicked Qiao Da and said, "What are you just standing there watching? Come and help me!"

Qiao Chao immediately came to his senses and helped Zhen Yue pull the fishing rod. The eunuchs and maids around also came over to help, but Qiao Chao did not let them help. Instead, they followed Zhen Yue and together they dragged the big fish up.

Looking at the big fish jumping around in the fish basket, Qiao Chao looked at Zhen Yue and said with a smile: "My wife is really amazing! This fish probably weighs more than ten pounds."

Zhen Yue panted for a while, pinching her waist, "Your Majesty and I caught this fish. I think the fish also wanted to listen to your Majesty's words, so they were accidentally attracted by my hook. Let the imperial kitchen cook this fish today, and your majesty and I will have a good meal tonight."

Qiao Chao was stunned for a moment and then smiled, "Okay."

After so long, only A Yue still treats him the same way as before. I don’t know if it’s because his authority is growing, but many people seem a little scared when looking at him.

Zhen Yue looked at the sky and said, "No more fishing today, Your Majesty, let's go back."

"Okay." Qiao Chao held Zhen Yue's hand, and the eunuch behind him took the fish basket and went to the imperial kitchen.

When I walked out of the yard, I saw Achu standing aside, sweating profusely, and his clothes looked slightly wet.

Qiao Chao frowned and wanted to say something but Zhen Yue clapped her hands. Qiao Chao turned his head away and stopped talking.

Zhen Yue: "Achu, today mom caught a big fish weighing more than ten kilograms. Your dad and I pulled it up together. I asked the imperial kitchen to cook it tonight. Do you want to eat with us?"

Achu looked at his father cautiously.

Qiao Chao snorted, "Eat if you want."

Zhen Yue: "Your father and I can't finish it anyway, so why don't you bring the Crown Princess and the others over here."

Ah Chu immediately bowed and saluted, "Your son obeys your order."

Zhen Yue waved her hand, "You go back first."

"Yes. My son, please retire."

After Ah Chu left, Zhen Yue and Qiao Chao returned to Qiankun Palace. Qiao Chao sat on the couch and sighed. Suddenly he asked Zhen Yue, "Do you think I am cruel?"

Zhen Yue sneered, "Cruel? If you weren't cruel, how did you get the throne? Didn't you get it by killing people? If you didn't kill people, we would all be dead."

"They deserve to die for corruption. They should be torn into pieces. It would be best if their meat could be cooked and fed to the villagers as a sacrifice to the victims who died in the disaster."

"But it seems that death is too easy for them. It would be better if they live a life worse than death. They should have nothing of what they care about the most!"

"Oh right, punish the entire clan, right? I think even those who are related to them by marriage will not be spared. They are all the same. Kill those who are not capable. Anyway, if you kill a group of officials, you will bring more to justice."

Qiao Chao: ...not to the extent that...

Zhen Yue looked at him, "Tell me, am I vicious and cruel or are you cruel?"

Qiao Chao: ...

Zhen Yue: "How about this, I'll go to court with you tomorrow and raise this issue with you?"

Qiao Chao: “…No need.”

Zhen Yue: "Okay."

In the evening, the Crown Prince came with the Crown Princess and two children and had a fish feast. After the meal, Zhen Yue was smiling and playing with the children. Ah Chu and Qiao Chao sat on the side. Ah Chu looked at his father and hesitated to speak...

However, Qiao Chao still said it out loud, "Your mother said that they deserved to be put to death. It would be best if their bodies were to be torn into pieces or cooked and given to the affected villagers to eat as a sacrifice to the victims..."

Ah Chu felt a little cold on his back, and he felt even colder when he saw Zhen Yue smiling over there...

"But your mother is right. Death seems too easy for them. Living a life worse than death is the best. They deserve to atone for their sins!"

Ah Chu: ...Why do I feel like it would be better to kill him and put an end to it all?

Qiao Chao: "Okay, you guys go back first. There will be no court tomorrow. I will accompany your mother."

Ah Chu: ...

He suddenly felt that it would be better to go to court, in case his mother said something even more shocking when his father was with her.

What was unexpected was that on the second day, all the ministers in the court seemed to know the Queen's opinion. The news became more and more mysterious. Some people even said that the Queen hated the corrupt ministers too much and did not want them to die so quickly. It would be better to chop off all their limbs, make them into human pigs, and put them in jars for people to admire...

Zhen Yue was sitting in the boat at this time, drinking tea, and laughed at Chun Xiu's words, "Ah, did I say that?"

Chunxiu was very angry. "It was all those people who said that. I will find that person. He deserves to die."

Zhen Yue put down the teacup, "Forget it. Don't pay attention to it. I'm just the queen. Isn't it only the emperor who makes the final decision?"

When the court was held the next day, the ministers no longer dared to say anything about not punishing the entire clan. Instead, they said, "Your Majesty, the punishment is too harsh and is not conducive to the stability of the court. Moreover, the punishment of turning a human into a pig is too cruel and cannot be carried out!"

"Your Majesty, the prisoner should not be a tool for Your Majesty to play with. It is better to end it all once and for all."

Even if the crime of corruption deserves the death penalty, but being torn apart by five horses and boiling the meat is too... too cruel and brutal. Moreover, the ancients believed that it is best for the dead to be intact, and death is the greatest...

It would be better to just kill him. If they were to live a life worse than death, they would not be able to accept it. And His Majesty seemed to listen to the Empress more... Suddenly, some people turned pale.

Looking at everyone who said that it would be better to just kill them, Qiao Chao suddenly felt a little funny. Finally, he said, "I have thought about it, and what you said makes sense. Therefore, those who know about it will be beheaded in public, and those who don't know will be exiled to Ningbei and will not be allowed to serve as officials for three generations!" Ningbei is a small place in the northernmost part of the country. It is cold there for most of the year.

Everyone thought that after being exiled, they would not be turned into human pigs or chopped into meat paste, so it was okay, and no one objected.

In the Prince's Mansion.

Crown Princess Mu Qingshi said to His Royal Highness, "It is still up to the Queen Mother to take action and use the advance as a retreat."

Ah Chu: "? What do you mean by advancing to retreat?"

Mu Qingshi: "Your Highness, didn't you think that it was bad to punish the entire clan at the beginning? Didn't you want to behead the mastermind and demote the rest to slavery? Although it doesn't quite match your idea now, we didn't kill them all."

Ah Chu was stunned, "It seems so."

Mu Qingshi: "But the reputation of the Queen Mother seems to be not very good in the eyes of the ministers."

Ah Chu thought carelessly, "If anyone dares to talk about my mother, he will be killed without mercy!" These days he also felt that his father's behavior was somewhat radical and cruel, and some of his decisions could even be called tyranny, but when he thought of his mother...it seemed that his father was not that violent.

Mu Qingshi patted Ah Chu's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Actually, I think that Father did this to leave you a dynasty that is easier to control."

Achu was stunned and felt that he understood a lot.

"You are right. Parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run. I will go to the palace immediately to apologize to my father."

When he entered the palace and expressed his apologies to Qiao Chao, saying that he didn't understand his good intentions and that he would definitely stand on the same side with his father in the future, Qiao Chao was a little confused. In fact, he didn't think that way at all. He was just too angry at those corrupt officials and wanted to chop off their heads.

He didn’t know if it was because he was getting older, but sometimes he felt that his temper was a little bad. But when he sat next to A Yue, he felt much calmer.

When Qiao Chao told Zhen Yue about this, Zhen Yue just looked at him for a long time, then touched his hair. Part of his hair had begun to turn white.

Zhen Yue also touched her hair and said, "We are both old, and you have more white hair than me."

Qiao Chao looked at her hair and said, "You don't have any white hair."

Zhen Yue: "Yes, you will find it if you look carefully."

"If I say no, I won't."

Zhen Yue sighed, "What I mean is, we are all old. If you don't want to be the emperor, what are you going to do? What do you want to do? Or do you want to be the emperor until you die?"

Qiao Chao was stunned, and then said nothing more.

A month later, Qiao Chao announced that he would abdicate and let the crown prince inherit the throne. This announcement shocked the court, and Achu was also very confused because his father had never told him about this before.

"Where is the Minister of Rites?"

"Your Majesty, here is my minister."

"Hold the crown prince's coronation ceremony within two months."

Ah Chu was stunned and quickly stood up, "Father!"

Qiao Chao waved his hand. "If you have any questions, tell me later. Do the others have any questions?"

Everyone looked at each other, as if there was no problem. It seemed that it was okay for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to ascend the throne. After all, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had also helped to deal with many things.

Qiao Chao: "Since there is nothing else to do, let's adjourn the court."

Afterwards, Ah Chu followed Qiao Chao back to Qiankun Palace, "Father, why?"

Qiao Chao: "I have spent very little time with your mother in this life, and I want to be with her all the time from now on." After saying that, he looked around and found that Zhen Yue was not there, so he immediately asked the people around him, "Where is the queen?"

"Your Majesty, the Queen is in the garden, boating on the lake."

Qiao Chao nodded and looked at Ah Chu, "You are old enough, it's time for you to be the head of the family."

Ah Chu moved his mouth and took a deep breath, "Father, I will never let your training go to waste!"

Qiao Chao waved his hand, "Okay, go back, I'm going to find your mother."

Zhen Yue also happened to hear the news. When Qiao Chao came over, she asked, "You won't give up your position because of what I said, right?"

Qiao Chao looked at her and said, "No, I just thought that I never seem to have time to accompany you, but from now on, I can accompany you until you die."

It would be a lie to say that she was not moved, but Zhen Yue still said: "What are you talking about dying? You will live a hundred years. She put a piece of food in his bowl with chopsticks and said, "Let's eat first."

She had been in the mood to have lunch in the garden today. As for Qiao Chao, she thought he would be busy, but she didn't expect him to leave the court so soon. He didn't even call a meeting of ministers, and even announced that he would give his position to Achu.

She didn't know it before, or rather, no one knew it except Qiao Chao herself.

Qiao Chao smiled and ate the food she picked up.

Two months is still very urgent, because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is about to ascend the throne, and the Crown Princess will also become the Queen, and all kinds of dresses need to be prepared.

And now Mu Qingshi is pregnant again, although it is only three months, she is a little confused. The Mu family is very happy to know that she is going to be the queen. Moreover, His Highness only has their daughter as a woman, which means that the next generation of prince will definitely come out of her belly.

But Mu Qingshi kept telling the Mu family to keep a low profile at this time, "If anyone in the Mu family uses my name to do something bad, I will not show mercy."

She would never give His Highness the impression that she indulged her natal family. His Highness ascended the throne, and his father and mother were old. What if the court officials asked His Highness to take a concubine? His father and mother could not control the new emperor, or in fact, they had never controlled him, and His Highness was just learning from the current emperor.

Her Highness is now in her prime, so there is no problem with having a few more children. She will never allow her children to not become emperor in the end!

A few days before Ah Chu ascended the throne, Qiao Chao pointed to the map of Da'an and said, "Ah Yue, didn't you say before that you wanted to go to Nanhai County? Can I take you there?"

Zhen Yue nodded, "Okay."

Zhen Yue leaned on Qiao Chao's shoulder, "Your Majesty, thank you."

Qiao Chao hugged her and said, "No, I should thank you."

Thank you for showing up, thank you for your help all the time, and thank you for all your company.

He is lonely, but with her, he is no longer lonely. God allowed them to meet after a miracle, become husband and wife, and finally fall in love. This is his luck!

The day before Ah Chu ascended the throne, Qiao Chao gave Ah Chu the jade seal, stamp and other things, "This is your position from now on. I hope that when you make decisions in the future, you will think about your days in Da Nan Village when you were young."

He hopes he can look at the problem from a bottom-up perspective, rather than always looking at it from a top-down perspective.

Ah Chu said solemnly: "Father, I will."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you from now on."

"I will definitely live up to your trust."