Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

Hall of Supreme Harmony

The next morning, civil and military officials, dressed in their court robes, gathered at the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Inside the main hall, civil and military officials had been waiting for a long time, but the emperor had not yet appeared.

The civil and military officials had different expressions. On the surface, they appeared to be on good terms, but underneath, undercurrents were surging and many people were whispering among themselves.

"Strange, why hasn't the Emperor arrived yet?"

"That's right, the morning court session was supposed to be tomorrow, but it was suddenly rescheduled, and the Emperor is nowhere to be seen. What exactly is going on?"

"General Song rarely appeared in the morning court sessions in the past, so why did he show up today?"

"You all know that Prefect Song was thrown into prison and is now being held in Dali Temple. In my opinion, it must be because of his father."

Listening to the various sounds inside the hall, Song Wenjie remained calm and composed. The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Tu Guoqiang, the Governor, Chen Jing, and several other senior officials were also present.

Upon entering the palace this morning, Song Wenjie sensed something was different from usual.

There are nine gates leading to the Hall of Supreme Harmony from the outside, each guarded by imperial guards.

In the past, Xuanwu Gate and Congnan Gate were heavily guarded, but surprisingly, the nine gates were somewhat loosely guarded today.

Those imperial guards looked listless, and there was something strange about them.

The seasoned Song Wenjie knew there was something fishy going on. It was clearly a trap to lure them in, a blatant attempt to lower their guard. It was a classic case of protesting too much.

Song Wenjie knew that the calm in the main hall today, coupled with the Emperor's delayed arrival, was a harbinger of an impending storm.

After waiting and waiting, the emperor still did not appear, and the civil and military officials began to lose their patience.

At this moment, Eunuch Li stepped forward, and seeing the puzzled looks on the faces of the civil and military officials, he said in a high-pitched voice, "His Majesty got up late today, please wait a little longer, ministers."

Yancheng's chief minister, Ma Ke, looked worried: "His Majesty is busy with countless affairs of state. Eunuch Li, you must remind His Majesty to take care of his health. He is the foundation of the country and the ruler of the nation."

At this moment, an old minister named Zhong Yuguo spoke up: "His Majesty is tired. With three thousand beauties in the harem, His Majesty bestows his favors on everyone, even the palace maids. How can he not be tired!"

These words immediately caused an uproar!

Most importantly, the sentence Lord Zhong uttered afterward clearly implied that the Emperor had taken favor with the palace maid.

Zhong Yuguo is just relying on his status as a former official of the previous dynasty to disregard the emperor.

The sycophant's face turned red with anger: "Lord Zhong, you can't rely on your seniority and dare to be disrespectful to the Emperor! That's a great disrespect!"

"That's right, Zhong Yuguo. You can't act recklessly just because you're a veteran official from the previous dynasty."

"Hahahaha~"

Zhong Yuguo laughed so hard his white beard trembled, and he spoke with a hidden sarcasm: "I think it's not this old minister who's acting recklessly, but the Emperor."

Zhong Yuguo gave everyone a meaningful look: "If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. But there are still people who know about the laundry department."

These words stirred up a hornet's nest, and everyone started whispering among themselves.

They had heard about this, but no one dared to speculate. After hearing what Zhong Yuguo said, everyone began to have doubts.

Another senior official, Huang Daofu, followed up with a pained expression: "How wise the late emperor was, governing the Hanjiang region to a state of prosperity and peace."

"When the late emperor passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne, the country was suffering from a severe drought. However, the emperor did nothing and indulged in extravagance and debauchery in the harem every day."

"The people are suffering like they are in water and fire. In just two years, millions of people have been displaced and are full of complaints. Your Majesty has actually made the country that the late Emperor built crumble, and neighboring countries are eyeing it covetously. You have really failed the late Emperor's trust."

These words caused an uproar in the hall, with everyone holding their breath for Huang Daofu. They hadn't expected him to say what everyone was thinking.

Seeing that everyone's faces were slightly moved, another senior minister, Fan Bu, seized the opportunity, glanced around at everyone, and slowly said, "Recently, there have been rumors circulating that the current emperor is not the son of the late emperor. I wonder if anyone has heard about this?"

"They say there's no smoke without fire, but recalling the deaths of the late Emperor and Consort Yi, I find them deeply suspicious."

Tu Guoqiang, the Dali Temple's trusted minister, said with a solemn expression: "Lord Fan, this matter cannot be spoken carelessly!"

Fan Bu glanced at him: "Lord Tu, you had doubts about Consort Yi's death, but the late Emperor and Consort Yi had the exact same symptoms when they died. You haven't forgotten that, have you?"

Tu Guoqiang fell silent. He had indeed suspected something back then and had even started investigating, but he couldn't find anything wrong, so the matter was eventually dropped.

"The current emperor is incompetent. If the emperor is not the son of the late emperor, then the third prince should be allowed to succeed to the throne."

Huang Daofu, who was fearless, became more and more excited as he spoke, and directly called on the Third Prince to ascend the throne.

Zhu Yuanzhang clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Lord Huang, you mustn't speak recklessly. This is a capital offense. You are putting me in an unjust position."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Left Vice Minister Chen Tingwei shouted, "You audacious Huang Daofu! How dare you! I think you're tired of living. When the Emperor arrives, he'll definitely impeach you!"

Zhong Yuguo and Huang Daofu, along with other senior officials, stirred up trouble by speaking one after another, and more and more people joined the discussion.

The court officials split into two factions. One faction supported the Emperor, and the other supported the Third Prince.

Just as everyone was arguing, Eunuch Li announced, "His Majesty has arrived!"

The court officials bowed and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects! Long live the Emperor!"

Several people stood motionless in the court. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be Zhong Yuguo, Huang Daofu, and several other senior officials.

Standing at the back, Chen Tingwei saw that none of them had paid homage to the Emperor, and immediately said loudly, "Lord Zhong, Lord Huang, Lord Li, how dare you!"

"You're actually acting like you're old and arrogant, not even paying homage to the Emperor. I think you lot are clearly plotting a rebellion."

Zhong Yuguo glanced intently at everyone and said loudly, "My loyalty to the Hanjiang Dynasty is unwavering and beyond question."

"However, we hope that Your Majesty can provide a reasonable explanation for the rumors circulating about the Emperor."

The court fell completely silent!

All eyes turned to the Emperor, whose expression was uncertain as he was about to speak.

Just then, a majestic voice rang out: "Zhong Yuguo, how dare you! Relying on your status as a veteran official of the previous dynasty, you dare to commit treason and show no respect for the Emperor."

When everyone turned around, they saw that it was the Empress Dowager, with a dignified expression. Many ministers were terrified and bowed in respect.

"Mother~"

Seeing his mother arrive, the emperor felt a sense of relief, as if he had found a pillar of support. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and his heart finally settled down.

The Empress Dowager walked to the main hall and slowly turned around, her sharp eyes staring at everyone. She said, word by word, "With the Emperor here, anyone who dares to be disrespectful, whether you are a veteran minister or a meritorious official, will be executed on the spot for treason."

Tu Guoqiang clasped his hands in a fist and said, “The Empress Dowager is right. Anyone who dares to disrespect the Emperor should be executed immediately! On the other hand, anyone who tries to impersonate the late Emperor’s bloodline should be killed.”

Unexpectedly, Tu Guoqiang showed no fear in front of the Empress Dowager, which made everyone hold their breath for him.