She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

Zhao Jin's heart skipped a beat. He understood the implications, but he was now completely under Cui Jintang's control, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "Your Majesty's planning is brilliant. This servant thinks it's a wonderful scheme. However, this imperial edict..."

“This edict will naturally be written by me,” Cui Jintang interrupted him, a slight, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips.

She was well aware of her intelligence, especially her extraordinary talent in imitating other people's handwriting.

Cui Jintang walked to the imperial desk, picked up a writing brush, and pondered for a moment. Her eyes were focused and sharp as she recalled the characteristics of the emperor's handwriting.

A moment later, she began to write with lightning speed, each stroke seemingly magical, exactly like the Emperor's handwriting.

Zhao Jin watched in stunned silence, never imagining that Cui Jintang possessed such a unique skill.

He secretly rejoiced that he had followed the right person, and at the same time felt awe for Cui Jintang's wisdom and methods.

Before long, a forged edict of succession appeared before them. Cui Jintang blew the ink dry, examined it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, handed the edict to Zhao Jin.

"Chief Steward Zhao, you only need to present this edict to the ministers at the appropriate time. This matter is of great importance, and we must not let even the slightest word of it leak out, otherwise, our lives will be in danger."

Zhao Jin accepted the imperial edict with trembling hands, as if holding a bomb that could explode at any moment: "Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will certainly keep it safe."

Cui Jintang patted Zhao Jin on the shoulder with satisfaction: "Good, if this succeeds, I will certainly not treat you unfairly."

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Yuan Kai, the Minister of Justice, and Wei Xiao, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, still had not found a single clue about the Emperor's poisoning.

However, state affairs could not be delayed, so on this day, Prime Minister Xiao Kuo summoned all civil and military officials to the Golden Palace to discuss countermeasures.

Dressed in court robes, he stood solemnly on the steps of the Golden Palace, gently tapping the jade tablet in his hand. He cleared his throat and addressed the crowd in a loud voice: "My lords, His Majesty has been unconscious for several days. The affairs of the court cannot be delayed any longer. I have summoned you all here today to discuss how to handle the state affairs during this period."

These words immediately sparked a great deal of discussion in the imperial court.

Some ministers advocated that the second prince, Chu Zhisheng, should oversee the country, while others proposed that several regents jointly handle government affairs.

Just as everyone was arguing, Zhao Jin hurriedly walked in from outside the hall. His face showed a hint of tension, but even more so a resolute determination to go all out.

"My lords, please pause your argument!" Zhao Jin raised his voice, breaking the commotion in the court.

He carefully took out the forged edict of succession from his bosom, raised his hands high, and said, "Before His Majesty fell into a coma, he left behind an edict of succession, which I have come to read aloud."

Upon hearing this, the entire court fell silent instantly, and everyone's eyes were focused on the imperial edict in Zhao Jin's hand.

Zhao Jin took a deep breath, unfolded the edict, and read it in his high-pitched voice: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Since ascending the throne, I have been diligent and conscientious, but Heaven has not granted my wishes. I have suddenly fallen seriously ill, and I fear my days are numbered."

"My Empress Cui is virtuous, wise, and benevolent. I have decided to pass the throne to her. When my son, Chu Zhisheng, comes of age, I will return the throne to him. I hope all my ministers will wholeheartedly assist me, ensuring the long-lasting prosperity of my empire..."

The contents of the imperial edict were like a bombshell, causing a huge uproar in the court.

"How is this possible?" Prime Minister Xiao Kuo was the first to stand up, his beard trembling with anger. "The Emperor has never mentioned the matter of succession to us. There must be something fishy about this edict!"

“Yes, this imperial edict came too suddenly; we cannot easily believe it,” another minister echoed.

"How could His Majesty possibly pass the throne to a woman like the Empress? This is utterly absurd!"

Upon seeing this, the ministers on the side of the Duke of Xingguo stood up one after another to defend the authenticity of the edict.

"Chief Steward Zhao has always served the Emperor; how could this imperial edict be fake?"

"The Empress is virtuous and capable, and it is the Emperor's wise decision to have her succeed to the throne."

The two sides argued vehemently, each sticking to their own version of events.

Prime Minister Xiao Kuo frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "My lords, this matter is of great importance and cannot be taken lightly. We must carefully verify the authenticity of this edict."

At this moment, the Marquis of Qingyang, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "What the Prime Minister said is absolutely right. In my opinion, we might as well invite a few scholars from the Hanlin Academy to come. They are most familiar with the Emperor's handwriting and will surely be able to distinguish the authenticity of this edict."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Soon, several Grand Secretaries were hastily summoned to the court. They received the imperial edict, examined it carefully, sometimes frowning, sometimes whispering to each other.

Zhao Jin stood to the side, outwardly calm, but inwardly extremely nervous.

His palms were slightly sweaty as he secretly prayed that the Grand Secretaries would not notice anything amiss.

After a long while, the leading scholar raised his head, looking hesitant: "Prime Minister, Your Excellencies, the handwriting on this edict... is indeed extremely similar to that of the Emperor. For the moment, I cannot distinguish between the real and the fake."

These words plunged the court into chaos once again.

Ministers who supported Cui Jintang seized the opportunity to launch an attack: "Even the Grand Secretary could not distinguish it, which is enough to prove that the edict is genuine."

The opposing ministers argued that the difficulty in discerning the truth indicated the edict was suspicious, and that Cui Jintang's succession should not be readily acknowledged.

Just as the two sides were deadlocked, Xiao Kuo suddenly spoke up: "In that case, let's put this matter aside for now. Once the Emperor wakes up, everything will be settled. In the meantime, state affairs will still be discussed and handled by all the ministers."

"Prime Minister Xiao, as the head of the civil officials, do you not know what an imperial edict is? Disobeying an imperial edict is a capital offense!" Duke Xingguo stepped forward to refute Xiao Kuo.

Although he was unhappy with his daughter's unauthorized decisions, he still had to do his best to protect her in front of outsiders.

"I only recognize the Emperor's own decree. This edict is hard to verify, so how can we act rashly?" Xiao Kuo remained unmoved and insisted.

Just then, a palace attendant outside the hall shouted, "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"

The ministers hurriedly bowed to greet her, and Cui Jintang walked slowly into the main hall with graceful steps.

She glanced at Zhao Jin first, and Zhao Jin subtly gave her a wink. Cui Jintang understood, but maintained a calm and composed demeanor.

"I heard that there has been a dispute in the court over the edict of succession, so I came to see for myself," Cui Jintang said softly.

Xiao Kuo stepped forward and said respectfully yet firmly, "Your Majesty, this edict is truly difficult to verify. We must wait for the Emperor to wake up before making a decision."

Cui Jintang turned her beautiful eyes to the assembled officials: "My lords, I know that your concern is whether I, a mere woman, can shoulder this great responsibility. Although I am a woman, I am well-versed in poetry, literature, and military strategy, and I know the way to govern a country."

If His Majesty is unable to recover in the short term, I am willing to temporarily assume the reins of government and accept the supervision of all ministers. If there is any impropriety in this regard, I am willing to abdicate.