After being reborn, I stole the female lead's cheat ability and raised the empress.

Ning Qinglie gestured to Zhang Ziqiu with his eyes: "The Third Prince is the legitimate son, so why did the Emperor invite Consort Xian instead of the Empress?"

Zhang Ziqiu: "Don't pry into the affairs of the imperial family."

The emperor and empress were at odds; others might not know, but how could these henchmen of the emperor not know?

The three of them simultaneously realized the same thing: the Imperial Advisor wouldn't interfere in these matters, so was this an expression of dissatisfaction with the Third Prince? And what about the Third Prince's position as Crown Prince...?

Consort Xian arrived before the Third Prince. Seeing the serious atmosphere, she simply picked up the memorial and began to read it silently.

After an unknown amount of time had passed in this oppressive atmosphere, the Third Prince finally arrived.

The emperor was already furious, and when he saw him arrive, he threw the memorial at him.

"Look what you've done!"

The third prince glanced at it briefly, and his face instantly turned pale. He knelt down with a thud: "Father, this is a misunderstanding, nothing of the sort happened."

"You brat, how dare you try to argue?" The emperor slammed the white jade paperweight on the table at him.

The white jade paperweight was like a small brick; if it actually hit someone, something bad would definitely happen. So the emperor aimed for the shoulder.

But when he saw that the Third Prince had actually dodged it by tilting his head, his face darkened even more.

Good heavens, they actually dare to hide?

Although he was furious, he still had his rationality and did not intend to actually smash the third brother's weapon. According to his calculations, the paperweight should have just grazed his arm.

But this rebellious son, how dare he hide?

The emperor's suppressed anger finally erupted: "I have always valued you, but look at what you have done! Where do you put the face of the royal family?"

The Third Prince's hatred for Ali intensified, but under the Emperor's wrath, he had no choice but to quickly admit his mistake: "...Your subject knows his mistake!"

"I think you should marry a shrewish wife to keep you and your harem in check. Consort Xian, show me who can control him?"

The beautiful woman beside him immediately said, "I've heard that the second young lady of the Dongping Marquis's mansion is quite dashing, but I'm afraid her status is not worthy of the third prince..."

It's not that they're unworthy, but in terms of providing the most assistance, the General's Mansion is undoubtedly the best.

"How can they not be a suitable match? The Marquis of Dongping's family. I hereby issue an imperial decree ordering them to choose a date for their marriage."

The third prince immediately wailed, "Father, no!"

The emperor ignored him: "Go back to your residence and reflect on your past actions."

From the moment they saw the emperor's fury, the two censors held their breath and tried to minimize their presence, but the emperor still remembered them. He then waved to the two ministers, saying, "My two beloved ministers, you may also return."

Seeing you guys reminds me of the third brother, and just thinking about him annoys me!

That unfilial son!

The two men, as if granted a pardon, quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we take our leave." Then they vanished in a flash.

After everyone had left, the emperor finally showed his exhaustion: "My beloved consort, my good-for-nothing son has hurt someone, so I must at least offer some apology to avoid disappointing the people. However, this matter is somewhat difficult to bring up. I don't even know how to write an imperial edict..."

Consort Xian continued, "Logically speaking, since the third prince ruined that young lady's reputation, he should have brought her to the manor to salvage their reputations. However..."

She changed the subject, "If this girl wanted to, she wouldn't have filed a complaint with the emperor."

The emperor also said, "Yes, if such an edict is really issued, she will probably cause a huge uproar. Besides, isn't this still condoning her behavior? The people of the capital will not accept it!"

Ah Li had no idea that she was almost carried into the Third Prince's residence.

"Therefore, Your Majesty would be better off bestowing some gifts to appease those bullied girls, especially Miss Xia."

The emperor nodded in agreement and picked up his pen: "Then I will immediately draft an edict to reward these girls and bestow upon them the title of county princess."

"Sending such a grand gift over like this, where does that leave the young lady's face? And what if she misunderstands the Emperor's intentions and gets upset?"

"Then I won't issue an imperial decree, but will send someone to deliver it to her secretly?" the emperor probed.

“That won’t do either, Your Majesty. Think about it. She’s already humiliated. If you do this, she might think you’re trying to use your power to oppress her, and she’ll feel even more desperate. She might even do something drastic. Besides, the world won’t see this explanation.”

Nothing worked, so the Emperor simply asked Consort Xian, "In your opinion, what should we do?"

Consort Xian then laughed and said, "In my opinion, His Majesty's explanation to the world is to legislate."

"legislation?"

"I have done a rough investigation, and it turns out that more than half of the women in the capital alone are being oppressed and forced! The Third Prince's incident was merely the trigger; the root cause is that they have not received the protection of the imperial family. Is it because our country currently lacks laws to protect women that these powerful and wealthy people dare to openly humiliate women from commoner families? If Your Majesty wants to give an explanation to the people, enacting some laws to protect women would be the most satisfactory explanation for the people."

"The Empress has mentioned legislation before, but it has been strongly opposed by powerful families. Let me think about it... Let's see how to appease those women first."

He was willing to discuss these matters with Consort Xian, simply because she had previously been his personal maid and had unique ideas. She always managed to resolve his troubles perfectly.

"Your Majesty has no idea what a young lady needs. Please leave this matter to me."

"Alright, I'll leave this matter to you."

Ali never expected that her casual outburst would add a new law to the Azure Dragon Empire: "A man who coerces a woman shall be imprisoned for three years."

On the day the law was promulgated, the people of the capital spread the news and celebrated the victory of the common people.

Of course, that's something for later.

The next day.

Xia Jingwen originally just wanted to go get something to eat, but he heard a discussion coming from the next table.

"I heard that the Third Prince once considered making Miss Xia his concubine, but Miss Xia really refused the Third Prince's offer?"

"That's right, he got yelled at in front of everyone!"

"Sigh, if you ask me, Miss Xia really shouldn't have acted so impulsively."

"She impulsively rejected the Third Prince, which has seriously offended him. Sooner or later, the throne will be handed over to the Third Prince, and she may never be able to get married in the future."

"Not only will she be unable to get married, but she doesn't even know if she'll be able to live a decent life in the future."

Hearing this, Xia Jingwen could no longer bear it and picked up the table, smashing it at the two men.

……

When Xia Jingwen returned home, she naturally couldn't escape being beaten and scolded by her father.

"You little beast, you've injured someone again. You never give me a moment's peace."

Xia Jingwen said while dodging:

"Shouldn't they beat their father for talking badly about their sister behind her back?"

"Of course you deserve to be beaten, but I told you to run away when the officials came, otherwise I wasted more than 30 taels of silver to ransom you."

At this moment, Xia Jingwen couldn't help but exclaim, "Old ginger is indeed spicier."

After bowing to Xia Deqing, Xia Jingwen said, "I understand, son. Next time, I'll run away immediately after I finish beating him."

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, because once he did, the old father became even more agitated, grabbed a weapon, and prepared to strike again: "You unfilial son, are you thinking there will be a next time!"