In less than a quarter of an hour, the assassins attempting to rescue the condemned were in dire straits, half of them felled by Zhuo Ni's sword. The remainder, seeing the tide turn, attempted to flee.
Qin Dan managed to capture a few alive, but several still escaped.
"Your Majesty, your subject's supervision was insufficient. I beg your Majesty's punishment."
Zhuo Ni, already seated with someone in her arms, replied, "We shall discuss this later. Continue with the execution. The auspicious hour is approaching."
Qin Dan: "..." Auspicious hour?
Was she serious?
"Yes."
The Imperial Guards quickly cleared the scene, and the execution resumed.
This time, no one dared to interfere. As the order to "execute" was given, over fifty heads fell. Those who had narrowly escaped death were already prepared for exile or hard labor.
After the executions, Zhuo Ni ascended the high platform with Chong Yan and addressed the assembled populace. "In five days, the Empress Consort's grand ceremony will be held. As a gesture of benevolence, I hereby grant a general amnesty to all citizens, reducing taxes and levies. For three years, no agricultural taxes will be collected. Those who are exempt from corvée labor will receive triple the silver. Tomorrow, we shall add an additional spring imperial examination. This decree shall be enforced in both countries."
In the past, many beneficial policies enacted by the Vermilion Bird Kingdom were rarely enjoyed by the citizens of the Black Tortoise Kingdom.
Shocked, everyone knelt down.
"Your Majesty is wise! Long live Your Majesty, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years! Long live the Empress Consort, a thousand years, a thousand times a thousand years!"
They didn't know who the Empress was going to crown as her consort. To the common people, anyone who brought them benefit, and the person who facilitated it, deserved their gratitude.
Hearing the unified voices of the populace, those who had reacted and considered objecting abandoned their thoughts.
Before, they could have offered their lives to dissuade the Empress's words, but now, with all the citizens having heard and anticipating it, speaking against it would be futile.
It would instead incite the wrath of the masses.
Thus, five days later, their wedding ceremony was officially held.
Previously, Zhuo Ni had personally ordered the reduction of expenditures by half. Therefore, this enfeoffment ceremony was not excessively extravagant. Compared to the ancestral rites and altar consecrations of the past, this ceremony included one additional event.
She ordered a red carpet to be laid from the palace gates to the city gates, and with Chong Yan, they rode in a carriage, parading through the streets, scattering copper coins, wedding candies, and cakes for the people to share in the joy.
All these items were taken from her private treasury, and no one found it wasteful.
Anyone who dared to call it extravagant would be the first to be opposed by the citizens of the capital. Su Dan novel network.
Zhuo Ni's actions allowed more than half the people in the capital to recognize him. Simultaneously, stories about him spread throughout Vermilion Bird. Especially among the lower-class commoners, who heard that because of the crowning of the Empress Consort, the Empress had ordered a reduction in taxes and levies for three years, everyone was deeply grateful to him.
It was worth noting that when the original host ascended the throne, they had only issued a general amnesty. A general amnesty had its pros and cons, as many prisoners were released, and most of them were bad people.
Zhuo Ni's addition of the word "citizens" indicated that the benefits of this decree would only be enjoyed by the common people. The criminals would at most get a good meal; those who were to be imprisoned would remain imprisoned, and those who were to work would continue to work.
This was Zhuo Ni's second time participating in an Empress Consort's grand ceremony.
The first time was when she first entered this world. However, at that time, many matters were handled by Chong Yan, and she merely followed the process, not feeling the hassle involved.
This time, she personally handled everything. After completing the entire process, the wedding night she had imagined, where the two would be intimately intertwined, never materialized. She sustained herself with her spiritual power, her body holding up, but Chong Yan had fallen asleep snoring before she even returned.
Looking at his serene sleeping face, Zhuo Ni sighed and did not disturb him.
—
The monarch's wedding was granted three days of leave.
The next day, as the couple was enjoying breakfast in tender affection, an uninvited guest arrived.
"This subject serves Your Majesty and the Empress Consort."
Zhuo Ni frowned upon seeing the person. "Who are you?"
The announcement from outside mentioned something about a secondary consort.
When did she confer such a title?
"This subject is the son of Minister Liu of the Ministry of War. Your Majesty once promised my mother that upon the enfeoffment of the Empress Consort, I would be made a secondary consort."
"Minister Liu?" Zhuo Ni pondered for a moment and asked, "Wasn't she exiled?"
The person showed no signs of sadness or distress, still smiling. "My mother angered Your Majesty and has been exiled to Lingnan. However, this matter was settled when my mother was still in office. Does Your Majesty intend to go back on your word?"
"How dare you!"
Chong Yan stood up. "As the son of a criminal official, what right do you have to accuse Your Majesty?"
The person knelt on the ground but still showed no intention of admitting fault. He merely said, "Your Majesty personally promised this matter. Now that the Empress Consort has been enfeoffed, Your Majesty should fulfill your promise to this subject."
Zhuo Ni said coldly, "The Empress Consort presides over the inner palace. Whether you can be enfeoffed depends on him."
The person then turned to look at Chong Yan.
Chong Yan's expression was icy. "According to the laws of the court, your mother is a criminal official, and you are not qualified to enter the palace."
"But Your Majesty personally promised this. Does Your Majesty intend to go back on your word? The ancients said: 'A gentleman's word is as good as nine cauldrons.' If Your Majesty breaks your word like this, how can you win the trust of the people under heaven?"
Chong Yan was about to retort, but Zhuo Ni interrupted, "You don't need to provoke me. Do you think I deliberately sought revenge against you by causing her to end up like this?"
She looked at the person kneeling before them, her expression cold. "Her current fate is of her own making. Even without you, I would not have let her off."
The expression on the face of the person before them finally showed a crack.
"I am the ruler of this nation; there is no need for me to target anyone. If she had not engaged in corruption and illegal activities, how would she have been caught? You wish to remain in the palace to exact revenge on me, likely because you haven't heard the rumors. At any time, it is as easy as breathing for me to kill you."
As soon as she finished speaking, the teacup in her hand turned to dust, and the tea within transformed into a wisp of white mist.
The eyes of the person kneeling on the ground contracted sharply, clearly terrified.
"You, as a son born out of wedlock, enjoyed what only a legitimate son could. When you replaced him to enter the palace, you should have known that many things in this world are not fair. I am the lord of all under heaven. If I seek fairness for more people, then those who disrupt fairness should die. She engaged in favoritism, embezzlement, and illegal activities. The luxury and extravagance you enjoy to this day were gained at the cost of many ordinary people starving and freezing. You are not innocent either."
The person on the ground remained silent.
"If you have nothing else, leave the palace. Go to the Imperial Clan Court manager, collect some silver, and live out the rest of your life. You should know that the prosperity and wealth you enjoy were obtained through your mother's exploitation of others. Her downfall is deserved, and you should not resent it."
The premise of not punishing children for their parents' crimes is that children do not benefit from their parents' crimes. This person could enter the palace and speak to her this way because his good mother had schemed for it, snatching things that belonged to others. According to the original laws, the crimes committed by Minister Liu were enough for the entire Liu family to be confiscated and exiled.
However, because too many people were apprehended this time, Chong Yan suggested lowering the penalty standard. For family members who were not involved, the punishment was lenient; otherwise, he would not be able to kneel here and speak.
The person on the ground pondered for a long time, eventually relenting. He bowed and said, "This commoner thanks Your Majesty for your magnanimity."