Chapter 459 New Emperor Enthroned
"Your Royal Highness, please take care. There is still a long road ahead. You and Her Highness will definitely be reunited," the palace maid hurriedly said.
Empress Jia smiled helplessly but she didn't say anything else.
Meanwhile, Qin Xiaoyao led Princess Xiangyang out of the palace.
On the way, the young girl did not say a single word.
When the horse carriage exited the palace gate, Qin Xiaoyao suddenly dismounted and squeezed into the horse carriage.
"Mas… Master." The young girl got a shock.
Qin Xiaoyao's lips curled up.
"I'm coming in to talk to you."
Princess Xiangyang finally relaxed a little.
Qin Xiaoyao proceeded to sit opposite Princess Xiangyang.
She looked at Princess Xiangyang intently.
Her gaze made the young girl very uneasy.
"Why did you become so quiet the moment you left Guan Ju Palace?
"Weren't you quite eloquent in Guan Ju Palace just now?" Qin Xiaoyao said with a laugh.
Princess Xiangyang blushed furiously.
"Master…" she called out.
Qin Xiaoyao smiled again.
She knew that her disciple was worried about Empress Jia.
She reached out and held Princess Xiangyang's hand.
"Don't worry. With His Majesty around, your Empress Mother's life won't be too hard."
Even if Prince Huaiyin was resentful toward Empress Jia, he would not carry things too far on the Emperor's account.
Princess Xiangyang's lips twitched. "I hope so," she said.
"Of course, it will be so," Qin Xiaoyao said.
"Now, your Empress Mother has agreed to the marriage, you can follow me with complete ease of mind."
Princess Xiangyang looked at Qin Xiaoyao.
"Don't weigh yourself down with the psychological burden.
"Only when you are leading a good life will your Empress Mother feel at ease. Obeying her will is the best filial piety you can show her," Qin Xiaoyao said.
Princess Xiangyang's heart trembled momentarily.
She finally nodded.
Only then did Qin Xiaoyao start teasing her precocious disciple.
After she said a few more words, Princess Xiangyang's mood was lifted.
By the time the two of them returned to Marquis's residence, the young girl's mood was already much better.
After dinner, Qin Xiaoyao went to Yun Niang and told her the good news.
At the same time, the two women decided to play matchmaker for Liu Ling and Xiangyang.
In the blink of an eye, it was the new Emperor's coronation day.
On this day, the sky was clear and the atmosphere in the palace was solemn and dignified.
After many days, the Emperor finally appeared in court again.
As witnessed by all the civil and military officials, the Emperor personally led Prince Huaiyin to the throne.
At this point, the new Emperor ascended the throne and was called Emperor Xuan.
After Emperor Xuan ascended the throne, he first issued a decree to grant amnesty to all commoners, reduce unpaid forced labor, and reduce taxation.
Then, the second imperial decree installed Song Que in the Ministry of Justice.
His task was to thoroughly investigate the remaining members of the Jia and Shen families to completely remove the poisonous ulcers still festering in the Great Jin State.
Over the next three months, the officials witnessed Song Que's ruthless methods.
Many officials in the Imperial Court and the local government officials also landed in trouble.
There were cases of people going to jail and having their residences searched and assets confiscated almost every day.
For a time, everyone in court was in a jittery state, and everyone felt insecure.
It wasn't until the fourth month that Song Que finally stopped hauling in people who were implicated.
Thereafter, Song Que submitted his resignation request to Emperor Xuan.
Not surprisingly, Emperor Xuan was unwilling to let Song Que leave.
However, Song Que had intimidated the entire Imperial Court with his ruthless methods.
Although the officials were angry at him, they didn't dare to say anything, but they were extremely displeased.
Under such circumstances, Emperor Xuan could only take into consideration the officials' sentiments and finally agreed to let Song Que resign.
With this method, Emperor Xuan made use of this sharp sword in the shape of Song Que to completely eradicate all hidden dangers and was thus able to rule securely over his empire.
As for Song Que, he had Qin Xiaoyao protecting him.
He was also able to escape the fate of being disposed of once he outlived his usefulness in his previous life and resign successfully.
Soon, Emperor Xuan issued an edict to hold a talent recruitment examination.
The purpose was to choose talented people to fill the positions vacated by those officials who were implicated by the Jia and Shen families and were dismissed.
The capital, which was once shrouded in fear due to the mass arrests, indictments, and persecutions, returned to its lively form once again.
On this day, in the private room of Cloud Scent Court.
Emperor Xuan sat at the table, drinking and chatting with Qin Xiaoyao and Song Que.
The current Cloud Scent Court had already been successfully reformed. Although there were still ladies accompanying patrons to drink, there was no longer any flesh trade.
The business hours had also changed. In the past, they were only open in the evening. Now, they operated from noon to evening.
"The talent recruitment examination will begin soon. Since you and your wife have not left the capital, why don't you two stay and help me take charge of the literary and martial examinations respectively?" Emperor Xuan said with a smile at Song Que and Qin Xiaoyao.
Between the couple, one was the top scorer of the previous literary examination, while the other was the chief examiner of the previous martial examination.
Moreover, both of them were about to return to Mountain Spring Town.
They had no conflict of interest with any of the officials in the court.
They were the most appropriate candidates to preside over the literary and martial examinations to help him select talents.
Song Que and Qin Xiaoyao exchanged looks with each other.
Then, Qin Xiaoyao laughed out loud. She raised her wine cup to Emperor Xuan.
"Your Majesty, are you going to squeeze out every last bit of value from us husband and wife?" she said impudently.
Her husband "slaughtered" many people with his "sweeping saber" in order to clear the obstacles for Emperor Xuan.
During those days, there had been several waves of assassins who overestimated themselves and wanted to take her husband's life.
It was only because she had sent members of the Warfire team to keep watch over her husband that those people did not succeed.
Otherwise, her husband would have died countless times if left by himself.
After finally settling the matter, the two of them were prepared to leave and they did not want any more complications.
The Emperor drank the wine and finally put away the thoughts he should not have.
10:33
He chatted with the two of them again.
Emperor Xuan was stunned.
Thereafter, he laughed out loud as well.
"Marquis Xiaoyao… Forget it… Only you can still speak so freely in front of me."
With that, Emperor Xuan glanced at Song Que.
"Brother Song is so lucky. You make me envious!"
"Come, let's drink!" Then, he raised his wine cup at Song Que.
Unfortunately, there was only one Qin Xiaoyao in this world.
A Qin Xiaoyao whom no one could compel.
Even now, when he had become the Emperor, he still couldn't compel this woman.
Song Que raised his wine cup.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" he said.
Then, he finished the wine in his cup.
The Emperor drank the wine and finally put away the thoughts he should not have.
He chatted with the two of them again.
Song Que still had some reservations. When he spoke to the Emperor, he had always mindful of not overstepping the boundary.
However, Qin Xiaoyao didn't have any reservations at all and treated Emperor Xuan as a friend.
Fortunately, Emperor Xuan liked Qin Xiaoyao's bold temperament and was not angry at all.
"Sigh! I'm a little envious of you two. When you return to Mountain Spring Town this time, you will be far away from the disputes of the Imperial Court. There will be nothing for you two to worry about.
"As for me, I have to deal with thousands of state matters every day, and I have a heavy burden on my shoulders," Emperor Xuan suddenly said.
He truly found it a little lamentable.
Previously, he thought that this couple was a little silly. They gave up their bright future, forgoing fame and riches, and wanted to return to a small place like Mountain Spring Town.
Now, when he was encumbered by complicated state affairs, he really felt a little tired. He couldn't help but envy these two people.
Qin Xiaoyao and Song Que looked at each other and smiled.
"Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and the Great Jin State has just experienced war and many things need to be rebuilt. It is to be expected that you will be a bit busy," Song Que said.
"In a few more days, the new officials will be in place. Then everything will be fine."
Qin Xiaoyao also chimed in with a smile, "At that point, if Your Majesty is free, why not come to Mountain Spring Town to visit us?
"The two of us will definitely give you a warm welcome!"
Emperor Xuan raised his eyebrows and immediately raised his wine cup to the two.
"In that case, it's settled!"
Qin Xiaoyao and Song Que raised their cups in return.