EWRN - Chapter 22
Chapter 22: Grand Construction of the Star-Plucking Tower
Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, more than three months had passed since the grand wedding of Huo Jinyu and Yan Xi, and since Noble Consort Bai had been found with child.
Huo Jinyu mused that during these placid days, she had to do something to feel content.
The next day, Huo Jinyu ascended the throne in the court hall. She remained as nonchalant as ever. The senior ministers had just paid their respects and stood firm when Huo Jinyu's voice came from above.
"Prime Minister Bai," Huo Jinyu said faintly.
"This old subject is here. What are Your Majesty's orders?" Prime Minister Bai, standing at the head of the officials, stepped forward, bowed, and replied.
"Prime Minister Bai, I have been counting the days. Noble Consort Bai has been with child for over three months now. The thought that I will soon have an heir brings me great joy!" Huo Jinyu's face was wreathed in smiles, her happiness apparent. The assembled ministers had never seen such an unrestrained expression on her face and were momentarily stunned. They all wondered inwardly: Why is the Emperor so abnormal today?
"This old subject congratulates Your Majesty! Felicitations, Your Majesty! I offer my early congratulations to Your Majesty on the blessing of an imperial son! This old subject is basking in Your Majesty's good fortune! Your Majesty's blessings are deep and vast! You will surely have an imperial son!" Prime Minister Bai was the first to react, hastily kneeling and offering repeated congratulations!
Startled by the Prime Minister's actions, the other ministers immediately followed his example. One after another, a dark mass of officials knelt and bowed. The sounds of congratulations rose and fell.
"Your subject congratulates Your Majesty!"
"Your subject offers early congratulations on the blessing of an imperial son!"
"Your subject offers felicitations to Your Majesty!"
"Your subject congratulates Your Majesty on the blessing of an imperial son!"
...
Unwittingly, the content of the congratulations went astray. The officials behaved as if Emperor Huo Jinyu already had an imperial son, congratulating and felicitating him without end. The proper court hall became as noisy and clamorous as a market street.
"Alright, alright." Huo Jinyu found the noise rather vexing. Although Bai Qing was pregnant, the child was not hers, nor could it possibly be. The ministers could never have imagined that their flattery had completely missed the mark. Huo Jinyu, who was being thoroughly cuckolded, truly wished she could stretch out a leg and kick this group of sycophants right out of the hall. But since she couldn't kick them, she could only speak to stop them.
Hearing Huo Jinyu speak, the ministers gradually quieted down. After spouting flattery for half the day, these old schemers in human skin all appeared perfectly natural, not blushing in the slightest. It was clear they were all accustomed to grand occasions.
Once the court had settled, Huo Jinyu spoke. "My beloved ministers, do you think I should show some token of appreciation for my noble consort and my imperial son?" Huo Jinyu looked at the officials with a teasing gaze.
"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. Now that you are about to have an imperial son, it is only right that you bestow blessings upon the mother and child!" As expected, Prime Minister Bai was always at the forefront of matters beneficial to the Bai family. He was the first to stand up and voice his approval.
"Your subject seconds the motion!" "Your subject seconds the motion!" "Your subject seconds the motion!" ...
A group of ministers on good terms with Prime Minister Bai stepped forward to second him. However, some of the Prime Minister's rivals, being outsiders, saw things more clearly. When things were this abnormal, something was amiss. The Emperor was so strange today; it was likely more than a simple reward. The Emperor's reward… it remained to be seen if Prime Minister Bai had a big enough stomach to swallow it! A few old foxes shrewdly held back, making no indication of their stance. Seeing this, some of the younger ministers also refrained from rashly seconding the motion.
"Good! Very good!" Huo Jinyu clapped her hands in delight. "It seems my beloved ministers are very much in favor of me rewarding Noble Consort Bai. In that case," Huo Jinyu looked at the clueless old ministers in the hall and said cheerfully, "I have decided to select a site on Qianzu Mountain to build a grand, nine-story Star-Plucking Tower for my noble consort. It will signify my wish to pluck the stars and moon for my heir and my beloved consort, to pray for the fortune of the imperial family, and to pray for all the common people under heaven!"
Qianzu Mountain was one of the two mountain ranges in front of Baili Mountain. What did a nine-story Star-Plucking Tower entail? In all the prosperous history of the Great Yuan Kingdom, the tallest structure was the seven-story Tianyuan Temple within the imperial city. That itself was an extremely difficult feat. If Huo Jinyu wanted to build a nine-story tower, setting aside the material costs, the manpower alone would be staggering! After all, that was Qianzu Mountain! The peak was so high and steep that the difficulty was beyond ordinary. It would truly require a colossal investment of funds and an immense amount of labor to have any chance of success.
"This…" Prime Minister Bai was now dumbfounded. Even with all his cunning, he didn't know how to respond. Should he agree? This was a personal gift from the Emperor, a magnificent imperial grace. But it would surely be opposed and cursed by the other ministers and ridiculed by the world. Should he disagree? He had just agreed that the Emperor should bestow a reward. To object now would be to slap his own face, and loudly at that.
Prime Minister Bai's face turned shades of green and white, his lips trembling, unable to form words.
But just because the Prime Minister didn't speak, it didn't mean other old ministers wouldn't object!
"Your Majesty! This is absolutely unacceptable! The late Emperor has only recently passed away. How can we undertake such massive construction right above the imperial city?" A white-bearded old minister stepped forward, the first to object.
"Indeed, Your Majesty! It is absolutely unacceptable! The late Emperor has just been interred in the imperial mausoleum. It is not appropriate for large-scale construction!"
"We implore Your Majesty to reconsider!" "We implore Your Majesty to reconsider!"
...
A portion of the ministers all offered their counsel, clamoring for Huo Jinyu to reconsider.
"Enough. I have reconsidered three times, four times, five times. My mind is made up! This matter will be handed over to Minister of Revenue Li Wenjie and Minister of Works Zheng Xun for full management. The Star-Plucking Tower must be completed before my imperial son is born!" Huo Jinyu ignored the ministers' objections and made her final decision. Since her rebirth, Huo Jinyu was truly becoming more and more willful.
Huo Jinyu thought to herself that while the kingdom had not yet fallen, she should spend as much of the treasury's silver as she could. It just so happened that Bai Qing had this last bit of value to be exploited, and it would be a waste not to use it. Since the construction of the Star-Plucking Tower was confirmed, then it was probably time to find an opportunity to deal with Bai Qing.
"Reporting to Your Majesty!" A minister who usually held considerable prestige dropped to his knees with a thud. Huo Jinyu looked at him quizzically, gesturing for him to speak.
"Your Majesty, you have repeatedly ignored your subjects' counsel, seeking only your own gratification, with no thought for the late Emperor's spirit in heaven! This violates the Way of the Ruler! In what way is Your Majesty different from the tyrant King Zhou of Shang?! If Your Majesty continues like this, the kingdom will fall sooner or later!" The minister knelt on the floor, loudly voicing the thoughts that many other ministers held in their hearts.
"Insolence!" Huo Jinyu's face instantly darkened, clouds gathering upon it. She slammed her right hand on the table. "Violates the Way of the Ruler! Do you even know what the Way of the Ruler is? The Way of the Ruler is determined by the ruler! My actions are not for a mere subject like you to criticize! Are words of the kingdom's fall something a mere subject like you is qualified to utter?!"
"Men, drag this disobedient, disrespectful, and insubordinate old fool out for me! Fifteen strokes with the light staff, to serve as a warning to others!" Huo Jinyu said grimly. She deeply disliked being lectured by others.
"Your Majesty! This will truly lead to the kingdom's fall!" Two guards rushed into the hall and began dragging the minister out. The minister continued to babble incessantly.
"Gag him!" Huo Jinyu waved her hand impatiently. The guards immediately covered the minister's mouth. The officials in the court only heard muffled "Mmm, mmm" sounds fading into the distance.
Perhaps because of the construction of the Star-Plucking Tower, Huo Jinyu was in a good mood and did not punish the outspoken minister too severely or even take his life. It was only fifteen strokes with the light staff, which was lighter than a normal caning. At most, it would make that foolish minister suffer a little physically and learn his lesson.
Seeing that the group of ministers had fallen silent, Huo Jinyu nodded in satisfaction and announced the court's dismissal.
As the court session ended, the ministers walked out in silence. They realized the Emperor's temperament was growing worse and worse. People really did change. When the Emperor was still the crown prince, he was so gentle and elegant, knowledgeable and courteous, with an extraordinary bearing and superior disposition. But the person on the throne now—lazy and spineless, trusting treacherous sycophants, promoting eunuchs, squandering the national treasury, lusting after women, idling away his days in pools of wine and forests of meat—what kind of monster had he become! He truly possessed all the characteristics of a ruler destined to lose his kingdom!
Yet the ministers dared not speak out. Otherwise, who knew if today's light caning would become tomorrow's beheading? They had elders and children at home; they could not afford such a risk.
Soon, under the operation of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue, on the very day the imperial edict was issued, construction began on the Star-Plucking Tower at Qianzu Mountain.
News of the Emperor undertaking massive construction for Noble Consort Bai quickly spread throughout the entire imperial city.
"Have you heard? That one is building a Star-Plucking Tower!"
"What Star-Plucking Tower? I heard a little about it from my wife."
"Tsk, you don't know? For the beauty Noble Consort Bai and the imperial son in her belly, the Emperor is going to build a nine-story-high Star-Plucking Tower on Qianzu Mountain! What does nine stories high mean? It's a structure completely unheard of in the entire Great Yuan Kingdom!"
"That's right, the tallest we have in the Great Yuan Kingdom now is only seven stories. How did this Noble Consort Bai get to be so important, to have the Emperor wrapped around her little finger?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down! But isn't it the truth? How many times has the Emperor broken precedent for this shameless woman!"
"Yes, yes, not long after the late Emperor passed away, this woman seduced the Emperor, making him defy the world to name her his consort. Now she's pregnant and still not content, seducing the Emperor into building some damned Star-Plucking Tower for her. Truly shameless!"
...
Ever since the edict for the grand construction of the Star-Plucking Tower was announced, the imperial city was filled with rumors and turmoil. Many able-bodied men were conscripted for the project. Although the wages were generous, the common people couldn't help but feel dissatisfied. Qianzu Mountain was a place few people were willing to go to on a normal day. It was steep and precipitous; a single misstep could mean death. How could the people not have grievances? In an instant, Noble Consort Bai's reputation hit rock bottom. The Bai family was also implicated to a significant degree. In contrast, Emperor Yuanjin, Huo Jinyu, remained detached from it all, her own reputation not suffering much of an impact.
Hearing Eunuch Li's report, this point left Huo Jinyu a little disappointed.
The Bai Residence.
Prime Minister Bai angrily smashed a celadon cup. It shattered to pieces on the floor, a testament to its owner's fury.
"These lowly commoners! All they do all day is wag their tongues! I should have their mouths sewn shut!"
While Prime Minister Bai fumed at home, he was completely unaware that disaster for the Bai family was just around the corner.
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