[1] “ Zhen ”: The royal I or We. It was how the emperor refers to himself.[2] “ Taijian ”: eunuchs, who were men that were castrated, are not the same as taijian as taijian refers to specific positions in the Imperial Palace and government which were occupied by men that were castrated.
[3] “ Xiao de ”: I (when talking to a superior)[4] “ Gongzi ”: son of an official; son of nobility; your son (honorific)[5] “ Niangniang ”: suffix which should only be applied to the empress or imperial concubines.
Qin Yu was sitting on the highest seat in the Great Hall, his eyes narrowed dangerously, as he looked coldly at the kneeling officer below. His fingers slightly tapped on the arm of the chair where he was sitting several times. Although it was only a few light taps, but in the quiet hall, where even the sound of a needle falling to the ground would be heard, just like the kneeling official, it was a heavy blow in the hearts of many of the officials below, making their hearts pound.
“Asking the Emperor to crown an Empress, even if not, this subject thinks that taking a few females as concubines is necessary, to expand the harem.” After a long silence, a white-haired old official could only bite the bullet and say through gritted teeth, his body was trembling.
“Zhen’s [1] affair, when is it your turn to be concerned about it?” Qin Yu’s pursed up lips were tightened, the people who were familiar with him, knew this showed that Qin Yu was very unhappy.
“Emperor, this old official, doesn’t dare to make decisions for you, but ever since you ascended the throne, no one has entered the harem for five years, and moreover now…” The officer stopped talking, he didn’t say the last part of his sentence, but his meaning was obvious. That Qin Yu was in relationship with a man now, which wasn’t in accordance with the royal family’s proper human relationships, where the Emperor would take many women into the harem, to spread his seed, and have multiple children. It’s what Qin Yu should do.
Qin Yu’s eyes became even more dangerous, just like an ice knife as it scraped down the kneeling official below, the temperature of the room once again dropped several degrees.
The kneeling official immediately felt even more cold sweat crawl down his back, almost soaking his thick court clothes.
“He.” Qin Yu chuckled lightly, his eyes were full of ridicule, “This country is mine, zhen can do whatever zhen wants to. Since you want zhen to crown an Empress so much, then zhen will crown that person as the Male Empress, as long as it’s that person zhen will do it. He will be the only one in zhen’s harem.”
“Emperor!” The kneeling official immediately raised his head, and cupped his hand over his other in a fist and said, “This is unreasonable, the royal family doesn’t have such precedence, Emperor, please think thrice!” The official was facing Qin Yu and saluted as he spoke.
“Asking the Emperor to think thrice!” Following that official, all of the other officials behind also knelt down to their knees.
“The rules are set by people, and since there was no such provision before, then zhen will create a precedent and become the first person.” Qin Yu looked coldly at the kneeling man below, before he stood up, “Since you all want to kneel so much, then just kneel, zhen will not accompany you all, and will retire first.” Then he walked away, no longer caring about the kneeling officials.
When he reached the door, Qin Yu halted his footsteps, turned around and said coldly, “Seven days later, zhen will hold the crowning ceremony of the Empress of our country. Beloved officials, don’t forget to attend.”
The taijians [2] and palace maids that were waiting outside the door also felt the low pressure from Qin Yu’s body, all of them buried their originally lowered heads even lower.
The head taijian, Chen Fen, was bending his body as he walked to Qin Yu’s side, and whispered cautiously, “Emperor, where do you want to go next?”
Qin Yu gave him a cold glance, “Where else can I go?”
Chen Fen quickly knelt down, “Xiao de [3] was muddled, so was speaking nonsense, please forgive me, Emperor. Emperor is naturally going back to Su gongzi’s [4] place.”
“He is zhen’s Empress.”
Chen Fen immediately blanked, but he quickly adjusted back his posture and said, “Yes, it is Empress niang…” When he speaking to this point, he could not help but pause, with his face wrinkling into a steamed stuffed bun. Niangniang [5] was used to called a woman, but Su gongzi was a man, called him niangniang was too strange.
When Qin Yu heard it, his cold face gradually relaxed, revealing a bit of a smile, he lightly kicked Chen Fen’s foot, “Alright, you’re still quick-witted, go prepare zhen’s sedan.”
“Yes, Emperor.” As if he was granted an amnesty, Chen Fen stood up and quickly went to prepare the sedan.
……
Li Luo’s chest was violently moving up and down, his eyes were half-closed as he gasped through his small mouth, a layer of fine sweat dotted his whole body, his legs still hooked around Qin Yu’s waist, even though they had already softened and no longer had any strength.
Qin Yu leaned over and kissed Li Luo’s mouth, he did not continue their activity, rather he rolled over and hugged Li Luo, before kissing his neck lightly, while saying, “Mucheng, I’m going to have us get married in seven days. After marriage you will be my Empress, my only spouse, and we will be together forever. After ten years, I will choose an outstanding child to inherit my Empire. Afterwards, we will leave the Imperial Palace, and go sightseeing everywhere around my country, how’s that?”
It’s as if Li Luo’s muddled head suddenly was struck by a bolt of lightning, making him immediately sober up, and then he blankly stayed still.
What, getting married?! He did not hear it wrong, right?
After he heard Qin Yu’s words, Li Luo did not listen to anything anymore, he just felt his whole mind was occupied by getting married these two words. He wanted to say no, but at the thought of Qin Yu’s dark complexion after he heard he refused, his scalp couldn’t help but instantly feel numb which stopped his impulses.
He could only hope that those stubborn officials could stop this crazy act of Qin Yu. After all, in the ancient times, their thought was still old fashioned, to crown a man as Empress, it was simply whimsical. It never had crossed his mind that Qin Yu would immediately get rid the official that called him vixen in the front of him, and directly suppressed the public’s intentions, so that they were afraid to speak again.