I woke up as the Villainous Empress

101 Royal Court IV

All the ministers sighed in relief after listening to the testimony of the man and were secretly smiling when the Emperor declared Zheng Liang would be locked in his chamber for a week as a punishment to go overboard with his responsibilities and attempt to frame others.

Although it would have been better if he had given Zheng Liang a harsher punishment, it is still better than nothing.

They were aware that Zheng Liang was not lying and was telling the truth, but they were still relieved that this matter was buried before it got out of hand.

Otherwise, like a domino effect, all the other cases of corruption in the palace would come to the surface one by one and harm all the high-ranking officials and the ministers.

Just as everyone was hoping this court session would come to an end soon so that they could go back to their offices to relax, Zheng Huang said something which caused everyone’s smile to disappear immediately.

“Even though the Crown Prince failed to present the appropriate evidence in front of the court, the official appeal has been made to the royal court. It is our responsibility to look into this matter so I request the Head of the Police Department to investigate this matter thoroughly and report it to me.” The Emperor asked the Head of the Police Department who was standing in the side silently and was lost in a daze.

“Yes? Investigation? Me?” The Head of the Police Department was surprised when his name was called by the Emperor in front of everyone.

Zheng Huang pursed his lips and asked, ” Yes. Is there any problem?”

“No! There is no problem. I will look into this matter and will report to Your Majesty.” The officer fervently shook his head and accepted the challenge and bowed to the Emperor as a formality.

.....

A frown appeared on Yang Luoyang’s forehead as he wasn’t expecting this situation to turn out like this.

” Your Majesty, the case of corruption at the brothel house has been resolved by the testimony of the man. He confessed his crimes and stated that there are no other people or high-ranking officials, as His Highness insisted are involved in it.” He said while glancing at Zheng Liang as if mocking him with his gaze and meaningful tone.

” I believe there is no need to do an additional investigation about this matter and waste everyone’s time and money on this already closed case.” Yang Luoyang, who was silently standing on the side, interrupted Zheng Huang and advised him to not waste the money and time of others on an unnecessary-closed case.

The other minister nodded along with Yang Luoyang and added, ” Yes, Your Majesty. Please consider this before making any decision.” Everyone chimed in and begged the Emperor to think twice about his decision.

Zheng Huang pursed his lips seeing all the ministers standing against his decision. He looked at everyone with his solemn expression and glanced at his son who was standing with his head lowered in front of him.

He knows that Zheng Liang doesn’t like him much and only respects him since he is his father and the Emperor of the Zheng Empire. After his mother’s demise, the little boy has gone numb to the world and has closed his door to emotions.

He knows that he blamed him for his mother’s death. As a father, he has disappointed Zheng Liang and has hurt him, however, it is too late to apologize to him for that.

No matter how much Zheng Liang hates him, he doesn’t want him to go weak in front of his enemies and fight them eye to eye. That’s why he has always been stricter with him disciplining him.

So that he could become rough as a rock to face the harsh world which is the day-to-day reality of the palace, where everyone is considered his enemies who are waiting for an opportunity to kill him.

However, the last time when he summoned Yang Ning to punish her for breaking the protocols as the Future Crown Princess of the Empire, the girl told him something that he has never thought about before.

Before leaving, she requested to see him alone and wanted Zheng Liang to step out of the royal court for a while.

He was impressed by her boldness and was surprised that she had the guts to speak in front of him courageously rather than running away by his cold demeanor.

When Zheng Liang left the royal court and went outside, what she said to him shook him to the core. Because those words were something that no one has ever dared to say in front of his face.

“Your Majesty, there is something I would like to speak to you about.” She said carefully.

“What is it? What do you want to talk about that you even sent Zheng Liang out of the royal court?” The Emperor asked coldly, wondering if she wanted to make some secret deal with him.

However, when she opened her mouth, her boldness caught him off guard. ” Your Majesty, I know you care about His Highness. That’s why you treat him more strictly than others to discipline him and make him tougher than others.”

“However, You can be at ease. His Highness is a great man and will surely become a great Emperor in the future. He is your son, after all.”

” I hope along with being rigid with him, you could express your true feelings as well and show how much you care about him. Because this time will not come back. I hope you can understand that and show some emotions to him as well. So that he will know how much you care about him.” She said,

Her hands were trembling while saying this to the Emperor, however, as someone who has read the novel, she wanted to tell this to him at least once so that he won’t regret this later.

In the novel, the Emperor who secretly looked after his son never gets to express his feelings to him and Zheng Liang hated his father until the end for causing his mother’s death.

However, after a year of the Emperor’s demise, Zheng Liang found the diary of his father and got to know how much he cared for her.

The Emperor never hated Zheng Liang or his mother.

However, he hated his younger self for being so unruly and rebellious and hurting the person he used to love the most, his wife. If only he had understood the value his wife holds in his life, he wouldn’t have lost her so early and let her die a miserable death.

What he did was not unforgivable, however, if only he had expressed his feelings towards Zheng Liang and shown him some love and care, Zheng Liang wouldn’t have hated him so much until the end. It was the only regret in his life.

She wanted to end her meeting with the Emperor as soon as possible. However, after seeing the way the Emperor was trying to protect the prestige of Zheng Liang, she could see that he worries about his son a lot but never shows his love and care toward him.

That’s why she decided to be bold and remind him that this time will never come back. Rather than regretting his choices until the end, he should express his emotions sooner.

“What...what do you know about me? Stop spouting nonsense and leave before I change my mind.” Zheng Huang shouted at Yang Ning when she spoke to him about the sensitive topic and shooed her away from the royal court.

“I am leaving. Leaving. I apologize for troubling you.” Yang Ning curtsied to him and immediately left the royal court while dragging away her injured leg.

____

Zheng Huang took a deep breath upon remembering the words of Yang Ning and said, ” Minister Yang, You’re good at leading others at the royal court. I hope you’re not doing something like this outside the royal court, are you?” Zheng Huang asked coldly.

Yang Luoyang pursed his lips and wondered why His Majesty was being sarcastic to him all of a sudden. He has always listened to his words, how come he is not taking his advice anymore? He wondered.

Zheng Huang looked at everyone with an indifferent expression and announced, ” As the Emperor of the Zheng Empire, I announce that the cases of corruption at the brothel house and regarding the supplies sent to the famine-affected area will be officially investigated.”

” The reports of the investigation will be inspected by me and the private committee held by me. If anyone has any opinions regarding this decision, keep them to yourself. You’re free to share your opinions but in the end, it is my decision to accept them or not.” Zheng Huang said coldly, shutting everyone’s mouths at once.

The ministers were baffled to see the cold reaction of the Emperor. How come he is supporting the Crown Prince in front of everyone now? Before he used to punish him stricter than anyone, then what changed so suddenly?

While Yang Luoyang was gritting his teeth at the decision of His Majesty, Zheng Liang, on the other hand, was surprised when His Majesty stuck to his decision to investigate this matter.

Even though his witness turned out to be a failure, His Majesty still trusted in his words and arranged an official investigation into this incident.

It was one of the few times when he was feeling grateful to his father for trusting in him. After his mother passed away, they rarely talked to each other and had a formal relationship as the Emperor and the Crown Prince, rather than bonding together like father and son.

However, for some reason, it felt like he was protecting him like a father and not treating him as the Crown Prince only.