A Scummy Alpha Emperor Transmigrated and Marked the Powerful Prime Minister - Chapter 6

Lin Jiayue, the Emperor, was a sovereign in name only.

In the Great Zhou, it wasn’t unheard of for an Emperor to take full power at fifteen or sixteen, yet in her case, she had to wait until twenty. She participated in all affairs merely as a symbolic gesture.

For instance, right now, aside from Wei Jinming, whose first word was addressed to her, everyone else addressed the Empress Dowager first. When Cui Bai and Chen Huan came to report, they reported to the Empress Dowager and the Grand Chancellor. Even though matters of the outer court were supposed to be conducted through external officials—and even the Empress Dowager wasn’t meant to interfere directly—these people still ignored her.

But she was the Emperor, and that meant she held the mantle of legitimacy and the Mandate of Heaven. When she said “Petition granted,” Empress Dowager Cui could no longer block Lu Siling’s mouth.

The Empress Dowager’s eyes widened. She had never imagined the young Emperor would dare to defy her will.

Lu Siling clasped her hands toward the Empress Dowager amidst her murderous glare, preparing to rise.

“Just stay seated.”

Lu Siling was already so weak; Lin Jiayue couldn’t let her stand while reporting. Ordinarily, Lu Siling would have struggled to stand regardless; she used to think the young Emperor lacked talent but made up for it by being obedient. After last night, she was completely disillusioned. A stupid and wicked Emperor didn’t deserve her respect.

“The assassination of a sovereign is an act that shakes the very foundation of the state. It must be thoroughly investigated. I believe the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review has a track record of solving major cases. I request this case be transferred to the Court of Judicial Review.”

Usually, palace cases were handled jointly by the Directorate of Ceremonies (eunuchs) and the Imperial City Guard. To win the Emperor’s trust, the two sides would engage in overt and covert power struggles. Currently, the City Guard was “named Cui,” and of the five great eunuchs in the Directorate who should have been the Emperor’s men, only Wei Jinming remained—holding the title of the seal-holder without the actual power.

Regardless, palace cases rarely leaked to the outside; to do so would be a slap in the face to these two agencies. Wei Jinming didn’t care, as she was a figurehead anyway, but Cui Bai immediately objected: “Grand Chancellor, matters of investigation naturally fall to us in the Imperial City Guard.”

“The Imperial City Guard?” Lu Siling was polite to the Empress Dowager, but she didn’t care one bit for someone like Cui Bai. Her tone was indifferent, yet everyone present inexplicably heard a note of disdain in it.

“Cui Bai, how dare you. I am the Grand Chancellor of the Great Zhou, currently in dialogue with His Majesty. You did not request permission to speak, yet you interrupted directly. Do you hold His Majesty in no regard?”

Yes, he thought, but he didn’t dare say it. Cui Bai immediately knelt. “I only wished to uncover the truth as quickly as possible. I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”

He apologized with his mouth, but his attitude showed no real contrition.

Lin Jiayue sneered inwardly. She stood up in a panic and hurriedly, clumsily tried to help Cui Bai up. “Commander Cui, you must not do this.”

“Your Majesty! What sort of decorum is this, acting all flustered?”

The Empress Dowager finally spoke, opening with a rebuke for Lin Jiayue, even though it was Cui Bai who had been disrespectful.

Lin Jiayue lowered her eyes, a trace of a smile touching her lips as she resumed her cowering act. “Empress Dowager, I have been improper.”

Humble. Weak. Small.

Lin Jiayue didn’t believe that if word of this got out, Empress Dowager Cui would escape unscathed.

A flash of satisfaction appeared in Lu Siling’s eyes. The young Emperor was becoming clever.

“Cui Bai alarmed His Majesty and presumed to interrupt a sovereign-subject dialogue. I request he be impeached.”

“This…”

Lin Jiayue pretended to hesitate, fiddling with her sleeve. Empress Dowager Cui spoke up to stop it: “Grand Chancellor! You’ve gone too far.”

The Imperial City Guard didn’t hold massive power, but the intelligence they controlled was vital. Since Lu Siling had already decided to strip the Empress Dowager of her status as regent, she had no intention of stopping.

“Empress Dowager, the sovereign is the supreme authority under heaven. If that authority is damaged, how will the people and officials of Great Zhou view His Majesty?”

If a grand Emperor’s dignity was wounded without punishment, the already weak imperial power would amount to nothing in the future. Lin Jiayue kept her head down and said nothing. It was a pity so few people were present to appreciate her Oscar-worthy performance. Lu Siling was acting quite well, too—if they were in the entertainment industry, they’d be double Best Actresses.

“Your Majesty, I request a Grand Secretariat meeting to determine Cui Bai’s punishment.”

Lu Siling suddenly called out to her, snapping her drifting mind back to reality.

“Granted!”

After that first “granted,” this one came exceptionally easily to Lin Jiayue. Since she’d already offended the Empress Dowager, doing it once was the same as doing it ten times.

Empress Dowager Cui’s face was so dark it looked ready to drip ink. A Grand Secretariat meeting was something even she, as Empress Dowager, could not attend. But Lin Jiayue could sit in and listen.

The matter was settled; the meeting would take place in Zichen Hall of Daming Palace. Empress Dowager Cui was incredibly stifled and didn’t want to leave, but Lu Siling spoke again: “Empress Dowager, please transfer Eunuch Wang to the Inner Prison.”

The Empress Dowager was already frustrated. She had hoped they’d forgotten about Wang Duoshi or would at least give her some face, but they hadn’t forgotten at all.

“Lu Siling! Do not push your luck!”

Seeing her confidant about to be taken away, the Empress Dowager panicked. It wasn’t for Wang Duoshi’s sake, but because he knew too much. A murderous glint flashed in her eyes—not for Lu Siling, but for Wang Duoshi. Someone who knows too much and falls into enemy hands has only one path: death.

Lu Siling bowed slightly. “Empress Dowager, the sovereign’s dignity must not be violated.”

Sure enough, using the sovereign’s name as a shield made everything simple. Originally, the young Emperor had tried to please everyone, wanting to be a “non-stick pan,” only to be shut out by everyone. Now that the Emperor had clearly made a choice, Lu Siling wouldn’t refuse it, regardless of the motive. The Emperor’s proactive approach allowed her to exercise imperial power more legitimately.

Once logic overcame her emotional state, Lu Siling made the decision to accept Lin Jiayue’s olive branch. Not for any other reason, but to better control the Great Zhou court. Of course, accepting the gesture didn’t mean she wouldn’t kill her. Lu Siling wouldn’t commit regicide; it was Lin Jiayue she wanted to kill. Once a replacement was found, Lin Jiayue could abdicate.

Under Lu Siling’s dominance, Wang Duoshi was taken to the Inner Prison. The chief official there was a female official named Gao Lingyi, the daughter of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. On the eve of the palace examinations, she had been framed and enveloped in an Alpha’s pheromones. Had she not jumped into an icy lake in the dead of winter, the culprit would have succeeded, but the incident damaged her glands.

Physicians said she would be unable to conceive. While she could have married “down,” Gao Lingyi said that settling was worse than becoming a nun. Eventually, at Lu Siling’s persuasion, she entered the palace as a female official. The imperial exams were strict—one couldn’t even have a bad appearance—and for Alphas and Omegas, a damaged gland meant being a “broken person.” To enter officialdom, she had to become a female palace official. She hadn’t let Lu Siling down, becoming the chief of the Inner Prison in just two years with the rank of sixth-grade Sizheng.

Thus, with Wang Duoshi in the Inner Prison, he was entirely under Lu Siling’s control.

As Empress Dowager Cui walked out of Daming Palace, she whispered to the eunuch beside her, “Send word to my brother.”

“Also… kill him.”

The eunuch felt a chill. While grieving for Wang Duoshi, he also felt lost regarding his own fate.

Lin Jiayue watched the Empress Dowager depart. Empress Dowager Cui likely never expected that by rushing over to find leverage, she would lose two of her own people. With Lu Siling present, it would be hard for Cui Bai to avoid punishment.

She glanced at Lu Siling beside her. The woman was struggling to support her frail body, working hard to keep her back straight. Sensing the gaze, Lu Siling turned to meet it. Without any prior coordination, they had cooperated to complete a siege on their political enemy.

Lu Siling had to admit, her opinion of Lin Jiayue had shifted slightly—not in terms of favorability, but in perception. The young Emperor she remembered was of average talent, yet her reactions this time were remarkably fast. Beneath Lu Siling’s haggard appearance lay complex emotions; had yesterday not happened, she would have welcomed such a change in Lin Jiayue. After yesterday, she only felt that everything Lin Jiayue had done in the past was an act.

In Lin Jiayue’s eyes, however, a storm that no one could withstand seemed to be brewing in Lu Siling’s calm gaze. She was slightly nervous, yet she hadn’t done anything wrong, so she held the gaze.

Then, a smile without any warmth appeared on Lu Siling’s face.

Wait, Sister, don’t smile!

Lin Jiayue’s heart skipped a beat. She didn’t think Lu Siling could actually smile when facing her, yet she did. It made her blood run cold. She had a feeling she was doomed.