The moment the sentence left Li FangMing’s lips Qin YiJun suddenly felt as if there is a huge distance formed between them. His heart felt heavy and he took one step forward only to be stopped by a single word from Li FangMing.

“Stop,” Li FangMing slowly raised his head up and straightened his back but he still kept his gaze down on the floor. It wasn’t because he’s unwilling to look at Qin YiJun, but simply because he felt that he is unworthy. There was silence within the court hall; the rest didn’t dare to raise their head until Qin YiJun says so. “Jun-ge… now that you are the Emperor… You mustn’t always act on your own personal feelings. You should be a good Emperor.”

“From now on, you are the Son of Heaven, a dragon amongst the sky and I am only a speck of dirt on this earth…”

Qin YiJun understood what Li FangMing is trying to do. As he is accused of the crime for murdering the previous Emperor, if the new Emperor is to use his authority to protect him, then it could be seen that it was Qin YiJun’s dark plot to seize the throne. Thinking of it like this, Qin YiJun finally realized that everything was a setup.

Taking a deep breath, Qin YiJun calmed himself down. Though he can’t directly protect Li FangMing, he could still buy some time until it is proven that Li FangMing is innocent. “Beloved ministers and subjects may rise. The matter of the assassination of the previous Emperor, Zhen will have people investigate it. The accused Li FangMing will be detained in the dungeon until further proof is found. Tomorrow’s morning court will not be held. There will be three days of the mourning period for the passing of the previous Emperor. If there is nothing else, everyone is dismissed.”

Qin YiJun’s eyes never left Li FangMing even as the other is escorted away. The court hall is slowly getting empty and soon, only Qin YiJun and Qin LuoZhuo are left.

“YiJun…”

“Royal uncle better prays that you do not have a hand on the plot against Zhen and Li FangMing or else…” he gave Qin LuoZhuo a cold look. “Even if imperial father cared for you, Zhen will be the one to end your life.”

The incident finally came to a temporary close that night but while everyone settled for the night, Qin YiJun immediately went to work. His first priority was to proof Li FangMing’s innocence. He went into the Emperor’s study and looked around. His father died an untimely death but luckily, he had taught Qin YiJun early in secret. Qin YiJun closed his eyes, recalling the things that his father had taught him.

“Yi, Er,” Qin YiJun called out in a low voice and almost immediately, two people appeared from the shadows and knelt down before Qin YiJun. “Go to the dungeon and make sure no harm is done towards Li FangMing.”

“This slave receives the Emperor’s order,” the two of them answered before disappearing into the shadows again.

“San, Wu,” Qin YiJun called out another two names and just like before, the two people appeared. “Report to me what happened earlier. Who was it that my father sees last?”

The two shadow guards looked at each other uneasily before finally one of them answered. “Answering to the Emperor. The person that the previous Emperor, Qin WuZhen sees last before his last breath is Li FangMing…” as soon as the answer left the shadow guard’s lips, the room temperature suddenly became colder.

“But before that, Kuanshe Wang visited the late Emperor. And then, the late Emperor dismissed all of us so the two of them can discuss things in secret… It wasn’t until Li FangMing arrived and we were still not called did we notice that something was wrong. By then…” the other shadow guard quickly added but Qin YiJun’s mood became even worse.

“Before Li FangMing, it was royal uncle? When he left, why did you not go and look for imperial father?!”

“Your Majesty, we—”

“Enough! Because of your blunder, not only did Zhen lose imperial father, Zhen might even lose someone important!”

“The slaves are willing to pay with his life…”

“I don’t need you to pay with your life. At least not yet. What I want you two do is do a thorough investigation on who else is related in this hideous plan. Go!”

“Thanking the Emperor for his benevolence!”

The two shadow guards immediately left and Qin YiJun finally let out a heavy sigh. “Ming-er… wait for me. I’ll prove that you are innocent…” he murmured in a soft voice as he began to work on his part.

The next day began the mourning period for the previous Emperor. The funeral proceeded smoothly. There are some loyal generals and ministers that wished to accompany the previous Emperor to the yellow spring. Before doing so, those ministers and generals had introduced their successor to Qin YiJun who pledge their undying loyalty to him. Two of them was Bai ChenYi and Bai MingHai from the Bai Family.

When Qin LuoZhuo saw this, his face had turned ugly. Bai Family was known for their meritorious deeds within the military. For generations, it was their armies who always brought honours to their empire. He had tried to get them over to his side but the patriarch of the Bai Family always rejected it.

The mourning period lasted for three days and on the fourth day of Qin YiJun’s life as the Emperor, he finally experienced his first court meeting as the Emperor.

“His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor has arrived,” the head eunuch announced and everyone inside the hall kowtowed as Qin YiJun walked towards the dragon throne. The new head eunuch was nervous as he took his place. As the previous head eunuch, Steward Wong decided to accompany the previous Emperor, Qin YiJun randomly picked one of his personal servants to replace him.

Qin YiJun looked around the hall to see his subjects after he had taken his seat. Other than the selected few who were introduced to him during Qin WuZhen’s funeral, he did not trust the rest of them. If they wanted his trust, then they must first earn it.

“All of you may rise,” Qin YiJun said in a relaxed manner. There were no hints of sadness in his eyes as he had already mourned enough for three days. Though Qin YiJun is still young, he was taught how the court meeting goes ever since he was six. Then, at ten, Qin WuZhen slowly brought him over to attend the meeting. It can be said that even though this is Emperor Qin YiJun’s first court meeting, he is experienced in it.

“It has been three days since the death of the previous Emperor… the citizens still mourned for the loss… Zhen has also mourned for the loss of imperial father,” he said before pausing for a while. He saw how some of the minister’s expression changed and he caught the few who didn’t show any remorse. Qin LuoZhuo is one of them. Qin YiJun sneered inside his heart before he continued.

“But now, it has fallen under Zhen’s responsibility to rule and lead this Empire just as Zhen’s imperial ancestors did. The time for mourning has passed for Zhen and it is time to turn Zhen’s attention to this country. This shall be Zhen’s first official Imperial Court Meeting as Emperor,” as he spoke, his cold expression never changed.  Considering someone had plotted to assassinate his father, and they even framed Li FangMing, whom Qin YiJun trust with his life, it is better not to show them any weakness.

Seeing how the ministers kept quiet with no one neither trying to speak up nor giving him any report, he could only sigh. His eyes landed on his uncle trying to figure out if there is anything else that this man is planning against him. “Is there anything that the beloved ministers wish to bring to this Emperor’s attention?”

“Imperial nephew…” Qin LuoZhuo stood up with a smile, but Qin YiJun narrowed his eyes and he felt a surge of killing intent aimed towards him.

“Kuanshe Wangye, is that how you address Zhen?”

Finding out his wrong, Qin LuoZhuo quickly knelt down and begged for forgiveness. “Your servant was wrong. Asking for the Emperor’s forgiveness!” Qin LuoZhuo said though his heart was filled with rage. He had thought that since Qin YiJun is young, he could easily be manipulated. But instead, the young Emperor was even harder to manipulate than his late brother.

“Considering our blood relations, Zhen will forgive you. You may speak now.”

“Thanking the Emperor for his benevolence. May his rule last for ten of ten thousand years!” Qin LuoZhuo said before he stood up once more. “Your Majesty, as the Emperor, the first responsibility is to secure an heir for the empire. The establishment of Imperial Harem should be considered. And Your Majesty needs someone to act as the Empress Dowager to manage the harem…”

Qin YiJun scoffed before he waved his hand towards Qin LuoZhuo, signalling him to stop. He thought for a while before finally nodding his head. “Very well. Zhen will let you deal with the matter of choosing the Empress Dowager,” Qin YiJun said before he turned away from Qin LuoZhuo. He’s afraid that if he continued to look at him, he will be unable to control his anger. ‘Since you want to choose your people, then let us see who you choose. I’ll be sure to uproot every single person…’

“Your Majesty, if this servant may say a few words…” one of the ministers speaks up as he stood up and bowed to the Emperor. Qin YiJun gestured for the old man to continue. “It is about the traitor, Li FangMing…”

Qin YiJun’s mood became even worse and he quickly waved his hand, not allowing the minister to continue. “Next!”

“Your Majesty! Li FangMing’s punishment must be carried out! How long are you trying to delay it?!”

“Are you questioning this Emperor?” Qin YiJun asked in a threatening manner and the minister’s heart suddenly felt cold.

“N-no! This servant wouldn’t dare!” he quickly refuted and lowered his head. “Your Majesty, this servant only wished for the previous Emperor to receive the justice he ought to receive! If it was the previous Emperor—”

“The. Son. Of. Heaven. Is. Zhen.” Qin YiJun made sure to emphasize every word clearly for everyone to hear. “You said you would not dare and yet, why do you continue to speak on this subject? Do you have no respect towards Zhen because of Zhen’s age?” Qin YiJun asked, not concealing his anger. “Is there anyone else here who would wish to question Zhen’s decision?!” Qin YiJun asked the whole court only to receive utter silence as the answer. “Good. If there is nothing else, we’ll continue with the court meeting.”