Chapter 1942: Secret Meeting! (1/2)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

The imperial censors were loose-lipped because they were tasked with the duty of supervising the realm. They had the privilege to speak so flippantly about the Emperor's conduct, but the others did not.

Moreover, the Sage Emperor was an energetic ruler whose civil and military accomplishments made him stand out amongst other rulers. It was a bit too much for the imperial censors to call him an incapable ruler.

King Song stood up and spoke comforting words. ”Everyone, quite a few incidents have happened recently, but His Majesty is still the Great Tang's Son of Heaven. Whether it's the selection of talents or the construction of the Peace Pavilion, these are all within His Majesty's authority, and the Great Tang has the finances to bear the burden of constructing the pavilion. As for not attending the court… I am confident that this is only a momentary thing. After all, His Majesty is the reigning sovereign. We simply need to wait, and the court will naturally begin to operate normally again!”

The imperial censors had fierce personalities, but in front of so many other officials, they still needed to keep some dignity for the Emperor. Moreover, the others could not mimic the imperial censors and also speak of 'incapable rulers'.

King Song turned to Wang Chong and said, ”Wang Chong, after thinking it over, I find the recent incidents far too strange. His Majesty has never been one to delight himself with women, so why would he suddenly want a large-scale selection of women to enter the harem? Moreover, His Majesty was always one to issue a decree commanding the Prime Minister and other major officials to handle court affairs if he could not attend. It is not like him to withdraw from court without a word. There's something strange about this incident, some story that we don't know.

”Moreover, this matter has already caused panic in the court and amongst the people. Fortunately, it only started recently, but if this goes on any longer, the people will grow more and more concerned, and troublemakers will start to get restless. No matter what, we have to resolve this matter to avoid that development.”

Wang Chong was the youngest of the officials present, but in terms of status, he outranked everyone except the Crown Prince.

Wang Chong was also the King of Foreign Lands, personally invested by the Sage Emperor. In terms of title, he was equal to King Song, and his string of military achievements placed him above.

And when it came to favor, no one could compare to Wang Chong. This was also why everyone had gathered here today.

”That's right. Wang Chong, Imperial Father favors you the most, and you're the one with the greatest understanding of Imperial Father. We can't let this situation persist!” Li Heng added.

Everyone began to focus their gazes on Wang Chong, and the entire hall fell silent.

In the corners of the hall, Xu Keyi and Su Shixuan were stunned. At some point, their liege had become one of the most powerful officials in the court, as they could see now.

Wang Chong said nothing, but he had countless thoughts on his mind.

Without him realizing it, after taking a massive detour, the entire world had seemingly returned to its original course.

Defeating the coalition of Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang, crushing Arabia, and thwarting Ü-Tsang had changed the fate of the court and the people of the Central Plains, but it had seemingly not changed the Sage Emperor's fate. Wallowing in women, building new palaces, not attending court… the behavior of the Sage Emperor in the end days of the Great Tang was emerging once more.

Even though these incidents differed slightly from his memories, they were clearly of the same nature.

After a long period of thought, Wang Chong finally spoke. ”On this matter, there is no need for everyone to be anxious!

”The Sage Emperor's absence from court is only a momentary matter. It won't be long before the Sage Emperor attends court again. There is no need for everyone to worry.”

Wang Chong spoke with an infectious confidence.

Everyone was greatly surprised to hear this.

”Your Highness, is what you say true?” the other officials blurted out.

Foremost of their worries was the fact that the Sage Emperor was not attending court.

As subjects, if they could not see the sovereign, their avenues of communication were essentially blocked, and even those with the most extraordinary of abilities could not display them. And the imperial censors could do nothing if they could not even submit their memorials of criticism. But everything changed if the Sage Emperor attended court.

Wang Chong only gave a slight nod.

Although the Sage Emperor's various acts appeared very strange, ever since the Xia and Shang Dynasties, even the most incapable of rulers did not remain absent from court for too long. More importantly, Wang Chong clearly remembered that the matter of the Sage Emperor not attending court lasted for only a very brief period.

”Wonderful!”

Everyone was invigorated by Wang Chong's reaction.

They didn't understand how Wang Chong could be so certain, but his confidence bolstered their own. All of them knew that Wang Chong was never one to speak without reason. If that was what he said, that was what was going to happen!

Only King Song slightly frowned.

The group discussed several other matters of court before quickly dispersing.

”Wang Chong, are you really certain that His Majesty will appear soon?”

King Song intentionally lingered behind so that he could ask this question.

Li Heng had also stayed behind, and he also turned to look. He was also curious to know the answer.

Even though Li Heng resided in the palace, he found it very hard to see the Sage Emperor after that incident. Not even he was sure that the Sage Emperor would appear in court soon.