sjar Chapter 384 His Majesty has the answer in his heart
Chapter 384 His Majesty has the answer in his heart
The autumn sun shines through the window lattices, casting mottled light and shadows on the bluestone floor tiles.
Su Yue stood in the middle of the study, the ink on the secret report in her hand had not yet dried.
"Ayan, what do you think?" She handed the letter to Gu Qingyan beside her.
The man in black took the report, his brows furrowed slightly. "The old Grand Tutor has teamed up with twelve important officials from the six ministries to create an 'accident' during the autumn hunt." He sneered, tapping his fingertips on the scabbard. "It seems our empress's new policies have stirred up a hornet's nest."
Su Yue looked out the window. In the yard, Liang Junze was teaching Yaoyao to read, and Mu Feng was holding Shunuo and humming softly. It was a peaceful scene.
Who would have thought that beneath this calm surface there were turbulent undercurrents?
"The Empress allowed men to join the army and attend school, which shook the foundation of women's supremacy that has lasted for three hundred years." She sighed softly, "How can the old tutors and others not be anxious?"
Gu Qingyan suddenly reached out and smoothed the wrinkles between her eyebrows: "Are you scared?"
"Afraid?" Su Yue laughed and held his calloused hand. "I'm worried about Shen Yunyan. She's been pregnant for four months..."
Before he could finish his words, the study door was suddenly pushed open.
Lin Yuxuan rushed in, his apricot robe stained with herbal debris. "Yuer! My newly developed 'Hundred Poisons Eliminator' is a success!" He held up a small porcelain bottle as if presenting a treasure. "Even if Brother Yan is hit by 'Soul-Breaking Powder' ten more times, I'm not afraid!"
Gu Qingyan's face darkened: "Curse me?"
"Oh no..." Lin Yuxuan stuck out his tongue and suddenly lowered his voice, "I heard that the old master and the others..."
Su Yue and Gu Qingyan exchanged glances. It seemed the news had spread.
Three days later, flags were flying in the royal enclosure.
The empress sat high on the hunting platform, with the gloomy-looking emperor beside her.
When Su Yue was paying her respects to her eight husbands, she could feel countless gazes of surprise or contempt fixed on her.
"Are those the husbands of Lord Su?"
"The man was actually wearing military uniform..."
“What a disgrace!”
Gu Qingyan turned a deaf ear to him, his dark riding uniform making him stand taller and more upright like a pine tree;
The Shangguan brothers, wearing light armor and carrying longbows, looked very heroic.
Even the most frail Zhou Ziqian changed into neat Hu clothing, tied his hair up high in a braid, and wore a sword at his waist.
When the hunting horn sounded, the empress suddenly said, "Today's winner will be granted a wish."
The ministers were in an uproar.
You should know that in previous years, the autumn hunt was exclusively for female generals, and the men would at most play the piano in the tent to add to the fun.
"I'm willing to fight." Su Yue stepped out, and the eight husbands behind her all knelt on one knee.
The old master's beard trembled with anger: "Your Majesty! This is against the rules!"
"Rules?" The Empress chuckled, pointing to a newly erected stone tablet on the side of the field. The four characters "The Most Capable Take Charge" gleamed brightly in the sunlight. "From today on, these are the new rules."
After the hunt began, Su Yue rode her horse and went deep into the woods with her husbands.
"Ayan, there's a herd of deer in the southeast." She whispered, "Achen and Amu, go cut off their retreat, and Aqian will be in charge..."
Before he finished speaking, Gu Qingyan had already nocked his arrow. With a whoosh, the stag fell a hundred paces away, the arrow piercing its eye with pinpoint accuracy—the pinnacle of skill for a Northern hunter.
"Beautiful!" Shangguan Haochen whistled.
Suddenly, Lin Yuxuan pointed to the distance and said, "Look!"
A massive wild boar was charging towards the hunting platform, and the guards' arrows were deflected by its thick hide.
“Protect the emperor!”
In the chaos, Gu Qingyan and the Shangguan brothers rushed out on horseback at the same time.
Three arrows flew through the air and pierced the wild boar's eyes and throat in the shape of a "品" (a character).
When the huge beast fell to the ground with a loud bang, its hooves were only three feet away from the imperial tent.
The empress clapped her hands and laughed: "Excellent archery!"
The retired emperor, however, stared at the jade pendant on Gu Qingyan's waist—the wolf totem unique to the northern royal family.
"Su Qing," she suddenly said, "your husband...is not an ordinary man."
Just when everyone breathed a sigh of relief, something strange happened!
Dozens of poisoned arrows were shot from the forest towards the hunting platform.
Gu Qingyan unsheathed his sword, which danced into a silver barrier;
The Shangguan brothers protected Su Yue back to back; Lin Yuxuan quickly took out the medicine powder and sprinkled it around.
"There's an assassin! Protect His Majesty!"
Amidst the chaos, a dark shadow lunged towards the Empress. Gu Qingyan leaped to block it, and a bloody flower immediately bloomed on his shoulder.
"Ayan!" Su Yue's heartbeat almost stopped.
The dark blue glow on the arrowhead is clearly a deadly poison that kills instantly upon contact with blood!
Lin Yuxuan rushed forward and silver needles fell like rain.
He bit his finger and dripped blood on Gu Qingyan's wound - that was the special physique he had developed after years of drug testing, and his blood could detoxify all kinds of poisons.
"It's okay..." Gu Qingyan's face was pale, but he still tried to get up, "Protect..."
The empress's face turned pale: "Check it for me!"
The guards quickly brought in several men in black, but they all vomited black blood and died before being interrogated.
But the jade pendant exposed on the waist of one of them was clearly the mark of the old tutor's mansion.
On the way back to the palace, Su Yue held Gu Qingyan's hand tightly.
Although Lin Yuxuan's detoxification technique saved his life, he still needed to rest to recover from his injuries.
"Su Qing..." The empress suddenly summoned her to the front of the imperial carriage, her voice lowered to a very low tone, "What do you think of what happened today?"
Su Yue lowered her eyes: "Your Majesty already has the answer in your heart."
The empress sneered, "Old Taifu thought that by killing you, he could cut off my arm." She suddenly changed the subject, "But why do you think I am implementing the new policy?"
Su Yue's heart skipped a beat.
"Look at this." The empress handed over a secret report.
Su Yue unfolded it and saw that it was an urgent report from the border - the northern army was approaching, and the Mingxi border defense was seriously short of troops because it had long excluded men from joining the army.
"For three hundred years, we have imprisoned men and weakened ourselves." The empress's eyes were sharp. "If we don't reform now, the day of our country's demise is not far away."
After returning home, Su Yue told her husbands the contents of the secret report.
Shangguan Haomu slammed his fist on the table: "It should have been done long ago! Boys have been stronger than girls since they were young. If they could join the army, why would they..."
"But the resistance is too great now." Liang Junze stroked the strings, his brow furrowed. "Today's assassination attempt is just the beginning."
Shen Yunyan held her slightly bulging belly and suddenly said, "Yuer, the Empress promised to fulfill a wish..."
Everyone's eyes were focused.
Su Yue pondered for a moment: "I would like to ask the Empress to revise the marriage law."
"Marriage law?" Mu Feng opened his eyes wide in surprise.
"That's right." Su Yue looked around at everyone. "Women must marry seven husbands by the time they are 18, and men must marry at the age of 20. How many people have been oppressed by this law? Our children will..."
Zhou Ziqian's eyes lit up: "Freedom of marriage!"
"More than that." Liang Junze pondered, "If forced marriage can be abolished, other reforms will follow naturally."
At the court meeting the next day, the empress announced in court that the marriage law would be revised and the forced marriage system would be abolished.
The court was in an uproar.
The old tutor fainted on the spot and was carried out;
The Minister of Rites knelt down and wept bitterly;
The Minister of War threw his tablet down...
But this time, the empress was firm.
She even quoted the founding empress's ancestral motto: "Marriage should be left to nature."
When the news came out, the whole country rejoiced.
The streets and alleys of the capital were decorated with lights and many families burned incense to worship their ancestors, expressing their gratitude for this belated relief.