I Became the Devil Queen's Heart Demon-Chapter 857 - 320: Empress: Chen Mo Shall Have This Household Position—Who Approves? Who Opposes? (3)

Does this mean to realign allegiances?

The Crown Prince's mind wasn't tangled with complexities. Upon hearing the news about rewarding a good friend, his face lit up with excitement. "Where is Chen Mo? Quickly let him come in to receive his reward!"

Eunuch Jin looked at the Empress, and seeing her nod slightly, he declared sharply, "Summon Deputy Thousand Households Commander Chen Mo of Sky Scale Guard into the hall!"

Moments later, two golden-armored guards pushed open the hall door.

Sunlight streamed through the doorway, casting a tall shadow on the ground.

The ministers turned their heads to look, only to see beneath the dark embroidered black robe with scale patterns stood a figure tall and upright, with sharp brows, eyes like cold pools, exuding an air of maturity beyond his years.

A common thought arose in their minds:

What a handsome young man!

Chen Mo walked through the crowd, reaching the foot of the golden steps.

"Your humble servant pays respects to Her Majesty the Empress and the Crown Prince."

"Long live, long live, absolutely long live!"

"Rise."

The Empress spoke.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Chen Mo stood up, feeling the gazes cast around him, carrying various complex and unclear meanings.

This was his first time entering the Golden Throne Hall, but his heart felt no excitement, only a desire to quickly finish and return to catch up on sleep.

Since returning from Tianlan Mountain, he hadn't rested, running between Changning Pavilion, Frozen Sky Palace, and Yangxin Palace. Though his body could withstand it, his spirit was somewhat exhausted.

Especially last night, he worked all night at Changning Pavilion, tidying up inside and out, and even revamped the entire garden.

Because the land had been barren for a long time and couldn't plant Spirit Plants, he simply took a piece of spirit field from the Heavenly Profound Ring and filled it in.

He worked until the early morning, almost missing the court assembly.

He did all this not out of a sudden urge to farm, but because he sensed that Chu Yanli's psychological state wasn't quite right.

This Princess seemed to have a tendency towards self-destruction, wanting to squeeze out her last bit of value, hence the persistent desire for him to become a Prince Consort...

If the sleeping quarters could be more lively, perhaps she wouldn't be in such a hurry to perish?

"Chen Mo, this time for your credit in protecting the throne and eliminating the real culprit, you ought to be rewarded. Tell me, what do you want?" The Crown Prince asked with a smile.

Chen Mo shook his head and said, "This is merely my duty; no reward is necessary."

Although the Empress had already briefed him in advance, he still needed to say the pleasantries.

"How can that be?" The Crown Prince pouted and said, "The Grandmaster once said that when an emperor rules the world, he should discern the boundaries of reward and punishment, demonstrate the power to encourage and deter, rewarding merits with titles and stipends, punishing faults with penalties... not rewarding such a great deed would make one no different from that foolish king, King Zhou."

"..."

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat.

Lv Huaiyu wondered aloud, "Who is King Zhou? I have never heard of such a figure in history."

The Crown Prince glanced at Chen Mo and said, "This...is something I read from a miscellaneous book; it should be fictional, not historical..."

"Where was King Zhou foolish?" Lv Huaiyu pursued.

The Crown Prince felt a daunting fear towards this old man, stammering, "King...King Zhou was cruel and foolish, he harmed the Empress, chased the Crown Prince, disregarded the bonds between husband and wife, neglected the relationships of father and son..."

"Ruined the administration, allowing dust to gather on the Imperial Desk, making the court chaotic like days shrouded in dark clouds, leading to national decline like a collapsing building..."

Chen Mo rubbed his brows.

These were all lines from 'Fengshen Yanyi.' He had just mentioned them casually, not expecting the Crown Prince to remember them so well.

Yet Lv Huaiyu, upon hearing this, seemed struck by lightning, stunned like a sculpture, his eyes like a cold pool stirred into waves, the hand under his sleeve suddenly clenched.

"Neglecting the bonds between husband and wife, disregarding father and son's relationships... indeed, indeed a foolish king..."

The other ministers sensed something was amiss.

Why did this speech feel like it was implying something?

Just then, the Empress spoke, "Alright, back to the main point... Luo Qianshi, Chen Mo is your subordinate, you know the case best. What do you think should be done?"

Luo Huaijin thought for a moment and said, "With Chen Mo's past achievements and abilities, he's entirely qualified to enter into the Qilin Pavilion as a director. As it happens, the position of Fire Department Thousand Households is vacant, and I propose promoting Chen Mo to Heavenly Qilin Guard Thousand Households, managing Fire Department affairs, which will best utilize his abilities."

"I second the motion!"

"I second the motion!"

The officials from Six Divisions and Imperial Examination Hall all voiced their agreement.

But the Six Ministers fell collectively silent, especially Yan Peizhi, Feng Jinyu, and others, who didn't jump out to oppose, seemingly tacitly agreeing.

Zhuang Jingming's brows furrowed slightly.

To him, whether Chen Mo joined the Qilin Pavilion mattered little; he was merely a fifth-rank military officer, insignificant.

But ever since the friction between Jiang Wangye and Chen Mo in the palace last time, Jiang was filled with hatred, even alarming the Jiang Family head, demanding that Zhuang find a way to resolve this matter swiftly to remove Chen Mo from the Princess's sight.

"It's easy to say that now even the Crown Prince stands on his side, what can this old man do?"

"Last time because of the Chu Heng incident, I was humiliated. Now, with everyone backing him, opposing would only invite trouble?"

Zhuang Jingming thought to himself.

But if he did nothing, he couldn't account for this to the Jiang Family, falling into a dilemma for the moment...

...

...

As the court quieted down, the Empress spoke clearly, "Since no one objects, then let's proceed according to Luo Qianshi's suggestion..."

She was about to finalize the matter when Zhuang Jingming coughed, stepped out, and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Majesty should reconsider deeply."

The Empress raised her brow slightly, "Does Grand Secretary Zhuang have an opinion?"

Zhuang Jingming shook his head, "Chen Deputy Households Commander has great merits, assuming the post of Thousand Households, I have no objection... but according to protocol, Chen Deputy Households Commander has been recently promoted thrice in half a year, already violating 'time limit' and 'qualification limit' regulations."

"Besides, Your Majesty mustn't forget that you once personally decreed, punishing him 'not to be promoted for half a year,' how can the decree be changed now?"

"Anyway, it should wait until next year's assessment for a decision, right?"

Zhuang Jingming's thought was simple.

One word: stall.

Only a little more than half a year remained before the next assessment. For the Empress, there was no need to rush. Meanwhile, he could also give an account to the Jiang Family.

As for future events, no one can predict; they can only move and observe a step at a time.

"Grand Secretary Zhuang is right. Initially, when Chen Mo and Chu Heng clashed, I indeed mentioned a six-month promotion ban…"

Zhuang Jingming was about to breathe a sigh of relief but heard a sudden change in the Empress's tone. "But at that time, we couldn't yet determine Chu Heng's guilt, and I hadn't anticipated Chen Mo becoming the Great Yuan's youngest Grandmaster."

?

Zhuang Jingming paused, asking in puzzlement, "What Grandmaster?"

Chen Mo had been quietly listening to the conversation, naturally understanding the Empress's implication.

At this moment, the aura was no longer concealed!

Boom—

Amidst the rolling thunderous sound, waves of red, gold, and green flames surged forth from his body, burning fiercely around him!

His robe flapped fiercely, black hair danced wildly, and an imposing aura shot up like a divine being!

The terrifying presence caused the air to nearly solidify, as if an invisible mountain weighed on everyone's shoulders!

This is…

The power of a Grandmaster!

"Indeed, I did speak falsely, but does that matter?"

Under everyone's horrified gaze, the Empress said calmly, "To obtain the stone that mends the heavens, one must cut a path to rise above the clouds. Extraordinary talent should be treated with extraordinary rites… Does Mr. Zhuang believe that a twenty-year-old Heavenly Master isn't worthy of the Fire Department Thousand Households?"