Maybe none of them even wanted to receive her.

But right now, Emperor Yongcheng only felt that Wang Shijiu had shown up at the perfect time.

Not only did she resolve the predicament he had just been in, she even changed his position in all this.

Emperor Yongcheng liked this feeling of being high and mighty, worshipped by everyone.

He much preferred acting as a "sovereign who decides all under heaven" kind of arbiter.

Amid the buzzing murmur of the ministers, Emperor Yongcheng lifted both hands and slowly pressed them down.

The noise gradually faded, and in the end the hall returned to its former tranquility.

"Since Wang Shijiu is acting under the Empress Dowager’s decree, then summon her in!" Emperor Yongcheng put on the air of a dutiful son.

"Your Majesty! You mustn’t! You mustn’t!" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Indeed, Your Majesty, this runs counter to the proper order, it breaks all rules!"

"Your Majesty, to let a hen crow at dawn is an omen of chaos in the realm!"

"Your Majesty—"

Several old ministers dropped to their knees, wailing in grief, looking as if their own parents had just died!

Watching them sob their hearts out, Emperor Yongcheng, however, felt utterly delighted.

He deliberately put on a stern face. "Mustn’t? Or is it that you all want Me to be an unfilial son who defies his own mother?"

The several old ministers: ...

In an era that revered filial piety, "filial" was indeed the handiest excuse.

Even in actual history, those Empress Dowagers who monopolized power—why didn’t the Emperors dare resist? Because they were pressed down by that single word, "filial."

Now Empress Dowager He had no intention of seizing all power; she merely wanted to send a "female officer" into the Imperial court to submit a memorial... It seemed, apparently, not really some monstrous treason that could never be tolerated.

The Emperor was a filial son, wanting to show his filial devotion to Empress Dowager He.

And if the ministers blocked too hard, they’d be forcing the Emperor into playing the unfilial son.

Opposed to the Emperor being a filial son?!

Was that opposition to the "Way of Filial Piety" itself handed down through the ages?

Tsk, that charge was far too great; those few old stick-in-the-muds truly couldn’t shoulder it.

Hearing the Emperor say this, the few of them no longer dared object; wiping their tears, they quietly stepped aside.

Seeing them finally behave, Emperor Yongcheng instantly felt a sense of controlling everything.

There, that was the proper mode of interaction between Emperor and ministers!

He lifted his chin ever so slightly and said with reserved dignity, "Summon!"

The young eunuch hurried to pass on the order: "By imperial command, Scholar of Bowen Academy, Wang Shijiu, is summoned!"

Before long, a slender figure slowly walked in through the palace doors.

She seemed to emerge from a curtain of light, a halo at her back all on its own.

Everyone’s gaze couldn’t help but follow her, fix on her.

Those searing stares might have frightened an ordinary girl out of her wits.

But Wang Shijiu kept her back ramrod straight, her bearing dignified, her eyes forward, as she slowly passed through the crowd and came to stand before the throne.

Her expression was composed, her posture unruffled; every movement carried the particular nobility of a noble family.

On her shoulders rested the accumulated heritage of a thousand years of the Langya Wang Family; she had all the capital she needed to be proud and aloof.

Looking at this Wang Shijiu, even if some officials were still cursing "hens crowing at dawn, heaven and earth overturned" in their hearts, they had to admit: truly a daughter of a noble family—her bearing was noble, her manners extraordinary!

"Your servant, Scholar of Bowen Academy Wang Shijiu, pays respects to Your Majesty!"

Wang Shijiu forced herself to stay calm.

Outsiders only saw that her movements were composed and her looks serene.

In truth, her heart was pounding like crazy.

She, a woman, had actually entered the grand hall openly and aboveboard, stepping into this men’s Imperial court!

What a rare, what a precious opportunity this was.

For this day, she had studied hard for over ten years.

For this day, the Empress Dowager had schemed and planned for a very long time!

At this moment, the one standing in the Imperial court was not just the Wang Family’s Nineteenth Lady, but also the embodiment of the dreams and ambitions of countless women!

Wang Shijiu’s heart surged; she was so excited she could hardly contain herself.

This might not be a "historic moment" for the ages, but for her, and for the several female officers at Empress Dowager He’s side, it was a breakthrough.

Women had finally stepped into the Imperial court—not as someone’s appendage, not as some so-and-so’s representative, but simply as themselves!

"Wang... Scholar Wang, dispense with the formalities! Rise!"

Seeing a woman in court robes, holding a gavel, Emperor Yongcheng couldn’t quite get used to it.

But, in order to extricate himself from his "predicament," Emperor Yongcheng still gave Wang Shijiu a smiling face.

"Your Majesty, this humble servant bears the Empress Dowager’s decree and has specially brought a petition on the reform of the salt administration!"

After rising, Wang Shijiu knelt again, took out a petition, and raised it above her head with both hands.

"A petition on the reform of the salt administration?"

Salt administration again!

And, and the hell with it, "reform."

Just a moment ago, he’d been chased and scolded by a pack of ministers over this very issue.

He’d finally gotten someone to break the tension; Emperor Yongcheng had thought he might escape this calamity.