A woman ascending the throne—this event, not only in the time of Da Hui but looking at the past thousands of years, was unprecedented.

When the imperial edict to crown the Crown Princess was issued, it caused a great stir both in the court and among the people.

However, due to Wen Yuesheng’s extraordinary background—being the God of War of Da Hui, who had previously carried out sweeping reforms in the court—she was already highly regarded by the people, with the support of many key officials.

Her rise to such a high position seemed only natural.

In fact, after Wen Yuesheng took over the Eastern Palace, a belief spread among the people that she was the chosen one, the true dragon reincarnate.

Upon her arrival, a series of fortunate events began to unfold, which were seen as the destiny that led her to this position.

In just half a month of holding power, Wen Yuesheng introduced numerous new policies: reducing taxes, focusing on agriculture and industry, and enacting policies that benefited the nation and the people.

Her iron-fist approach to managing the court also quelled much of the dissent. Within just half a month, the voices of opposition had greatly diminished.

Both the common people and court officials enjoyed peace.

However, a small faction of the old establishment still resented Wen Yuesheng’s rise to power.

The most prominent of these was the old noble, the Duke of Ying.

The Duke’s ancestors were founding figures of Da Hui, great contributors to the establishment of the dynasty, and were granted hereditary noble titles.

In the past, the Duke of Ying, along with the Dukes of Xu and Zhen, was one of the most prestigious families in the capital.

Though his power had waned, he still held a top-level hereditary title and had the support of many conservatives.

After the Crown Princess was announced, the old nobles collectively submitted a petition to the emperor, requesting that the edict be revoked.

Their attempts failed repeatedly, and they couldn’t even get an audience with the emperor.

After Wen Yuesheng took power, she reformed the court and began cutting down the old nobility.

If her policies were to be enacted, even the Duke of Ying’s unshakable hereditary title would be at risk.

They had already been dissatisfied with a woman ascending the throne, and now, with the situation worsening, they could no longer sit idly by.

But Wen Yuesheng was known for her strong will, and with most of the high-ranking officials loyal to her, they could only resort to other means.

The first of these was the issue of filial piety.

Wen Yuesheng had been in power for nearly half a month, but her father, Wen Xun, was still imprisoned in the Dali Temple’s dungeons.

The Duke of Ying and his allies used this as a point of attack, accusing the Crown Princess of neglecting filial duty in her pursuit of power.

They knew well the reasons for Wen Xun’s imprisonment, but the matter had never been publicly discussed.

Wen Xun wasn’t guilty of treason like the Duke of Zhen or the Empress, who had tarnished the royal bloodline and conspired against the throne, both crimes punishable by death.

Wen Xun had once been aligned with the Yong’an Wang faction, and his downfall was a natural consequence of the factional struggle.

But more than these complicated matters, what mattered most was that Wen Xun was the Crown Princess’s biological father.

No matter the circumstances, if the Crown Princess neglected her father, it would be seen as a violation of filial piety.

When the old nobles brought up this issue in court, their main goal wasn’t to defend Wen Xun but to accuse Wen Yuesheng of being unfilial.

The people revered filial piety, and even if the Crown Princess formally ascended the throne, any sign of unfilial behavior from her would be widely criticized.

What they wanted was simple: to undermine Wen Yuesheng’s authority and force her to change her policies.

During the court assembly, the Duke of Ying spoke passionately about filial piety for over fifteen minutes, stating that the Crown Princess could not disregard her father in order to maintain her reputation.

He argued that as a symbol of the nation, the Crown Princess’s actions would not earn the trust of the people if they saw her abandoning her father.

Wen Yuesheng, dressed in a black robe adorned with a fierce dragon, was seated in the imperial court.

As he spoke, she did not respond, merely raising her gaze slightly, her dark eyes devoid of any emotion. This single look made the Duke’s heart race.

The Duke quickly averted his gaze, but the more he tried to ignore her, the angrier he became. After all, the court and the throne had always been the domain of men. Now, to have a woman sitting in such a prominent position—what was the world coming to?

But it seemed the court officials were determined to support her as the ruler.

“Are you done?” Wen Yuesheng’s voice broke the silence.

She leaned back in her chair, holding a string of white jade prayer beads, tapping them lightly against the armrest.

Her calm presence created an overwhelming pressure.

The officials, standing around, dared not meet her eyes.

The Duke of Ying, his prepared words caught in his throat, could only stammer, “No matter the reason, the Crown Princess cannot disregard her father in order to protect her reputation.”

“The people value filial piety. How could the Crown Princess’s actions ever earn their trust?”

Wen Yuesheng paused slightly, her fingers tapping the prayer beads with a soft click, breaking the stillness of the hall.

The Duke of Ying, shaken, finally heard her voice: “If you are done speaking, then let the decree be issued.”

A decree? What decree?

Before the Duke of Ying could process the situation, an official led Gao Quan, a long-time servant of the emperor, into the hall.

Since Wen Yuesheng’s rise to power, the palace had removed all eunuchs and instead established a new position of internal official.

Gao Quan, who had not been seen for a long time, had grown considerably older.

In his hand, he carried an imperial decree.

The Duke of Ying, seeing this, felt a sudden surge of hope. Perhaps the emperor had finally seen reason and was taking back control from the woman.

But before the Duke could even fully entertain this thought, Gao Quan read aloud: “…In the Dali Temple, Wen Xun is to be executed on an appointed day.”

The Duke of Ying’s face turned pale, and he cried out in shock, “Executed!?”

Without thinking, he turned toward Wen Yuesheng, exclaiming, “Is this how far you’ll go to hold onto power—by even killing your own father?”

“This is regicide!” he shouted. “Is this what you want to be a role model for the people?”

The hall fell silent. The few nobles who had expressed doubts about Wen Yuesheng’s ascension frowned but dared not speak out.

In the stillness, Gao Quan’s voice broke the tension: “What are you implying, Duke of Ying?”

The Duke of England was about to rebut when Gao Quan directly interrupted, saying, “His Majesty is to grant the death of Wen Xun because of the late Princess Chang.”

“The Ministry of Justice has already investigated and confirmed that the late Princess Chang’s death is closely tied to Wen Xun! You still dare to defend him, even suggesting that the Crown Princess killed her father?”

The Duke of England immediately changed his expression.

He wanted to say that they hadn’t even seen the emperor’s face, and now suddenly there was such an imperial decree. How could they know if this was the emperor’s will or Wen Yuesheng’s?

Moreover, the matter had been delayed for so long. Wasn’t it ridiculous to pursue it now?

He didn’t dare to say the last part, only wanting to question the decree. However, he heard Wen Yuesheng’s cold voice from beside him, “Someone.”

A number of soldiers immediately entered the hall.

The Duke of England’s face changed dramatically.

Before he could speak, he saw the person in front of him, with his chin held, expressionless, saying:

“Take this criminal, Xiao Ji’s accomplices, and drag them out of Wumen Gate. Execute them immediately.”

In the silence of the hall, those nobles who had been opposing a woman ascending the throne along with the Duke of England all changed their expressions.

“Xiao Ji’s accomplices?” They hadn’t expected that the Duke of England, who always emphasized proper conduct, would be associated with Xiao Ji.

The Duke of England also changed his expression.

He was indeed a part of Xiao Ji’s faction, but few knew about this, not even his wife, who shared his bed every day.

Earlier, he had even visited the old man of the Horse Hall in prison, primarily to persuade him to commit suicide.

Afterward, the old man died, and Xiao Ji was also killed in the Taihe Hall.

He had destroyed everything related to his interactions with Xiao Ji, pretending that it had never happened.

But with Wen Yuesheng’s rise to the throne, his heart had remained uneasy.

After much thought, he finally managed to meet Wen Xun in prison, hoping to use Wen Xun to force Wen Yuesheng down or to pressure Wen Yuesheng into releasing Wen Xun.

As long as Wen Xun could be freed, the Duke of England’s position would be secure.

He knew that Wen Yuesheng would eventually find out about his meeting with Wen Xun, but as long as Wen Xun was her biological father, the Duke could still hold an advantage.

The word “filial piety” would still suppress Wen Yuesheng to some degree.

But he never expected that Wen Yue Sheng wouldn’t use Wen Xun as leverage and would directly expose his connections to Xiao Ji.

Once his vile deeds with Xiao Ji came to light, there was no room for argument, and his death was inevitable.

Before he could even speak in his defense, the Duke was dragged away by the palace guards.

When this happened, the nobles who had opposed a woman ascending the throne all knelt before Wen Yue Sheng.

“Your Highness, we had no connection with Xiao Ji or the Duke. We were merely deceived and made a mistake.”

“The Duke is malicious. What he did was to drag us down with him.”

In this situation, no one cared about whether a woman ascended the throne or not. They only hoped that Wen Yuesheng would not implicate them, and that would be enough.

Wen Yuesheng remained silent, raised her hand slightly, and Yan Wei said, “We must investigate whether the gentlemen were involved, and only then can we confirm.”

“Please proceed to the Dali Temple.”

Gao Quan raised his eyes and saw that those who still opposed Wen Yue Sheng’s ascension were all being taken to the Dali Temple for investigation, due to their connection to the Duke of England.

He sighed. At this point, the emperor had only a few days left to live, and Wen Yue Sheng’s ascension seemed almost unstoppable.

Having been by the emperor’s side for many years, Gao Quan understood the situation best.

Now, he was even more certain of what he should do.

Without speaking further, he respectfully bowed to Wen Yue Sheng and left the Taihe Hall.