221: If I were to serve as an official in the court, I would bring prosperity to the Great Zhou!

Half an hour later.

Su Xiaobai cleared his throat three times, and spent a full half an hour criticizing the Empress.

His criticism wasn't simple; it was based on specific facts and referenced historical allusions.

He cursed using classic quotes, he cursed based on current events, and he cursed looking to the future.

He cursed in a way that left no room for refutation.

He wasn't targeting the Empress personally, but rather, in the future, during the war against the Demon Race, Great Zhou would consistently be at a disadvantage due to these governance flaws.

His status was insufficient to enter the court or to have an audience with the Empress.

Therefore, he hoped that through this criticism, and with the protest of the masses, these suggestions would reach the Empress's ears.

As for how many of these suggestions would ultimately make it into the palace, that was not something he could decide; he could only do this much.

After hearing him, the crowd below began to curse loudly.

"tyrant! What a tyrant! I've lived so long, and this is the first time I've seen such an incompetent emperor!"

"If this tyrant doesn't step down soon, our Great Zhou's empire will be in peril!"

"I've long heard that women becoming emperors don't amount to much; the ancients truly didn't deceive me!"

The heroes were agitated, their posture indicating they wished they could immediately rise in rebellion and fire the first shot against the tyrant.

Below Su Xiaobai,

the Empress lowered her head and remained silent, looking utterly dejected, a stark contrast to her earlier spirited demeanor.

She had shut down.

After being lambasted by Su Xiaobai for a full half an hour, she felt that her actions over the years were unforgivable and that she had failed her ancestors.

"I... perhaps I truly should abdicate and let someone more capable inherit the throne..."

Her eyes held an indescribable sense of dejection and loneliness.

But just then, Su Xiaobai coughed, and his voice rang out clearly: "Everyone, although I have listed the Empress's various incompetencies, I must tell you, I am actually a loyal supporter of the Empress! I admire her from the bottom of my heart!"

At these words, the crowd's impulse to rebel immediately dissipated, and they all stared at him with wide eyes, revealing a hint of confusion and bewilderment.

If you are a supporter of the Empress, then why did you just criticize her so mercilessly?

The Empress's lifeless pupils once again emitted a glimmer of light, and she looked at him with some surprise.

He was actually her supporter?

Su Xiaobai said with a serious expression: "Great Zhou has been established for nearly a thousand years, and has gone through dozens of emperors, but in terms of talent, only the founding Mingzong Emperor can compare to the Empress.

All other emperors are rotten wood!"

The crowd was stunned again; the Saint's words were still so sharp, actually calling other emperors rotten wood!

If people from the court heard this, it would mean beheading!

Moreover, he actually said that the Empress's talent was comparable to the Mingzong Emperor.

The Mingzong Emperor was the founding emperor of Great Zhou!

At that time, the previous dynasty's monarch was tyrannical and without Dao, and the people suffered; it was he who overthrew the previous dynasty's rule and single-handedly established Great Zhou.

He reigned for a hundred years, during which no foreign tribes dared to invade, and tributary states annually paid tribute to Great Zhou, and the nation's power was unprecedentedly prosperous, marking Great Zhou's most flourishing era!

But now the Saint actually said that the Empress's talent was not inferior to the Mingzong Emperor, which shows how highly he evaluated her.

Below the stage, the Empress's lips couldn't help but curve upwards.

"I didn't expect that he, a mere young man in his twenties, actually has quite good discernment."

In Great Zhou's history, only the Mingzong Emperor could catch her eye; all other previous emperors were trash!

If it weren't for their stubbornness and incompetence, how could Great Zhou's national power have declined so severely after the Mingzong Emperor?

Including her own imperial father, they were all useless!

"But... but Saint, didn't you say before that the Empress was soft-hearted, decentralized power, neglected the borders,..."

That person listed a full twenty-one charges in one breath, causing the Empress's mouth to twitch again, and her slightly brightened mood became depressed once more.

"How does this not seem like something a wise ruler would do?" that person asked, puzzled.

"No," Su Xiaobai waved his finger, "Even the wisest monarch has areas where they make mistakes. Who among men is not a Saint and can be without fault?

Although the Empress has minor faults, you cannot deny her achievements."

"Think carefully, have your lives been better these past few years? Is your pay more than before? Are there far fewer wrongful cases than before?"

The crowd nodded silently.

They hadn't noticed it normally, but now that they thought about it, their current lives were indeed much better than before.

"I'm saying all this only to convey these suggestions to the Empress through your mouths, hoping she will correct her mistakes once she knows them.

If she blames anyone, just say I said it; after all, I am a Jianghu person, a wanderer, and I do not fear the court's pursuit," Su Xiaobai said with a smile.

He didn't dare say these words in front of the Empress; what if he pushed her too far and she, in a fit of rage, decided to kill him?

Fortunately, he was currently in Qingzhou, far away, so she couldn't hear him.

Therefore, he could say whatever he wanted, completely letting himself go.

The crowd cupped their hands, their faces filled with emotion, "The Saint truly has gone to great lengths for Your Majesty the Empress; truly, faithful words grate upon the ear, but nothing is truer than this!"

"Saint, rest assured, we will not fail your trust.

Within a month, these twenty-one sins will spread throughout Great Zhou and reach the tyrant... oh no, the Empress's ears!"

The crowd said with serious expressions.

The Empress's mouth twitched, and she truly wanted to say, "No need to go, I am right in front of you, can't I just admit I was wrong?"

If the entire Great Zhou knew, wouldn't she lose face?!

However, she still let out a sigh of relief; it turned out he was her supporter, and the depression in her heart vanished.

But just then, Su Xiaobai's tone shifted again.

"Although I've said so much, what I want to say is, I still believe she is a tyrant!"

The crowd once again cast inquiring glances, wondering why she was a tyrant again.

The Empress clutched her bandaged chest, her pretty brows furrowed, feeling like she was having a heart attack.

Facing the crowd's questioning gazes, Su Xiaobai calmly said, "You might not believe it, but the tyrant is actually inherently willful, pampered, and lazy!"

"She is addicted to storybooks, staying up until the middle of the night reading them under her covers every night, which causes her to lack energy for court the next day.

She even fell asleep during court once; if it weren't for the curtain covering her, she would have been a laughingstock on the spot!"

The crowd frowned, looking at each other, expressing doubt about Su Xiaobai's words.

How could a monarch do such girlish things?

The Empress's fair face instantly turned crimson, and she was greatly alarmed in her heart. How did this guy know her secrets?!

Su Xiaobai continued: "Not only that, she is also gluttonous. She once, in order to eat the legendary Heavenly Spirit Chicken, did not hesitate to use the national treasury to specially import them from abroad.

Then she ordered people to secretly raise a large group, and she eats one every day!"

At this, the crowd merely exchanged smiles, taking his words as a joke; no matter what, the Empress wouldn't do such a thing.

On the other side, the Empress's cheeks were flushed with shame, her fists clenched, and veins subtly bulging on her forehead.

She only had these few hobbies, like eating chicken, and he still had to criticize her for them!

"You've had enough!"

She roared at Su Xiaobai.

Su Xiaobai saw that the effeminate man targeting him was agitated, and a victorious smile immediately appeared on his face.

"I know the Empress's image in your heart is grand and mighty, and hearing my words has caused a huge sense of contrast for you.

I am also a loyal supporter of the Empress, but I am not a blind fan. If she is wrong, I will point it out, and if someone wants to harm her, I can even risk my life!"

The Empress was so flustered she couldn't speak.

"Alas!" At this moment, Su Xiaobai's face showed a hint of regret, and he looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.

"It's just a pity that I am in the Jianghu and cannot share the monarch's worries, watching helplessly as in the court, officials are stubborn, the chief minister is incompetent, and petty people are in power!

If I were to enter officialdom, I would certainly sweep away the chronic ailments, rectify the court, and restore a bright and prosperous era to our Great Zhou!"

"Good, well said!" The crowd below applauded repeatedly.

The Empress was so angry that her chest-binding bandages were almost about to snap, and a glint appeared in her eyes.

"Good, good, good. Since the Saint Black Abyss is so talented, if he truly enters officialdom one day, I look forward to seeing what kind of brilliance the Saint can display in the officialdom!"

With that, she turned and left in a huff.

"Hey! You still haven't given me the compensation you promised!" Su Xiaobai quickly shouted.

"Get lost! There's none left!"

The Empress was so angry her chest hurt. This shameless fellow, cursing her like that right in front of her, and still wanting compensation?

Why didn't he just die!

Seeing that the effeminate man had disappeared from view, Su Xiaobai snorted in his heart:

"Little punk, still want to fight with me? Go back and practice for another eight hundred years!"