248: The Incompetent King

The air in the hall fell silent for a few seconds, as if no one had expected Su Xiaobai to utter such treasonous words.

“What did you say?”

The Supreme Emperor’s white hair flew wildly in anger, and the aura of the First Realm instantly permeated the entire hall!

All the officials were so pressured they could barely breathe.

But Su Xiaobai stood fearlessly, with his hands behind his back, and said majestically:

“The Supreme Emperor reigned for fifty years, enjoying wealth and luxury, yet he was unaware of the suffering of the common people, and grievances rose everywhere; this is ignorance!

The Southern Demon Clan ran rampant, yet you blindly sought compromise and peace, leading to the Great Zhou’s national strength visibly declining; this is incompetence!”

“When you entered the court today, your first act was not to ask why I executed those beasts in human clothing, but rather to blame me for violating so-called rules; this is immorality!”

“You!” The Supreme Emperor’s face turned crimson with anger.

Su Xiaobai gave him no chance to speak, pointing at his nose and loudly rebuking, “Such an ignorant, incompetent, and immoral ruler, if not for Her Majesty’s timely ascension to the throne and her diligent governance in recent years, the Great Zhou would have been ruined in your hands sooner or later!”

“Now, what more do you have to say?!”

Su Xiaobai’s words were like pearls, each striking the Supreme Emperor’s heart, yet leaving no room for rebuttal.

The hall was completely silent.

Whether it was Prince Ming, Duke Mo, or Chief Sun, their eyes widened slightly as they looked at Su Xiaobai.

This guy… he really dared to speak his mind!

This was Her Majesty’s father, the former Supreme Emperor of the Great Zhou!

He actually called him an incompetent ruler!

From her high seat, Her Majesty’s lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile; Su Xiaobai was truly her confidant, speaking everything she had wanted to say all these years.

Her relationship with the Supreme Emperor was not good.

The Supreme Emperor had merely treated her as a tool for political marriage, with no father-daughter affection whatsoever.

It was precisely to escape the fate of being married off to the Southern Demon that she defied all conventions and became Empress.

Now that Su Xiaobai had cursed out all her inner discontent, she felt incredibly relieved.

“Boy, I’m going to tear your mouth apart!” The Supreme Emperor’s face was distorted with rage, completely losing his former demeanor as a superior.

Even scholars value their reputation, let alone someone who was once an Emperor?

If Su Xiaobai’s words were to spread, then his reputation as an incompetent ruler would be infamous for ten thousand years!

This was something he absolutely would not allow.

The aura of the First Realm rushed towards Su Xiaobai.

The Supreme Emperor was like a mad tiger, extending his claws to grab Su Xiaobai.

Su Xiaobai was not flustered at all; the Supreme Emperor’s aura was not stronger than his, merely at the Early Stage of the First Realm.

If they truly went head-to-head, who would win was still uncertain.

“Ah!”

But just as the Supreme Emperor was about to touch Su Xiaobai, an incredibly powerful force blocked his path, repelling him backward.

It was a five-clawed Dragon, a golden Dragon; the Dragon’s form was illusory, condensed from spiritual energy.

Su Xiaobai felt an extremely strong sense of closeness and familiarity from it, as if he and this power shared the same origin.

The Supreme Emperor stumbled back several steps, then roared furiously at Her Majesty on the high seat, “Lin Yao, you actually attacked your own father for this boy!?”

Her Majesty withdrew the illusory Dragon, looking down at him from above, a trace of majestic light reflecting in her beautiful, picturesque golden eyes.

A solemn and indifferent voice came, “Imperial Father, fighting is forbidden in the imperial court. Even you are no exception. This is the rule.”

“You!” The Supreme Emperor was momentarily speechless.

He had previously accused Su Xiaobai of breaking the rules by executing officials; if he were to refute now, wouldn’t he be shooting himself in the foot?

“Are you just going to stand there and watch him slander your Imperial Father?!” He played the emotional card.

Her Majesty glanced at him indifferently, a hint of disdain in her eyes.

Then she turned to Su Xiaobai: “Commander Su, how can the Supreme Emperor be discussed by a mere subject like you? Do not speak so carelessly.

Your salary will be docked for one year as punishment.”

“Your subject accepts the punishment,” Su Xiaobai said with a bow, but there was no sign of remorse on his face.

The surrounding officials exchanged glances.

Docking one year’s salary, with no demotion or physical punishment, was basically no punishment at all!

But everyone wisely kept silent.

They knew a little about the relationship between Her Majesty and the Supreme Emperor, and they did not want to get involved in the royal family’s private matters.

The Supreme Emperor’s face was as ugly as if he had eaten excrement, flushed red from holding it in.

“I should have married her off earlier; now there are endless troubles!” He gritted his back teeth, regretting his past decision.

Just then, Su Xiaobai suddenly spoke.

“You all say that this official should not have killed them, so why don’t you listen for yourselves to what they actually did?”

With a wave of his hand, a group of Souls floated out from his sleeve.

They were precisely the Souls of those beasts in human clothing he had killed earlier in Anchun Courtyard.

Prince Ming’s eyes suddenly narrowed, “Damn it, I didn’t expect him to have a way to preserve Souls!”

Methods for preserving Souls were rare.

Because most of these were ordinary people, their Souls were extremely fragile and would usually dissipate as soon as they died.

Unless one reached the Supreme Realm or possessed a Magic Treasure for preserving Souls, it was impossible to preserve such complete Souls.

These people had no direct connection to him, but they had indirect financial dealings. If they said anything they shouldn’t, it could cause him huge losses.

“So Lord Su had already collected their Souls. He should have brought them out earlier.” The eunuch faction sighed in relief.

They had been worrying for nothing, arguing so vehemently for him.

“Without further ado, let’s quickly ask what they did, and whether Lord Su wronged the innocent?” Someone said.

Others also nodded, looking up at Her Majesty.

Her Majesty held the highest position here, so she should be the one to ask.

“Imperial Father, please.”

Her Majesty said calmly to the Supreme Emperor, “Since you are targeting Su Xiaobai, you should ask yourself.”

The Supreme Emperor’s face was still very grim; he was unaccustomed to being ordered around.

However, he had already abdicated, and his power could not compare to Lin Yao’s.

“Hmph!” He snorted coldly, then casually looked at the Soul of one of the beasts in human clothing, “Speak, what were you doing that night?”

“Playing with women,” the beast in human clothing said numbly and honestly.

The Supreme Emperor’s face twitched, “Bastard! Were you made an official to play with women?!”

“Playing with women is just one of the pleasures; the happiest thing, of course, is making money. Every time the court allocates funds, it’s our day to make a fortune.

We pocket eighty percent of the allocated silver, and then use the remaining twenty percent for some random construction, just to fool Your Majesty. She won’t personally check anyway,” the beast in human clothing said with a happy expression.

Even though he was dead, the joy he felt at that time was still genuinely reflected in the present moment.

Her Majesty’s face immediately darkened.

The civil and military officials in the hall were stunned, their hearts tightening.

Which of them didn’t have some corruption on their hands? Her Majesty usually turned a blind eye.

But to pocket eighty percent and only use twenty percent for work, that was extremely rare!

This had undoubtedly crossed Her Majesty’s bottom line.

Crack!

“This is outrageous!” Her Majesty’s sharp reprimand suddenly rang out, her fair hand slapping the armrest of the Dragon throne, “Whose subordinate is he?”

“Reporting… reporting to Your Majesty, he is… my subordinate…”

An official in a crimson robe walked out, his face filled with dread.

The person was the Minister of Personnel, equivalent to the head of human resources.

“These are the people you’ve cultivated? You’ve truly cultivated a fine official for my Great Zhou!” Her Majesty said furiously.

“Your subject is guilty, and willingly accepts punishment!” The Minister of Personnel immediately knelt down.

Not just him, but the Vice Minister of Justice, the Guest Elder of the Imperial Stables, and a large number of other officials all knelt down.

Because among the Souls of these beasts in human clothing, they also saw their own people.

“Your Majesty, your subjects are also guilty, we beg Your Majesty to punish us!”

The normally high-and-mighty dignitaries suddenly knelt down in a large swath, making the scene quite spectacular for a moment.