Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

After knocking on the door, the old emperor thought there wouldn’t be any further issues.

It had been almost three years now. Even if Little Bai Ze didn’t feel reverence for imperial authority, shouldn’t there at least be some basic courtesy?

“Xu…”

[Heh! The true ancestor who ‘outshines all others’ has arrived! Ji Sui’s adopted son should kowtow properly to the old emperor!]

The old emperor’s brow twitched slightly.

It’s fine. Bai Ze’s nature is pure, playful, and carefree—being a bit unruly is no big deal.

After all, he is a wise and magnanimous ruler! He would never punish someone for mere words.

The Minister of War stepped forward to greet him, “Your Majesty honors us with your presence…”

The old emperor’s tone was cold: “Minister of War, Li Qian, your choice of words is inappropriate. As punishment, copy the phrase ‘Your Majesty graces us with your presence’ one hundred times.”

Wasn’t this phrase commonly used before? And honestly, the latter phrase feels even less appropriate for such a minor occasion!

Suppressing his confusion, the Minister of War bowed again. “Your servant obeys.”

He then glanced subtly at Xu Yanmiao.

Ah, got it. The emperor was in a bad mood and needed someone to vent on.

As the old emperor turned and walked into the room to sit on the main seat, the Minister of War noticed the emperor wasn’t paying attention to him. Quickly, he used his foot to nudge the leftover candy wrappers under another table.

“Your Majesty has graced us—do you have any instructions for us?”

He also casually closed the door behind him.

“I’m here to see how your essay topics for the policy debate are coming along,” the old emperor said as he sat down, his gaze locking onto the Minister of War. “But when I arrived at the door, it seemed like I heard you discussing my ancestors?”

[Tsk tsk. Truly worthy of an emperor—knowing full well that’s not his actual ancestor but still saying ‘my ancestors’ with a straight face.]

The old emperor’s inner thoughts remained calm, even allowing for a moment of disdain.

His ancestors? Please. A farmer like him was lucky to know the name of his great-grandfather, let alone trace his true lineage.

It didn’t matter. Ancestors were ancestors—burning incense for them during festivals was no big deal anyway.

So, he fixed his gaze on the Minister of War and asked, “What exactly happened?”

Xu Yanmiao, for his part, had no interest in the emperor’s ancestors unless someone brought it up first. If it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have even bothered to glance at the matter.

[Li Qian, you’d better have a good reason for bringing this up!]

The Minister of War hesitated for a brief moment, caught between speaking subtly and being direct, but ultimately chose the latter.

“Your Majesty, in this year’s imperial examination, it is rumored that one of the candidates is a descendant of the Crown Prince of Yu Kingdom, with genealogical records and historical documents to back it up.”

In other words, there was a possibility that this person was truly a descendant of the Yu royal family.

According to the Minister of War’s report, the current investigation revealed that the candidate likely had no idea the old emperor had adopted his ancestor as part of the imperial lineage. After all, it wasn’t common knowledge who the emperor claimed as his ancestors. As for the genealogical records, the candidate’s family had supposedly kept them meticulously across generations. Although their family never grew into a prominent clan, and many branches had incomplete names, they had safeguarded the records even during times of famine and displacement.

Xu Yanmiao was stunned.

The old emperor was equally stunned.

This was… awkward, wasn’t it? They couldn’t very well declare this candidate a member of the royal family, could they?

Xu Yanmiao hesitated and asked, “So, does the Minister mean to suggest that I should…”

The Minister of War’s expression turned serious and stern in an instant. “Xu Lang, you must investigate the authenticity of this genealogical record.”

If it turned out to be false, everyone could relax.

If it turned out to be true… well, there was no such “if.”

The royal family couldn’t simply sprout new households and dozens of additional relatives. At most, they could quietly offer some financial compensation.

Xu Yanmiao: “…”

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