Chapter 159
Unfortunately, no matter how spirited Madam Jian was, today's rebellion was doomed to fail.
For one, they hadn't fully deployed their forces. Even if they had caught everyone off guard, Qiu Chi alone could have crushed them all.
Even if Qiu Chi had only killed the men in black, the Imperial Guard were not to be trifled with.
Most importantly, General Jian remained unwaveringly loyal to the Emperor. He would not raise a hand against Madam Jian and Jian Ninghua, but he could act against those who followed them in rebellion.
As for the officials who had a hand in the plot, they were killed by Qiu Chi the moment they made a move.
This rebellion was destined to fail.
Watching everything unfold, Madam Jian took out a dagger and said to General Jian, "I planned everything that happened today. I accept my failure. But Jian Wu, no matter what, Ninghua is your son. It doesn't matter if I die, but he cannot! If you're a man, you will protect him!"
After speaking, she looked at Jian Ninghua, her voice softening. "Ninghua, Mother is going to see your brothers now. You must live well."
Madam Jian knew the chances of success today were slim, but she was too unwilling to accept it. Her real intention was to try and persuade General Jian on the spot.
But General Jian was blindly loyal. Even after she had made so many accusations, he still defended the Emperor. Madam Jian knew then that the rebellion was doomed to fail.
But even in failure, she wanted to leave a thorn in the hearts of both General Jian and Jian Ninghua.
She didn't know if this would change General Jian's mind, but she knew her own son.
Madam Jian had planned it well, but things were no longer entirely under her control.
She tried to end her own life but was stopped by General Jian.
After ordering someone to watch Madam Jian, the general knelt and pleaded for mercy for his wife and son. "Your Majesty, today's events are all this subject's fault. It is I who failed to watch over them. If you must punish someone, please punish me!"
The puppet emperor looked at Qiu Chi.
Standing beside the Emperor, Qiu Chi smiled. "General Jian, Imperial Father and I have seen your contributions over the years. You are doing this now simply to seek a path to survival for your wife and child. It's not impossible, actually. It just depends on whether you are willing."
General Jian was something of a male chauvinist, so he had naturally been among those dissatisfied with a female crown prince.
But now, with the Emperor silent and Qiu Chi speaking, he had no choice but to bow his head to her to save the lives of his wife and son, regardless of his previous dissatisfaction.
"As long as their lives can be saved, this humble subject will do whatever Your Highness commands."
Naturally, some officials were displeased to see General Jian bow his head to Qiu Chi.
"His Majesty is still present! What right does a little slip of a girl have to speak?"
"Exactly! Since you are a woman, you should be properly bearing and raising children—"
Qiu Chi didn't waste words on the speaker, simply lashing out with her whip.
It wouldn't kill him, but it could certainly beat him half to death.
With that one lash, those who had been about to declare Qiu Chi unworthy for being a woman instantly fell silent.
Qiu Chi stood on the high platform, looking down on them. "Before you speak, first weigh your own lives and consider whether you can withstand the whip in my hand. I am not soft-hearted like my Imperial Father. If you dare to be disrespectful, I can only send you to see the Buddha."
Having dealt with the disgruntled officials, Qiu Chi turned back to General Jian. "Rest assured, you don't have to die. For now, go and guard the border. I will take good care of them."
General Jian not only agreed to go to the border but also presented his military tally to Qiu Chi.
Qiu Chi accepted the tally and had Madam Jian and Jian Ninghua taken away to be imprisoned separately.
Only then did she turn to the puppet emperor. "Now that everything is resolved, isn't it time for Imperial Father to abdicate?"
The puppet emperor naturally did whatever Qiu Chi said and handed her the Heirloom Seal of the Realm.
Under the resentful yet fearful gazes of the officials, Qiu Chi became the first empress regnant in history. The enthronement ceremony was scheduled for half a month later.
Qiu Chi became the empress, but the Tanhua Lang was still the one reviewing the court memorials.
Now that she was the empress, her sham relationship with the Tanhua Lang was naturally void. To ensure he would work willingly, Qiu Chi even specially granted him a marriage.
The Tanhua Lang was overjoyed and began to work much more diligently.
Naturally, some officials objected to this news. Their reasoning was, "The Tanhua Lang is Your Majesty's man. How can he—"
Qiu Chi cut him off. "Why not? We shall do as We please. Do We need you to question Our decisions?"
Qiu Chi's reputation as empress was not good, because she was far too autocratic.
On the day of her enthronement, she decreed that women could henceforth attend school and serve as court officials, causing a tremendous uproar. The officials didn't just disagree—some even threatened to ram their heads into a pillar to prove their point with death.
Unfortunately, Qiu Chi didn't care how later generations would judge her. She simply smiled at the official who was reacting so dramatically. "You wish to die? Why go to such trouble? We are quite fast when it comes to killing people. We guarantee you won't feel a thing."
"Rest assured, after you die, your family will be perfectly safe. After all, We are not so cruel as to implicate your family because of you."
Qiu Chi was actually being sincere, but to everyone else, her words sounded like a pure threat.
Some of them tried to appeal to the Emperor Emeritus, but he refused to see anyone, only saying that whatever Qiu Chi said, goes.
Qiu Chi, for her part, paid no mind to their various schemes. If anyone showed signs of dissent, she would kill them herself.
In the end, they could only hold their noses and accept it, attending court each day in a state of trepidation.
The imperial court had become Qiu Chi's personal domain, where her word was law.
Qiu Chi was very satisfied with this state of affairs.
After tossing the memorials to the Tanhua Lang once more, Qiu Chi went to see Jian Ninghua.
Jian Ninghua and Madam Jian were imprisoned separately.
Although their treatment seemed decent, neither was allowed to step outside their room. Madam Jian had a resilient temperament and could have endured it, but not being able to see Jian Ninghua unsettled her. As time passed, this unease grew into increasing agitation.
Jian Ninghua, by comparison, was far more miserable.
On the day of the rebellion, the way Qiu Chi had dispatched the men in black, one lash per person, had already planted a faint suspicion in Jian Ninghua's mind.
When Qiu Chi came to see him, he couldn't help but ask, "Was it you?"
Qiu Chi didn't hide it. "Yes," she nodded. "It was me."
Jian Ninghua's expression immediately turned foul. "Why would you do that?"
Hearing his question, Qiu Chi found him rather amusing. "Because I don't like you. Besides, you're a good-for-nothing. Do you even have the right to ask why?"
Jian Ninghua's face grew even darker. "You knew we were planning to rebel..."
"Of course I knew. It's a shame, isn't it? How could a good-for-nothing like you ever succeed?"
Jian Ninghua was already easily provoked. Now, without Madam Jian to soothe him and confined to his room, his condition was bound to deteriorate, even if Qiu Chi was only prodding him out of boredom.
Out of the goodness of her heart, Qiu Chi also had someone inform Madam Jian of her son's condition.
As for General Jian, Qiu Chi had no intention of letting him guard the border for long. She had other plans.
It was one thing when she wasn't the empress, but now that she was, she was certainly going to expand the map and build an empire.
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