After the court session began, Minister Yang indeed brought up the matter of Jiangnan financing the northern food supplies once more, causing an uproar that echoed through the chamber.
Yet, atop the Dragon Throne where the court session was being held, a bizarre scene unfolded.
Sitting there was a Prince, barely a year old, and behind him, beneath the curtain, lingered the slender silhouette of a woman!
To rule from behind a curtain had historically been a sign of a nation in chaos, but now there was no other choice...
The Emperor was gravely ill, the Crown Prince's life hung in the balance at the hands of Princess Chang, and the Imperial Court naturally required a symbol to oversee the realm. The Emperor's adult children were mostly incapacitated. If any were to oversee the realm, it would disgrace the nation's dignity, so ultimately it fell to the young newly-born Prince to take the throne.