Rewarding Merits  

"Ding!"

"Congratulations to the host for completing the mission with high quality, obtained 10 Undying Pellets."

In the main hall of the Great Chu imperial palace.

Fan Li stood on the imperial stairs together with Xiang Ning, accepting the ministers' worship.

At this moment, he clearly felt that the civil and military ministers of Great Chu were actually kneeling towards him instead of Xiang Ning behind him on the dragon throne.

"They were just showing signs of monkeys scattering when a tree falls, yet this bunch of fickle courtiers changed allegiances so quickly." Fan Li muttered in his heart while sending the Undying Pellets into his mouth.

"Hmph! Treacherous minister! Eating in front of Us during court session?" Xiang Ning had just cried and her eyes were still swollen red.

She was used to being hostile towards Fan Li, but was unable to forget the lifesaving grace from earlier. That matter even gave rise to another kind of feeling in her heart.

She wanted Fan Li to coax her. Moreover, every time she cried in the future, it'd be best if Fan Li could come and coax her!

"Ministers with memorials may speak, the rest are dismissed." Xiang Ning suppressed the strange thoughts in her heart and casually spoke.

"This minister, Minister of Justice Song Zhong, has a memorial."

" Speak." Xiang Ning looked at Song Zhong whose hair was half white, still somewhat expectant.

This old minister had repeatedly debated Fan Li during court sessions, always firmly standing by her side. He could be considered as belonging to the faction that protected imperial authority.

"This minister dares to memorialize Your Majesty. Prime Minister Fan Li has served two generations of emperors in Great Chu with hard work and great contributions. Today, he risked himself to save Your Majesty, his feats truly shake the heavens. Thus, this minister asks Your Majesty to heavily reward the Prime Minister!"

Xiang Ning frowned upon hearing this. What's going on with this old fellow today? Actually speaking up for Fan Li?

"Fan Li...Father already holds extreme power as a minister. Moreover, he can ride horses in the imperial city, is exempt from naming taboos, doesn't have to hurry in court, can wear sword and shoes entering the hall. It seems I have no more rewards I can possibly give." Xiang Ning felt somewhat restless. "What does the Minister of Justice think is fitting to reward?"

"Hehe." The corners of Old Man Song's mouth rose as he smiled ingratiatingly at Fan Li instead of answering her.

"Minister Song's words make sense. We concur!"

"We also concur. Please heavily reward Prime Minister Fan! Only by making rewards and punishments distinct can Great Chu remain prosperous forever!"

"This is the desire of all. May Your Majesty consider carefully!"

Xiang Ning was struck dumb.

Fan Li was also somewhat puzzled. "Weren't these fellows often debating and quarreling with my original self in court? What's going on today? All I did was catch the Overlord Spear. Could just twirling a spear around really have such great deterrence?"

Fan Li couldn't help but start considering directly asking the little emperor to let him borrow the Overlord Spear to play with.

Just borrow it for a few hundred years. In the future, every time he comes to court he can bring it along. Let's see which minister dares disobey him then!

Xiang Ning still didn't want to agree. She hardened herself to say, "Ever since Great Chu's founding, there is no precedent of granting a peerage to one of the opposite sex. Does the minister's remonstrance mean to coerce Us into becoming an unfilial descendant of the founding emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Fan Li repeatedly shook his head. 'Too inexperienced. Speaking so directly, completely exposing her own emotions...'

'The little emperor still lacks discipline.' Fan Li was a middle manager back in his previous life.

One of his takeaways as a leader: no matter how bizarre his colleagues' and subordinates' remarks during a meeting, don't directly deny the other party.

When leaders speak, they must make the listener feel comfortable while also achieving their own goals. This is a technical skill! Yet his shaking head was seen by the ministers kneeling below the imperial stairs.

Song Zhong promptly said loudly, "Your Majesty! Our Great Chu indeed has no precedent of granting peerages to the opposite sex, precisely because no one before has rendered deeds as great as Prime Minister Fan's! Your Majesty must not hesitate, as hesitation will lead to instability!"

Xiang Ning only felt her seven apertures smoking, nearly passing out from anger upon hearing this.

'The treacherous minister usually only bullies me verbally. But when something really happens, he can still stand out to share my burden.

You bunch of bastards! Seeing Fan Li can use the Overlord Spear, you guys have clearly tossed me aside and want to hurry and pledge allegiance to Fan Li! Since Fan Li isn't rebelling, just relying on you lot also dares to bully me?'

Xiang Ning could only vent for a bit in her heart. She didn't want to agree, yet didn't dare to refuse either. Especially because she didn't know Fan Li's thoughts at the moment.

'If the treacherous minister himself steps out to demand a reward, I really can only agree to it...'

The atmosphere in the hall temporarily turned awkward. Fan Li kept silent. He only cared about when the System would issue the next mission.

If there was no mission, he'd rather be a wooden statue instead of bothering with the little emperor and ministers' troubles.

"I'm just a heartless mission machine." Fan Li said to himself.

"The Empress Dowager arrives!"

Suddenly, the Empress Dowager came. 

With the chief eunuch and the #1 expert of the Imperial Guards Chen Gonggong leading the way, several tens of palace maids and little eunuchs escorted along. The Empress Dowager of Great Chu slowly stepped into the main hall.

The Empress Dowager's aura was much stronger than Xiang Ning's. Chen Gonggong also had his fame as the #1 expert of the Imperial Guards.

Upon seeing the Empress Dowager's phoenix carriage, Song Zhong and the other ministers immediately prostrated on the ground, not daring to make a peep.

"This widowed one just overheard people threatening His Majesty?" The Empress Dowager faintly said. Her gaze directly swept towards Song Zhong and the others, yet she did not aim at Fan Li.

Before their very eyes, Song Zhong and the rest's bodies visibly started trembling! Those ministers who didn't speak up also unconsciously broke out in cold sweat.

After the previous emperor's passing, the Empress Dowager and Chen Gonggong were the little emperor's biggest pillars of support. Yet Fan Li had an expression as if nothing out of norm happened.

In the hall, the civil and military ministers were all cultivators while he only had the Body Refinement Realm. Undoubtedly, he was the weakest.

But even before when he didn't cultivate, when did the imperial household of Great Chu dare do anything to him?

'The Empress Dowager wants to kill the chicken to warn the mo...cough, warn me?' Fan Li thought to himself.

"This minister dares to memorialize that it was Minister of Justice Song Zhong just now who was disrespectful to His Majesty." Chen Gonggong's ominous voice echoed in the great hall.

"This minister is guilty! This minister spoke out of turn!" Song Zhong promptly kowtowed.

The Empress Dowager faintly smiled and nodded. "Since Minister Song admits his crimes, punish him according to the laws of Great Chu."

"Yes." It was still only Chen Gonggong replying.

The old eunuch suddenly flicked his sleeve. Before Song Zhong could react, he felt an icy gale blowing through his body. Then, his court robes violently burst apart, turning into scraps of cloth on the ground. Song Zhong knelt there with disheveled hair, only in his white undergarments.

"Men, take Minister Song to the prison and await trial." As soon as Chen Gonggong finished speaking, two Imperial Guards walked in to take away the stupefied Song Zhong.

"Mother." Xiang Ning stood up from the dragon throne, somewhat delighted yet also worried.

Fan Li was also curious. Could it be that the Empress Dowager today truly came to oppose him? 

But the Empress Dowager didn't make things difficult for Fan Li.

"Your Majesty, there is good news. The steed of the founding emperor, Black Thunder, was originally transformed from a black dragon at the bottom of the Wu River. After the founding emperor established the dynasty, Black Thunder returned to the Wu River and diligently practiced the art of transforming into a dragon.

Recently, Black Thunder has successfully transformed into a dragon. If Your Majesty can tame Black Thunder, it will undoubtedly comfort the spirits of the emperors of past generations in the heavens..."