Chapter 60 Blindingly Dazzling
Unbeknownst to anyone, during today's morning court session, he had indeed been somewhat intimidated by the young emperor at first.
He even briefly entertained the thought of backing down and breaking his promise, but fortunately, he managed to dismiss the notion almost immediately.
Seeing a growing look of triumph on Zhao Siwen's face, Gao Xiu immediately buttered him up with flattery. "My lord, as long as that little emperor fails to produce the silver at tomorrow's morning court, he will have to step down obediently!"
"When that time comes, you will have done the Empress a tremendous favor!"
"Compared to this matter, what does the prime minister's minor merit even amount to?"
"Who knows, you might even be promoted to the next rank very soon..."
Zhao Siwen smiled faintly. "There is no need to speak of merit. As long as I can be of assistance to the Empress Dowager, it is my utmost honor!"
Gao Xiu hastily chimed in, "Your absolute loyalty, my lord, will surely be witnessed and remembered by the Empress Dowager!"
Zhao Siwen slowly rose to his feet, poured himself a cup of fine Jade Nectar wine, drained it in one go, and said with an even greater sense of self-satisfaction:
"Fine wine, truly fine wine!"
"Such exquisite liquor should not be enjoyed alone!"
"Go, have someone book the entire wondrous Sound Pavilion, and additionally order another batch of Jade Nectar wine!"
"Once the little emperor abdicates, I shall host a banquet for all my colleagues..."
Gao Xiu immediately acknowledged the order, but a moment later, a troubled look crossed his face as he hesitated and said, "My lord, the Sound Pavilion is fully booked for the near future; I'm afraid it will be difficult to secure a reservation on short notice. As for the Jade Nectar wine, I fear they haven't even finished brewing it yet..."
Zhao Siwen glared at Gao Xiu in displeasure. "Then simply spend more money to jump the queue! No matter how much it costs, it doesn't matter. Do I have to teach you everything?"
"Whatever can be solved with money is not a problem at all!"
Gao Xiu nodded frantically like a pounding pestle. "Yes, yes! Your subordinate will go attend to it personally right away!"
Just as he turned to walk two steps, Gao Xiu turned back and asked cautiously, "My lord, regarding the matter of my son, Gao Wenbin, securing a position in the Ministry of Revenue..."
Zhao Siwen waved his hand dismissively with a trace of annoyance. "Why are you in such a rush over such a trivial matter? Once that little emperor abdicates, everything can be easily arranged..."
Early the next morning.
Zhao Siwen arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation well in advance to wait for the morning court. Yet, when he cast a triumphant gaze toward Ning Chen, he was surprised to find that Ning Chen seemed to have completely forgotten about the wager made in the imperial court yesterday.
He maintained an entirely docile, innocent, and naive demeanor throughout!
"You little good-for-nothing, just wait and see. Today I shall help the Empress drive you off this dragon throne!"
After the officials finished discussing routine state affairs, Zhao Siwen immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the Empress Dowager.
"Your Majesty, today's morning court is drawing to a close. I wonder if the silver promised by His Majesty yesterday in the presence of all civil and military officials has arrived?"
At these words, the Empress Dowager shook her head with a helpless expression.
She was no longer in any hurry to oust Ning Chen from the throne; after all, the boy did not have much longer to live anyway.
Although she had been somewhat shocked yesterday by Ning Chen's resolute and arrogant demeanor—even suspecting whether he had been secretly plotting something right under her nose—after repeated confirmations, she had dismissed the thought. Therefore, she had not taken the matter too much to heart.
However, since Zhao Siwen was being so proactive, she was quite happy to let him take the lead, as it had nothing to do with her anyway.
With a smile, she looked toward Ning Chen, "Chen'er, have you prepared your silver?"
"If you cannot manage it, simply admit defeat and offer an apology. I will then have a reason to intercede with the officials on your behalf and have yesterday's wager annulled..."
Before Ning Chen could respond, Zhao Siwen interjected eagerly, "Your Majesty, as the saying goes: never twice, but never thrice. This wager has been brewing since several months ago!"
"As the Son of Heaven of our Great Ning, His Majesty certainly cannot go back on his word. Besides, he was so full of confidence yesterday and even deliberately used psychological tactics against this humble minister!"
"Under such circumstances, how can the wager possibly be nullified?"
"This old minister firmly objects to canceling the wager!"
With that, Zhao Siwen once again cast a triumphant glance at the docile Ning Chen sitting upon the dragon throne.
The court officials also wore expressions of spectators eager for a good show, filled with schadenfreude!
Unexpectedly, Ning Chen suddenly shed his naive appearance, stood up, and looked at Zhao Siwen with a meaningful smile. "Lord Zhao, are you certain you firmly object to canceling this wager?"
Zhao Siwen sneered, "That is naturally the case. A gentleman's word is as good as a team of four horses. I, Zhao Siwen, am the dignified Minister of Revenue; how could I possibly go back on my word in front of all the civil and military officials? Do you take me for some ignorant child?"
Ning Chen smiled faintly. "Very well, excellent!"
***
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the court could not help but be stunned: To think that even at this juncture, the little emperor was still putting up such a stubborn front!
Truly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth!
Even the Empress Dowager could not help frowning: *You little good-for-nothing, you brought this upon yourself. I already gave you a chance; you are courting your own death...*
"No more idle talk!"
"Your Majesty, where is the silver?"
"The civil and military officials are all waiting to see!"
Zhao Siwen said loftily.
Ning Chen smiled, then turned to look at the Empress Dowager. "Mother Empress, the silver is right outside the palace. Please permit me, along with Your Majesty and the ministers, to go outside and take a look!"
"Outside the palace?" The Empress Dowager was momentarily taken aback.
How could there possibly be silver outside the palace?
What a joke! You, this little good-for-nothing, have remained inside the imperial palace the entire night; how could you possibly arrange for silver to appear outside?
I must go see what kind of trick you are playing...
The officials were even more bewildered:
Several million taels of silver appearing outside the palace?
Does he really think he is a magician?
Even a magician couldn't pull off such a feat...
Soon, led by the Empress Dowager, all the civil and military officials of Great Ning arrived outside the East Gate of the imperial palace.
However, the scene before their eyes left everyone frozen in utter astonishment!
"What is going on here?"
"Why are there suddenly hundreds of carriages outside the East Gate of the palace?"
"And the carriages are packed full of large chests?"
...
As it turned out, right outside the East Gate, countless commoners had already gathered around.
In the plaza directly in the center of the crowd, over a hundred carriages were parked in neat, orderly rows.
Guards stood watch by every single carriage. At the very front, a middle-aged man dressed in brocade robes stood upright and waiting respectfully.
A jolt ran through the Empress Dowager's heart, and a sudden sense of foreboding surged within her:
Could it be that those hundreds of carriages were filled with silver?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
Ning Chen, that good-for-nothing, clearly hadn't left the imperial palace; how could he possibly have gotten his hands on so much silver...
Zhao Siwen's brow furrowed even deeper: Could it be...
No, impossible. Even if beaten to death, this official would never believe that those carriages contained those millions of taels of silver...
At that moment, seeing the entourage emerge from the palace, the middle-aged man in brocade robes broke into a trot, approached them, and knelt to kowtow respectfully to the Empress Dowager and Ning Chen. "This humble commoner, Hu Wansan, awaits here by the command of the Empress Dowager and His Majesty!"
"This is five million taels of silver voluntarily donated by this humble subject to the national treasury. I beg the Empress Dowager and His Majesty to inspect and receive it!"
Hearing this, everyone present was struck dumb with astonishment!
Especially Zhao Siwen, whose jaw dropped wide open, utterly unable to believe what his ears had just heard.
Hu Wansan?
Voluntarily donating to the national treasury?
And—and five million taels?!
Th-this... how could this be possible...
The Empress Dowager couldn't help but look back at Ning Chen, and then at Hu Wansan. "By the command of myself and the Emperor?"
"Five million taels?"
"Wh-what is the meaning of all this..."
While she was still murmuring to herself, Ning Chen took a step forward, smiled faintly, and said, "Very well, Shopkeeper Hu, let everyone have a look!"
Hu Wansan immediately acknowledged the order, rose to his feet, turned toward the hundreds of carriages, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Open the chests for inspection!"
The moment his voice fell—
The large chests atop the hundreds of carriages flew open almost simultaneously!
In an instant, the dazzling, blinding glare of silver flashed under the sunlight, shooting toward everyone's eyes like laser beams.
It was so bright that they could hardly keep their eyes open!
Observing the expressions of everyone who looked as though they had been temporarily blinded—especially the Empress Dowager and Zhao Siwen—Ning Chen felt immensely satisfied!
The previously chaotic crowd was instantly struck speechless by the sheer magnitude of the gleaming silver.
The scene fell into a dead silence, so quiet that the drop of a pin could be heard.
This was a full five million taels of pure silver!
The vast majority of these people had never seen so much silver gathered in one place in their entire lives...
Suddenly!
A voice broke the silence: "Good heavens, it really is silver! There really is this much silver! Th-this... how is this possible..."
Following that, the exclamation spread through the crowd like an exploding bomb, triggering a wave of discussions, shock, and utter amazement...
The Empress Dowager stared with wide eyes and a slack jaw, frozen in place like a statue!
As for Zhao Siwen, he was struck dumb, his face turning as pale as paper. He looked as though his soul had been sucked out of his body, leaving behind nothing more than a walking corpse.
Involuntarily, he suddenly felt countless gazes converging upon him, burning his face with a searing, painful heat.
Cold sweat drenched his back!
It was over, completely over!
The little emperor had actually managed to procure this much silver?!
Th-what on earth was going on here?
Who could make sense of this?
It defied all logic!
He was merely a nine-year-old child who had barely set foot outside the palace; how could he suddenly conjure up so much silver out of thin air...
Just as he was thinking this!
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Ning Chen walked right up to Zhao Siwen.
Blinking his bright, limpid eyes, his tone remained intensely youthful, yet the words he spoke were like razor-sharp blades piercing straight into Zhao Siwen's heart:
"Lord Zhao!"
"Have you seen clearly?"
"Would you like to go and count them yourself?"
Boom!
Zhao Siwen felt his mind go completely blank!
He swallowed hard, his eyes hollow as he repeatedly looked from Ning Chen, to the Empress Dowager and the officials who were still in a state of shock, and finally to the chests and chests of gleaming silver.
His head spinning like a vortex, turning countless times, he suddenly dashed toward the carriages like a madman.
At the top of his lungs, he screamed: "Impossible! Impossible! Absolutely impossible..."
"Fake! This is all completely fake..."