The most romantic little emperor

Chapter 559 Dong Sicheng expresses his loyalty

Dong Sicheng's expression changed slightly when he heard this. In the moment of silence, it seemed that a thousand thoughts were passing through his mind.

He finally mustered up his courage, speaking with a bit of uneasiness and humility: "Your Majesty, I know that my daughter Mei'er is not very talented, not very virtuous, and indeed not worthy of the position of queen, but..."

Qin Hao raised his hand gently, interrupting Dong Sicheng's unfinished words, with a gentle but profound smile on his lips, and said in a low voice: "It is a blessing for the court that Dong Qing can reflect on herself like this. Since you have mentioned Mei'er, it is time for me to fulfill my promise."

His eyes turned slightly, as if he had traveled through the corridor of time, and he said slowly: "Mei'er has been with me for quite a while, it has been a year already!"

Dong Sicheng was slightly moved when he heard this, but he quickly gathered his thoughts and replied respectfully: "Your Majesty has an extraordinary memory. In ten days, it will be a full year since Mei'er entered the palace."

"Dong Qing's memory is so accurate that it is admirable."

Qin Hao chuckled, his eyes flickering with approval: "Although Mei'er deceived us before, the Dong family and the Wang family also had several misunderstandings, but fortunately none of them led to irreparable disasters."

"Although I am an emperor, I am not a heartless person. I will not treat Yu Mei'er unfairly. This is my promise to your Dong family."

Dong Sicheng looked humble and fearful, and his words were full of awe: "Your Majesty is kind. Mei'er and I are grateful in our hearts. We can only swear to do our best for the rest of our lives, to serve you as a dog and a horse, and to defend your majesty's honor until our death."

Qin Hao smiled warmly when he heard this, and said softly but firmly: "My dear, everything in the world has its destiny, and you should not be dissatisfied. The position of queen is not something that ordinary people can covet. It requires a person with both virtue and talent to be qualified."

"I am not afraid to tell you that my father once left a will that the position of empress is reserved for the daughter of the Wang family. Even if time goes back and nothing happened a while ago, even if your Dong family tries hard, it is fate that cannot be defied. Mei'er and the position of empress are not meant to be. Do you understand the reason?"

Dong Sicheng trembled slightly when he heard this, and he looked even more terrified. He kowtowed quickly and said, "I am an old and stupid minister. I did have unreasonable thoughts before, and I deserve death. I hope Your Majesty will be magnanimous and give me a chance to reform. In the future, I will be careful in what I say and do, and abide by my duties to atone for my past mistakes."

Qin Hao waved his sleeves lightly, signaling Dong Sicheng to stand up in an unquestionable manner. His voice was steady and deep, as if it could penetrate people's hearts: "The past is like a passing cloud. I have made up my mind and will not pursue it any further."

"But today, I want to be honest with you. I have already made up my mind about the position of Imperial Consort. It is the one I reserved for the daughter of the Zhu family."

As soon as these words were spoken, Dong Sicheng's face suddenly changed, as if he was hit by a cold winter wind, and he became almost as pale as white paper. Fine beads of sweat on his forehead gathered into a stream and slowly slid down, reflecting his hesitant and complex expression.

Obviously, this sudden news was like a huge rock thrown into his calm heart, causing ripples.

Dong Sicheng no longer had any ambitions to become the empress, however, he had never expected that even the imperial concubine would not be a possibility for his Dong family. The blow he felt was unimaginable.

Qin Hao saw that his words frightened the important official in front of him, and knew that his goal had been achieved. He raised a barely perceptible gentle smile at the corner of his mouth, and said in a soothing tone: "Dong Qingjia, you can relax."

"The reason why I had this consideration at the beginning was to include your Dong family in my reckoning. However, after the Su family's rebellion, the court of Daxia was like a frightened bird. The Daxia officialdom can no longer withstand such a big turmoil."

"Considering that you and I are, after all, father-in-law and son-in-law, we are connected by kinship. If we really end up in a situation where both sides are destroyed, it will be an unbearable burden for the reputation of the royal family and the honor of the Dong family."

"Therefore, I have granted the Dong family a glimmer of hope. I am willing to use this forgiveness to exchange for the stability of the court and the harmony of the family. Fortunately, you were able to stop in time and repent, and did not reach a point where it was too late to reverse the situation. Otherwise, the glory accumulated by the Dong family for generations might no longer exist."

At this moment, Dong Sicheng looked terrified, his voice trembling slightly, and he whispered: "Your Majesty is wise, this old minister deserves death, please punish me."

Qin Hao raised a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, and his tone was gentle and profound, "Father-in-law, if I really wanted to care about the past, why would I have to wait until now?"

He turned his eyes to the side, as if he was thinking, or as if he was giving Dong Sicheng a little comfort, "As for Mei'er, she thinks highly of herself, is even arrogant and unreasonable, and dares to deceive me. If it weren't for your Dong family and the Concubine Dowager, let alone the position of Imperial Concubine, I would not even confer the title of the Four Concubines on her."

"However, I have already intended to confer her the title of Imperial Noble Consort, sharing the same honor as Zhu Qiqi, with a status second only to the Empress. But behind this honor, your Dong family will naturally have to take some responsibility."

Dong Sicheng's expression finally cleared up after hearing this. He quickly wiped the sweat off his forehead. He bowed and said earnestly, "Your Majesty is so gracious and I am deeply grateful. If Your Majesty sends you any orders, no matter how difficult it is, the Dong family will do its best and will never back down."

Qin Hao nodded gently, with a sharp look in his eyes: "My father-in-law is very understanding and I am very pleased. I believe you also know that although the Great Xia Kingdom has not been established for a long time, it has accumulated problems for a long time. Powerful officials abuse power, aristocratic families occupy the throne, and vassal kings are all my biggest concerns."

"Now that the Su family has been eliminated, your Dong family has shown their loyalty to me. This is a sign of the revival of our Great Xia. I hope that the Dong family can become a sharp sword in my hand to cut off all the thorns that hinder the prosperity of the country."

A crazy thought flashed through Dong Sicheng's mind. His Majesty was going to take action against the aristocratic families and princes.

He suddenly felt that he was shouldering a heavy responsibility, and he felt both excited and nervous, but he understood that this was both a challenge and an excellent opportunity for the Dong family to revive their family and bring honor to their ancestors.

So, he bowed again and swore: "Your Majesty, rest assured. The Dong family swears to follow Your Majesty until death. For the prosperity of Daxia, we will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Seeing that Dong Sicheng had completely sided with him, Qin Hao felt relieved. Now with the help of the Dong family, he was more confident in cleaning up the court's ills and leading Daxia to a height that had never been reached before.