Acting with Flair at the Imperial Tomb, as if Possessed by an Oscar-Winning Actor

Half an hour later, in the duty room of the Grand Secretariat.

Under the dim candlelight, Chief Grand Secretary Zhuge Huaijin was pinching the bridge of his nose, frowning at the mountain of memorials piled on his desk. The Emperor was bound to stir up trouble at tomorrow's grand court assembly. As the Chief Grand Secretary, caught between the imperial power and the civil official faction, he was completely overwhelmed. He still had not figured out a way to counter the impending backlash from the aristocratic officials.

Just then, Zhang Li arrived bearing an imperial edict.

After hearing the decree that "the Emperor misses the late Emperor too deeply and is postponing the grand assembly to pay respects at the imperial mausoleum," the entire Grand Secretariat fell so silent that one could hear a pin drop.

Zhuge Huaijin was stunned for a moment, but then a gleam of wild joy erupted in his eyes. Postponed for three days? This was a godsend in his hour of need! Three days would be more than enough time for him to sort out the factions and set up his defensive lines.

"His Majesty is truly the most filial son in all of history!" Although Zhuge Huaijin was an upright man, he was also a shrewd politician. He knew how to be flexible with harmless matters, and his expression changed faster than flipping the page of a book. With tears welling up in his eyes, he bowed deeply in the direction of the imperial palace. "Hearing of His Majesty's grief, this old minister also feels a piercing pain in his heart. His Majesty governs the world with filial piety; this is a blessing for Great Xia, a blessing for all the people!"

He turned his head to look at the other Grand Secretaries in the duty room and spoke with righteous dignity: "Gentlemen, His Majesty's act of pure filial piety is truly the demeanor of an enlightened ruler. It is the tradition of Great Zhou that filial piety moves the heavens. As his ministers, it is our duty to share His Majesty's burdens. Tomorrow, we shall draft and issue public documents to proclaim this to the world, singing the praises of His Majesty's filial virtues!"

The officials from humble backgrounds were not stupid either. They immediately echoed his sentiments, and for a time, the Grand Secretariat was filled with words of praise for the Emperor's "filial piety."

Meanwhile, in another manor, the Second Grand Secretary and leader of the aristocratic faction, Zhang Wuji, was so furious upon hearing the news that he directly smashed his beloved Duan inkstone.

Crash!

Black ink splattered all over the floor. Zhang Wuji glared, his beard blowing with his heavy, heaving breaths. Pointing toward the imperial palace, he cursed loudly: "Bullshit! Absolute bullshit! He misses the late Emperor? Is that what he calls missing the late Emperor?"

Zhang Wuji paced furiously around his study, his teeth grinding audibly. Who did not know that the little tyrant had mobilized over a hundred thousand troops out of the city today to encircle and annihilate a rebel, only to be utterly crushed by the rebel's master? He had suffered a massive loss and fled back with his tail between his legs!

"He got beaten up, he got thrashed, and now he knows pain. Running to the imperial mausoleum in the middle of the night—he is clearly going there to fetch his parents! He is going to cry and complain to those old monsters in secluded cultivation!" Zhang Wuji was so angry his lungs were about to explode. "How noble of you! How amazing! You go out to pick a fight, and then you just have to cloak yourself in the guise of 'filial piety'! Now look, all the impeachment memorials I prepared for tomorrow are completely useless! Who would dare impeach an Emperor who went to sweep his own father's grave?"

Zhang Wuji felt incredibly stifled. He had to watch helplessly as his mortal enemy, Zhuge Huaijin, not only used this opportunity to catch his breath but also took advantage of the situation to polish the little tyrant's reputation, molding him into a pure, filial, and enlightened ruler. This feeling of having a knife held to his neck while being forced to praise the killer's swordsmanship made Zhang Wuji's throat taste sweet with iron, nearly causing him to spit out a mouthful of old blood.

Wang Hao's move—a combination of moral kidnapping and stalling tactics—had executed a multidimensional strike on the imperial court.

Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten.

A massive, imposing, yet deliberately solemn procession marched out from the north gate of the Great Xia imperial city, heading straight for the location of the royal tombs: Mount Beimang.

Wang Hao sat upright in his spacious imperial carriage, resting with his eyes closed. On both sides of the carriage, his star eunuchs, led by Sun Li, walked in attendance.

On the perimeter, ten thousand fully armed Imperial Guards marched with flags blocking out the sun, completely sealing off Mount Beimang.

Upon arriving outside the palace of the late Emperor's mausoleum, Wang Hao took a deep breath and began to build up his emotions. He silently repeated to himself three times, I am an orphan, I am so miserable, and his eyes instantly turned red.

"Open the doors!"

The heavy bronze doors were pushed open. Wang Hao waved off Wei Zhongxian's attempt to support him and stumbled, staggering his way into the ancestral temple hall where the spirit tablets of the past Emperors of Great Xia were enshrined. Inside the hall, the eternal lamps flickered with bright light, exuding an ancient aura.

As soon as he entered the hall, Wang Hao went straight into a sliding kneel. With a heavy thud, he dropped onto the prayer mat right in the center. The sound was so loud that the eunuchs outside felt the pain in their own knees.

"Ancestors! Your unfilial descendant, Wang Hao, has come to see you!"

Wang Hao let out a sorrowful wail at the top of his lungs. His voice was mournful and melodious; those who heard it felt heartbroken, and those who listened shed tears. Possessed by the spirit of an Oscar-winning actor, his emotions were perfectly saturated.

He first looked up at the late Emperor's spirit tablet, wiping his tears as he began his "merit-reporting" presentation: "Father! Ancestors! Ever since your descendant took over the empire of Great Xia, I have woken up early and stayed up late, not daring to slack off for even a moment! Look at the inner treasury now. It used to be constantly broke, but your descendant took bold steps to open up new revenue streams, raided the homes of several corrupt officials, established royal enterprises, and braved the curses of the scholar-officials to set up the Taxation Bureau. I forcefully extended the power of the Six Ministries down to the grassroots level to collect commercial taxes. Now the treasury of Great Xia is recovering, and the four seas are at peace!"

While Wang Hao's words seemed like an emotional outpouring, the core message was singular: I am a rare and outstanding CEO, the performance of the Great Xia Corporation is booming under my leadership, and my existence is highly valuable!

After reporting his KPIs, Wang Hao abruptly shifted the conversation. His tone instantly became extremely aggrieved and miserable, with tears pattering down: "But... even though your descendant is so wise and diligent, there are people who cannot stand to see Great Xia prosper! That rebel named Ye Chen colluded with martial arts factions to assassinate me time and time again. To defend Great Xia, your descendant personally led troops to encircle him. Just as I was about to execute him according to the law, the result..."

Wang Hao violently beat his chest and stomped his feet, crying uncontrollably: "The result was that he didn't play by the rules of martial arts! He called his master! An old monster who has lived for god knows how many years! My army of over a hundred thousand was beaten without any power to fight back, with over three thousand soldiers dead or injured! If your descendant hadn't been lucky and carried a life-saving magical artifact, today... today your descendant's spirit tablet would already be placed right next to Father's!"

Reaching the emotional climax, Wang Hao sprawled on the floor and bawled: "My father passed away early. In this world, I have no grandmother to dote on me, no grandfather to love me. I am bitterly holding up this empire all by myself, and I still have to be bullied by old monsters from the outside. Why is my life so bitter! Ancestors, if you don't manifest your divine presence soon, our Great Xia empire is going to be stolen away, and even your tombs are going to be dug up!"

The seven great eunuchs who had followed him inside were all masters of reading the room. Seeing His Majesty acting with such dedication, they immediately knew what they had to do. All seven of them dropped to their knees in unison behind Wang Hao, instantly transforming into top-tier hype men, weeping and wailing to the heavens.

Wei Zhongxian pinched his fingers into an orchid mudra, crying so hard his false eyelashes were about to fall off: "Late Emperor! Please open your eyes and look, His Majesty's heart is so bitter! For the sake of Great Xia, His Majesty can't even get a hot meal!"

Yu Huatian's eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth: "That old thief relies on his strength to bully the weak, picking on our His Majesty for being young. He has absolutely no conscience!"

Cao Shaoqin kowtowed even more vigorously: "We beg the ancestors to seek justice for His Majesty!"