I Can Hear Your Voice 01

In the twelfth year of the Wuyuan era, an event of moderate significance occurred in the Wu Dynasty.

The Grand General of the Wu Dynasty welcomed a daughter into his family. The entire court knew that Xu Yuanzhi had three sons, named Xu Xiong, Xu Hu, and Xu Bao. Each was braver than the last, but Xu Yuanzhi's greatest wish had always been to have a daughter. Now that his dream had come true, the entire Xu manor was overjoyed, and the civil and military officials of the court flocked to offer their congratulations.

Yet, at this time, no one knew what kind of upheaval this child would bring to the Wu Dynasty.

Xu Jiao was pampered by her entire family from a young age, growing up much like any other girl. However, a sudden twist of fate occurred one spring. While out for a spring outing with her servants, Xu Jiao accidentally fell into the water. By the time she was rescued, she had stopped breathing.

Xu Yuanzhi was absolutely devastated. But soon after, Xu Jiao miraculously woke up. However, she acted completely differently than before. What astonished Xu Yuanzhi and his wife, Yao Chengyue, even more was that even though their daughter had not opened her mouth, they could actually hear her inner thoughts!

"Dad is so handsome! He is absolutely a dashing older man!"

"Mom is so beautiful, so incredibly pretty! Mom, give me a hug!"

These almost flattering inner thoughts coaxed Xu Yuanzhi and Yao Chengyue into such joy that they were on cloud nine. However, they also knew this phenomenon was too bizarre, so they deliberately brought in servants to test it. They were relieved to find that the servants could not hear Xu Jiao's thoughts at all.

Furthermore, through Xu Jiao's inner voice, Xu Yuanzhi discovered a servant with sticky fingers and immediately kicked the culprit out of the Xu manor. From then on, the old couple treasured Xu Jiao more than anything in the world.

But what happened next sent a chill down Xu Yuanzhi's spine.

Due to Xu Jiao's coaxing and the Grand Empress Dowager's fondness for her, she was allowed to accompany her father to court to observe political affairs. Since there was a precedent for female officials in the Wu Dynasty, this move did not face much opposition.

But the problem arose precisely in the royal court. During court sessions, Xu Yuanzhi could constantly hear his daughter's snarky inner commentary behind him. One moment she would mention that the Left Chancellor was keeping a mistress on the outside, and the next, she would reveal that the Minister of Revenue had accepted thousands of taels of silver in bribes. Xu Yuanzhi thanked the heavens that no one else could hear her, especially the man sitting on the throne who continued to discuss state affairs with a stern face. However, Xu Yuanzhi failed to notice the bizarre looks exchanged among the other ministers.

Sometimes he wanted to ask his daughter how she knew so many things, but remembering his wife's warning to never let their daughter know they could hear her thoughts, he forcefully held himself back.

The reality, however, was that almost everyone in the court, except for the Emperor and the eunuchs, could hear the inner gossip of the Xu family's daughter. Those who were named by her broke out in a cold sweat. But they soon deduced that the Emperor could not hear it, which brought them a collective sigh of relief. Even stranger, as soon as they left the great hall, they could no longer hear Xu Jiao's thoughts.

But they had missed one person: the Crown Prince, who stood at the very front.

The Crown Prince was initially startled. Then, hearing Xu Jiao praise him profusely, he was overjoyed. When he heard about the scandals of certain officials, he frowned, and subsequently, he too realized the fact that his royal father could not hear her.

Consequently, subsequent court sessions became quite eerie. Every time court was held, the ministers would prick up their ears without saying a word, secretly listening to Xu Jiao's various roasts. They were thoroughly enjoying the gossip, though naturally, some ended up becoming the center of the drama themselves.

At this point, the Crown Prince played a crucial role. He took the lead in impeaching several officials. Although the Emperor was somewhat surprised, seeing the Crown Prince he had appointed acting so meticulously, he nodded in approval.

Thus, the royal court transformed into the Crown Prince's hunting ground and the ministers' entertainment venue. After all, what could be better than listening to a little girl's inner thoughts and enjoying daily gossip? Moreover, the information Xu Jiao revealed in her thoughts was substantial, and some of the smarter officials had already begun to quietly choose sides.

A turning point occurred after one morning court session.

"The Crown Prince is so handsome. Just look at that physique, I really want to take a bite..."

The Crown Prince's face flushed slightly, while the ministers who had not been impeached revealed meaningful smiles.

As they were leaving, some ministers could barely hold back their laughter.

It was the Crown Prince who spoke up to ask Xu Yuanzhi to stay behind. He could not exactly ask Xu Jiao to stay, but sure enough, when Xu Yuanzhi stayed, Xu Jiao stayed as well. The Crown Prince used discussing border military intelligence with Xu Yuanzhi as an excuse, but his mind was entirely on Xu Jiao.

As expected, out of sheer boredom, Xu Jiao began to drop spoilers.

"What a pity. Such a handsome Crown Prince, yet he actually ends up getting deposed in the end."

The Crown Prince felt completely shaken.

Xu Yuanzhi also paused slightly, feeling a bit nervous, but the thought that others could not hear her put him somewhat at ease.

"It is all because this old Emperor is incompetent. Seeing my three brothers getting close to the Crown Prince, he grew wary of him. As a result, my family was implicated, we were all exiled to the frontiers, and the Crown Prince was placed under house arrest. But since I am here this time, let me think... how should I warn my old man?"

For a moment, both men engaged in the conversation felt rather uncomfortable.

After this incident, the Crown Prince and Xu Yuanzhi began to indirectly mention related matters to Xu Jiao, hoping to glean more information. When the Crown Prince finally laid his cards on the table and confessed that he too could hear Xu Jiao's thoughts, the Xu family knew that the Crown Prince had resolutely chosen to stand with them.

In the days that followed, with the Crown Prince's open support, the schemes of certain court officials who had been offended by Xu Jiao and wanted to target the Xu family were exposed one by one and subsequently met with retaliation. The three Xu brothers also gradually took control of the military power.

The Emperor sensed that something was amiss. The struggles within the court made him uneasy, so he sent people to investigate and discovered the close ties between the Crown Prince and the Xu family. Originally, there was nothing wrong with this; after all, he had even considered having the Crown Prince marry Xu Jiao to consolidate the empire. But... the current Crown Prince seemed to be acting a bit too eagerly.

He felt he needed to give the Crown Prince a warning. A ruler must not be hasty.

However, knowing the plot revealed by Xu Jiao, the Crown Prince was already fully on guard against the Emperor.

Thus, this friction gradually escalated into a struggle between the Crown Prince and the Emperor. Ultimately, with the help of the Xu family, and especially Xu Jiao, the Crown Prince staged a coup and forced the Emperor to abdicate.

On the day of his ascension to the throne, the new Emperor announced his intention to marry Xu Jiao and make her his Empress.

The ministers had no objections. The stubborn loyalists of the old Emperor had either been sent packing back to their hometowns or exiled to the frontiers, and more than a few had lost their heads. Most importantly, from now on, they could enjoy the Empress's gossip!

The grand finale was perfect, and the entire court was filled with harmony and joy.

The only miserable one was the imprisoned old Emperor. He went mad and died the following year. At the time of his death, Xu Jiao even made a special trip to see him. After a round of her mockery, the old Emperor was so furious that he coughed up blood and died.

Of course, this part of the story was never told to the public.

"No way. A superficial girl who only knows how to sweet-talk about handsome men and beautiful women... just based on her inner thoughts, the civil and military officials of the entire court impeach whoever they want?" Fang Zhiyi was somewhat shocked. After all, he was someone who had been an emperor himself.