Shengzong, who had braced himself for opposition from his ministers, found himself somewhat taken aback.
To his surprise, not a single official raised an objection; instead, they unanimously expressed their approval.
Their compliance delighted Emperor Shengzong; throughout the assembly, he heaped praise upon both the ministers and the vassal kings.
He even refrained from reprimanding the few vassal kings who had originally intended to challenge the decision.
There was another matter during the assembly that brought him great joy.
The relationship between his son, Prince Jing, and the son of his new Consort Long had eased significantly.
Moreover, the two had found a mutual connection and were set to be married.
It was not just Consort Long's son; even Consort Long's former daughter-in-law was to marry the son he cherished so dearly.
Since Consort Long's son was originally a man, he could not serve as the primary spouse and had to settle for the status of a concubine; however, as Consort Long raised no objection, the Emperor did not mind either.
Emperor Shengzong was well aware of the situation regarding Consort Long's former son—now her daughter—and her daughter-in-law.
While both were beautiful, they were also incredibly lewd and wanton—much like Consort Long herself.
Although he knew that a monarch ought not to marry a woman of such loose morals, she possessed absolutely no other flaws beyond her lustfulness.
He was confident that his massive cock could make Consort Long devoted solely to him, ensuring she would never again seek out other men to fuck her. Looking at the four beauties in the Dragon Consort's family, he saw that three had found good matches, leaving only the Dragon Consort's former wife—his own mother—solitary and alone.
For a fleeting moment, Shengzong even considered taking his mother as a consort.
However, upon seeing that her physique was nearly identical to Yang Bing's, he decisively abandoned the idea.
He did not want any woman by his side to stir up memories of Yang Bing; such thoughts would only fill him with rage.
Just as he was resigning himself to letting his mother live out her days in solitude, his gaze fell upon his second younger brother standing in the imperial court.
Shengzong was actually dissatisfied with this brother—not because the man was incompetent; on the contrary, his abilities made him perfectly suited for the role of Crown Prince.
Had he ascended the throne, he would undoubtedly have made a capable emperor.
Yet, whenever Shengzong remembered that the Crown Prince was Yang Bing's son, he found it impossible to like him.
Every time he saw his brother, his mind would conjure up images of Yang Bing lying in bed, shamelessly spreading her legs and allowing some wild man to pin her down and fuck her slutty pussy with vigorous thrusts.
The thought of that man—wielding a black cock far thicker and larger than his own—pounding into Yang Bing's wanton pussy would make Shengzong's fury boil over uncontrollably.
After stripping Yang Bing of her title as Empress, he had also removed Yang Ye from his post as the Marquis of Divine Valor.
Had it not been for the Empress Dowager's intercession—and the fact that the Marquis's standing within the military was unshakable—Shengzong would have considered stripping the Yang family of their noble titles entirely.
From that time on, Emperor Shengzong began promoting officials and powerful figures who were known to have a hostile relationship with Yang Ye. The number of officials in the imperial court who support Yang Ye has dwindled significantly.
Yang Ye no longer holds the position of the foremost among officials as he once did; however, his standing within the military remains unshakable.
The moment more than half of the military generals no longer belong to Yang Ye's faction will be the moment he strips Li Wenshi of his status as Crown Prince.
He has already selected a successor to replace Li Wenshi: Prince Jing.
Although Prince Jing's abilities currently leave much to be desired, he believes that with his guidance, the prince will undoubtedly become a competent heir.
He had been furious a few days ago upon hearing about the conflict between Prince Jing and the daughter of the "Dragon Consort."
No monarch would lightly offend a peerless expert who has reached the Perfection of the Xiantian realm; such experts transcend worldly morality and law, and there are no means to restrain them.
Unless within the confines of the imperial palace, they are virtually invincible.
No matter how immense an emperor's power may be, once he steps outside the palace, his life lies in the hands of these Xiantian Perfection experts.
The Tang Kingdom once nearly unified the entire continent of Huaxia, but two foolish emperors—believing they controlled everything—disregarded even the experts at the Perfection of the Xiantian realm.
This arrogance ultimately cost the Tang Kingdom nearly seventy percent of its territory, stripping it of its status as the continent's ruler.
One of those emperors had seized an expert's wife and made her an imperial consort while the expert was in secluded cultivation.
On another occasion, while traveling, an emperor believed that a dozen experts at the Peak Xiantian stage offered sufficient protection for his life; in the end, however, both he and those experts lost their lives. Having lost both its emperor and over a dozen top-tier martial arts masters simultaneously, the Tang Kingdom immediately faced its first major schism; nearly half its territory was lost to other ethnic groups.
Had that "Xiantian Perfection" master not slain the enemy commander leading the invasion at the critical moment, the Tang Kingdom would have lost even more.
The second crisis occurred centuries later. An incompetent Tang emperor grew resentful of a Xiantian Perfection master who governed his own territory using a vastly different style of rule. Because the common people across the realm envied the peace and prosperity enjoyed by the subjects of that master, the emperor—driven by jealousy—subjected the local population to various forms of extortion and exploitation, eventually provoking a rebellion.
When he dispatched a massive army to suppress the uprising, the troops slaughtered countless innocents along the way and framed the master for the atrocities.
This pushed the Xiantian Perfection master beyond the limits of his patience; utilizing his immense power, he slew the more than two hundred generals leading the campaign, resulting in a crushing defeat for the imperial forces.
That very master would go on to become the founding emperor of the Song Kingdom.