After the emperor read her mind, the salted fish concubine effortlessly won the title of empress.

Chapter 124 Pleading for Mercy

The Empress hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, I wouldn't dare!"

She wanted to ask if Consort Yuan, who had served the emperor last night, had left yet, and if Zhaoyang Palace had a hot spring. She even wanted to ask if Zhaoyang Palace had an underground heating system.

Zhaoyang Palace also has twin towers.

"Just say what you have to say, I have other things to attend to."

The Empress had no choice but to lower her voice and plead, "Your Majesty, I beg you to forgive Xian'er. He is my sister's only child, and as the legitimate son, how can he not be the heir apparent?"

Li Yuanke was already annoyed, thinking to himself, "Your sister only gave birth to one son, what does that have to do with me?"

Everyone knows how domineering the Pei family is.

Her arrogance was completely different from Shen Shixi's. She decided who Li Yuanzhi would sleep with today and who he would sleep with tomorrow.

Li Yuanzhi was completely under her control, and for more than twenty days out of the month, he had to sleep in the main courtyard.

The other few days, she couldn't sleep with Li Yuanzhi because she had her period.

She was also the captain of the abortion squad.

The reason why the Prince of Jin still had two or three sons born out of wedlock was because the late emperor was angry.

Li Yuanke lowered his eyes to look at the Empress kneeling on the ground and said coldly, "I was also born of a concubine, and I also became the Crown Prince. According to you, shouldn't I have given the throne to your brother-in-law?"

He was already trying his best to suppress his anger.

The Empress was terrified and prostrated herself on the ground. "Your Majesty, I am guilty. I misspoke. I was only worried about my sister. She only gave birth to Xian'er. Your Majesty, Xian'er is certainly at fault, but this matter was ultimately caused by Consort Yuan. She should not have beaten the Prince in public."

The emperor retorted angrily, "So what? Empress, it seems you think it's only natural that the Prince of Jin and his wife don't perform the grand ceremony for me?"

"No! Your Majesty, I had no such intention. I only... I only hoped that Your Majesty would not be criticized because of this matter, and even more so, that no one would cause trouble within the palace because of a certain person, Your Majesty!" The Empress was extremely aggrieved.

The emperor clutched the purse at his side, its contents smooth and silky, two strands of hair intertwined within. "It's one thing for others to talk about Consort Yuan defending me, but for the Empress to side with outsiders as well, I find it utterly incomprehensible!"

The Empress thought to herself, "Is she protecting you?"

But the emperor said so, and that was it!

The Empress cried out, "I know I was wrong! I couldn't abandon my sister!"

She had no choice but to come and beg.

The emperor, however, could not empathize. She was the empress's sister, not his own. Besides, there was no such thing as brotherly or sisterly affection in the royal family; they were all rivals.

"Guards, escort Her Majesty the Empress back to rest and recuperate during her pregnancy!"

Before the Empress could leave, the Emperor rose and went inside. He was hungry and ordered someone to bring him food. Upon entering the bedchamber, he saw Shen Shixi fast asleep on the bed and asked, "Still not awake?"

Caiying pursed her lips, not daring to speak. She was about to step forward when the emperor was already sitting on the dragon bed. He reached into the quilt and touched Shen Shixi's leg. "Xi'er, get up and have your meal. Eat before you sleep."

Shen Shixi didn't move, but kicked his legs. Li Yuanke then ordered, "Tell the Imperial Kitchen to send over a plate of pine nut and goose fat rolls, and a plate of tofu skin buns. I want to eat."

Sure enough, Shen Shixi moved. She turned over and looked at Li Yuanke speechlessly.

[What a cunning guy! He even knew to tempt me with food!]

Li Yuanke laughed. Remembering something, she hurried over, snuggled into Li Yuanke's arms, and asked in a cheeky tone, "What brings the Empress here?"

They won't even let people sleep?

Li Yuanke pinched her nose, "It's about Li Yunxian being deposed as crown prince."

Shen Shixi's eyes lit up. "Really? You stripped him of his title as heir? What heinous crime did he commit?"

Li Yuanke did not mention the words the crown prince used to insult her, "He is disrespectful to me."

Shen Shixi started cursing, "That family, they all seem to want to die. And the late emperor was so foolish, leaving behind such an imperial edict. It would have been enough to save his own life, but he even wanted to protect his title. Did he expect you to keep him alive even if he rebelled?"

Li Yuanzhi is incompetent, and while he can't be truly evil, he's utterly wicked. But the eldest sister, Pei, is completely wicked—shallow, arrogant, and vicious. Not only is she ignorant, but she's also incredibly audacious, acting like she's the most important person in the world. The Pei family still treats her like a treasure. The best solution is to let the two sisters fight each other.

Shen Shixi sat on the embroidered stool, and Caiying combed her hair. She turned to the emperor and said, "Just watch, as soon as her legs can move, she will definitely go to the palace to find the empress. Let's see how the empress handles it."

The two ate together, and it was around eight or nine o'clock in the future. They were both hungry, so they ate very quickly. Shen Shixi snatched the last piece of goose fat roll and stuffed it into her mouth.

After the meal, a messenger came from outside requesting an audience with the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. He said that the Ministry of Works had achieved some success in its trial production of steel and had come specifically to ask the Emperor to take a look.

Li Yuanke then asked Shen Shixi to come along.

Shen Shixi was not surprised. In the past, Li Yuanke had never avoided her when discussing matters with his advisors, and she wanted to hear about the progress.

"Your subject Liu Jingzhong pays respects to Your Majesty and greets Consort Yuan!"

"Rise!"

The forged sword was brought up by Cen Yin and presented to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I have tested it. This sword is harder and sharper than the best swords used in the army before. The armor of my Great Zhou cannot withstand the sharpness of this sword at all. It is no exaggeration to say that it can cut through iron like mud. It is only slightly inferior to the swords used by the Xuanjia Army. The weapons used by Beisha, Xiling and Donghai cannot compare with this sword."

Cen Yin's tone was very light and cheerful, his joy evident in his words.

Liu Jingzhong said, "Yes, following the prescription given by the Emperor, the result is indeed excellent!"

Li Yuanke glanced at Shen Shixi and said, "This is all thanks to Consort Yuan. I dare not take credit for it. Whether it is the method of making glass or steel, it was Consort Yuan who suggested it. The world may not know, but you cannot be unaware."

Liu Jingzhong had previously assisted Shen Shixi in adjusting the crossbows of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and he was still shocked to hear this.

Consort Yuan is truly a divine being!

Shen Shixi didn't bother to look at his shocked expression. "Tell me about the process that the Ministry of Works is currently preparing to use to manufacture weapons."

Liu Jingzhong then looked at Li Yuanke, who nodded, "Go ahead, tell me in detail!"

As soon as Liu Jingzhong spoke, Shen Shixi knew that the Ministry of Works was a disorganized mess.

She said, "Back in the time of the First Emperor, there was a very good process for supervising the manufacture of weapons, which we can learn from."

The process can be divided into several steps, starting from the first step and ending with the weapons being stored away. These steps should be arranged in the order of the water flow, with each person responsible for only their immediate task. Don't let one person be in charge of everything, or it will resemble a chaotic battle.

The assembly line manufacturing method was first used in the Qin Dynasty, not in the later American Ford Motor Company.

Our ancestors were no less capable than anyone else.

Upon hearing Shen Shixi's words, Liu Jingzhong felt as if he had been enlightened. "Your Majesty is exceptionally intelligent, and I admire you greatly. Firstly, by specializing in one process, one can become increasingly proficient; secondly, one cannot see the whole picture from a single person, thus avoiding the leakage of secrets."

Shen Shixi said, "Lord Liu is also quick-witted."

Li Yuanke glanced at them as he saw them praising each other.

"Furthermore, the weapons should be engraved with the codes of the craftsman and the person who inspected them, so that it will be easy to trace responsibility should any problems arise on the battlefield!"

It can also serve as a warning to craftsmen and inspectors.

"yes!"

Shen Shixi said, "The formula and ingredients must be kept absolutely secret. If others get them, we will lose this advantage."

"Your subject obeys!"

"One last piece of advice: this manufacturing method is different from before. In the past, if one weapon was not made well, only that one weapon was defective. Now, if there is a problem, it will affect a whole batch of weapons, including a whole pot of molten iron. Lord Liu, you must think carefully about how to prevent mistakes and not send a large number of defective weapons to the front line."

Liu Jingzhong felt immense pressure. "I am foolish and ignorant. If there is anything I have not thought through, I hope Your Majesty can guide me."

Shen Shixi drew a diagram with dimensions marked on it and handed it to Liu Jingzhong. "Since we've run into each other, why don't you make something for me too? Just this, make about a hundred of them, and send me the best ones."

Shen Shixi returned to Zhaoyang Palace and took a nap. When he woke up, he heard that the court had dealt with the Duke of Wei's family: stripping them of their title, demoting them from their official positions, exiling them, and selling them off.

Xue Ju was sentenced to be cut in half at the waist. Upon hearing this, the two elders of the Xue family were immediately unable to get up.

Aunt Xue submitted a petition to enter the palace. Although the Xue family no longer held any official positions, the Empress still allowed her to enter the palace.

It was clear that they wanted to plead with the Xue family for mercy.