To inquire about a few matters by imperial decree?
A sudden premonition of ill omen struck Lü Zhi, but she forced herself to appear calm, looked at Chen Cheng, and said indifferently, "Oh? By imperial decree? Whose decree?"
She smiled as she looked at Chen Cheng. At this moment, Lü Zhi felt somewhat certain of victory.
In Lü Zhi's view, this "decree" could only be Liu Ying's decree, and what could Liu Ying's decree do to her? She was his mother! Did he not care about the reputation of filial piety?
This was the biggest problem.
The only person who could restrain Lü Zhi was the Emperor, but the current Emperor was Lü Zhi's child, giving Lü Zhi a natural advantage.
But Chen Cheng did not take the bait. He merely smiled faintly and took out an imperial decree from his bosom.
"Naturally, it is by the decree of the current Son of Heaven of Great Han, and the late Taizu Gao Emperor!"
Upon hearing the first half of the sentence, a hint of excitement flashed across Lü Zhi's face, but before she could say anything, she heard the second half of Chen Cheng's sentence.
The late Taizu Gao Emperor?
Looking at the person who suddenly widened her eyes, her eyes so large with disbelief, a faint smile played on Chen Cheng's cheeks.
Yes, it was the decree of the late Taizu Gao Emperor!
And it was a genuine decree!
Before Liu Bang's demise, he had entrusted Chen Cheng with matters of the dynasty, and Chen Cheng, knowing this, directly enlightened Liu Bang at that time.
Liu Bang reacted immediately. Although the Empress's power was restricted at the founding of the nation, preventing her from developing to have nearly the same authority as the Emperor, below only the Emperor himself, yet...
But the problem was, if she did not die after he died, she would have a natural suppressive effect on the new Emperor.
What if this person interfered with court affairs then?
Did the ministers have a way to deal with the Empress Dowager?
Yes.
If there was an upright, highly-ranked person holding his decree, there would be a way to deal with the Empress Dowager, and even openly deal with her, without even suffering any "losses" in terms of reputation.
Because he was Lü Zhi's husband!
Everything about Lü Zhi originated from him!
This was a natural suppression.
Let alone leaving a decree to deal with Lü Zhi, even if he left an imperial edict ordering Lü Zhi to be buried with him, as long as there were ministers brave enough to memorialize, the Emperor would have to grudgingly accept it.
So, Liu Bang left behind an imperial edict.
This imperial edict granted Chen Cheng great power, so great that he could even directly kill Lü Zhi if she interfered in politics!
Chen Cheng stood there, looking at the flustered Lü Zhi, and said softly, "Does the Empress Dowager think this subject is forging a decree? Would you like to verify it?"
He was not afraid of verification—
This was a polite approach to a respectable person.
If Lü Zhi dared to be impolite in such a matter, he would truly make her lose face.
Lü Zhi slowly exhaled. She also knew this, so a forced smile appeared on her face: "No need, Guandu Marquis had an alliance oath with Emperor Xian in the past, even without this decree, Guandu Marquis is still able to manage these matters."
Her mind raced, and she looked at Chen Cheng and asked, "What questions does Guandu Marquis have? If there are any, I will do my best to answer."
Chen Cheng smiled slightly, stood there, and then put away the imperial edict in his hand.
At that instant, the smile on Chen Cheng's face completely vanished, leaving only a hint of unspoken majesty. He looked at Lü Zhi and said, "May I ask the Empress Dowager, which palace rule did Consort Qi violate to be subjected to such extreme punishment?"
Lü Zhi's heart relaxed. So it was just about this question?
She immediately and straightforwardly said, according to her previous plan, "Naturally, it's because she tried to seize the throne!"
However... the moment Lü Zhi saw the half-smile on Chen Cheng's face as soon as she spoke, Lü Zhi knew she was wrong! Completely wrong!
She had fallen into Chen Cheng's trap!
As expected.
Only Chen Cheng's voice was heard echoing in Changle Palace: "May I ask the Empress Dowager, did Consort Qi ever commit treason?"
Lü Zhi sighed inwardly, but her face showed no trace of it. She merely said, "No."
Chen Cheng continued, "May I ask the Empress Dowager, is Consort Qi His Majesty's consort, and is Zhao Prince Liu Ruyi His Majesty's son?"
Lü Zhi nodded slightly. By this point, she had already lost the initiative, and immediately said, "Yes."
Chen Cheng smiled slightly, and then his smile completely vanished, the previous unspoken majesty turning into a look of fury: "Then may I ask the Empress Dowager, whose empire is this Great Han, the Liu Clan's or your Lü Clan's?!"
In an instant, like a dragon's roar and a tiger's growl, the fury on Chen Cheng's face was terrifying. The surrounding maids, Inner Attendants, and others all knelt on the ground, trembling, not daring to speak.
These were words that struck at the heart!
Lü Zhi, however, stared directly into Chen Cheng's eyes at this moment: "Naturally, it is the Liu Clan's empire!"
"But!"
Lü Zhi bit out each word, enduring Chen Cheng's pressure, and said, "But the rites and laws have decrees! The eldest son inherits! Consort Qi and her son's actions are a disruption to the laws of the empire! For the peace of the empire, I had no choice but to do so!"
Chen Cheng sneered, "Peace of the empire?"
He looked into Lü Zhi's eyes and said, "Is there no Son of Heaven in Great Han today? Was there no Son of Heaven in Great Han in the past?"
"Who are you?!"
Chen Cheng's words were very unpleasant, so unpleasant that the maids and Inner Attendants kneeling on the ground wanted to cut off their ears and become deaf and blind.
Lü Zhi sat there, her expression stern and indifferent: "I am the Empress Dowager of Great Han!"
Chen Cheng smiled slightly: "Empress Dowager of Great Han?"
He looked at Lü Zhi and asked, "What official position does the Empress Dowager hold?"
"Is it among the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers?"
In an instant, Lü Zhi's arrogance completely dissipated.
She sat there dejectedly.
The reason she did not want to get involved here, despite all her previous arguments, was precisely this.
What official position was the Empress Dowager?
Huh?
What official position was the Empress Dowager?
This question rendered Lü Zhi completely speechless, because "Empress" was still fine; the Empress had a proper rank. She was the Emperor's wife and had a proper "position."
As for the Empress Dowager... to put it bluntly, she was just the Emperor's mother.
When the Emperor did not speak, she did not even have the official authority to manage the six palaces!
Please note, this refers to official power, meaning power in terms of righteousness and legitimacy.
Lü Zhi looked at Chen Cheng, with a thousand words she wanted to say, but not a single one came out.
Chen Cheng looked at Lü Zhi and continued to ask, "Consort Qi was Emperor Xian's 'consort.' If she did not commit a capital offense, the Empress Dowager could naturally handle it; that is your power as Empress Dowager."
"But if she committed a capital offense, then it is not something the Empress Dowager can handle."
"If Emperor Xian were still alive, he would naturally handle it."
"If Emperor Xian is no longer here, then the imperial clan would naturally step forward, and the Three Dukes would be in court."
"When would it be the Empress Dowager's turn to handle it?"
Lü Zhi was furious. She looked at Chen Cheng and said, "According to you, does even the Emperor not have the power to handle it?"
Chen Cheng nodded: "That's right! Even His Majesty does not have the power to handle it alone!"
He looked directly into Lü Zhi's eyes and said softly, "I know what the Empress Dowager is thinking; it's nothing more than wanting to use this matter to test the waters. If this subject were to say that His Majesty has the right to handle it, then according to the Empress Dowager's character, you would force His Majesty."
"But..."
Chen Cheng smiled slightly: "Although Consort Qi is only Emperor Xian's consort and not His Majesty's mother, she is listed in the imperial clan's records and has given birth to the Zhao Prince, so her status is no longer as simple as merely Emperor Xian's concubine."
"She is also the Zhao Prince's mother!"
"To deal with Emperor Xian's concubine, the Emperor has that power. But to deal with the Zhao Prince's mother, His Majesty does not have that power; it must be decided through discussion with the imperial clan!"
This was actually a useless statement.
Because if the Emperor were strong, the imperial clan would only follow the Emperor's words to make a decision—but the problem is, if the Emperor were strong, would he allow his mother to offend a powerful vassal king for this reason?
Dream on.
So this was inherently a paradox.
The Empress Dowager wants power - the Emperor must be timid - the Emperor is timid - the imperial clan can rise up - if the imperial clan rises up, they will not obey the Emperor's mindless orders - if they do not obey the Emperor's orders, the Emperor cannot deal with the vassal king's mother.
A dead loop.
Clearly, Lü Zhi was also aware of this, so at this moment, her eyes were fixed on Chen Cheng, as if she wanted to burn a large hole through him.
However, Chen Cheng did not care about this, and even continued to look at Lü Zhi and ask, "Does the Empress Dowager have anything else to say about this matter?"
"Does this subject need to summon the imperial clan, the Three Dukes, and numerous vassal kings of the imperial clan to discuss what grave mistake Consort Qi committed and how she should be dealt with?"
Lü Zhi remained silent.
Did she dare?
Did she dare, in front of someone like Chen Cheng, who was clearly "upright," "had Emperor Xian's decree," "had great merit," and "great power"—someone clearly stacked with buffs—to say in front of the Three Dukes and the imperial clan that the reason Consort Qi was made into a human swine was because she wanted her son to be Emperor?
Lü Zhi dared not.
Because she knew that once she said such a thing, countless reasons and rebuttals would await her.
Because.....
Contesting the throne is not officially a crime!
Just look!
Look at the fates of those who failed to seize the throne throughout history. Although their fates were tragic, was "contesting the throne" ever a crime listed against them?
They all had other proper charges, or they had committed treason!
This... was the only way to deal with them!
Lü Zhi said in front of the other vassal kings: "He failed to seize the throne, so I'm going to kill him like this?"
It's likely that as soon as the words left her mouth, the rebellion of the vassal kings would begin.
From then on, Lü Zhi would only have one designation in historical records.
"Wicked Empress who brought disaster to the nation."
Lü Zhi temporarily did not want to fall to such a degree, or rather, she dared not.
Because she knew that if she truly dared, Chen Xi, or rather the Chen Clan, would let her witness what it meant to have the valor to single-handedly kill Xiang Yu amidst an army of ten thousand.
She leaned back dejectedly on the soft couch behind her, pressing her forehead.
"This matter, I was wrong."
Lü Zhi said softly, "I will no longer arbitrarily deal with Consort Qi; I will just let her stay in the deep palace."
She looked at Chen Cheng and asked coldly, "Does Guandu Marquis have anything else? If not, then I shall rest."
"Emperor Xian's passing has left me inevitably sorrowful, and my mind is affected."
"I've been feeling rather fatigued lately."
Lü Zhi subtly implied that Chen Cheng was bullying an old widow whose husband had died, but Chen Cheng did not take the bait.
His visit to Changle Palace, fulfilling the Emperor's entrustment, and saving the Zhao Prince's mother was merely a convenient side task; more important were other matters...
For example....
Severing Lü Zhi's outstretched tentacles that interfered with court affairs.
This was why Lü Zhi crumbled at the first touch.
Did Lü Zhi not have reasons to refute Chen Cheng? Yes, she had ten thousand reasons—her status as Emperor Xian's widow alone could block many of Chen Cheng's grand arguments.
But Lü Zhi did not speak.
Why?
Because Lü Zhi had a guilty conscience; she wanted this matter to pass quickly.
Because Lü Zhi had done... even more excessive things behind the scenes.
For example, having the Emperor bestow titles upon the Lü Clan's descendants.