At eighteen, my Imperial Father and Imperial Mother held my coming-of-age ceremony. My father placed the adult coronet on my head and, at that very ceremony, announced his abdication, passing the throne to me!
This time, I didn't act willfully. I accepted everything my father gave me and took up the responsibilities I ought to bear.
I am of age now. I am confident I can be a good emperor and shoulder the heavy task of the Empire's legacy; I am confident I will not disappoint my father and mother—I will be their pride!
At eighteen, I ascended the throne, becoming the Empire's second emperor, and declared a new era name: Prosperity!
After taking the throne, I did not follow the Former Dynasty's tradition of granting a general amnesty. The people my father and mother imprisoned were truly wicked—so what if a few were wronged?
Whatever decisions my father and mother made, right or wrong, I will uphold them—I will never refute them.
Those sentenced by my father—I will never pardon them.
I rejected the ministers' suggestions and refused to grant a general amnesty. This was my way of defending my father, and it was also my first clash with the court...
My father was right. Though I am grown and mature in mind, to those old foxes, I am still just a child—they don't take me seriously at all.
My mother said that the new emperor and the old ministers will have a period of adjustment; in the end, either the east wind overpowers the west wind, or vice versa...
I laughed and said, "Whether it's the east wind or the west wind, in the end, the only winner will be me."
Just as my mother predicted, since I refused the general amnesty, that annoying bunch seized on this issue and hounded me in morning court every day, blasting me for this and that, claiming I violated ancestral law...
Violated?
As emperor, my decisions affect all the people under heaven. I truly cannot act on a whim. But refusing to pardon criminals—what's wrong with that?
They broke the law; they deserve their punishment. Why should I pardon them?
Just because I've ascended the throne? So these criminals get a free pass?
What a joke—what does my accession have to do with them? Did they ever contribute anything? Why should I pardon them?
As for violating ancestral law?
Who exactly are my ancestors?
The Lan clan's Former Dynasty laws?
What is that supposed to be? Why should I follow it?
My imperial grandfather's rules?
My imperial grandfather was born poor and rose from nothing. Back then you tried to use ancestral rites to tie him down, forcing him to follow the Former-Dynasty Lan clan's customs. He let it slide and didn't argue, and you actually thought you mattered...
I am the Emperor of the Nine Provinces Empire—why should I follow the Former-Dynasty Lan clan's laws?
Why should the Emperor of the Nine Provinces Empire be bound by the Former-Dynasty Lan clan's rules?
Ancestral rites?
The rules I set are the law!
If I say no pardons, then there are no pardons. Anyone who dares release them will answer to me!
These ministers won't let go of this issue—not because they care about those prisoners, but to test my limits and see how Rory Dongling, the new emperor, handles things. Later...
If the same thing happens again, they'll try the same tricks to pressure me. That's why I won't back down—not even half a step.
Just like my father, I'm a strong emperor—decisive, not tyrannical. If the ministers think they can control me, they're dreaming!
This dispute over pardoning prisoners is my first showdown with the ministers—and for now, I've won.
I say 'for now' because these stubborn ministers aren't giving up. Instead, they go to another palace to complain to my Imperial Father, claiming I'm reckless and lack imperial compassion...
Imperial compassion?
What's that supposed to mean?
If someone slaps my left cheek, am I supposed to offer my right one too?
Do you think every emperor is a saint, all magnanimity and virtue?
Let me tell you—I'm Rory Dongling of Eastlyn. If anyone dares slap my left cheek, I'll wipe out their whole family!
If anyone dares slap my right cheek, I'll erase their entire clan.
The Emperor's authority is not to be challenged!