A few weeks later, He Yuan finally received clearance. He refused to think about the horrors he went through in order to hide his 'complete state' as he went through the post castration procedures and what not.

On this fateful day, he walked about the imperial palace like there was a stick up his asshole, after all, he just got castrated and was still healing.

On the surface, it looked like he was trying to learn how to diligently carry out his duties but deep down, he was scouting for information. The source of this information? Gossip.

He didn't necessarily have to partake in the discussion, just hiding at shaded corners and eavesdropping was enough to bring him up to date on the happenings in the imperial palace and capital for the past two years.

Wei Yun'er really did not let him down. This woman had really accepted a couple of disciples. The old ministers grumbled at first but after facing Xian Taiwen's imposing manner, they swallowed their dissatisfaction.

But guess what? This arrogant woman went ahead to accept a few male disciples too! In an era where it was forbidden for males and females to openly interact, the 'virtuous' mother of the nation had direct male disciples!

Even Xian Taiwen was a bit stumped and went over to the plum blossom courtyard to reason with the empress. After a night, the emperor attended court again and dispelled the queries of the imperial censor with;

"The phoenix empress is the mother of the nation and is only doing this for the good of the nation. Although Zhen's empress has indeed accepted male disciples, the empress only communicates with them behind a curtain barricade and with the female disciples present. You shall speak of this no more!"

He Yuan wasn't really sure if those were Xian Taiwen's exact words, it was from gossip after all, but he could pretty much guess what went on in the plum blossom courtyard when the dragon emperor had gone to confront the phoenix empress.

[Xian Taiwen grabs Wei Yun'er and presses her down on the bed to assert his dominance: "Yun'er. Male disciples hmm?"historical

Wei Yun'er puffs out her full chest and stares at him with an arrogant pout: "Yes. I'm doing everything in an above board manner as I have nothing to hide. Are you going to join others in condemning me too?"

Xian Taiwen gets aroused by the fierce look in her eyes and groans as he tries hold back his reaction: "Yun'er~" He then proceeds to lay his head next to her neck and breathe in her alluring scent. "Must you teach them personally? I hate the thought of other men being in the same environment as you."

Wei Yun'er strokes his head and places it in between her ample bosoms: "Look at you, a grown man, getting jealous for no reason. In the end who am I doing all this for hmm? You can't have females around you so what if something happens when you're away and you need immediate attention. Are you going to go to those dumb imperial physicians?"

Xian Taiwen let's out a low, seductive, chuckle: "So you worry about me?"

Wei Yun'er's face reddens and she looks away with a shy Humph.

*Curtain closes and indecent activity commence with the only witness to their love being the swaying plum blossom trees*]

He Yuan was almost nose bleeding from his wild imagination. He also laughed when he thought of how Wei Yun'er conveniently forgot that she could just pass on some medicinal books to these males. Just like she did with Bai Hong.

If they were truly talented and had an affinity with medicine, then comprehending it would be a piece of cake. Whatever they couldn't comprehend could be written down and passed on to a eunuch.

This plan was also not perfect as the empress would still be in contact with other men, albeit through writing, so that was why it wasn't a good idea for Wei Yun'er to accept disciples in the first place! Talk less of male disciples.

He Yuan didn't want to make it look like he was looking down on women or anything. On the contrary he respected women and practically placed them on high pedestals but this was the ancient times. When in Rome, you had to do as the Romans do!

Xian Taiwen was too far gone and his eyes were filled with too much rose coloured filter for him to see clearly and make accurate judgement whenever Wei Yun'er was involved.

This was truly the case of beauty causing the downfall of a nation.

He Yuan also heard another interesting piece of gossip. He'd always wondered why there was no dragon descendant even after two years of marriage.

It turns out that the mother of the nation was not ready to have a child. He Yuan couldn't say anything about this. Wei Yun'er was twenty this year and as someone from the 24th century, she'd of course be averse to having a child this young.

She still hadn't toured this world and properly enjoyed her youth, how could she let a child tie her down now? He Yuan had a headache on Xian Taiwen's behalf. It must really suck to have a partner so ignorant, selfish and very arrogant.

The ministers and people alike were all awaiting an heir. Even if Xian Taiwen had ascended the throne, he still had to consolidate his seat with a descendant. This could be solved easily if he had a harem but Wei Yun'er had forbidden him from ever harboring that thought.

He Yuan wasn't really a fan of harem or sharing but he clearly understood that some things couldn't be helped. If you wanted to be the wife of an emperor then you had to be ready to bear the responsibilities.

If she wasn't ready to face the music why did she obstinately sit on the empress's throne so comfortably?

Wei Yun'er could easily solve half of Xian Taiwen's problems by agreeing to bear a child but no, how could she right? She was still so young!

She would rather strut around accepting disciples and basking in the admiration of the common people. She was too buried in her own world to notice that the people were beginning to become dissatisfied with this wild empress.

The emperor and empress were figures the people looked up to as messengers of gods descended from heaven. Yet Wei Yun'er went around shouting equality with the common people. This was fine in the modern world but here, did she know if they understood that concept?

Did they tell her they needed equality with the rulers? The people needed the royals to be placed on high pedestals in order to give them hope and faith even in the face of crisis but no, Wei Yun'er wanted the common people to treat her as an equal.

What did she hope to gain? The reputation of a liberator?

He Yuan chuckled as he rubbed his palms together like a villain. He might have been a CEO in his past life but he fought his way up to that position from the slums. No one knew clearer than he did, how much power rumours held.

So he was going to use this rumour powered hammer to smash Wei Yun'er and Xian Taiwen to meat paste!