EMHTC -Chapter 94 Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire!

After the court session, the old emperor led a group of senior ministers to visit Xu Yanmiao.

The moment the door opened, the old emperor almost cursed aloud.

Fool! Scoundrel! Worthless as a dog! How could I have fathered such a wretched offspring?!

Before him, even the once-lustrous fur of the little Bai Ze seemed to have lost its shine. Xu Yanmiao appeared listless, barely managing to summon the energy to speak, “Why has Your Majesty come here with the ministers?”

The old emperor immediately felt that the punishment he had given to Prince Fu was far too lenient.

Softening his tone, as if afraid of startling Xu Yanmiao, he said, “We’ve always seen you as strong and lively, bouncing around with energy. But today, you’ve taken the rare step of requesting leave, and we’ve heard rumors that you were frightened and even vomited several times. So, we came to check on you. Don’t stand at the door—go back to bed. After court, there’s no need to adhere to strict formalities.”

Xu Yanmiao felt a warmth in his heart. Once he lay back in bed, a hand stretched out from under the blanket, giving the emperor an opportunity to express his care and concern.

The emperor took his hand, gently patting the back of it, his tone extraordinarily kind and comforting. “Have you been wronged? Tell me, and I will see justice done for you. You are one of our most trusted ministers; you mustn’t fall here.”

Xu Yanmiao’s anger surged as he recalled the source of his frustration—the pair of tiny embroidered shoes.

Living in an age of information overload, where things once forbidden, like bound feet, could easily be found with a simple online search, he had come to deeply understand how inhumane and physically degrading foot-binding was—a complete violation of dignity.

“Your Majesty!” Xu Yanmiao’s mind raced, preparing a comprehensive list of reasons to oppose foot-binding that would strike at the very heart of the emperor’s sensibilities—even if Prince Fu was the emperor’s son, these arguments would surely provoke the old emperor’s displeasure.

—Indeed, through the gossip system, he had already identified the culprit.

“I wish to impeach—”

However, the old emperor gently patted the back of Xu Yanmiao’s hand again.

“?”

【Does the old emperor know I’m about to impeach his son and wants to stop me?】

Even in his weakened state, lying in bed, Xu Yanmiao struggled to sit up.

His pale complexion alarmed the old emperor, who feared the excitement might worsen his condition. He scolded, “Why are you flailing about?!”

Then he added, “If you truly wish to impeach someone, recover first, draft your memorial, and present it during tomorrow’s court session. Without sufficient energy, how can you argue with others in court?”

Xu Yanmiao was momentarily stunned and was about to say something when his stomach suddenly let out a loud grumble. His face turned bright red.

— He hadn’t eaten a single grain of rice since emptying his stomach earlier. He was starving but lacked any appetite.

The old emperor glanced at him. “In your condition, you still want to impeach someone? If you don’t have the energy to fight back, the moment you open your mouth, they’ll counterattack, and you’ll just end up shooting yourself in the foot.”

As he spoke, he turned to the group of officials behind him. “Bring it over.”

“Bring what?” Xu Yanmiao craned his neck. “Your Majesty brought something for me?”

A small food container was brought forward. When it was opened, it revealed a bowl of black sesame porridge.

The old emperor took out the bowl, touching its sides. “It’s still warm. It’s just right for you to eat now. Originally, it was made with glutinous rice, but since you’ve just vomited and your stomach is empty, we replaced it with polished rice to soothe your organs and restore your stomach energy.”

The black sesame porridge entered his mouth, spreading a gentle warmth across his tongue. The heat slowly traveled down his throat, inching its way into his empty stomach, providing a soothing comfort.

Xu Yanmiao’s hollow stomach felt instantly relieved, significantly easing his physical discomfort.

Xu Yanmiao began, “Thank—”

The old emperor interrupted him. “Enough with the thanks. There’s no need for so much formal courtesy in private. Rest well; I won’t disturb you any longer.”

The emperor and the officials came and went in a hurry, leaving Xu Yanmiao alone with the bowl of black sesame porridge, feeling deeply conflicted.

No matter how complex his emotions were, once the porridge was finished and his strength somewhat restored, he had to start drafting his memorial.

Xu Yanmiao suddenly realized that the old emperor had misspoken earlier. Tomorrow, there was no court session—it was a day of rest. The day after that was when the real battle would take place.

“Perfect, I have one more day to prepare.”

Two days later.

Having already impeached someone once before, Xu Yanmiao confidently stepped forward for his second attempt. “Your Majesty! I impeach Prince Fu for harboring malicious intentions, endangering the state, disregarding the welfare of the people, and jeopardizing the Da Xia dynasty by plunging it into chaos!”

The court officials collectively winced, their teeth aching at the audacity of the statement.

Although exaggeration in impeachment memorials was nothing new—everyone was used to slapping labels and throwing accusations, regardless of their basis or truth—when it came from Xu Yanmiao, they all felt a strange and subtle emotion.

Who is it? Who corrupted the innocent Xu Lang?!

—That was the prevailing sentiment.

The old emperor asked sincerely, “He only had the dancers in his residence bind their feet. How does that lead to plunging the Da Xia dynasty into chaos?”

It wasn’t that he wanted to shield his son—he was genuinely curious. How could these two things possibly be connected? Did Xu Yanmiao discover through some divine artifact that Prince Fu had done something else?

Xu Yanmiao wasn’t surprised in the slightest that the old emperor knew about the foot-binding incident.

【Of course, he could find out! If he went to visit me and discovered the vomiting was caused by the golden lotus cup, then traced it to Prince Fu and then to foot-binding, isn’t that perfectly normal?】

“Does Your Majesty know the harms of foot-binding for women?” Xu Yanmiao asked.

Without waiting for the emperor to respond, Xu Yanmiao answered his own question.

“Foot-binding affects a woman’s ability to give birth!”

“What?”

The old emperor’s tone grew noticeably serious.

“Your Majesty, think about it. A woman who binds her feet has difficulty moving, so she lacks strength in her body. How could she muster the energy needed during childbirth? This makes it much more likely for her to suffer complications or even face a difficult labor…”

Of course, this wasn’t entirely accurate.

Foot-binding deforms the foot, shifting the body’s balance to the heel. This inadvertently strengthens the hips and waist, which can actually enhance pelvic structure and potentially improve childbearing capacity. If foot-binding truly reduced fertility, the authorities would have cracked down harder on it long ago—they didn’t care about women’s suffering but were deeply concerned about declining population numbers.

However, commoners needed to walk frequently, while noble ladies didn’t need to touch the ground when traveling. The lack of activity often weakened their health, which could negatively affect their fertility. The daughters of the officials present all fell under the category of “noble ladies.”

【Still, it’s better to focus on just one argument.】

【Otherwise, someone might suggest, “Then just have noble ladies walk more! Let them walk two steps on the ground. Isn’t walking on the edge of a knife no big deal?” After all, it’s not like they’d personally have to do it…】

The officials: “…”

No, we’re not that inhumane.

Xu Yanmiao’s tone grew earnest. “Your Majesty, one thing often leads to another. The world is never short of people with peculiar preferences. If the practice of foot-binding spreads from Prince Fu’s residence to the aristocracy, and small feet are labeled ‘golden lotuses’—praised as pure and beautiful—won’t it become a trend to value bound feet when marrying wives and concubines? And then, among the commoners, won’t everyone follow suit and bind their daughters’ feet? Over time, won’t difficult labors and deaths in childbirth skyrocket?”

— To make the elites care, you have to show them how something could harm their other interests.

Sure enough, from the emperor down to the officials, everyone began taking this seriously.

Xu Yanmiao’s argument made… a lot of sense!

If a person avoids walking because of foot pain, or walks so slowly and lazily that they lack physical strength, isn’t it natural that they wouldn’t have the energy needed during childbirth?

Seeing their reactions, Xu Yanmiao pressed forward with a second point:

“Your Majesty, if women bind their feet, half of the labor force in the world will be crippled.”

The old emperor was visibly shaken.

Even before Xu Yanmiao began explaining, the emperor immediately realized what he had overlooked before.

— How many people in the world could endure the pain of festering feet and continue working?

Xu Yanmiao said, “Noble ladies might be fine since they rarely engage in labor, but if peasant women in the countryside bind their feet, how can they work in the fields? Even if they kneel to farm, how can the land they tend compare to what they could manage when healthy?”

“And female merchants—how can they travel for trade if their feet are bound? The loss in commercial tax revenue would be enormous.”

“And then there are the weavers. If their feet are in pain, how can they work quickly at the loom?”

“Not to mention…”

Xu Yanmiao listed the cascading impacts one by one, causing the emperor’s face to grow increasingly grim.

Halving the labor force was something no wise ruler could ever tolerate.

Then came the third point: “Moreover… does Your Majesty know how foot-binding is actually done?”