Chapter 598: Chapter-598
"Yes," the Prime Minister snapped, his fists clenched at his sides. "So what? Does taking three wives somehow make me guilty of your insane delusions?"
"Please," Heena smiled, a dark, incredibly condescending curve of her lips. "Let me complete my questioning before you embarrass yourself further. Your first wife married you when you were twenty-one. Your second wife married you when she was twenty-four. And your current wife is a mere eighteen years old. Is it not an established fact that all three of your wives were married to you in the absolute prime of their youth and fertility?"
The Prime Minister’s jaw tightened. "Yes. Again... so what?"
Heena stopped pacing. She turned her back on him and looked up at the Emperor.
"Your Majesty," Heena’s voice echoed clearly. "All three of his wives were young, healthy women between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four. The Prime Minister himself is a healthy man in his prime. So, I have one simple question: A man might have one infertile wife. He might, by some terrible stroke of tragedy, even have two. But how does a completely healthy man miss all three chances to produce a single heir?"
The Prime Minister let out a cold, defensive scoff. "I simply do not care for children! Does the state of my private courtyard matter to the Vanguard Heiress? Or is living among vulgar military men giving you the audacity to peer into other people’s bedrooms?"
Heena didn’t get angry. She just smiled. "Want to taunt me, Prime Minister? Save your breath. I am simply establishing a statistical anomaly."
Without missing a beat, Heena pivoted sharply, pointing directly at a high-ranking Minister of Rites standing in the front row. The man, who was in his early fifties, visibly jumped.
"Lord Minister," Heena called out politely. "If I am not wrong, you have been married three times as well?"
The older minister hurriedly wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "Ah... yes. Yes, I have."
"And how many children do you have in total?" Heena asked brightly.
The minister puffed his chest out slightly, a proud smile breaking through his nervousness. "I have ten children, Vanguard Madam."
A murmur of impressed agreement rippled through the civil officials.
"Boys and girls?" Heena inquired.
"Yes, indeed. Six boys and four girls."
"Wonderful," Heena praised mockingly. "May I ask when these children were born? The timing?"
The minister stroked his beard, recalling the dates. "Well, I married my first wife when I turned twenty. We had our first two children in our early twenties. She sadly passed away, so I remarried at thirty and had five more. And my youngest three were born recently, from my third marriage."
Heena nodded approvingly. "So, you are over fifty years old, yet you recently had children. What was the age of your wives when you married them?"
The minister coughed into his fist, slightly embarrassed but answering truthfully according to the era’s norms. "My first wife was seventeen. The second was sixteen. My current wife is eighteen."
"And how long after the weddings did it take for them to bear children?" Heena pressed.
"Preposterous!" another allied official suddenly shouted from the back row, stepping forward. "What kind of vulgar, inappropriate questioning is this in the sacred court?!"
Heena’s head snapped toward the interrupting official. The polite, conversational tone vanished instantly, replaced by the overwhelming, murderous aura of a battlefield commander.
"Shut your mouth before I permanently close it for you," Heena hissed, her eyes completely devoid of warmth. "Who the hell are you to speak without permission in front of the ruler of this empire?"
The official turned pale as a ghost and immediately shrank back into the crowd.
On the throne, the Emperor simply watched with his chin resting on his hand, making absolutely no move to reprimand her. Even the Head Eunuch standing beside the throne had a gleam of pure entertainment in his eyes.
Heena turned back to the terrified fifty-year-old minister. "Answer the question. How long?"
"O-One or two years into the marriages!" the old minister stammered quickly.
"Thank you," Heena said pleasantly.
She then turned and rapidly pointed at five other officials down the line, accurately reciting their ages, marriage dates, and the impressive numbers of their offspring—ranging from sets of twins to households of five or six children, all born within the first few years of their young wives entering the manors.
"That is my point, Your Majesty," Heena concluded, sweeping her arm across the rows of highly fertile officials. "These are the facts of biology and statistics in this court."
The Emperor looked intrigued, but unconvinced. "Statistics are not proof, General . What concrete evidence do you have?"
"Your Majesty, I am glad you asked," Heena said.
She reached into the inner lining of her navy blue robes and pulled out a tightly rolled, wax-sealed parchment. She handed it to one of her Vanguard Palace Guards standing nearby. "Please."
The guard marched up the jade steps and handed it to the Head Eunuch, who inspected the seal before respectfully presenting it to the Emperor.
The Emperor unrolled the document. His eyes scanned the text, his brow furrowing. "This is... a medical report."
"Indeed," Heena nodded, turning to look at the Prime Minister, who was staring at the parchment as if it were a venomous snake. "That is the official medical report from exactly two years ago, when the Prime Minister suffered a severe injury during the autumn hunt."
The Prime Minister’s face went entirely slack.
"During that time," Heena smiled her terrifying, predatory smile, "the imperial doctors conducted a complete, thorough examination of your entire body to ensure no lasting damage was done. Your Majesty, that document is verified by the Imperial seal, and it was personally written and signed by the Head Imperial Physician of the Medical Bureau."
Heena’s voice echoed loudly in the silent hall, carrying the weight of an executioner’s blade.
"According to the Head Physician’s findings, there is absolutely no physiological problem with the Prime Minister. He is perfectly, completely capable of fathering children."
Heena turned her back to the Emperor, taking slow, deliberate steps toward the trembling Prime Minister until she was standing right in front of him. She looked down at him, her eyes dark and completely merciless.
"So, I want to ask you one thing," Heena whispered loudly enough for the entire court to hear. "You have had three young, healthy wives. You are perfectly capable of siring an heir. How is it that your courtyard remains entirely empty?"
Heena leaned in, delivering the final, devastating checkmate.
"An archer might miss a target once. They might even miss it twice. But how does an archer miss the target three times in a row, when they are shooting from one centimeter away?"
The Prime Minister took a deep, shuddering breath, violently forcing his rapidly fracturing composure back into place. He straightened his spine, pulling the shredded remnants of his dignified scholar persona around him like a shield.
"Because I simply do not want them," the Prime Minister stated calmly, his dark eyes fixed on her with venomous intent. "I have already stated this fact. Is it a crime to not desire offspring?"
Heena looked at him, completely unbothered by his glare.
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