Chapter 903: Xiang Zhuang’s Sword Dance
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Yu Youyao suddenly understood. “The Empress Dowager is seriously ill, and the Empress is weak. Yu Zongshen and Ding You are at home, and the royalists are at their weakest. Concubine Lan and Imperial Concubine Xu are going to take advantage of the situation to attack the royalists.”
Most of the royalists were old n.o.bles with deep roots. They only a.s.sisted the country and did not partic.i.p.ate in the battle for the throne. Concubine Lan and Imperial Concubine Xu naturally would not go against the royalists.
However, the Empress and the Fourth Prince were like mother and son, and they had indirectly divided the royalists into the Fourth Prince’s camp.
Concubine Lan and Imperial Concubine Xu naturally wouldn’t watch helplessly as the Empress grew.
Yin Huaixi nodded. “What they never expected was that Princess Shaoyi would appear out of nowhere. Not only did she plant sweet potatoes to relieve the drought in the North, but she also came to the North to help the King of the North and vigorously promote the planting of sweet potatoes, pushing the reputation of the royalists to a high point and disrupting their plans. After that, your every move in Liaodong was in line with the interests of the royalists, causing their reputation to rise.”
Hearing Yin Huaixi’s words, many of Yu Youyao’s doubts were resolved. “The court is now divided into three factions.’
“Concubine Lan has the emperor’s backing. The Second Prince is the eldest and is deeply valued by the emperor. Although the Marquis of Ningyuan’s Residence has been imprisoned, they haven’t been convicted yet. In the eyes of outsiders, this might be the emperor’s protection of Concubine Lan and the second prince. There are many officials who are respectful to the first wife and are good at grinding the hearts of the sacred ones. They support the Second Prince. As a general, the Marquis of Ningyuan has nurtured many forces in the army. As long as the Marquis of Ningyuan isn’t convicted, these people won’t be implicated and will still be used by Concubine Lan.”
Concubine Lan’s power could still not be underestimated.
“Imperial Concubine Xu is the head of the concubines. The Third Prince’s son is n.o.ble because of his mother, and his status is the most n.o.ble. The Xu Residence is powerful and in charge of the military. Many powerful ministers in the court have chosen to support the Third Prince. Among them, there’s the Han Clan. Shanxi and Shaanxi are across the river. Since ancient times, there has been a marriage alliance between them. For many years, they’ve been united. I think many people from the land-owning cla.s.s in the Shanxi and the Shaanxi areas are part of the Third Prince’s party.”
Therefore, there was a reason for the Han Clan’s arrogance.
“In that case, it’s the royalists who are at a disadvantage. Meanwhile, I showed righteousness and took the initiative to come to the North to help the King of the North. In the eyes of outsiders, this action became a signal for the royalists to express their goodwill to Yue Fei.”
She had not thought of this previously. It was only today when Yin Huaixi mentioned the situation in the court that she came back to her senses.
After walking through the cobblestone path, there was a tall tree in front of her. There was a stone table and a stone chair under the tree. Yin Huaixi helped Yu Youyao sit down.
Yu Youyao’s train of thought gradually sorted out. “The royalists’ rise to power is a deterrent to Concubine Lan and Imperial Concubine Xu. That’s why the Empress Dowager cooperated with my every move in the North and even gave you her power. The royalists support me even more strongly. 1 can only succeed after I reach the North.’
This was because not only were her actions in line with the interests of the royalists, but they were also in line with the interests of the Yue Fei’s
Residence. The Yue Fei’s Residence had benefited from the royalists, so it was more involved with their interests.
In the eyes of outsiders, the Yue Fei’s Residence already belonged to the royalists.
Yu Youyao thought that she had seen through the situation in the court, but she did not expect that what she had seen and understood was still one-sided.
In the struggle for the court, the cabinet fell apart, and the situation was unpredictable.
The young maidservant immediately brought over tea and snacks and placed them on the table one by one before quickly leaving.
Yin Huaixi poured a cup of tea and handed it to Yu Youyao. “Concubine Lan and Imperial Concubine Xu don’t want to see the royalists obtain my support, so they want to frame you and achieve their goal of dragging the Yue Fei’s Residence down. The va.s.sal lords have a large number of troops and are already very suspicious of the Imperial Court. Once they’re involved in the battle for the succession and collude with the rebels, they can achieve their plan to divide me and the royalists into alliance.”
When Yu Youyao first came to Liancheng, the Empress Dowager was in charge of the court. At this moment, Yu Youyao was using the excuse of helping King Yue Fei to promote the planting of sweet potatoes and alleviate the drought. Everyone was happy to see this.
This was because the royalists did not partic.i.p.ate in the struggle for the throne.
However, right on the heels of that, once the Empress was involved, the situation in the court immediately turned upside down.
The royalists were protecting the country. If even the royalists were involved in the struggle for the throne, the Great Zhou Dynasty’s fate would be completely over.
Yu Youyao reached out to take the teacup, but her heart trembled violently. “Therefore, on the surface, the Han Clan’s actions against me are because I used the Xie Residence’s donation to deal with the n.o.bles. This has violated the interests of the aristocratic families. However, in the end, I was involved in the battle for the succession and blocked the path for the Second and Third Princes. ”
Yin Huaixi nodded.
“The Han Clan did not hesitate to mobilize their direct descendants to deal with me. This is the result of the Third Prince’s faction led by Imperial Concubine Xu. Concubine Lan helped to encourage it, and it’s in line with the interests of the Second Prince and the Third Prince’s faction. Therefore, the Han Clan is fearless. After all, this is still a partisan conflict of the Imperial Court.
The battle had never stopped. Even though she was far away from the royal court, regardless of whether she was in Quanzhou or Liaodong, she still could not break free.
Yin Huaixi continued, “There’s a stone tablet in the harem. It says that the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics. This is to warn the concubines.
Now that the emperor hasn’t been in the court for a long time, the Empress Dowager and the Empress are in charge of the court. It seems logical, but isn’t it also interfering with the rules of the court?”
Yu Youyao took a sip of tea. “The emperor hasn’t been in court for a long time, so it’s only right for the crown prince to supervise the country. However, the emperor hasn’t appointed a heir yet. The princes should work with the ministers to manage the government.”
The princes in the palace were not young anymore. They should have received a job long ago to work for the Imperial Court to show their talent and virtue.
However, all these years, the court had not been peaceful either. First, King Li of Zhou had died tragically, and there had been a dark tide in and out of the court. Then, Ye Hanyuan had knocked on the drum and pleaded for King Li of Zhou. There had been a rebellion in Shandong, the invasion of the j.a.panese pirates, a flood in Zhejiang, and a drought in the northwest. Every matter had too many implications. It was not a good time to enter the royal court.
This delay lasted until now.
The emperor had not been in the court for a long time, so it was difficult for the princes to take on a heavy responsibility. They could only let the Empress Dowager manage the court.
It was true that the harem could not interfere in politics, but the Empress Dowager had the responsibility to a.s.sist the country.
Yin Huaixi said, “The Empress Dowager and the Empress are both responsible for a.s.sisting the country, but it’s only a.s.sisting. It’s different from the main principle. They’ve indeed overstepped their etiquette. It’s just that the reputation of the royalists has increased greatly now. Be it to quell the flood or to relieve the drought, it’s all led by the royalists. No one dares to provoke the Empress Dowager and the Empress at this time.”
Yu Youyao’s face darkened. “l thought this was like pinching a persimmon. If it’s hard and can’t be pinched, I’ll choose the soft one. The Han Clan wants to accuse me of interfering with the court and causing chaos in the law. This is an elaborate deception that hides malicious content, insinuating that the spearhead is directed at the Empress Dowager and the Empress. After all, the reason why I can have my current reputation is all because of the Empress Dowager’s love. In the eyes of outsiders, my every move is at the Empress Dowager’s behest..”