Chapter 939: Palace Battle
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Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Everyone from the Xie Residence also figured out what was going on, and their expressions immediately turned solemn.
There was dead silence in the room.
Even the smoke in the Boshan furnace was meticulous as it rose vertically.
After Yu Youyao’s anger subsided, she gradually calmed down. Then, she thought carefully about what had happened today and her heart skipped a beat. “Perhaps the Empress Dowager doesn’t trust the Empress.”
Just now, she had been shocked and angry at the Empress’s sudden scheme,
She couldn’t help but speculate about the vicious scheme behind the Empress’s actions.
After calming down, she discovered many details that she had neglected previously.
Old Master Xie realized something. “The Empress Dowager has been silent and hasn’t even discussed with the cabinet. She has decided to confer the t.i.tle of Eldest Princess on you to prevent the Empress from plotting against you.” These words were not groundless.
With the current court situation, the Empress Dowagers actions of conferring Little Yao’er with a t.i.tle were out of calming the hearts of the people, promoting the policies of the country, and stabilizing the country. Then, it was only logical for her to be conferred a t.i.tle.
The cabinet had no reason to stop it.
The Empress Dowager did not need to go through the cabinet to make a private decision.
However, on the other hand, it was only logical. Even if the decision was made through the cabinet, it was only right and proper. Why should the Empress Dowager make a decision on her own?
Yu Youyao said meaningfully, “If I’m not wrong, the Empress Dowager’s seal on this piece of paper is also an attempt to borrow me as a warning to the Empress. If the Empress is tactful, she won’t continue to make a fuss about rewarding me. As long as the Empress doesn’t make a fuss about this, the reward will seem logical. Although others have some guesses, they won’t dare to make it public.”
In that case, the Empress’s scheme would be exposed.
Indeed!
The older, the wiser.
The Empress Dowager had schemed thoroughly against the Empress and resolved her vicious scheme.
In terms of status, the Empress Dowager was on par with the Empress, but as her mother-in-law and an elder, the Empress Dowager was superior to the Empress in terms of seniority.
This was a battle between the two most respected people in the inner palace. There was no smoke, but it hit the nail on the head.
The Empress Dowager was displeased with the Empress.
However, in the end, she had taken into account the Empress’s dignity and used Yu Youyao to teach her a lesson.
It was really a palace battle between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
From the looks of it, it was obvious that the Empress Dowager was a foot taller than the Empress.
Yu Youyao’s expression relaxed and she took a sip of tea. “After the Empress Dowager fell seriously ill, the Empress took control of the royalist faction. At one point, there were rumors that she wanted to adopt the Fourth Prince and stir up the situation in the court, causing the struggle for the heir to become more and more intense. There were open and secret struggles in the court, and the situation became even more delicate.”
Previously, there had been rumors in the palace that the Empress Dowager wanted to make her the Fourth Prince’s princess consort.
What did this mean?
This meant that the Empress Dowager was still very satisfied with the Fourth Prince and valued him very much. She even planned to personally step in and arrange a marriage for him.
Therefore, before this, the Empress Dowager was still very tolerant of the Empress and even the Fourth Prince.
“Because of this rumor, Imperial Concubine Xu’s faction couldn’t even sit still anymore and ordered the Han family of Xi’an to attack the royalists and achieve the Empress’s goal of the royalists losing their virtue. The other wanted to frame King Yue Fei and continue to control the North. Although both sides had different goals, they had common interests and hit it off immediately.”
The sealing of this piece of paper gradually caused more undercurrents in the court to surface.
Why was Imperial Consort Xu the first to lose her composure?
It was because although Concubine Lan had been reinstated after Ning Yuanbo’s residence was imprisoned, her position was still inferior to Imperial
Concubine Xu’s. The Second Prince was the “eldest”, but he was not really the “eldest”. After thinking about it carefully, the word “eldest” might not really stand. Looking at the Third Prince, he was n.o.ble because of his mother. The Third Prince’s status was the most important. The Xu family was in charge of the military, and they were the most powerful.
The rumors of adopting the Fourth Prince directly threatened the Third Prince.
Old Master Xie said, “The Empress Dowager has issued a national policy to stabilize the country and help the North tide over this drought as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Her Majesty’s actions are already against the Empress Dowager’s political opinions. I’m afraid the Empress Dowager has long been dissatisfied with the Empress, but she suppressed it because she couldn’t find a suitable time.’
As the mother of the country, the Empress had the right to support the government.
On the surface, the Empress Dowager really couldn’t catch the Empress’s weakness.
Yu Youyao nodded and said, “Anyone with discerning eyes understands that the Han family of Xi’an has been scheming behind the scenes and is targeting the Empress Dowager. However, the royalist faction behind the Empress Dowager is deeply rooted. The harem’s political affairs won’t have much impact on the Empress Dowager. Other than not being able to manage the court smoothly in the future, the Empress Dowager still has the right to a.s.sist the country. Although the royalist faction will be suppressed, the royalist faction is still a deeply rooted n.o.ble of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Many of them even control the military power. It’s impossible for them to lose power.”
Putting everything else aside, Yu Zongshen had taken root in the Ministry of Revenue after entering the royal court.
The Ministry of Revenue controlled the financial power of the entire Imperial Court. None of the six ministries could surpa.s.s the Ministry of Revenue. Even if the treasury was empty, it could still whitewash peace and support the Great
Zhou Dynasty for many years.
If it weren’t for the sudden natural and man-made disasters that kept descending, Yu Zongshen wouldn’t be mourning at home just after he took over as the Grand Secretary.
This caused the subsequent imperial examinations to be delayed repeatedly.
The matter of relief for the drought in the North was delayed again and again.
In the southeast coast, where they had just suffered a disaster, there was no one in the court to manage the overall situation, causing the sea to be banned and merchant ships to be unable to trade overseas.
When the emperor sealed the palace and did not come out, the compet.i.tion for the heir became even more intense!
If Yu Zongshen were still in the royal court, all of this would have been carried out in an orderly manner. The situation in the Great Zhou Dynasty would not have been like this.
The situation in the Great Zhou Dynasty had changed drastically. It had only begun after Yu Zongshen left the royal court. It was obvious that Yu Zongshen had controlled the Ministry of Revenue and balanced the royal court for many years.
However, although Yu Zongshen was mourning at home, the Ministry of Revenue was still in the hands of the Yu Clan. Nothing in the Imperial Court could surpa.s.s the Ministry of Revenue, and the authority of the cabinet would never fall.
It had only been a while since those people in the cabinet had jumped up and dow n.
In the eyes of outsiders, as long as Yu Zongshen returned to the royal court, he would still have power and the royalists would still gain power.
Old Master Xie understood what she meant. “The Empress’s foundation is too shallow, and the harem’s politics have a greater impact on her. The Empress
Dowager used the matter of the Han family in Xian to use the seal to warn the Empress. At the same time, she warned those court officials who were restless and wanted to partic.i.p.ate in the struggle for the throne.”
Yu Youyao smiled. “The older the wiser.”
Everyone from the Xie Residence looked relieved.
However, Yu Youyao did not feel relaxed. The Xie family was a merchant family. Due to the limitations of the news, they knew far less about the undercurrents in the Imperial Court than Yu Youyao..