Chapter 4 004 I don't believe it.

When something involves the word "Party," it becomes difficult to achieve good results.

Five years into her reign, even if she hadn't made any major mistakes, and even if she had truly favored treacherous officials and persecuted loyal ministers, the court officials might not have entertained the treasonous idea of ​​deposing the emperor. At most, they would have prayed for her early demise.

The imperial family may have their own ideas, but Prince Zhong, Zhao Qingcao, is a paralyzed man in bed. Who would be so foolish as to support him?

Doesn't he have something wrong with his brain?

Before their true feelings were revealed, no one had the words "loyal king party" in their minds.

Prince Zhong, Zhao Qingcao, was born to Empress Zhangxian of the late Emperor. He was the same mother as the deposed Crown Prince Hengshan, Princess Zhongshan, and Princess Jinxian.

Empress Zhangxian died a few months after the birth of Princess Jinxian. After that, Zhao Jialing's mother, Huan Guanyin, entered the palace and became the empress.

After the Prince of Hengshan and Princess Zhongshan were both severely injured, Zhao Qingcao was indeed the most qualified to inherit the throne, being both the eldest son and the legitimate heir. However, he had been paralyzed due to a fall from his horse a few years earlier. He was relatively fortunate to have survived, unlike the late emperor's younger brother who passed away.

Zhao Jialing was relatively lenient towards the imperial clan. Not long after she ascended the throne, court officials submitted memorials discussing the matter of deposing the crown prince. Zhao Jialing reasonably suspected that Xie Lanzhao wanted to seek justice for her second sister, and that deposing the crown prince was just a side effect.

She went along with it, restoring her second sister Zhao Deyin's title of "Zhongshan," but it was impossible for the deposed crown prince to regain the title. Zhao Jialing only granted him the title of Prince of Hengshan. As for the court officials' objections, let them go and speak to the late emperor. It was the late emperor who deposed them; it had nothing to do with her.

After the posthumous conferment, Zhao Qingcao was so moved that he burst into tears.

Did they start putting on a show back then? Zhao Jialing pondered for a moment, then continued to slack off.

With Xie Lanzhao around, isn't it a pipe dream for her blockhead uncle to think he can help Zhao Qingcao's son ascend to the throne? Where is his chance of success? If he wants to help Zhao Qingcao's faction, he'd have to kill himself first!

Zhao Jialing's mind resounded: [System, do you think Huan Qi is trying to poison me?! It's known that Huan Qi is close to scholars who slander Emperor Xuanqi's policies, indicating they share the same ills and want to depose the late emperor's policies. But I will never agree to this. Normally, a woman in power wouldn't back down an inch. The Prince of Hengshan and Princess Zhongshan both have only daughters; the only son in the next generation is from Zhao Qingcao's family! It's a conspiracy, all a conspiracy!]

The Wise Ruler System remained silent.

Actually, it wasn't that complicated. Huan Qi was just unhappy because the emperor was neglecting him. Seeing that the emperor still had no heir, he guessed that the emperor liked women and wanted to bet on both sides.

The expressions of the court officials below shifted rapidly, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense. Those who were bolder secretly glanced at Zhao Jialing's face and were even more horrified.

Huan Qi was completely baffled by the look he received.

He was originally full of pride and wanted to have a long and heated debate with the censor he didn't get along with, but now the censor is ignoring him.

What's going on? His heart suddenly started racing, and he almost stopped breathing.

The entire court fell silent.

Zhao Jialing was puzzled.

She cursed Huan Qi in her heart, but had no intention of resolving the matter. Her gaze swept over the silent officials; if there was nothing else to report, then the court was adjourned.

So Zhao Jialing tentatively stood up.

Xie Lanzhao, who usually interrupted her at crucial moments, remained silent.

Zhao Jialing raised his eyebrows and revealed a pleased smile.

She glanced at Xie Lanzhao one last time, choosing the latter between beauty and leaving the court.

Court adjourned!

The emperor has left, but it's not time for the officials to leave their posts yet.

As they left the Xuanzheng Hall, many people cast their gazes at Xie Lanzhao with somewhat puzzled expressions.

Xie Lanzhao was well aware of his colleagues' thoughts. Upon arriving at the Hall of State Affairs, he immediately held a small meeting with his close courtiers.

"Did you all hear His Majesty's voice?"

The Imperial Secretary's face turned red with embarrassment. He glanced at Xie Lanzhao several times and couldn't help but say, "Secretary Xie, using your beauty to serve the emperor is ultimately against your integrity. I fear future historians will not be lenient with you!"

Xie Lanzhao: "..."

"No, what was that voice? Was it really His Majesty speaking?! How could His Majesty speak like that in front of his ministers?"

"Is Duke Anguo truly a henchman of Prince Zhong? Since His Majesty knew of this, why did he not punish Duke Anguo?"

“That was His Majesty’s true feeling. I’ve observed that not everyone seems to be able to hear it. At least not the Duke of Anguo,” said the Vice Minister of the Chancellery. Given the Duke of Anguo’s personality, if he had heard His Majesty say that, he would have already knelt in the main hall, crying and begging for the Empress Dowager.

...

Xie Lanzhao composed herself. Fortunately, the court officials in the Secretariat had little interest in private gossip and did not try to implicate her. She thought for a moment, “It wasn’t His Majesty’s voice alone.” Words like “Old Deng” were not spoken by His Majesty himself, but rather sounded like someone was speaking to her from the shadows.

The Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat speculated, "Could it be the spirit of the late Emperor? The ancestors of the Great Yong Dynasty are all above; they have all misjudged him. Your Majesty is the true chosen one."

The Imperial Secretary nudged the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat with his elbow, reminding him, "It's a woman's voice."

The Vice Minister of the Chancellery had a flash of inspiration and raised his voice: "A deity! It must be a deity! His Majesty is no ordinary man; perhaps he is a deity descended to earth as the Heavenly Emperor to respond to the rise of an emperor. Therefore, His Majesty is in communion with the divine spirits and dwells peacefully with the divine ruler! Heaven bless my Great Yong! Heaven bless my Great Yong!"

His eyes were glistening with tears of emotion, and his voice rose and fell with emotion. The attendant who had been standing next to him quietly took a step back, afraid of being sprayed with his spittle.

Xie Lanzhao didn't want to bring up matters of "supernatural powers and strange phenomena." She frowned and said, "The truth of the matter concerning the Duke of Anguo is unknown." His Majesty hadn't issued an imperial edict, but based solely on the account of that strange voice, it was difficult to convict the Duke of Anguo. Moreover, this voice came about in a bizarre way; who knew if His Majesty truly harbored such intentions, or if it was some kind of evil spirit instigating the officials in court?

“Since Duke Anguo is unaware, then we can investigate. We don’t need to concern ourselves with his letters to Prince Zhong, but there must be traces of corruption, bribery, and the seizure of farmland,” Xie Lanzhao said calmly. They needed to ascertain the authenticity of the message conveyed by that voice.

"Should we invite a virtuous monk to the palace to pray for His Majesty and preach the scriptures?" a faint voice asked.

The Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat's face darkened instantly, and he snorted, "The Imperial Palace is the abode of ancestral spirits; how dare evil spirits invade it?"

Xie Lanzhao: "..."

Inside the palace.

After the court session, Zhao Jialing cleared his mind and only had time to think after having breakfast.

She said, "Take out everything that Duke Anguo presented and throw it all away—send it all back to the storeroom."

Who knows if Huan Qi will tamper with it! She originally wanted to throw it away, but the commotion would be too great, and the Empress Dowager might intervene, or even officials from the outer court might impeach her for being extravagant and wasteful.

[What is the host doing?] The Wise Ruler System is sluggish.

"Prevention is better than cure," Zhao Jialing thought to herself. She didn't know if this system was something she imagined or if there really was a magical entity helping her, but following her inner warnings was never wrong.

[Host, this is unnecessary. You now know Huan Qi isn't a good person, you need to take action. At least one of the two tasks needs to be completed, right?] The Wise Ruler System urged anxiously. What could it do with a host like this? It only regretted not finishing loading when Zhao Jialing was at his most motivated.

"Do you want me to imprison the Emperor's brother-in-law without any evidence?" Zhao Jialing replied.

Even if she wanted to dismiss an official, one court official after another would submit a memorial. Some were righteous and stern, citing classical texts and causing her a great deal of trouble. Others were tearful and sang the praises of the late emperor, praising the loyalty of old ministers. Zhao Jialing had only said one sentence, "Then go see the late emperor," and was bombarded by censors and remonstrators for half a month. Even the Empress Dowager, who did not concern herself with politics, was alarmed.

She was completely numb.

There was no such thing as absolute authority or arbitrary decision-making.

【Go check it out!】The Wise Ruler System gritted its teeth. Aren't people meant to be used?

Zhao Jialing, his face expressionless, said: "Last time, I had my secret guards do something, and they still criticized me."

[Really? The officials have such long arms?] The Wise Ruler System asked suspiciously.

Its voice disappeared for a moment; it went to check the database.

A moment later, the Wise Ruler System returned with a scream.

[Host, you sent your secret guards to ruin Xie Lanzhao's bean sprouts? Is this how you use secret guards?!]

Zhao Jialing pursed her lips.

[In the third month of the fourth year of Tianfu, you, host, had your secret guards throw sour poems at the Xie residence—after being urged by court officials to expand your harem, you blamed everything on Xie Lanzao, believing she couldn't possibly shield you from these troubles, so you retaliated in kind. The Xie residence did indeed experience a period of chaos. Xie Lanzao's grandmother, the Grand Princess of Xiangcheng, who is also your great-aunt, thought Xie Lanzao had finally found love and held her for a long talk all night, trying to get her to bring the poets back. Of course, in the end, Xie Lanzao discovered it was you who had done it.]

[In the tenth month of the third year of Tianfu, the host replaced the "Portraits of Sages" in the lecture hall with a portrait of Xie Lanzhao, and used Xie Lanzhao's poems and prose to practice calligraphy. He also personally wrote Xie Lanzhao's regulated poems and bestowed them upon his officials.]

Zhao Jialing curled his lip, displeased, and said, "Is there a problem? I simply want to be with Minister Xie day and night. Besides, wasn't it Xie Lanzhao who advised me to expand my harem?"

Wise Ruler System: [Host, you've wronged her. The Grand Secretary cares about many things, but not your life's most important matter.]

Zhao Jialing was shocked. She exclaimed, "How dare she! Why doesn't Xie Lanzao care about me? I think about her day and night. How can Xie Lanzao not care about me?"

Silence fell over the hall.

The palace servants silently lowered their heads.

They heard nothing.