Chapter 138 Who is qualified?

"Who controls that women's personal guard? In the past hundred years, only two kinds of people have been able to control it."

First, the Empress was personally appointed by His Majesty, so he could directly control her.

If the Empress were no longer alive, with His Majesty's permission, a capable princess born of the Empress, like Princess Xining in the past, could also take control of this female imperial guard.

If both of them are gone, Your Majesty should withdraw the women's personal guard.

"When the new emperor ascends the throne, the Phoenix Token will be handed to him so that he can appoint an empress for him," Consort Wu continued to explain.

Ruan Ronghua nodded repeatedly.

"Oh, I see!"

No wonder I've never really seen that female imperial guard in all these years I've been in the palace!

I've only heard about it, I've never actually seen it!

"Your Majesty, you are far more knowledgeable and understand more than we do!"

Consort Wu smiled smugly.

She had seen that Phoenix Token when she served the Empress...

"But... the late Empress is long gone, and there are no legitimate princesses left!"

So who is in charge of this women's personal guard now?

Judging from the demeanor of that female imperial guard commander that day, she was also acting under orders.

So, whose orders was she acting on?

"Your Majesty has been away from the capital for quite some time now!" Ruan Ronghua asked curiously.

Consort Wu was also taken aback.

Yes, His Majesty has been away from the capital for many days.

On the day he left the capital, he took half of the palace guards with him. Half a day after His Majesty left, news suddenly came that the women's personal guards had been ordered to take over half of the palace's defenses.

And these days... those female guards are clearly under someone's control.

Seeing that Consort Wu was also frowning, Ruan Ronghua realized that the Phoenix Token was definitely not in Consort Wu's possession.

It seems she guessed right. If the Phoenix Token were in her hands, she would definitely show it off.

"Could it be in the hands of Her Highness the Princess? After all, His Majesty dotes on the Princess, and Princess Shou Kang's status is no different from that of a legitimate princess!" Ruan Ronghua looked at Consort Wu.

Consort Wu immediately shook her head.

"How could that be? If Lan Qian got the Phoenix Token, she would definitely be the first to run to me and show it off."

Besides, His Majesty knows her own worth.

It's possible to pamper her a bit more and reward her with more things!

"How could the Phoenix Decree possibly end up in Lan Qian's hands?"

Ruan Ronghua quickly smiled, then started muttering again.

"Could it have been given to Aunt Cui? His Majesty has always respected Aunt Cui, so perhaps he wants her to temporarily look after the palace during this period!"

Consort Wu let out a cold laugh.

"She's just a palace attendant, a female official. How could she be qualified to manage the Phoenix Decree?"

"The Phoenix Token could only be in the hands of royalty, not a female official!"

Ruan Ronghua quickly gave a dry laugh.

"Your Majesty, I am not very knowledgeable and have made a fool of myself in your presence."

So it seems that someone else is in control of the Phoenix Token?

Consort Wu picked up the teacup brought to her by a palace maid, took a sip, and her expression calmed down.

"Logically speaking, when His Majesty personally leads the expedition, he is most likely to entrust the Phoenix Token to two people for safekeeping."

The first one is the Crown Princess.

After all, His Majesty has already given the Dragon Pendant to the Crown Prince, so it is only natural that he would give the Phoenix Token to the Crown Princess as well.

But the dragon pendant could command the imperial guards, and the phoenix token could command the female guards.

If that were really the case, wouldn't the entire palace be under the Crown Prince's control?

Isn't this unnecessary?

Therefore, the Phoenix Token should not be in the Crown Princess's hands. Consort Wu was certain of this.

“But today…” Ruan Ronghua looked at Consort Wu.

Consort Wu gently shook her head.

“I know what you mean. Today, my palace servants were harassed at the palace gate. Logically speaking, those who dislike me, or even hate me, must be from the Crown Prince’s faction.”

Those female guards who made things difficult for my palace servants were probably acting on the Crown Princess's orders.

But the Crown Princess... she is the legitimate daughter of the Shangguan family. It would be petty of her to try to tamper with such trivial matters.

Therefore, it couldn't have been the Crown Princess who did this.

"Who could it be? There are only a handful of people of high status in the capital."

"Your Majesty can't just entrust the Phoenix Token to someone insignificant!" Ruan Ronghua chuckled twice.

Consort Wu frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly thought of someone.

"There's one more person who's most likely!"

"Who!" Ruan Ronghua immediately sat up straight.

"The old lady of the Korean ducal family!"

Don't forget, she is from His Majesty's maternal clan. Don't you know how good the late Empress Dowager and this Lady of Han were?

"Perhaps, that Phoenix Token is in the hands of the old lady of the Han State!" Consort Wu said calmly.

Consort Wu quickly smiled and said a few words to change the subject.

Although this imperial concubine was favored, she was not liked by the late Empress Dowager.

However, the late Empress Dowager only favored the Empress, and was indifferent to the other concubines...

...

Soon, the King of Wu outside the palace learned of this news.

He was somewhat skeptical of the information that Nguyen Rong Hwa had gathered.

The Korean government already controls the Imperial Guard, and now it also commands a women's personal army? That seems a bit impossible!

He was convinced that the person in charge of the women's personal guard must be a member of the royal family.

After thinking for a while, and considering what he wanted to do next, the King of Wu immediately had an idea.

He asked Song Kaishan to pass on a message to Song Zhimin, who was in the Eastern Palace.

"Try to find out who controls that women's personal guard now."

Is she the Crown Princess?

Song Zhimian was stunned by this request.

"You think too highly of me! How could a fifth-rank master of ceremonies like me possibly find out such confidential information?" Song Zhimian immediately refused.

Song Kaishan wasn't angry at all.

"Why are you in such a hurry! I just asked you to find out a bit."

If the female imperial guards were truly under the control of the Crown Princess, the female commander of the imperial guards would definitely have found an opportunity to report palace affairs to the Crown Princess in the past few days.

All you need to do is see if that person enters the East Palace.

"As long as it's not the Crown Princess, then it's the Duke of Han's mansion," Song Kaishan suggested.

Song Zhimian glanced at Song Kaishan. When did this good-for-nothing father become so clever?

This must have been instructed by the King of Wu...

“Okay! I’ll keep an eye on things for the next couple of days! As for whether I can find out anything, I can’t guarantee it!” Song Zhimian readily agreed.

Song Kaishan left satisfied.

However, after he left, Song Zhimian immediately reported to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess about Song Kaishan's visit to her.

...

"Alright, find a chance to tell Song Kaishan that the female commander of the Imperial Guards did indeed come to the East Palace these past two days!" the Crown Prince instructed with a smile.

"Really?" Song Zhimian was still a little uneasy.

"That's the truth, there's nothing to worry about!" the Crown Prince said with a smile.

The female commander of the Imperial Guards did come, but not to report to the Crown Princess. She came to report to Lord Ye, who had been in the Eastern Palace for a long time.