Chapter 115

On her way back to Zhaoning Palace, Qin Su sent someone to the Imperial Study to ask Emperor Jingxi if he had finished his business. The person from the Imperial Study replied that the people from the grasslands had left and His Majesty was now summoning local officials.

Qin Su was somewhat disappointed, knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to see Emperor Jingxi today.

The palace maids and eunuchs played with her for a while, then she took a bath and went to sleep.

The Great Yu Dynasty has lasted for more than two hundred years. The four monarchs before Emperor Jingxi ascended the throne were all fools, either indulging in women or neglecting their duties, which led to internal and external troubles for the Great Yu.

When Emperor Jingxi ascended the throne as a child, the court was controlled by powerful ministers. He endured for many years before finally gaining the power of the emperor and beginning to reform the government.

Although we have seen some initial success in the past few years, there are still many concerns, and it is common to be busy until late at night.

As the moon rose high in the sky, Emperor Jingxi showed no sign of resting. Liang Danxin hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty, it's getting late. Your health is important."

Emperor Jingxi didn't even look up, and said intently, "Wait a little longer."

Liang Danxin patiently waited for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, but Emperor Jingxi still did not move.

Helpless, Liang Danxin had no choice but to bring up Qin Su, saying, "Her Highness the Princess has sent people to ask His Majesty twice today. Would His Majesty like to go and take a look?"

"Oh?" Emperor Jingxi finally raised his head. "Did you say something?"

It has to be said that from this angle, the father and daughter's eyebrows and eyes are remarkably similar.

Liang Danxin replied, "His Highness didn't say."

Emperor Jingxi pondered for a moment before finally leaving his desk: "Very well, I'll go take a look."

Qin Su had naturally gone to sleep long ago, and the entire Zhaoning Palace was quiet.

The palace maid on night watch was waiting outside. When she saw Emperor Jingxi, she hurriedly tried to bow, but Emperor Jingxi, afraid of waking Qin Su, waved his hand and didn't let her speak.

He tiptoed to the bedside alone, lifted the curtain, and peeked inside.

Qin Su was covered with a blanket, her little face flushed from sleeping.

Emperor Jingxi was relieved and was about to let go and lower the curtain when Qin Su's eyelashes trembled slightly from the flickering candlelight in the hall, as if she were about to wake up.

Emperor Jingxi was so frightened that he dared not move. He quickly squatted down in front of the bed, gently patted her through the quilt, and coaxed her softly, "Sleep, sleep, it's alright."

Qin Su mumbled "Father Emperor," moved closer to the bedside, and fell asleep again in an instant.

Emperor Jingxi squatted until his legs went numb before standing up and leaving Zhaoning Palace.

The night was deep and the moon was bright; the cool evening breeze cleared his drowsy mind a little.

Emperor Jingxi, with his hands behind his back, sighed, "Liang Danxin, how time flies! It hasn't been long, and Susu has grown so much."

“I clearly remember that she was only this size a few days ago.” He gestured with his fingers and laughed, “Just like a little kitten.”

"Besides, who in the imperial court and the harem doesn't fear me? But she's like a child, always trying to fawn over me and saying things that disregard etiquette."

As the emperor's chief eunuch, Liang Danxin understood the emperor's psychology better than anyone.

Emperor Jingxi was not blaming Qin Su, but rather taking pride in the deep affection he shared with her.

Therefore, he smiled and said, "Your Majesty, that's because His Highness is closest to you. He doesn't regard you as the emperor, but only as his father."

Emperor Jingxi laughed and scolded, "I have never seen her show any respect for her elders. Just a few days ago, she said some harsh words in front of me, saying that if I dislike her, she will become the emperor and order me around."

Liang Danxin found it difficult to respond to this, and could only awkwardly say, "Your Highness has an extraordinary temperament, far beyond that of an ordinary three-year-old child."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingxi felt both moved and melancholy.

"Yes, if Su Su were a prince..."

He didn't say anything about what would happen if Qin Su were a prince, and Liang Danxin didn't dare to say anything either.

However, Liang Danxin suddenly remembered that the Great Yu Kingdom was open-minded and women had a high status because there was actually an empress at the beginning of the dynasty.

The story of the empress dates back to the beginning of the Great Yu Dynasty.

In his later years, the third emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty feared old age and death, coveted immortality, and sought immortals everywhere. He also favored treacherous and wicked people, which led to the neglect of the court and a great decline in national strength. The profound foundation left by the previous wise rulers was almost completely exhausted.

The loyal ministers and generals had no choice but to devise a plan. They found a beautiful Taoist nun and sent her into the palace, saying that she was a celestial maiden reincarnated to serve the king.

As expected, the emperor doted on the Taoist nun and, under the combined persuasion of the nun and loyal officials of the previous dynasty, refrained from doing many absurd things.

The nun's original surname is unknown, only her Taoist name is recorded as "Wei Hua". After entering the palace, she was promoted several ranks within a year, and soon became pregnant. The following year, she gave birth to a healthy prince and was made the new empress.

Everything was progressing in a positive direction, but fate had other plans. Perhaps due to excessive consumption of elixirs and the resulting poisoning, the emperor suddenly died one evening.

What exactly happened that night is only mentioned briefly in history, without any detailed explanation, but there are some rumors that have been passed down in the palace.

Some say that Wei Hua had premeditated the plot, colluding with former military generals to poison the emperor; others say that the emperor's death was an accident, and Wei Hua simply seized the opportunity to forge an imperial edict and seize power.

Regardless of which version of events is used, everyone assumes that Wei Hua did something in this situation.

The imperial edict announced the following day designated Wei Hua's son as the next emperor, with Wei Hua and several ministers acting as regents. Adult princes were granted fiefdoms, while underage princes remained in the capital.

Some of the adult princes who were away from the capital were dissatisfied and questioned the authenticity of the imperial edict. Wei Hua kindly issued an imperial edict ordering them to return to the capital to investigate. As a result, the prince returned to the capital with his guards, but before they even reached the halfway point, they encountered "mountain bandits" and were all wiped out.

If it weren't for a woodcutter discovering the bodies a few days later, the prince would have died without a trace.

This naturally sparked some speculation and controversy, but what good did it do? Empress Wei Hua was the empress, and the princes she gave birth to were legitimate sons. Imperial edicts were written in the emperor's handwriting and stamped with the imperial seal. The most important military and political officials in the court stood with her.

Wei Hua smoothly became the Empress Dowager Regent, ruling from behind the curtain and entering and leaving the court with impunity.

With the emperor young and the empress dowager also young, power was overwhelmingly in Wei Hua's favor, and Wei Hua finally began to reveal her ambition and ruthlessness.

She promoted many people from poor families, broke the monopoly of aristocratic families, strengthened the law, used ruthless means to clean up the bureaucracy, suppressed commerce, emphasized agriculture and sericulture, and trained female officials.

After serving as regent for ten years, she deposed the young emperor and ascended the throne herself. Seven years after her ascension, she killed many of the meritorious officials who had helped her and purged the court.

This remarkable woman, who rose from a Taoist nun to become Empress and then Emperor Guangxuan, ruled as regent for ten years and reigned as emperor for thirty-one years. Although she was ruthless and used harsh punishments to govern officials, which drew mixed reviews from later generations, she brought back the prosperous era of the founding of the Great Yu Dynasty, a time of peace and tranquility.

She had only one son in her life, whom she placed on the throne, then deposed and made a king, who lived an ordinary life in his territory.

When Wei Hua was old, he selected a grandson from his lineage and raised him to be the crown prince. After his death, he returned the Great Yu kingdom to the Qin family descendants.

It was precisely because of her existence that the status of women in the Great Yu Dynasty was not low. For decades afterward, there were female officials and even many well-known female generals.

Later, due to the emperor's debauchery in the palace, the Great Yu Dynasty began to decline, and the system of female officials was abolished. However, overall, the separation between men and women was not strict.

In some dynasties, it would have been absolutely impossible for princesses to enter and leave the imperial study or to find men for entertainment.

Thinking of this, Liang Danxin couldn't help but consider Qin Su.

Qin Su was the eldest daughter of the legitimate wife, and thus held both the status of legitimate heir and eldest daughter. Emperor Jingxi valued her highly. If she were a prince, she would probably already be the crown prince, but she was a princess.

The possibility of a princess inheriting the throne is extremely slim, but it's not entirely impossible, especially given the precedent of a female emperor in this dynasty.

Liang Danxin thought to himself that no matter how many princes came after her, the princess's side had to be careful.

When Qin Su woke up early the next morning, she learned that Emperor Jingxi had come to see her and said unhappily, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

Qingmei combed her hair, parted it into sections, tied it into a bun at the back of her head, and compared it with various exquisite jewelry. She said gently, "His Majesty saw that Your Highness was sleeping soundly and forbade the palace servants from waking you up."

"Alright." Qin Su casually pointed to two pieces of jewelry, one of which was fish-shaped. "I'll wear this one. I'm going to see the fish later."

Qingmei asked, "Does Your Highness wish to take Young Master Ye along, or should he return first?"

Children are forgetful and often forget what happened a moment ago. Qin Su was stunned for a moment before she remembered that she now had a playmate.

"Did he go to the palace so early today?"

Qingmei said, "Yes, I heard that everyone in the general's mansion gets up early to practice martial arts, and he came to the palace after he finished practicing."

Qin Su thought for a moment and said, "Then send someone to ask him if he has had breakfast yet. If not, he can have breakfast with me later."

She got up late, past the palace's breakfast time, but Zhaoning Palace had a separate small kitchen, the expenses of which were all paid by Emperor Jingxi's private funds, which was the first of its kind in the palace.

You should know that there are rules for meals in the palace. Meals are served on a fixed time. If you miss that time, whether you are a prince or a concubine, you can only eat snacks and fruits to fill your stomach.

Therefore, the existence of a small kitchen is particularly important. If you want to eat something, whether it's outside of mealtimes, you can get it right in your own palace as long as there is a small kitchen.

However, it was impossible for every palace to have a small kitchen. Firstly, there was the risk of poisoning; secondly, there was the risk of fire; and thirdly, the expenses of the small kitchen had to be borne by the palace itself. The allowances, or wages, of the concubines in each palace were limited, so it was not easy to bear such expenses unless they received subsidies from their families outside the palace.

Consort Shu was one such example. Due to special circumstances during the later stages of her pregnancy, Emperor Jingxi agreed to allow her to set up a small kitchen. However, Consort Shu paid for the expenses herself, and the money came from her family outside the palace.

Only in the case of Qin Su was the money paid for by Emperor Jingxi.