Emperor Yongchang had been in charge of the harem for so many years and remained standing. Empress Xu could see through the Emperor's little tricks after a little thought.
As Emperor Yongchang grew older, Prince Yinzhao, who had been the crown prince for thirty years, was about to see the dawn of hope.
As the mother of the crown prince, Empress Xu also hoped that her son could ascend the throne smoothly without any unnecessary complications.
There are too many examples in previous dynasties where when the prince was about to ascend the throne, a Cheng Yaojin suddenly appeared.
This was the case with Emperor Yongchang.
Among the five sons, Emperor Yongchang was the fourth and not the legitimate son, so he would never be the emperor.
However, a palace riot broke out, and the crown prince formed an alliance with the second, third, and fifth sons to fight for the position of crown prince. As a result, they were all killed, leaving only Emperor Yongchang, who was pushed onto the throne.
Emperor Yongchang had experienced the tragedy of fratricide, so he was extra cautious towards his nine sons.
Except for the eldest son Yin Zhao, the other eight sons were all enfeoffed and sent to various places. Except for a hundred-man guard, their contact with the army was strictly controlled, and their privileges were restricted, so that they could only be free and easy kings.
Although the eight sons had no power or influence, in addition to enjoying generous salaries, they also had a large amount of land, shops and semi-monopoly businesses.
These should be Emperor Yongchang's compensation to them.
The eight sons were not involved in military and political affairs, and Emperor Yongchang eliminated the root cause of fratricide.
The prince's position was stable, and Emperor Yongchang concentrated a lot of resources on training the prince so that he could take over the baton smoothly in the future.
However, as Emperor Yongchang grew older, his mentality also underwent subtle changes.
When people stay in the highest position for too long, they think about immortality and want to always have such power.
Emperor Yongchang didn't know when he started to develop hostility towards his own son.
He arranged for the Longchasi to pay close attention to the prince's actions and had people monitor his every word and deed.
He even deliberately sent out signals of greater favor to a certain prince, putting pressure on the crown prince and inexplicably affecting his mentality.
Sometimes Yin Zhao was tormented by him like a frightened bird.
Originally, young generals of the new generation like Zhao Muyun should have been left to his sons.
However, Emperor Yongchang wanted to show his favor by promoting Zhao Muyun, conferring a title on her, and marrying her to a princess.
When Empress Xu heard this from Emperor Yongchang, she realized that there was something fishy going on.
In order to please Emperor Yongchang, she remained silent at first.
It was not until Emperor Yongchang asked her which princess she wanted to marry, and she named several that Emperor Yongchang disagreed, but he praised Princess Qinghe highly.
Even a fool could see that Emperor Yongchang had already considered Princess Qinghe as the best candidate.
I asked Empress Xu just to see her reaction.
Princess Qinghe is the daughter of the ninth prince, Prince Jin, and the ninth prince's son Yinji is currently in Zhao Muyun's army.
Emperor Yongchang arranged a marriage between Prince Jin's daughter and Zhao Muyun, a grassroots soldier who grew up from a frontier soldier to an independent military general due to his military achievements. This invisibly strengthened Prince Jin's influence.
Although the King of Jin had no military power, he could not engage in politics.
But his son and son-in-law do!
By doing this, wouldn't it end up putting pressure on the prince and deliberately creating an imaginary enemy?
Empress Xu sighed in her heart.
It is said that the imperial family is the most ruthless. The relationship between father and son, and brothers, is superficially harmonious but spiritually estranged!
Now, Emperor Yongchang not only asked Empress Xu which princess she would marry, but why did he have to ask the Crown Prince again?
"Wanrong, Zhao'er is the crown prince of Dayin. He should also express his opinion on the matter of the royal family marrying a princess!"
"After I abdicate, I won't be able to take charge of these matters, nor should I."
Emperor Yongchang sighed with great emotion. If anyone else saw him like that, they would definitely be moved and think that he was a benevolent and wise ruler.
Empress Xu understood him and was not deceived by him.
I was just worried that when Yin Zhao came, the old emperor would deliberately do something weird again.
The two chatted idly.
After a while, Eunuch Chen brought Crown Prince Yinzhao to Yining Palace.
After Yin Zhao paid a long greeting to Emperor Yongchang and Empress Xu, he stood respectfully aside with his hands hanging down.
He glanced at Empress Xu out of the corner of his eye.
In front of Emperor Yongchang, Empress Xu could only nod slightly, her eyes full of anxiety and worry.
Yin Zhao seemed to understand something from his mother's eyes.
His eyelids immediately drooped, and he waited quietly for Emperor Yongchang to speak.
"Zhao'er, do you know why I summoned you?" Emperor Yongchang asked with a smile after eating a lychee.
"I don't know, please let me know, Father!"
Yin Zhao spoke calmly, he was already accustomed to this kind of situation.
"I'll let your mother speak!" Emperor Yongchang said slowly.
"Your father wants to marry your ninth brother's daughter, Princess Qinghe, to Zhao Muyun, who recently defeated the Tartars and whose reputation is known throughout the capital."
Empress Xu immediately said softly, "Father called you here to hear your opinion! Actually, your father..."
"Wanrong..."
As soon as Emperor Yongchang heard Empress Xu's words, he knew what she wanted to say. His voice suddenly turned cold and he interrupted her, "Let Zhao'er speak."
So that’s what it is!
Yin Zhao's heart was in turmoil.
Just now when he was in the East Palace, he heard the news sent by the insider in the palace. Gu Dingming also mentioned this matter when he came to the house.
He believed that if Emperor Yongchang wanted to choose a princess, he might choose from the daughters of the King of Han, the King of Qin, the King of Lu, the King of Chu, and others.
But he chose the daughter of Prince Jin all at once. This was too obviously targeting him as the crown prince!
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