Chapter 130 Don’t Provoke Xiao Yan
Cao Dejiang nodded. "When he was alive, he was not friendly towards the aristocratic families. Moreover, he never liked the aristocratic families to be too powerful and suppress the imperial power."
He paused and looked at Fu Laiqing. Although his eyes and eyebrows were still childish, he was no longer an ignorant boy. Moreover, since he had already entered the officialdom, he would know some things sooner or later.
Cao Dejiang hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Moreover, Rong Qian'an has some irreconcilable conflicts with the aristocratic families."
Fu Laiqing was puzzled: "Contradiction?"
Cao Dejiang looked up at him and asked, "How much do you know about what happened to Crown Prince Li back then?"
"Not much. My grandmother won't let me ask, and those who know about it rarely mention it either."
"Then do you know how the Crown Prince was convicted?"
"I heard it was treason?" Fu Laiqing said hesitantly.
Cao Dejiang glanced at him and said, "Have you ever seen a crown prince who is firmly seated in the Eastern Palace and enjoys the support of the people rely on treason to ascend to the throne?"
Fu Laiqing was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help but widen his eyes when he realized what was meant: "Granduncle means that Crown Prince Li was..."
"I didn't say anything."
Before Fu Laiqing could utter the word "wronged", Cao Dejiang suddenly interrupted him. Seeing Fu Laiqing's face full of surprise and unable to hide his astonishment, he spoke slowly in a slightly lowered voice.
"Back when Crown Prince Li was in power, he was extremely influential. He saw the flaws in the court early on and argued that the monopoly of power by aristocratic families would undermine the foundation of the court. Furthermore, relying on a recommendation system to select officials would only allow aristocratic families to become more powerful and suppress the emperor's power, making it difficult for truly capable people to rise to prominence."
"Crown Prince Li wanted to change the system and replace the imperial recommendation system with an imperial examination system, so that both poor children and ambitious people could have a path to advancement. However, this harmed the interests of the aristocratic families and the majority of the court, and was resisted by everyone. At that time, Taifu Rong was one of the few people in the court who agreed with him."
It was the first time that Fu Laiqing heard of this. He only had a vague understanding of what happened back then. Moreover, both Old Madam Fu and Cao Dejiang had always been very secretive about the Crown Prince, and no one wanted to talk about it.
Now that Cao Dejiang brought it up, he quickly sat up straight.
"And what happened next?"
“Of course it didn’t work out.”
Cao Dejiang's eyes darkened, and his voice became low:
"The aristocratic families are deeply intertwined, and officials from their families are spread throughout the court. A single move can affect the entire body. Crown Prince Li's move is undoubtedly intended to cut off their roots and harm the interests of all the aristocratic families."
"When this reform was first proposed, Crown Prince Li was attacked by the major aristocratic families. The court officials whose interests were harmed also resisted him. Not only did they unite to deal with Crown Prince Li's faction, but they also tried to hinder him in various matters."
"The Crown Prince's lineage suffered heavy losses in a short period of time, and the late Emperor was unclear about the matter, refusing to express his views. Some of the people who had originally supported the Crown Prince could not withstand the pressure and retreated. The power of the Eastern Palace was greatly reduced, and the Crown Prince had a hard time in the court. At that time, no one was optimistic about the Crown Prince, but Rong Qian'an, who had never been involved in court disputes, stood behind him and supported the reform, campaigning for him."
When Cao Dejiang thought of what happened back then, his eyes were filled with complexity.
In fact, that reform was supported by many people, including him, and many civil officials contributed secretly. They did not want the aristocratic families to monopolize the court, and they also hoped that there would be more capable fresh blood in the court. They secretly helped the Crown Prince to implement the reforms, and in addition, they took advantage of Rong Qian'an's status in the literary world and the foundation accumulated by the veterans of three dynasties.
For a period of time, the situation in the Eastern Palace, which had been struggling, had actually improved, and the Crown Prince Li began to implement reforms despite pressure from all sides.
However, fate played tricks on them. The Eastern Palace, which was the place that should have made no mistakes, made a huge mess. The first imperial examination was a huge mess. Not only was there favoritism and cheating in the examination room which was supposed to be strict, but people also died.
All the efforts made in the early stage were wasted, and the prince's situation became even worse...
Cao Dejiang sighed softly and said, "After the exam incident, the reform was forced to be suspended. The aristocratic families were unlikely to miss such a good opportunity and all came together to impeach the Crown Prince for using the reform for personal gain."
"The accumulated power of the aristocratic families over the years erupted almost overnight, not only causing chaos in the court, but also unrest across the country, with signs that the foundations of the Wei Dynasty were shaken. Seeing that the situation was uncontrollable, the late emperor had no choice but to issue an edict to reprimand the crown prince for his radical behavior, confining him to his home, and reducing the power of the Eastern Palace to appease the aristocratic families. But who could have imagined that during his confinement, the crown prince would suddenly become hysterical and go insane..."
The once most wise future emperor turned into a madman, acting violently and sometimes sane and sometimes crazy. Later, the crown prince rebelled and burned down the forbidden palace.
Hundreds of people in the Eastern Palace died in the fire overnight, and all those related to the Crown Prince were wiped out.
The capital was a river of blood, and countless people were killed and their families confiscated, whether innocent or guilty. All those involved were killed and their families confiscated, regardless of the reason. For more than a month, there was a constant display of heads hanging on the execution grounds in the capital. The corpses piled up on the slopes of the mass graves on the outskirts of the city, and the whole capital was filled with suffocating blood.
During that period, everyone in the capital was in danger, and no one in the court dared to touch the Crown Prince. Although Rong Qian'an was not convicted, he was also involved in trouble because he had been too close to the Crown Prince.
Perhaps he sensed the crisis, or perhaps he understood that if he continued to stay in the court, he would lose his life sooner or later. After the incident with Crown Prince Li, Rong Qian'an took the initiative to retire and no longer interfered in the affairs of the court.
The aristocratic families may not have thought of taking action against him, but Rong Qian'an was a veteran of three dynasties and taught countless students.
Since he took the initiative to retreat, they didn't dare to touch him, nor could they touch him.
However, Rong Qian'an was old after all, and his old illness was still revived because of that incident. Later, he was devastated by the deaths of Mrs. Rong and the second son of the Song family, and was bedridden. He died not long after.
Fu Laiqing felt his heart tremble with fear upon hearing this. He was shocked by the bloody past, and some vague thoughts arose in his mind: "Grandpa Uncle, did Taifu Rong really die of illness that year?"
Cao Dejiang glanced at him and said, "That's what the Imperial Medical Bureau said."
As for the truth, who knows.
He had thought about investigating and had doubts about what happened to the Crown Prince, but all the clues about that incident were completely cut off. He almost got himself into trouble when he touched on it a little bit. Moreover, it was a critical time for the new emperor to purge the court after he ascended the throne.
Emperor An relied on his aristocratic family to ascend to the throne, and it was because of the crime committed by Crown Prince Li that he had the opportunity to aspire to the throne. During that period, both the emperor and the aristocratic families were extremely taboo about the affairs of Crown Prince Li, and the power of the aristocratic families was at its peak.
It was not easy for him to protect himself under the pressure of the aristocratic families. Even if he really had doubts and concerns, he would not dare to risk the lives of everyone in the Cao family.
Cao Dejiang looked at Fu Laiqing who seemed to be thinking deeply: "I tell you this so that you can understand the methods of the aristocratic family."
"The imperial power has never been something they fear. However, Xiao Yan, a eunuch, was able to get this far under their noses, forcing Lu Chongyuan to take the risk of having someone attack him outside the capital. But despite all the careful arrangements, Xiao Yan still escaped. He is no ordinary person."
His expression was extremely serious, and his words were full of warning.
"Xiao Yan's methods and cunning are definitely not ordinary. From what I've seen of his words and actions, he doesn't seem to come from such a lowly family. It's normal for you to be curious about him after entering the court, but don't try to pry into his background easily, and don't provoke him, lest you bring disaster upon yourself and the Fu family."
"As for these past events, you've heard them and know them all. Just keep them in mind. No matter what you think now, don't reveal them in public, and don't try to find out what happened back then. Otherwise, the Fu family will be the next Duke of Song. Do you understand?"
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