As the most trusted eunuch by the side of the Empress Dowager, Fang Dafu was undoubtedly a prominent figure in the palace.
Luo Peiyu was once just a slave girl whose property was confiscated and taken into the government after her grandfather was convicted of a crime.
Fang Dafu knew everything about her family and her background.
If he remembered correctly, Luo Peiyu and others were people of Empress Dowager Xiao (or even the late emperor).
She went to Yuezhou ostensibly to serve as a concubine, but in reality, she went there to become a spy.
It's just a mystery how Luo Peiyu and the others managed to avoid being exposed and even become Xie Yuan's confidants.
"Oh dear! I've watched His Majesty grow up since he was a child. His Majesty's Empress is a poor judge of character, mistaking a spy for a confidant. It's truly unfortunate!"
"Logically, I should go and tell Her Majesty the truth, but wouldn't it be embarrassing for Her Majesty to expose this matter rashly?"
“Luo Peiyu’s maids are all clever and loyal servants; they certainly wouldn’t want Her Majesty the Empress to trouble herself!”
Fang Dafu looked at Luo Peiyu, who was serving Xie Yuan and seemed to have undergone a complete transformation, and smiled sinisterly.
This is leverage!
He will use this as leverage to negotiate with Luo Peiyu. If Luo Peiyu isn't stupid, she'll know what to do.
Haha, Luo Peiyu is Xie's confidante.
If I manage to bring her to the Empress Dowager's side, things will definitely get very interesting from now on!
However, Fang Dafu did not rush to take action.
He is cunning and knows where his "home ground" is.
Although he has now returned to the capital, he has not yet entered the palace or returned to his own territory.
Fang Dafu would not act rashly.
He must be absolutely certain of his safety before he will take action.
If we're not prepared, Luo Peiyu and the other girls might resort to desperate measures and make a surprise attack.
He still wants to keep his old life to serve the Empress Dowager.
Even with Luo Peiyu as a trump card, Fang Dafu did not relax his observation of Xie Yuan.
So, tonight he saw Helian Jue traveling incognito.
"……hiss!"
Gently closing the tent flap, Fang Dafu picked at his teeth, "Does His Majesty value the Xie family so much?"
When Fang Dafu arrived in Yuezhou, he knew that Xie Yuan held a very high position in the Yue King's Mansion.
At that time, he only thought that Xie Yuan was able to control the entire palace because of her status as "Princess Consort".
Fang Dafu knew best the truth about her marriage to Helian Jue.
She was just an orphan girl sent by the Xie family to marry in place of another. Although she had a good surname, her family had long since lost its support.
He was indeed very handsome, but Fang Dafu, who had watched Helian Jue grow up, knew best that his young master was not a lecherous person at all.
Helian Jue has a rather eccentric personality.
Narcissistic and arrogant, in his eyes, the world is full of idiots and ugly monsters.
The fact that he remained unmarried until he was twenty years old was due not only to the power struggle between the emperor and empress, but also to his own personal reasons.
Such a bad temper! Such a sharp tongue!
Some noble ladies, attracted by his status as crown prince or his handsome face, would shyly approach him, only to be met with Helian Jue's dismissive remark that he was "too ugly," leaving them mortified and furious.
With such unbridled and reckless speech, if Helian Jue weren't the Crown Prince, he probably would have been caught in a sack by now.
Even though he was the crown prince, the noble ladies were all frightened and dared not provoke him again.
Empress Dowager Ashina couldn't bear to watch any longer. She tried both earnest persuasion and stern ultimatums, finally persuading Helian Jue to relent.
He can marry, and he will give his wife the respect she deserves.
At least, he won't just tell the truth all the time—that insults are ugly!
Unfortunately, the noble ladies in the capital were all frightened, and not many were willing to participate in the selection of the Crown Princess.
At this time, the newly unified Southern Dynasties aristocratic families wanted to integrate into the Great Zhou Dynasty as soon as possible, and the old Southern clans such as Xie, Gu, and Lu actively participated.
Empress Dowager Ashina chose the prestigious Xie family.
However, not long after, the Turks were defeated, and the late emperor deposed Helian Jue.
The Xie family failed to gain favor with the Crown Prince and instead got themselves into a lot of trouble.
To distance themselves from the marriage, they arranged for Xie Yuan, the daughter of the original head of the family, to marry in his place.
When she first heard the news, Empress Dowager Ashina was furious.
The Xie family's actions not only humiliated Helian Jue, but also Ashina.
At that time, Empress Dowager Ashina and Helian Jue were mother and son.
However, circumstances were beyond human control, and no matter how indignant Empress Dowager Ashina was, she could not stop this marriage that was destined to bring shame upon Helian Jue.
In a fit of anger, Empress Dowager Ashina paid no attention to the marriage.
After Xie Yuan married into the Eastern Palace, she did not take the initiative to summon him.
It seemed that Empress Dowager Ashina had also severed ties with the Eastern Palace.
Everyone assumed that Empress Dowager Ashina wanted to keep a low profile or avoid suspicion.
It is estimated that Helian Jue also misunderstood, thinking that his mother deliberately distanced herself from him and ignored him in order to protect him.
Only Fang Dafu, who knew Empress Dowager Ashina best, knew that at that time the Empress Dowager was simply furious.
It wasn't until Helian Jue left the capital that Empress Dowager Ashina realized what was happening.
She quickly made arrangements in secret, giving some of her manpower and private property to Helian Jue, and regularly communicating with him to restore their mother-son relationship.
"Cough cough!"
Fang Dafu realized that his thoughts had wandered too far, so he coughed lightly to bring himself back to reality.
His many past experiences told him that Helian Jue was not a man who was easily bewitched by women.
Therefore, his respect for Xie Yuan was likely only out of consideration for Xie Yuan's legal wife, not out of affection.
When he was in Lingnan, Fang Dafu always thought this way.
Only now did Fang Dafu realize that he had been wrong, seeing Helian Jue put away his fierce aura and whisper goodbye to Xie Yuan with tenderness from the inside out.
Even the Empress Dowager probably underestimated Xie Yuan's influence over Helian Jue.
"After returning to the palace, I must have a good talk with Her Majesty!"
Fang Dafu thought to himself, just waiting for tomorrow to arrive.
The following day, at the grand court assembly, Helian Jue announced the establishment of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
In the imperial court, several civil and military officials had strange expressions—what did the emperor mean by this? Why did he suddenly create the Embroidered Uniform Guard? What about the Inner Guard?
"What Imperial Guard? I've never heard of it! It's probably nothing special, so let's just abolish it!"
Helian Jue said it indifferently.
Several of the Imperial Guard commanders hidden among the officials instantly changed their expressions.
Helian Jue didn't care whether they were in a hurry or changed their attitude. After finishing talking about the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he urged the Ministry of Rites to go outside the city to welcome Empress Xie Yuan as soon as possible.
Around noon, high-ranking officials, including Prime Minister Wang Yu and the Minister of Rites, carried the Empress's special carriage and formal attire to the city gates to welcome her.
Dressed in a light blue robe and adorned with a phoenix crown featuring twelve flowering trees, Xie Yuan, fully dressed, boarded the carriage with the assistance of palace attendants.
The wheels rolled on, and she arrived at the palace, which would be her new battlefield and her home.
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