"A secret passage?"
Empress Dowager Ashina was startled.
Sure enough, there was a secret passage in the imperial palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Even more coincidentally, Empress Dowager Ashina knew about it.
She served as empress for over twenty years, managing the inner palace for many years, and had heard many of the palace's secrets.
Originally, she thought this was her biggest trump card.
She was also thinking of using this matter as a bargaining chip to make a deal with Helian Jue after Ashina Xue went to the capital.
Unexpectedly, Xie Yuan guessed it, and in order to eliminate future troubles, she even tried to persuade Helian Jue to move the capital.
Wait a minute!
It's not an "attempt"; in fact, Xie Yuan has already been doing it.
Although Empress Dowager Ashina had lost her trusted confidants, she seemed to be trapped in the deep palace.
But, as I said before, she had cultivated her influence in the harem for many years.
He has a lot of connections, but they don't show off and they are real.
These people may not be able to uncover any classified information, but they can still get a sense of the political climate in the court.
Therefore, Empress Dowager Ashina knew that the new emperor Helian Jue had already sent people to Chang'an to build a new city.
During this period, many male members of the families whose property was confiscated were also directly exiled to Chang'an.
The West Camp and North Camp have also begun their troop rotations.
Previously, Empress Dowager Ashina was unsure where the two generals, Mu Jialan and Dugu Ba, had been transferred.
Now—
"Chang'an! He must have been sent to Chang'an!"
"Well done, Xie Yuan! She really succeeded in persuading Ah Xi to move the capital."
Empress Dowager Ashina quickly connected these points and sorted them out.
What I thought was my trump card is about to become a useless move.
Luo Peiyu seemed oblivious to the Empress Dowager Ashina's gloomy gaze. She respectfully replied, "The Empress suspects there is a secret passage, but there are too many rooms in the palace. Investigating them one by one would be far too complicated."
"It's time-consuming, labor-intensive, and risky, and it might alert the enemy!"
"Furthermore, even if we conduct a thorough investigation, there may still be oversights."
"The Empress then decided to take 'a radical approach'."
The phrase "drawing the firewood from under the cauldron" once again struck a nerve with Empress Dowager Ashina.
Not long ago, she personally experienced Xie Yuan's undermining of her cause.
The old men he had served for one or two decades, and the palace servants he had painstakingly cultivated and placed in various places, were all purged.
Now, only some useless palace maids and eunuchs remain.
The amount of information that can be transmitted is also limited.
Moreover, Empress Dowager Ashina realized the ruthlessness of Xie Yuan's methods this time—
After ten years in the palace, one can leave. Whether they are palace maids or eunuchs, they are just passersby in the deep palace.
It's almost impossible to bribe the masters.
Moreover, even if you win people's hearts and turn them into your own, you can't keep it up for more than a few years.
Once the deadline has passed, one must leave the palace.
How can we cultivate trusted confidants like this? And how can trusted confidants serve us effectively?
The deeply entrenched power within the palace was instantly halved.
This isn't just a matter of cutting off the fuel supply; it's a complete uprooting!
"Hmph! She's quite clever!"
Empress Dowager Ashina snorted coldly, wanting to scold Xie Yuan, but not knowing where to begin.
This daughter-in-law really makes me unhappy in every way.
"Alright! I got it! You did a great job!"
Taking a deep breath to suppress her chaotic emotions, Empress Dowager Ashina casually uttered a sentence.
The intelligence sent by Luo Peiyu wasn't that important, but it was timely.
The key point is that this is also an attitude.
This indicates that regardless of Luo Peiyu's wishes, she has already sided with Yong'an Palace.
Empress Dowager Ashina was very pleased. After thinking for a moment, she ordered someone to bring her a silver ingot, saying, "This is a reward for you!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Luo Peiyu pretended her eyes were shining.
Their greedy nature couldn't be more obvious.
Huh?
After being pleased with herself, Empress Dowager Ashina suddenly realized that the palace servants could not die of old age in the palace and had to leave the palace when their term was up. It was not entirely without its advantages!
Staying in the palace meant receiving a monthly allowance, plus food and lodging.
But once you leave the palace, you need money everywhere.
Especially for eunuchs, who were already disabled, it was difficult for them to even adopt a son if they lost their money.
If you can't bribe them with promises of a bright future, then use the most practical thing: money.
I don't ask for loyalty, as long as they can do things for me, that's enough!
Realizing this, Empress Dowager Ashina's mood improved.
Her gaze toward Luo Peiyu held a newfound approval, and she began to generously promise, "If you handle things well in the future, I will certainly not treat you unfairly!"
"Yes! This servant understands!"
Luo Peiyu's voice became cheerful, and the grief and resistance she felt when she was initially coerced were gone.
Empress Dowager Ashina was increasingly pleased.
After seeing Luo Peiyu off, she began to take stock of her private savings.
Oh no, it can't be simply called "private funds," it's more like a private treasury. (ъìＱυGΕtV.net)
Having served as empress for over twenty years, Empress Dowager Ashina, while not necessarily the richest woman in the country, certainly possessed considerable wealth.
Even after the Turks were defeated and she had to hide in the palace in a low-key manner, she never lacked money.
The late emperor was not a stingy person, not to mention that Empress Dowager Ashina had an adopted son who regularly sent "festival gifts" to the palace every year.
All of them together filled several warehouses to the brim.
Empress Dowager Ashina once thought that she would leave all the things in her private treasury to Helian Jue and his grandchildren.
However, her experiences over the past six months have not only created a rift between her and her adopted son, but have also caused her to take her anger out on the quadruplets.
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