August 29th is an auspicious day for marriage.
The Marquis of Anle's mansion was brightly decorated and a grand banquet was held.
In the past, a former member of the royal family with an awkward status like Marquis Anle might not have received many invitations, even if they sent out a wide range of invitations.
But today is different.
Outside the main gate of the Marquis's mansion, guests thronged and carriages and horses bustled about.
It seemed as if most of the powerful and influential people in the capital had come.
In fact, even if it's not more than half, it's still a third.
The reason is simple: Marquis Anle was a member of the former imperial family, but his wife was a cousin of Empress Dowager Xiao.
Moreover, Marquis Anle was related to Empress Xie.
Previously, Marquis Anle had not deliberately exaggerated, and the palace's attitude was quite ambiguous.
Therefore, many people in the capital overlooked the relationship between Marquis Anle and the imperial family.
Until this time, when the heir of the Marquis of Anle got married, Empress Dowager Xiao bestowed the marriage upon the newlyweds and presented them with a pair of jade ruyi scepters, which was enough to prove how much she valued Chen Fuli, her "nephew".
Empress Xie is not in the capital. Oh no, Empress Xie is in seclusion to pray for blessings. She cannot leave until the appointed time.
However, her younger brother, Xie Zhen, the head of the Xie family, took the initiative to attend the banquet and helped with everything.
In addition, Zheng Yurong, the most trusted lady-in-waiting of Empress Xie, was also the cousin of the Heir Apparent of Marquis Anle.
All these complex relationships ultimately point to one thing: the Marquis of Anle's mansion is by no means the awkward, insignificant place that people imagine it to be.
Even if their country is destroyed and their families are ruined, they are still powerful and noble when they come to the capital of the Northern Dynasty.
This wedding ceremony seemed to be a symbol of the Marquis of Anle's high-profile declaration.
Many families who originally had no connection with the Chen family also tried to join in the fun.
Chen Fuli: ...It's good to have more people; with more people, there are more opportunities!
In ancient times, wedding ceremonies were mostly held at dusk, hence the name "dusk ceremony".
As the sun began to set, the Chen family's wedding procession marched in a grand procession to the Zheng family's home to fetch the bride.
The Chen family's residence wasn't too far from the Zheng family's; after walking around a few blocks, they arrived.
After a series of wedding rituals, Chen Fuli and his bride, who was holding a round fan, came out.
They boarded an oxcart and headed towards the Marquis of Anle's residence.
We're in a bit of a rush because there's a curfew these days.
If you are still wandering outside when the appointed time comes, you will be arrested by the patrolling guards.
At best, they would be reprimanded or given a couple of lashes; at worst, they would be dragged to the yamen for questioning.
Of course, most of these rules and regulations are aimed at ordinary people.
The truly powerful and wealthy never care about these things.
The Chen family is holding a wedding ceremony again, which is a great joy in their lives.
The government will also turn a blind eye.
Not to mention, the Chen family had given prior notice—
The bride of the Chen family was a woman from the Zheng family, and the Zheng family were the emperor and empress's confidants.
Zheng Yurong, the cousin of Zheng's daughter, was the most trusted female official by Empress Xie's side.
After nearly a year, everyone in the court and throughout the capital knew exactly who Empress Xie was.
Especially in the last six months, the emperor personally led an expedition, leaving the Xie family to oversee the country.
Empress Xie's power had almost reached its zenith.
A seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's gate, the most trusted female official of the regent empress, has no official rank, but can still be considered powerful and influential.
Therefore, Zheng Yurong didn't even need to make any arrangements; all the major government offices in the capital attached great importance to the wedding ceremony held by the Marquis of Anle's family.
It's almost curfew time, and the wedding procession is still stuck on the road?
No problem!
Oh dear, it's a joyous occasion, and we're family, so of course we should take care of each other.
It's not unusual for the wedding banquet at the Marquis of Anle's mansion to be so large, with guests drinking and making merry all night long.
The Wuhou, who was originally in charge of patrolling the streets, could even go to stand guard around the Hou Mansion for free, responsible for defense.
As night deepened, the commotion at the Marquis's residence did not subside.
The city gates of the capital had been opened at some unknown time.
As the night deepened, countless figures moved about.
"Fire!"
"The Yongshou Palace is on fire!"
In the darkness, the towering flames were exceptionally dazzling.
Inside Yong'an Palace, Empress Dowager Xiao, hearing the commotion, sat up abruptly.
She didn't panic. She first went to the window and looked in the direction of Yongshou Palace.
Yongshou Palace was originally the residence of Empress Dowager Ashina, but it was abandoned after her "death".
As a result, Yongshou Palace, which had been empty for more than half a year, suddenly caught fire.
Empress Dowager Xiao watched from afar, and couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile, "It's starting again!"
Why can't these people learn their lesson?
Helian Jue and Xie Yuan, a married couple, fought their way back from the wild and uncivilized lands of Lingnan.
Having experienced both great highs and lows, and witnessed true hell, they returned to the capital and launched a series of attacks.
A clan history book revealed that the aristocratic families were no longer a monolithic entity, and cracks appeared in their overall alliance of interests.
The imperial examination system further weakened the monopoly of aristocratic families.
The establishment of the new city of Chang'an and the personal campaign against the Turks thoroughly weakened the military power of the eight noble families.
Furthermore, Xie Yuan's "female ruler ruling the court" directly disrupted the established pattern of the imperial court.
The original three prime ministers who dominated the council hall have now become five prime ministers who share power.
Furthermore, the officials of the Three Provinces and Six Ministries were no longer "monolithic" due to the interference of the female attendant.
...Many things that the late emperor could not accomplish were achieved by the couple Helian Jue and Xie Yuan.
For example, to weaken the power of the prime minister, the late emperor also wanted to use the increase in the number of prime ministers to weaken the control of the court by prime ministers from aristocratic families such as Cui and Zheng.
The late emperor promoted a commoner named Jia Yi to the position of prime minister.
Jia Yi was initially quite effective, and after taking the stage, he went on a rampage.
However, Jia Yi quickly became arrogant and began indiscriminate attacks, which ultimately led to the Tangquan Palace Coup.
Having learned their lesson, the emperor and empress did not rashly increase the number of prime ministers. Instead, they appointed the empress as regent, leaving the prime ministers to imagine that the emperor and empress would turn against each other for power.
Haha, that couple is a lifelong partner, having gone through thick and thin together.
How could they possibly turn against each other so easily?
Afterwards, Empress Dowager Xiao reviewed the events and strongly suspected that Helian Jue's appointment of Xie Yuan as regent was a setup.
Three prime ministers, Cui Hong, Wang Yu, and another, all fell into the trap.
Nowadays, the council no longer follows the lead of the three prime ministers; Gu Heng, the Grand Secretary, has gradually become the leading figure.
"...Or perhaps it was the Emperor and Empress's meticulous planning that made some people feel threatened."
For example, the three prime ministers Cui, Wang, and Zheng.
They came from a prestigious family, and with hundreds of years of experience, they must have planted many spies in the palace.
Oh, right, and the Yellow Sect outside too.
Empress Xiao lived deep within the palace for a long time and was not very close to the emperor and empress, so she probably didn't know much about the outside world.
But don't forget, Empress Xiao was a woman who rose from being a prisoner of war and a female slave to the throne of Empress Dowager. Her trump cards and her abilities were beyond human imagination.
Even without the Third Prince, Bai Guo, and others outside the palace, Empress Dowager Xiao had her own channels of information.
Therefore, many news items in the capital could not be kept from Empress Dowager Xiao.
She gathered these messages, analyzed them carefully, and made bold speculations, eventually arriving at a vague idea.
Empress Dowager Xiao had every reason to suspect that this incident was very likely another scheme orchestrated by the Emperor and Empress Dowager...
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