Chapter 875 A Dream of Youth 407
Winter sunlight streamed into the south corner of the room, filling it with a warm atmosphere. Xie Ning picked up her brush, finished revising the imperial edict, and then handed it to the secretary of the Imperial Secretariat who was on duty with her.
Hongxiu's case finally came to an end in early winter.
She is still alive, which signifies the victory of imperial power.
Xie Ning knew that there were many legal loopholes involved, but they were all concealed by the superb rhetoric of each party, as everyone had a different perspective on the matter.
Some people argue that it is truly to uphold the law. In their eyes, the law is above imperial power. Xie Ning agrees with this kind of thinking, but this debate is not appropriate at this time.
What some people are fighting for is power and political direction.
Even though Xie Ning, as the winner of the debate, tried to improve relations between the two sides afterward, many people still consider her a political enemy.
The emperor controls the balance of power, but if one faction in the court becomes too powerful, it will create a situation where the ruler is weak and the ministers are strong. That's why Xie Ning divided some of the forces and combined them with his own to move to the other side of the scale.
Whether it's the checks and balances between the left and right prime ministers, or between the Privy Council and the Royal Guard, the goal is to ensure the balanced operation of the state apparatus.
Sometimes Xie Ning would think that perhaps unity between superiors and subordinates would be a good thing, but she only thought about it. If the imperial power is too great, it is easy to become tyrannical. Therefore, the power of the prime minister is needed to restrain it. The power of the prime minister is the power of the minister. If the power of the minister is too great, it is easy to become a monopoly of power and thus become a despot. Therefore, it is necessary to divide power.
The emperor needed to support the weak and suppress the strong in the court, encourage competition, prevent ministers from becoming too powerful, and avoid ministerial power threatening imperial power.
As for his subjects, whether they were supported or otherwise, he used thought control and rewards and punishments to combine kindness and severity, so that his subjects would be grateful, fearful of his power, and ultimately serve him.
The tactics of checks and balances and manipulation are clichés, but they are effective enough and timeless.
Even though Xie Wangzhi was far away in Luzhou, he knew the political landscape of the court. He wrote to Xie Ning and asked if she was not afraid that one day she would become the white piece she was now, since she had been sent into the hands of the emperor as a black piece.
Then he also sent Xie Ning a book, "The Doctrine of the Mean".
Xie Ning was well aware of Xie Wangzhi's concerns. She trusted Yan Xi, but she wouldn't trust an emperor, so of course she would leave herself a way out.
The clock beside her struck a few times, and the little palace maid who was standing by the curtain at the door immediately looked over at Xie Ning. Seeing that he had gotten up, she took down a cloak that had been scented and tied it on Xie Ning.
Xie Ning recently received a task: to give Yan Xi a lesson every three days at Chen Shi (7-9 AM). If Yan Xi is not with the Empress Dowager, the two will dine together.
Today, Yan Xi is in the inner palace, so palace maids came to lead the way for Xie Ning.
The two walked to the rockery, and from the other side they could faintly hear shouting and crying, which sounded somewhat familiar.
Xie Ning paused, then turned and walked behind the artificial hill. The palace maid who was keeping watch saw Xie Ning and immediately ran back.
The head palace maid who was leading Xie Ning frowned slightly, scolded him, and then quickly followed.
Xie Ning, being tall and long-legged, quickly grabbed the little palace maid. "Why are you running?"
The young palace maid knelt trembling at Xie Ning's feet. Seeing that she was pale with fright, Xie Ning quickly walked around behind the artificial hill.
Then I saw a teenage girl kicking a chubby little girl whose face was scratched by pebbles on the ground. The scratches weren't big, but they looked rather scary.
Xie Ning's face darkened. "Princess Huihe."
Princess Huihe was also taken aback when she saw Xie Ning. She couldn't stop her footing and stumbled. Fortunately, the little girl dodged quickly, or she would have been kicked in the eye.
"Sister Aning!"
The timid little girl immediately got up and ran towards Xie Ning. After running a few steps, she seemed to remember something and ran back to the corner to grab a much smaller girl and run behind Xie Ning.
Before she could even stand properly, she clung tightly to Xie Ning's leg, her face covered in snot and tears.
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