The Jiang family was also a prominent family, but unfortunately, most of them died on the battlefield. The only legitimate male descendants left were Jiang Yiqing and Jiang Yining.
The old lady originally wanted her son to switch to a literary career.
However, in the late emperor's later years, the court was in chaos.
Because the Empress's eldest son died young, and she was diagnosed as unable to have children after giving birth to her youngest daughter, she had no choice but to adopt the Ninth Prince, who is today's Emperor Hongde.
The Empress's adopted son, whose status appeared to be more noble than that of other princes, was in reality a son of a concubine.
No one is more noble than anyone else.
There is only one throne, so naturally everyone wants to fight for it.
There have been three rebellions alone.
As the Crown Prince's study companion, Jiang Zhixu was also from the same clan as the Empress. Therefore, whether for public or private reasons, or out of emotion or reason, she had to support the Crown Prince.
Otherwise, whoever ascends the throne will eventually settle scores with the Jiang family.
As a young man, Jiang Zhixu saved the Crown Prince's life several times. Later, he quelled rebellions repeatedly and, together with the Gu family, the Duke of E, helped him secure his throne.
When it came to Jiang Zhixu's son, Xiao Yitang was somewhat conflicted.
Jiang Yiqing has her own plans regarding this.
"Mother, this time I escorted my mentor back to his hometown and traveled to the north. I witnessed firsthand the suffering of the people and finally understood why His Majesty is so determined to weaken the powerful clans. Their power is too great; they firmly control the land, the army, and the wealth. If this is not curbed, and it continues to grow, there will be a change of dynasty, the collapse of the state, displacement of the people, and invasion by foreign tribes..."
He paused here, his expression filled with sorrow.
"His Majesty has shown great kindness to the Jiang family, and the Jiang family will naturally keep in mind our duty as subjects."
Xiao Yitang nodded. She also had the surname Xiao, so naturally she had to be of one mind with the emperor.
"Although the Jiang family is not as powerful as before and cannot compare with those aristocratic families, it still has some foundation. Since His Majesty wants to promote the imperial examination, the Jiang family will naturally follow the emperor's wishes. You are still young, and you can enter the court through the imperial examination in the future."
Young men from prominent families only need to be recommended to enter the court. They naturally need to gain experience, but that's just a formality. Once they have enough experience, they will be promoted to key positions.
This was also a drawback of the Nine-Rank System, which placed too much emphasis on family background. Important positions for civil and military officials were occupied by powerful families, inevitably leading to the decline of imperial power.
It must be contained.
Jiang Yiqing is following the same path as his father, both becoming the Crown Prince's study companions. As long as he doesn't lose his mind, he will also become a close minister of the emperor in the future.
Now that he is willing to forgo the shortcut and take the imperial examination, he is supporting the emperor's reforms with concrete actions.
He is the next head of the Jiang family, and his stance is the Jiang family's stance.
This also saves Emperor Hongde from being isolated and helpless, and from blindly trusting villains.
Having grown up in the palace, Xiao Yitang had witnessed the struggle for power and the bloody killings, so she naturally understood that the emperor's heart was with the world.
Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles.
He doesn't care whether the people around him are morally flawed or not, as long as they can be of use to him.
Shen Jiming is just like that.
Emperor Hongde may not really believe that he was unaware of Jiang Sixian's schemes, but now is the time when he needs people. As long as Shen Jiming is loyal to him and helps him promote the imperial examination system, that is enough.
He can turn a blind eye to certain things.
After all, the witchcraft doll was made by Jiang Sixian, so Shen Jiming could at most just pretend to be deaf and dumb. At worst, he could settle accounts afterward.
An emperor's heart is as unfathomable as a needle at the bottom of the sea.
After Xiao Yitang figured all this out, she went to see her elder sister, Princess Huaiyang, and explained the seriousness of the situation to her.
"Judging from His Majesty's attitude, the imperial examination system is definitely going to be implemented. We both share the surname Xiao, and everything we have is because we are princesses of the Xiao family. At this time, we must support His Majesty."
Princess Huaiyang sighed.
"What you're saying is perfectly clear to me. But even though I'm a princess, I can't make decisions for the Lu family. Yan Zhi will inherit the title in the future, and Yan He has already entered the court. Only Yan Ru is left. Let him take the imperial examination. It's my way of showing my support, and it won't harm the Lu family."
The two sisters reached a consensus, and then Xiao Yitang took her youngest daughter to the palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager.
When the Empress Dowager saw her little granddaughter, she beamed with joy. "This child has a very auspicious face. It seems the Emperor has given her a good title."
[The Empress Dowager was so pitiful; she was driven to suicide by swallowing gold by her adopted son...]
Xiao Yitang: "..."
Therefore, Wen Zhixuan and Shen Jiming both deserve to die.
They want to use someone else to do their dirty work, right? Well, let's see who holds that knife.
The powerful families behind the two princesses could easily crush a fallen nobleman.
After listening to her daughter's words, the Empress Dowager sighed and said, "When the late emperor was on the throne, he was often hampered by powerful families. Several rebellions in his early years resulted in the deaths of so many people and made the country unstable. I'm afraid the emperor is still worried and fears that the same mistakes will be repeated in the future."
Emperor Hongde, who was reading memorials, was then invited to lunch.
Xiao Yitang stood up and bowed.
[Don't kneel, or you'll be struck by lightning... Wait, holy crap, that's some powerful Ziwei True Qi!]
Jiang Shumiao's eyes widened.
Xiao Yitang's eyelids twitched, and the wet nurse holding Jiang Shumiao had already knelt down.
Sure enough, a muffled rumble of thunder echoed in the sky.
Emperor Hongde had just stepped inside when he heard the thunder and instinctively turned around.
Xiao Yitang, however, heard her daughter say—
[When the Purple Star True Qi was unleashed, all the gods retreated. To have even a small rumble of thunder is a sign that Heaven is giving me face.]
Xiao Yitang breathed a sigh of relief, but was even more shocked by her daughter's background.
Emperor Hongde withdrew his gaze and respectfully greeted the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager smiled and called out to him.
Emperor Hongde sat down below, about to speak, when he looked up and met Jiang Shumiao's round, big eyes, and was stunned for a moment.
Xiao Yitang's heart stirred, and she said, "On the day of Miaomiao's full moon, Your Majesty bestowed many gifts upon her. Although she was unable to enter the palace to express her gratitude, she kept it in her heart, which is why she was so happy to see Your Majesty."
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