Chapter 37 The Deceased She was the Crown Prince I had chosen in my heart.
As winter draws to a close, the wind carries the message of spring flowers, and the rain washes away the dust of spring.
The Princess's residence had already received news that Wei Yihua's carriage was about to enter the city. The maids were hurrying back and forth, their round-toed shoes fluttering like swallows beneath their plum-colored skirts.
In the side hall, a woman dressed in a light blue dress sat with her elbows propped up on a table. A layer of snow-white cashmere shawl covered her thin shoulders, and her slender fingers held a letter, her eyes lowered as she read it. The man sitting opposite her was watching her expression nervously.
After reading it, Yue Yining put down the book and tapped the cover: "Your Highness, I have a question. Why did you choose Zhang Yizhong, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"
Since arriving in Yanjing, Yue Yining has been assisting the Eldest Princess and the Third Prince in strategizing the court and cultivating relationships with capable officials. The most crucial aspect of this process is gathering intelligence and selecting officials who are potentially credible and helpful to them. Yue Yining has been compiling and revising a list, and a month ago, Wei Ye suddenly expressed his desire to participate as well.
When Yue Yining asked him why, Wei Ye frankly said, "Master Yue has many strategic skills that I cannot match. I want to take this opportunity to learn from you. I can't always rely on Master Yue for everything."
Wei Ye looked sincere at that time, so Yue Yining agreed.
But it wasn't long before Yue Yining experienced Wei Ye's capabilities firsthand. Just like now, Wei Ye, dressed in a pine-patterned brocade robe, looked at her with a puzzled expression, seemingly a little lost: "Did I make a mistake again? Or is there something wrong with it?"
Yue Yining reassured her, "You don't need to be nervous. I just want to know why you chose him."
Wei Ye said, "Lord Zhang is a veteran official who served in the founding of the dynasty and has a great reputation in the court. Many officials say that he is honest and kind, and has a good reputation. Even among the high-ranking officials in the Six Ministries, he has influence. He is exactly the kind of person we need now. Moreover, he sent me a visiting card, in which he said that he would like to find time to visit me."
Yue Yining sighed inwardly, and said solemnly, "Your Highness, there is one thing you need to remember when it comes to judging people."
"To understand a person, don't look at what they say, but at what they don't say; don't look at what they do, but at what they get out of doing something."
"I wonder if Your Highness is aware of the Zhangtai case from two years ago. At that time, many people were demoted one after another. At that time, Li, who was then the Censor-in-Chief, stepped forward to advise that after these people were demoted, there would be a lot of vacant official positions in the court, and the operation of the government would be hindered."
"His Majesty was very displeased, but he also knew that what Lord Li said made sense. If he had been given a few days' reprieve, it might have been just a matter of fines and a reduction in salary. But Zhang Yizhong immediately submitted a memorial to agree with him, which angered His Majesty. He thought that Lord Li was trying to force His Majesty's hand, so His Majesty demoted him to Qing County. Lord Li lost his official position in the capital. Afterwards, Zhang Yizhong got away with it and gained a reputation as a loyal and upright minister."
“If Your Highness had investigated him, you would know that he only had one daughter, who died young. There was no news before, but in the last three years, he suddenly adopted two girls from a distant relative and registered them under his and his wife's names. He claimed that his wife loved her nieces and hoped that they could find good marriages through this arrangement.”
"In the end, the two women married the eldest son of the third branch of the Wang family, and the other married the second son of the second branch of the Xie family. Both were from prominent families and already had wives. They could say nice things, but tell me, what father would send his precious daughter to a high-ranking family as a concubine? Not long after, Zhang Yizhong was appointed to oversee a project to repair bridges in the capital. After the project was completed, he was promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue for some reason. I checked the files, and this project was indeed approved for him by Vice Minister Wang."
"It is clear that Zhang Yizhong is not only not a kind and honest person, but also a cunning and shrewd old fox, especially skilled at putting on a show, and only interested in profit. How could someone with such a character sincerely want to help the weak and powerless Third Prince?"
Wei Ye was stunned. Yue Yining could tell from his expression that he had never even considered it.
Seeing that he was deeply hurt, Yue Yining felt a little sorry for him. She picked up the notebook, intending to find a good point to praise, but couldn't find one for the time being.
Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere became somewhat subdued.
Yue Yining couldn't help but look up at Wei Ye, only to see him looking dejected. He said in a low voice, "...Does Master Yue think I'm making things worse?"
Yue Yining: "No, the Third Prince put his heart into it, and that's the most important thing. He can learn slowly from here."
Wei Ye was still very depressed. This wasn't the first time. Almost every list he gave to Yue Yining had a lot of flaws, and he had become somewhat numb to the setbacks.
"I'm just too stupid. From childhood to adulthood, I've never been one of the smart ones."
Wei Ye: "When I first arrived at Chonghua Palace at the age of six, among all the princes, the eldest brother, the Crown Prince, had the best grades. Although Yihua was young, he was more intelligent than us brothers and did very well in his studies, often being praised by the tutor."
Yue Yining: "That's how it is for people with high talent."
“My elder brother and Yihua are both naturally intelligent and diligent learners. I am naturally stupid, and Wei Jing is too playful. My studies and homework are far inferior to theirs.” Wei Ye’s expression seemed nostalgic. “It’s just a pity that when Yihua came to Chonghua Palace, my elder brother, the Crown Prince, had already gone to receive education at the Eastern Palace. Although the four of us played together, we never sat together in the school at Chonghua Palace to study.”
Looking at Wei Ye's expression, Yue Yining knew that it was the happiest and most carefree time of his life.
His dearest, most respected, and most beloved elder brother was still alive. He and Wei Jing hadn't grown up yet, and didn't understand the intrigues and dangers of power, so they hadn't become enemies. The three teenagers, along with the still-young Wei Yihua, left a trail of laughter wherever they went. The vast palace was their playground for adventure; there was nothing for them to worry about, and no place they couldn't go.
Yue Yining remembered the secret about her birth that Wei Yihua had once told her.
It's easy to guess from Wei Yihua's brief words that Crown Prince Wei Changqiong is an extremely insightful and perceptive person who sees everything clearly. As the most favored eldest son and was made crown prince at a young age, he has followed the rules step by step, perfectly meeting the expectations from all sides without making the slightest mistake.
In her view, both the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince would have shortcomings if they were to become emperor, but the reasons wouldn't lie entirely with them. For those who aren't naturally gifted, climbing the ranks requires more time and effort, and most people only make the necessary sacrifices when they see a tangible reward. If they know there are insurmountable opponents on the path, they won't even embark on that journey.
The opponent facing Wei Ye and Wei Jing was Wei Changqiong.
With such a perfect heir already, how could the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince see any hope? If they don't have to shoulder any great responsibilities for the rest of their lives and just want to be carefree princes, they can naturally do whatever makes them comfortable.
No one expected that Wei Changqiong would die.
Yue Yining couldn't help but ask, "The former Crown Prince must have treated you very well, right?"
Wei Ye nodded, his eyes filled with admiration and longing when he spoke of that person. "My elder brother is kind to everyone. He is the best person in the world."
“Back then, I couldn’t memorize my lessons and was punished by the teacher to copy books. He would always help me copy a few long ones. Wei Jing was naturally unruly and was a troublemaker from a young age. He couldn’t sit still and loved to cause trouble. He was always punished by the teacher and his hands were slapped. His elder brother would always instruct the palace servants to apply medicine to him as soon as the teacher left.”
"Master Yue should have heard that ten years ago, his elder brother suddenly advised the Emperor to change the law to allow women to enter official positions and to establish girls' schools and promote free lectures throughout the country. Before that, women did not have a high status in Dongxi, but today, ten years later, there are nearly one-third of female officials in the court, and the status of women in all walks of life has also improved."
"The reason my elder brother did that back then was because of Yihua."
Wei Yihua was only seven years old that year, but she had already shown extraordinary talent. Wei Ye still remembers that Wei Yihua held Wei Changqiong's hand and said that she wanted to become an official in the imperial court in the future.
Young Wei Yihua was lively and cheerful, her bright, dark eyes sparkling: "I want to become a famous minister recorded in history books! To seek the well-being of the people and to continue the prosperous era of Dongxi!"
Wei Changqiong smiled and patted her head: "Okay, if it's Hua'er, she can definitely do it."
Wei Ye: "In previous generations of the Dongxi Dynasty, princesses also served as regents. Those princesses held extremely high positions, but even so, they were not granted official positions from the previous dynasty. It can be said that there was no precedent for women to hold official positions at that time."
“I thought my elder brother was just coaxing Yihua. I didn’t expect that he would actually go to the Emperor to advise Yihua on her behalf. He not only wanted Yihua to become an official, but also wanted thousands of women like Yihua to be able to enter officialdom in the future.”
"Actually, this decree almost failed to be promulgated. Some veteran officials from the previous dynasty had many criticisms of it, believing that it violated tradition. I followed my elder brother and watched how he lobbied and negotiated with all parties, step by step, to bring this decree to fruition and implementation."
“Actually, if my elder brother hadn’t done so much, this path wouldn’t have been so difficult. I asked my elder brother, and he said that he just wanted more women to live like Yihua, so that Yihua wouldn’t be too lonely in the future.”
Yue Yining sighed inwardly, unsure whether it was regret or感慨 (a feeling of mixed emotions).
No wonder everyone says the former crown prince was a perfect person. In that light, he certainly deserves that praise.
“Actually, I often feel that Yihua is very much like the eldest brother,” Wei Ye said. “Yihua is not like the fourth prince, but is more like a real brother and sister to the eldest brother who is not from the same mother.” Whether it is ability, virtue or talent.
So he liked his elder brother, and by extension, he liked this younger sister who resembled his elder brother. Even though her biological brother always liked to bully him when he grew up, Wei Ye found that he couldn't hate her as much as he hated Wei Jing.
“…Master Yue, I understand that neither I nor my fourth brother can satisfy Father and the court,” Wei Ye’s voice softened as he lowered his eyes. “It is too late for us to start trying now.”
"The most suitable person to inherit the throne is actually Yi Hua."
After saying this, Wei Ye hesitated to look up, afraid that Yue Yining would think he lacked ambition. But these were truly his honest thoughts. "I can only say these things to you, Celestial Master. I'm truly sorry for pouring out so much bitterness. I will work even harder from now on..."
To his surprise, when he looked up, he saw Yue Yining's smiling eyes.
“I think so too,” Yue Yining said. “I agreed to become the eldest princess’s servant and serve her because she is the Crown Prince I have chosen.”
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