What puzzles me even more is the relationship between my mother and Prince Jinrui Zhao.
Princess Zhao is the youngest daughter of the former Right Chancellor, the apple of the eye of the Qin family, and the only female princess in the Ning Dynasty in the past two hundred years to hold military power.
Her fiefdom was in Jinxiu County, where the land was so fertile it seemed you could squeeze oil out of it. In spring, the fields were covered with golden rapeseed flowers, and when the wind blew, it looked like a golden ocean.
In summer, the pond is full of lush green lotus leaves, dotted with pink lotus flowers, like a scene from a painting.
In autumn, the rice paddies ripple with golden waves, and the heavy ears of rice bend their backs.
In winter, snow falls on white walls and black tiles, like an elegant ink painting.
The silk produced there is smooth and soft, and you can see your shadow through it.
The grains are plump and the cooked rice is fragrant. Even the palace often eats rice that is a tribute from Jinxiu County.
Its annual tax revenue accounts for 30% of the national treasury, making it a veritable "granary of the nation".
More importantly, King Zhao commanded 50,000 "Black Armored Iron Cavalry," the most elite force in the Ning Dynasty.
The cavalrymen's hooves, covered with thick iron plates, pounded the ground with a "thump-thump" sound, like muffled thunder rolling by.
The soldiers wore black armor that gleamed coldly in the sunlight; each was burly and had eyes as sharp as an eagle's.
They were able to rush from Jinxiu County to the capital within three days. Many years ago, when the Xiongnu invaded, it was this very cavalry that acted like a sharp knife.
They routed the invading enemy, leaving them routed and their bodies strewn across the battlefield, ensuring peace and stability on the border to this day.
The Emperor often sighed as he looked at the map, his finger gently pointing to the location of Jinxiu County, his eyes full of trust.
"King Zhao is the pillar of Ning Dynasty. With her around, the borders and the world will not be in chaos, and the court will remain stable."
I used to wonder, even if King Zhao was powerful, he was still a subject, so how could he make the people in the harem so wary of him?
It wasn't until my father issued an edict to make me the Crown Princess and even had Prince Zhao personally instruct me in handling government affairs that I finally understood the intricacies of the situation.
On that day, King Zhao was dressed in a black close-fitting outfit, with a pair of jade-inlaid curved swords at his waist, the scabbards engraved with exquisite cloud and dragon patterns.
The handle is wrapped in black leather, making it very comfortable to hold.
She possessed a more heroic air than the concubines surrounded by cosmetics in the palace; her steps were steady and crisp, like those of a soldier.
She led me to the Imperial Study to review memorials on border defense, pointing to the brocade-covered county circled in vermilion on the map, her voice steady and powerful, like the sound of a war drum.
"Your Highness, look here. The grain produced each year is enough to feed the border troops for three years, and the silk produced can clothe half of the people in the capital."
And here, 50,000 Xuanjia Iron Cavalry are stationed at Yanmen Pass, each one capable of taking on ten men, with accurate archery and superb horsemanship.
If any foreign enemy dares to cross this line, they will be trampled into mincemeat in the blink of an eye, leaving not even bones behind.
As she spoke, she looked up at me with a meaningful gaze, and gently stroked the location of the capital on the map, the warmth of her fingertips seeming to travel through the map.
“Your mother was a woman who grew up on the border since childhood, and we have kept in touch through our correspondence over the years.”
The letter never discussed the favors and losses in the imperial harem, but rather how to ensure that the soldiers on the border had warm clothes so that their hands and feet would not freeze in winter.
How to ensure that the people of Jiangnan are spared from floods and that their hard-earned crops yield a good harvest.
Its purpose was to ensure the Ning Dynasty's rule could last for several more generations, so that the people could have enough to eat and wear, and no longer suffer the ravages of war.
At that moment, I almost dropped the memorial in my hand, my fingertips trembled slightly, and my heart felt like it had been hit by something. Suddenly, I realized something.
It turns out that they were no longer just ordinary rulers and subjects, but confidants who could discuss the foundations of the state and share the hardships together.
King Zhao's military power was the strongest backing for his mother to sit securely in the inner palace, like a thick wall that blocked all open and covert attacks.
The Queen Mother's wisdom also helped King Zhao avoid many disputes in the court, helped him analyze the situation, made his military power more stable, and prevented him from being framed by treacherous officials in the court.
One of them held significant military power outside the court, guarding the borders, while the other sat securely in the inner palace, managing the inner quarters.
Like two pillars firmly rooted in the land of Ningchao, they together support the stability of this country, and neither can be missing.
The women in the harem were only vying for a word of praise from their father and a generous allowance.
All they wanted was for their family to climb another rank through their favor, so that their father and brothers could have more say in the court and reap more benefits.
But they knew better than anyone else that behind their mother stood their father's iron fist, who had the final say, the military power of Prince Zhao's 50,000 iron cavalry, and the most untouchable foundation of the Ning Dynasty.
Like Consort Su, who thought she could do whatever she wanted just because she was the daughter of the Grand Tutor, but what happened? She was locked in the cold palace, guarding a lonely lamp, and could only eat coarse tea and plain food every day.
Looking at the moonlight outside the window, I reminisced about the days when I didn't even have a decent piece of clothing.
The family also suffered the fate of being exiled thousands of miles away, falling from the heights to the depths of despair, never to rise again.
Offending the Empress Dowager is never a simple matter of vying for favor; it's gambling with one's own life and the future of the entire family.
This bet had no chance of winning from the very beginning; it was destined to end in utter defeat.
Later, I sat on that dragon throne, listening to the ministers below report on state affairs, and watching the sunlight outside the hall stream in through the window lattices, falling on the golden bricks and gleaming.
A thin layer of dust has accumulated in the cracks of the gold bricks, a testament to the passage of time.
Occasionally, I would think of the infighting in the harem, of Consort Zhang's grievances, Consort Li's tearful complaints, and Consort Su's fate.
Once, I asked Eunuch Li, the old eunuch who had served my father for decades, "Eunuch Li, were those concubines in the palace really that afraid of the Empress Dowager?"
Eunuch Li bowed deeply, his back bent like a bow, his voice respectful yet tinged with emotion: "Your Majesty, it's not that I'm afraid, it's that I understand the situation."
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