Chapter 73
It must be said that Cui Zui's worries were completely unnecessary. Xue Jin'an is not the type to force others to do things against their will. He has always been the type to find another way if one path is blocked, and to forge a path even if there is no path at all, he can use data (manipulation) analysis to create one.
Cui Zui's hasty retreat that day was so obvious that even if Xue Jin'an couldn't read people's hearts, he could still see his resistance. Although he felt some regret, it was just regret.
In fact, Xue Jin'an was also quite surprised by the arrival of the Eldest Princess.
Princess Baoyi, Xue Muyun, was born to Consort Min and was the emperor's eldest son. She was just twenty years old and her husband was Du Qiu and Du Zhongting, the second son of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. In an environment where the princes' companions were either the sons or grandsons of high-ranking officials or heirs of various ranks, the title of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel might seem insignificant at first glance, but that was not the case.
The current Minister of Personnel was the late Emperor's tutor to the Crown Prince. Although he taught elementary education and was forced to change positions after only a year due to the late Emperor's ascension to the throne, he still had some respect for the late Emperor, even though he was of average official rank. As he approached retirement age, the Emperor promoted him to the position of Minister to enjoy a more prestigious retirement, so that he could return to his hometown in a more glorious manner. This was a way of fulfilling the late Emperor's thin teacher-student relationship.
This Minister of Personnel was quite sensible and discreet. He rarely attended court this year unless there were major events. The operation of the Ministry of Personnel was entirely entrusted to two Vice Ministers, with the Left Vice Minister in charge. Although he did not have the title of Minister, he had the power. It could be said that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the vacant positions of the six ministers after the old Minister retired would be his for the taking.
Indeed, at the beginning of the original storyline, the Minister of Personnel was none other than this Vice Minister Du. However, at that time, the relationship between the Princess and her husband, Du, seemed to be declining due to the issue of having children, and there were even rumors that the Princess wanted to divorce. However, they did not divorce even in the extra chapters.
—Throughout the entire storyline, the eldest princess only has one daughter. It is said that she injured her body during childbirth and should have recovered after a year and a half of recuperation. However, she suddenly heard the devastating news that her daughter had been abducted. Her blood surged, and she then overworked herself, causing her body to become severely depleted. She never recovered.
Xue Jin'an had analyzed Princess Baoyi's information many times, but this was the first time he had seen her in person.
The eldest princess bears a striking resemblance to Consort Min, so much so that strangers can immediately recognize their blood relation. However, their temperaments are quite different. If Consort Min is dignified and composed, then the eldest princess is gentle and graceful, the kind of woman whose image could be easily identified by a smart image recognition system, like a woman walking out of a misty rain in Jiangnan with an umbrella.
Her face was slightly pale, and she was coughing softly, looking rather sickly and weak.
"Seventh Brother, it's been a long time. I'm sorry to bother you." The Princess said to Xue Jin'an in a very ordinary tone, as if this were a casual visit between acquaintances rather than a "prison visit".
Xue Jin'an knew the original owner's memories like the back of his hand. Among the many princes and princesses, the eldest princess Bao Yi, the eldest prince Bao Kang, and the seventh prince Bao Ning were the only three children who were given nicknames by the emperor from birth, which also symbolized the three stages of the emperor's requirements for his children.
Comfort and ease are desirable. The eldest princess was the emperor's first child. At that time, the emperor had just ascended the throne and was full of ambition, so he was naturally in high spirits. Good health is desirable. The eldest prince was the only one who had finally stood firm after a series of deaths in the palace. The emperor hoped that he could live a stable life. Peace and stability are desirable. At this time, the emperor already had many children and held great power, so he naturally felt at peace and stability.
Perhaps for this reason, the three of them, despite being the emperor's favorites, actually had little interaction in private, giving the impression that they were like kings who never met.
The eldest prince was alright, since they all lived in the princes' quarters, so they would inevitably run into each other once or twice. As for the eldest princess... Xue Jin'an went through all of the original owner's memories. The most recent contact was at the original owner's first birthday celebration. At that time, Zhou Yuting was in the emperor's favor, and the eldest princess was still unmarried. She personally put a gold bracelet made for children on the original owner's chubby little hand.
"Eldest sister is a bit tacky; she just thinks gold is pretty. Seventh brother, please don't look down on your eldest sister's gift." The eldest princess held the original owner's chubby little hand, smiling and leaning closer, her still-childish face filling the original owner's entire field of vision.
Fortunately, the original owner was still an infant at the time. As we all know, infants have the habit of staring intently at a person or object. Therefore, everything else in the memory was blurry, but the face of the princess being stared at was clearly visible.
Judging from this memory fragment alone, the joy in the princess's expression when she gave the gift can be considered quite genuine—however, humans are amazing creatures capable of altering memories and deceiving themselves, and even if the original owner came here, she couldn't be sure that this short segment was completely identical to what actually happened.
Speaking of names, there's something else. Xue Muyun was a name she chose herself. As mentioned before, royal children originally used single-character names. Later, in order to ensure the children's survival, the emperor decided to change the princes' names to two characters. Upon hearing this, the eldest princess immediately said that the family should be complete, so she changed her name as well, adding the character "Yun" to the end. Her younger sisters, who were born later, followed her example, becoming Nianyun and Ruyun.
In short, the original owner's relationship with her could only be described as that of strangers with blood ties, the kind who never even called her "sister." As a cell phone that was completely ignorant of social etiquette, Xue Jin'an naturally didn't feel obligated to respond. As the host, she didn't feel she should let her words fall on the ground, and her scrutinizing gaze was very open and aboveboard, without the slightest restraint.
For Xue Jin'an, her arrival was a matter of course.
Lingzhi hurriedly ran up to pay her respects, saying, "This servant greets Your Highness, the Princess. It's chilly outside, please come inside and rest."
"Excuse me." The princess showed no sign of displeasure at being offended, and simply coughed to accept Xue Jin'an's impoliteness.
Xue Jin'an tilted his head.
The eldest princess came with her daughter, who was wearing a red jacket. Her little face was buried in a fluffy scarf, and she looked very cute. She stared at Xue Jin'an with her bright black eyes.
The first thing the eldest princess did upon entering Zhaoyang Palace was to offer incense to Zhou Yuting's memorial tablet. She personally distributed and lit the incense, her posture appearing very serious and devout. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought that she and Xue Jin'an were truly close siblings.
Not to mention Lingzhi Shouquan, who was completely at a loss as to how to treat this princess, even Fulu, who had grown up with his master since childhood, was momentarily bewildered.
Fu Lu looked at Xue Jin'an cautiously with an inquiring gaze.
Xue Jin'an shook his head slightly. He was indeed curious about why the princess had come here, so after she finished offering incense, he asked directly, "What brings you here, elder sister?"
—Since the original owner had no memory of interacting with the eldest princess, there was naturally no title for Xue Jin'an to follow. So he simply borrowed the title the second prince used for the eldest princess.
Upon hearing this form of address, the eldest princess paused slightly, then smiled demurely, "Seventh brother, if you have any questions, at least sit down before you ask."
Xue Jin'an tilted his head, somewhat confused as to why they couldn't talk while standing. He quickly racked his brains but couldn't find the answer. He only remembered a skit about selling wheelchairs that seemed to say humans are smartest when they sit down and lift their feet.
“Okay.” Xue Jin’an nodded, showing respect despite not understanding humans.
The two sat down, and Lingzhi immediately served a pot of tea.
Cui Zui arrived at this moment. Although he used his lightness skill to sneak in, he was not stupid. Instead of barging in and interrupting the conversation, he silently flew onto the roof and lifted the tiles to eavesdrop.
He moved very carefully and made no noise. However, Xue Jin'an was extremely sensitive to his surroundings. Even the slightest change in light would attract his attention. With a glance from his high-definition camera, he saw the person squatting on the roof through the small gap in the tile.
At the same time, Xue Jin'an keenly noticed that the princess's hand holding the teacup paused slightly. She exchanged a glance with Xue Jin'an, chuckled softly, and pretended to continue sipping her tea as if nothing had happened.
The eldest princess was not skilled in martial arts, but she was good at observing people. From the moment she entered Zhaoyang Palace, she had been quietly observing Xue Jin'an, so she noticed some of his small, unintentional details and naturally discovered the unusual thing about the roof.
However, seeing that Xue Jin'an didn't make a move, the Princess guessed that the person above must be one of his people. Who could it be? She had already seen all the people registered in Zhaoyang Palace, so it could only be someone who came temporarily from outside... Cui Zui from the Cui family, who has Hu (non-Han) blood?
Princess Chang knew perfectly well that Cui Zui was going to open a chess and card hall called "Nine Plus One" in the capital and had reached cooperation agreements with most of the taverns and teahouses. She also guessed that the real owner behind Nine Plus One should be the famous "Perfect Young Master" in the capital. After all, Nine Plus One is ten, and anyone with a discerning eye would know it. Cui Zui had no intention of deliberately hiding it.
In fact, if it were just a board game and card room, the Princess wouldn't know so much about Cui Zui. What really concerned her was that Cui Zui seemed to have reached cooperation agreements with the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Works.
The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works were one thing, but even Feng Yin, the governor of the Ministry of Revenue, was persuaded. It's hard to tell whether the cooperation was too attractive or whether that "Perfect Young Master" had too much influence!
The eldest princess carefully investigated Cui Zui's interpersonal relationships, but no matter how she investigated, she could not find out who the "Perfect Prince" really was. The only thing she could be sure of was that the "Perfect Prince" was a person in the palace.
Actually, she had her doubts about Xue Jin'an, but if the calculating ability of the "Perfect Prince" really was Xue Jin'an, it would be too terrifying. After thinking it over, she still felt that the Seventh Prince might just be a smokescreen.
Perhaps the "Perfect Prince" wasn't a single person, but someone with such terrifying mathematical abilities, something beyond human capability. Ultimately, the Eldest Princess focused her suspicions on the First Prince. The Fourth Prince, whom the First Prince had recently courted, possessed remarkable talent in mathematics, and the First Prince's study companion, Feng Shi, had also been rumored to have such abilities since childhood. Furthermore, Feng Shi was backed by the Ministry of Revenue, where Feng Yin was stationed; it wasn't impossible for the Ministry of Revenue to pool its resources to create a "Perfect Prince."
The eldest princess felt that this candidate was more reliable than the seven-year-old seventh prince, who was a perfect prince.
If Xue Jin'an knew what she was thinking, he would definitely say: First, let's eliminate one correct answer.
Of course, after meeting Xue Jin'an, the eldest princess understood that even if the seventh prince was not a perfect gentleman, he must be a person with a clear mind and a firm will.
As for the specifics... we still need to test the waters first.
The eldest princess slowly finished her cup of tea before leisurely speaking, introducing her daughter first, "This is my daughter Xue Taile, nicknamed Chaoyang. Chaoyang, this is your seventh uncle."
The eldest princess was married off to a prince consort, which, in the eyes of an ordinary family, would mean the prince would live with the princess's family. Therefore, the children would take the imperial surname.
To be honest, this dynasty originally followed the precedent of the previous dynasty, stipulating that those who married princesses could not become officials. However, the eldest princess was the emperor's beloved eldest daughter, and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was not an incompetent person. With the support of their family, this precedent was directly broken. The eldest princess's husband was quite promising. Although he was not a great talent, he still passed the imperial examinations and achieved a second-class ranking. Afterward, he passed the examination for probationary official and entered the Hanlin Academy to compile books.
The little girl, whose full name was Xue Taile and whose nickname was Chaoyang, was curiously watching the tea leaves floating in the teacup, seemingly wondering about the taste of the tea. Upon hearing this, she looked up and stared at Xue Jin'an with her big eyes.
Tai Le was traumatized during the abduction, which caused him to develop some mental impairment. He wasn't stupid, but he was slow to react and didn't like to talk; he just liked to stare at people.
Last year, a wet nurse in the Princess's residence spread rumors that Tai Le had lost her soul in fright and that the evil spirit that remained in her body was marking her and would come to her room to eat her at night. The Princess beat her to death in front of all the servants in the courtyard. It is said that the mouth of the corpse was smashed.
As a result, the eldest princess was impeached by the Left Censor-in-Chief, and the request to bestow the title of Princess upon Tai Le was temporarily suppressed.
Xue Jin'an didn't find it scary that Tai Le was staring at him like that. He was certain that the princess had ambitions for the throne as soon as he heard the name "Tai Le".
"Mars illuminates the land, the sun shines on a prosperous age, the Jade Emperor opens the nation's destiny, the stars and moon endure forever, the morning glow follows, and its glory will last for ten thousand generations." — This was the name change made by the emperor after deciding to change the naming of princes from single-character to double-character names. From then on, all members of the imperial family had to be named according to this generational naming system.
Mars is associated with the element of fire, which is the very attribute of the Great Qi Dynasty's destiny. Therefore, the founding emperor had a page dedicated to it, and his descendants were named with the fire element, hence the phrase "Mars opens the land." As the current emperor is one of those who adopted the new generation naming system, he naturally also had a page dedicated to it. Thus, Xue Jin'an and his generation were named with the character "jade," and after "jade" came the character "Tai."
Since the princess openly displayed herself, Xue Jin'an sincerely praised her, saying, "What a good name."
The two characters "泰乐" (Tai Le) do indeed have very auspicious meanings.
The princess looked at him with a smile in her eyes, "I thought you would dislike this name."
"It's just a name, what's wrong with that?" Xue Jin'an asked.
"You should know that the generational naming system usually only applies to men," the eldest princess said bluntly.
She usually calls her daughter Chaoyang, and her brothers probably think that Chaoyang is her daughter's name. In fact, her daughter's full name is Tai Le. Regardless of whether the family genealogy recognizes it or not, she has already nominally occupied the first place in the Tai generation. If her brothers knew this, they would definitely be very happy.
Xue Jin'an understood her implied meaning, but he didn't take it seriously. "A name doesn't represent anything. People who get excited and shout because of a name only think that their abilities are inferior to a name."
"It's non-recyclable waste," Xue Jin'an commented sharply.
Upon hearing this, the eldest princess couldn't help but laugh. "Seventh brother, you are indeed very interesting. It was worth it for me to plead for you before the Emperor so that you could attend the New Year's banquet."
The eldest princess thought to herself: Chu Wenwan's defeat was not unjust.
Although the eldest princess said that she pleaded with the emperor to allow Xue Jin'an to attend the palace banquet, in reality, it was the emperor who wanted to let Xue Jin'an go to the palace banquet.
The emperor wanted to cultivate a good relationship with his son, who would one day help him expand his territory. However, Xue Jin'an had offended many powerful families by killing Chu Wenwan, and the court had always been dominated by these families. As soon as they heard that the emperor was considering this, they quickly spoke up to stop him, and some even wished they could keep the seventh prince imprisoned for another year or two.
They said the Seventh Prince was unruly and showed no remorse during his confinement. They also said that while Cui Pengfei was unable to enter the palace due to illness, he had a great time shooting arrows and making merry with Cui Zui... Anyway, they described it in great detail, as if they had witnessed it firsthand in Zhaoyang Palace.
It's true that when scholars open their mouths, they can turn white into black.
This incident has actually been going on for two days. The morning court session is the fastest way to get first-hand information from the court. Even if Xue Jin'an doesn't watch the morning court session live stream, he will record it and watch it before going to bed at night. Using his keyboard to curse the emperor as a weakling and urge him to abdicate has become his daily routine.
He had read the content of that morning court session in the morning, and after reading it, he didn't feel anything special, but it gave him a new understanding of the emperor's ability to endure.
Your other abilities are debatable, but your temper is certainly among the worst of all emperors.
[A thousand-year-old tortoise is a ten-thousand-year-old turtle, but yours must be an ancient turtle that's been around for ten thousand years.]
I misunderstood you. I thought you were a useless snack, but it turns out you're a useless balloon. Even if you're full of air and let go, you'll just fly away. You're not even as good as a firework; at least a firework can pop once.
[It's like hitting a clump of cotton before I finally managed to hit you!]
No wonder you have kidney deficiency; you just don't seem to get any real strength in yourself.
...
Xue Jin'an passionately flooded the emperor's screen with comments, which kept the emperor awake all night. The next day, the emperor appeared at the small court meeting with a sullen face, finally losing his temper.
But it was just one sentence: "You have some nerve, spying on the inner palace!"
Then the courtiers skillfully knelt down, trembling with fear, and after a while, the emperor's beard was appeased, and he returned to Qian Yuan Palace satisfied. As for the punishment of the officials who had tried to silence him... they were only fined a little and suspended from their posts for three days.
Taking three days of annual leave in advance is a very good deal. Xue Jin'an thought expressionlessly, feeling that he had seen through the true colors of those officials who were jumping up and down, wanting to take a vacation.
However, the emperor was only angry for a moment. Perhaps to save face for the emperor, there was no strong opposition from those who were instructed by the emperor to let the seventh prince come out for the New Year.
"Look, Teacher Xiao X, I said that as long as I frown, this matter can be accomplished. I am the emperor, I know what I'm doing, Teacher Xiao X, you don't need to worry too much about me." The emperor felt that his actions were correct and had already justified the scolding he received from the other party the night before.
Teacher X must have felt that he was being too good an emperor, and that his courtiers shouldn't refuse even his smallest wishes, which is why he was so angry.
Upon receiving Teacher X's analysis of the emperor's psychological state, Xue Jin'an thought, "..." He hoped that when he pulled the emperor off the throne, the emperor would think the same way.
Xue Jin'an raised the price of the emperor's daily offerings without any expression.
The eldest princess did not attend court, so she naturally learned about this matter from her husband. The daily court meeting minutes were kept by people from the Hanlin Academy, and since her husband worked there, it was understandable that he knew such information.
The eldest princess didn't really understand why her father, the emperor, suddenly favored the seventh prince so much. But she figured it couldn't be the rumor that the emperor's true love was Empress Zhaoren, Zhou Yuting... To be honest, when the eldest princess first heard this rumor, she laughed so hard she fell into her husband's arms.
"True love?" If it were truly true love, why wouldn't she even protect the Seventh Prince? She clearly had the ability to uncover the truth, yet she kept putting it off, letting her beloved die in sorrow. What kind of true love is that?
The eldest princess toyed with a palm-sized card, on which was drawn a figure in a yellow robe, with a skill list below. Even though the card name was changed to Han Emperor and the Empress Dowager card name was changed to Empress Lü to avoid taboo, who could not guess who this was?
The eldest princess said in a rather cold tone, "The royal family has always been cold-hearted; this is just a passing fancy."
The prince consort said with a headache, "Your Highness, walls have ears. If someone with ulterior motives hears this, you will be impeached again."
Although the eldest princess did not know why her father favored the seventh prince, she was certain that it was because the seventh prince possessed something he desired. The eldest princess was very curious about this and wanted to get to know this seventh prince, who was rumored to be almost demonic.
The eldest princess quickly found an opportunity; she knew that the emperor needed someone to inform the seventh prince.
After all, it wasn't just the court officials who didn't want the Seventh Prince to come out; the concubines and princes in the harem probably felt the same way. From the information she had gathered about the Seventh Prince, she also keenly realized that perhaps the Seventh Prince himself didn't want to attend this palace banquet.
The eldest princess entered the palace under the pretext of paying her respects, and then took the initiative to accept this task from the emperor, heading towards Zhaoyang Palace.
As it turned out, the eldest princess was right. Xue Jin'an had no desire to waste time attending any palace banquets. His only goal was to seize the throne, and attending the banquets would not help him in the slightest.
"I'm not going," Xue Jin'an refused bluntly. "It's pointless."
"Seventh Brother, people may be meaningless, but things may be." The Princess held her daughter's hand in her palm and played with it for a moment, then said with a meaningful smile, "Perhaps, meaningless people coming together will lead to something meaningful. Wouldn't it be a pity to miss out?"
These words, when heard by Xue Jin'an, meant: "Are you trying to cause trouble?"
The eldest princess shook her head. "Such a grand palace banquet concerns Father Emperor's reputation. How could I possibly make a move?"
The implication is that someone is trying to cause trouble.
The eldest princess played with her daughter's hand, making a "three" gesture.
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