Princess
The armor was heavy but could protect her body. She always preferred something lighter. Today, when she returned to the palace, she did not change into her palace attire. Instead, she wore a dark red dress and entered the Gui Palace with her sword in hand.
No one was allowed to carry weapons in front of the emperor, except for the eldest princess, Li Muyun.
When the young emperor was enjoying the roasting, he looked up and saw the princess walking quickly toward him. He rarely showed fear, so he sat up straight, his eyes barely opening, and he was holding a skewer of burnt mutton in his hand.
"Why is...Why is Auntie here?"
Li Muyun didn't say anything, but looked Dong Qingying up and down who was sitting next to her.
Seeing the man looking at her, the imperial concubine bit her red lips, her eyes arrogant, and deliberately showed off her long legs a little more. With the red skirt as a backdrop, she looked really alluring.
“Go and get a cloak for the Imperial Concubine. If the censors find out she’s dressed like this, they’ll accuse His Majesty of having an affair with the harem,” Li Muyun said to Yang Fujin.
Yang Fujin did not move, but the eunuch beside him, who was quick to understand, immediately agreed. However, before his voice had even finished, the princess said, "What, is it that I can't order Yang Changshi around?"
With eunuchs in power, everyone in the Great Wei Dynasty feared this Grand Attendant, except for Li Muyun.
She tossed her skirt and sat opposite the emperor. The palace servants immediately served tea without daring to delay. Mu Yun looked up at him, her imposing manner undiminished: "Even if you are a Grand Eunuch, you are still a dog of my Li family."
Yang Fujin knew how to be patient; otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up where he is today.
He knew all along that the emperor feared this princess and dared not utter a single word of protection, so he immediately smiled with narrowed eyes and said, "Princess, please wait a moment." Then he led his eunuch away.
After Yang Fujin left, Li Muyun asked the emperor why it seemed that His Majesty only found out about her return to the palace today, since her memorial to return to court had been sent three days ago.
"Furthermore, regarding military, political, and civil affairs in the Northwest, I report all matters requiring discussion by the court to the Council of State Affairs. Yet, why is it that the memorials submitted by the court do not bear His Majesty's personal approval?"
The emperor stammered and couldn't speak, changing the subject. In fact, he couldn't remember when he had last sat in the Hall of State Affairs for a quarter of an hour, let alone read any memorials.
Li Muyun remained silent, listening to the emperor's fabricated story. The imperial concubine beside him, seemingly unable to bear seeing the emperor being pressured, said in a coquettish voice, "Attendant Yang is capable. Your Majesty is young and can only rely on him. Attendant Yang knows more about these matters, doesn't he, Your Majesty?"
Following her suggestion, the young emperor immediately chimed in, "Yes, yes! We should ask Yang Changshi about these matters. When he arrives, Auntie, please ask him carefully."
Li Muyun gritted her teeth, but didn't look at the emperor again.
In his later years, the Emperor became senile and trusted eunuchs. He established the position of Zhongchangshi (a high-ranking eunuch in the imperial court), allowing them to draft imperial edicts and handle memorials. All important affairs of state were entrusted to eunuchs. The fact that eunuchs are now in power in this dynasty is a consequence of the seeds sown in the previous dynasty.
She had been away from Pingdu for many years, but most of the country had fallen into the hands of the Yang family traitors.
Yang Fujin brought over a cloak, which Li Muyun caught with one hand and tossed to Dong Qingying: "Put it on." She looked at the emperor and said seriously: "Your Majesty, please take some time tonight to review the memorials I have submitted over the past three months. Tomorrow morning at court, I have important matters to discuss with Your Majesty and the court officials."
After she left, Dong Qingying whispered in the emperor's ear, "My little aunt is so fierce!"
The young emperor didn't care whether his aunt, who was only seven years younger than him, was fierce or not. What he was thinking was, why is she back again?
With the royal family dwindling, only this eldest princess remained, sharing the closest blood relation with the young emperor. When the late emperor was alive, he remarked that this younger sister, though born a woman, possessed the heart of a man.
The late emperor was several decades younger than this younger sister, and thus doted on her greatly. However, she disliked being confined to the deep palace and preferred to go out and have fun. During the most chaotic time in the northwest, the late emperor ordered this princess to marry a Rong person in order to pacify the border. Unexpectedly, she ran away from the marriage when the wedding procession had only reached the northwest.
If Lu Zhi hadn't later led troops to quell the rebellion and achieved a great victory, this princess would have been sentenced to death.
She was very strict with the emperor when he was young, disregarding his status as crown prince. She would beat and scold him at the same time, and even the slightest gesture from her would frighten him.
The emperor was furious and kicked over the stove. The palace maid who had been kneeling beside the stove watching the fire didn't notice and was burned in a large area of her dress below the waist by the red-hot coals. The maid screamed in pain.
The shrill scream angered the emperor again. He grabbed the palace maid by the hair and pressed her face against the stove. The maid struggled for a few moments and then fainted from the pain.
He then let go, breathing heavily.
For example, earlier, the eunuch carried people away to avoid offending the emperor's eyes.
Yang Fujin helped the emperor sit down and comforted him: "The eldest princess has been living a free and unrestrained life in the northwest for a long time. She doesn't know the hardships Your Majesty endures living in the deep palace and fighting wits with those old ministers. Tomorrow morning at court, whatever the eldest princess wants, Your Majesty can give her! However, the eldest princess has always disliked this old servant, so tomorrow at the council meeting, Your Majesty will have to be the only one present."
Anger, prejudice, suspicion, and antagonism were repeatedly stirred up in this way. The emperor immediately said, "What are you afraid of! I am the emperor! I am the ruler of the country! You have been handling state affairs in the Hall of State Affairs for so long. Tomorrow morning, just stay there as usual. Let's see what she can do to you!"
Yang Fujin bowed his head in gratitude: "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Seeing that his expression remained unchanged, as mature and composed as ever, Dong Qingying sighed inwardly. He was indeed a cunning old fox. She had known him for ten years, and apart from the wrinkles on his face becoming more and more numerous, his calm and composed demeanor had not changed at all!
The emperor yawned, and Dong Qingying helped him to his bedchamber. After Yang Fujin had helped the emperor rest, Qingying noticed that Yang Changshi had gone towards the imperial study.
It seems that, fearing the Princess will make trouble tomorrow morning, the Attendant-in-Ordinary and his advisors will have to painstakingly sift through memorials tonight.
For over a hundred years since the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty, even when women were involved in politics, they remained behind a beaded curtain. Only this eldest princess of the current dynasty could not only appear openly in front of everyone, but no one dared to question her, and she even had a unique position under the emperor's throne.
The reason is simple: she commanded the troops in the Northwest, wielding considerable military power. In those days, whoever had the most soldiers held the most power, as was the case with the powerful eunuch Yang Fujin.
The commanders of the Left and Right Shence Armies were all his men, and even the Central Imperial Guards had many of his cronies infiltrated. The reason he could act so arrogantly in Pingdu was not just because of the young emperor's trust.
Li Muyun returned to the capital this time for two matters.
She had been stationed in the Northwest for many years, but both Yan and Bing prefectures in the Northwest suffered from natural disasters. This year, there was too much rain, the Fu River changed its course, and the floodwaters flowed towards Yan and Bing prefectures, submerging land and houses, displacing people, and causing the weather to be hot and humid, with epidemics beginning to spread...
The people had no choice but to flee south to beg for food, but they were driven away by the governor of Danzhou, which was under the jurisdiction of the two prefectures. The governor forbade them from going south, fearing that the disaster victims would come to Pingdu.
The governors of both states were not cowardly or corrupt officials; both died while carrying out disaster relief efforts, and their bodies have not yet been found.
After the disaster was reported to the imperial court, the court sent two new governors. However, unexpectedly, they sent two hungry tigers to this famine-stricken land. The relief grain was sold off privately, and the relief funds distributed went directly into the governors' pockets.
Liu Xinyun, the governor of Bingzhou, risked his life to cross the river to the north and inform her of the dangers in the two prefectures. She originally intended to take Liu Xinyun back to the capital to meet the emperor, but unexpectedly, he was shot and killed by a poisoned arrow on the way.
Li Muyun had long guessed who was behind it.
When reporting to the emperor, she deliberately concealed Liu Xinyun's death, only saying that he had contracted an epidemic and died from it.
All I hear are floods, droughts, and epidemics—things I hear every year. I've gotten used to them, so what's there to talk about?
In the end, all they're really doing is asking for money.
The emperor waved his hand and ordered the Ministry of Revenue to directly allocate the silver.
The second matter, however, is related to the Lu family in the Northwest.
The emperor was unaware of the hidden story of that year. When the Lu family was mentioned, he only knew that General Lu Zhi was a great hero who protected the country, but didn't he die long ago?
"After the departure of General Fuyuan, the war in the Northwest was quelled, and the Lu family army also laid down their arms and returned to their fields. However, in the past year, some border bandits have impersonated the Lu family army and colluded with the Rong people to provoke war several times. Not only that, the traitors have also spread rumors in the Northwest that His Majesty has treated the descendants of meritorious officials lightly and deliberately incited hatred among the people. The people easily believed it and even wanted to go to the capital to meet His Majesty, but fortunately, I stopped them all."
For the young emperor, the Northwest was a very, very far place, a place of either treacherous Gobi deserts or towering mountains, where the people lived like cattle and sheep.
He didn't understand why the late emperor wanted to fight for such a barren land. Since the Rong people wanted it, he should just give it to them; it wasn't a good place anyway.
Li Muyun was well aware of the tyrannical emperor's thoughts, but these words were not spoken to the emperor.
The emperor, growing impatient, shifted his position and sat back down on the throne: "Then, according to my aunt, what should I do?"
Li Muyun said, "The descendant of the meritorious official mentioned by the traitor is Lu Zhi's son, Lu Chang. The late emperor was kind and benevolent. After General Lu and his wife passed away, he allowed the Gao family to bring Lu Chang back. This son settled in Pingdu, and it has been almost ten years now."
Gao Yun was a minor official who usually attended court with his eyes closed and dozing off, just to make up the numbers. He never expected that the princess would mention him today, which startled him awake. After the princess finished speaking, he quickly stepped forward and kowtowed to thank the late emperor for his great kindness: "Your Highness is right. After Lu Zhi and his sister left, the late emperor pitied that only Lu Chang was left in the Lu family, so he ordered this old minister to bring him to live in the Gao family. However, three years ago, Lu Chang failed the imperial examination and, disheartened, went on a journey alone. He has not returned since."
The new emperor was displeased: "He is being well-fed and well-clothed in Pingdu, he doesn't seem to be being mistreated at all. These ignorant people in the Northwest are easily provoked, they are really stupid!"
Li Muyun laughed, "Yes, how foolish. You should know that the Northwest's five-year surplus was used up to quell the rebellion of the ignorant people. If the people don't stop, I'm afraid I'll have to shamelessly ask His Majesty for more money again."
The emperor was unaware of the empty treasury and spent money like water when war broke out, but Yang Fujin knew this.
Having reached this position, above all others and second only to the emperor, with many bright futures ahead, he was unwilling to see the country crumble. For now, he needed this princess to temporarily guard the northwest, and it wouldn't be too late to deal with her after the Rong people surrendered.
Yang Fujin bowed and whispered in the emperor's ear, unaware that Li Muyun below was smiling.
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