The girl stirred Yi Chenli's heart again, and made him realize that the dead deserve nothing, only the living... have hope for him and her.
Yi Chenli boarded the carriage, which sped northwards.
The carriage sped away, but the hearts of those inside remained forever in Shengjing, by the girl's side.
*
After the Sixth Prince's death, as An Yuan'er also learned, in the days after Yi Chenli left, the fates of many people began to take a turn here.
After An Chaoli separated from the An family, his official career did not go as smoothly as he had imagined.
The emperor didn't say anything outwardly, but he was still resentful about An Yuan'er's beating of the Dengwen Drum and bringing down the crown prince.
The Emperor is the most honorable person in Shengjing. He is high above and everything is planned and executed. The more such a person is, the less he likes someone like An Yuan'er, who is a bomb that could explode at any time.
Although An Yuan'er was just a woman, she still had a capable father and brother behind her.
The Emperor secretly suppressed An Chaoli, assigning him to a sinecure, a promotion in name only. As for An Huaishou, he originally had a great opportunity to be promoted again, but after that, the Emperor did not continue to give him important positions, and his official rank remained at the third grade.
An Yuan'er felt guilty because her willfulness had ultimately implicated her family.
But her father and brother had a good attitude; instead, they comforted An Yuan'er, telling her not to take it too seriously.
Years of backstabbing and intrigue in officialdom had left An Chaoli physically and mentally exhausted. Now, being assigned a sinecure was actually a good thing. An Chaoli had many more leisurely days to play with birds, grow flowers, and browse for calligraphy and paintings at the art market. He was living a carefree life.
The power struggle in the imperial court continues.
The Empress's maternal family, the Murong family, had dominated the court for many years, cultivating a vast power base and attracting numerous rivals. The rise of the Murong clan made Emperor Tiansheng wary, especially since the Murong family had been tyrannical for years, sometimes even disregarding the imperial family.
Over a hundred ministers jointly impeached the Murong clan, listing over a hundred crimes against them, including corruption, forming cliques, and so on—each charge presented with solid evidence. Faced with irrefutable proof, the Murong clan had no way to defend themselves. In the fifteenth year of the Tiansheng era, the Murong clan, which had enjoyed over a decade of glory, collapsed in a dramatic fashion.
Emperor Tiansheng was furious. Although the Empress knelt at the entrance of the Imperial Study for three days and three nights, begging the Emperor for mercy, his mind was made up and there was no possibility of changing it.
The Murong clan's attempt to supersede imperial power ultimately backfired, trapping themselves in their own hands.
In the spring of the fifteenth year of the Tiansheng era, the emperor issued an imperial edict to exterminate the Murong clan. All men under the age of thirteen were to be exiled, all women under the age of twelve were to be enslaved for life, and all others were to be killed without mercy.
The Murong clan has no chance of ever rising again.
On the day the Murong clan was strangled, the empress fainted and fell seriously ill, and this illness lasted for several years.
The emperor intentionally neglected the empress. While the empress was ill, the emperor rarely visited her, and the relationship between the emperor and empress grew increasingly distant.
The middle-aged emperor began to crave younger women. In just a few years, one concubine after another was favored by the emperor, truly fulfilling the saying, "Only the laughter of the new concubines is heard, and the cries of the old ones are forgotten."
In his later years, Emperor Tiansheng became increasingly senile, favoring treacherous officials and listening to slander. In recent years, Tiansheng's development has not only failed to progress but has actually regressed considerably.
But for the Queen, it wasn't entirely hopeless.
She also had a capable son. After Yi Chenxuan fell from power, Yi Chenqi quickly rose to power. He was excellent in both literature and martial arts. A year later, the fifth prince Yi Chenqi ascended to the position of crown prince as he wished.
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