Chapter 39 You Want to Be Empress?
I heard that Princess Ning'an still has five hundred elite soldiers under her command, who were arranged by the late emperor to protect her.
However, none of these 500 people have shown up yet.
Over the past ten years, Prince Consort Wen had tried to probe the matter, but Princess Ning'an had never given a direct answer or allowed the five hundred people to show themselves.
The Wen brothers once suspected that these 500 people did not actually exist.
Chu Yunjin also doubted whether there were really 500 people. If there were, they would all be in their fifties or sixties by now. How good could their skills still be?
However, there is one thing she knows.
That is because Wen Yishu's disguise was too exquisite. She had not revealed any flaws for more than ten years. Princess Ning'an's inability to have children was not due to her own problem, but to Wen Yishu's scheming.
Those three children were all Wen Yishu's biological children, and Princess Ning'an had been kept in the dark the whole time.
Thinking of this, Chu Yunjin looked up at Yan Jinyue: "Does Princess Ning'an have a deep mother-daughter relationship with the Empress Dowager?"
Yan Jinyue frowned: "Of course. They are mother and daughter, and the Empress Dowager treats her even better than the Emperor."
"That's because Father Emperor is the ruler of the country, possessing the entire realm, and doesn't need the Empress Dowager's special favor," Chu Yunjin smiled. "The princess doesn't hold real power; only the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's continued favor can maintain the eldest princess's wealth and status."
“No.” Yan Jinyue pouted. “I think she’s just simply biased towards Princess Ning’an.”
Chu Yunjin asked in surprise, "Why?"
"The Empress Dowager favors the eldest princess's children over her own grandchildren," Yan Jinyue mocked. "Don't you find it ridiculous that all the princes and princesses are less important to her than the eldest princess's adopted children?"
Chu Yunjin fell silent and nodded involuntarily.
That's really strange.
It seems this part wasn't mentioned in the original book, nor was the reason for the Empress Dowager's favoritism towards Princess Ning'an explained. But since she knew the secret that Princess Ning'an had been plotted against, did she then have leverage to win over the princess?
Even if we can't win them over, we should be able to make the Wen family and the eldest princess turn against each other.
Princess Ning'an trusted the Wen family because of their harmonious marital relationship. She sided with the Wen family and naturally supported Prince Jin.
What if she found out that she had been tricked by the Wen family?
If she were to turn against Prince Consort Wen, wouldn't that be equivalent to breaking ties with the Wen family and Prince Jin?
"What are you thinking about now?" Yan Jinyue's gaze fell on Chu Yunjin's face, her eyes filled with a hint of inquiry. "Why do you always seem so cunning lately?"
Chu Yunjin chuckled, "A cunning old fox?"
Yan Jinyue must be mocking her.
She looked around, then lowered her voice and said, "Jinyue, among all the princes, who do you think has the best chance of being made crown prince?"
Yan Jinyue frowned: "Why are you asking this?"
"I'm curious."
"You don't actually want to be empress, do you?" Yan Jinyue sneered. "Forget about it. Fourth brother is the least likely to become emperor."
Chu Yunjin was taken aback: "Why?"
"Because he made a pledge before the Emperor and all the civil and military officials," Yan Jinyue said calmly. "Back then, when the northern deserts launched an attack, he wanted to go to the border to fight, but the Emperor disagreed. He made a promise that he would never return to the court if he could not defend the northern border."
Chu Yunjin asked, puzzled, "What does this have to do with establishing an heir?"
"My brother also made a condition, saying that if he could defend the northern border, he would become the Grand Marshal of the Army." Yan Jinyue said with a smile as she recalled the past. "My mother said that my brother was only fourteen years old at the time, and he wanted to become the Grand Marshal of the Army. My father thought he was just talking big at such a young age, so he agreed to it in front of the court officials. But the Grand Marshal of the Army could not be the Crown Prince. If he was really determined to fight on the battlefield, he would have to give up the possibility of becoming the Crown Prince."
Chu Yunjin had a strange expression, but didn't say anything.
He felt that the emperor's thought process was a bit strange.
A prince who holds the power of all the troops in the land, he can just give up the throne whenever he wants?
As long as Yan Cang wants to be the crown prince, the next emperor—if he only shows the slightest sign of it, his generals can simply move the dragon throne in front of him and respectfully invite him to sit down. Why would he need to bother competing for it?
She certainly knew that people in ancient times valued promises.
A promise made is a promise kept.
But since ancient times, those who keep their promises are gentlemen.
The emperor is the ruler of the land, and which prince vying for the throne doesn't resort to any means necessary? Fathers and sons kill each other, brothers fight amongst themselves, so who would care about the promise not to compete for the throne?
“Father’s favorite heir is actually my eldest brother.” Yan Jinyue looked up at the scenery in the garden and sighed softly. “My eldest brother is both scholarly and martial, and he is steady and reserved. He is the eldest son born to the late Empress, with a noble status and calm self-control. Whether it is the heir apparent or the virtuous one, he is the best candidate for heir.”
Chu Yunjin looked bewildered.
Eldest brother? Who?
Why does she have no recollection of this person at all?
It wasn't mentioned in the original book, and the original owner had no recollection of this person.
Is it possible that heaven is jealous of talent, causing him to die young?
wrong.
To be precise, apart from the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Jin, there are very few descriptions of the other princes in the original book. Even the Ninth Prince, who is said to be the most favored by the emperor, has little presence and is almost a semi-transparent tool.
Chu Yunjin now realized that she didn't understand why the author had set the emperor to have nine sons. Since most of the book was about the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Jin, wouldn't it have been simpler and more efficient to only set two sons?
She composed herself, picked up the teapot on the table, poured herself a cup of tea, and quietly took a sip.
Then she looked at Yan Jinyue cautiously, and carefully began to speak: "Then, what about my eldest brother..."
Yan Jinyue's expression was strange, as if she was reluctant to speak, yet there was a hint of sighing in her voice: "My eldest brother is a homosexual."
Clang!
Chu Yunjin's hand trembled, and the teacup fell to the ground with a clatter.
"Oh dear, what are you doing?" Yan Jinyue quickly got up and used a handkerchief to wipe the tea that had splashed on her.
Chu Yunjin repeatedly said, "I'm so sorry."
Adele, who was standing outside the pavilion, came in and wiped the mess on the table.
Yan Jinyue's personal maid was about to enter as well.
Yan Jinyue turned her head and ordered, "You may all leave."
The maid stopped.
Chu Yunjin watched her silently.
Yan Jinyue turned her head and silently looked at her.
A moment later, the two of them burst out laughing at the same time.
"Never mind," Yan Jinyue said. "Let's go for a stroll in the garden."
Chu Yunjin was happy to accompany him.
She suddenly became curious about the eldest prince, and also about the person he liked.
She truly never expected... never expected that something like homosexuality would actually happen within the royal family, and that she would actually encounter it.
"You look so excited," Yan Jinyue said thoughtfully, looking at her. "Don't you think it's disgusting?"
"Disgusting? Why?"
"Marriage between men and women is in accordance with the natural order of heaven and earth." Yan Jinyue said expressionlessly, "After the eldest prince brought up this matter, no one, including Father, understood him. Everyone thought he had lost his mind. The princes used to think that with the eldest prince around, no one else had any hope of vying for the throne, and everyone was very well-behaved. But after the eldest prince made this fuss, the princes all felt that the eldest prince could not become emperor."
Chu Yunjin nodded unconsciously.
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