"Wu Zhaode has changed too."
This was Shen Tang's only thought after reading the insider intelligence.
Luan Xin said indifferently, "The King of Wu is not a man of great willpower. His change is reasonable and expected."
He didn't have a high opinion of Wu Xian. In his view, outstanding people can be divided into three categories: the best are those who can shape the times, the average are those shaped by the times, and the worst rise and fall with the times. Wu Zhaode belonged to the third category.
Back then, the Xin Kingdom's court was corrupt and decadent, allowing various local powers to rise up. At that time, Wu Xian emerged victorious from his family's internal strife, befriending various families and chivalrous heroes of Tianhai, earning praise for his heroic spirit. After years of painstaking efforts, he rose to fame as the leader of the alliance in the Battle of Xiaocheng, expanding his power once again to the point of being virtually unrivaled. Even the current ruler, Shen Tang, had to treat him with caution.
But what happens next?
His career took a winding path.
The situation was tense, and he was always on edge.
With the situation stable, he honed his skills and tempered his ambition.
Recalling the victory celebration banquet at Chaoli Pass, when Qin Li led his men to defect, Wu Xian was forced into a sorry state by the arrogant Tianhai family. At that time, he also displayed a long-lost decisiveness, forcefully suppressing the Tianhai family's opposition. In recent years, he has also been continuously suppressing and weakening the influence and status of the founding heroes, with considerable success. In fact, by the second year, Wu Xian had already firmly secured his position as ruler.
There are no hidden dangers inside, and no threats outside.
Wu Xian's life became more comfortable.
Success comes too early, and comfort lasts too long.
Once one becomes complacent, it is easy to fall into depravity, lose vigilance, and be attracted to other things. Wu Xian was no exception.
He was the king of Gao, the ruler of a nation, wielding the royal seal and absolute power. The view from this position was captivating and mesmerizing, completely dispelling his initial idea of having his eldest son inherit the throne while he, as the retired king, supported him from behind the scenes, maintaining friendly relations with the neighboring Kang Kingdom. The first person to notice Wu Xian's change of heart was his eldest son, who had been appointed crown prince in the first year of Gao's founding.
Yes, he is Wu Xian's eldest son.
Back then, Wu Xian felt a strong sense of crisis due to the powerful growth of Shen Tang's forces. In addition, internal discord and infighting seriously threatened his own position. He took the initiative to abandon his most favored and outstanding second son and turned his attention to his mediocre and cowardly eldest son. A puppet doesn't need to be too opinionated, as long as he is obedient, which is also more convenient for him, the supreme ruler, to command.
Now, Wu Xian is unwilling to become the retired king.
Naturally, the existence of the crown prince became superfluous.
The eldest son did not become outstanding despite being named crown prince. He remained mediocre and cowardly. Even as an adult, he could not handle his duties well and was often swayed by the opinions of his subordinates, which was also what Wu Xian hated most.
He disliked his son more and more.
In contrast, the second son's performance in recent years has been quite remarkable.
He was filial and respectful to his parents, loving towards his younger siblings, and wholeheartedly assisted his elder brother, the Crown Prince, without any jealousy or resentment. Besides the outstanding second son, there were also a group of illegitimate sons who grew up. Even the least talented and temperamental among them was far more outstanding than the eldest son.
Wu Xian was extremely upset.
However, they cannot arbitrarily depose the crown prince and install someone else in his place.
As the ruler, it was only others who could speculate about Wu Xian's emotions; he had no right to consider others' feelings. Even though he initially considered his eldest son's status as crown prince and kept his dissatisfaction to himself, over time, that restraint disappeared.
Court officials are the most perceptive group. They keenly noticed that the crown prince was being scolded more and more often, each time more severe than the last, from gentle reprimands to harsh rebukes. Naturally, they understood the king's dissatisfaction with the crown prince and began to make their own calculations.
"Wu Zhaode wanted everything, and in the end, he picked up the sesame seeds but lost the watermelon, penny-wise and pound-foolish..." With Gu Chi present, Shen Tang naturally knew that Wu Xian had once considered becoming the retired king, and also expected that he wouldn't easily relinquish his position after enjoying the throne. But she never expected that Wu Zhaode would so quickly establish a crown prince, only to regret it and become conflicted again a few years later. How dramatic!
Either don't designate a crown prince in the first place.
Either establish a crown prince and then make a firm choice.
The situation is now more dire than it was five years ago—back then, Wu Xian only had two adult sons, his eldest and second sons; now, there are two or three more illegitimate sons. Not establishing himself as the eldest son of the main branch means that the other sons of the smaller branches all have a chance.
"It's one thing for him to lose sight of the bigger picture, since it's not my family's business anyway, but for him to cause my money and food to go missing, is he crazy?!"
Shen Tang finally couldn't help but curse out.
The informant infiltrated into the Gao Kingdom reported that the grain and gold being transported under the guise of wealthy merchants within Gao Kingdom would eventually be smuggled into the Northern Desert. However, Shen Tang acted swiftly, writing to Wu Xian, who immediately dispatched men to intercept them.
Finally, they successfully intercepted the enemy in a border county.
Then--
They were then embezzled.
To be more precise, the grain was burned, the gold and silver were embezzled, and the person in charge of this task was a trusted official of the Crown Prince. The person who burned the grain only wanted to use this as a tool to kill someone and bring down the Crown Prince, but he did not expect that the Crown Prince would hide the gold and silver directly.
They then falsely accused the person who burned the grain of stealing a large sum of money.
When the intelligence came from the inside, the Gao Kingdom's court was still embroiled in a bitter dispute over the matter, as Wu Xian's adult sons were also involved. When Wu Xian learned the exact amount of grain and gold lost, he immediately abandoned his decision to make up for it out of his own pocket and simply gave up.
They shout slogans but take no action whatsoever.
He can't just push his son to take the blame!
Furthermore, he only agreed to help Shen Tang intercept it, but he didn't guarantee that the grain and gold would be safe! Shen Tang had the Honglu Temple of Kangguo urge him again and again, but Gaoguo dragged its feet and didn't give a clear reply until it could no longer delay and finally sent a letter. This reply was also very interesting, subtly telling Shen Tang that although she had lost the grain and a large amount of gold and silver, there are gains and losses in everything.
Let's look on the bright side: at least this batch of goods was successfully intercepted and didn't end up in the Northern Desert's pocket, so the enemy didn't benefit from it!
If the enemy is not strengthened, then our side is not weakened.
Well, it's neither good nor bad.
Shen Tang could only express her feelings with one word.
"Damn it, Wu Zhaode!"
She wanted to greet Wu Xian's family with the most beautiful words.
At this moment, she even suspected that the grain and fodder had not been burned at all, and that someone might have switched them before the fire started.
She shook the dust off the beams inside the hall.
Luan Xin gently comforted him: "My lord, please calm down. At least the Gao Kingdom currently has no intention of colluding with the Northern Desert to attack us from both sides."
This is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
If we fight against the Northern Desert and then fight against the High Kingdom at the same time, the extra funds spent on the national treasury will probably be a hundred times more than the losses of the Golden Chestnut County!
"Wu Zhaode—"
I'll kill that bastard sooner or later!
Whatever she swallows, she'll spit out a hundred times more!
Seeing Shen Tang close her eyes and take a deep breath to suppress her turbulent emotions, Luan Xin knew that the matter was temporarily over. Only then did he feel relieved and tell another piece of news that could barely be considered good news: "The situation in Gao Kingdom has also been unstable in the past two years. The King of Wu is wavering on the issue of his heir, and his sons are secretly having close dealings with court officials. In particular, the Crown Prince seems to have a wise person guiding him."
Wu Xian's eldest son has always been portrayed as a cowardly and submissive figure. His biggest advantage so far has been being born into a good family and securing the position of the eldest son. However, his behavior over the years has been rather like someone who occupies a position without doing anything. This time, he actually dared to go along with the flow and swallow a huge amount of embezzled money, and then turned around and framed his other brothers, dragging them all down with him. This move is really unlike his usual style.
Wu Zhaode and his son are still causing trouble—tsk, the son is a pain, and the father is clueless too. I really suspect they were enemies in their past lives, and in this life they are father and son hurting each other.
Furthermore, Wu Zhaode's failure to establish his capital in Tianhai severely damaged the interests of the Tianhai veterans who had initially invested in and supported him. To secure his position as ruler, Wu Xian ruthlessly suppressed these founding heroes, employing a large number of aristocratic scions within the current capital. While seemingly effective, this drastic measure inevitably had significant side effects. Like inviting a tiger to drive away wolves, the tiger's threat remained.
Shen Tang said, "I know about this."
She spent another half day processing the accumulated memorials, finishing only near sunset. She left her literary avatar to watch the house while her true self went out with her palace maids to find food and meet some friends.
Shen Tang's initial plan was to streamline the three departments within the palace, especially the Inner Palace Department. Male rulers, in order to ensure their own bloodline and transcendent status, would castrate people to serve them, their wives, concubines, children, and relatives. However, Shen Tang was not a male ruler, and was currently single. She didn't need these eunuchs, much less create more for her own selfish desires.
However, there were still eunuchs in the Kang court.
Most of them were descendants of the royal families of Xin and Geng kingdoms. They were disabled and not as physically strong as normal adult men. Those with some savings could live a decent life, but those without savings, houses, land, or children were in dire straits, living in poverty.
The first eunuch in the inner court was sent in by Ning Yan.
As the Grand Chancellor of the Secretariat and the only female prime minister in Kang State, Ning Yan could easily arrange a retirement position for that eunuch with just a word. However, Shen Tang had made it clear that he disliked having eunuchs in the palace. Naturally, Ning Yan had to explain the reasons to Shen Tang in private.
When Shen Tang saw the young man, who was not very old, short, and had a pale, beardless face, he knew at a glance that he was a castrated man.
What happened?
Ning Yan explained the whole story in detail.
This man was originally a eunuch in the Geng Kingdom. Unable to make a living, he castrated himself and entered the Geng Kingdom's inner court to earn a living. After the fall of the Geng Kingdom and the execution of Zheng Qiao, the Geng Kingdom's palace was looted by various forces of the Dragon-Slaying Sect. He was lucky enough to survive that catastrophe. For the past two years, he has been wandering from place to place. Without a registered household, he couldn't even get a share of land. His meager savings were exhausted, and he has barely survived until now thanks to the help of his fellow villagers.
He had hoped to find a way to make a living in the inner court, but the Kang Kingdom's court didn't want eunuchs. Having run out of money, he had no choice but to seek help everywhere. He swallowed his pride and went to Xie Qi, but Xie Qi wasn't at his residence. Finally, he managed to get help from Ning Yan, who helped him.
Shen Tang remained silent: [Minister Ning!]
She reminded Ning Yan of her identity.
The head of the Secretariat arranged a job for a eunuch, and even came to the king to plead for his stay. Isn't that absurd?
Ning Yan said, "He is my benefactor. He and several eunuchs risked their lives to protect Xingning's remains. I originally intended to let him stay in my residence as a steward, but he refused."
Not just anyone can be castrated.
He was worried that the Censorate would discover Ning Yan's secret keeping of eunuchs and accuse her of overstepping her bounds, needlessly causing her trouble. He also didn't want to do nothing and simply accept Ning Yan's favor. He was capable enough to support himself, even though he was without support.
The most reassuring place is still the inner court.
This led to Ning Yan's private conversation with Shen Tang.
Shen Tang kept the man, and from him learned that there were many other eunuchs in similar dire straits. Since the founding of the Kang Kingdom, these people had traveled thousands of miles to seek a living in the inner court. However, the Kang royal court, for the first time ever, refused to accept eunuchs. They were dumbfounded, and the group lived in the poorest part of the capital, going hungry intermittently. After careful consideration, Shen Tang still accepted them.
Of course, everything has been screened to ensure there are no problems.
The royal court had over three hundred eunuchs on duty, with the rest being female palace servants and laborers managed by female officials from the three palace departments. Their expenses were all paid from Shen Tang's private treasury. However, the battle at Chaoli Pass had left Xun Zhen with a severe deficit, and until the enormous debt owed to Xun Zhen was repaid, these expenditures had to be borrowed from the national treasury. Using money from the national treasury to support the people in the three palace departments meant feeding over a thousand mouths!
Shen Tang could only console herself by thinking of it as providing jobs for the country. She was the ruler of the country; she couldn't be so petty.
Compared to other kings, Shen Tang's palace was not large.
The outer court occupied two-fifths of the area.
The remaining three-fifths is the inner court area.
The busiest market in the capital was separated from the palace by only a wall and a street. Standing on the palace wall, one could clearly hear the lively noise outside. This made it convenient for Shen Tang to sneak out for a stroll from time to time.
After leaving the palace, she went straight to Gong Xilai's residence.
Although Xun Ding is marrying into the Gongxi family, he is still a general of the Yaoguang Guard, so some face must be maintained. Tomorrow's wedding procedure is that Gongxi will come out of this house, stay at the Xun residence for three days, and then the couple will move to another residence to live together.
Gongxilai is still staying here tonight.
Gong Xichou naturally lived here as well.
Shen Tang, familiar with the place, climbed over the wall and over the courtyard, throwing a pebble in the direction of Gong Xi Chou's aura: "Gong Xi Chou, come out and play!"
The one who opened the door was Gong Xilai, whose waistline was already showing.
As she grew older, Gong Xilai's already striking appearance became even more radiant and beautiful, and her temperament was quite similar to that of Gong Xichou.
"Brother, it's looking for you."
Gong Xiqiu opened the window and looked at Shen Tang.
"Mama, come in."
Shen Tang asked, "Aren't you going out for drinks?"
"Tomorrow night, maybe. I'm not really in the mood today, so I'm not going." Gong Xichou looked unhappy and listless. Shen Tang guessed it was because his sister was getting married tomorrow, and it was normal for the older brother to be in a bad mood. She had come over to cheer him up!
"I didn't realize you were such a siscon."
Shen Tang climbed in through the window.
The room was brightly lit by candlelight. Besides Gong Xiqiu and his sister, there were several maids serving them. The most eye-catching item was a set of fine clothes that, while old, were well-preserved and hung on a wooden shelf. Gong Xiqiu explained, "These are the clothes my mother and father wore when they entered into their marriage contract."
I brought it here specifically for Gongxi.
There's no time to rush to make new clothes.
Shen Tang paused to admire it for a while, wondering about the background of the Gongxi clan. It was adorned with all sorts of jewels, and the pearls were countless. No wonder Gongxi Chou could play marbles with pearls wherever he went. She asked, "Was the other half sent to Yong'an?"
"Adding a toy doesn't require dressing up so nicely."
(ω)
Ah, I'm so happy today.
China Literature's annual meeting is scheduled for the end of January this year.
Then, didn't Shiitake Mushroom sign up for a four-month subscription to personal training sessions for weight loss on September 24th? The four months ended just in time for the annual meeting.
I have already lost 22 pounds.
Ah, I have no idea how happy I was at last year's meeting.
Spinning around, what a coincidence, really!
P.S.: If I don't lose weight, I don't even want to go to the annual party. I'm so sad that I've been so chubby and can't even afford clothes in physical stores for two years in a row, sob o(╥﹏╥)o
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