Chapter 55 The sun rises high, the clouds are faint; the fog descends, soft and gentle.
The scent of sandalwood and camphor still lingered in the hall. Several palace servants were sealing up the extinguished incense burners, while a eunuch stood in the corner of the room, cranking a wooden lever to make the gauze screens in the hall sway, sending out a gentle breeze.
After a while, the remaining scent of incense in the hall had mostly dissipated. Xu Asheng waved his hand, signaling the palace servants to leave. Several more palace servants came in carrying large platters piled high with fruits and vegetables, placing them in a corner to mask the last trace of sandalwood fragrance with the aroma of the fruits.
Fu Sui knelt respectfully behind the table; she had come to the palace today to pledge her loyalty.
The news of the stone tablet with inscription that appeared in the Baiqu Canal during the Double Ninth Festival spread throughout the capital in just a few days. At first, it was just regarded as a strange and strange thing for people to use as a pastime, but suddenly the saying "King Jin is virtuous and wise, and Heaven is watching over him" began to circulate among the people, and even many scholars began to write poems and biographies for King Jin.
When Fu Sui heard that someone was advocating for the construction of a shrine for the Prince of Jin, she began to suspect that there might be some "remnants of the Prince of Jin" scattered among the people that she was unaware of. Therefore, she specifically consulted with Qin An to thoroughly review all of the Prince of Jin's previous relationships in the capital.
At that time, the late emperor held the position of Crown Prince, and the Prince of Jing held the position of legitimate son according to the rites. Although the Prince of Jin could also be considered a legitimate son, he was younger than both the late emperor and the Prince of Jing, and he had no maternal relatives to support him.
Everyone in the court knew that Consort Yang only gained the emperor's favor because of her resemblance to the empress dowager. Moreover, although Emperor Taizu doted on Prince Jin, he never revealed any intention to appoint Prince Jin as his successor. Therefore, no one in the court was optimistic about Prince Jin.
Even when Emperor Taizu later decided to depose the heir apparent and establish a new one, the court remained largely indifferent.
If we were to say who wholeheartedly followed Prince Jin and could be considered a member of his faction, Yue Shanling would be one, and Tian Ganyou would be half. However, no one would take the words of a boy without family support seriously, so this sole claimant was essentially meaningless.
She investigated those who praised the Prince of Jin, but found little connection between them; some even had no dealings with the royal family. Fu Sui used some means to learn that it was Tao Yunzhong who, during a lecture, mentioned the Prince of Jin's construction of the Bai Canal, naturally leading to the unusual phenomenon of the Bai Canal stele.
At that time, Tao Yunzhong praised the Prince of Jin frequently. After the lesson, these words were circulated and reached the ears of those scholars who only knew how to read the Four Books and Five Classics.
Tao Yunzhong was a great Confucian scholar who governed the world and a teacher to officials. Since he praised him, scholars echoed his sentiments, and those who considered themselves scholars praised him even more enthusiastically.
Fu Sui's men even found Shen Siming's poems in the poems praising the Prince of Jin. If Fu Sui hadn't been somewhat familiar with Yue Shanling's style of doing things, he would probably have suspected that Yue Shanling had helped him in the process.
How did the Yue family get involved with Tao Yunzhong? That stone-like man is truly a worry.
With Tao Yunzhong involved, it can be confirmed that the stone tablet was the work of the Wang family. However, Fu Sui still couldn't figure out the Wang family's purpose in doing so.
The Prince of Jin had few connections in the capital, and after he was sent to his fiefdom, his influence waned. In the decade or so since his death, not even a speck of ashes remains. The only thing worth discussing is the true cause of his death.
The current emperor did indeed contribute to the death of the Prince of Jin, but the death of a prince is merely a matter within the imperial family. Even if it were brought up, at most it would only elicit a few private remarks about the current emperor's suspicion and distrust of his clan. Even if the Wang family possesses concrete evidence, aren't they also the masterminds behind this affair? If Wang Bochang intends to use this matter to attack the current emperor, isn't he afraid of implicating the Wang family first?
After the palace servants had all left, Fu Sui spoke up: "Recently, the news of the stone tablet appearing in the Bai Canal has been widely circulated. The Bai Canal was originally renovated under the supervision of my father. There was never any stone tablet hidden in the canal during its construction. Now, I don't know who created this illusion of a stone tablet. I am very worried and have no choice but to ask my brother for advice."
The current emperor has always presented himself as having a deep affection for the Prince of Jin. Currently, whether it is a stone tablet or a poem, they all praise the Prince of Jin's merits. The current emperor not only cannot investigate openly, but must also praise and publicize them.
Fu Sui could easily guess that the emperor was feeling resentful, hence his extremely respectful tone.
"I have heard that someone has mentioned Father’s past. Although it is a compliment, I am truly uneasy. I fear that someone with ulterior motives may use Father’s name to spread rumors and cause trouble..." At this point, Fu Sui simply stood up, knelt down in the hall, and bowed, saying, "I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly and not give the villains any opportunity."
The emperor smiled and appeared extremely kind. He waved his hand to let Fu Sui get up and said casually, "Uncle Jin is intelligent and brave. He was outstanding when he was in the capital, and he was even more diligent after he came to power. Now the people still remember his merits, which makes me very happy."
The emperor said this, but Fu Sui dared not listen to him.
"Although my brother and father are uncle and nephew, their affection is deeper than that of others. It is because of my brother's care that I, as an orphan, have achieved the glory I have today. However, the Baiqu Xianbei is really suspicious. Who knows if someone is secretly acting in the name of the Prince of Jin? I know that my brother is busy with state affairs. If my brother has any need for me, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."
The stone tablet floated on the water at the same time that the Prefect of Jingzhao was repairing the canal. Every night, powerful people would send people to secretly dismantle the millstones on the canal. With carts and people coming and going, they could throw a stone tablet into the water under the cover of night and there would be no way to find out.
Fu Sui secretly sent people to investigate the people who came to the canal a few days before the Double Ninth Festival. There were several hundred people in total, involving more than ten prominent families in the capital. These servants of the powerful and wealthy could not be easily arrested and tortured, so Fu Sui had to stop his investigation here.
Fu Sui didn't think the emperor could interrogate all the servants of these dozen or so families, so she wasn't worried that the emperor would actually ask her to investigate the stone tablet. However, she needed to make her stance clear and distance herself from the matter to avoid getting into trouble.
She knelt on the ground, waiting quietly for the emperor's response. After a long while, she heard the emperor's voice.
"Alright, these are just idle people causing trouble, not worth mentioning. You can stay peacefully in your residence and don't need to pay any attention to them."
Fu Sui bid farewell to the emperor and left the palace led by Xu Zhiyi.
Sitting in the carriage, she was finally able to spare some time to carefully ponder the emperor's words.
She understood that the emperor wanted her to behave herself and not interfere in the matter, but judging from the emperor's expression, it seemed that he was not surprised by the stone tablet, or rather, the emperor was fully aware of the intentions behind the stone tablet.
This was the first time Fu Sui had felt troubled by the Wang family's affairs. She was unsure of what role she would play in this matter, and the unknown made her uneasy.
"The people from the Right Spring Palace said they saw someone in the Imperial Guard seemingly having dealings with the palace." Qin An handed over a small scroll of paper.
Fu Sui opened the package, glanced at it casually, and tossed it back to Qin An. "Don't worry about it. It would be strange if the emperor didn't have spies planted in the capital's guards."
Qin An used long tongs to hold the paper roll over the fire and heat it until the paper roll turned into a small clump of black ash in a copper plate.
"The Left Guard... doesn't care either?"
"Don't worry about it." Fu Sui said the same thing again: if Yue Shanling didn't understand the situation, he would have died on the frontier when the Prince of Jin passed away.
Once the last bit of a burnt smell from the burning paper had dissipated, Fu Sui softly instructed, "Tell the people in the palace to focus on their duties. Unless there is extremely urgent news, there is no need for them to keep sending messages back and forth. As for those outside... let them stop for now."
Wei Zhong's spies have all sprung into action, it seems she underestimated the Wang family. No matter how impatient Wang Bochang is, he was once a prime minister, and he would never be confined to such trivial skills as floating stones on water. Regardless of why the Wang family wanted to use Prince Jin, the supreme power in the Council of State Affairs was the Wang family's goal.
Fu Sui had no doubt that the Wang family had planted people within the Imperial Guard; Yuan Shenquan was a prime example. He just wondered who the Wang family would associate with after Yuan Shenquan. Or perhaps, Yuan Shenquan was simply a replaceable pawn.
Her cousin was determined to seize all power, and if the Wang family refused to yield, he would have to resort to unconventional methods. The imperial court was destined to become a place where one person had absolute power; whether the throne belonged to the Wang or the Fu family depended on their respective abilities.
Fu Sui felt a little sorry for the Wang family. It's no wonder the Wang family couldn't give up their status as the head of the officialdom. The Wang family had truly been "second only to the emperor" and "above ten thousand others," and they were never even "second only to the emperor."
However, the downfall of the Wang family was inevitable. It was not that Wang Bochang was inferior to Wang Yifu in the past, but that the Wang family made the worst move at the height of their power.
Wang Yifu shouldn't have killed Prince Jin. If Prince Jin hadn't died, the capital would have been peaceful, and the outcome of the succession struggle between Prince Jing and the late emperor would have been uncertain. The Wang family could have remained hidden, continuing to be the true power behind the throne.
Despite his meticulous planning, Wang Yifu ultimately underestimated Emperor Su's high regard for the Prince of Jin. No, it should be said that Wang Yifu underestimated Emperor Su's high regard for his deceased eldest son.
What a magnificent sunrise! It could win Emperor Su's favor and drive him mad.
The death of a prince is nothing to worry about. Under imperial power, which dynasty doesn't have deaths? It's just that a person's thoughts can die once, but not a second time.
With the Prince of Jin murdered, Wang Yifu once again caused Emperor Su to lose his beloved son, who was only in his early twenties. Therefore, Wang Yifu had to face an emperor who had gone mad and committed mass killings.
Wang Yifu's second misstep was to withdraw completely from this matter.
He paid the price; the Wang family were powerful ministers who coveted the credit for his role in the emperor's rise to power. He paid no price; the Wang family were the murderers who shattered all of Emperor Su's illusions.
The fact that the royal family remained unscathed made Emperor Su realize that his "beloved son's" life had never been in his own hands. Of course, he wanted revenge, and coincidentally, one of his grandchildren was a true schemer.
Fu Sui stretched out her finger and traced the character "曦" in the air again and again, layer upon layer. She paused and carefully wrote down the character "晞".
They are not the same. Even if they sound the same, the characters are ultimately different, the people are ultimately different, and the love is ultimately different.
The coffin of Emperor Su's eldest son was exhumed from the old earth and buried in the same chamber as Emperor Su. The coffin of the Prince of Jin was transported thousands of miles to the capital under the scorching sun and buried alone on Jiu Cong Mountain.
Fu Sui recalled a piece of calligraphy and painting that had been stored in a box.
The Prince of Jin was not skilled in poetry and painting, and few of his works have been left behind; there is only one painting. The painting depicts distant mountains shrouded in mist, and the accompanying poem reads, "The rising sun is faintly visible, the mist descends gently."
My father was intelligent and thoughtful from a young age, and he probably understood that himself.
Fu Sui looked at her right hand. The feeling of the blade piercing her heart that day was still clear and vivid. She could still remember the lingering sensation of each notch on the blade scraping against her flesh.
As she looked at him, she gently curled the corners of her lips, a faint smile appearing on her delicate and charming face.
So what if the love is fake? Her wealth and glory are real, and the blood on her hands is real too.
Fight! Fight hard, fight carefully, fight until you are defeated, fight fiercely.
If the Emperor wants her to be a docile "outsider," then she will do as he wishes and remain a bystander.
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The author writes: "The rising sun is faint and distant, the descending mist is soft and melting."
Poem on the Mountain
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