The Emperor's Heart is Unpredictable
With the Xianfei's mother's family under investigation and Prince An's case rapidly accelerating, the court and harem are in a state of panic. Xianfei, feigning illness, remains absent from Jingren Palace, where she resides. Even the lower-ranking concubines who once had close ties with her have closed their doors to visitors, fearing they might be tainted by scandal.
Although Xiao Jingche hadn't explicitly issued an edict to reprimand Consort Xian, his repeated stays at Consort Hui's Changchun Palace for several days had already made his stance clear. Lin Wanru had become increasingly cautious and respectful towards Lu Qinglan, fully aware that her current position depended heavily on the Empress's support.
However, Xiao Jingche's attitude towards Lu Qinglan plummeted to a freezing point. He no longer set foot in Kunning Palace, and even when they met publicly at palace banquets, his gaze remained as cold as if he were a stranger. The evidence contained in the paulownia box, like a poisonous thorn, pierced his heart. He was shocked that the harem harbored such deep-seated collusion and conspiracy, and even more furious that Lu Qinglan had been able to obtain such crucial evidence without his knowledge! How much more was she hiding from him? To what extent had her influence penetrated?
This feeling of being spied on and constrained made Xiao Jingche, who had a strong desire for control, feel uneasy.
Lu Qinglan knew this all too well, but she wasn't eager to explain or mitigate the situation. Explanation was a cover-up, and in the face of the emperor's absolute suspicion, any words were pale and powerless. She continued to attend to the affairs of the six palaces daily, visiting Mingde Hall and summoning concubines. Everything was normal, as if the deepening rift between the emperor and empress didn't exist.
That day, she was looking through the autumn budget for each palace submitted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs when Fu Yu quietly entered and whispered, "Your Majesty, Zhao Tieshou has sent a message saying that Prince An... died last night in the clan prison of a 'sudden illness.'"
Lu Qinglan paused slightly as the ink dotted onto the rice paper, creating a small smudge. She slowly lowered her pen, her eyes showing no surprise, only a hint of cold understanding.
"I see." She said calmly, "Have you found out what this 'serious disease' is?"
"The report from the Imperial Clan Court was that he was 'ill with worry and heart failure.'" Fu Yu lowered his voice even more. "But Zhao Tieshou bribed a jailer to say that a stranger had visited Prince An the previous night with a food box, and that Prince An had been acting strangely ever since."
Killing to silence the witness! It was indeed so! With Prince An's death, many clues were completely cut off. The hidden "Ninth Brother" and "Palace Noble" had successfully disappeared once again.
"What's His Majesty's reaction?"
"His Majesty ordered a hasty burial with the rites of a prince, without further investigation."
Xiao Jingche chose to keep the matter quiet. Lu Qinglan understood that pursuing the case of Prince An's death without solid evidence and with potentially far-reaching implications was unwise. Stability was always the emperor's top priority. However, this "stability" came at the expense of the truth and potential threats.
"Let's withdraw our forces. This line with Prince An will end here for now," Lu Qinglan ordered. The other party's methods were ruthless and their response was swift. If they continued investigating, Zhao Tieshou's men would be in danger.
"Yes," Fu Yu agreed, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has recently... seemed to be relying particularly heavily on several newly promoted young officials. Among them is a Hanlin editor named Han, who is frequently summoned for questioning."
Han the Editor? Lu Qinglan quickly searched for relevant information in her mind. Han Mingyuan! Yes, the Censor who had been demoted in his previous life for impeaching the Grand Canal Transport Incident, and who she had secretly protected and pushed to impeach Qiu Sheng in this life! He had actually been promoted to the position of Hanlin Editor, and even won Xiao Jingche's favor?
Xiao Jingche was cultivating his own new team, unconnected to the old forces, while also deliberately alienating and suppressing those officials who had ties to Lu Qinglan. Wei Zheng was left in the capital for retirement, and the officials from humble backgrounds who had previously benefited from the "righteous merchants" initiative were not given important positions. Now, he was promoting "lone ministers" like Han Mingyuan...
The emperor's heart is hard to predict, and even harder to predict is the emperor's desire for power that he does not allow others to interfere with.
Lu Qinglan felt a sense of fatigue, not from the struggle, but from the endless suspicion and checks and balances. What she sought was never to compete with him for power, but rather the strength to protect herself and control her own destiny. But in this era of supreme imperial power, her own strength became a sin.
"Let him go." Lu Qinglan waved his hand, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of desolation. "As long as our people maintain a stable foundation everywhere, inconspicuous but indispensable, that's enough."
She walked to the window, opened it, and the cool autumn breeze rushed into the hall, carrying with it the lingering fragrance of osmanthus. The sky was high and clear, yet it gave people a sense of invisible confinement.
Prince An's death marked both the end of one phase and the beginning of a new one. The surface turmoil subsided temporarily, but the undercurrents beneath the surface surged even more violently. Xiao Jingche's suspicions, the threats posed by hidden enemies, and the inherent infighting within the palace... everything suggested that the road ahead would only become more difficult.
But she couldn't retreat, and there was no way to retreat.
Since the emperor's mind is hard to predict, she will no longer try.
She just needs to hold on to the power she has in her hands and build her own solid fortress in this stormy sea.
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