Chapter 85 If Jiang can't be captured, then cut off his supply line.
Huayan Palace
After the decree was publicly announced, Commander Wei withdrew from the hall, but many Imperial Guards remained guarding the outside.
The entire hall remained eerily quiet.
A perfectly good New Year's Eve banquet turned into a "trap".
What kind of heartless bastard would harm himself and others like this?!
Everyone at the table, whether they had eaten or not, was sober.
Many people were eager to immediately identify the arsonist in the palace so as to clear their names.
Some even felt that the emperor's actions were inappropriate and wanted to offer their advice... but the guards outside the palace were already in full armor and holding halberds, displaying a "no mercy" attitude, and no one dared to risk their lives.
Treason and rebellion are both disastrous acts; it is better to be wrongly accused than to let someone go unpunished.
If one were to be accused of plotting rebellion at this time, not only would one lose one's life, but one's family would also be implicated. How unjust that would be!
Empress Wang, sitting at the head of the table, had a rather gloomy expression.
Lady Jiang is unharmed, but those two sickly children seem to be fine. Why is it worth the emperor making such a fuss?
"Your Majesty the Empress."
Consort Zhang, feeling rather uneasy, immediately looked at Empress Wang.
"You just went to Guanju Palace. How is the fire? How is Consort Jiang now? Are the Seventh Princess and the Ninth Prince injured?"
The concubines also looked expectantly at Empress Wang, but she shook her head and said, "Fortunately, Consort Jiang was quick-witted and escaped with her two children early on, preventing them from being injured in the fire."
Are you unharmed?
Judging from the emperor's posture, one might think that Consort Jiang, the Seventh Princess, and the Ninth Prince had all perished in the fire.
But you said they were completely unharmed.
The other concubines at the banquet had various expressions, and were thinking all sorts of things.
This time, she didn't dare to reach out, but she felt extremely guilty because she had previously bribed the eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department, which led to Consort Jiang falling from her sedan chair.
No one is born an irredeemable villain, devoid of emotions and desires.
Ultimately, Consort Gong and Azhu had absolutely no life-or-death feud.
More often than not, she felt envy and even jealousy.
The methods to harm people are too simple.
It's so simple that it's just a fleeting thought in my mind.
But this seemingly impossible, simple method succeeded.
There's a reason why people say that thieves always feel guilty.
Consort Gong, who was completely bewildered and didn't know why the matter had come to pass, felt increasingly frightened as she thought about it, and was on edge as if under stress.
Now, whenever anyone mentions Consort Jiang's premature birth or the two children whose survival is uncertain, her heart races and her hands and feet turn cold.
"It wasn't me, it wasn't me, it really wasn't me this time, it has nothing to do with me."
Consort Gong, who had been silently repeating this phrase in her mind, wanted to drink some wine to calm her nerves, but her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't even hold a wine glass. She quickly withdrew her hand.
Lady Lu, sitting to the left, saw Consort Gong's actions clearly.
Consort Gong is only able to act so arrogantly towards her because she is one rank higher than her and has a title.
If Zhao Yingwei were to speak rudely at this moment and be implicated, losing her position or title, what face would she have left to bully others?
Lu Meiren, who had been tormented by the "turn of the tables" these days, seized the opportunity to speak up.
"Why is Consort Gong so panicked and pale? Could it be that Consort Gong knows something about the fire at Guanju Palace?"
"It wasn't me!"
Consort Gong was startled, and the words she had been repeating to herself blurted out, "This time it really wasn't me!"
Consort Zhao, who was not far away, was thinking about Lu Yinyue when Consort Gong's sudden shout startled her.
Zhao Jieyu's face fell.
She snapped at him, "If it's not you, then it's not you! What are you yelling about? You..."
Wait... what did Consort Gong just say?
Once she realized what was happening, Consort Zhao turned around abruptly, and she and Consort Lu, who were equally dumbfounded, stared straight at Consort Gong.
"Consort Gong, what did you just say?"
"It wasn't you. You said it wasn't you this time... Then which time before was it you who did it?"
Consort Gong felt a chill run down her spine, broke out in a cold sweat, and felt her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.
She wanted to cleverly brush it off, but her tongue was stiff, and she couldn't utter a word.
In the end, Consort Gong turned pale and shook her head repeatedly, saying, "No, no."
Clearly, this matter won't be easily resolved.
Because of A-Zhu's sudden appearance, the so-called "struggle for favor" was completely unfounded, but women who have lived in the palace for so long are not so easily fooled.
Even Zhao Jieyu, who was confined for two or three days at a time, was no exception.
Seeing Consort Gong suddenly brought out, Consort Zhou lowered her eyes and coughed twice, feeling quite helpless.
The reason for choosing Consort Gong was because she was outwardly fierce but inwardly weak, young and naive, and unable to handle things properly.
After all, if she were tactful and meticulous in her work, and would not give anything away so that anyone could catch her, how could anyone find out who was behind the plot to harm Consort Jiang?
But clearly, human calculations are no match for fate.
Zhou Zhaoyi never imagined that the Empress Dowager would inexplicably become a scapegoat.
Consort Gong didn't stumble when she was supposed to "die," but instead revealed her true colors at this moment.
Emperor Xuanpei's decree, spoken with absolute authority, was deemed a treasonous act, and with so many eyes watching, Empress Wang's expression was exceptionally solemn and stern as she looked at Consort Gong kneeling in the hall.
"Noble Lady Gong, your evasive and inappropriate words suggest you know something. Why don't you tell the truth?!"
Consort Gong slumped her shoulders and shook her head repeatedly.
"Your Majesty, I really don't have any."
"The fire at Guanju Palace... I really didn't know anything about it, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I'm innocent."
"Injustice?!"
Consort Zhang pointed to Consort Zhao and Lady Lu below.
"So many people heard what you said with their own ears."
"You still dare to say you're innocent?!"
"Consort Gong, setting fire to the palace and attempting to assassinate the emperor are crimes punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family. Do you want the entire Zhao family to go to the underworld with you before you will tell the truth?"
"Bang—!"
Consort Zhang slammed her hand on the table: "Tell me the truth!"
The imperial concubines and court officials sat on separate tables, with a large hall in the middle for singing girls to dance.
If the music were still as pleasant as before, with light singing and dancing, and clinking glasses, the commotion on both sides would naturally not be very clear.
But now, Vice Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Justice looked at Consort Gong kneeling there with a puzzled and anxious expression, wishing he could rush over immediately to find out what had happened.
Despite being under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lord Zhao did not lose his mind and go so far as to rush directly to the place where the concubines were.
He turned to the Crown Prince on his side, and pleaded repeatedly with his hands clasped in a gesture of respect, "Your Highness."
"I only have this one daughter, and I have spoiled her rotten."
"She's young and doesn't know any better."
"If her words or actions are inappropriate, I beg Your Majesty the Empress to have mercy. I am willing to accept the blame for my failure to properly discipline her."
"Lord Zhao, please don't worry for now."
The Crown Prince comforted Vice Minister Zhao.
"If Consort Gong has not committed any serious offense, the Empress Dowager will surely understand your concern and will not be harsh on her."
But this matter was clearly beyond Empress Wang's control.
Soon, the Imperial Guards entered the palace and took Consort Gong away.
Since the emperor has even gone so far as to seal off the palace.
At this point, there's no such thing as "doing a perfunctory job" or "showing leniency."
All the palace servants around Consort Gong were arrested.
They were being tortured, and Consort Gong was watching and listening from the sidelines... Those "eunuchs" really didn't play any tricks on you.
Even though those punishments would never have touched Consort Gong, she was still so frightened that she trembled all over, her face turned pale, and she almost collapsed and vomited.
Similarly, Consort Gong, in this situation, did not want to be associated with the crime of "arson in the palace and plotting rebellion."
Between two evils, choose the lesser; Consort Gong accepted the means of "palace intrigue."
She was shocked, frightened, and panicked. She knelt before Emperor Xuanpei, sobbing uncontrollably.
He immediately took all the blame upon himself, attributing it to jealousy rather than plotting rebellion.
"Your Majesty."
"Since I entered the palace through the imperial concubine selection, I have never been summoned by you."
"Everyone in the palace is laughing at me..."
"Later, Consort Jiang became pregnant."
"At first, I was happy, thinking that since she needed to rest and recuperate, I could finally receive His Majesty's summons..."
Consort Gong raised her head, her eyes red and her face full of resentment.
"But she's pregnant and still wants to monopolize the Emperor!"
"Everyone in Gantang Palace says that His Majesty would rather spend time with Consort Jiang, who is heavily pregnant, than even glance at me."
"I've become a laughingstock in this palace!"
Tears streamed down Consort Gong's face.
"Your Majesty, I am truly, truly unwilling to accept this..."
Consort Gong's crying was so pitiful that it moved everyone who heard it.
But Emperor Xuanpei, who was sitting at the head of the table, was heartless.
He left the capital at a young age to fight on the frontier, his body stained with blood. His kindness, along with the blood, cooled down and was hard to warm up.
After returning to the capital, Emperor Xuanpei saw far too many faces with different expressions.
Those seemingly respectable officials in the imperial court were even better at "acting" than the actors in the common folk.
In the imperial court, there are those who appear righteous and upright in front of everyone, but are actually hypocrites; and there are those who claim to be loyal and devoted, but are actually cowardly and incompetent.
There were also self-proclaimed upright and righteous officials who, upon being discovered to have committed embezzlement and dereliction of duty, were dismissed and investigated, only to tremble and collapse, displaying their pathetic and shameful state of mind...
I've seen all sorts of human nature and its various forms.
Faced with Consort Gong's incessant weeping, Emperor Xuanpei remained unmoved, only asking, "Was there anyone else who instigated this?"
Emperor Xuanpei's expression was as if a bucket of cold water mixed with ice shards had been poured over someone's head.
I was completely frozen from head to toe.
It instantly calmed all the excited emotions in people down.
No longer did Consort Gong weep bitterly and complain bitterly; she simply wiped away her tears and slowly shook her head.
"No one instructed me to do this."
"I only saw the sesame oil used to burn the eternal lamp spill out, and the palace maid next to me slipped and fell on it, which is when I suddenly had this idea."
"Your Majesty, I was truly just confused for a moment."
"This concubine never imagined, never imagined that Consort Jiang would be so easily... just fall straight off the sedan chair..."
Emperor Xuanpei suddenly asked, "How did you bribe the palace servants who carried your sedan chair?"
"ah?"
Consort Gong, who only wanted the palace eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department to sprinkle some sesame oil, looked at Emperor Xuanpei in surprise—what did the palace servants carrying the sedan chair have to do with this?
"They tripped and fell because they stepped on sesame oil..."
Seeing the foolish and unaware "scapegoat" who was pushed out when he had the chance to harbor evil intentions, Emperor Xuanpei did not ask any more questions.
No matter how much you ask, you won't get the answer.
With evil thoughts running rampant, whether one succeeds or fails, it's nothing more than wishful thinking.
While Consort Gong was still in a daze and vaguely sensed that something was wrong, Emperor Xuanpei had already ordered her to be taken away.
After having his attendants cover her mouth and lead Consort Gong away, Eunuch Chen lowered his head and asked softly, "Your Majesty, Consort Gong..."
"He is granted the right to commit suicide."
"yes."
"Zhao Zhongwu, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, has failed to properly discipline his subordinates. He is suspended from his post for self-reflection and fined one year's salary."
"The Consort Tang of Gantang Palace has repeatedly indulged the concubines in the palace to quarrel and instigate trouble. She has failed to properly educate them. She is hereby fined half a year's salary and ordered to reflect for one month to observe her future behavior."
"yes."
After receiving the imperial decree, Eunuch Chen went to the front court to deliver it.
When Eunuch Qing, who was in charge of the "Minli Division" and was usually like a shadow, entered the palace, he seemed to still have a faint smell of blood on him.
He walked to Emperor Xuanpei's side and bowed to present a memorial.
This time, Eunuch Qing was ordered to thoroughly investigate the Imperial Household Department.
Starting with Emperor Taizong, the Imperial Household Department was established in the palace. Subsequently, various departments were added one after another. Over several reigns, the Imperial Household Department had become a huge institution.
After all, this organization was responsible for the food, clothing and daily necessities of everyone in the palace, from the emperor and concubines to the palace maids and eunuchs.
Even if the struggles within the imperial court and the inner palace have some impact, they will certainly not damage the foundation of the dynasty.
To put it bluntly, the Director of the Imperial Household Department is even more secure than the Grand Secretary in the imperial court.
Emperor Xuanpei had never considered investigating the Imperial Household Department.
After all, the emperor, who was weighing the pros and cons, understood the principle that "if the water is too clear, there will be no fish" better than anyone else.
Everyone has selfish desires.
If a dynasty can produce even one sage who embodies the "Great Way of Universal Justice," it is already worthy of being remembered in history and praised for eternity.
Playing it safe is best.
Emperor Xuanpei, who still vividly remembers the great turmoil that occurred in the palace that year, was also like that.
But these last few times, it was almost always the Imperial Household Department that started the trouble...
Rome wasn't built in a day.
Repeated "coincidences" are no longer coincidences.
Simply making a lot of noise but doing little to punish the so-called "ineffective" palace servants is clearly far from enough.
The real problem lies with the entire Internal Affairs Bureau.
Therefore, apart from Eunuch Chen, who had always served the Emperor, none of the eunuchs and chief eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department escaped this time.
If a "eunuch" knows himself and his enemy, then he will be easier to deal with.
If you catch one, you'll find a whole string of them.
They won't stop you from speaking up; if you don't provoke them, they will. They even want to pin all the blame on you.
Who can withstand this?
However, after staying up for most of the night, these people confessed.
The confessions were incredibly varied and eye-opening.
Compared to the things they confessed, the infighting among the concubines seemed like a trivial matter.
Embezzlement and misappropriation were of paramount importance within the Imperial Household Department.
There were also instances of substituting inferior goods for superior ones, swapping items from the palace to sell outside the palace.
Some people inquired about various matters within the palace and charged "service fees" to the outside world.
There were also palace maids and eunuchs who formed "pairs" (or "couples"), and eunuchs or nannies who recognized each other as godparents, creating a complex web of relationships.
Not just palace women.
There were also matters concerning the empresses and other princes.
For example, when Prince Rui repeatedly abused a palace maid to the point of her tragic death, Empress Wang and the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department managed to suppress the abuse.
There were also other concubines who secretly conspired with each other in their own residences, exchanging information or smuggling things out of the palace and into their own residences... and many more, which were shocking to behold.
Even the originally murderous Emperor Xuanpei remained silent for a long time after reading these things.
After a long while, Emperor Xuanpei shook his head and even couldn't help but laugh.
"It is also because I am short-sighted."
"They didn't even know that there are heavens beyond heavens and mountains beyond mountains."
"If this continues for several generations, wouldn't they eventually rule the palace and the world without anyone noticing?"
This thorough investigation involves many people.
But no matter how much, Emperor Xuanpei had no reason to lift it up high and then let it go easily.
He stormed into the capital back then; this is just a repeat of that.
As for now, it's the Lunar New Year holiday...
It's alright, even seeing blood can be a cause for celebration.
If even the emperor is not at peace in the capital, then no one else can expect to be at peace.
"Someone come here."
Emperor Xuanpei summoned the Imperial Secretary and personally drafted several imperial edicts.
......
The next day, as dawn broke, the sky began to lighten with the pale glow of dawn.
Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, a truly auspicious day.
Even though she didn't particularly like Hanyuan Hall, Azhu felt exceptionally at ease here.
After taking the calming soup last night, A-Zhu slept soundly until morning. When she opened her eyes, she stared at the golden dragon and auspicious cloud pattern on the embroidered curtain for a while.
Once she was fully awake, Qingliu saw that Azhu was about to get off the bed, so she quickly came over to help her.
"Your Majesty."
The first question A-Zhu asked was about the child.
"Where are Chen'er and Jiahe?"
Qingliu replied, "About half an hour ago, the Ninth Prince and the Seventh Princess woke up once."
"The wet nurse went back to sleep after feeding, and she hasn't woken up yet."
Ah Zhu then went to the side room to check on the two children.
Although she woke up crying several times during the night, thankfully she didn't have a fever, and after feeding, she was able to sleep soundly for a while.
Looking at Princess Jiahe, who was still pursing her lips and looking unhappy in her sleep, Azhu kissed her clenched little fist with exceptional tenderness.
The little fist clenched, but miraculously loosened a bit. Princess Jiahe moved her mouth slightly and then fell asleep again.
They are so cute.
A-Zhu kissed the sleeping Ninth Prince again, who looked very well-behaved, and then sat down next to him, looking him over from left to right, as if she could watch him like this all day long.
When Emperor Xuanpei entered the side room, Azhu smiled and pointed to Princess Jiahe's furrowed brows.
Looking at it this way, the little princess's unhappy expression really is exactly the same as Emperor Xuanpei's.
Emperor Xuanpei saw Azhu suddenly cover his mouth and laugh, and a smile appeared on his face as well. He reached out and rubbed Azhu's head.
Upon closer inspection, A-Zhu clearly saw the bloodshot veins in Emperor Xuanpei's eyes, and she quickly took his hand and led him out of the room.
"Your Majesty, did you perhaps stay up all night to welcome the New Year?"
A-Zhu pushed Emperor Xuanpei down onto the couch, pulled back the quilt and covered him with it, all in one smooth, fluid motion.
As she reached out and took off his boots, Ah Zhu grumbled somewhat discontentedly, "I know you have many worries, but you were ill just before the New Year..."
"Your Majesty, no matter how important other matters are, none of them are as important as your health. Why don't you take a good rest for a while?"
Whether it's good or bad, Emperor Xuanpei is already lying in his luxurious bed surrounded by brocade and silk.
He didn't struggle to get up; he simply took Ah Zhu's hand and pulled her leaning against him.
"A-Zhu, stay with me."
"Very well, I will accompany His Majesty."
After kicking off her embroidered shoes and climbing back onto the dragon bed, A-Zhu smiled and leaned over to kiss Emperor Xuanpei's forehead.
"I have prayed for many blessings."
"On the first day of the Lunar New Year, let's wish His Majesty good fortune."
"Your Majesty will surely have everything go well and enjoy peace and good health."
Emperor Xuanpei reached out and pulled Azhu into his arms.
He wrapped his body around A-Zhu, nuzzled her forehead, and whispered with a smile, "What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours."
Ah Zhu held Emperor Xuanpei's hand and replied with a smile, "Alright."
The hall quickly quieted down. Emperor Xuanpei, who was holding Azhu as he slept, had a gentle expression, creating a scene of peaceful tranquility.
Outside Hanyuan Hall, chaos had already broken out.
The court officials and concubines who had been confined to Huayan Palace all night were not released until dawn.
Even when they were very tired, no one dawdled. Those leaving the palace left quickly, and those returning to the palace returned as fast as they could.
The concubines were helped back to their palaces by palace servants, and before they could even settle down, they heard the news that the Imperial Household Department had been dismantled.
It really was split up; most of each department was reassigned.
Not only were nearly half of the palace staff punished and dismissed, but the upheaval from the major overhaul of the Imperial Household Department had not yet subsided. Before lunch, Emperor Xuanpei arrived at Kunning Palace.
Not only Empress Wang, but also the concubines from various palaces arrived.
"I have reviewed the old files of the Imperial Household Department."
Emperor Xuanpei sat at the head of the table and got straight to the point.
“The palace servants serving us nowadays are too numerous and extravagant.”
“In the palace, except for the palace servants serving the princes and princesses whose status remains unchanged, all other palaces must reduce their palace servants.”
As he spoke, Emperor Xuanpei looked at Empress Wang.
"Your Majesty, this matter will begin in your palace."
Who in this world can find fault with thrift?
Empress Wang clearly did not want to be branded with a reputation for extravagance and debauchery.
She rose and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will do my utmost."
Emperor Xuanpei nodded and said, "Since the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Imperial Household Department has been established in the palace."
"Now, after several dynasties, the palace women disregard palace rules and regard palace property as their own private possessions."
"Embezzlement, dereliction of duty, substituting inferior goods for superior ones, and overstepping authority."
"Colluding and conspiring to deceive superiors and subordinates."
"Nowadays, they are repeatedly failing to perform their duties effectively, being negligent and disrespectful, and disregarding palace rules."
"Due to dereliction of duty and inadequate supervision during the fireworks display on New Year's Eve, a fire broke out in the palace..."
Hearing Emperor Xuanpei blame the Imperial Household Department for the crime, the concubines in the palace couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
But upon hearing Emperor Xuanpei's handling of the Imperial Household Department, Empress Wang could no longer laugh.
The Empress Dowager was in charge of the six palaces, and a large part of the palace power came from the Directorate of Internal Affairs.
In the past, Eunuch Chen only held the title. Several deputy chief eunuchs were appointed by the Empress. Later, Consort Zhang also supported other chief eunuchs... But no matter how they fought, it was still the power of the empress and concubines.
Now that Emperor Xuanpei has directly severed this power, if it weren't for the huge commotion last night, Empress Wang would have stood up to refute it.
Until Emperor Xuanpei departed, Empress Wang had no desire to speak much with the concubines, and simply sent them back to quickly draft a list of candidates to be dismissed from the palace.
Empress Wang sat alone in the hall, her expression somber.
Even if the plot against the Jiang family is never uncovered...
However, this provoked Emperor Xuanpei to launch a major attack, and Empress Wang even felt that such a drastic measure was not worth the loss.
What's even more frustrating is that Lady Jiang is unharmed.
God is truly blind.
......
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