Chapter 11 Dim Light (Part Two) "I originally intended to use the Crown Prince's hand to eliminate..."
Yan Chao smiled and nodded, maintaining his distance from him, and asked gently, "You stopped my carriage, you should explain yourself."
Yan Fei blinked, turned around and glanced at the palace maid still kneeling behind him. With a mournful face and pouting lips, he said, "Mother wants me to memorize a very, very long article. I've been trying to memorize it for a long, long time, but I still can't. I'm also afraid that Mother will beat me with the 'Prescription'... Sixth Uncle, could you let me stay for the night?"
"cannot."
Yan Chao shook her head, leaving no room for negotiation. Looking down, she saw that those dark, bright eyes were full of innocence and cunning. Yan Fei felt flustered under her gaze and could only stand awkwardly, secretly glancing at her again.
Yan Chao shifted his gaze and glanced at the palace maid. At this moment, she had her head down, so it was impossible to tell what was going on. But when she chased after him earlier, she had been very lively and outgoing.
The palace maid shrank back and quickly kowtowed, saying, "This servant is Shuying, a palace maid from Zhaoyang Palace. I did not mean to disturb Your Highness's presence. Please forgive me."
Yan Chao had no intention of pursuing the matter, and since Yan Fei was looking at her expectantly as if pleading for mercy, she said, "Palace rules are strict, this will not be repeated."
Yan Fei let out a soft sigh, then cautiously pleaded, "Could Sixth Uncle take me home? Fei'er is afraid of the dark by herself." She then suddenly remembered Shu Ying and added, "Shu Ying is a girl, and we're both scared too..."
Yan Chao couldn't help but chuckle: "Even if I send you back, it won't exempt your mother from checking your studies."
Having said that, she remembered the two sentences Shu Ying had mentioned earlier, and a sense of unease crept into her heart, but she remained outwardly calm, giving him a helpless look: "A husband should cultivate his character through frugality and refine his conduct through tranquility. Frugality prevents people from becoming weary, and tranquility prevents disturbances among his subjects. When people become weary, resentment arises; when subjects become disturbed, governance goes awry...① It is indeed difficult to memorize. But I have matters to attend to at the Eastern Palace, so perhaps I should have Liang Lu escort you back..."
“If Fei’er is being silly, then there’s no need to trouble Sixth Brother.” Suddenly, Yao Yao’s words of refusal interrupted Yan Chao.
Sun's arrival was sudden, and Yan Chao, surprised, greeted her first, saying, "Greetings, sister-in-law."
Sun nodded slightly: "Greetings, Sixth Brother."
She had always been aloof, and since the death of Crown Prince Zhaohuai, she had become even more taciturn, rarely appearing in public. Princess Yongjia was the one who visited her palace most often, and the two had a close relationship. The rest of the time, she stayed by Yan Fei's side.
The Crown Princess was chosen by Empress Wenshu. Because of her frivolous and unrefined behavior when she was young, which was not like that of a lady from a prominent family, the emperor was never very satisfied with her. However, he was very fond of her grandson.
During his illness, the emperor missed his grandson several times and wished to summon him, but was always refused by Lady Sun, who claimed that Yan Fei had caught a cold. In the end, Yan Fei would only kneel outside the tent and kowtow to pay his respects, and the emperor would only ask a few words of concern.
Yan Chao was also quite surprised to hear this. Lady Sun had always been extremely respectful to the emperor, and such sudden disobedience was rare. However, Lady Sun was cold-hearted, showing no mercy whatsoever when it came to her son. Fortunately, the emperor felt sorry for his grandson and did not pursue the matter.
Madam Sun said nothing more and beckoned to Yan Fei. Yan Fei lowered her head, turned and bowed to Yan Chao before reluctantly following, biting her lip.
Shuying hastily bowed to the morning sun and hurriedly chased after him.
As Yan Chao watched the departing figure, Shu Ying's face flashed through his mind, feeling somewhat familiar, yet he couldn't recall where he had seen her before. He stood there quietly for a moment before getting back into his sedan chair and returning to the palace.
.
The Prince Xin's residence has been unusually lively these past few days. Prince Xin's concubine, Lady Wei, has successfully given birth to a grandson, who, although born out of wedlock, is still Prince Xin's eldest son.
The emperor, who was ill, was overjoyed upon hearing the news and immediately bestowed many gifts upon the Prince Xin's residence. This was his third grandson, and the son of the Prince Xin whom he had always favored. He immediately felt refreshed and invigorated.
Only then did Prince Xin send off the eunuchs from the palace, and the people who came to offer their congratulations also took their leave, and the mansion finally quieted down.
Li Shihuai stayed behind to discuss matters with Prince Xin in the front hall.
He shifted his gaze from the bustling noise outside the door, stroked his beard, and smiled, "The Prince Xin's residence is currently enjoying the Emperor's favor, and the birth of the little grandson is perfectly timed. With an heir, Your Highness's position will become even more secure. Judging from the large number of guests here today, it is evident that Your Highness enjoys considerable prestige."
Prince Xin sipped his tea, responding calmly, "It's been a bit too ostentatious. Perhaps it's because of my diligent care for the Emperor these past few days that my father has shown me favor, and thus has been more attentive to the Prince's residence. If the censors find something to criticize me for, wouldn't they impeach me? Besides, the Crown Prince, who is in charge of the country, is still there. If a group of officials gather at Prince Xin's residence, wouldn't that be a slap in her face?"
“That’s the Crown Prince’s fault for not marrying and having children, not His Highness’s. Besides, at this juncture, the Crown Prince wouldn’t dare say anything,” Li Shih-huai said, a glint of smugness flashing in his eyes. He paused and continued, “On the contrary, if the Crown Prince is sensible, and someone does impeach His Highness for this matter, she will suppress it.”
Prince Xin's gaze deepened, and he raised an eyebrow.
Both men fell silent, understanding each other implicitly. The Emperor was currently in a good mood; if the Crown Prince were to make a big deal out of this, wouldn't that be going against His Majesty? The Meng Huai incident had already caused the Crown Prince to lose favor with the Emperor; now, with another sibling rivalry, who could say what His Majesty would think?
"But I am still just a prince, and associating with court officials will inevitably damage my reputation." Although he said this, it was not clear that Prince Xin had too many worries.
Li Shih-huai smiled and said, "The court officials have eyes like hawks and are the best at judging situations in officialdom. His Majesty was happy to arrange a post for His Highness in the Ministry of Revenue. The attitude behind this is quite intriguing. There are quite a few people who are not sitting still."
Given Prince Xin's age, he should have left the capital and returned to his fiefdom two years ago, but the emperor has kept him in the capital until now, and has now allowed him to enter the court.
"Furthermore, His Highness returned all the gifts they sent, so the matter can't be traced back to the Prince Xin's residence. Right now, there's a group of people following along, and it's hard to tell who's good and who's bad. If we really want to win them over, we should wait and see what His Majesty's attitude is after he recovers from his illness."
In fact, Li Shih-huai had many protégés in the court, and he had intended to cultivate them, but so far few had achieved anything significant. If he were to devise a plan for Prince Xin, he would have to be extremely cautious.
What pleased him most today was not that Prince Xin had a son, but that the emperor had allowed Prince Xin to gradually become involved in politics. Moreover, the Ministry of Revenue was being tested, which would make future planning much easier.
The charcoal fire in the bronze furnace crackled and popped, and Prince Xin unconsciously gripped the empty cup in his hand, the sharp joints turning slightly white.
He slightly raised his chin, his brows furrowed in deep thought. His face bore a striking resemblance to the emperor in his youth—upright and handsome, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. Perhaps this was precisely why the emperor favored him.
He was the strongest of all the emperor's sons, and at the age of just over twenty, he was in his prime, a time when he should also be full of ambition and passion.
Although he was neither the eldest son nor the heir apparent, he had experienced the bloodshed and turmoil surrounding Yan Ping's rebellion. Under the protection of Consort Xian and the Li family, he grew step by step and learned to bide his time. Only now did he have the opportunity to compete for the supreme position.
"Your Highness often visits the Emperor's presence; perhaps you could offer some guidance to Eunuch Ji these next few days," Li Shihai suddenly suggested.
Prince Xin understood his meaning and nodded, saying, "I know. He has become a bit complacent these past few days. His foundation is not as strong as Lan Huai'en's. If something really happens to him, we will have no one left in front of the Emperor."
In the past, many messages within the palace were secretly sent out by Ji Weixian. With Lan Huaien above him, Ji Weixian still had a way out if anything happened. Now it's different. If something happens to him, it's very easy for the Prince Xin's mansion to be implicated.
Li Shih-huai suddenly sighed, "I originally intended to use the Crown Prince's hand to get rid of Lan Huai-en in one fell swoop, but I didn't expect the Crown Prince to protect him. It's really unexpected."
"Since we can get rid of Meng Huai under the guise of befriending his close attendants, why not use the same method to..."
“No,” Li Shihai hurriedly waved his hand. “Although His Majesty is ill, he is as clear-headed as a mirror. His Majesty’s warning to Grand Secretary Cao is also a warning to everyone not to cause any more trouble. Let’s wait a little longer. After all, the Crown Prince has a group of ministers supporting him, so we can’t rush things. For us, the best shortcut is to shake His Majesty’s mind.”
There was something else he didn't say. Because he didn't know exactly what the Crown Prince had said to the Emperor, or whether there had been any changes, he dared not act rashly.
Furthermore, if the framing were successful, even if the emperor harbored suspicions, he would have no choice but to execute Lan Huai'en under pressure from his court officials' remonstrances. Therefore, alerting the enemy would be detrimental to them.
Prince Xin remained silent for a long time before saying, "If you have some free time, Uncle, could you investigate that Shen Wei in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices? Perhaps he could be of use."
.
Sure enough, people started mentioning Prince Xin the following day.
When Yan Chao saw the memorial, his rhetoric was quite vehement. It contained three main points: Prince Xin's lavish banquet during the Emperor's illness was unfilial; his close association with court officials as a prince was suspected of treason; and finally, the Emperor's assignment of Prince Xin to involve him in court affairs was inappropriate.
She had a headache; this was a potentially fatal situation.
The signature is Xu Zhen. Has he gone mad?
If the emperor actually saw this, he would probably be so furious that he would fall ill again.
Yesterday he was still overjoyed at the birth of his grandson, but today someone has launched an attack on his favorite prince and grandson.
However, Yan Chao also knew that there must be people gossiping about it, but almost no one dared to say it out loud.
The cabinet was fairly unanimous in its decision to suppress the news for now, as it was inappropriate to report it at this time. The emperor would find out sooner or later, but everyone was afraid of being implicated.
Cao Ying, on the other hand, was straightforward. He went straight to Xu Zhen and gave him a stern reprimand, venting all the anger he had been holding in for the past few days. The matter was thus left unresolved, like a joke.
Yan Chao didn't need to concern himself with any of this; he simply observed from the sidelines. He sighed inwardly. What did Xu Zhen amount to? What about all those silent people behind him? Some were perfectly aware but pretended to be fools, while others were confused and wavering back and forth.
She herself felt a little resentful. Just how much did the emperor favor Prince Xin to be able to silence the vast majority of people like this?
A note from the author:
Note: ① This is from "The Imperial Model".
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