Chapter 55 The Prince Huan's Residence? The Throne?
Xiao Mingzhang's current position in the court cannot be explained in just a few words.
To explain this in detail, we need to start with the story of Yunzhu's "death" three years ago.
With Yunzhu's passing, the Huanwang Mansion finally began to flourish again, just as Huanwang Xiao Shao had wished.
Strategists flocked to him, and ministers vied to win him over. No matter how much Xiao Mingzhang didn't want to admit it, he had to acknowledge that it was indeed with the help of so many people that he was able to lead Yunzhou, Jizhou, and even Qingzhou out of the control of drought and stabilize the disaster victims.
As for his uncle, Prince Yi, he was rendered insignificant by his sudden and forceful intervention.
The drought brought another great reputation to the Huanwang Mansion.
In the imperial court, more and more ministers began to mention the Prince Huan's mansion before the emperor; within the Prince Huan's mansion, more and more strategists, having heard of the drought and the Crown Princess's affairs, came to serve the mansion with their own burgeoning ambitions.
The path to advancement for the Huan Prince's Mansion took a full three years.
Over the course of three years, Prince Huan, Xiao Shao, went from being gradually abandoned to becoming a highly sought-after figure among many ministers.
Over the years, the emperor has taken a liking to Prince Yi and wanted to cultivate him. The ministers were not unaware of this, but everyone had also witnessed Prince Yi's abilities. He was favored by the emperor, and no one had any objections to him living a carefree and leisurely life as a prince. However, if he were to become the next crown prince...
The court has long been indebted to Prince Yi.
If any ambitious and capable prince were to stand up and challenge Prince Yi, the ministers would actually consider it, and might even develop a bias towards him.
Prince Huan, Xiao Shao, was the one who stepped forward.
As a result, he naturally gained a lot of support.
Seeing the Huan Prince's Mansion regain its power, the emperor was understandably anxious.
Over the years, he has tried to suppress the Huan Prince's Mansion time and again, including but not limited to wanting Xiao Mingzhang to remarry a princess from another ethnic group and sending Xiao Shao to garrison troops in the northwest, but all of these things have been blocked.
As for the suggestion that Xiao Mingzhang remarry, he directly refused, citing his longing for his deceased wife as the reason, and publicly pleaded his case. As for sending Xiao Shao to garrison the northwest… a few years ago, Xiao Shao would naturally not have refused such an assignment, and might even have felt that his father was giving him an opportunity to achieve merit and establish his career. But now he knew that he no longer lacked merit and achievement, and at this critical juncture, sending him to the northwest was tantamount to exile. Therefore, he also refused, citing that Yunzhou had just experienced a drought, and was temporarily short of soldiers and food, and that the horses were thin.
Naturally, if Xiao Shao had made such a refusal himself, pleading his case alone, the emperor would have been furious and issued a forceful decree.
However, with the guidance of Xiao Mingzhang and his advisors, Xiao Shao cleverly learned to leverage the situation. He only pointed out the current predicament of Yunzhou in court, and the ministers spoke on his behalf as to say no.
In this way, the one who offends the emperor is the minister who actively accepts advice, not his son. Even if he wants to get angry, he can't openly vent it on his son.
As a result, the emperor's attempts to suppress the Prince Huan's residence almost all failed.
During the three years that Yunzhu stayed at the Huan Prince's residence, Huan Prince Xiao Shao only visited the capital once; however, in the three years after she left, Xiao Shao visited the capital frequently, becoming a regular visitor to Jinling.
Of all the emperor's sons who had come of age, apart from Prince Yi who had never been enfeoffed in his fiefdom, he was the one who stayed in Jinling the most frequently.
Over the years, the emperor's health has deteriorated, and it is obvious to everyone that the throne will be passed on in just a few years. As a result, the power struggles in the court have become increasingly fierce and intense.
As the heir of the Huan Prince's Mansion, Xiao Mingzhang's presence in the struggle for the throne was not as prominent as that of his father. It could be said that his father was constantly maneuvering within the imperial power in Jinling, while he was always consolidating his power in Yunzhou.
The government office of Yunzhou, the officials of Yunzhou, and... the soldiers of Yunzhou.
Xiao Shao was preoccupied with the political situation in Jinling, so he couldn't fully control or take care of the troops in Yunzhou. In addition, Yunzhu had passed away, and Xiao Shao was very confident that there were no more barriers or conflicts between himself and his son Xiao Mingzhang. So he handed over the troops in Yunzhou to him very decisively.
In this way, over the course of three years, the troops in Yunzhou were gradually influenced, and most of them began to listen to Xiao Mingzhang.
Upon receiving Xiao Shao's letter, Xiao Mingzhang frowned deeply for a long time before finally placing the letter on a candle flame and burning it to ashes.
He went to the study that had just been set up, asked someone to grind ink, and began to prepare to write a reply.
While waiting for someone to grind the ink, Xiao Mingzhang couldn't help but cough lightly. Wuqi then looked up and asked, "Young Master?"
Xiao Mingzhang shook his head: "It's nothing, you can continue."
Wuqi continued grinding ink, but after a while, he couldn't help but look up and ask, "Your Highness, how much longer are we going to stay in this town? I see that Your Highness's wife is as hard as stone and has not wavered in the slightest."
"What are you trying to say?" Xiao Mingzhang asked. "Could it be that you also want to persuade me to go back as soon as possible?"
"Your subordinate wouldn't dare!" Wuqi immediately replied.
Over the years, as Xiao Mingzhang's closest bodyguard, Wuqi was all too aware of the hardships Xiao Mingzhang had endured and his secret care for Yunzhu.
He knew how difficult it was for his young master to finally stand openly before his wife again through his own abilities. It was precisely because he knew how difficult it was that he would never, and could never, stop Xiao Mingzhang from taking Yunzhu back.
Wuqi was puzzled by the Crown Princess's attitude; it seemed that no matter what the Crown Prince did, she remained unmoved.
The night before last, Wuqi thought that the Crown Prince's wife should at least let him stay at her house for a few more days after being caught in the rain. However, after only one night, she forced him to come out.
He could tell from the prince's complexion today that he was not in good spirits. Although he could still stand steadily, he was actually running a fever and might collapse at any moment.
Wuqi had no idea how long this would last, nor did he know what he should do to get the Crown Princess to come home with them. They couldn't stay here forever, could they?
"Don't worry, we won't be stuck here forever." Xiao Mingzhang seemed to know Wu Qi inside and out; he had barely finished his internal monologue when he immediately gave his answer.
Wu Qi froze, his cheeks burning with embarrassment at having his secret exposed.
He quickly lowered his head again and said, "Yes, I understand."
Although he didn't know what the Crown Prince was thinking, Wuqi knew that the Crown Prince's words were generally correct.
Since he is so certain, then he should just focus on getting things done.
—
Xiao Mingzhang's reply was delivered to Prince Huan, Xiao Shao, five days later.
Liangzhou is a thousand miles away from Jinling. At the speed of ordinary carriages and horses, it would be impossible to reach it in less than a month or two. However, the letters between Xiao Shao and Xiao Mingzhang could not possibly travel by ordinary route.
The soldiers rode at breakneck speed and delivered the letter to Xiao Shao within five days.
However, when Xiao Shao saw the contents of the letter at his residence in Jinling, he was so angry that he tore it up.
Because the contents of his letter to Xiao Mingzhang were very clear, the situation was critical, but Xiao Mingzhang still wrote in his reply that there were many things to do in Liangzhou and he could not return for the time being!
Too much to do? Too much to do? Now that the Western Regions and the Central Plains have temporarily ceased hostilities, what urgent matters could there be in Liangzhou? Isn't it just those things concerning Mu Yunzhu?
Xiao Shao never expected that, despite all his calculations, he hadn't anticipated that Mu Yunzhu was still alive. It turned out that her move back then was actually a feigned death!
Not only did she survive, but she also gave birth to Xiao Mingzhang's child on the border between the Western Regions and the Central Plains, where she spent three whole years!
What angered him most was that Xiao Mingzhang had known about this matter for three years but had never told him.
Now is the crucial moment in the struggle for the throne. Xiao Shao is sleepless day and night because he thinks that Mu Yunzhu, who has suddenly come back to life, may affect the throne that is about to be within his grasp.
Especially now that relations between the Western Regions and the Central Plains have broken down and the situation is tense, if Xiao Mingzhang really brings that woman back openly and legitimately... if he really does bring her back...
Xiao Shao could not eat or sleep whenever he thought of this possibility.
He wanted to send someone to Liangzhou to check the situation in the small town of Hanze, but now that most of Yunzhou's troops had been taken to Liangzhou by Xiao Mingzhang, and even though he himself was still in Yunzhou, Xiao Shao was not sure how many troops in Yunzhou would truly listen to him.
Over the years, he had been too lenient with Xiao Mingzhang, never considering that he had been deceiving himself all along, deceiving himself to be lenient with him, deceiving himself to delegate power to him. Now, the governance and military power of Yunzhou are basically in Xiao Mingzhang's hands.
What a good son he is!
Xiao Shao gritted his teeth, wishing he could fly to Xiao Mingzhang and slap him, but that was just wishful thinking, as he could not leave Jinling now.
Although the letter he wrote to Xiao Mingzhang a few days ago was fake, it was true that the emperor was very old and would close his eyes in the next year or two. At this critical juncture, he still had very important things to do in Jinling, and he absolutely could not leave.
He vented his anger at the letter Xiao Mingzhang sent back, and in the end, Xiao Shao could only sulk alone in the empty air.
He glared and bristled, and it wasn't until night that Ying asked Yunzhu about her child.
Ever since she learned that Yunzhu and the child in her womb were still alive, Ying Shi always paid special attention to whether Xiao Mingzhang's letters mentioned the child.
She asked expectantly, "When Mingzhang wrote last time, he said that the child was very intelligent. Isn't he just like him when he was young? Well, did he say anything else this time?"
"Is this something you should be concerned about right now?" Xiao Shao asked, puzzled. "Don't you even understand what critical juncture we're at? Concerned about that woman and child? If he really brings them back, all our efforts over the years will have been in vain!"
Ying was originally in a good mood, but her face immediately fell when she heard Xiao Shao's words.
She felt guilty about Yunzhu's death back then, but now that she finally knows she is still alive, Ying is actually more happy than worried. Especially after learning that she has given birth to an extremely intelligent daughter, Ying looks forward to meeting her granddaughter one day.
Xiao Shao's words made her expectations seem like a joke.
She couldn't help but say coldly, "What's wrong with me caring about my granddaughter? What kind of juncture is this? Are we about to lose? Mingzhang knows you're lying to him and refuses to come back! If you ask me, Mingzhang is much more cunning than you. He knows our situation is now stable, which is why he went to find them himself. Look at your neurotic behavior; I think our son has a better grasp on the throne than you do!"
Now that they had finally arrived in Jinling, Ying Shi had her maternal family backing her up, and she spoke to Xiao Shao with much more confidence.
Xiao Shao glared at him coldly, knowing full well that, in terms of the current situation in the court, Prince Yi was no longer his match.
But for some reason, he was always uneasy. He thought that as long as the emperor had not issued an edict to appoint him as the Crown Prince, he would never be at ease.
“You don’t understand!” Xiao Shao murmured, clearly trying to raise his voice and retort to Ying Shi, but he himself was also puzzled, as he spoke, his voice gradually became lower and lower.
“You don’t understand…” Xiao Shao murmured, repeating himself.
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Author's Note: Update! [Let me see...]
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