The New Year passed quickly. Once the Lantern Festival was over, the imperial court resumed its morning court sessions, and all government offices resumed their work.
The pile of matters urgently needed to be resolved, and the prince's supporters, who had been waiting for a year, began to submit memorials urging the emperor to quickly establish a crown prince.
The Crown Prince's core members all knew about the foolish thing he did on New Year's Eve, but they had no other choice but to try again.
It wasn't until the end of January that the Emperor finally issued an imperial edict.
The eldest prince, Yuwen Tong, was enfeoffed as Prince Jing, with Liangzhou as his fief; the third prince, Yuwen Aimin, was enfeoffed as Prince Yong, with Xuzhou as his fief. They were granted the privilege of residing in Shangjing until the new emperor ascended the throne, after which they would return to their fiefs.
When the imperial edict was issued, all the civil and military officials were caught off guard.
Where is the promised crown prince?
However, the Grand Secretaries had no choice. Despite their urging, the Emperor used a strategy of retreat to advance, rejecting their requests by offering them the title of Prince.
The Emperor's meaning was crystal clear: he felt he was still young and did not want to weaken his power by appointing a crown prince.
Subsequently, the Emperor ordered Grand Secretary Zhang to oversee this year's spring imperial examinations, with the Six Ministries assisting, and Prince Yong observing from the sidelines. This revealed that Prince Jing had been disliked by the Emperor because of his disgraceful conduct on New Year's Eve. Suddenly, the minds of the court officials began to stir.
Prince Yong never expected that he would not only be granted a title but also receive a position, enjoying immense prestige. Furthermore, the Imperial Concubine's promise to arrange for Miss Liu to become his prince's consort made him even happier.
The news reached the Prince of Xiaoyao's mansion immediately, and Song Yaozhu quickly understood what was happening.
"Ha! That damned emperor, in order to prevent his son from taking away his power, actually turned against his own son!"
The Imperial Concubine purged the harem, but couldn't find the person who harmed Prince Jing. The murderer who targeted her beloved son was none other than her husband!
Xie Liwei praised, "I didn't expect you to be so quick-witted."
Song Yaozhu still couldn't quite accept this reality: Yuwen Wuji had targeted her because their marital relationship had ended, and he saw her as a political enemy.
But Yuwen Tong is his son! Even tigers don't eat their cubs, how could he treat his own son like this!
Seeing the shock and astonishment in her eyes, Xie Liwei said calmly, "You have to accept that there will always be people in this world who love themselves the most and love power the most. To them, parents and wives are just decorations used to appease people's hearts."
Song Yaozhu was silent for a moment, then accepted.
Xie Liwei was right. She had long been utterly disappointed in Yuwen Wuji. How could such a person possibly be a wise ruler? What he cared about was the power he currently held and his posthumous reputation.
"His Majesty has appointed Prince Yong to assist in his studies, which seems to indicate his intention to support Prince Yong's ascension to the throne and oppose Prince Jing. When the court officials see that His Majesty intends to give Prince Yong an important position, more and more officials will gradually side with Prince Yong. When he can be evenly matched with Prince Jing, there will be more arguments about who should be named crown prince. The fact that the matter of naming a crown prince is being delayed again and again will prevent Yuwen Wuji's power from being dispersed."
This is truly the art of imperial rule.
"It doesn't matter. The more centralized his power becomes, the more useless his two sons become," Xie Liwei scoffed.
It is said that a tiger father will not have a dog son, but an overly domineering father is more likely to have a weak and incompetent son.
"What are you planning to do next?" Song Yaozhu asked, resting her chin on her hand and looking at Xie Liwei, her eyes blinking rapidly.
Xie Liwei met her gleaming eyes, chuckled inwardly, but said aloud, "I have no official position, what can I do? It's you who have quite a few tricks up your sleeve."
Previously, when Song Wenyue came to him, saying that Song Yaozhu was keeping a gigolo outside, he actually went and investigated the man's background.
A scholar from a merchant family, unfortunately, lost his parents and his family fortune was seized by his uncles, leaving him to make a living by storytelling and copying books. He harbored a deep desire to pass the imperial examination, obtain an official position, and reclaim his parents' inheritance.
He's capable, but not much. He's taken the imperial examinations twice and still hasn't passed. He looks handsome, but he's actually quite old and doesn't even have a family. If Song Yaozhu hadn't approached him, he might really have had to sell himself into servitude.
"What underhanded tricks could I possibly have done? Everything I've done has been seen through by Your Highness's discerning eyes. Everything has been done openly and honestly, so how could it be considered underhanded tricks!"
Xie Liwei chuckled. She took the two thousand taels she had given her and rented a manor outside the city. She had the scholar Bai take in many poor scholars who were going to the capital for the imperial examinations, providing them with food and lodging, just like a female bodhisattva.
"If I can find out what you've done, then others can find out too."
Song Yaozhu ate her cheese and said, "No, even if they find out, they can't say anything."
Xie Liwei looked at her with suspicion before she explained, "That estate belongs to Princess Yongle."
Xie Liwei paused for a moment, then said in a strange tone, "You do know how to take care of kids."
Song Yaozhu looked up at him and thought to herself, "Doesn't he know that Yongle is a year older than me?"
“Princess Yongle is not young anymore. Prince Xuan wants to find a son-in-law who will live with him, but he is worried about whether the person is of good character or not presentable enough. So he is betting on taking in these scholars and choosing his favorite son-in-law from among them. Is there any problem with that?”
Xie Liwei heard her speak so casually, but persuading King Xuan would require a lot of effort.
"How did you do that?" Even though I knew she had this ability, I was still curious.
"It's very simple. A few days ago, when you took me to the Prince Xuan's residence to pay New Year's respects, I casually mentioned my fourth sister's marriage to the Princess Xuan. I also said a few heartfelt words, who knew that the Princess Consort would actually overhear me."
It's just a bunch of nonsense like, "It's better to marry into a family than to marry into a wealthy family; the daughter is right under your nose, and you know best whether she's doing well or not," "How can a son-in-law cause your daughter any trouble?" and "Find a son-in-law to keep her in check; you won't have to worry about your daughter being tormented by her mother-in-law or mistresses and you won't be able to get involved."
She also lamented that she had no mother-in-law and her elders lived far away in Beijing, making it impossible for her to be filial to her in-laws. She added that her father-in-law was currently in Beijing, and she showed him respect every day, which he always praised.
Seeing how "affectionate" she and Xie Liwei were, Princess Xuan couldn't help but feel envious. Then, considering her own daughter's temperament, she immediately decided to find her a husband who would live with her in the family.
Furthermore, Song Yaozhu deliberately guided the conversation, saying that Yongle always chased after Xie Liwei, probably because he liked scholars, and thus the Princess Consort of Xuan turned her attention to those poor scholars.
Finally, she thoughtfully added, "This concerns Yongle's reputation, so let me, as her elder, take the lead in this matter."
Princess Xuan happily took her arm and lent her her family's estate.
After hearing her words, Xie Liwei was a little incredulous that the Princess Consort of Xuan would be so simple-minded as to believe her nonsense so easily.
"You're so eager, how come the Princess Consort of Xuan didn't suspect anything?"
"Your Highness and I are so affectionate in public, and Princess Yongle is always chasing after you. If you ask who in this world most wants Princess Yongle to get married, besides Princess Xuan, I'm the second one!"
Well......
That makes perfect sense, and he had no rebuttal.
Looking at her smiling face, filled with smugness and pride, Xie Liwei thought, if only she were truly doing this for him.
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