"I shouldn't be tempted. This is not in my plan."
——Jin Suting
***
"I believe that General Jinzhuang has been loyal and righteous throughout his life, and his rebellion must have had its reasons."
This is what he said when everyone supported the idea of implicating the nine clans of General Jinzhuang.
Although Prime Minister Tang ridiculed this as sheltering a traitor, it still caused the ministers to think deeply.
"Your Majesty, I second the motion." The speaker was Nangong Wan, the Minister of Justice. Because of her connections with the Nangong family, she had previously enjoyed great favor. As the only female official in the court, the other ministers were somewhat receptive to her words. "A country cannot go a single day without a queen, and Fuding has been without a queen for three full years. I believe a queen should be appointed sooner rather than later."
"Forgive me for speaking frankly, but in the past three years, Your Majesty has only taken in one concubine, Concubine Li. Judging from the current situation, Concubine Li is a princess from Southern Xinjiang. She has been in the palace for two years but has yet to bear Your Majesty a son. Morally and logically, Concubine Li is unfit to be empress. The only remaining candidate is Jin Suting. Moreover, Jin Suting was once the Queen Mother's favorite candidate."
As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers began to whisper to each other, most of them agreeing with Nangong Chan's words. After all, letting Jin Suting be the queen was better than having a foreigner living in the palace.
"Your Majesty, you must not make Jin Suting your empress! She is the daughter of a traitor. You personally killed the traitor Jin, and you share a deep blood feud with her! Letting such a scourge control the harem will have disastrous consequences!"
The speaker was Lord Li Mingyuan, who had been the Shangshu since the Helan Qin period. He was the oldest among the ministers and his words carried some weight. Now that Lord Li, who had never participated in disputes, had spoken, everyone switched sides.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
Helan Ruizhe rubbed his brows tiredly. He shouldn't have discussed this matter with this group of pedantic ministers. He should have issued an imperial decree to quietly crown her queen.
He looked at Yoo Seung-ho, hoping he would save the situation. Yoo Seung-ho understood and said, "You adults who claim to be fair and honest, you can't just abandon the donkey after it has served its purpose."
The ministers were puzzled. They could not stand people like Yu Chenghao who were unreasonable and seemed to be reasonable.
"Jin Suting was the Crown Princess appointed by the late Emperor. She went missing for three years and suffered so much. Now that she's back safe and sound, you're trying to pull her down from the high position that originally belonged to her. Hey, Prime Minister Tang is the one who bore the brunt of this. You're not trying to pull Jin Suting down and make Miss Tang the Empress, are you?"
Prime Minister Tang seemed to have been caught in the act, and he glared at him and retorted, "Don't talk nonsense!"
Yu Chenghao shrugged and continued, "What I said is well-founded. Prime Minister, your eldest son has clearly married the third daughter of the Jin family, yet you are still here opposing His Majesty's decision to make the eldest daughter of the Jin family the queen. Aren't you shooting yourself in the foot?"
It seems to make some sense. Apart from the people of Prime Minister Tang's faction, there were already many people in the court who had complaints about him. Yu Seung-ho's words directly pointed the finger at Prime Minister Tang, which inevitably made people think that Prime Minister Tang was suspected of rebelling against the emperor.
"Your Majesty, I am innocent..." Prime Minister Tang was eager to prove himself.
Helan Ruizhe waved his hand: "Okay."
He said sternly, "I'm speaking to you out of good intentions, but you're all telling me what to do? I'm the one who makes the decision about my empress. Do you really think I'm discussing this with you? The empress coronation ceremony will take place as scheduled in seven days. This matter cannot be discussed any further. Otherwise, you will be charged with treason and dismissed from court."
Eunuch Bai pinched his throat and repeated loudly: "Dismiss the court!"
The ministers were horrified and knelt down to see Helan Ruizhe off respectfully.
***
In the side hall, Helan Ruizhe was reviewing the memorials submitted today, and Yu Seung-ho had not left yet.
"I said you can do it, I thought you were going to be suppressed by the thief Tang!"
Helan Ruizhe didn't even raise his eyelids as he quickly read through the memorial that asked him to select concubines to fill his harem, feeling extremely annoyed.
"What else can I do? If I don't confront him head-on, how can I still hold on to my position?"
Both Grand Tutor Yu and General Jin have passed away. Now Prime Minister Tang has the greatest power in the court, and Yu Chenghao alone cannot compete with him.
Yu Seung-ho said, "Perhaps you could try to win over Liu Mo. Otherwise, what if I'm alone and get defeated?"
Helan Ruizhe put down the memorial and rubbed his brow. "Liu Mo has the same personality as General Jin back then. How can I win him over? Why don't you help me make friends with him?"
Yoo Seung-ho: “…”
"I'm really just a tool for you to gain power."
In return, Helan Ruizhe rolled his eyes for free.
"I heard that Xiao Susu lost her memory. Is that true?" Yu Seung-ho didn't continue with that topic, but picked one that he was very interested in.
Helan Ruizhe paused as he flipped through the memorials, his eyes fixed on the dancing flames. "Hmm."
Yu Seung-ho could smell the thick atmosphere of sadness, "Xiao Susu has such a hard life. She suffered hardship outside for three years and finally came back, only to lose her memory."
"Do you think she still remembers me?"
Helan Ruizhe curled his lips in disdain. "She doesn't even remember me very well, how could she remember you?"
Yoo Seung-ho: “…”
"You should consider your lifelong affairs someday. You're already twenty." Helan Ruizhe dipped his brush in ink and began writing on the rice paper. "Which girl do you fancy? I'll arrange it for you."
Yu Seung-ho pursed his lips and said vaguely: "Don't you know which girl I like..."
Helan Ruizhe knew of course, but he just said: "If you still have obsession, go find her yourself."
Yoo Seung-ho didn't say anything. The problem between them couldn't be solved with just an explanation and an apology.
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