Chapter 317 The Secret of the Family
[It is true!] In the face of the interests of the aristocratic families, the Tan family is just a useless cannon fodder. Justice and truth must give way to consequences. How could the emperor become an enemy of the entire aristocratic family because of a discarded child, unless the Tan family has enough bargaining chips and gives the emperor enough benefits. 】
Su Qianqian had already guessed this result.
Tan suddenly raised her head, her eyes struggling for a moment, and finally turning into determination: "I have something to report to the emperor alone, I hope the emperor will approve it."
[What’s going on? How could this happen?] The iron tree actually blossomed, the fire stick emitted smoke, and the wooden block finally woke up? But does Tan have any bargaining chips that can be exchanged? 】
Su Qianqian's eyes rolled around as she pondered.
Emperor Gan De looked at Tan for a long time, until Tan hung her head in frustration. Then he stood up and went to the warm room next to the Queen's bedroom, motioning Tan to follow him.
[Is it so mysterious?] Xiao Tongzi, do you know what they are saying? 】
Su Qianqian looked nonchalant, and kindly advised Princess Zhaoyang: "Your Highness, if you are too tired, get up and take a rest. You can kneel again when His Majesty comes back..."
Princess Zhaoyang bit her back teeth, wishing she could sew Su Qianqian's mouth shut.
But she didn't dare to do anything. Her waist and legs ached from kneeling and she could only rub her knees secretly.
Qin Yuzhuo could hardly hold it back this time. He stretched out a thumb from his sleeve and secretly raised it in front of Su Qianqian.
The Queen Mother ignored Concubine Yun and drank her tea while chatting with Su Qianqian about academy matters.
[You're right, you're really right, this Tan family can be said to have been foolish all her life but suddenly became smart. She actually thought of using this method to fight for a chance of survival for herself.
He Liansheng had planned everything, but he never expected that his wife had this ability! It's really a comeback! 】
The system's series of praises made Su Qianqian feel itchy, but she couldn't hear the conversations next door, as she didn't have the authority to monitor the system yet!
[Tell me quickly, what method did she use?] 】Su Qianqian asked again.
[The aristocratic families united to monopolize and control every field of the Great Qi. They were so united that the emperor had to be restrained by them. This included the issuance of government orders, the enforcement of laws, the collection of taxes, and the appointment and dismissal of officials. As long as it went against the interests of the aristocratic families, they would be strongly resisted.
Tan revealed a secret between the aristocratic families. As long as the emperor would let her return to the Tan family in Jiangnan, she would persuade his father and brothers to tear a hole in the alliance between the aristocratic families.
The emperor protected the Tan family from being liquidated, and the Tan family protected the emperor, which enabled Prime Minister Xue's decree to be successfully implemented, which was to distribute land according to population and to equalize taxes and corvée labor.
The secret of the aristocratic family that Tan told was a token of her allegiance. As long as the emperor had this secret, even if Tan could not convince her father and brothers, he could use it to threaten the aristocratic families and prevent them from interfering too much in the country's policies. 】
The system explained.
What’s the secret? 】Su Qianqian became even more curious.
[There are only six aristocratic families in Jiangnan, namely the He, Ye, Li, Tan, Jiang, and Cui families. These six families are related by marriage and their interests are intertwined.
They had conspired to do something many years ago, which was to poison the late emperor's brother, the then Crown Prince Li Pingxi, to death with a slow-acting poison when he was on tour in Jiangnan on behalf of the emperor, just because the crown prince was determined to reduce the interests of the aristocratic families.
Poisoning a member of the royal family and especially the crown prince is considered treason, and since these families are in collusion, no one can turn against them.
Now that two generations of emperors have passed, if the emperor were to use this as an opportunity to launch an expedition to punish the perpetrators, it would be beneficial to the emperor's reputation, and the aristocratic families would have to pay the price in blood. However, if the punishment was replaced by a new decree in exchange, the aristocratic families would have no choice but to accept it. 】
[I see. I didn’t expect that even the now dust-free Ye family would get involved. This is incredible! Such a secret should have been kept secret and should not have been known to women. Why did Tan know it? 】
Su Qianqian had new doubts.
[God knows how to strike a balance. Tan's love-brain destined her to be stupid, so God gave her a chance when she was young. She was only three or four years old at that time, and followed her mother to the family's villa.
It happened that the aristocratic family held a meeting to get rid of the prince. Because Tan was young and playful, she ran into that room and hid there, waiting for her wet nurse to find her. Unexpectedly, she fell asleep, and when she woke up, she heard the most important thing.
Later, when the prince was on inspection, he stayed at the Tan family. Tan saw the prince who was as tall and straight as a bamboo.
The prince was not feeling well at this time, but he was still able to ask her age and bring her some snacks. However, he suddenly coughed up blood, staining the snacks and her clothes red.
The poison in the prince was very similar to the plague that was spreading somewhere in the south of the Yangtze River. By the time he returned to Xijing, he was already dead, so naturally there was no poison in his blood.
However, because Tan's clothes and snacks were from the handsome prince's blood, she secretly asked her wet nurse to keep them and took them with her even when she got married. The blood was poisonous.
Because the shock was so great and left such a deep impression on her, she never forgot this incident. However, knowing the consequences, she never mentioned it to anyone. She wanted to tell He Liansheng about it several times, but she held back. It seemed that she was lucky enough to live many more years. 】
The system finally explained the matter clearly. The smile on the Queen's face disappeared at this time. She lowered her eyes and fiddled with the Buddhist beads in her hand. After a long time, she sighed.
[God has his own way of retribution, and we will see who will be spared. A moment of pity actually saved his own life. He Liansheng's momentary evil thoughts destroyed the century-old business of his family. This is God's will! 】
Su Qianqian sighed, but what she was most concerned about was the person who was a guest in He Liansheng's study. That was what she wanted to find out the most.
Emperor Gan De and Tan returned to the main hall from the warm room. Tan knelt down again. Emperor Gan De pondered for a moment and said:
"Empress, there are other reasons for Tan's actions. Since Censor He has divorced her, we will punish Tan from Jiangnan and make her take her people back to her clan. We will also order the head of the Tan family to personally bring 100,000 taels of silver to the Marquis of Wuning's mansion to pay for the clothing and charcoal needed by the Qin family's army. Madam Wuning, is this a feasible approach?"
Su Qianqian weighed the matter in her mind. As a minister, she could not change the emperor's thoughts, so she might as well do him a favor.
"Your Majesty, I don't know anything about military affairs. I will leave it to Your Majesty to make all the arrangements. The Qin family swears to be loyal to Your Majesty until death. We will follow Your Majesty's lead. Whatever Your Majesty does is right!"
Su Qianqian expressed her loyalty, but the Queen lowered her head and almost refused to listen. Qin Yuzhuo was scratching the floor tiles with his toes again.
Princess Zhaoyang: Oh my god!
Emperor Gan De coughed twice and glanced at Su Qianqian who looked very pious:
"Since the wife of Marquis Wuning is so sensible, let's do this. Tan will stay in the palace for the time being. Queen, please arrange a place for her to live. Make sure it is quiet and undisturbed."
The queen nodded in agreement and had Tan taken away. She glanced at Jinse, who understood what she meant and followed her out.
"Father, I know I was wrong." Princess Zhaoyang said tremblingly, and she began to stagger.
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