Chapter 56 That unconventional future made her willingly abandon it...
Seven days later, deep within the capital of the Great Yin Dynasty, the night was as dark as ink.
The water clock had run past midnight, yet the emperor's palace remained brightly lit, with palace lanterns under the eaves swaying gently in the night breeze. Silence reigned both inside and outside the palace.
The current emperor has been bedridden for more than half a year.
During the past six months, his condition deteriorated several times and his life was in danger. Thanks to the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital who took turns on duty and used almost all the rare medicinal materials, the emperor was pulled back from the brink of death time and time again.
After several discussions, people began to discuss the matter of establishing an heir in the court. The empress was furious and said that His Majesty was still in his prime and that this matter was inauspicious and should not be mentioned again.
But it was obvious to anyone with eyes that the emperor was already over fifty years old and could no longer be considered young.
He had few children, only Princess Zhaoxin born to the Empress, and young princes born to two concubines.
The princes were still young and incapable of handling important matters. Whenever the emperor was absent from court due to illness, the empress and princess would take over the administration. Gradually, the two gained the power to control the court.
Princess Zhaoxin took this opportunity to promote and win over a group of officials. Most of the newly promoted young officials were from the Qingliu faction and gradually formed their own faction in the court, which was incompatible with the old factions.
With great power comes great responsibility and naturally, dissenting voices will arise.
An old minister once lamented at a court meeting that the empress dowager's interference in politics was like a hen crowing at dawn, which was a violation of natural law and human ethics.
Princess Zhaoxin, who was sitting on the throne at that time, did not defend herself. She simply touched her chest, her expression sorrowful, as if she had suffered a great injustice: "Father is ill, and I wish I could take his place. Now I am doing my best to relieve your worries. How could I have any ulterior motives?"
The Empress also wept on the side, declaring that her loyalty to His Majesty was beyond question.
The ministers were speechless for a moment and could only wait for His Majesty to wake up and make a decision.
Not long after, the emperor, who had been recovering from his illness, was furious upon hearing about the matter and declared in public that everything was at his behest.
The uproar gradually subsided, and although some people still had their opinions behind the scenes, they dared not say them out loud.
On the other hand, the officials in the court also needed such a "shield".
In recent years, the Great Yin Dynasty has been in turmoil. First, Luzhou Prefecture suffered a once-in-a-century drought, leaving the land barren and the dead starving everywhere. Three years later, a major case broke out in which the Shen and Liang families embezzled huge sums of disaster relief funds.
Even though the two convicted officials have been imprisoned, Luzhou remains poor and weak, and no one dares to guarantee that this dying land can be saved.
For a time, Luzhou became a hot potato that everyone wanted to avoid.
Later, Princess Zhaoxin overruled the objections of others and promoted Su Lin, a sixth-rank official with little experience but considerable talent, from among the officials in the court.
The princess personally promoted him to the fifth rank and sent him to Luzhou to clean up the mess.
It looked like a chance to get promoted and make money, but no one was envious, and everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone knows that Luzhou is a troubled place, prone to floods and droughts, with no peaceful year. If Su Lin fails to handle matters there, the princess who recommended him will naturally also be held responsible.
This is a win-win situation, and all parties are happy to see it happen.
Unexpectedly, Su Lin actually had some skills. Within just a few months of taking office, he summoned many craftsmen from the entire prefecture to carry out water conservancy projects, dredging the long-silted-up river channels and saving Luzhou from a severe drought.
The people in the court were filled with unease. Could it be that the eldest princess was truly blessed with good fortune and, with a casual gesture, actually found a capable person to govern the country?
But before the good news could arrive, another earth-shattering piece of news reached the capital.
A major epidemic broke out in Luzhou.
...
The palace door was slowly pushed open a crack by a eunuch, and light spilled onto the floor, while a bitter smell of medicine wafted out.
The Empress, dressed in simple palace attire, walked out slowly, her gaze sweeping calmly over the officials kneeling on the ground.
The prefect of Cizhou, Ji Qian, who was at the head of the group, raised his head, his eyes full of earnestness, and asked softly, "Your Highness, is His Majesty's health... well?"
The Empress remained silent, her fingertips gently caressing the lustrous jade bracelet on her wrist. After a long while, she calmly said, "His Majesty is fine, but he has just woken up and is feeling groggy, so it is not appropriate for him to see anyone. Lord Ji, please return."
This is tantamount to an eviction notice.
Ji Qian gritted his teeth, then bowed his head and said, "I have a matter of utmost urgency that I must report to the Emperor!"
Although Luzhou was called a "zhou" according to ancient system, it was actually under the jurisdiction of Cizhou, where he was located.
When he received the urgent document from Su Lin, he was so shocked that he almost collapsed to the ground.
Although he was unwilling to see Su Lin achieve great success, which would only highlight his poor management, he was even more afraid that a terrible disaster would befall his own subordinates!
Ji Qian immediately rode into the capital, hoping to get support from the Imperial Medical Bureau to quell the matter.
Unexpectedly, he only realized something was wrong after entering the capital. The emperor was seriously ill again, and the entire Imperial Medical Bureau was busy in the palace and could not leave for even a moment. At this time, it was absolutely impossible to get anyone from there.
He had no choice but to settle for second best, hoping to have an audience with the emperor to obtain a prescription from the Imperial Medical Academy. He then distributed the prescription to physicians in various prefectures to study how to deal with the plague, which was considered to be his best effort.
But the Empress remained unyielding: "Your Majesty, please return first."
She wouldn't budge an inch.
Ji Qian was filled with resentment, but dared not disobey her, so he could only stagger to his feet.
His legs were numb from kneeling for so long. He stood still for a moment before stiffly turning around, thinking that he would go to the countryside to find some doctors tomorrow to see if he could find another way out.
Just as he turned around, a crimson figure swept past him like a gust of wind.
Ji Qian froze and quietly glanced back at the person who had come.
Princess Zhaoxin, without being announced by the eunuchs, strode straight past the Empress standing at the door and into the inner palace.
The empress, who had just stopped him, remained silent.
----
Zhao Xin had just received a secret letter from Su Lin, in which she said that she had found a good remedy for the illness and was planning to accelerate its promotion.
In his letter, Su Lin also mentioned that the current epidemic was unusual and different from previous outbreaks. He suggested that if the princess was interested, she could follow the clues to investigate and perhaps gain some unexpected insights.
Of course she knew.
The severe drought in Luzhou was initially a natural disaster, but its escalating nature was actually a man-made catastrophe.
It is the layers of exploitation by corrupt officials that have cut off the path to people's livelihood.
What about this plague?
Her trusted confidant had brought back a secret report for her.
It is said that there had been small-scale outbreaks in several neighboring prefectures before, but they were forcibly suppressed. Some of the sick refugees were intentionally driven away and eventually flowed into Luzhou.
The truth has come to light.
She slowly approached, stood before the dragon bed, gazed at the emperor's sleeping face behind the curtains, and whispered, her voice a mixture of mockery and sigh: "Father, look at this, this is the good minister you rely on."
The Empress just lied to Ji Qian.
The emperor has not woken up at all today.
The entire Imperial Medical Bureau was already under her control, isolated from the outside world, and no information was leaked.
Natural disasters such as floods and droughts, as well as epidemics, though seemingly ordained by fate, are often seen as tests of the monarch's virtue by Heaven. Mishandling these events is considered irrefutable proof that "a ruler who is immoral will suffer calamities from Heaven."
Zhao Xin understood perfectly.
Since her father fell seriously ill, some people have been unable to restrain themselves and want to support her young brother to ascend the throne and act as regent.
However, her father had his doubts.
To this end, she meticulously staged a performance.
That day, her father was in slightly better spirits, so she specially wore a begonia-red palace dress, like a naive and innocent young girl, and snuggled up to the emperor's bed, acting coquettishly.
"Father, I have found someone I love." She lowered her eyes at the right moment, a blush rising on her cheeks, her voice soft and gentle, "But he is currently of low rank and has not yet gained power. I would like to ask Father to give him a chance so that he may be worthy of me."
She portrayed the demeanor of a young girl perfectly, her eyes and brows conveying the shyness of first love, without revealing a trace of ambition for power.
Her father believed her and granted her the power to promote him, which allowed her to give Su Lin a chance.
Su Lin was her trusted confidant whom she had personally promoted, and also her capable assistant.
They never hid anything from each other, sharing all the secrets that couldn't be made public.
When Su Lin disguised herself as a man to participate in the imperial examination, it was all thanks to the meticulous planning and arrangements made by Zhao Xin in advance, from household registration and guarantors to the examination venue.
Zhao Xin once asked her, "If you follow me and something happens to you in the future, it will be a capital offense of deceiving the emperor. Have you... thought this through?"
Su Lin bowed deeply: "Looking across the court and the country, only Your Highness is qualified to enter the Eastern Palace."
Sometimes, when the night is deep and quiet, Zhao Xin would feel dazed.
Once upon a time, her greatest wish was simply to be a wealthy and carefree princess, to enjoy the flowers of all four seasons in the imperial garden, to drink all kinds of tribute wines from all directions, to find a handsome and well-bred consort, and to live out her life in a carefree manner.
Everyone thought so, and expected so; she was the legitimate daughter of the Empress, and it was only right that way.
But when did she begin to embark on this perilous path of vying for the throne?
Perhaps it was because the picture Su Lin painted for her was too tempting.
In that future, women can study, hold official positions, and stand upright in the court. No one will cast a contemptuous glance at them because of their gender, nor will anyone scoff at their opinions as "short-sighted women."
That was a world she never dared to dream of.
That future made her willingly abandon all easy and comfortable escape routes, determined to risk her life and become a moth that dares to fly into the flame.
Zhao Xin's purpose in entering the palace this time was not to visit her ailing father, but to use his name to do her own thing.
She unfolded a bright yellow scroll before her, and then, grinding ink and moistening her brush, she wrote a decree on the imperial edict, a decree concerning the lives of countless people.
She intends to use the Emperor's name to publish and distribute the anti-epidemic medical manual compiled by Su Lin and the doctors of Luxi Village to various prefectures.
Since someone had set this up, she decided to play along and make the whole thing a huge scandal.
Let the world see this achievement, and let those scheming schemes in the shadows ultimately become stepping stones to her progress.
With a stroke of the pen, the imperial edict was completed.
She walked a few steps to the emperor's sleeping bedside, reached into a hidden compartment beside the bed, and took out the jade seal that symbolized supreme power.
With a muffled thud, the bright red seal landed heavily on the silk.
Zhao Xin's hand holding the seal trembled slightly, but the corners of his lips couldn't help but curve upwards.
So this is what power tastes like.
Unlike the fleeting pleasure of wearing flowers and drinking wine at palace banquets in the past, the weight in my hand now feels so real and so intoxicating.
Once she holds it, she'll never want to let go.
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Author's Note: Actually, Su Lin is the HR manager. She successfully persuaded Wen Yu to invest. [Starry-eyed] We're going to form an alliance!
This chapter changes perspective, but the next chapter will switch back.
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