Consort Chu was stripped of her title and demoted to Consort Chu. She was also placed under house arrest, and the date of her confinement was not specified. Basically, unless someone specifically mentions it or someone offers merits to exchange for her release, she will not be able to get out for at least a year or two. If a new person replaces the old one, it is not impossible for her to be confined for life!
Upon hearing this devastating news, the Fifth Prince immediately knelt outside the Imperial Study to plead for mercy. However, despite kneeling there all afternoon, Emperor Qingyuan did not budge on the matter of Consort Chu. Nevertheless, since Consort Chu was his own son and had been injured a few days prior, Emperor Qingyuan ordered him to be sent back to the Fifth Prince's residence before nightfall.
Although the Fifth Prince had a group of people and a few advisors, he was still young and consulted with Consort Chu on many matters. With Consort Chu imprisoned and no one allowed to visit her, the Fifth Prince suddenly lost his pillar of support.
Moreover, in the past, Consort Chu was favored in the palace, which made it much easier for them to act outside. Now that Consort Chu has lost power, the other princes' forces are making things difficult for the Fifth Prince at every turn, causing him to be constantly hampered and feeling very frustrated.
After discussing it, the strategists decided that they had to find a powerful patron and recruit more people to join their cause.
But the problem has come full circle. When Consort Chu was favored, it was quite difficult for them to recruit people. Now that Consort Chu has lost favor, the Fifth Prince is also becoming less popular!
Several strategists worked tirelessly for several days without making any progress, and the Fifth Prince was also frowning for many days.
On this day, the Fifth Prince was drinking alone in his loneliness when Princess Wangshu, who had recently entered the Fifth Prince's residence, "bumped into" him and, understanding his situation, drank a few cups with him.
Alcohol can always bring people closer together. After a few drinks, the Fifth Prince began to confide his troubles to Wang Shu.
As Wangshu's future hope, even if the Fifth Prince didn't say it, she kept a close eye on his activities and was well aware of his situation. After listening to his story, she said...
"Actually, you don't have any deep-seated grudges with Xie Yushu!"
It was Chu Mingzhu who offended Xie Yushu; you and the Imperial Concubine were merely implicated by Chu Mingzhu!
Chu Mingzhu is just an orphan of the Chu family. You are a prince, and it would be enough to take care of her for the sake of the Empress. Why make an enemy of Xie Yushu for her sake?
Xie Yushu is deeply favored by the Emperor, and her relationships with the Han family, Prince Xiaoyao, and many officials of the Imperial Medical Academy are extraordinary. Moreover, it is said that the young master of the Yu family, the Minister of Works, is currently at her villa.
And she holds a great deal of wealth! This Xie Yushu is no less of a help to you than a powerful family!
As the saying goes, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. In my humble opinion, you might as well put aside past grievances and win Xie Yushu over!
The Fifth Prince was indeed somewhat tempted by Wang Shu's words, but then shook his head and said...
"That's impossible! My mother was punished by my father because of her. How could I ally with her? This would give me the face to face my mother!"
Wang Shu, somewhat exasperated, continued to persuade him.
“A true man doesn’t concern himself with trifles. As long as you win, when your mother sits on that supreme position, why would she blame you for allying with anyone?”
Even if, hypothetically, Mother still cannot tolerate Xie Yushu, by then the power will be in your and Mother's hands. How to deal with her will be entirely up to you!
The Fifth Prince was truly tempted this time, but considering that Xiao Yi also had feelings for Xie Yushu and had not yet clearly stated his allegiance to him, he was unsure how to win Xie Yushu over.
No matter how bad Chu Mingzhu is, she is still his aunt. If Xiao Yi marries Chu Mingzhu, whether he does it willingly or unwillingly, he will be categorized as being in Xiao Yi's camp. At this time, he cannot directly marry Chu Mingzhu, otherwise he will offend Xiao Yi to death!
We can't let Xiao Yi marry Xie Yushu either, because that would offend his aunt. Moreover, Xie Yushu might bewitch Xiao Yi and turn him against him. If that happens, not only will Xie Yushu and Xiao Yi run away, but we'll also offend Chu Mingzhu. Wouldn't he end up with nothing?
After listening to Wang Shu's advice, the Fifth Prince was like a fly stuck on a windowpane, feeling the light in front of him but unable to move an inch, so anxious that he kept scratching his head.
Although Wang Shu had this idea, she had only been there a short time and was not familiar with the Fifth Prince's connections, so she said no more and instead asked the Fifth Prince to discuss it with the strategist.
The Fifth Prince immediately returned to his study and summoned several advisors to discuss the feasibility of the matter.
Influenced by Consort Chu, the group subconsciously categorized Xie Yushu as an enemy and never considered trying to win her over. However, with the mention of the Fifth Prince, they broke free from their previous mindset and began to see the matter in a new light, finding it feasible. The only problem, however, was choosing the right person to do it.
Just as the Fifth Prince thought, he and Xiao Yi were definitely not suitable. As for the others, one had to be someone Xie Yushu would approve of, and the other had to be someone absolutely loyal to the Fifth Prince.
After much deliberation, the group selected Zhou Yi'an as the person to be chosen.
Who is Zhou Yi'an?
Speaking of which, Xie Yushu also knew that it was Zhang Zhidao, the one who was beheaded by Han Zhongyu with the imperial sword in Tai'an Prefecture. He was Zhou Taishi's only son and an old enemy!
It is said that ever since the Emperor bestowed glass as a New Year's gift, but the Grand Tutor's Mansion was not included, Grand Tutor Zhou keenly sensed that the Grand Tutor's Mansion was about to fall out of favor. So he secretly prepared an escape route, which was the Fifth Prince, who had always been deeply favored.
The Grand Tutor's Mansion secretly sided with the Fifth Prince, and Zhou Yi'an worked under the Fifth Prince. In the current matter, the Fifth Prince and several advisors discussed it and still felt that it was most appropriate for Zhou Yi'an to marry Xie Yushu.
First of all, Zhou Yi'an and Han Zhongyu have a blood feud over the murder of Han's uncle. They had long seen that the Han family treated Xie Yushu differently. Only Han Zhongyu in the Han family had a close relationship with Xie Yushu. Marrying Xie Yushu would be a good opportunity to take revenge on Han Zhongyu.
The Grand Tutor's Mansion would be extremely pleased with this matter.
Moreover, the Grand Tutor's Mansion was neglected by Emperor Qingyuan as a result. The Empress's faction always acted according to the Emperor's wishes, and those whom the Emperor neglected would not be given important positions by the Empress's faction, at least not now.
Secondly, among the adult princes, apart from the third prince born to the empress, the most favored is the fifth prince. At the beginning of the year, the emperor bestowed a marriage decree upon Chu Mingzhu and Xiao Yi. Xiao Yi is a powerful general with unparalleled military strength. The emperor is clearly paving the way for the fifth prince!
When Grand Tutor Zhou had to choose sides, he naturally had to side with the most promising candidate, so as to gain merit for supporting the emperor!
So from the moment they came to rely on him, Master Zhou and his son were completely devoted to the Fifth Prince and did several things for him that couldn't be told to others. Now they are already bound together! There's no need to worry about him betraying them.
Finally, this Zhou Yi'an, although he is the only son of Grand Tutor Zhou, is not a spoiled brat. He is quite handsome and a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). He is a respectable match for Xie Yushu!
They all agreed that as long as Zhou Yi'an put in the effort to win Xie Yushu's favor, it would be hard for Xie Yushu not to be tempted!
After all, Zhou Yi'an was talented and beautiful, and was the ideal husband for many young ladies in the capital. No matter how capable Xie Yushu was, she was still a young woman, and what young girl doesn't dream of love? Zhou Yi'an was full of confidence in this regard.
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