"Yang Qi, look!"
The group looked up and were immediately horrified.
"This! A nobleman's son massaging the shoulders of a courtesan? What kind of behavior is this?" Yang Qi, who was in his early twenties and handsome, was utterly astonished when he saw what He Yunxiao was doing.
"Brother Yang, you are the third-ranked scholar in this imperial examination and a censor in the court. He Yunxiao has demeaned himself and broken the backbone of us martial artists. What should we do?"
Yang Qi said in a deep voice, "It is true that I am an official in charge of remonstrance, but He Yunxiao is the son of a marquis. The marquis's family has a long and deep-rooted influence. I have only recently entered officialdom and my words carry little weight. I am afraid I will be of no use."
The group consisted of men in their early twenties, including students from afar who had come to the capital to study, and retainers from various mansions who had not been able to secure official positions and were temporarily living under the patronage of others.
Yang Qi continued, "Brother Qian Yuan, are you temporarily residing at the Minister's residence?"
The young man named Qian Yuan immediately replied, "That's right. I am from Jiangnan and am temporarily staying at the residence of my fellow townsman, Minister Li."
“The Minister of Rites is the Empress Dowager’s nephew and the Princess’s cousin. With this connection, we should be able to persuade Marquis Wuqing. However, it would be too presumptuous to ask the Minister directly. Let’s ask his son, Li Jin, to come instead,” Yang Qi said thoughtfully.
Qian Yuan and the others present were completely confused. How did the conversation suddenly turn into talking about the Minister and then the Empress Dowager?
Finally, Qian Yuan asked, "Brother Yang, why did you invite Young Master Li Jin over?"
Yang moved his finger, gesturing for the group to come closer.
"Ten years ago, the late emperor personally led an expedition against Northern Yan. After returning, he passed away not long after. At that time, the crown prince was still young, so he appointed the empress and the left prime minister to assist the country. The left prime minister is now the powerful Grand Chancellor Han Wenxin, and the empress is the current empress dowager."
Everyone nodded, indicating that they understood.
Yang Qi continued, "The Empress Dowager lacks the ability to govern the country and appoints relatives of the empress, almost forcing all officials to jointly petition the current emperor to rescind the late emperor's last will and testify."
He paused for a moment after saying that.
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. Everyone knew that the current emperor was only eleven years old. Back then, when the officials forced the emperor to abdicate, he was only a few years old. How could he understand anything about a will or a dying wish? It was clearly the Left Chancellor, Han Wenxin, who was seizing power from the Empress Dowager.
Yang Qi continued, "The Empress Dowager was forced into a corner and did not want to hand over power to the Left Chancellor. The Emperor was also young at the time, so she could only delegate power to the Emperor's elder sister, Princess Meng Qingqian."
“Recently,” Yang Qi lowered his voice even further, “the situation in the court has become more tense than before. Marquis Wuqing is under the Prime Minister’s command, while the Minister of Rites is firmly in the Empress Dowager’s faction. The Eldest Princess will not let go of the opportunity to suppress the Prime Minister’s power.”
After hearing these words, everyone sat up straight, except for Qian Yuan, who got up to take his leave and hurried to the Minister's residence.
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