northernbook Chapter 287 The Chaotic Court Situation
Chapter 287 The Chaotic Court Situation
"Pfft..." She was so angry that she suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
As she collapsed, blood began to flow from beneath her.
An assassin appeared in the Eastern Palace. The deposed Crown Prince's concubine was so frightened that she miscarried. The entire palace was shocked, and everyone was wondering who had done it.
Unsurprisingly, all the speculation points to the King of Chess, after all, the struggle between the King of Chess and the Crown Prince has lasted for several years, and the Crown Prince's destruction of his bloodline and severing his lineage is the biggest beneficiary.
Little did they know that while the entire palace was searching for the assassin, the blood-written letter had already been thrown into the alchemy furnace. Bai Wuyou's slender fingers were flipping through those notes, which were clearly copied, and the handwriting was illegible.
“This girl always says I’m stupid, but isn’t she also giving him her heart? She has every detail of the information.” Bai Wuyou shook her head as she read: “That prince is obviously a good-for-nothing, what is she after?”
Chaoyang had already changed back into the clothes of a Taoist disciple, and shook his head upon hearing this.
As Bai Wuyou continued reading, he said, "She's really stupid. I support her to become empress, but she's unwilling. Instead, she's willing to help a good-for-nothing."
Seeing that his Holy Son's mood was unusual, Chaoyang tentatively asked, "Master, are you jealous?"
"What?" Bai Wuyou doubted her ears: "She's a married woman, who gave me the right to be jealous?"
"But you look so sour."
"How can I not be jealous? Look at this note, you're jealous too. A woman with the talent of an emperor doesn't become emperor, but carries the sedan chair for a good-for-nothing." Bai Wuyou said irritably, "Maybe the first thing he'll do after he actually takes the throne is kill her."
Chaoyang never expected that her master would admit it so readily.
“Supporting someone else to become emperor is not as good as rebelling and becoming emperor yourself. You can be your own master and kill whoever you want,” Bai Wuyou rambled on.
Chaoyang had never heard his master say so much before.
He used to talk more than he did in an entire day. Now, he talks a lot not only when he sees Shen Li, but also when it comes to things related to Shen Li.
"I can't stand it anymore." Bai Wuyou shoved all the notes into her hand: "Here, take them out of the palace for her tomorrow, so she can see how stupid she is."
“Master, it would be unwise if word got out and it fell into the wrong hands. You could just burn it,” Chaoyang said.
Bai Wuyou looked at her helplessly: "It would be convenient for me to burn it, but how can we be sure that what we burn is what she wants?"
"..." Chaoyang.
“What if this is a copy, and her own writing has been switched?” Bai Wuyou asked again.
Chaoyang lowered his head, feeling somewhat ashamed: "Master, please don't say anything more, I'll deliver it."
Bai Wuyou increasingly felt that if the Red Lotus Sect wanted to rebel, it first needed someone with a good mind, and Shen Li was the best candidate. Although she didn't agree now, one day she would see the corruption of the Great Zhao Dynasty and be shaken.
The Red Lotus Cult has never had a group of believers they wanted to recruit but couldn't. The leader they wanted was the same; sooner or later, they would be on his pirate ship.
Gu Chang'an laid out the threads in the palace so meticulously that Shen Li received a small cloth bag half an hour after the palace gates opened the next day. Inside the bag were notes.
She took one look and her heart was at ease. It was indeed the same as the ones she had sent. Even though it wasn't her handwriting, she could easily find her own traces.
Of course, she only glanced at it before deciding to destroy it.
Was she really that clueless before?
No wonder Li Heng never doubted herself; anyone who could still doubt her after seeing these things would be heartless.
She brought the stove over and started burning it while thinking, "These things have actually passed through Bai Wuyou's hands, so has he seen them?"
She even swallowed slightly at the thought of this possibility, somewhat reluctant to accept it.
She often said that Bai Wuyou was doing all the work for others, that the Red Lotus Sect could be snatched away by the elders, and she would make fun of it whenever she mentioned it.
But her 'criminal evidence' is even more appalling. If it were seen, how could she possibly save face in front of this underling!
"It's so late, they probably haven't seen it yet," she comforted herself.
"Miss, Miss, news has come from the palace!" Peony rushed in from outside, saying urgently, "The deposed Crown Prince's concubine—has miscarried."
"Miscarriage?" The first image that came to Shen Li's mind was Zhou Qianqian's belly, which she had seen yesterday and was already showing slightly.
Logically speaking, the pregnancy should have been very successful at this stage, yet a miscarriage still occurred.
"Yes, it's said that an assassin broke into the Eastern Palace yesterday, killed a palace maid, and caused the concubine to miscarry due to the shock." Peony added, "Who did you think it was? Was it really necessary to assassinate someone at this point?"
Shen Li thought to herself that Gu Chang'an handled this matter efficiently. If that palace maid were alive, she would inevitably be able to find out something, and once she confessed, she would be implicated.
But death will shut them up forever.
She wouldn't reveal it to anyone, and no one knew where the information she had went.
Thinking of the two lives lost, Shen Li lost all interest in reading the notes carefully and threw them all into the fire, letting the flames devour them bit by bit.
Struggle means sacrifice, and the one who should sacrifice is oneself, if not others.
She understood the reasoning, but whenever Zhou Qianqian's pleading expression and her pregnant belly appeared in her mind, she always felt a little reluctant.
Perhaps it was the shared experience of being a woman that triggered these feelings.
It's time to go.
Peony poked at the charcoal fire behind her, making the fire burn brighter and the note burn faster.
As she watched her young mistress's retreating figure, she sensed a sadness in her. She wondered if it was because of the child? Did her young mistress want a child?
"Miss, why don't you ask Doctor Zou to check on your health, or have the master take a look? You've been married for so long, you should be pregnant by now," Peony suggested from the side.
"Why are you urging me now?" Shen Li was both amused and exasperated. Her parents used to urge her, but now even Shaoyao was thinking about it.
"I think Miss will like it."
Thinking of the child's soft and cuddly appearance, Shen Li nodded: "Perhaps."
Zhou Qianqian was extremely weak after her miscarriage due to excessive worry. When she woke up, she was unconscious, her eyes were cloudy and confused, and she became delirious, hugging a pillow as if it were her child.
The Empress's illness worsened, her son's life was in danger, and now her grandson was gone. She was utterly dejected, as if she had lost her pillar.
On the contrary, Consort Zheng finally emerged from the shadow of the burning of the paintings in Wanbaoge. Perhaps seeing that the Empress was in a much worse situation than herself, she actually began to look radiant.
The emperor has recently become obsessed with alchemy, but even so, he was still deeply moved when he saw the radiant Consort Zheng, feeling as if he had returned to his youth.
The downfall of the Empress's faction and the Eastern Palace was a foregone conclusion. Zhou Qianqian was imprisoned in the Eastern Palace, which had become a de facto cold palace.
Zhou Zhen and the Crown Prince were interrogated one after another. The Crown Prince repeatedly implicated the Shen family, but without concrete evidence, the matter was dropped.
The case was being handled at the same time as the year-end when neighboring small countries came to pay tribute. The Ministry of Rites and the Court of State Ceremonial were extremely busy, with the most complicated part being arranging return gifts for each country and the palace banquets.
To avoid going to the palace, Shen Li stayed at home, and her biggest concern every day was the tug-of-war between the Liang envoy and the Shuntian Prefecture.
Shuntian Prefecture refused to release the people because of their rude remarks. Daliang first compensated for the losses and then promised to teach them a lesson when they returned. However, Shuntian Prefecture still did not agree and insisted that the envoy apologize to Dazhao in public and whip the people in public.
Da Liang hasn't agreed yet, but he hasn't turned against him either.
This was Gu Chang'an's idea, not only to punish those who spoke arrogantly, but also to test the bottom line of Daliang. After the test, it was found that Daliang was actually being tolerant in every way, which was completely different from its previous tough attitude.
This caught the attention of Shen Li and others. Emperor Cheng learned of this matter early on and instructed Shuntian Prefecture to do it, but he did not pay much attention to it afterwards. He spent his days either refining elixirs and cultivating Taoism or indulging in the gentle embrace of Consort Zheng.
It was clear that although the situation was somewhat chaotic, Emperor Cheng was very pleased with himself for deposing the crown prince. He stood up straighter when facing the court officials, as if he were demonstrating against the civil officials.
What does it matter if it's an ancestral law or if the civil officials are powerful? He is the emperor, so he can appoint whomever he wants and pass the throne to whomever he wants.
He did something that no previous emperor could do, so naturally he was proud.
Equally pleased was Prince Yi. In the past, he and the Crown Prince stood together in the court to listen to the government, but now he was all alone. As a result, his clothes became more and more magnificent, and he spoke with the airs of a crown prince.
Consort Zheng was the same in the palace. She had never taken the Empress seriously, and now she was becoming more and more arrogant, sometimes even disobeying the Empress Dowager's orders.
The current court is rife with treacherous officials in power. Beset by internal and external troubles, Shen Zizai often sighs with frustration.
This also resulted in Shen Li being scolded when she went home.
"Is this the situation you wanted?" Shen Zizai said irritably, "Even if the Crown Prince is incompetent, he can still stabilize the court and prevent chaos. Look at the situation now, it looks like the country is on the verge of collapse."
Shen Li remained silent.
"The Crown Prince's authority in court extends beyond just restraining the vassal kings and other princes; it also extends to His Majesty. In the past, even if civil officials did not heed his advice, His Majesty would never ignore it. But look at us now, do our words still carry any weight?"
Shen Li peels an orange.
"Your Majesty spends all day refining elixirs and cultivating Taoism, while the court and harem are thrown into chaos by Prince Yi and his mother. Various small kingdoms are eyeing us covetously; if even the slightest disturbance occurs, the entire empire could collapse." Shen Zizai looked at her: "Who can bear the consequences?"
"Alright, enough with your nagging." Seeing him scolding her daughter, Xiao Bailing slammed her hand on the table and said, "You're making it sound like I didn't want him to be the crown prince. If he hadn't assassinated His Majesty first and then killed my daughter, would he have ended up like this?"
"Madam, what happened to you too... sigh..."
“What’s wrong with me? Even with my womanly perspective, I can see that Li Heng has wronged our daughter. He tricked her into listening to him when she was little, and then turned around and made her marry someone else for him.” Xiao Bailing was furious when she talked about this: “What kind of man is he?”