In the Fengming Hall, Xu Zhao enjoyed the privilege of being seen without prior request.
This was also a signal that Emperor Yongji had gradually been sending out: the Crown Princess was unfit for her role, whilst she herself increasingly valued Xu Zhao. Many ministers in the court with keen political instincts had already begun to quietly extend olive branches to Xu Zhao.
The assassination attempt that took place in the Eastern Palace last night was truly baffling. All the informants planted within the Crown Princess’s residence had been cut off, which had deeply unsettled Emperor Yongji. Having gone to probe the situation herself and still feeling uneasy, she sent Xu Zhao to investigate once more.
Xu Zhao’s relationship with Xu Chen was not particularly close; going alone would have seemed abrupt and somewhat like a cat crying over a mouse. Thus, she cleverly brought along two other adult princesses, which led to the scene earlier that day where Xu Chen had expended considerable energy dealing with the three of them.
“Here you are—”
Emperor Yongji looked up from her memorial and addressed Xu Zhao.
Xu Zhao immediately knelt on one knee to pay her respects. “Your humble daughter pays her respects to Her Majesty.”
Empress Yongji: “There is no need for such formalities in private. How many times have I told you? You are deliberately trying to upset me.”
Xu Zhao smiled at once. This truly benevolent side of Emperor Yongji was likely something that Crown Princess Xu Chen had never witnessed before. With this thought, her heart grew even lighter, and she said ingratiatingly: “ ‘Your Majesty is the daughter of Heaven; propriety must not be neglected. This humble subject dares not be negligent. Moreover, I hold Your Majesty in the highest esteem; were you to forbid this bow, I would not know how else to express my respect.’
Xu Zhao’s words delighted the Yongji Emperor immensely; the laugh lines at the corners of her eyes deepened, and she hastened to say: “Enough jesting. Tell me, what did you observe when you visited the Fourth Princess today?”
In private, the Yongji Emperor never addressed Xu Chen as the Crown Princess, but rather by her birth order among the imperial children. This private practice was known only to her, Xu Zhao, and Noble Consort Chun—a clear indication of who the Yongji Emperor truly favoured as her heir.
Even though Xu Chen had not yet been deposed and Xu Zhao had not yet become the Crown Princess she so longed to be, the Emperor—a mother who showed true affection only to Xu Zhao—was unwilling to bestow the title of Crown Princess upon anyone else.
Xu Zhao had long since grown accustomed to this. After a moment’s thought, she said, “Mother, I still believe last night’s assassination attempt was no coincidence, but the person behind it certainly wasn’t that good-for-nothing Fourth Sister.”
“Today, when I went to the Crown Princess’s residence with my Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister, I kept observing her whilst they were greeting my Fourth Sister. She is still steeped in the fear of the assassination attempt; she seems completely dazed. Your humble daughter finds it hard to imagine that such a reckless and dangerous plan could have been devised by her alone.”
Recalling Xu Chen’s demeanour earlier that day, Xu Zhao felt a surge of contempt. Xu Chen was clearly exactly the same as ever—all bark and no bite. How could she possibly have arranged for an assassin to target me? That fool of a sister of mine simply lacks the courage and intelligence for such a thing.
Emperor Yongji fell into deep thought: “So, you too believe this matter has nothing to do with her.”
Xu Zhao: “Your humble subject believes it is both unrelated and connected.”
Emperor Yongji’s interest was immediately piqued. “Oh? How so?”
Xu Zhao looked at the Emperor and analysed the situation with confidence: “If there were not the slightest connection to the Fourth Princess, this affair would not have been so fortuitous—the assassin happened to kill everyone the Empress and I had placed within the Princess’s residence. I believe that although this is not something the Fourth Princess could have carried out herself, she is the only one to benefit from it.”
“A cornered beast will still fight. Though the Fourth Princess is a fool, those around her will not simply sit idly by and await their doom. I suspect this operation is the last-ditch struggle of the few remaining loyalists by her side.”
“When I went to the Crown Princess’s residence today, I saw a guard named Xuan Mu at my Fourth Sister’s side. She relies on her heavily. According to my Fourth Sister herself, it was this guard, Xuan Mu, who protected her from the assassins last night.”
“Now, this guard has been appointed by the Fourth Princess as the Commander of the Princess’s Mansion’s Guards, commanding both the Left and Right Guards. The entire security operation of the Princess’s Mansion has fallen into her hands.”
Speaking of this, Xu Zhao could not help but feel a pang of bitter regret. The original Commander of the Imperial Guard at the Eastern Palace had been one of their own, which meant Xu Chen’s movements had always been transparent to her. Now, with all their inside informants—including this Commander—eliminated, they were left completely in the dark regarding events at the Eastern Palace. It was truly unbearable.
Lost in her own musings, Xu Zhao failed to notice that the Emperor’s expression had suddenly darkened at the mention of the name ‘Xuanmu’. With a sharp slap, the Emperor overturned the memorials on the desk, startling Xu Zhao out of her skin.
“Mother?”
The Emperor’s face was grim; it took him a long moment to regain his composure, after which he uttered only one sentence: “That must be someone the late Emperor left behind for the Fourth Prince.”
The words ‘the late Empress’ carried the weight of a curse; the moment Xu Zhao heard them, she clamped her mouth shut. The relaxed, at-ease demeanour she had displayed before the Emperor vanished instantly, leaving him to slowly extricate himself from the emotions stirred by the past.
Several minutes passed before the heavy atmosphere in the hall began to ease once more. Xu Zhao cast a tentative glance at Emperor Yongji before daring to pick up the memorials that had been flung to the floor.
She swiftly gathered them up, calling out “Mother Emperor” as she carefully placed them back before Emperor Yongji.
Emperor Yongji could hardly refuse to save face for her favourite daughter. Hearing her voice, she composed herself and said, “It would seem the truth of the matter is indeed as you surmised.”
“Given the audacity of those left behind by the late Emperor for the Fourth Prince, it is understandable. I merely did not expect that, after all these years, there would still be a loose end.”
“This matter is easily resolved; we need only make the Fourth Princess grow weary of them.”
“The tide has turned. Unless the Fourth Princess herself comes to her senses, everything else is a mere trifle and will not affect the greater scheme of things.”
Xu Zhao immediately laughed. “Rest assured, Mother Empress. The Fourth Princess is nothing but a pretty face with no substance; getting her to see reason would be harder than climbing to the heavens.”
“The Princess’s faction in the court has been unable to outmanoeuvre Your Majesty all these years, and they never will; no miracle is going to happen.”
Xu Zhao’s words once again flattered Empress Yongji into good spirits, and the atmosphere between mother and daughter grew warm and harmonious once more.
Empress Yongji waved her hand. “Very well, very well. Go and see your Lord father. As for the matter of that guard by the Fourth Princess’s side, you may handle it as you see fit.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I shall take my leave.” Xu Zhao bowed in preparation to depart.
However, she had barely taken a few steps when the Emperor Yongji suddenly called out, “Zhao’er, wait.”
Xu Zhao: “Mother?”
Empress Yongji: “Tell me, do you think General Yun Qian had a hand in this matter?”
Xu Zhao pondered for a moment before replying, “General Yun is currently in Chongzhou; her influence likely does not extend that far. ”
“Moreover, General Yun is abundant in loyalty and righteousness but lacking in strategic cunning. She has been deeply disappointed in the Fourth Princess; since two years ago, she has ceased to concern herself with the Fourth Princess’s affairs, and to this day, there has been no sign of a thaw in their relationship—on the contrary, they have grown increasingly estranged.”
“A method such as assassination does not seem like something General Yun would employ.”
Emperor Yongji nodded upon hearing this, acknowledging Xu Zhao’s analysis, and finally dismissed her.
The ‘Yun Qian’ mentioned by the two women was the late Empress’s younger sister. Since the first generation of the Yun family—beginning with the Founding General, the Old General Yun—three generations had all been natural-born military talents. In Emperor Yongji’s mind, Yun Qian was the greatest force behind Xu Chen.
She had expended so much effort to drive a wedge between the two; there could be no room for the slightest mishap.
Were it not for the increasingly menacing gaze of the steppe tribes—and the fact that the Zhou Kingdom could not afford to lose Yun Qian—Emperor Yongji would truly have wished to eliminate her, thereby eradicating the threat once and for all.
Xu Zhao, however, failed to grasp the emperor’s apprehensions; unable to comprehend her hypersensitivity, she instead felt that the emperor was being overly suspicious.
No matter how capable Yun Qian might be, she could hardly be manipulating affairs in the capital from Chongzhou, a thousand miles away. Moreover, General Yun was a woman of integrity and selflessness; the deeds Xu Chen had committed over the years had long filled her with utter loathing. Were it not for the fact that Xu Chen was the Crown Princess, Xu Zhao believed she would have been capable of putting the greater good before family ties.
Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for Yun Qian to be involved. Xu Zhao concluded that it must be those few elders from the previous empress’s time who remained in the Crown Princess’s residence—they had finally been unable to contain themselves any longer and had stepped forward, making a last-ditch effort to try and prop up the crumbling foundation.
Ridiculous—
Xu Chen would never give a thought to the loving mother-daughter bond between Emperor Yongji and Xu Zhao in the palace; the very notion made her feel sick.
After spending the night in Lu Qiuci’s chambers, her spirits had revived considerably, and her whole demeanour had grown serene.
She had always been a woman of boundless energy. Even from the moment she had been transported to this world, she had remained on high alert: first, she had assessed the original host’s predicament; then, she had swiftly devised a plan; one by one, she had identified the remaining trustworthy individuals within the Princess’s Residence, and with great effort, had regained their trust.
She then identified every traitor without letting a single detail slip, using an assassination attempt as a pretext to eliminate them all, before immediately turning her attention to navigating the political waters with Emperor Yongji and Xu Zhao, ultimately extricating herself unscathed.
All she needed was a good night’s sleep to be fully recharged.
It was precisely this trait that had kept her from losing her mind during those ten years in the psychiatric hospital.
When Lu Qiuci began rustling about, Xu Chen awoke, but as it was still early, she wanted to lie there a little longer and made no move.
It was only when Lu Qiuci’s movements became too disruptive to her peaceful slumber that Xu Chen had no choice but to open her eyes.
Lu Qiuci finally managed to crawl out of Xu Chen’s embrace and was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he looked up and found Xu Chen’s jet-black eyes fixed upon him.
There was not a trace of sleepiness in them; she must have been woken up long ago by the noise.
His heart suddenly began to race again, and he hurriedly said, “Forgive me, Your Highness, I’ve woken you!”
Xu Chen: “Next time, do not move until I am fully awake.”
Lu Qiuci hastily agreed: “I shall remember, Your Highness!”
Xu Chen rose and left the bed; only then did it dawn on Lu Qiuci that Xu Chen had said “next time”.
What did that mean?
Lu Qiuci dared not even think about it, and hurriedly followed her out of bed to help Xu Chen get dressed.
Hearing the commotion inside, Di Liu immediately led Dong Yi in, carrying the toiletries. Xu Chen still retained her modern habit of never wearing the same set of clothes twice; Xuan Yu knocked on the door again and brought in a fresh set of garments.
Xu Chen immediately said, “From now on, send a few more sets of my clothes to the Lord’s residence.”
Xuan Yu hastily acknowledged the order: “Yes!”
Lu Qiuci, without bothering to dress himself, took Xu Chen’s clothes and began to dress her meticulously.
This set of clothes was bright yellow, adorned with subtle floral patterns and the image of the Vermilion Bird. In legend, the Vermilion Bird is the offspring of the phoenix, which perfectly suited Xu Chen’s status.
Of course, Xu Chen did not wear bright yellow every day; she possessed many other colours of everyday attire. However, they all shared one characteristic: they were extraordinarily opulent and dazzling. Such garments had but one flaw: if one’s appearance or presence was lacking, the clothes would end up wearing the person, rather than the person wearing the clothes.
After dressing Xu Chen completely, Lu Qiuci did not even dare to look her in the eye, a treasonous thought springing to his mind.
The Crown Princess, having shed her splendour for the night, appeared somewhat more approachable.