“Shuhui possesses meager talent and shallow virtue. Being granted the title of Noble Consort and serving His Majesty at his bedside is already a blessing she has cultivated over several lifetimes. She is utterly unworthy of the honored position of Mistress of the Inner Palace.”

Han Daoming walked before the imperial desk and knelt down, speaking in earnest yet unquestionable tones.

“My foolish son Han Jun has recently contracted a cold illness. His entire body lacks strength, and despite taking medicine for many days, he shows no improvement. I fear in the short term he will be unable to serve before His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. I beseech Your Majesty to select another capable person soon, lest palace guard duties be delayed…”

Shen Yang and Yang Zhitang, sitting on embroidered stools to the side, felt their anxious hearts settle somewhat upon hearing Han Daoming’s words.

Truth be told, when His Majesty summoned them to the palace and immediately revealed his intention to formally establish Han Daoming’s daughter as Empress, both men were quite startled, though in Han Daoming’s presence they could not directly remonstrate.

Fortunately, Han Daoming knew when to advance and retreat. Not only did he resist the temptation of having his daughter established as Empress, he also requested on his son’s behalf to resign from military command in the Imperial Guard Army. This allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief, no longer worried that the already precarious court would once again fall into a crisis that could collapse at any moment.

In their hearts, Shen Yang and Yang Zhitang understood that only if the Han family knew proper boundaries would they be able to reach consensus with Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, Zhang Chao, Zhou Bingwu, Du Chongtao and others.

And only if they first reached consensus could the matter of the Empress Dowager returning to court in the name of regent proceed as quickly as possible according to plan, without any further complications arising.

His Majesty was truly too hasty.

The gleam in Yang Yuanpu’s pupils dimmed slightly, yet he showed no anger at having his intentions thwarted, as if he had long understood the possibility of realizing his aims was extremely slim and had not placed much hope in it.

Seeing this unexpected matter pass without incident, Shen Yang and Yang Zhitang next spoke plainly that the most urgent current matter was for Yang Yuanpu to personally exit through the East Flower Gate to Changchun Palace to formally invite the Empress Dowager to return to court as regent.

To ensure this matter proceeded without complications, they must first request that Zhang Ping or Jiang Huo from the Palace Attendants Bureau accompany Chen De, Commander of all camps of the Imperial Guard Army, to Changchun Palace to pay respects and discuss the specific ceremonial procedures for inviting the Empress Dowager’s return to court.

Of course, even if the Empress Dowager agreed to return to court in the name of regent, she would certainly have other additional conditions. Before these matters were properly negotiated and before the formal invitation, they would need to first convene the Privy Council meeting and issue an edict announcing the Empress Dowager’s return to court as regent to the realm. Only then would the entire matter be satisfactorily concluded.

As for matters besides the battles at Tangyi and Shuzhou being handled at Han Qian and Li Zhigao’s discretion, other affairs that were not immediately pressing should wait until after the Empress Dowager returned to court as regent for discussion—a few more days made no difference.

“Let all be arranged as the ministers have discussed,” Yang Yuanpu said.

In any case, for him at present, this was the least bad outcome. Even if there were still unsatisfactory aspects, even if Lu Qingxia’s side would still raise many additional conditions, he was not unable to accept them.

Various matters were handled separately by Shen Yang, Zhang Ping, Yang Zhitang, Han Daoming and the others. Yang Yuanpu, accompanied by Jiang Huo, An Jixiang, and Chen Ruyi, rarely walked out of Chongwen Hall.

After nearly two years of repairs, the imperial palace that had been burned by rebel forces had been largely restored. The Imperial Garden had even been expanded eastward and northward by several dozen acres, with more than ten sets of courtyards added.

However, the palace still had fewer than two thousand eunuchs and palace maids serving within. Those not on duty all stayed in the outer dormitories and lodging houses, so that when Yang Yuanpu strolled leisurely through the imperial palace, the entire palace felt empty.

Although he had anticipated the entire matter would conclude with a relatively good outcome, and the warfare north of the Yangtze seemed to show signs of stabilizing, at this moment Yang Yuanpu felt an unprecedented loneliness.

Even though Jiang Huo, An Jixiang, Chen Ruyi and other attending eunuchs surrounded him, all with extremely cautious expressions, and even though he trusted them greatly and wished he could entrust them with command of the Imperial Guard, the fact that Li Zhigao—whom he had relied upon so heavily—could so easily and readily betray and abandon him made him wonder: among those around him, who could truly be reliable and trustworthy?

An Jixiang, Chen Ruyi, Jiang Huo, Yuan Guowei—who knew which of them might not be another Li Zhigao someday?

Before he realized it, he had walked to the entrance of Changxin Palace. Yang Yuanpu paused slightly, then stepped inside after all.

Qing Yang was sitting in the pavilion playing chess with Daoist Yun Puzi to pass the time when she saw a large group of people suddenly enter the courtyard. Seeing Yang Yuanpu’s gaunt face looking in her direction, she hastily straightened her skirts and hurried into the courtyard, kneeling in greeting: “Not knowing Your Majesty was coming, Qing Yang has not even washed or dressed properly. Please forgive any discourtesy, Your Majesty.”

“Rise…” Yang Yuanpu said. Looking at Qing Yang’s supremely beautiful face, he was momentarily filled with emotion.

Once upon a time, in the calculating Qing Yang he had vaguely seen a reflection of himself. Perhaps because he did not like his former self, he subconsciously did not find Qing Yang’s peerless beauty particularly alluring, much less with those unclear, ambiguous rumors circulating in secret that made him feel disgusted.

Yet now, feeling that there was no one around him he could trust and his heart full of desolation, looking at Qing Yang—in a foreign land, surrounded by alarms and dangers—he instead felt a sense of kindred suffering, secretly thinking that those unclear rumors were probably cold arrows and hidden barbs aimed at her as well.

An inexplicable tender affection grew in his heart. Yang Yuanpu took Qing Yang’s hand and asked: “What were you and Daoist Yun discussing?”

Qing Yang was somewhat overwhelmed by Yang Yuanpu’s intimacy, momentarily unable to gauge his mood, and only said softly: “Your Majesty’s chess skills are superb. Qing Yang is rather clumsy in this area, so I was learning a few moves from Daoist Yun, thinking I could keep Your Majesty company more often in the future.”

Qing Yang accompanied Yang Yuanpu into the cool pavilion.

Though the pavilion was open on all four sides, furnaces were burning beneath the foundation, so sitting within the pavilion felt warm as spring while still being able to view the garden scenery.

However, no matter how beautiful such scenery was, it was only a few acres in circumference. Living within it day after day, year after year, was also a torment to one’s spirit.

Seeing Yang Yuanpu arrive, Qing Yang’s heart held both resentment and joy.

A chess game was laid out in the pavilion, already at the endgame stage.

Yang Yuanpu smiled: “My beloved consort, you and Daoist Yun should finish this game. Leaving chess at the endgame is always disrespectful to the game.”

“But Your Majesty must teach me, otherwise I shall lose terribly,” Qing Yang said coquettishly.

Yang Yuanpu gestured for Yun Puzi not to stand on ceremony. As they sat down to continue the game, he stood behind Qing Yang, watching them play for entertainment, and inexplicably found this moment quite pleasant.

…

…

Late at night, the lights in Han Residence’s Mingju Hall still blazed brightly. Feng Liao and Han Duandu had crossed the river, and only now did Han Daoming return from the Bureau of State Affairs.

The warfare on the north bank continued in full swing, yet the matter of the Empress Dowager returning to court as regent had to be settled as quickly as possible.

Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, Han Daoming, along with Zheng Yu, Zheng Chang, Zhou Bingwu, Du Chongtao and others had gathered at the Bureau of State Affairs that afternoon. Zhang Ping and Chen De left the city to rush to Changchun Palace, with messengers continuously passing through the East Flower Gate, traveling back and forth between Changchun Palace and the Bureau of State Affairs to relay information.

Even after nightfall, the East Flower Gate kept one side entrance open to allow messengers to continue relaying information after dark, enabling smooth communication between both sides.

Not until late night were the final conditions negotiated. The day after tomorrow at an auspicious hour, Emperor Yanyou would first issue an edict announcing to the realm, then lead the assembled ministers out through the East Flower Gate to Changchun Palace to formally invite the Empress Dowager to return to court.

Although Shen Yang and Yang Zhitang’s initial plan was to leave some matters for discussion after the Empress Dowager returned to court, clearly many matters involved far-reaching implications and were raised today as conditions.

When the Empress Dowager returned to court, during court audiences and ceremonial occasions, she would sit alongside His Majesty on the dais.

Even without assuming regency, the Empress Dowager would receive ceremonial treatment of higher rank than regent, and would receive the assembled ministers’ formal obeisances.

And even though Duke Changguo Li Pu should bear responsibility for the annihilation of the naval forces and Right Divine Martial Army, being stripped of official rank and nobility and reduced to commoner status, apart from Li Chong who had surrendered to the enemy and become a turncoat, no one in Duke Changguo’s household faction would be implicated.

That side also demanded Li Zhigao be formally appointed as Supreme Commander, establishing the Huaixi Campaign Command, commanding the Left Vermillion Bird Army and Left Militant Guard Army. They also demanded the dissolution of the Jingyun Bureau, while retaining palace officials and palace guard forces of Changchun Palace, demanding the Weaving Bureau be merged into Changchun Palace, and granting the right to memorialize the throne based on rumor and hearsay.

In any case, Lu Qingxia and her faction still wanted to strengthen the Weaving Bureau’s intelligence-gathering functions, but without the power to arrest, establish prisons, or conduct interrogations. Under current circumstances, for Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang and the others, these were not unacceptable conditions.

“Now that the Empress Dowager’s return to court has been negotiated, is Li Zhigao truly likely to fully cooperate with Tangyi forces in attacking Liyang?” Han Daochang had not been in Jinling before today either, but had returned to Xuanzhou to handle the Han family’s estates and clan properties.

The Han family’s first batch of over three hundred households of servants and slaves had already arrived in Jinling. Tomorrow they could cross the river and rush to Tangyi. Additionally, the first batch had gathered supplies equivalent to nearly two hundred thousand strings of cash, which could be transported to Wushou as quickly as possible in two or three days, ensuring the attack on Liyang could proceed as scheduled.

But the biggest problem at present was that without Li Zhigao’s full cooperation in containing the Chaozhou garrison forces from the western flank, their several thousand troops subsequently inserted into the Fucha Mountains could not possibly intercept the Chaozhou garrison forces—several times their number—from moving south along the eastern shore of Chao Lake to reinforce Liyang.

“Li Zhigao is not an overambitious person. He needs time to consolidate his foundation in Shuzhou and properly absorb that portion of power he took over from Duke Changguo’s household. More than anyone, he hopes the situation in Huaixi can stabilize, rather than constantly facing the threat of war,” Feng Liao said. “At the same time, Li Zhigao should also not wish to be constrained in everything by Lu Qingxia and her faction, listening to them repeatedly make disastrous mistakes—therefore, he should also prefer to see the Empress Dowager return to court as regent, rather than having his power swell so rapidly in such a short time that he loses all sense of proportion…”