This time Murong Yi was very self-aware and didn’t try to follow her into the palace. The carriage stopped in front of the palace gate plaza, and without waiting for Tie Ci to speak, he took it upon himself to instruct the gate guards to call for the Imperial Carriage Department to collect the carriage. He also handed Chi Xue a small booklet with maintenance and usage instructions for the vehicle.
Chi Xue smiled with pursed lips, graciously thanked him, and accepted this gift on behalf of His Highness.
For such practical items, she didn’t care what the Crown Princess thought—they definitely needed it.
Murong Yi couldn’t help but praise: “Good maid.”
This one was much better than the cold girl that Mu Si had taken a fancy to. Having such a maid by Eighteen’s side put his mind at ease.
“Zhao San is currently under house arrest, but don’t worry, he’s lucky—he hasn’t suffered much and won’t be in trouble. I’ll find an opportunity to get him out and send him to you to play with.”
Far away in Liaodong, Zhao San suddenly shivered, looking around in bewilderment, unaware that his master had casually offered him up to please his beloved’s maid.
Chi Xue showed no embarrassment, smiling charmingly: “Then I’ll quietly await the good news from the heir.”
Murong Yi smiled, thinking Zhao San was quite fortunate.
He glanced at Mu Si, who stood like a wooden post in front of Dan Shuang, and chuckled.
With that bearing, wanting to marry a wife—maybe in the next lifetime.
Mu Si, who could only marry a wife in the next lifetime, frowned and urged Dan Shuang: “The wind is strong, why don’t you hurry inside!”
Dan Shuang glared at him.
As if she had deliberately stayed here for him.
She was waiting for the Crown Princess!
She turned and walked away, but after a few steps couldn’t help but turn back, glancing sideways at Mu Si: “What’s wrong with your leg?”
Mu Si’s leg had been broken before. Although it was mostly healed, he still favored it slightly when walking—not noticeable unless you looked carefully.
Mu Si’s eyes lit up. He instinctively wanted to answer that it was nothing, but Murong Yi heard from not far away and shouted: “To come see you, my father blocked him and broke his leg!”
Dan Shuang looked at Mu Si.
Mu Si remained silent.
It wasn’t quite that dramatic.
But since he wasn’t the one exaggerating.
He coughed and said: “It’s already healed.”
Dan Shuang’s expression was starting to look off.
Mu Si couldn’t quite handle it. This time he really wanted to urge Dan Shuang to leave quickly, but then Tie Ci came over, put her arm around Dan Shuang, and while walking toward the palace gate, casually said: “We women must not only guard against men’s sweet words, but also against their constant lies, city-wall-thick skin, self-righteous attitudes, and intentional or unintentional PUA…”
From far away they heard Chi Xue ask Tie Ci: “What is PUA?”
Mu Si: “…”
I don’t know what “leather has love” is.
I only know my master is a dog-headed strategist.
……
After returning to the palace, Tie Ci heard the news of the failed assassination.
Including everything that happened during the assassination attempt, and everything Xiao Liheng had said.
She was silent for a long time, then said: “If it failed, then it failed.”
The Xiao family was so deeply rooted, having operated for many years, their influence had already permeated every part of Great Qian like a towering tree. She knew it could no longer be solved by killing one or two people.
Originally she had thought this old fellow was the Xiao family’s representative figure, jumping up and down being truly annoying. Eliminating him would severely damage the Xiao family’s vitality. There would naturally be trouble afterward, but she could find ways to handle it slowly.
But now it seemed Xiao Liheng had long been prepared for the worst-case scenario. And he had the mentality of “after I die, let the floods rage”—a mutual destruction mindset.
Too many people and forces depended on the Xiao family, and the economic power they secretly controlled might exceed even her imagination.
Without a smooth transition, it could very well affect the livelihood of all Great Qian’s people.
The common people were innocent—she was unwilling to harm them.
Unless she similarly controlled several powerful merchant families with substantial strength, able to quickly stabilize the economy and calm the situation after the Xiao family’s counterattack, otherwise facing the prepared and maddened Xiao family, Great Qian would inevitably be harmed by them.
Once national power was damaged and the court became unstable, the Three Fiefs and Dayan would certainly become restless. Then, faced with troubles both internal and external, the situation would take a sharp turn for the worse.
Looking through history, national power declining during such periods, never recovering afterward, even leading to the destruction of nations—such examples were everywhere.
So if they couldn’t kill him, so be it.
But she didn’t regret taking action today.
Since the Three Fiefs were Great Qian’s weakness, she should resolve them early. Without external threats, there would be no fear of internal troubles.
She was going to leave the capital, letting the Xiao family see her killing intent and strength, so they would behave themselves in the future.
After that, she was busy for several more days.
That day she had achieved great victory at the Court of Judicial Review. Ma Hetong understood afterward and went to the Shengdu Prefecture to voluntarily withdraw his lawsuit—after all, facing the violent storm that made everyone in the capital flee in panic, no one could withstand it.
The Crown Princess immediately ordered Shengdu Prefecture to properly handle disaster relief after the storm.
The next day at the grand court assembly, Xiao Liheng didn’t come, claiming illness. But the officials who braved the remaining winds to attend court were still quite heated. This time it was the Imperial faction demanding accountability, the Xiao faction struggling to protect themselves while counter-attacking, and the Rong faction implicitly siding with the Xiao faction. The Imperial faction impeached Xiao Liheng for controlling court politics, forging imperial edicts, usurping authority, framing ministers, and deceiving the emperor, demanding prosecution of the Vermillion Bird Guard’s Deputy Commander for treason, investigation of the Three Great Camps’ officers who arrested people without cause, and investigation of Shengdu Prefecture’s officials who took wrong stances and used torture to extract confessions. The Xiao faction denied everything, claiming that the situation was urgent at the time, fearing the Spring Examination case suspects might escape, so they hurriedly arrested the criminals. The next morning’s court session also received the emperor’s approval—where was the talk of abuse of power and overstepping authority?
The Vermillion Bird Guard’s Deputy Commander also protested his innocence from jail, while the Shengdu Prefecture’s Assistant Prefect and below absolutely refused to admit to torture.
The crowd argued chaotically with their numerical advantage.
But many officials stayed out of both sides, concentrating on being clay statues and wooden sculptures. According to the Xiao faction’s secret observations, after the Spring Examination case, such clay statues and wooden sculptures were becoming increasingly numerous.
Many people were worried—today’s clay statues and wooden sculptures might become fence-sitters tomorrow, and the day after might drill into the Imperial faction’s camp.
The Crown Princess sat high above, listening to the uproar below without getting angry. Only after that group had exhausted themselves arguing did she calmly take out a booklet and signal for a eunuch to pass it down.
The booklet first reached Rong Luchuan’s hands. He flipped through it briefly, and this veteran minister who was always unmovable as a mountain showed a slight change in his expression.
The booklet looked like an account book.
He saw many names and numbers he expected, and also unexpected ones—names he had thought belonged to his own faction.
The First Minister, known as “Immovable Mountain,” who had seen more storms than people had eaten rice, could barely maintain his composure as he passed the booklet down.
The other Grand Secretaries behind him, seeing this thing, had reactions far beyond mere dilated pupils.
The booklet reached the last Eastern Pavilion Grand Secretary Li Shen. After reading it, Li Shen looked up at Tie Ci.
Tie Ci smiled and lifted her chin at him. Li Shen helplessly had to pass the booklet down.
Next came the Six Boards and Nine Ministers. Some of their names were already involved. When certain people saw their own names prominently listed, followed by a long string of property and shop names, they immediately felt as if they were on fire.
They desperately wanted to tear it up on the spot, but they couldn’t—the Crown Princess was watching from above. Not only couldn’t they tear it, they had to pass it on.
It was like streaking—public execution under everyone’s gaze.
The booklet passed through the crowd, accompanied by various faces showing unease, shock, guilt, fear… constantly changing expressions.
Tie Ci watched clearly from above and smiled slightly.
The booklet was what Murong Yi had given her at the Minister of War’s residence. When she first saw it, she immediately guessed what it was, but didn’t dare believe it.
Given Murong Yi’s status, this should be an account book of connections between Liaodong and court ministers. After all, although Liaodong maintained nominal independence, they still needed to maintain good relationships with the court to facilitate various matters.
For Liaodong to develop from an ordinary vassal territory to today’s powerful, almost independent nation-like status over several generations, it couldn’t have been without some court officials providing cover, muddying waters, speaking well of them, and deceiving the emperor.
Such an account book was also a powerful tool for Liaodong to control Great Qian’s court ministers. Yet Murong Yi had so casually tossed it at her feet?
The first thought that floated in Tie Ci’s mind was: Did the King of Liaodong know his heir’s elbow was bent outward?
Additionally, this account book was thicker than she had imagined, and certain people’s family wealth was fatter than she had expected. Calculating the silver involved, even the King of Liaodong couldn’t afford to feed Great Qian’s ministers like this. What other methods had Murong Yi used, following Liaodong’s account book to investigate these ministers’ family assets?
Speaking of which, it seemed the story of the eighteenth prince of Liaodong’s maternal family going bankrupt and having no one to rely on wasn’t quite accurate.
The booklet made a full circle and returned to the eunuch’s hands. Obviously everyone was shaken, not just those whose names were in it.
The Xiao faction would discover that people in their own faction actually hid so much wealth. The Rong faction would discover that companions who claimed to be poor as church mice actually had sleeves full of golden wind. The leaders of both factions could even discover fence-sitters from the account book—people who pledged loyalty to the First Minister while also receiving shops under the Xiao family’s name.
An atmosphere of awkward unease permeated the court. People had long forgotten what they had been arguing about earlier, all staring fixedly at the booklet in the Crown Princess’s hands.
The crime of colluding with the King of Liaodong, taken seriously, was treason—punishable by death to the ninth degree of kinship.
Taken lightly, it was merely accepting bribes—punishment of salary reduction, demotion, or at most dismissal. And with so many people involved, was the Crown Princess planning to kill half the court, or planning to clear out half the court?
The Crown Princess didn’t keep everyone in suspense for long. When the booklet returned to her hands, she signaled for a eunuch to bring over a brazier.
A commotion arose in the hall. Everyone had some guess but didn’t dare believe it.
Under everyone’s disbelieving gaze, Tie Ci loosened her grip and tossed the account book into the brazier.
Almost everyone’s tense bodies instinctively relaxed, except for a slight twitch at the corner of Rong Luchuan’s eye.
Everyone watched as the booklet blackened and curled in the flames, turning to ash. Everyone collectively let out a long breath.
Tie Ci signaled for the eunuch to take away the brazier, clapped her hands and said: “Good, let’s continue with the discussions.”
From beginning to end, she showed no emotion about this matter, made no comments or warnings, as if what had just happened was as ordinary as eating or drinking, not worth mentioning.
But everyone knew this matter was too worth mentioning.
Yet the Crown Princess had so lightly let it pass.
This meant she didn’t want to stir up waves and kill in all directions.
While everyone felt relieved, their hearts became even more cautious.
After this experience, the Crown Princess had become even more deep and unfathomable in her conduct.
Although her actions indicated she didn’t want major conflict, burning the account book didn’t mean this matter was completely over. On the contrary, this sword had been suspended over everyone’s heads by the Crown Princess. No one knew when it might fall, or if it would fall at all.
How could they prevent it from falling?
That depended on their performance.
Everyone who could stand in this court hall was shrewd.
The subsequent discussions indeed completely changed direction.
The Xiao and Rong factions abandoned their previous opposition and arguments, expressing full understanding of the various accusations raised by the Imperial faction, and quickly agreed to the dismissal and punishment of relevant personnel. The Vermillion Bird Guard’s Deputy Commander was imprisoned, the White Marsh Guard’s Commander was also held responsible, the Crown Princess’s Nine Guards took over the Imperial City, the Three Great Camps’ involved officers were investigated, the Three Great Camps were ordered not to remain stationed within the city, their garrison was moved a hundred li outside the capital, and they would exchange positions with the Nine Sui Border Army after six months. The Ministry of War failed in its duties, and the Three Great Camps’ military seals were returned to the Central Military Governor’s Office. The Shengdu Prefecture’s Assistant Prefect was reassigned to Gan Province.
Finally, when discussing how to handle Xiao Liheng, everyone fell silent.
The storm had blown for two days, and its effects weren’t over yet. Houses had collapsed in the capital, countless common people gathered outside the Xiao mansion throwing stones. The Spring Examination case that was supposed to bring down people had failed to bring down anyone, while the Xiao family itself had lost popular support. Now in the court, the Crown Princess had forced everyone to deal with a bunch of people, but what about Xiao the Second Minister, the instigator?
What was the Crown Princess’s attitude?
Would she leverage public opinion to fight the Second Minister to the end, or would she quit while ahead?
Officials from the Xiao faction felt their scalps exploding, thinking that given this Crown Princess’s usual style, she might very well pick up a stick and start swinging. How should they handle this? This wasn’t like dealing with those Vermillion Bird Guard and Shengdu Prefecture people earlier. The Xiao mansion was deeply connected with them—they prospered together and fell together. If they didn’t protect the Xiao family, the Xiao family would definitely drag them down. But if they protected the Xiao family, how would they deal with the Crown Princess pursuing the account book matter?
It was very hair-pulling indeed.
The Xiao mansion was very well-informed. Although Xiao Liheng was at home, he quickly had someone deliver a letter of repentance. Every sentence in the memorial was earnest, saying all his actions were motivated by public spirit, only wanting to ensure fairness in the nation’s talent selection ceremony. His mistake was in acting hastily, and he asked His Majesty for punishment.
Once his memorial was submitted, all officials immediately had a way out and came forward to plead for mercy.
Seeing everyone’s expressions, Tie Ci knew the negotiation couldn’t go much further.
Everyone had bottom lines. She had thrown out the account book with the bottom line of gaining control over palace interior and exterior defenses, and directly controlling Shengdu Prefecture, which managed the capital’s daily necessities.
The Xiao faction’s bottom line was protecting Xiao Liheng.
Little Bug quietly entered the hall and whispered a few words in her ear.
Tie Ci raised an eyebrow.
Several major commercial houses in the capital were showing unusual activity.
Rice, flour, oil, cotton, vegetables and fruits, utensils, medicine shops, money houses, restaurants, waterway freight, carriage services… These businesses involved every aspect of people’s livelihood. Problems in any one area would cause turmoil in the capital, let alone if they all acted together.
This was the Xiao family warning the court.
Don’t push them to mutual destruction.
Listening to Little Bug’s report, Tie Ci thought that since economics concerned stability, the imperial family should also find ways to control it.
Tian Wu had said his family had always wanted to expand their business in the capital, but faced many obstacles. Tie Ci had already mentioned this to Minister Gu of the Ministry of Revenue. The Tian family had substantial strength and should indeed be well supported.
Her master’s business also spanned the entire nation. Previously she lacked the power to intervene, but now she could discuss it with her master.
But now, she indeed couldn’t be too hasty. A court that had been controlled for many years required time for smooth transition.
What she needed to do was gradually weaken and slowly separate them until the Xiao family was isolated and unable to support themselves alone.
When that time came, even a gentle blow could reduce the massive entity to ashes.
The subsequent court discussions went much more smoothly. The emperor and Crown Princess approved of Xiao Liheng’s apology memorial. The final resolution was that Xiao Liheng would forfeit one year’s salary and be demoted from Jinshen Hall Grand Secretary to Wenyuan Pavilion Grand Secretary. The previous Wenyuan Pavilion Grand Secretary, who belonged to the neutral faction, had already retired at the end of last year.
Although still a Grand Secretary, the Jinshen Hall Grand Secretary position belonged to the Second Minister. With the Second Minister position taken away, he was demoted to second from the bottom among the Four Halls, Two Pavilions, and Six Secretaries.
Rong Luchuan also timely stepped forward, accepting the fault of acting rashly, and the final resolution was one year’s salary forfeiture.
Whether salary forfeiture or demotion, what mattered was the punishment itself. Since the emperor ascended the throne, regardless of natural disasters or man-made calamities, these two had never received any punishment.
Everyone’s gaze fell on Tie Ci, thinking that now the Crown Princess had undergone a complete transformation, actually making both big shots suffer setbacks in one go.
The emperor was in an excellent mood. To ease the tense atmosphere, he smiled and brought up the Crown Princess’s approaching birthday at court.
All officials expressed their desire to celebrate for the Crown Princess. After all, the Crown Princess was obviously different from before, and the current emperor and crown prince’s relationship wasn’t like the previous dynasty’s sensitive tension that put ministers in an awkward position. They could boldly curry favor, so everyone was very active, wanting to gain favor with the Crown Princess. Even Rong Luchuan said: “His Highness loves and pities the people’s livelihood and dislikes wasteful ceremonies, but after all, His Highness is our dynasty’s heir apparent. Being too modest would damage the nation’s dignity. We ministers also hope to drink a toast to His Highness’s health.”
The emperor looked expectantly at Tie Ci. Previously when he suggested holding a palace banquet, Tie Ci had refused. At this moment, Tie Ci found it inappropriate to refuse the emperor’s wishes again, so she smiled and thanked him.
The emperor was delighted, ordering the Ministry of Rites to organize it well while saying to the ministers: “Tie Ci is young, so her birthday celebration shouldn’t be too elaborate. But for ruler and subjects to drink together in celebration is fitting. If you ministers have children of appropriate age, feel free to bring them along to join the fun. There will be hunting at Nanshan Imperial Garden the next day anyway, so it’s good to get acquainted first.”
With these words, the ministers understood—so this was to select a husband for the Crown Princess?
Palace banquet poetry for literary talent, hunting competition for archery skills?
But wasn’t it said that the Rong family’s son was already decided?
And hadn’t Old Qi been bragging with his tail to the sky recently, saying his only son was chosen?
Eh, was the Crown Princess planning three palaces and six courtyards? Empress, noble consorts, bright ladies, honored ladies, precious persons all in a row?
Ministers thinking of their own sons—those with wastrel sons thought male bright ladies wouldn’t be bad, while those with outstanding sons thought male bright ladies were truly deadly.
Some families were happy, others worried.
Tie Ci watched everyone’s complex expressions change repeatedly and smiled.
You’re all overthinking this.