The guqin melody lingered as the Crown Prince entertained his elders in colorful attire.

The music seemed to have legs, passing through the bamboo grove like little bees, flirting dot by dot among the peach blossoms. During the socializing, Hu Shanwei also observed these noble daughters. Though all clearly interested in the Crown Prince, not one couldn’t help but glance toward the bamboo grove—each kept her eyes on her nose, nose on her heart, like old monks in meditation.

Hu Shanwei admired this greatly. Those who knew understood this was a matchmaking gathering; those who didn’t might think it was a Buddhist ritual.

When the piece ended, the Crown Prince came to take his leave—arriving hastily, departing hastily. Throughout, he never looked at these noble daughters. Though his heart was full of expectation, his face had to maintain the Crown Prince’s dignity.

The Crown Princess watched the Crown Prince’s retreating figure and sighed, “This son of mine—even I find it difficult to see him now. Every day before dawn, he must accompany His Majesty to morning court. After court dismissal, His Majesty personally teaches him to handle government affairs, often not resting until late at night. I notice he seems to have lost weight these past days.”

The Crown Princess seemed to complain but was actually boasting.

Back when Crown Prince Yiwen was alive, Emperor Hongwu was also in his prime and wary of the heir apparent, unwilling to let the Crown Prince participate in government affairs too early. Though the Eastern Palace nominally had a Crown Prince’s Office, it held no real power. The people employed were basically “part-time” positions for court officials—military generals and civil ministers like Feng Sheng and Liu Ji held actual powerful positions in court, while their roles in the Eastern Palace’s Crown Prince’s Office were merely nominal titles. They never actually worked a single day there—purely honorary positions.

By the time of Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen, though the Crown Prince was seventeen and highly learned, he had absolutely no political experience, while Emperor Hongwu was already sixty-eight and could enter the grave at any time.

Emperor Hongwu grew anxious and established the Crown Prince’s Office specifically to assist the Crown Prince. The office members were basically scholars and officials from humble backgrounds, with almost no nobles or ministers wielding real power. These people could only advance through the Crown Prince’s promotion, ensuring loyalty. The Crown Prince learned politics from scratch daily with his Crown Prince’s Office, and Emperor Hongwu consulted the Crown Prince’s opinion on all major state affairs.

The Crown Princess felt her son’s position as heir was secure, with the old emperor protecting and guiding him. The grievances her husband had suffered—the constant fear of having his position usurped—none of this existed for her son. Previously, her husband had been like a mascot with no power whatsoever. Now the old emperor had placed the power to handle major state affairs right before her son. Without comparison, there could be no happiness.

Currently, many government decrees came directly from the Crown Prince’s Office.

The court’s direction had changed—the old emperor had begun transferring power. These titled ladies naturally knew this, so they all flattered accordingly:

“The Crown Prince is naturally intelligent—state affairs cannot stump him. The Crown Prince is in his prime, growing and gaining height, so he appears somewhat thin.”

“The Crown Prince is so young yet can shoulder heavy responsibilities. My family’s several good-for-nothing sons are even older than the Crown Prince, yet they only know how to play all day. If they had one-tenth of the Crown Prince’s ability, I wouldn’t need to worry.”

“The Crown Prince’s achievements today are all due to the Crown Princess’s excellent education…”

With so many people flattering her, the Crown Princess felt like she was floating on clouds.

The Crown Princess suddenly felt that her son was truly reliable. What her husband couldn’t give her, her son would compensate for piece by piece. Like now—previously the Eastern Palace was ignored, she was merely a secondary consort, when had these titled ladies and noble daughters ever set foot here? Now it was wonderful—the garden was surrounded by pearls and jade, with the Ming Dynasty’s most excellent girls for her to choose from, and a group of first-rank or even super-rank titled ladies speaking various flattering words.

This was just the beginning. When her son ascended the throne in the future… it wouldn’t be limited to just the Eastern Palace. The entire Forbidden City—even the entire Ming Dynasty—would prostrate at her feet!

Seeing the atmosphere growing livelier, with the Crown Princess being flattered to the clouds and enjoying everyone’s compliments, Hu Shanwei secretly sighed: You only know one aspect, not the other.

Emperor Hongwu’s completely different attitudes toward Crown Prince Yiwen and the Crown Prince regarding political participation—first tight then loose, first restricting then encouraging, even teaching hand-to-hand with full instruction—actually had many hidden dangers, like countless Chinese-style parents in later generations who treated dating during school years like facing a great enemy, preventing their children from early romance like guarding against thieves.

But once graduation came, they urgently demanded their children immediately start dating, marrying, and having children in one go, using the same intensity they had used to prevent early romance to comprehensively pressure them into blind dates and marriage, leaving their children bewildered: lacking or having no dating experience at all, how could they achieve this pipeline?

The Crown Prince’s feelings at this time were the same. The Crown Prince’s Office was entirely staffed by scholars and minor officials from humble backgrounds with no foundation, led by retired-and-rehired Tang Duo, who had once served as Minister of War.

This administration’s greatest advantage was loyalty; its greatest disadvantage—incompetence.

You can’t become fat in one bite. Political acumen must be accumulated through long-term involvement in various struggles. Even the most intelligent person, suddenly placed in high position wielding power, is like a child holding gold and silver treasures, not knowing how to spend them.

An inexperienced Crown Prince, a retired-and-rehired old director, and a group of minor officials long distant from the political center. This administration of the Crown Prince’s Office was incompetent—seemingly glorious on the surface but actually having difficult days.

Government affairs they handled were often severely criticized by Emperor Hongwu as stupid, then sent back to be redone. The so-called decrees transmitted by the Crown Prince’s Office actually came from Emperor Hongwu’s hand.

Of course, only confidants like Hu Shanwei knew this. Even the Crown Princess didn’t know, still thinking her son was so capable that when Emperor Hongwu died, her son could seamlessly take over.

If power were so easy to control, anyone could be emperor.

Watching the Crown Princess being flattered to cloud nine, Hu Shanwei figured the timing was about right and stood up to take her leave. “Crown Princess, there are still matters at the Palace Supervisor Bureau. I shall take my leave first. Ladies and young misses, please enjoy yourselves. I’ll have someone send peach blossom wine to enliven the gathering.”

Palace Supervisor Hu held a transcendent position in the harem and was the master of this beauty selection. The titled ladies and young misses hurriedly expressed gratitude. Today’s peach blossom banquet had allowed mutual acquaintance—they could be considered old friends in the future, having become familiar faces.

The Crown Princess had endured in the Eastern Palace for years, rising from secondary consort to primary wife. Enjoying her son’s fortune in one day, happiness had come too quickly, yet she could still maintain composure. She hadn’t become arrogant upon gaining power. When Hu Shanwei took her leave, she didn’t forget to stand and see her off, saying, “I know Palace Supervisor Hu is very busy, so I won’t keep you for the flower-word drinking game.”

The flower-word drinking game was a type of drinking penalty where participants’ poetry had to match the host’s meter while arranging the character “flower” in sequence from first to seventh position, like “Going out, all are flower-viewing people”—the next line should connect “In spring city, countless flowers don’t fly.”

Today’s peach blossom banquet was a joyous occasion. Hu Shanwei wouldn’t spoil the mood by dampening spirits, laughing, “I’m busy with mundane matters daily—I’ve long grown rusty with poetry. If the Crown Princess insists I join the flower-word game, I’d have to drag Director Shen along to whisper answers in my ear.”

By now they had walked to the entrance of the peach blossom grove. The Crown Princess said, “So many talented ladies came today that my eyes are dazzled—I think they’re all wonderful. Palace Supervisor Hu met them all just now—was there anyone who caught your eye?”

Hu Shanwei played dumb: “I’m the same as the Crown Princess—I think each is more beautiful than flowers, possessing both virtue and talent. No wonder my eyes are dazzled.”

The Crown Princess sighed softly, “Now they all seem wonderful. Any young lady in this peach grove could match the Crown Prince’s consort position—all daughters of good families. But you know people’s faces but not their hearts. People change and grow gradually. No one is born an empress, but without major trials, no one knows if she’s uncut jade or worthless stone. The Crown Prince’s consort is the future national mother. Ordinary women can be mediocre, but she alone cannot.”

“I’ve spent half my life in the Eastern Palace, hardly ever leaving. Unlike Palace Supervisor Hu who can travel far and wide externally and suppress the harem internally, Palace Supervisor Hu’s knowledge and ability to judge people far exceed mine. Though I’m the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince’s mother, you also know I… was elevated from concubine status.”

At this point, the Crown Princess’s eyes reddened, showing a pitiful appearance. “Though I’m his mother, I’m powerless regarding the Crown Prince’s consort selection. Everything depends on Palace Supervisor Hu and His Majesty. I trust Palace Supervisor Hu’s judgment—you can surely identify at a glance who is jade and who is stone.”

This move by the Crown Princess made Hu Shanwei feel tremendous pressure. She naturally hoped to find a perfect Crown Prince’s consort who would satisfy the Crown Princess, Crown Prince, and Emperor, but she couldn’t make such promises. Moreover, the Crown Prince’s consort was a living person—there was no such thing as returns.

Regarding this, Hu Shanwei could only continue playing dumb: “Crown Princess, don’t worry too much. The beauties selected by various prince residences haven’t even arrived in the capital yet—it’s still early. Besides, the Crown Prince’s consort will be chosen from hundreds of thousands—layer by layer of selection with so many people judging. The one selected will surely meet the national mother’s requirements. It’s not chosen by me alone.”

The Crown Princess was shocked: “This Crown Prince’s consort selection… includes candidates from other regions too?”

Throughout, the Crown Princess had believed the Crown Prince’s consort must come from wealthy capital families, while those commoner beauties selected from prince residences were prepared for prince heirs and commandery princes.

Could it be that the dignified Crown Prince had to compete with prince heirs in the same pot? Couldn’t they give the Crown Prince special treatment?

Seeing the Crown Princess’s astonished expression, Hu Shanwei said, “I follow His Majesty’s arrangements entirely. The final result still requires His Majesty’s approval. Crown Princess, I take my leave.”

The Crown Princess returned to the peach grove where the flower-word drinking game formally began—time to compete in poetry and reaction speed. The noble daughters eagerly prepared. Actually, the Crown Prince’s earlier guqin performance in the bamboo grove and his polite farewell had already shown his elegant, noble temperament, quite captivating. What young woman doesn’t think of spring? The Crown Prince already met their highest standards for an ideal partner.

The Crown Princess, as hostess, should properly serve as game leader and speak the opening of the flower-word game. But after learning from Hu Shanwei that the Crown Prince’s consort would actually be selected nationally, the Crown Princess completely lost interest. She had thought the Crown Prince’s consort would definitely come from one of the noble daughters at the peach blossom banquet, and she had been automatically viewing these girls through a mother-in-law’s standards.

Now, amid the garden’s spring colors with flowers everywhere and chattering beauties like warblers and swallows in reds and greens, the Crown Princess spoke the opening line: “Flowers drift away on their own, water flows on its own.”

Hearing this, everyone was slightly shocked: This wasn’t auspicious words—what was wrong with the Crown Princess?

But once the game began, there was absolutely no stopping midway. The young lady sitting below the Crown Princess immediately responded: “Meeting you again in the season of falling flowers.”

While the Eastern Palace’s peach blossom banquet’s flower-word game was lively, Hu Shanwei returned to the Palace Supervisor Bureau. Haitang was just about to go out and find an excuse to “rescue” her from the Eastern Palace. “Palace Supervisor Hu returned quite early.”

Hu Shanwei said, “Have the Imperial Kitchen Bureau send several jars of peach blossom wine to the Eastern Palace—this is my courtesy. Also…”

Hu Shanwei frowned, “Go tell the Imperial Food Service to change all today’s pastries for the Crown Prince’s Office to fried cat ears.”

Fried cat ears were a common pastry that, piece by piece, showed spiral patterns resembling cat ears.

Food within the harem was managed by Palace Supervisor Bureau female officials, but food outside the harem but within the Forbidden City—like Qianqing Palace and the Crown Prince’s Office—was handled by the Twenty-Four Bureaus, led by eunuchs.

“Yes.” Haitang paused and asked, “This is easy to arrange, but why change to cat ears?”

Hu Shanwei said, “Today I met the Crown Prince on the road and chatted with him briefly. While I was socializing at the peach blossom banquet, someone reported our entire conversation word-for-word to the Crown Princess.”

Phrases like “people change and grow gradually, no one is born an empress” were repeated almost completely by the Crown Princess—definitely someone had informed on her.

Haitang said, “It seems the Crown Princess has placed informants around the Crown Prince.”

Hu Shanwei said, “I don’t care what’s between mother and son, but I don’t want my conversations with the Crown Prince to be immediately reported to others next time.”

The Eastern Palace was within the harem, but the relationship between the Eastern Palace and harem was rather delicate. The harem basically didn’t interfere with Eastern Palace affairs, only providing food, clothing, and shelter. The Eastern Palace was relatively independent. Similarly, the Eastern Palace couldn’t meddle in harem affairs—after all, daughter-in-law couldn’t manage father-in-law’s courtyard. Everyone minded their own business.

Hu Shanwei sending fried cat ears to the Crown Prince’s Office was hinting to the Crown Prince that if his household security remained lax in the future, with every little disturbance being reported to the Crown Princess, she could no longer be so frank with him and would only exchange harmless pleasantries.

The Crown Prince was intelligent. For the dignified Crown Prince’s Office to have nothing but fried cat ears for the day’s refreshments—thinking about what he had done today, he could guess what was happening.

That evening, the Crown Prince ordered the palace maid who had carried his guqin at today’s peach blossom banquet to move from the Crown Prince’s Palace to the Eastern Palace: “Since you greatly pleased the Crown Princess, go to the Eastern Palace and serve her well.”

The guqin-carrying maid was terrified, immediately kneeling: “Your Highness, what crime has this servant committed? Why doesn’t Your Highness want me anymore?”

The Crown Prince said gently, “You did nothing wrong—it’s just that your place of service wasn’t quite right. You’re more suitable to serve the Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace.”

Why separate the Eastern Palace from the Crown Prince’s Palace, establishing separate residences? Because these two places were different, serving two different masters. Even though they were mother and son, the Crown Prince wouldn’t tolerate his mother arbitrarily interfering in his affairs. Today he had finally found an opportunity to tell Palace Supervisor Hu, who was presiding over the selection, his expectations for his future Crown Princess, only to be immediately “sold out” by his subordinates.

Eating fried cat ears in the Crown Prince’s Office, the Crown Prince felt bitter in both mouth and heart.

He was the heir apparent—no longer a child. If he couldn’t even control his own subordinates, how could he control a nation?

The guqin-carrying maid cried bitterly, crawling over to tightly embrace the Crown Prince’s legs: “This servant has served Your Highness since childhood. I won’t go anywhere. Please forgive me, Your Highness. I’ll never dare pass messages to the Eastern Palace again.”

So she was aware after all. The Crown Prince remained motionless, continuing calmly: “Refusing the master’s arrangements without proper reason means being sent to the Palace Justice Department for punishment according to law. Do you want to go to the Eastern Palace or the Palace Justice Department? You choose.”

Throughout, the Crown Prince’s tone was gentle, just without any warmth.

The guqin-carrying maid understood her master’s temperament and could only dry her tears and go to the Eastern Palace.

Upon seeing her informant expelled and seeking shelter, the Crown Princess immediately understood her son’s meaning—he found her too meddlesome.

The Crown Princess instantly fell from the cloud nine of everyone’s flattery, crashing hard to earth. She murmured, “I’m his mother—could I harm him? I was protecting him, for his own good. Why doesn’t he understand? Why did he send you back to slap my face?”

The palace maid said, “Crown Princess, don’t be angry. The Crown Prince didn’t mean that.”

“Then what did he mean?” The Crown Princess slammed the table. “I raised him in the Eastern Palace like tending a lamp through the night, planning his future. If I hadn’t climbed to the Crown Princess position and cleared obstacles for him, would he have had the chance to become Crown Prince?”

Seeing mother and son about to develop a rift, the palace maid hurriedly said, “Crown Princess, please calm down. The Crown Prince has always been filial to you. No matter how busy the Crown Prince’s Office is, whenever he has spare time, he comes to the Eastern Palace to pay respects. All this… all this started because of Palace Supervisor Hu. Today the Imperial Food Service sent only fried cat ears as pastries to the Crown Prince’s Office. When the Crown Prince returned to the palace that evening, he expelled this servant.”

Upon hearing about fried cat ears, she knew Hu Shanwei had orchestrated it. Some things could only be understood, not spoken. Hu Shanwei’s little tactic was interesting if you said it was meaningful, but if you said it wasn’t, others couldn’t really criticize based on speculation—it was just eating cat ears, and one might be accused of overthinking.

Having navigated the imperial court for fifteen years, Hu Shanwei was not only adept at various thunderous methods but also exceptionally skilled at these subtle psychological tactics.

In front of her confidant, without needing to wear a hypocritical mask, the Crown Princess’s gaze turned cold: “Hu Shanwei, do you think this can drive a wedge between mother and son? You underestimate me.”