“This time when you got into trouble, even my teacher was so anxious that he directly contacted the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Guard. But the Eastern Palace alone showed not a single movement—not even as much concern as Princess Rongcheng and the Prince Consort.” Ji Huai pressed his lips together, his brows shrouded in a layer of gloom. “The Eastern Palace being so unfeeling truly chills one’s heart.”
Chief Minister Chang had once been neutral. Even if he was an unquestionable imperial faction member, Chief Minister Chang had at least always harbored goodwill toward the Eastern Palace. On the principle of not offending the Eastern Palace, he would generally turn a blind eye to Eastern Palace matters whenever he could. But now, even Chief Minister Chang had become somewhat dissatisfied with the Crown Prince’s actions. This realm would one day belong to the Crown Prince. He hadn’t obtained it yet and was already reaching out everywhere to grab money. If he truly became Emperor, did he still plan to continue the business dealings in Xibei? Did he still plan to indulge those barbarians, letting them come and go freely at their doorstep, nurturing a tiger to invite calamity? This was simply too frightening to contemplate.
Cui Yingshu heard the meaning in Ji Huai’s words. Ji Huai’s words were equivalent to Chief Minister Chang’s admonition—his teacher was indirectly reminding him that the Eastern Palace was no longer worth aligning with. At the very least, with this Yang Yunyong affair being exposed, they couldn’t pass the Emperor Jianzhang hurdle. What the Crown Prince took from Yang Yunyong’s hands each year wasn’t just a hundred thousand taels of silver, but the lives of countless common people in Jiangxi. This point was simply unbearable and made it impossible to believe the Crown Prince would be a wise ruler in the future. Originally, because of the Yangzhou corruption case and Elder Chen’s matter, Emperor Jianzhang already held considerable reservations about the Crown Prince. Now with the Yang Yunyong affair erupting, Emperor Jianzhang’s disappointment in the Crown Prince would likely rise to an even higher level.
Thinking of this, Cui Yingshu inevitably felt not only chilled toward the Crown Prince but also somewhat disappointed. Being this Crown Prince should have been quite easy. Emperor Jianzhang wasn’t one of those fathers heavy with suspicion who feared their sons. The Crown Prince also had poor health and had received Emperor Jianzhang and the Empress’s affection since childhood. As long as he made no mistakes, that itself would be merit. Yet he just couldn’t settle down and kept reaching out everywhere.
But his own status determined his awkward position. Princess Duanhui was obviously aligned with the Empress and Eastern Palace—this had long been known to everyone. Even wanting to sever ties would be difficult, let alone now that Song Chuyi was about to become the Crown Prince’s Consort.
“Limited by status…” Cui Yingshu sighed and asked Ji Huai, “With Yang Yunyong’s downfall, Jiangxi will definitely need someone else sent there. Has a candidate been settled on?” He recalled another matter—Prince Su was assigned to Yuzhang. For a prince to claim he was completely unaware of what happened in his fief—Cui Yingshu found this very hard to believe. And if Prince Su had long known the Jiangxi official circles were this chaotic, it was his own fief after all, so how could he have shown not a single movement all these years? Was he truly that afraid of the Crown Prince? Or had he been coldly observing all along, allowing the Jiangxi official circles to rot step by step until they reached an irreparable state, then taking advantage of the situation to stab the Eastern Palace in the back?
Originally, he and Song Chuyi had both determined this matter was a linked scheme laid by Elder Chen and Yang Qing. But when he now thought it over carefully, after he went to Jiujiang, everything that happened was really too coincidental. If Yang Qing was truly just Yang Yunyong’s distant relative and Elder Chen’s advisor, where would he get such audacity to have Cui Yingshu shoulder the entire blame?
Unless Yang Qing had other support and protection, Cui Yingshu thought to this point and felt chilled to the bone, the hair on his arms standing on end.
Ji Huai didn’t know he had instantly thought so deeply. He nodded, “The Cabinet has already discussed a candidate. If there are no surprises, it should be Right Censor-in-Chief Tang Yufeng of the Censorate also serving as Jiangxi Provincial Governor. As for other officials large and small, the Ministry of Personnel has submitted a list which has more or less been finalized.”
Tang Yufeng, along with Tao Dinghu on the left and right, were both no ordinary characters. But they had one thing in common—neither took sides, both were clever people. Often such people won the hearts of those above most. That Chief Minister Chang selected him this time was probably following Emperor Jianzhang’s wishes—and didn’t give the Eastern Palace a chance to interfere either.
Cui Yingshu already vaguely felt something ominous. When Princess Duanhui made an appointment with Yu Shi to go together to Earl Changning’s residence to discuss festival gifts, he went along with them to Earl Changning’s residence.
Song Chengru had received the news even earlier than him. It was just that he was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, and with this major reshuffling in Jiangxi, he had been busy beyond measure, working several night shifts before finally having some leisure. Upon returning home, he immediately summoned Song Jue, Song Chuyi, and Song Yan, along with Teacher Chang and Teacher Ying, to discuss this matter together. He spoke of the Crown Prince’s entanglement with Yang Yunyong, and at the end couldn’t help but sigh deeply, “This time I’m afraid His Majesty will be furious.”
The relationship between imperial authority and the heir apparent had always been delicate. Emperor Jianzhang was already a loving father who could sympathize with the Crown Prince quite well. But no matter how loving a father, he was first and foremost still an Emperor, and being Emperor meant there wasn’t one who didn’t fear the heir apparent vying for power. Previously, the Crown Prince’s health was frail, and he always appeared outwardly dutiful and obedient. Add to that Grand Empress Dowager Rongxian weighing down from above, which made Emperor Jianzhang even closer to the Crown Prince. But as Grand Empress Dowager Rongxian fell from power, not only did the Crown Prince’s health gradually improve, but matters kept erupting one after another under his command. In Emperor Jianzhang’s view, this was clearly already a manifestation of vying for power. No Emperor could tolerate anyone vying with him for power, even if that person was his son.
Teacher Chang found it somewhat incredible, “The Crown Prince… Could it be there’s no one in the Eastern Palace to remind him? This matter causing such a scene… colluding with major regional officials—even if this were placed on a prince’s head, it could certainly produce quite a lot of material for criticism, let alone the Crown Prince? How could he do something so irrational…” Moreover, even if he truly did it, he should have cleaned up the loose ends properly. Leaving Yang Yunyong to bite back—what was that about? Were all those chamberlains and strategists in the Eastern Palace not doing their jobs?
Teacher Ying glanced at the expressionless Song Chuyi and Song Jue, then smiled helplessly, “I’m afraid His Highness the Crown Prince didn’t tell others about this matter either?” During this period, Teacher Chang had also discerned some clues. The Crown Prince, who had reacted much more calmly than others even when the Crown Prince’s Grandson was attacked, probably wasn’t as respectful toward the worthy and humble, or as magnanimous and benevolent as he appeared on the surface.
This kind of matter—secretly colluding with major regional officials—was taboo. Even if he didn’t know, those people in the Palace of the Heir Apparent weren’t just for show and would certainly advise the Crown Prince. Yet since the Crown Prince ultimately still had such collusion with people, this showed he wasn’t the type to listen to what others said. Such people were often obstinate and opinionated. He probably thought Yang Yunyong had no evidence and wouldn’t dare wildly implicate him? He didn’t think that even though he was Heaven’s favored son, when a person was pushed to a desperate situation, what was there they couldn’t say?
Wishing everyone a happy Year of the Rooster with everything going smoothly, good health, and all wishes fulfilled. Then I’m going to do something I haven’t done recently—request subscriptions, request subscriptions! Love you all, kisses.