Taohua lowered her head and said, “Changjue accompanied the Wei Emperor in this campaign, conquering Wu in just half a year, which has also brought many benefits to our Zhao. Throughout the entire court, in terms of military leadership, no one can match him. Father Emperor, will you still only let him be a mere centurion?”
Emperor Jiawu was taken aback and instinctively looked towards Empress Lü beside him. Empress Lü said with displeasure, “Second Princess, your words seem somewhat exaggerated. Don’t we all know exactly how capable Changjue is?”
“It’s precisely because we know that I’ve come to say this,” Taohua didn’t look at Empress Lü, but raised her head to look directly at Emperor Jiawu. “Both are Your Majesty’s children. Suhe, without merit or virtue, directly ascends to the position of heir. While Changjue fights and bleeds for the country, in the end, he’s not even a general?”
“This…” Emperor Jiawu felt somewhat uneasy and looked towards Changjue beside him. “You have indeed suffered in this campaign. How about…”
“Your Majesty!” Empress Lü interrupted him, frowning. “How can you rashly change your mind after hearing a few words? These two siblings have wild ambitions. They still haven’t returned the military tally. Do you want to let the Third Prince legitimately hold onto the military power?”
Emperor Jiawu said in a low voice, “After all, they are my flesh and blood…”
“Heh,” Empress Lü laughed and shook her head, covering her mouth. “Your Majesty, you must remember that these children of yours are not close to you. Who knows when they might rebel? Only I and Suhe truly care for you. If you soften your heart for a moment, it could invite great disaster!”
Mu Wuxia watched this exchange and said naively to Qian Baimei, “How strange. In your Zhao, it’s the Empress who holds power. I thought Wei having a young emperor like me was special, but it seems things are even more unique here?”
“In reply to Your Majesty,” Qian Baimei played along, chuckling softly. “In our Zhao, women can also become emperors. It’s just that the Empress is magnanimous and content to remain in the rear palace, not fighting for power.”
These two spoke without any restraint, their words reaching Emperor Jiawu’s ears directly. Emperor Jiawu paused, his expression immediately turning unpleasant. He sat up straight, moving away from the Empress.
Empress Lü was slightly annoyed and turned to look at Mu Wuxia. “This is Zhao’s internal affair. Why should the Wei Emperor interfere?”
“The Empress misunderstands. I have no intention of interfering,” Mu Wuxia smiled innocently. “I’m young and know little. Seeing such a scene, I was merely curious. However… the Third Prince of your country did campaign with me against Wu. I may not know everything, but he killed over three hundred enemy soldiers and repeatedly offered strategies that helped our army breakthrough. In Wei, he would certainly be given the title of Grand Marshal.”
“I suppose Zhao is a great country, and its rewards and punishments may differ from Wei’s.”
Everyone was taken aback. Taohua turned back to look at him, torn between laughter and tears. In the current world, which country could be more powerful than Wei? For the Wei Emperor to sit here and praise Zhao as a great country was sarcasm! However, his face was full of innocence, showing no signs of mockery. The Zhao ministers beside him were furious but didn’t know how to refute, their faces turning pale.
Emperor Jiawu fell silent for a moment. Before he could speak, Jiang Suhe beside him smiled and said, “Since the Wei Emperor thinks so highly of our Third Prince, why not take him back and make him Grand Marshal? Our Zhao already has someone in that position.”
“Suhe!” Empress Lü’s face turned white with fear. “Be quiet!”
Jiang Suhe was startled and looked at her mother in confusion. “Did I say something wrong?”
Why should Jiang Changjue be given the position of Grand Marshal? That position was meant for their people. Even if he had achieved merits, a prince raised among palace servants shouldn’t receive such a reward! Seeing that the Wei Emperor was protecting these siblings, why not just take them away? She’d be glad to have them out of sight and out of mind!
Empress Lü kept trying to signal to her with her eyes, but Jiang Suhe still didn’t catch on and didn’t retract her words. Taohua smiled slightly and turned to Mu Wuxia. “If Changjue is willing to lead 100,000 soldiers to Wei as Grand Marshal, would Your Majesty welcome him?”
“Most welcome,” Mu Wuxia raised his cup with a smile. “I like capable people. Changjue is a good general. Even without bringing a single soldier, I would certainly value him highly, let alone if he brings 100,000 troops.”
100,000 troops? Jiang Suhe was startled, finally realizing that Jiang Changjue still held Zhao’s military tally. Now that she was trying to drive him away, he certainly wouldn’t return the tally, and wouldn’t those troops then belong to Wei?
Jiang Taohua wasn’t trying to reason with them at all, but was directly threatening them!
“How preposterous!” Jiang Suhe slammed the table and stood up. “Zhao is your motherland. How dare you consider such traitorous actions?”
“Wasn’t it the Princess and Empress Mother who first tried to eliminate us, pushing us to this point?” Taohua calmly looked at her and said, “No one wants to betray their motherland, but if one can’t survive in their motherland, should they stupidly allow themselves to be slaughtered?”
Jiang Suhe frowned, at a loss for words, and turned to look at her mother. Empress Lü narrowed her eyes, looking at her for a long moment before saying, “If Changjue wants to be Grand Marshal, it’s not impossible. He just needs to hand over the military tally in his possession.”
“Has Mother Empress become senile?” Taohua tilted her head. “The military tally should be in the hands of the Grand Marshal. How can one take up this position and then hand over the tally?”
“Then there’s nothing more to discuss,” Empress Lü snorted coldly. “How can one person have all the good things in this world?”
Nothing more to discuss? Taohua nodded and returned to sit beside Mu Wuxia. Looking at him, she said, “Your Majesty, I’ve said all that needs to be said to them. If they don’t agree, there’s nothing we can do. Changjue should return to Wei with us.”
“Good,” Mu Wuxia clapped his hands. “This is excellent news. I was just worried about not having enough troops. How generous of the Zhao Empress to give me such a grand gift.”
“You…” Jiang Suhe became anxious and stood up, glaring at Taohua and Changjue. “You are people of Zhao. By doing this, aren’t you afraid that the ancestors of the Jiang family will crawl out of their graves to settle accounts with you?”
“Before being people of Zhao, we are human beings,” Taohua met her gaze and said. “If we can’t even be proper human beings, what’s the point of being people of Zhao? You want to take back military power and also eliminate us siblings. To use the Empress’s words from earlier, isn’t it you who are trying to have all the good things?”
“You both deserve to die!” Jiang Suhe raged. “It was Mother Empress’s momentary mercy that spared your lives back then. Who would have thought you’d repay kindness with enmity!”
Taohua laughed. “The Princess’s logic is truly interesting. If someone tries to kill a person but fails, leaving them half-dead, should the injured person thank the would-be killer for their grace?”
(End of Chapter)