But the man was already dead. Zhao Changyu had failed to persuade the Emperor, and the country indeed began sliding toward the abyss as the previous Earl of Shangcai had predicted. Zhao Changyu ultimately couldn’t achieve his youthful ambition of bringing stability to the nation.

The new Emperor ascended the throne, and Empress Jia handled state affairs on his behalf.

This Empress was very intelligent but overly indulged in power. Narrow-minded and suspicious, she equally resented everyone who obstructed her and anyone who had suggested deposing the Crown Prince.

Wei Guan was the first person she purged.

Wei Guan had so much power and influence. Although he had repeatedly suggested deposing the Crown Prince and had even tried to manually eliminate him, before Emperor Wu’s death, he was still entrusted as regent and granted the honor of “ascending to court with sword and shoes, entering court without hurrying.”

This honor was something Zhao Hanzhang later fought for herself, but Wei Guan had been granted it by the late Emperor—showing how favored he was.

And he was indeed upright. Although he very much disliked the foolish Emperor, he worked diligently and sincerely managed the country for him.

This made Empress Jia, who loved luxury and debauchery, feel constrained at every turn. So she directly issued an edict in the Emperor’s name and killed his entire family on charges of “plotting to depose and replace.”

In the end, only Wei Jie and his mother and brother survived, having coincidentally gone out that day.

This brings up Wei Jie’s physical condition.

He had been weak and sickly since childhood. That day he felt unwell, so his mother took him out to find a physician, with his elder brother escorting them. They just happened to escape the calamity.

By the time they received the news, their entire family was dead.

Meanwhile, Zhao Changyu and the other court officials also received the news. They reacted by trying to stop Empress Jia from continuing the killings while severely demanding to investigate the origin of this edict.

Because Empress Jia had issued a false edict, she knew this matter couldn’t withstand close scrutiny. She could only spare Wei Jie’s mother and sons. Zhao Changyu and the others also knew they couldn’t obtain justice at this time and could only first send Wei Jie’s mother and sons away to avoid this storm.

After this incident, Zhao Changyu felt it was only a matter of time before his turn came, because back then he had also been one of the main advocates for deposing the Crown Prince.

After Wei Guan, he was second.

So he began preparing his escape routes.

He purchased large amounts of farmland in Luoyang, and after connecting them into one piece, quietly arranged his retinue there.

At the same time, he began seeking marriage proposals for his son.

Zhao Changyu had difficulty conceiving, but after years of effort by the couple, they finally had a son named Zhi.

His health wasn’t very good. Zhao Changyu had originally wanted to wait until after he turned sixteen before arranging marriage. After the engagement was set and they married, dragging things out would take them past eighteen.

The current dynasty advocated early marriage and childbearing, but every educated person with a brain was also a senior physician and knew that regardless of gender, the best age for marriage was after coming of age.

Marrying too early not only meant a high probability that children born would die young, but it also affected one’s own lifespan.

Zhao Zhi’s health was poor. Zhao Changyu had always wanted to delay his marriage age, but now, with the situation unstable and turbulent, his marriage couldn’t be delayed any longer.

Zhao Changyu began arranging a marriage for his son.

Truthfully, many families wanted to form marriage alliances with Zhao Changyu, but they didn’t dare.

Zhao Changyu had good official character, ability, and foresight. His family background was also quite good. How bad could someone praised by Yong Ku as a “thousand-foot pine” be?

But… he had offended Empress Jia.

Look at Wei Guan’s fate. Whether Zhao Changyu could survive until the end of this year was uncertain. Although they greatly admired him and very much wanted to form family ties with him, they didn’t dare.

Thus, Zhao Zhi’s marriage was delayed.

It wasn’t that they truly couldn’t find a daughter-in-law. But those who were too inferior—forget Zhao Zhi, even Zhao Changyu looked down on them.

He himself was a person who preferred nothing to something inferior. How could he wrong his son?

In the end, it was Lady Wang who took action. She wrote to her natal family in Taiyuan, inviting several nieces to visit the capital.

The Wang clan of Taiyuan was also afraid but couldn’t directly refuse. So they sent over several girls from collateral branches. Wang Lihua was an accident.

She was from the direct line, but her mother had died young and her father wasn’t close to her. Comparatively, she was more familiar with her aunt, Lady Wang.

When her grandmother was alive, she brought her to the capital to stay every year. She was also quite close to her aunt, Lady Wang.

She had no particular feelings for her cousin Zhao Zhi, but she had overheard her brothers at home mention that if their uncle were convicted, Zhao Zhi would very likely end up like the Wei family sons.

“Even if he escapes with his life, he’ll only be able to hide back in the countryside. Why harm our family’s girls? Better to return to the village and marry a country girl.” Their faces full of schadenfreude.

Wang Lihua was furious when she heard this and jumped out from behind the artificial mountain: “When relatives face hardship, brothers don’t speak of helping but instead add insult to injury like this—you’ve lost even the most basic sense of shame.”

The brothers who had been gloating suddenly turned red in the face, flushed with anger, and retorted: “You eavesdropped on people talking and you have shame?”

“What eavesdropping? I was sitting here resting peacefully. You’re the ones who didn’t watch where you were going and just had to choose this spot to badmouth our uncle’s family. You forced me to hear people speaking ill behind their backs. Could I have stopped you?”

“You woman are too sharp-tongued. What do you know about outside matters?”

“When you can’t win the argument, you bring up gender differences. Oh~ I understand now. So talking behind people’s backs and adding insult to injury when relatives are in trouble are things you men excel at. We women are truly ashamed to compare.”

The Wang brothers were infuriated and made a fuss. In the end, Wang Lihua was also sent out. Using her uncle’s words: “Since you’re so righteous, you should go to the capital this time too.”

Wang Lihua wanting to go herself was one thing, but being forced to go was quite another.

She cried tears of anger and cried all the way from Taiyuan to the capital, telling her companion Qinggu: “I knew it—everyone in the family bullies me because I have no parents to stand up for me.”

Qinggu wiped her tears while saying: “When the young lady spoke up righteously, why didn’t you think of this?”

Wang Lihua said defiantly: “My aunt has been so good to me. How could I just watch them add insult to injury? She always remembers my birthday and sends birthday gifts every year. For New Year’s and other festivals, whatever the brothers and sisters have, I have too. In the past when I stayed in the capital with Grandmother, I received much kindness from my aunt. Now their family hasn’t even fallen into hardship yet, and they’re already trampling on my aunt’s family like this. What will happen when they really do fall into trouble?”

“They’re also stupid. When relatives face hardship, you don’t have to help, but at least you shouldn’t add insult to injury. Otherwise, who will dare to form marriage alliances with our Wang clan in the future?”

Qinggu said: “The young lady clearly knows the right principles, but your temper is too hasty. You can never hold back your words. Otherwise, with your insight, how would they have been able to push you out? In the future, you must improve this temper. Fortunately, this time you’re going to your aunt’s house. If it were somewhere else, who knows what might happen.”

Wang Lihua pouted and refused to admit defeat.

Although Lady Wang had been married for many years, she still had eyes and ears in her natal family. Before these girls arrived, she already knew what had happened in the family.

She was also somewhat angry, and her already poor health worsened.

Both Zhao Zhi and Zhao Changyu advised her to be more open-minded: “Seeking advantage and avoiding harm is human nature. No need to make things too difficult for them. But Lihua is a child of loyalty and righteousness—your care for her over the years wasn’t in vain.”