Chapter 224 - Being in the Emperor’s Company Is Tantamount to Living with a Tiger

When Song Yixiao returned to Duke of Yan’s mansion, Jian Xubai had come back from work. Of course, he asked her about the trip to the Song Family’s mansion, “Did Lord Gu try to patch things up between you and your father?”

“Kind of.” Song Yixiao poured a bowl of tea for him and took a sip of her own bowl of tea, saying with a frown, “But he mainly spoke for Commandery Prince Zhongling. I don’t care that he is certain that the Crown Prince can ascend the throne, but I’m a bit surprised that he showed his hand to me at the first meeting. Isn’t he afraid that we may report this to the Crown Prince so that the Crown Prince may hate him or guard against him?”

After all, the Crown Prince hadn’t moved into the Palace of Xuanming. How could he like someone who intended to help his son gain the throne now?

Even if Song Yixiao didn’t want to offend the Crown Princess and her son and thus chose not to tell him off, the Crown Prince was still the current heir of the throne. She didn’t have to rush to do anything even if she wanted to take precautions as per Gu Shao’s reminder.

How many days had it been since Gu Shao arrived at the imperial capital?

Did he have to tell her his real intentions so hastily?

If she hadn’t seen his hale and hearty appearance with her own eyes, Song Yixiao would doubt that he rushed to do so just because he was dying soon.

“Of course he is not thinking for Commandery Prince Zhongling’s own good!” Unexpectedly, Jian Xubai took a sip of tea and said with a faint smile, “Instead, he is making a retreat for himself in a roundabout way!”

Seeing his wife’s astounded face, he thought for a while and felt that he could tell her about it. Then he said, “My grandfather got retired when I was five. Lord Gu returned to his hometown even before that. Think about what happened back then!”

“His Majesty just ascended the throne back then?” Song Yixiao asked curiously, “Was there any inside story?”

“You know, since Uncle ascended the throne, he has not been feeling well,” Jian Xubai narrowed his eyes and spoke, “Actually, these years he has got better. In the earlier years, especially when the title of a reign was changed… Uncle was prepared to ask the officials to assist the Crown Prince almost every day when he attended the court meeting!”

He added, “Lord Gu comes from the Gu Family of Hongzhou. By ancestry, his family is an influential family, which is one of the official families though it is inferior to the six big families.

Just like the six families, his family has declined by the current dynasty. The family is far worse than before but the family assets shouldn’t be overlooked anyway. That is why Lord Gu can still be of significant help to the Crown Prince though he has been retired for nearly 20 years.”

“Lord Gu is just over 60 years old this year. He was only 40 years old or so at that time. It is fair enough to say that he was in the prime of his life?” Song Yixiao gradually took a tumble, “He comes from a big family and has power. Also, since he once prevailed in court, he is evidently competent! In this way…”

“Exactly!” Jian Xubai took a glance at her approvingly and said, “It is generally thought that he was defeated by my grandfather back then, so he had to resign and return to his hometown. In fact, the point is not that he lost in the court competition but that Uncle thought he would die soon and meant to let him assist the Crown Prince in consideration of his talent!”

The old emperor wanted to save talents for the new emperor generally in two ways. The first way was to promote the talent by issuing an official imperial edict and entrusting the task to him in public. The second way was to demote the talent by dismissing him with an excuse, or seriously, imprisoning him, sending him into exile or exterminating his family so that the new emperor could bring him under control by showing mercy to him.

Sadly, Gu Shao was the latter case.

More sadly, Emperor Xianjia intended to let him rise after the Crown Prince ascended the throne, and the Crown Prince was still in the Eastern Palace now!

“No wonder His Majesty approved the request as soon as Commandery Prince Zhongling requested the permission to acknowledge Gu Shao as the teacher!” Thinking of that, Song Yixiao couldn’t help feeling sympathy for Gu Shao, “Supposedly, His Majesty has been considering how to have him back. However, why did it take him so long?”

“For one thing, Uncle hasn’t been fully recovered so he is still a bit worried. For another…” Jian Xubai heaved a sigh and reminded, “Do you forget the Su Family? It is not the Crown Prince’s birth mother’s maiden family by blood and it holds certain military power with eminent influence. Moreover, it has a well-known outstanding descendent like Su Shaoge. Even if Duke of Ji didn’t play any trick in the middle of fighting with Wuhuan, Uncle doesn’t fully trust the Su Family indeed.”

And Gu Shao was the one Emperor Xianjia planned to use against the Su Family.

According to Emperor Xianjia’s plan he made when he sent Gu Shao back to his hometown, after his death, the Crown Prince would summon Gu Shao back to court and entrust him with an important post so that Gu Shao would help the new emperor suppress the Su Family and consolidate the imperial power in consideration of the imperial kindness!

However, the emperor underestimated his lifespan. He was still alive and the Su Family hadn’t become weak enough so that the emperor didn’t need to guard against them. Therefore, the emperor couldn’t act recklessly on recommissioning Gu Shao!

After all, this important official born out of an influential family was not an idiot. It was the family tradition of the Gu Family of Hongzhou to read and learn etiquette, and he himself was also famous for his scholarly attainments, who was an authentic civil official. On the contrary, in the Su Family there were successive generations of military officers. For the past five generations, Su Shaoge was the only one talented scholar, who was two generations younger than Gu Shao!

Normally, there was no contradiction in between that couldn’t be resolved. Why did he have to set against a descendent of a prosperous empress’s maiden family?

However, this time, he was assigned as the teacher of Commandery Prince Zhongling. By default, he was classified as one of the supporters of the Crown Prince. He had to confront the Su Family even if he didn’t want to!

Song Yixiao was surprised, “Lord Gu must know it, right? Why did he still come to the imperial capital?”

“He has been away from the court for nearly 20 years. Even if he looks old but vigorous, do you think he can wait another 20 years before coming back to take a government post?” Jian Xubai said casually, “If he missed the opportunity, maybe he would really abandon himself in nature for the rest of his life. How can he come to terms with that?”

Song Yixiao thought of Gu Shao’s face that looked younger than his actual age. Without doubt, his unusually young face must be a result of elaborate care. Moreover, shortly after he got retired, he moved from his hometown Hongzhou to Jiangnan for the reason that he liked the scenery of Jiangnan, but wasn’t the true reason that the natural environment and climate in Jiangnan were better for one’s health?

He cared about his health so much maybe not only for longevity but also for his rise. The fight for the throne was like a dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den for some people but for some, it was a good opportunity for them to show their capabilities!

Opening her mouth, she finally said after a while, “Okay. I’m well noted, but you still haven’t told me why he is making a retreat by doing so?”

“He actually hoped us to convey what he said to Uncle,” Jian Xubai said with a faint smile, “As to his purpose, it is quite the opposite to what he said. That is, he doesn’t want to be involved with the possible fight for the throne after the Crown Prince ascends the throne!”

After all, “Lord Gu is old. He is healthy now but very few people can live up to 70 years old. Being in the imperial capital this time, he can work for the imperial court for 10 years, or 15 years at most!”

“He has been a well-known official. As long as the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the end, his merit of assisting the Crown Prince is good enough to ensure that the Gu Family can enjoy decades of wealth and honor, unless the Gu Family ask for trouble themselves!”

“Even if he asks for retirement in 15 years, Zhongling is only eight years old this year and he is the eldest legitimate son of the Crown Prince, followed by two brothers. Born by humble mothers, they are just so-so in terms of aptitude. Normally, in 15 years, Zhongling’s position won’t be shaken!”

In this case, Gu Shao could retire after winning merit and also avoid the trouble of surpassing the superior. Song Yixiao got even more surprised, “Isn’t this nice? Why does he try to make a retreat?”

Jian Xubai shook his head with a grin and stroked her head, saying, “He only means to give His Majesty a hint but it is hard to say whether His Majesty will approve it or not!”

His grin suddenly faded away, “After all, my grandfather won’t rise!”

Song Yixiao was a bit stunned and then said unwittingly, “To counterbalance?!”

“Exactly.” Jian Xubai had a glint of complexity in his eyebrows, “My grandfather’s retirement had something to do with his lack of virtue, but it was partially because Lord Gu had retired. Without Lord Gu in court, Uncle wouldn’t allow him to hold a solely dominant position in court!”

Since he had talked so much, it wouldn’t matter that he talked a bit more, “You may as well check the influential officials in court nowadays. The Su Family has been taking the last chance. Jin Suke’s descendants are notoriously disappointing, or he wouldn’t be got the goods by you. The Jiang Family keeps an extremely low profile. The only spoilt one among their descendants is Ms. Jiang, who is on good terms with you, but she doesn’t make any trouble. The Wei Family is the Crown Prince’s wife’s maiden family selected by Uncle. They are also quiet doers.”

Most importantly, “In terms of power and reputation, the representatives of these families restrain each other tacitly, who are far less influential than my grandfather and Lord Gu when they were in office!”

Therefore, after Jian Pingyu and Gu Shao were retired one after another, they could still maintain a foothold in court!

“Thus, without people like my grandfather to maintain the balance in court, Lord Gu is worried that he may be done away with after his services are no longer needed?” Song Yixiao had been feeling that the struggle within the mansion was dirty. As her husband told her the “rules” of court, she realized the official struggle was even more complex. Being in the emperor’s company was really tantamount to living with a tiger!

Jian Xubai grinned faintly, “He returned to his hometown in the prime of his life and lay dormant for nearly 20 years before he came back to court. Uncle is inevitably sorry for him so Uncle is likely to agree on his euphemistic wish of ending well.”

Then he added, “The reason why he asked you to convey the message is that he can’t make the request to Uncle directly or ask the Crown Prince to convey his wish. However, Uncle is recuperating now. Apart from the juniors like me, the officials can hardly get to meet him. Therefore, he can only choose me!”

As Song Yixiao took a tumble, Jian Xubai picked up the almost cool tea and took a sip of it, covering the contemplation flashing across his eyes. Actually, regarding what he just said, the part about the reason why Gu Shao retired back then was true indeed, but the latter part of his speech was randomly made up by him to stall his wife off, who was not familiar with political affairs.

If he didn’t get it wrong, the main purpose of Gu Shao’s talking with Song Yixiao about “knowing the consequence and yet being swayed by emotions” should be to remind him through Song Yixiao that he shouldn’t forget to take precautions just because of the trust and favor of Emperor Xianjia and the Crown Prince. He should find a future “opponent” for himself!

Otherwise, an 18-year-old young man like him, who was a trusted cousin and helper of the Crown Prince, would be regarded as a thorn in the Crown Prince’s flesh rather than a helper when he became full-fledged in the prime of his life in the future, just like Jian Pingyu and Gu Shao!

“I haven’t heard of any outstanding descendant of the Gu Family. His nephew who came to meet me with a visiting card is kind of a talent, but he is taking the path of a private adviser, good at scheming and yet indecisive. This kind of man generally follows the influential officials but they are not competent enough to gain a foothold in court!” Jian Xubai pondered, “I’m wondering what kind of ‘opponent’ Lord Gu prepares for me in private.”

Gu Shao had a grudge against his grandfather without kindness in between, so he couldn’t give advice to him for no reason. The reason why he did so must be that he had prepared an opponent for Jian Xubai and even meant to pave the way for the “opponent” through Jian Xubai.

Maybe it was for some reason that Gu Shao chose to make Jian Xubai do the work rather than do it himself?

“I will wait and see. If that is a smart person, I may as well work with him.” Jian Xubai narrowed his eyes and made up his mind, “But I can’t allow anyone to get Shanyao involved next time!”

He had just managed to persuade his wife to stay away from political affairs when Gu Shao took advantage of his seniority to use Song Yixiao now!

If the Crown Prince had the upper hand and didn’t need Gu Shao’s help at the moment, Jian Xubai would do a number on him for sure, not to mention working with him!