Chapter 78 - The story of the Imperial City Division

When they arrived at Yan Fu Palace, Yun Fenghuang, stopped thinking and walked in after Emperor Chunjia.

“My Majesty!” Empress Ji, who received the news that the Emperor would come to her, came out to greet him, glanced at Yun Fenghuang, immediately smiled and asked the Emperor, “Is there anything wrong in Hu Zhu Palace?”

Emperor Chunjia said, “It is about Pin Yun.”

He repeated what he had said in Qing Ci Palace and took a sip of tea, “I think that since the matter has been reported to the Empress Dowager, I should also tell you.”

“Is that real?” Empress Ji was slightly surprised, as if she hadn’t heard of it at all, and frowned. “That’s really my fault. After listening to Noble Consort Shu’s report, I agreed without checking it…”

The Emperor was probably afraid that Noble Consort Shu would be involved, so he said, “In fact, this is not a big deal. After all, Pin Yun and Mr. Qi had a marriage contract when they were young. As early as three years ago, the two families broke up, and they had broken off their engagement. Songlai is young. I do not know who urged him behind the scenes, so he made such a fuss. I originally wanted to give him a good lesson, but grandmother is worried about the imperial heir. Liannaing is pregnant and does not feel well, so…”

“…” Empress Ji smiled faintly, watching that the Emperor and sneering inwardly. The Emperor was waiting for her to speak but she said nothing, so he felt embarrassed and tried to cover it with drinking tea. The Empress then slowly said, “My Majesty, you have no heir. Of course, heirs are the issues above all.”

She also said, “It’s just… If we have no response, people will think what Yuan Songlai said is true after the message goes out. Isn’t it going to ruin the harem’s reputation?”

She said and then smiled towards Yun Fenghuang, “Moreover, Pin Yun serves you diligently. Somehow, she is suspected. If you do not feel sorry for her, I can’t bear her to be wronged.”

“What’s your suggestion?” Emperor Chunjia frowned slightly and asked.

Empress Ji said, “After all, Yuan Songlai is Jie Yu Yue’s cousin, and his parents have died since he was young. He was raised by Earl Xingning and his wife. Jie Yu Yue is so close to Yuan Songlai. Now she is pregnant. I dare not make her worry too much. Otherwise, just ground him for three months as a warning. What do you think?”

Emperor Chunjia pondered for a while and said, “Well. Songlai is young. He should learn from it.”

After saying this, the Emperor made a few more polite words with the Empress, and he planned to leave.

The Empress did not want to urge him to stay. She said with a smile, “My Majesty, do you want Pin Yun to accompany you? I have something to tell her.”

“No. Pin Yun should stay here.” Emperor Chunjia glanced at Yun Fenghuang optionally, and said, “I plan to go to Yan Lan Palace.”

As soon as the Emperor left, Empress Ji frowned and asked Yun Fenghuang, “What’s going on? Why did His Majesty put forward this issue?”

“It’s enough to see His Majesty’s ulterior motives.” Yun Fenghuang said in a positive tone, “He would rather kill the wrong one, and refuse to leave the slightest hidden danger to Duke Yi’s Mansion! If he does not want to make use of Yun tribe, he will not make such a plot.”

The Empress said impatiently, “I don’t need you to tell me this!”

If the Empress had not suspected Emperor Chunjia, she would not have accepted Yun Fenghuang’s sincerity so readily… After all, with the current status of Ji’s Family, there were a few people who were qualified to compete with her in the Imperial Haram. There were many people who wanted to show their loyalty to the Empress. The Empress at first did not want to accept Yun Fenghuang for her low status.

“My Lady.” Yun Fenghuang knew that the Empress was in a bad mood at the moment. If she did not show the Empress that she was capable, even if the Empress did not turn against her, Yun Fenghuang would not be supported by the Empress and she would not get the promotion as a hostess. Yun Fenghuang thought and said, “I believe there are two reasons that His Majesty did this. One is to eliminate hidden dangers of the Yun tribe; the other is to provoke a dispute in Prince Regent’s Mansion!”

“After all, Gongxiang Xiao’s mother is Princess Yuan (Princess Dou), but she has passed away. Now the Step Princess has her own child and the support of Marquess Qingping’s Mansion. Mr. Lingshan becomes the teacher of her son under the arrangement of the Prince Regent! Even if Mr. Lingshan is now impeached, he still has a famous reputation and knowledge. We cannot be sure whether Mr. Lingshan will lose all his reputation or not!”

“Definitely, Ms. Lu has an ulterior motive.”

“However, Shizi is not the one who sits passively for his end. Otherwise why does he get close to Mr. Qi and took him to the palace?”

Yun Fenghuang said softly, “Gongxiang Xiao is the son of the Prince Regent. Even if Ms. Lu gave birth to an heir to the Prince Regent, she could not turn against Gongxiang Xiao directly. But what Yuan Ke does today provides an excuse to Ms. Lu. If I’m right, Ms. Lu will take Mr. Qi as an excuse and persuade the Prince Regent to ground Gongxiang Xiao in the Mansion to stay away from troubles. She will gradually disintegrate the power of Gongxiang Xiao and get her son prepared to take the place of Shizi!”

“My Lady, you can tell these words to your family and show them the wild ambition of His Majesty.”

Empress Ji pondered, “Your speculation is indeed reasonable… But, why does His Majesty do it?”

It would be completely understandable if Ji’s Family or General-in-chief of the Cavalry did this.

But Emperor Chunjia…

He didn’t even have the qualifications to hold court at this time. What was the benefit for him if Prince Regent’s Mansion was messed up?

To put it bluntly, no matter how the Prince Regent and Shizi were hostile to Emperor Chunjia, they were still the members of the royal family.

Originally, Ji’s Family, the scholars, and General-in-chief of the Cavalry were strong enough. If the power of the Prince Regent, who represented the royal family, was hit, would the Emperor be afraid that someone would rise in rebellion?

At that time, it was not certain whether the rest of the royal family would not be killed or not, but it was definite that Emperor Chunjia would be the first one to be killed!

“I heard that the Prince Regent controls the Imperial City Division…” Yun Fenghuang reminded her, “I also heard that the Imperial City Division was established by the founder of this dynasty, and has been loyal only to the emperor from generation to generation.”

Empress Ji was startled, subconsciously straightened her body and nodded, “Yes! I just focused on the battle in the imperial court and almost overlooked that!”

The Imperial City Division was loyal to the royal family, and was known for only obeying the emperor.

The Prince Regent controlled the Imperial City Division, which was purely an accident.

If something happened to the Prince Regent, it would be right and proper for Emperor Chunjia to take over the Imperial City Division back!

While the reasons why Emperor Chunjia was still “studying” were that he only got the support of Duke Yi and that Yuan’s Family could not better help him.

If he controlled the Imperial City Division…

Then…?

The more the Empress thought about this, the more uneasy she felt. The Empress hurriedly praised Yun Fenghuang for a few words, implying that she would thank her in the future, and served tea to send Yun Fenghuang away. It seemed that she was going to see Queen Mother Ji immediately to discuss the matter.

After they left Yan Fu Palace, Xi Le whispered, “It’s very important. I have to remind Shizi as soon as possible… Pin Yun, do you want me to deliver a message to Shizi?”

“What I said before was to fool Her Highness. Do you take it seriously?” Yun Fenghuang said with a chuckle. “Other people perhaps don’t know my relationship with Qi Jiulu. You don’t know that, either? Your master Gongxiang Xiao is not stupid. I know that his spies have told him that I have entered Tai Chu Palace today. Since he knows that Qi Jiulu might encounter me, he still enters the palace with Qi Jiulu. How can he not pay attention to Ms. Lu?”

Xi Le thought about it and then agreed. She was relieved and embarrassedly said, “I am dull.”

“Speaking of that, are you also a member of the Imperial City Division?” Yun Fenghuang seemed to ask casually, “Why haven’t you told the Prince Regent the situation of Shizi to avoid the estrangement between his sons?”

“I’m from the Imperial City Division, but…” Xi Le hesitated and then told her the truth finally, “But people like me are the members of the group of Dou’s Family. In the final analysis, we are not the Imperial City Division’s lineage. When Princess Dou passed away, Shizi was very young. After Ms. Lu married the Prince Regent, her family took advantage of the situation to eliminate many of us. Dou’s Family has less influence in the Imperial City Division presently. It is useless to tell the Prince Regent the current situation of Shizi. Even if the power of Marquess Qingping is not weak, it’s impossible for the Prince Regent to do anything to Ms. Lu and her son. Moreover, perhaps they will recriminate, so…”

Yun Fenghuang curiously said, “You are not the Imperial City Division’s lineage? What do you mean?”

Xi Le simply told her everything from the beginning. This matter was ultimately caused by Emperor Xiaozong breaking the ancestral precepts that the Imperial City Division only passed on to the emperors in the past.

Emperor Xiaozong handed over the Imperial City Division to the Prince Regent before his death. Imperial City Division was very important and was responsible for monitoring the courtiers for every emperor. Neither Emperor Xiaozong nor the Prince Regent would believe that after the chief of the Imperial City Division kneeled and gave the Prince Regent a promise in front of Emperor Xiaozong, everyone in this division would be obedient forever.

Therefore, under the suggestion of Emperor Xiaozong, the Prince Regent sent some men of Dou’s Family at that time to the Imperial City Division to control it quickly.

However, the background and power of Dou’s Family were not strong. There were many young men in Dou’s Family, but their abilities were limited. Therefore, even with the dual support of Emperor Xiaozong and the Prince Regent, they were with a very shaky foundation after joining the Imperial City Division.

The Prince Regent was quite capable. Under the circumstance when Emperor Xiaozong had no children and his heir Chunjia was young and had no power at that time, the Prince Regent had been controlling Imperial City Division to this day.

But…

For Dou’s Family, it was not so lucky.

It was okay when Princess Dou was alive. After all, the Prince Regent and Princess Dou loved each other deeply. What’s more, Princess Dou gave birth to a son. People of the Imperial City Division were very kind to the men of Dou’s Family who served in it and were willing to teach them.

Later, after Princess Dou passed away, Mr. Lu became Gongxiang Xiao’s stepmother. She then sent away many people of Dou’s Family who had served Gongxiang Xiao. People in the Imperial City Division learnt that and were not so courteous to those people of Dou’s Family. When Ms. Lu gave birth to an heir, the relationship between Prince Regent’s Mansion and Marquess Qingping’s Mansion was closer. Since then, the Imperial City Division treated people of Dou’s Family with bad attitude…

When Gongxiang Xiao grew up, he began to realize that his stepmother was not as gentle and harmless as he thought… At this time, Dou’s Family in the Imperial City Division had been marginalized.

Dou’s Family had some power in the palace. After all, Gongxiang Xiao had been being a reading partner since Emperor Chunjia ascended the throne, and had spent more time in the palace than in the mansion in recent years. People in Dou’s Family were pinning their hopes on him. It was not a big deal if they lost their power in some other places. However, when it involved the safety of Gongxiang Xiao, they would try their best to protect him.

Therefore, Gongxiang Xiao was well informed about the situation in the Prince Regent’s Mansion and the imperial palace, because he had some people to work for him, but he knew nothing about other places.

However, he had mustered the courage to propose to the Prince Regent that he wanted to imitate his father to steel himself by joining the army and fighting for the security of the border area, but the Prince Regent disagreed with him. The Prince Regent even did not even give him an official post but just asked him to be a reading partner. Gongxiang Xiao has no chance to strengthen his power.

Otherwise, he would not be so uneasy.

“I see.” Yun Fenghuang heard the whole story and seemed to think about something. She thought that Qi Jiulu must have heard about it. He might make the trouble today to help Gongxiang Xiao entrap Ms. Lu?

But…

Ms. Lu’s son was still young. So, even if the Prince Regent favored his Step Princess and his young son, it was impossible for him to give up Gongxiang Xiao at this time.

In this case, even if Gongxiang Xiao went too far, the Prince Regent had to endure him, and even had to help him deal with the aftermath.

However, Gongxiang Xiao was in a good situation now, but it was not a good thing for her and Qi Jiulu!