The Qin Imperial Capital·Luoyang
The Qin Palace stands on the central axis of Luoyang City, facing north and south, magnificent and majestic.
A famous scholar once lamented that, compared with Lan Palace and Jing Palace, Daqin Palace lacked the magnificence and exquisiteness of carved beams and painted rafters, but it had more of the simplicity, heaviness, majesty and atmosphere unique to the north.
As the night draws to a close, wisps of sky light peek through the dark shadows, giving a feeling of dark clouds pressing down on a city that is about to collapse, and armor shining like golden scales towards the sun.
Among the numerous palaces, the towering Qiyuan Terrace was the closest to the skylight. A slender figure stood against the light, his black jade-like hair was tied up by a purple gold crown, his profile was tough yet handsome, and his heavy sable cloak swayed slightly with the cold wind.
A black-clad attendant quietly appeared beside the man. The attendant, Qi Jing, bowed his head respectfully and presented a secret letter with both hands.
The man took the envelope with his slender left hand, opened the cloud-patterned red lacquer seal, and took out three pages of letter paper. His every move revealed the deep-rooted elegance of the Changmen Palace.
"Heh..." An ambiguous chuckle was heard in the palace. The man put down the letter, and his unfathomable eyes revealed endless amusement.
Jingsheng, Miss Mu? This familiar method...
Is that you, my dear little sister
It’s been six years...
The man turned around and walked to the table. The bright candlelight reflected his deep and sharp face. It was Qin Yuan, Qin Zishu, whom Mu Lin had not seen for many years.
No, maybe I should call him Ying Yuan. If Mu Lin saw the scene before him, he would definitely think so.
Qi Jing followed his master and as his confidant, he keenly felt that although his master did not show it on his face, he was in a very good mood.
Could it be because of the urgent news from the South Region? But it doesn't look like a happy event. Qi Jing felt that his master's thoughts were harder to guess than his former majesty's. His salary had not increased much since his master took power, but his hair was falling down.
As Qijing sensed, Ying Yuan was indeed in a good mood.
Miss Mu, she is his junior sister...
The envoys and lobbying were all just a trick. They would directly abolish the King of the Southern Region and disrupt the Southern Region with the simplest and crudest means. Of course, this was not enough.
Ying Yuan could almost foresee her next move.
Jiang Ze's four sons each had their own agenda, and each of them had some power to a greater or lesser extent. She only needed to sow discord among them, causing them to fight for power. In addition, the tribes were less restrained, and if they fanned the flames at will, the fighting between them might intensify. After all, the King of the Southern Territory was now paralyzed, and there was no way to mediate. It would be even more interesting if the thirty-seven tribes took different sides...
The Southern Region will be completely turned into a muddy water in the near future.
Ying Yuan had already seen some clues in the letter, and a faint sense of pride and admiration rose in his heart. It was no wonder that the junior sister was taught by him personally, with a rigorous layout, clear thinking, and accurate and ruthless means.
In a sense, she is his most perfect creation.
But thinking of this, I can't help but think of Zhang Ze'an. From the perspective of Junior Sister, she will definitely not leave this trouble. Maybe there is something wrong with Zhang Ze'an. This is not appropriate. He still has a use for Zhang Ze'an, and he can't let him be easily eliminated by Junior Sister.
It is hard for anyone to imagine that the loyal and righteous Zhang Ze'an is actually his man. More than a decade ago, his mother's family planted a group of pawns in Baihu Academy, and Zhang Ze'an was just one of them.
Qin Yuan not only replied to the letter, he also sent a master skilled in medicine and poison to protect Zhang Ze'an.
Of course he wanted to know more about the junior sister, and since the junior sister wanted to cause chaos in the Southern Region, then let it be chaotic for a few years...
Soon after, Mu Lin received new news. The eldest son of the Southern Region supported by Zhang Ze'an failed to succeed to the throne. The third son, who followed his lead, stabbed him in the back and took away almost half of the military power. The second son, with the support of his powerful mother's family, established himself as king. The fourth son was negotiating among his brothers, but the situation became increasingly tense.
As for the Nanyu Princess and her daughter, the letter only mentioned a few words. The Princess, as the legitimate mother, died "accidentally" in a melee. Princess Ni Ke was kept under house arrest in the Nanyu Palace with good food and drink. Her half-brothers were busy fighting for power and had no time to care about her. Ni Ke had Xiao Muran's token in her hand. As long as she was smart enough and knew how to use it, no one would embarrass her.
When the political situation in Tianlan stabilizes, she will write to Xiao Muyun and ask the Hengyang Palace to deal with Ni Ke's affairs. For Ni Ke, the best outcome is to stay in the South Region and get some political and financial compensation. Xiao Muran is gone and cannot marry her at all. Is it possible to let her go to the Hengyang Palace to be a widow
Mu Lin was somewhat puzzled because Zhang Ze'an did not die suddenly as she had imagined. However, Zhang Ze'an was not as useful as she had imagined. If he could successfully support the eldest son to ascend to the throne, or show his ability to end the chaos in the Southern Region, then whether he was dead or alive would not be so important.
The spies had all been arranged, and Mu Lin's goal had been basically achieved. He no longer focused on the Southern Region.
Ying Yuan was also very satisfied with the news, but he received two unexpected pieces of news. One made him unhappy, and the other gave him an unexpected surprise.
His little junior sister can only be his.
But he still needed to wait until he had enough chips. What he needed now was patience, and the hunter had the most.
In the 15th year of Xihe, Emperor Ming died. The crown prince ascended the throne and was called Emperor Jingxuan in history, with the reign title of Yongchang. Princess Jingxuan had made great contributions in assisting the government, so she was given the title of Princess Jingxuan, who guarded the country, and was ordered to assist the young emperor wholeheartedly.
In recent years, Jing Sheng has eliminated malpractices and increased benefits, reduced taxes and levies, and the political situation has been smooth, the border has been stable, and the transfer of power has been very smooth.
As the elder sister of the new emperor, the status of the Zhenguo Princess is unparalleled, not to mention that she holds great power and has a significant influence on the court. The Zhenguo Princess's mansion is crowded with people coming to pay their respects, almost breaking the door.
Mu Lin was extremely annoyed and was about to close the door to visitors, but Emperor Xuan ordered the Qinghan Palace to be renovated and directly ordered Princess Zhenguo to move into the palace.
Everyone has a deeper understanding of how favored Princess Zhenguo is.
Mu Lin opened a government office and built a mansion with the intention of handing over the power of the inner palace to Emperor Xuan, but was blocked by Emperor Xuan with just one sentence.
"I am still young and have not married a queen. There are no other female elders in the palace who can take charge of the overall situation. If my sister does not come to help me manage the inner palace, can I do it myself?"
Mu Lin said helplessly: "Imperial sister is not thoughtful enough, so I should share the emperor's worries."
It was indeed not appropriate for an emperor to look at the account books of the Ministry of Internal Affairs every day. The embarrassing thing was that the emperor's younger brother was twelve years old this year, and according to the ancestral system, he could only get married in four years. The eldest sister was like a mother, and although she was not very willing, she could only continue to manage the harem on behalf of the empress dowager.
The little emperor nodded with satisfaction.
His father had already passed away, and if his sister also moved out of the palace, he would be the only one left in such a huge palace. It would be too tragic.
In the lonely and cold palace, the princess gently embraced the little emperor in her arms and touched his head lovingly.
The young emperor was too young, and he valued kinship over power. When he grew up to be a true emperor, he would understand that the peak of imperial power could only accommodate one person, and any potential threats should be guarded against, or even nipped in the bud. It was okay to decentralize power, but the ultimate power could only be gathered in the hands of one person, condensed into the supreme imperial power.
Before leaving, her father told her that he had taught her everything he could about the art of being an emperor, and asked her to teach it to Xier in the future.
Mu Lin was deeply touched. Only after being in contact did he know that being an emperor was never an easy task. The way to balance it needed to be explored bit by bit. If Tan Yixi was not strong enough, the ministers would be strong and the emperor would be weak, and he would be sidelined by the ministers; if he was too strong, the emperor would be strong and the ministers would be weak, and the court would radiate to every inch of Jingsheng's territory, and it would become a one-man show without restraint for him.
Mu Lin felt that the higher his ability, the greater his responsibility. In addition to assisting in government affairs and handling palace affairs, he also had to work part-time as the little emperor's teacher and teach him how to bargain with ministers.
Two years passed like this, and the little emperor grew taller than a bamboo joint, and when he stood up, he was already half a head taller than Mu Lin. The baby fat on his face completely disappeared, and his facial features, which were about 50% similar to Mu Lin, became more delicate, and he completely grew into a handsome young man.
During the reign of Emperor Jingxuan, Jingsheng developed steadily, the government was in order, the people were harmonious, and all things were revived, and the country began to show signs of prosperity.
During these two years, the political power of the three empires has changed. Not long after Emperor Jingxuan ascended the throne, the old emperor of the Qin Dynasty finally "died of illness", and the sixth prince successfully succeeded to the throne and became Emperor Wu of Qin. Last year, the young emperor of Tianlan died suddenly, and the newly enthroned empress was only thirteen years old, the only remaining sister of the previous emperor.
Every time they heard a piece of news, the brother and sister would analyze and express their feelings.
Tan Yixi shook his head. "It's a pity that Emperor Qin Yuan, a wise and capable emperor, fell into the hands of his own son. He was used to control the world by holding the emperor hostage for more than ten years, and he cleared all obstacles for his son. Now that he has lost his usefulness, it will be his death."
Mu Lin pondered and said, "Emperor Wu of Qin was cold-blooded and ruthless. In addition to killing his father and brother, he also did not let go of the ministers who opposed him. In recent years, blood has never flowed in the court of the Great Qin. No one in the Qin court is not afraid of his iron-blooded methods, which makes his power unprecedentedly strong. Even so, he did not neglect to train his troops. According to the information we have obtained in recent years, the Great Qin Iron Cavalry is more powerful than before, and the threat to Jingsheng is even greater."
This topic was a bit heavy, and the brother and sister were silent for a moment.
Tan Yixi blinked and said, "What's strange is that he has been on the throne for three months and still hasn't appointed a queen."
Without a queen, who would be in charge of the harem? Everyone knows that Emperor Wu of Qin's mother died early, and now there is not even a queen mother in the Qin Palace.
"The last censor who submitted a memorial to urge Emperor Wu to establish a queen was dragged away and beaten to death..."
Tan Yixi: “…”
There are only a few emperors in previous dynasties who dared to kill censors in defiance of the world.
While Tan Yixi felt that Emperor Wu was a lunatic, he was inexplicably envious. Only when the emperor could achieve this could he truly do whatever he wanted, right
"Did Emperor Ai of Tianlan and Empress Dowager Li die one after the other?"
Mu Lin thought back to the rumors about Tian Lan that had been presented to him. "Emperor Ai indulged in excessive sexual activity at a young age and died suddenly... in his bed. Empress Dowager Li was shocked to hear the bad news and was so sad that she fell ill and could not get up..."
Tan Yixi: “…”
Although everyone knows that Emperor Ai died in a very shady way, this death is too absurd! He is the king of a country after all, how can he die like this
"Royal sister, I heard that Tianlan's newly enthroned Empress Wenzhe is one year younger than me?"
"That's right. Emperor Ai was a tyrant and killed almost all of his brothers and sisters. Empress Wenzhe was his only surviving sister."
Tan Yixi: “…”
Wait...is there no normal person among these emperors