Chapter 54: One Of The Uses Of An Ex-husband
After Xu He was scolded and sent away, the courtyard where Yue Tang and the others lived had been very quiet these past few days, and even the two maidservants who had been sent over under the pretext of serving had been withdrawn.
Only when Lan Qin was cutting cloth under the window did she occasionally see people from Fu Shi peeking their heads in from outside the courtyard gate.
Yue Tang also saw it. She put down the paper and brush, picked up the cut fabric: “It’s so small, is it for A Li?”
Lan Qin nodded with a smile: “When the young heir apparent was born, he wore little clothes and pants made by this servant with her own hands. And now, this servant makes a few sets of little clothes for him by hand every season.”
Yue Tang also leaned over, picked up a few scraps of fabric and looked at them: “He must like them very much. It’s just a pity that his mother can’t make anything.”
Lan Qin’s smile gradually faded: “The princess consort’s needlework in the past was top-notch.
“The Empress even praised it, saying that a smart person like that can do anything well.
“All the sins lie with the Du Family. Even if you can’t do needlework anymore, there’s no need to feel guilty.”
After the severe injury, Yue Tang had damaged her muscles and bones, so she could only wield a knife or sword, and writing was still fine, but delicate work like needlework could no longer be done.
Yue Tang helped her smooth out the silk thread and said leisurely: “Yes, after the Empress passed away, I never went to Fengning Palace again. The last time was at her deathbed. She held my hand and kept me for a long time, but she only repeated one sentence: Don’t be afraid.
“Perhaps she thought I was afraid of death, so she was comforting me.
“Or perhaps she was worried that I would still be bullied by the First Prince, so she was encouraging me.”
She smiled at Lan Qin: “But Her Ladyship certainly wouldn’t have imagined that later I also rolled through hell once, and in the end, I became afraid of nothing.”
Princess Duan passed away when Yue Tang was six years old.
And Empress Mu passed away when Yue Tang was twelve.
After losing her birth mother, all the “motherly love” Yue Tang received in the following years came from Empress Mu.
So when the Empress was seriously ill, Yue Tang also attended to her in Fengning Palace for three months.
At that time, the First Prince was not yet married, and perhaps bored in the deep palace, he would sometimes come to talk to Yue Tang and occasionally bring her pastries or snacks from the street.
Consort An and Consort Shen vied for favor, and the Empress sided with reason rather than kin, rebuking Consort An for her excesses, so there was no lack of complaints about the Empress behind her back.
The First Prince felt awkward and tried not to show his face whenever he came.
But Fengning Palace was full of the Empress’s eyes and ears, so she always knew.
However, the Empress treated him the same as Consort An, only rebuking him when he went too far.
Once, she happened to catch the First Prince climbing over the wall, and the Empress, just two zhang away, merely cleared her throat and walked past as if she had seen nothing.
“This subordinate also misses Her Ladyship somewhat.”
Wei Zhang’s voice came from outside the window.
Yue Tang turned her head and watched him walk in: “When did you return?”
“Just now.” Wei Zhang cupped his hands and then said, “The names the princess consort provided, this subordinate has investigated both openly and secretly these past two days, and checked them all. These twelve people are either officials promoted by Empress Dowager Shen or close relatives of the Shen Family.”
“Shen Family?” Yue Tang pondered slightly, “Sure enough, the Du Family has them for a purpose.
“Since they are solely people from the Shen Family, the person behind the Du Family is very likely to be the Mu Family or the Chu Family.”
Wei Zhang nodded silently and placed the bundle he was carrying on the table: “These are the general resumes of these officials, and it can be seen that they are all deeply involved with the Shen Family.”
Yue Tang pulled out two and flipped through them, frowning: “Are there no clearer clues?”
With these, it was only possible to rule out the Shen Family.
Wei Zhang shook his head: “No. Later, this subordinate even went back and checked the guest list from the Du Family’s birthday banquet for clues, but found no one from these three families.
“The Du Family appears to exist independently, and if it must be said to be connected to any faction, it’s only Prince Jingyang.”
“He has basically been ruled out.” Lan Qin hurriedly glanced at him.
Yue Tang sat down in the chair: “Tell me more about the current situations of the Mu Family and the Chu Family.”
Twenty years ago, the Mu Family had once held one of the Three Dukes, but shortly after the Empress’s grandfather, who held power, retired and passed away, the Empress Mu’s father, who had then been heavily employed, was dismissed from office for some reason.
Afterward, the Mu Family moved away from the capital city to Jiangling.
Empress Mu was the legitimate eldest daughter of the Mu Family and had been granted marriage to the Former Emperor in her childhood.
They were married for nearly twenty years, and while the Former Emperor’s harem came and went like flowing water, he always honored only the Empress alone.
Regarding the matter of the imperial father-in-law being dismissed from office, not only did the Empress not pressure the Former Emperor with their relationship, but she repeatedly advised her father and brother to return to Jiangling to reflect on their errors.
Later, the Mu Family rarely entered the capital city.
Before the Empress gave birth to the Second Prince, Mu Chang brought his wife to the capital city once. After the Empress’s full-month celebration following the birth, they returned to Jiangling.
Five years later, when the Emperor and Empress decided to send the Second Prince to the Mu Family to be raised, Mu Chang came personally to receive him, which was another visit.
After that, it was three years ago, when he entered the capital city with the Second Prince to ascend the throne.
Yue Tang had already known about these matters while in the capital city.
And what Wei Zhang was talking about were events after entering the capital city.
“Since the Emperor ascended the throne and Empress Shen was elevated to Empress Dowager, the Shen Family has controlled the Imperial Secretariat.
“Mu Chang was appointed Grand Tutor, and shortly after, he also brought back his family, so now the direct line of the Mu Family is all in the capital city. His younger brother Mu Yun also serves as a third-rank Minister of the Six Ministries and Vice Minister. The three adult sons in the family are also serving in the imperial court.
“On the Chu Family side, Chu Ying was originally a Vice Minister and is now the Censor-in-Chief. Chu Ying’s younger brother has also been promoted and now serves as Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat.”
Yue Tang frowned: “How is the feud between the Shen Family and the Chu Family now?”
The Mu Family had merit in raising the Emperor, thus rising rapidly.
The Chu Family was not weak either, being a century-old aristocratic family in the capital city.
In the previous generation, the fathers of the Chu Family had fought to the death with their counterparts, involving several lives, and Chu Ying’s birth mother had died at the hands of Empress Dowager Shen’s father.
Yue Tang still remembered when she was young and her brother Yue Rong took her to visit the Chu Family; Chu Yan, who was only two years older than her at the time, had even gotten angry because Yue Rong was playing with children from the Shen Family.
Chu Yan later married into the prince’s mansion and became Yue Tang’s elder sister-in-law, and had said more than once that the enmity between the Chu and Shen Families could never be erased.
“The current court situation has a strange balance because Prince Jingyang holds all the military power.” Wei Zhang thought and said, “The Chu Family and Shen Family are still at each other’s throats, while the Mu Family and the Emperor’s faction are naturally opposed to Empress Dowager Shen and the Shen Family.
“But they have no interaction with the Chu Family either.
“For red or white events, or festival banquets, the three families do not associate with each other.
“And Prince Jingyang sides with neither, giving face to none. Although he acts as regent per the Former Emperor’s last decree, he often rejects proposals from the Emperor and the Mu Family.”
Lan Qin was curious: “Why do the Mu Family and Chu Family not associate?”
Wei Zhang shook his head: “That’s a matter of the imperial court, and we don’t have that clue now.”
Lan Qin silently looked toward Yue Tang.
Yue Tang also fell silent.
In any case, up to now, Yan Bei’s suspicion had first been mostly cleared, and then the Shen Family had temporarily been ruled out.
As for the entanglements between these families, the most suitable way was to go ask Yan Bei, who was deep in the vortex.
