Five Years To Ascend The Throne, Three Years Of Mock Simulations - Chapter 5

Tianhong Palace was the bedchamber of Tiancheng’s emperors throughout the generations. It was located at the eastern end of the entire imperial palace, not far from Kunning Palace, where the empress lived.

By evening, memorials had piled into a small mountain on the desk. The emperor sat upright before it, holding the imperial brush. At times he marked something down; at times he sank into thought. He had already been reviewing memorials for a full two hours and had not even taken more than a few sips of water.

Sheng An was attending at his side. After glancing at the sky, he tentatively said, “Your Majesty, should this servant have dinner brought in?”

“Wait a little longer.”

The emperor furrowed his brows and stared at the memorial for a long while before finally lowering his brush and writing a comment at the end. He sneered, “Zhu Zhishen really is an old fox… In court, he acts utterly loyal and righteous, yet in his memorial, he does not mention a single word about allocating silver for disaster relief. He wants both reputation and profit for himself. What great ability he has!”

Zhu Zhishen was the current Minister of Revenue, as well as Consort Ning’s father.

Sheng An was very perceptive. He immediately poured the emperor a cup of tea and advised him with a placating smile, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger.”

“Calm my anger? Sixty thousand farming households in Yuanzhou have dry and cracked rice fields, and they are waiting for the court to allocate silver for emergency relief. Yet these huge rats still have their minds full of profiting from it, blocking the national treasury and refusing to open its doors. How is Our anger supposed to calm?”

The emperor set the teacup down heavily on the desk, his expression terrifyingly dark. Even Sheng An no longer dared speak rashly.

For a time, the hall was so silent that one could hear a pin drop. But just then, a report suddenly came from outside, instantly breaking the stagnant atmosphere.

“Your Majesty, Her Highness the Ninth Princess requests an audience outside.”

“…Longlin?” The emperor paused, and the anger on his face finally faded. “Send her in.”

Before long, a little girl dressed in a snow-white ruqun entered the hall. Yet before the emperor could even call out to her, she dropped to her knees before the desk with a thud. Lifting her small face, her eyes red-rimmed, she said, “Longlin has come to confess her crime to Father Emperor!”

The emperor was startled and quickly rose from behind the desk, his expression tense. “What happened? Get up and speak.”

But Ming Tan did not listen. She remained kneeling on the floor and sniffled in extreme grievance. “Longlin is guilty. My crime is that I should not have interfered with Consort Ning sending someone to Mother Empress to ask for the palace lantern you bestowed upon her…”

“Palace lantern?” The emperor froze. After thinking back for a moment, his brows instantly drew tight.

Ming Tan nodded and continued sobbing. “But—but that palace maid looked so overbearing, and her words were very disrespectful to Mother Empress. Longlin was angry for a moment and ordered someone to punish her with twenty strokes of the rod. I also did not let her bring the palace lantern back to Chongle Palace…” She flattened her mouth, then knocked her head before the emperor. “Father Emperor, this time, I went against your sacred will. Either way, it is Longlin’s fault. Longlin is willing to accept punishment!”

In just a few sentences, she had roughly explained what happened. The tears in her eyes also looked as if they were about to slide down at any moment, making the emperor’s heart ache.

He quickly came out from behind the desk and personally helped his daughter up from the floor, saying furiously, “What nonsense! Are the palace rules just decorations? It is true that We promised to grant Consort Ning a palace lantern, but when did We ever tell her to snatch something that belonged to the empress?”

Ming Tan raised her sleeve and wiped away her tears, her shoulders trembling with each sob. “Father Emperor…”

“Longlin, don’t cry. What crime have you committed?” The emperor patted her head and said in a low voice, “A mere twenty strokes was letting her off cheaply! In Our opinion, a servant like that, who disrespects her masters and has no regard for her superiors, should be dragged straight to Yeting so she can properly learn what rules are!”

No one knew whether these words were really meant to scold one person while pointing at another.

Before the current emperor ascended the throne, although he had been the noble crown prince, he had still gone through a bloody battle for succession. Because of this, what he hated most was a concubine-born child offending a legitimate one, or a concubine offending the main wife.

How could a person like him possibly take something he had already bestowed upon his principal wife and then turn around and bestow it upon a concubine?

Ming Tan lowered her gaze and smiled faintly in her heart.

Sure enough, she had guessed correctly. Consort Ning had precisely counted on the empress’s personality of considering every side and preferring one less problem over one more. That was why she had dared use this clumsy little scheme.

However, although Ming Tan had gone before the emperor to file a complaint, exposing Consort Ning and preserving the empress’s dignity, the knife could still only fall on Yaoxiang, the “lazy and deceitful” palace maid.

Because of old systems, the rulers of Tiancheng throughout the generations had an extremely low degree of control over officials. The ministers of the Six Ministries each governed their own sphere and specialized in their duties. In the areas under their control, their authority towered so high that they could even stand shoulder to shoulder with the prime minister, who was below one person and above ten thousand.

Recently, there was first the great drought in Yuanzhou, and the national treasury was firmly controlled by the Minister of Revenue. Consort Ning already loved acting domineeringly in the palace, and now she had the card of her father in hand. Knowing that the emperor did not dare touch her rashly, it was no wonder she had become arrogant to this extent.

Ming Tan sighed silently.

Forget it. The disaster victims in Yuanzhou were at the brink of life and death, which was far more important than her fighting for a breath of pride.

Besides, that palace maid had been beaten half to death by her, then thrown back to Chongle Palace. That should be enough to knock down Consort Ning’s arrogance.

On this side, Ming Tan’s mind was turning quickly, so she did not have time to speak. On the other side, however, the emperor only saw that his daughter still looked depressed, her face streaked with tears, as though she had suffered an enormous grievance. This immediately made him feel even guiltier.

Longlin had been clever and sensible since childhood. She had probably long since seen that this matter did not actually have much to do with that palace maid. It should have been Consort Ning trying to make things difficult for her mother empress.

This girl had been used to being surrounded and adored by everyone since childhood, and she was also someone who could not bear suffering grievances. This time, she had suffered a silent loss, yet he, as her father emperor, had not mentioned dealing with Consort Ning. She was probably feeling unbearably wronged inside.

The emperor looked at this most beloved daughter of his, and the more he thought, the guiltier he felt. The more he thought, the more his heart ached.

After thinking for a long while, his eyes suddenly lit up. He had thought of an excellent way to compensate her.

“Longlin.”

Ming Tan froze. She blinked, raised her head, and looked at the emperor blankly.

“You acted decisively today and even knew to help Consort Ning discipline her palace maid. You truly look more and more like a grown-up now.”

The emperor looked at her lovingly and revealed an inscrutable smile. Ming Tan’s heart instantly filled with an ominous premonition.

Sure enough, in the next moment, he waved his hand broadly at Sheng An and said, “The Ninth Princess, Ming Tan, is clever, bright, sharp, and fond of learning. Now she is even able to handle matters on her own… We have already permitted her to enter the Upper Study next month. Sheng An, go pass along the message and have Teacher Qin make proper preparations. Do you understand?”

Sheng An’s eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly reacted. With joy on his face, he turned and kowtowed to Ming Tan. “This servant obeys His Majesty’s command. Congratulations, Ninth Princess!”

Ming Tan blinked and opened her mouth like an idiot. “Huh?”

The Upper Study?

Studying?

She had to go to school next month?

She stayed blank for a long while, then stared at the emperor in disbelief. In her mind, rows and rows of “???” swept past like a barrage of comments.

How did this count as compensation!

It was like helping an old lady cross the road, only to be rewarded by a police officer with an entire set of exercise books—she was already too aggrieved to breathe, so what was there to congratulate her about? Huh?!

The Upper Study had originated in the previous dynasty and had always allowed only imperial princes to study there.

However, in the middle period of the previous dynasty, there had once been a female emperor whose brilliance outshone ancient and modern times. Her reign title was “Dezhen.” She had originally been a consort from the cold palace, yet relying on her extraordinary wisdom and methods, she had carved out a path to the throne from storms of blood and violence.

After proclaiming herself emperor, she selected the worthy, appointed the capable, devoted herself to good governance, and began sweeping reforms inside and outside the imperial palace, gradually opening one of the most prosperous periods of the previous dynasty.

Among her many reforms was also the royal academy Ming Tan would soon attend: the Upper Study.

Under Emperor Dezhen’s policies, the Upper Study greatly changed its old system. Not only was the content of lessons updated, even the scope of enrollment was greatly expanded. Princesses had originally only been allowed to study women’s virtues and arts by themselves in their own palaces. Afterward, however, they too could be like the other imperial princes and go to the Upper Study to read the books of sages.

At the same time, because the new content taught in the Upper Study was rather obscure, and because boys and girls studied together, Emperor Dezhen also raised the age of enrollment to ten.

And now, the Ninth Princess Ming Tan had not yet reached the age of early learning, yet the emperor had made a special exception allowing her to enter the Upper Study… This could be considered the first such precedent in a hundred years.

Once this decree was issued, the entire palace was shocked.

Whether Ming Tan herself was willing or not, in the eyes of others, after experiencing the poisoning incident, not only had the Ninth Princess not fallen out of favor as the rumors claimed, but her position in His Majesty’s heart had instead risen another level.

…

The main hall of Chongle Palace.

A fine-quality jade bangle was suddenly thrown to the floor. With a crisp ding, it shattered into pieces.

Consort Ning gritted her teeth, slapped the table, and rose. She spat fiercely at Yaoxiang, who was lying on the floor, and cursed, “Useless thing! You can’t even handle such a small matter. What use do I have for you!”

The eunuchs from Kunning Palace had been very particular with their strikes. Twenty strokes of the rod had truly allowed Yaoxiang to properly taste the suffering of flesh and skin. The skin on her lower back had split open, swelling terribly high, yet her bones just so happened to be completely unharmed. The pain was so severe that she could not even stand and could only crawl at Consort Ning’s feet, weeping bitterly.

“Your Majesty… this servant knows her mistake…”

Consort Ning was so furious that she kicked her hard and said hatefully, “It’s all because of you, you idiot, for failing to handle the matter properly. That wretched girl Ming Tan was able to run to His Majesty and cry about her suffering, and she was even granted permission to enter the Upper Study early!”

The momo at the side saw that Yaoxiang nearly had half a breath kicked out of her and hurried forward, advising in a gentle tone, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. The Ninth Princess is already at the age of hanging hair; she is only two years short of being old enough to enter the Upper Study… Now it is merely a little early. It does not count as some enormous favor. You need not take it too much to heart.”

“What a joke. Would this palace put some yellow-haired little girl in her eyes?” Consort Ning sneered. “If we had successfully obtained the lantern, then in everyone’s eyes, my Chongle Palace would have stood above Kunning Palace by one head. But that lowly hoof ruined everything at the last moment… Hmph. It would have been better if Ming Tan really had beaten her to death. Then she would not have had to come back and offend this palace’s eyes!”

Yaoxiang let out a sob, her thin body trembling nonstop.

The momo glanced at her, then stepped forward to support one of Consort Ning’s arms and helped her back to her seat. Only then did she say quietly, “Since Your Majesty’s plan failed this time, and His Majesty has learned what happened from beginning to end, it will not be easy to make another move against Her Majesty the Empress.”

Consort Ning was so angry she gnashed her teeth, fire rising straight in her heart. “It’s all because of that useless thing!”

“Alas, scolding her is no use. Your Majesty should calm yourself and not harm your body.”

“…Forget it. In the end, this palace’s skill was inferior to another’s.” Consort Ning rubbed her temples and sighed.

“Your Majesty must not say such discouraging things.”

The momo massaged her shoulders and said meaningfully, “The Ninth Princess entering the Upper Study may perhaps be a good thing for us.”

Consort Ning glanced at her and shook her head. “The rumors we sent people to spread earlier are now useless too. Everyone in the palace will start currying favor with the Ninth Princess again. How could this be a good thing?”

“Aiyo, Your Majesty, you have forgotten!” The momo leaned close to her ear and lowered her voice even further. “Aren’t His Highness the Fourth Prince and Her Highness the Fourth Princess currently studying in the Upper Study?”

Consort Ning froze, then immediately widened her eyes. “You mean…”

“Your Majesty sending someone to ask for Her Majesty the Empress’s palace lantern was a dispute between women. Naturally, it was no good once it reached His Majesty.”

The momo smiled meaningfully and slowly said, “However, if something happens between children… then children should naturally learn to resolve it themselves.”