Qiang Jin Jiu (Author : Tang Jiuqing 唐酒卿)

Chapter 120 : Affairs In The Capital

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There was no place for women in the imperial court.

Feudal ethics drove them into the lady’s chambers, becoming fragile objects in the small courtyard of their living quarters, cared for in every way by their husbands and servants, parents and children. They were porcelain vases to be appraised for their value as they waited to be married off; they did not need lofty aspirations.

The Empress Dowager, Hua Hewei, was from an illustrated clan. She was a legitimate daughter of direct descent born to the principal’s wife of the Hua clan. Before she came of age, she had never seen the world beyond the walls of her quarters, and after she came of age, she was still bound within the confines of her courtyard. She wrested away the most supreme power and authority of this world from her husband’s hands, yet she never strode a step beyond that line; instead, she let down the beaded curtain and sat cautiously with her back straight behind it.

Commander-in-chief, Qi Zhuyin, similarly came from a distinguished background. She was the legitimate daughter of direct descent born to the principal’s wife of the Qi clan, a military family of generals. Before she went to war, she was betrothed to another, but after she went to war, no one dared to marry her. She never got the conferment she deserved, only the concession before Yulong Terrace. The Ministry of Rites said that she was not worthy of enjoying the posthumous privilege of being enshrined and worshiped by the Imperial Ancestral Temple after death. The name, Qi Zhuyin, had been, to date, branded as the little girl of Qidong. If only Qi Shiyu’s sons had lived up to expectations, the position of commander-in-chief of the military forces would never have come to fall upon her shoulders. 

Xue Xiuzhuo initially did not have the thought to support and assist Ling Ting to the throne. That acute disappointment when he found out that the imperial heir was a girl made him change his strategy right at once, but then, he changed his mind when he saw Ling Ting.

Because Ling Ting resembled Emperor Guangcheng way too much. 

Any long-time minister who was old enough to have seen Emperor Guangcheng before could tell Ling Ting’s origins at a glance—this was an aberration the result of incest within the Li clan. 

When the Eastern Palace fell from power during the reign of Yongyi, the only reason for Emperor Guangcheng to leave the palace was to pay a visit to Prince Qin – who had taken ill – and his beautiful, defenseless wife. Emperor Guangcheng did not have any imperial concubine who was in his favor during the later years of the reign of Yongyi. After he fell ill, the empress, Hua Hewei, took control of the former imperial court and harem to prevent him from begetting another imperial heir. It was under these layers of walls around him that Emperor Guangcheng set his eyes on his daughter-in-law. 

A pity Princess Consort Qin gave birth to a girl. 

Like an old lion who had exhausted every bit of his energy, Emperor Guangcheng did not even lift an eyelid when he learned of this news and subsequently lost all the lofty aspirations he once harbored. No one knew if Prince Qin had caught some wind of it, but it was not long before he passed away from his illness. Before his death, he threw Ling Ting out of Qudu. However, it seemed to be fated that Xiangyun would come across her and bring her back. 

When Xue Xiuzhuo had just found Ling Ting, she was uncouth in behavior and was already in her teens. Pulling her back onto the seat of the imperial heir would be an impossible task without the determination to transform her from inside out. At first, it was tough. She had wasted too much time in Xiangyun Villa. If she herself were not resolute enough to erase all those superfluous traces on her completely, then it would have been undoable even if Xue Xiuzhuo had superhuman powers.