Chapter 77: Grandma and Grandson

    The people from the Cui clan dared to barge straight into the former Emperor’s manor because they had a certain confidence, a confidence stemming from Prince Donghai, who was almost certainly destined to become the new emperor and who was raised single-handedly by the Cui clan. But suddenly, bad news had arrived—the successor was someone else, and their confidence was instantly drained.

    Elder Laojun of the Cui clan had been nurtured in luxury all her life and had never suffered such a blow. She stared at his grandson, Cui Sheng, for a while, “Say that again.”

    “I heard that the Empress Dowager has already chosen the new emperor, who is very popular among the senior officials.”

    Elder Laojun got angry as she spoke and fiercely slapped Cui Sheng, “Nonsense! Why are you spreading rumors based only on hearsay? Have you confirmed it? If the Empress Dowager doesn’t appoint the son of the Graceful Emperor, who else would she appoint?”

    Cui Sheng covered his face, “Okay, I will go and inquire again, but rumors say that Prince Donghai has already been sent out of the palace...”

    Elder Laojun abruptly turned around, glaring at the Weary Marquis, “You abducted my granddaughter...”

    “Your granddaughter is also my wife, and this is also her home.” Han Ruzi glanced at Yang Feng and added: “And yes, Prince Donghai is here as well.”

    Upon hearing this, the people of the Cui clan were shocked. Since Prince Donghai was not in the palace, he definitely was not the new emperor.

    Elder Laojun stood dazedly for a while before suddenly leaning back. Cui Sheng and a group of women managed to catch her in time. Despite just having been slapped, Cui Sheng, who was very filial to his grandmother, shouted at Han Ruzi, “If anything happens to Elder Laojun, the Cui clan will not let you off!”

    Han Ruzi did not understand what this had to do with him, but this old woman was also his wife’s grandmother. He could not stand by and do nothing, so he said, “Take her in.”

    Han Ruzi led the way, and the eunuchs moved aside, allowing the women to support Elder Laojun into the main hall of the second courtyard. Cui Sheng wanted to follow, but was stopped by his mother. Suddenly remembering something even more critical, he turned and ran towards the manor’s exit, intending to figure out the situation as soon as possible.

    The front yard quieted down. The soldiers looked at each other, deeply impressed by the ladies of the Cui clan. The Manor Marshal emerged from a room, secretly relieved that he had dodged an arrow. However, he quickly became even more worried: there was a new emperor in of the Chu empire, and the future of the Weary Marquis was uncertain. He absolutely did not want to get involved.

    In the main hall, the women were busy taking care of Elder Laojun. The male servants who had come along did not dare to enter and were pacing outside the door.

    Han Ruzi took advantage of the chaos to pull Yang Feng aside and pointed at Elder Laojun, whispering, “I know I have a lot to learn, but do I have to learn even this?”

    “A ranting old woman can be as formidable as an army. You have been sheltered indoors for a long time. It’s not bad to experience everything you can now that you’re out.”

    Han Ruzi had no words to reply, but he did not quite agree. Yang Feng smiled and said, “When you were studying national history, did you hear about the records of the Peaceful Emperor and the the Empress Dowager?”

    “The Peaceful Emperor made several of his maternal uncles marquises at the Empress Dowager’s deathbed? I’ve heard of it.”

    Yang Feng hummed in acknowledgment but said nothing more.[1]

    Han Ruzi understood his meaning, but felt that his mother, being both gentle and intelligent, would never rant like Elder Laojun of the Cui clan. Moreover, he didn’t have any maternal uncles.

    Elder Laojun slowly came to, forgetting where she was and her granddaughter, and asked tremulously, “Where is my good grandson? Has he become the emperor?”

    No one dared to answer, and Elder Laojun’s gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on Han Ruzi in the distance, and she said viciously, “It’s you again. From the moment you were born, you’ve been undermining Prince Donghai’s fortune. Why? Why are you not dead yet?”

    Han Ruzi was furious inside. However, thinking of Yang Feng’s words, he took this experience as a test. He stepped forward and said with a smile, “When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a man, it will first put him through trials and tribulations. Prince Donghai’s luck is bad because he hasn’t suffered enough.”

    Elder Laojun still wanted to speak, but Prince Donghai pushed her to go, “The throne has been usurped, and you are still concerned about an ungrateful granddaughter? We should hurry back to the manor, and find a way to contact Uncle. He controls the Southern Army outside the city, I don’t believe that the Empress Dowager would really dare to offend Uncle.”

    Elder Laojun came to her senses and quickened her pace, “Right, right, my grandson is too smart, let’s go look for your uncle, let’s go...”

    The women followed, the mother of Cui Xiaojun pretended to look for something that she had dropped and walked at the back. As she passed Han Ruzi, she whispered, “Are you really not going to fight for the throne?”

    “I am not delusional.”

    Mother Cui nodded, stuffed a hairpin into Han Ruzi’s hand, “Treat Xiaojun well.” Then she hurried to catch up with Elder Laojun.

    The members and servants of the Cui clan came quickly and left just as quickly. In a short while, they were nowhere to be seen.

    Han Ruzi held the hairpin in a daze for a long time before saying, “Could the Martial Emperor and the Graceful Emperor really allow the Cui clan to behave so arrogantly for so long?”

    “The Martial Emperor was suspicious, and the Graceful Emperor was wary. For them, arrogant Imperial In-laws were more trustworthy than the quiet and brooding lords and senior officials.”

    Han Ruzi had never experienced the true feeling of imperial power, so it was hard for him to understand the actions of the Martial Emperor and the Graceful Emperor. Then he thought of himself, “So if I appear more like a imbecilic ruler, it would actually be safer because no one would support a imbecilic ruler?”

    Yang Feng nodded with a smile, “You are still far from the standard of a imbecilic ruler’, let’s talk about this later. The Empress Dowager’s selection of a new emperor, however, is a real threat to you.”

    “Ah, don’t keep me in suspense, even if it’s just a conjecture. Tell me, who is the Empress Dowager planning to establish as the emperor?” Han Ruzi could not hide his interest in this matter, although the news would come out soon, he still wanted to know earlier.

    “If I haven’t guessed wrong—” Yang Feng turned to look at Zhang Youcai who had snuck in and didn’t send him away, “the Empress Dowager has chosen a descendant of the previous crown prince to ascend to the throne.”

    “The previous crown prince?”

    “The Martial Emperor had established three crown princes, the first two were Crown Prince Ju and Crown Prince Yong, who were both executed one after another. You’ve heard of them, haven’t you?”

    Han Ruzi nodded. Zhang Youcai stood behind him and whispered, “The two crown princes died in the Eastern Palace, so it’s haunted, and no one dares to go there.”

    Yang Feng snorted disdainfully and continued, “The families of the Crown Prince Ju and Crown Prince Yong were also implicated, but it is said that when they were executed, both of them had a son who was less than three years old who was spared. One should be sixteen or seventeen now, the other six or seven. The younger one matches the requirements of the Empress Dowager, but the ministers might support the older one. It’s unknown whom the Empress Dowager will choose.”

    “Wouldn’t the Empress Dowager offend Grand Tutor Cui by doing this?” Han Ruzi couldn’t figure out the intentions of the Empress Dowager.

    Yang Feng thought for a while, “It can only be the first one. When Crown Prince Ju held state responsibilities, he controlled the Southern Army. His descendant becoming emperor could undermine the Southern Army’s support for Grand Tutor Cui. Moreover, he was the crown prince for more than a decade and was most favored by the ministers in court. However—”

    However, the surviving son of the Great Crown Prince was already sixteen or seventeen years old, nearly an adult. It would be very difficult for the Empress Dowager to control the court in the future.

    Yang Feng was talking to himself, almost forgetting there were others present. “This is not enough, the Empress Dowager must have more solid assurance to dare to do this...”

    The Manor, who had run off during the day, hurriedly came in and said to the Weary Marquis, “An edict has been passed down from the palace, requiring all members of the imperial clan with noble titles to go to the Ancestral Temple immediately to pay respects to the new emperor.”

    Han Ruzi and Yang Feng no longer needed to guess.

    [1] The implication here is that the Peaceful Emperor failed to properly deal with an old woman and therefore acted against his better judgment.

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