Chapter 17: Perfect Script

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Because Empress Dowager Xiang and Zhao Yu had secret matters to discuss, all six palace maids—including Ma Xiao Jiao and Yuan Qing Cheng—were driven out by Yang Jian.

As soon as they left the front hall, Ma Xiao Jiao and Yuan Qing Cheng deliberately lagged behind the other four maids, whispered a few words, and finally decided: Yuan Qing Cheng would go to Zhang Chun to discuss how to respond to this sudden event, while Ma Xiao Jiao would stay behind to cover for Yuan Qing Cheng.

Never mind how Ma Xiao Jiao covered for Yuan Qing Cheng.

All that matters is Yuan Qing Cheng hurried straight to the Ci De Palace gate and found Zhang Chun sweeping the courtyard.

Seeing Yuan Qing Cheng come to her, Zhang Chun was startled: "Why are you here?"

Yuan Qing Cheng glanced around and, seeing no one nearby, did not answer but asked instead: "Have you made contact with Zhao Yu?"

"If I act, how could I fail?" Zhang Chun said with no small pride.

"So it was you who got Zhao Yu to marry Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban?" Yuan Qing Cheng asked again.

"Zhao Yu is to marry Empress Xiansu and Consort Yisu?!?! How is that even possible?!?!"

Zhang Chun first disbelieved, then could not accept it.

Zhang Chun's plan was to seize an opportunity to seduce Zhao Yu, get pregnant first, then have Li Lin and the other three women engineer some "heavenly omens" to claim she bore the true dragon heir, forcing Zhao Yu to make her Wang Fei—and once Zhao Yu became Emperor, she would naturally rise with him to become Empress.

"If by misfortune I give birth to a daughter, find a way to swap her for a son."

"Hmm… a son born to another man is unreliable. I must manipulate Li Lin and the other three to each bear Zhao Yu a child—how could we five not produce a single son?"

"Then wait until Zhao Yu dies of old age—or kill him—and let my son ascend the throne. That way, I will become Empress Dowager and fulfill my political ambitions."

Zhang Chun had even worked out exactly how to kill Zhao Yu.

"I cannot hire assassins to kill Zhao Yu. That's the stupid move of someone without political sense. Besides, it would easily drag me down, leave me with a reputation as vile as Pan Jinlian, and possibly force me to die with him—making me serve someone else's ambition. Far too costly."

"My method is far more brilliant."

In short, Zhang Chun planned to inherit the Song palace tradition of "Yue Jin Shunü"—find Zhao Yu more women, and when he grew too worn out, subtly suggest others recommend Daoist Priests to him, drawing him into debauchery and alchemy.

This way: first, she would gain Zhao Yu's favor, making him grow fonder of her, and through his affection, she could enter politics early; second, by appearing non-jealous, non-envious, and uncomplaining, she would earn a reputation for virtue, accumulating enough political prestige to lay a solid foundation for her future rule over the Zhao Song dynasty; third, she could use this method to cultivate a large network of loyalists, dominate the harem, and prevent rivals from emerging; fourth—and most importantly—when Zhao Yu's body was worn thin as a needle ground from an iron rod and his heart poisoned by alchemical toxins, he would surely die young, and then her chance to seize control of the Zhao Song dynasty would arrive.

What a perfect script.

Zhang Chun clapped her hands in admiration of her own perfect script.

Who knew that before she could even enact this perfect script, Zhao Yu was about to marry someone else, dooming her perfect script to stillbirth.

Worse still, the woman Zhao Yu intended to marry was Zheng Xiansu.

This woman in history truly inherited the Song palace tradition of "Yue Jin Shunü," and she was skilled at reading the emperor's mind and possessed considerable depth.

Qiao and Wei had both once been her maids.

She noticed Zhao Ji favored Qiao, so she feigned illness and had Qiao take her place in serving Zhao Ji; afterward, she adopted Qiao as her daughter and gradually elevated her to Consort.

Although Wei, Zhao Gou's birth mother, was first recommended by Qiao, she was later adopted by her too; she petitioned for Wei's favor, so though Wei had no favor, she was promoted from a lowly servant to a fifth-rank Cairen while seven months pregnant.

When the great Consort Liu died, she voluntarily petitioned to adopt her, generously supported Zhao Ji's posthumous elevation of Consort Liu to Mingda Empress, pleasing Zhao Ji with her understanding while preserving the dignity of the Empress's position.

Later, even when the lesser Consort Liu entered the palace and became Zhao Ji's sole favorite, hailed as a celestial fairy and granted sacrifices while still alive, overshadowing the Empress's court, she remained calm and uncompetitive.

After the lesser Consort Liu's death, Zhao Ji was heartbroken, boasting she was a celestial being who worried for the nation, and posthumously elevated her to Mingjie Empress; she then adopted the lesser Consort Liu as her daughter, led the palace consorts in mourning with meticulous care, and personally petitioned Zhao Ji to raise the lesser Consort Liu's child—only then did Zhao Ji become pleased again.

All her actions made Zhao Ji believe his flourishing lineage was entirely her doing.

She was dignified and reverent, refusing to have new Empress regalia made, insisting only the Consort's crown and robes be remade; she abolished part of the ceremonial procession and actively suppressed maternal relatives from interfering in politics.

All these things ensured she remained firmly seated on Zhao Ji's Empress throne despite his fickle, emotional, and capricious nature; even her father, Zheng Shen—a petty official with neither ability nor virtue—was eventually posthumously promoted to Grand Preceptor and Commandery Prince of Leping.

Clearly, Zheng Xiansu had become an extraordinarily successful and invincible Empress.

Most crucially, Zhang Chun's perfect script was largely copied from Zheng Xiansu's historical record.

Put simply, though Zheng Xiansu was merely a native, she was still regarded by the time-traveler Zhang Chun as her greatest rival.

"Why marry anyone but this utterly formidable woman?"

"And how did this woman escape being given to Zhao Ji by Empress Dowager Xiang, only to become your Wang Fei?"

Zhao Yu's plan to marry Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu as his Wang Fei caught Zhang Chun completely off guard, leaving her momentarily at a loss for how to respond to this sudden event.

Over there, Yuan Qing Cheng had no idea what psychological storm Zhang Chun had just endured; seeing Zhang Chun's face darken and flicker, she asked: "Wasn't this your brilliant idea for Zhao Yu?"

"Brilliant idea?"

After a moment's reflection, Zhang Chun realized the immense political gains of Zhao Yu marrying Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu as Wang Fei:

"This instantly resolves the problem of having no one speak well of Zhao Yu before Empress Dowager Xiang, binds Zhao Yu tightly to Empress Dowager Xiang in a solid political alliance, and crucially—by stealing these women away—Zhao Yu can fracture the relationship between Empress Dowager Xiang and Zhao Ji; with one side weakening and the other strengthening, Zhao Yu, who had no chance of becoming Emperor, now has one."

"From our perspective—those who know the course of history—this is truly a single stone hitting multiple birds, perhaps the only viable way to break the deadlock."

Zhang Chun looked at Yuan Qing Cheng: "Just from hearing a little history from me, you've already seen the brilliance of Zhao Yu marrying Empress Xiansu and Consort Yisu. Yuan Qing Cheng, you're incredibly sharp."

Zhang Chun thought again: "The other four were all successful women who never yielded to me—how could they not be clever? Especially Ye Shi Yun—she was a genius who won the Brain King title. In intelligence, I can't even catch up to her."

Zhang Chun weighed this in her mind: "My greatest advantage is that only I know the history—no one can match that. Hmm… from now on, I must make full use of this advantage. And I must never casually reveal history to them again—otherwise, my edge will vanish…"

…

(End of Chapter)