Chapter 2: Let

…

Zhang Chun also wanted to replace the Emperor.

In her view, Zhao Ji was not only incompetent and immoral, but also stubborn and self-willed.

—— Historically, when Zhao Ji chose the strategy of allying with the Jin to destroy the Liao and recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun—a decision that led to the fall of the Northern Song—many Song ministers, including the then-chancellor Cai Jing and the two successive Chief Military Commissioners Deng Xunwu and Zheng Zhong, had tried to stop Zhao Ji, yet he still chose this path to ruin.

Moreover, Zhao Ji hated women interfering in politics.

—— Historically, Empress Xiansu had also tried to stop Zhao Ji from allying with the Jin to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, yet Zhao Ji not only ignored Empress Xiansu, but even distanced himself from her for a time.

So, they were unlikely to change Zhao Ji's mind; if Zhao Ji became Emperor, they could hardly prevent the Jingkang Humiliation—the greatest shame of the Han people—from occurring, and to achieve anything like other transmigrators did was merely a fantasy.

After thinking it over, Zhang Chun said to Li Lin, Ye Shi Yun, Ma Xiao Jiao, and Yuan Qing Cheng:

"Replacing the Emperor… isn't easy."

"Emperor Shenzong Zhao Xu had fourteen sons; eight died young, and excluding Zhao Xu, who is about to die, only Prince Shen Zhao Bi, Prince Duan Zhao Ji, Prince Xin Zhao Yu, Prince Jian Zhao Si, and Prince Mu Zhao Si remain."

"Among them, Zhao Bi is the eldest and should have inherited the throne, but he is blind—definitely out of the question."

"Except for Zhao Bi, Zhao Ji is the oldest; by succession order, it should be his turn. The key is, this bastard is incapable of being Emperor, but in every other respect, there's nothing he can't do—no other prince can compete with him."

"Hmm… Zhao Si might have a chance; he is Zhao Xu's same-mother younger brother, and according to both ritual law and reason, he should inherit the throne. Besides, their birth mother, Imperial Concubine Zhu, is still alive, giving him natural support."

"But Zhao Xu became Emperor thanks to the Empress Dowager's backing, yet in the end, Zhao Xu still favored Imperial Concubine Zhu more, treating the Empress Dowager with mere politeness. After suffering this great setback, the Empress Dowager is unlikely to install another prince with a living birth mother as Emperor—that's the main reason why, historically, the Empress Dowager strongly supported Zhao Ji."

"Crucially, Zhao Si is also a short-lived man—just like Zhao Xu, he didn't live past twenty-five. Putting him in Zhao Ji's place wouldn't help at all."

After thinking again, Zhang Chun said: "If one of us were a doctor, we could try to save Zhao Xu. Among all Song emperors, he's barely the only one with some accomplishments—he's definitely far better than Zhao Ji."

Ma Xiao Jiao said: "Forget it. Just look at how Zhao Xu favored his concubines and neglected his wife, letting Liu Qingjing frame Empress Meng—it doesn't make him look like a good man."

Zhang Chun wanted to say: "It's not just about favoring concubines over the wife—it involves the factional struggle between the New Party and the Old Party."

But Zhang Chun changed her mind:

"Empress Meng never held Zhao Xu's abandonment and the immense psychological trauma he caused her against him; she repeatedly saved the collapsing dynasty, turning back the tide, extending the Zhao Song dynasty's life by 152 years—proving she truly was a good Empress."

"But Zhao Xu, by allowing the wicked Liu Qingjing to violate the etiquette of a concubine, grow arrogant from favor, and orchestrate the witchcraft case to frame his own wife, is truly not worth saving."

"Even if we saved Zhao Xu, with his utterly ruined health, he'd never live to see the Jingkang Humiliation."

"Most importantly, none of us are doctors—even if we wanted to save Zhao Xu, we lack the ability."

"What about getting pregnant by him before he dies?"

"No, Zhao Xu's body is nearly dead—he's probably unable to impregnate any woman anymore, and there's no time left."

"We still have to seize this chance and replace the Emperor."

"Then now only Zhao Yu and Zhao Si remain."

"But they have no advantages whatsoever—their mothers died long ago, and they have no one to help them vie for the throne. How can they compete with Zhao Ji?"

"And we five are merely the lowest-ranking palace attendants—we're powerless, unheard of, and can't even get near anyone. We can't help Zhao Yu or Zhao Si at all."

Zhang Chun laid out all this for discussion with Li Lin and the other four women.

After endless debate, the five women realized they could do nothing right now—they could only humbly serve as palace maids and adapt to this new environment.

This was a crushing blow to the five women, who had achieved considerable success in their past lives and were now powerful transmigrators.

Finally, the five women comforted each other, saying at least they were all ten or more years younger—that was a great blessing no money could buy—and among them were historical geniuses, military masters, economic experts, inventors, and agricultural specialists; if given a good platform, they might even help the Han people unify the entire world.

Soon after, a palace attendant shouted: "Rise!"

Based on their original bodies' memories, the five women knew this meant Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban were assigning today's duties to these low-ranking palace maids.

The five women hurried behind the other attendants to meet Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban.

On the way, Zhang Chun whispered to Li Lin and the other three women: "This Zheng Yaban is very likely Zhao Ji's second Empress, Empress Xiansu, and Wang Yaban is Zhao Ji's Empress Dowager Yisu. They are the Empress Dowager's confidantes—if we can win them over, we might achieve something."

Hearing this, Li Lin and the other three women perked up, ready to win over Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu.

But when they met Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu, before the five women could find a chance to get close to them, Wang Yisu ordered Zhang Chun and several other attendants to weed the garden, while Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun were assigned to carry water.

Ma Xiao Jiao and Yuan Qing Cheng were relatively lucky—Wang Yisu told them: "You two take fans and come with us to Funing Palace…"

…

The carriage stopped outside Xuande Gate. Zhao Yu got out and, guided by a eunuch, arrived at Funing Palace.

Many members of the imperial clan were already there, including Zhao Bi, Zhao Si, and Zhao Si.

The imperial clan shared the fate of the Zhao Song dynasty—rise together, fall together. If the dynasty changed hands, no matter who took the Jiangshan, they would all meet a terrible end.

And for imperial clan members like Zhao Yu who had the right to the throne, even hiding deep in the mountains wouldn't save them—they'd be hunted down and exterminated to eliminate any future threat.

So most members of the imperial clan, especially those with no ambition for the throne, all hoped Zhao Xu would produce an heir quickly, stabilizing the turmoil caused by the vacant crown prince position, so they could enjoy the shade of the great tree.

That's why, when Zhao Xu had a son, every member of the imperial clan—men, women, old, young—came to pay their respects.

Following the habits of her original body, Zhao Yu politely greeted several elder members of the imperial clan, then quietly chatted idly with younger ones like Zhao Bi, Zhao Si, and Zhao Si.

Not long after, a eunuch announced: "Prince Duan arrives!"

Zhao Ji had the bearing of a dragon and phoenix, radiating the refined elegance of a scholar—overall, he was indeed graceful and imposing.

Upon arriving at Funing Palace, Zhao Ji warmly greeted every member of the imperial clan and chatted with cultured literati like Prince Consort Wang Shen about poetry, calligraphy, painting, cuju, and horseball.

Soon after, Zhao Ji came over to Zhao Yu and the others, smiling: "Heaven blesses our Great Song, granting the Emperor a son."

Zhao Ji's smile was radiant, as if he truly rejoiced for Zhao Xu and the Zhao Song dynasty.

But Zhao Yu keenly sensed a hint of forcedness in Zhao Ji's smile.

That was normal.

Only if Zhao Xu had no son could Zhao Ji have a chance to become Emperor and escape the constraints of his imperial clan status.

(The Song dynasty imposed strict regulations on the imperial clan: all clan members within five degrees of kinship were forbidden to leave Dongjing Bianliang; even temporary outings required prior approval from the Grand Clan Office, with strict time limits—violations brought severe punishment. Clan members could not hold local or military posts, and those eligible to attend court meetings were forbidden from speaking, only allowed to watch passively.)

For an artist, nothing is more precious than freedom.

Moreover, Zhao Ji didn't just yearn for freedom—he had political ambitions, wanting to be a capable Emperor, even a once-in-a-millennium ruler, immortalized in history.

But all of this now seemed hopeless because Zhao Xu had fathered a son.

One might ask, how could Zhao Ji's mood possibly be good?

Although Zhao Yu was well aware that the opportunity to compete for the throne had already appeared, and that Zhao Ji would be his greatest rival, he still kept a calm face and went through the motions with Zhao Ji, even taking the initiative to chat with Zhao Ji about cuju.

Seeing that Zhao Yu was interested in cuju, Zhao Ji suggested: "It's been some days since my brothers gathered. How about we pick a day and all come to my residence for a cuju match?"

The princes all said: "Excellent."

Before long, Empress Dowager Xiang, supported by Imperial Consort Zhu and other consorts, palace maids, and eunuchs, also arrived at the Hall of Blessing and Peace.

Ma Ma Xiao Jiao and Yuan Qingcheng were also among them.

However, without Zhang Chun, who was well-versed in history, by their side, they did not dare do anything or say anything. They could only obediently follow the original host's memory, holding their fans and trailing behind Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu.

Empress Dowager Xiang was the empress of Song Shenzong Zhao Xu, the birth mother of Zhao Xu and the princes, and she was also the current head of the harem — the most powerful woman in the Zhao Song dynasty.

Zhao Yu looked at Empress Dowager Xiang and thought: "Only by handling this old lady can I defeat Zhao Ji and become Emperor."

In terms of how he focused on external matters, Zhao Yu paid the most attention to ways of solving things, and often overlooked external constraints.

To a certain extent, this lowered Zhao Yu's moral底线.

However, Empress Dowager Xiang was already over fifty, and was also Zhao Yu's birth mother. No matter how low Zhao Yu's moral底线 was, he could not possibly set his sights on Empress Dowager Xiang.

Zhao Yu shifted his gaze to Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu, who stood just behind and to the side of Empress Dowager Xiang.

There, Zheng Xiansu — she could be called breathtakingly beautiful. Her skin was like snow, her brows like distant dark eyebrows, her nose bridge straight, her Zhu Chun red without a touch of rouge, the lines of her face soft, and set off by a red palace gown, she looked like a fairy stepping out of a painting.

And Wang Yisu — even more worthy of being called peerless. Her features were exquisite, between her brows and eyes seemed to hide a thousand years of sorrow and enchantment, her eyes like deep, dark pools, shifting with countless threads of feeling. In a purple palace gown that swayed as she moved, she resembled a banished immortal.

"These two women were personally trained by Empress Dowager Xiang, and they are also the closest people to the childless Empress Dowager Xiang."

"Every time Zhao Ji went to the Palace of Compassionate Virtue to pay his respects, Empress Dowager Xiang would order them to attend and serve him. Later, when Zhao Ji ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Xiang bestowed them upon Zhao Ji."

"Many years later, one of them became Zhao Ji's Empress, bearing him one son and five daughters; the other became Zhao Ji's Noble Consort, bearing him five sons and three daughters. Their families were also treated with great generosity. From this one can infer that Zhao Ji's ability to defeat the other princes and become Emperor must have owed no small amount to their help."

"I must cut in and seize them before Zhao Ji does, make them serve me, and help me ascend the throne!"

Zhao Yu withdrew his gaze.

Casually, Zhao Yu glanced to the side and happened to see the sneaky-looking Ma Ma Xiao Jiao!

"Da Lei Jiao?!!!"

……

(End of this chapter)