Chapter 271: The Plot of the Title Grant, Storms Rise in the Harem

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Zhang Chun opened her mouth, and Yuan Qing Cheng wanted to roll her eyes. "The Emperor was right after all—this fool is useless at getting things done but loves stirring up trouble. My sons Zhao Xing and Zhao Sheng are only nine, Zhao Jin is just four—why rush to plot their futures? Besides, this is the Emperor's job to handle; why should we worry?"

But upon hearing Zhang Chun bring this up, Li Lin and Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao sat up straighter, while Ye Shi Yun remained as indifferent as before.

"You're talking about the Imperial Princes leaving the palace, aren't you?" Li Lin asked.

"Leaving the palace" refers to Imperial Princes moving out of the imperial court to reside in their own mansions upon reaching adulthood, simultaneously receiving titles, official posts, and authority—it is a crucial element of the imperial system.

This "adulthood" does not mean actual maturity, but typically occurs when the prince is over ten years old (the exact age varies depending on the Emperor's attitude and the prince's status), arranged by the court.

—This may also be advanced or delayed for political reasons.

In other Zhao Song emperors' reigns, princes leaving the palace were usually granted the title of Wang Jue (such as Qin Wang or Commandery Prince) and bestowed corresponding fiefs (like "Prince of Yan" or "Prince of Xu"), symbols of status and rank.

The court would also build or assign dedicated mansions as their post-outing residences, with the mansion's scale determined by the rank of the title.

After leaving the palace, princes might also be granted honorary or actual official posts, participating in some state affairs (though the Zhao Song dynasty restricted actual power to prevent princes from interfering in governance), while maintaining their own staff and subordinate institutions.

In short, for princes, leaving the palace marks the transition from imperial son to independent royal member—a key milestone in establishing their political status; for the court, this system both shows favor to royal family members and maintains imperial stability by regulating their residence and authority.

Zhao Yu was undoubtedly the most peculiar emperor in the history of the Zhao Song dynasty.

His peculiarity lay not only in being the greatest emperor of the Zhao Song dynasty after Zhao Kuangyin, but also in having too many sons and too many women.

By the time these boys reached ten, they began to develop—and soon would reach sexual maturity.

With so many women in the harem, Zhao Yu might be capable, but he certainly couldn't satisfy thousands of women; some among them would inevitably remain unsatisfied.

Worse, Zhao Yu was selfish—he liked to claim the women in his own palace first, and had already slept with most of them.

What if one of the women Zhao Yu had taken grew desperate and turned her eyes toward the princes? Wouldn't that create a royal scandal?

The problem was, when it came to his own women and his own sons, Zhao Yu couldn't handle it easily. Kill them? After all, a day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of affection—even tigers don't eat their own cubs. But if he didn't kill them, they'd already given him green horns—this would severely damage Zhao Yu's imperial dignity. If word got out, Zhao Yu might be mocked for a thousand years, even longer.

Precisely because of this, a censor suggested Zhao Yu release the princes from the palace early—to avoid his own sons making him a cuckold and then having to kill them himself, Zhao Yu immediately agreed.

The reason it hasn't been implemented yet is simply that Zhao Yu has too many sons; granting them all Wang Jue and building them all private mansions would be utterly impractical.

The court is currently studying solutions, and once a plan is finalized, princes of sufficient age will be sent out.

Zhao Yu's eldest son born to a concubine, Zhao Yan, is already eleven this year and will turn twelve in a few months—he can't be delayed any longer; if we wait, something might happen. So the matter of princes leaving the palace won't drag on much longer—at the latest, it must be done before the year ends.

Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao's eldest son Zhao Di, Ye Shi Yun's eldest son Zhao Cun, Li Lin's eldest son Zhao Qing, and Zhang Chun's eldest son Zhao Tang have all surpassed ten years of age—they will certainly be among the first princes to leave the palace.

Tell me, how could any mother not worry about her son's future?

That's why Zhang Chun raised this issue, and why Li Lin and Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao take it so seriously.

But Ye Shi Yun was more relaxed. She thought: after all, her son was the Emperor's son—how could his future possibly be bad? Besides, she herself was still there; at worst, she could think up ways for him to make money—he'd surely become a wealthy man. So she wasn't worried at all.

Crucially, Ye Shi Yun had no expectations for her son's future, unlike Zhang Chun, Li Lin, and Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao, who hoped their sons would enter politics, join the military, and achieve greatness.

Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao said: "The Emperor has too many sons to grant them all Wang Jue. If we grant them all, the court's finances would collapse, and the title of Wang Jue would lose all value."

Ye Shi Yun said: "Building mansions for all of them is impossible—there isn't enough space within the imperial city."

Zhang Chun said: "Titles and mansions are minor matters. The Emperor's sons, no matter how lowly, will never lack a lifetime of wealth and honor. The planning I speak of concerns something far more important."

At this, even Yuan Qing Cheng could no longer sit still. She asked: "What's more important?"

There was no choice—Yuan Qing Cheng's sons Zhao Xing and Zhao Sheng might not leave this year, but next year they definitely would.

Zhao Yu spoke well of arranging everything for his sons, but with so many sons and so little to go around, and as a mother herself, how could Yuan Qing Cheng not carefully plan for her own flesh and blood?

Zhang Chun glanced at Yuan Qing Cheng, as if saying: "I'm still not over it!"

But Zhang Chun still answered: "Lift the restrictions on the Imperial Princes."

To prevent princes from interfering in governance, successive Zhao Song emperors and ministers imposed strict restrictions:

Although royal family members could be granted official titles and ranks at a young age, these were mostly nominal military posts without real authority. Even when attending court sessions, they were forbidden from commenting on major state affairs and were allowed only as symbolic figures, with no right to participate in discussions.

Emperor Shenzong decreed that royal family members granted official posts could not serve in Hebei, Hedong, Shaanxi, or Sichuan, as these regions were either near borders or prone to separatism, to prevent collusion with local powers. Royal family members were also barred from holding military commands and almost never appointed as chancellor—during the Northern and Southern Song, only Zhao Ruyu, an eighth-generation descendant of Song Taizong, served as chancellor, but was soon demoted.

Before Emperor Yingzong, royal family members were not allowed to take the imperial examinations and relied solely on nominal court appointments for livelihood. Although Emperor Shenzong permitted them to take the examinations, numerous restrictions remained, aimed at preventing them from gaining too much power and threatening imperial authority.

Zhao clan members in Jingcheng were required to live in housing built and assigned by the court, concentrated in specific areas, and forbidden from choosing their own residences. They needed permission to leave and had to register upon return; dismounting their horses on the street was prohibited, and violations were punished. Additionally, their visitors were strictly limited—they were generally forbidden from meeting court officials or ministers unless explicitly approved.

Through these measures, the Zhao Song dynasty effectively restricted the power of princes and royal family members, largely eliminating their interference in governance and struggles for the throne, thus maintaining imperial stability.

But precisely because of these rules, the Zhao Song dynasty wasted vast talent among its princes and royal family, nearly imprisoning them like captives—and historically, when the Jin invaded from the north, it led to the most humiliating Jingkang Shame.

If Zhang Chun had raised any other matter, Yuan Qing Cheng—who had already made contact with Zhao Yu—would have had no interest and would never have supported Zhang Chun.