Chapter 47: Who Is the Third Party?

…

Ma Xiao Jiao understood: Zhang Chun didn’t want to wait any longer—she wanted to be by Zhao Yu’s side right now.

“Why? Didn’t we agree you’d come with Empress Xiansu and Consort Yisu? And weren’t you supposed to help Zhao Yu secure the throne better from within the palace?” Ma Xiao Jiao asked.

Zhang Chun didn’t say: “That was Li Lin’s plan with you—I never agreed.” Instead, she told Ma Xiao Jiao: “Foolish girl, I’m doing this for you, for our grand goal.”

“For me? A grand goal?” Ma Xiao Jiao was confused.

“Don’t you remember? I told you your top priority is to get pregnant with Zhao Yu’s child and bear him a son. I also told you that, except for Zhao Ji, every other Song emperor had few heirs—five of them faced succession crises due to having no sons. The sooner you bear Zhao Yu a son, and the more sons you bear him, the greater our political advantage.”

“You did say that—but how does that connect to you going to Zhao Yu’s side now?” Ma Xiao Jiao asked.

“How can you not understand?”

“If I go, our chances of bearing Zhao Yu a son increase—and we can give him more sons.”

“Infant mortality is high in this era. Take Emperor Shenzong: he fathered fourteen sons, but only six survived to adulthood. Of those six, three died in their twenties; only three lived past forty.”

“With odds like these, if we bear too few sons, accidents are inevitable.”

“Those three—especially Li Lin and Yuan Qing Cheng—won’t listen to me. If all five of us acted together, our chances of bearing Zhao Yu sons would be far greater, and we’d produce far more sons. Then we’d hold the strongest political cards.”

“It’s laughable how they delude themselves into thinking they can carve out their own space in this male-dominated feudal society.”

“They don’t realize: without a powerful man’s support and protection, they’re just three weak women—barely allowed at the table, let alone given a chance to prove their worth.”

“Lately, Li Lin and Yuan Qing Cheng have been flirting with Empress Xiansu. That woman is a master of palace politics—she manipulated tens of thousands of women in Zhao Ji’s harem as if they were pawns. A hundred Li Lins and a hundred Yuan Qing Chens combined couldn’t outmaneuver her.”

“Not understanding history or politics is one thing—but to refuse my guidance? They’re doomed to fail.”

“Jiao Jiao, don’t follow their example—thinking you’re clever while doing exactly the opposite of what you should.”

“Ever since you left, we’ve stood still—mainly because they refused to follow me. Had we worked together, we could’ve achieved great things in this era.”

…

Seeing Zhang Chun’s pent-up resentment, Ma Xiao Jiao truly couldn’t tell who was right or wrong, what was fair or not—she didn’t know whether to help Zhang Chun.

More importantly, Ma Xiao Jiao felt uneasy: “Zhao Yu is my man—how can Pure Sister sleep with him? Isn’t that a gross disrespect to me?”

Yes.

Zhao Yu has many women, and he’ll have more—possibly tens of thousands. One more woman hardly seems to matter.

But the others are natives of this era—outsiders she can’t control or dare to interfere with.

Zhang Chun is different: she’s her longtime friend—and yet she openly plans to sleep with her man. Is that what a true sister or best friend does?

Fine.

Ma Xiao Jiao understood: Zhang Chun didn’t see Zhao Yu as her man at all—not even as a man. To her, Zhao Yu was merely a pawn.

Ma Xiao Jiao also knew: Zhang Chun didn’t want to sleep with Zhao Yu to satisfy her feminine desires—she did it for politics.

Yet even knowing all this, Ma Xiao Jiao still couldn’t accept Zhang Chun sleeping with her man—especially not with her own help arranging it.

Driven by this twisted psychology, Ma Xiao Jiao “kindly” advised Zhang Chun: “Pure Sister, if you want to be by Zhao Yu’s side, I have no objection—but shouldn’t we first get the other three’s approval? Otherwise, we’ll argue again over this.”

Seeing Ma Xiao Jiao no longer listened to her, Zhang Chun felt a tightness in her chest. She forced a smile after two attempts:

“I never thought you’d see me this way—as if I’m destroying our unity. Let me be honest: I’m trying to get to Zhao Yu through you precisely to protect our friendship.”

Then, emotionally broken, Zhang Chun spoke with a touch of spite:

“You don’t know this, but before you even went to Zhao Yu’s side, I was already intimate with him—he kissed my lips so hard they swelled.”

“That teaching palace maid position was mine originally. Empress Xiansu, fearing me, schemed to have you replace me.”

“Yet because it was you who took it from me, I didn’t resist—I actively guided you onto the right path.”

“Let me say it plainly: everything you have now should have been mine!”

“Have I ever complained?”

“For the sake of our sisterhood, for your peace of mind, I never went straight to Zhao Yu—even kept silent about our relationship. I wanted to sacrifice myself and work with you to achieve something great in this era.”

“And now, in your eyes, I’m the one destroying unity?!”

“Jiao Jiao, I’m heartbroken!”

“Fine. I won’t need you. I’ll go to Zhao Yu myself—let’s see if he’ll forget me after we’ve slept together!”

Saying this, Zhang Chun stormed toward the front courtyard.

Ma Xiao Jiao never imagined Zhao Yu and Zhang Chun had such a history.

And from Zhang Chun’s tone, it sounded like Zhao Yu and she had already slept together.

“Am I the third party?!”

At this moment, Zhang Chun had already walked over ten paces away.

Ma Xiao Jiao had no time to think—she rushed after her and said: “Pure Sister, don’t be like this. I’m wrong. I’ll help you, okay?”

But Zhang Chun replied firmly: “No. I’ll go to Zhao Yu myself—let you see if I lied to you, let you see who’s been thinking of the bigger picture all along!”

After saying this, no matter what Ma Xiao Jiao said, Zhang Chun ignored her completely.

Soon, Zhang Chun and Ma Xiao Jiao entered the front hall, one behind the other.

At that moment, Zhao Yu was accompanying Empress Dowager Xiang as she admired a newly installed floor-to-ceiling glass window.

Bright sunlight streamed through the window into the previously dim, stuffy hall, filling it with light and vitality.

Zhao Yu and Empress Dowager Xiang stood before the window, warm sunlight casting a soft glow upon them.

Empress Dowager Xiang gently touched the crystal-clear glass, her eyes filled with wonder and admiration.

Zhao Yu explained beside her: “This glass window is stronger and more durable than paper windows, impervious to wind and rain, and allows exceptional light transmission—making rooms as bright as day and as warm as spring all year round…”

Zhang Chun had wanted Ma Xiao Jiao to arrange her move to Zhao Yu’s side instead of approaching him directly:

One reason was that she was shy, reserved, and didn’t want to seem too eager;

the other was that she’d ruined the opportunity Zhao Yu had secured for her, so she felt too embarrassed to ask him again—and feared he’d doubt her abilities or look down on her. She planned to first blend into his circle, earn some merit, restore her image in his eyes, then reconnect with him, step by step, toward her goal.

But now, Zhang Chun was utterly isolated, cornered by her own actions—she had no choice but to approach Zhao Yu herself and offer herself to him.

So Zhang Chun took a deep breath, walked to a spot where Zhao Yu could see her, and gave him a glance: “I need to speak with you—let’s meet later.”

To Zhang Chun’s surprise, Zhao Yu waved her over.

Frankly, she was terrified of the stern Empress Dowager Xiang and didn’t want to get any closer to her.

But Zhao Yu had called her—she couldn’t refuse.

Ultimately, needing Zhao Yu’s favor, Zhang Chun forced herself to walk toward him and Empress Dowager Xiang…

…

(End of Chapter)