Chapter 3614: The Most Favoured Woman in the Inner Palace (33)
Chapter 3614: The Most Favoured Woman in the Inner Palace (33)
Ao Yong became the emperor, and Ning Shu became the dowager empress and his regent. Since Ning Shu was the former empress, the mother of the nation, and the child’s legal mother, it was only right that she was the one to carry him to court.
Consort Xuan wept with joy. Her child had inherited the throne, and all the suffering she had endured in the past now seemed like nothing. However, the child now had two mothers, meaning there were two dowager empresses in the palace, which created a bit of an awkward situation.
Consort Xuan tried her best to suppress her lingering indignation, but the child had already been placed under the empress’ care. She had only allowed the empress to raise him because she’d had no other choice at the time, but now that they had finally come out on top, Consort Xuan’s own little ambitions began to stir once more.
Ning Shu wore her heavy phoenix robes and the elaborate makeup of a dowager empress. Her hair was laden with jewels. With vivid red lips and a long, trailing skirt, she carried Ao Yong up the altar to complete the sacrificial prayers. She informed the heavens that the earthly ruler had changed.
Following a series of long, tedious ceremonies and the child’s constant crying, Ao Yong officially became the new emperor of the the dynasty.
Ning Shu’s arms had gone numb from the weight. It wasn’t that the boy was particularly heavy, but she had to maintain the same posture for a very long time.
Thus began Ning Shu’s grueling journey of attending the morning court sessions. She had to wake up incredibly early every day to undergo the elaborate process of dressing and preparing for the sessions.
Because the emperor was so young, the officials submitted a petition suggesting he be assisted by regents. Each faction put forward their own candidates, resulting in five proposed regents.
Ning Shu was speechless. Five? They had to be joking. It was easy to distribute power like that, but trying to take it back later would be a life-threatening ordeal. Furthermore, her own father was among the five.
Ning Shu spoke tonelessly. “Minister Tan is not suited to be a regent. For the misconduct of his servants, he shall be fined half a year’s salary and is ordered to remain indoors to reflect on his errors for three months.”
Master Tan was stunned for a moment, but he quickly knelt to thank her for her grace and confess his sins.
The officials were baffled. They were supposed to be discussing the appointment of regents, so why was the dowager empress suddenly targeting her own father?
Ning Shu held Ao Yong, who was looking around with wide, curious eyes. Occasionally, he reached out to tug on Ning Shu’s hair, and she had to stoically pry it back from his tiny grip.
“Five regents is too many. Therefore, I have decided on three: Prince Li, Grand Secretary Li, and Scholar Gu.”
Prince Li represented the imperial family, ensuring that the Ao clan’s status remained secure. Grand Secretary Li represented the powerful aristocratic clans. Scholar Gu was a man from a humble background who had risen to his position through sheer merit. Considering his lack of resources, his career was nothing short of a miracle.
In truth, she was setting up a tripartite balance of power.
Scholar Gu was the most surprised of the three, but becoming a regent was effectively a meteoric rise to the top. Even Ao Tianze hadn’t been able to rule with an absolute word, so the chances of a woman like her being able to do whatever she wanted were essentially zero. Since people were eager to ‘help,’ she would let them. For the sake of power, this was her only option. This was a temporary measure, as the current Ao Yong couldn’t do anything—he couldn’t even speak.
“Your Highness, this is absolutely unacceptable!” the kneeling officials cried out. Naturally, those who had been passed over were unhappy.
Ning Shu adopted a look of great difficulty. “If there are issues, discuss them with the three regents. I am but a woman and do not understand much about the affairs of the state.”
After establishing the regents, Ning Shu immediately began to shift the burden of responsibility onto them.
“If there are matters to report, speak now. Otherwise, the court is dismissed,” the chief eunuch shouted. The officials had no choice but to accept the three regents.
Five regents had been cut down to three in an instant. This ‘naive and sweet’ dowager empress was proving to be quite interesting.
Ning Shu’s scalp hurt from the child’s tugging. As soon as court was dismissed, she handed the boy over to the wet nurses.
Master Tan returned to his estate and told his wife what had happened, explaining that their daughter had used him as a sacrificial lamb to warn the others.
Madame Tan was stunned. Half a year’s salary was nothing, as the family owned many shops. But now that their daughter was the regent and the dowager empress, she had actually used her own father to make a point? She had fully expected the Tan family to rise to new heights of power.
“Should I go into the palace to see Her Highness?” Madame Tan asked. She was upset that their daughter had embarrassed her father like that.
“Don’t go. There is no need. What is the loss of a little face compared to the bigger picture? The emperor is still in swaddling clothes, and there is no telling when he will actually take power. Right now, the one sitting behind the dragon throne is your daughter. The Tan family must avoid standing out even more now,” Master Tan said while shaking his head.
“Even though there are regents, everything must still pass through the dowager empress,” he added.
In the original storyline of this world, Tan Yuxin had been strangled to death in the cold palace. Following her death, Master Tan had immediately resigned and gone into seclusion to protect his family. He was a decisive man.
When Ning Shu returned to her palace, she was surprised to find Fu Min there. Fu Min rarely left her own quarters.
Fu Min hurried to pay her respects. Ning Shu nodded. “Rise. Is your health any better?”
“Much better. Thank you for your concern, Your Highness the… Dowager Empress,” Fu Min replied quickly.
Ning Shu had a maid bring out some donkey-hide gelatin. “Take this. It is good for a woman’s health.”
Fu Min’s face was deathly pale. Ning Shu felt she had aged significantly in a short time. She looked listless. Ning Shu felt like telling her to liven up. After all, there was no one left in the inner palace to restrict her anymore. She could do whatever she wanted now.
Fu Min had her maid accept the gift. She bowed and said, “I thank the dowager empress for her grace and for always being so lenient with me.”
“Sit down. Why have you come today?” Ning Shu asked.
Fu Min bit her lip. She debated whether or not to produce her own secret decree. To be honest, she didn’t really want to. The current dowager empress was the regent, but if Fu Min used her decree, she would become the grand dowager empress, effectively outranking Ning Shu.
“It is nothing specific. I simply came to pay my respects. Also, the late emperor gave me a register of names, and I felt I should hand it over to the dowager empress.” Fu Min’s maid respectfully presented a document to Ning Shu.
Ning Shu set down her teacup and flipped through the register. It contained the names of various officials. Most of them were unremarkable, and some were even low-level county magistrates.
“What is this register?” Ning Shu asked.
“These are the talents the late emperor cultivated in secret. Since the court was controlled by the great clans, the late emperor intended for me to give this to the new sovereign,” Fu Min explained.
Ao Tianze truly had valued Fu Min highly.
“Your Highness, I wish to set up a Buddhist shrine in my hall,” Fu Min added. “Since the late emperor passed, I feel lost. I wish to eat vegetarian meals and recite sutras to pray for his soul.”
Ning Shu understood the subtext. Fu Min was showing her weakness, signaling that she would not interfere with anything or do anything to threaten Ning Shu. She was likely asking for Ning Shu to spare her.
Ning Shu smiled faintly. “The late emperor would only be at peace if you lived a good life. If you want to set up a shrine, you may. However, you should still come out and walk around more. You should socialize and enjoy yourself with your sisters in the inner palace.
“After all, now that the late emperor is gone, we are the only ones left. We see each other every day, and we will spend the rest of our lives in this palace. There is no hurdle we cannot overcome together.”
Fu Min had never harmed anyone in the inner palace. There was no real enmity between her and the others, aside from the fact that she had been Ao Tianze’s favorite. Now that no one had his favor anymore, everyone was on equal footing. At most, the others might mock her for having fallen from such a height, but they were all in the same boat now.
Fu Min managed a small smile. “The dowager empress is truly merciful. Your Highness, I offer my deepest gratitude.”