nycdaug Chapter 101 Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace 28
Chapter 101 Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace 28
After suspending court for nine days, Hongli, dressed in mourning clothes and with a cold and ruthless expression on his face as if his mother had died, kept urging the ministers in the court to start sending troops to attack the Yu clan as soon as possible.
Anyone who dares to utter a single word of opposition will be dragged out and beheaded.
Hongli is now acting crazy in court because the Empress Dowager is dead.
He even placed the Empress Dowager's coffin in the Qianqing Palace and ordered that it be buried after the Yu clan was destroyed.
The ministers were extremely flustered when faced with such an emperor.
Working overtime until the wee hours every day, so busy I'm dizzy, and I still have to worry about whether the emperor's madness will affect me instead.
There are a series of battles to be fought ahead, and all military equipment and supplies need to be prepared in advance. The appointment of generals must be carefully considered, and the marching routes must be scouted in advance.
Moreover, with so many places to fight, the order in which they are fought must be carefully arranged.
Fortunately, everything is difficult at the beginning. After a month of discussion, the plan was finally finalized, and the attack on the Yu clan began to get on track.
The imperial court decided that the first target would be the Han clan, and then it would directly target the Dzungar Khanate.
After deciding to attack the Han clan first, the imperial court began to make intensive preparations for the war, including all the personnel and supplies needed.
While many court officials were busy running around, Emperor Hongli, who had been in charge, was relatively idle. He only needed to put on a deadpan expression and supervise the work of his subordinates.
"Going crazy is quite useful!"
Hongli looked at his busy ministers with satisfaction. Since he learned to act crazy, he felt much more relaxed, both physically and mentally.
Taking advantage of the Empress Dowager's passing, he purged all those who had opposed him and those who were usually idle and incompetent, who had been on his list. Now, the court is truly united, and everyone is capable and motivated.
Hongli's control over the court reached a new level; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he could command it as easily as his own arm.
It was truly worth it for him to have Consort Jing fake a pregnancy; he set up such a huge trap.
Hongli did everything for a reason. If it weren't for the huge interests behind him, he wouldn't have said a word or lifted a finger.
After all, he was the emperor, wielding immense power in this era. No matter how capable these concubines were, a single, casual remark from him could send them to their doom.
While the methods used in this sting operation were admittedly despicable, the benefits gained were enormous.
Although the Empress Dowager was imprisoned in Cining Palace by him, she did not give up her wicked intentions and wanted to send messages to the outside world through Qi Ru, and Qi Ru was actually tempted.
Hongli always liked to maximize his interests. After learning about this, he first calmed Qi Ru down, and then used him to set up a fake pregnancy scheme, which led to the cinnabar scheme later.
The Vermilion Bureau was used to deal with Jin Yuyan and Gao Xiyue, who harbored malicious intentions; Ruyi, whom the emperor had wanted to deal with since his ascension to the throne; Fucha Langhua, who was often out of her mind; and Su Luyun, who was indecisive, thus bringing lasting peace to the harem.
Not only the imperial harem benefited from this incident, but the imperial court also gained an excuse to send troops against the Yu clan.
Then, he used Qi Ru to send the Empress Dowager away, which escalated the matter of sending troops. He took advantage of the national mourning period to go mad and cleanly and efficiently deal with the officials in the court.
Finally, by sending away Qi Ru, who had been squeezed dry of her last bit of value, he salvaged his reputation and dispelled the doubts of Zhang Tingyu and other veteran officials about the cause of the Empress Dowager's death and the upheaval in the harem.
Jin Yuyan will die because she harmed the imperial heir;
Gao Xiyue was demoted and imprisoned because she participated in the Cinnabar Bureau;
Ruyi was demoted and imprisoned because she protected Jin and Gao's crimes;
Su Luyun was demoted because she spread rumors in the palace;
The Empress Dowager died because she was so upset by the miscarriage of the imperial heir that she suffered a heart attack.
Qi Ru was sentenced to death because he failed to save the Empress Dowager;
Bai Ruiji was sentenced to death because she failed to serve her husband properly.
Everyone has their own cause and effect, and no one can really say anything about their current situation.
After all these events came to an end, Hongli, who had orchestrated everything behind the scenes, remained a pure and innocent white lotus.
He was a filial son who respected his mother, a loving father who doted on his children, and a wise and powerful emperor.
The price he paid for this was merely one concubine rank and two noble ladies rank.
The rank of Consort was a reward for the lead actress, Noble Lady Jing, while the ranks of the two Noble Ladies were hush money for the two Attendants.
It's safe to say he made a killing from this!
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Hongli, in a pleasant mood, began to formulate plans for the future.
In the west wing of Jingyang Palace, Hailan, heartbroken because her sister was imprisoned, cried and turned to the dark side in the rain.
Because Ruyi was imprisoned and confined to the palace, not only were all the palace servants in Yanxi Palace replaced, but even Hailan, who originally lived in the east side hall of Yanxi Palace, was moved to Jingyang Palace to live with Consort Yi, Huang Qiying.
Both of them were nobles, but Huang Qiying had an additional title, so the two were naturally distinguished by their status, with one living in the east side hall and the other in the west side hall.
Before becoming a concubine, Huang Qiying was a palace maid of Empress Fucha Langhua, and naturally became one of her people. However, she was timid and of low rank, so she did not abuse the Empress's power to do anything wrong in the palace, nor did she do anything outrageous. After Hailan moved in, she felt it was nice to have someone to talk to in the palace, so she usually took good care of Hailan.
Unfortunately, Hailan didn't appreciate it at all, and even harbored resentment towards Huang Qiying because Huang Qiying was the Empress's person.
After Ruyi was demoted and imprisoned, Hailan was filled with endless hatred, which blinded her and drove her mad.
Once again missing her sister, Hailan was rejected by the guards of Yanxi Palace, which made her completely turn evil.
When she was out of favor, her older sister always protected her. Now that her sister is imprisoned, even a guard can ride roughshod over her.
In the pouring rain, Hailan staggered back to Jingyang Palace, sat on the bed, and began to turn evil.
People always like to embellish themselves, and Hailan is no exception.
She clearly harbored a ravenous wolf within her, yet she insisted on calling herself a little white rabbit.
While she was still a prince, she was forced to become Hongli's concubine and felt disgusted by his touch. However, after Hongli ascended the throne and became emperor, her heart underwent a complete transformation. She began to crave favor, status, and the ability to avoid being bullied, but she could not compete for his affections.
Because that would make her feel like she had betrayed her former self, bowed down to her enemy, and fawned over someone she didn't like, while also being ridiculed by those who knew how she rose to power.
She was someone I despised!
She thought she would just have to endure this for the rest of her life, but the down-on-her-luck Ruyi gave her a perfect excuse: I want to save my sister!
I am not a shameless person. Although I am now fawning over those who once forced me and flattering the emperor, it is all out of necessity and against my own will.
I'm not doing this for myself, but for my sister. She's been so good to me, so naturally I have to save her from this mess.
But I am currently weak, and the only way I can save my sister is to compete for the emperor's favor and increase my status in his eyes.