Chapter 0181: Chaotic Court, Overly Young Xie Jinyu
The court had descended into utter chaos.
With the Cao family being targeted by the Second Prince, Emperor Jian naturally seized the opportunity to suppress them further, intending to use those impeached officials to implicate more individuals. To preserve the Cao family’s standing at court, Cao Lingde planned to sacrifice minor players to protect the core, silencing those imprisoned permanently.
However, to Cao Lingde’s astonishment, these individuals who were supposed to confess and take their own lives as planned all turned against him, revealing numerous crimes committed by his faction. Just as Cao Lingde was overwhelmed with troubles, his trusted aides betrayed him one after another—some defecting, others imprisoned. Even members of the Cao family began disregarding his orders, instead aligning themselves with Cao Que.
After a major upheaval, the Cao family still stood firm in the court, continuing to hold authority over the imperial guards. Yet, the master had quietly changed—no longer Cao Lingde, but Cao Que.
No one had anticipated this, not even Emperor Jian. After all, Cao Que had previously maintained a low profile and seemed inconspicuous. But now, with this political shift, he had completely sidelined Cao Lingde and taken control of the Cao family single-handedly. It was unclear whether he had been deeply concealed all along or if another force was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
The coup within the Cao family also meant that many matters required reevaluation.
For instance, was the Cao family now merely an appendage of the Crown Prince, or did it remain a powerful faction capable of influencing the court and daring to challenge the emperor?
If it were the former, the Crown Prince’s likelihood of ascending the throne would naturally become more secure. But if it were the latter, since Cao Que was not a direct affiliate of the Crown Prince’s faction, should he present a new Cao family woman to the emperor who then bore a new prince, it would be uncertain who would eventually succeed to the throne.
Ministers of the Crown Prince’s faction grew concerned and urged Xie Jinyu to build a good relationship with Cao Que, persuading him to support his ascension.
But Xie Jinyu only frowned.
He had once accidentally witnessed Cao Que meeting with the Empress.
Was Cao Que aligned with Cao Qingran?
Standing before the gates of Kunning Palace, Xie Jinyu stared intently at the entrance for a long time before finally stepping inside.
He had never entered Kunning Palace before.
In his childhood, Cao Qingran had been extremely harsh toward him, to an appalling extent. Their few meetings occurred only when she inspected his studies at the Eastern Palace. Upon hearing that his performance was unsatisfactory, she would order her attendants to punish him with cane strikes.
He naturally harbored hatred for Cao Qingran, but over time, it turned into indifference and apathy.
If not for his numerous doubts and fears that she might harm his second brother, he would never have set foot in Kunning Palace.
Lifting his foot slightly, Xie Jinyu entered.
The guards at the gate neither stopped him nor announced his arrival, much like how the guards at the Eastern Palace never obstructed Xie Chengze.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince?” Qing Momo, who was on her way to deliver vegetarian meals to Cao Qingran, happened to encounter Xie Jinyu and widened her eyes in surprise. “You… why are you here?”
She had thought the Crown Prince would never step into Kunning Palace in his lifetime!
“Where is she?” Xie Jinyu looked at Qing Momo with a somber gaze, his usually gentle and smiling handsome face stripped of its usual scholarly pretense, now chillingly cold.
This “she” naturally referred to Cao Qingran.
Unless necessary on important occasions, he never addressed her as “Mother Empress.”
Qing Momo’s face showed a hint of dejection. “Her Majesty has always been in the eastern wing. Since Your Highness has never visited Kunning Palace before, let this old servant show you the way.”
After speaking, she picked up the food container and turned to lead the way. The Crown Prince followed silently behind her, yet his imposing aura intensified with each step. Clearly, he was preparing for some confrontation with the Empress, hence this uncontrolled release of his presence.
“Your Highness, Her Majesty actually…” Qing Momo attempted to say something, but Xie Jinyu coldly interrupted her, “There’s no need for an outsider like you to interfere.”
Qing Momo sighed and said no more.
When they reached the eastern wing, Qing Momo addressed Cao Qingran, who sat with closed eyes chanting scriptures inside: “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has arrived.”
Cao Qingran paused. She slowly opened her eyes, her gaze slightly unfocused, clearly not having processed the information immediately. Only when Qing Momo called out again did she suddenly come to herself and turn to look at Xie Jinyu standing at the doorway.
This child had already grown into an adult’s form, bearing both Emperor Jian’s features and her own—in fact, resembling her even more.
She rarely took the time to examine this child’s appearance. Without her noticing, he had come to look more and more like her.
Cao Qingran knew why Xie Jinyu had come to Kunning Palace today. She also knew that only matters concerning that child would make him so anxious and restless that he would abandon his principles.
She slowly turned back and raised her head to look at the Buddha statue on the table. “You want to ask whether Cao Que is my person?”
“It appears so.” Xie Jinyu remained standing at the doorway, not taking a single step into the room, speaking coldly from a distance. “Using the suppression of Second Brother as an opportunity to change leadership in the Cao family—you truly have quite the scheme planned.”
Hearing this, Cao Qingran gave a low laugh. “Crown Prince, you are still too young.”
Xie Jinyu’s face instantly darkened. “How I am is not for you to comment on.”
“Do you truly believe it was I who wanted to suppress the Second Prince?” Cao Qingran shook her head. She slowly rose and turned, walking with dignified posture toward Xie Jinyu. When she stood before him, she looked at the handsome, gentle-faced young man now clouded with gloom and reached out to touch his head.
However, Xie Jinyu recoiled in disgust.
Cao Qingran didn’t seem hurt. Calmly withdrawing her hand, she brushed her sleeve and said indifferently, “Those two officials who spoke up first were not directed by me. The Cao family merely took advantage of the situation to kick them while they were down—otherwise, they wouldn’t have presented such unprepared, laughable memorials. Not only did they fail to have the Second Prince punished, but they were outmaneuvered by the other side.”
Whenever the Cao family sought to overthrow political opponents in the past, weren’t those flawless memorials provided and guided by her from behind the scenes?
This time, they thought they could smear Xie Chengze and suppress the Second Prince’s faction, unaware that Xie Chengze and Shen Yuan were waiting for exactly that.
“You must have already tortured those two men, but they died before they could confess, correct?” Cao Qingran stated with certainty.
Xie Jinyu narrowed his eyes. “How do you know that?”
Hadn’t she always confined herself to vegetarian meals and Buddhist prayers, never involving herself in court affairs? Could it be…
Thinking of Cao Que, a sense of absurdity rose in Xie Jinyu’s heart. It was as if he were seeing Cao Qingran for the first time, suddenly realizing that he might not understand her at all.
“Jinyu, the imperial court is far more complex than it appears. You believe the Cao family dominates, two forces vie for power, and treacherous officials conspire, yet you remain unaware that the greatest malignancy hides in the shadows, watching you tear each other apart and reaping the spoils.”
She had never intended to involve herself in court affairs, but since Xie Chengze had returned and might even gain the support and manipulation of that faction, she could no longer stand idly by.
As Cao Qingran stepped across the threshold and passed by Xie Jinyu, she remarked calmly, “If you have doubts, you might ask Shen Yuan. He truly has some capability. By following him, you can learn much.”
As for herself…
The Crown Prince had not yet matured enough to warrant her guidance.