Chapter 975: Fight for the Throne
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Yin Huaixi’s eyes darkened. “Madam Yao has benefited from this. Yu Shuangbai has also embarked on the same path as in the nightmare. Everything is destined.”
Madam Yao believed that Yu Youyao had suppressed Yu Shuangbai’s limelight.
However, from another perspective, no matter how glamorous Yu Youyao was, she wouldn’t hinder Yu Shuangbai’s future. Meanwhile, with the help of her
Eldest Sister, who had been conferred the title of imperial family member, Yu Shuangbai’s glory was still to come.
If Madam Yao hadn’t courted death, Yu Shuangbai’s life would have followed the lot from ‘A Blessing in Disguise’ at the Precious Peace Temple back then.
Unfortunately, Madam Yao hated her eldest sister-in-law. How could she tolerate the daughter of her eldest sister-in-law being more outstanding than her own and suppressing her in every way?!
She wanted to manipulate her daughter and compete with Yu Youyao.
As long as Madam Yao was more obedient, she would stop Empress Ning from plotting against Yu Shuangbai on account of Yu Youyao and Yu Shuangbai’s sisterly relationship.
Unfortunately, there were thousands of paths, but she had chosen the only dead end.
Yu Youyao was stunned for a long time. “I understand. Madam Yao chose the path herself. No one forced her. It’s just that my Second Sister is innocent after all.
Without Madam Yao’s active cooperation, it was impossible for Empress Ning to scheme against Yu Shuangbai and give her the “phoenix fate”.
Madam Yao was from a famous family and had been raised by an aristocratic family. It was not to the extent that she did not expect the situation behind the identity of the “phoenix fate” to be so unpredictable. As a mother, Madam Yao should be less selfish and think more about her daughter. She would not personally send her daughter into the center of the storm.
Yin Huaixi scoffed. Yu Shuangbai was innocent, but he didn’t care. What he cared about was that in the nightmare, Yu Shuangbai was also the same person who had stepped on the bones of the adult Yao Yao and climbed up.
He wasn’t that magnanimous.
As the truth of the nightmare was gradually revealed, Yu Youyao came back to her senses from the shadow of the nightmare. She no longer indulged in the nightmare and separated reality from it.
Meanwhile, she was often brooding over the fact that the adult Yao Yao was alone and helpless in her nightmare. When she woke up from her dreams at night, her heart palpitated non-stop, and she was in a daze, unable to tell reality from her nightmare.
Therefore, when Madam Yao made the same choice as in her nightmare, he did not plan to interfere in this matter anymore.
In the nightmare, Madam Yao’s choice had cost Yu Youyao her life.
In reality, Madam Yao’s choice would end her biological daughter’s life.
There was no way out. She had asked for it.
What goes around comes around.
Yu Youyao did not know what he was thinking. She only sighed softly.
“Concubine Lan and Imperial Concubine Xu are not easy to get along with. They definitely won’t let it go easily. Second Sister has been involved in the battle for the succession for no reason, and her days won’t be easy. In the nightmare, with you plotting behind the scenes, Empress Ning naturally dealt with Concubine Lan and Imperial Concubine Xu with ease. There are also the connections you left in the palace to protect her. Second Sister is naturally safe, but in reality…”
The Yi Kun Palace had just opened not long ago, and Empress Ning was dealing with it alone. Concubine Lan and Imperial Concubine Xu were both a little overstretched, so it was inevitable that Yu Shuangbai would overlook something.
She had never doubted the vicious methods of those in power.
Yin Huaixi said calmly, “Since ancient times, not many women who bear the phoenix fate have a good ending. Yu Shuangbai has entered the center of the struggle for the throne and has no chance of escaping.”
She would either climb up the social ladder, like in her nightmare.
Alternatively, she would die.
There was no third option for her.
Yu Youyao’s mood became very heavy.
In her nightmare, when “Cousin Zhou” left the capital, he had arranged many ways for her to live a peaceful life. However, she had been implicated in the battle for the throne and lost her life.
Power was a demon that devoured people’s hearts.
Yin Huaixi knew that she was feeling terrible, so he changed the topic. “Currently, there’s a huge commotion inside and outside the court over the Fourth Prince’s patrol in the North. The battle for the position of heir has already completely begun. Next, the court will be in turmoil.”
As expected.
The next day, news came from the capital.
An old official from the Imperial Court reported to the Imperial Court and said that the current situation was turbulent and the hearts of the people were fluctuating. He invited the Empress Dowager to escort the emperor to the court and manage the court to ensure peace.
The old minister’s advice was not wrong. He wholeheartedly served the Imperial Court and did not let down his reputation as a loyal ruler.
The bad thing was that the emperor had been seriously ill for a long time and had not been to court for more than half a year. The hearts of the people in the court were already fluctuating, and there were already many speculations about the emperor’s health. However, early on, the Empress Dowager was suppressing the situation. Furthermore, because of the delicate situation, no one was willing to come forward. Thus, the court could maintain superficial stability.
This old minister’s advice had unknowingly brought the emperor and the Empress Dowager’s illnesses to the table. This was an act of stirring up trouble in the court.
After the old minister came forward, the court officials wanted to see the world in chaos and fought to be the first. They asked the Empress Dowager to welcome the emperor personally in the court.
The court was in chaos.
Yu Youyao was shocked. “Has anyone in the court mentioned the Fourth
Prince’s patrol in the North recently?”
This sentence hit the crucial point. Yin Huaixi smiled faintly. “No.”
“This is a diversion.” If Concubine Lan and Imperial Concubine Xu wanted to stop the Fourth Prince from patrolling the North, they had to divert the attention of the court officials.
The matter of establishing an heir had to be decided by the emperor. Whether the emperor came to the court or not became the most important matter for everyone in the court.
Everyone in the court knew that the emperor had taken medicinal pills. In addition, the emperor had not been to the court for more than half a year. In the short term, the court officials would not suspect anything. However, it had been so long, so they should have had many speculations about the emperor’s health.
They couldn’t wait to find out what was going on with the emperor’s health.
Only then would they know what to do.
If the emperor was in good health, it would be a huge crime to participate in
the rebellion.
If the emperor’s health was not good, regardless of whether it was for the sake of power or to stabilize the court and the country, it was already imminent to establish an heir. Fighting for the heir would become the general trend of the Imperial Court.
Previously, no one had dared to mention it because they were worried that they would anger the Empress Dowager.
Now that someone had stood out, the court officials naturally would not let go of this opportunity.
Yin Huaixi nodded. “The Empress Dowager couldn’t suppress it. She used alarmist tactics to stir up the court and shake the reputation of the country. She dragged that old official to the Meridian Gate to be flogged to death. His corpse was placed at the Meridian Gate for three days before the chaos in the court was temporarily suppressed.”
The court officials had to pass through the Meridian Gate to go to court. This move was heart-wrenching.
Yu Youyao did not look too good. The old minister was not innocent either. He had become someone’s pawn. “Although the Empress Dowager killed that old minister with a thunderous method, this action undoubtedly indirectly proves that the emperor’s health is not good enough and he can’t come to the court. The court officials don’t even have the last bit of scruples. The struggle for the throne will become more and more intense.”
The old minister was just a stone to explore the way.
Although he was dead, this incident alone had stirred up the entire court.
This was a brilliant move.
The person who had schemed all of this was even more heart-wrenching..