Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 800 - 659 Full of Head and Face

Chapter 800: Chapter 659 Full of Head and Face

When numerous regent ministers came out of the Wenhua Palace, Quan Dingtian looked at Li Xuan with immense admiration.

"The old master said, ’The highest goodness is like water, water benefits all things and does not compete.’ The County Prince Fenyang truly embodies the profound essence of this!"

Today was the first assembly of the eight regent ministers for a ’court discussion,’ which, coupled with various complicated affairs, lasted from the Hour of Mao until the Hour of Wu, totaling six hours.

Quan Dingtian initially wasn’t aware of anything, but as time passed, he was astonished to discover that although Li Xuan had been gentle throughout the session and had never raised his voice in the hall,

the final resolutions of everyone mostly followed Li Xuan’s will, and the entire meeting was under Li Xuan’s control.

Even Chen Xun, the sly fox who had firmly held the position of Grand Secretary for thirteen years, had been outmatched by Li Xuan today.

Of course, this was also because Princess Hongshang, in her role as Jianguo, had completely handed over the authority of approving and finalizing decrees to Li Xuan, but the political talent of the County Prince Fenyang was evident.

"Dasitu flatters me too much. If it weren’t for Dasitu’s robust support, how could today’s court discussion have gone entirely as this lord wished?"

Li Xuan humbly smiled, "However, regarding the Ministry of Revenue, I must request that Dasitu pays a bit more attention."

Among the eight regent ministers appointed by Emperor Jingtai, only Quan Dingtian firmly stood in Li Xuan’s camp.

Their positions, perspectives, and political views were also the closest among all the regent ministers.

In today’s court meeting, Quan Dingtian had supported Li Xuan to the greatest extent.

Li Xuan reciprocated the favor by skillfully maneuvering so that Quan Dingtian was transferred to be the Minister of Revenue.

Grand Secretary Chen Xun and the Minister of Personnel He Wenyuan would naturally not let Li Xuan get his way easily. Even Shaobao Yu Jie didn’t want to see this happen.

The Minister of Revenue, historically known as ’land official’ and ’Dasitu,’ holds a position in the court second only to the ’heaven official,’ the Minister of Personnel.

Today, just the fact that the County Prince Fenyang controlled the military’s Shenji Camp and Five Armies already worried Chen Xun and others; if Li Xuan’s faction were to also control the court’s finances, wouldn’t that be even harder to check!

So, Li Xuan used a seemingly ’fair’ method, which was the court recommendation process started during Emperor Xuan’s reign.

In the Jin Dynasty’s ’court recommendation,’ the cabinet usually proposes candidates, and then Shangshu of Six Ministers, Imperial Historian, Tongzhengshi, Qing of Dali Temple, and other 3rd-rank officials, as well as Jishizhong of Six Departments and the Imperial Censor vote.

The Emperor then chooses one from the top three vote-getters.

Quan Dingtian’s vote count surely wouldn’t be the highest, and Chen Xun and others would definitely go all out to oppose him.

But it only needed Quan Dingtian’s vote count to be among the top three for him to enter the selection phase by the Emperor.

With the Emperor having passed away, and Princess Hongshang Jianguo having handed the authority of approving and finalizing decrees to Li Xuan,

this meant that Li Xuan held the final decision-making power.

As Li Xuan had anticipated, Quan Dingtian, being a prominent Daru from Jiangnan, had quite good connections and influence, and Li Xuan, as the Hufa of Neo-Confucianism, also wielded some influence among the Jishizhong and the Imperial Censors.

Eventually, Quan Dingtian secured the second highest number of votes and naturally assumed the role of Minister of Revenue.

"Naturally," Quan Dingtian nodded solemnly, "Expanding the military and managing finances are the utmost important affairs of the country at this moment. How could Quan dare to neglect them?"

He wanted to discuss more details with Li Xuan, but hardly had they spoken a few words when Princess Hongshang sent someone to summon Li Xuan to see her.

Li Xuan guessed that Princess Hongshang likely wanted to discuss the outcomes of today’s court meeting.

He immediately set out for the Qianqing Palace where Princess Hongshang was holding vigil.

At that moment, the Emperor’s coffin was placed inside the main hall of Qianqing Palace.

Princess Hongshang had summoned Li Xuan to a side courtyard near Qianqing Palace.

In the days following Emperor Jingtai’s death, Princess Hongshang had stayed there.

She did not continuously keep vigil; she only knelt and paid her respects at specific times in the morning and evening, yet no one in the palace dared to accuse Princess Hongshang of being unfilial.

This was because while keeping vigil, she also had to care for the heir apparent.

Guided by a lady-in-waiting, Li Xuan had just reached the entrance of this small courtyard when he heard a group of women crying inside, along with several pleading in lamentation.

"Your Highness, you must stand up for us! Our House of Marquis Pingyuan did not participate in the rebellion, what right does the County Prince Fenyang have to arrest our lord?"

"—All the men in our family have been captured and jailed. The County Prince Fenyang clearly intends to eradicate our family. You cannot ignore this matter. When Emperor Taizong quelled the rebellion, our ancestors also made significant contributions."

"In the previous battle at the Chaobai River, our family did send some servants. But at that time, Liang Heng was at our door with a knife blade, we had no choice but to lend them."

"Your Highness, the County Prince Fenyang is clearly trying to uproot the foundations of the Great Jin Dynasty! If these noble military families fall, who will support the Jin Dynasty? The County Prince Fenyang is clearly using this as a pretext to eliminate rivals in the military. Your Highness, don’t you fear that in the future this prince may plot against the throne or emulate Cao Mang?"

Li Xuan’s brows lifted slightly when he heard this.

The female official in front of him immediately explained with a tone of shame, "Your Highness actually did not want to see outsiders, but the person who brought them in was the Princess Hejian, who was extremely desperate, and we could not stop her."

Li Xuan understood immediately, a smirk appearing on his lips.

The Princess Hejian, was also the mother of Huangfu Xuanji.

Three days before the downfall of the Zhengtong Emperor, after the palace coup had ended, Huangfu Xuanji, who was involved in the rebellion, attempted to flee but was captured by Li Xuan’s subordinate ’Lu Xue’ and was sent to the Zhao Prison of Xiuyiwei for severe torture.

Even before the battle at the Chaobai River, Li Xuan had already commanded ’Lu Xue’ to keep an eye on this man. Others may go, but Huangfu Xuanji could not.

This man was not only a major participant in the palace coup but also one of the links between the Zhengtong Emperor and the nobles and military families.

If he wanted to completely eradicate the residual harm of the Zhengtong Emperor, the confession of Huangfu Xuanji was crucial.

Moreover, there were some previous grievances between them.

"Did the Princess Hejian plead for Huangfu Xuanji again, or was it for Huangfu Yuanji?"

Huangfu Yuanji was the second brother of Huangfu Xuanji and also heavily involved in the coup to some extent.

Huangfu Yuanji did not flee but instead followed his brother’s example, hiding in the ancestral temple of Fuguogong’s mansion.

As a result, he was forcefully taken away by one of Li Xuan’s Shenji Camp officers who stormed into Duke’s mansion from the temple.

"It was for Huangfu Yuanji. She said Huangfu Xuanji deserved death by a thousand cuts, and he should be dealt with by the Court," the female official shook her head, "But, she asked that on behalf of the late Prince Hejian and the late Prince Dingxing, Huangfu Yuanji be released from prison. She also brought along these noblewomen to plead together."

At that moment, the female official hesitated slightly and said, "Between their words, there was much accusation and slander towards Your Highness."

Li Xuan was not surprised at all. Just as he was about to step into the courtyard, he heard Yu Hongshang’s voice inside, weak and soft, "Ladies, the County Prince Fenyang is the designated guardian of the heir as personally appointed by the late Emperor; the palace naturally trusts him without doubt.

Moreover, the County Prince is the Hufa of Neo-Confucianism, embodying Haoqi Liuli, and is a gentleman of the highest order in our time. He would never fabricate accusations or frame anyone, so you may rest assured. If your family’s men truly did not partake in the rebellion and are indeed innocent, then they will certainly not be troubled; you can simply wait peacefully at home."

Her response, obviously, did not satisfy these noblewomen.

Just before these women could wail and create a scene, Yu Hongshang coldly said, "If you believe that the County Prince Fenyang has been unjust and wronged someone, you are very welcome to seek the Minister of Punishments Yu Shiyue for your complaints. What is the need to seek me? Someone, please escort these ladies out."

At that moment, the sound of a baby’s loud cries suddenly filled the yard, and a female official next to Yu Hongshang scolded angrily, "Ladies! The Emperor has passed away, and the Jianguo Princess is in deep grief. Yet now, not only does she have to mourn her father, but she also must care for the healing Emperor, suffering from internal injuries.

The Princess is utterly exhausted, and His Majesty, being in his swaddling clothes, cannot withstand any disturbance. You still wish to create chaos here, what exactly do you intend? Do you also wish to plot a rebellion and seize power?"

Those noblewomen had nothing more to say and had to retreat from the courtyard.

As they saw Li Xuan walking in from the outside, they could not help but turn pale, showing signs of fear and consternation.

Only the Princess Hejian remained calm, looking emotionless as she gazed at Li Xuan.

Li Xuan, unconcerned, glanced at them briefly and went straight into the hall inside the courtyard.

Yu Hongshang was sitting in the hall, holding the heir Yu Youlong in her arms.

The child was still wailing loudly, unable to be soothed no matter how much they tried.

Li Xuan walked over and looked closely at the child, feeling an inexplicable sense of kinship. He strangely felt a close connection with the child.

"Your Majesty is indeed very spirited today; he must be hungry, isn’t he? Look for a wet nurse to feed him some milk," Li Xuan remarked.

"He was just fed! He might have been scared by those women," Yu Hongshang shook her head, anger evident in her eyes.

Seeing Li Xuan’s curious expression, she felt a stir in her heart and handed Yu Youlong directly to Li Xuan, "Try holding him."

Strangely, as soon as Li Xuan took him, the child stopped crying.

He sucked on his finger and blinked his big eyes at Li Xuan.

Li Xuan chuckled upon seeing this, lifting Yu Youlong up in front of him, "Interesting, it seems this child really takes a liking to me."

No sooner had he spoken than he sensed something amiss. Below little Yu Youlong’s waist, a stream of warm vapor suddenly emerged, wetting his pants in an instant.

It was the height of summer, and Yu Hongshang had not wrapped the child in too many layers, and being a child full of vigor, his urine even splashed out directly toward Li Xuan.

Li Xuan coldly chuckled, thinking to himself that no one dares to urinate on my head!

His body’s Gang Qi instinctively began to defend against the urine. But he soon realized it was not right; the urine, being deflected by his powerful Gang Qi, could be deadly—this small child could not withstand it.

Therefore, Li Xuan instantly withdrew his external Gang Qi, but the stream of urine had already shot towards him, splashing all over his face and head.