Clouds Drunk, Moon Slightly Sleeping

Chapter 124

"Brother, hurry up!" I continued to take two steps at a time, and my jogging was turning into a sprint.

Yunfeng smiled helplessly, but the expression on his face was the same gentleness he showed when we were alone. He didn't say anything more and let me pull him quickly toward Zuiyue Palace.

Upon entering the palace, I dismissed everyone, ignoring their panicked and curious gazes, and pulled Yunfeng straight into the room. Then I instructed Wang An to prepare tea and refreshments before leaving, leaving only Yunfeng and me in the room. As for Yaoyao, when it pounced out to greet me, it was clearly startled to see Yunfeng stop. I held it and comforted it for a while, and it obediently followed me, showing no hostility towards Yunfeng.

"How is His Majesty's health?" Only after sitting down at the table did Yunfeng look around. Yaoyao was standing guard at the door. He looked at me seriously and asked.

My brother must be worried or doubting something, or he must have discovered something, for asking me that question. I answered frankly, “Although Grandfather is unwell, his health is not as bad as everyone imagines. Every day when I read the memorials, Grandfather personally gives me his opinions and then I write my replies on the memorials.”

I don't understand why, apart from the unwavering belief in the eyes of the person before me, everyone else looks at me with surprise and doubt after my honest answer. Looking at the face before me, whose features are exactly like mine but with a more refined and handsome appearance, and at the deep thought in his clear eyes, I suddenly understand. The old man doesn't attend court or see officials, not even his uncle, the Crown Prince, or Old Man Yun. Only recently have I started to review memorials on his behalf. How many people haven't seen the Emperor's face in so long? If I were to say that the Emperor's health is fine, would these people think I'm trying to cover it up?

Throughout history, the transition between emperors, even if the previous emperor's life was the most natural cycle of birth, aging, illness, and death, was never entirely peaceful. But if an old man's illness could cause such a commotion, there must be something strange about it. Before Yunfeng could speak, I hurriedly asked, "Brother, is there some mystery to Grandpa's illness? Or has something happened after Grandpa fell ill?"

When I left Xiu Ruo, Yun Feng happened to arrive. The timing should be consistent, and if anything had happened, Yun Feng should have known. Besides, this involves the matter of recognizing one's ancestors. Even if something happened in secret, given Yun Feng's character and abilities, he would surely have noticed it.

"What does Yue'er think of this family?" he asked with a faint smile, not answering the question.

The old man, the old empress, the crown prince, the uncle, the old man, and their whole family? The thought of this combination made me laugh: "They seem to have a loving father, a kind mother, and harmonious brothers. Perhaps it wasn't just 'seems,' it might have been true before, but now..."

There's no need to spell it out; everyone understands. Uncle Crown Prince has been the Crown Prince for decades, his sons and daughters are all married, yet he remains the Crown Prince. No matter how refined and noble he appears, how gentle he seems, surely he must have his own thoughts and plans? And speaking of Old Man Yun, sigh, from the first day I arrived here and first saw him, I didn't think he was a good person. Even though he and Uncle Crown Prince got along incredibly well before, would someone like him, who has poured his heart and soul into cultivating his dragon-like power and running between two places, be willing to let all of this benefit someone else? Moreover, Old Man Yun's influence in the court has never been underestimated, and Uncle Crown Prince has been firmly in power for decades. No matter how close they seem, surely both of them harbor some reservations and concerns.

Now, with my question and my identity—whether it's Princess Zuiyue or some other random descendant of the Fengshen Kingdom's royal family—this must be quite a shock to Uncle Crown Prince, right? If Jing Yunfeng were to rise to an important position, wouldn't the shock be even greater? By the way, speaking of rumors, these kinds of things are the most annoying. You can't say they're unreliable, because people will definitely be wary of them. You can't say they're credible, because you can't use them as evidence to do anything, like making our dear Brother Yunfeng's status incredibly noble and eye-catching. Otherwise, he wouldn't still be a fourth-rank court official, let alone be bullied in the Haowang Mansion.

"Brother, about Longyao Kingdom..." I pinched my right hand hard with my left hand under the table. I was furious. I told myself I wouldn't ask about this. I told myself I would wait for the fox to resolve the trouble himself before he would come to me. Why did I still ask out of instinct? So no matter how much I comforted myself or tried to convince myself, how could I pretend nothing had happened after hearing the news of the fox's wedding?

"Yue'er must have heard the rumors that the Second Prince has returned to the palace and the Emperor is about to get married. Yue'er should put her mind at ease." He pushed all the pastry plates on the table in front of me and poured me a cup of tea. His smile had the gentleness and tolerance unique to an elder brother.

I didn't argue anymore. I picked up the teacup, took a sip, and casually picked up a small piece of pastry to eat. Even though Yunfeng said the same thing, in my heart, I still believed in Fox. The Fox I knew, even if he succumbed to reality and made this choice out of sheer desperation, would have anticipated my reaction. He would then use all sorts of tricks and methods—deception, coercion, and persuasion—to bring me back, only giving me my freedom after I forgave and understood him. But now, he's nowhere to be seen, not even a trace, not even a single word. So, it's obvious that all of this is abnormal and very problematic.

The next morning, when I went to the old man's palace to read the memorials, the first one I picked up was an old man's request to appoint Yunfeng as the heir apparent. I forced myself to read it aloud in a calm voice, word for word, and then looked up at the old man. Appointing him as the heir apparent! Old man Yun is really sincere! Yesterday, after what the old empress said, I thought that old man Yun would at most beg his father to allow Yunfeng to be promoted three ranks and given a royal surname, so that Yunfeng could become his right-hand man in court, and incidentally, make Yunfeng's life in his Hao Prince's Mansion more comfortable. After a while, on an auspicious day, he would find Yunfeng a wife of considerable background, so that Yunfeng's life in Xiu Ruo would get better and better. I never expected it to be the heir apparent! The heir apparent, the eldest son of the legitimate wife! My dear brother Yunfeng, although he has been recognized by his ancestors and returned to the clan, he is the eldest son, but not the legitimate son. Who told our dear mother to die without a title or status!

"What do you think, girl?" he asked me, lying on the dragon bed with his eyes slightly closed, but not looking at me.

Opinion? There's only one: Old Man Yun has gone mad, and quite madly at that, yet at the same time, it makes one feel that his madness this time is wonderfully beautiful. But can I say that? Of course not, alas, life is so helpless. I also lowered my eyes slightly, looking at the memorial in my hand, and said calmly, "Although he has been recognized by his ancestors, he is not the legitimate son after all. If we make an exception and make him the heir apparent, we must have a reason to convince the world."

Of course, it sounds nice to say that you can convince the whole world, but the real focus is on convincing the people in the Prince Hao's mansion, as well as those royal relatives and ministers who always bring up the rules of the ancestors.

“How could your father not know this?” He looked up at me, his gaze piercing.

Of course! There's no doubt about who Old Man Yun is! But then another question arises: Old Man Yun knew it was against the rules, so why did he submit such a ridiculous memorial? Ah, I've thought about it for several minutes but still can't figure it out. Old Man Yun's thoughts are always so unpredictable.

"Girl, how should I respond to this memorial?"

I said, "Grandpa, even if you don't approve it, no one dares to say anything. But to be honest, whether he's the heir apparent or not can wait for a while; we're not in a hurry. However, given Yunfeng's current position, he should at least be involved in court affairs." Thinking this, I felt more at ease and spoke with more confidence: "Yue'er just feels that with brother's talent, appointing him as the Chief Justice is a bit of a waste. Even if he's new to Xiuruo, these past few months of adaptation should have been enough to complete his probationary period. To waste talent is a regret for the individual and a waste for the country."

For a fleeting moment, the words "Yunfeng" popped into my mind, but I automatically said "brother" instead. My current role is that of a censor, which is so unprofessional, so unprofessional, 555, I need to reflect on myself.

"For every person who is promoted, someone else must be demoted or removed from their post. It's not something that can be done at will."

The old man's words make a lot of sense. Although I haven't served as a censor for long, I've noticed that the officials attending the morning court in Xiu Ruo are all elderly with many years of experience. In other words, they've been in their positions for quite some time, and some are probably even veterans among veterans. It's not easy to oust one of them, especially someone in a higher position. This is different from when they took down Han Moumou's entire family in Long Yao. The old man has been in power for decades, and Xiu Ruo has grown increasingly powerful. Politically, there haven't been any major problems, so he wouldn't disturb the peaceful situation for Yun Feng's sake.

"Among civil and military officials, the prime minister and general hold the highest positions. Perhaps Your Majesty could consider establishing an oversight agency?" Sometimes, when you favor someone and want to promote them, you don't necessarily have to use this method of demoting one and then promoting the other. We can recruit people based on their positions, or we can create positions based on people! Besides, in this region, apart from the reformed bureaucratic system in Longyao, other countries are still the same as before. Uh, you ask me what I mean by "the same as before"? It's the organization I saw when I first went to court in Longyao—the prime minister, the general, the left and right vice ministers, and so on. There was never any agency or official to supervise the officials; it all depended on their self-discipline.

"Inspector?" The voice seemed thoughtful, but the expression in his eyes was unreadable.

Sigh, showing off my political skills when rumors are flying everywhere shouldn't be a good thing, but for my dear Brother Yunfeng, I'll go all out.

"The so-called censors, to be precise, were actually a supervisory body. The highest-ranking official, besides assisting the prime minister in managing state affairs, also had the responsibility of supervising all officials. They could not only impeach ministers who violated the law, but also, by imperial decree, arrest or interrogate guilty officials. Furthermore, for any major military or national affairs, the emperor could jointly decide with the prime minister and the general; memorials from officials had to be relayed upwards by the censor-in-chief; and imperial edicts could first be issued to the censor-in-chief, then to the prime minister, princes, etc. Therefore, the position of censor-in-chief, besides assisting in managing state affairs and supervising all officials, also served to check and balance the prime minister." Initially, in Longyao, because I was a prime minister—albeit an imposter—I stubbornly suppressed the idea of the relatively scientific, dialectical, and reasonable position of Censor-in-Chief. But now, for my brother's sake, I'll confess everything. "The Censor-in-Chief has subordinates such as the Vice Censor-in-Chief and Attendant Censors. Subordinate officials can also be reassigned according to the actual situation; it's simply a difference between the central government and local governments, or a specific division of responsibilities. Yue'er is just making this up; it's not reliable. If Grandfather were interested, he probably already understands it better than Yue'er."

"You can make up such a coherent story out of nothing?" He remained noncommittal about the position of Imperial Censor, looking at me with an expression that seemed to see right through me.

I was at a loss for words and said with an awkward smile, "You flatter me, Your Majesty."

"It's a good idea. Coupled with the previous reforms such as the imperial examination and the Six Ministries, how did you come up with these ideas? Moreover, these ideas are very feasible, and they seem to have been carefully considered and tested, making their implementation exceptionally smooth?" He spoke slowly and softly, but his eyes became increasingly sharp.

Sigh, when I asked Yun Xiang about these things before, I passed all the questions to Yun Feng. I knew that even though the old man didn't say it, he definitely didn't believe it. Now it's even more impossible to pin the blame on Yun Feng, otherwise wouldn't it look like the older brother is trying to get promoted? So what do I do now? Saying it's my own opinion is a bit far-fetched, saying it's something I heard is even more far-fetched, saying it's something I read in a book is utterly absurd!

Just as I was frowning and racking my brains for a reply, the old man spoke again: "It seems that it is not a rumor, but something that really happened."

"Grandfather..." Uh, what does that mean? Is it going to circle back to the rumors about the descendants of the Fengshen Kingdom's royal family again? Oh my god, is there something about these rumors that I don't know? Is the version circulating outside not the complete version?

"I'll consider this matter further. Let's look at the memorials first." The old man seemed unwilling to say more and dismissed me directly.

I had no choice but to continue reading the memorials. There weren't any particularly noteworthy ones. I glanced at the battle reports from the front, and it was another victory report. I think Ye Cang had already realized something was wrong by this time. I wondered how Xiu Ruo's army had managed to send out victory reports, and seemingly with incredible ease. It was truly outrageous.

Back at Zuiyue Palace, I wondered if I should go out and see Yunfeng. I remembered he'd come into the palace with Old Man Yun yesterday and then met with the Empress. I figured he probably already knew about today's memorial, but hadn't told me anything. Did he foresee the current situation? Sigh, this brother of mine, he never tells me anything, as if I'm just a freeloader. But if I go out, I'll have to ask the Empress. What's the reason? I just saw her yesterday; no reason is convincing enough. Oh well.

I picked up my pen to write a letter to Yunfeng, intending to have Wang An deliver it for me. Whether Yunfeng knew or not, it was always good to tell him. Old Man Yun's sudden request to appoint Yunfeng as his heir couldn't be explained away with mere kindness or a lapse in judgment; there was definitely something fishy going on. I sat down at my desk, spread out some paper, and was about to write when Yaoyao suddenly became incredibly aroused. I don't know if she took an interest in the paper, brush, and inkstone or what, but she darted onto the desk, preventing me from writing.

Just as I was "outwitting" Yao Yao, Wang An came to report that Old Man Yun had arrived. "An uninvited guest indeed!" I grumbled inwardly, but still put down my pen and went out to greet him.

"Father, you seem to be in a good mood today," I said, giving a slight bow to the person approaching me.

He didn't say a word, walking straight inside. Unlike last time, he didn't seem wary of Yao Yao; this time, he was quite open with her. I initially wanted to wait until Yao Yao tackled him before comforting her, but then I thought, although this is my palace, it's still his territory, so I let it go. I obediently went inside before him to comfort Yao Yao, then reluctantly served her tea and water, waiting for him to speak.

"What did Father Emperor say about that memorial?" The only advantage of communicating with Old Man Yun is that he gets straight to the point.

I poured myself a cup of tea and said casually, "I'm still considering it. I'll put it aside for now."

"What do you think, Yue'er?" He picked up his teacup, seemingly examining the tea in it closely, without taking a sip.

“If Father has no worries about the consequences of his actions, and the palace won’t be thrown into chaos, then Yue’er will be happy to see it happen.” I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as I continued, “However, Father’s memorial has greatly surprised Yue’er. What is the reason that Father would entrust such a noble status and title as the Crown Prince to my brother? Could it be that it’s just because you admire my brother’s talent?”

When I uttered the word "noble," my voice instinctively went off-key, sounding almost sarcastic. He wasn't annoyed, though, and continued to stare at his teacup, as if mesmerized by it, his voice low and deep: "Yue'er should understand the reason."

Ha, you think so highly of me? You overestimate me. I know my place. I'm just a nobody, a simpleton hoping for a life of leisure and a little wisdom and taste. How could I possibly understand the complex psychology of you palace kids? But after hearing what he said, and sitting down to think about recent events, something seems to be on the tip of my tongue. Wang An said that shortly after Xiu Ruo's army set out, the old man caught a cold. More than half a month passed, and the cold didn't get better; in fact, it got worse, until he was bedridden and had to stop attending court. Judging from the timing, if Xiu Ruo's army set out, it should have been around the time they received the Dragon Yao Azure Alliance letter. I was still in Dragon Yao then, so it must have been shortly after Xi Lan left Dragon Yao, or around the time I was kidnapped by Xiao Bai. Speaking of which, I later heard that Han Xing suffered some natural disasters during last year's autumn harvest. Actually, it wasn't just a little; I heard the disaster was quite severe, and the harvest was less than half of what it should have been. Hanxing was unlucky. While dealing with the natural disaster, Ye Cang and Xiu Ruo's armies were already at the border when they realized a major battle was imminent. Knowing things were going badly, they hurriedly sent envoys to Tianqing Longyao for help. This round trip took a considerable amount of time. Furthermore, knowing the intricacies of the war, Tianqing Longyao's army likely departed later than usual, and their journey was slower. All of this probably occurred during the nearly two months that Xi Lan rescued me and I was unconscious. By the time Tianqing Longyao's army approached Ye Cang's border, Ye Cang and Xiu Ruo's armies had already conquered several cities in Hanxing. Hanxing was weak to begin with, and then faced with the natural disaster, the powerful Ye Cang and Xiu Ruo. The outcome of the battle was practically a foregone conclusion. Although Ye Cang had taken precautions when sending troops out to war, stationing a large army at Cangqi Pass, or even if King Ye Cang, knowing that the armies of Tianqing and Longyao intended to invade his country's borders, negotiated and carefully guarded Cangqi Pass, the round trip would still take considerable time. Furthermore, the imperial envoy sent by King Ye Cang to deliver the decree was intercepted by Xiu Ruo en route, buying him even more time. It's likely that Ye Cang and Xiu Ruo's armies have already crossed halfway across Hanxing's borders, and Ye Cang and Xiu Ruo have probably already broken off relations.

Suddenly, I remembered what the fox had said about giving Princess Hanxing to Xiu Ruo. Given the fox's cunning nature, he probably used Princess Hanxing to his advantage. Just as the alliance between Ye Cang and Xiu Ruo was about to break down, he cleverly orchestrated a conflict between them, weakening both sides. Xiu Ruo could then use this opportunity to preserve his strength and reap the benefits. At that point, Ye Cang's army would have no hope of returning to the capital, and Hanxing would suffer heavy losses, benefiting Xiu Ruo and accelerating his attack on Hanxing. Sigh, the more I think about it, the more likely this seems.