What Bad Intentions can the Yandere Crown Prince have?-Chapter 346 - 342: The Harem Interferes in Politics
"Your Majesty intends to betroth the eldest grandson of the Minister of Rites, Wei Qiu, as a Prince Consort!" Tang Xiaobai said.
After hearing this news, she hurried to find Li Mu.
Currently, there are only three adult princesses.
Pingyang Princess, Princess Runan, and Princess Hengyang.
Princess Runan is already married to the grandson of Grand Tutor Yan, and Princess Hengyang volunteered to marry into the Turkic tribe.
That leaves only Pingyang Princess Li Yao, who has taken religious vows.
Even though Pingyang Princess has already taken vows, making her return to secular life to take a husband will surely be troublesome.
Despite these troubles, the intent to appoint Wei Qiu as Prince Consort for elevation and strategic alliance is quite apparent.
Li Mu understood immediately: "It’s actually Wei Du!"
The so-called prayers to the heavens for a Prime Minister, the emperor surely has someone in mind.
Previously, they all speculated that the emperor had set his sights on the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Pei Yaqing, but it turns out it’s the Minister of Rites, Wei Du.
Wei Du is nearing sixty, has been an official at court for decades, and his position as Minister of Rites comes partly due to his ancestry and partly due to his seniority.
In terms of capability and achievements, there’s not much to commend; one could only say he has neither excelled nor failed.
Earlier, when someone suggested Wei Du for Prime Minister, everyone assumed it was just to give the old minister some face. Little did they know, this was where they were being led.
"It could be that they fear a new Prime Minister might divide Prime Minister Zheng’s power, so they might as well appoint a mediocre one as a figurehead," Tang Xiaobai speculated.
Li Mu contemplated for a moment and said, "If Wei Du is promoted to Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, who will succeed him as Minister of Rites?"
In matters concerning court personnel, Tang Xiaobai couldn’t immediately follow: "You mean, it concerns the Ministry of Rites?"
Li Mu shook his head: "No, it concerns the Imperial College—"
The Imperial College is the nation’s highest educational institution and a cradle for court talent.
The Qingzhou School controlled the Imperial College and thus advanced its doctrines extensively.
To undermine the Qingzhou School’s foundation, first, it’s about controlling the Observatory, second, the Imperial College.
The current highest official in the Imperial College is the Sacrificial Officer, Gu Bing.
Tang Xiaobai’s Second Uncle.
...
"...With Wei Du as the Prime Minister, the vacancy at the Ministry of Rites could conveniently go to Sacrificial Officer Gu—"
In Lizheng Hall, the Crown Prince was summoning his trusted officials for counsel.
Li Mu said only, "Taiji Palace wants the grandson of the Minister of Rites, Wei Du, to marry Pingyang Princess," to which Qin Xiao responded accordingly.
Tang Xiaobai couldn’t help sighing.
So-called political acumen likely has some inherent talent.
"There’s also Yan Yuebin," Li Mu added.
Qin Xiao pondered in silence.
"Who does Taiji Palace intend to appoint to manage the Imperial College?" Deng Liao frowned.
He spoke while facing Li Mu but couldn’t help glancing at Tang Xiaobai.
Tang Xiaobai blushed a little.
She didn’t blame Deng Liao; she herself felt her position was somewhat unique.
In Lizheng Hall, the Crown Prince sat facing south, with a desk in front of him, and summoned officials seated opposite.
But she sat at the side of the Crown Prince’s desk.
Previously in the military camp, she always sat in this position, and it didn’t feel unusual.
But now that Little Ancestor is the Crown Prince, sitting in such a position while he meets with officials gives quite the impression of...
Uh... Quite the impression of overreaching influence from the inner palace.
To reduce the sense of overreach, Tang Xiaobai casually picked up paper and pen from the Crown Prince’s desk, and focused on sorting out the relationships among the individuals they discussed.
The trio had said only a few words, yet the content was already quite complex.
If the current Minister of Rites Wei Du is promoted to Secretary of the Secretariat, it would leave the Minister of Rites position vacant, potentially sparking a series of personnel changes.
They currently believe that the focus of these personnel changes is the Imperial College.
The emperor wishes to remove Second Uncle Gu from his position as Sacrificial Officer and replace him with someone of his choosing.
Though Second Uncle Gu is the emperor’s brother-in-law, he bears the surname Gu.
Moreover, Second Uncle Gu’s deceased first wife was surnamed Yu, the Crown Prince’s maternal aunt, and Yu Jun’s biological aunt.
However, the Ministry of Rites is also a department with real power, and the emperor, distrustful of Second Uncle Gu at the Imperial College, would not want to give him the Minister of Rites position either.
Therefore, Little Ancestor believes the emperor might intend for Yan Yuebin, the current Secretary of Records, to be promoted to Minister of Rites.
Yan Yuebin is Yan Jingjing’s father.
He was once the emperor’s academic companion, his father, Grand Tutor Yan, was the emperor’s teacher, and he has a son, Yan Third Son, who married Princess Runan.
If Yan Yuebin is promoted to Minister of Rites, Second Uncle Gu might be reassigned as Secretary of Records.
He previously served as Assistant Secretary of Records, so it’s reasonable for him to return as Secretary of Records.
Following on from Deng Liao’s question—
Once Second Uncle Gu is reassigned, who will take over the Imperial College?
Though Deng Liao has this question, the Crown Prince does not typically solve subordinates’ queries.
Thus, Deng Liao and Qin Xiao continued speculating below.
This also involved additional departments and figures.
Tang Xiaobai listened while continuing to sort out the relationships.
After writing for a while, she looked up to find that the Crown Prince was not paying attention to the officials’ analysis but rather watching her paper intently.
Tang Xiaobai felt a bit embarrassed, gathered the paper to her chest, and gave him a sidelong glance: "What do you think? Who will succeed as Sacrificial Officer?"
Both Qin Xiao and Deng Liao fell silent, awaiting his answer.
The Crown Prince did not respond to others’ words, but he certainly responded to Second Miss Tang’s: "The person Taiji Palace favors is surely not someone the Eastern Palace favors."
From Tang Xiaobai’s understanding of him, such a response indicated he didn’t know the answer either.
She couldn’t help but chuckle, asking, "Then who does the Crown Prince favor?"
Li Mu’s gaze landed on her hands.
His fingers slightly curled, pinching the paper’s edge, the pale fingers tinged with ink, inexplicably cute.
He held her finger, gently wiping away the ink mark, and said softly, "Tutor Xu Lang."
Just as Tang Xiaobai was about to withdraw her finger, she was momentarily stunned: "Tutor Xu has returned to the capital?"
Crown Prince’s tutor Xu Lang was the one who taught the Crown Prince’s lessons but stopped doing so four years ago.
Xu Lang had no other positions and left the capital for travel after two idle years; otherwise, when Li Mu’s Crown Prince status was questioned, Xu Lang’s testimony would have sufficed greatly.
"No," Li Mu replied, "but the Taiji Palace can decree a summons."
That means the Sacrificial Officer position will temporarily be left vacant.
"The Sacrificial Officer position can be vacant, but what about the Imperial College Instructor and Minister?" Qin Xiao asked.
The Imperial College can’t function with just a Sacrificial Officer; the positions beneath it are also crucial.
At this point, it highlights an unavoidable disadvantage the Eastern Palace has: understaffing.
"I am willing to serve," Deng Liao bowed.
Li Mu neither affirmed nor denied and dismissed Qin and Deng.
"Mr. Deng isn’t suitable?" Tang Xiaobai asked.
"The Eastern Palace’s daily affairs still rely on Deng Liao."
"Isn’t Ah Wu also the Minister of Communication for the Eastern Palace?"
Just at this point, a palace maid announced from outside: "Yu Sheren requests an audience!"
In fact, after returning to the palace, Li Mu summoned Qin Xiao, Deng Liao, and Yu Jun, but couldn’t immediately find Yu Jun.
Li Mu nodded to let Yu Jun enter, and said, "Deng Liao is steady, while Ah Wu prefers unexpected moves; I think of sending Ah Wu to the Imperial College."
Without enough manpower to seize the territory, sending someone who can stir things up is the next best choice.
It’s also an action taken out of necessity.
Tang Xiaobai sighed internally, asking, "How many from the academy will make it in next year’s imperial exam?"
The only hope now lies in the selection through imperial exams.
"I asked Mr. Zhang, and there are ten possible candidates."
Ten, so there are also students from the second class?
Tang Xiaobai’s heart suddenly sank, and she asked, "The one injured today is a student from the academy’s second class. How likely is it that they truly just happened upon a startled horse? Could it be a setup?"
As she spoke, Yu Jun happened to enter Lizheng Hall, pausing in his steps as he heard this.
