Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2714 Still Vigorous in Old Age 98.0
Chu Han glanced at them, but didn't rush to tell them a story. Instead, he poured himself a cup of tea and silently drank it.

No one rushed him; they just watched him drink three cups of tea in a row, knowing that he might need to organize his thoughts and recall what happened. After all, he's at an age where he's experienced so much, he might not be able to remember everything at once.

Chu Han noticed their expressions and roughly guessed what they were thinking, then rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"My memory is still pretty good, not as bad as you think!" he said angrily. "I was just thinking about how to tell you so that you wouldn't end up like we did back then."

"what?"

"Shocking!" Chu Han looked at Xiao Fengqi. "Right?"

Xiao Fengqi looked at everyone who was looking at him and nodded to them.

"The truth is beyond your imagination. Some people may appear to be human, but in reality, they are worse than animals."

"Your assessment reminds me of something. I wonder if it's related to what you're talking about?" Song Qiyun stroked his chin, looked thoughtfully at Chu Han, then at Xiao Fengqi, and said hesitantly.

“Speaking of which, I just thought of something too.” Shen Cha patted Jin Miaomiao. “Those boxes of files hidden in the small study in the palace, I went through them while I was investigating matters of the previous dynasty, do you remember?”

"Ah!" Jin Miaomiao clapped her hands. "We were talking about the really disgusting one, weren't we?"

“Yes!” Shen Cha nodded. “It’s just that the file wasn’t complete. We only read a little bit, and it was enough to make us feel disgusted.”

“We said…” Jin Miaomiao looked at Chu Han and Xiao Fengqi, then at Song Yaojia, and waved to the plum grove not far away, “Get us paper and pens.”

Merlin responded and went to the small study not far away to get paper and pen.

“It seems,” Xia Chen patted Xue Ruitian, and the two of them gave a wry smile at the same time, “that we’re the only ones who don’t know anything.”

"Not necessarily." Xue Ruitian stroked his chin. "Perhaps we've heard about it, but we haven't paid it any mind."

Chu Han glanced at Shen Cha and Jin Miaomiao, who were whispering to each other, and then at Song Yaojia, who seemed to be deep in thought, and chuckled softly.

"Stop guessing, you all probably know the same thing." He tapped the table lightly. "I'll just say two words: replacement."

"An undercover agent!" Song Yaojia looked at Shen Cha and Jin Miaomiao. "What about you two?"

"tanuki!"

"That's right!" Chu Han gave them a high five each. "We're talking about the same thing."

Merlin had just run back with paper and pen when she heard Chu Han's words. She looked at Jin Miaomiao and Shen Cha, then at the paper and pen in her hand. "Useless?"

"It's useful, give it to me quickly!" Jin Miaomiao took the paper and pen that Meilin handed her, and gave her a whole plate of snacks. "New flavor, try it."

Merlin thanked Jin Miaomiao and returned to her seat with the snacks.

“Since you’re talking about the same thing, then give us two, no, three, some clarification!” Xia Chen pointed to himself and Xue Ruitian, then to Qi Zhifeng, who had been looking completely bewildered since earlier, and said, “Stop having fun by yourselves.”

"In short, the aristocratic families wanted to achieve their ulterior motives through female officials and eunuchs." Chu Han looked at them. "Actually, if they hadn't gone so far, they might have actually succeeded. However, later someone used their methods to accomplish this."

"This person is..."

"The late Empress Dowager."

"Grand Uncle, do you mean to say," Shen Cha looked at everyone and then at Chu Han, "that the Empress Dowager's entry into the palace was premeditated? That shouldn't be the case. They couldn't have predicted the assassination attempt by the remnants of the previous dynasty, that much is certain."

“That’s for sure. So, it can’t be called premeditated. It was just a coincidence. If they hadn’t been able to save your great-grandfather and grandfather, the late Empress Dowager wouldn’t have been able to enter the palace.” Chu Han sighed. “So, some things can’t be planned. They are all a matter of chance.”

"I understand!" Shen Cha nodded. "In other words, if they hadn't discovered the aristocratic families' machinations back then, all they could have done was what the late Empress Dowager had accomplished, right?"

"Yes."

"When did we discover they were up to something? Was it during the investigation of Mian?"

"You got it right!" Chu Han snapped his fingers and nodded to Shen Cha. "It was during the investigation of Mian that we discovered the unusual situation of the aristocratic families. This unusual situation is really too extraordinary."

“Please tell me more.” Shen Cha thought for a moment. “If I remember correctly, there aren’t many powerful families involved this time. The Shi family that Young Master Xiao mentioned earlier should be the most powerful one. Families like the Wang, Xie, and Qin families are not mentioned in the files. If they are all involved, they shouldn’t be easily detected by us. Even if the person investigating is my uncle, I’m afraid we won’t get any advantage from them.”

“You’re right, they really weren’t involved. The Shi family is the one with the most powerful connections. But then again, what’s the relationship between the Shi family and the Xie family?” Chu Han looked at the children. “They were related by marriage before. If the Shi family wanted to do something, wouldn’t they consult the Xie family first? Even if they didn’t say it outright, it would be reasonable to subtly hint at it to the Xie family, right?”

“My benefactor, they parted ways a long time ago.” Xiao Fengqi spread his hands toward Chu Han. “But I don’t know exactly when. I think the Shi family has great ambitions and always wants to get closer to the families above them.”

"How did Brother Fengqi find out?" Qi Zhifeng asked, resting his chin on his hand and looking at him curiously. "They probably didn't tell you, did they?"

“I overheard them talking amongst themselves. Anyway, I was just a kid back then, so they didn’t guard against me.” Xiao Fengqi sighed. “That plan was actually orchestrated by the Shi family.”

"I know that," Chu Han nodded, glancing at Xue Ruitian and Xia Chen, and said, "Actually, the plan is quite simple. They intend to collude with the nobles of the Liao and Jin dynasties. The Liao and Jin would select talented, beautiful, young girls from their own families who resembled people from the Central Plains and send them to the Central Plains. These girls would be raised by the various families involved in the plan, and then, through various connections, they would be sent into the palace in batches whenever female officials were selected. This way, they could gradually replace the female officials in the palace and eventually control the entire harem. They even wanted not only young girls but also handsome young boys, using various channels to send them into the palace. In this way..."

"It will gradually become like the previous dynasty, where powerful families controlled the harem and the court, right?"