After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 743 Uneasy
Ma Shangyi's face was filled with confusion.

Although she felt that the Emperor had always doted on Concubine Xu and had made up his mind to make the Eighth Prince the Crown Prince, and that he naturally trusted the Eighth Prince's biological mother, Concubine Xu, very much and it was impossible for her to have any dissatisfaction in private, Jin Jiashu's words did not seem to be unreasonable.

The emperor used to love Concubine Sun the most. For her, he could ignore the tragic death of his wife and son, and was determined to make her biological son the crown prince. However, when he lost his son and was seriously ill, he was recuperating in the Cining Palace, and he was not completely unsuspecting of this beloved concubine. It was precisely because the emperor was worried that Concubine Sun would completely turn to her natal family, help Sun Ge Lao support the prince of Ji to return to the clan and become the crown prince, and completely kick him out of the emperor, that he began to restrain and suppress Sun Ge Lao, his former confidant and important minister, and his followers after he recovered from his illness. He even ignored Concubine Sun's opposition and posthumously conferred the title of Wen'an Gong on the father of Empress Wu, and pardoned Wu Wen'an Gong's old friends and students...

The emperor was suspicious of his most beloved woman. Concubine Xu was only his favorite concubine in his later years, and she gave birth to a good son for him. In terms of affection, she could not be compared with Concubine Sun. Who dares to say that the emperor would never have any complaints against her?

Jin Jiashu looked at the unpredictable expression on Ma Shangyi's face and knew that his words had touched her, so he added fuel to the fire: "The emperor is determined to make the eighth prince the crown prince, and he will not change the crown prince candidate because of a little dissatisfaction, but Madam Xu is too eager to do things, as if she is looking forward to his death soon. The emperor dotes on Madam Xu, so how could he be happy to see her act like this? Not saying anything, but secretly punishing her slightly and severely, so that Madam Xu will realize it herself and apologize to him with fear and trepidation, that is also in line with the emperor's temper, right?"

That would be exactly what the Emperor wants!

Ma Shangyi had grown up watching the emperor, and had seen him act like this more than once. If he was dissatisfied with someone, he would not say it directly, but would retaliate in secret, so that the other party would notice it on their own and then come to him in fear and beg for mercy. If the other party was too stupid, or trusted him too much as a benevolent emperor and did not notice it at all, he would smile on his face but be ruthless in his heart, and retaliate more vigorously, or hint to others to do it on his behalf.

It was because the emperor always pretended to be magnanimous, did not like to speak his mind, but was petty and vindictive, that Empress Dowager Zhou and the Zhou family suffered so much, and the Wu family mistakenly believed that pushing their daughter to be the queen was a great opportunity.

Ma Shangyi sighed and whispered, "No matter what, there is still the Eighth Prince. The Eighth Prince is young and cannot do without his mother's support. The Emperor always has to think about the Eighth Prince and will not go too far with Madam Xu. Moreover, the Emperor himself is also making plans for the future. He often mentions to the Empress Dowager and Madam Xu what to do after the Eighth Prince succeeds to the throne. Madam Xu is just following his wishes, and it can't be said to be a taboo."

Jin Jiashu smiled and said, "Can others say what the emperor can say? If it was the Empress Dowager, it would be fine. She is the emperor's mother and elder, and the emperor has to respect her. But Madam Xu...she still has to look at the emperor's face, right? She has no roots and no foundation, and the Eighth Prince has not yet been officially appointed as the crown prince. The mother and son rely entirely on the emperor's support to gain a foothold in the harem. How dare Madam Xu think that she can say anything without taboos?"

Ma Shangyi stopped talking. She also felt that Concubine Xu was a little bit arrogant. No matter what, the Eighth Prince was still young and his foundation was not stable. Concubine Xu couldn't make the emperor unhappy at this time!

Jin Jiashu looked at Ma Shangyi and said in a deep voice: "Everything that Madam Xu has now was given by the emperor. Even if the emperor is dissatisfied, there is nothing to retaliate. He only needs to vent his anger on irrelevant outsiders, so that Madam Xu will understand the sense of awe and dare not step out of line again. From now on, she will serve the emperor wholeheartedly. This matter does not affect the eighth prince in any way. At most, Madam Xu will suffer a little grievance. As for my nephew who is far away in Chang'an... it's no big deal to suffer a little. Nanny said... right?" Ma Shangyi still didn't say a word. If it was really Concubine Xu who acted carelessly this time and implicated her nephew, then Jin Jiashu would be too wronged. He has always been honest and obedient, studied hard, and never did anything wrong...

But more importantly, she had to write a letter back to the palace to find out whether the emperor was really dissatisfied with Concubine Xu. The Eighth Prince's position as the crown prince was not yet secure! What if the emperor's dissatisfaction accumulated and he finally changed his mind and refused to make the Eighth Prince the crown prince? Even if there was still the Seventh Prince, who also trusted the Zhou family and would not let the Empress Dowager and the Zhou family suffer grievances, it was unknown how many years the Seventh Prince's body could last. If there was another turmoil in the succession of the throne, wouldn't the Empress Dowager worry again? !
Even if the emperor still appoints the eighth prince as the heir, as long as he is dissatisfied with the eighth prince's mother, Concubine Xu, and does not allow her to interfere in government affairs, and only allows the cabinet to assist in government affairs, and the empress dowager is old and lacks energy, when the new emperor ascends the throne, won't the two palaces, the Empress Dowager and the empress dowager have to look at the cabinet's face? ! If you meet a loyal and reasonable minister, it will be fine. If you meet a treacherous minister, even the new emperor's throne will be unstable! Even if there are no treacherous ministers in the cabinet, and only the upright civil officials are in charge, they may exclude the military generals and want to suppress the power of the border army generals. In that case, the northwest will not have a good life...

Ma Shangyi thought a lot and became more and more uneasy. She wished she could grow a pair of wings under her armpits and fly back to the capital to meet Queen Dowager Zhou and Concubine Xu.

Seeing her so uneasy, Jin Jiashu calmed down. He sat down opposite Ma Shangyi and adjusted his sleeves slowly: "Madam, aren't you going to send a message to the capital?"

"I will deliver the letter." Ma Shangyi looked up at Jin Jiashu, "I don't know whether Madam Xu knows why the emperor insisted on removing you from the list of honors, but if it is because Madam Xu violated a taboo, she will definitely compensate you in the future!"

"Instead of thinking about compensating me in the future, Madam Xu should think of a way to calm the emperor's anger." Jin Jiashu looked back at Ma Shangyi, "At this time, she should not think about paving a rich and prosperous road for me. It is important to keep the good life in front of her first. If the emperor thinks that she is too partial to me, and in order to pave the way for me, he will ignore the difference in family background and ask for me to marry the daughter of a noble relative, he may do something ridiculous for me in the future, which will make him wary and affect the eighth prince, which is not good. Why not look at the long-term? Without the prominent Yue family, will I never be able to make a name for myself in my life? Is it a great injustice that I cannot enter the cabinet and become a prime minister? I have never thought about climbing the high branch myself, and Madam Xu does not have to climb it for me. I was originally just the son of a mere juren, the son of a gentry. It is more in line with the emperor's wishes for me to continue to live the life I should live in the future? Madam Xu should make a decision on which things are more important."

He paused and said: "If Concubine Xu is unable to make a decision due to personal feelings, then please ask the Empress Dowager to make the decision for her!" Concubine Xu was originally promoted by Empress Dowager Zhou, and Empress Dowager Zhou also had to ensure that her subordinates would not make any mistakes that would affect the overall situation!

Ma Shangyi looked at Jin Jiashu deeply and said, "I already understand your thoughts, and I will report it to the palace. But...you should be more cautious, and don't take advantage of being far away from the capital to rashly interfere in things that shouldn't be interfered with, which will displease the emperor. Madam Xu may have violated the emperor's taboo, but the emperor did not take action against the people around her, but took out his anger on you who were far away in Chang'an. Is it all Madam Xu's fault? If you want to live a stable and peaceful life, you should also be more attentive!"

(End of this chapter)