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

Chapter 883 Persuasion
Haitang raised an eyebrow.

This was not the first time Hai Jiao mentioned his fear of Consort Xu. He always described her as someone with a "deep mind" and a calculating woman under her gentle and virtuous appearance.

Haijiao was a military scholar from Chang'an and a newly promoted member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He had not even been assigned to guard the Qianqing Palace. He probably had never met Imperial Noble Consort Xu in person. Even if he had, it was only a brief encounter. Why did he have such a big opinion of her?
He is Jin Jiashu's good friend. If Imperial Concubine Xu has summoned him, there is no reason for her to be unfriendly to him, right?

It was impossible for him to have heard any negative news about Imperial Concubine Xu from the Imperial Guard. According to him, there were spies from various forces inside the Imperial Guard. If Imperial Concubine Xu was scheming and plotting in the palace and was discovered by the Imperial Guard, and the news could have reached the ears of Hai Jiao, a newcomer, then rumors unfavorable to her would have been flying all over the capital. How could she have always maintained her gentle and virtuous personality and been praised and respected by officials in the court?
So, from whom did Haijiao hear what made him conclude that Imperial Noble Consort Xu was not a simple person, and that if his sister married Jin Jiashu, she might suffer from her bullying in the future?
Haitang thought for a moment, then asked tentatively, "Brother, you always say that Madam Xu in the palace is very scheming. Could it be that you heard something from Brother Jin?"

Hai Jiao nodded: "Although he has always concealed his true relationship with Imperial Concubine Xu, and would not mention some unspeakable palace secrets to me, he has almost never concealed what he has experienced in the palace from me. I know that Imperial Concubine Xu plotted against Concubine Lu. In addition, Imperial Concubine Sun has now been demoted to a beauty and imprisoned in the cold palace, and she has inevitably instigated discord in front of the emperor.

"In the past, Concubine Sun killed the empress and the legitimate prince. She was also responsible for the death of the fifth prince born to Concubine Liu Shu. But at that time, the emperor only protected her and didn't care about the tragic deaths of his wives, concubines and children. He was reluctant to even demote Concubine Sun, let alone confine her to the cold palace. Although Concubine Xu was poisoned, she was rescued in time and is not seriously injured. However, the emperor was furious and imposed a heavy punishment. Comparing the past and the present, doesn't it just show how powerful Concubine Xu is?"

It turned out to be the case.

Haitang smiled faintly: "Noble Consort Xu is naturally a powerful person. If she didn't have enough ability and character, she wouldn't be able to sit firmly in the position of the head of the harem after experiencing so many setbacks and changes. Even her own son was sent to the throne of the crown prince. Except for Concubine Sun, almost no one said bad things about her. But brother, don't think of her as a monster with three heads and six arms. In addition to her own ability, luck and the help of others around her are also very important for her to have the glory she has today.

"For example, the demotion of Concubine Sun was not because of Concubine Xu's ability to slander the emperor, but because the Sun family was too powerful. Concubine Sun's disregard for the overall situation completely angered the emperor. The emperor could no longer tolerate it, so he took ruthless action. But even so, didn't the emperor still show mercy to Concubine Sun? She is still a fourth-rank beauty, and she has no shortage of food and clothing in the cold palace. Is this the treatment that ordinary concubines who are demoted for guilt would have? When Concubine Liu Shu died of her son, she accused Concubine Sun of being the murderer in grief and anger, and was also demoted to the cold palace, but she died of illness not long after, and even her stepbrother was demoted to the border city. The emperor favored Concubine Sun so much that even if he disliked her, he would show her special favor and protect her to the end. If Concubine Xu was really as powerful as my brother said, how could she have no way to deal with it?"

Haijiao thought about it and felt that his sister's words made sense: "Maybe... Anyway, when I meet such a scheming person, I can't help but feel scared and dare not approach easily." It would be fine if only he approached, after all, he was an outsider and could not easily see the golden faces of the concubines in the palace. He was afraid that his sister would marry Jin Jiashu and suffer from the anger of the mother-in-law in the future, but she would not be able to complain to anyone and there would be no way to avoid it. That would be too miserable.

Haitang smiled slightly, "Don't worry, brother. I know what's going on. In fact, as a concubine in the harem, you have to deal with the suspicious emperor and the vicious and cunning concubine at the same time. You have to protect your son, protect yourself, and plan for your son's future. It's not a bad thing for Concubine Xu to be more scheming. After all, the crown prince is still young and is about to ascend the throne. There are still many treacherous officials and cronies in the court. Even the old people of Wumen are not willing to support the crown prince. With a powerful biological mother to protect him, the crown prince can live a more stable life in the palace after he ascends the throne. Concubines in the harem can be gentle and virtuous, weak and docile, but the queen and queen mother are the mother of a country. It is not appropriate to be too virtuous and docile, without any scheming and opinions."

Haitang has also been in the palace for many years. She would rather the master of the harem be a scheming, strategic and resourceful woman. As long as she has a bottom line and does not harm the country's citizens, she can accept it even if she is not very friendly to her and makes her suffer grievances.

Empress Dowager Zhou was gentle and virtuous. To this day, court officials still privately praise her for not interfering in government affairs. However, she watched the emperor become suspicious of the border troops, watched the emperor wrongly depose the old man of the Wu family, and watched Concubine Sun kill the empress and the prince. Afterwards, she just closed herself in the palace and protected the young son of Prince Wu and the orphans of the Wu family, but did not take more countermeasures. Even if this was because she was not the emperor's biological mother, her actions were not without problems.

Queen Mother Zhou may have many concerns in her heart, but she chose the emperor as her adopted son and sent him to the throne, so she should take the responsibility of supervising him. If she was thinking about her family, the Zhou family didn't benefit much from her tolerance for more than 30 years? The Sun family has been able to gain power for so many years, in addition to the emperor's favoritism, Queen Mother Zhou's inaction is also an important reason for the indulgence of the Sun family. Think about the people who were killed by the Sun family in the past 30 years... Queen Mother Zhou should have done more.

Therefore, Haitang did not think that it was a good thing for the future queen mother to be gentle and virtuous. As long as Concubine Xu could see clearly and knew the seriousness of the matter, she would rather the other party be a powerful, scheming and resourceful woman, rather than being helpless in the face of a crisis and only crying silently in the harem.

Haitang whispered to Haijiao, "Brother, don't listen to Jin Jiashu. He has many fantasies about his biological mother whom he has never met. Once he found out that she was not as gentle and loving as he imagined, he became afraid. Moreover, if Imperial Noble Consort Xu was not forced to become a concubine, but was forced to become the empress dowager in the future, wouldn't it be equivalent to saying that she voluntarily gave up her own children and sought wealth and honor in the palace? How would Jin Jiashu feel about that? Therefore, it was normal for him to have a prejudice against Imperial Noble Consort Xu.

"But I have already advised him in Chang'an to be more considerate of Imperial Concubine Xu's difficulties. Imperial Concubine Xu has been a virtuous concubine for so many years. Even the emperor and the officials have been fooled by her. Why is it difficult for her to continue pretending? But now is a critical moment. In order to ensure that the crown prince can succeed to the throne smoothly, she can do anything. What's the harm in calculating a few bad guys? Can a little reputation of virtue be compared with the honor of becoming the empress dowager? If there is any change in the succession of the crown prince, what is the point of her having a reputation of virtue all her life? Can other heirs spare her and her son's lives just because she is virtuous after ascending the throne?"

Hai Jiao took a deep breath and said, "Little sister, you are right. What does it have to do with me whether the concubines in the harem are virtuous or not? That is the emperor's business. If the court officials want to talk nonsense, they are too idle. I just want to wait for the crown prince to inherit the throne, so that those of us who stand on his side can rise to prominence. If Imperial Concubine Xu is more powerful, there will be fewer incidents in the palace, and we will be more relaxed!"