Late Han Zhao Tang

"Your Majesty, the Empress is requesting an audience outside the palace!"

Inside the hall, Zhang Yu, with a cold expression, asked, "Have you gone to visit the Crown Prince?"

Zhang Hang respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, the Empress first went out of the palace to visit the Crown Prince before returning to pay her respects. Shall we summon the Empress for an audience today?"

Zhang Yu said, "Let her wait!"

Seeing Zhang Yu directing his anger at Wang Ji, Zhong Yao forced a smile and advised, "The Crown Prince's moral failings are none of the Empress's concern. The Empress is now requesting an audience with His Majesty, but His Majesty refuses to see her out of anger. This is not a wise move. Moreover, His Majesty intends to replace the Crown Prince; how can he not consult with the Eastern Palace?"

Zhang Yu exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "Let the Empress enter the palace!"

"promise!"

A short while later, Wang Ji hurriedly entered the palace. When she saw Zhong Yao, she restrained herself and resumed her usual dignified demeanor as the empress.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! Greetings, Prime Minister!"

"Your Highness, I pay my respects!"

Zhong Yao rose from his seat, greeted Wang Ji, then bowed to Zhang Yu and tactfully said, "I still have official business to attend to and need to go to the Accounting Department. I will take my leave now!"

"Prime Minister, please wait!"

Wang Ji forced a smile and watched Zhong Yao leave the palace.

After Zhong Yao took his leave, Wang Ji looked at Zhang Yu and pleaded, "The Crown Prince was confused for a moment and was bewitched by that witch, so he did something that violated the rules of propriety. I hope Your Majesty can pardon the Crown Prince."

Zhang Yu, harboring resentment, said, "If the Crown Prince can still commit immoral acts, what will he do when he inherits the throne? Without anyone to check and balance him, won't he become arrogant, extravagant, and corrupt the country?"

“The Crown Prince is still young and lacks experience. As he grows older, he will surely improve.” Perhaps sensing the unspoken meaning, Wang Ji said, “Moreover, Your Majesty, have you not heard that when Emperor Jing was the Crown Prince, he mistakenly killed the Crown Prince of Wu because of a game of gambling? Yet, when he became emperor, he continued the legacy of Emperor Wen and built upon the achievements of Emperor Wu.”

Crown Prince Zhang Luo is a child whom Wang Ji has devoted herself to raising, and she has poured so much of her heart and soul into him. Now, she must fight against Zhang Yu for the sake of her child.

Zhang Yu sneered and said, "Emperor Jing dared to kill Crown Prince Wu at the tender age of twenty, while my Crown Prince, at seventeen, is still ignorant of the importance of etiquette and law, yet he secretly meets with palace maids in the palace of the Retired Emperor. If the Crown Prince had Emperor Jing's courage, I would admire him instead."

Wang Ji's attempt to compare Zhang Luo to Emperor Jing of Han left Zhang Yu speechless. Despite Emperor Jing's cold-heartedness, his audacity in smashing a chessboard to death against Prince Wu demonstrates his immense courage, especially considering Prince Wu's own inappropriate remarks. Zhang Luo lacks Emperor Jing's courage, and his mistakes are even more egregious; how can the two be compared?
Wang Ji gradually understood Zhang Yu's meaning and tentatively asked, "According to Your Majesty's words, do you intend to establish a new crown prince?"

Zhang Yu said in a low voice, "The Crown Prince is incompetent, so I have no choice but to replace him."

Upon receiving confirmation from Zhang Yu, Wang Ji felt as if his heart had been clenched, his breathing nearly stopped, and his mind went blank.

"Is Your Majesty infatuated with the Third Prince?" Wang Ji asked, suppressing his anxiety.

Zhang Yu remained calm and said, "Although the Prince of Beidi did not study the classics in his youth, he has become intelligent and wise since he began to study them, with profound insights that far surpass those of ordinary people. I have consulted him on many occasions, and he has responded quickly and is well-versed in strategy. The Crown Prince is not capable, the second son has been enfeoffed, and the third son is a suitable successor."

Wang Ji said sarcastically, "Your Majesty still has a legitimate son. Now you are deposing the legitimate son and establishing a son of a concubine. You must be trying to do what the Prince of Donghai did. I think I have not violated the virtues of a woman, but since Your Majesty wants to put Consort Li on the throne, I have nothing to say!"

Wang Ji desperately wanted to bring up the matter of how she had given away her entire fortune to help Zhang Yu raise an army. However, she also knew that saying this would escalate the conflict between her and Zhang Yu, something she did not want. Therefore, she opted for a less ideal approach, bringing up her youngest son, Zhang Wei, hoping that Zhang Yu would consider making him the crown prince.

Zhang Yu softened his tone and said, "Shulan has been married to me for nearly twenty years. Although we have had our differences, she accompanied me when I was weak. A wife who has shared hardship should not be abandoned. I am a role model for the people, how could I possibly establish another empress? Besides, you have done a good job in educating your son and governing the country. If you were to do what Emperor Shizu did, it would be a betrayal of Shulan's heart."

After a pause, Zhang Yu said, "As you said, the Prince of Beidi is a son of a concubine, so he wants to be adopted by Shulan in order to obtain the position of the legitimate son. The Empress is the legitimate mother of the Prince of Beidi, and Suyi is the birth mother of the Prince of Beidi."

Wang Ji looked astonished, never expecting that Zhang Yu would try to use the rites and customs governing the legal status of the legitimate mother and the birth mother to circumvent the issue of Zhang Zhang's status as an illegitimate son. Soon, Wang Ji connected this to Zhang Yu's arrangement for Zhang Zhang to marry his elder brother's daughter. With her keen political sense, she instantly realized that Zhang Yu had probably been planning this for a long time.

After all, the deposition of a crown prince in history often meant the collapse of the political group centered around the crown prince and the end of the political lives of its members. Therefore, the replacement of a crown prince in history often provoked resistance from the old crown prince group.

For example, Zhang Luo was surrounded by members of the Wang clan and their former officials. Therefore, logically, the deposition of Crown Prince Zhang Luo would have caused dissatisfaction among the Wang clan and their former officials. However, the situation was different for the new Crown Prince Zhang Zhang, whom Zhang Yu replaced. His maternal uncle, Li Song, was a protégé of the Wang clan, and his father-in-law, Wang Chen, was himself a core member of the Wang clan.

Therefore, Zhang Yu's political intentions were very clear: as long as Wang Ji acknowledged Zhang Zhang's status as the "legitimate son," and with Zhang Yu's support, Zhang Zhang could successfully replace the former crown prince Zhang Luo and continue to represent the political interests of the Wang clan and their followers. In this political upheaval, the only ones who would suffer losses were Wang Ji and Zhang Luo.

Thinking of this, Wang Ji felt a chill run down her spine; she had never imagined that Zhang Yu was so cunning.

Seeing that Zhang Yu was willing to sacrifice himself and Zhang Luo for Zhang Zhang's ascension to the throne, Wang Ji was greatly dissatisfied and sneered, "It seems that His Majesty has long been dissatisfied with the Crown Prince, otherwise why would he have planned so far ahead for the Prince of Beidi?"

Zhang Yu remained silent for a moment before saying, "The reason I made Luo'er the crown prince is because Luo'er has merits. As for the crown prince's defilement, I may have hesitated, but I have not made a decision."

Before Zhang Luo's affair with a maid, Zhang Yu hadn't actually made a decision, but after this incident came to light, Zhang Yu made a decisive choice. To avoid causing greater political turmoil, he would now appoint Zhang Zhang as crown prince.

"What if I do not wish to acknowledge the Prince of Beidi as my legitimate son?" Wang Ji said slowly.

Zhang Yu looked at Wang Ji quietly and said, "My wife and I rule the world together. Now, for the sake of the great cause of the Tang Dynasty, I hope that my wife can do as I ask."

Looking at Zhang Yu's consistently calm expression, Wang Ji was very dissatisfied. She hadn't expected that Zhang Yu would not only depose the crown prince but also make her acknowledge Zhang Zhang as the crown prince. This was too much of a bullying, and it even had the implication of killing someone's spirit.

Under Zhang Yu's gaze, Wang Ji's words of refusal were on the tip of his tongue, but he stopped himself.

Zhang Zhang is the son-in-law of the Wang family, and now that he has ascended to the throne as Crown Prince, it's uncertain whether her elder brother will be willing to speak up for him. If she refuses Zhang Yu's well-intentioned arrangement, the consequences could be dire. If things worsen, Zhang Yu might not only replace the Crown Prince, but he might even replace her as well.

"If I were to acknowledge the Prince of Beidi as my legitimate son, I wonder how Your Majesty intends to treat the Crown Prince?" Wang Ji asked.

Zhang Yu sighed and said, "Luo'er is also my son, how could I not care for him? If he is not the crown prince, I will enfeoff the eldest son as the Prince of Lingwu. Lingwu is only a little over a thousand miles from Chang'an, and news can arrive in two or three days. If the Empress is reluctant to part with him, I can allow the eldest son to stay in Chang'an."

“Lingwu is too far away, and it’s a barbarian land!” Wang Ji said, wiping away his tears.

Zhang Yu said, "Madam is unaware of the land and water of Lingwu. Its fields are fertile, with thousands of acres of fertile land. It borders Shuo Shang to the north and connects to Guanzhong to the south. If you were to be enfeoffed as a king in the Central Plains, you would not be able to govern the country and would also be able to command the army."

With red eyes, Wang Ji said, "Since Your Majesty has already made your decision, why ask me?"

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Madam!" Zhang Yu comforted Wang Ji when he saw that she was in a bad mood.

Wang Ji stopped crying and said resentfully, "The whole world belongs to Your Majesty, how dare I disobey Your Majesty!"

With that, Wang Ji, filled with resentment, bid farewell to Zhang Yu and left the palace.

Watching Wang Ji's retreating figure, Zhang Yu sighed deeply. Although there were some rifts in his relationship with Wang Ji, they were still quite loving. Now, with the outbreak of the crown prince incident, even if their relationship were repaired, there would still be unresolved issues.

It could be said that Zhang Yu's only fault in changing the crown prince was with Wang Ji. And it was precisely because of this guilt that Zhang Yu didn't follow Liu Xiu's example and change both the crown prince and the empress. Hopefully, Wang Ji will stop here and avoid causing further trouble.

"Someone, summon the Prince of the North to the palace!"

"Yes, sir!" (End of Chapter)