TGPSAC – Chapter 129

Some days ago, Yu Jiuzhou had promised her that she could leave the imperial palace.

But when Chi Wan actually tried to leave, she was blocked. For a period after that, she couldn’t even see Yu Jiuzhou.

Yu Jiuzhou was in the palace, yet she did not see her.

However, during these days, Chi Wan had come to understand the extent of her own power. The people watching her were all Yu Jiuzhou’s trusted aides, and once she left the inner palace, many people recognized her.

Whatever she ordered, someone would carry it out.

But she was quickly discovered and returned to the inner palace.

Chi Wan didn’t quite understand. Did Yu Jiuzhou want her to leave the palace or not? She had agreed, yet she had people watch her. This only made Chi Wan want to escape even more.

However, when Yu Jiuzhou learned that she had left the inner palace and gone to the outer court, she showed no outward reaction. Yet, Chi Wan could feel the cold indifference emanating from her, and the emotions she was suppressing and controlling.

She could feel the biting chill surrounding Yu Jiuzhou.

Chi Wan realized that Yu Jiuzhou was furious about her leaving the inner palace, but she said nothing, merely enduring it. This made Chi Wan feel a pang of guilt.

She hadn’t actually decided whether to flee the palace and escape the capital.

It was just that the coldness from Yu Jiuzhou made her feel a little afraid.

In this minor test, she had only left the inner palace and hadn’t stayed in the outer court for long, yet she had felt an extreme chill from Yu Jiuzhou.

She couldn’t be imprisoned for a lifetime. She was unwilling, so she would definitely escape.

Originally, Yu Jiuzhou had intended to let her leave the palace. If she could just move about freely, she might have considered staying in the capital. But now, it seemed better to leave.

With this in mind, Chi Wan decided to risk leaving the inner palace once more. She had to find a way out. The inner palace was impossible; it was full of Yu Jiuzhou’s people.

Once in the outer court, no one would stop her.

The Imperial Guard was very respectful toward her; she could do as she pleased.

Chi Wan felt the internal energy within her; it had already reached a minor level of mastery. She could scale the walls of the inner palace in just a few moves.

In the days leading up to her departure, she pretended to sleep in, going to bed very early every night and waking up very late in the morning.

This way, they would call her to wake up later and later, giving her more time.

Finally, on the day of the Double Ninth Festival, she decided to act.

There was a banquet in the palace today. She heard that foreign envoys were visiting. Palace banquets were held from time to time, and during such events, the palace was very busy, with people coming and going chaotically.

Chi Wan felt that if she went out, she would not be easily discovered.

That day, she went to bed early, lying on the bed with the air of someone unhappy about being imprisoned but helpless to do anything about it.

Fortunately, when she was sleeping, the people outside wouldn’t come in unless she called for them.

Hearing the noise outside quiet down, Chi Wan went to the window and jumped out. Seeing that no one had noticed her, she leaped over the palace wall in a few quick movements.

She had been to the outer court once before, so she found her way there easily.

But Chi Wan had miscalculated. There were truly a lot of people in the outer court today; she couldn’t walk more than a few steps without running into someone.

The patrolling Imperial Guard was also more numerous, with guards posted every few steps.

That’s right. With a banquet being held in the palace, there were fewer people in the inner palace, but the outer court was much more crowded.

Should she go back?

The thought appeared in Chi Wan’s mind. No, she hadn’t figured out the route yet. She couldn’t go back just like this.

She had only taken a few steps when she heard someone call out, “Your Highness?”

Chi Wan froze for a moment. They probably weren’t calling her. She continued walking forward.

In this situation, if she tried to climb a wall to leave, she would likely be mistaken for an assassin. When the Imperial Guard swarmed her, it would be even more humiliating.

Pretending not to hear was the best option.

The main problem was that Chi Wan hadn’t expected the outer court to be so densely populated. No matter how good her martial arts were, there was nowhere to hide!

Just as she lifted her foot, someone from behind stopped her. “Your Highness? Aren’t you perfectly fine? Why won’t Her Majesty let you attend court? A’Wan, what on earth happened? Does Her Majesty think your merits overshadow hers, so she’s imprisoned you?”

“Although my House of the Earl of Huai’an has fallen, and I, Chi Qing, am merely a Vice Minister of Revenue, if Her Majesty dares to imprison you, I will risk my life to save you.”

Chi Qing? Her Elder Sister?

Xia Qu was different from Yu Jiuzhou. Yu Jiuzhou chose her words carefully, while Xia Qu said whatever came to mind.

Although Xia Qu might omit certain things, she generally wouldn’t hide things from her.

She came from the House of the Earl of Huai’an. After a great battle with her original body’s biological father, she had successfully gotten the Marquisate demoted to an Earldom. Subsequently, her Elder Sister, Chi Qing, inherited the title of Earl of Huai’an and was sent to serve as an official in the provinces. After Yu Jiuzhou ascended the throne, she had Chi Qing return to become the Vice Minister of Revenue.

A smile bloomed on Chi Wan’s face, its curve controlled to perfection. “Elder Sister, it’s been a long time.”

Chi Qing was taken aback, her eyes growing warm. It had been too long since she had seen Chi Wan. When she heard that Chi Wan was continuously on the battlefield, she had worried for days and nights without sleep, until news of Chi Wan’s victory arrived.

When she returned to the capital, Chi Wan was still at war and only came back two months ago.

But as soon as she returned to the capital, it was as if she had vanished.

A few days ago, during the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet in the palace, Chi Qing had been trying to find a way into the inner palace. She had even bribed two eunuchs to get a route.

She was just wandering around here when she saw a familiar figure and immediately called out.

Seeing Chi Wan standing before her safe and sound, Chi Qing’s nose tingled. “A’Wan, you’re in good health. Why didn’t you attend the banquet today?”

Chi Wan frowned, thinking. She couldn’t very well say that Yu Jiuzhou had imprisoned her.

“Now that Her Majesty has ascended the throne, it’s fine for her to handle many matters.”

She couldn’t yet be certain if Chi Qing was trustworthy, so it was better not to say some things.

Yu Jiuzhou was her wife, and Chi Qing was her Elder Sister. She didn’t quite trust the former, so should she trust the latter?

Her words made Chi Qing frown. “Even if you don’t attend court, you can at least attend palace banquets. You’ve been back in the capital for two months, yet no one has seen you. People in the court are constantly asking about you. If they don’t see you soon, I’m afraid the court of Great Zhou will erupt into chaos.”

Am I that important?

Chi Wan couldn’t help but think so. It was precisely because she was important enough that the entire court wanted to see her.

It made sense. She had first driven away the Beining, then repelled the Nanyue. Looking at the respectful attitude of the Imperial Guard towards her, and the fact that she was a prince with a different surname…

A prince with a different surname whose merits overshadowed the ruler—she had collected all the conditions for a death sentence.

Chi Wan looked at Chi Qing before her and decided to take a gamble. “Elder Sister, there is something I’d like to ask you to do.”

She believed that if Chi Qing were to report her, Chi Qing wouldn’t get off lightly either.

Right now, although she had read many ancient books, reality was always different from books. She still hadn’t figured out who her trusted aides were.

If she knew who her confidants were, things would be much simpler.

And now, Chi Qing was the first person from the outer court she had met, someone who had tried to get into the inner palace twice for her sake.

Even if Chi Wan didn’t know the rules of the palace in this world, it was still a palace, a place synonymous with strict rules. If discovered, Chi Qing would be finished, if not worse.

So, someone who would take such a huge risk to find her was either plotting something or was truly on her side.

Either way, Chi Qing would not report her.

Besides, Yu Jiuzhou certainly didn’t want to kill her, or she wouldn’t have imprisoned her. She was already imprisoned; how much worse could her situation get, short of death?

If Yu Jiuzhou did find out, it would be a good opportunity to test just how important she was in Yu Jiuzhou’s heart.

Hearing that she had a task for her, Chi Qing immediately said, “Tell me.”

“I want a fake identity, preferably in Jiangning.”

Jiangning had just experienced war and floods. It wouldn’t be a problem to replace one or two people, and an identity would be easiest to forge there.

Jiangning was in dire need of physicians right now. As long as she went there, treated some people, and spread the name of a divine physician on a small scale, she could get a small courtyard and live well even in ancient times.

Moreover, Jiangning would definitely be rebuilt later. During the reconstruction and recovery period, there would be even more opportunities.

The premise was that she had an identity in Jiangning and could escape Shengjing.

Chi Qing frowned in confusion. “An identity is easy to get, but what do you need a fake identity for?”

Of course, Chi Wan wouldn’t tell her. “Can Elder Sister help me with this matter?”

“Of course.” Chi Qing couldn’t figure it out. With Chi Wan’s status, getting a fake identity should be incredibly easy. Why did she need her help?

Ever since she had been posted to the provinces, the two of them had lost contact. Most of the time, she had to rely on newspapers to get news of Chi Wan.

Chi Wan should have many trusted aides, and many of them should be capable of getting an identity. Why did she entrust this matter to her?

Could it be… that Chi Wan was really imprisoned by Yu Jiuzhou?

Just as Chi Qing was about to say something, Xia Qu walked over with her people. “Your Highness, what are you doing here?”

Chi Wan’s pupils contracted. She gave Chi Qing a subtle glance and walked back towards the inner palace without a word.

She didn’t want to explain, nor did she want to say anything.

Next, she would surely face a round of questioning from Yu Jiuzhou.

The last time she ran out and was discovered, Yu Jiuzhou was very angry but said nothing.

If she did it again this time, would Yu Jiuzhou still hold back and say and do nothing?

Chi Wan returned to her palace. Xia Qu looked at her helplessly. “Your Highness, everyone in the outer court wants to see you. If they find out you have amnesia, the political situation that has just stabilized will likely fall into chaos again.”

“Because the reforms are being pushed nationwide, the number of opponents has increased. If it weren’t for Lord Grand Secretary Gao holding the line, the matter would have probably reached Her Majesty. These days, Her Majesty has been dealing with state affairs, sleeping only two or three hours a day. On top of that, with the visit of the foreign envoys, Her Majesty barely has time to eat.”

Listening to Xia Qu’s words, Chi Wan closed her eyes. Everyone had their own difficulties, but…

She looked up at Xia Qu. “Is that the reason for imprisoning me?”

“Imprisoning?” Xia Qu was stunned and quickly explained, “It’s not imprisonment.”

“Then what do you think it is?”

“It’s…” It did indeed resemble imprisonment. She was well-fed and well-cared for every day, but she couldn’t go anywhere. It was no different from being under house arrest.

Xia Qu was at a loss for words. She couldn’t understand it either. Even if Chi Wan had amnesia, it wasn’t as if she couldn’t go anywhere at all.

There were officials coming and going in the outer court, but they had the inner palace under tight control. It wouldn’t be a problem for her to just walk around the inner palace.

She didn’t know what Her Majesty was thinking, not letting the Prince go anywhere.

Seeing that Xia Qu didn’t know how to explain, Chi Wan suddenly smiled. In any case, she wasn’t an unreasonable person. Why couldn’t they tell her the reason for her imprisonment?

If they gave her a reasonable explanation, she might not be unable to accept it.

“What reason do you want?” Yu Jiuzhou strode in.

Xia Qu tactfully departed, leaving only Chi Wan and Yu Jiuzhou in the room.

The atmosphere between them was not as peaceful as before. Chi Wan could feel the anger radiating from the other woman.

It was no longer the cold chill from before, but palpable anger.

Facing this version of Yu Jiuzhou, she actually felt it was much better than the one who would say nothing and only release a cold aura.

Hearing Yu Jiuzhou ask what reason she wanted, Chi Wan’s lips curved into a helpless smile. “I’m being imprisoned. Shouldn’t I be given a reason?”

“You should. Then I will tell you the reason.”

Yu Jiuzhou suddenly closed the distance, standing right in front of her. “Because if the outside world detects even a hint of your amnesia, Great Zhou will once again fall into chaos. Not just chaos, but there will be coercion, and the reforms we have worked so hard on for so long might all be for naught.”

“We worked so hard for so long to get to this point. If I fail to protect our achievements, how can I face you when you recover your memory?”

Yu Jiuzhou’s voice began to tremble. “For these reforms, both you and I have sacrificed too much. Too many people have died. The millions of people of Great Zhou have placed their hopes in us. I cannot fail, and I cannot afford to fail.”

“You told me the story of the empress regnant. The difficulties a Kun Ze faces as emperor are the same. The difference is, she only had herself, while I had you. But now, you’ve lost your memory and even see me as an imaginary enemy. I’m not afraid of your misunderstanding, Chi Wan, but I am afraid that the reforms will fail, that the people will be plunged into misery. When you recover your memory and see all this, won’t you be very disappointed?”

Yu Jiuzhou tightly gripped the corner of her robe, staring straight at the person before her. Undeniably, she was vulnerable at this moment.

Great Zhou needed to be governed. She couldn’t just kill everyone; that would make it impossible to implement her decrees.

Her opponents in the court were divided into two factions. One group resisted fiercely, confronting her directly in court sessions.

The other group exaggerated facts.

When Yu Jiuzhou issued a decree, they would carry it out, but they would do so with excessive force, turning a good deed into a bad one, making the common people believe she was a foolish ruler.

Too many things had happened recently. People in many places were beginning to think that a Kun Ze should not be emperor, and rebellions had even broken out in some areas.

Of course, she had her own people, but they were too few compared to those selfish and powerful clans, and their official ranks were not as high.

More than half of the officials in the court came from powerful clans. The reforms directly harmed their interests. To them, changing the emperor would still leave them wealthy, but if the reforms succeeded, who knew how much their families would lose.

There were many members of the Great Zhou imperial clan. Although the number in recent generations was small, if one went back further, the descendants of the founding emperors were numerous.

Some powerful clans were contacting these imperial clan members in various regions, wanting to oppose her.

If Gao Zheng weren’t the one presiding over the new laws, with the spearhead still pointed at him, Yu Jiuzhou probably wouldn’t even have time to sleep.

The three major powers of Great Zhou: the imperial clan, the nobility, and the scholar-officials.

The imperial clan had no military power, but they held high political status and participated in court ceremonies. If they refused to participate, it meant the emperor was not recognized by the clan.

The imperial family was a clan, and in society, there were clans. A person ostracized by their clan would find it very difficult to rise again.

They had no real power, but they had the power to be a nuisance. They could even forcibly adopt a child for Emperor Shengyuan to inherit the throne. Of course, such a claim would not be as legitimate as Yu Jiuzhou’s, but it could still stir up great turmoil in Great Zhou.

As for the nobility and the scholar-officials, it went without saying. These people owned vast amounts of land. Once the reforms succeeded, they would surely suffer immense losses.

Chi Wan understood. Pushing for reform was inherently a lonely endeavor. Fighting against the imperial clan, the nobility, and the scholar-officials—none of the three major powers of Great Zhou supported it.

The common people, who should have been supportive, had already lost faith in the reforms due to the malicious implementation by these groups.

However, it sounded like the situation was still under control. Yu Jiuzhou was no fool.

Chi Wan guessed that, compared to Yu Jiuzhou’s emotional state, her own was overly calm. But facing Yu Jiuzhou’s emotions, her heart ached, ached to the point of wanting to help Yu Jiuzhou solve everything. “How are the reforms?”

Hearing Chi Wan ask about the reforms, Yu Jiuzhou was startled.

She had never thought her emotions would become so agitated. As the Grand Princess, she had been like a deity, watching events unfold with a cool detachment. She never expected that after becoming emperor, her emotions would have a breakdown.

But what she expected even less was that after seeing her emotional breakdown, Chi Wan would just calmly ask, “How are the reforms?”

Yu Jiuzhou suppressed the dissatisfaction in her heart and still answered her, “In the provinces near the capital, implementation is going well. Further out, they begin to feign compliance.”

Chi Wan understood. In places the central government could control, the local authorities were obedient. In places where central control was weak, they feigned compliance.

The local officials would say: I obeyed, it’s just that the unruly commoners are causing trouble.

This was to be expected. The reforms harmed the interests of the imperial clan, the nobility, and the scholar-officials. Resistance was inevitable.

And the implementation of these reforms had to rely on these very people. This meant they were harming their own interests, which they would never willingly do.

Presumably, after the previous pilot program in Yanbei, many things no longer needed to be said.

But now that the reforms were obstructed, what was lacking was capable ministers. “Your Majesty, there must be capable ministers who are talented but unappreciated. They don’t care about their reputation, even if they are called treacherous officials. Alternatively, you can have these powerful clans move to the capital, under the central government’s watch.”

Yu Jiuzhou understood at once. Often, what a monarch trusted was not a treacherous official, but their ability, and the fact that this treacherous official could draw all the fire.

As for the latter suggestion, Chi Wan had mentioned it before, but she had been too busy lately, and it hadn’t been put on the agenda.

She now understood why many emperors, knowing full well that someone was a treacherous official, still had to use them heavily—it was to balance the court.

After all, the court was filled with more of the type who were loyal on the surface but whose families were unimaginably wealthy.

Yu Jiuzhou understood that she was now the emperor. If she did everything herself, she would die of exhaustion sooner or later. Therefore, she had to know how to use people.

Perhaps, the plan should be moved up.

To be precise, they had cultivated a group of people, including eunuchs and female Kun Ze. They should have been put to use long ago, but the matter was postponed due to Chi Wan’s amnesia.

Establish censors. These people would report directly to the emperor, bypassing everyone, including the Grand Secretariat, to deliver information to Yu Jiuzhou through legal and compliant channels.

In addition, promote a batch of capable people to counter the old powerful clans, and then summon those clans to the capital.

In fact, Yu Jiuzhou had already done one thing: she had promoted a powerful court favorite, Lu Xin, a capable minister whom Chi Wan had valued in the past.

Lu Xin came from the Lu family, one of the largest powerful clans. Having her lead a struggle against the clans meant she knew her enemy well. One of their own knew best where to stab to inflict the most pain.

Gao Zheng would preside over the new laws, Lu Xin would target the powerful clans in the court who wanted to obstruct the reforms, and then an agency would be established to supervise the thirteen provinces. This agency must be directly under the emperor and powerless without the emperor’s authority—usually a role for eunuchs.

Eunuchs were like rootless duckweed; their power could only come from the emperor.

She also needed to establish an agency composed entirely of female Kun Ze to gradually replace the Secretariat.

The eunuchs would supervise the implementation of reforms in the thirteen provinces and the completion of imperial decrees, while the Kun Ze palace women would take over the power of reviewing and approving memorials.

Similarly, the Imperial City Division would remain independent, and the three would form a system of mutual supervision.

Yu Jiuzhou had a plan, but she couldn’t get over the mental hurdle of appointing treacherous officials. She detested Emperor Shengyuan, and even though he was her father, she did not want to become like him.

But the reforms were more important. Her personal willingness didn’t matter, even if she was the emperor.

Yu Jiuzhou looked at Chi Wan before her. Amnesiac or not, she was just as intelligent. But knowing that Chi Wan had left the inner palace today and had been discovered by Chi Qing, and that the two seemed to have had a conversation, a trace of gloom flashed in her eyes.

A question surfaced in her mind—should she use force?

Chi Wan had said in her heart that force was an option.

Meeting Yu Jiuzhou’s gaze, Chi Wan felt that something was inexplicably wrong. She couldn’t help but step back.

It was precisely this action that caused the suppressed paranoia in Yu Jiuzhou to spiral out of control. The pressure around her became heavy, making it hard to breathe.

For the first time, Chi Wan experienced the oppressive might of an emperor.

She heard Yu Jiuzhou ask in a deep voice, “Why did you leave in secret?”

So it was still about this. Chi Wan had thought that by offering some advice to solve Yu Jiuzhou’s court troubles, the matter would be dropped. It seemed it hadn’t been.

Since that was the case, she wouldn’t hide anything either. “Why has Your Majesty imprisoned me? You promised me before that I could leave the imperial palace.”

Yu Jiuzhou no longer held back. “Can you guarantee that your amnesia won’t be discovered?”

The capital was full of old foxes; otherwise, they wouldn’t have become capital officials. If Chi Wan’s amnesia were discovered, even if it didn’t cause chaos throughout the realm, it would make some ambitious wolves bare their fangs.

The reforms could not afford any mistakes, or she would fail the people of the world.

She didn’t want to imprison Chi Wan either. She just wanted to accompany Chi Wan out of the palace herself when she had time, but she had become busier and busier, to the point where even her rest time was constantly being compressed.

She knew Chi Wan resented this, but with so many matters in court right now, there could be no more accidents on Chi Wan’s side.

Chi Wan’s refusal to answer fueled the fire in Yu Jiuzhou’s heart. She took a step forward, gripped Chi Wan’s chin, and casually tore off the suppression patch on the back of her neck. “Why don’t you answer?”

Chi Wan wanted to struggle, but she was worried about hurting Yu Jiuzhou, so she could only tilt her chin up cooperatively. “What do you want me to answer?”

Yu Jiuzhou’s anger suddenly deflated. “You said that even if you lost your memory, you would still love me.”

“I…” Chi Wan was about to argue but froze at her words. Wait, could an emperor really be so obsessed with love?

Just as she was about to soften her tone, Yu Jiuzhou suddenly pressed closer. “No matter. Then We shall help you recall how you and I fell in love.”

In a daze, her form of self-address reverted to that of her time as the Grand Princess, and it was as if their time had rewound as well.

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