Emperor Yuantai was too overbearing, forcing his sons to either rebel or become weak. The Crown Prince was opportunistic, Prince Jin was a fool, and the Emperor of Changtai was externally strong but internally weak.
He appeared shrewd but was actually timid, lacking decisiveness and easily swayed, prone to fickleness and quick to tire of things.
With such a character as Emperor, a court where ministers were stronger than the ruler was almost inevitable. So even with the Xue consort in high favor, Yan Xiaohan dared to send her a white silk cord. He had anticipated the outcome long before taking action: since the Emperor could compromise the Empress for the Xue consort, he would naturally gloss over the Xue consort’s death to retain Yan Xiaohan as a crucial minister.
“We know the Empress has suffered some grievances,” the Emperor of Changtai sighed, worried, “but We have not done anything to her, only placed her under house arrest. We will comfort her later. Yet you forced the Xue consort to take her own life. How should We answer Xue Ai Qing when he asks?”
Minister Yan, who would compromise himself for his wife, completely failed to understand the Emperor’s reasoning. “House arrest” was just a euphemism. By favoring the consort and humiliating the Empress’s dignity, this was “not doing anything to her”?
What if the Empress had indeed caused the miscarriage of the Xue consort’s child?
Yan Xiaohan sat on the stool, silently reciting a couple of lines from a classic to calm his anger, and said as gently as possible, “Your Majesty, you are the Son of Heaven. Life and death are in your hands. You need not explain to anyone.”
The Emperor of Changtai was silent for a moment, then hesitantly said, “But Xue Sheng…”
“Your Majesty, haven’t you seen through Xue Daren’s intentions in sending his daughter to the palace and secretly spreading rumors about the Xue consort’s noble destiny?” Yan Xiaohan said solemnly. “You rely on the southern noble families, but Xue Shu wants to turn the court into a southern court. Your Majesty must look beyond the immediate. Great Zhou controls territories in all directions, not just the south.”
