Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Xia Yu didn't want to leave her family during this turbulent time; she feared problems would arise if she left. However, since Shen Luo's true identity was a prince, only he could rightfully ascend the throne after the Emperor's passing. Any other prince would inevitably face bloodshed. What would become of the world then? The neighboring small states, which had just settled down, would surely seize the opportunity to cause trouble again.

Just as Xia Yu was troubled, Chang Yun came looking for her. He sat opposite Xia Yu, looked at his sister's furrowed brows, and after a moment of silence, finally spoke.

"Is Xiaxia troubled by whether or not to go to the capital?"

"Brother, you know everything!"

"Yes, I had some doubts when I first saw the Emperor in the palace. Later, when the Grand Tutor taught us, he separated us. Luo'er once complained to me in private that he didn't know why the Grand Tutor was teaching him the way of being a ruler. That's when I knew his identity."

"Brother, do you also think I should go to the capital? But I'm worried about home. I'm afraid that if I leave, someone will harm you."

“Luo’er’s identity cannot be hidden for long unless he never sees anyone again. But he is nominally Lord Shen’s eldest son by a concubine, so it’s impossible for him to keep hiding it forever. As long as it’s not Luo’er who ascends to the throne, once the secret is exposed, not only Luo’er and the Shen family, but also our Zhang family, Grand Tutor Li, and even the people of the entire Ming’an County will lose their lives.”

Chang Yun's words sent a chill down Xia Yu's spine; she could almost see a scene of rivers of blood flowing.

"Currently, apart from Consort Jiang and her sister who have some doubts about Luo'er's identity, no one else knows Luo'er's true identity. However, Consort Jiang's eldest prince was murdered, and she hates those people so much that she would like to eat their flesh and drink their blood. She would never reveal this matter. Therefore, you can rest assured to escort Luo'er to the capital. All of us are safe now."

“Brother, how can you be so sure that Consort Jiang won’t tell anyone? What if she’s gone mad because her son died and wants to drag everyone down with her?”

Xia Yu felt that the Jiang sisters were a ticking time bomb. So many children in the palace had been harmed by them. All to pave the way for her own unborn child, she had done everything perfectly, only to have her own son die in the end, benefiting others instead. How could she not hate them?

Suddenly, Xia Yu had a thought, and a possibility came to mind.

"Brother, will Consort Jiang eventually push her own daughter to the throne as empress?"

Xia Yu's wildly imaginative ideas left Chang Yun stunned for a long time before he came to his senses.

"No...no way. Even if the emperor really has no son, there are still princes from the imperial clan. It's impossible for a princess to ascend the throne! Besides, a woman becoming emperor has never happened before in history. A hen crowing at dawn, how could that be possible?" Changyun shook his head with a smile, thinking it was impossible.

“Brother, when I was learning from the old immortal in my dream, in another time and space, there was an empress in their history. Moreover, that empress was not the emperor’s daughter, but the empress who declared herself empress after the emperor’s death and ruled for fifteen years. Now, Consort Jiang’s brothers hold military power. If they can get the support of some ministers in the court, this matter might just be accomplished.”

Seeing that Changyun remained silent, Xia Yu continued...

"So, if she just sends someone to kill Luo'er, do you think Lord Shen will choose between the princess and Prince Ding'an? Lord Shen's wife is Consort Jiang's younger sister, so how could he not help the Consort?"

Changyun didn't know how the topic had changed from persuading his sister to go to the capital to help Luo'er, but he felt that the situation his sister described was not impossible.

“What you said makes sense. We should guard against anything that might happen. Now let’s go to the Grand Tutor and repeat what you just said to him.”

When they arrived at the Imperial Tutor's residence, the Imperial Tutor was talking to Shen Luo. However, it was obvious that Shen Luo's mental state was not good. His teacher had already told him everything. He had never imagined that one day his father would not be his biological father, and his grandparents would not be his biological grandmother. He was having trouble accepting it.

When he saw Xia Yu and Chang Yun enter, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Sister Xiaxia, will you stay with me and my teacher on our trip to Beijing?"

Seeing the hopeful look in his eyes, Xia Yu couldn't bear to refuse and nodded in agreement.

"Luo'er, you go out first. We have something to discuss with Grandpa," Xia Yu said to Shen Luo.

"Luo'er doesn't need to go out, just listen from the side." Grand Tutor Li suddenly spoke, then looked at Xia Yu.

"He needs to grow up. We can't protect him forever. He needs to be prepared for how dangerous the road ahead may be. Xiaxia, just say what you want to say!"

Xia Yu reorganized what she wanted to say in her mind and repeated it to the people present in the most concise way.

"An empress?" Grand Tutor Li stroked his beard and lowered his head in thought. He had never thought about this question before. But just because he hadn't thought about it didn't mean the Jiang family hadn't.

In truth, everyone understood the Jiang family's previous plan: after the emperor's death, they would install the eldest prince on the throne, with Consort Jiang ruling from behind the curtain. At that point, the Jiang family would be the uncrowned kings. Then, once the younger prince came of age, they would send a Jiang family daughter to the palace as empress. With the Empress Dowager protecting them, the empress's son would undoubtedly be the next crown prince. Thus, the position of empress for two or even three generations would be firmly in the Jiang family's hands. Three generations of empresses would be enough to guarantee the Jiang family's continued wealth and power for another hundred years.

Therefore, Consort Jiang persecuted imperial heirs within the palace. The Jiang family wanted to ensure that the next emperor had to be of their bloodline. This was also the reason for the growing estrangement between Grand Tutor Li and the Emperor. In the Grand Tutor's view, the Emperor should not favor one person; it was the right way to distribute his favor evenly and produce many heirs so that the next emperor could be chosen from among the best, ensuring the stability of the dynasty.

For this reason, he repeatedly petitioned the emperor to expand the imperial harem and ensure the continuation of the royal line, while also angrily denouncing Consort Jiang as a wicked concubine who brought ruin to the country and should no longer remain in the palace to serve the emperor. However, the emperor ignored him, only favoring and protecting Consort Jiang. His behavior increasingly chilled the Grand Tutor's heart and emboldened Consort Jiang. In the end, Grand Tutor Li simply retired to his hometown, wanting to stay away from the court and avoid seeing it again.

The Grand Tutor pondered for a long time before slowly nodding.

“What you say isn’t without merit. Although there’s no precedent for this, there’s always a first time. It’s possible the Jiang family might have this plan. Moreover, Consort Jiang’s brothers hold military power. If they suppress the opposing officials with heavy troops, this might actually succeed. Push the princess to the throne, and then have a Jiang family member or nephew enter the palace as the emperor’s consort. When the empress gives birth to a child… wouldn’t the country then belong to the Jiang family?” The more Grand Tutor Li thought about it, the more alarmed he became. At this moment, he even felt that making the princess empress would be more beneficial to the Jiang family than the eldest prince ascending the throne.

"Xiaxia, Grandpa begs you, this time you must protect Luo'er. If anything happens to Luo'er, the world will fall into chaos!"

After decades of trials and tribulations, for the first time, Grand Tutor Li felt that the Great Huai Dynasty had truly reached a critical moment of life and death. Of course, the idea of ​​an empress was just something they were thinking about, and it was impossible for it to actually happen, but what if the Jiang family had also considered this? What they needed to do was avoid all possible dangers.