At the tender age of eight, he was hastily dragged out and made emperor!

"Our Emperor, though young, has an extremely keen understanding of human nature."

Yu Palace.

Ye Ting Palace.

under night.

A dimly lit little house.

Xia Wang held a long needle and used it to adjust the wick of the lamp. As he adjusted the wick, the lamplight flickered. Qian Mu stood with his hands at his sides, but his heart was far from calm.

Li Zhong left the palace to go to the Duke of Xun's mansion. He had thought of this matter. After all, the matter of the eighteen sons carrying the coffin back to the capital was already very complicated. Moreover, outside the Vermilion Bird Gate, the emperor made such a move and said such a thing in front of all the civil and military officials. If he did not go to the Duke of Xun's mansion to pay his respects, it would make many people feel strange.

Qian Mu hadn't expected Li Zhong to say such things when he went to offer condolences: that the disabled and dead family members could go to Yudu to seek refuge. This would undoubtedly cause quite a stir and might even provoke many people.

"Your Majesty, is Your Majesty being too hasty?"

Thinking of this, Qian Mu frowned slightly and looked at Xia Wang, saying, "The reason His Majesty left the palace and went to Shanglin Garden was because the three empresses wanted His Majesty to stay away from this matter."

"A lot happened during His Majesty's stay at Shanglin Garden."

"On the day the eighteen sons carried Li into the coffin to return to the capital, all the civil and military officials gathered at the Vermilion Bird Gate early in the morning. If it weren't for that heavy rain, the three empresses would also have come to the Vermilion Bird Gate tower. It was this heavy rain that caused the accident..."

"Impatient? Just because you're taking care of orphans?"

Xia Wang interrupted with a smile, glancing at Qian Mu, "It's fortunate that His Majesty did this, otherwise there would have been risks. If public opinion had arisen that His Majesty valued meritorious officials more than soldiers, what do you think would have happened in our Great Yu army?"

Qian Mu's eyes widened slightly, revealing a look of surprise and doubt.

He really hadn't expected that.

"Questioning!! Unprecedented questioning!!"

Xia Wang coldly said, "It is true that Li Jin is concerned about the country and the people. He knows that his days are numbered, but for the sake of the country and the court, he is willing to disgrace himself and even put the Duke of Xun's mansion and the Li family in dire straits. But this is what he should do. Who told him to be a nobleman of the Great Yu Dynasty!"

"If one cannot even enjoy the blessings and care of the Great Yu, then why should the Great Yu bestow upon him a title and allow his descendants to enjoy eternal glory?"

“Once such public opinion emerges, some of those who are still moved by His Majesty, or even admire him, will inevitably rebel. What Li Zhong said at the Duke of Xun’s mansion has just silenced the discontent.”

"In that case, won't the three queens have any objections?"

Qian Mu said in a daze.

"There will be ideas, there will be vigilance, but there will be no rejection or even suppression."

Xia Wang smiled and put down the long needle. "Your Majesty is doing this to bring about some changes. The three empresses will surely see that. But under such circumstances, who dares to go against the tide and oppose the majority?"

"Besides."

Qian Mu frowned as he looked at Xia Wang, who had stood up.

"Xu Chu, the man who has done some things, is too ugly!" Xia Wang sneered, his eyes sharp, and said, "Compared to His Majesty, the three empresses are most wary of him, even the Empress Dowager is the same."

Upon hearing this, Qian Mu felt a sense of doubt.

He couldn't quite understand Xu Chu's recent behavior.

"But do you have doubts about Xu Chu?"

Xia Wang saw through it at a glance and walked towards Qian Mu.

"There are some."

Qian Mu lowered his head and said, "He did things that he shouldn't have done, and many of his disciples do the same without any restraint. This is quite different from Xu Chu before."

"That shows how shallow you are."

Xia Wang smiled and shook his head, pointing at Qian Mu and saying, "Power can be very influential. Even the imperial family is like this, let alone other places. Nobody can understand Xu Chu. What trick did he fall into? Why would he do something he shouldn't have?"

"But our family can understand it, and even comprehend it."

"Xu Chu wants to seize more power, at least in the outer court. I can even see that this idea has been brewing for a long time, but he just hasn't had the opportunity to do so."

"But he's already the Left Chancellor."

Qian Mu looked surprised and asked, "He's the top civil official!!"

"See, you've already given the answer."

Xia Wang calmly said, "If he is the top civil official, why can't he go further and become the top civil and military official of the Great Yu, truly second only to the emperor?"

This……

Qian Mu was stunned.

That makes sense!!

If that's the case, then Xu Chu's behavior can be explained.

"In the matter of Li Jin, His Majesty won the hearts of the people and consolidated the righteous cause. His actions before and after this were indeed beyond the expectations of many people."

Xia Wang walked outside and looked at the starry sky. "It has indeed given many people something to think about. In this light, His Majesty has benefited the most. It seems that the three empresses should be more wary of him and even suppress him."

"But don't forget one thing: these are all nominal benefits. The real profits have been divided up by certain individuals, and these are the real gains!"

Xia Wang clenched his fists tightly.

As an observer, he saw things more clearly than anyone else.

Although he wanted to bring about some changes during this period, the current Great Yu Dynasty has rapidly entered the orthodox era, and many things are changing, which is fundamentally different from before.

"If you were the third queen, standing in the position of the third queen, who would you be more wary of? Who would you want to suppress more?" Thinking of these thoughts, Xia Wang looked at Qian Mu who had walked out.

"I'm afraid it's the latter."

Qian Mu thought for a moment and then said, "The ancestor was right. His Majesty's performance was indeed very good, even unbelievable."

"But one fact remains unchanged."

"That is the country and the nation, all of which belong to Your Majesty. It's just that Your Majesty is young, and the three empresses have to temporarily take over the power and participate in politics. But one day, all power will return to Your Majesty."

"His Majesty's performance may indeed give some people pause for thought, such as perhaps we don't have to wait ten or eight years for such a return, but that is just a thought."

Xia Wang smiled with satisfaction.

They're not completely stupid yet.

In this court, ideas that don't translate into concrete actions are just empty dreams and empty talk, and they can never have a significant impact on the overall situation.

"This is the root."

With a sigh, Xia Wang said wistfully, "Our emperor saw this point, so he took precautions to mitigate the risks and further consolidate the hearts and minds of the people he had won over."

"But in the current situation, what makes the three empresses wary, and even cause them dissatisfaction, is not actually His Majesty, but rather some other people."

"Everyone has selfish desires. There's an old saying that goes, 'If a man doesn't look out for himself, he'll be punished by heaven and earth.' If everyone had a public-spirited heart and no selfish desires, there would be no injustices in this world."

"But are there no injustices in this world?"

Yes, there are many!

Qian Mu replied without hesitation: "So many people will interfere, even harm others, in order to create a false sense of peace..."

"There's no point in saying these things."

Xia Wang waved his hand to interrupt, saying, "That's just how the world is. The strong survive. Fairness only exists in books and dreams. What I want to talk about is the current state of the court, where people's hearts are in turmoil."

"Especially on the side of the Three Empresses, it seems that there are distinct factions, but what is the truth? Within these factions, there are too many small groups. They appear to be on the side of the Three Empresses, but it is really hard to say whose side they are on or whose orders they are listening to."

"This is the fundamental reason why it's harder to manage a team when there are too many people."

"For the three empresses, compared to their worries about the future, their immediate concerns are what they need to address as soon as possible: maintaining a balance of power and stability in the court—that's the key!"

This is such a mess!

It's filthy!

Qian Mu frowned slightly. At this moment, his disgust intensified, reminding him of some unpleasant things he had experienced long ago.

"The imperial court is not a place for shouting and killing; if you want to shout and kill, it's not the imperial court."

Xia Wang said wistfully, "In this court, the most common situation is that under the seemingly calm but actually turbulent situation, there will be games, compromises, and even transactions to reach certain consensuses. Even if there are times when the talks break down, in the end, the strong will have the last laugh."

"Therefore, patience is especially important. What we need to do now is to quietly observe these variables and present the most useful information to His Majesty for decision."

Xia Wang now overturned some of his previous thoughts, because he realized that even after living for so long, he was still not as insightful as the emperor. This both surprised and frightened him. He was all too familiar with this feeling, so familiar that he instinctively wanted to submit!