Chapter 50
These past few days, Consort Tu had been radiating chill after chill after chill.
It all started a few days ago.
After three rounds of palace candidates had finished meeting the emperor, and Yun Yaoyao had conferred titles on eighteen of them, the once-cold and quiet rear palace had become thoroughly lively.
One of the newly appointed ladies was innocently chasing butterflies in the imperial garden. She chased and chased until she threw herself straight into Yun Yaoyao’s arms, just as Yun Yaoyao had finished court.
Holding the lady by her slender waist, Yun Yaoyao smiled faintly. “Was that on purpose, or was it an accident?”
The lady leaned shyly against her. “This concubine simply has feelings for Your Majesty~”
Tu Shanjin happened to witness the scene. His face darkened on the spot.
On another occasion, one of the ladies had been darting nimbly up and down a tree just moments earlier. Even the monkeys of Mount Emei would have had trouble catching her. But the instant she spotted that bright-yellow figure, she went limp and fell from the tree, straight into Yun Yaoyao’s arms.
Carrying the lady bridal-style, Yun Yaoyao looked helpless. “Mischievous girl. Trees are dangerous. Don’t do that again.”
After running into this scene yet again, Tu Shanjin refused to speak to Yun Yaoyao for an entire day.
So one day, as Yun Yaoyao hurried toward Yunning Palace after court, she heard Niu Xiu’er’s bellowing sobs from far away.
“Boo-hoo-hoo! Your Highness, have you fallen out of favor? You’re clearly so wonderful, Your Highness! Boo-hoo-hoo…”
Yun Yaoyao sent all the palace attendants, including Niu Xiu’er, away with perfect confidence—and an extremely guilty conscience—then faced Tu Shanjin.
“Consort?”
“Call me by my name!”
The resentful look on Tu Shanjin’s face made it obvious that he was genuinely angry. Yun Yaoyao felt that taking over his body and flirting with beautiful women on the side probably wasn’t entirely appropriate.
So she decided to strike first and seize the moral high ground.
“Tu Shanjin, I’m so disappointed. You don’t trust me!”
“You know perfectly well why I brought them into the rear palace. I’m doing it to train talented people, consolidate your rule, and contribute to the Yanchi Dynasty!”
Tu Shanjin laughed in fury. “You’re still trying to argue?”
“I’m not arguing. What happened to trust between people?”
“You’re not a person.”
“Oh, hey now. Who are you insulting by taking the long way around?”
“You really aren’t a person. You’re the Book of Life and Death.” Tu Shanjin narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning dangerous. “Were everything you told me before a lie?”
Yun Yaoyao nearly ended up lifting a rock only to drop it on her own foot. She gave a cold laugh. “Of course I’m not a person. I’m the noble Book of Life and Death from the Underworld.”
Privately, she added: I’m your dad. Glorious and magnificent!
After finishing their exchange of insults, Yun Yaoyao smiled sweetly and began smoothing down the furious tyrant.
The first step to coaxing a tyrant was, naturally, a generous helping of sweet talk.
“Why are you even getting angry with them? Who do I see most every day? You, of course. Why would I waste my time dealing with them? For you, naturally. I’m training female officials for your sake.”
“I even came from the Underworld to the mortal realm for you… and so on and so forth… Everything is for you…”
Yun Yaoyao rattled off a long string of words. When she saw Tu Shanjin’s expression soften considerably, she immediately pulled a lifelike wooden figurine from her robes.
The second step to coaxing a tyrant was giving him a small gift.
The wooden figurine depicted Tu Shanjin in imperial robes, his expression solemn and majestic.
“Here. It’s for you.”
Tu Shanjin accepted it in surprise, a flicker of emotion stirring in his eyes. “You made this?”
Yun Yaoyao changed the subject, clutching her stomach and putting on a pitiful expression. “I think I must have eaten something disagreeable recently. I hurried over to find you after court and didn’t have breakfast. My stomach hurts so much…”
The third step to coaxing a tyrant was acting weak afterward and turning the tables.
Sure enough, the moment she said this, Tu Shanjin rose to his feet and immediately ordered the palace attendants to bring in breakfast.
Once breakfast had been laid out, Yun Yaoyao weakly waved her hand. “No, my stomach still hurts terribly. I need someone to feed me…”
Tu Shanjin stood up again. “I’ll call Niu Xiu’er to feed you.”
Yun Yaoyao immediately picked up her bowl of congee. “My stomach seems to be feeling a little better. I’ll eat by myself.”
Only after watching Yun Yaoyao finish the entire bowl of congee, then eat several pastries with considerable appetite, did the furrow between Tu Shanjin’s brows finally smooth out.
He turned and walked over to the display shelf, placing the wooden figurine inside a box made of golden-thread nanmu.
Tu Shanjin’s gaze grew unreadable. He ran his fingertip over the figurine’s head several times before closing the box.
It was the first gift anyone had ever given him. He had to keep it safe…
Under Tu Shanjin’s warnings, Yun Yaoyao became like a eunuch walking into a brothel—willing, but powerless—whenever the women tried throwing themselves at her.
She had no choice but to brainwash and rally them in front of a whole crowd of palace attendants, completely out in the open. She also couldn’t have any physical contact with them that crossed the line.
After several days of this, Yun Yaoyao grew irritated.
Why should she have to put up with this?
She was the tyrant now. She could do whatever she wanted!
And so Yun Yaoyao went back to her old, overbearing ways.
And then…
The tyrant went on strike.
He stopped reviewing memorials, stopped handling government affairs, and stopped contacting his trusted aides.
Yun Yaoyao discovered a cruel fact:
She couldn’t manage without him.
After stewing angrily for a while, Yun Yaoyao grabbed a new gift and scampered off to Yunning Palace to find Tu Shanjin.
“Consort~”
I’m back to coax you again!
Thinking it had been quite some time since she had “favored” one of her consorts, and worried that rumors might spread claiming she was no longer capable, Yun Yaoyao selected Tu Shanjin’s name card that very night.
The next morning, the two of them awoke on the imperial bed.
As Yun Yaoyao prepared to attend the six o’clock court session with a deeply aggrieved expression, a voice slowly sounded from behind her.
“After court, I’ll show you a good show.”
Xuanzheng Palace.
Yun Yaoyao sat high above the court, watching the officials below with imposing authority.
The political situation at court had quietly undergone a subtle change.
The reason was simple: Yun Liang had been completely isolated.
Originally, he had still been a covert member of Prince Ze’s faction. No matter how the other factions in court ostracized and mocked him, Yun Liang at least had hope in his heart.
He was a man of Prince Ze, after all—the prince’s trump card!
But some time ago, Prince Ze had suddenly refused to see him, and had not replied to a single one of his letters.
Then, Shangguan Ming, the Vice Minister of Rites whom he himself had promoted and who had originally belonged to Prince Ze’s faction, suddenly stabbed him in the back, frantically seizing and consolidating Yun Liang’s influence within the Ministry of Rites.
By then, how could Yun Liang still fail to understand? Prince Ze suspected him and had abandoned him.
Yun Liang spent the entire night thinking, yet still could not figure out why Prince Ze might suspect Yan’er because that poisonous woman had given her powder that could render her unable to bear heirs—but why suspect him as well?
Why even go so far as to move against him?
After much thought, Yun Liang ultimately concluded that Prince Ze was simply a heartless, ungrateful bastard who had been planning from the very beginning to cultivate a more trusted aide to replace him as Minister of Rites!
With the emperor and Prince Ze both moving against him, Yun Liang was now keeping an even lower profile than before, terrified of making the slightest mistake.
At this moment, Yun Liang felt immensely grateful for his cautious nature. He had already destroyed all the evidence of his past misdeeds.
With wolves before him and tigers behind, Yun Liang had to withstand this oncoming tide and secure himself a new powerful patron!
Yun Yaoyao withdrew her gaze from Yun Liang, a smile curling at the corners of her lips.
Yun Liang, you are already showing signs of collapse. Stop struggling in vain.
Your downfall is only a matter of time!