Princess Nankang showered under the showerhead, not touching Xing Yuanzhi's bathtub.
Her mind flashed back to what her uncle had told her.
Outsiders viewed Zhongshu Yu as a tiger, but she knew her uncle wasn't bad-tempered; he just had a bit of a temper.
A typical maternal relative would have strictly interfered with the princess's marriage to use it as leverage to further consolidate their power. However, today her uncle spoke to her privately, allowing her to choose her own husband.
"As long as he's not from the Five Great Families and has a clean background," her uncle had said this afternoon.
By "clean background," he meant that the family should have no history of rebellion or collusion with the enemy. Obviously, younger brother Jinyang did not qualify because his mother had once been a demon and had unilaterally ceased cooperation with the royal family.
In other words, her uncle had observed her private interaction with Cheng Jinyang this afternoon and had hurried to remind her.
Sorry, Uncle! I'll decide my own marriage!
Her gaze passed through the rising steam and fell on the tiled wall of the bathroom.
Strange images appeared in her mind:
On the way to the wedding, in the wedding car, brother Jinyang, dressed in a groom's suit, gently leaned against her chest.
Suddenly, a series of explosions sounded outside.
Xing Yuanzhi, Wang Wanrou, Chu Qingqing... those aristocratic ladies came to crash the wedding!
Princess Luling, her younger sister, was struggling to fend off these attacks for her sister and brother-in-law.
And she held brother Jinyang, threw a provocative smile at them from behind the car window, and continued toward the wedding venue.
"Jinyang, don't leave me, Jinyang! Boohoohoo…"
"Get out of my way! Luling, die for me!"
"Nankang! I will kill you! Do you hear me? I will kill you for taking my Jinyang!!!"
While bathing, Sister Xinnan couldn't help but smile indulgently.
Oh, by the way, Luling doesn't seem to have a boy she likes yet.
Should I introduce her to the merits of younger brother Jinyang?
So, more strange images filled her mind:
"Sister, why are you fighting with me?"
Princess Luling's eyes lost their sparkle, and she looked at her with an empty expression. "Didn't you promise to give me everything I like?"
"Sorry, Luling," Princess Nankang said with a sad smile, holding her brother Jinyang in her arms. "This is the only thing I can't give you."
...
After finishing her bath, Princess Nankang took a towel, gently dried herself, and continued to imagine more scenarios in her mind.
For some reason, while other women might naturally have an exclusive desire for their beloved man, she seemed to be inherently missing that aspect.
However, when it came to standing out among her sisters and occupying as much time as possible, she had an intense interest and competitive spirit.
Defeat them!
And then... bully them!
Leaving the bathroom, she saw Cheng Jinyang sitting on the bed, staring blankly at the computer she had brought.
"Jinyang, have you looked at the data inside?"
"Not yet," Cheng Jinyang mumbled. He couldn't exactly say, 'I completely zoned out just now,' so he awkwardly smiled and said, "Something came up…"
"Alright then," Princess Nankang said, lifting her bathrobe and climbing onto the bed.
Cheng Jinyang: ???
Where did you get that silk nightgown?
Well, Sister Xinnan, you're definitely prepared!!!
"I'll just briefly explain it to you," Princess Nankang sat beside him, placing the laptop on her lap. "Come closer."
"Okay."
Cheng Jinyang leaned in as instructed, and then...
Sister Xinnan held him in her arms???
"It's clearer this way." Princess Nankang also had a slightly flushed face, but she came tonight determined to win him over (hence the decisive nightgown she had changed into). Apart from the final step, which had to wait until after marriage, she had largely let go of her usual restraints.
"First of all, the rebellion of the Longxiang Army has been completely quelled. The court is sending Tao Shixing to take charge of Jingzhou. For the next few years, there won't be major military actions in the west."
"The upcoming issues concern internal matters and the north. Internally, due to my father's sudden departure and my brother being too young, the imperial authority has been significantly weakened. My uncle is now taking drastic measures everywhere, reorganizing the administration and intimidating external regions to make up for this deficiency..."
Immersed in the soft embrace of the princess, Cheng Jinyang suddenly recalled the words the Emperor had said when he called him to Taicheng:
"...Once the political order is unstable, competition will arise. Countless ambitious people will eye my position. They will start wars, dragging almost everyone into the conflict. The victor will struggle to gain power, only to be overthrown by new competitors, until someone consolidates most of the power, gains absolute advantage, and establishes a new political order. But until then, such turmoil will continue for a long time..."
Combining Sister Xinnan's description, Cheng Jinyang realized that the current political situation was exactly as the Emperor had predicted.
The rebellion of the Longxiang Army revealed the Empire's internal fragility; the Emperor's passing and the young Emperor's accession only worsened the chaotic domestic situation.
As the Emperor had said, numerous conspirators had already emerged.
One was the imperial faction represented by Sima Yanzuo. When the Emperor was alive, he could suppress these people, but after Yu Yuangui took power, they couldn't hold back and openly rebelled, leading to severe punishment from the central ministers recently.
Attending the snow-viewing event at the Qinghe Cui family was also to communicate with the Five Great Families, making it clear that the crackdown on the imperial clan was due to their treachery, without broadening the target to the aristocracy.
Of course, the aristocracy also suffered greatly during the Longxiang Army rebellion, especially the Five Great Families. It would indeed be unreasonable for Yu Yuangui to further oppress them.
The second threat was Su Zigao in Liyang.
When the court officials moved south, he was left north of the Yangtze River to guard the frontier. In return for facing the demons' direct pressure, the Empire's upper echelons granted him many conveniences, such as allowing him to recruit refugees to expand his army, march north without court permission, and retain the technology obtained from raiding the Central Plains.
These were necessary concessions. Even if you didn't allow him to expand, raid, and plunder, he could still do so secretly, which could alienate him from the court.
These policies initially proved effective. During the previous Emperor's reign, Su Zigao remained submissive and continuously sent refugee resources to the south.
When Wang Chuzhong rebelled, this general responded to the court's call and led the refugee army south to aid Jiankang. Wang Chuzhong tried to persuade Su Zigao, promising wealth once the Wang family took power, but Su Zigao refused, forcing Wang Chuzhong to secretly infiltrate Jiankang with his troops in a desperate gamble.
He ended up facing a highly skilled opponent... and the rest is history.
Thus, most of the external aristocrats believe Su Zigao has no intention of rebelling.
However, Yu Yuangui, with more information, disagrees. For instance, during the suppression of Sima Yanzuo's rebellion, it was discovered that Su Zigao had connections with him, and this matter seemed to be linked to the Shendu Cheng family...
Cheng Jinyang: ???
Hearing this, he jolted awake and climbed out of the princess's embrace.
I'm the head of the Shendu Cheng family, how could I not know about any connections with the rebels?