Zhen Huan woke up from a coma from childbirth, and the moment she opened her eyes, a trace of imperceptible shock flashed in the emperor's eyes. "Concubine Xi, you're awake." The emperor said in a flat tone, but there was an undercurrent vortex hidden in it.
In fact, before the incident, the emperor had noticed some abnormalities in Zhen Huan, who was usually cautious and cautious, behaved extremely enthusiastically tonight, and even a little hypocritical, which made the emperor vigilant.
Zhen Huan not only used this move to protect herself, but also prepared to subvert the queen's position. She is well versed in the emperor's mind and knows the emperor's deep concerns: never let the harem have a connection with the previous dynasty.
This miscarriage incident happened to touch the emperor's sensitive nerve and created an excellent opportunity for Zhen Huan.
The emperor's nervousness has always been deeply rooted in the inner courtyard of the deep palace in the Forbidden City, like a double-edged sword, which is not only a sharp weapon of his rule, but also a shackle in his heart. This innate paranoia was evident throughout his reign.
Once, the emperor said to his personal eunuch Su Peisheng: "Harem fighting, open and secret fighting, I know it, but that's just a matter of the woman's family, I hate the harem and the previous dynasty the most, and calculate me" These words reveal his attitude towards the harem battle: as long as it does not threaten his rule, he can turn a blind eye.
Beneath the apparent calm of the Forbidden City, there is an intricate relationship between the former dynasty and the harem. Every woman who walks into the harem is not only to pursue her own glory and wealth, but also to pass on news and seek benefits for the family.
This subtle connection forms an invisible net that closely links the former dynasty and the harem.
The emperor's attitude towards the connection of subjects has undergone complex changes at different stages. In the early stage, the emperor could not tolerate the correspondence between Concubine Hua and Nian Qianyao, Zhen Huan and Zhen Yuandao, Qi Guiren and the Guerjia clan, but in the later period, the emperor chose to acquiesce to the connection between Xin Guiren and the family, as well as the contact between Yu Yin and the family secretly.
This change in attitude reflects the emperor's subtle grasp of power, and the emperor understands that a moderate connection between the former and the harem can be a channel for him to understand the situation of the court, but he will never allow this connection to threaten his rule.
However, the queen made a fatal mistake in this delicate balance. At the critical moment of deciding the choice of the crown prince, she tried to get in close contact with the ministers of the former dynasty to build momentum for the third elder brother.
She asked the former ministers to mention the sixth elder brother more, intending to increase the emperor's suspicion of Zhen Huan's desire for the throne However, she ignored a key point: the more she did, the more she would come out.
The emperor has a blood drop named Xia Jia by his side who is in charge of collecting information in the palace, because it was the empress who asked the nobles of the previous dynasty to nominate him as the crown prince when the third elder brother was in the limelight.
However, this angered the emperor, and he began to suspect the connection between the empress and the third elder brother, and although he allowed a certain connection between the court and the palace, he would not tolerate anything that might threaten his rule.
In this undercurrent struggle, Zhen Huan's second miscarriage became an opportunity for the emperor to weaken the queen's collusion with the previous dynasty's family. The emperor skillfully used this opportunity to balance the power of the harem, and at the same time sent a clear signal to the court: any attempt to influence the government through the harem will be severely punished.
This undercurrent of the former dynasty and the harem profoundly changed everyone's fate, and at the same time shaped the political landscape of the imperial court. In this environment of calculation and intrigue, every move can cause huge waves.
What's more interesting is that the fourth elder brother's path to the throne is the same as that of the emperor. They are all good at using in-law relationships to gain the support of military power at critical moments. After the fourth elder brother ascended the throne, the in-laws of the Aixin Jueluo family came out to express their support, and he was widely praised in the court.
Most crucially, he succeeded in gaining military power - at that time, there were many arguments about the establishment of the crown prince, Ortai and Ma Qi, and the former was his minister of military aircraft after becoming emperor.
Perhaps it was this similarity that made the emperor finally choose the fourth elder brother. The emperor saw his own shadow in the fourth elder brother, and saw an heir who could not only control the government but also not be subject to others.
This is exactly the ideal candidate for the crown prince he has been looking for. Zhen Huan played a key role in this process. She not only paved the way for the fourth elder brother, but also bet on the right person at a critical moment.
She knows very well that what the emperor needs is an heir who can control the court situation without being held hostage by others. And the fourth elder brother just meets this standard.
However, this battle for the crown prince also came at a price. Zhen Huan's own sixth elder brother was excluded from the competition for the crown prince from the beginning. Zhen Huan doesn't want him to get involved in the political situation and harem disputes, and only hopes that the child can live a carefree life; And the emperor still has doubts about the child's life and bloodline in the blood test.
The rise of the fourth elder brother not only changed the pattern of the harem, but also determined the future direction of the entire dynasty. In this game of power, every move affects national events, and the success of the fourth elder brother is the most exciting moment in this game.
In the deep palace of the Forbidden City, the emperor's consideration of the prince is like a well-planned chess game, in which the emperor's mental skills are deeply mysterious. The allusion to "Zheng Boke Duan Yuyan" throughout in "The Legend of Zhen Huan" is not only an eternal pain in the emperor's heart, but also an important reference for him when choosing an heir.
This allusion is deeply imprinted in the emperor's heart and affects his every decision.
The emperor did not want his son to repeat the mistakes of the past, nor did he want to see his throne become a tool for his ministers to accumulate wealth. He needed an heir who could hold the throne without being controlled by others.
Therefore, even if he is very fond of Zhen Huan, it is impossible to joke about Jiangshan.
In the Shouhuang Palace incident, the emperor's disposition of the third elder brother reflects his determination to resolutely choose the former between the throne and family affection. When the third elder brother interceded for his former rival and the queen, the emperor was angry on the surface, but in fact he was showing his means as an emperor.
He knew very well that a son who was disobedient to him was likely to do something unfilial and disobedient after a hundred years.
Among the many princes, the emperor finally chose the fourth elder brother Hongli. This choice is not only an affirmation of Hongli's personal ability, but also a comprehensive consideration of the entire court situation. The emperor found that Hongli had similar qualities to himself - he was good at using his in-laws to obtain military support at critical moments.
These qualities allowed the emperor to see an ideal heir who could inherit his will.
When the new emperor Hongli ascended the throne, a new reincarnation was presented - starting in the Forbidden City. However, the day after the new emperor ascended the throne, he sent a deep question to Zhen Huan: "What is the understanding of Zheng Boke Duan Yuyan?" This question is not only a review of the past, but also a reflection on the future, suggesting that the wheel of history is about to turn again.
However, this similarity also suggests a repetition of historical contingencies. The same challenges and power struggles faced by the new emperor are like a reversion of history. For example, Hongli won the praise of the courtiers and mastered the military power when handling government affairs, but he still had to face the open and secret battles of the harem and the power struggle of the previous dynasty.
is like Zhu Dunru's poem: "It is ridiculous to laugh at an upside-down dream, and Yuanlai is just like floating clouds." "Within the walls of the Forbidden City, the game of thrones never ends, and the real winner may never have appeared.
Each generation of emperors and every harem concubine all play their own roles in this huge cycle, staging similar stories.