Chapter 60

Yun Yaoyao took in all the reactions of the court officials as she strode out of Xuanzheng Palace, letting out a long breath.

One word: awesome!

By the time she got back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Yun Yaoyao was still feeling utterly refreshed.

Tu Shanjin had been waiting right beside the Palace of Heavenly Purity for ages, with two iron weights in each of his hands, doing lifting exercises.

Truly a peak overachiever, he even used the spare time waiting for her to squeeze in a whole set of workouts!

His arms, which used to be soft and full of fat, must have now developed perfectly defined lines.

In comparison, Yun Yaoyao, who loved to laze around, eat snacks, and poke the tyrant's abs, rarely felt a twinge of guilt.

Well, fine, she'd do a light few sets of exercises later.

Once they stepped inside the hall, they sent all the palace servants away.

Tu Shanjin picked up the memorials to review them, not forgetting to ask about what happened in the court earlier that day.

"Leave things to me, you have nothing to worry about," Yun Yaoyao huffed and puffed as she did push-ups, then cranked out more than ten sets of crunches to make sure the tyrant's abs stayed perfectly firm to the touch.

After finishing, Yun Yaoyao's back was damp with sweat, so she picked up a clean set of clothes nearby and changed into them.

"Tu Shanjin, what's your take on Du Guanliu, the Minister of Personnel?"

Tu Shanjin answered while still poring over government documents at his desk, "You're thinking of making a move against him?"

Yun Yaoyao chuckled, "Didn't you already have that in mind too? We've had enough of a lull, it's time to pick a prominent figure to make an example of."

At those words, Tu Shanjin met her gaze, and they shared a knowing smile. "Agreed."

He set down his memorial, picked up a brush, and began breaking down Du Guanliu for Yun Yaoyao on a sheet of rice paper.

"Du Guanliu is a senior official who served two dynasties, holds great power, heads the Ministry of Personnel, and is also a member of the nobility. Back in the previous dynasty, he was the emperor's most favored subject, enfeoffed as the Duke of Du, with merits that grant privileges to three generations of his family, and he was even awarded a gold medal that pardons him from death."

"The Du clan is a prominent, century-old established family," Tu Shanjin said as he drew out a diagram of the family's connections.

"Du Guanliu's younger sister was the empress of the previous dynasty, who was buried with the late emperor in the imperial mausoleum after his passing."

"Du Guanliu's eldest daughter was deeply loved by the previous empress dowager, and was titled the Danling Princess with her own fief. She is now twenty-one years old and still unmarried."

"Most of Du Guanliu's sons hold official positions in the imperial court. Members of the Du clan and Du Guanliu's trusted followers, relying on his position as Minister of Personnel, have also secured official posts across the court, forming an enormous force."

"If ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‍rooting out Lou Jianshan was like digging out the most deeply hidden termite in a giant old tree, then taking down Du Guanliu is like yanking that entire towering tree out by its roots."

"This man is wildly ambitious, with massive power, and he is a huge threat."

The names scrawled on the rice paper were so staggering that Yun Yaoyao gasped in amazement.

And there was one more critical point.

Yun Yaoyao added, "Du Guanliu's ambition isn't just to earn the credit of supporting a new emperor. He wants to groom the next emperor himself."

Du Guanliu's power was considerable, but staging a coup to seize the throne himself would go against all rules of legitimate succession, and make him reviled by the masses.

That was why in the original novel, Du Guanliu married his own daughter, that princess, to Tushan Ze, all so that the princess could give birth to an heir.

When Tushan Ze eventually overthrew Tu Shanjin's rule and ascended the throne, he would push that heir to be the crown prince, and then eventually push the crown prince to become the final emperor.

Yun Yaoyao told Tu Shanjin all this, "Before we take down Du Guanliu, we can't let him formally align himself with Prince Ze's faction, or he'll turn into a huge disaster."

If this had been in the past, this matter would have been really tricky. According to the original timeline, Du Guanliu should have already made contact with Tushan Ze, they just hadn't arranged to marry the princess to him and formally pledge allegiance yet.

But now, the whole situation has changed.

Tushan Ze has been sterilized, he can never father any children anymore!

If Du Guanliu finds out about this, would he still let his daughter marry Prince Ze?

Of course not!

So how do we let Du Guanliu get this information?

Yun Yaoyao stroked her chin and thought, and soon a crafty grin spread across her face.

"I've got it."

"Brilliant, that's absolutely brilliant!"

Tu Shanjin raised an eyebrow slightly, "What plan is that?"

"You'll find out later," Yun Yaoyao smiled mysteriously. "Oh right, there's something I was meaning to ask you."

"Go ahead, speak freely."

Yun Yaoyao leaned over and whispered a few words right next to Tu Shanjin's ear.

In an instant, Tu Shanjin's expression shifted, turning flustered, angry, and embarrassed, until finally the tips of his ears quietly flushed bright red.

"Shut up!"

"Don't be so bashful, come on, so is it the case of excess semen leading to spontaneous emission?" The ever-curious Yaoyao asked earnestly.

"Yun Yaoyao, stop talking about this right now!"

"Did you used to have that happen too? Why does that happen? Is it once a month like a woman's period? But lately it's been happening a little more often to me, could that be endocrine disruption?"

"Hey, don't run away, you haven't answered my question yet!"

Very soon, the door of the Palace of Heavenly Purity was pushed open from the inside.

The beautiful man with a red face stormed off angrily in the front, while the emperor hurried after him with outstretched hands, striding quickly to catch up.

Xiao Wuzi saw this scene and couldn't help snickering twice, feeling like he was totally savoring their cute dynamic.

And the emperor even changed into a whole new set of clothes, it must mean that inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity just now, they went full steam ahead on the baby-making plan, the birth of an imperial heir is just around the corner!

The autumn sun was bright, the sky high and the air crisp.

Today, Xuanzheng Palace was completely empty, all the court officials had gathered in the Imperial Garden. After the worship ceremony to the gods and ancestors, they were drinking chrysanthemum wine.

Yun Yaoyao sat at the high seat, looking at the officials below who were clearly not in high spirits, and she understood perfectly.

It was just like modern office workers who finally get a one-day legal holiday off, but have to spend half the day at a company team building event. Anyone in their shoes would rather be lying comfortably at home.

But that's fine, their moods are about to get so much better soon!

Everyone raised their cups and toasted each other, exchanging polite small talk, and Yun Yaoyao handed out the big "employee benefit gift packs".

She even stole a moment to share a goblet of wine with her "Lord Consort Tu", fully showing off how affectionate the two of them were.

Tushan Ze watched this scene, his eyes glinting with a complicated light.

After the Yun Liang incident, he no longer trusted Yun Yaoyao as much as before. But ever since Yun Yaoyao came to Tu Shanjin's side, Tu Shanjin had been gaining power steadily, and even won over several key court officials.

This made him believe even more firmly in the Fortunate Blessing prophecy about Yun Yaoyao.

Now that Tu Shanjin's momentum is so strong, he can't let Yun Yaoyao stay by that man's side any longer. He has to find a chance to take Yun Yaoyao for himself.

If he can't take her away... then he'll kill her!

Meanwhile, members of the Yaoyao Legion, Zhou Siren, Di Shunzhi, Lin Qingti, Liao Zhihan and the rest, were huddled around Ning Shouli, trying to build a friendly rapport with him.

Di Shunzhi: "Minister Ning, don't frown so much. Trust His Majesty, since he said he will protect General Ning, he will definitely keep his word."

Zhou Siren: "Come on, have a drink. From now on we're colleagues, working for His Majesty, and our future is bright!"

Ning Shouli, who was never good at socializing, awkwardly shifted his body further away, his tone stiff, "Who's in the same camp as you lot? I've always remained neutral!"

"Keep pretending all you want. His Majesty is such a wise, good ruler. It's a blessing that he's willing to stand up for you. You keep saying you're neutral, but deep down your scale already tipped over to His Majesty's side back at yesterday's morning court, didn't it?" Liao Zhihan said with a knowing grin that saw right through him.

Gao Chongguang, who had been left out and shunned by the Yaoyao Legion, heard that and glanced over, curling his lip to say sarcastically, "Minister Ning, being noticed by His Majesty is something you should feel lucky about, don't you know that?"

Ning Shouli: "......"

All of a sudden, an unexpected incident broke out.

A commander of the imperial guard escorted a man before Yun Yaoyao, and said in a solemn tone, "Your Majesty, this person was skulking around the wine and vinegar chamber a moment ago, acting extremely suspicious. This subordinate found a packet of white powder on him, and it has already been sent to the imperial physician for examination!"

Some among the court officials recognized the man.

"Isn't this the junior steward from the Food Services Bureau under the Ministry of Rites?"

"When Yun Liang was still alive, this man was the biggest sycophant who kissed up to him nonstop."

Yun Yaoyao shot him a sharp, icy gaze that radiated overwhelming authority, demanding, "Tell the truth. What were you doing in the wine and vinegar chamber?"

"Your Majesty, this official was entrusted by the spirit of my late master Yun Liang in the afterlife, to put something in your wine..."

The official let out a sneer, suddenly breaking free from the imperial guard's hold, and laughed wildly and insolently, "I slipped sterility powder into it!"

The moment those words fell, the entire crowd of courtiers broke out in shocked uproar.

The wine cup in Yun Yaoyao's hand slipped and clattered to the ground. She murmured in disbelief to herself, "I..."

"I... have been rendered infertile?"