Chapter 1470: Succession (Part 1)

There is indeed secret surveillance nearby.

The main task of these secret surveillances is to record the words and deeds of the Crown Princess.

Zhao Hanzhang never concealed this fact, "The people are bound by laws and morals, while officials have an additional layer of surveillance. As for the Emperor and Crown Princess, besides being bound by laws and morals and watched over by officials, they are also supervised by historians."

"Every word and deed will be recorded in history, pointed at by future generations, regardless of good or bad, for a thousand years unending," Zhao said, "So you must adapt in advance."

The greater the power, the greater the responsibility, and the more constraints one must endure.

Zhao Mingming adapted well, after all, she had seen a Chamberlain following her mother closely since she could remember.

Even at night, when she was asleep, there was a Chamberlain on duty in the side hall next to the main hall. When her father went home, when he quarreled with her mother, and when he was sent to sleep in the study, the Chamberlain knew better than she did as a daughter.

Even the private life of the couple was so devoid of secrets, let alone her experiences outside.

As her mother would say, "Whether your character and ability can make you a suitable successor and an emperor needs to be judged, and where should this judgment come from?"

"Besides your work, it’s the details of your life. You don’t need to suppress yourself too much. Think thrice and then act as you wish. If you make a mistake, I and the ministers will remind you."

Therefore, Zhao Mingming was aware from a young age that her every word and action would be watched. She did not feel uneasy about it, rather she adapted well.

She had long learned to ignore these people as if they didn’t exist. Only occasionally remembering their presence, she couldn’t help but introspect. Once she assured herself she had done nothing to affect the Crown Princess’s character, she would boldly continue with her life.

She didn’t think there was anything wrong with what she said, as she was the Crown Princess, naturally the next Emperor.

Zhao Hanzhang also didn’t think there was a problem, so upon seeing the record specially reported by Yuan Li, she said, "I am very relieved that she has such ambitions."

With these words spread, the entire court knew that the Crown Princess’s position was solid, and the Emperor never doubted the Crown Princess.

Yet most of the ministers still chose to remain loyal to the Emperor, with only a few choosing to invest early in the Crown Princess’s camp, hoping to build a force for her.

In reality, Zhao Hanzhang was too young, currently in the prime of her youth and vigor. Although she had injuries and illnesses from her youth, she had always adhered to medical advice for recuperation.

Adding to that, she practiced martial arts diligently every day and didn’t indulge in the vices of male emperors, keeping her very healthy.

Much healthier than many ministers in the court.

Her biggest enemy to health was the busy state affairs, but over the years, she established the Council Hall, delegating some of the Left and Right Ministers’ powers to the council, decentralizing imperial power, which eased her burden a bit, allowing her to sleep before midnight.

Besides, the Emperor paid great attention to the construction of the Medical Academy, attracting famous doctors from all over the land to gather in Luoyang, facilitating the rapid development of medicine. With exchange, the medical skills of the Imperial Physicians also improved significantly, the most direct beneficiary being the Emperor herself.

Previously, due to an arrow wound, every season change and summer-winter transition would cause festering sores or itching wounds to gradually heal, making it finally no longer painful or itchy during scorching heat or cold chills.

Conservatively estimating, the Emperor can live to at least seventy years old, and she is currently only thirty-seven years old, meaning there’s no problem for her to be an Emperor for thirty more years.

Thirty years.

Thirty years later, the Crown Princess would be forty-six years old. Meanwhile, if the Emperor were to inadvertently have one or two more sons or daughters, who knows if there will be turmoil over succession?

Moreover, with age, thoughts change as well.

Especially for an emperor, the older they get, the more they value the power in their hands.

Given the historical warning of Emperor Wu of Han and Prince Li, ministers naturally remained cautious. So, even though Zhao Hanzhang showed no reproach towards Zhao Mingming’s words and actions and exhibited unparalleled regard and love for her, along with harmonious and deep feelings with Fu Tinghan, given that she could still live a long time, choosing Zhao Mingming was indeed a high-risk decision for the ministers.

Those ministers who wanted to strive for achievements willing to back the Crown Princess had prepared mentally and decided, only to find that they couldn’t locate the Crown Princess.

Currently, in the court, besides Ji Yuan and Ming Yu, the two Left and Right Ministers, the only ones who knew the Crown Princess’s whereabouts were probably Zu Ti, Fan Ying, and Yuan Li.

They went back and forth among the five, eventually discovering that they couldn’t find anyone to gather information.

Although Ji Yuan and Ming Yu had resolutely chosen the Crown Princess, they were even more resolutely emperors loyalists.

If interests between the Emperor and the Crown Princess conflicted, they would undoubtedly choose the Emperor over the Crown Princess.

The most crucial aspect was that both ministers were staunchly opposed to factionalism and nepotism.

So if they sought Ji Yuan and Ming Yu, wouldn’t that be walking right into a trap?

If seeking Ji Yuan and Ming Yu was walking into a trap, seeking Yuan Li would be seeking death.

Yuan Li was the first candidate they eliminated, with Fan Ying being the second.

If Yuan Li was a hungry wolf, then Fan Ying was a loyal dog.

In the court, the three most notable lonely ministers were Beigong Chun, Fan Ying, and Yuan Li.

Beigong Chun’s isolation was due to his nature. Proud and not good with words, he was also a relative of the Emperor, so he only adhered to the Emperor—also the minister’s favorite solitary minister since he never troubled them.

As for Fan Ying, this person was a mindless follower of the Emperor. Even if the Emperor pointed at an elephant and called it a dog, Fan Ying would argue, Your Majesty couldn’t be more right.

She is currently the Imperial Censor, overseeing all officials.

The Imperial Censorate, now one of the three judicial branches along with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice, not only reported rumors and affairs of the previous court but also wielded judicial power.

There are sub-divisions of the Imperial Censorate in every state and county dedicated to supervising all officials.

The common people can even anonymously report officials’ illegal activities to the Imperial Censorate. As long as there is relevant evidence, the Imperial Censorate will file a case and investigate.

Once verified, they have the authority to handle judicial cases.

Moreover, Yuan Li’s secret surveillance department would also cooperate with the three judicial branches.

Therefore, because the Imperial Censorate was spread across the states and counties, governance could remain so transparent.

Thus, Fan Ying successfully rose to become the third person in the court whom one shouldn’t offend.

The second unoffendable person was Yuan Li.

Those who fell into his hands suffered too much.

Although the Emperor reproached him several times and he made some changes, no official wanted to fall into his hands—too miserable, truly too miserable.

The first unoffendable person was Fu Tinghan.

Offending Fu Tinghan often resulted in the Emperor stepping in even before he got angry to set things right.

However, Director Fu had a good temper and rarely got angry. If someone provoked him, it must be that person’s fault, not just the Emperor, even the ministers would be unhappy.

The only remaining person was Zu Ti.

But Zu Ti... airtight, slippery, hard to get any information from him, very difficult, extremely difficult.

But he was the only one worth attempting.

Those people still quietly went to probe Zu Ti.

Zu Ti feigned ignorance, not reporting anything to the Emperor, acting as if he didn’t understand those people’s insinuations and as if nothing happened.

Zhao Mingming, while out gaining experience for five years, held roles from junior clerk to County Magistrate. She even went to the frontier as a Colonel, eventually entering several battlefields, successfully promoting from Colonel to Assistant General, before returning to the capital as the Crown Princess.

She didn’t return alone.

Upon her return to the capital, she brought back a slew of people, even writing letters to friends she met outside over the years, inviting them to participate in the talent examination the following year.