Chapter 417 - 415: The Jiang Family’s Knot at Heart (First Update)

Chapter 417: Chapter 415: The Jiang Family’s Knot at Heart (First Update)

At this moment, Xu Jing’s hair had already been smoothed out.

Xu Jing simply leaned back against the man’s chest and said, "The Wei Royal Family, didn’t really take something from them, did they?"

"Not exactly. They never obtained it in the first place, so it can’t be considered theirs."

Xiao Yi paused and said, "Do you know that starting from the Grand Ancestor Emperor, the Wei Royal Family has been passed down for four generations, with four emperors, and correspondingly, there have been four empresses.

Before the current Holy Emperor ascended to the throne, empresses were always chosen from the four great families. However, the current Holy Emperor didn’t want to be influenced by the power of the four great families, and against all odds, he chose a woman from an ordinary military general’s family as the empress."

Xu Jing was slightly taken aback, recalling Chen Xi, whom she had seen in the case where Mrs. Yu sought justice for her daughter. She claimed to be the current Holy Emperor’s cousin, but was still very cautious and did not dare openly offend Zhao Shao Hua.

It seems that even if a woman from one’s own family becomes empress, their family cannot compare to the Zhao Family.

No wonder the current Holy Emperor was unwilling to continue choosing daughters from the four great families as empress.

Xiao Yi continued, "Before that, the Zhao, Xiao, and Wang families each had an empress, but the Jiang Family never had one."

Xu Jing said, "Is it because of the secret history left by the Grand Ancestor Emperor?"

The succeeding emperors, if they knew that the Jiang Family had once secretly cultivated their own forces, even if they didn’t suppress the Jiang Family, they certainly wouldn’t dare associate their family with the legitimacy of the throne.

"That’s right, and there is something that many people may have forgotten."

Xiao Yi said, "Back when the Grand Ancestor Emperor began his uprising, he was already married, but his original wife was injured from years of following him in battle. After giving birth to a daughter, she didn’t have any more children. At that time, the Grand Ancestor Emperor had already conquered half the country, and as the great cause was about to be accomplished, many families following him had intentions, trying by all means to present their daughters to the Grand Ancestor Emperor, even willingly as concubines.

The Grand Ancestor Emperor’s original wife always felt guilty for not giving him a son, so she took it upon herself to find concubines for him. Among the four great families, only the Xiao Family did not have any suitable unmarried women to send, while the other three families all had daughters who married him.

Eventually, the daughter who bore the Grand Ancestor Emperor’s eldest son came from the Jiang Family."

Xu Jing’s eyes suddenly darkened.

Xiao Yi knew she had guessed the subsequent events and gently twirled a lock of her hair, saying, "Because the Jiang and Zhao families were the first to follow the Grand Ancestor Emperor, he became fond of the girls from both families as well.

Three years after the Jiang Family daughter bore the imperial eldest son, the Zhao Family daughter also gave birth to a son. However, since the Jiang daughter’s son was the Grand Ancestor Emperor’s eldest, he always subtly favored the eldest son, wanting to treat his children equally.

Later, before the Grand Ancestor Emperor ascended the throne, his original wife died due to poor health.

Just when everyone thought that after the Grand Ancestor Emperor ascended, the one standing by his side would be the Jiang Family daughter and her son, the Jiang Family’s secret cultivation of forces was exposed.

Xu Jing slightly pursed her lips and said, "I remember, the first empress was surnamed Zhao. The Grand Ancestor Emperor eventually did not make the Jiang Family’s daughter the empress, but instead, made the Zhao Family’s daughter the empress!"

Consequently, the prince who became the Crown Prince and inherited the throne was also the one born of the Zhao Family daughter!

Xu Jing fully understood why Jiang Yu expressed rare emotion and disdain when mentioning the Wei Royal Family.

In their view, the one who was supposed to become empress and give birth to the rightful heir was the Jiang Family daughter and her son!

But who could have known it would ultimately be the Zhao Family who rose to power, and they must have held a grudge.

However, whom could they blame? If the Jiang Family hadn’t harbored improper intentions first, it wouldn’t have affected their daughter and grandson.

Although the Grand Ancestor Emperor seemed to accept the Jiang Family’s words and didn’t pursue their misdeeds further, he never truly trusted them, which is why he left behind the secret history and chose the Zhao Family’s daughter as empress!

This is the knot that the Jiang Family has never been able to untie!

Xu Jing, thinking of this, suddenly thought of something else and turned to face Xiao Yi, saying, "I remember the first empress of Great Chu was surnamed Zhao, the second was Xiao, and the third, the current Grand Empress Dowager, was surnamed Wang. However, even if the Jiang family’s daughter never became empress, with their family’s strength, whenever an emperor was selecting concubines, one of their daughters would be chosen to enter the palace, right?

Although I’m not particularly informed about court affairs, did any Jiang family daughter enter the late emperor’s harem? If so, did she bear any children?"

Previously, they speculated that the force behind Prince Xing was the Jiang Family.

However, Prince Xing’s maternal family is a small family with little presence. If the Jiang Family had their own prince to support, why would they support another family’s prince?

Xiao Yi raised an eyebrow slightly, smiling at Xu Jing, "Indeed, Jing, your intuition is remarkably sharp. Yes, not only was there a Jiang Family daughter in the late emperor’s harem, but in every emperor’s harem throughout history, there has been a Jiang Family daughter, holding a position only second to the empress.

Although the Grand Ancestor Emperor didn’t trust the Jiang Family as much as before, since he decided to let bygones be bygones, he wouldn’t openly target them, and would still maintain their dignity.

And a Jiang Family daughter in the late emperor’s harem did indeed give birth to a prince, who was the late emperor’s ninth son and later ennobled as Prince Ling.

Therefore, although I knew of the Jiang Family’s past, until I heard Cui Han mention the force behind Prince Xing came from the four great families, I never associated that force with the Jiang Family."

After all, who would have thought the Jiang Family wouldn’t support their own prince and instead would support a prince from another family!

Xu Jing’s mouth slightly opened; this was the first time she had learned of this.

But upon learning it, she immediately grasped the Jiang Family’s intentions, "Prince Xing was just a decoy; their true intention was to support Prince Ling. Prince Xing’s exposure to us might even have been a deliberate move by the Jiang Family!

But wouldn’t Prince Xing find it strange that the Jiang Family chose to support him?"

Xiao Yi gave Xu Jing an appreciative look and said, "That’s because the Jiang Family put on a complete show, successfully deceiving Prince Xing.

The Jiang Family daughter in the late emperor’s harem was ninth among her peers, known as Jiang Jiuniang. Before entering the palace, Jiang Jiuniang had a childhood sweetheart. When her family sent her to the palace, she was very unwilling. Eventually, she was coerced by her family to enter the palace, where she was cold to the late emperor and didn’t want to associate with her family.

On one occasion, the late emperor discovered among her belongings unsent love poems she had written to her childhood sweetheart. The late emperor was furious, and the Jiang Family hurriedly went to the palace to plead for Jiang Jiuniang. In the end, the late emperor, considering the ninth prince and the Jiang Family’s reputation, didn’t pursue the matter but never favored Jiang Jiuniang again. Although he didn’t banish her to the cold palace, everyone knew her situation was not much better than those in the cold palace.

Soon after, Jiang Jiuniang had a huge quarrel with the Jiang Family and refused to meet any of them again, nor did she allow her son to see them. After the late emperor passed away, Jiang Jiuniang followed her son, now Prince Ling, to his fief, breaking all ties with the Jiang Family.

Xu Jing frowned slightly.

No wonder Prince Xing believed the Jiang Family sincerely wanted to support him.

She thought for a moment and said, "Do you think the relationship between Jiang Jiuniang and the Jiang Family is as bad as it appears on the surface?"