Chapter 259: The Bustling Hanlin Academy

Chapter 259: The Bustling Hanlin Academy

Although Princess Zhaoyang inwardly scoffed at Emperor Xingyuan's intuition, deep down, she harbored the hope that Xin Mu was indeed the biological child of her brother and sister-in-law.

People tend to believe more easily in the outcomes they hope for.

"Is Xin Mu at the Hanlin Academy? I want to meet him."

"If my sister wishes to see him, I will summon him to the palace."

As it happened, he was planning to summon him anyway.

"If he comes to the palace, he will surely be on his best behavior, making it hard to gauge his true character," Princess Zhaoyang politely declined.

Emperor Xingyuan thought this made sense and reluctantly agreed.

"Brother, does Mother not know yet?"

Emperor Xingyuan's expression turned serious: "I have given orders. If anyone cannot keep their mouth shut in front of Mother, they will not be spared."

Princess Zhaoyang sighed in relief: "That's good."

After leaving the palace gates, Princess Zhaoyang headed straight for the Hanlin Academy.

At this time in the Hanlin Academy, Chancellor Xie was hosting Meng Jizuo.

Having served in the court together for many years, the two had a good relationship, so Chancellor Xie asked directly: "Brother Ziyan, have you also come to see Xin Dai Zhao?"

Meng Jizuo stroked his beard and denied: "Brother Huaiping, you misunderstand. I came to borrow the historical records of the Mohe Rebellion from the previous dynasty. The Hanlin Academy is about to publish some books, and I have some doubts about a certain passage in the book, so I wanted to cross-reference."

Xie Cheng'an, courtesy name Huaiping.

"I see. I misunderstood Brother Ziyan."

"Ahem," Meng Jizuo coughed lightly, "Brother Huaiping, is this Xin Dai Zhao some kind of celebrity?"

Chancellor Xie smiled: "Not exactly. Brother Ziyan, let me take you to the library."

"Ahem, I heard that Mr. Songling is here. If it's on the way, I wouldn't mind saying hello."

Chancellor Xie's mouth twitched, and he said helplessly: "Follow me."

Despite all the pretense, it was still about Xin Dai Zhao.

It was no wonder that Chancellor Xie had already guessed Meng Jizuo's purpose for coming. Several people had come under various pretexts to see Xin Dai Zhao that morning.

Chancellor Xie directly led Meng Jizuo to the Dai Zhao Office.

Great Xia was different from the previous dynasty. The Dai Zhao Office was divided into east and west halls. The east hall had six Dai Zhao responsible for proofreading documents and historical records. The west hall was more varied, with painting Dai Zhao, chess Dai Zhao, poetry Dai Zhao, divination Dai Zhao, and Xin You, the literary Dai Zhao.

Compared to the serious and busy atmosphere of the east hall, the Dai Zhao in the west hall were extremely idle, almost to the point of idleness.

"Xin Dai Zhao, the Chancellor is looking for you."

Xin You stood up and walked out.

As soon as she left, the expressions of the other Dai Zhao became somewhat complicated.

They too had achieved great mastery in their respective arts and had gained immense renown among the populace. Once, they had been chosen as Dai Zhao with great enthusiasm, dreaming of one day earning the emperor's favor and attaining great honor.

Never expected that seeing the Emperor once a year would be considered fortunate!

The Emperor doesn't play chess, doesn't understand painting, is lazy to listen to poetic phrases, and doesn't much believe in divination.

I thought it was a shortcut to success, but it turned out to be an extremely difficult path.

"Xin Dai Zhao is really different from us," sighed the lyricist Dai Zhao, about to compose a poem.

The divination Dai Zhao shook three copper coins, muttering incantations.

The chess Dai Zhao closed his eyes, playing a mental game of chess.

Xin You walked out of the Dai Zhao Office, exhaling softly.

Her colleagues seemed a bit unusual.

Seeing Chief Xie and Meng Jizuo standing beside him, Xin You approached and bowed, "Chief, you called for me?"

"Xin Dai Zhao, this is Meng Jizuo."

"Greetings, Master Jizuo."

"Xin Dai Zhao, no need for formalities. I came to the Hanlin Academy on business and heard that Mr. Songling is here, so I came to visit."

"Master Jizuo, you flatter me. I am young and inexperienced, merely writing down Mr. Songling's stories."

Meng Jizuo looked at Chief Xie, who nodded slightly.

Meng Jizuo smiled, "Xin Dai Zhao, it's a great deed that you didn't let these marvelous stories be forgotten."

He paused, his eyes intently fixed on Xin You, "Did Xin Dai Zhao hear these stories of Mr. Songling from the late Empress?"

"Yes."

"The late Empress—"

Chief Xie coughed lightly.

Meng Jizuo swallowed his words, turning the conversation back to Mr. Songling, and after some casual chat, he left the Dai Zhao Office with Chief Xie.

"Brother Ziyan, these are calm before the storm, we must be cautious."

Meng Jizuo fell silent.

The turmoil that led to the collapse of Count Gu Chang's mansion, the death of Consort Shu, and the confinement of King Qing has not yet completely ended. The Emperor has already sent people to Wanyang to escort the late Empress's coffin north. Once the coffin arrives in the capital, there will inevitably be a fierce debate between the monarch and his ministers, and a single misstep could reignite a storm of bloodshed.

No matter how many merits the late Empress had, for a queen to leave the palace is unprecedented. When the late Empress's coffin returns to the capital, will she be buried in the imperial mausoleum as a queen, or will she be buried elsewhere?

If the former, it means the Emperor and the court still recognize the late Empress's status, and if a son of the Empress appears, he could become the crown prince. If the latter, this possibility is eliminated.

This matter ostensibly concerns the recognition of Empress Xin's identity, but fundamentally it's about the succession to the throne.

Meng Jizuo was prepared to battle fiercely with those who opposed.

At that moment, the messenger reported that Princess Zhaoyang had arrived.

Chief Xie and Meng Jizuo exchanged glances, smiling wryly, "It seems she's here for Xin Dai Zhao again."

Xin You had just returned to the Dai Zhao Office when she was called out again.

"Who is it this time?"

"It sounds like Princess Zhaoyang."

The divination Dai Zhao tapped on the turtle shell, and the chessboard in the chess Dai Zhao's mind became disordered.

Several Dai Zhao were feeling a bit unsettled.

"Greetings, Your Highness, Princess Royale."

"No need for formalities." Princess Zhaoyang quickly gestured for Xin You to rise and scrutinized her carefully.

She didn’t resemble the Emperor or the Empress.

That was Princess Zhaoyang's first thought, and she couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.

Could she really just be an adopted child?

Then, looking at the young person's composed demeanor, Princess Zhaoyang chuckled.

Even if not a biological child, so what?

This child was personally raised by her sister-in-law, so even if not related by blood, in thought, they are a continuation of her sister-in-law.

Thinking of the late Empress Xin, Princess Zhaoyang felt a warmth in her eyes: "The Emperor told me you are the Empress's adopted child, so you should call me aunt."

The accompanying Xie Zhangyuan's expression shifted slightly.

Princess Zhaoyang was clearly signaling her support for Dai Zhao Xin.

Princess Zhaoyang indeed intended to do so.

She had taken a lesson from the incident with Miss Kou, understanding that to protect someone, the clearer the stance, the better.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but—"

Princess Zhaoyang interrupted Xin You's refusal: "The Empress was angry with the Emperor, but surely not with me?"

"No, mother often mentioned Your Highness to me, saying she had a deep friendship with you."

"That's it then. Since the Empress recognized me as her sister, what else should you call me but aunt?"

Xin You stopped resisting and bowed in greeting: "Your nephew greets you, aunt."

Princess Zhaoyang smiled: "Come to the Eldest Princess’s Residence after your duty to meet your cousins."

"Yes."

Xin You returned to the Dai Zhao Office and noticed the atmosphere was a bit off.