The Valued Lady is Truly Dominant

Duke Dingguo Mansion.

Madam Guan listened to the report from her trusted maid and went to the small study of Duke Dingguo Mansion to speak. The couple each held a cup of tea as they discussed the current situation.

”It seems that the old lady of the Song Family has given strict orders not to pass on messages. Master, it seems things aren’t going well with the one in the palace,” Madam Guan said, knitting her eyebrows together.

Duke Dingguo nodded: ”In the morning court, the Emperor didn’t appear, not even Song Yunzhi, and they announced a court day off. It must be that something happened to the Emperor, though we don’t know what.”

The Emperor’s absence and just letting the eunuchs announce a court day off is not good news. It could cause ministers to be suspicious, but the lack of explanation makes people think even more.

”The Song Family seems unwilling to casually pass on news. Master, our family used to have some old connections in the palace. Do you think we should make a move to keep an eye on the Emperor’s movements?” Madam Guan said, ”If the Emperor is really in trouble, we should be prepared.”

Duke Dingguo smiled faintly: ”You worry too much. What should we prepare for? Our family’s foundation is not in the capital, but in Shandong. It’s true the Crown Prince has not been established, but our Duke Dingguo Mansion has never developed overly close relations with any current Prince. To put it bluntly, whoever rises to power has little relationship with our family. We don’t need any affiliation from allegiance, as the mansion is already as prestigious as it can be; rising further would mean being ennobled as a Prince, which would be more conspicuous than the Duke Mansion.”

Madam Guan thought carefully, then smiled: ”I was being anxious for nothing.”

”Madam is simply thinking that our mourning period kept us somewhat distant from the center of power,” Duke Dingguo waved his hand, saying: ”Actually, sometimes for families like ours that hold military power, staying a little further from the center of power, as long as not completely removed, might be better. Always being at the center of a storm can be too dangerous.”

He used the lid of his teacup to scrape the tea leaves, speaking softly: ”To go back to the topic, whoever rises to power, the Duke Mansion will not be passive. Holding military power, the newly risen will either fear or draw us in. Fortunately, we do not have a daughter in the palace as a concubine; if we did, that would be nerve-wracking.”

”So we should remain inactive?”

Duke Dingguo nodded: ”Inaction is preferable to action, and it’s only a day’s court off. No need for too much stress; if several days pass without a sign of the Emperor, then we should worry, not for any other reason but for the stability of Great Qing. Without a Crown Prince established, the Emperor is the dragon maintaining the nation. In the absence of a Crown Prince, the dragon’s fall means national instability; internal and external troubles will arise, and under a collapsing nest, would there be any intact eggs?”

Madam Guan sighed: ”That’s true; the whole world depends on this monarch. If the Emperor... should a battle for the throne ensue, nobles would only focus on their own interests, allowing external threats to invade. Chaos will reign in the land, and common people will suffer.”

”Though inaction is preferable to action, we must still pay attention to the movements of the wind, lest we fall a step behind, making us too passive,” Duke Dingguo said. ”I will have old connections in the palace keep an eye, and also write to the eldest. Right, the eldest and Ou have been apart often these two years; after mid-autumn, let Ou stay by the eldest’s side for two years. They only have one son, which is rather few.”

Madam Guan hesitated for a moment, then said: ”I don’t mind her going, it’s just that Yan is getting married, and the Song Family has asked twice already. If we delay further, it won’t be past next year; it will be chaotic in the mansion then, what do you think?”

”Let Zhan come back to help you,” Duke Dingguo said. ”The eldest and his concubine have only one daughter; offspring in the main household is insufficient.”

Madam Guan nodded in agreement.