AUBTN -Chapter 320 Seizing Military Power

Zhen’nan Prince Xiao Zhengnan’s voice was loud and deliberate, ensuring that everyone in the hall could hear him clearly.

“Your Excellencies are still so young, yet you already hold immense power over the court, sharing the Emperor’s burdens. These days, who in the court does not know the prestige of the Eastern Depot and the Jinyiwei? The common people even say that as long as the two of you are present, His Majesty can rest easy and do nothing at all!”

Both Yu Qing and Su Hewan immediately caught the provocation in his words.

This was a malicious insinuation—blatantly telling the young emperor that these two men had grown so powerful that they overshadowed the throne itself, and that the people knew only Shen and Lu, not the Son of Heaven!

Shen Jue and Lu Yan exchanged a glance.

Shen Jue’s eyes clearly said: Your turn to perform.

Lu Yan’s gaze turned instantly cold.

He let out a faint sneer. “Zhen’nan Prince is stationed far in the southern border, yet your information is quite well-informed. However, if your ears have been filled with slander they shouldn’t hear, I wouldn’t mind sending some men from the Jinyiwei to help clear out your ears.”

“You!” Xiao Zhengnan’s expression stiffened as he forcefully suppressed his anger.

Two exchanges—two losses.

While the court was filled with hidden blades and swords, the women’s battlefield was equally ruthless, though without visible bloodshed.

On the other side of the hall.

Zhen’nan Princess Consort Liu Zhaoru, accompanied by her daughter Xiao Yuyao, walked gracefully toward Su Hewan and Yu Qing’s table, each holding a wine cup.

She was immaculately groomed, her makeup exquisite, every gesture carrying the arrogance of a noble matriarch.

Behind her, Xiao Yuyao lifted her chin slightly, her eyes full of disdain.

“Two princess consorts, this is our first meeting. Allow me to offer you a toast,” Liu Zhaoru said with a warm smile, as if she were genuinely here for pleasantries.

Yu Qing blinked her large, watery eyes, looking harmless and innocent.

【Oh ho, an old green-tea expert bringing a little green-tea apprentice to stir trouble? Today this actress is going to show you what real dimensional crushing looks like!】

Lu Yan sat upright. Hearing this inner voice, the corner of his cold mouth twitched upward slightly.

Liu Zhaoru sighed softly, putting on an expression of deep gratitude. “Speaking of which, I must thank the two of you. Back in the southern border, if not for your people helping investigate the death of my daughter-in-law Lin Wan, I would still be kept in the dark.”

She dabbed the corner of her eye with a handkerchief, then changed her tone.

“Although my son committed an unforgivable crime… my husband and I are reasonable people. That child brought it upon himself. Our Zhen’nan Prince’s residence commands a hundred thousand troops and guards the southern frontier. We have seen every kind of storm there is. Naturally, we would not ruin relations with His Highness and the two of you over a mere illegitimate disgrace.”

The words were beautifully crafted.

But in summary, there were two points: first, the Zhen’nan Prince’s residence commanded military power of one hundred thousand troops—no one should think they could be manipulated; second, it was a subtle probe into Su Hewan and Yu Qing’s background.

Liu Zhaoru raised her wine cup, waiting to see their reaction.

Unexpectedly, Yu Qing suddenly widened her eyes and looked at her with exaggerated admiration.

“Oh my god! Princess Consort, you’re so magnanimous!”

Yu Qing covered her mouth, her voice neither too loud nor too soft—just enough for the nearby noble ladies to hear.

“Earlier I heard from Prince Jing that your son killed his own wife in the southern border, and that the prince even kept the daughter-in-law’s undergarments. I already thought you were pitiful. I didn’t expect you to be so… cheerful about it!”

The smile on Liu Zhaoru’s face instantly froze.

“You… what did you say?!”

Yu Qing looked innocent. “Oh my, did I say something wrong?”

“I’m just wondering—if you weren’t happy about it, why would you personally come over to toast and thank us?”

“If this were an ordinary noblewoman, she would have long since cried herself blind. Yet Your Grace is still sitting here chatting and laughing, even casually showing off your family’s hundred-thousand-strong army… oh right!”

She suddenly clapped her hands as if struck by sudden realization.

“I get it now! The Zhennan Prince’s estate is so large and prosperous, and there are so many sons that losing one or two doesn’t matter at all, right? Ah, well, that’s only in a princely household. If this were in the common folk’s world, people would think you, as a stepmother, were secretly hoping he died sooner!”

“Pfft—”

Several officials’ family members nearby, who had been drinking tea, couldn’t help but spit it out.

Those few sentences from Yu Qing were practically stripping Consort Liu Chaoru’s face off and stamping it into the ground!

“You! How insolent!” Princess Yao of the Marquis of Xiao blushed furiously, pointing at Yu Qing and shouting, “What are you, to dare slander my mother!”

“Yao’er, shut up!”

Liu Chaoru took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the violent rise and fall of her chest.

She realized she had underestimated this seemingly loud and reckless woman.

She then turned her spear toward Su Hewan, who had been quietly drinking tea on the side.

“The Crown Princess of Jin is quite sharp-tongued. I wonder, Princess Consort of the Regent, what is your opinion? I heard that you were once merely a palace maid who served people… I suppose you wouldn’t understand the rules of noble families like ours.”

She deliberately used Su Hewan’s origins to humiliate her.

Su Hewan slowly set down her teacup.

She lifted her gaze slightly, a proper, gentle smile on her face.

【Master’s in history. Level-10 palace intrigue scholar. Trying class-based arguments with me? Have you forgotten Liu Bang was a village headman and Zhu Yuanzhang was a monk?】

Shen Jue, holding his wine cup, looked on with growing interest.

Su Hewan parted her red lips, her voice calm yet firm:

“Your Grace is right. Huanwan does come from humble origins. But I once heard someone say that Your Grace’s ancestors were pig butchers, and the Zhennan Prince himself came from humble beginnings as well!”

Her calm gaze met Liu Chaoru’s directly.

“‘Kings, nobles, generals, and ministers—are they born with such status?’ Our emperor values talent above lineage. Both the Regent and the Prince of Jin rose through true battlefield merit and military achievement. What, by Your Grace’s implication, is our imperial system wrong? Or are you suggesting that the rules of the Zhennan Prince’s household override the laws of the Great Wei imperial court?”

Liu Chaoru’s face instantly turned deathly pale. She staggered back two steps, nearly knocking over the palace lantern behind her.

“You… you are spouting nonsense!”

Su Hewan smiled faintly, flawlessly composed:

“If Your Grace did not mean that, then that is good. Huanwan is merely blunt; if I have offended you, I ask Your Grace to forgive me. After all, we are all here to serve His Majesty, are we not?”

Smiling, she raised her teacup:

“This cup, Huanwan toasts Your Grace. May the Zhennan Prince’s estate be—ever, prosperous, and un—ending.”

Each of the four words landed like a blade to the heart.

Liu Chaoru opened her mouth, but for a long moment no words came out. She only felt such suffocating frustration she could have spat blood.

In the end, she could only retreat in defeat with her daughter.

The confrontation among the women naturally did not escape the eyes of those in the main hall.

Seeing that his wife not only failed to gain the upper hand but was instead thoroughly humiliated, Zhennan Prince Xiao Zhengnan’s expression darkened to the extreme.

He abruptly stood and once again cupped his hands toward the young emperor on the dragon throne.

“Your Majesty! On this return to the capital, this minister sees that the court is entirely dominated by the Regent and the Prince of Jin. This minister humbly advises Your Majesty—being still young, do not be misled by traitorous ministers! The Great Wei belongs to the Li clan, not the Shen clan, nor the Lu clan!”

The dagger was finally revealed!

Xiao Zhengnan was forcing the young emperor to take a stance against Shen Jue and Lu Yan!