Eldest Imperial Princess?
Ye Shaohua pondered this title...
Her expression instantly became somewhat strange.
This is...
Ye Shaohua handed over the scroll in her hand for the female official to see.
Then she lowered her gaze to start absorbing the plot.
Her guess was not wrong; this was indeed a very peculiar world where women were revered and men debased, where a woman could have multiple husbands and lovers, while a man could only be devoted to one partner.
The body she now inhabited was that of the eldest daughter of the empress of the matriarchal Wang Dynasty, the Eldest Imperial Princess Ye Shaohua.
The Eldest Imperial Princess’s birth father was the son of a great general and thus was greatly favored in the palace.
He was also the empress’s official consort.
Empress Ye Qiufeng doted on both the Eldest Imperial Princess and her father immensely. In the harem, the Eldest Imperial Princess and her father could be said to walk sideways—a term used to describe their unparalleled influence.
Because of the Empress’s excessive indulgence, the Eldest Imperial Princess lived a life of ignorance and sloth, relying on the Empress for everything, and the Empress let her get away with anything without ever forcing her to learn.
The best of everything was sent to the Eldest Imperial Princess, her food, clothing, and belongings even surpassing those of the Empress herself.
One could say she was the most pampered in the harem.
In the end, despite widespread opposition, the Empress went ahead and appointed the Eldest Imperial Princess as the heir apparent, and although she had been made the successor, in reality, she didn’t possess the slightest bit of knowledge on state governance. Not a single person at the Royal Court respected the Eldest Imperial Princess.
If that was all, then there wouldn’t be much else to say.
But in reality, the Empress was merely using the Eldest Imperial Princess and her father, Jun Qing, as shields.
The Empress didn’t actually like Jun Qing, not to mention Jun Qing’s daughter.
What she truly favored was an almost invisible presence in the harem, Qin Youming. From the day he entered the palace, the Empress excessively doted on Jun Qing to protect him, using him as a shield for Qin Youming.
It was shortly after Jun Qing that Qin Youming gave birth to the second princess Ye Mingxin, a fact nearly no one knew.
The Empress cherished Ye Mingxin and Qin Youming as if they were the apples of her eye.
But she never showed this in front of others. To everyone else, it seemed she only favored Jun Qing and the Eldest Imperial Princess.
The reasons the Empress did this were twofold: first, to protect Qin Youming from jealousy and backlash within the harem, as Qin Youming’s low status and unobtrusive existence kept him safe from revenge by the other men within the harem.
Second, she wanted to secure the loyalty of the General Residence.
She let everyone know just how well she treated the son of a family that had dedicated themselves to the Wang Dynasty.
Now, as the great general’s merits continued to grow, the Eldest Imperial Princess’s reputation in the court stank to high heaven. Whenever court officials mentioned this heir apparent, they all shook their heads in disapproval.
The Eldest Imperial Princess acted with impunity, favored by the Empress who subtly guided her.
Since the Second Princess got close to the Eldest Imperial Princess, the latter was very kind to her. With the protection of the Eldest Imperial Princess, no one dared to bully the Second Princess Ye Mingxin.
The Eldest Imperial Princess shielded the Second Princess from many overt and covert attacks,
and protected her as one of her own.
The Empress also very considerately invited the greatest literary scholar and Prime Minister of the time to teach the Eldest Imperial Princess.
This Prime Minister, aloof from worldly affairs, directly delved into teaching the Eldest Imperial Princess political essays upon his arrival.
But how could the Eldest Imperial Princess, spoiled by the Empress to the point she couldn’t even sit still for half an hour, take her studies seriously?
And yet the Prime Minister insisted on assigning homework every month, causing the Eldest Imperial Princess continuous headaches.
However, upon seeing the Empress, the Empress was with the Second Princess and Qin Youming, the three of them together like an ordinary family, enjoying an exceedingly sweet relationship.
The Eldest Imperial Princess was devastated.
And that wasn’t the end; eventually, Jun Qing was sent to the Cold Palace, and the Eldest Imperial Princess was demoted to commoner status.
Those who had once been trampled underfoot by the Eldest Imperial Princess now came to mock her.
Having absorbed this plot, Ye Shaohua wasn’t quite sure what to say.
She had arrived at just the right time, just as Ye Mingxin had written a political essay for her, ready to be reviewed by the curious onlookers.
It was also when Ye Mingxin’s talent was fully acknowledged by the onlookers, and the Empress began her final move to promote her most treasured daughter to the position of heir apparent.
Remembering this, Ye Shaohua glanced at the purple-robed female official... that is, the exquisite answer sheet in the Prime Minister’s hands.
Ye Mingxin was very considerate, even personally writing a copy for the original host.
She said it was modeled after the original host’s handwriting.
The original host even thought Ye Mingxin was particularly considerate.
It looked as though things were settling into place.
But that was before her arrival.
Seeing the Prime Minister excitedly scrutinizing the paper in his hands, Ye Shaohua said nothing.
Instead, she took out a new piece of paper, dipped her brush in ink, and after contemplating the true state of the court, she penned her thoughts. Her calligraphy flowed across the page like dragons soaring through the clouds.
Ye Mingxin had written a compelling essay that led the ministers to kneel and plead for a change of heir.
What if she wrote an even better one?
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Special Agent Rebirth: The Omnipotent Goddess of Quick Transmigration