Female Consort Chapter 84: Female Education

Court officials only had three days of annual leave.

On the second day of the New Year, when Qiu Che brought up the proposal to establish a school for girls during the court session, it was no surprise that she was met with opposition from the ministers once again.

Perhaps, since she returned from the expedition, her sharp tongue seemed less fierce, and the ministers gradually grew bolder.

What they didn’t realize was that Qiu Che was simply too lazy to waste time quarreling with them over trivial matters.

This time, when she made the proposal, she also mentioned, “To be honest, this idea was actually first put forward by Her Highness the Eldest Princess. It is she who decided to fund the school in the name of Zhu Yan, without taking a single coin from the imperial treasury. So, esteemed ministers, there’s no need to be so alarmed.”

At once, the hall erupted in murmurs.

Who didn’t know that Zhu Yan was the richest merchant in the capital?

Zhu Yan’s willingness to sponsor the girls’ school without dipping into the nation’s funds was obviously the best outcome.

But why was Qiu Che bringing this up?

She had already established herself in the political arena as a woman, did she now intend to use this opportunity to pull the Eldest Princess, who would gain merit from this project, into court politics as well?

Setting aside everything else, a royal woman involved in commerce was already an extraordinary exception.

If she were to enter the court, wouldn’t that mean changing the laws that forbade merchants from holding government office?

This law affected more than just whether the Eldest Princess could serve in government.

…

Their suspicions weren’t entirely baseless, but they were mistaken.

Qiu Che had actually discussed this matter with Li Qingwu.

The ban on merchants taking the imperial exams to become officials had its reasoning. This was a centralized, imperial authoritarian state, where most power rested firmly in the emperor’s hands, 

The current situation, with the emperor imprisoned, was an exception.

Merchants were the wealthiest among all professions. If the richest merchant in Great Xia were to enter government, it could easily lead to wealth controlling everything, a single family dominating, swallowing imperial authority, and possibly even the downfall of the dynasty.

Whether that would be good or bad was another matter, but Li Qingwu had no such ambition.

And Qiu Che didn’t intend to overturn the entire system of the dynasty either.

That would be too big a project. She only wanted to reform a small part, laying the groundwork for future changes and subtly influencing the people’s mindset.

A dynastic change was still far too early.

Of course, if Li Qingwu wished, Qiu Che wouldn’t mind accelerating the reforms, making them rougher and faster.

But after much thought, Li Qingwu shook her head.

“My wish has always been simple,” Li Qingwu said, “I only want those I care about to be safe.”

If she also entered court, she would first have to face endless obstruction and violent factional struggles. As a pioneer of historic reform, these were unavoidable experiences.

At the same time, she had to manage her own business empire, Li Qingwu didn’t think herself much stronger than Qiu Che, able to juggle both without stumbling.

Moreover, it would bring many unnecessary troubles to the person who helped her get into court, Qiu Che.

The best choice was for her to stay out of court and focus on her business.

As long as she didn’t go bankrupt, even if Qiu Che was dismissed and exiled, Li Qingwu could always rescue her and take care of her for the rest of their lives.

One in commerce, one in politics.

They would be each other’s strongest support.

Back to the court scene.

No matter how others whispered their conspiracy theories, the Crown Prince only felt headaches from their bickering.

Though straightforward in thinking, after a year of court sessions, he had matured quite a bit.

With a little thought, he could see what everyone else saw.

He cast a strange glance at Qiu Che, who returned it evenly but without emotion, causing him an involuntary shiver.

After hesitating, the Crown Prince wearily decided, “We will discuss this matter tomorrow. If there are no other urgent matters, the court is dismissed.”

The incense burned silently in the hall.

The emperor lay on the dragon throne, eyes tightly shut as if trapped in a nightmare, lips pale with a bluish tint.

Consort Xu’s face was veiled twice over, effectively blocking the incense scent.

She sat quietly beside the bed, eyes lowered, gently wiping between the emperor’s fingers with a damp towel.

Having been bedridden for over three months, the emperor’s face was gaunt, unshaven, clearly neglected and gravely ill.

Consort Xu’s gaze began to drift.

She hadn’t been able to attend to the emperor during his illness from the start.

Four months ago, when the emperor suddenly fell ill, the Crown Prince took over the regency and ordered the entire Yangxin Palace sealed off.

Before anyone else could react, the Crown Prince had already cut off all possible visits to the emperor.

The head eunuch, Fuzi, and the leader of the Imperial Guards, Cui Wenshen, supported his decree, sealing its finality.

Though the two had appeared once to quell rumors, they had since vanished from public view.

Especially Cui Wenshen.

Consort Xu sensed something was wrong.

Soon after, she suffered a miscarriage.

Afterwards, she sought out two people.

One was Li Qingwu, the other the Crown Prince.

After pledging allegiance to Li Qingwu, she ceased sending messages outside the palace, then turned to the Crown Prince.

Her face ashen, she recounted her experience as if unaware it was the Crown Prince who caused her miscarriage.

She apologized for her past arrogance and haughtiness.

And said, “I know you have imprisoned His Majesty. I can help you.”

The swords of the Crown Prince’s guards were already pressed against her neck but halted abruptly at her last words.

Consort Xu remained calm throughout.

The Crown Prince didn’t believe her and asked why.

She said simply, “I just want to live.”

Though still skeptical, he did not harm her further.

Consort Xu knew he wouldn’t.

Although Cui Wenshen and others had come forward to help quell public opinion, it still did not explain why the emperor was kept from seeing anyone.

The Crown Prince needed someone close enough to the emperor, but not too close, to patch up the lies.

At that very moment, Consort Xu appeared, as if he had been dozing off and someone suddenly handed him a pillow.

A consort was a perfect choice.

She could silence the court officials’ suspicions, “See? It’s not that the emperor refuses to see anyone, he simply doesn’t want to see you.”

At the same time, she could keep a close watch on Consort Xu, who already knew the truth.

When a favored consort suddenly dies, it’s hard to come up with a legitimate reason for it.

Sure enough, a month later, Consort Xu’s feigned melancholy and fearful concern over the political situation began to take effect.

She was summoned to attend to the emperor during his illness.

Consort Xu understood clearly: she had been chosen by the Crown Prince.

, Or rather, by those behind the Crown Prince.

They had observed her words and actions for a long time before finally deciding on her.

When she saw the emperor lying there, neither fully alive nor truly dead, her suspicions were confirmed. She also heard the Crown Prince’s faint voice behind her:

“You know what must be done.”

Consort Xu certainly knew.

Only now did her real trial begin.

She served the emperor cautiously, never revealing the emperor’s true condition to outsiders, like a bird startled by even the slightest sound.

To appear deeply worried, she ate only a few bites at each meal, growing thin and fragile.

Yet she maintained the delicate balance, even when assassins sent by the Crown Prince threatened her, never once revealing a hint of what should remain hidden.

She played the part of a frail, worried woman with a little cunning, utterly exhausted and with no ambition left, just wanting to survive, with flawless skill.

Despite this, after serving the emperor for over three months, she had never seen the Crown Prince’s people in person.

During this time, Emperor Li Shi had awakened many times.

At first, he woke every two or three days; then the intervals gradually stretched to three days, five days, ten days, even half a month.

It had been twenty-five days since the last time he stirred.

Because of the emperor’s paralytic state, all his care, eating, drinking, and even relieving himself, depended solely on Consort Xu.

Fortunately, the emperor never stayed awake long, usually less than fifteen minutes before slipping back into unconsciousness.

And because the poison ran so deep, he couldn’t move properly or even speak clearly, just making helpless, stroke-like sounds.

After spending so long at his side, Consort Xu was finally able to piece together bits of information from the Crown Prince’s occasional remarks to confirm the truth:

The emperor’s condition was largely the work of the Southern Yi.

Officially, the Imperial Medical Bureau couldn’t diagnose the emperor’s illness, but everyone knew the truth and dared not speak it aloud.

Anyone who did would face the Crown Prince’s furious wrath, and be executed.

The Crown Prince of Great Xia conspired with the Southern Yi to bring down the emperor... it was an unthinkable horror.

But…

Consort Xu smiled slightly at this thought.

The Crown Prince likely didn’t realize that during her service, because the emperor was utterly isolated and she acted unusually timid and submissive, the emperor had come to see her as his last hope.

Just like now…

Consort Xu paused as the emperor’s eyes slowly opened.

With a worried expression, she whispered, “Your Majesty, you’re awake?”

As usual, she called for the eunuch Fu to enter.

In front of the emperor, she said, “Your Majesty has woken again. Please hurry and inform His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Fu smiled widely, as if ignoring the emperor’s pleading gaze.

“Got it,” he said, then retreated.

Since three months ago, every time the emperor awoke, he looked at them with the same desperate eyes.

Who couldn’t see he was begging for help?

No one answered.

The palace doors closed, the beaded curtain lifted then fell, and silence returned.

The last flicker of hope in the emperor’s eyes for those around him was extinguished.

Consort Xu’s gentle gaze fell back on him.

“Your Majesty, how are you feeling?”

She gave him a mournful look that said, I am truly at my wit’s end. Every time you wake, I must report it. This is not a choice I make.

The emperor looked at her for a long moment, his lips moving slightly.

He made a few hoarse, broken sounds.

“What did you say?”

Consort Xu stood and leaned closer.

Hearing something, she widened her eyes.

“Are you... sure?”

Outside the hall, Cui Wenshen stood silently in the corridor.

His figure was quiet and tense, like a fierce wolfdog, only striking at the right moment.

He glanced into the hall but saw only blurred shadows.

After a while, hearing nothing more, Cui Wenshen turned and left.

…..

In the East Palace,

The Crown Prince flung the beaded curtain aside, making it rattle noisily.

“Qiu Che has truly lost his mind! Completely gone mad! First, he raided the brothels and gambling dens, and now he wants to set up a girls’ academy!”

His footsteps thundered, betraying his unrest.

“Let the emperor be whoever wants to be him, I don’t want to deal with this one more day!”

“Your Highness, that’s not the way to speak,” a calm voice drifted from somewhere.

The Crown Prince nearly jumped out of bed in surprise, and looking closely, saw a familiar, slender figure standing behind a folding screen.

“Why are you here?” the Crown Prince snapped. “You vanish all the time. Aren’t you afraid I’ll have you dragged out and executed?”

“Your Highness,” the man replied softly, “You are not yet ‘His Majesty.’ When you ascend the throne, you will understand my intentions.”

“The power of the Crown Prince cannot compare to that of the emperor.”