All Hail Cousin Brother

Eunuch Zhu lowered his eyes. The Emperor had not been in court for a long time and the 13th Imperial Censor of the Imperial Court had his power stolen by the Ministry of Rites. The division of power in the cabinet was ambiguous.

The 13th Imperial Censor was usually managed by the Imperial Court, but when he performed his duties, he was not under their control. He directly reported to the Emperor.

Although the official position of an Imperial Censor was low, he had extraordinary power when he went out on behalf of the Emperor. He had the right to report big matters and make decisions on small matters. He could “supervise the elders” and “supervise them with superiority”. He could independently exercise his authority and inspect the governance of officials. He was not restricted and controlled by any officials.

There was no local official who couldn’t be controlled by the Imperial Censor.

As long as there were no major mistakes in the disaster relief, Yu Zongzheng would have made a huge contribution.

It seemed that after returning from the disaster relief in Zhejiang, with such a great contribution, he would not be able to remove his title as the Imperial Censor of the Imperial Court. From now on, even if it was a cabinet meeting, he would have a place. Although his official position was low, his power was close to that of a court official. Even without entering the cabinet, he could compete with the court officials.

Yu Zongzheng had a good mother and a great daughter.

At Ipm, Old Madam Yu and Yu Youyao bade the Empress Dowager farewell and returned to the residence.

Before she left, Auntie Shen held a box with a smile and handed it to Yu

Youyao. “l heard that the County Head of Shaoyi likes the snacks in the palace, so the Empress Dowager ordered someone to prepare a recipe. When the

County Head of Shaoyi returns home, you can make it yourself.”

Yu Youyao was flattered. She quickly took the box and squatted down to bow. “Thank you, Empress Dowager.”

Auntie Shen smiled and pulled her up. She patted her hand. “In the future, when the County Head of Shaoyi is free, please visit the palace to talk to the

Empress Dowager.”

Yu Youyao quickly agreed.

Old Madam Yu took a soft sedan chair, followed by a group of palace maids and eunuchs. They were all holding gifts from the Empress Dowager. They were all exquisite snacks, engraved tea, spices, medicinal herbs, and so on.

They were rare tributes from various places and had been carefully prepared.

When they reached the second palace gate, Yu Youyao bade Auntie Shen farewell before helping her grandmother into the carriage.

The carriage drove out of the inner palace and left the palace.

Yu Youyao pouted and raised her hand to take off the crown on her head. “The crown is heavy to begin with. After entering the palace, I didn’t even raise my head. My neck is about to die of soreness.” Not only did she take off the crown herself, but she also leaned over and took off her grandmother’s crown. “I’ll rub Grandmother’s shoulders and neck.’

Old Madam Yu did not criticize her. She felt sorry for her and said, “l know that you suffered today. Go and rest yourself. I’m not like you. This is not the first time I’ve entered the palace, so it’ll only take a short rest for me to recover.”

Before entering the palace, she had broken out in a cold sweat. When she arrived in front of the Empress Dowager, she watched as her granddaughter responded to the Empress Dowager fluently. Every word and sentence was generous and appropriate. Be it rules or etiquette, she was thorough and did not miss anything. She was not like the little girl who had entered the palace

for the first time. She was even calmer than her.

With such a temperament, she thought that no matter what situation she was in in the future, she would be able to deal with it calmly. Such a temperament was not something that ordinary young misses could have. It was because Linghuai had raised her to have a heart and broad horizons.

From the looks of it, in the past few years, she had allowed the cousins to be close. Even if there were some things that were against the rules, she would turn a blind eye.

The relationship between the two of them was far closer than that of ordinary cousins. In the future, not only would Linghuai have scruples about their relationship, but their deep relationship would also allow him to protect Yao Yao more fully.

Chun Xiao handed her a cup of jade laurel tea. Yu Youyao ate some and asked, “Grandmother, from what I see, Concubine Lan is a smooth-talking person.

Why is she the only one who ignores Princess Liyang?”

Ordinary people were either trembling in fear or being cautious when they entered the palace. Although this was her first time entering the palace, she could actually still observe such subtleties.

She had really worried for nothing. Old Madam Yu felt proud and sad.

“Actually, this matter isn’t a secret in the capital. It’s just that no one dares to say it.”

Yu Youyao became even more curious.

Old Madam Yu did not keep her in suspense. “Think about Princess Liyangs title carefully.”

Yu Youyao was stunned for a moment before she immediately reacted. “Her title mentions a horse and the mountain in the North called Li Mountain. How did the dignified princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty be called a horse?” As soon as she finished asking, her mind exploded. Her cousin had mentioned before that back then, the dog Emperor had traveled north on his own and was surrounded by the Di army. Duke Ning was worried about the Emperor’s safety and hurriedly brought his troops to save him. He had also been ambushed by the Di people in the area of Li Mountain and finally died tragically.

Moreover, Duke Ning and his son were generals who were good at riding and archery.

“That’s right.” At the mention of what had happened back then, Old Madam Yu also sighed. “Concubine Lan has a princess under her name and was conferred the title of Princess Zhao Ping. It means clear and fair. Although she’s the daughter of a concubine, her title is as honorable as that of a legitimate wife.”

In the morning—

It was obvious how much the Emperor valued this concubine’s Princess.

Yu Youyao couldn’t help but ask, “Why is that? Surely the Empress wouldn’t have applied for such a title for her daughter as a tribute to her father and brother?”

Old Madam Yu shook her head. “Because Princess Liyang wasn’t birthed by the Empress to begin with!”

“What?” Yu Youyao’s eyes widened, and she did not react for a moment.

Right on the heels of that, Old Madam Yu threw out another shocking explosion. “No, it should be said that Princess Liyang isn’t birthed by the Emperor and the Empress, nor is she of the royal family’s bloodline.”

Yu Youyao’s head exploded again. She suddenly understood. “Could it be that

Princess Liyang is the young miss of the Ning Residence? What’s going on?”

Princess Liyangs title already explained everything, but she hadn’t thought about it before.

No wonder no one dared to mention this.

Old Madam Yu frowned, as if she did not really want to mention this matter. “Back then, the Ning Residence was convicted. In the Ning Residence branch, other than a weak concubine’s son who was especially kind to the Emperor and was sentenced to exile, the others were all beheaded. The other legitimate and collateral branches of the clan were also sentenced to exile..