With the sudden passing of Deng Sui, the burden on Gu Xi’s shoulders grew heavier once again.
He had to stop in his tracks.
In Luoyang, he coordinated the affairs of the four corners.
Although Liu Hu was no longer young, Gu Xi could see that Liu Hu did not have the makings of an enlightened ruler.
Even though Deng Sui had already passed away,
he still had no intention of seizing power.
He left everything to Gu Xi, while he himself leisurely sat upon the dragon throne.
It seed like a high degree of trust in Gu Xi, but in truth, it revealed to Gu Xi deeper hidden dangers.
Old friends gradually passed away.
In the end, ti would destroy everything.
If he were to pass away in the future, what would beco of the Great Han and the Gu Clan?
It was precisely out of such concern that Gu Xi increasingly prioritized the education of the Gu Clan’s younger generation, and he also devoted more effort to nurturing the Crown Prince Liu Bao.
Since the ti of Gu Kang, the Gu Clan had established specific family rules.
To prevent the branches of the family from drifting further apart.
Once the young mbers of the family passed the age of infant mortality, they would be gathered together for unified training and study.
This asure indeed maintained the familial bonds within the clan, and given the continued prosperity of the Gu Clan, this tradition persisted to this day.
However, education is ultimately dependent on talent.
Even if the Gu Clan’s educational thods were advanced for their ti, the upper limits that the young mbers could reach were still constrained by their inherent talents.
Among the current generation of the Gu Clan’s youth,
so may be capable of serving as local governors, or even securing a place in the royal court.
But finding soone who could truly bear the flag of the Gu Clan was indeed difficult.
Yet this is not sothing that human effort can change.
Gu Xi naturally understood this, and thus placed higher hopes on Crown Prince Liu Bao.
As long as Liu Bao, the Crown Prince, could be properly nurtured,
it would be trendously beneficial both for the Great Han and for the Gu Clan.
Liu Bao was indeed exceptionally intelligent, showing a marked talent for study even at the age of six, which made Gu Xi particularly value him.
Even the servants attending to him had to be ticulously selected by him.
Among them, one person caught Gu Yi’s attention.
—Cao Teng!
Gu Yi was genuinely surprised to find that the Gu Clan had now connections with both the Yuan Clan and the Cao Clan.
This Cao Teng was indeed the grandfather of Cao Cao!
Although Gu Yi did not yet know if history would unfold as it originally did,
if nothing had truly changed,
could this be the opportunity for the Gu Clan to avoid the chaos of turbulent tis?
This possibility made Gu Yi’s imagination run wild.
.....
The presence of the Gu Clan had truly shown the changes it brought to the Great Han in full display.
In the original history,
this emperor, Liu Hu, was indifferent to the state and embarked on extensive building projects, expending countless resources.
But now, it was completely different.
The presence of Gu Xi was like a stabilizing force, steadily guiding the Han Dynasty’s court along the correct path of developnt.
Yet, under the sunlight, there was also a shadow, especially in the unpredictable court.
The ministers had now genuinely given up on directly attacking Gu Xi.
Just like Gu Kang once did, Gu Xi alone could already command the respect of a hundred officials.
The officials naturally would not provoke Gu Xi now.
Instead, they attacked each other.
By now, Gu Xi had almost begun to assu the role of an arbiter, overseeing the disputes of the court from on high.
However, despite Gu Xi’s keen insight, there were still areas beyond his awareness.
—Such as the inner palace.
Empress Yan Ji was a woman of a jealous nature.
Actually, there were several specific reasons why Yan Ji could beco empress.
In those years, Gu Xi was busy with disaster relief and was already unwilling to ddle in the Emperor’s harem affairs, leaving this matter to be handled directly by Deng Sui.
Deng Sui’s attitude in the court was always to suppress the powerful noble clans.
Yan Ji might have co from a reputable family, but she did not belong to a powerful noble clan.
Her grandfather was Yan Zhang, who served as Minister during Emperor Ming’s reign, and Yan Zhang’s two sisters were concubines in Emperor Ming’s harem.
Logically, the Yan Clan’s status should have risen.
But we must not forget that during Emperor Ming’s reign, all relatives by marriage, except for the Gu Clan, were severely repressed.
The Yan Clan gained no benefits whatsoever.
For this reason, Deng Sui considered her family background ordinary and, coupled with Liu Hu’s favor, made her Empress.
When Deng Sui was alive, the inner palace was stable.
But with Deng Sui’s death,
Yan Ji’s true nature was revealed.
The lack of an heir for many years further exacerbated the jealousy in her character.
She targeted Liu Bao.
She wanted to seize the position of Crown Prince and establish an Emperor she could control!
Liu Bao was completely out of the question.
Even though his mother, Lady Li, had passed away, with Gu Xi present, it wasn’t sothing Yan Ji could easily manipulate.
Though Liu Bao was the nominal Crown Prince, he had no one protecting him in the inner palace.
Yan Ji was already favored greatly.
Even with Gu Xi in the court, over the years, Liu Hu had continued to promote mbers of the Yan Clan, even posthumously honoring Yan Ji’s mother as Lady Xingyang.
In such circumstances, it was far too easy for Yan Ji to make a move against a young Crown Prince.
However, perhaps because Gu Xi was still alive,
Yan Ji remained sowhat apprehensive.
Thus, she directed her focus first on Liu Bao’s nursemaid Wang Nan and the food supervisor Bing Ji.
...
North Palace.
Yan Ji lazily leaned against Liu Hu’s embrace, her beauty captivating, her allure overwhelming.
Amidst the sounds of music, she occasionally used her fingers to softly caress Liu Hu’s cheeks.
Liu Hu, his face flushed, was completely absorbed in Yan Ji’s gentle caress and the lively music and dance before him.
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