Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I let out a breath of relief.

Then I told Father about the New Policies.

Father and his political enemies had been attacking one another over them.

In my previous life, after I became the Crown Princess, then the Empress, and finally the Empress Dowager, Father initially held the upper hand in the imperial court.

That lasted until his enemies found something to use against him: in order to curry favor with Father and with me, local officials grew overeager to prove themselves. When implementing the New Policies, they acted with a heavy hand, causing deaths and injuries among the common people.

Father was impeached and removed from office, left idle at home.

And I became even more isolated in court.

The New Policies were indeed good, but by the time a good policy reached the common folk, it had often already changed beyond recognition.

I was forced to bring out the Empress Dowager’s final edict: Li Kun was to be named Prince Regent.

Li Kun was not the Empress Dowager’s biological son. His birth mother had died young, so he had been raised under the Empress Dowager’s name, but the Empress Dowager never fully trusted him.

She had told me that unless there was truly no other choice, I must not use that edict.

It was easy to appoint a Prince Regent. The hard part was ensuring that the Prince Regent did not grow ambitious.

But back then, I had been driven into a corner.

I needed someone in the imperial court to serve as my eyes and my voice, and his status had to be enough to overawe the ministers.

I had no choice but to invite Li Kun into power.

Later, after many stumbles, the New Policies were finally carried through.

Li Kun contributed greatly to that.

But the price I paid was great as well.

My feelings toward him had always been complicated, too complicated to put into words. Whenever I think of it, all that remains is a sigh.

Now that I have been given another life, I want to avoid every trap and make everything go smoothly.

I told Father the key points.

Father studied me closely.

“How do you know all this? Was it the Crown Prince…”

“It wasn’t the Crown Prince. I had a dream.”

I described my previous life to him, disguising it all as a dream.

Most of what I spoke of concerned the court.

After I became the Empress Dowager, there were no harem affairs to trouble me. All my energy was consumed by matters of the imperial court.

When I finished, Father pondered for a long time, his gaze filled with emotion.

“Perhaps it is for the best that you do not enter the Eastern Palace. The harem is forbidden from interfering in politics. If only women could serve as officials.”

Mother pulled me into her arms, weeping uncontrollably.

“My child must have suffered so much.”

My heart ached, and tears began to fall before I could stop them.

In my previous life, the rumors about Li Kun and me had spread everywhere. Though I did everything I could to suppress them, how could I possibly seal the mouths of the masses?

After Mother entered the palace, she looked at my haggard face and never mentioned a word of those scandals.

She only held me tightly and praised me.

“My child is a good mother. Her Majesty is fortunate to have you.”

She did not question me, scold me, or reproach me.

She was a mother too.

She knew what a mother would do for her child.

What did a little pain of the flesh matter?

Even breaking bones and spilling blood would be nothing.

So she did not blame me. She only hated herself for not being capable enough.

She continued to actively attend every kind of grand gathering. If anyone dared show me disrespect, she would put on the airs of the Empress Dowager’s mother. Those who deserved punishment were punished; those who deserved a beating were beaten. Incredibly, she truly managed to silence the rumors for a while.

Only, her own reputation was ruined.

She became known as a shrew.

But she did not care. She, too, was fighting for her child. That was all.