Real Empress from a noble family

Yang Yishi killed herself behind the front gate of the Ding Family on the day when the girl from the Ding Family first visited her parents' home after marriage — She was two months pregnant at the time of her death.

The words she spoke before her death was disseminated to every corner immediately. People began to sympathize Yang Family.

"Are you insane!" The Ding Family was bound to lose considering what's going on now unless Ding Qingyan also killed himself. But Madame Xue could not allow that to come about. Meanwhile, Madame Xue also realized that Yang Yishi died inside the gates of the Ding family in such a fierce and desperate manner that the Ding Family had to give a clear explanation to the Yang Family because Yang Yishi was a daughter of a Minister of Personnel.

So, Madame Xue left her granddaughter and her husband alone to entertain themselves. She commanded her servants to deal with Yang Yishi's body while she was seeking help from her brother, Prime Minister Xue.

Hearing the reasons why Yang Yishi died, Xue Chang denounced Madame, "It was a fact that Qingyan had an affair with Yang Yishi. And I don't think the status of Yang Yishi did not match the Ding Family. Why did you stop them? Now, she died in the Ding Family. I guess some people will attempt to impeach Yiming. His title of Hanlin will surely be stripped! His title was bestowed by the emperor."

"I don't like Yang Yishi. She was an easy girl. Over the past years, you have cultivated them and helped them be successful, but what did they do? They stand on the side of Empress Dowager! A girl like her might make big trouble for my Qingyan if she married him."

Madame Xue was full of remorse now. If she had known that Yang Yishi would kill herself, she would not have forced her son to reject their marriage so hard. "Unexpectedly, she was so malicious. She killed herself on the day her new granddaughter-in-law first visited her parents' family after marriage." said she.

"So, do you have any idea helping Yiming not be demoted?" said Madame Xue with a sigh.

"He has to leave the city because of this! You should feel lucky if he were not found guilty. I know you have been spoiling Qingyan. But, at the bottom, he is from a common family. The future of the Ding Family depends on Yiming!" said Xue Chang, being angry. As a matter of fact, Xue Chang never liked Ding Qingyan, just as Ding Hanlin did. After all, he was a family member and covered by Madame Xue. They could do nothing about him but to let him go.

This time, however, Xue Chang did hate this grandson.

It should be noted that Ding Yiming was not only Xue Chang's nephew, but also a helper in the Court. Xue Chang was the head of the neutral party but Ding Hanlin was also a critical member of the party. But now, Ding Hanlin was in trouble because of his nephew, which would definitely impact the neutral party as he was the head. His immediate concern was that both people standing with Empress Dowager and Empress would take advantage of this trouble, forcing him to succumb!

Noticing that Xue Chang was angry at her, Madame Xue said in a low voice, "It's all my fault. Because of my love for Qingyan, I made Yiming into trouble… But, Qingyan is the only son Yiguang has in the world! Even we have to compensate for the Yang Family, they should not ask my Qingyan to die, right? Yang Yishi killed herself on the day when Qinghong came back to the Ding Family. She was so malicious!"

"They wouldn't, I guess." said Xue Chang after keeping quiet for a while. "But, Qingyan must bring the memorial tablet of Yang Yishi to the Ding Family. And he must go to the Yang Family, mourning for their lost… Those are the things he must do. If the situation went worse, he might be put into prison."

After hearing the first two, Madame Xue accepted grudgingly. When she heard that Ding Qingyan might be put into prison, she was shocked, "Into prison?"

"When Qinghong first visited her own family, Yang Yishi must have been helped by somebody else to blend into the celebrating and cheering crowd." said Xue Chang coldly. "If the Yang Family hadn't let her out, she wouldn't have been out of her room at that time! I don't think it was the Yang Family who asked her to do that on the day Qinghong went back to her own family. As you know, Qinghong's husband is the son of the Duke of Xihe! The Yang Family must think for Princess Yang before doing anything. I think… it must be Empress Dowager who asked her to do it!"

"Shush…" Madame Xue gave him a gesture. Although she paid scant attention to politics, it's about Empress Dowager. She must know the severity of the thing or she had lived for nothing over the past years. "You mean that if we did not follow Empress Dowager, she might put Qingyan into prison in the excuse of Yang Yishi's case? If it happened, Qingyan might be killed in prison? Right?"

"So, you mean you want me to choose Empress Dowager's side for avoiding putting Qingyan into prison?" said Xue Chang coldly.

"You misunderstood me." said Madame Xue with a shock. In a second, it dawned on her more clearly what's going on. Compared with the troublemaker Ding Qingyan, Xue Chang was the innocent one but he was hurt the most in the whole case. "I said it's all my fault. If I haven't forced Yiming to resist the wedding between Yiming and Yang Yishi, Yiming and you wouldn't have been in trouble…"

Speaking of this, Madame Xue said on impulse, "One life? Right? Yang Yishi dared to do that, so do I. I will hang myself in the Yang Family tomorrow! And then Empress Dowager will definitely shut up this time!"

"Are you insane?" said Xue Chang. He knew that Madame Xue, his sister, did not care about politics. There was only one thing in her eyes, her grandson, Ding Qingyan. Xue Chang knew well that she didn't make the trouble on purpose although she caused it. He immediately stopped her impulse when he heard that she intended to kill herself for shutting the Yang Family up. "Yang Yishi was just a kid. Her life is worthless, but yours not."

Madame Xue shook her head, saying, "Don't stop me then. You just said that Yiming is the vital person developing our family. I know he wouldn't have had today's achievements without your assistance. Only if you are okay, Yiming and others would be okay then. As of me, I am old, anyway…"

"Do you think that Empress Dowager had egged Yang Yishi on, and then she would let us go easily?" said Xue Chang with a sign. "Forget it. I will handle it. You know that Empress Dowager and Empress have wanted me to stand along with one of them for a long time. I can handle them correctly."

Xue Chang took a long time to persuade his sister giving up the idea of killing herself in the Yang Family. Seeing her off, Xue Chang pondered for a while. He summoned his grandson, Xue Nongying. "You go and pack your stuff. You need to live with your aunts for a long time."

Xue Fangfei, Xue Chang's first daughter, lived in Yanzhou, which was thousands of miles away.

"What's happened to my first aunt?" asked Xue Nongying with a shock after hearing his words.

"We are in trouble now because of the Ding Family. Empress Dowager had known something which can be used against us. For your safety, you must go somewhere else." said Xue Chang.

"But if something happened to our family, do you think my aunt's family would survive?" asked Xue Nongying. He disagreed with his grandpa. "I remembered that when General Ruan was conquered in the battles, his sons, grandsons and son-in-law all were in trouble. What's more, I have stayed here and been covered by you for fifteen years already. Now, you are in trouble and I run away, do you think that is a man should do? I will stay here sharing your burden."

"Bullshit. If you escaped from the trouble, we would still have a chance to make everything back. What can you do to stay here?" shouted Xue Chang.

"Empress Dowager now can force you to take a side because the Yang Family had the upper hand in public opinion about Yang Yishi's case." said Xue Nongying with head lowering. And then he said, "But Empress Dowager, in effect, did not want to punish you, she wanted you to take her side instead!"

Seeing his grandpa did not respond, he continued without being discouraged. "So, I think we can use Empress to fight against Empress Dowager and prevent her from being too pushy on you."

"Do you think I don't know how to balance the power?" said Xue Chang coldly. "Do you think the Jiang Family is a good one? Do you think the Jiang Family won't take advantage of the case?" questioned Xue Chang, seeming tired. "In the past, they tried everything to get me but I rejected. Now, I have to succumb to them? If I agreed, I would be in a weaker position forever!"

He had been protecting himself discreetly for many years in the battle of the two queens. Over the past decade, he had been in the center of power but stayed firmly. His bearings gained respect from Empress Dowager Gu and Empress Jiang although they tried to get him. On the surface, it seemed that he won. In effect, he lived a life just like walking on thin ice.

Xue Chang knew that as he had chosen to go into politics, he must know how to deal with the power battle. It's not a children's game. It's a bet, a bet on life. Take the Yang Family as an example. They lived in a miserable condition now. If they kept neutral and did not choose to be on Empress Dowager's side, Madame Xue wouldn't have bullied his brother, his sons and his allies although she did not care about politics. In honesty, the reason why Madame Xue rejected Qingyan to marry Yang Yishi was that the Yang Family betrayed Xue Chang and really loved Ding Qingyan.

Simply put, Xue Chang, as an officer, had been impartial for so many years during the battle between the most powerful mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. He must have suffered a lot but he had dealt with them perfectly. But now, he had to stand out to choose a side. To choose Empress Dowager Gu's side, it meant he asked her pardon. To choose Empress Jiang's side, it meant he begged for help. No matter which side he chose, Xue Chang felt deeply wronged. He knew trouble was knocking on his door now.

Xue Nongying squinted, saying, "Even if the Jiang Family used us, it would be better to be used by Empress Dowager Gu. After all, Empress Dowager Gu has something on the Ding Family and us. If we chose Empress Dowager, we would be in a weaker position. We know that the Yang Family is on Empress Dowager's side."

"Do you think I don't know what you said? But you may not notice that Jiang Tianao has been trying to replace me for a long time! If I chose the Jiang Family, I would lose my position definitely. I'm okay that I lose my position. I have been in this position for many years already. I am reluctant to pass my position and my reputation to Jiang Tianao when I resign. At that time, when he gets my position, he must get rid of my confidants and my men and replace them with his own ones. I have been in the position for decades. And I have plenty of students in this nation. Does he want to get rid of them all? If he wanted to do this, do you think what he would do?"

What would he do? Two options. To kill Xue Chang or to bruise Xue Chang's reputation. Whichever it was, it was not a good one to Xue Chang.

To lose his position and perks or to live under others' thumb, it's a question. Xue Chang, as a minister for decades, of course, would be reluctant to live like that.

"Simply to say, it's severe this time." said Xue Chang with a sigh. "But you don't need to worry too much. I have served two emperors. I don't think I can't go through the storm this time. The reason why I asked you to live with your aunt and told you the truth is that I worry about your safety."

Musing for a while, Xue Nongying still defied his grandpa. He whispered, "Or… how about our family to establish a connection with the Jiang Family through marriage?"

"We know that you can't lose your position now. If we used the Jiang Family, it would not be easy for you to get out of the trouble that grandma and Qingyan made." explained he. After all, the Ding Family made a mistake to the Yang Family. As the uncle of Ding Hanlin and Ding Qingyan and the head of the neutral party, Xue Chang would not escape from the trouble easily, regardless of his position or relationship with them.

"If we wanted the Jiang Family to help us, why not to establish a connection with the Jiang Family through marriage?"

"It sounds like a terrible idea. Do you think that Jiang Tianao will let me go because of the connection with us? Just like a saying goes, 'Like father, like son.' If Jiang Qianchuan had not married Madame Tao's daughter as his second wife, the Jiang Family wouldn't have got today's status. After the grandfather of Madame Tao died, the Jiang Family began to grab the Tao Family's official turf! If not so, the Tao Family wouldn't have been weak so quickly since then!" said Xue Chang with a frown.

Speaking of this, Xue Chang gave a long sigh to relieve himself. "The grandfather of Madame Tao was called 'the pillar of the nation'. He indeed was the pillar of Darui when he was alive. If he were alive until now, I don't think the battle between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law would happen, nor did the Queen step aside for nothing. If he could live two years longer, the crown prince who was repealed in the former emperor's reign wouldn't have been wronged to death … All right. Those were the past things. Forget it. The marriage thing is futile. If we did so, we would have to sacrifice the happiness of one girl in our family. It's worthless."

Xue Nongying did not give up. He continued with head lowered, "How about the fourth branch of the Jiang Family. I heard that Jiang Tianao loved the sons and daughters of the fourth branch more than his own offspring! If we could have a marriage connection with their fourth branch, I don't think Jiang Tianao would do something bad to the fourth branch, the Yue Family. Right?"

"Jiang Tianchi?" asked Xue Chang, his grey eyebrows trembling when he said so. He certainly knew the reason why Jiang Tianao loved the sons and daughters of the fourth branch of the Jiang Family. It's not because Jiang Yadan and others were good children but because of Jiang Tianchi, the head of the fourth branch and meanwhile, the second son of Marquess Qin.

The most influential representative of the Jiang Family in the political spectrum now was Jiang Tianao. The reason why Jiang Tianao could get the position was that he was supported by two uncles. His uncles were raised and supported by Jiang Tianao's father in the past. Hence, they sincerely wanted to repay Jiang Tianao. Meanwhile, they were the heads of the army.

But now, Marquess Qin had been living in the capital since his resignation. On the other side, Sir Jibei, despite charging the North part of the nation, would not be able to fight in frontlines anymore. He might be coming back to the capital in two years. The representative of the Jiang Family in the army must be Jiang Tianchi, the one who began to fight with the army since he was twelve years old and had been the Great General of North from scratch!

Jiang Tianao was in his middle age. If he wanted to stay in the current position or to be installed as the minister in the future, he must fetch support from his family and use the influence it had in the army. Under this circumstance, Jiang Tianao certainly would love the sons and daughters of Jiang Tianchi's.

In the same vein, Jiang Tianao wouldn't hurt Jiang Tianchi's relatives by marriage. Currently, Marquess Qin and his brother could control what Jiang Tianchi should or should not do. But soon, Marquess Qin and his brother would pass away. At that time, who could manage Jiang Tianchi? Jiang Tianao had many brothers. Jiang Tianchi's brother, Jiang Tianqi, one of the ministers of the Army, knew well about the politics as well. Who could ensure that he would not fight for the position of the prime minister?

"Wow, you are one of the qualify successors of our family!" exclaiming Xue Chang. He exalted Xue Nongying after musing for a while and clapping.