RPAGF Chapter 162 8 big families
Chapter 162 8 big families
"He shouldn't die." Hua Rong's straightforward words made Ji Anni feel relieved.
"What else?" Ji Anni knew that Hua Rong had only said half of what she wanted to say.
Hua Rong continued, "If the Queen Mother wanted to kill the Imperial Preceptor, she would have done it on the execution ground. Now that the Queen Mother has spared the Imperial Preceptor's life, we can temporarily be the Imperial Preceptor and it is very safe. But even if we don't die, even if we are safe, we are far from being as lucky as the Queen to be sent back unscathed. The Queen Mother probably has some other plan, and it is very likely... related to Concubine Baogui."
"Does she want to kill Bao Niangniang?" Ji Anni now thinks the worst of everything. Today at the execution ground, when she really saw the executioner and the beheading knife, she finally had a very clear understanding of beheading. Especially when Kang Xiaorong's sword stabbed at her throat, she even really thought that she would die like that.
Recalling every scene at the execution ground not long ago, I suddenly couldn’t tell what was reality and what was a dream.
Everything is like an unforgettable nightmare, trapping me deeply in it.
I subconsciously touched my forehead and clearly felt a needle-like pain.
Hua Rong's voice came softly from my ear: "My Lady, don't think too much and have a good rest."
"Have a good rest?" Ji Anni sneered, "What rest? I don't even dare to close my eyes now. I'm afraid that if I close my eyes for a moment, I'll be facing a completely unfamiliar world when I open them again. Last night, everything was so peaceful. I went to bed as usual, but after being awakened by a nightmare, I found that the world had changed drastically. Yun Zhen had actually been taken to the execution ground and beheaded. I'm afraid... I'm afraid that if I sleep any longer, not only Yun Zhen, but even Bao Niangniang will be in danger."
When she said this, Ji Anni's body shook and she was about to fall.
"Your Highness..." Hua Rong hurriedly supported her, "You are too tired, don't force yourself. Even if you are worried and anxious now, it will be useless... We can only think of a way to deal with it after the Queen Mother makes some moves."
"Hua Rong, what else can I do?"
Anything is fine, as long as she can do it, as long as it can help Yun Zhen, help Empress Bao - Ji Anni will go through fire and water without hesitation. The more it comes to this moment, the more she feels useless and weak, and she doesn't even know what she should do.
"Your Highness, the first thing you need to do now is to see this palace clearly." Hua Rong held Ji Anni's hand tightly and whispered in her ear, "If your Highness still doesn't know what kind of environment you are in, what kind of enemies you are facing, how many people you can win over, and how much power you can gather... not to mention the National Master and Your Highness, even your Highness yourself, you may be plotted against by someone at any time."
"Huarong..." Ji Anni called softly. In fact, she was very afraid that Huarong would talk to her so seriously.
Every time this happened, she always felt like she was being manipulated. She was always unconsciously seduced by Hua Rong's words and thought in the way she taught her. Ji Anni knew that this was dangerous, but at this moment, she could no longer find another person who could open her eyes and point the way forward like Hua Rong did.
"Huarong, you were placed by the Queen Mother to be by my side, right?" Ji Anni asked in a low voice.
Hua Rong was originally a maidservant of Princess Tianning, but after she was named the imperial concubine, she became a maid in her own courtyard. Why did the queen mother keep Hua Rong by her side? Is every move and every word of Hua Rong a fine net?
"My lady, I know you still don't believe me..." Hua Rong sighed softly. Although her expression was a little sad, her eyes were always flashing with sharpness. "But my lady, it's better for you to listen to me more than to know nothing. If you think that I am deceiving or hiding something, you can choose not to believe it, but don't even listen..."
Ji Anni had to admit that Hua Rong seemed to have seen through her heart, and her confusion and helplessness in the thick fog. At this time, she really needed someone to answer for her where she was, where she was going, which road had jackals, and which road had companions.
Hua Rong suddenly asked, "My Lady, since the princess took you to the hunting competition, do you still remember the eight flags?"
"What's wrong?" Ji Anni's thoughts couldn't keep up with her pace.
Hua Rong said: "In fact, the eight flags at the hunting meeting represent the eight major families that currently control the overall situation in the court."
"Eight major families..." Ji Anni tried to recall, vaguely remembering that the flags seemed to have words like "An", "Bao", "Kang", etc. In other words, among the four imperial concubines in the harem, except for Imperial Concubine Gan who came from a small official family, the other three imperial concubines all came from the eight outstanding families.
Afterwards, Hua Rong told Ji Anni some general knowledge about the eight major families.
The so-called eight major families are An, Kang, Bao, Changsun, Liu, Yang, Zhuang and Tang.
They can be roughly divided into four factions. An, Bao, and Changsun are one faction, and Kang, Yang, and Liu are another. The contradictions between these two factions are becoming increasingly acute and have gradually surfaced. As for the unknown origins of the Zhuang and Tang families, they have formed their own faction, so we will not mention them for now.
The An family is the most powerful foreign relative in the court and the country, holding all kinds of power from the harem to the government. Representative figures include the Queen Mother "An Yiru", the Prime Minister "An Zhonghuan", the General Office of the Interior "An Chenghuan", and the Imperial Concubine An "An Ruoxuan". There is also the Prime Minister's son "An Youchen", who is of the same generation as the Imperial Concubine An, and he is the commander of the imperial palace guards.
The Bao family and the Changsun family were closely attached to the An family. Baogui Fei's father was the Minister of War, holding great military and political power; the Changsun family had controlled all power in the cabinet agency Wenhuayuan since Xi Jinde's death three years ago.
In this way, the An, Bao and Changsun families formed a power network that could cover the sky with their hands.
In contrast to this power network is another system consisting of Kang, Yang and Liu.
Among the three families, the Kang family was the most powerful. First, there was the powerful General Kang, whose son Kang Xiaorong was honored as a major general and served as the supervisor of the imperial palace guards; and his daughter Kang Fangting was named Concubine Kang.
The Yang and Liu families clearly stood on the same front with the Kang family.
The Yang family is Yun Zhen's family. Yun Zhen's father, Yang Jingtian, was the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, and his power was almost equal to that of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was controlled by the An family. The three generations of the Liu family worked in the Ministry of Personnel, and the Supervisory Department under it had great power to interfere in government affairs.
In this way, from the perspective of the Ministry of Culture, Sun, the president of the Wenhua Academy who was responsible for drafting official documents and cabinet meetings, was affiliated with An, but Liu, the head of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Supervision, controlled the Wenhua Academy and had the power to reconsider the decrees issued by the Wenhua Academy.
From the perspective of the military, the family of Bao, the Minister of War, supported the An family, but the old general Kang, who was feared by the border, opposed them. In addition, the Kang family had 300,000 private troops at the border, which could not be dispatched by the Ministry of War or even the emperor, and they only obeyed the orders of the old general.
As for the imperial palace guards, An Youchen and Kang Xiaorong also restrained each other. An Youchen guarded the three main gates of heaven, earth, and man. Kang Xiaorong guarded the four side gates of Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise. Whether these two people were derelict in their duties was directly related to the life and death of the emperor and everyone in the palace.
From the perspective of criminal trials, when there was a joint trial, the Shuntian Prefecture controlled by the Yang family and the Criminal Department controlled by the An family were evenly matched and it was difficult to determine who was better.
Therefore, the two major families of the two factions in the court were linked to each other, fighting and restraining each other. No one could move anyone else, and no one could swallow anyone else. This is how the court was able to maintain superficial calm.
But beneath the calm surface of the water, there are already turbulent undercurrents and dangers lurking everywhere.
In addition, the Tang family is the governor of Zhongzhou, one of the three great dukes. He is as famous as Shui Furong's father, the governor of Qingzhou, and Liu Yingying's father, the governor of Cangzhou. The Zhuang family of the Ministry of Justice stands aside, and their bias is unclear.