Standing at the entrance, Su Ziji watched the ox cart depart, then exchanged pleasantries with the remaining guests, accompanied by the Wild Daoist.
Outwardly, he was composed and affable, as though the imperial decree had not affected him, but inwardly, the more he thought about it, the more something felt wrong.
Mulling over the chief eunuch Yu Han's words, Su Ziji reflected, The emperor's move was formidable. In one stroke, he flushed out everyone who might potentially support me.
Yet even knowing the emperor's scheme, avoiding it was difficult.
Take the empress, for example. She was nominally his own grandmother, and might well have understood the emperor's calculations, yet she still had no choice but to send someone to express her support.
For failing to offer support could invite misunderstanding-if Her Majesty or a superior offered no support, people might take it as a sign of displeasure; if a subordinate offered none, people might take it as a sign of disloyalty.
Thus, all of them had no choice but to come congratulate him and offer their support.
Thinking of it that way, the emperor's attitude toward me rather resembles that of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty toward the Eighth Prince.
Wasn't this the same move Kangxi used against the Eighth Prince back then?
First raise him high, then see who supports him.
Or invest several princes at once and observe which households the officials visit to offer congratulations.
Such methods were indeed the calculating arts of an emperor. At a glance, he could discover which prince enjoyed the most support, and precisely who those supporters were.
*But there are still things I cannot understand. Clearly, the greatest threat to the emperor right now is Prince Qi, followed by Prince Shu, and then presumably Prince Lu. With all three princes