Rumors broke that Consort Xue was at odds with the Crown Prince and had repeatedly sent people to sound him out. What exactly she meant by "sounding him out" was worth examining.
On the surface, Consort Xue had gone to see the Crown Prince several times to improve their relationship, only to be turned away every time. What did that mean?
It meant the Crown Prince was unfilial.
In this dynasty, being unfilial generally amounted to being disrespectful, a serious matter. Whatever else she might be, Consort Xue was the emperor's concubine and, in name, a lesser mother to the Crown Prince. Disrespecting her meant disrespecting the emperor and the Empress, absurd as that reasoning might sound.
Yet in such an insular dynasty, it was easy to make that argument stick.
The second, hidden implication was that Consort Xue was using her "visits" as a pretext to look for an opportunity to strike at Chu Xuanzhen, or to leak information to factions hostile to the Crown Prince.
All to achieve their shared goal.
Thus, once the news spread, Great Chu's Capital City erupted like a boiling pot, while its people scurried like ants on a hot pan, buzzing with speculation.
"Why hasn't the Crown Prince ascended the throne?"
"Could it be because..."
"Pah, pah, pah! Don't go talking nonsense. If someone overhears and reports you to the authorities, you'll be eating prison food for the rest of your lives."
The people at the tea stall huddled together and whispered until someone overheard them. With a stern expression, he warned them how serious the matter was, and they shut their mouths and went back to drinking their herbal tea.
The man who had warned them turned back around, picked up the cup of herbal tea in front of him, and took