Princess Zhaoling 2
This ambitious Princess Zhaoling, so unlike the rumors about her, was Wen Qiushui, who had transmigrated once again.
When Wen Qiushui transmigrated to this world, Princess Zhaoling, a young woman named Situ Qingtang, had just heard that Fang Duobing had fled their marriage.
Wen Qiushui, who had the least patience for troublesome affairs, understood her new identity and knew that in this life, she had only one path: to become emperor.
After all, the original Princess Zhaoling was the reigning emperor's only child. The emperor was no longer young, and there had been no further news of pregnancies in the harem. Most likely, he would have no more children.
Zhaoling's great-grandfather had picked up the throne after Crown Prince Fangji's rebellion, and nearly all the imperial clansmen closely related to him had died in that rebellion. If the emperor wished to adopt a son as his heir, he could only choose from among his distant relatives in the imperial clan.
But Zhaoling's status was unusual, and once a new emperor ascended the throne, her position would become awkward. The emperor had now arranged her marriage to Fang Duobing, perhaps because he saw a promising future for Fang Zeshi, the minister of revenue. Fang Zeshi's wife was also He Xiaohui, the master of Heavenly Secret Manor. The Fang family had a measure of influence in both the imperial court and the martial world.
By marrying into their family, Zhaoling would at least have someone to rely on, but she would also be fated to remain childless for life. After all, any child bearing the late emperor's blood would continue to be regarded with suspicion and might not even live to grow up.
Neither the naive Zhaoling nor Fang Duobing, who had fled the marriage, would understand any of this. Fang Zeshi, however, was sure to understand. But the emperor had recognized and promoted him, and whether he wanted this favor or not, he had to accept it.
Wen Qiushui, however, was not ignorant and unaware like Zhaoling. She could not bear to swallow her grievances and live in fear and trepidation.
If she wanted a good life in this world, her only path was to ascend the throne.
But Wen Qiushui did not know much about the politics of the imperial court. After all, in the life when she had married Xiao Ruofeng, she had held leverage over the emperor and possessed the greatest martial arts under heaven, so she could naturally live carefree and without worry.
In that world, anyone in the Mystic Spirit Wandering Realm was already like an immortal beyond the mortal world. One only had to look at how Li Changsheng acted as he pleased toward the emperor to know that those above Divine Wandering could naturally enjoy great freedom.
But in this world, even Li Xiangyi, the greatest under heaven, had died to plots and schemes, had he not? What was more, the upper limit of martial arts in this world was too low for one person to stand against the imperial court.
Even if she used profound martial arts to threaten the emperor's life, she would still have to live the rest of her life exhausting herself in thought. Since she had to scheme either way, why not use the advantage of her status to ascend straight to the summit?
But Zhaoling had no ties to any court officials. If she wanted to become emperor, she would need trusted aides of her own, ones well versed in the struggles of the imperial court, to help her gain control over its most important ministers.
Thus, Zhaoling thought of two forces that could become the foundation of her power. One was the Inspection Bureau, which operated outside the imperial court. If Zhaoling could grasp this organization in her hands, perhaps she could later develop it into a force like the Shadow Sect, a blade in her hand with which to seize leverage over court officials and make use of them in the future.
The other was Feng Qing's Wansheng Dao and the surviving descendants of Nanyin. From Wen Qiushui's memories and knowledge of her previous lives, Feng Qing did possess some ability. He had helped Shan Gudao gain leverage over quite a few ministers, and Wansheng Dao had extensive connections at court.
Gaining a hold over Feng Qing was simple enough. Wen Qiushui now held three secrets: first, the reigning emperor himself had Nanyin blood, a secret that must not be revealed except as a last resort; second, the true identity of the surviving descendant of Nanyin's royal bloodline; and third, the one most capable of moving Feng Qing-making a child with Nanyin royal blood the future ruler of all under heaven.
Both forces were largely rooted in the martial world, and could easily be brought to heel using the methods of the martial world. Those were the very methods Wen Qiushui was best at.
When she had become Jiao Liqiao and established the Nanyin Cult in the Outer Realm, it too had been a major force. She had used the methods of the martial world then, and could be said to have succeeded.
And so, after Wen Qiushui—who should now be called Princess Zhaoling-had sorted through her memories and her present circumstances,
The first thing she did was not seek out Feng Qing, but administer a sterilizing drug to the emperor.
She was already preparing to become emperor, so there was no need for the emperor to have another child. Even if, given his age, he was most likely not going to have another heir, she still had to guard against the possibility.
The second thing she did was use Fang Duobing's flight from the marriage as a reason for a drastic change in her temperament. She spent some time studying martial arts in the imperial library, and after emerging from seclusion, she defeated Yang Yunchun, prompting the emperor to agree to put the Inspection Bureau under her management.
Though such a great advance in martial arts over so short a time seemed rather implausible, even if Zhaoling had previously been concealing her abilities, the emperor was willing to grant her some power. After all, given the choice, it was naturally best for his own blood to inherit these magnificent lands and rivers. At the very least, he could earn a good name in the history books.
At this point, the emperor had not yet considered passing the throne to Zhaoling. He intended to raise her child as his heir, and the ambition Zhaoling had shown also meant he did not have to worry about imperial power falling into the hands of her husband.
Of course, Zhaoling would not brazenly announce now that she intended to inherit the throne. This world still placed considerable prejudice and restrictions upon women. Once Zhaoling had gained the service of some court officials and could make her voice heard at court, it would not be too late to reveal her ambition.
Moreover, Shan Gudao was ambitious, vainly hoping to ascend to heaven and replace the sun, and it was not as though she could not make use of him. She could use Shan Gudao to dispose of some of the ministers who opposed her, then deal with Shan Gudao to build up her own political capital. Was he not an ideal stepping stone?
This plan, however, required Feng Qing's cooperation. Now, while Zhaoling's political abilities were still relatively weak, she needed some utterly devoted aides. By sacrificing her marriage alone, she could make Feng Qing lay down his life for her and cooperate with her in gaining control over the ministers and making use of Shan Gudao. Would that not be the best of both worlds?
At the very least, Li Xiangyi was a far better man than Xiao Ruofeng. Zhaoling felt she would not be losing out by sleeping with him.