74 The Matter of the Court

Old Master Nan watched his granddaughter's expression and he laughed faintly. "Are you thinking of helping the Imperial Family deal with them? There's no need. As for them making trouble for you… You can just ignore them."

"Alright."

Nan Hua then realized that Emperor Yang Zhou's problem wouldn't be settled with just eliminating Hai Family. There might be some matters that needed to be dealt with, thus it was not that simple.

Drap! Drap! Drap!

Bang!

"Hua'er!" Nan Hua pushed the door open and rushed over to her. He reached out his hand and hugged Nan Hua from the back. "Hua'er, please hug me! I almost died last night and need a comfort!"

Kick!

Old Master Nan mercilessly kicked his grandson away. He glared at the young boy. "What almost died? That's because you're so bad at controlling your strength that you suffer wounds! If you had practiced more, you wouldn't have suffered so much."

Nan Luo was speechless.

Fine, he was the one at wrong. So, can he hug his twin sister now?

Nan Hua lowered her gaze and noticed that there were several scratches on Nan Luo's body. Most of them had been tended, but she could guess that it must have been hard for him to deal with First Commander Hai even with Long Qian Xing's help.

'It's good that I deal with the adjutant first, then.'

If Nan Luo and Long Qian Xing had to deal with the adjutant too on top of their previous battle, it wouldn't have been easy for them.

She raised her hand and patted Nan Luo's head. Since she was sitting on Old Master Nan's lap, her hand could reach Nan Luo's head easily. "You did great."

Nan Luo beamed.

"Tsk, you shouldn't praise him! He'll get it to his head and no longer work hard," Old Master Nan chided.

"Grandpa, I'm not that lazy!"

Nan Luo pursed his lips. He then pulled the chair nearby and sat down. His eyes were looking at Nan Hua happily before he recalled another matter. "Right, Grandpa, why is Emperor Yang Zhou didn't kill Prince Yang Lu? I see him only beating the hell out of that prince."

"Do you really think that this is the right time for him to kill the second prince and Empress Dowager Hai?" Old Master Nan was speechless at his son dimwittedness. "What did I teach you before about the court?"

"That it's still unstable?" Nan Luo tilted his head.

"Yes. It's very unstable."

"Wouldn't it be better to eliminate all obstacles, then?" Nan Luo was even more confused. Rather than letting such a snake living in the residence, wouldn't it be better to just eliminate him once and for all?

Nan Hua blinked her eyes. She thought for a moment before deciding to answer. "Luo, who's the one with the highest power right now?"

"Of course, the Emperor…" Nan Luo's voice faltered before he realized that something didn't add up. "Eh, he's still not of age yet. That means, the power will fall to his mother? Empress Dowager?"

"Yes." Old Master Nan nodded.

Nan Luo's brain began to think. Empress Dowager Yan was not Emperor Yang Zhou's mother, but he was also kept alive. Did the Emperor kept them all alive in order to make sure that the women would fight against each other?

…How vicious.

"The power is only temporarily on Empress Dowager's hand. And because women didn't usually hold the power on the court, there will be other people who have higher power." Nan Hua looked at Nan Luo with indifferent expression. "The two prime ministers."

"Wha…?"

Nan Luo was stumped. He always thought that the one with the highest power would be the Emperor but now that Nan Hua said it like this, he understood that it would be impossible for Emperor Yang Zhou to hold complete control of power. He was still weak and he was not of age yet.

Every aspect was forcing him back.

"Empress Dowager will formally take control of the power by Spring. Until that time, Emperor Yang Zhou would have no other choice but to strengthen his faction slowly but surely. Besides, the two prime ministers would not just stay idly when things are going south like this."

Old Master Nan knew the two prime ministers very well. There will be several factions in the palace and it was only obvious that Emperor Yang Zhou's faction was one of the weakest one. By sparing Prince Yang Lu, it would also sustain another faction that could possibly contend against the other factions.

This situation was not the best.

If it was not settled well in four years' time, it was clear that Fei Yang Kingdom would fall into chaos. The war had been in their favor but the balance was very fragile. During Emperor Xuan's reign, the power had been diminishing and the powerful generals during the previous emperor's reign had started to grow old and left the world one by one.

Old General Long, Long Qian Xing's grandfather, was one of the few great generals back then.

Old Master Nan himself was no longer in his peak condition and had to rest. However, he knew that this condition wouldn't last for long.

War would not wait for anyone.

"Being an Emperor is so troublesome." Nan Luo scrunched his face. He felt that if he chose to become an official, he would surely be pulled into so many schemes that he didn't even know who was who.

Old Master Nan laughed. "It's troublesome, but it's also the position with the highest power. Alright, the discussion stops here. You two still have to train."

"In this cold winter?"

"Of course!"

Nan Hua jumped off Old Master Nan's lap and walked to the field. Behind her, Nan Luo was still grumbling since he could already feel the cold seeping through his not so thick clothes.

"Also, Ah Luo, you have to make your reflection tonight."

"WHa…? Tonight?"

"Finish your training first."

"Noo…." Nan Luo wailed dejectedly as he knew that there wouldn't be any time for him to rest.

Nan Hua patted her twin brother's shoulder as encouragement. But of course, she would not help him write it.