In the Changle Palace.

  Empress Wu was complaining to her son, crying and angry: "First, a first-class imperial edict was issued, then another 'Xunyu County Princess' was conferred. Your father emperor is as if he cannot wait to give all the benefits to the Lin family."

  The second prince's face showed some impatience, his eyebrows furrowed, and he said: "Empress Dowager, you always argue over these trivial matters of the county princess's title. Can't you also care about the state affairs outside? Do you know that Father Emperor plans to let the Crown Prince attend court and participate in politics?"

  The Empress Wu was originally somewhat annoyed at her son's impatience, but upon hearing this news, she immediately jumped up from the couch and asked: "When did this happen?"

  The second prince frowned and said, "Father Emperor has not announced it yet, but the meaning has already been revealed, and I also got the news from elsewhere."

  Empress Wu said somewhat disbelievingly: "You must have misheard the news, I haven't heard your father the Emperor mention it at all in the palace."

  The second prince thought to himself, "You only care about who Father Emperor favors in the harem and competing with Changkun Palace. How would you remember to care about these things?"

  If the crown prince starts attending court and listening to politics, things will be different. The crown prince is orthodox, as long as he steps into the imperial court, many people will naturally respond to him. And after the crown prince comes into contact with the officials, he can slowly cultivate his own power and connections.

  By the time he grows up and can participate in politics, the crown prince will already have a deep foundation in the imperial court, and it will be impossible to shake him. Moreover, the Lin family still has military power, so what can he do about the position of the crown prince at that time?

  During the previous emperor's reign, the crown prince did not attend court and participate in governance until he was eighteen years old. He thought that his father, the emperor, would make this decision after two years at most.

  Sometimes he really didn't accept it, the Wu and Lin families were of similar status, Yuan Hou was a legitimate daughter, his mother was also a legitimate daughter, why did the crown prince become the legitimate son, while he became an illegitimate child.

  In the end, it's still that the Wu family is not as good as the Lin family, and the Empress Dowager is not as clever as the women of the Lin family. The Emperor will pass away eventually, and when he does, even with a son as old as this one, the Empress Dowager will still be outdone by that little brat from the Lin family who's only two years older than him.

  If Empress Dowager can become the empress dowager, he will also be the legitimate son, and the gap between him and the crown prince's identity will narrow.

  Looking at the Lin family's series of actions, I'm afraid they had already received news that the Emperor intended to let the Crown Prince participate in politics. No wonder Duke Wu recently didn't avoid suspicion and frequently socialized with the Crown Prince, constantly explaining the complex relationships within the imperial court to him.

  Lin's family could only get the news from the Empress. Look, the Empress has just entered the palace for a short time, but the Queen Mother has accompanied the Emperor for more than a decade. As a result, she still can't grasp the imperial will and feels that this Queen Mother is inferior to others everywhere.

  The second prince said, "Yesterday, the emperor examined my and the crown prince's homework. After finishing the examination, the emperor suddenly took out a folded paper for the crown prince to read, saying that after reading it, he would let the crown prince write a memorial."

  Isn't this where he starts learning about state affairs?

  The crown prince is also like this. He was in a state of depression and self-abandonment not long ago, but recently he suddenly came to his senses and started to work hard again. The emperor had clearly lost hope for him before, but now he's both relieved and satisfied, even the Grand Tutor has begun to praise him.

  Wu Guifei naturally also knew the severity of this matter, and after thinking for a moment, said: "No way, I have to talk to your great-uncle and uncles, let them think of a way to get you to attend court and participate in governance too, can't let the Crown Prince monopolize this opportunity."

  The second prince furrowed his brow, slightly dissatisfied: "Mother, spare some effort, Father is currently annoyed with the Wu family."

  Empress Wu said strangely: "What's going on now?"

  "The second prince said: 'Last time, the grandfather mentioned that the national treasury was empty and suggested increasing land taxes. The emperor did not agree and proposed to increase business taxes instead. However, the Wu family colluded with other northern merchants to obstruct the implementation of this policy.'"

  Madam Wu disagreed, saying: "The Wu family's business is mainly commerce, increasing commercial taxes, that is to say, taking the Wu family's silver to fill the public treasury, your maternal grandfather would naturally not agree. Moreover, if the Wu family agreed, they would also offend people, and in the future, it would be difficult for the Wu family to do business."

  "The second prince sneered: 'The Wu family isn't short of money, why are they always calculating such petty gains? To cater to the emperor's wishes and win his favor is the proper thing to do.'"

  Look at the Lin family being clever, they are a close-knit family and not only did they take the lead in agreeing to it, but also persuaded the merchants from Jiangnan to agree to increase the commercial tax. So the Emperor looks at the Lin family with increasing favor, while looking at the Wu family with increasing disfavor.

  "Silver is never too much, it won't burn your hands when you hold it. Besides, don't I use silver in the palace? Don't you use silver outside? You will have to do great things in the future and there are many places where you will need to use silver."

  The second prince sighed, the Wu family's merchants rose to prominence, and during the Taizu Emperor's time, they also relied on silver and money to support the Taizu in conquering the world, earning them a reputation as meritorious ministers. At their core, they still couldn't shake off their mercantile nature.

  Now catering to the Emperor Father, if he can become Emperor in the future, will they still be able to treat them poorly? At that time, what do they want without.

  The Empress Wu saw that her son was displeased and hastily advised: "Alright, alright, I will talk to your grandparents and let them be more restrained, so as not to make things difficult for you in front of the Emperor. As for attending court and participating in politics, I will also ask your grandfather to think of a way for you." She slightly raised her chin, with a hint of pride: "Our Wu family is not weak on the imperial court either."

  "The second prince said: 'Not only did you fail to accomplish anything, but also provoked Father Emperor again.'"

  "Your grandfather is handling it, can't you just relax?"

  The second prince still didn't feel at ease.

  The second prince thought of something again and said to Wu Guifei, "Mother Fei is also in the palace, should also get along with Cui Xianfei more." The Cui family has been showing goodwill to the Lin family recently.

  The Wu family lacked military power, and although his uncle was appointed as the Jiangzhe Regional Commander-in-Chief, he didn't achieve much fame or authority, which was overshadowed by other powerful families of generals. Although Empress Cui gave birth to three imperial princes, none of them were destined to become emperors; if only they could win over the Cui family...

  Wu Guifei frowned and said, "You think I don't know, but Cui Xianfei is a person who doesn't take to flattery, neither getting too close to Changkun Palace nor accepting my kindness." Last time she wanted her younger brother to marry Cui's eldest daughter, uniting the two families through marriage, but the Cui family refused.

  I don't know what Cui's family is thinking now. Last time, when they sent their daughter to the palace, it seemed like they had ambitions for the throne, but in the end, they gave up.

  Empress Wu's heart tightened, could it be that the Cui family wants to form an alliance with the Lin family?

  What does the Lin family have that's worth the Cui family giving up sending their daughter to the palace to bear children and fight for the throne? Wu Guifei's eyes lit up, her heart skipped a beat, the position of Taizi Furen...the Cui family is after the position of Taizi Furen.

  No way, she absolutely cannot let this happen.

  Empress Wu turned her head and glanced at the second prince, a subtle idea forming in her mind. If the second prince were to marry the daughter of the Cui family in the future...