The next morning in the embassy.
After finishing examining Arthur condition again, Yong Soo is having a chat with Yong Hyung about the situation in Qing Han.
"What do you know about Princess Feng Qing?" Yong Soo asked.
Yong Hyung takes a sip of tea and pondered for a while.
"Well, she's very doted by both Prince Liu and the emperor and is the only princess in the entire royal family." Yong Hyung said.
"Based on her title, she should be the sister of the emperor, right?" Yong Soo said.
"Yup, she is Prince Liu younger sister and the emperor older sister." Yong Hyung said.
"Actually, I never heard of her in Spades, but only heard of her when I've arrived in Qing Han. Do you happened to know why is that the case?" Yong Soo asked.
"Oh that. Well, the problem lies in Qing Han culture." Yong Hyung said.
"You came to the capital from the south, right?" Yong Hyung said.
"Yes." Yong Soo nodded.
"What do you think about the woman in the southern city?" Yong Hyung asked.
"They do the same thing as what the man does." Yong Soo said. When he came to the Capital after passing so many cities of Qing Han, he saw a lot of woman out on the street doing business. Even in the farm or fishing port, there is woman everywhere helping out. This cause Yong Soo to think that the woman in Qing Han enjoys the same privilege as the man.
"Among the commoners, discrimination towards women is lower as they need women to help out as well, but the same can't be said in the capital." Yong Hyung said.
"Based on old teaching, women should not be involved in politics or anything and should be conservatives. This practice is heavily emphasised among the nobles, especially the capital. But this continues until a year ago when Prince Liu breaks this thinking by allowing the daughter of a renowned imperial doctor to become an imperial doctor. This is heavily enforced when the current emperor ascends to the throne. However, the practice is rather new, and the women still can't have the same status yet. Which is the reason why you probably never heard of Princess Feng Qing when you're in Spades as the officials tend to not to bother to include the female royal members in their reports unless it's about them." Yong Hyung explained.
"I see." Yong Soo said nodding his head.
"But then, that princess is totally a famous person in Qing Han." Yong Hyung said with a sigh.
"What happened?" Yong Soo asked.
"She is totally doted by her two brothers that Prince Liu even assigned her military officials as her guard. Not to mention she isn't even engaged or married when she has totally passed the marriageable age." Yong Hyung said and release a depressed aura when he talked about the last part. He is totally envious of Mei about it as he is almost forced into an arranged marriage. If it was not for his talent and rising position in his family, he would have a fiancée whom he does not even know. Even right now, he is continuously pressured by his family members to have a fiancée from a suitable family.
"I heard about Prince Liu even back in Spades. He was the main reason why the emperor ascended the throne, right?" Yong Soo asked.
"Yes." Yong Hyung nodded his head.
"I may be a bit offensive, but do you think Prince Liu is currently manipulating the whole court while the emperor is just a figurehead?" Yong Soo asked.
Yong Soo cannot be blamed for thinking this way as Yong Soo have heard before that during Prince Liu height of power, he totally control the whole Qing Han court and openly defied the previous emperor, his father. The previous emperor of Qing Han was forced to abdicate the throne by Prince Liu and Prince Liu immediately let his twelfth brother ascend the throne. But this is a confusing part since why would someone who has such a huge amount of power suddenly give up on becoming emperor unless he want to control in the dark and when problems arise, he can put the blame on the emperor.
Yong Hyung looked at Yong Soo and giggled.
"Well, that can be said as the most extraordinary event in the history of Qing Han. Matter of fact, when the current emperor ascends the throne, Prince Liu immediately let go of his power and give it to the emperor. Everyone was suspicious of his behaviour and thought that Prince Liu cannot control the people under him. But actually, the people under him were docile and listen to Prince Liu to the end. When Prince Liu told them to follow the emperor and never defy the emperor orders, they followed, and they are currently the largest supporters of the emperor." Yong Hyung said.
"Since then, Prince Liu has never been involved in politics unless it's something important. All he has been doing is doting on Princess Feng Qing, bring her to wherever she wants to go and even buy her whatever she wants." Yong Hyung explained.
"But during that time, he was in the main hall as well, right?" Yong Soo said.
"That was his first visit for two months. Prince Liu certainly has never been involved in politics anymore and no longer held any power. But that can't be said with money considering he still owns a lot of business in a lot of cities in Qing Han." Yong Hyung said.
Yong Soo looked at Yong Hyung in utter disbelieve.
"Weird isn't it? Why would someone give up something he worked hard on? Even now, no one can truly understand what is Prince Liu thinking." Yong Hyung said as he took a sip of tea.
"I see." Yong Soo said trying to calm himself down and going back to his normal expression.
"Anymore question?" Yong Hyung asked.
Yong Soo thought for a while before realising one question he has been dying to solve.
"Do you know the crowned prince Yong Qi?" Yong Soo asked which Yong Hyung widened his eyes and coughed out the tea he is currently drinking.
"That's a really taboo topic. You shouldn't talk about it especially in front of the main branch of the royal family." Yong Hyung exclaimed.
Yong Soo furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Yong Hyung. Yong Hyung looked at Yong Soo and sighed.
"I can tell you, but you definitely can't tell anyone about it." Yong Hyung said which Yong Soo immediately nodded his head.
"Right now, the whole court is peaceful. Even if there's disagreement is mostly about the way of thinking and the validity of a specific law. But that wasn't the case until a year ago when Prince Liu finally controls the whole court." Yong Hyung said.
"What happened?" Yong Soo asked.
Yong Hyung looked at his cup of tea and said.
"Well, it's no secret. The fight for the succession for the throne." Yong Hyung said which Yong Soo raised his eyebrow.
In the west, since the joker was the one who chose who will be the Royals, there is no fight for the succession for the throne. But the scenario is totally different in the east. The eastern countries royal members are decided by birth or marriage or rarely, through adoption. The line of inheritance to the throne is by how close you are related to the current emperor then the status of the mother. Generally, if the emperor has a lot of son, the eldest son born from the Empress consort will be favoured and crowned as the crowned prince. However, if the crowned prince is deemed unfit to be a ruler or the empress consort has no child… things get very complicated. Usually, this would lead to a bloodbath as the remaining sons will compete for the throne by any means to gain support from the court and emperor, so no one would oppose their reign.
"Crowned Prince Yong Qi is a good person and is deemed very fit to rule the country. He has a lot of good virtues and totally capable." Yong Hyung said which surprised Yong Soo as he thought Yao is totally despised in Qing Han as Yao keep saying no one would accept him in Qing Han.
"But then, two events have caused his downfall and death." Yong Hyung said.
"Which is?" Yong Soo asked.
"The rebellion initiated by his uncle and the inability to fight off his other ambitious half-brothers." Yong Hyung said with a sighed.
AUTHOR NOTE: Next chapter, the past of Yao which I've been wanting to post for a long time! Anyway, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.