PeachBlossomGoddess

I think they are going a different direction in this story by making the ED ambitious in her own right and not the typical power struggle plot where she did it bc her family is trying to seize power. Duke Hua only showed up once in court so far but I do think he is against the ED.

I think his schemes so far are pretty diabolical but morally questionable. To me, that is what disqualifies him. Beyond that, its not that easy to stage a coup - you need a powerful support base among high court officials and some military support as well. So far he seems to have none of those and he doesn't even have a proper job at court to build that support base. He is only the court musician on his guqin, a step above court jester!

I also vaguely remember this but I think what 3rd uncle felt bad about was he was away adventuring when Ye Li and her mother were ousted from the Ye household and sent back to Lishan. He said had he been around, he would never have allowed that to happen. I think he is a good guy.

His revenge is a long lost cause - he has no political support except some remnant supporters of his father and the young emperor is well entrenched. I think he is smart enough to know that, which is why his basic instinct is to "run away" with Ye Li, whom he always knew was very strong. He is just being guilted and pressured into a path not of his own choosing bc he fears the emperor will eventually kill him bc he is an ever present threat to the throne.

His imagination may even have been worse than reality - he may have imagined them consummating their marriage. With those wooden "props" no less.

I don't believe that Prince Li would have been safe at Lishan. Grandpa Xu sent him to General Hua under armed escort precisely bc he wasn't safe there!!! Not to mention we know what happened to Lishan afterwards. As for his other bros that he hated, we don't know how many of them are legitimate sons vs sons of consorts. The fact that only Prince Li was educated at Lishan is significant.

I think 5 or 6 Tang emperors ceded their thrones (not all voluntarily) before they died. Li Shimin's story is controversial bc allegedly his brother meant to kill him, he just moved first. Their father was heartbroken and "retired".

FL doesn't sweat the small stuff. She is after the big things.

Regardless, as the son of the CP of course he has to return to the capital - he is a valuable pawn that could among other things be used to prevent his father's ascension. However you want to cut it, it is inescapable that he can't remain at Lishan. Muyang does not need to falsify any such order. And the only reason to summon the former Prince Ding would be to safeguard the succession process. The details could vary but this is likely the gist of what happened. This is why the early Tang emperors were the smartest - they passed their thrones down while they were still healthy and lived for ages after as emperor emeritus ensuring nothing dodgy like this could happen after they die bc by then their chosen heir is well in control already.

I wouldn't be surprised if she is a long hidden Cangbei spy.

Of course any sickly emperor would have had succession concerns - regardless of whether the CP was still alive. Throughout history that is always when coups happen, especially when they have more than one son. Had he not had concerns, he would not need to specifically summon Prince Li back to the capital nor would he have to write an edict to mobilise Prince Ding. Maybe the old emperor already had an inkling of Consort Guo's ambition and plans for her own son or maybe even her plans for herself.

They were both consorts of the previous emperor and bonded in the harem.

His muscles are atrophied from being so long in a wheelchair. It will take him time to build them up to a point he can support his weight for long periods of time.

Jing Li couldn't sleep bc his intuition must have told him they were kissing.😂😂😂

Yes exactly - but that account is later contradicted somewhat by his own account where he suggests the Eastern Palace burned down after he returned to the capital. I believe the earlier account you describe above bc I think he is not that reliable a narrator, esp when he is making excuses for himself to Ye Li.

Well Mingxi quarrelled with his brother over something. I am guessing it has to do with Prince Li. While they have common enemies and similar goals, I don't see Prince Ding and Ye Li working with Prince Li. His methods are too immoral and not emperor worthy. They are unlikely to support him over the current emperor.

Yups - but so far just pure speculation on my part. We will have to wait and see.

Yeah I saw that but I question his memory of events - it would be strange for him not to be sent to the Eastern Palace if his parents were still alive. And it would have been much cleaner to just burn him to death with them if the fire had not yet taken place. He is a very inconvenient remnant to just leave alive like that.

I am just guessing - it should have something to do with succession - her grandfather was a de facto grand tutor emeritus that would typically be roped in to ratify controversial succession issues.

I would add Prince Ding (which was then Mo Xiuwen) was chosen bc he is Prince's Li's uncle and probably would have been promoted to regent while his younger brother Mo Xiuyao remained guarding the border.

Yes that is why I have said that Headmaster Xu must have drafted the edict and thus only he would be qualified to testify that its genuine and as instructed by the late emperor. Its not about whether a woman can speak or not - since Ye Li's mom didn't write it her testimony doesn't mean anything.