As Junior Edina returned to her room after her class, she sat down at her desk and began organizing her thoughts. She carefully wrote down the tasks she needed to prioritize, following the instructions laid out by Senior Edina in the letter she had left behind. The weight of responsibility pressed heavily on her, but she knew she had to push forward, especially now that Senior Edina had decided to adopt a more aggressive approach to their strategies.
“Lian Hua, can you ask Mei Lin to contact the Thousand Pavilion Palace and arrange for them to gather a few orphaned children from the Beggar Sect?” Junior Edina said as she finished writing a letter. She sealed it with the Jinwei Mansion’s crest and handed it to Lian Hua along with approval for one gold tael.
Lian Hua blinked in surprise, her eyes widening slightly. "I… I will get to it right away, Young Mistress Edina!" she stammered. This was the first significant task Edina had entrusted her with since she had entered her service, and it filled her with a sense of pride and determination. Clutching the letter tightly, she quickly exited the room to find Mei Lin, the head maid of Jinwei Mansion, eager to fulfill the order without delay.
Once Lian Hua had left, Junior Edina turned her attention back to the paper where she had listed her primary tasks. The decision made by Senior Edina to no longer worry about the changes affecting the future was a pivotal one. It meant they could now pursue their goals with greater intensity, even if it meant disrupting the established order.
Edina had secured the support of Princess Huangshu, she is a powerful ally whose influence could help sway votes from the affiliated sects when the time for voting came. However, Aunt Li Mei also had imperial backing in the form of Second Prince Zhou Liang, whose influence in the imperial court far exceeded that of Princess Huangshu. This made Aunt Li Mei a formidable opponent.
Adding to the challenge, Aunt Li Mei’s success with the Red Black Steel endeavors could greatly enhance her faction’s influence, potentially securing an overwhelming number of votes. Even if Junior Edina’s own Red Black Steel plan succeeded and leveled the playing field, Aunt Li Mei’s stronghold over the Elders would make it difficult to sway them in Edina’s favor.
Moreover, Uncle Lu Mingfe, another competitor, was backed by the prestigious Mount Hua sect and the First Prince because of his marriage to Aunt Qin from the Feng Ling family of Mount Hua. making him a serious contender for power.
Recognizing the need to expand her influence, Senior Edina devised a plan to recruit the Beggar Sect of Haiso to their side. This strategic alliance would bolster their numbers and provide a crucial layer of support, potentially tipping the balance in their favor during the upcoming power struggle. However, Senior Edina’s plan was far more intricate than it appeared on the surface.
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The Beggar Sect in the Haiso Province, one of the Nine Great Sects, possessed one of the most extensive information networks in the central plains. It was renowned for its ability to organize and provide stable income and security to the lower-grade workers, including beggars, throughout the central plains. Despite this outward appearance of stability, the sect’s internal power structure heavily favored the larger affiliated beggar sects and workers’ unions. These powerful groups slowly crushed the smaller, unaffiliated beggars and workers who, despite being members of the great sect, faced higher fees on their earnings and received lower rewards for their tasks.
This growing inequality had been simmering within the Beggar Sect for some time, but it had not yet reached a boiling point. Senior Edina, with her knowledge of the future, knew that a revolt would eventually erupt. In four years—one year after her marriage to Gu Tianlong—a revolt led by the smaller, individual beggars and workers would be backed by the Second Prince. The rebellion would seek to reform the sect’s structure, addressing the injustices that had long plagued its members.
When this revolt finally occurred, it would have devastating consequences. The beggars, in their quest for change, would halt all trade routes between the northern and southern regions of the central plains. Given that most of the empire’s grain production occurred in the north, the resulting trade disruption would lead to skyrocketing prices in the southern regions, particularly in the capital. The imperial court, forced to intervene, would ultimately divide the Beggar Sect into two separate factions, each supporting a different prince.
Senior Edina’s plan was to accelerate this process. By bringing the unrest to a head sooner, she aimed to unify the Beggar Sect under Princess Huangshu’s faction, securing their support in the upcoming power struggle within the imperial court and the sect. This move, while risky, had the potential to shift the balance of power decisively in her favor.
She knew the dangers of meddling with such a volatile situation, but she also understood the importance of seizing the initiative. If she could successfully manage the timing and align the beggars’ discontent with Princess Huangshu’s ambitions, the resulting alliance could prove invaluable. The Beggar Sect’s vast network of information and influence, when wielded correctly, could be the key to gaining the upper hand against her formidable rivals.
As Junior Edina contemplated the complexities of the plan, she felt the weight of the task ahead. It was a delicate balance of timing, manipulation, and diplomacy.
But before any of this could move forward, Junior Edina needed a figurehead for her faction within the sect—someone who was trusted and respected, someone who could stand as an equal to Aunt Li Mei and Uncle Mingfe. Senior Edina had suggested Lu Shun for this role, believing his influence and reputation could lend much-needed credibility to their cause. However, Junior Edina had her doubts. Lu Shun was fiercely loyal to his father, and it seemed unlikely that he would choose to align himself with her, especially when doing so would mean going against his own family.
This was the most pressing issue for Edina.