Zhang Yuelu understood what her father was implying. “There can’t be two suns in the sky.”0

Qi Xuansu asked hesitantly, “Uncle, are you talking about the Imperial Court?”0

Zhang Juqi nodded and explained, “During the former Wei Dynasty, the Confucian School hid behind the scenes and controlled the Imperial Court. If there was something that did not suit their liking, they would change the emperor. The so-called emperor was just a marionette in their hands.”0

He proceeded to tell Qi Xuansu the history of the Imperial Court, the Confucian School, and the Daoist Order.0

Confucianism was deeply integrated into the Wei Dynasty Court. The Confucians did not intervene directly, but they placed constraints on the royal family through civil officials and many covert means. During the reigns of the previous emperors, Taizu and Taizong, it was still manageable, as the nobles related to the royal family were influential enough to compete with the civil officials.0

However, during the reigns of emperors Renzong and Xuanzong, civil officials gradually suppressed the noblemen’s military officers. By the reigns of emperors Xianzong, Xiaozong, and Wuzong, the...0