Chapter 805: Drawing Cakes

After the illusion that Xiao Yan was not in the capital was revealed, the morning court session, which had been suspended for a while, resumed. Tang Ning appeared directly in the court as the queen and handled state affairs with the court officials.

Tang Ning did not try to sit on the dragon throne and look down on the court officials. She just had a pearl curtain added behind the supreme throne. She stayed behind the pearl curtain in the queen's court dress to listen to government affairs.

The originally anxious court officials below all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the dragon throne still empty.

The Queen was only acting as the administrator of the government, and had no intention of being disloyal.

The old ministers who had originally been somewhat resistant to the Queen's administration now felt much more at ease. Although they still somewhat disliked a woman ruling the country, the Queen handled court affairs in an orderly manner and arranged various matters, making the court as stable as when the Emperor was still in Beijing.

The most important thing is that the Queen was clear about rewards and punishments. Although she caned the King of England and punished several court officials who made a lot of trouble that day, she did not vent her anger on the rest of the people because of the previous "forcing the palace".

She did not act arbitrarily in government affairs, but often consulted with Cao Dejiang, Liang Guangyi, and even several senior officials in the court.

In just a few days, even the pedantic old ministers who had previously been most opposed to the Queen's rule had to praise her.

"...Although the Queen is still somewhat naive in her political knowledge, she is extremely intelligent. She can grasp many things with just one glance and even apply them to other situations. Her acumen in government affairs is comparable to that of Your Majesty."

"With the Empress at the helm, Your Majesty can focus on the battles outside. Who is it that is talking nonsense about the Empress messing up the government?"

Qian Qiyue was curled up on the soft couch in Yongzhao Palace. When she looked at Tang Ning opposite her, who was wearing a smoky purple suit with her hair tied up in a bun at the back of her head, she couldn't help but let out a "tsk".

"Aning, that old man Huo is praising you to the sky."

Qian Qiyue was curious: "My father said that the old guard in the court are very satisfied with you now. Their evaluation of you is even higher than that of His Majesty. How did you win them over? How did you actually make Mr. Huo and others willingly work for you?"

Zhou Yuchang, who was standing by, couldn't help but say, "Yes, there were rumors all over the capital before, saying that Aning was a foxy woman who seduced the emperor and was a demon queen who would bring about the destruction of the country. But these rumors have died down in the past few days."

"I heard that Master Huo and Mr. Qi personally came forward to clarify things for you, and even taught a lesson to several students who were talking nonsense."

Huo Mengyuan was nearly sixty years old and was an old minister with almost the same seniority as Liang Guangyi and others. However, he was pedantic and inflexible, and had always been under Cao Dejiang of the Censorate. After Cao Dejiang took over the position of Left Prime Minister and shared the power of refuting the Grand Tutor, the position of Chief Censor fell on him.

And that Mr. Qi was half a royal relative, having married the youngest half-sister of Emperor Taizu. He held the position of Councillor of State, and his family had been honored for generations. He was notoriously bad-tempered and stubborn.

When the news of the Queen's administration first came out that day, these two people were the most opposed to it and were extremely uncooperative with what the Queen said. But who would have thought that in just a few days, the two of them actually changed their tune. Not only did they personally reprimand those who spread rumors that the Queen was a hens' roaming at dawn and causing chaos in the court, they also praised the Queen highly.

The words that Qian Qiyue just said in praise of the queen came from Huo Mengyuan.

Qian Qiyue was extremely curious: "Aning, how did you do that?"

Not to mention her, even her father and the others were extremely curious.

Tang Ning smiled and said, "I didn't do anything. I just let them experience the joy of being an imperial teacher."

"ah?"

Qian Qiyue and Zhou Yuchang both looked confused.

Tang Ning handed the approved memorial to Hua Wu, who was stifling a smile, and asked her to sort it out before saying, "Why did Elder Huo and Lord Qi resist me so much before? They didn't want me to rule on His Majesty's behalf, and it wasn't just because I was a woman."

Although Huo Mengyuan and the other two were pedantic, they were not completely incapable of adapting. If they were really as stinky and hard as the stones in the toilet, then whether it was when the former emperor and the deposed emperor plotted to murder the crown prince, or when Xiao Yan later led his troops to forcibly surround the palace and seize the throne, they should have already thrown themselves into the air and died in front of the Imperial Dragon Terrace in order to uphold their loyalty as subjects, and prevent the "rebels" from ascending the throne.

But they did nothing at that time, because they knew in their hearts that even if they shed blood in the palace, it would not change anything. Compared with the concessions of their grandfather and the Rong family and Cao Dejiang's secret considerations, the two of them were so cautious that they never questioned anything from beginning to end.

They may have a cold temper and seem pedantic, but in fact they see things more clearly than anyone else.

They opposed her governing the country not just because she was a woman like others did, but because they were worried that she would not understand the important affairs of state. They were even more worried that the Wei Dynasty, which was already struggling to survive under the attack of Beiling and Nanqi, would be thrown into chaos because of her.

Tang Ning's voice was soft, with a hint of smile in his tone:

"Old Huo and the others are worried that I will cause chaos in government, that I am incompetent, and even more worried that I don't have the vision and means to control the ministers with different motives in the court. So I will let them follow me and teach me my methods personally, so that they can see with their own eyes whether I am capable of shouldering this responsibility."

She showed enough respect to the two and also showed enough wisdom.

She listened to the advice of court officials and was willing to listen to their instructions although she had her own methods. The two of them could not only personally train half of the current court masters and experience the joy of being an imperial teacher, but also have a greater sense of "participation" in the government affairs than her brother did when he was in Beijing.

Compared to the emperor who was always decisive and seemed somewhat "dictatorial", the two old ministers naturally preferred her, the still young queen.

As for their advice...

A hint of cunning flashed across Tang Ning's eyes as she raised her lips. Of course, she listened to everything carefully. As for whether it would be implemented in the end and how much of it would be put into practice, that was a matter for the future.

She was just forced to take over as the queen, who was in charge of the overall situation. The affairs of the court had to wait until the real ruler of Wei returned to the capital before they could be decided. No one could say that this was wrong.

Qian Qiyue opened her mouth when she heard that.

Zhou Yuchang standing by also had a strange look on her face.

Isn't Tang Ning just making empty promises?

Thinking of how Lord Huo and Lord Qi tried their best to protect the Queen's reputation and acted like fighting cocks, confronting court officials who were at odds with the Queen, both of them couldn't help but show some sympathy.

"My Lady."

Yue Jian walked in from the outer room, opening the curtain, and said to Tang Ning, "Madam Ru is here."

Tang Ning raised her eyes: "Aru entered the palace?"

Yue Jian said, "Aunt Rui is here with Madam Ru, and there's also Madam Wang, they're all waiting outside."

Tang Ning was stunned. Aunt Rui had mentioned to A Ru before that she was going to the palace to pay a visit. It was not surprising that A Ru brought her here, but Miss Wang...

Wang Yuzhen has always been very disciplined. She would not enter the palace without being summoned. Why did she come here with Aju and the others?