Chapter 113

Another half year passed, it was late spring and early summer.

Qu Watanabe is fourteen years old.

He had never celebrated his birthday properly, because his birthday was the anniversary of his mother's death, so he basically just received some gifts and had Concubine Xuan cook him a bowl of longevity noodles, and that was it.

Due to his obstruction, Emperor Chongzhao had not even seen Concubine Lan for half a year.

Concubine Lan was becoming more and more tormented, and she was looking forward to the day when the Sixth Prince would leave the palace and build his own residence. She urged the Fifth Prince to speak up more often in the court, so that the Sixth Prince could come to court to attend government affairs as soon as possible.

Therefore, in mid-June, Emperor Chongzhao issued an edict to allow the Sixth Prince to leave the palace early and set up a residence so that he could sit in the court with his brothers.

After attending the Sixth Prince's mansion-building banquet, it was already sunset when I returned.

Finally, Qu Watanabe was the only one left in the prince's residence.

It is unknown how many years it will take for the vacant palaces and courtyards to be cleaned up by the cobwebs and fallen leaves that have accumulated again over time.

He pushed open the door to his own courtyard and looked back.

-

After Zhiyi turned sixteen, Concubine Guo had been looking for young men from various aristocratic families.

Although Emperor Chongzhao said there was no rush, he also ordered the painter to present the portraits of young men of appropriate age to Zhiyi, so that she could take her time to choose.

Zhiyi was annoyed and worried. She didn't want to live in Shunning Palace anymore. Ju'an Palace was remote and had been abandoned for more than ten years, so she didn't want to go there either.

So he applied to Emperor Chongzhao, wanting to live in Princess Axiang's former princess mansion for a while.

Qu Dubian fully agreed, and his elder sister also experienced the pain of being urged to get married like people in later generations.

Zhiyi: "My father has approved it, but all the cleaning and maintenance personnel have to be assigned from the palace. This matter is not his responsibility. He asked me to discuss it with the Empress myself."

Qu Watanabe: "Hmm? I remember that the allocation of personnel and the roster of the harem has always been managed by Concubine Yi."

The Queen is in charge of the harem, but she does not have to take care of every little thing. She controls the financial power, and Concubine Ruan assists her, but other affairs are basically divided out, and they only have to report to her at the end of the month and the end of the quarter.

For example, Concubine Wen was in charge of the harem's documents, which was an unnecessary job. Concubine De and the former Concubine Lan were in charge of punishments, while the allocation of personnel was under the jurisdiction of Concubine Yi.

Although the queen can give direct orders, she and the concubines in the harem are both superiors and colleagues, so she always has to give them face.

Zhiyi blinked and said, "Yes, that's why I dragged you here. You have a good relationship with Fourth Brother, so you can help me get more people from Concubine Yi."

Qu Watanabe: "Leave it to me."

After the palace maid reported the situation, the two entered Fu'an Palace.

"Your Highnesses, the Queen is in the Buddhist Hall. The roster is all there. She wants you to come over."

"good."

Qu Dubian is quite familiar with this place. After all, his fourth brother often brought him here to sleep when he was a child.

However, he had never entered Concubine Yi's small Buddhist temple.

After all, he only knew the basics of Buddhism, Taoism and the like. After entering, he couldn't control his curiosity and looked around. It would be bad if he violated the taboos.

There was still a faint scent of fragrance in the small Buddhist hall.

Because it was directly converted from a side hall, the area is not small.

Apart from the area occupied by the futon and the Buddhist shrine, there was a large remaining space, which was arranged by Concubine Yi into a small study, where various kinds of paper were hung to dry.

The paper made by Concubine Yi is exquisite, and she is also a good hand at making incense. At least Qu Watanabe, who is used to smelling all kinds of fragrances, does not find the incense in Concubine Yi's small Buddhist hall pungent.

Yipin exempted them from the formalities and said, "Please sit down."

After they explained their purpose, she ground the ink and asked, "How many people do you want?"

Qu Watanabe coughed lightly: "Well...how many people can it match at most?"

Yipin: "Princess, you are just cleaning the existing courtyard. Usually, it takes less than 60 people to clean it, and it will take about six or seven days to complete."

Four to five days.

Zhiyi thought of her mother's incessant chattering...she really didn't want to quarrel with her mother.

But her mother's mumbling made her feel upset. If she continued to live in Shunning Palace, she was afraid that their mother-daughter relationship would be in danger.

Zhiyi: "Can we have more people? Or just clean up some of the things. I want to move in as soon as possible."

Qu Watanabe: "If the prince leaves the palace to build a mansion, how many people can he match?"

Yipin: "The number of matches is less than 120, depending on the specific needs of the prince. If there are more than 180 people, it is a prince level, and it is necessary to report to the Queen Mother or His Majesty."

Qu Duan came closer and said, "Sister is in a hurry to move out of the palace. Can I advance her my share for two years?"

Yipin: "It's unprecedented, but... it's OK."

She pressed her seal on the document and said, "Just go and get someone."

Zhiyi said happily: "Thank you, Concubine Yi!"

Yipin: "You're welcome." She looked at Qu Duanbian, "How is Xiao Si these days?"

Qu Watanabe: "Fourth brother is doing well. The weather is nice now. He often comes to the prince's residence to chat with me."

Yipin: "He is too lazy to walk a few more steps to the harem, please keep an eye on him for me."

"rest assured."

Concubine Yi smiled slightly.

Her expression and emotions were always indifferent no matter what she did. As far as Qu Watanabe remembered, she seemed to have never smiled.

After leaving Fu'an Palace, Zhiyi said, "I heard that Concubine Yi is not from the capital, but from a commoner family. She is able to hold the position of Concubine because she met my father at Zhennan Pass in her early years, and there is a story of a hero saving a beautiful woman."

Qu Dubian laughed when he heard this: "A hero saving a beautiful girl?"

Zhiyi spread her hands: "I heard about it."

Qu Dubian thought that this was actually a good thing, as Fourth Brother had been safe until now only because he had no maternal family background.

-

Two days later.

Zhiyi left the palace smoothly and lived in Princess Axiang's mansion.

As Emperor Chongzhao's energy continued to decline, he was no longer able to handle all the political affairs, big or small.

So he selected Fang Hechuan, the Grand Tutor, Xi Shiqiu, the Minister of Punishments, and Lin Zongping, the Minister of Revenue, as the Grand Secretaries of Wenyuan Palace, to assist him in handling government affairs after the court session every day.

He made the decision after careful consideration. Although he was unwilling, he had no choice but to do so.

When the news spread, it immediately caused an uproar in the court.

This kind of job may seem hard, but it allows you to get access to first-hand information!

For a time, Taifu Fang, Xi Shiqiu and Lin Zongping became like the most beautiful girls in the court. Everyone scrambled to watch them and fawned on them, trying to ask indirectly whether His Majesty would still recruit Grand Secretaries in the Wenyuan Palace.

Well, we are all colleagues, what's wrong with a little flattery? Pah, that's flattery, that's called friendly colleagueship.

Master Fang was old and was so annoyed that he hid in the side hall of the school. Every time he went back, he had to wait until the palace gates were about to be locked before he dared to sneak back.

Qu Dubian was worried that he would starve, so he brought him food. He was so happy every time he saw the little old man's beard falling off due to worry.

Isn’t this the prototype of a cabinet?

In the early days, the cabinet was just the emperor's secretariat and had little power.

But this just represents a signal that the cheap dad is no longer holding the power alone, and some of the power in his hands is starting to be distributed.

Who doesn’t want it?

Fang Taifu: "I was originally living well in the Hanlin Academy, with leisure and respect, but His Majesty chose me to be the first Grand Secretary. Grand Secretary is a low rank, and an additional position does not make much money. It's more work, and more trouble."

Alas, it’s not a good deal anywhere except closer to the center of power.

Qu Dubian said lazily: "Others can't even ask for it, but the Master is disgusted with it."

Fang Taifu snorted, "Your Majesty has chosen people with long experience, who have not clearly taken sides and who have not participated in party disputes. Am I not the one with the longest experience?"

He had gray hair and looked energetic. He was indeed the oldest of the three grand secretaries.

"Yes, yes, you are the oldest."

Master Fang: "You are already fourteen years old. You never gave me the questions I gave you at the beginning. Why don't you try to answer them?"

Outside the window, on the branches, birds are calling for clear weather and flowers are dotted.

Qu Dubian folded his arms, leaned against the window, and looked over: "Master, you said you didn't take sides, is that true?"

Master Fang's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, and he looked up with a smile: "Why do you ask?"

Qu Duanbian: "You used the Jincengxuan to trick me. In the past few years, you have never given up the idea of ​​taking me as your student. Taifu, you taught me that the teacher is the most important person in the world, the heaven, the earth, the emperor, the parents, and the teacher. Once the teacher-student relationship is bound, it is second only to that of family members."

Tutor Fang has already entered the cabinet.

But according to his qualifications and relationship with the emperor, if he really didn't want to, he could simply refuse.

Originally, Tutor Fang worked in the Hanlin Academy and had little influence on the political situation. Whether he became a disciple or not did not matter to the current court situation.

But when Master Fang got closer to the center of power again, he still mentioned the original exam questions.

Originally he could still see it as Master Fang's way of testing his true ability, but now it is completely different.

Master Fang knelt on the futon and poured himself a drink: "Your Highness, just speak frankly."

"You chose me," Qu Watanabe said seriously, "and from the second time you tricked me till now, it was just a probation period."

"Wrong." Master Fang raised his head and smiled, "I chose the people of the world."

The wind rustles the leaves and the shadows of the flowers sway.

After a few seconds, Qu Duanbian slowly relaxed his body and smiled: "Master, your answer is really cunning."

"Even if I don't answer those questions, will the Grand Tutor choose someone else and tell him, 'I chose the people of the world'?"

You old fox, you just want to choose him anyway, so you beat around the bush.

Master Fang: "It doesn't matter if you don't answer. Sometimes actions are more reliable and intuitive than words."

Qu Dubian: "I am not the kind of wise ruler described in history books. I just farm in my small yard every day. How about I give you two bundles?"

Master Fang readily accepted: "Okay."

Qu Watanabe: "It's boring, let's go."

Master Fang looked at his back and said, "Your Highness, I have watched you grow up and I know your character well. Sometimes you may seem to be on the sidelines, but in fact you are already in it. You cannot escape it. It is your character and your fate."

Qu Dubian paused and turned back to say, "Master, I don't know what will happen to me in the future, but now, I don't want to step into it."

It was a long time after he left that Master Fang slowly poured himself a cup of tea - he loved to drink super sweet milk tea, but Qu Watanabe thought that drinking too much would increase the risk of diabetes, so he forced him to quit.

The old man stroked his beard.

"One day, you will hand in an answer sheet."

-

In the next few days, Qu Dubian went to the school as usual, but he never went to the side hall again.

Master Fang didn't say much.

But in mid-June, bad news came from the Cining Palace.

Concubine Zhou fell ill and never recovered.

The Imperial Hospital tried its best but failed to get her to get up from bed and dance square dance again.

Qu Dubian placed fresh branches on her windowsill, just like when she was a child, but Concubine Zhou did not get better as before.

She leaned on the sickbed, her eyes blurred with tears, looking towards the north through the branches of flowers.

"Ah Xiang..."