Chapter 39: First Release One day, she will also set foot...

The emperor sneered twice and closed his eyes.

Zhao Changning looked at the red pen hesitantly. This pen had long been endowed with power. She often wondered who gave it the power to make a pen so powerful?

Was it truly a gift from heaven? Or the emperor? Or perhaps the respect of all officials?

Why should they?

She slowly picked up the scattered memorials on the ground, flattened them, and read them to the new emperor as she usually did when facing the previous emperor.

"...This is a memorial from the Jingzhou prefect, Your Majesty. I see it's quite clear. He immediately comforted the victims, opened granaries to provide relief, and organized the people to repair the damage. However, disaster relief is a major undertaking, and local resources alone cannot handle it. He hopes the court will provide assistance as soon as possible."

The emperor leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and rested, his slender white neck rolled slightly, and his bright yellow dragon robe made him look even more cold and proud.

He waved his hand slightly. "If you don't approve it, send it to the cabinet. They're not very good at recommending people. Let them figure it out."

Zhao Changning couldn't help but pursed his lips when he heard this, but there was nothing he could do. He could only fold the memorial again and turn to read another one.

This is a matter in Zhejiang.

"At the beginning of this year, the Maritime Customs placed an order for 400,000 rolls of silk from the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau for maritime trade. However, not a cent of the deposit has been paid, and the silk cannot be delivered. In previous years, the eunuch in charge was in charge, but because the Hu faction has such a wide range of ties and numbers, the matter has become murky, and no one dares to touch such a large sum of money. Your Majesty, how do you approve this?"

The emperor opened his eyes slightly, frowned slightly, and said unhappily, "Are those officials just sitting there doing nothing? Without those eunuchs, these things will be gone."

Zhao Changning quickly explained, "When the late emperor was alive, some matters were indeed handled by the chief eunuchs. The elimination of the Hu faction was sudden, and now that things have changed, it's possible they haven't reacted quickly. But we can see they are loyal to the emperor. Everything has its own rules, and they won't take matters into their own hands."

The emperor naturally knew about it, but he was upset because of the dike breach in Jingzhou.

"Tell the Zhejiang Provincial Governor Zhou Mi to take over temporarily and deliver this batch of silk first. As for the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau, I will send someone else to oversee it."

Zhao Changning sighed, and wrote as he read, carefully writing the emperor's instructions on the memorial.

After finishing his business, the emperor saw that it was almost time for Lord Zhou Min to give a lecture. He sighed heavily and asked everyone to leave. He practiced calligraphy while waiting for someone.

Zhao Changning held a pile of memorials and prepared to go to the cabinet in person under the scorching sun.

Yunsheng had just returned from the inner study hall. His face was sunburned but his eyes were sparkling.

He naturally took the letter, held it in his arms, and left the shaded area by the wall for his aunt to walk through.

"It's so hot today, the Queen Mother specially had someone make mung bean soup for everyone. The Queen Mother is really kind."

Zhao Changning couldn't help but laugh. "I just gave you some silver. There are so many thirst-quenching and refreshing drinks in the Imperial Kitchen, and you're reluctant to drink them?"

Yunsheng scratched his head awkwardly. "When I was a little fireman, I didn't even have mung bean soup. I could only drink well water. This mung bean soup is free anyway, so I'd rather drink it."

He smiled and looked forward to it. "But I bought some drinks for everyone, Auntie. When you finish your work, you can go back and have some."

Zhao Changning didn't know what to say to him for a moment, but seeing him happily taking advantage of the situation, he felt inexplicably happy.

"You can't bear to drink it yourself, so how can you bear to buy it for everyone?"

Yunsheng blushed, started scratching his head again, and laughed.

When she arrived at Wenyuan Pavilion, she stood at the door and tidied her appearance.

Wenyuan Pavilion is an important place for cabinet directors. It not only gathers books from all over the world, but also is the place where political decisions are made. The core operations of the entire Dayong are all in this small room, which inevitably makes her awe-inspiring.

All the old gentlemen are also officials of the six ministries and are very busy with official duties. Therefore, most of the time, as long as there is no major event, they take turns to be on duty in the cabinet.

Today is Qi Yuwei.

"Master Qi, you have worked hard. I am here to deliver the memorial approved by the Emperor."

Qi Yu smiled and nodded. "Why did you come in person on such a hot day? Is the emperor well?"

Zhao Changning nodded. "Lord Zhou is giving a lecture today. The Emperor should be listening by now."

She put down the memorial and looked around curiously. She saw that the cabinets on the entire north wall were filled with books, neatly arranged. When she was studying in the inner study hall, her teacher Song Zongheng once said that his greatest wish in life was to enter the cabinet and immerse himself in the library from then on and never come out.

Zhao Changning still remembers this sentence.

Yunsheng was even more direct, "There are so many books, can you finish them all?"

Zhao Changning glared at him. "This is Wenyuan Pavilion. The person in front of you is Elder Qi. Don't be disrespectful."

She bowed slightly to Qi Yuwei and said, "Master Qi, please don't be offended. This is the first time for me, not to mention him. It's really a library. It's really an eye-opener."

Qi Yuwei didn't care. She waved her hand with a proud smile in her eyes, "There are so many books here that you can never finish reading them even if you read them day and night."

"Then why are there so many of them? It must be very hard for adults to study." Yunsheng showed admiration in his eyes.

Qi Yuwei looked at the bookshelf and said with emotion, "Reading has many wonderful uses, but it takes a lot of reading and writing to be effective. At first, you understand that books are like medicine, and reading well can cure ignorance. Later, as you read more books, many people think that if you read a book a hundred times, its meaning will become clear. When you reach my age, you will feel that it is better to have no books than to believe everything in them..."

He casually pulled out a book and handed it to Yunsheng, "But no matter what book it is, as long as it is useful, it is a good book."

Zhao Changning listened attentively and knelt down to salute, "Thank you very much, sir. Your words have helped me a lot."

Yunsheng was sincere and knelt down and kowtowed to express his gratitude.

Before Zhao Changning left, he couldn't help but look back frequently, his heart pounding.

One day, she will also come here and make decisions for Dayong like these men.

Qi Yuwei looked at the two men's backs, sat down with a smile, opened the letter and took a look, his expression gradually becoming serious.

If I'm not mistaken, this is not the emperor's handwriting, but Zhao Changning's handwriting?

The late emperor was inconvenient in the past, so he asked Zhao Changning to approve it. Now the emperor is healthy and has no disasters. What does this mean?

Zhao Changning walked back to his residence under the scorching sun. He was sweating profusely and his clothes were soaked.

Unless it was necessary, there were almost no people walking around in the entire imperial city, and most of them were just taking it easy.

Zhao Changning discovered that Yunsheng had actually bought a drink, which was the quinoa and lemon fruit drink that had recently become popular in the palace and that everyone loved to drink. Honey was added to it, and after stirring it was sour and sweet, and it was especially thirst-quenching.

There is only one thing that is particularly expensive, because the quinoa fruit is shipped from the south.

She looked at Yunsheng hesitantly, remembering how stingy he was. He couldn't even afford to light a candle, so how could he afford to buy this to drink?

"This isn't cheap. One cup alone costs two taels of silver, right? Yunsheng, did you really want to buy it yourself?"

Yunsheng glanced at Xiaoshun and nodded repeatedly, "I wanted to buy it myself, Auntie. I have nowhere else to spend my money anyway, so I'm happy to buy some drinks for everyone to cool down."

Zhao Changning looked at Yunsheng's expectant eyes, finally picked up a cup, and said calmly: "Xiaoshun, from now on, when you buy drinks and snacks, use my private money. Don't try to use Yunsheng's money. Why don't you use your own money?"

Xiao Shun knew that his aunt was angry, so he lowered his head and listened to the lecture, saying aggrievedly, "Aunt, I won't dare to do it again."

Yunsheng was so anxious that his face turned red. He tried to explain, "Aunt, I wanted to buy it myself. It has nothing to do with Xiaoshun. My money was originally given by you, so I should buy some drinks..."

"There's no such thing as a "should" in this world." Zhao Changning said in a deep voice, "Yunsheng, you have to protect your own things. Next time, I won't say a word."

Yunsheng blinked his bright eyes and looked at his aunt's slender back. He seemed to understand something and did not speak for a long time.

Because the weather was very hot, the Empress was very considerate of the palace ladies. In addition to making mung bean soup every day to relieve the heat, she also took out ice cubes from her own share and put them into the mung bean soup so that the palace ladies could have a sip of cool water even in the hot summer.

She also specifically instructed the palace maids to come into the house to enjoy the cool air at noon. The queen was also considerate in other small matters.

Everyone in the palace was grateful for the Queen's kindness. For a time, the Queen's reputation as a wise and intelligent woman was established in the harem, and things in the palace went more and more smoothly.

When Zhao Changning went to thank the Queen, he also expressed the words of gratitude from the palace maids.

"...Everyone says you're a bodhisattva. In the past, the palace maids have all been there for you. Your Majesty, your compassion is not only visible to the palace maids, but also to the Emperor. Your kindness and care are evident to all."

The queen pursed her lips and smiled, then took Zhao Changning's hand and said with emotion, "I also want to thank you for your reminder, Changning. The affairs in the palace are complicated. If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't be able to discover those little things."

Although she came from a poor family, she enjoyed a good life after marrying into the prince's mansion. Over the years, she had no memory of the sufferings of the world.

Zhao Changning smiled and shook his head. "Actually, I just said it casually. Your Majesty is so kind and generous, and treats people with sincerity. I've taken your words to heart. We are so lucky to have you."

The queen was delighted by what she said.

The two were discussing the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet and the meeting with the ladies of honor when suddenly the hurried footsteps of a palace maid came from the courtyard all the way into the ceremonial gate.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, something bad has happened..." The palace maid slipped on the bluestone slab that had just been splashed with water and let out a muffled groan. In this hot summer day, the sound was even more irritating.

Chunyun scolded: "What are you in such a hurry for? You have no manners at all..."

The queen's eyelids twitched, and she waved her hand to let the maid in. "Don't be anxious, drink some water first and speak slowly."

The maid drank a bowl of cold drink and finally was able to breathe again. Her face flushed from holding her breath. "Your Majesty, this is terrible! The little princess of Yonghe Palace has fallen into the water. The Concubine Zhaoyi has already gone to the Emperor crying..."

The queen stood up suddenly, "What? What happened to the little princess? What happened?"

"The person has been rescued, they just choked on some water." The maid gasped a few more times. "The Queen was considerate of the palace servants. At this time, everyone went into the shade and no one went out. According to the palace servants, it was the little princess who refused to sleep and insisted on going out to play. There was no one watching around, and if she wasn't careful..."

The Queen was furious. "Where is the little princess's wet nurse and the palace maids and eunuchs who served her? Aren't they with her? Why are the only ones missing? Shang Mei'er must be up to something bad again. She's too much. She's even willing to sacrifice her child..."

She threw away her sleeves and decided to go and get to the bottom of it herself.

"Your Majesty, please calm down." Zhao Changning quickly stepped forward to hold the person back. "Regardless of whether this matter has anything to do with your orders or the Majesty of Yonghe Palace, you must remain calm."

Chunyun also helped to stop them, crying and admonishing, "My Lady, Changning is right. You should calm down and not fall into that woman's trap."

The Queen couldn't help herself. "Not to mention whether the lovely little princess is alright, even if I go to the Emperor about her... Changning, you don't know, she's so pretentious, she confuses right and wrong, and she's always throwing tantrums. If I don't confront her, I'm afraid the Emperor will really misunderstand me..."

When the queen said this, tears were almost welling up in her eyes. She was so aggrieved and anxious that she couldn't calm down.

"Your Majesty, please listen to me," Zhao Changning said anxiously. "Your Majesty, please calm down. Whether it's related or not, or whether Yonghe Palace is deliberately framing you, it doesn't matter. Your Majesty, the Emperor is busy worrying about state affairs every day and has no time to dwell on such trivial matters that haven't led to major mistakes. He doesn't care about the process, only the result. When you come before the Emperor, no matter what, you must take responsibility for this matter. Don't argue, just say your own fault, and don't say a single bad word about Yonghe Palace."

Chunyun was the first to object. "Zhao Changning, you're not trying to harm the Empress, are you? How can you take the blame on yourself?"

Zhao Changning ignored her and looked at the Empress. "Your Majesty, escalating the conflict at this moment will not benefit you at all, nor your family at all. Think carefully. The Emperor is already about to grant you a title."

"I..." The Queen bit her lip, remembering Zhao Changning's attitude and approach to the loss of the Phoenix Seal last time, and slowly calmed down. "Changning, what do you mean?"

"If you want to get rid of someone, you must first appoint him." Zhao Changning said in a deep voice, "During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Zhuang of Zheng condoned Gong Shuduan's rebellion. Your Majesty should have read about it, right?"

The queen moved her lips, nodded, and calmed down completely.

"Chunyun." She shouted, "Put on your makeup, I want to go to the emperor and apologize."

Zhao Changning raised his hand to stop Chunyun and supported the Queen, "Your Majesty, you should go immediately."

The Queen's forehead was covered in sweat, and her casual clothes were already wrinkled. This description would definitely be disrespectful in front of the Emperor.

But she was willing to trust Zhao Changning at this moment, gritted her teeth and said, "Let's go."

Zhao Changning held her hand and smiled softly, "My Lady, if an enemy comes, we will fight him with our troops. If a flood comes, we will block it with earth. Nothing will happen."

The queen looked at her with emotion and walked out of Kunning Palace with her head held high.

Chunyun didn't quite understand what was said, but she just saw the empress leave like that, and she was extremely anxious, fearing that Zhao Changning had come up with some bad idea.

Zhao Changning said to her, "Chunyun, later, you must remember to protect the Empress."

Chunyun immediately straightened his chest and rolled up his sleeves, "Don't worry, no one can bully the queen, especially that woman in Yonghe Palace."

Halfway through the journey, they heard that the emperor had already gone to Yonghe Palace. The queen's face became tense and she was very unhappy when she heard this.

After finally arriving at Yonghe Palace, the sobbing voice of Concubine Zhaoyi could be heard through the doors and windows.

When they learned that the queen had arrived, there was a commotion in the room.

Zhao Changning was a little shocked. Zhaoyi's frail body somehow managed to find the strength to run straight towards him.

"Empress, if you have any anger, just come to me. You are the Empress, the Master of the Six Palaces. Why would you treat my daughter like this..."

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The author has something to say: Today is a little short, I am really sleepy, I will update more tomorrow [heart][heart]