Chapter 87 Chapter 87 Establishing the Queen.
"Your Majesty is so busy with affairs of state, how can you still find time to come to my place?"
Zhao Qingyi didn't want to be led by the other party anymore, so she abruptly changed the subject.
Chu Yuanhe didn't point her out, but continued, "Establishing a queen is also a major event in the court."
Zhao Qingyi sensed his tentative intention, but she still needed some time to adapt, so she straightened her expression and turned to ask about the situation in Zhejiang.
Her willingness to communicate calmly was a great concession to Chu Yuanhe, so he followed her topic and told her about the recent major events in the court.
Although Prince Qi is dead, the power of his subordinates is still intertwined, especially the other party has many connections with the Wang family. The officials and Jinyiwei sent to Zhejiang to investigate are still collecting evidence. The Wang family has been using many means to protect themselves recently, which can be regarded as a blatant competition with the emperor.
The aristocratic families have stood in Daliang for a hundred years, and it will take time to eradicate their power. Chu Yuanhe is prepared for a protracted war, but the cabinet has already agreed on the rewards for the Zhao family.
Zhao Qingyi didn't look too happy after hearing this. The Zhao family was sure to make a profit this time, so it didn't matter whether they were rewarded or not. In fact, she also wanted to ask about Li Che.
"He...was brought back to Beijing by you?"
Chu Yuanhe's arms around her stiffened slightly, and his tone darkened. "You care about him?"
Zhao Qingyi closed her eyes and said, "That's all I'm asking..."
When she was in Qiantang, she felt that there was a secret between Li Che and Chu Yuanhe. She wanted to find an opportunity to confirm it with Li Che, but she never saw him. Instead, that night, when she was in a daze, Chu Yuanhe explained the whole story to her by her bedside.
Now she was certain that both she and Li Che were reborn, and Chu Yuanhe probably had a strange dream in which he predicted what would have happened, and then intervened and squeezed into her life everywhere, which led to the deviation.
The reason she asked that extra question just now was because she was curious about how Chu Yuanhe was going to deal with Li Che.
"I've been here for so long, and you haven't cared about me."
Chu Yuanhe was still considering how to deal with Li Che. He didn't want that man to die too easily, but at the moment he didn't want this man's name to appear between him and Panpan, and he didn't want Panpan to misunderstand him because of this man.
Chu Yuanhe complained, "I haven't slept a wink all night. I had to attend court and review memorials during the day, and I'm so busy now that I've rushed to see you. And the first thing you say is another man?"
“…”
Zhao Qingyi glanced at him. Was she not going to let him close his eyes?
But seeing the two dark circles under Chu Yuanhe's eyes, he finally softened his heart and let him sleep on the couch, which gave both of them a way out and ended the dispute.
That night, the two of them enjoyed the long-lost harmony until dawn.
When Zhao Qingyi opened her eyes, the bedding beside her had already grown cold. A maidservant came in to serve her. One of them was carrying two food boxes, and her face was beaming. "County Lady, these are secretly delivered by His Majesty. His Majesty said that you have lost a lot of weight, so he specially asked the imperial kitchen to prepare a few small dishes and snacks according to your taste. County Lady, please get up and try them."
The prince they once thought of had suddenly become the noble Emperor, but His Majesty still favored the County Lady as always. The two maids, Tan Yue and Qiao Yue, were happy for their master and felt proud.
That is the high and mighty Majesty, the king of a country, yet he is willing to bow down at the feet of the county lady. Now, the imperial guards guarding outside have to be respectful when they see the two maids, which greatly satisfies the maids' vanity.
Especially Qiao Yue, when she thought that His Majesty might have been coveting the county lady for a long time, she excitedly pulled Tan Yue and cried loudly. They were both young girls in their prime, and if someone treated her so sincerely, she would wake up laughing in her dreams.
Thinking of this, Qiao Yue became even more excited. She even wrote down in private the past of the county lady and His Majesty's acquaintance and love for each other. The more she wrote, the more she felt that her speculation was correct and that His Majesty had planned it all along.
His Majesty had fallen in love with the county lady when she was still a wife of the Li family. Otherwise, how could one explain His Majesty's hasty transfer of Li Che away from the capital for three years on the county lady's wedding night?
Isn't that just jealousy and caring?
Qiao Yue guessed so and said it out loud with a smile.
Zhao Qingyi, who was eating, choked. She really didn't think as much as Qiao Yue.
Tan Yue poured tea and water for her master while shaking her head and sighing, begging Zhao Qingyi to marry Qiao Yue off quickly. "County Lady, you don't know, Qiao Yue has become quite successful now. She should be writing a story about you. In my opinion, she just wants to get married..."
Qiao Yue blushed and chased Tan Yue around the room, while the three of them, the master and the servant, laughed together.
In the Golden Palace, however, there was a bloody storm.
The Wang family's layout in Zhejiang was completely broken, the new policy was successfully implemented, and the aristocratic family was in danger.
In one morning court session, Chu Yuanhe dealt with several mansions, including the mansion of the Earl of Loyalty and Bravery. All of them were guilty of corruption and annexation of land, and some of them even resulted in loss of life. With multiple crimes combined, they were almost all punished with property confiscation and exile.
Most of them were from side branches, but Earl Zhongyong was actually related to Wang Ci Fu by marriage, and he happened to be the one who was punished the most severely. Among the several charges, one was that he had sent someone to assassinate the Princess of Chenhua County.
The Earl of Zhongyong was sentenced to death in the autumn. Before going to prison, he had his pants stripped and was beaten with a stick seventy times in the court.
When the imperial guards entered the palace to drag people away, Earl Zhongyong called out to Wang Ci Fu without hesitation and begged him to save his life.
Wang Ci Fu stood in the front row of civil officials, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Now in the morning court, there was no longer a pearl curtain or screen between the emperor and his ministers, and he could clearly feel the sharp eyes of the young emperor.
The Mansion of the Earl of Loyalty and Bravery...is completely ruined.
Especially since the evidence of the crimes committed by the Bo family is solid, if he asks for mercy, the Wang family will be the next to be beheaded and exiled.
The cries of the Earl of Loyalty and Bravery became increasingly distant. When he was dragged outside the palace and beaten with a stick, his screams resounded throughout the Golden Throne Hall. Everyone held their breath, not daring to breathe. They knew very well that His Majesty was killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.
Earl Zhongyong was old and could not withstand the beating in the court and died on the spot.
Chu Yuanhe was used to seeing blood and killing, and he didn't even bat an eyelid at the mere beating in court. After the incident with the Earl of Zhongyong, he asked the Imperial Household Department to read out the imperial edict to establish the empress.
Previously, all officials only knew that when His Majesty returned from Zhejiang, he brought a woman with him, and they all secretly inquired about her background. Unfortunately, His Majesty hid it too well, and the woman's identity remains a mystery to this day. Some people speculated that the woman might have a humble background and was just a concubine kept by His Majesty outside the palace.
A concubine of ordinary origin, even if she rose to the upper class, would not have a high position. Those officials who wanted to put their daughters into the harem as concubines or empresses thought they still had a chance to fight for it, so they did not investigate too much. However, they did not expect that the imperial edict would make her the empress.
When everyone heard the name of Chenhua County Master, they were all stunned.
Wang Ci Fu was shocked and ignored the previous warning. He immediately stood out to object. His words were nothing more than that Zhao Qingyi had been married before. Even with the imperial decree of the Grand Empress Dowager, the fact that she had been married could not be denied. Moreover, any discerning person could see that the imperial decree was a trick to deceive oneself and others. It could fool the common people, but it could not fool them, the court officials.
How could a second-married woman be worthy of the title of Queen Mother? If this were to spread, she would surely be ridiculed by neighboring countries.
As soon as Wang Ci Fu stood up, his supporters came out one after another to dissuade him, and among them was Zhao Huailiang.
He was of low rank and his words were not taken seriously, but what he said at this moment shocked the whole court and the entire nation, "Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable. Not to mention that the County Princess has been married before, the fact that she has poor personal ethics and bad conduct alone makes her unfit to be Empress!"
As a cabinet minister, Zhao Huaiyi naturally stood at the forefront of the civil service. He was quite surprised to hear his brother's voice, and then he became angry. "What nonsense! Zhao Huailiang, that's your niece!"
On the day he returned to Beijing, his wife Meng told him about many trivial matters that happened at home. He was very angry after listening to it and agreed to his wife's decision to divide the family. However, he had just returned to Beijing and urgently needed to deal with Zhejiang affairs, so family affairs had to be put on hold for the time being. He planned to settle accounts with the second wife after the state affairs were dealt with.
He had heard from other people that his second brother had condoned the foolish deeds of Concubine Fang, but today he saw with his own eyes that his second brother had slandered his daughter in the Golden Palace. How could Zhao Huaiyi not be angry?
Zhao Huailiang acted neither servile nor overbearing, "I stand for justice, not relatives. Even though the county lady is my niece, I will stand up and speak a fair word!"
Zhao Huaiyi was so angry that his face turned red and his neck became thick. His younger brother was really desperate and didn't even bother to pretend.
Zhao Huailiang ignored his angry eyes and calmly explained that Zhao Qingyi had an affair with a man outside her marriage.
This incident caused a lot of uproar at the wedding banquet of the Qiao and Zhang families, but it ended up exposing the scandal of Concubine Fang. Everyone present had eyes and ears in the capital, so they heard a little about it and didn't care.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Huailiang changed the subject, "Everyone previously thought that the county lady was having an affair with her brother-in-law, but in fact, she was having an affair with someone else without any intercession. I saw it with my own eyes!"
When he found Li Che who had just been released from prison, Li Che looked dazed, as if he had suffered a great shock. Later, he sent someone to investigate and learned that Li Che had seen a man at Zhao Qingyi's house that day.
He also privately interrogated Luo and Li Susu, and they both proved with certainty that a man had been in contact with Zhao Qingyi for a long time, but Luo and Li Susu had no idea who that man was.
But Zhao Huailiang guessed that the man was most likely His Majesty, His Majesty disguised as the Prince of Pingxi.
Because that day Li Che asked without any context, "How much do the Prince of Pingxi look like Your Majesty?"
Later, the identity of "Prince Pingxi" was revealed in Zhejiang, and they were able to see the true face of His Majesty. Otherwise, all officials would continue to be kept in the dark by this cunning and changeable emperor.
And today, His Majesty suddenly wanted to enthrone Zhao Qingyi as the queen, which once again confirmed his guess.
His elder brother Zhao Huaiyi has made great contributions, and Zhao Qingyi is about to be crowned queen. Next, the prominent families headed by the Wang family will fall one after another. At that time, his faction of defecting to the Wang family will be exposed, and he will be liquidated together. Given his elder brother's temperament, he will definitely choose to kill his own relatives for the sake of justice.
Since he can't escape death anyway, he has to drag more people to take the blame for him!
Zhao Huailiang took the plunge and took out a letter written in blood by Li Che long ago, directly stating that Zhao Qingyi had not consummated the marriage after marriage. If the latter was innocent, it would be known after a test.
He knew very well that His Majesty and Zhao Qingyi had been having an affair for a long time, and it was impossible that the two of them had done nothing. He wanted to see how the almighty emperor would end up like this.
Should he abandon Zhao Qingyi to preserve his own reputation, or should he ignore everything for Zhao Qingyi?
For a moment, countless thoughts flashed through Zhao Huailiang's mind, and his lowered brows were filled with malice.
Zhao Huaiyi was so angry that he was shaking all over. He never expected that one day his brother would stab him in the back in the court. This would destroy the entire Zhao family!
How could Chu Yuanhe not guess the other party's malicious intentions?
A physical exam? Ridiculous.
So what if he intervened before Zhao Qingyi divorced?
He is the emperor, not a puppet to be manipulated by others. He has the final say on what kind of woman he wants. Even the Empress Dowager has no control over him. A mere minister like him is simply courting death.
But he had to clear Zhao Qingyi's name.
"I wish to establish Princess Chenhua as my empress because I value her talent and compassion. My dear ministers, you may not know that the smooth implementation of the new policies is inseparable from the Princess's advice and suggestions. For example, at the end of last winter, when Jiangnan and other areas were hit by disasters, the Princess offered disaster relief measures. Afterwards, when refugees entered the capital, the Princess provided relief by setting up porridge stalls to provide for them... Each of these things is enough to prove that this woman is no ordinary woman. Even if she has been married twice or three times, as long as I deem it appropriate, she is the undisputed empress!"
"What I want is a queen who can rival me in power, not a spoiled young lady who knows nothing. Among all the noble ladies in the court, who can rival the county lady?"
Wang Ci Fu was stunned when he heard this. His Majesty's skill in sophistry was comparable to that of the Censorate.
It's clearly selfish, yet he puts it in such a high-sounding way.
Chu Yuanhe spoke passionately, and some of his ministers were already shaken and felt that what His Majesty said made sense.
Wang Ci Fu was still arguing, claiming that women in the harem were not allowed to interfere in government affairs. Zhao Qingyi had not even entered the palace yet, but she had already started to interfere in state affairs.
Wait... didn’t you just say that you wanted Zhao Qingyi to do a body check?
No matter how Your Majesty argues, as long as Zhao Qingyi is examined, she will not be qualified to enter the palace. And the examination is an extremely humiliating thing, which represents the distrust between the emperor and the court officials.
But now no one is paying attention to this issue. Everyone is discussing whether women have the right to interfere in state affairs.
Your Majesty's attitude is extremely rare in ancient and modern times. He actually began to discuss with court officials about allowing women to take the imperial examinations and serve as officials in the court?
How can this be!
The county lady's previous request for divorce was already enough of a headache for them, and now if women are allowed to serve as officials in the court, wouldn't that cause chaos among women?
Chu Yuanhe's remarks were specifically aimed at addressing all the dissatisfaction among the officials. Anyone who was dissatisfied with Zhao Qingyi being the queen, as long as they had daughters or nieces at home, would be singled out and scolded.
He smiled, his manner friendly, "If the ladies in your family can share the burdens of the imperial court with the county lady, I can also give them corresponding official positions. How about that?"
Isn’t this better than entering the palace as a concubine?
The court officials who were discussing Zhao Qingyi's right and wrong fell silent for a moment, looked at each other, and some of them actually began to think seriously about it.
If a woman can also get a government job based on her ability...it seems that it is not impossible.
In this way, the daughters of the family seem to have another wider way out besides getting married. It is better to make a living by relying on their own abilities than to carefully look at the faces of their husband's family.
From a man's perspective, their authority is challenged, but from a father's perspective, it feels very good.
Thinking more deeply, if his wife also had the ability of the county lady and had a place in the court, wouldn't it be a powerful alliance with them?
Soon, the officials became active and only some old stubborn people objected harshly, believing that this move was against moral principles.
Prime Minister Zhang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood up to fight for his daughter. If His Majesty took his words seriously, his Zhang family would have a successor.
Wang Ci Fu: “…”
No, can your Majesty's words be taken seriously? Did Zhang Huaixu get kicked in the head by a donkey?
He then realized he had been dragged into another trap. The most important thing now was to stop His Majesty from making Zhao Qingyi his empress! What about women entering officialdom?
A woman should be gentle and virtuous, support her husband and raise her children. If she can enter the palace, she can bring glory to the family!
If they don't stop His Majesty's decision to establish a queen, the girls from their families will never have the chance to enter the palace in the future. Do they understand this?
Wang Ci Fu frequently winked at the officials under him, but few people paid any attention to him.
Perhaps they would have followed the Wang family's lead in the past, because the Wang family had a Grand Empress Dowager, and the Wang family's daughter was very likely to become the Queen. The Wang family's status was unshakable. If they followed the Wang family, they might be able to get a share of the profits in the future. If they were lucky, their own daughters could be sent to the palace to compete with the Wang family's daughter for favor.
But now things have changed.
The Empress Dowager did not intervene, and the position of Queen fell on the head of the daughter of the Zhao family. The Wang family was implicated in the Zhejiang incident and suffered heavy losses to Prince Qi. The original followers could not help but doubt Wang Ci Fu.
Now, Your Majesty has given them another opportunity to find another way out.
A noblewoman from an imperial family doesn't have only two options: marriage or entering the imperial palace. It would be better to put aside her inappropriate thoughts, draw a clear line between herself and the royal family, and then rely on her own abilities in the future...
All the officials were thinking about how to deal with the future situation and had no time to criticize Zhao Qingyi's private affairs.
Zhao Huailiang looked confused and didn't understand why things had turned out like this.
Shouldn't we all work together to denounce the affair between Zhao Qingyi and Your Majesty?
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