Chapter 344: Flower Hairpin Banquet
So, in order to talk to Su Xiaoxiao, everyone did everything they could.
Su Xiaoxiao was not polite either, and she accepted everyone who came. Su Xiaoxiao even promised to say a few good words for them in front of the emperor. As a result, the family's past was exposed for generations. Not only was they not promoted, but they were reprimanded by the emperor at the very least, and dismissed and investigated at the worst.
After this commotion, Su Xiaoxiao finally calmed down.
Everyone finally realized that it was completely nonsense to say that the emperor appointed officials based on the likes and dislikes of Princess Anle. They
could have been hiding it at first, but once they showed their closeness to Princess Anle, they would be immediately targeted by the emperor and investigated thoroughly.
Princess Anle is the touchstone for the emperor to test all officials!
As a result, those families with guilty consciences began to keep their distance from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
However, everyone still had reservations about the new emperor, especially after he vigorously promoted a group of officials to important positions in various departments, they were even more panicked.
But these aristocratic families also knew how to avoid the sharp edge, and after this rectification, the court was peaceful again.
But in fact, there were already open and secret struggles in the court, and the situation was turbulent.
How could an emperor who was not restrained by the aristocratic families allow the aristocratic families to assist him with peace of mind?
Soon, someone proposed in the morning court that the candidate for the empress should be selected as soon as possible to expand the royal family.
Even though the little emperor Huaiyu was only thirteen years old, all the civil and military officials in the court agreed, even Grand Tutor Tang and Prime Minister Pei Chen thought that this matter could be put on the agenda.
If it were an ordinary boy, it would be fine to wait until he was seventeen or eighteen years old to get married, but the emperor couldn't.
When the throne was vacant, someone would rack his brains to choose a suitable family early and make a marriage contract, which would not only avoid unnecessary disputes, but also help the emperor, but the choice of person needed to be carefully considered.
The emperor naturally disagreed. He was only thirteen years old, getting married, wasn't it a joke?
Grand Tutor Tang tried to comfort him: "Your Majesty, you are the ruler of a country. For the sake of peace in the court, you should choose a queen as soon as possible!"
Gu Huaiyu retorted: "Does the peace in the court depend on a woman? I can't imagine that such words came from your mouth, Grand Tutor?"
Since Grand Tutor Tang was the regent, he had to say what he should say.
He said earnestly: "Your Majesty, water can carry a boat but can also overturn it. Whether you are willing or not, you must accept it. Although the imperial power is above all else, the balance of various relationships is the essence of the emperor's art!"
Gu Huaiyu said eloquently: "Grandmaster, what you said is wrong. You think that finding an empress for me will help me get the support of the empress, but have you ever thought about the interference of foreign relatives in politics? In the final analysis, borrowing the power of others will ultimately be controlled by others."
Grandmaster Tang did not know how to respond to the emperor for a moment. After a while, he said:
"Even if what the emperor said makes sense, there will always be people coveting the vacant throne. In the end, we should first decide on the candidate and stop the gossip. Besides, the palace has lost too many people this year, so we should add some more people!"
Gu Huaiyu sneered, "I am not an emperor at all, I am just a monkey for your entertainment." The Grand Tutor is right. There has been no happy event in the court for a long time. Let the Queen Dowager hold a flower-hair banquet and invite all the eligible noble ladies in the capital to make the palace lively.
By the way, invite those ladies from aristocratic families as well. Since the death of her mother, the Queen Dowager has been in a bad mood. Maybe if there is some liveliness, she will feel better! "
After hearing the palace's relenting, Tang Taishi finally breathed a sigh of relief. The emperor still listened to the advice.
Soon, the news that the palace was going to hold a hairpin banquet spread out. There was no doubt that this was definitely to select an empress for the emperor.
The emperor was only thirteen years old. Although a girl of fifteen or sixteen was a bit old, as the saying goes, a girl three years older than her husband is more likely to be a rich man. This selection was more about family background.
Besides, this time there were also noble ladies from all over the capital coming together. Even if the position of empress could not be snatched, it was still an opportunity to show off, which would be beneficial to future marriages. In addition, the emperor also
had a unique idea, saying that happiness is better with others than happiness alone, and summoned all the young officials of the aristocratic families in the capital to attend the banquet together.
Because it was under the eyes of the imperial concubine and the ladies of the aristocratic families, and the male and female soldiers sat at separate tables, it was not considered to have broken the rules of separation between men and women.
The hairpin banquet held by the imperial concubine in the palace was attended by young talents from all over the capital, and the ladies had to show their talents. Everyone was waiting with all their energy. Soon
, the day of the hairpin banquet arrived, and the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion also received an invitation. Although Su Lingxi did not like this kind of occasion, it was difficult to refuse the face of the Concubine Dowager, so Yu Shi and Zhao Wanyue took Su Lingxi and Su Xiaoxiao with them.
In the Guangyi Marquis Mansion, there were two unmarried women in the first room, and the second and third rooms also had daughters. Chu brought the four sisters into the palace together.
Also attending the banquet were the husband of the Minister of Revenue Gong Jiaping and her daughter. The Minister of War Zheng Yi's Madam Pei and her little daughter, as well as several granddaughters of the princes, were also brought here by the old princesses.
In short, almost all the ladies of the noble families with daughters in the capital came.
Old Madam Pei did not attend the banquet because she had no granddaughters, but her grandson Pei Yuan was invited by the emperor!
Old Madam Pei repeatedly warned: "Yuan, you are not a child anymore, and it is time to talk about marriage. Don't just focus on fooling around with those boys, you should be more graceful and leave a good impression on the girls!"
Pei Yuan said disapprovingly: "Grandmother, just for the sake of our Prime Minister's Mansion, there are so many girls who want to marry me, not to mention that I am elegant and graceful, are you still worried about not finding a granddaughter-in-law? "
Old Madam Pei rolled her eyes at him and scolded, "With your impetuous temper and your past erratic behavior, the noble ladies in the capital avoid you. Who would be blind to fall in love with you!
We in the Prime Minister's Mansion will definitely not have trouble finding a granddaughter-in-law, but the parents of that girl who is both good in character and knowledge may not be willing to let you ruin her!"
Pei Yuan was dissatisfied and angry, and said angrily, "Grandmother, I'm afraid you didn't pick me up. Why do you encourage others and destroy your own prestige? Even without you supporting me from behind, I can still make those women miss me! "
Mrs. Pei sneered: "The ones who are obsessed with you are those powerful women from small families who only want to fly up to the top and become phoenixes. What they are interested in is the power of our family. Those women with real opinions will not even look at you!"
Pei Yuan knew that his family had no hope for him, but his grandmother had always treated him as a treasure. Now, he was damaged to the point of being completely useless. Pei Yuan's arrogance was aroused.
He said angrily: "Grandma, today, I will make you look at me in a new light!"