Chapter 102: Might is Right
After the grand ceremony on the eighth day of the first lunar month, a banquet was held in the palace on the ninth day. Gu Youan got up early in the morning to dress up.
Gu Youan had just been helped by the palace maids to put on his clothes when Xiaoyue came in and reported, "The royal family members have arrived. The daughters and daughters are waiting in Linde Hall to pay their respects to you and the emperor."
"You're here so early?" Gu Youan remembered that the lunch was at noon, so it was too early even to pay his respects.
"The royal family members are close to the royal family and are all family members. Naturally, they should come early to pay their respects. If they are late, they will bump into the ministers and their families, which would be unpleasant."
The person who spoke was Nanny Wen, who was sent to Gu Youan by Liu Ling himself. To be more specific, Nanny Wen was a palace maid serving the grandmother of Emperor Zhou Qi. Nanny Wen was almost sixty years old, and many things in and outside the palace were known to her. Whenever Gu Youan encountered something he didn't understand and asked, Nanny Wen could always tell him a thing or two.
Gu Youan was surrounded by numerous servants, so Nanny Wen didn't need to do anything. Nanny Wen sat on an embroidered stool nearby and said with a smile, "The oldest member of the royal family right now is the old Princess Kang. She just celebrated her seventieth birthday a few years ago. In terms of seniority, she is our emperor's great aunt."
In Zhou Qi's father's generation, Prince Kang was the second prince. When Prince Kang was young, he was not outstanding in any aspect. In addition, his biological mother was of humble origin. Even though the eldest son born to the empress died of illness, it was not Prince Kang's turn to become emperor.
Prince Kang lived a life of wealth and honor, but passed away ten years ago. However, the old Princess Kang was in good health, living to her seventies, and still often attending banquets and joking with others.
Many years ago, before marrying Zhou Qi, Gu Youan had memorized the Zhou family genealogy. He knew everything about the old Princess Kang's background, the year she married Prince Kang, how many children she had, and who they married.
"What's the temperament of the old Princess Kang?"
"The old Princess Kang was born into a military family. She was a straightforward person when she was young. Now that she's old, she's the oldest member of the royal family. Whether at home or out in the world, the younger generations respect their elders and love to flatter her. Over time, the old Princess Kang has developed a domineering and authoritarian temperament. I heard she always has the final say at home."
After saying that, Nanny Wen glanced at the Queen. The Queen was sitting in front of the dressing mirror, letting the palace maid comb her hair. She didn't say anything.
The door to the rear hall of the Qi'an Hall was half open to let in air, and the cold air came in. Xiaoyue hurriedly took a thick cloak and put it on her master's shoulders.
Gu Youan asked with a smile: "Princess Kang is so old, why is she coming today when it's so cold?"
Xiaoyue: "They are here. The old Princess Kang is here with Princess Kang and Princess Shizi."
"I'm sorry to have kept her waiting for so long."
Nanny Wen said, "You are the Queen, so it's okay for the concubines to wait a little longer. There's no reason for you to wait just for them."
What Nanny Wen meant was that it was Princess Kang's business to rely on her seniority and age to bully others outside, but it was not her turn to boss people around in the palace.
Gu Youan's lips curled up slightly. Nanny Wen's words touched her heart. This was the first time today, and she was just looking for an opportunity to act like a queen.
Since someone came to pay their respects to her, she was not in a hurry. After finishing her makeup, Gu Youan went to the ear room to check on A Yuan. A Yuan had changed into clothes to meet guests and was sitting there in a daze, as if he had not woken up yet.
Gu Youan walked over and touched his collar. The outfit he was wearing today was also noble, but more comfortable than the prince's auspicious attire he had worn yesterday. He then touched his son's hand, which was very warm.
A Yuan hugged his mother's waist and leaned over: "Mom, I'm sleepy."
I was busy all day yesterday and had to wake him up early this morning. It was really uncomfortable.
Gu Youan hugged his son, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "It's only half a day today. After lunch, come back and take an early nap."
"Mother, stay with me."
"I can't accompany you. Mother and your father have other things to do this afternoon."
At noon, he would entertain the royal family and ministers, and in the afternoon he would take time to meet with Xu Zhi and others. He had only just arrived in Luoyang, and there were so many things to deal with that he had to sort out one by one.
"Are grandparents coming today too?"
"Come, go to the front with your father and you'll be able to see your grandfather and his family. You'll have to wait until the banquet to see your grandmother."
A Yuan yawned. "Just now, the Emperor came to me and told me that after the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, he would ask Ah Xing and the others to come to the palace to accompany me to study, and also ask Mr. Huang and the others to teach me."
When A Yuan was in Songjiang City, she only had three teachers: Mr. Huang, Mr. Wang, and Mr. Chen. Zhou Qi discussed with her last night that they would find three more teachers to come to the palace to teach A Yuan.
The reason for selecting three more teachers is to have a etiquette teacher and a martial arts teacher for A Yuan and A Xing. In addition, we also need to add another teacher for the Four Books and Five Classics to reduce the pressure on Mr. Huang.
The day before yesterday, Huang Mengde took office as the president of the Hanlin Academy. He is very busy with official duties and can no longer just teach A Yuan to read.
Gu Youan asked his son, "Are you used to Aunt Qian leaving?"
Aunt Qian was reluctant to leave her family, so after they entered the palace, she quit her job and returned home. Gu Youan understood and gave their family a two-story courtyard as a way of thanking Aunt Qian for taking good care of A Yuan over the years.
"It's okay. Quanxi and the others took good care of us."
Quanxi was the eunuch serving A Yuan. After Aunt Qian left, Quanxi became the person in charge of A Yuan's affairs.
The mother and son were hugging each other and talking when Zhou Qi came over in a royal robe. He stood at the door and said with a smile, "It's already this late, aren't you and your son hungry?"
A Yuan glanced at his father, not wanting to speak, and lazily hugged his mother and acted coquettishly.
Gu Youan took Yuan's hand and said, "Come on, let's go eat. Only when we have a full stomach can we have the energy to compete with others."
Zhou Qi attached too much importance to her as the queen. Whether it was the officials who could not stand women's excessive power, or the royal relatives who were dissatisfied with her being the only queen in the harem, there would probably be a lot of overt and covert attacks at today's banquet.
But she is no longer the same person she used to be. Now she has power in her hands. Who would dare to suppress her without fear of death?
After the family of three had breakfast, they went to Linde Hall first. Linde Hall was full of female relatives. After receiving the greetings, Zhou Qi took A Yuan to the front to meet people, and Gu Youan stayed alone to meet them.
Among the female relatives of the royal family, except for a few older princesses with high positions, the seats of Du and Duan were the closest to the front. Gu Youan nodded to her mother and sister-in-law, then turned around to greet the princesses.
Nanny Wen stood by and served, whispering the identities of everyone present so that she could match the names with the people.
After a cup of tea, the elderly yet energetic Princess Kang spoke up. She asked, "I heard that the Queen was once exiled?"
As soon as these words were spoken, all the female relatives present were stunned. The hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Why was this living ancestor going crazy on such a fine day?
Mrs. Du immediately turned her face black and opened her mouth to curse. Seeing the empress's half-smile, Mrs. Duan quickly grabbed her mother-in-law.
The younger Consort Kang hurriedly smiled and apologized, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Mother didn't mean that. I guess she just listened to some villain's gossip and started talking nonsense without understanding the situation."
Princess Kang narrowed her eyes and said, "My daughter-in-law thinks the old lady is confused? Am I wrong?"
It was the middle of winter in the first month of the year, and Princess Kang was so anxious that sweat broke out on her forehead. All the female relatives in the clan felt sorry for her.
A young Princess Yu nearby tried to smooth things over, saying, "Princess Kang has always been filial. Who among us doesn't know that? Even when Prince Kang was still around, he praised her. Please don't scold her."
"Princess Yu is right. When Princess Kang married into Prince Kang's mansion, my mother-in-law was still alive. She said that Princess Kang was gentle and dignified, and that she and Prince Kang were a perfect match. It was truly a good match."
God have mercy on her. Princess Kang is already over fifty years old, and she has to endure the pressure of such a senior and reckless mother-in-law. She must be suffering.
Princess Kang is worthy of being the daughter of a military general. She is in such good health that it is hard to say who will die first between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. Princess Kang has had a difficult life.
Everyone joined in the jokes, and the conversation went off to some unknown place. Gu Youan didn't argue with Princess Kang, and Princess Kang didn't say anything either, as if she was the only one who had said something nonsense because she was confused.
After a while, Princess Kang suddenly spoke again: "Where were we talking about just now?"
"Speaking of the education of the royal family's children, the Empress said that all royal family members, regardless of whether they are civil or military, should be properly taught. I think the Empress is right. My children are indeed a bit unruly. If they are not taught well, they will become playboys."
Princess Kang slapped her thigh and shouted, "No, that's not right. We just said the queen was exiled, but the daughter of an exiled criminal official is now the queen? How did my Zhou family end up like this?"
Before Madam Du could speak, Gu Youan said leisurely, "I, the daughter of an exiled criminal official, can become the empress. I have to thank your Zhou family's children and grandchildren for their incompetence. Otherwise, they wouldn't have asked my family to lead the army to invade us."
Gu Youan's words made all the female relatives in the room silent again. This queen didn't look like a polite person.
Princess Kang stood up angrily and asked, "Whose children and grandchildren are you calling useless?"
Gu Youan said it again clearly: "I say, the descendants of the Zhou family are useless!"
"presumptuous!"
Is that outrageous? Gu Youan smiled, but her eyes were cold as she swept across the faces of everyone below her.
"If your descendants had been promising, the royal family wouldn't have been threatened by border generals. If your descendants had been promising, Zhou Xuan wouldn't have gone crazy and killed the heir to the throne and all his relatives. If your descendants had been promising, Zhou Qi and I wouldn't have moved into Kyoto and ruled the world!"
The old Princess Kang fainted from anger. Princess Kang hurriedly caught her mother-in-law, and was so anxious that she was at a loss as to what to do, but she did not dare to beg for mercy. The other female relatives were also frightened and dared not say a word.
The Empress was young and beautiful, like a delicate hibiscus flower, but she was unexpectedly so ruthless in her words that Princess Yu and other high-ranking officials did not dare to persuade her.
Mrs. Du slowly raised her chin and curled up the corners of her mouth. This is how her daughter should be. No one can offend her!
Gu Youan didn't want Princess Kang to die here, so she ordered the palace servants to carry Princess Kang out and asked someone to call the imperial physician.
After Princess Kang and Old Princess Kang left, two seats were left vacant below Gu Youan. Gu Youan smiled and asked, "Where were we just now?"
Princess Yu smiled and continued, "We were just discussing the education of the clan members' children. Your Highness, I think what you said is very true. Even if the royal family members have no future, they should study numerology."
That's very good. Clan members should practice their skills more. Next time you encounter someone who is madly hacking people, run faster when you escape. You may be able to save your life.
The news of Linde Palace's events soon reached Zhou Qi's ears. When Zhou Qi looked at Prince Kang, his eyes were cold as ice. Prince Kang was puzzled. He was fine just now, how could this happen now...
"King Kang!"
"I am here."
"Your mother is quite old, isn't she?"
"In reply to the emperor, my mother is over seventy years old." Prince Kang and his wife are both low-key and humble people, and they are always well-behaved.
"It's rare for a person to live to seventy. Your mother is already old, so you should stay at home and take good care of her. Don't go out all day and say stupid things. It would be bad if it brings disaster to the younger generation in the family."
A fatal disaster? King Kang stammered for a long time before saying, "Your Majesty, from now on I will definitely keep my mother at home to take care of her and never let her go out."
A Yuan looked coldly at the clan members below him. Each of them wanted to stuff women into his father's harem. The people in Linde Hall said that his mother was the daughter of an exiled criminal official. He remembered this today.
The royal family members came to the palace to pay their respects early in the morning, originally intending to get closer to the emperor and build stronger relationships, but they ended up offending the emperor and his family of three. When the court officials arrived, the royal family members were left aside. Who among the shrewd people present could not see that?
When the banquet was nearing its end, according to the rules, it was time to reward the meritorious officials. Sun Zhang read out the names of all the civil and military officials who were to be rewarded. Even the female guards serving the princess were to be rewarded. No one from the royal family was to be rewarded.
The censor present at the scene had wanted to submit a memorial to protest against the empress's nepotism and the appointment of women as officials. However, after pondering the strange situation today, and remembering the new emperor's murderous appearance outside Luoyang a month ago, he finally did not speak.
Tian Qingde, who was exiled for speaking out against the emperor, sneered. No wonder the emperor said these people were not decent and had no backbone. What kind of ministers of remonstration were they?
The celebration banquet for the new emperor's ascension to the throne opened with great anticipation but ended in a cold and deserted manner.
The royal family members were deserted, but the officials from Songjiang City were very lively. After the banquet in the palace, they went out of the palace to celebrate again.
Prince Kang hurried back to the palace. When Princess Kang saw her husband, she burst into tears and said, "I really don't want to live anymore!"
"Don't cry, what's going on first?"
Princess Kang burst into tears. The eldest daughter-in-law, the Crown Prince's Consort, sighed and told her father what happened in Linde Palace. Prince Kang was immediately shocked: "Why does mother speak like this?"
"How could I have known? I couldn't have stopped her at the time. Princess Yu was kind enough to distract her. The Queen had originally let it go and the matter had passed. But then my mother turned around and said that Princess Qi was the daughter of a criminal official. I didn't even dare to look at the Queen at the time."
The Crown Princess said, "Perhaps, I know why Grandmother said that."
"Tell me quickly, why?"
The Crown Prince's Consort said, "Today, my maid was chatting with the maid in front of Grandmother. She said that a few days ago, the eldest maid in my aunt's room came home. My aunt wanted to send my little cousin to the palace and asked Grandmother for permission."
Prince Kang and Princess Kang thought of their little niece. Princess Kang said, "Mother is foolish! How could you do things this way? If you offend the Queen, how can you get away with sending that child to the palace?"
Prince Kang said coldly, "She's been married for so many years now, and she's old enough to be a grandmother, yet she still doesn't bother me. If I don't ask her to help Prince Kang's Mansion, she'll just cause me trouble. Tell the gatekeeper not to let Third Sister come to our house anymore."
"Then what should we do about Mother? She has always been concerned about my third sister."
"Don't let your mother go out from now on. Don't worry about it. I will take care of it."
Princess Kang breathed a sigh of relief. This was a good thing.
In the past, it was okay for my mother to say something offensive outside, and no one would care about her. But it will be different in the future.
The next day, Princess Kang sent a letter to the palace, but it was rejected and the Queen refused to see her. Princess Kang had no choice but to go to the Gu family, but the Gu family also ignored her.
As a result, the Kangwang Mansion, which was originally a first-class family in Luoyang City, seemed to have a lot of dust on its door lintel because it was not favored by the new emperor.
With the Prince Kang's Palace as an example, the royal family and officials in Luoyang City all knew that not only was the new emperor a man who would not tolerate any injustice, but the queen was also someone who was not to be trifled with.
With support from above and the city guards outside, the officials of Songjiang City came to power more quickly. By the beginning of spring, most of the officials in the court had been replaced and everything was running as usual.
The imperial court stabilized, and the Ministry of War transported grain and grass to the northern border. Zhou Qi ordered the Zhenbei Army and the Northeast Army to send troops to eliminate several hostile forces on the grassland. He wanted to ensure stability in the northern border for at least ten years.
While Zhou Qi was keeping an eye on the northern grasslands, under the instruction of Gu Youan, Manager Han led a team to Anxi City to do business with Duoli of the Black Hawk Tribe.
After fighting and pulling away the hostile forces, the rest must be managed well.
The memorial that had just been reviewed was sent back to the cabinet from Qi'an Hall. Half of the handwriting on the memorial with red ink was from the emperor, and half was from the empress. The cabinet ministers even knew that the seal on the memorial was stamped by the prince.
"Alas, this is really... If this memorial is sent back to the local authorities, wouldn't everyone inside and outside the court know that the Queen is meddling in government?"
"Master Wu, you are the elder, please say something!"
What could Lord Wu say? Would the Emperor listen to him? The Emperor didn't even care about his own clan, so how could he care about a minister who could be replaced at any time?
Qi An! Qi An! The Emperor even named the country after the Empress. Don’t you all understand?
"If the scholars of this world knew about this, what would happen? Wouldn't they be in an uproar?"
Lord Wu said, "Why the uproar? No more taking the imperial examinations? No more serving as officials? The people of Songjiang City will only applaud and make room for them so they can become officials."
People inside the Great Wall criticized women for interfering in government affairs, but people outside the Great Wall had long been accustomed to Princess Qi ruling Songjiang City.
"So what should we do?"
"Humph, Huang Mengde is the president of the Hanlin Academy and a leader in the literary world. Go ask him what he has to say."
What could Huang Mengde say? The Emperor and Empress already disliked Confucianism, and now there were Mohist disciples, and the merchants led by Chen Yizhi were determined to make a name for themselves. If those sour Confucianists came to cause trouble again, he would really hit them!
All we can say is that the new emperor was too powerful and the cabinet became a puppet, which was very different from the atmosphere when Zhou Xuan was in power.
The world is sometimes so brutal.
Might makes right!
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