Chapter 354 Your Majesty, please think twice!
Jun Liluo readily agreed to Concubine Shu's request, "Alright. I'll arrange a suitable position for you after I return to the court."
Shufei thanked her and then returned to Zhenfei and Lifei.
Seeing the reluctance in the two's eyes, she sighed softly, "I..."
She originally wanted to ask them if they would blame her for leaving suddenly, but the two people opposite seemed to guess what she wanted to say and spoke before her.
"It's okay. Everyone has their own aspirations. It's good that you can do what you want to do."
"You don't belong in the harem. With such great skills, it would be unfair for you to stay in the harem..."
Zhen Fei said this and grabbed Shu Fei's hand, "But you have to promise us that you will come back to see us when you are free, and don't be alienated from us."
"Of course we won't become estranged." Concubine Shu quickly responded, "I will definitely visit you often."
The three people here were whispering. Jun Li Luo, who was sitting on the first seat, glanced at everyone casually and saw that most people still looked a little confused. It was obvious that too many accidents had happened today, making it difficult for everyone to digest it for a while.
Jun Li Luo decided to throw another thunderbolt to help everyone wake up.
"You have all witnessed Prince Ning's achievements, so there is no need for me to repeat them."
"I remember the founding emperor once said that loyal ministers are easy to find, but good ministers are hard to find. It is good for a minister to be loyal, after all, no one is perfect. But Queen Ning not only fulfilled her loyalty, but also made great contributions. Her loyalty and talent are just like the King Rui who was beside the founding emperor. As a descendant of the royal family, I should also emulate the wisdom of my ancestors. I have decided to give Queen Ning another special honor."
After hearing Jun Li Luo say this, many people started to feel alarmed.
The King Rui mentioned by Your Majesty is the first co-king of the Tianqi Kingdom.
It is said that it was with the help of this prince that the founding emperor was able to achieve success and become a wise ruler praised by later generations. The emperor often joked in front of everyone that the King of Rui was the greatest auspicious sign from heaven, and the title of King of Rui came from this, which shows how much the emperor relied on and trusted him.
Now, His Majesty mentioned the Prince of Rui and the Prince of Ning at the same time, could it be? !
And Jun Liluo's next words also confirmed their guess -
"I wish to confer the title of King of Ning as King of Sides. From now on, when I attend court, I will add a seat next to the dragon throne. King of Sides does not need to perform formalities when he sees me. When you see King of Sides, you must kneel and bow as if you were facing me."
When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.
"Your Majesty, please think twice!"
The first person to speak was Prime Minister Liu, "The fact that a woman was crowned a king is shocking enough to the world. If Your Majesty continues to confer titles, I'm afraid it will cause more criticism."
Regarding the rebellion of Prince Kang, he was glad that he made the right choice. He didn't know that Prince Kang would have the intention of rebellion. When Prince Kang proposed to cooperate with him, he only said to deal with Prince Ning, not the emperor.
The original plan was for King Kang's subordinates to pretend to be pirates and attack the imperial boat, General Wu would be responsible for holding back Chen Yue, and the guards in the imperial boat's primary task was to protect the emperor rather than Song Yunchu. According to Song Yunchu's temperament, he would fight bravely. Wu Sijie would pretend to assist when the imperial boat was in chaos, but in fact he and King Kang's men would wait for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack on Song Yunchu. Once Song Yunchu fell, everyone would have completed their mission.
He initially agreed to cooperate with King Kang, but when he heard from Scholar Zheng that Song Yunchu was a woman, he hesitated.
He thought that if Song Yunchu's identity as a woman could be exposed in public, she would surely arouse public indignation. Although she did not deceive the emperor, it was unreasonable for a woman to be the head of all officials. It would be more appropriate for her to be the head of the concubines.
If they could get her to withdraw from the court, they would think it appropriate even if His Majesty wanted to confer the title of Imperial Concubine or even Queen. After all, their ancestors had stipulated that the harem should not interfere in government affairs. In this case, the assassination of Song Yunchu would be unnecessary, as it would be a waste of manpower and carry risks, and it would be too unprofitable.
After calming down, he tested King Kang's attitude. King Kang was determined to take action, and there was too much hostility between his eyebrows. He intuitively felt that King Kang's purpose was not as simple as getting rid of Song Yunchu. Thinking of the previous rebellion of King Yi, he inevitably became suspicious of King Kang.
It is true that Prince Kang wants to kill Song Yunchu, but does he also want to replace the emperor?
As a veteran of two dynasties, how could he allow such a thing to happen? Even if he hated Song Yunchu, he could not forget his duty as the Left Prime Minister of Tianqi.
He can backstab anyone, but he cannot backstab the previous emperor and the new emperor.
It's not a pity to kill a prince by mistake, but if it threatens the emperor's life, then he is really old and confused! With the character of King Kang, how can he be worthy of ruling the country?
So he pretended to agree to cooperate with Prince Kang, but privately complained to the emperor, saying that Prince Kang's behavior was suspicious and asked the emperor to take measures.
After hearing this, the emperor just smiled at him faintly and said, "Don't worry, Liu Qing's family," and said no more.
He then realized that the emperor had already suspected King Kang. If King Kang dared to act, he would surely die!
Fortunately, he retained his rationality, and at the critical moment, his loyalty to the emperor saved his life.
But his loyalty to the emperor did not conflict with his rejection of Song Yunchu. Now the emperor wanted to confer the title of King of Side by Side with Song Yunchu, which really made people feel uneasy.
Song Yunchu was already so arrogant when he was the King of Ning. If he became the King of Side by Side, wouldn't he have to treat himself as the king?
"Your Majesty, I am terrified."
Song Yunchu seemed to be as shocked by Jun Liluo's words as everyone else. After coming to his senses, he hurriedly bowed and said, "It would be great for me to be the King of Ning. Your Majesty, please..."
"I have thought it over carefully." Jun Liluo interrupted her, "You are the person I value most and the person I trust the most. Yunchu, have you forgotten that we have been through the test of life and death? Others may not know how you feel about me, but how can I not know?"
"You have worked hard for me and made selfless contributions. If I do not honor you, I will not be at peace."
Song Yunchu lowered his eyes and said nothing.
[Your Majesty, your acting today is a bit too exaggerated, please hold back a bit.]
Jun Liluo: "..."
He didn't think he was overdoing it.
He just wants to let everyone know that he cares, so that there won’t be people who always want to contradict him.
He raised his eyes to look at Chen Yue, "Mr. Chen, you have followed me for many years, what do you think of my decision?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yue responded respectfully: "I think your majesty's decision... is very good."
As long as Your Majesty is not a homosexual, everything is fine.
He once reluctantly accepted the most unacceptable thing, such as his master's homosexuality. What else could he not accept now?
No matter what title Your Majesty wants to give to Prince Ning, as long as they have a normal relationship between a man and a woman, Your Majesty has hope for an heir, and the foundation of this country can be passed on, then others cannot say that Your Majesty is unworthy of your ancestors.
Thinking of this, Chen Yue bowed again, "Prince Ning has made great contributions to the country and has deep feelings for Your Majesty. I think it is reasonable for Prince Ning to receive this honor."
After listening to Chen Yue's answer, Jun Liluo turned his gaze and looked at Master Zheng again, "What does Mr. Zheng think?"
"Your Majesty has always been very perceptive," Zheng Xueshi replied. "Since Your Majesty has thought it over carefully, I have nothing to say."
The thing he was most worried about was that your Majesty was homosexual and would end up with no offspring. Thinking back to the past, the late emperor had already had four or five children when your Majesty was your age, but now your Majesty had no sons or daughters, so he could not help but attribute the reason to your homosexuality.
He even felt that it was not impossible for His Majesty to be a homosexual, but at least he should not neglect the concubines. He could have been intimate with Prince Ning in private while taking care of the harem and expanding the royal family.
Until the day before the southern tour, His Majesty summoned him and told him a secret:
"Zheng Qingjia, this southern tour may lead to a fierce battle. Prince Ning has found out that the largest supplier of Worry-Free Pills is Uncle Kang, and Uncle Kang has secretly made friends with many officials in the court. In order to prevent the Worry-Free Pill incident from being exposed, Prince Kang will definitely cause chaos."
"It's easy to capture King Kang, but I want to catch all his followers. If these traitors in the court are not eliminated, there will be trouble."
"In addition, I am not sure about the positions of some old ministers, so I need your help, Mr. Zheng. You have never been partial to anyone in the court. Most people have the impression that you are pedantic and old-fashioned, but I know that you are the most reasonable."
He was delighted by the emperor's trust. "Your Majesty, please give me your orders. I will do my best to live up to your trust."
But what the emperor was going to say next made him a little unbelievable.
The emperor told him that Prince Ning was a girl, but because the world was somewhat harsh on women, she had to disguise herself as a man.
As it turned out, Prince Ning was indeed capable and had made many achievements at a young age, living up to the emperor's trust.
"Zheng Qingjia, the task I want to give you is to reveal Yun Chu's identity to Prime Minister Liu. I have prepared a set of rhetoric for you. You must make Prime Minister Liu think that you are as indignant as they are and that you can't stand King Ning."
After thinking about it for a moment, he understood the emperor's intention.
Once Prime Minister Liu learns that Prince Ning is a woman, he will most likely embarrass Prince Ning in front of everyone. No matter how much resentment the ministers have towards Prince Ning, this resentment will soon be transferred to Prince Kang.
After all, no matter how rampant Prince Ning is, he will not really harm their lives. A traitor like Prince Kang will go to war if he causes trouble. Prince Ning has made preparations and will not let anything happen to his ministers. However, the ministers are unaware of these twists and turns. When faced with swords and sabers, they will certainly condemn Prince Kang fiercely. Even if they are not grateful to Prince Ning for suppressing the rebellion, they will not make things difficult for him.
Your Majesty's choice to reveal Prince Ning's female identity at this time is indeed better than announcing it directly in the court.
There are too many mouths in the court, and there will be many objections.
First, persuade the officials of the third rank and above who are accompanying the southern tour. After they return to the court, these people will spread the story of what happened during the southern tour by word of mouth. When the officials learn of the identity of King Ning, they will naturally have mixed opinions, but his merits in suppressing the rebellion are there, so even if they are dissatisfied, they dare not say anything too harsh.
Your Majesty's move can not only get rid of Prince Kang and his cronies, but also elevate Prince Ning, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
"Mr. Zheng, I want to confer the title of King of Ning as the King of Side by Side with You. You are highly praised in the court. I hope you can convince some of the old ministers to support my decision."
When Zheng Xue Shi first heard the emperor's decision, he could hardly accept it.
"Why did your majesty give Prince Ning such great power? She is already a prince, why does she need to be given an additional title?!"
"I have my own judgment. Are you willing to believe me, Mr. Zheng? The founding emperor and Prince Rui were brothers who could rule the world together and live in harmony until old age. Prince Ning and I are lovers who are in love with each other and care about each other. I am confident that I will not lose to our ancestors."
"I am naturally willing to believe Your Majesty, but..."
"You believe in me, and I believe in Yunchu, so I hope you can believe in her too. She has great ambitions and outstanding abilities. Wouldn't it be a pity if she could only be trapped in the harem as a decoration? Zheng Qingjia, you are also a person who cherishes talents. Does the word "talent" have to be divided into men and women?"
"No matter what, I have decided to make you the King of Side by Side with Me."
After regaining his composure, Mr. Zheng sighed secretly.
If His Majesty insists on doing so, what else can he say?
He thought about it carefully and felt that the current situation was better than he had worried about. At least His Majesty had a healthy relationship and would no longer have to bear those outrageous rumors about homosexuality.
The marriage between the emperor of a prosperous era and the princess of outstanding ability became a good story that spread to other countries. After all, love between men and women is what is recognized by the world.
But if it was a love affair between the emperor and a male official... what would that look like! If it spread to foreign countries, people would laugh at it, which would really damage the emperor's reputation.
Thinking of this, Mr. Zheng’s sadness dissipated a little.
Jun Liluo started to select the next minister——
"What does the Huo family think about this?"
Minister Huo had originally intended to remain silent, but when the emperor called him out, his eyes twitched slightly.
If it had been three days ago, when His Majesty had brought up the idea of co-king, he would have worked with Prime Minister Liu to persuade him to give up the idea.
But that night three days ago...Lan'er came back.
His daughter, who was supposed to be dead, appeared before him again.
He was terrified at the time, thinking it was Lan'er's spirit coming back to see him, but Lan'er's seventh day of death had already passed, and the person before him was so real...
It was not until Huo Lan called him father that he was sure that his Lan'er was not dead.
Huo Lan told him that if he still wanted to live with her as his daughter in the future, he could only take her in under the name of his second uncle.
Lan'er's current identity is the daughter of his deceased brother.
Anyway, Concubine De is dead, so she can continue to live as Concubine De's cousin. The Huo family does not have to worry about anyone investigating the matter, because the instigator is Prince Ning, and Concubine De's affairs concern the reputation of the royal family. Even if others become suspicious, they dare not meddle in such trivial matters. Even if someone really wants to intervene, Prince Ning will be able to suppress it.
Lan'er also said that she was not allowed to interfere in her and Qin Shen's affairs in the future.
He was almost frightened out of his wits.
Song Yunchu actually dared to arrange for Lan'er to fake her death and leave the palace, and get together with that kid Qin Shen again!
As a result, Song Yunchu had a handle on the Huo family. If people knew that the Huo family's daughter had done such a rebellious thing, what would the Huo family do?
When that time really comes, Song Yunchu will not admit that he arranged it, and the only one who will be unlucky is the Huo family.
Song Yunchu's move was to warn him that if he wanted to live in peace from now on, he must never go against her again.
He was very angry, but he felt more relieved than angry.
Lan'er didn't die, and he didn't lose his only daughter.
That's all...
The day he saw Concubine De die, he felt a lot of emotions, and he really felt that he was tired of fighting.
Now that his daughter is still alive and the Huo family is still standing, he will just avoid Song Yunchu in the future.
"Your Majesty's decision, I dare not object."
Minister Huo bowed to Jun Liluo and said, "Your Majesty is always wise, so he is certainly not wrong."
His Majesty would not listen to the ministers' opinions anyway, so why should he make himself unhappy? He could just say what His Majesty wanted to hear.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
