"Yes, I did say that I would not interfere with your marriage, but I never said that I would allow you to interfere with my marriage, right, Li Xiwei?"
In the spring of the second year of Tianxiang, Li Xiwei sent himself into the palace again. Jiang Cenyun wanted to send him away directly, but was afraid of hurting his feelings, so he had to summon him and try to persuade him to withdraw from the selection.
"I am just considering my own marriage. I hope Your Majesty can forgive me." Li Xiwei bowed to her.
Jiang Cenyun suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, holding the beads in his hand, and said, "My dear, when we were together in the Eastern Palace, you were so gentle and considerate. How could you be so aggressive now? It really makes me feel disappointed."
Li Xiwei remained unmoved. "People change. Hasn't Your Majesty also changed a lot?"
"Me? What's changed about me?"
"If Your Majesty were still the Princess, you wouldn't be sitting behind the desk and calmly discussing things with me."
Jiang Cenyun laughed. "You're right. If I were still a princess, I would have grabbed you by the collar and kicked you out of the palace."
"You and Master Yao are truly master and disciple."
Jiang Cenyun's expression froze as he recalled the painful history of being taught a lesson by Yao Yi.
"People who remember too many secrets won't live long, Li Qing." She said sinisterly.
He smiled and changed the subject. "I know Your Majesty has no intention of choosing a concubine this time; this is merely a ploy to appease the court officials. However, I humbly urge Your Majesty to consider the options for men of marriageable age throughout the country. If Your Majesty holds a beauty pageant every year, even if no one is ultimately chosen, there will be ministers who will prevent their sons from marrying for this illusory vision. I'm afraid that men will waste their prime years year after year, causing unrest among the people."
"Finally, you've said something serious." Jiang Cenyun put down the beads in his hand. "But don't worry, my dear minister. I'm not that foolish. For three years at most, the selection of concubines won't be necessary."
Three years was enough time for her to establish her authority and prevent these court officials from interfering with her decisions.
"Your Majesty is wise."
"Since you are relieved, my dear, please don't get involved any more and just be at peace as your Left Prime Minister."
Li Xi shook his head. "I would rather stay in the palace and share your Majesty's worries."
"You... forget it, you can do whatever you want. Without you, Li Xiwei, my court will be in chaos, right?" Jiang Cenyun said angrily.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After the cunning fox left her sight, Jiang Cenyun sighed deeply.
She had known Li Xiwei for many years and knew that he seemed accommodating but was actually stubborn. He would not turn back from his decision, no matter how hard it was. If she didn't agree with him, he would have other ways to get in.
It’s better to put him under your own eyes as soon as possible.
The new emperor's second harem selection was even grander than the first. More than one hundred good girls from various families moved into the palace, and the deserted harem suddenly became lively.
According to convention, they still had to learn the rules of the palace first to avoid offending the nobles and angering the emperor. As a result, a few days later, Jiang Cenyun asked about the expenses of settling these good families out of boredom. After getting a shocking figure, he immediately felt heartbroken.
After she ascended the throne, she reduced the expenses of the palace, and most of the money saved was allocated to the Ministry of Works for livelihood projects such as repairing dikes and building charity granaries. In her view, the money in the national treasury was taken from the people, so naturally it should be used for the people.
But she felt it was unnecessary to spend so much money on the talent show.
So the next day, while the good girls were still learning etiquette, they received an oral order from His Majesty: a preliminary selection will be held in the palace at 5:00 p.m., and those who lose will be forced to leave the palace immediately.
Everyone suddenly became very nervous. Some locked themselves in their rooms and put on makeup, while others sent gifts to the palace servants everywhere but were rejected everywhere. Li Xiwei's residence was even more overcrowded.
"Lord Left Prime Minister, you know His Majesty best. May I ask if you know what this preliminary selection is about?"
"The throne of Spring King must belong to the Left Prime Minister, but we..."
"Of course, our bricks and rubble cannot compare to your gold and jade, nor do we dare to compete with you for glory. I am only afraid that if we make mistakes in the initial examination and behave inappropriately, we will anger Your Majesty and die."
After hearing this, Li Xiwei finally spoke: "Your Majesty is a kind and gentle person and will not get angry easily. You can rest assured."
Several good girls looked at each other in confusion.
"Sir, you don't want to reveal it?"
"To be honest, Xiwei and Your Majesty have had some disagreements recently, and I haven't been summoned for many days, so I can't help you."
The crowd gradually dispersed, and everyone started thinking of other ways.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, the preliminary examination began. When the beautifully dressed girls from good families heard the content of the examination, they were all frightened.
"Policy, policy theory?"
"All we've learned are 'Men's Virtues' and 'Men's Precepts'. How can we write a policy paper?"
"Your Majesty is too partial..."
"Shut up! Do you want to die?"
"But the content of this test doesn't seem difficult. Hometown scenery, the county magistrate's successes and failures..."
Everyone whispered to each other for a while, and then found that there were palace servants recording them. Suspecting that all their actions were part of the exam, they all shut up.
Some people wrote furiously, some frowned in thought, and some behaved gracefully, trying to show their best side to the examiner.
Some people even thought that the examiner was Jiang Cenyun, and gave him affectionate glances from time to time.
At 3 p.m., Yao Yi walked into the imperial study with a pile of papers, his face gloomy.
Jiang Cenyun was reading. He looked up at the voice and smiled, "What's wrong with our Master Yao? Did some ignorant kid offend you?"
"Your Majesty can still smile. Your concubines have been giving me many flirtatious glances today."
"Oh, did the Master take a fancy to any of them? I can send them from the palace to your house today."
"I respectfully decline the offer."
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