Mu Ci doubted whether he would survive after eating this charred chicken leg. He did not die under Cui Lan's knife, but was killed by Ye Xiaoan's chicken leg. If he wanted to refuse, he would have had an excuse, but when Ye An looked at him expectantly with those watery eyes, Mu Ci couldn't say no. He took the chopsticks and picked out the ugliest one - he couldn't just leave the burnt and blackened one to Ye An.
Ye An covered his face and thought happily, Brother A Ci actually picked the worst one to eat, does this mean that he loves everyone in his house?
Mu Ci took a bite while facing Ye An's passionate gaze, and forced himself to swallow it. He unexpectedly found that it was not bad.
If Ye An had a tail, it would have been shaking to the sky long ago: "Brother Aci, what do you think?"
Mu Ci smiled: "Very good, I'm much better now, but it's still the same as before, I'll help you peel it."
The chicken leg came out of the frying pan and was wrapped in a layer of bread. Although it tasted good, Mu Ci was worried that Ye Anquan would find it too greasy if he ate it. Fortunately, the leg meat in the bread was very tender and not greasy at all. Mu Ci peeled a few more for him.
Ye An stared at it absentmindedly for a while, and suddenly said without thinking: "Brother Aci, today I discussed with the Grand Tutor how to deal with Ye Zhi and Cui Lan."
Wang Xingren was waiting on the side, but he immediately left the house upon hearing this.
Male concubines in this dynasty are not allowed to be involved in politics, but if the emperor himself said it, Mu Zhaoyi would certainly listen and it would not be considered an overstepping of the boundaries. However, it might not be the same if it were someone else. Although Wang Xingren was not the smartest, he knew that he could not always be an eyesore in front of his master and the emperor.
Mu Ci waited until everyone had left before saying, "You should have made up your mind."
Ye An nodded and glanced at Mu Ci nervously.
"I want to convict him according to the law first, and then grant amnesty to the whole world when the child is three months old."
"Brother Aci, I'm sorry." Ye An said softly, "Cui Lan hurt you. I really hate Cui Lan and want to kill him to avenge you, but then I remembered that Cui Lan hated me and the Queen Mother so much because the late emperor wiped out the entire Cui family. If I kill Cui Lan now, just like the late emperor wiped out the Cui family, then in the future, will there be someone else who will jump out for revenge, and it will never end..."
Ye An didn't want his beloved to get hurt again. When would the cycle of revenge end? Maybe he shouldn't simply kill him to vent his anger. Instead, he should find a way to completely prevent anyone from causing trouble under the banner of the Cui family.
Mu Ci showed some interest and asked, "What are you going to do?"
Ye An said: "According to the law, it is a punishment, and pardon is to eliminate hatred. I will also make the events of that year public and pardon the other descendants of the Cui family."
Doing this would be the most benevolent thing to do to the Cui family who had made the mistake. By then everyone would know that the Cui family had no grudge to avenge.
Moreover, he specifically ordered Cui Jing to protect Prime Minister Yuan, in order to turn hostility into friendship, eliminate the hatred between the Cui and Yuan families, and let Cui Jing restore his status and officially enter the court as the chief guard. This was also his attitude as the emperor towards the Cui family.
Mu Ci understood Ye An's plan after a little thought. A man who couldn't even write had such insights. Mu Ci felt that even he underestimated him.
"Xiao An, you are so rare."
Not only can he fry chicken legs, he can also manage state affairs.
"That's right, Brother Aci understands me the best!" Ye An was praised, his eyes curved into crescents, and he said shamelessly: "I can guarantee that among all the emperors, I am definitely the best at frying chicken legs, and among all the people who fry chicken legs, I am the best at being an emperor!"
Mu Ci: “…”
Why does it feel like Ye Xiaoan's mouth is getting more and more outrageous?
Ye Andao asked Mu Ci's parents to choose a day to visit him. It turned out to be the right decision. It not only appeased the Taifu, but also made Mu Ci feel at ease.
Ye An wanted to do much more than that, he planned to mention Mu Ci's position. Mu Ci was bound to be the queen in the end, but she was promoted directly from Zhaoyi to queen not long after entering the palace, which made her susceptible to criticism. It would be better for her to be promoted to the fourth concubine first. Last time in Changle Palace, several concubines provoked Mu Ci, and Ye An found out later that the Queen Mother deliberately made things difficult for Mu Ci when she entered the palace. The rank of Zhaoyi was indeed too low. Now that Mu Ci was the child's biological father and had the merit of saving the emperor, he should be mentioned according to palace rules.
Ye An went to see the Queen Mother with confidence. He and the Queen Mother currently have a good relationship. Ever since Ye Zhi and Cui Lan were captured and Ye An revived the Yuan family, the Queen Mother has become much more open-minded and her temper has become calmer. She no longer says much about political affairs, but Ye An respects the Queen Mother and still often asks her for advice. As the person with the highest position in the harem and the winner of the previous palace fight, the Queen Mother sees things differently from him and can make up for his omissions.
"An'er, are you planning to promote Mu Ci?"
The Empress Dowager had long guessed that Ye An would make this decision. The Emperor disliked Yong Chang, and the Empress Dowager would not force him anymore. Now it was clear who would be the Empress. She was promoted this time, and she will probably be the empress next time. Leaving aside the Yuan family, there are only a few families that are qualified to produce empresses. Mu Ci has a good background, has the merit of saving the emperor, and is favored by the emperor. Naturally, she is superior to other concubines.
The Queen Mother said earnestly, "I understand your thoughts, but his contribution to saving the emperor cannot be mentioned openly. If he is promoted to the position of the Four Concubines all at once, it will cause dissatisfaction among others. A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Think about it carefully. If you really like him, it is not advisable to be too high-profile."
Ye An listened carefully and asked, "Does the Queen Mother want to promote him to be a concubine first?"
This was the earliest position assigned by the Empress Dowager to the son of the Grand Tutor, on the same level as Concubine Qiao and Concubine Yang.
The Queen Mother nodded: "Let's do it slowly. We can find a reason later and rise step by step. How about that?"
Ye An said: "Father, I still want to give him a higher position. After all, this will happen. If we can't be too high-profile, we can also raise the positions of others. Concubine Qiao and Concubine Yang were once promoted from the four concubines, and now they are promoted back. Wen Ziran will be promoted to Concubine De. The others will be promoted half a level."
The empress dowager thought about it and decided that the positions of the four concubines could not remain vacant for long. If everyone was promoted together, Mu Ci would not be so conspicuous.
The emperor became more and more skilled. The Queen Mother smiled and said, "That's a good idea, but now we have someone who is virtuous, virtuous, and virtuous. Do you want to promote him to be a noble concubine?"
Ye An originally only wanted to promote Mu Ci to the position of Defei, but now everyone has to be promoted, and it would be inappropriate for Defei not to be the first of the four concubines. Ranmei is a family member, so he simply gives Defei to Wen Ziran. As for Guifei, she was the position that Su Qinghuai had held during his lifetime, and Ye An also did not want Mu Ci to stay in the position that Su Qinghuai had held. What should he do?
Ye An suddenly had an idea and remembered an anecdote. Emperor Gaozong of Tang once wanted to make Wu Zetian the Concubine Chen, who was superior to the four concubines. The title Chen was good, transcendent and unique. In this era, there was no Tang Dynasty before the Wei Dynasty, so no one would have made much association with it.
Ye An said: "I want to make him the concubine of the emperor, above the four concubines."
Ye An picked up the pen and wrote the word "Chen". After Mu Ci's teaching, he had learned to write some simple characters, and he wrote them quite well.
The Queen Mother frowned, "Are you going to appoint another concubine in addition to the four concubines? This... the position in the harem, after all, is a matter of your words. It's just that the word 'Chen' is used by the emperor. Is it inappropriate to use it as a title for concubines?"
Ye An was determined to fight for Mu Ci, saying, "There is nothing wrong with that. The character Chen can show the emperor's favor. Mu Zhaoyi is the son of the Grand Tutor and the father of the Dragon Heir. What do you think, Father and Queen?"
The Queen Mother said, "Since you insist, then so be it. But you must also be prepared in the court."
No matter Chen Fei or Gui Fei, their status is higher than the other three concubines. Ye An treats Mu Ci differently. The empress dowager now tends to make some appropriate suggestions and stop at the right time, and will not object again and again.
Ye An nodded, and the position was decided.
But he kept it hidden and did not mention it to Mu Ci until the child was three months old. Then Ye An officially announced the good news of being pregnant with a dragon heir, issued a general amnesty, and at the same time named Mu Zhaoyi of Zhaoyang Palace as Chen Fei. Also promoted this time were Concubine Qiao, Concubine Yang, Jieyu Wen and others. The court officials were dazzled, and after congratulating the emperor, they had no objection to the promotion of the dragon heir's biological father. However, some opposed the title of Chen, mainly due to the trouble-making Qin Censor.
When it comes to Mu Ci, Ye An can't sit still and personally joins in the verbal battle.
"…It's just a title, the De in Defei, and there are emperors who use it as a posthumous title, and there's also a palace called Zichen Palace, there's nothing wrong with that."
Taifu Mu was also unwilling for Mu Ci to be given the title of Chen as it was too eye-catching, but the emperor was pregnant with the prince and still insisted on reasoning with him. Taifu could not bear to cause trouble for the emperor and his future grandson, so he remained silent.
After all, it was just a title of a concubine. There were other military and national affairs to deal with in the daily court sessions. The court officials were also very busy and would not argue over it. After discussing it several times, the emperor was still extremely determined, so they just let him do as he pleased.
Censor Qin finally surrendered, and Ye An won a great victory.
Mu Ci had been well taken care of by Ye An recently, and his injuries had almost healed. When the imperial edict was passed to Zhaoyang Palace, he was still a little stunned. Li Yao came to announce the edict in person, and said with a smile: "Congratulations, Concubine Chen. I have been in the harem for many years, and I am the first person to be promoted so quickly."
In fact, Wen Ziran also skipped a grade this time, but compared with Concubine De, Concubine Chen was obviously more favored by the emperor, so it was not unreasonable for Li Yao to flatter her.
Mu Ci smiled faintly and ordered Wang Xingren to give him the reward. He guessed that Ye An would raise his position. According to the current structure of the harem, concubine would be the most suitable. Ye Xiaoan was not completely without the brains of the emperor, but he just didn't expect that he would be the Chen Concubine who was superior to the four concubines.
This position did not exist before in this dynasty, and it can be said that it was specially created for him. When he was recuperating, Ye An was clearing away all difficulties for him. Mu Ci held the imperial edict in his hand, as if holding the boy's hot heart. He always carefully offered him the best sincerity, from a palace with a tunnel dug to a fried chicken leg, and a position created for him. He really cared about him and was even willing to have children for him. Who wouldn't be tempted?
Li Yao said: "Please get ready. You are the highest-ranking concubine now. The other concubines who have been promoted will come to Zhaoyang Palace. You will lead them to Changle Palace to express your gratitude."
Mu Ci responded, and Wen Ziran and the others had gathered in the main hall of Zhaoyang Palace in advance and were waiting.
Wang Xingren and Li Yao led the way in front. Mu Ci glanced at everyone without emotion. Yang Shuxuan was still sick and needed the support of eunuchs to take every step. Qiao Yunting looked unwilling. Mu Ci no longer needed to salute them. He only nodded to Wen Ziran, who was promoted to Defei together with him.
Wen Ziran was about to speak when someone outside the hall announced that the emperor had arrived.
All the concubines came out of the palace to greet him. Ye An didn't even get off the dragon chariot. He smiled and called out her name: "Concubine Chen, come here!"
Mu Ci: “…”
In front of the concubines, Ye An would definitely not call him brother, otherwise the concubines would probably turn the Zhaoyang Palace upside down.
Mu Ci approached the dragon chariot, but Ye An thought it was not enough and blinked his eyes to let him get on.
There were many pairs of eyes watching him, but seeing Ye Xiaoan's sincerity in front of him, Mu Ci was not afraid. He calmly boarded the dragon chariot despite the stares from others.
The concubines felt upset. The emperor actually asked Concubine Chen to sit on the dragon chariot to discuss matters? This, who has ever been treated like this before!
However, what was beyond their expectations was yet to come. Mu Ci got on the dragon chariot and did not get off. After a moment, the chariot started moving!
Ye An only said: "I and the Concubine will go to Changle Palace first, you guys follow slowly."
It seems that he arrived late last time to support Brother Aci, so this time Ye An came early.
The concubines were silent for a moment and then burst into an uproar. Did the Emperor come to pick up Concubine Chen on purpose?
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Why can't Mu Ci's contribution to saving the emperor be mentioned? Because Mu Ci was protecting Ye An as a secret guard, and concubines are not allowed to use swords without permission.
Ye Xiaoan: Luxury cars and beautiful women⊙?⊙!
Brother Aci is holding Wu Zetian's script (Hey)
Thank you to the little angels who cast their votes for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angel who cast [mine]: You look like a younger brother when you smile, 1 Pearl Order;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:
5 bottles of red spider lily;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
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