Madam Qi talked with Concubine Qi for a while, then stood up to say goodbye, and Qi Yuer saw her out.
When Zhu Bifeng heard that someone from the Qi family had arrived, he also rushed over to see Mrs. Qi off.
Mrs. Qi met her son-in-law for the first time today. When she saw him in person, she suddenly understood why her daughter decided to marry into the royal family as soon as she met the emperor.
Zhu Beifeng is polite to others, and his appearance, knowledge and temperament are not comparable to those of the playboys in Kyoto.
When Mrs. Qi was talking to Zhu Bifeng, Zhu Bifeng's emotional intelligence was much higher than hers. No matter what Mrs. Qi said, Zhu Bifeng could always join in the conversation. Mrs. Qi was very satisfied with Zhu Bifeng.
Before leaving, he gave many instructions and entrusted Zhu Beifeng to take good care of Concubine Qi.
"Don't worry, mother-in-law. I will definitely live up to your trust."
Zhu Bifeng escorted Madam Qi to the outside of the horse farm. Mr. Qi, holding a piece of green grass in his mouth, leaned against the carriage and looked up at the moon.
When he saw the emperor coming out in person to see him off, he quickly threw away the dogtail grass in his mouth, straightened his appearance, and stepped forward to make his way.
"Your humble servant, I pay my respects to His Majesty."
"No need to be so polite, father-in-law."
The more Zhu Beifeng said that there was no need to be so polite, the more respectful Lord Qi became. The more polite you are, the less blame you will get. The other party is the emperor. Don't try to guess what the emperor means. You will never understand it no matter how much you guess.
The wind is clear, the moon is bright, and the night sky is full of stars.
Madam Qi was personally helped by Shuangxi to board the carriage, and Zhu Bifeng spoke familiarly to Lord Qi.
"Father-in-law, I'm really in a difficult situation!"
Lord Qi's heart skipped a beat, wondering if there was something fishy in Zhu Bifeng's words. "I am willing to help Your Majesty relieve his worries."
"How to relieve worries? Only Du Kang."
Shuangxi had someone spread a felt carpet on the ground, and set up a small table on the carpet. On the table was a low stool, and on the stool were two pots of warm wine.
Zhu Bifeng knelt on the felt carpet, and Lord Qi knelt upright and poured wine for Zhu Bifeng personally.
"The four ministers who protect the country have worked hard and made great contributions. I have great respect for them. Lord Chen commands the support of all in the court, and Concubine Chen in the harem... well, I won't say more."
Lord Qi was filled with righteous indignation. "Your Majesty, don't worry. Tomorrow I will submit a letter of complaint to you, Lord Chen."
"No, no, Lord Chen is the Minister of State appointed by the late emperor. My father-in-law is thinking about me, and I know it."
The king and his minister drank two pots of wine. When they were half drunk, Lord Qi started to speak in a disrespectful manner.
"A warrior dies in battle, a scholar dies in remonstration. As Mr. Fan said, it's better to die with a voice than to live in silence. Tomorrow, I will report Lord Chen for his poor teaching and for allowing his daughter to commit a crime."
"No, no."
The emperor said no, but he was very happy about it.
Therefore, during the morning court session the next day, Lord Qi submitted a letter to criticize Lord Chen.
Zhu Bifeng pointed out Lord Qi's mistakes in public and brought out Lord Chen's past achievements, telling how hard Lord Chen worked and made great contributions. On the surface, Zhu Bifeng protected Lord Chen, but secretly promoted Lord Qi.
Three days later, the ministers all wrote letters to the emperor to criticize him.
The emperor reprimanded all the officials who submitted memorials, and as a result, all of them were promoted to higher or lower ranks. Five days later, the imperial desk in the imperial study was filled with memorials. There were twenty-five memorials of greeting, and the remaining twenty-five were all reports to the officials.
Lord Chen was sweating profusely, and Zhu Bifeng stared at the memorial for a long time without saying a word.
Lord Chen felt like there was a knife hanging over his head, and the knife didn't fall for a long time, so Lord Chen didn't dare to breathe.
The thin new emperor has grown taller than him and has the power to control his destiny.
Lord Chen recalled the scene in front of the Cining Palace that year. At that time, Princess Xiaoyao brought Concubine Tang into the palace and forced Empress Dowager Hengle to abdicate. Zhu Bifeng threw a tantrum and shouted, "Quickly, call the four ministers who protect the country. The princess is trying to force me to death."
At that time, the new emperor relied heavily on the four ministers who protected the country. Now the new emperor no longer needs them.
He was probably old, as he felt very sleepy after standing for just a moment.
Shuangxi brought a stool for Mr. Chen to sit on. Mr. Chen sat on the stool and dozed off.
Zhu Bifeng raised his head from the desk and saw Lord Chen dozing off with his eyes closed. His heart softened.
However, this soft emotion only lasted for a moment and quickly disappeared.
Lord Chen has grown old. The Lord Chen who once rode a horse and whipped the whip and won every battle has lost his heroic spirit. Instead, he is covered in gloom.
The warrior is in his twilight years and it is time for him to step back behind the scenes.
Lord Chen rested for a while and slowly opened his eyes.
"Your Majesty, I have lost my composure."
"Master Chen, all the memorials submitted by the ministers are accusing you. What do you think?"
"When the late emperor was alive, I served as the vanguard of the Flying Tiger Battalion. I was grateful to the late emperor for not abandoning me and appointing me as the Protector General. Now that Your Majesty has been ruling the country for many years, I no longer deserve the title of Protector General. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to retire and return home."
"Master Chen, I don't want you to return home at all. Have you really thought it through?"
"I've made up my mind."
Zhu Bifeng raised his hand slightly, Shuangxi brought the wine that had been prepared long ago, and the king and his minister began to drink.
Lord Chen looked at the golden wine glass in front of him and suddenly thought of a saying: We will drink from the golden cup together, and we will not spare each other with the sharp sword.
"To be honest, I really don't want to see Master Chen go."
Usually when a person starts by saying something from his heart, what he says next is a lie.
Lord Chen has been an official for forty years, and he knows too well how dignitaries speak at the dinner table.
If the emperor is reluctant to let him retire and return home, when Lord Qi reported him, you should punish Lord Qi severely instead of scolding him openly and promoting him secretly.
Now everyone in the court is following Lord Qi's example and reporting him, so he has to leave even if he doesn't want to.
"Master Chen, can you please not retire and return home?"
Lord Chen took a sip of wine and couldn't help complaining in his heart, "Did I want to leave? It was obviously you, the little emperor, who was afraid of the military power in my hands and wanted to seize power, so you deliberately set a trap to force me to retire."
"It's not that I want to leave, but the current situation forces me to leave."
"There is a villa outside the capital. Lord Chen, you can live there. If you return to your ancestral land, I will have no one around me to talk to."
Lord Chen said a few polite words and silently left the military order. The emperor was very happy to receive the order.
"Master Chen, please go back and rest."
After Lord Chen left, Zhu Beifeng smiled with satisfaction while holding the military token.
"Shuangxi, bring me the writing brush. I want to draft an imperial decree to promote Concubine Chen to the rank of Imperial Concubine."
Shuangxi ground the ink and spread the paper. Zhu Bifeng waved his hand and wrote the imperial edict, "Shuangxi, you go and deliver the edict in person."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Shuangxi was too busy to run and convey the order.
Concubine Chen knelt on the ground and listened to the title.
"The Emperor, by the grace of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: Concubine Chen is gentle and virtuous, and shall be canonized as a Noble Concubine effective immediately."
"Concubine Chen, please accept the order."
Concubine Chen was increasingly confused by the emperor's style of doing things. She had hit Concubine Mei, and the emperor should have punished her, so why did her rank rise instead of fall?
Concubine Chen was not overwhelmed by the imperial edict of canonization. Instead, she asked Shuangxi, "Eunuch Shuangxi, has Master Chen come to the palace recently?"
"Lord Chen came to the Imperial Study this morning, and not long after, the Emperor decided to confer the title upon His Majesty."
Concubine Chen took the imperial edict, gave Shuangxi a reward, and hurriedly found someone to deliver the message to the Chen family.
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