After the key personnel were appointed, the rest was about filling in the gaps in staff.
Song Xibai entrusted this matter to Granny Fangqi.
Granny Fangqi actually wanted to stay by the young prince's side, but Song Xibai had given her a task, so she couldn't refuse. She immediately cheered herself up and pulled Feng Jia out.
Everyone else went about their own business, and Dingxiang, holding the wet nurse's hand, carried the two children to another side hall.
As a result, the room suddenly became empty, leaving only Song Xibai and Yuan Shen.
With no outsiders around, Song Xibai relaxed completely and leaned back on the soft couch.
"Your Majesty, aren't you tired wearing such thick and heavy clothes? Please change them!"
How could I not be tired? This imperial robe has several layers, all embroidered with the twelve symbols of imperial authority in real gold thread. Even just the sleeves are heavy to lift.
Yuan Shen was too embarrassed to admit that he was just excited and wanted to wear it a little longer.
After all, he had known since he was five years old that he would become emperor, and it took him twenty years to achieve that goal, so he was quite excited.
"Qingqing is right."
Yuan Shen didn't ask him for help. Instead, he summoned two eunuchs to help him change his clothes into a light-colored casual outfit.
Then, she sat down next to Song Xibai and asked in a low voice, "Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Did you get chilled by the cold wind on the way?"
Song Xibai pouted: "My stomach is cold."
Yuan Shen was startled and quickly reached out to cover her lower abdomen.
"Why didn't you say so sooner? I could have called Dingxiang to take a look at you."
Song Xibai grabbed his wrist with a grin and used his hand to rub her stomach.
"No need, Your Majesty can just massage it for me."
Yuan Shen knew immediately that she was doing it on purpose, and while he breathed a sigh of relief, he pretended to be displeased.
"Trying to scare me? You're asking for it."
As he spoke, he gently pinched his fingers together.
The two of them laughed and rolled around in a ball.
The awkwardness caused by being separated for a long time vanished in an instant.
Song Xibai nestled in his arms and they started talking about serious business.
"Didn't the Crown Princess come looking for you?"
The coronation ceremony is over, but there's still no movement from the harem. She must be getting anxious.
Yuan Shen nodded, then shook his head.
“She didn’t come herself, but her father did.”
"ah?"
Song Xibai looked slightly surprised.
“The Zhao family has split into two branches.” A glint flashed in Yuan Shen’s eyes. “The Zhao family in the capital is now headed by the Crown Princess’s father. He came in person because of what happened at the estate. He shifted all the blame to his hometown and begged me not to blame the Crown Princess.”
"What was His Majesty's reply?"
Song Xibai already knew about the Zhao family's branching out, so he wasn't surprised.
“I didn’t say anything, I just told him to go back. I was so busy those two days, I didn’t have time to think about this. But now that I have some free time, I can finally settle the accounts.”
Yuan Shen was furious when he thought about how the Zhao family had tried to take the child and even attempted to kill Song Xibai.
Let the Zhao family go?
Absolutely impossible.
However, Song Xibai did not think so.
"Your Majesty, their plan has failed. Even if you want to punish them, you can't possibly wipe out the entire Zhao family. Why not use this opportunity to devise a plan?"
"What are you plotting?" Yuan Shen was taken aback. "They treated you like that, aren't you angry?"
"I was angry, but so much time has passed, I'm past my anger."
Song Xibai sat up straight.
"I've heard that the Zhao family controls Jiangnan?"
The Zhao family is a powerful clan in Jiangnan, an ancient family with a history of hundreds of years, with a profound foundation that is incomparable to ordinary families. Otherwise, the late Empress would not have gone to such lengths to choose a daughter from the Zhao family as the Crown Princess.
The Zhao family had many descendants, but not many of them served as officials in the capital; most of them served as officials in other places.
The Zhao family in the capital, led by the Crown Princess's father, mostly held important positions in the Six Ministries.
The Crown Princess's grandfather was the former Minister of Personnel.
The Ministry of Personnel was in charge of the promotion and transfer of officials, and it wielded considerable power.
After his retirement, the Minister of Personnel who succeeded him, though not a member of the Zhao family, was still a protégé of the Zhao family.
The Ministry of Personnel was practically a one-man show run by the Zhao family.
Under these circumstances, the Zhao family members, once sent out to other places, could practically go wherever they wanted.
Most of the Zhao family members held positions in Jiangnan, especially in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, which were the hardest hit.
There were also many officials from the Zhao family in the Sichuan region.
Therefore, it is not an exaggeration for Song Xibai to say that they control Jiangnan.
Of course, the Zhao family also had their own ways of doing things. They only focused on the grain and salt trade, but they would still let some of the profits slip through to other officials.
Yuan Shencai had just taken charge of the court, and for a time, he was at a loss as to how to deal with a behemoth like the Zhao family.
"I've thought about that too, but it's unrealistic. Can they really exchange the position of Empress for control of Jiangnan?"
Song Xibai narrowed his eyes: "How will we know if we don't try? There are so many ministers in the court, surely they can come up with a good idea? You are the emperor now, no longer the crown prince. It is their duty to share the burdens of the emperor."
Yuan Shen suddenly understood: "You're right. Why should I be the only one with a headache over such troublesome matters? We need to get everyone busy so they can focus on these trivial matters in the harem from now on."
Song Xibai also disapproved of these ministers.
You say the world is in chaos because of this fake emperor, and instead of thinking about how to turn things around, they just keep staring at the emperor's harem all day long. Their vision is so limited, it makes them seem petty.
It seems that although the fake emperor has been exposed, the atmosphere in the court cannot be changed in a short time.
Fortunately, an additional imperial examination will be held next spring, at which time more pragmatic scholars will be selected to inject some fresh blood into the court.
The two talked about everything from the imperial court to the inner palace, from the placement of the imperial concubines to the selection of palace maids and eunuchs. As they talked, Song Xibai became more and more excited, while Yuan Shen drank a whole pot of tea because he was so thirsty.
He shook the empty teapot and called out.
"Someone, bring a new pot of tea."
A moment later, Feng Jia rushed in, looking flustered.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
"What's the matter that you're in such a panic?"
"The Eighth Prince... has disappeared!"
"What?"
Yuan Shen frowned deeply.
Song Xibai was startled and immediately stood up.
"How could he disappear? Didn't you have someone keep an eye on him?"
Feng Jia said with a bitter face, "How could there not be? After the true face of the traitor was exposed, the Eighth Prince's status became awkward, and he was no longer suitable to live in the inner palace. I was ordered to clean up the Lengyu Palace next to the Fengxian Palace and move the Eighth Prince there. I also ordered a lot of people to keep an eye on him."
“But last night the Eighth Prince caught a cold and fell asleep after taking medicine. Apart from the little eunuch who served him personally, no one else has seen him. This morning, when the servants brought breakfast, they didn’t see him. They only heard a voice from inside saying that he had no appetite and didn’t want to eat. Those fools didn’t think much of it and believed it. But when they brought lunch earlier, there was no sound at all. That’s when they panicked. They broke down the door and found that the Eighth Prince was gone, and there was only the body of a little eunuch.”
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