Chapter 42 Makes sense
After the court session, Xiao Chenglan read a few important memorials and then ordered Fu Wanquan to prepare the dragon chariot.
A moment later, Fu Wanquan came over, bowing and asking for the emperor's presence: "Your Majesty, everything is ready. Where are you going?"
"Wanshou Palace."
Xiao Chenglan took a few memorials from the imperial desk, put them behind his back, and walked out slowly.
Fu Wanquan received the order and quickly shouted: "Go to Wanshou Palace——"
Along the way, Fu Wanquan followed the dragon sedan chair, so he could naturally hear the sound of fingertips tapping on the handrails of the dragon sedan chair.
Hidden by the curtain, he could barely make out the emperor lying in a casual posture, one hand supporting his forehead and the other tapping the armrest.
Fu Wanquan immediately realized that His Majesty must be in a good mood.
However, whenever His Majesty showed such joy on the surface, it was when he was playing tricks on his court officials.
Every time Fu Wanquan saw His Majesty making the ministers stunned, he wanted to laugh secretly.
I wonder who will be unlucky today.
"Your Majesty has arrived—"
Suddenly, a message was heard in Wanshou Palace. Empress Dowager Xue was fiddling with her Buddhist beads and reciting scriptures.
She couldn't help but frown when she heard the voice, "Why is the emperor here?"
A moment later, a tall figure walked into the hall.
Xiao Chenglan was also wearing a black and red wide-sleeved dragon robe with twelve emblems.
A look of displeasure suddenly flashed across Empress Dowager Xue's eyes.
This is the formal dress for the grand court meeting. How could he come to the Wanshou Palace without changing clothes and just wear this dragon robe?
It's really disrespectful.
Xiao Chenglan walked into the hall and bowed first.
"Greetings to the Queen Mother."
"Get up! The Emperor is so busy that he doesn't even have time to change his clothes. Why would he take time out of his schedule to come and see me?"
Xiao Chenglan smiled faintly and walked straight to the left of Empress Dowager Xue and sat down.
"I didn't mean to bother you, Queen Mother, but the rumors and gossips at today's court meeting forced me to come quickly to comfort you."
Empress Dowager Xue was stunned.
Court meeting?
Immediately, Empress Dowager Xue saw the memorial in Xiao Chenglan's hand.
"I don't know what the rumors are." Queen Mother Xue said indifferently, having calmed down.
Xiao Chenglan handed over the memorial, and Nanny Xia quickly took it and presented it to the empress dowager.
Empress Dowager Xue picked up a book, flipped through it, and her face instantly darkened.
This memorial was actually about impeaching her!
"Just over a hundred days after I ascended the throne, all the civil and military officials want to examine my virtue. Yesterday, they reviewed my daily records and the internal daily records, and today they actually submitted memorials to criticize me. How audacious!"
Empress Dowager Xue flipped through several memorials, most of which were complaints about her harsh and severe punishments of concubines, while some were admonitions to the emperor.
The person who submitted the memorial said that Jia Jieyushi Jiang had been by your Majesty's side for four whole years before he ascended the throne, and could be described as a 'wife who has shared the hardships of life'. However, the internal diary recorded that Jia Jieyushi was punished three times within less than a month of moving into the palace. Your Majesty had originally granted Jiang the title of Jieyushi upon his ascension to the throne, and her rank was already too low. Now that she has been punished repeatedly, you have completely disregarded their old relationship, and it seems that you have abandoned your 'wife who has shared the hardships of life'. This has set a bad example for the people.
The Queen Mother's eyebrows twitched as she watched.
This is complete nonsense!
The Qingliu faction of the Song Party got hold of some evidence against the Xue family and made a big deal out of it, writing so many memorials to jointly report the case.
Lü Cairen was beaten to death by the emperor, so why didn't anyone report this to the emperor? It was clearly targeting the Xue family.
"My Queen Mother, please don't be angry. I know this is all nonsense. My Queen Mother is trying to share my worries and help me teach the concubines. These people really don't know my Queen Mother's painstaking efforts at all. I have already scolded them." Xiao Chenglan said gently.
Empress Dowager Xue silently clenched the memorial.
If the emperor really wanted to stop these memorials for her, why would he present them to her personally and let her see them to make her angry?
Moreover, they also specifically mixed in those memorials that spoke out for Jiang, as if she had suffered a great injustice.
"Hmph, why would I be angry about these memorials? As a court official, instead of serving the former dynasty, you focus your attention on the harem, watching which concubine I punish. This is clearly an act of usurpation!"
"My Queen Mother is right. It's often said that the harem shouldn't interfere in government affairs. So how could the previous dynasty interfere and hinder the harem? From now on, if any court official keeps an eye on my harem, I will punish them for usurping power and treason."
Xiao Chenglan chuckled as he was about to stop, "Thank you, mother, for your guidance."
Empress Dowager Xue suddenly realized what she had said, clenched her hands holding the Buddhist beads, and clenched her teeth.
She originally thought that if Jiang Yingli really didn't know how to appreciate it, she would join forces with seven other officials to write a letter to the court, accusing her of being a favored concubine and harming the country, and then hang her. But now she stuffed a gag into her own mouth.
There was a flash of displeasure in Empress Dowager Xue's eyes, but she endured it and did not lose her temper.
Well, there are plenty of ways to deal with Jiang Yingli, so why not use the previous dynasty?
"Hmph, the memorials submitted to the emperor to accuse me are nothing but groundless accusations. I can just ignore them. But as for the matter concerning Concubine Jia, I cannot ignore it." The empress dowager said slowly.
Xiao Chenglan asked gently, "I wonder what the Queen Mother thinks about this?"
Empress Dowager Xue looked at Xiao Chenglan, "Your Majesty, don't you realize it? What's this about being heartless? That's nonsense. Since the new concubine entered the palace, only Concubine Song has been summoned by Your Majesty. The rest of the time, Your Majesty has stayed in Concubine Jia's Zhaohua Palace. It seems like she is the exclusive favorite."
"Since ancient times, the emperor has always been committed to sharing his wealth with his descendants. Exclusive favoritism will undermine the foundation of the country. For the sake of Daye, I cannot bear to see you go astray. The emperor should summon a new concubine as soon as possible, and remove the title of Concubine Jia."
Xiao Chenglan looked back at her, his eyes showing a hint of hesitation. He pondered for a long time before saying, "I know my mother is worried, but I really don't know who to favor."
The Queen Mother was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, "I wonder who the Emperor favors? What does this mean? Could it be that none of the newcomers this time are to your liking?"
Xiao Chenglan shook his head, a touch of tenderness and regret flashing in his eyes. "I have confined Su Xiuyi to her bed for a month. If I favor someone else, I will be neglecting her. Su Xiuyi is the daughter of the Su family. I don't want anyone to be able to sleep with her first."
The Queen Mother's expression became increasingly dazed, filled with complete astonishment.
The emperor...actually thinks so?
The look on her face when she looked at Xiao Chenglan was full of sincerity, not a lie at all.
Empress Dowager Xue didn't know what to say for a moment.
Xiao Chenglan continued, "So, after much thought, I've concluded that until Su Xiuyi's confinement is lifted, I can only favor Song Zhaoyi and Jia Jieyu. One of them has a similar background to Su Xiuyi, and the other is an old member of the family, so they won't offend Su Xiuyi or the Su family."
After a long pause, the empress dowager's expression slowly changed from stunned to relieved.
It’s actually... like this.
He didn't summon the newcomer because he was waiting for Su Xiuyi.
However, the emperor actually has such intention?
She never thought that the emperor couldn't favor others before favoring Su Xiuyi.
However, what he said made sense. If those women from humble family backgrounds were to be favored by Su Xiuyi first, wouldn't that be a slap in the face of the Su family?
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