Chapter 47 The first opportunity is always reserved for those who are prepared...
Mingxuan smiled bitterly. "I spent all my savings just to buy that little courtyard for Yunqiu. I didn't even have enough money for new clothes, let alone a carriage."
Zhao Changning saw that the clothes he was wearing were indeed neither new nor old, and should have been bought a long time ago. Fortunately, they were washed clean and still stood straight.
She didn't care, nor did she show any emotion. She just said politely, "Come in quickly. It's your first day today, and I'm really late. I won't be able to explain to the Empress."
After escorting him to the entrance of the inner study hall, Zhao Changning stopped and bowed, "I will not accompany you any longer, sir."
Mingxuan also returned the greeting, "Thank you so much for today."
Zhao Changning returned to his residence in the evening and saw Yunsheng beaming with joy, talking and gesticulating, which attracted the attention of Xiaoshun, Xiaozhi and Xiaobian who were standing beside him.
"What are you talking about? You're so happy?"
Yunsheng's eyes sparkled. "Aunt, Lord Ming is truly remarkable. In the past, I barely understood much of what the doctors at the Imperial College said, and I didn't dare ask. But today, Lord Ming explained it so clearly that I understood it all. He was also so gentle and polite, even asking me if there was anything I didn't understand."
Xiao Shun, standing aside, pulled Yunsheng aside and asked, "I heard from the palace maids that he is extremely handsome, extremely good-looking, handsome and elegant, like Pan An. Is that true?"
Yunsheng nodded, "Master Ming is indeed good-looking. After all, he was chosen by the late emperor as the third place winner. It would be strange if he wasn't good-looking."
Xiao Shun was very satisfied and excited. His eyes widened and he couldn't wait to say, "If I had known earlier, I would have gone there today. Next time, I will definitely go to listen to Master Ming's class."
Yunsheng nodded vigorously, "You have to go and listen. Master Ming's lecture is very good. There are so many palace maids there that one room can't hold them all. Many of them are leaning on the windows."
Zhao Changning: “…”
Next time Mingxuan is in class, she will have to talk to him.
In the next few days, Zhao Changning welcomed each instructor.
Song Huan and Chen Qi were naturally picked up and dropped off by their families' carriages and horses. They were both talented women who were well-read in poetry and literature. Every time they met, they would chat for a few words and feel refreshed.
The matter of female officials was carried out smoothly. Apart from the initial discussions and opposition voices, they were soon replaced by various new things.
Zhao Changning continued to manage the affairs of the inner study hall calmly.
Today was Mingxuan's day to give lectures.
Zhao Changning thought of Xiaoshun, who had gotten up early in the morning and was eagerly waiting, and even took out the rouge that he hadn't used in a long time...
She felt she had to talk to him.
Life in the palace is boring and monotonous, and the palace maids are most likely to fall in love. Mingxuan is handsome, but he cannot let things develop like this.
Seeing that the time was almost up, she once again watched Mingxuan running wildly in front of the Shenwu Gate. How could he look like the handsome and elegant scholar who had won the imperial examination?
Mingxuan was panting and sweating profusely. The September sun was still scorching, and he had to unbutton his collar and fan himself with his hands.
Zhao Changning felt that if Xiaoshun saw this scene, he might not be so excited.
"Master Ming is here."
Mingxuan's throat felt like it was on fire. He waved his hands tiredly and said helplessly, "We're already halfway there, and Yunqiu has caught up with us somehow. I can only send her back first."
Zhao Changning thought of the poor child Yun Qiu and could only listen to him quietly. After he had tidied his appearance, they walked towards the inner study together.
"Master Ming..."
Mingxuan interrupted her, "Miss Changning, you can just call me Mingxuan."
Zhao Changning smiled and said distantly, "Life in the palace is lonely. The palace maids usually have nothing to do to kill their free time. This inner study is a new thing. The palace maids are young and have not seen much. They heard that Master Ming is handsome and elegant, as handsome as Pan An, so they flocked to him. This is not a big deal, but the rules in the deep palace are strict, and they can't make any mistakes..."
She stopped and looked at Mingxuan deeply, "Master Ming, I hope you can understand."
Mingxuan was so smart that he immediately understood what she meant.
"Don't worry, Miss Changning. I won't offend anyone..." He paused, "I will also be careful when teaching in the future. I will adjust my teaching methods slightly."
Zhao Changning was very satisfied with his intelligence. It was not difficult to talk to such a person.
She left as soon as she finished speaking.
There are still many things to deal with today. It is the autumn harvest season, but there is a locust plague in Shaanxi. The memorials have piled up and the emperor is extremely worried.
Zhao Changning naturally couldn't sit idle either. She had to be the first to take action, so she read a lot of old stories about the locust plague.
She always thought, be prepared for everything, what if she could say something?
Even just one sentence.
Mingxuan looked at her back as she turned away so quickly, and was a little slow to react. The scorching sun covered her handsome eyebrows, her peach blossom eyes drooped, and her long eyelashes cast a shadow.
He pursed his lips and smiled.
Zhao Changning entered the Qinzheng Hall, where a small court meeting was in progress.
Regarding the locust plague in Shaanxi, Gao Yun and others all advocated sending people to supervise the locust control and appease the people as soon as possible. It was the critical moment of autumn harvest. If there was a problem with the grain in Shaanxi, the granaries would probably be much emptier this year.
"What I'm most afraid of is that a locust plague could easily become a large-scale one. If we can't stop the locust plague and allow it to spread south or east, I'm afraid..."
Over the years, countless locust plagues have been recorded in history books, and the experience is all in the books. Gao Yun's words are not false at all.
Qi Yuwei frowned, "Your Majesty, what Elder Gao said is true. This locust plague must not become a major issue. If it does, we can only leave it to fate."
Zhou Min also said: "We need to issue an order to exterminate the locusts as soon as possible, send people to supervise, and comfort the people. If necessary, we must also open the granaries to provide disaster relief."
The emperor certainly understood that if the locusts really ate up all the food, he would have to issue an edict of remorse.
"Since we want to nominate a supervisor to go, the elders, please tell me, are there any capable people who can deal with locusts? Who can go?"
Gao Yun looked calm and composed, his gray hair shining with golden light under the reflection of the five-clawed golden dragon.
Zhou Min and Qi Yuwei looked at each other and lowered their heads slightly.
Even Sun Zhidao, who was always noisy, fell silent.
Zhao Changning laughed in his heart. The tug-of-war between the monarch and his subjects was really interesting to watch. What was the difference between the struggle between the west wind and the east wind and that of ordinary people?
When the river bank burst its banks before, the cabinet reported to the emperor and directly decided on the candidates, inserting a lot of their own people into the cabinet. Unexpectedly, the emperor got angry and even made a scene about the female official.
Apparently they have learned their lesson this time and do not plan to nominate anyone.
I think it's difficult for everyone. When the late emperor was alive, these people were terrified, but they would speak frankly when encountering problems. But after all, the late emperor was the late emperor, and the new emperor was the new emperor. The relationship between the two sides is extremely complicated at this time.
Zhao Changning is a bystander who sees things more clearly.
As everyone knows, the new emperor is not the orthodox of the Eastern Palace. Unlike the previous crown prince, he had the Eastern Palace's Chancellery early on. The new emperor has no cultivated ministers around him, and there are very few people he can trust. At this time, he can only rely on the old ministers. But he is the emperor after all, and he is annoyed by the old ministers who are pointing fingers at him and using the previous emperor to put pressure on him.
The old ministers, the elders of high esteem, hoped that the emperor would be obedient. Why? Because the emperor was not the legitimate heir, but the one entrusted by the late emperor before his death, so they had to do so.
The most important thing is that the new emperor was just a person close to the former crown prince, and he was an ally of some of the current old ministers.
Once the dragon is in the sky, the alliance becomes the monarch and his subjects, but the change of relationship is not easy.
This court is really a pot of tasteless porridge. It all depends on what flavor the most capable person likes. If he says sweet, it is sweet. If he says salty, it has to be salty.
Zhao Changning listened quietly to the small court meeting until it dispersed.
After she sent away several old gentlemen, she picked up the white porcelain teapot and poured a cup of warm tea for the emperor. The tea soup was curling and the aroma was rich.
The emperor picked up the tea bowl with a grim expression. The thin Yue kiln celadon bowl body looked like jade, and the tea in the bowl was clear green. His slender white fingers gently stroked the edge of the bowl, and suddenly it was thrown to the ground.
With a crisp "clang" sound, the imperial tribute celadon bowls shattered to the ground, and the faint smoke of hot tea dissipated into the air and disappeared.
Zhao Changning cleaned it up patiently, then picked up another cup and placed it carefully next to the emperor.
The emperor waved his hand and smashed it down again.
"They act like this in front of my father, too?"
He seemed to be really angry. His face was livid, and his teeth were clenched. Without waiting for Zhao Changning to reply, he snorted coldly, "Hmph, what an old fox."
Zhao Changning rarely saw the emperor like this. Even when he was a prince, he rarely saw him angry. Most of the time, he was cold and aloof.
She felt that the old men in the cabinet were going too far. Even if they just mentioned a few names, it would be better than saying nothing.
Isn't this just arguing with the emperor?
The person in front of them now is not the Fourteenth Prince, but the new emperor, the emperor who has already held the coronation ceremony and the supreme ruler of Dayong.
But what does this have to do with her?
Zhao Changning quietly served the emperor a third cup of tea and said considerately, "Your Majesty, there are five sets of Yue Kiln celadon porcelain. This is the second set. Two pieces have been broken, so there are two left."
The emperor had calmed down by now. When he heard Zhao Changning's timely and gentle advice, he couldn't help but glance at him with a cold look in his eyes.
"What about the first set?"
Zhao Changning pursed his lips and smiled, then gently pushed the tea bowl closer to the emperor's hand. "It was smashed by the late emperor."
The emperor laughed, his eyebrows curved, "It seems that father is also angry in private."
"The late emperor was secretly very angry." Zhao Changning said softly, "But the late emperor loved celadon, so after smashing the first set, he was reluctant to use it again, saying that there was still a long way to go. It's just a pity..."
The emperor naturally understood what Zhao Changning meant. Yes, there is still a long way to go.
His eyes were dim, "No wonder the emperor can't leave you, Changning. I feel like I can't leave you either."
Zhao Changning smiled and knelt down to salute, "Changning would rather serve the emperor for the rest of his life."
The emperor picked up the memorial sent from Shaanxi and suddenly asked, "Is there anyone in the court who has returned from Shaanxi to take up his post?"
Zhao Changning looked up at the emperor in a daze. This was the first time the emperor asked her about government affairs.
She felt her blood boiling. As expected, opportunities always come to those who are prepared. Her hard work every night was worth it.
"Of course there are. I remember that the head of the Ministry of Revenue came back from Shaanxi, as did the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works and the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of War. However, these people did not participate in the locust control."
The emperor was also recalling and thinking carefully, but it was a pity that he was not the orthodox one in the Eastern Palace and had no ministers to assist him. There were many things that he, a newly enthroned emperor, could not clarify.
"I remember a Tongzhengshi who came back from Shaanxi to take up his post. He dealt with a locust plague."
Zhao Changning said without hesitation, "Your Majesty, are you referring to Liu Mingqing? Although he dealt with a locust plague before, he was inexperienced and self-willed, leading to widespread famine in his area. It was for this reason that he was demoted and transferred from a third-rank official to a seventh-rank officer."
Seeing the emperor's frown, she said softly, "I do remember there was a person whom the late emperor praised. However, he was implicated in an old incident and was never given a high position. The late emperor eventually forgot about him."
The emperor became interested. "Oh? Tell me about it."
Zhao Changning suppressed the sound threatening to burst from his throat and, after a moment of pretentious thought, he slowly spoke, "Xu Jiawen, this man has considerable experience in dealing with locust plagues. He was implicated by Liu Mingqing in the original incident. He even wrote a booklet on how to deal with locust plagues. The late emperor lamented that if he had been promoted earlier, the tragedy would have been avoided."
The emperor suddenly sat up in shock. "Now that you mention it, I remember that my father vaguely mentioned it to me, but I didn't expect the man's name to be Xu Jiawen."
When Zhao Changning saw that the emperor remembered it, she stopped talking and there was no need for her to say anything about the subsequent matters.
Soon, the locust control envoy was appointed. He immediately set out from his post to Shaanxi to control the locusts, carrying the emperor's earnest edict in his hand.
Zhao Changning was very satisfied.
She felt very tired and decided to take a day off.
Early in the morning, Zhao Changning got up and saw Xiaoshun. He asked in surprise, "I remember that Master Ming was giving a lecture today. Why aren't you going?"
Xiao Shun had a bitter face, "Yunsheng, that little liar. Lord Ming is good-looking, but he is so vicious..."
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The author has something to say: Mingxuan: I was forced to do nothing [burst into tears][burst into tears][burst into tears]
My dog's interdigital inflammation broke out and his hands became swollen like lobsters. I have been busy for a long time and I can't take it anymore. I will write more tomorrow. Thank you, my dears!
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