Chapter 82: The first episode of human life
His tone was so relaxed that Zhao Changning's heart was beating wildly, and he didn't know how to respond.
In fact, it is easy to say, just make up some high-sounding words, but if she lies at this moment, once it is exposed, it is tantamount to proving to the emperor that she has ulterior motives towards him. Everyone knows that this kind of unequal trust is as thin as a cicada's wing.
Everything she had depended on the emperor, and she couldn't afford to gamble.
The emperor was young and intelligent, not someone who was easily fooled. Perhaps he had already seen through her ambitions and knew that the cabinet was also under great pressure from her. The two of them were allies standing on the same front and should trust each other, so he said such words to get closer to her.
The more you talk, the more mistakes you make. Zhao Changning remained silent, but still did not move.
The emperor was perceptive and knew the difference in their status. He seemed to see through her, but did not blame her for her silence. He stopped talking and focused on painting.
In a moment, dark clouds covered the sun again, the light disappeared, the candlelight in the room became bright again, and along with it, the murderous look on Zhao Changning's face that had captivated people also disappeared.
He sighed softly, and said with some regret: "I can't draw the spirit, and my skills have regressed a lot now."
Zhao Changning slowly breathed a sigh of relief, moved his stiff neck and arms, arranged the flowers, and then went to tidy up the emperor's desk.
She looked at the unfinished painting and was stunned for a moment. Although it didn't have the finishing touch, it was still too beautiful, especially after the paint was applied, with black hair and red lips, it didn't look gray at all.
"How about not looking at the eyes?" The emperor picked up the painting and blew it dry.
Zhao Changning pursed his lips. "Your Majesty's paintings are naturally excellent, but I'm not an expert in painting, and I've never painted before, so I don't dare to comment on them."
The emperor shook his head and said softly, "Changning, what I said just now was not to scare you..."
He paused, knowing that his words were pale and powerless, and waved his hand, "Forget it, are you in trouble?"
Zhao Changning knew that this would eventually happen, so he didn't delay and explained everything he had found out.
"...If we directly expose the enclosure, given Gao Yun's high prestige, the court will inevitably be in turmoil. However, if we focus on the Gao family, it won't be that difficult..."
The emperor leaned against the latticed window and watched Zhao Changning pack up carefully. His eyes were like mist and his emotion could not be seen.
"...Prime Minister Gao has many disciples, some of whom have had conflicts in the past. However, these can only be considered as reserves. But there is one type of person we might be able to attract." Zhao Changning chuckled at the emperor. "They love money and sex. If we can attract them, we might be able to break through the Gao family's problems. Once the trend of overthrowing the Gao family is clear, there will naturally be hungry wolves coming to tear it apart. Once this momentum is established..."
She analyzed carefully and found that doing so had many advantages. It could hide her and the emperor, avoid turmoil in the court, and more importantly, if the emperor wanted to change the situation of enclosure in the future, he would have a pretext for doing so.
Therefore, choosing Gao Yun is really a foolproof strategy.
The emperor listened very carefully and nodded from time to time. He smiled at Zhao Changning's calm and rational appearance and was lost in thought for a moment. His father had only let her be a little palace maid, which was really a waste of her talent.
No wonder my father later ignored everyone's opinions and specifically asked her to review the memorials. It shows that he trusts her deeply.
He picked up the white porcelain tea bowl, took a sip, his eyes bright, his thumb wearing a jade ring rubbed back and forth on the edge of the bowl unconsciously, his expression was half-smile, and he looked very relaxed.
Zhao Changning saw that he had stopped moving and quickly lowered his head, "Your Majesty, Changning has been talking too much."
"No, you're right." The emperor put down the porcelain bowl and walked towards her, saying in a relaxed tone, "Since you've been so open and trusting just now, I'll trust you for now. I already have a candidate. He's greedy and lustful, so it shouldn't be difficult to win him over."
Zhao Changning raised her head suddenly and bumped into the emperor's misty eyes. When their eyes met, she quickly turned her head away.
I don’t know how long the emperor has been planning this, but at least it can be seen that he did it much earlier than her. Is he making his attitude clear to her?
Zhao Changning was not blinded by the emperor's so-called trust. Although she was not surprised, she still felt a chill in her heart. Looking at the emperor's slightly smiling and gentle eyes, she felt goosebumps all over her body.
Before he ascended the throne, although Gao Yun and others were planning for the former crown prince, they also had a good relationship with the emperor who was still the fourteenth prince. But when did the emperor make up his mind?
To be more specific, Gao Yun did teach the emperor to read.
However, the result is always the same as hers, just for power, fame and profit.
For a moment, Zhao Changning felt that the two were so similar: alert, restrained, indifferent, yet always testing each other. For this reason, they would say anything, good or bad, as long as they achieved their goal.
Of course, Zhao Changning didn't know when the emperor made up his mind. He just stood straighter and became more respectful.
"Since Your Majesty has chosen someone, I don't have to go through the trouble of looking for one." She said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, should I prepare now?"
The emperor nodded and asked, "Where did you get the evidence about Gao Yun?"
Zhao Changning froze, blinked, and smiled, "Your Majesty, your Nüshu Ling is not completely useless. Don't look down on me like those old men do."
The emperor saw her rarely showing a coquettish look, smiled and shook his head, but at least he did not pursue the matter any further.
After leaving the Qinzheng Hall, Zhao Changning couldn't help but tighten his crane cloak.
Anyi, who was standing nearby, saw this and said, "Auntie, are you feeling cold? These are old cloaks from last year, they're no longer warm. Your status is no longer what it used to be. Should I talk to Xiaoshun and have him make you a new one?"
Zhao Changning looked down at the clean cloak, remembered the question the emperor asked, and nodded slightly.
"Do it, make a few more. It's time to wear new clothes and welcome a new atmosphere in the New Year."
As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. She didn't care about it before, but now she has to care about it.
She stumbled on the snow, the chill in her heart gradually dissipating as she walked, and warmth radiated from her chest, all the way to her back, which had already been soaked.
By the time he warmed up, the fear he had just felt had long since disappeared, replaced by a sense of excitement brought about by the power that was about to be within his grasp.
Even at this point, a mere fifth-rank official without a real job, she could already feel the changes that power had brought to her. It was quietly nourishing every part of her, making her addicted to it and unable to extricate herself.
It was not until the sixth day of the New Year that Yunsheng returned from somewhere. The New Year atmosphere was still lingering, but he had become thinner as if the New Year had not yet passed.
He was a little depressed, and his spirits were not as high as before when he saw his aunt.
Zhao Changning found it funny. "What? Did you find out anything?"
Yunsheng sighed, "Those servants are like gourds with saw-mouths. They are unwilling to speak. When it comes to matters concerning the master's family, they always have something to say. It has cost a lot of money."
"Oh?" Zhao Changning was also a little surprised. "His servants are so well-trained? They didn't reveal anything?"
Yunsheng tilted his head back and thought carefully for a long while. "Apart from those inexplicable and confusing matters in the backyard, there is one thing: does Aunt still remember the young master of the Gao family?"
Zhao Changning thought of the handsome young man, his red clothes fluttering, and nodded, "What happened to him?"
Seeing his aunt's interest, Yunsheng quickly cleared his throat and said, "The young master is actually not the son of the Prime Minister's two sons."
"Ah?" Zhao Changning frowned, "This is unlikely, right?" You can't make up stories about the bloodline of a wealthy family. It might be a concubine's son.
Yunsheng knew that his aunt had misunderstood and quickly explained.
"That's not the case. In Xinyu County, Jiangxi Province, where Chief Minister Gao was from, there was a brother who had no children. So Chief Minister Gao adopted one of his own sons. Later, that son married and took concubines back home, and finally had this little boy when he was quite old. Unfortunately, the boy's mother had a tragic fate and died young. His father remarried and had another child. Perhaps Chief Minister Gao felt sorry for his adopted son and his grandson, and feared he would be tortured by his stepmother, so he brought him to Yujing. That happened many years ago."
Zhao Changning thought about Prime Minister Gao's age. It was indeed many years ago. At least she didn't know the young master's origins and thought he was from which branch of the Gao family.
"It seems that the Gao family's affairs are quite complicated." She thought for a moment, "I should write a letter to Mingqiu and the others to see if there is anything I can do about Prime Minister Gao's adopted son."
Yunsheng rolled his eyes and said, "Aunt, please let me go to Jiangxi. I want to check it out. It's not safe to send a letter."
Seeing his expectant look, Zhao Changning didn't refuse. "Okay, but you have to give Mingqiu a heads-up too. More people means easier work. But there's one thing: you're not allowed to leak any information. If anyone asks you, just say you've been ordered to review the porcelain-making matter."
She added one more warning, "If anyone asks you whose orders you are following, don't tell them clearly. Let them guess."
Yunsheng nodded immediately, "Don't worry, aunt, I saved it. It's best to let them think it was sent by the emperor."
Zhao Changning smiled and shook his head. This kid was indeed smart.
In the fourth year of Cheng'an, after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the days of rest also ended, but the snow had not melted and the weather was still cold, so it was not an easy time.
Nothing major happened during the New Year, except for a small number of disaster victims in Shaanxi and Gansu, and a small rebellion in Yunnan. However, by the time the news reached Yujing, they had already been suppressed. As for natural and man-made disasters, they were all being handled in a stable manner.
A rare year of peace and tranquility.
The emperor was not lazy either. When he received a report, he dealt with it quickly, even more diligently than his ministers.
Zhao Changning was in high spirits. He did not stand in the court, but stayed beside the emperor.
Because it was the first day of court, everyone was quite listless, and it was cold in the palace. Their hands and feet would become frozen if they stood for a while, so the emperor let everyone go back early, which was very considerate of him.
Therefore, only a few people were left to prepare for the small court meeting.
As he did in the past, Zhao Changning personally brought chairs for the elderly. The rosewood chairs were filled with warm cushions filled with goose down, making them extremely soft.
"Thank you, Nv Shu Ling."
"Thank you, Nv Shu Ling."
Everyone thanked me with a smile.
Zhao Changning curled her lips. How could power be bad? After all, when she did this before, she didn't even get a glance, let alone words of gratitude.
"Please take a seat, elders."
Only Zhou Min did not say thank you. Instead, she stood far away from Zhao Changning, watched her walk away, and then carefully went over and sat down.
Zhao Changning was so happy when he saw this. If he had known this would happen, why did he do it in the first place? Why not just mess with her when there are so many other people to mess with?
The emperor exchanged pleasantries with everyone for a while, then discussed state affairs for a while before casually saying, "I remember that the deputy military envoy of Susong has been absent for some time?"
Sun Zhidao said in a muffled voice, "Your Majesty, the position is indeed vacant, but we haven't found a suitable candidate yet. For the time being, Hu Cunzhi, the governor of Susong, will take on the position concurrently."
The emperor hummed softly, "This matter should not be ambiguous. Let the Ministry of War send someone to take up the post as soon as possible."
Sun Zhidao was stunned, but still stood up, "Does the emperor have a choice?"
Ever since those incidents, the cabinet and the emperor have reached a strange balance. When appointing officials, no matter how small the matter is, it has to go through the emperor's approval.
The emperor pondered for a moment and said, "Then let Sun Yao go. He is a hard-working person. Didn't you recommend him?"
Sun Zhidao looked at Gao Yun in confusion. Sun Yao was his grandson. The emperor kept asking him to send an official to help. What was he trying to do?
Gao Yun sat there calmly, motionless, his cloudy old eyes seemed to be closed.
The emperor continued, "The Secretary once told me that the prefect of Nanchang Prefecture is a good one. He was transferred to Zhejiang this year. As for Nanchang Prefecture, we should follow the Prime Minister's recommendation and let Zhao Zhao go. They should all take up their posts as soon as possible."
While pouring tea, Zhao Changning looked at Gao Yun, and seeing that he still had no reaction, he raised his eyebrows slightly.
Really calm.
This Zhao Zhao is indeed greedy for money and lustful, and very easy to win over, but this kind of person is a fence-sitter. It is definitely not possible to rely on him for everything, and even his words cannot be fully believed. But occasionally this kind of person can produce surprising results and can barely be counted as a link.
This shows the emperor's skill. I wonder how long he must have endured and calculated to achieve what he wanted so seamlessly.
Of course, she is indispensable here, and it can only be her.
Zhao Changning thought so and found it ridiculous. She was just like that, or even worse, scheming in every possible way. Why would she laugh at others?
But because of this, she and the emperor had a better understanding of each other.
It was only after the end of the first month of the lunar year that she received a letter from Mingxuan, asking her to take Yunqiu back to his home, as there were some things in the letter that she could read.
The words were vague but suggestive. Zhao Changning keenly thought that it might be the evidence he had collected before.
However, there is no rush about this thing now. It is safer there than with her.
On the other side, Zhao Zhao talked about a lot of things about the Gao family like a bamboo tube pouring beans.
None of the Gao family's sons were particularly outstanding. The only "outstanding" one was the son who was adopted into their hometown.
"I heard that Gao Zhan was extremely spoiled by his family back home, and was raised to be fearless. Plus, with Elder Gao protecting him, he was especially pampered. So he bullied men and women, bullied the people in the market, and committed all kinds of evil..."
Zhao Changning paused here and stopped grinding the ink.
"I've sent people to investigate thoroughly, but there was one case that Zhao Zhao personally handled. He said Gao Zhan had a concubine who was even more brutal than he was. Beating maids to death was common. As for how many maids she beat to death, there's no way of knowing. He said one maid couldn't stand the humiliation and secretly ran to the authorities to report it, but the matter was suppressed."
The emperor's expression was indifferent as he listened. "You haven't managed your family well. Prime Minister Gao is really negligent."
Zhao Changning lowered his eyes. "Yes, if we act this way, we will eventually be exposed. However, since he has been adopted, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to be involved with Prime Minister Gao."
The emperor chuckled, "Changning, human lives can be heavy or light, but as long as interests are involved, they are as heavy as Mount Tai. Someone will stand up."
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