The art of controlling others lies in combining kindness with severity.

After the shock of blood, the lax atmosphere inherited from the previous emperor was swept away, and the remaining court officials all cherished the black gauze hats on their heads and were much more careful when doing their duties.

Yin Chengyu was finally satisfied. After severely punishing a group of officials, he chose to give lenient sentences to the remaining officials of the Shaw party whose crimes were less serious and whose involvement was not serious.

These officials were not the core members of the Shao clan, and the things they had done were not serious, but they could not be ignored. After thinking about it, Yin Chengyu demoted these officials to local positions.

Compared with those officials who were confiscated and executed, the results of these officials were quite good. After this incident, they learned their lesson and if they made achievements in the future, they might be able to return to Beijing.

Officials in the court were either beheaded or demoted. The number of officials in the Imperial Palace was reduced. However, the atmosphere during each grand court meeting was no longer as solemn and oppressive as before. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that His Majesty did not intend to kill them all.

Next, Yin Chengyu promoted a group of diligent and capable officials from the remaining officials to fill the vacancies in the six ministries. The vacancies left by these promoted officials were filled by more than 20 people selected from the Hanlin Academy and the current imperial examination candidates.

After the vacancies were filled, this purge was finally carried out smoothly.

Among this group of promoted officials, the most enviable one was the newly crowned top scholar Xie Pingchuan.

When Xie Pingchuan was in high school, everyone thought he was from a poor family. It was not until Xie Wendao's case was overturned, Yin Chengyu returned the old house to the Xie family, and personally wrote a plaque with the words "Integrity and Honesty" on it that everyone knew that Xie Pingchuan was actually the orphan of the Xie family!

He had already been admitted to the Hanlin Academy, and his talent and learning were obvious to all. Because his father had died unjustly, Yin Chengyu transferred him to the Ministry of Personnel to observe government affairs when he was selecting people from the Hanlin Academy to fill the vacancy.

The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of the appointment, dismissal, examination, promotion, demotion, and transfer of officials, and is the head of the Six Ministries.

After Shao Tian was dismissed, Yin Chengyu promoted Yu Chen, who was formerly the Minister of Works, to the position of Minister of Personnel.

Yu Chen is your Majesty's uncle. Not to mention the great power of the Ministry of Personnel itself, just looking at the relationship between Yu Chen and the current emperor, if you can get a job in the Ministry of Personnel and gain Yu Chen's appreciation, you will have a bright future.

In the previous emperor's reign, not to mention ordinary Jinshi, even the scholars of the Hanlin Academy had to go through the seniority system if they wanted to become officials in the court, or use some connections to get things done. This process would take at least two to three years, and at most three to five years.

Think about it, who didn't have great ambitions when they passed the imperial examinations and entered the government? But after entering the officialdom, their edges were smoothed and their ambitions were extinguished. After they could not see any hope no matter how hard they tried, they could only go with the flow and live a mediocre life.

But now everything is different.

The current emperor is wise and decisive, and knows how to use people well. If you want to move up in this position, you don't need to curry favor with people everywhere, you just need to work diligently to achieve political achievements.

The officials in the court were all eager to take action and their hearts were filled with excitement.

The court officials had a completely new look, and Yin Chengyu was naturally happy to see it.

Seeing that the Wanshou Festival was approaching, he simply took the opportunity to hold a banquet for all his ministers in the Huangji Palace and win over the hearts of the people.

Officials of the fourth rank and above were allowed to bring their families to the palace for the banquet. Yin Chengyu also made an exception and sent food to officials below the fourth rank who were not eligible to attend the banquet, as well as officials on duty in various offices, to show that they could join in the fun. On that day, there was light singing and dancing in the Huangji Palace, and the atmosphere was extremely good.

Yin Chengyu wore imperial robes and sat on the dragon throne, accepting congratulations from all officials.

After three rounds of drinking, when everyone was drunk, Lu Jing, the Grand Academician and Minister of War of Jianji Hall, stood up and said, "Your Majesty has been diligent in governing the country. However, now that you have reached the age of twenty, the harem is in decline and there is no heir. We are always worried. That is why we are brave enough to come on this auspicious day and earnestly ask Your Majesty to choose a concubine and establish a queen, so that you can have more children."

Since Yin Chengyu ascended the throne, there have been many memorials requesting the emperor to take a concubine or establish a queen, but Yin Chengyu suppressed them all.

Perhaps because they had not seen any movement from him, old ministers like Lu Jing could not help but give him advice in person.

The succession of the emperor is related to the foundation of the country, and it is normal for these old ministers to worry. However, Yin Chengyu had already made other plans. So facing the attentive eyes in the palace, he only asked slowly: "How can I take care of my family if the great cause is not accomplished? I take my ancestors as a lesson and do not want to be tied down by the disputes in the harem."

Although he did not specify any names, everyone knew who the "ancestors" he was talking about were.

The late emperor had many concubines in his harem, six princes who grew up to adulthood, not to mention those princes and princesses who died after birth.

But it was precisely because there were too many royal heirs and the previous emperor was confused that in the end, apart from the current emperor who inherited the throne, the only ones left alive were the young fourth and fifth princes.

And what the emperor said now clearly shows that he does not want to follow in the footsteps of the previous emperor.

For a moment, the old ministers who had been giving advice began to hesitate, not knowing whether they should continue giving advice.

The royal heir is certainly important, but the current emperor is not married yet. Once he selects beautiful girls and opens his harem, he will taste the benefits of women and become addicted to them like the previous emperor. What should we do then?

You know, the late emperor was not that absurd when he first ascended the throne!

Yin Chengyu looked around the hall and saw that the ministers were hesitant, so he added fuel to the fire: "I am not yet an adult yet, even if I have an heir and appoint a crown prince early, the son is strong and the father is not weak, which is also a hidden danger. It is too early to talk about the issue of heirs."

The court officials who had been advising the emperor became even more shaken after hearing this.

Your Majesty is indeed too young now. If you had a son early and then appointed a crown prince, when the crown prince reached adulthood, Your Majesty would have been in his forties, which would be the prime of your life.

There was an example in the previous dynasty where the emperor lived a long life but the prince could not wait and wanted to kill his father and usurp the throne.

The already unsteady admonition became even more shaky, and some court officials even quietly sat back down.

Yin Chengyu comforted them, saying, "I know all your concerns. We can discuss this matter again after we have settled the internal and external troubles."

He walked down the steps, and the wavering courtiers followed suit and stopped insisting, sitting back down one after another. They just looked at each other, their emotions were mixed. They were neither happy nor unhappy at the same time.

Yin Chengyu curled his lips in satisfaction when he saw this, glanced at Xue Shu from the side, and then, using his sleeve to cover his eyes, he shook his hand quietly.

——After Lu Jing opened his mouth, Xue Shu’s expression became more and more ugly, and his whole body was tense, like a sword that was eager to be unsheathed.

It was not until Yin Chengyu held his hand that his cold eyes softened slightly. He lowered his eyes and held his hand tightly.

Yin Chengyu hooked his fingers and gently stroked his knuckles with his thumb. Relying on the gauze curtain that prevented people from seeing clearly, he said silently: I didn't break my promise.

He tilted his face slightly, his upturned eyes reflecting the lights in the hall, sparkling and compelling.

His protruding Adam's apple slid up and down. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Xue Shu could not do anything else but hold his hand tighter.

The news of what was happening in the front hall soon spread to the women's seats in the back.

Empress Dowager Yu listened to the female official's whispers and said in confusion: "The emperor said earlier that he already had someone he liked, so why is he not in a hurry now? He is not in a hurry, but the girl can't wait."

Ever since Yin Chengyu let the cat out of the bag last time, Queen Mother Yu has secretly looked at all the women of appropriate age both inside and outside the palace, but no matter how hard she looks, none of them looks like the one her son would love.

Now she heard about the movement in the front hall, and she could no longer hold back, so she said to her personal maid, "Go and call Zheng Duobao."

Zheng Duobao was someone Yin Chengyu personally gave to her when she moved to Ciqing Palace. However, over the years, she hardly interfered with Yin Chengyu's affairs, so naturally she never summoned Zheng Duobao alone.

When Zheng Duobao heard the message from the Empress Dowager's lady-in-waiting, his heart skipped a beat.

When he arrived in front of Empress Dowager Yu, he felt more and more uneasy when he saw her inquiring eyes, but he still had to greet her without showing any sign on his face.

Empress Dowager Yu did not beat around the bush and asked, "You serve the emperor every day, so you should know which girl the emperor likes?"

This sudden question made Zheng Duobao tremble no matter how good his Qi-cultivation skills were, and his cute fat face became distorted.

There is no woman he likes, but there is a eunuch he favors...but how should I explain this?

Zheng Duobao hesitated: "This, this... How could your Majesty let us know about the person you love..."

"You take care of the emperor's daily life, but you've never seen the emperor give any reward to any girl? Or treat any female official differently?" Queen Mother Yu obviously didn't believe what he said.

Zheng Duobao didn't dare to reveal the emperor's affairs, but he didn't dare to make up stories to deceive the empress dowager. In the end, he could only beg for mercy with a bitter face: "Please be lenient, Empress Dowager. This... I really don't know."

He had a tearful face and thought that everyone was there to take care of His Majesty's daily life, so why didn't the Empress Dowager call Xue Shu over to ask about it?

This way he wouldn't have to be fried here.

Queen Mother Yu was of a mild temper. Seeing that he was reluctant to speak, she did not force him. She waved her hand and let Zheng Duobao go.

But he frowned with some worry. Could it be that the woman had some defect that the emperor was hiding and refusing to tell her?

Zheng Duobao, who had escaped a disaster, did not dare to stay for a moment, and after paying his respects, he ran away in a hurry.

When it was evening, he hesitated for a moment, but still reported to Yin Chengyu the Queen Mother's summons.

Yin Chengyu was not unhappy at all. He pondered for a moment and said, "If the Queen Mother asks again next time, you should let her know."

On the contrary, Zheng Duobao was shocked when he heard this, and he confirmed again and again: "Do you really want to tell the truth?"

Yin Chengyu nodded: "I have to let my mother know."

Because of Yin Chengyu's instructions, a few days later when the female official beside Empress Dowager Yu came to him again to ask questions, Zheng Duobao let out the secret.

He did not make it too clear, only saying that His Majesty really did not have a woman he liked, but he often kept Xue Shu, the supervisor of the East Factory, to serve him at night. Xue Shu often went in and out of the emperor's bedroom and would stay with him all night.

This statement is very ambiguous.

It stands to reason that the Dongchang Supervisor is the emperor's confidant, so it is normal for him to be close to the emperor, but Zheng Duobao revealed it at this moment, indicating that Xue Shu is not just a simple "confidant".

It was not uncommon for the palace masters to favor pretty eunuchs out of curiosity. Empress Dowager Yu had lived in the palace for a long time, so she naturally knew the secrets.

But she couldn't connect such a thing with her eldest son who was so chaste. Besides, she had also met Xue Shu, the supervisor of Dongchang, and he had nothing to do with the pretty eunuch. Why did the emperor fall for him?

Queen Mother Yu's face was full of worry and she sighed continuously.

The female official said cautiously, "Perhaps Your Majesty likes it this way?"

This made Empress Dowager Yu even more upset. She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Call Xue Shu to see him."