Su Qingyu became more energetic after hearing what he said.
"What do you mean? Is there something else going on?"
Shen Zhixiu said: "The emperor built a palace in the palace, called Taiqing Palace, to enshrine Taoist gods."
"He also employed several Taoist priests and alchemists, who spent their days pondering the art of alchemy and seeking the secret of immortality."
Su Qingyu asked in confusion, "Why is the emperor pursuing the art of immortality?"
Unless someone instigated this kind of thing, it would be difficult for the emperor to even contact a Taoist priest, let alone make elixirs.
Shen Zhixiu sneered and said, "I've checked. Initially, he and the Empress Chen were unable to perform sexually, so the Empress Chen presented him with an elixir. His Majesty was overjoyed after using it. When he heard it was a Taoist elixir, he invited the Taoist priest into the palace."
Su Qingyu asked again, "Didn't the imperial physicians advise against it? Most alchemists are charlatans. How can we easily take their medicine?"
Shen Zhixiu smiled helplessly upon hearing this, "You don't know yet, but Director Liu of the Imperial Hospital has been demoted. The new Director of the Imperial Hospital doesn't dare to advise him. He can only take the Emperor's pulse every day and prescribe some mild health-preserving prescriptions for him."
"The Emperor hasn't been attending court these days, and it's not to pave the way for the Crown Prince. Instead, he's been refining elixirs all day, taking them, and having fun with the Concubine Chen."
Su Qingyu sighed inwardly. No wonder the Third Master was so worried. Given the Emperor's current age, he could still reign for at least a dozen more years.
To put it bluntly, it would be fine if he just went there directly. With the prince's talent, he can stabilize the court.
The scary thing is that he refuses to abdicate and is incompetent and suspicious. This is not a good thing for these powerful families.
There was such an example in the previous dynasty. Because the emperor believed in Taoist elixirs, his favorite concubines were involved in politics and treacherous ministers came to power. In the end, loyal ministers were eliminated and the people suffered misery.
"Don't worry, Third Master. Fortunately, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is capable of handling the affairs of state."
It's better than when the former crown prince was still alive. If the emperor really passed away, no one would know who could take on this important task.
Shen Zhixiu glanced at Su Qingyu's expression and suddenly felt a little guilty. Pearl was getting married today, and she was already feeling upset. He was also upset by what he said.
Thinking of this, Shen Zhixiu stood up and walked to Su Qingyu, holding her in his arms.
Then he changed the subject, "Now that Zhenzhu is getting married, I'm afraid you won't be able to adapt for a while. If the new people you've promoted aren't working for you, tell the housekeeper. If that doesn't work, buy some more people into the house."
Su Qingyu leaned against him and said, "The people below were all trained by Jade. They are sensible and polite. It's just that Jade and Pearl have been with me for many years, and they left suddenly. I'm a little uncomfortable."
Shen Zhixiu gently stroked her cheek with his large palm, intending to spend more time with her these days.
*
It was not until October that the cabinet ministers realized that the emperor's neglect of state affairs was only the beginning.
During this period, the emperor repeatedly intervened in the appointment and dismissal of officials by the Ministry of Personnel and promoted many members of the Jiang family to important positions.
That day, Shen Zhizheng was playing with his son in the study when Wenzhu came in to report that the Crown Prince had arrived.
Su Qingyu was sitting by the window sewing pajamas for Shen Zhixiu. Upon hearing this, she stood up and took Shen Cong, "The Third Master is talking to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I'll take the child to play in the yard first."
When she was carrying the child out of the study, she happened to meet Song Hongshen coming in.
Su Qingyu was about to salute while holding the child, but was stopped by Song Hongshen.
"Third Madam, you are too polite. There are no outsiders here, so there is no need to be polite."
While speaking, he reached out and pinched Shen Cong's face.
After exchanging a few words with Su Qingyu, Song Hongshen entered the study.
When he went in, Shen Zhixiu had already started making tea, which was his favorite Mingqian Longjing.
"Teacher, you still have the leisure to make tea. If you continue like this, I'm afraid you will have to give up your position as the Prime Minister to the Jiang family."
Song Hongshen said jokingly, then sat down opposite Shen Zhixiu.
Shen Zhixiu knew what he was going to say. At the morning court today, the emperor issued an order, asking the second son of the Jiang family to go to Shanxi to supervise the river repairs.
Everyone knew this was a lucrative position. Everyone also knew that the Jiang family's second son was a complete idiot.
Putting a straw bag in such a lucrative position is tantamount to giving the court's money to the Jiang family for free.
If it were just money, it would be fine, but water conservancy is an important matter that will affect future generations, so how can it be treated like a joke?
Shen Zhixiu calmly handed the tea to Song Hongshen and said, "What does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince mean?"
He thought that Song Hongshen's sudden visit was not to complain to him.
I'm afraid I have some ideas and solutions to this matter.
Song Hongshen took the tea, stroking the lines on the edge of the cup with his fingers, and said, "I wrote a memorial. Teacher, can you help me take a look?"
When he was alone with Shen Zhixiu, he never called himself "this palace" and was quite respectful to Shen Zhixiu in his words.
Shen Zhixiu didn't expect that he could write a memorial, so he took it, opened it and started reading.
When reading the memorial, Shen Zhixiu could not hide the admiration in his eyes.
The memorial contained the Crown Prince's opinion on the Emperor's decision to prioritize the Jiang family, analyzing the pros and cons with succinct language. It was to the point, with not a single word of nonsense.
Shen Zhixiu even thought that if there was such a policy essay in the palace examination after the new year, even the top scorer would be able to do it.
After he finished reading, Song Hongshen asked, "Teacher, what do you think? If you think it's acceptable, I will submit the memorial privately tomorrow and have a long talk with the emperor."
Shen Zhixiu put the memorial down and said, "That's inappropriate. The Emperor currently favors Consort Chen and is obsessed with the art of immortality. If Your Highness were to reason with the Emperor now, I'm afraid he wouldn't listen. It would also be bad if father and son ended up at loggerheads."
Song Hongshen did not give up and continued, "But what I said..."
Shen Zhixiu raised his hand to interrupt Song Hongshen, "Your Highness, what you said is naturally reasonable. But have you ever thought about this? His Majesty has been on the throne for twenty years. Doesn't he understand these principles?"
The emperor naturally understood everything, so it would be strange if he would listen to Song Hongshen's lecture at this time.
I'm afraid he might get too angry and think that Song Hongshen has become ignorant of his own limitations after being in power for a few days.
Shen Zhixiu knew what Song Hongshen was worried about, so he said, "Your Highness, don't worry about those people from the Jiang family. Although they all hold important positions, it wouldn't be difficult to strip them of their power."
He hesitated a bit when he said this, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "There is one thing I want to remind Your Highness."
Song Hong was puzzled. "What's the matter?"
Shen Zhixiu tapped the tabletop lightly with his slender fingers and said, "The Crown Prince must be prepared for the worst in this matter."
Song Hongshen was startled, then instantly understood what Shen Zhixiu meant. If the day ever came when he could influence the government, he should be prepared to ascend the throne.
But Song Hongshen smiled helplessly, "Teacher, I actually didn't want to ascend the throne at all."
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