Wei Tingsi, the eldest son of the Wei family, is nineteen years old and unmarried. He entered officialdom through hereditary privilege and is currently the commander of the Five Cities Military Command, a fifth-rank official.
He was the most valuable fifth-rank official in Dayong, and the Five City Garrison was responsible for the security of the capital.
When talking about the defense of the capital, one cannot ignore the capital's military strength.
The Five City Garrison Commands were responsible for maintaining order in the Imperial City, including guarding the city gates and conducting patrols.
The Imperial Guards were responsible for guarding the palace. Their leader, Qi Xu, was said to be the top martial artist in Dayong, but Zhao Shu had never seen him before.
Besides these two places, there is also a Royal Guard, whose commander, Xu Da, comes from a noble family and is the eldest son of Viscount Xu Xiaoyong.
The Imperial Guard was stationed in the outskirts of the capital, similar to a modern party school. It was an institution that trained military officers, and those who could enter the Imperial Guard were all of extraordinary status.
The Pengcheng Army was also stationed in the suburbs of Beijing. The commander of the Pengcheng Army was different from that of the Weiting Division. The Pengcheng Army's main general, Peng Shouge, had ancestors who were first-rank marshals. When it came to Peng Shouge's generation, he was still a third-rank general.
These are all the people in the open. There is also the Shadow Division, which is directly under the emperor. The Shadow Division is actually a royal assassination squad. No one knows how many there are except the emperor. However, Zhao Shu knew in her previous life that the leader of the Shadow Division was Qin Ji.
Zhao Shu knew of Qin Ji because in her previous life, when she was in the Gu family, she overheard Gu Zhongxuan say that Qin Ji was Wei Tingsi's master.
Wei Tingsi was born into a scholarly family, but he did not become a civil official. Presumably, there is some family scandal that outsiders do not know about.
Otherwise, Wei Tingsi's reputation wouldn't be so bad, and he certainly wouldn't be nineteen years old without a fiancée.
I heard that Wei Tingsi's biological mother died early, and the current Madam Wei is not his biological mother. Moreover, she has no kindness in raising Wei Tingsi. Wei Tingsi was sent away to study by Old Master Wei when he was young and did not return until he was sixteen.
Many people did not understand why Wei Tingsi, a commander of the five cities' troops, was allowed to bring weapons into the palace. They all thought that Emperor Mingde favored and valued this minister, but they did not know that Wei Tingsi was the apprentice of the leader of the Shadow Division.
More importantly, Wei Tingsi has a grudge against his family, I guess. He's not close to powerful families or nobles; without the emperor, he's nothing.
Therefore, he was a confidant of Emperor Mingde.
In retrospect, Zhao Shu was extremely disgusted by Emperor Mingde's actions. His own confidant had allowed others to behave so disrespectfully; the reputation he had earned was simply appalling.
Wei Tingsi is currently enjoying immense prestige. Despite being only a fifth-rank official, he wields immense power and has a notorious reputation. In the future, when Emperor Mingde is vying for power with powerful families, nobles, and princes, he will easily be sacrificed.
Sacrificing a confidant with a bad reputation, yet gaining benefits in return, while others say he rid the people of a scourge.
It's a great deal.
Zhao Shuduo did not have a high opinion of Wei Tingsi.
However, I don't think Emperor Mingde did anything wrong. While I don't find it shameful, I do think that what he did was a good approach.
Now, imperial power is not in his hands alone. The country has only been established for a hundred years, and there have been three emperors. By the time of Emperor Mingde, there are still so many people sharing power. If it were Zhao Shu, she would go crazy too.
After seeing Wei Tingsi off, Zhao Shu leaned back in her chair, thinking about the poor scholars who had made contributions during the process of weakening the power of the princes in her previous life. There were still a few years before the large-scale weakening of the princes was over, and these future meritorious generals could be borrowed and used.
"Princess, Granny Zhong is here." Green Luo lowered her head, moved her feet lightly and cautiously, but she no longer had the fear she used to have, and did not regard Zhao Shu as a monster.
Green Ivy was quite lucky. She had just been transferred to Zhao Shu's Qionghua Courtyard as a third-class maid. When everyone was unwilling to provoke Zhao Shu, she was encouraged to wake her up. Coincidentally, the reborn Zhao Shu woke up and naturally did not punish her.
Now, Granny Guo is practically being "supported" by Zhao Shu. The eight maids were recently sold off by Zhao Shu. After her rebirth, Zhao Shu is in no hurry to provide herself with servants, nor does she get angry because Prince Yong is unreliable. As a result, Green Luo is receiving the monthly salary of a third-class maid while doing the work of a first-class maid.
Moreover, there are eight of them.
In recent days, the once easily frightened bird has gradually become bolder.
"Please invite Granny Zhong in." Zhao Shu sat up straight, always striving to be a proper royal princess in front of the servants.
That's something she doesn't intend to change.
Green Ivy bowed her head and retreated. Not long after, a group of people led by Granny Zhong arrived outside the study. The study was an important place, so Granny Zhong did not let anyone in.
"Is something wrong with Grandmother?"
In fact, she had already guessed what was going on. Her gaze passed over Granny Zhong and she looked at the ten people behind her one by one: eight beautiful palace maids and two spirited eunuchs.
Granny Zhong curtsied and said with a kind smile, "This servant greets the Princess. The Empress Dowager has instructed me to send a few people to the Princess."
She stepped aside, and the ten people behind her knelt down and kowtowed to Zhao Shu, saying, "This servant greets the Princess, may the Princess be well."
"Princess, these are early spring, midsummer, late autumn, late winter, Xin Chou, Xin Mao, Xin Wei, Xin You, Xiao Guo Zi, and Xiao Zhu Zi. When the Empress Dowager heard that the maids had not served well, she was heartbroken and immediately ordered the Imperial Household Department to select maids for you. After they were selected, they were trained for a few days before being sent here, just in case you were wronged."
Granny Zhong introduced each of the palace maids and eunuchs to Zhao Shu. They all had one thing in common: their smiles were exceptionally gentle, like a warm spring breeze, making people feel comfortable.
Zhao Shu wasn't stupid. Zhong Mama's words conveyed a message: First, these palace maids and eunuchs, regardless of their previous status, were no longer. They were now just her servants, and it was her business what rank they were given.
Secondly, if they are not satisfied with the product, they can be sold. After all, these are all carefully selected individuals without any special backgrounds, so there is no fear of offending the Imperial Household Department if they are sold.
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