Chapter 342 Memorials
"Where is Your Majesty taking me? I'm staying at Fengyi Palace today. Those more than a hundred people haven't been settled yet, and there are other palaces that don't have masters right now. How to allocate the servants is all waiting for me to handle."
Wen Zhiming has too many affairs to handle in the imperial court, so she can't help him much. At least she should make sure everything in the inner palace is in order so as not to cause Wen Zhiming any trouble.
It's hard to say what will happen in the future, but as empress for a day, she must do her job well.
Wen Zhiming pulled her along as they walked, explaining, "The former empress's power has been undermined. All matters in the harem are now handled by the eunuchs and two nannies who were close to the former empress. Eunuch Chu is dead, and I have sent people to have those two nannies organize the account details in the last two days. They will then be given to you for review. So it won't make a difference if you spend half a day. Empress, please accompany me to deal with the memorials first."
His power-hungry uncle, despite having a large harem and numerous concubines, firmly controlled all affairs of the court and the harem, treating the empress like a puppet. Upon learning of his death, she was not saddened but rather delighted.
It is truly tragic that the emperor and his wife have come to this.
He not only wanted to hand over all the power in the harem to Meng Lingge, but he also hoped that Meng Lingge could learn more about the affairs of the court, discuss matters with him, and advance and retreat together.
"Your Majesty, I will handle the memorials?" Meng Lingge was intrigued; she was extremely curious about the contents of those officials' memorials.
Her father, Meng Xingyuan, never showed her a single glance when he wrote memorials to the emperor, saying that such matters were to be presented to the emperor and should not be leaked.
The more he forbade her to see it, the more she wanted to see it. Meng Xingyuan was easy to talk to about other things, but he was very insistent on this matter. No matter how long she cried, he would never let her see the contents.
Now Wen Zhiming not only lets her see, but also lets her handle it together, which is really satisfying her curiosity.
Meng Lingge refused because she lacked a solid foundation.
"This is against the rules. The court officials already have many grievances against me, and I'm afraid they will impeach me for interfering in politics while in the harem..."
Wen Zhiming put his arm around her waist, his voice low and deep, "I am the Emperor, and what I say is the rule. If they impeach me, I will deal with it. Besides, the memorials in the Hall of Diligent Governance are piling up like mountains. If the Empress doesn't help me, I'm afraid I won't be able to finish reviewing them even after several nights in a row. Perhaps I will die young in a few days..."
"Your Majesty, please be careful with your words." Meng Lingge quickly covered his mouth: "I will go then. Please don't curse yourself."
Upon hearing her agreement, Wen Zhiming immediately beamed with joy: "With the Empress caring for me, I will surely live a long life. However, this means my Empress will have to work hard."
"Alright." Meng Lingge turned and walked ahead. "Instead of wasting time like this, you might as well get to the Hall of Diligent Governance and approve one more memorial."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Wen Zhiming followed behind, laughing and joking.
Seeing the emperor and empress's affection, the palace maids and eunuchs consciously stepped back a few paces, keeping a small distance from Meng Lingge and Wen Zhiming.
When they arrived at the destination, Meng Lingge realized that Wen Zhiming's claim of a mountain of memorials was not just a ploy to elicit her sympathy; the two large stacks of memorials in front of the desk in the Qin Zheng Hall were indeed taller than a person.
It's likely that these officials had long suffered under the previous emperor, with too many unresolved political issues, and they placed high hopes on Wen Zhiming upon his ascension. Or perhaps they wanted to leave a good impression on the new emperor by writing some policies beneficial to the country, demonstrating their sincerity in serving the nation and its people.
No wonder Wen Zhiming has been returning to the Prince of Anshun's mansion almost every night since late these past few days. Thinking of this, Meng Lingge couldn't help but feel sorry for Wen Zhiming. She first instructed the servants to serve him tea according to his taste.
She then sat quietly next to Wen Zhiming and began to look through the memorials. Wen Zhiming told her to read them through first, pick out the important ones and put them on the table, and put the unimportant ones aside.
Meng Lingge thought that since it was a memorial to the throne, it must be something important to send to Wen Zhiming. How could it be anything unimportant?
You won't believe it until you see it, and what you find will shock you.
This memorial contains all sorts of absurd and astonishing things, and indeed, most of them are unimportant.
There were flattering remarks about the new emperor's ascension to the throne, the auspicious omens that appeared at the time and place, and the condemnation of the previous emperor for his absurdity and numerous heinous acts. There were even local officials who, unaware that Wen Zhiming was unwilling to take a concubine, were still advising the emperor to hold a selection of concubines as soon as possible...
Having seen many similar cases, Meng Lingge could generally guess the rest of the content after reading just a few sentences. The descriptions, which varied widely, mostly concerned officials from other regions. The officials from the capital mainly raised issues regarding the handling of the former emperor's relatives. Some demanded that the relatives be completely eradicated, while others argued that since the new emperor had granted amnesty upon his ascension to the throne, these people should also be treated leniently.
Meng Lingge separated the two memorials with different viewpoints and found that those who demanded a complete eradication of the problem far outnumbered those who pleaded for leniency.
In fact, the former emperor was very powerful and wealthy. Although his concubines and children enjoyed wealth and honor, they had no real power and had no grudges against these officials. It is unknown why so many officials wanted to kill them.
Wen Zhiming, however, already understood. "Many people are good at judging others by their own standards. They think that I hate the former emperor and naturally want to avoid future troubles. The reason they do this is simply to tell me that they have no connection with the former emperor's people and to prove their loyalty with the lives of the former emperor's relatives."
"When a new emperor ascends the throne, those with literary talent sing praises, those with conscience discuss policies for the people's livelihood and governance, and those with ability fulfill their duties. Those with nothing can only guess at the emperor's thoughts and cater to his preferences, protecting their own safety by stepping on the corpses of others."
After Wen Zhiming became emperor, he had already killed eight officials, leaving many positions vacant in the court. Knowing that these officials were selfish and useless, and unable to find enough suitable replacements for the time being, he could only remember their names and make plans for the future.
Upon hearing this, Meng Lingge asked, "But there are as many as a hundred former imperial relatives, some of whom are also imperial relatives. Keeping them imprisoned indefinitely is not a long-term solution. Do you have any plans?"
"The youngest of those concubines is in their teens, while the oldest is already in their fifties or sixties. Those who want freedom will be released, and those who have nowhere to go or do not wish to leave will be given a palace to live in, so they can keep each other company and enjoy their old age. The difficult ones are the former princes and princesses..."
Wen Zhiming said, "I originally wanted to release them from the palace, or choose a few fiefdoms for them to live a peaceful life, but the capable former princes were eliminated by the former emperor long ago, and the rest are all cowards and timid people, none of whom can be used."
When the courtiers advised against letting the tiger return to the mountain, the remaining princes were all cowardly and lazy. Wen Zhiming suspected that they would starve to death if they were released, and he was worried that they would not be able to defend even if they were given a fief.
This is really a difficult situation.
Upon hearing this, Meng Lingge's thoughts differed from Wen Zhiming's.
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