Chapter 519 Zhu Lan Returns to the Court
From the palace gate to outside the Golden Palace, the nearby court officials saw that the veteran figures of the Dong and Li families actually came hand in hand, and for a moment they thought they were seeing things.
After the roll call, the ministers lined up according to their official rank and waited to enter the palace.
As a regent appointed by the emperor, he should naturally stand at the head of all the ministers.
Li Lie walked towards the second seat very consciously, but he didn't expect that Dong Ye, who was old and could barely walk steadily, was extremely agile at this moment and actually stood there before him.
Dong Ye even turned sideways and gave Li Lie the front seat with a smile.
Li Lie's face changed immediately.
What does this old man want to do?
Could it be that he wanted to set a trap for himself, trick himself into becoming the chief minister, and then accuse himself of a crime of usurpation when His Majesty returns to the capital?
How could I let him succeed with such a trick!
Li Lie showed Dong Ye an extremely kind and humble smile, and stretched out his foot, actually stepping between Dong Ye and the minister behind him.
While Dong Ye was stunned, Li Lie had already "cut in line" and stood behind him, looking at him with a smile.
The minister who was originally standing behind Dong Ye was originally in a daze with his head down, but he was inexplicably stepped on by someone and was pushed back a bit. He raised his head in dissatisfaction, but when he saw that it was Weiguogong Li Lie, he closed his mouth in dissatisfaction and silently went to squeeze the person behind him.
"Duke Weiguo, what are you doing?" Dong Ye was a little anxious and was about to pull Li Lie to stand in front of him.
Li Lie also grabbed his arm, and the two of them shook hands at the head of the queue, attracting the attention of all the ministers.
At this moment, the door of the Golden Palace slowly opened, and a shrill and loud voice was heard, announcing all officials to come to the emperor's house.
Duke Weiguo took the opportunity to push Dong Ye and firmly occupied the second position.
Dong Ye wanted to say something else, but it was too late. He could only lead the way into the Golden Palace nervously, cursing the Duke of Weiguo for his insidiousness in his heart.
Since Yan Xiuyun was not there, the throne on the golden palace was naturally empty.
At the lower left side of the dragon throne, there was a smaller chair specially set up. The eight-year-old Crown Prince Yan Ning was sitting on it with his little face, looking down at the civil and military officials in the court with some nervousness.
Fortunately, the Grand Tutor had taught him the procedures of the court meetings many times in advance, and he had memorized them clearly.
"Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince—"
After all the ministers finished cheering, they stood up. Zhang Lun, the Minister of Finance, stepped forward and said:
"Your Highness, I have something to report. Lu Mian, the Minister of Revenue, felt guilty of negligence in the loss of Qingzhou's disaster relief grain.
Although Your Majesty did not blame him, Minister Lu was uneasy day and night. He asked to be removed from the post of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and recommended a new candidate, who has now passed the assessment of the Ministry of Personnel.
This person is called Xiao Wan, a Jinshi graduate, and was originally the director of the Ministry of Revenue. He has worked in the Ministry of Revenue for many years, has outstanding abilities, and has made remarkable achievements, so he is qualified to take on this important task. "
Yan Ning coughed twice in a very formal manner and asked for the opinions of the two regent ministers, Dong Ye and Li Lie.
Dong Ye nodded, indicating that he had heard of the name of Xiao Zhushi from the Ministry of Revenue before.
She was a ruthless person who single-handedly lowered the working hours of the entire Ministry of Revenue. Moreover, since she took over the Duzhi Bureau, the allocation of money and grain in the entire Ministry of Revenue has been planned in an orderly manner, and even the national treasury has become abundant. She is indeed a rare talent.
Li Lie frowned. He had actually heard a long time ago that Minister Lu of the Ministry of Revenue intended to resign, and he had also arranged for Li's children to take over the position.
It wouldn't be okay if Xiao Wan suddenly showed up and interfered.
Li Lie glanced at Dong Ye. Even if the golden seal was not in his hands, he had to fight for it!
So he said:
"Your Highness, that Xiao is only in her twenties and has too little experience. How can she be qualified to be a minister? Even if she is qualified, how can she convince the public at her age?"
A faint voice floated from behind, it turned out to be Zhao Sicheng, the Minister of Works.
"Duke Weiguo, whether you can convince the people depends on your real talent and knowledge.
If what you said is true, that the older you are, the more capable you are, then wouldn't it be more suitable to be an official than most of the people present if we just randomly picked a white-haired old beggar from outside the palace?"
Li Lie was choked by this and glared back angrily. When he saw it was Zhao Sicheng, he was unable to refute for a moment.
After all, this man was only in his early twenties, but he had already reached the position of Minister. Moreover, everyone in the Ministry of Works admired him. Even the current emperor repeatedly praised the Ministry of Works for being indispensable to Minister Zhao.
Li Lie and Dong Ye each insisted on their own opinion and neither of them gave in, so they finally had to turn their attention to Yan Ning.
Yan Ning remembered what the Grand Tutor had taught him, sat up straight and said:
"Since the two assistant ministers have different opinions, we should listen to the opinion of the chief assistant."
After these words were spoken, Li Lie and Dong Ye fell silent.
The two glared at each other, both feeling helpless and unwilling to accept it.
Yan Ning looked at Manager Zhao and asked, "Have they arrived?"
Chief Steward Zhao said softly, "Just arrived, waiting outside the palace."
Yan Ning nodded.
Manager Zhao stood up and said loudly:
"Xuan Yushi Zhongcheng Zhu Lan——"
The voice echoed in the Golden Palace, and many ministers showed surprise on their faces.
Even Dong Ye and the other two were stunned. When he heard Zhu Lan's name, Dong Ye couldn't help but smile with relief.
But Li Lie's expression suddenly became extremely bad.
Wasn’t this Zhu girl exiled to Lingnan? Why did she come back?
And...why is he still the Chief Censor?!
Why! ! !
Li Lie looked back with a look of shock and anger, and saw a red figure coming against the light. He was gentle and dignified, with calm eyes and eyebrows, and his demeanor was no less than before.
Zhu Lan had a faint smile on his lips. He walked slowly to the center of the Golden Palace, bowed and said:
"Your humble servant Zhu Lan pays respect to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. May His Royal Highness live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years..."
Her voice was clear, like a cool breeze in summer, blowing clearly into the ears of everyone in the hall.
Yan Ning asked her to stand up, and then said:
“Before my father went to war, he left behind an order.
Chief Steward Zhao, please announce the decree."
Manager Zhao stepped forward, holding an imperial edict in his hand, and read out:
"The Emperor proclaimed:
I have heard that the great virtue of heaven and earth lies in the harmony of heaven and earth; the rise and fall of a country depends on the harmony between the ruler and his subjects. Now I want to personally lead the six armies to quell the rebellion and bring peace to the country.
In the past, the Chief Censor Zhu Lan was a man of both talent and strategy, but he temporarily left the imperial court due to a mistake. However, he was devoted to the country, and I, mindful of his contributions, specially ordered his reinstatement to his original post, and he continued to serve as Chief Censor.
During the period when the crown prince was regent, state affairs were heavy and needed wise ministers to consult with him, so Zhu Lan was specially granted a golden seal for assisting in government affairs, with which he could participate in the decision-making of state affairs to ensure peace in the world.
You should know that although I am away on a long expedition, my heart is still with you. I hope you will perform your duties conscientiously and live up to my trust. "
Zhu Lan kowtowed and accepted the order to express his gratitude.
A young eunuch came forward, holding a tray with a golden seal on it!
When Li Lie and Dong Ye saw the golden seal, they looked at each other subconsciously and then they understood.
Dong Ye laughed softly and said, "It seems that I have some misunderstandings about the Duke of Wei today. I am really sorry."
When Dong Ye was the academician of the Hanlin Academy, Zhu Lan could be considered half his student. Now that he saw her becoming famous again and surpassing her teacher, Dong Ye was naturally pleased.
Li Lie, who was standing by, almost bit his teeth off.
It was not easy to get Zhu out of the capital, but he didn't expect that less than two years later, she came back and even climbed over his head.
Isn’t Lingnan a cold, poor and barren place? Why didn’t she die there!
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