Chapter 030 Traitor 30
Minister Fan had barely stepped out of the palace gate when a palace attendant arrived with a report: "Your Majesty, the Empress requests an audience."
Just when she felt a little relieved, Emperor Xiaozhi turned a deaf ear to her words. The palace maids had no choice but to bite the bullet and report it again. After all, the three giants in the palace were not joking.
The court is divided into four factions. One is the Yun family, headed by the Queen Mother. They have deep roots in the aristocratic family and firmly occupy important positions in the court. In recent years, they have tended to interfere in the military.
The second group was the royal family of the Empress's faction. In this dynasty, it was common to marry cousins to consolidate power. Emperor Xiaozhi's initial accession to the throne was not entirely legitimate, but his marriage to the daughter of Princess Wenhui, the daughter of the previous emperor's sister, secured his position.
The Empress represented the interests of the imperial clan, including Prince De and Grandmother, all of whom were paternal descendants of Emperor Xiaozhi. Her ascension to the throne was inseparable from their approval. After all, their lineage lasted as long as the dynasty, allowing them to rival the aristocratic families and thus serving as a balance between them.
This is also the reason why Emperor Xiaozhi specially conferred the title of Princess Yongfu on her - in addition to having helped him avoid disaster, it was also to win over Prince Cheng.
The third faction is the neutral faction, which is also the smallest faction. Most of them are upright and pedantic old stubborn people.
The last one is Emperor Xiaozhi's own royalist party. Because his biological mother was blessed with good fortune and his maternal grandfather was a general who protected the country, Emperor Xiaozhi also had military power in his hands. This was one of the factors that enabled him to fight his way out among the princes and ascend to the throne.
Now that the prince has grown up, no one can publicly reveal who each faction supports. After all, the world has always emphasized the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. With the crown prince still in power, who would dare to tear their relationship apart and say he is unworthy of the position? As for their private intentions, that is a matter of opinion.
Therefore, even though Emperor Xiaozhi was the emperor, he was not the only one in power.
After the palace servant repeated what he had said, Eunuch Tao rebuked him, "Your Majesty is busy with court affairs. How could you, a dog servant, be so blind? The Empress is always kind and virtuous. Would she eat you?"
The palace maid said "yes" and was about to bow her head and leave, but she saw that Emperor Xiaozhi seemed to have just noticed and said slowly: "Tell the Queen that I will go to look for her after I finish dealing with state affairs."
This queen is becoming more and more restless.
Outside the palace, Empress Rong was wearing a stone-blue robe with black patterns and gold edges, and the gold thread and kingfisher feathers made her look particularly graceful and luxurious.
The palace maid came to report, but saw that the queen did not show any sadness or joy. She left the palace surrounded by the palace maids.
In Kunning Palace, Aunt He poured Empress Rong a cup of tea and gently advised, "My Lord, why are you doing this? You know His Majesty won't see you, so why are you doing this?"
Everyone knew that His Royal Highness was merely being exploited, and no matter what he did, he was always reprimanded. As the saying goes, if you want to accuse someone of something, you can always find a pretext.
As long as Emperor Xiaozhi wants to punish His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he will always have a reason.
Queen Rong sniffed the tea lightly, her behavior dignified and proper, as if she had measured it with a ruler and had not overstepped the boundaries.
"Of course, it depends on what your Majesty's intentions are."
The couple had lived together for decades, and no one understood Emperor Xiaozhi better than her.
This person seems to be infatuated but also ruthless. He is also infatuated because no one can surpass him.
Had he married the daughter of the Grand Tutor, childhood sweethearts, for power? And then, after becoming emperor, he even tried to cover up his mistake by promoting Jin Changzai. Who among the concubines in the palace didn't know about the past of these two? Did he really think everyone else was foolish? Did he really think that not promoting her meant he wasn't favored?
Little did they know that folk stories had already used this trick to death, saying that not being promoted was the best protection. It was really laughable! I don't know if it was stupid or foolish, but the best protection for Concubine Jin was to never enter the palace. Emperor Xiaozhi's move was just a fig leaf to impress himself, to torture others, and to satisfy his own desires!
Everyone else thought that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was the most likely to become the heir to the throne, followed by the seemingly dandy but actually intelligent Eighth Prince. However, what she cared about was not the threat posed by the Eighth Prince, but the Fifth Prince!
Even though Emperor Xiaozhi has punished the Fifth Prince many times, what if he plans to use the same trick again?
The reason she went there today was not to plead for the prince, but because she had other plans.
Recalling the brisk steps of Minister Fan when he left the palace, and thinking of the news from the Ministry of Rites, Empress Rong's eyes darkened.
It seems that His Majesty cannot tolerate the Queen Mother's overreach.
-
While trends are surging in the capital, Chongshan Academy is enjoying a peaceful and quiet life.
At this time, the sound of reading was heard. The gatekeeper of the academy came to report: "Xiao Yan, who is Xiao Yan?"
The students seemed to sense something and stopped, and even the disturbed teacher's face could not help but show joy, but he still kept a stern face and asked: "Why are you so reckless?"
The doorman apologized and then said, "Someone from the Xiao family came to say that Mr. Baoxi has arrived!"
In addition to announcing the successful candidates on the list, the yamen also had runners specifically responsible for announcing the good news. These people were generally called "Mr. Announcing Good News" and they would announce the good news in order of ranking.
In other words, if nothing unexpected happens, Xiao Yan should be the first in the government case!
The Master nodded to Xiao Yan, signaling him to leave on his own, and then shouted to the others, "Silence! Such a noisy scene is unbecoming!"
Having said that, the slightly raised corners of his lips already revealed his inner emotions.
It wasn't that the teacher was showing any favoritism, but rather that the academy's teacher already knew the family situation of this "favored student." He had won first place in the prefectural examination, yet his family had no master's family. Since Mr. Baoxi represented the county government, he naturally couldn't be neglected.
When Xiao Yan walked to the door, Xie Zhu, as expected, said with a smile, "Congratulations, young master, on winning first place in the palace exam!"
Xiao Yan did not delay any longer and rushed home.
From afar, the yamen runners at the Xiao family's gate were beating gongs, and neighbors came to watch the fun. Xie Cao also bought wedding candies and cakes to distribute. When the yamen runners congratulated Xiao Yan, she also found a thick amount of wedding money wrapped in red paper and stuffed it into the yamen runners' pockets.
When the yamen runner received the wedding money, he knew its significance without even having to weigh it. He smiled so hard that his teeth were showing and congratulated repeatedly.
"Please come in and have some tea," Xiao Yan said politely.
The yamen runner waved his hand: "No, no, we have to hurry to the next house."
A colleague behind him nudged the boss's elbow and whispered, "The second one, Xiao Chen, is also from this family!"
The head of the yamen runners asked in surprise, "Who are you, Xiao Chen?"
Xiao Yan said modestly, "Xiao Chen is my younger brother, and I am still studying in the academy."
As she spoke, Xie Cao stuffed in another portion of wedding money, this one was for Xiao Chen.
The yamen runners had never expected that this family of brothers would take both the first and second place, and even receive double the amount of wedding money. Their expressions immediately became more respectful.
This brother is quite capable, and it seems his future cannot be underestimated. It is always a good idea to have a nicer attitude.
After some pleasantries, Xiao Yan asked, "My Lords, if a student from another county were to enroll in our county, would the good news belong to our county or the other county?"
Xiao Yan was asking about Mu Feng.
For the previous county examination, Mu Feng went back to his county to register for the exam. However, when the yamen runner announced the good news, the Mu family didn't give any wedding money, not even any wedding candies or cakes. They even drove him out with a cold face. Mu Feng was worried that the Mu family would offend the yamen runner because of this, and he was distressed for a long time, but there was nothing he could do.
Xiao Yan briefly explained the situation, and the yamen runner replied thoughtfully, "Matters concerning the announcement of good news naturally fall under the jurisdiction of the household registration office."
After all, each county has its own magistrate, and the political achievements belong to different people, so naturally they cannot be the same.
"But if that's the case, there's a solution."
Seeing this, Xiao Yan calmly stuffed some silver into the yamen runner's pocket. The runner then replied, "They say filial piety is greater than heaven, but a teacher's orders are equally important. If you accept your teacher's name, the problem will naturally be solved."
As the saying goes, a gentleman has his own way, and a villain has his own way. Yamen runners often interact with people of all different identities, and naturally understand more than others because they see more.
Therefore, the money Xiao Yan spent was worth it.
Xiao Yan accepted the instruction and said, "Thank you for your guidance, sir."
The yamen runner waved his hand and said, "It's just a small favor, not worth mentioning."
After a few more pleasantries, Xiao Yan didn't delay any longer and returned to the academy to talk to Mu Feng. After a moment of contemplation, Mu Feng bowed to Xiao Yan and said, "Thank you for your concern, Brother Yan."
Mu Feng acted quickly and found a teacher for himself almost on the same day. The teacher was none other than Master Wei, who had acted as their guarantor before.
He had a kind face but a wicked heart, and he and the straightforward Master Wei got along well. He was grateful for Master Wei's daily support, and Master Wei admired his talent and couldn't bear to see such a talented student waste time. The two hit it off immediately, and after returning home that day, they held a banquet, calling each other master and apprentice, and even invited the headmaster to be a witness.
Of course, Xiao Yan and Xiao Chen were also invited.
In this provincial examination, Mu Feng ranked third. He planned to wait three years before taking the exam. Xiao Yan and Xiao Chen naturally had to continue taking the exam, so they studied harder than before, and also welcomed the birth of Xiao Yan's body.
At the same time, the business of Aunt Zhao, Chen Zhilan, and even the brocade shop was suppressed by the cloth shop. What's more, some people even imitated their embroidery and pretended to cause trouble. After careful questioning, they found out that it was the Guan family who took action.
Aunt Zhao, after taking over the business, had learned a great deal about the laws of the dynasty from the influence of Xiao Yan and his brothers. She was immediately furious and said, "How can this be! If we tolerate such a sinister and despicable person, wouldn't we only encourage their arrogance?"
Chen Zhilan shook her head. "This plan is feasible, but our reputation has already been damaged. It's far from a long-term solution."
Shopkeeper Pan nodded. "The only problem now is that no one will do business with my cloth shop while the Guan family is around."
The main issue is supply.
This is the case of a good cook being unable to cook without rice.
Xiao Chen clenched his fists, not knowing what he was thinking. Xiao Yan said, "How difficult is this? It all depends on whether you are willing to give up your own interests."
Chen Zhilan's eyes lit up, and she immediately asked, "Brother Yan, please tell me in detail."
"As the saying goes, the people should not fight against the officials. The Guan family is simply greedy for embroidery work. As long as the profits are used to do good deeds for the county magistrate, how can the Guan family hinder it? Even if the Guan family is lawless, they can't challenge the county magistrate, right?"
The most important thing is to do with political performance.
Generally, local officials serve a three-year term. The county magistrate has been in this small place for decades. Is he reluctant to leave? Of course not!
Official positions in the court are all assigned to specific positions, and even if a position is available, it is not the county magistrate's turn to fill it. If you have political achievements, do you still have to worry about not being able to move up to a higher position?
Chen Zhilan frowned and asked, "I'm afraid the magistrate won't be moved by such a small profit."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
