Chapter 194 Compromise
Xiao Qing blurted out, "You're getting married?"
Fu Mingyi bowed to Xiao Qing, saying, "It is not your subject who wishes to marry, but Your Majesty."
Xiao Qing then understood.
"You guessed it all along?"
"There's no need to guess. Throughout history, emperors who ascended the throne as children would get married before assuming full power, to show that they were capable of taking on the responsibilities of the country and the world."
He unfolded the scroll on the table a little more, laid each page flat, and then examined it carefully.
"The young lady of the Li family is indeed gentle and lovely, but she is somewhat weak-willed."
Xiao Qing glanced at him, then walked around from behind to his side, tilting her head to look at him.
"Don't you think there's something wrong with this?"
Xiao Qing found it unbelievable. Fu Mingyi was actually looking at these pictures of beautiful women seriously!
What is he thinking?!
"I do not see any problem with it."
Fu Mingyi then looked at the next document. “Your Majesty will eventually assume personal rule, and once you do, the first thing you must do is get married. There are no elders in the palace, but the imperial relatives are still alive. They will choose consorts for Your Majesty. What I can do is try my best to let Your Majesty know what kind of people the consorts I will choose.”
Xiao Qing reached out and covered the painting he was looking at with one hand, his expression becoming increasingly serious.
"This is ridiculous."
Fu Mingyi finally looked over.
"How can something that is inevitable be ridiculous?"
Xiao Qing looked at him strangely, feeling like she was going crazy.
Fu Mingyi, don't you have any idea how ridiculous this is?
"What if we do this now and it gets discovered later? This kind of thing... this kind of thing..."
That's absolutely impossible!
Just think about all the trouble that's coming!
Fu Mingyi looked at him and said, "That's why this candidate is so important."
"What I mean is, we don't need to choose anyone. As long as we don't choose concubines, wouldn't that solve the problem?"
"If we escape today, and we escape tomorrow, can we escape the day after tomorrow?"
“Then I won’t rule personally. If I don’t rule personally, there won’t be a need to select concubines, right?” Xiao Qing said shamelessly.
Fu Mingyi was helpless.
"Your Majesty, some things cannot be avoided. Since we have encountered them, we can only try to find a way to solve them."
"Your so-called solution is to cater to their ideas and choose concubines for me?"
Xiao Qing felt that there had been a communication problem between her and Fu Mingyi.
“Your Majesty, I am not pandering to them, but I also hope that Your Majesty can rule in your own right. Your Majesty is already thirteen years old. Although you are getting married now, if Your Majesty is unwilling, the matter of the concubines serving you in bed can be postponed for three years. This will not have a great impact on Your Majesty.”
"Has the Grand Tutor considered how to explain today's selection of concubines once the matter is exposed? How to face these women who were chosen in the prime of their lives to waste their youth in the palace?"
Fu Mingyi stared at her for a long while, then smiled.
"Your Majesty, isn't the last sentence the one you're actually considering?"
Xiao Qing calmed herself down and said, "I'm only talking about the issues I've considered, not just the last sentence."
Fu Mingyi composed himself. "Your Majesty, have you ever considered why these ministers would propose selecting consorts for Your Majesty?"
"Naturally, it's for the purpose of taking control of the government." Does such an obvious thing need to be said?
Fu Mingyi shook his head.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider."
Perhaps it was because Fu Mingyi's expression was too serious and too calm.
Xiao Qingzhen calmed down and thought about it.
They must have considered taking power themselves.
As for choosing a concubine...
As Fu Mingyi just mentioned, the selection of personnel is very important.
"His Majesty is growing up and will have his own ideas and style of doing things. At that time, it will not be enough for His Majesty to only have control over the court."
Fu Mingyi clearly doesn't like to avoid problems.
"This step was bound to be taken sooner or later, so we might as well take it now to avoid being passive later on."
Actually, there's another issue that Fu Mingyi didn't explicitly state.
Although the relationship between the ruler and his subjects was one of control and being controlled, there was a tacit understanding and a game of strategy between them.
Not only do rulers need to control both the court and the inner court, but ministers also often need to find a balance between these two areas.
Fu Mingyi knew Xiao Qing's situation, yet he still accepted it, which meant he had thought far ahead.
An emperor cannot remain without taking concubines for his entire life. He also hoped that Xiao Qing would assume personal rule soon.
Besides the reasons mentioned earlier, he also needed to gradually detach himself from the state of handling affairs for the emperor and then do more of his own things.
For example, he needs to take action against the Fu family.
Xiao Qing vaguely thought of something, but in the end, only one thought remained in his mind—it's over, things have come to this point, and there's no turning back.
Although he considered it a ridiculous and potentially disastrous thing.
But as long as she remains in this position, she must be prepared to maintain the facade for a long time and adapt to all kinds of normal operations.
Fu Mingyi was right about one thing.
If something is bound to happen sooner or later, preparing in advance always gives you more initiative.
Fu Mingyi knew that Xiao Qing had compromised.
"There are a few candidates Your Majesty should consider..."
Xiao Qing arrived in a hurry, but left leisurely.
The carriage moved slowly along the wide official road of Nanhua City, and she sat in the carriage, pondering deeply.
Once she is chosen as a concubine, if she wants to extricate herself from the situation without making her time in power a laughing stock in the eyes of the world, it would be impossible unless the real "Xiao Qing" returns or Fu Mingyi finds a better substitute.
Three years.
If her identity is unfortunately exposed during these three years, she will have to find a way to properly settle the girls she selected as a temporary measure.
Fu Mingyi mentioned several candidates, but she didn't plan to choose any of them.
She calmed herself down and looked back, showing no signs of panic.
Seeing her in such a state, Mingxiu felt much more at ease.
However, she assumed that Fu Mingyi had provided some solutions that did not require selecting concubines, and she was unaware that Xiao Qing had already accepted this matter.
Until the Winter Solstice Banquet, Xiao Qing left a woman in the palace.
It was then that Mingxiu realized that life after that would be much more challenging than it is now.
During this period, Wang Xiang frequently visited the palace, firstly to report to the emperor on the preparations for the Winter Solstice banquet, and secondly to subtly inquire about the emperor's preferences.
He even observed Mingxiu closely.
After all these years, Mingxiu has been the only woman who has served as Xiao Qing's head maid and chief steward.
There were two others before, one named Mei Shu and the other named Dan Ying.
Mei Shu was someone he remembered; if Fu Mingyi hadn't protected her, he would have secretly tried to get rid of her.
She destroyed his hidden stakeout.
As for the girl named Shan Danying, she is now by Prince Xiao Yan's side. Although Prince Xiao Yan has not left the palace to establish his own residence, Danying and His Majesty no longer have any interaction.
After much deliberation, Wang Xiang concluded that Mingxiu was the most worthy of study.
Time flowed by like water, and before we knew it, the winter solstice arrived.
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