Chapter 208 Processing
Xiao Qing watched as the usually polite and courteous ministers argued heatedly, their faces red and necks bulging, and began to feel a throbbing headache.
It seems that arguing any further won't lead to anything.
Zhao Ziyuan was a formidable fighter; after all, he had been on the battlefield. With a raised eyebrow and a glare, his imposing aura was immediately apparent.
Sometimes he reasoned with people, and sometimes he seemed to be making a fuss over nothing. The officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue were completely at a loss as to how to deal with him, so they could only cry out for justice and ask Emperor Xiao Qing to make a judgment.
Wang Xiang could no longer remain uninvolved. He stepped forward, bowed deeply, and apologized to Xiao Qing, saying that he had failed to manage the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue properly and was completely unaware of what had happened in these two ministries, which was truly his dereliction of duty.
Xiao Qing waved his hand, comforting him by saying that it wasn't his fault and had little to do with him. He then inquired about him and Fu Mingyi, saying that the matter was far-reaching and, since it had already happened, it couldn't be ignored. The matter needed to be investigated thoroughly before any action was taken.
As for who will conduct the investigation...
There's not much to say about that; it's just the Dali Temple.
Could there be a fairer and more just way to handle this?
When Xiao Qing had Ma Hong announce the end of the court session, many people secretly regretted it—it would have been better not to let Zhao Ziyuan come to Nanhua.
When he arrived, his words were enough to drive anyone mad.
To make matters worse, the Dali Temple has never been taken seriously and has never handled many cases, ending up dealing with trivial matters. Even so, for the past three years, it has been mostly idle. This time, it is going to hold the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue accountable. This is the biggest case the Great Xiao has taken since it moved south. They finally have something to do. Shouldn't they investigate it carefully and thoroughly?
They had just seen the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review stand straighter than before after receiving the imperial decree and expressing his gratitude.
But inside the palace, it was a completely different scene.
Because of the matter of choosing a concubine for the wedding, Ma Hong went off to run errands as soon as she finished her court duties.
Recently, portraits and lists of names have been delivered to Xiao Qing's desk one after another. Although Xiao Qing had a plan in mind, he still had to pretend, so he was willing to look at them with great interest at first.
However, after looking at too many portraits, one can inevitably experience aesthetic fatigue.
By the third day, Xiao Qing no longer wanted to look at it, only flipping through it symbolically, and sometimes simply throwing it to Mingxiu, euphemistically calling it "to be enjoyed together."
Mingxiu was both amused and exasperated, but she still pretended to be serious as she flipped through the pages, finally commenting, "Compared to the Chu family of Nanhua, they are still a bit inferior."
Xiao Qing laughed heartily, his brows relaxing.
Mingxiu leaned closer and asked mysteriously, "Does Your Majesty know how lively the palace is these days?"
Xiao Qing sat lazily on the couch in the South Study and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Mingxiu said, "As Your Majesty knows, nowadays, officials of the ninth rank and above who have daughters of marriageable age in their families will generally send them to the palace."
Xiao Qing nodded.
Mingxiu moved even closer.
"The Prime Minister's daughter is Miss Wang Yu. The host family sent two others as gifts: Miss Chu Lianzhou and her younger sister, who is two years younger than her. What's her name...?"
"Chu Xiangning," Xiao Qing blurted out.
Mingxiu clapped her hands, "That's right!"
Then she felt something was off.
"Doesn't His Majesty never care about the selection of concubines in the harem? How could he remember her name? Besides, His Majesty doesn't seem to have ever met her before."
Xiao Qing pouted. Ever since Fu Mingyi lectured her, she had seriously reflected on her mistakes. Then she started doing her homework.
If you don't know, just ask. Fu Mingyi is a ready-made teacher and resource. Almost all of her survival skills in this world were taught by Fu Mingyi or people he sent.
She wasn't embarrassed to ask.
Fu Mingyi didn't try to hide anything from her, so all the information he had gathered about the Chu family was on her desk.
Xiao Qing looked through it carefully and finally truly admired Fu Mingyi's preparations.
Fu Mingyi had clearly looked at each item carefully. Moreover, he had made different marks in many special places.
Xiao Qing felt that these markings were actually meant for her to see.
Fu Mingyi brought a ruler with him, left a pile of documents, and then left.
"Go on, what happened next?"
Mingxiu still had a lot to say, so her attention was quickly diverted.
"There's another one who was personally escorted to the palace by the Grand Tutor... Does Your Majesty know about this?"
Xiao Qing nodded.
Mingxiu's eyes widened: "Your Majesty knows? Has Your Majesty seen him?"
Xiao Qing shook her head.
She had never met this young lady from the Fu family, but Fu Mingyi had mentioned her.
By all accounts, she should be Fu Mingyi's cousin, his uncle's daughter.
This Miss Fu is naturally outstanding, but when Fu Mingyi mentioned her, she was told that she already had someone she liked.
It's just that her beloved isn't acknowledged by the Fu family.
Xiao Qing also asked Fu Mingyi if she needed to do anything about this matter, but Fu Mingyi looked at her with a half-smile and said that it was his responsibility to handle it.
Since Xiao Qing had decided from the beginning to choose only Chu Lianzhou, her curiosity about other women had diminished considerably.
Ma Hong asked her several times if she wanted to take a look, but she shook her head and refused in a serious manner.
Mingxiu said, "Miss Fu is gentle and refined. Some people in the palace say that she is like Consort Ming from back then..."
Xiao Qing unconsciously straightened up.
She had never met Consort Ming, but she knew that Fu Mingyi and Consort Ming were siblings and that they had a very close relationship.
Some time ago, when they left Dingzhou and went to Yingzhou, they heard that Fu Mingyi's family was holding a funeral service for the deceased. People outside said that Fu Mingyi was observing mourning for his relatives at home.
She later indirectly asked Fu Mingyi if it was actually a charade to cover up their whereabouts.
Fu Mingyi's answer was quite intriguing.
He said it was indeed an act, but not entirely to cover their tracks. Perhaps it could be considered a ritual to commemorate the deceased.
Later, she heard that the Fu family had done the same thing. This was for the sake of the Mingfei who had been abducted by the Northern Barbarians—Fu Mingyi's older sister, now the fierce queen of the barbarian tribe.
If this Miss Fu truly resembles Consort Ming, it's not hard to imagine the Fu family's motives and Fu Mingyi's attitude.
"Your Majesty knows that Miss Wang Yu is competitive and has a quick temper. She felt that Miss Chu Lianzhou had humiliated her at the Winter Solstice Banquet, so since entering the palace this time, she has been targeting Miss Chu. But Miss Chu is not someone to be trifled with. On the surface, she is respectful to Miss Wang, but in my opinion, Miss Wang is the one who suffers the losses."
"And what does that have to do with this Miss Fu you mentioned?"
Mingxiu said, "How can it not be related? That's exactly what I was going to say."
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