Chapter 301 Entering the Imperial Study
Xuanyuan Ling was a little skeptical for a moment. Would Shen Qing do this? It's not that he didn't think Shen Qing was considerate, but it looked like she wouldn't do something like praying for the country. This little thing usually kept a distance from the government. Xuanyuan Ling felt that she was obedient and cautious in this regard, just like when she paid her respects to the queen that day.
But now that she said this, he really felt that she had good intentions: "Tell someone to spread the word, so that the people of Jinzhou can also know about it."
Give her some good reputation so that she won't pray for the country in vain.
Isn't it for this purpose that the Queen and others copied scriptures to pray for blessings? Since Shen Qing started it, it's good for her to have a good reputation.
Zhao Hai was really shocked. Now that the disaster relief matters had been arranged, there would definitely be improvements if there were no unexpected situations. Now that this matter had been reported to Jinzhou, it was certain that Concubine Xi would also have a share of the credit after the disaster situation improved, right?
The Emperor is really praising Concubine Xi.
The disaster relief work in Jinzhou was in full swing. Xuanyuan Ling kept a close eye on the disaster relief. After all, corruption was common in the court. He was afraid that once the disaster relief work was finalized, the people below would make a fortune from the national disaster. Xuanyuan Ling had always hated such things, but sometimes the emperor was far away and the local authorities might deceive their superiors and subordinates. He also asked people below to investigate openly and secretly.
There was also the fact that Xuanyuan Ling's previous method of cleaning up the court was terrifying, but now the people below were relatively peaceful. After all, there were no major mistakes in the disaster relief. As for the mistakes, they would be severely punished if they were caught, and he actually managed to catch two people who were the first to make money from the national disaster.
He was furious and imposed severe punishments, including penalties for corruption, but Xuanyuan Ling took this incident to issue an imperial decree to increase the penalties for corruption. However, after issuing the imperial decree, he did not use force. He took advantage of the hard work of officials in disaster relief to increase the salaries of officials as a whole, and increased the penalties for corruption. He told those officials clearly that if they want to live a good life, they should work hard, but if they are corrupt and commit crimes, he would not tolerate any sand in their eyes.
It can be considered a good thing.
A month or so had passed since the disaster relief work, the weather had turned cooler and the situation in Jinzhou had improved. Actually, the disaster in Jinzhou was only a minor one. After all, other places had still had a good harvest. Well, life was getting better day by day.
This time, it’s really over.
The Queen didn't know until the situation in Jinzhou improved that the news of Shen Qing praying for the country had spread to Jinzhou. If it hadn't been authorized by the Emperor, how could it have spread there? It was said that Shen Qing's reputation had spread among the people.
Originally she was just claiming to be sick, but now she is really sick, from anger. No one knows her reputation as a virtuous queen, but a concubine has a virtuous reputation. Do they treat her as dead?
The Emperor really dotes on her. The more the Empress thought about it, the more she regretted. Why had she been so blinded by greed that she didn't get rid of Shen Qing before she got up? Now she can't touch her and she's an eyesore. She can only comfort herself that fortunately she doesn't have a child, otherwise the Emperor would have bewitched her to the point of making faces for her. If she could really give birth, then the position of Crown Prince would probably fall on her son.
Chen Qing also heard about the Jinzhou incident. She knew it was Xuanyuan Ling who spread it deliberately. He was trying to save her face and make her famous. Well, it was a good thing. Those who hated her would still hate her. Since she was favored, and he knew his limits, the more favored she was, the better. The better her reputation, the more stable her position would be in the future. There was nothing wrong with that.
After this incident, Xuanyuan Ling brought up his previous plan. He ordered that from now on, princes could enter the imperial study after they were ten years old.
As soon as this order was issued, there was a lot of discussion in the court. Normally, only princes could enter the Imperial Study after they got married, but now it has been brought forward a few years, and the eldest prince is old enough, so he will be the first prince to enter the Imperial Study.
The family of Concubine Shun's mother was suddenly crowded with people. This was often the case in the court. The eldest prince seemed to be valued, so naturally those who were on good terms with him would become more friendly, and those who had not had any contact with him in the past would have no harm in having some contact with him.
In this way, the eldest prince was the first to enter the imperial study.
The eldest prince was nervous when he was in front of Xuanyuan Ling, but at least he did not lose his composure.
Xuanyuan Ling had never intended to be too strict, and he also paid attention to the eldest prince's schoolwork. If he hadn't paid attention, he wouldn't have thought that the child was mediocre that day. However, everyone is different. Aren't Xuanyuan Ling's brothers the best examples?
They were all born to the previous emperor and were all different. As for his eldest son, he certainly would not hate him just because his academic performance was mediocre.
In fact, he just wanted to have more contact with his son on a daily basis. He wanted to see how his eldest son could cope with situations, what his personality was like, and whether he was just like he seemed on the surface.
At the age of eleven, he won't be asked to shoulder a heavy burden. Even if he is asked to do something, it will be after he leaves the palace and sets up his own government. Now it is more important for him to learn and see more.
The eldest prince gradually realized that Xuanyuan Ling would not be overly harsh. However, despite this, he was still a little restrained because the word "king" came first.
At the end of the day, the eldest prince felt tense and tired.
After returning to his residence, before he had time to drink the hot water, Concubine Shun sent someone to call him over.
The eldest prince felt annoyed, but he went anyway.
Concubine Shun was also nervous. It was the first day that the eldest prince entered the imperial study. She was afraid that he would do something inappropriate in front of the emperor, and she had been worried about it the whole day.
Seeing the eldest prince coming over, he couldn't help but ask: "Mingzhe, what did your father ask you today? How did you answer?"
The eldest prince had been hanging in front of Xuanyuan Ling for a whole day. Seeing Concubine Shun still asking this, he became even more annoyed: "What else can the emperor ask today? It's just some homework. Are you going to let me handle court affairs now?"
"Just that? Didn't I ask you how to handle state affairs? Didn't I teach you how to do things?" Concubine Shun couldn't help feeling disappointed. Her son's academic performance had never been very good. He was always well-behaved. She paid attention to him and urged him on, but the child had grown up with a bad temper. Now he entered the Imperial Study first, six or seven years earlier than the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince who are here now. Six or seven years earlier than them, that was when they just entered the Imperial Study while the First Prince had already gone to court to do work.
Shunfei's family background was not good. She gave birth to the eldest prince but was not granted the title of concubine until later. She had no hope at first, but this was because the queen had no biological children and now the eldest prince had entered the imperial study. Even though she knew that the emperor's decree meant to treat all the princes equally, she still had some thoughts in her heart.
Today was the first day that the eldest prince entered the imperial study. The servants around him were all flattering him, and some hinted that the emperor valued him, so it would be good to try for the position of crown prince in the future. Concubine Shun had never expected this, as she only had this one son and she didn't usually dote on him. But now she has started to think about it. If the eldest prince can really become the crown prince...
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