As for the affairs of the world, it is better to be still than to move. If you do not have strong abilities, it is best to follow the rules of others. This is Mi Niang’s own opinion.
Xu also thought so. She wanted to watch her daughter-in-law struggle for a while. If she performed well, then that would be great. In the future, the mansion would definitely be handed over to her, so she needed to be consistent.
If the trouble goes badly, then she can teach her a lesson and tell her to follow the rules and not act recklessly.
The reason why some things become rules is not because someone wants to do it that way, but because they have been practiced for many years. Until a better way comes out, this way is the best way. It may not be perfect, but at least it will not go wrong.
"Tell me, you've caused a death. How are you going to end this? People here are known to do good deeds and accumulate virtues on a daily basis. How could they do such a thing?" Mrs. Xu was very angry.
Chang Yuzhu was very frightened: "It's my daughter-in-law's fault."
She just handled the matter impartially, and even if she was not careful at the time, it was not her intention.
But she was not stupid enough. Seeing Xu like this, she quickly admitted her mistake.
Xu said, "I have sent someone to deliver thirty taels of silver to the old woman's house. Her daughter has also been transferred to the inner courtyard. Even her daily meals are not enough. Unless they are sent to her brother, since they are all servants in our house, they must be well taken care of."
"Madam is so kind." Chang Yuzhu couldn't help but feel sorry for mother-in-law Xu.
Xu snorted coldly, "Don't mention doing anything drastic in the future. Not many people know about this, and only a servant died. If people knew that the wife of the Marquis of Dong'an was in mourning, not only did you not accumulate merit, but you also caused a servant to jump into the well, how would others say about you in the future?"
Even Shen's giving of contraceptive pills was considered hurtful and sinister by everyone in the mansion.
Especially now.
Chang Yuzhu felt a pang in her heart, and she dared not make her own decisions in the future, and had to obey Xu's orders. At the same time, she also lost her former energy, and always complained that she was not feeling well every few days.
"She starts things off with a whim but never finishes them. She's always boasting about her work. On the surface, she looks like a mature lady, but in reality, she's a complete failure."
After Chang Yuzhu left, Xu said to Mother Tang with emotion.
Mother Tang smiled and said, "Fifth Grandma is still young. Young people always have many ideas. I hope you can do more."
"That may not be the case. I think Wei Yan's wife is very sensible. She takes responsibility when she takes over something, and when she quits, she explains everything to her. Speaking of which, the Chang family is of higher status than the Ruan family. Now it seems that being a wealthy family is not necessarily good."
Tang's mother agreed with this statement: "Look at those children who passed the imperial examinations. Although some of them are from official families, there are also many children from poor families."
With Xu's support, the Marquis's mansion gradually became peaceful.
Before the Dragon Boat Festival, the selection results came out.
The eldest aunt's daughter, Fu Qianqian, was selected and was named a seventh-rank imperial concubine. Fang Yazhen obviously felt that the rank was too low. After all, her daughter was the daughter of a fourth-rank commander, the granddaughter of the Marquis of Dong'an, and a descendant of a famous family. It would be normal for her to be named at least a concubine. To be named an imperial concubine was really too low for her, in her opinion.
However, in front of other people in the Marquis' Mansion, she still maintained her own face, saying that the emperor's grace was great, that a concubine entering the palace was not like marrying off an ordinary family, and that only one woman could be brought into the palace to serve her.
With just an imperial decree, someone came from the palace and brought Fu Qianqian into the palace.
Now that her daughter had entered the palace, Fang Yazhen's mission was accomplished. She traveled to all the famous temples in the capital to seek favor for her daughter. Before the Dragon Boat Festival was over, she went south to Laizhou.
Fang Weiyan couldn't help but say, "This guy always asks ghosts and gods for help whenever he has problems."
"It's all like this. I'm sure the elder sister knows something is wrong, but she always hopes a miracle will happen, so she prays to God." Mi Niang can understand this mentality. When human power can no longer maintain, one has to turn to ghosts and gods for help.
Not only Fang Yazhen, many people do the same.
Your Majesty has selected a total of ten beautiful girls to fill the harem this time. The one with the highest title is the daughter of an old noble family in the capital. Her grandfather was a viscount and her father was a baron. Her brother did not have any title, but after all, there were many marriages between nobles. One of her sisters married Fang Wuniang, who was from the same family as the Marquis of Dong'an.
As a result, she was named Chongyuan, one of the nine concubines.
In addition, there was a commoner woman presented by Suzhou Prefecture in Nanzhili, who was conferred the title of Jieyu.
The emperor gave face to the old nobles, but he also chose the woman he liked. The palace was very lively, but even so, the highest position in the palace now did not even have a noble concubine. The newcomers to the palace inevitably had their own ideas, and those who had qualifications before also wanted to fight for it even more.
The Queen Mother was also puzzled. Of course, she didn't dare to say much about many things, especially the affairs of the previous dynasty, but when it came to choosing a queen, she asked, "Your Majesty, after looking at so many people, is it possible that you didn't find anyone you liked?"
Emperor Yonglong smiled and said, "Mother, in terms of virtue, none of these people can compare to the late Empress."
"I also know that the late emperor's filial piety and virtue are unmatched, but you are in your prime, how can you be without someone to take care of you? I am old, and you have no one by your side. Even if I die in the future, how can I rest assured?"
The Empress Dowager was playing the emotional card, and Emperor Yonglong once again assured that he would definitely establish a queen in the future, and only then did he come out of the Empress Dowager's Shoukang Palace.
As soon as the emperor came out, he saw Gu Wangshu. Usually, Gu Wangshu would only come when there was an urgent matter.
The emperor and his minister went to the Purple Palace, and Gu Wangshu said, "Your Majesty, it's bad. I received a secret report that the imperial envoy Huang Chong has died."
Emperor Yonglong slammed the table and said, "Who is so bold as to stop the imperial edict from handling the case?"
Gu Wangshu shook his head: "We lost several brothers, I'm afraid someone is on guard."
Officials in the court protected each other, and sometimes the emperor could not defeat the ministers, because officials still relied on promotion to hold their positions.
Emperor Yonglong nodded and said, "I understand. We should not make a fuss about this matter. I will send someone to investigate again later."
"Yes, and I have received a tip that someone is colluding to force Cui Xueshi to install you in the Crown Prince's Palace."
Emperor Yonglong snorted coldly. Gu Wangshu did not dare to say anything more about Yu Lichu's matter. He left after he finished speaking. Emperor Yonglong counted his fingers and tapped the table from time to time.
Both establishing the Queen and establishing the Crown Prince were attempts to test his intentions.
However, it is said that as the chief aide, Cui Ti is deeply trusted by the emperor, but officials who flatter the emperor too much will also be impeached by the censors. Of course, the censors had higher status in the past and were tolerated by the emperor, but now they are too powerful to be removed.
"The eldest prince is already seven years old. Even ordinary people would have started to learn to read long ago. However, the emperor still does not allow the eldest prince to go out to study. Prime Minister, you must urge the emperor on this matter. This is the duty of a minister. If the foundation of the country is not stable, how can the country be safe in the future?"
"Yes, Lord Cui, you must write to the emperor about this matter of national importance."
Cui Ti knew that although he was the Prime Minister, he was a poet, but the Qingliu were very dissatisfied with him. Cui Ti usually appointed people based on personal connections. Of course, he had to be nepotistic.
There are roughly two groups of people in the court now. One group is the Qingliu, who hold a clear opinion. The other group is the core ministers like Lu Rufa, who also come from the Hanlin Academy, but want to revive the country more and hope to reform the country through practical means.
But right now, the Qingliu people are very powerful and Cui Ti has to be on guard.
Cui Ti was not involved in either side. He considered himself a loyal minister and was only responsible to the emperor.
The Qingliu looked down on him and thought he was too flattering to the emperor, while people like Lu Rufa thought he was full of benevolence and righteousness but had no interest in the country. However, he was the one who was most trusted by the emperor.
In particular, Cui Ti, as the chief assistant, not only did she not urge the emperor to appoint a crown prince as soon as possible to rectify the country's affairs, but she also wanted to please His Majesty and flatter the concubines in the palace. She wanted to build a Star-Picking Terrace for His Majesty. Not only that, she also opened a new warehouse to celebrate the empress dowager's birthday, and the harem became more and more extravagant.
As a result, even though there is drought in Hebei and severe drought in Shandong, there is not enough money to provide disaster relief.
Everyone hated Cui Ti to the core, and some even pretended to be treacherous ministers to mock Cui Ti.
Of course they couldn't deal with Cui Ti, but as for Cui Ti's in-laws, the Wang family, there were a lot of things going on in the Wang family. Also, among the people promoted by Cui Ti, no one was perfect since ancient times, so they had to take action.
Cui Ti had no choice but to submit a memorial the next day, tactfully reminding the emperor to let the eldest prince go out to study, but his suggestion was ignored. The Qingliu people had long felt that Cui Ti had not fulfilled his duties as the Prime Minister, and seeing that he was perfunctory, they impeached him everywhere.
Even the women in the imperial palace knew the news. After paying respects to the emperor, when Xu was talking to Xian'er and Min'er, Xiangjun asked, "Have you heard? Prime Minister Cui has resigned, but the emperor has not agreed."
Mi Niang smiled and said, "I heard about it too. It is said that he used the Taicang silver to bribe the harem."
In fact, Cui Ti is also secretly in line with the emperor's intention. You have the emperor's favor, but you must also take the blame for the emperor.
After everyone talked about it for a while, Xu said, "It's already hot in May this year. We can't visit relatives and friends this year. I'm afraid the children can't stand it. You can go to the farm and live for a while."
Yu said hurriedly, "Madam, our two brothers are studying at my maternal grandparents' house and I still need to take care of them, so I won't go."
Xu nodded in understanding. As a fellow continuator, she certainly knew what Yu was concerned about.
Xiangjun was also a little hesitant and said, "My daughter-in-law does want to go, but I'm afraid that Min Ge'er can't travel long distances. He is prone to getting dizzy when riding in a carriage."
Chang Yuzhu grew up at the border. Although she is the prince's wife, she has the least experience. She made a big mistake a few days ago and was scolded by her mother-in-law, so she is about to lie in wait.
Only Mi Niang agreed very readily: "Jiang Ge'er keeps asking me to take him out to play. It's a good opportunity to go to the manor. He will be very happy."
"Okay, you and your family can go."
Mi Niangneng and her family went to the farm to play. It was said that there were many peach blossoms and hot springs there. She was very interested when she heard about it. Within three days, she urged Fang Weiyan to take her and her mother there.
Along the way, Mi Niang had many thoughts, such as getting up in the morning to take the children to pick fruit, enjoying the cool under the shade of the trees at noon, and watching the stars at night.
When Fang Weiyan heard her say this, he agreed with a smile.
The two chatted and laughed, and when they heard that they were almost there, Mi Niang couldn't help but excitedly lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. Unexpectedly, she saw an unexpected person - Jian Ningchu.
Mi Niang was puzzled, why was she here?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
