The emperor sneaked out secretly. Of course, he sneaked out because the Prime Minister Cui Ti always listened to him and almost obeyed the emperor's orders.
Although Dengzhou is not as wealthy as Jiangnan, Jiuru Pavilion became famous because Fang Weiyan was the sole manager. He invited Taoist monks to perform rituals and countless literati to leave their calligraphy.
Unlike ministers, the eunuchs in this dynasty had a high status. The emperor and the literati shared the world. If the literati offended the emperor, the worst that could happen was that they would no longer be officials. They still had a high status, and some even bullied the people.
But the eunuchs were all the emperor's slaves. Their biggest role was to make the emperor happy. If they offended the emperor, they would be dead.
Therefore, the eunuchs knew that it was wrong for the emperor to sneak out, but no one dared to advise them.
They were just slaves, and giving advice and remonstrance was the ministers' job.
Therefore, the emperor was very free, especially in the Jiuru Pavilion on Penglai Island. The mist here was abundant and it looked like a fairyland, as if one was in the illusory world of Taixu. Even if one stayed here for a day, one would feel refreshed.
"Your Majesty, the Flower and Bird Envoy has already selected local ladies from Dengzhou for you. Would you like to see their portraits in advance? They all come from honest families, and some are even from official families."
The emperor, however, was not interested at all. He thought the empress was from Dengzhou and it was just a joke.
Although the harem is nothing, he still has some sense of propriety and cannot easily upset the balance.
Therefore, the emperor looked a little cold and said, "No need. After these people are sent to the capital, they can be betrothed to the royal family. I have only been selecting talents for two years, so it is not right to rush."
"Yes." The eunuchs bowed quickly in response.
Everyone said that the emperor was very sensible in this matter.
But it might be difficult for others to notice that the white dragon fish was subdued, but for Fang Weiyan, he immediately grasped the whereabouts of the emperor first-hand.
He told Mi Niang first. The couple had no secrets. Ever since Mi Niang became unhappy, Fang Wei Yan would discuss almost all matters, big or small, with her whenever he had time, except for going to the toilet.
Mi Niang hugged her little son and tapped Fang Weiyan's nose affectionately: "So what are you going to do?"
"As a subject, I naturally advise Your Majesty to return to the court as soon as possible to avoid instability and disasters." Fang Weiyan said without hesitation.
Mi Niang nodded: "Yes, that's right. As a minister, you can't flatter the king. You have more knowledge than me, and whatever you do is probably right."
Fang Weiyan didn't expect Mi Niang to support him so much. He felt a little embarrassed: "Just now, Yuan Tongzhi and his staff suggested that I just turn a blind eye to it. His Majesty will return to Beijing by then. I have done so much in Dengzhou, and I may lose the opportunity to rise because of my advice."
"Even if the whole world is against you, I will definitely stand on your side, always on your side." Mi Niang gently placed her head on Fang Weiyan's shoulder to show her support.
"Sister Mi..."
Maybe it was because they had two sons in a row that Mi Niang was a little depressed. He didn't know when people started calling him Sister Mi. That was what her family called her when she was a junior high school student.
She stroked his slightly wrinkled brows, "I'm looking forward to being appointed as an out-of-towner. It's not bad for you and I to be the boss out-of-towner. My younger siblings have given birth to a baby. She has always been jealous and competitive. Although I have ways to suppress her, it still takes a lot of effort. It's better for me to be appointed as an out-of-towner. It's much more relaxed after all."
Her husband was the highest official in the prefecture, and he didn't have to attend any social events. The housework was also simple. Mi Niang felt that she was much more comfortable here than in Beijing.
Of course, a big family has its advantages, as members can help each other and be independent, but most of the time, the struggle for power never stops.
Fang Weiyan's frown seemed to be smoothed by her hand in an instant. No one in the world was on his side, but Mi Niang was on his side.
That way, he won't have to worry about anything.
That night, Fang Weiyan came to Penglai and asked to see the emperor. The emperor had nothing but sympathy for Fang Weiyan.
This young man is only a few years younger than him, but his knowledge covers the past and present, his ability as an official is amazing, and his words are insightful. He has the rare talent to be a minister, so he needs to be carefully cultivated and nurtured. He will definitely achieve great things in the future.
However, the only thing that made him sigh was that this man's wife, although beautiful, was actually fierce and brutal.
Every woman should know what yin and yang are. Men are yang and women are yin. Men are superior and women are inferior. This is an eternal truth.
It is truly a misfortune for our family to have such a fierce woman who dares to beat my subjects.
Therefore, he showed sympathy, but as the emperor, he could not help but say, "Mr. Fang, I wonder why you came here so late at night?"
Fang Weiyan said quickly: "Your Majesty is the common ruler of the world. When Your Majesty ascended the throne at a young age, you revived the family business of your ancestors, and all the subjects in the world celebrated with their hands..."
The emperor had heard too many flattering words like this, but he didn't know Fang Weiyan would use the same trick, so he listened with a smile.
Then, Fang Weiyan continued, "The son of a rich man should not sit in the hall. Your Majesty has put all the people in danger by being so servile. Please return to the palace as soon as possible. Our Great Yong has deployed strong trunks and weak branches. If the thieves find out, it will be my fault."
After saying this, he continued to kowtow.
The eunuchs actually agreed with what he said. If nothing else, if something happened to the emperor, they would be the first ones to be held accountable.
By then, the worst that could happen to Fang Weiyan would be dismissed from office. Even if he was dismissed, his teacher Lu Rufa would be reinstated in the future and could be promoted within a few years. What's more, he had made suggestions to the emperor.
But what about them? Are they afraid they will lose their lives?
But even so, the eunuchs still did not dare to speak.
The emperor smiled slightly when he heard this: "Since you built Jiuru Pavilion, it was to pray for my blessing. Now that I am here, it is naturally because of you."
The emperor is also very cunning. If you cover it up, I will let it go. But if you control me, and something goes wrong, it will be the fault of you building this pavilion.
As an emperor, after dealing with his subjects for a long time, he also knows how to control his subjects.
Fang Weiyan said, "If I can use my mistakes to make Your Majesty change his mind, I will never give up even if I die."
"You——" The emperor was very angry.
Fang Weiyan said seriously as always: "Your Majesty, please take care of the people and return to the court as soon as possible. Otherwise, if my whereabouts are discovered, I will be blamed even if I die a thousand times. Your Majesty is the emperor of Shengming..."
The emperor still looked very angry, but he was relieved in his heart.
As for Fang Weiyan, he knew the emperor's preferences, so before leaving, he recommended merchants from the sea and Dengzhou to present nearly 300,000 taels of silver to the emperor's private treasury.
The emperor was very happy to receive the money, and could not help but say to his attendants: "Fang Weiyan is really a minister who can get things done."
The eunuchs quickly responded.
The emperor patted his butt and returned to the capital. Fang Weiyan heard the news about the emperor's morning court before he felt relieved.
At this time, the youngest son just turned one year old. The envious elder brother watched his younger brother do the "Zhuazhou" ceremony, in front of him were placed the four treasures of the study, an abacus, a small bow and arrow and other sundries.
He called out to his brother, "Tang'er, take this little bow and arrow and this little book."
Mi Niang said with a smile: "Jealous brother, you can take whatever he wants."
Because Fang Wei-yen had outstanding political achievements, he also avoided private connections. Even for his youngest son's first birthday party, he only invited a few of his colleagues who came with him, leaving it impossible for others to give gifts.
Therefore, everyone here is a family member.
Fang Weiyan held hands with Mi Niang under his coat and watched his little son doing the one-year-old ceremony. Mi Niang quietly pinched his palm with her fingers, and Fang Weiyan smiled knowingly at her.
With her around, he could move forward courageously in everything, without having to worry about the consequences like in his previous life, and end up in a dilemma.
Sure enough, after the three-year term was up, Fang Weiyan's political performance ranked first in the state and several prime ministers in the inner cabinet were discussing Fang Weiyan's official position. Cui Ti received the emperor's instruction, so although she was dissatisfied, she was indifferent.
"Fang Jiying worked in the prefecture and reclaimed more than 500,000 acres of wasteland, opened up trade routes, and built bridges and roads. In just three years, the financial situation of Dengzhou increased by more than 20 times, which is rare. Such a talent should not be buried by the court!"
Li Tan pinched his beard and said nothing. He had a good relationship with Fang Weiyan. Besides, this boy had the talent of Li Xiang and the ability of Guan Zhong, and he was also one of their own. Cui Ti had been the prime minister for five years and had done nothing but flattery. Moreover, the court had long been dissatisfied with Cui Ti's excessive flattery of the emperor, especially the fact that the emperor had not attended court for half a year. This was Cui Ti's fault.
Now that Cui Ti has left, who will take over?
Your Majesty has summoned Lu Rufa many times. After Lu Rufa enters the cabinet, if you can support him as the prime minister, he will have an important helper.
The others also agreed. Seeing that they had no opinion, Cui Ti couldn't help but say, "How about promoting Fang Weiyan to be a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue?"
Li Tan then said, "I'm afraid this is a little inappropriate. Fang Weiyan was born in the Hanlin Academy, and he is at least a lecturer to the emperor. He also helped Gu to eliminate corruption, and he has such a good record in the local government."
Cui Ti thought, I knew you would say this, so she smiled and said, "What about the Dali Temple? I think with Fang Weiyan's ability, he will be one of the Nine Ministers sooner or later."
After saying this he chuckled a few times.
He had no personal grudge against Fang Weiyan, but he was an enemy of Lu Rufa. Although Lu Rufa was a great literary master, he was carrying out reforms, and Fang Weiyan was Lu Rufa's most proud disciple. Therefore, Cui Ti was determined to exclude Fang Weiyan.
Otherwise, the emperor's close ministers would also be a threat to him.
Just when the elders were deadlocked, the Dong'an Marquis' Mansion learned that Fang Weiyan had made outstanding achievements and had been ranked first in the prefecture. Xu and the Dong'an Marquis were very happy, especially at the dinner party. Xu couldn't help but sigh among the other wives: "In the past few years, our Dong'an Marquis' Mansion has been in mourning and revived, but its influence has not been as good as before, and the Xinling Marquis' Mansion has snatched the job of the prince. Now it's good, the fourth son is back."
Although the civil and military are not compatible, if Fang Weiyan holds a higher position, no one in the family will dare to bully him with him around.
Xu's happiness made Chang Yuzhu, who had been the independent housekeeper for the past two years, unhappy.
But she thought in her heart, she heard from her father that Cui Ti disliked Lu Rufa's faction the most, and that her fourth brother might not be able to make a comeback. She silently prayed in her heart that she must not be promoted and must not return to Beijing...
But he never expected that the Marquis of Dong'an had already found out the news.
"Our Wei Yan has been appointed Junior Chancellor of the Chancellery and Academician of the Hanlin Academy."
Being both fourth-rank officials, the Junior Chancellor of the Chancellery is much better than the prefect who was sent out to other places. The Dong'an Marquisate was extremely happy when they heard the news, except Chang Yuzhu, who was heartbroken but had to pretend to be happy with everyone else.
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