With the new mistress moving in, Kunning Palace was of course redecorated, but their formal enthronement ceremony would have to wait until the mourning period for the late emperor was over.

Now Gao Xuance lives in Funing Palace, the Grandson and the second prince Gao Huan, also known as Chengze, live in the princes' residence, and Xun Ge'er is still young, so he will live with Yao Niang together with Yumozuo.

After becoming the empress, it was different from being the crown princess. The empress was the legitimate mistress of the country, and it was her responsibility to take care of the domestic affairs.

When she first took charge of the palace affairs, she appeased the servants and followed the example of Queen Hong. This put many people at ease. Everyone was afraid of changes. After all, a new emperor appoints new ministers. The new Queen would find fault with the old one. Now that the Queen did not change, they breathed a sigh of relief.

Little did they know that Yao Niang always planned before doing anything. She first looked through the palace's historical accounts, and then looked at how the harem operated through the six palace maids. There were a lot of tricks involved, and these palace maids were all veterans. Even if they knew the cat was greedy, Yao Niang would still hit the snake at its most vulnerable part.

The six palace maids are Shang Gong, Shang Yi, Shang Fu, Shang Shi, Shang Qin and Shang Gong. Then there is the Palace Bureau, which is in charge of the palace servants, entry and exit keys, etc. She also has to check if these people have any omissions in their daily lives.

"Your Majesty, this is the book sent by Wei Shangshi."

"I've already seen it. It's strange to say that the Imperial Food Bureau is in charge of cooking, frying, dining, rice, flour, firewood and charcoal. They say that they use the best rice to supply the palace. The emperor and I have normal supplies here, but the food for the princesses and their companions is far inferior. I can see clearly that they are too old to be good at it."

The money is there, but the materials are not enough, which is not acceptable.

Bai Ying smiled and said, "You have always been a sensible person. How many chefs in this world are not full of fat and fat? If the water is too clear, there will be no fish."

"That being said, the Imperial Food Bureau is particularly important, especially as it threatens everyone's safety. The reason why the Lin family was able to successfully frame the late emperor was because they had someone in the Imperial Food Bureau."

"But for a moment, we don't know who is good and who is bad. When the Queen Mother was still in charge of the palace affairs, Wei Shanggong was her person." Bai Ying worried.

Yao Niang nodded: "Don't worry, I will definitely not do it without a purpose, I will investigate slowly, and I don't want to remove the Queen Mother's people so quickly, I can only do it slowly."

After all, she is younger than the Empress Dowager and has more time, so she can't be too hasty now.

Fortunately, Gao Xuance had only one empress in his harem, and the rest were the concubines of the previous emperor, and the children or relatives of the previous emperor lived there. Even so, Yao Niang's life was much more fulfilled than before.

When she was in charge of the Eastern Palace, it was equivalent to only managing a small range of people. Now she is in charge of the entire palace, and even many ceremonial matters have to be done by her. She can no longer deliberately stay out of the spotlight like before.

As the second-in-command, you have to do things, but the limelight should be taken by the first-in-command. However, now that you are the first-in-command, you can no longer hide behind others.

The first thing was that the emperor replaced the month with the day, and after the mourning period was over, Yao Niang could meet all her relatives.

Mrs. Yu was almost fifty years old, and she was much plumper than before. Seeing her daughter sitting on the phoenix throne, she couldn't help but feel excited.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May you be blessed with good health and good health."

My daughter was wearing a phoenix gown, and her face was bright and beautiful, not as respectful and reserved as usual. This was truly the ceremony of the arrival of the phoenix.

Members of the Fan and Zhu families, as well as the Wang family and Wang Song, who was a younger generation, also knelt down and kowtowed.

Yao Niang raised her hand: "Everyone, please stand up. Bai Zhi, please give me a seat."

Everyone sat down in turn. Wang Song glanced up with envy, and her eyes met with Yao Niang's. However, she didn't expect that Yao Niang was looking at her meaningfully, and Wang Song was startled.

It's not that Yao Niang didn't notice her. Although Wang Song was not Lin Chaoyan, if she had any bad intentions, she would never let her go.

Thinking back to her past life, if it wasn't for Lin Chaoyan's plot, she wouldn't have almost been put in a pig cage and ruined. Although she later met Lu Xiao, and that person was Gao Xuance, it was just a coincidence.

"Your Majesty, you seem to be getting thinner these days," Yu said concernedly.

Yao Niang smiled and shook her head: "I have always suffered from summer, you know a lot."

At this point, she asked someone to bring incense and introduced it, "The emperor invited a Taoist who is quite good at making incense. I used this recently and slept soundly. You can also try it."

Of course, everyone has heard that the emperor himself likes Taoism. As soon as he ascended the throne, he invited several Taoists to practice Taoism, and often called himself Tianyi Zhenren.

Mrs. Fan was very good at speaking: "It just so happens that I am suffering from summer heat, so I will take it back to try. Thank you for your gift, Your Majesty."

"That's nothing. I asked you to come in because of the prince." Yao Niang said.

The prince’s marriage is the top priority.

Yu hesitated for a moment before asking, "Have you already chosen a candidate, Madam?"

"My words don't count. The Emperor will choose the Crown Princess in this matter. The Crown Prince said that his father is going to return home, but is it true?" This is what Yao Niang cares about the most.

So that's it. Yu nodded and said, "That's right. Your father is old and has worked hard for many years. Recently, his health has not been as good as before, so he wants to return home."

In this case, it would be difficult for Yao Niang to stop him. Luo Zhi knew his limits very well. Now the Luo family was flourishing and prosperous, and he himself was even conferred the title of Duke. However, the more this was happening, the more he had to retire, which was the long-term solution.

Otherwise, when the water is full, it will overflow, and when the moon is full, it will lose value.

"When Daddy passes away, I will give him something as a gift."

Seeing that Yao Niang had no objection at all, Wang Song became more confident, because as soon as his grandfather returned, his third uncle was named the crown prince, and the emperor bestowed more than a hundred houses as the residence of the Duke.

From then on they no longer lived together. Perhaps, the people who entered the palace ranged from my grandmother Yu to my third aunt Wang.

Yu had never been a person with a strong desire for power. Although she was reluctant to leave her daughter, she thought it would be a blessing if she could go back to retire. Besides, her daughter was now the empress, so she was very satisfied.

Luo Zhizheng's resignation and return to his hometown were praised by his contemporaries for his wisdom. After all, not everyone can remain calm under the corruption of power.

Luo Jingxi was happy that his father was leaving because there would be no one to discipline him anymore, but at the same time he felt that his old man was like a huge tree that protected them from the wind and rain. Now that his old man was gone, the Luo family didn't know what to do.

"Dad, if you don't want to be an official, it would be fine if you could be a rich and leisurely person. When the prince gets married in a few years, you can still attend the wedding."

"Idiot, I'll go to Beijing when the time comes. A leisurely life is what I want. You guys can just stay in Beijing instead of encouraging me. I don't want to stay in this world of fame and fortune for even a moment." Luo Zhizheng was unhappy.

If you don't want to wait, then don't wait. Luo Jingxi curled his lips secretly, feeling unhappy about it, and didn't dare to say anything more.

Luo Zhizheng saw Luo Jingyuan and Luo Jinghao again, and he said to Luo Jinghao directly: "You are too honest and unfit to be an official. The emperor conferred titles on us for the sake of your sister. In this case, you should be more honest and do your duty. For people like you, you should do more and take more measures. Do you understand?"

Although Jinghao always felt that his abilities were not very strong, he was not without baggage. He won the third place in the imperial examination and was the son of a duke. He was full of ambition when his father said this, which was like pouring cold water on a hot pot, leaving him stunned.

Luo Jingxi didn't expect his father to say that his third brother was more cruel. He smiled secretly in his heart, but was also glad that he was not the one who said that.

As for Luo Jingyuan, Luo Zhizheng simply didn't mention it at all. This son always thought about himself, so it was useless for him to say anything. He was old now and should think about himself.

After Luo Zhizheng left, it was still hot in the daytime in Beijing, but unusually cool at night.

Yao Niang came back from paying respects at Shoukang Palace. This time, the Empress Dowager had recovered as before. She also mentioned Princess Changtai's marriage to Yao Niang. She was the legitimate daughter of Prince Zhou and the Emperor's niece, so Yao Niang had to be cautious about her marriage.

Of course, before Princess Changtai, Concubine Gan of Prince Zhou's mansion went there, and it seemed that the Queen Mother intended to choose a better marriage for Prince Zhou.

The eldest son of the King of Zhou has already requested to be named the Crown Prince. If he chooses another marriage now, there will definitely be internal turmoil in the King of Zhou's palace in the future. Internal turmoil among the vassal kings is not a good thing either.

Therefore, Yao Niang should pay attention to Princess Changtai's marriage first.

When she returned to the palace, Gao Xuance was there. He handed her a fruit and said, "Try it and see if it tastes good. If it does, let them pay more tribute next time."

This fruit looks like a Buddha, but it is red inside. After taking a bite, she couldn't help laughing: "So sweet."

Gao Xuance likes to see her smile: "Yes, it's very sweet."

However, this man did not go to Funing Palace to review memorials today. After seeing Yao Niang eating the fruit, he packed up his desk and reviewed the memorials here.

In fact, Yao Niang had never read a memorial before. There was a rule that the harem could not interfere in government affairs, but Gao Xuance was lazy, so he said to her: "You must learn my calligraphy as soon as possible. When my eyes hurt from reading, you can also take care of me and review it for me."

Yao Niang's heart was pounding, but she shook her head again: "But I can't do that. Besides, I'm the queen and I can't interfere in government affairs."

"I'm not asking you to make the decision for me. I'm just asking you to write a few words for me. Don't you love your husband the most?" Gao Xuance said coquettishly.

Only then did Yao Niang agree.

That night, after Gao Xuance fell asleep, Yao Niang felt extremely excited. She never thought she was that great, but being able to start managing government affairs for her husband meant that the things she was exposed to were no longer related to the inner chambers.

She didn't fall asleep until midnight, and when she woke up the next day she was still very alert. Gao Xuance had already gone to court and was no longer by her side.

"Your Majesty, you got up really early today. The Emperor specifically instructed us not to wake you up." Bai Ying smiled secretly.

Yao Niang said, "No, you have to wake me up earlier next time. I want to practice calligraphy first before going over."

"Hey, didn't you say that we should be the first to pay our respects to the Queen Mother every day?" Bai Ying asked in confusion.

Yao Niang smiled but said nothing.

She had to go to the Queen Mother to pay her respects, but she had more interesting things to do recently. In addition, she was looking for a husband for Princess Changtai. She said to Bai Ying, "Send some gifts to my brothers and sisters-in-law, and ask Wang to find some young and ambitious men for me."

She is not his own daughter, so finding one with a good family background, good character and a good reputation is already worthy of the Queen Mother's trust.

Today is the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and the Queen Mother's place is quite lively. Concubine Li is the current Dowager Concubine, and she came with her daughter-in-law, Zhuang. Strangely enough, before marrying Zhuang, Dowager Concubine had some control over Zhuang, but now the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is quite good.

I just don’t know how Huang Rushuang is doing?

Considering that she is a concubine and is favored by the Fifth Prince, it may not be a bad thing when the time comes.

Yumozuo ate a piece of cake and said to Princess Changtai with a smile: "Sister, this peach blossom cake is delicious."

Princess Changtai wiped her mouth for her: "If it tastes good, you can eat one more piece. However, this peach blossom cake is sweet, so you should rinse your mouth after eating it."

"Okay." Tamamo ate another piece before stopping.

The women were also talking about family matters, and Yao Niang would occasionally join in the fun, but when she left she said to the Queen Mother, "My daughter-in-law wants to look after Changtai's husband these days, so I'm afraid I can't come every day. I hope you can forgive me."

Queen Mother Hong waved her hands and said, "You worry about me, I should thank you."

She was old and really didn't want to worry about that. Besides, compared to Princess Changtai's concern for her guests, she was more concerned about the prince's marriage.

She was somewhat relieved because her daughter-in-law had handed the task of selecting the Crown Princess over to the Emperor, but she also wanted the Crown Prince to choose a daughter of the Hong family whom he favored as his Consort.

She still didn't dare to think about the daughter of the Hong family becoming the empress.

Not to mention anything else, fortunately the daughter-in-law didn't know about Dongfang's attempt to harm Yao Niang, and Dongfang was beheaded. If the daughter-in-law knew about it, she would be very scared and it would not be a joke.

Therefore, she did not seek to be the prince's principal wife, but being a concubine was fine by her.

When the prince ascends the throne in the future, the daughter of the Hong family will at least be a concubine.

There is no way. The Hong family is different from the Luo family. The Luo family is still a scholarly family. There are many children who study, and there are always one or two outstanding ones. Moreover, the queen and the prince will be good to the Luo family. If she dies, the Hong family may not get any good treatment.

Yao Niang smiled and said, "In that case, I will select a few people first, and then have them paint their portraits for you to see."

Empress Dowager Hong still trusted Yao Niang very much and agreed with a wave of her hand.

However, she put more effort into practicing calligraphy, trying her best to write like Gao Xuance.

Bai Zhi left the palace and told Wang about Yao Niang's request: "This Princess Changtai is the eldest daughter of King Zhou. Her mother passed away, and she was raised by the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is now very sad and not in good health, so she handed this matter over to the Queen Mother."

"Really?" Wang had been hiding under Yu for the past few years to enjoy the coolness. Now that she and Luo Jinghao had separated their houses, she had to be the head of the household and was inevitably in a mess.

It was her first time receiving someone from the palace, and she was a little nervous.

Jing Hao asked again: "Sister Baizhi, what do you think? Which one do you like?"

Bai Zhi thought that the Third Master was more talkative, so she said, "Our Queen has been in the palace for many years. Now she is in mourning, so she doesn't know anyone. Therefore, I would like to ask you and the Third Madam to find a few young men with good character and ambition, and our Queen will choose a good one."

"Okay, leave this matter to me. I wonder how long my sister will give me the deadline?" Jinghao was very happy to be able to do things for the palace.

Bai Zhi smiled and said, "It's the mourning period now, which can be as short as one month or as long as three months. When the time comes, your Majesty will talk to the Queen Mother, and then ask the Emperor to have officials investigate. If the marriage is successful in the future, it will also be the credit of the Third Master and the Third Madam."

Jing Hao said, "Then ask Sister Bai Zhi to tell the Empress that I will definitely take care of this matter for him."

"That's great. Now that I have told Her Majesty what to do, I will return to the palace." Bai Zhi prepared to go back.

When she left, Jinghao said to Wang: "Before you were the younger daughter-in-law, you didn't have to worry about the family, but now you and I have to save some trouble."

Wang Shidun felt quite pressured, but she came from a wealthy family and had always had a good relationship with Luo Jinghao, so she agreed with a smile.

However, she said: "Even when I entered the palace in the past, I accompanied my mother. The Empress Dowager was always indifferent to me. To be honest, I was a little afraid of her."

Jinghao thought about his sister's personality, tried to recall it, and said, "My sister is very good to me. She is very independent-minded at a young age, and she is strong-willed. Others tend to retreat when faced with difficulties, but she faces them head-on. Among Princess Zhenyang's study partners, only my sister caught the eye of Empress Hong and the Emperor. She is the youngest and has the best academic performance. She could sit alone in the palace painting plum blossoms in the middle of winter until dark, and she would not even notice that her body was almost stiff. In short, if you want to please her and want her to agree with you, you have to work harder."

Wang wailed, but she did not dare to slack off.

Yao Niang used her free time to imitate Gao Xuance's handwriting from morning to night, and she even watched his writing posture.

At the same time, she felt that Gao Xuance was completely defenseless against her, and she should help him more. At the same time, she could also gain more knowledge.

Even Gao Xuance was amazed: "In just a few days, you have learned it quite well."

"That's right. There's nothing I can't learn. I'm just afraid that if I work hard enough, I can grind an iron rod into a needle." Yao Niang was still a little proud.

Gao Xuance made the decision: "Okay, let's start today. It's better to do it today than to wait for a better day."

The lights flickered. Normally, this was the time when couples would be intimate, or when Gao Xuance would be reviewing memorials to the emperor. However, at this moment, he was lying on the couch, listening to Yao Niang reading memorials.

"This is a memorial from the Fengning garrison commander. It greets you."

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Gao Xuance replied with his eyes closed.

Yao Niang wrote this line of words in tacit agreement, and below it was the words of the Fengning garrison commander, which surprisingly read: "[Your humble servant, the Fengning garrison commander, wishes His Majesty well].

Gao Xuance turned over and continued to answer with his eyes closed: "I am fine. I have gained a little weight."

Yao Niang wrote this, but she was puzzled: "Why did this person send two memorials, but both were just greetings?"

"Because he is my spy, he writes me a letter every month, and greets me when he has nothing to do. This way the people of Fengning will be alert, afraid that he will write it down and report them, so they have to be careful. In the future, you must pay attention to his memorials. If they are memorials asking for your well-being, just reply with greetings. If it is anything else, you must send it to Yu first and let me deal with it." Gao Xuance explained.

There is so much knowledge in a memorial. Yao Niang nodded heavily with a strange look in her eyes.