A few months later, Wang entered the palace. Yao Niang was wearing a wide-sleeved double-silk phoenix dress embroidered with auspicious grass, clouds and wild geese. The purse on her waist with a red background embroidered with a white crane with spread wings was particularly eye-catching. Wang did not dare to look at her for too long. She only felt that the Empress was already in her thirties, but she still looked young, even energetic.

"Oh, three people have been chosen. Who are they?"

Wang heard the Queen on the Phoenix Throne ask, and unexpectedly found that the Queen didn't seem to care much about the selection of guests for Princess Changtai, but she didn't dare to speculate, so she just finished her own story: "One is the third son of Princess Pingkang, nineteen years old this year, serving in the Jinwu Guard, and has a heroic appearance."

"Well, this one sounds good, but as far as I know, Princess Pingkang has no children. Is this a bastard?" Yao Niang asked.

Wang didn't expect Yao Niang to know this, so she was prepared: "Yes, her three sons are all illegitimate."

"So that's how it is. Then what about the other two people?" Yao Niang asked.

If she were the biological mother, she would not care about whether the child is legitimate or illegitimate, as long as he has a promising future. But outsiders may not see it that way. They may think that you are humiliating Princess Changtai, so Yao Niang should ask other people.

"The other one is the son of our relative. He is only 20 years old, but he has already won the Henan provincial examination. His father is Mr. Chang, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department." Wang was referring to the person introduced by her sister.

Yao Niang smiled when she heard this: "This one is not bad. Since ancient times, talented men have been paired with beautiful women. Moreover, Changtai is a princess. This guest of honor is different from a prince consort. He can serve as an official normally."

Wang was relieved when she heard Yao Niang say this: "Yes, he is fair and handsome, and not short, which is very good."

"Yes, what else?" Yao Niang had a good impression of Chang Jieyuan.

Wang smiled and said, "The other one is the nephew of the late Princess Zhou, the eighth son of the Xu family, who is quite famous."

"Forget about the Xu family." Back then, the Xu family targeted Gao Xuance. Although Gao Xuance was not a vengeful person, it would be difficult for the Xu family's children to make a name for themselves.

Wang didn't understand why, but Yao Niang was embarrassed to tell her the reason: "In this case, I will first report the names of Princess Kangping's son and Chang Jieyuan."

Originally, Wang thought that Yao Niang would ask in detail and then look for the cause, but she didn't expect it to end like this.

When Wang came back, she mentioned the matter to Jinghao.

Jing Hao then said, "I was saying that the one from the Xu family was not good enough, but you insisted that he was the best in terms of character, appearance and talent."

"But I want to find someone who is good to the princess." Wang felt that she was doing her best.

Jing Hao thought for a moment, "This Princess Changtai is the daughter of King Zhou. She is just being nurtured in the palace. The Queen only needs to find a respectable marriage for her. As for any practical benefits, she is not her biological daughter after all."

It was difficult for Wang to accept this idea. In her mind, the Empress was the mother of the country and should be caring towards everyone. Little did she know that the Empress was actually being perfunctory.

She told Jinghao about her feelings, and Jinghao sighed: "Sister and my father are actually very similar. They have their own ideas in their hearts and will only do what they think is right. They don't care about anything else. I heard that sister even handed over the selection of the Crown Princess to the Emperor. She is like this for her own son, let alone a niece from another room. How can she be more attentive to her?"

Wang thought it was strange: "But is it important for every mother-in-law to choose a daughter-in-law?"

"That may not be the case. Even if the Crown Princess is not a good choice, it will not affect the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince is a man of strong will and is definitely not the kind of person who indulges in love." Jing Hao understood this very well.

The prince is completely different from his father. Although his father is known as the God of War and has a good understanding of people, he himself always has the feeling of a Wei Jin person who acts on impulse.

Rather than playing political games, he preferred to practice fasting and cultivate Taoism, and he often wore Taoist robes in the palace. My mother told me that my sister often called him "Taoist priest" in private.

The prince is young but very unpredictable, yet he does things in an orderly manner.

Furthermore, when the emperor was still the third prince, the court officials did not think that he had any weaknesses, but now it is obvious that the weakness is his sister, and his nephew is another kind of person who seems to have no weaknesses at all. Such a person does things against his own will and is a natural emperor.

In this case, Jinghao couldn't say much to his wife.

Wang felt that it was no wonder that people said that people in the palace were different. The palace was a place where family affection was not important and nothing was more important than one's own power and status.

As long as the current emperor is here, the empress will always be the mother of the country. Her existence is the pinnacle of power. Naturally, she does not have to worry about her daughter-in-law being unfilial like ordinary mothers-in-law, because she is the empress. In addition to the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, she and the crown princess also have a relationship between monarch and subject. Her status can be overwhelming.

How dare I be disrespectful to my king?

The relationship between them was not an ordinary mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship at all. Besides, the emperor favored only the empress, and all women in the world wanted to please her. Even the empress's own son was not surprised, let alone the crown princess.

Therefore, the Queen did not care who would be the Crown Princess; she just wanted to consolidate her own position.

This is different from the mother-son relationship between Empress Dowager Hong and the Emperor. Back then, Empress Dowager Hong stood on the side of Prince Zhou, but now the Empress strongly supports the Prince.

Wang's guess was indeed almost right. Yao Niang really didn't care much about the Crown Princess. As long as she was a good girl, it didn't matter if her family background was not so good, as long as her son liked her.

Now, she presented the two candidates to the Queen Mother. After hearing what Yao Niang said, the Queen Mother was a little hesitant to make a decision: "We have always liked Princess Pingkang. I have also met the third son of the Cao family once. The princess has raised him by her side. But Chang Jieyuan seems to be very outstanding as well."

"Yes, my daughter-in-law said so too. Although Cao Sanlang is not the princess's biological son, he is born brave and extraordinary. The Cao family is also descended from noble families. As for whether he is very loyal, the emperor has to send someone to investigate the details. As for Chang Jieyuan, he has won the title of Jieyuan at such a young age. He has a bright future. His father is also one of the Nine Ministers. Lord Chang is also a good person." Yao Niang said with a smile.

Queen Mother Hong felt that her daughters-in-law were very dedicated and both of them were very good.

They were all good, so she couldn't make a decision. She couldn't help but ask, "Queen, who do you think is better?"

"My daughter-in-law can't say either. To be honest, if the Queen Mother is in a difficult situation, she can ask someone to test Changtai's attitude. If she likes heroic and extraordinary men, then she should choose the Third Son of the Cao family. It would be best if the title of the Cao family can be passed on to him. If she likes civil officials, then she should choose Chang Jieyuan. He is the son of an official, young and intelligent, hardworking and motivated, with a very good appearance. A talented man and a beautiful woman is also a good choice." Yao Niang said sincerely.

As for whether there is anyone in a room, she will not deliberately inquire about such things. When the emperor sends people to investigate, someone will come to report it. She will then provide two people with good reputations. Even if there are problems with these two people, it means that they have concealed it well and it has nothing to do with her.

As for who to choose, it depends on Changtai’s own choice.

You won't regret the choices you make.

In fact, this should be something that Queen Mother Hong should worry about herself, but the Queen Mother is now focusing on selecting a Crown Princess, so she has pushed all the affairs of Changtai to herself.

Xu Qingrong had been bad to her in this life and in the previous one. It was good of her that she did not have any malicious intentions to retaliate against her and her daughter. How could she do the same thing when choosing her own son-in-law?

Empress Dowager Hong thought it made sense and asked Lady Mo to investigate further.

She is not willing to go through the trouble. If both are good, just choose one based on Changtai's preference.

Gao Xuance also asked his attendants and close ministers to inquire about it. Since Princess Changtai, like the King of Zhou, likes reading, this would be easy to do.

Just choose Chang Jieyuan.

This matter has been decided, and Princess Changtai can get married as soon as the mourning period is over.

Princess He Rui and Princess Wan Wan congratulated her, and even Huang Rushuang heard the news.

Huang Rushuang entered the palace as a concubine and was only allowed to bring two maids with her. These two were her confidants. One was called Lingxia and the other was called Yunxia. They were both very loyal to Huang Rushuang and would come in to tell Huang Rushuang when they got any news.

"It is said that the candidate was chosen by the Empress Dowager, and the Emperor and the Empress Dowager also like him very much. Chang Jieyuan is the champion of the Henan Provincial Examination. If he succeeds in the first attempt next year, he will be a Jinshi. The Chang family is also an official family with a good family tradition. After the mourning period is over, the princess will get married in the palace. The Emperor has ordered the Ministry of Rites to prepare a dowry for the princess."

After listening to Yunxia's words, Lingxia looked at her own young lady. She was at the age of a blooming girl, and her appearance was even more beautiful than before. The princess was simply incomparable to her. However, the princess was also extremely virtuous and was very considerate to her own young lady. Instead, she treated her like a sister.

Huang Rushuang thought that this was their confidence. The princess was of a lower status, and the other party was also an official family with outstanding talents. In the future, even if she was useless, she would still be taken care of by the royal family.

Unlike her, who married a poor but talented scholar and had to run around for her husband, and even when he became successful, he might not still have her in his heart. She felt that her current life was pretty good.

At least, she has status and a luxurious life, and it won't be difficult to get along with the princess. As long as she gives birth to a son early, even if he is not the crown prince, she will be granted a title.

But I don't know why, but when I heard that she had found such a good son-in-law, I felt a little disappointed.

If my father were still alive, he would also look for a marriage with a well-matched family background, so as to examine the son-in-law and even give him some pressure. Unfortunately, he is no longer alive.

But since this is the path she has chosen, she will not regret it.

At first, Yao Niang had no idea how to review memorials and was afraid of stamping the document in the wrong place. Now, she has become very proficient at it. Sometimes, when she sees a minister submitting a memorial, she even knows what tone of voice to use to respond.

"Zhao Zhongxing, the governor of Fujian, submitted a memorial stating that Japanese pirates were invading Fujian in large numbers, and requested the emperor to send troops to protect the people of Fujian."

Gao Xuance frowned and scolded: "You are so stupid. You have no idea when the Japanese pirates will come and how to deal with them. How can this Zhao Zhongxing be so useless? I will keep this memorial and not send it out. I will discuss it with the inner cabinet tomorrow and make a decision."

Yao Niang nodded: "Okay, I understand. Another thing is the memorial to Shangjing on the military farming policy, which seems to be not going smoothly."

It has been difficult to establish military farms since ancient times, especially in the capital city where there are too many nobles.

Little did they know that Gao Xuance was very concerned about this issue. He sighed, "Shangjing is also suffering from drought, and Hebei is suffering from famine. Come, I will reply to this memorial in person."

He sat up and Yao Niang handed him the pen. She saw Gao Xuance writing a lot and it was obvious that he attached great importance to people's livelihood.

Yao Niang simply waited for him to personally review the memorial while she went to the small kitchen to make a midnight snack. Since she became the empress, she seldom went to the kitchen to cook. Now that Gao Xuance was so tired, Yao Niang would definitely reward him with a good meal.

You can’t eat greasy food for midnight snack, so she made milk millet porridge, and served it with thumb-sized fluffy steamed buns, which are very easy to digest and warm the stomach.

After Gao Xuance finished his work, he was able to enjoy a meal and felt much warmer and more comfortable.

The court was corrupt, and even if Emperor Jianzhang thought he was kind, the disaster relief funds still could not be distributed to the victims. Gao Xuance took the first step to clear out the hidden fields and then reorganize agricultural affairs.

But in fact he was under great pressure. The nobles generally thought that the emperor was not a good person. In addition, there were too many princes and they cost a lot. Gao Xuance had not made any move on this because he was afraid that they would rise up in rebellion. If they did, he would become the target of public criticism.

But if he doesn't resolve this problem, it will be passed on to his descendants, and the consequences will be even more serious, and it will be difficult to reverse the situation.

Even if you are a genius, your country's fortune is declining and your power is no longer in your hands. It is very likely that you will become a king who loses your country.

"Someone, please pack up the things and bring some water for the emperor and I to wash up." Yao Niang glanced at Gao Xuance, reminding him to rest.

Gao Xuance always felt that with Yao Niang by his side, he really didn't have to worry about anything. He became more and more dependent on her. No matter who he wanted to complain about or implement some national affairs that seemed difficult for outsiders to support, she would always support him unwaveringly, and even asked her family to give up their land to support him.

God really treated him well, Gao Xuance snuggled up to Yao Niang.

"Yao Niang, what should I do without you? I don't know."

Yao Niang smiled and said, "Why do you say that? In fact, sometimes I wonder what I would do without you. Because you are here, my heart is at peace. Otherwise, I would always feel empty. When you went out to fight, I was always worried."

Gao Xuance heard this and held her hand again, saying, "Do you know? I am praying for your longevity and heavenly harmony. I will become a god in the future, but I want to watch over you all the time. You must live until I return, so that both you and your wife can be among the gods."

"You are talking nonsense again. All I know is that it takes a hundred years to be able to sleep together, and a thousand years to be able to sleep together. You and I had a grudge in our last life, but we are not destined to be together. Being able to be together in this life is really the happiest thing for me. I don't ask for the future, I just want to be with you day and night, and I don't want anything else."

She knew that her status was the highest when Gao Xuance was around, otherwise, even if his son became the emperor, she would be forced to be honored. Gao Xuance never had any defenses against her, and was willing to share even power, but that was not necessarily the case with others, including his own son.

The only reason why the Queen Mother interfered in government affairs was that the children were too young, and Chengyun had grown up and did not need the harem to interfere in government affairs.

In terms of ambition, she had it, but she didn't have the ambition to blindly fight for power and profit. Because she didn't have the habit of participating in politics since she was young, she couldn't accurately predict the future of a country. However, she was able to slowly learn from others and understand the rules of this dynasty, which really benefited her a lot.

Maybe after my rebirth, besides saving my mother and brother, I can also do something good, and that would be enough.