Whether it was the Palace Front Office or the Cavalry Battalion, they were replaced by his own people. The emperor could finally sleep peacefully without having to worry about being forced to abdicate by the Ge family when he woke up. Facing the mountains of memorials, he felt a lot more relaxed.
That day, he was reviewing memorials. When he saw Gu Shichong's name on the memorial, he thought of the thrill of that day and his vigilance and suspicion towards his son since then, and his heart sank again.
But after opening it, he saw that it was Gu Shichong who once again requested that Xue Zhiyi be married to him as a concubine. He snorted and threw the letter aside.
It is hard to say whether Gu Shichong proposed to Xue Zhiyi several times because he really liked this woman or because he wanted to have someone of his own by the Queen Mother's side.
But soon, the emperor changed his mind: If Xue Zhiyi continues to stay with the empress dowager, and if the two of them have private dealings with each other, wouldn't it be easier for Gu Shichong to please and win over the empress dowager?
If he were to say, such a troublesome palace maid should be sentenced to death to make him feel at ease, but the empress dowager valued her so much that she naturally did not want to do that. It would be better for her to accept the arranged marriage. One day, when he had time, he could secretly sentence her to death. There would be no need to disturb the Jianzhang Palace and damage the relationship between mother and son for a palace maid.
Thinking of this, he opened the memorial again, wrote his mark in red, and approved the marriage.
The emperor hadn't expected the next memorial to be from Jiang Xu. After reading the contents, he frowned. Jiang Xu claimed he had lost a younger sister, Jiang Wan, and had now found her, none other than Xue Zhiyi. Attached to the memorial were the original report from his parents and the confessions of the people of Cishui Town.
Jiang Xu had made contributions in the Jiangzhou case, and the emperor wanted to reward him, but Jiang Xu declined and only asked the emperor to grant him a favor. If he could find his biological sister one day, he could get the emperor's permission to allow Jiang Wan to return to her ancestral home and restore her identity.
But the emperor didn't expect that Jiang Wan was Xue Zhiyi.
He knew that Xue Zhiyi was not Xue Zhentong's daughter, otherwise she would have been executed along with the Xue family. However, he did not expect that things would be so coincidental... However, in this case, he could not arrange for Jiang Wan to marry Gu Shichong, otherwise, wouldn't it be handing the Dali Temple to his son for nothing?
He retrieved Gu Shichong's memorial, erased his own comments, wrote another one saying "Concentrate on recuperating and we will discuss this another day", and then threw it aside.
Looking at Jiang Xu's memorial, another idea came into the emperor's mind. Thinking of this, he summoned Jiang Xu into the palace.
…
Xue Zhiyi had no idea what the emperor and Jiang Xu said.
Just a few days later, she received a brand new official certificate, which clearly stated "Jiang Wan, born in the 32nd year of Pingyuan, a native of Jiangzhou."
The person who delivered the official status was none other than Peng Hui, the eunuch beside the emperor.
Only the emperor could order Peng Hui around. Xue Zhiyi felt flattered by such courtesy.
She thanked him politely, and Peng Hui just smiled and said, “Congratulations to Miss Jiang on the reunion of her family. From now on, your identities will be clear.
Xue Zhiyi was puzzled. The procedures for handling official registration were complicated, so how could it be resolved so quietly?
"May I ask, sir, is this what His Majesty intended?"
Peng Hui said, "Isn't that right? His Majesty has issued an order urging the Ministry of Rites to handle this matter as quickly as possible. The Ministry has not dared to slack off. This is all thanks to your brother, Lord Jiang, who personally submitted this request to His Majesty."
In short, Peng Hui's coming to deliver the official records had been seen by many people, and the matter soon became known to everyone, and the empress dowager naturally knew about it.
Xue Zhiyi simply told the empress dowager everything. After hearing it, the empress dowager was not too shocked, but seemed to have expected it.
The empress dowager did not say much, she just went to the Changsheng Palace. It is unknown what she said, but half a month later, Xue Zhiyi was summoned to the Changsheng Palace.
Although she had regained her status, she was still the Imperial Attendant of Jianzhang Palace and did not leave the palace. When the Emperor suddenly summoned her, she was somewhat confused as to what he meant and simply bowed respectfully: "Your servant Jiang Wan pays respects to Your Majesty."
Xue Zhiyi lowered his eyes and could only feel the ambiguous gaze hovering above his head.
"Jiang Wan, what do you think of Prince Gong?"
Xue Zhiyi was stunned. She didn't expect the emperor to ask her this question.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness Prince Gong is a descendant of the royal family, and I pay you my sincere respect."
The emperor made no comment, only asking, "If I ask you to marry him, would you be willing?"
Upon hearing this, Xue Zhiyi immediately knelt in fear and trepidation, "I know that I was once fortunate enough to receive a marriage from Your Majesty, but times have changed and I no longer dare to dream of such a dream!"
Facing Xue Zhiyi's attitude, the emperor's eyes were filled with scrutiny and suspicion. "When your status was unknown, you were indeed unworthy, but now your brother is the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple and has a promising future. Not to mention being the principal wife, he is also qualified to be a concubine. Prince Gong even took the initiative to ask for her hand in marriage. Whether she is suitable or not is not your decision."
He looked at Xue Zhiyi and narrowed his eyes slightly: "To be honest, if you want, I can help you."
Xue Zhiyi bowed her head, her eyes moving rapidly. She sensed the temptation in the emperor's words, and her tone became increasingly fearful: "This servant has a few words from the heart, but I am afraid that they will offend your majesty."
"You said, I forgive you."
After receiving this promise, Xue Zhiyi calmed down a bit and said, "My brother and I have no parents. Although my brother is loved by His Majesty and holds an important position, we have no one to rely on in the capital. We know that the fight for the crown prince is extremely dangerous. If we are not careful, our lives will be in jeopardy. The prince, as a member of the royal family, still has room to retreat, but for people like me and my brother who have no foundation, if something goes wrong, we will be doomed. Factional strife is not something that people like us who come from humble backgrounds are worthy of participating in."
Her voice trembled slightly as she slowly straightened her knees. "The moon is bright and the stars are sparse. Crows and magpies fly south, circling the tree three times, but finding no branch to lean on... Brother knows full well that the only tree Great Yong can rely on isn't a person, but the monarch who sits on the throne. For you, the key to survival is to serve the monarch with absolute loyalty. Moreover, you have diligently studied the sages' books since childhood, and loyalty to the monarch and patriotism has long been ingrained in your bones. Your only aspiration in this life is to use your talent and knowledge to establish a heart for heaven and earth, a life for the people, to carry on the lost teachings of the past sages, and to bring peace to the world for all eternity."
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