Chapter 325: The Queen Mother disembarks.
Zhao Xiaofei was so angry that he threw the information on the table and said, "What are Huang Degong and Gao Jie trying to do? They rushed into the capital before the Empress Dowager did. It's obvious that they want to steal the credit!"
Li Sihong took a look at the paper and said soothingly, "What's there to be angry about? Everyone knows that it's your contribution to the recovery of the capital! Gao Jie, Huang Degong and the others have always obeyed the court, so none of us can say anything. Besides, they haven't done anything to threaten us. Why not send someone to ask them what they really think?"
"Is there any need to ask? Gao Jie used to be a rebel, but now he has joined the government army, so naturally he is loyal to the court. This is especially true for Gao Jie!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Husband, there is no need to be angry. You don't want to rebel, so why bother about these things?" Li Sihong said.
Zhao Xiaofei said, "Not rebelling is one thing, but developing my power is another! I don't want to lose power one day and not be able to protect you. The greater my power, the safer you will be. Zhang Juzheng was so glorious when he was alive, but what will happen to his descendants after his death? I have Guangzong, Wenxian, and Qingcheng. I will have many more children in the future, and I have to think about them too."
"Then what does my husband plan to do?" Li Sihong asked.
Zhao Xiaofei said, "Send someone to contact him first! Especially Huang Degong! See what his attitude is. I don't want to start a civil war right now. I don't want to be laughed at by outsiders."
"Then let Li Zichu go there himself!" said Li Sihong.
"No, let Xiao Si go in person! If he goes in person, it will show that I am sincere." Zhao Xiaofei said.
While they were discussing the situation, Princess Zhaoren opened the door and walked in. Seeing the two of them, she excitedly said, "Husband, let's go have dinner together! I went hunting with Sister Shen today, and I even shot a pheasant!"
Zhao Xiaofei turned around and immediately smiled, saying, "Didn't I tell you not to go to the mountains? Why are you disobeying me again?"
"Since Sister Chen has gone, I want to go with her. It's too boring to stay in the palace all the time!" Princess Zhaoren said with a pout.
"Miss Shen knows martial arts, how about you? If you want to go there next time, call more guards. Otherwise, I won't feel at ease!" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Okay! If I go there again in the future! I'll tell you in advance, let's go! I'm going to eat chicken!" Princess Zhaoren came up and pulled Zhao Xiaofei and Li Sihong out.
Li Sihong felt embarrassed to disobey the princess's wishes. After all, she was a concubine and Princess Zhaoren was her equal wife.
Zhao Xiaofei doted on Princess Zhaoren like a daughter, giving her everything she wanted. The palace was turning into a children's playground. Zhao Xiaofei painted a carousel and had a carpenter come to the palace and build it over three days and nights. Princess Zhaoren, having heard Zhao Xiaofei's stories, wanted to see what it looked like.
Zhaoren now likes to paint oil paintings, so Zhao Xiaofei specially invited several Western missionaries to teach her how to paint.
Whenever Zhaoren had her period, Zhao Xiaofei would stay by her side, hugging and comforting her.
Zhaoren was spoiled beyond measure in Zhao Xiaofei's hands. She was like a happy little bird, free to fly as far as she wanted and having a safe harbor to take shelter from the wind when she was tired. Zhaoren lived a simple and happy life, and it seemed as if she would never grow up.
When they arrived at the middle hall, the food was already prepared. Shen Yunying was standing aside waiting for their arrival.
Seeing Shen Yunying like this, Zhao Xiaofei said, "Sit down! We don't have so many rules in our palace. Sit down when you want to, eat when you want to. You used to be a child of the Jianghu, but now that you're a concubine, why don't you have the same heroic spirit as before?" After saying that, he went over and pulled Shen Yunying to a stool and asked her to sit down. Shen Yunying blushed.
When Li Sihong saw the princess and Shen Yunying sitting down, she also sat down next to the princess.
After Zhao Xiaofei sat down, he said, "You are all my beloved women, so don't be so restrained in front of me."
"My husband is right, Sister Chen and Sister Li, you should not be so restrained. It is not necessary in front of your family! The most important thing in life is to be happy. This is what my husband told me." Princess Zhaoren said.
Zhao Xiaofei feels that Princess Zhaoren is developing in the direction of Princess Huanzhu: clever and eccentric, lively and active. Her thoughts are simple and cute, and she dares to love and hate. She is always up to her job!
Of course, Zhao Xiaofei didn't want them all to be like this. Everyone had their own personality. Li Sihong was calm and composed, and valued friendship and loyalty. Shen Yunying was a man of the world, handsome and free-spirited. He had no scheming, and his emotions were all written on his face.
But Zhao Xiaofei felt that Li Sihong was becoming more and more scheming, and Shen Yunying was becoming more and more timid and cautious. He wanted to bring them back together and keep them the way they were before.
While Zhao Xiaofei was in the palace, thinking about how to keep his beloved woman true to her original intention, the Tongzhou Wharf in the capital was crowded with people, all of whom were looking forward to the arrival of Empress Dowager Zhou.
The sailors on the boat shouted, "Go to the toilet!"
The creaking chains were slowly lowered, and the sails were all lowered. One ship after another slowly docked at the pier. One of them stood out, its sails all red, with a phoenix pattern painted on them.
It went without saying that this ship belonged to Empress Dowager Zhou. People on the dock began to discuss it, wondering how they could get the Empress Dowager to see them, how they could give her gifts, and how they could make her remember them.
After the boat came to a stop, the workers put up the gangplank. The eunuch shouted, "The Queen Mother has arrived!"
Everyone knelt on the ground, and the Queen Mother's procession came out first. Then the Queen Mother was helped off the boat by several palace maids.
I don't know who shouted "May the Queen Mother be blessed with good health and happiness," but everyone kneeling on the ground started shouting along. Some even started to cry quietly.
When General Zhou heard this, he frowned. He thought to himself: "Why are you crying? I'll save my energy for when the Queen Mother dies."
The Queen Mother's voice of "May you be blessed with good health" became louder and louder, echoing through the sky.
Empress Dowager Zhou sat on the sedan chair and looked at the people kneeling on the ground. She recalled how she had fled the capital many years ago.
As she passed a section of the road, she saw officials kneeling below, shouting in unison: "Queen Dowager, please move on! Please, Queen Dowager, please stay!"
Queen Mother Zhou looked confused. She didn't remember Zhao Xiaofei bringing so many officials with him. So she asked, "Who are you? Why don't I remember you?"
"Empress Dowager! I am Fang Wenyou, the former Minister of Works!"
"Empress Dowager, I am Guo Yu, the former Minister of Justice!"
Queen Mother...
These officials hurried forward to introduce themselves, but what they didn't see was that Empress Dowager Zhou frowned every time she heard a name.
Gradually, her face darkened, and she thought to herself: It was you, a bunch of people, who caused the Ming Dynasty to fall apart. You have so much money, but no one has given her husband a penny. They watched their family go to ruin.
"Someone, come here! Take these disloyal and unrighteous people away!"
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