Chapter 329: Dialogue between the Emperor and His Ministers
"That's great! Thank you, brother-in-law! By the way, did you secretly return to Nanjing?" Zhu Cijiong asked with a smile.
"Yes! I came back to see your sister, and then I went back to Chengdu immediately." Zhao Xiaofei explained.
"My sister is pregnant. I thought it was you who came back secretly. And it's a coincidence that my Lu Ling is also pregnant with my child. The imperial physician and Mr. Zhang have both checked it out. She and my sister were born in the same month." Zhu Cijiong said.
"That's a good thing! The emperor can now blackmail Lu Ling!" Zhao Xiaofei congratulated.
"What kind of status do you think I should give her?" Zhu Cijiong asked.
This was probably the first time that an emperor of the Ming Dynasty had a child without a grand wedding.
"Does the cabinet know about this?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"I saw that you were coming back, so I didn't tell the cabinet. I came to discuss this with you first!" Zhu Cijiong said.
"What does the emperor mean?" asked Zhao Xiaofei.
"Of course I want to make Lu Ling the queen!" said Zhu Cijiong.
"Then just make her the queen! You are the emperor. Doesn't the ancestral system require the royal family to marry girls from humble backgrounds into the palace in order to prevent the monopoly of power by foreign relatives? If you bring up the ancestral system at this time, no one will be able to say anything." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Brother-in-law is right! But those old ministers don't think so. They want me to marry the daughters of some high-ranking officials, such as He Tengjiao's youngest daughter and Zheng Zhilong's youngest daughter!" Zhu Cijiong said.
Zhao Xiaofei smiled and said, "You can marry her! But you absolutely can't give her the position of empress! They're already very powerful. Especially Zheng Zhilong. If his daughter became empress, he'd be so proud! Besides, we're bound to have a war with the Zheng family. We can't let outsiders control this sea route forever. It must be controlled by the imperial court. Sooner or later, the Ming Dynasty's navy will return to the size of the eunuch Sanbao's voyages to the West."
"What do you think, brother-in-law?" Zhu Cijiong asked.
"Lu Ling will be named Empress, He Tengjiao's daughter will be named Imperial Noble Consort, and Zheng Zhilong's daughter will be named Shun Consort! In addition, I heard that Huang Degong has several granddaughters, and you can marry one of them. Make her Shu Consort! Ni Yuanlu has a granddaughter, and General Zhou sent a letter, saying that she was not harmed by the Chuang army and the Jianlu. Your Majesty may also consider it. However, Ni Yuanlu is the Prime Minister, and his granddaughter can be named a Noble Lady or Zhaoyi at most. If Ni Yuanlu is no longer the Prime Minister in the future, you can give his granddaughter the title of Jing Consort or something like that." Zhao Xiaofei said with a happy face.
Zhu Cijiong counted on her fingers and found that including Lu Ling, she was going to marry five women in total. She frowned and said, "Brother-in-law! Isn't this five women too many?"
"You are the emperor. If you want to have many children and grandchildren, you have to have a large harem. What's this? Think about how many women Taizu had when he was alive? How many women were buried with him after he passed away?" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"But there were also emperors in our dynasty, like Xianzong and Xiaozong, who only favored one person," said Zhu Cijiong.
"Oh! Your Majesty, there are too many concubines in this harem, and it's too tiring! But favoring only one person can easily lead to trouble! We can't have another woman like Concubine Wan in the Ming Dynasty. Lu Ling is a good girl, but people change. Who can guarantee that she will always be like this?" Zhao Xiaofei said. He regretted it as soon as he said it. Isn't this a reminder for the emperor to be on guard against himself? Zhao Xiaofei wanted to slap himself in the face.
However, Zhu Cijiong didn't think about it. He was really considering it seriously. After a while, he said, "Brother-in-law, let's do it this way! But I don't know if the Queen Mother will object!"
Zhao Xiaofei thought to himself: Your mother doesn't have the time to do that now! I heard that some people cried to death in the imperial mausoleum, especially when they saw your eldest brother's body, they cried miserably!
"Then the emperor can just ask for permission. The empress dowager is now urging officials in the capital to build a mausoleum. She probably doesn't have time to deal with this matter! After all, it's the emperor who is getting married, and the empress dowager can't always be with you!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
Zhu Cijiong thought for a moment and said, "Then I will ask Ni Yuanlu to come to the palace tomorrow."
"Okay! Then I'll congratulate the emperor first!" Zhao Xiaofei said. He decided not to talk nonsense with his brother-in-law anymore. He wanted to go home and see Princess Kunxing.
"Brother-in-law, I've thought about something. If my sister gave birth to a daughter and I gave birth to a son, then..." Before Zhu Cijiong could finish his words, Zhao Xiaofei stopped him and said, "Your Majesty, no! My daughter cannot marry your son!"
"Why? Wouldn't it be great if we could become closer relatives?" Zhu Cijiong looked puzzled.
"Your Majesty, first of all, from a medical perspective, I object. They are close relatives. If they marry, their children will likely be mentally retarded. They will be idiots! Secondly, if my daughter becomes empress, it will be a huge threat to the Ming Dynasty's imperial power. The other ministers will also oppose it!" Zhao Xiaofei spoke seriously this time. His expression was so serious that Zhu Cijiong rarely saw his brother-in-law like this.
Zhu Cijiong asked, "Can a fool really be born?"
"The probability is very high! And the royal family of Europe has already practiced it. Not only are they prone to giving birth to stupid children, they are also prone to a serious disease called hemophilia. As long as there is a small wound, they will easily bleed." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"So that's how it is! Then just pretend I never mentioned it!" Zhu Cijiong said.
"I think it's getting late, so I won't disturb the emperor's rest." Zhao Xiaofei planned to go home to see his wife.
"Okay! That's it for now! Let's discuss going north and returning to Beijing tomorrow!" Zhu Cijiong said.
"I'm leaving!" Zhao Xiaofei bowed and left the palace, then returned to the palace.
Princess Kunxing had been waiting at the door for Zhao Xiaofei to come home.
As soon as Zhao Xiaofei got off the carriage, he saw Princess Kunxing standing in front of the door waiting for him. He walked up to Princess Kunxing and said, "You are not healthy, why are you still out here? Let's go back!"
Then he walked over to Kou Baimen, took his daughter, and said with a smile, "This girl is so beautiful! She looks like you!"
Kou Baimen finally felt relieved when she heard this. She was really worried that Zhao Xiaofei would be unhappy because she gave birth to a daughter, or even ignore her. And it was obvious that her husband really liked daughters.
Zhaoren felt a little uncomfortable when she saw Zhao Xiaofei holding his daughter. She also wanted a child now, even if it was a daughter.
Shen Yunying also had the same idea, but she was thinking that this time she finally didn't have to worry about not giving birth to a son.
Qin Baobao and Qin Xiaomi watched from a distance, and Qin Baobao felt a little sad. It seemed that his son Qiji had no status in Zhao Xiaofei's eyes. He had so many wives and concubines, and they gave birth to so many children for him. He probably didn't have much time to spend with his son.
Qin Xiaomi watched all this and she really wished that it was herself who stood beside Zhao Xiaofei. She also wanted to be as glorious as Princess Kunxing.
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