Chapter 340: Recruiting a Large Harem
At this moment, there was movement at the cave entrance. It seemed like someone else had come in. Upon closer inspection, it was Ni Yuanlu.
Ni Yuanlu was very worried about the emperor's safety, especially since he had no children. Nothing could happen to the emperor, otherwise the country would be in chaos.
Hearing the noise, Zhao Xiaofei put Queen Mother Zhou on the ground.
Ni Yuanlu walked up to her and asked, "How is the Queen Mother?"
"The Queen Mother is gone!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"What? The Empress Dowager is gone?" Ni Yuanlu also hoped that this woman would die soon. Now, the court officials no longer had to worry about what this crazy woman would do next.
Although she was extremely happy in her heart, she said, "Empress Dowager! We can leave now!" and then began to squeeze out tears.
The Emperor was crying while holding Empress Dowager Zhou. Someone outside was shouting, "Your Majesty! Please come out! Please come out!"
Zhao Xiaofei simply crawled out and asked, "What's going on?"
At this time, General Zhou came over and said, "Someone outside is starting a rebellion. Please give us instructions, Your Majesty!"
"Rebellion? When did it happen?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"Just now! They said that the prince was planning a rebellion, wanted to kill the empress dowager, and capture the emperor." said General Zhou.
"Mobilize the troops and kill all those who dare to confront the central government. I will ask the emperor to come out immediately!" Zhao Xiaofei's eyes showed murderous intent.
"Yes!" Zhou Shuai turned around and went to carry out the mission.
Zhao Xiaofei called Yan Yingyuan over and said, "Prepare for the empress dowager's funeral ceremony immediately. It's best to keep it simple."
"I understand!" Yan Yingyuan agreed.
Zhao Xiaofei went over again and said to Zhu Cijiong, "Your Majesty, don't be sad for now. There are rebels outside. Someone must have known that the Queen Mother was going to deal with me, and then they took the opportunity to launch a rebellion. Please, Your Majesty, put the country first at this time!"
Ni Yuanlu also hurriedly advised: "Your Majesty, Prince Li is right. Please consider the overall situation!"
Zhu Cijiong slowly put down his mother's body, then stood up and said, "It seems that someone is always coveting my Ming Dynasty! It won't be so easy to take it away! Prince Li, kill him!"
The three men put Empress Dowager Zhou's body away, and someone came in to clean up.
Zhao Xiaofei and the emperor rode to the main gate of the new mausoleum. Outside, smoke and dust rose up, and the cavalry on their horses rushed towards the enemy with their sabers brandished.
The cavalry advanced at a speed of 40 miles per hour, sabers drawn, using inertia to chop off heads, and bright red blood immediately spurted out from the bowl-sized cut on the enemy's neck.
Zhu Cijiong felt a little nauseous, but he managed to hold it in. Soon, General Zhou's troops returned, and he rode up to report.
"Your Majesty, there are not many rebel soldiers, only about two thousand or so. They have been killed and dispersed now!" said General Zhou.
"We must wipe them out completely!" said Zhu Cijiong.
"Your Majesty, please leave some people behind so that we can find out the whole story," said Zhao Xiaofei.
Zhu Cijiong nodded and said, "Just do as Prince Li says!"
"Yes!" Zhou Shuai stood up, mounted his horse and left.
"Could it be that my mother has a backup plan?" Zhu Cijiong said.
"Not necessarily! It could have been leaked by the palace maids or eunuchs!" Zhao Xiaofei said. He hadn't thought Empress Dowager Zhou was so cunning and scheming. If that were the case, he would have been killed by her long ago.
Wang Erxi and that palace maid and eunuch must have colluded with people outside the palace, hoping to eliminate themselves and even the emperor together with them.
The more I think about it, the more I realize this is the case. I originally established the Inner Guard to get rid of these people. But the Inner Guard is still developing too slowly and its scale is still too small. If only it could be like the Jinyiwei during Taizu's time, knowing everything a minister did last night, which concubine they slept with, and even what kind of pajamas a concubine liked to wear. That would be great.
It’s no wonder that Zhu Yuanzhang is suspicious of you ministers. The main reason is that you guys are always trying to harm me.
The Empress Dowager passed away, and the whole country was in mourning. The capital continued to be in mourning, and central power fell completely into the hands of Zhu Cijiong.
After the crisp autumn weather, the Empress Dowager had already been buried. Princess Kunxing and Shen Yunying crossed the Baimen Gate and followed Lu Ling, slowly walking for three months before reaching the capital.
Now that Lu Ling was the Empress, Princess Kunxing and the others had no choice but to curry favor with her. They were very attentive to her along the way. Feeling a little tired, they immediately stopped the boat to rest.
It was impossible for the emperor to observe mourning for three years like the ministers did when their mother died. A symbolic three months would be enough.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites were busy with the ceremony of enthroning the empress, but Zhu Cijiong asked that everything be kept simple, just for the baby in Lu Ling's belly.
Lu Ling did not participate in the entire process, and only showed up at the end when the golden book was handed to her.
Then, four designated concubines entered the palace: Huang Degong's granddaughter, He Tengjiao's youngest daughter, Zheng Zhilong's youngest daughter, and Ni Yuanlu's youngest granddaughter.
Zhao Xiaofei remembered that Zheng Zhilong had no daughter, so he asked the Internal Guard and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to inquire. It turned out that Zheng Zhilong's youngest daughter was born to a concubine and was not valued by Zheng Zhilong. She was also not recorded in their family tree.
When the imperial edict reached Quanzhou, Fujian, Zheng Zhilong was stunned. Then he realized, yes! The new emperor ascended the throne, and he had to curry favor with him! This emperor was his son-in-law, and that was more effective than any amulet. So he immediately wrote his daughter's name into the family tree.
He also asked his younger brother Zheng Zhibao to personally command three warships, loaded with all kinds of gold, silver and jewelry, to escort his daughter Zheng Xiang to the capital.
He Tengjiao was also very happy. With his youngest daughter going to Beijing to become a concubine, his position would be more secure. In the future, his He family might become the new elite of the Ming Dynasty.
Huang Degong had been feeling very anxious, as the Queen Mother's death had left him without support. But now that his granddaughter was being allowed into the palace, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The saddest person was Ni Yuanlu, who was reluctant to let his granddaughter enter the palace. After finally escaping the ravages of the Jianlu and Chuang troops, his granddaughter still had to go to the palace to suffer.
In Ni Yuanlu's eyes, his granddaughter would rather marry Zhao Xiaofei as a concubine than marry the emperor.
By marrying Zhao Xiaofei, his granddaughter could at least live happily and comfortably. He had seen Zhao Xiaofei's concubines many times, flaunting themselves outside all day long. Zhao Xiaofei was not angry at all, but even protected them. He heard that his concubines lived a more comfortable life than he, the Prime Minister.
Ni Yuanlu sent his granddaughter to the sedan chair with tears in his eyes, and his granddaughter Ni Lujiao also cried like a tearful person.
The emperor married three concubines and one Zhaoyi at once.
He Tengjiao was overjoyed when his daughter was named Imperial Concubine. Zheng Zhilong was even more pleased when his daughter was named Concubine Shun. Huang Degong's granddaughter was named Concubine Shu, and Ni Yuanlu's granddaughter was named Zhaoyi.
Ni Yuanlu didn't care about his granddaughter's title; it would be the same as long as she entered the palace. He just hoped that nothing would happen to his granddaughter and that she would be safe.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
