Meng Yue hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Seeing the Empress's resolute expression, he swallowed his words.
Why has the Empress returned to her cold and aloof attitude?
Before the Emperor left the capital, the two of them were fine, and the Empress personally prepared clothes for the Emperor to wear when he went out.
They even brought the emperor's winter cloak, fearing he might get cold in the sweltering summer.
The emperor laughed several times on the way, saying that he had really married a silly wife.
As we traveled northeast past Shanhaiguan, the nights became chilly, but putting on a cloak immediately warmed us up.
Meng Yue flattered, "Your Majesty the Empress was truly prescient."
The emperor laughed and kicked him, saying, "You little rascal, you'll see once you get married."
Meng Yue didn't dare to speak, and reached out to touch the wool vest he was wearing underneath.
He was a eunuch, so getting married was out of the question.
There was a vest sewn by hand by Xiao Cui, who was on duty at the Wenhua Hall, which kept her warm both in the front and back.
That taste, so sweet and refreshing, he knew it even without getting married.
That night, the emperor gazed at the moon for a long time and said that the moon in the capital should be the same as the one here.
He also secretly glanced at the sky, wondering if Xiao Cui was also looking at the moon.
If the Emperor knew that the Empress was ill, would he rush back in a panic?
The Empress was very thoughtful, fearing that it would interfere with the Emperor's important business.
Lost in thought, Meng Yue stepped back, only to see Zhang Yong arrive again.
He slowed his pace and stood at the doorway for a few moments.
Despite her illness, the Empress forced herself to sit up and spoke a few words to Zhang Daban through the curtain.
The Empress's voice was so soft that only Zhang Yong could hear it.
Zhang Yong's expression changed instantly.
He said with utmost caution, "Your Majesty, please rest assured."
Zhang Yong strode away in a hurry, without even glancing at Meng Yue.
...
Su Wanwan recovered significantly after resting for two days.
However, his energy was still insufficient, so all the memorials were transferred to the Directorate of Ceremonial.
The ministers were full of complaints about this.
In particular, a case concerning the verification of salt tax in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces put Liu Jin in the spotlight once again.
Salt administration has always been a lucrative job.
This salt tax audit listed all the losses incurred since the late emperor, ordering all officials, from the salt inspector down to the judge, to make full compensation.
The highest amount to be compensated is over nine thousand taels of silver, and the lowest is over one hundred taels of silver.
Yang Qi, the transport commissioner of Liangzhe who was involved in the case, has died. His wife appealed that she was poor and living with relatives, and asked for mercy and forgiveness.
Liu Jin's reply was that he would definitely do it without mercy.
The people who were demanding the money back captured Yang Qi's granddaughter, who had already been sold to a wealthy family, and married her off to another family willing to pay, thus raising the money.
This move sparked unanimous protests from wealthy households and officials in Jiangnan, and caused an uproar in public opinion.
I can totally relate to that; it makes me feel so insecure.
Who knows when disaster might strike, and soldiers might storm in, seize your wife, and force you to remarry?
The young palace maid vividly recounted the incident to Su Wanwan, who was bedridden, filled with righteous indignation.
Su Wanwan smiled gently: "Do you think Minister Liu did the right thing or the wrong thing?"
The palace maid's eyes flickered, "Their actions are far too cruel..."
Su Wanwan understood why Lu Xingjian had kept Liu Jin.
Because he was so harsh and cruel, Liu Jin offended far too many people by supporting his cronies.
His life and future depended more and more on Lu Xingjian.
Lu Xingjian also needs a sharp blade to cut a hole in the current situation where officials protect each other and even taxes and grain cannot be collected.
He and Liu Jin needed each other.
Lu Xingjian then suppressed the matter of Liu Jin instigating arson against the Su family.
If she hadn't deliberately won over Zhang Yong, the truth of this matter would probably have remained a secret from her forever.
However, given the near annihilation of her family and the hatred of killing her son, she couldn't simply let Liu Jin continue his evil deeds.
Because she was also a target of Liu Jin's oppressive and tyrannical rule.
You only know how painful it is when the stick falls on your own body.
Seeing that Su Wanwan was in low spirits, the palace maid didn't dare to say anything more and changed the subject to Heying:
"Your Highness, when will Sister Heying return?"
Su Wanwan's eyes dimmed slightly: "She has her own things to do."
They probably won't come back.
Having experienced what happened with Yan Rong, she would no longer harbor any illusions about maids who acted strangely.
Therefore, sending Heying out on business was also a way of transferring her away.
Similarly, it is also a kind of fulfillment for Heying.
He deliberately let her spend more time with Liu Qi under the pretense of selling horses, so that they would develop feelings for each other over time and eventually get together.
As for Liu Qi's wishes, Su Wanwan felt that since he took the initiative to send flowers to provoke He Ying, he must have had feelings for He Ying.
Men's world is broader and richer, and it's not just about love.
Sometimes she wondered if she and Lu Xingjian would be happy if they didn't have these kinds of identities.
I think so.
She would act like a stepmother, preparing three meals a day and buying shoes, socks, and clothes for the man.
When he was away from home, she would take good care of the household, be filial to her parents-in-law, raise the children, and write letters to him in her spare time.
Su Wanwan was somewhat stunned.
She took out the letters that Lu Xingjian had written to her.
I slowly flipped through it again.
She held the letters to her chest and stared blankly at the top of the curtain.
...
When Liu Jin heard that Ma Yongcheng had gone to see Su Wanwan, his expression immediately changed.
He didn't go to Ma Yongcheng, that opportunist, but went directly to Zhang Yong.
"Have you thought this through? Are you determined to follow the Empress?" Liu Jin looked at Zhang Yong with a sinister gaze, his words full of warning.
Zhang Yong looked at Liu Jin expressionlessly without saying a word.
They wouldn't even bother to answer that question.
Their gazes clashed in mid-air.
Neither side was willing to back down.
Liu Jin said nothing more and left.
Zhang Yong glanced at his retreating figure and left in another direction.
Because Su Wanwan's health condition did not permit it, the approval of the memorial fell into Liu Jin's hands again.
He quickly transferred Marquis Huaining Sun Yingjue to the Five Armies Commandery, effectively demoting him and stripping him of his real power. He also transferred Marquis Wuding Guo Xun to the Shenji Camp and the Three Thousand Camp to oversee military operations.
Xue Xun, the Earl of Yongning who originally managed the Three Thousand Battalions, was transferred to the former Military Governor's Office in Nanjing to take charge of affairs.
What excited Liu Jin even more was that Qian Ning secretly reported that when the emperor left the capital in the first month of the lunar calendar, he had visited a girl from a country tavern named Feng Jie.
The daughter was already several months pregnant and was close to giving birth.
Liu Ming was overjoyed.
With the capital army in place, princes were soon to follow.
Things will be much easier once Zhang Yong is eliminated.
It's just a pity about the million taels of silver notes used to redeem the horse girl.
He heard that Ma Ji was pregnant with a dragon's child, which is why he spent money to redeem her.
This time it was all for nothing.
However, Liu Jin was shrewd enough not to suffer this loss for nothing.
He offered Ma Ang a huge reward, promising to transfer Ma Ang to the position of General of Yansui, in exchange for one million taels of silver.
Ma Ang couldn't help but be moved.
However, he didn't have enough money on hand, and even after scraping together what he could, he was still short by quite a bit.
As early as April, Ma'ang applied to include the civilian soldiers he had brought back from the grasslands into the army.
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