Chapter 42: Palace Game
Seeing the two men fighting in the court, the officials below all lowered their heads and remained silent. Only the eldest prince's wails echoed in the hall.
Not to mention the officials, even the palace maids who were serving nearby stayed where they were, not daring to move for a moment. After all, they couldn't afford to offend either of these two...
Hu Shanxiang raised her hand to support her forehead and said to the female official beside her: "Separate them! One is the empress dowager and the other is the emperor's concubine. How can they be pulling and tugging at each other in public?" After that, she gave a look to the palace servant next to her, indicating that they should take the eldest prince to the side hall and comfort him.
Zhu Yuhuan twitched the corners of his mouth, trying hard to suppress his expression.
Although she knew that Zhou Yingying would definitely not obey Empress Dowager Sun with her personality, she never expected that the two of them would fight. Such a scene was really "out of the ordinary".
Empress Dowager Sun also realized her own misconduct, but she was so angry at this moment that she scolded: "Even if you gave birth to the eldest prince, you are just a concubine! How dare you lay hands on the Empress Dowager!"
Zhou Yingying was unceremonious and immediately distanced herself from the matter, saying, "I didn't do anything. It was the Empress Dowager who wanted to punish me first. I followed the Empress to learn women's script. Loyalty to the country is the chastity of a woman. Could it be that the Empress Dowager hasn't learned that?"
Seeing that she was going too far, Hu Shanxiang interrupted her immediately, saying, "National affairs are at stake, Concubine De, please stop talking! I punish you by making you copy a scroll of women's script and sending it to the Empress Dowager's palace after you return to the palace. If you dare to say another word, you will be demoted as a warning to others!"
Zhou Yingying then shut up and quietly stepped aside.
Hu Shanxiang then looked at Empress Dowager Sun and said, "Why should an elder bother to argue with a younger one? Concubine De is so outspoken. Is the Empress Dowager also young and ignorant?"
Empress Dowager Sun just grabbed her sleeve that was pulled askew by Zhou Yingying and sat back in her original position indignantly.
Seeing the situation gradually coming under control, Xu Yun immediately took the initiative to speak: "Empress Defei is right. The rise and fall of the country is the responsibility of every man. What does this have to do with the princess's status as a vassal? I hope that the two Empress Dowagers and the eldest princess can put the overall situation first and not be humble and refuse!"
With Xu Yun's words, Zeng Heling, Shang Lu and others also followed suit and begged Princess Shunde to take over the power of regent.
Yu Qian also said in a shocked voice: "Many of the soldiers and their families who accompanied Your Majesty on the border patrol earlier have gathered in front of the Princess's residence. It is obvious that Your Highness is the one that everyone hopes to see. Your Highness must not refuse."
The eldest princess did not attend the court meeting yesterday, and everyone had sent people to inquire about it, so they naturally knew it clearly. Seeing that Yu Qian was using public opinion as an excuse, they also agreed.
Zhu Yuhuan, who had been standing there in silence, seemed to have made up her mind at this moment. She turned around and looked at everyone, saying, "I, Zhu Yuhuan, have been deeply influenced by my great-grandfather, grandfather, and the Emperor. Naturally, I will not refuse such an important responsibility. But since you all trust me and have entrusted me with the responsibility of regent, then I should be strict and united to fight the enemy together! If anyone has two minds, on the one hand respecting me as regent to fight against Wala, on the other hand having the intention of living in disgrace and secretly colluding with others, I will never forgive him easily." After that, she raised her finger to the sky and said, "Heaven, earth, and ancestors are above. If anyone has two minds, I will punish him with my own hands if the gods don't punish him!"
Everyone chose Princess Shunde to be regent, having already understood this.
In other words, the capital is in crisis now. Doing something disloyal at this time, such as joining forces with someone like Empress Dowager Sun who has neither power nor ability to start an internal conflict, is purely asking for trouble.
Zhu Yuhuan narrowed his eyes slightly, and his python robe sparkled in the morning light shining into the hall.
"Since everyone agrees, I will be the regent from now on. All matters, big or small, will be handled by me. The Empress Dowager Cihui will assist in managing the imperial city."
People didn't care about what was happening in the palace. What's more, now that Empress Dowager Sun had no emperor, and the only one who had a prince, Concubine Zhou De, was obviously at odds with the Empress Dowager, it was obvious that Empress Dowager Sun had completely lost her power and only had the title of Empress Dowager. The ministers didn't have the time to fight for treatment for Empress Dowager Sun. Besides, Empress Dowager Cihui and Princess Shunde didn't intend to be harsh to Empress Dowager Sun. They just didn't allow her to participate in the decision-making of major national affairs. Anyway, Empress Dowager Sun didn't have this power, so naturally there was no problem of "losing".
Therefore, after hearing Zhu Yuhuan's words, everyone bowed and agreed.
Seeing this, Hu Shanxiang raised her hand to signal the female officials and palace maids to leave, leaving the court to Zhu Yuhuan and the ministers. As for the reluctant Empress Dowager Sun, she knew at this moment that she was powerless to change the situation, so she left without saying a word.
The two Empress Dowagers withdrew, and the pearl curtain was drawn. Zhu Yuhuan had the combined memorial on the table brought over. He flipped through it casually and then said, "Yu Qian, Left Vice Minister of War, and Xu Yun, Right Vice Minister of Works, are promoted to Minister of War and Minister of Works respectively. They can act as they see fit. The Chief Minister, Cao Nai, has been with Your Majesty on a border patrol and has not yet returned. I'm afraid he died. The position of Chief Minister cannot be left vacant, but Ma Yu is seriously ill and unable to manage affairs. Zeng Heling will temporarily be appointed Second Minister, in charge of cabinet affairs. Yu Qian, Xu Yun, Xue Xuan, and Shang Lu will then be summoned to manage cabinet affairs. Jin Ying will be appointed Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Household... Finally, He Yong, Deputy Governor, will take charge of the Front Army Commandery. Zhang Fu, Duke of Ying, will be promoted to Grand Tutor, in charge of the Five Armies Commandery. When not in court, any ministers with important matters should immediately report to the Princess's residence."
Everyone was secretly surprised to hear her talk about personnel arrangements so clearly.
After all, the eldest princess has been in Yunnan for several years, yet she is so familiar with the affairs in the capital... However, thinking about the fact that Zhu Yuhuan just looked through the list of petitions in the memorial, and ordered everyone to go to the princess's mansion to report important matters, it is obvious that he intends to transfer the center of power to avoid being influenced by the two Empress Dowagers.
It seems that the imperial court will temporarily become the eldest princess's small office.
"I order Liu Yongcheng, the governor of Gansu, to go as an envoy to Hami, and Huang Jinfeng to go as an envoy to Wuliangha."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Zeng Heling then cautiously asked, "Your Highness is referring to the Golden Phoenix... the traveling merchant Golden Phoenix?"
Zhu Yuhuan uttered an "oh," and said, "Yes, that's her. She's quite prestigious in the Liaodong trade. Her relationship with the Wuliangha is probably comparable to the relationship between the border commander and the Oirat, right? Now that the Oirat has grown in power, they're bound to be vulnerable if they invade southward. While the Wuliangha appear weaker than the Oirat, if they're willing to support them, they might be able to launch a surprise attack on the Oirat and resolve the crisis in the capital."
Everyone heard the subtle meaning in Zhu Yuhuan's words. He was simply reminding everyone that she was not completely ignorant of the smuggling connection between the border troops and the Wala. If she didn't want to be involved, she should just shut up.
Zhu Yuhuan suddenly remembered something and said, "Tell the Seal Supervisor to bring the seal so that we can add the seal."
Zhang Fu was a little hesitant when he heard this, and said, "Your Highness, the seal has left the palace..."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled brightly and said, "With the eunuch from the Imperial Seal Office here, how can I possibly write it off?" She then looked at Jin Ying and said, "What do you think, Eunuch Jin, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Seal Office?"
Jin Ying hurriedly stepped forward, trying hard to suppress her joyful smile, and shouted, "I obey your command!"
Zhu Yuhuan didn't care how others viewed him. After all, at the moment, the most important thing was to unite all available forces. Therefore, he just asked the ministers who had reports to make to come out and make reports, and he issued orders one by one.
Seeing that the matter was almost settled, Zhu Yuhuan was about to order everyone to disperse when someone stood up and said:
"Your Highness, I have something to report!"
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