The Southern Song Dynasty had pledged allegiance to the Jin Kingdom, and the two sides had agreed to be uncle and nephew. In theory, every time the Jin Kingdom sent an envoy to deliver a letter of credence, Zhao Gou should respectfully bow and receive the edict. Of course, theory was one thing, and reality was another. Every time this happened, Zhao Gou would pretend to be sick and hide in the palace. He would let a few officials bow on his behalf and receive instructions from the Jin Kingdom's envoy.
Although the Jin Kingdom was displeased, Zhao Gou was the emperor, and they couldn't really do anything to him. Therefore, this rule was tacitly accepted. This time, Zhao Gou saw that the situation was not right and immediately threw Moqi Suo out.
Hearing Zhao Gou's words, Moqi Suo's face turned red, but the emperor had spoken, so how could he refute?
Han Xingzhou said gloatingly, "Thank you for your hard work, Sir Moqi."
Moqi Jue's eyes rolled, and she suddenly squeezed out a smile. She said to Zhao Gou, "Your Majesty, since Master Song's identity is so noble, and he has saved so many princesses before, and has done the Imperial Court a great favor, if I alone kneel to him, it will not be grand enough. As the head of all the civil and military officials, I suggest that all the civil and military officials of the Imperial Court bow to Master Song to express the gratitude of the Imperial Court to him.
He saw the situation very clearly. Jia Shidao and Han Xingzhou had always been at odds with him, and they wouldn't let go of the chance to kick him when he was down. Plus, the emperor had spoken, so kneeling was a foregone conclusion.
But he knew very well that he was a dignified Prime Minister. If he knelt to a young man, it could be said that he would lose all his prestige and reputation. Since that was the case, he might as well drag everyone down with him. That way, no one would laugh at him afterwards.
"This …" In fact, Zhao Gou had asked Moqi Suo to kneel out of anger. After calming down, he regretted it. He knew how serious the consequences would be if Moqi Suo knelt. The balance of power he had worked so hard to maintain over the years would be broken.
Whether it was Han Xingzhou or Jia Shidao, the forces behind them were too powerful. Any one of them could threaten the imperial power itself, so Zhao Gou needed a mad dog like Moqi Suo to help him deal with the two powerful groups.
Zhao Gou was regretting his impulsiveness earlier, but when he heard Moqi Ju's suggestion, his eyes immediately brightened. "That's fine too. You will lead the officials to thank Prince Song on behalf of the Imperial Court." It would be good to take this opportunity to knock Jia and Han down a peg. At the same time, it would give enough face to Song Qingshu so that he would not take the credit of the laundry yard and demand an exorbitant price.
Zhao Gou responded too quickly, and Jia Shidao and Han Xingzhou swallowed all the words they wanted to say. Their faces turned pale. They were used to being superior, and they couldn't bring themselves to kneel and salute a young man at this time.
Jia Shidao glared at Han Xingzhou, as if he was blaming him for provoking Moqi Suo. Now, he had brought trouble upon himself and everyone else.
Han Xingzhou was also very depressed. If the Emperor was not here, he seemed ready to pounce and tear the other to pieces at any time.
All the civil and military officials stared hatefully at the backs of the three heavyweights. They thought to themselves, "You guys are fighting, but we have to suffer because of you guys. Even if we're lying down, we'll still be shot."
"If you want to embarrass me, then don't think you'll have a good life." Moqi Suo's eyes were full of anger as she glanced around. Her eyes fell on Han Xingzhou and Jia Shidao, and a hideous smile appeared on her face. "Lord Jia, Lord Han, please."
Finished speaking, he came in front of Song QingShu and glared at him venomously. Only then did he lower his eyelids and coldly said: "Minister Zuo She and Assistant Minister Wanqi Chen greets Young Master Song. Many thanks to Young Master for rescuing the princesses from the abyss of misery." Left Minister and Right Minister were just titles that people used to call them for convenience. In official documents, the title he said was "Minister of the Left Servant She and Assistant Minister Moqi Suo," while the Right Minister was "Minister of the Left Servant She and Assistant Minister of the Central Secretariat."
As if she knew that kneeling was inevitable, Moqi Suo didn't hesitate and knelt without hesitation. The Right Minister, Zhang Jun, had always been on his side. Although he was angry, he had no choice but to kneel. When the two leaders knelt, the officials who belonged to their faction also knelt.
About one-third of the people in the hall knelt, and the other officials who were still standing all looked at Jia Shidao and Han Xingzhou, asking for their opinion. Suddenly, the two of them were very eye-catching.
"What? Are Lord Jia and Lord Han unwilling to share the burden of the court, or do you want to disobey the imperial edict?" Moqi Suo's strange voice suddenly echoed through the hall.
Song Qingshu looked on coldly and secretly glanced at Zhao Gou, who was sitting on the throne, and saw that he looked very embarrassed. After all, he had been the emperor of the Qing Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom. Song Qingshu immediately understood what Zhao Gou was thinking.
It turned out that the officials in the court were clearly divided into three factions. The emperor had already given the edict, but the officials still subconsciously asked the leaders of the factions for their opinion. How could he, the emperor, put his face?
In the eyes of the emperor, it didn't matter if you were a corrupt official or an honest one, a loyal official or a treacherous one. What he cared about was whether or not you would threaten the imperial power. Obviously, Jia Shidao and Han Xingzhou made Zhao Gou feel this kind of threat.
Jia Shidao and Han Xingzhou also saw Zhao Gou's expression, and they were both shocked. They had been in the political arena for many years, and they were very good at figuring out the emperor's thoughts. They quickly came to the same conclusion.
Compared to face, the two of them cared more about the emperor's attitude. They had no choice but to kneel and say, "Greetings, Prince Song." In their hearts, they gave the most cordial greetings to Moqi Suo's eighteen generations of female ancestors.
"Greetings, Prince Song." They had all given in, so the officials in the court naturally didn't insist. They all knelt down with their followers, and their voices rang through the entire hall.
Looking at the officials in the court kneeling in front of him, including many famous treacherous officials and powerful officials in history, that moment felt so … wonderful. Song Qingshu deliberately stayed silent for a moment. After everyone knelt for a while, he said, "Rise … Ahem, everyone, please rise."
He was used to being the emperor of the Qing Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom, and he almost said "rise" by mistake. That would be embarrassing.
The officials in the court immediately stood up, and the atmosphere in the hall became very awkward.
Zhao Gou coughed and broke the silence. "Minister Song, why have you come south despite your busy schedule?" Although Han Xingzhou already knew his purpose through Qi, he still had to go through the necessary procedures.
Song Qingshu smiled faintly and answered, "Song Mou has come this time to visit the princesses that we saved last time, and also to propose marriage."
Once he said this, the officials in the court immediately began to discuss. After all, only a few people knew the inside story beforehand. In the eyes of the majority, the Golden Snake Camp and the Southern Song's Chen troops were on the river. The situation was extremely tense, and war could break out at any moment. They really didn't expect that he would come to propose marriage at this juncture. Some of the smarter people had already faintly guessed that this was a sign of peace talks, but the majority were still confused. They all looked at Zhao Gou, waiting to see what his reaction was.
Zhao Gou laughed and answered, "Last time, it was thanks to Minister Song's righteous act that the princesses were able to return to their homeland. After they came back, they did not stop praising you in my ears. I can see that many of the princesses have a very good impression of Minister Song. I wonder which princess does Minister Song want to propose marriage to this time?"
The princesses that were saved by the Huan Yi Brothel were mostly the daughters of Song Huizong, who were Zhao Gou's sisters. Zhao Gou had always valued filial piety, but his father and brother had always been suffering in the Jin Kingdom, and he didn't think of a way to bring them back. He had already received much criticism among the people. Now that he had a chance to show off through these sisters, he naturally was more attentive.
"In reply to Your Majesty, Song Mou wants to propose marriage to Princess Cheng De and Princess Roufu." Princess Cheng De was Zhao Hu 'er's title, and Princess Roufu was Zhao Yuanyuan's title. Back in the Jin Kingdom Imperial Palace, these two girls had already been intimate with Song Qingshu for Empress Pei Man's plan. Though they hadn't reached the final step, they had pretty much done what should and shouldn't have been done. The two girls had given up so much for their love. Song Qingshu naturally didn't want to hurt any of them. So even though he knew that this would be very troublesome, he still said it without hesitation. As the saying went, it was better to betray the world than the beauties.
When Song Qingshu said this, the entire hall was like a drop of water falling into a pot of boiling oil. It had to be known that in the past dynasties, it was already a great blessing to be able to marry a princess. Who would dare to be so extravagant as to marry two at the same time?
Zhao Gou's brow furrowed, and he subconsciously glared at Han Xingzhou, asking him why he hadn't said this before.
Han Xingzhou also groaned inwardly. Previously, when he had chatted with Song Qingshu, he knew that he was asking for marriage, but who would have thought that he planned to marry two princesses? So he hadn't specifically asked about it, and now, such a big mistake had occurred.
Moqi Ruo was already holding back her anger from what had just happened, and when she heard him say this, she took the opportunity to attack, "How dare you! How can there be a reason to marry two princesses at the same time in this world? Song, do you know that your words just now have already committed the crime of great disrespect?"
Song Qingshu stared at her coldly, "Moqi Ruo, please watch your tone. Do you want to kneel again?"
"Pfft ~"
Some people in the crowd couldn't help but laugh. It was clear that Moqi Ruo's previous attempts to make things difficult for Song Qingshu had only ended with her kneeling, and these people couldn't help but laugh.
Moqi Ruo's face was livid, and she was momentarily speechless.
Only then did Song Qingshu say, "Song Mou also knows that it is somewhat against the rules to ask for two princesses at the same time …"
"It's not just against the rules, it's simply nonsense," Han Xingzhou thought exasperatedly.
"But our situation is special," Song Qingshu said in a clear voice, "When we were in the Jin Kingdom, we were surrounded by perils, and every step was filled with trepidation. The two princesses and I have experienced too many things together, and we have long since fallen in love with each other. No matter who we abandon, we will hurt the other. So at that time, we had already pledged ourselves to marry each other, and promised to live together for the rest of our lives. If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can send someone to the palace to ask the two princesses."
Hearing him speak so confidently, Zhao Gou knew that this was most likely the case. He couldn't help but frown, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do. To be honest, if he could negotiate peace with the Golden Snake Camp, he didn't mind marrying one or two princesses. In any case, these princesses weren't his daughters, and in addition to the fact that they were constantly nagging at him to save his Imperial Father and Imperial Brother, he couldn't wait to have all of these people brought away by Song Qingshu so that he could get close to them. But the Imperial Court had to care about face. If they lost the dignity of the Imperial Family and became the laughingstock of the people, the losses would outweigh the gains.
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