Song Qingshu looked on coldly. He knew that the current situation was the result of the cooperation of the various factions in the court. The other party had come prepared, so there was no point in him holding on. Therefore, he cut the Gordian knot and said, "I think what you have said makes sense. Staying in the palace is indeed easy to attract criticism. How about this, I will move out today, but I cannot ignore the safety of the officials. Someone's suggestion is very good. How about this, find a house near the palace, and I will guard there to prevent other Great Grandmasters or evil people from invading the palace."
The officials in the hall looked at each other. They did not expect him to agree to leave the palace so quickly. After all, they had prepared a few trump cards that they had not used.
However, since the other party had admitted to leaving the palace, they could not force him too much. After all, the other party's prestige and martial arts were there. Therefore, they accepted his suggestion and ordered the Imperial City Department to find a house near the palace for him to stay.
Seeing the reactions of the people in the hall, Song Qingshu secretly sighed. In the past, whether it was as Kangxi or Tang Kuo Bian, it was much easier for him to take over the court, so he was careless about this game of power. Now that he was in front of the stage, he realized how treacherous the center of power was, and how murderous it was.
He could use absolute force to make these people submit, but every circle had its own rules of the game. If he wanted to be like the main character in the novels he had read before, he would have to use force to break the rules. Unless he was like the Jin Kingdom and the Mongols in history, he could destroy the entire country and rebuild it. Otherwise, he would have to follow the existing rules.
Although the Song Dynasty was weak in history, it was only the country that was weak. Everyone had their own strength of character. Fighting against the Liao, the Jin, and the Mongols, although there were some traitors, there were more loyal and hot-blooded people. During the Jingkang Rebellion, the Central Plains was filled with volunteer armies. The brothers Zhang Shun and Zhang Gui charged to the rescue outside Xiangyang knowing that they would die. The subjects and soldiers who jumped into the sea during the Battle of Cliff Mountain were all examples.
The generous treatment of the Song Dynasty had nurtured scholars for hundreds of years. Although there were many drawbacks, they had cultivated the strength of character of scholars. Zhen Dexiu, Wei Liaoweng, and the others were famous Confucian scholars and had high prestige in the court. Even political enemies had to admit that they were good characters. Although the Crown Prince had instructed them to impeach him, it was clear that they did not approve of the act of staying overnight in the palace.
Song Qingshu did not want to use force to break the backbone of the literati because of his own selfish desires. This was not good for the entire country and people. Thus, after much hesitation, he chose to temporarily give in.
Of course, he was not so pedantic as to leave the palace without doing anything just to prove his noble character and unquestionable integrity. After the morning court, he returned to the palace and began to make arrangements. It was still early before dark, so he did not need to move out of the palace immediately.
First, he informed Wang Ziteng and strictly ordered the palace guards to not allow anyone to approach the Emperor unless there was an imperial edict. Now, Wang Ziteng and he were on the same boat. Naturally, he would not allow outsiders to know the Emperor's true situation. As for the edict, it was actually his and Wang Ziteng's intentions.
Next was the Emperor Zhao Gou. He used the Great Soul Shifting Technique and his unique acupoint sealing technique to keep him in a state of unconsciousness. This was just in case. After all, the palace was so big, and all the powers had extended their tentacles in. It was hard to say which of the guards under Prince Qi Teng had been bribed. This way, even if some people saw Zhao Gou, they would not be able to get any righteous status from him.
Next were the imperial physicians, palace maids, eunuchs and so on. They were all replaced with new people. Unfortunately, he could only do his best in these matters. After all, they were not his trusted aides. He was not sure if there would be any problems with the people he had carefully selected.
The people sent by the Vulture Palace and the Golden Snake Camp were still on the way. It would probably be a few days before they arrived. He had some people in Lin 'an, but many of the people from Prince Qi's Mansion were handpicked by Ren Yingying from the Sun Moon Sect. These people could dominate the underworld, but most of them were not suitable for a place like the palace. It was the same with the people from the Beggar Sect.
As for the people from He Tieshou's brothel, Song Qingshu did not want another wave of trouble to come. If those virtuous gentlemen found out about their origins, there would be an uproar.
Thus, during this transitional period, he could only stay by Zhao Gou's side at all times to prevent any accidents. But he did not expect that someone with ulterior motives would get a hold of him and force him out of the palace.
"I've finally seen the horror of these professional haters!" Thinking back to the situation in the morning court, Song Qingshu felt a headache. Those scholars did not use any vulgar words when they scolded people. Every sentence was quoted from the classics. Even if you were stabbed in the back, you still did not know how to refute.
The reason why Song Qingshu did not continue to refute and agreed to leave the palace so quickly was that he realized a fatal flaw. He did not have his own supporters in the imperial court.
Look at the Crown Prince. It was his idea, but he did not say anything from the beginning to the end. There were a lot of people around him waving the flag and shouting for him. There were also the two old foxes, Shi Miyuan and Xue Ji, who were sitting on the fishing platform. If not for their secret instructions, how could the Crown Prince's people make such a big scene?
Him personally debating with the great scholars like Zhen Dexiu had already fallen into a disadvantageous position. With his position, he should have been a judge and not a debater. As a judge, he could openly take sides. As a debater, unless he reached the level of Zhuge Liang, who could debate with the scholars, he was destined to lose from the beginning.
But where could he find someone to wave the flag and shout for him in such a short time?
Just as Song Qingshu was having a headache, a guard suddenly came to report that someone from the Imperial City Department wanted to see him.
"Imperial City Department? Bring him in! " Song QingShu was inwardly annoyed. The Imperial Court had just decided to have the people of the Imperial City Department be responsible for finding him a place to live near the Imperial Palace. In the end, the people of the Imperial City Department had come to his door so early. They couldn't wait to chase him away.
Even a man made of clay had a temper. Moreover, Song Qingshu was now in a high position. It was fine that he had been bullied by those scholars before, but now that he was in a special agency like the Imperial City Department, and it was the territory of that old fox, Xue Ji, he naturally did not need to have any misgivings. He decided to teach the people of the Imperial City Department a lesson and let them know what it meant to be under one person and above tens of thousands, and what it meant to have the bearing of a great master.
Not long after, the sound of light footsteps could be heard from outside the door. Song Qingshu thought to himself that the reputation of the Imperial City Department was well-deserved. Any random person they found had decent qinggong. Of course, although he admired them, he had already made up his mind to give them a show of strength. After all, they were not on the same side.
Despite clearly hearing the other party enter, Song Qingshu pretended not to know, continuing to read the documents with his head lowered. He decided to hang the other party out to dry for now.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the person finally could not help but speak, "Reporting to the Prince of Qi, the Imperial City Department has already prepared the residence. Prince of Qi, please take a look. If there is anything you are not satisfied with, we will promptly replace it."
Song Qingshu could not help but be startled. The other party's intentions were not unexpected, but the other party's voice was gentle and pleasant, clearly the voice of a young woman in the prime of her youth.
Raising his head, he saw a young woman with red lips and white teeth. Her appearance was rich and beautiful. Although she was dressed in the austere attire of the Imperial City Department, it was still difficult to conceal her refined and dignified temperament.
"Why is it you?" Song Qingshu asked in astonishment. He had met this young woman in men's clothing several times before. It was the eldest daughter of the Xue family, Xue Baochai.
Xue Baochai smiled faintly. "Everyone in the Imperial City Department knows that the Prince of Qi suffered a bellyful of anger during the morning court session. If you come now, you will definitely be struck by misfortune. As a result, none of them are willing to come. After pushing and pushing, this arduous task fell to me. Unfortunately, as soon as I arrived, I received the cold shoulder of Your Highness. "
"Those colleagues of yours are quite crafty." Song Qingshu had no choice but to admit that this was a brilliant move. He had clearly decided to teach the men of the Imperial City Department a lesson to vent his anger. However, when faced with this young woman with bright eyes, coupled with the fact that she was half an acquaintance, he found it embarrassing to make a move.
It seemed that beautiful women could provide unexpected lubricants in the workplace. Song Qingshu's bellyful of anger had unknowingly dissipated by more than half. He immediately tossed his solemn vow to the back of his mind. It seemed that nothing in the world could escape the law of true fragrance.
"During the morning court session, all the civil and military officials accused me of messing up the harem. Among them, there was no lack of your father's trusted aides. For such a beautiful young lady to be dispatched at this time, isn't your father worried about sending a sheep into the tiger's den?" Song Qingshu deliberately put on a stern face.
Xue Baochai's complexion reddened slightly, but she quickly recovered. "The Prince of Qi's confidantes are all heavenly beauties. It is only natural that he would look down on a willow branch like me. Moreover, I am busy with my duties and have not thought of anything else."
"A willow branch like you?" Song Qingshu looked her up and down with a strange expression. He could not help but remark, "Young Lady Xue, with your willow branch like you, who in this world would dare call themselves a beauty?"
Ever since Xue Baochai was a child, countless people had praised her for her beauty, but she didn't know why, but this sentence left a deep impression on her. It was probably related to the identity and status of the person who said it.
However, she was a secret agent of the Imperial City Department and quickly recovered. "The Prince of Qi is indeed as good as the rumors say. Originally, I did not agree with the proposals of those upright gentlemen in the court. Now, it seems that their decision was correct."
Song Qingshu's face darkened. "Are you praising me or insulting me?"
"This lowly official does not dare." Xue Baochai bowed and continued, "Please, Prince of Qi, go to the residence to take a look. If you are not satisfied, I will immediately order someone to replace it."
Song Qingshu glanced at the sky outside the window and shook his head. "It is still morning. Why don't we go later?"
"If we go later, I fear that there will not be enough time." Xue Baochai had an awkward expression. "There are not many residences near the Imperial Palace. All of them are the residences of the nobles and ministers. It is a rather troublesome matter to make room."
Song Qingshu's brow furrowed. "With this kind of harassment, I fear that we have offended some ministers for no reason."
Xue Baochai said, "In truth, our Imperial City Department has a few residences, so we wish to invite Prince of Qi to take a look."
Song Qingshu had originally wanted to say that any residence would suffice. However, he immediately thought that if the Imperial City Department deliberately arranged a very remote place for him to stay far away from the Emperor, it would instead be troublesome. As a result, he had to personally take a look.
"You are in such a hurry to have me look. Could it be that you are deliberately luring me away to lure the tiger away from the mountain?" Song Qingshu looked suspiciously at the young woman in front of him.
A bashful expression appeared on Xue Baochai's face. With some embarrassment, she said, "The main reason is that the people of the Imperial City Department are not willing to touch bad luck. As a result, only I am responsible for this matter. I am worried that it will be too late. You know that I am a young woman. If I go in and out of private residences at night with you, it will be somewhat … somewhat inconvenient."
Song Qingshu almost spat out a mouthful of blood. In the middle of the day, she had also come to view him as a pervert!
"Brother Song, can you help me?" Xue Baochai was also embarrassed. Her large eyes widened, somewhat guiltily and somewhat beseeching.
"All right, let's go take a look first." Song Qingshu reluctantly agreed. However, he was inwardly sneering. How could a woman from the Imperial City Department be a harmless little bunny? The other party's appearance was most likely thirty percent genuine and seventy percent fake. However, it would be good to take advantage of this opportunity to see what these people were up to.
As for the Imperial Palace, he had long since made arrangements. It would be good to take advantage of this opportunity to see if there were any loopholes.
As they were leaving, Song Qingshu could not help but ask, "In truth, I have always been very curious. Young Lady Xue, you come from a prestigious family and are a young lady of a noble family. Why would you choose to join a place like the Imperial City Department?"
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