After returning to the Forbidden City, Song Qingshu found a deep sense of powerlessness. Because this action was too hasty, his own team had not yet been established. Although Song Qingshu wanted to place confidants in various key departments, he was surprised to find that there was no one who could be called a confidant.
Previously, Song Qingshu planned to slowly develop the stick into his own private force. As the stick grew stronger, his team would naturally become more and more abundant.
Of course, Song Qingshu did not regret this attack. He knew that according to the established plan, all his actions were actually under Kangxi's control. There was no such thing as the best of both worlds in the world. There were gains and losses, not to mention that the gains this time could be described as amazing.
Sitting in the imperial study, he felt that the whole empire was under his control. That inexplicable excitement made it difficult for Song Qingshu to calm down.
"Your Majesty, you should go to see the Empress Dowager." A little eunuch hesitated for a long time and finally came forward to remind him.
This little eunuch was called Xiao Lizi. Wen Youdao and Wen Youfang, who used to be in the imperial study, were transferred to other places by Song Qingshu in the form of promotion. After all, Wen Youdao and Wen Youfang had served Kangxi for a long time. If they continued to stay by his side, it would be difficult for Song Qingshu not to reveal any flaws.
"The Empress Dowager?" Song Qingshu subconsciously resisted going to see her. After all, he was not the real Kangxi. Unfortunately, this was the etiquette of the palace. After returning from Shengjing, he should go to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager.
Thinking that he had to go to the Palace of Benevolence and Peace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager every day, Song Qingshu felt a headache. He waved his hand casually, "Let's go."
"Let's go!"
With the sharp and thin voice of Xiao Lizi, a group of people soon surrounded Song Qingshu and walked to the Palace of Benevolence and Peace. Looking at the eunuchs and palace maids in front and behind, Song Qingshu secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, he did it in Shengjing. If he was in the Forbidden City, it would be troublesome to deal with these eunuchs and palace maids.
Soon, Song Qingshu had a headache again. No matter where he went in the future, there would be so many people following him. it would be inconvenient for him to move. While he was deep in thought, he suddenly heard a sweet female voice, "This concubine greets Your Majesty."
Song Qingshu was stunned. Only then did he realize that a group of palace maids were escorting a beautiful woman in palace attire to greet him. The beautiful woman in palace attire had snow-white skin and a beautiful face. It was Empress Xiao Tong whom he had met once before.
"Your Majesty ~" Seeing that Song Qingshu was staring blankly at her, Xiao Tong felt a sweetness in her heart. A trace of redness appeared on her face, and her flower-like complexion appeared exceptionally beautiful.
"Oh …" Song Qingshu finally reacted and hurriedly gestured for her to rise. He remembered that he had to respectfully greet her before, but now he suddenly became her husband. For a moment, he couldn't help but have a ridiculous illusion.
"Is Your Majesty going to pay respects to the Empress Dowager?" Looking at her husband whom she had not seen for a long time, Empress Xiao Tong's heart leaped with joy. She had just gotten married not long ago, and the two of them were still stuck to each other. Naturally, her words were filled with affection.
"En." Song Qingshu instinctively nodded. He was worried that he was too cold and would make others feel strange, so he hurriedly asked, "Are you also going to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful?"
"This concubine has already paid respects to the Empress Dowager …" Empress Xiao Tong's face suddenly had a trace of shyness. "This concubine is just taking a stroll in the palace to relax."
Seeing Empress Xiao Tong's appearance, Song Qingshu quickly realized that the other guessed that Kangxi was about to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, so she could wander on the path to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful and deliberately wait for him.
"I … zhen will first go to the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful to pay respects to the Empress Dowager. Continue walking." Facing Kangxi's imperial concubine, Song Qingshu felt uncomfortable. He casually replied and prepared to leave. However, when he saw the sadness in Xiao Tong's eyes, he couldn't bear it and added, "It's cold outside. Don't walk for too long."
Seeing Song Qingshu's figure disappear into the distance, Empress Xiao Tong's beautiful eyes lit up. The palace maids at the side also took the opportunity to chatter and discuss, "His Majesty really loves Her Ladyship …"
Song Qingshu naturally did not know everything behind him. Right now, all his attention was focused on how to deal with the Empress Dowager. Standing in front of the Palace of Compassionate and Peaceful, Song Qingshu silently criticized: In almost all the movies and television works, the Empress Dowager is the most evil old woman. I didn't expect that I would have to face such a terrifying character.
"This son pays respects to the Empress Dowager." Although extremely unwilling, Song Qingshu still had to respectfully salute the Empress Dowager.
"Emperor, rise." The Empress Dowager raised her left hand and walked down from the couch with the help of the palace maids. She looked at Song Qingshu with a gratified expression. "The late Emperor did not misjudge you. In just a few short years, you have captured the powerful minister Oboi, pacified the Golden Snake Camp in Shandong, and now you have subdued the forces in Sheng Capital. With such a Holy Master, it is truly my Great Qing's blessing."
Hearing the Empress Dowager praise Kangxi, Song Qingshu could only keep quiet and respectfully stand to the side.
"Not arrogant in victory, not discouraged in defeat. Very good." Seeing Song Qingshu's calm expression, the Empress Dowager nodded approvingly. "Aijia was originally worried that the Emperor would be dizzy with victory after eliminating the great enemy Prince Bao. Looking at you now, aijia is relieved."
"How does the Emperor plan to announce the cause of Hongli's death?" The Empress Dowager motioned for the palace maids to leave first and then suddenly asked.
"To the outside world, we can only announce that he contracted an illness and died. Then we will announce it to the world and bury him with the grandest ceremony. Then we will let Hongli's son, Yong Yan, inherit his throne and promote the Wang title to the hereditary Iron Hat King." Song Qingshu had studied this question for a long time and quickly answered.
"Good. No matter how much the outside world speculates, as long as they see you treat the descendants of Prince Bao so generously, I'm afraid that most people will not believe that you acted against Hongli. The Emperor is becoming more and more adept at handling state affairs, but … "The Empress Dowager suddenly fell silent.
Song Qingshu was shocked and worried that he had exposed a flaw. He quickly asked respectfully, "Empress Dowager, please enlighten me."
"It's just that the women's matter was handled in a mess." The Empress Dowager seemed to be angry that he did not live up to her expectations and snorted coldly. "The two women you brought back from Sheng Capital, how do you plan to deal with them?"
"I have already issued an edict in Sheng Capital. When we return to the capital, they will be conferred the titles of Consort Hui and Consort Ping." Thinking of Xia Qingqing, Song Qingshu thought that he had to visit her as soon as possible to prevent her from creating any more trouble.
"Hmph! A broken flower, a woman of the pugilistic world, what virtue does she have to become the Imperial Consort of the Great Qing. "The Empress Dowager snorted coldly in dissatisfaction.
Why should a woman make things difficult for another woman! Looking at the Empress Dowager's gloomy face, this sentence suddenly appeared in his mind. Song Qingshu felt like laughing but he still had to explain. "This time, it was all because of Miss Ma's enduring humiliation that we were able to get rid of Prince Bao without bloodshed." Thinking of how Ma Chunhua did not hesitate to sacrifice her chastity for Kangxi and got close to Hongli through Fu Kangan and finally succeeded, Song Qingshu could not help but admire her.
"I know that she has contributed greatly but if this matter were to be leaked, how would the world view you, Emperor?" The Empress Dowager sighed. "As the saying goes, the merciful cannot command an army, much less an Emperor."
Song Qingshu was startled. "Empress Dowager, you mean …"
"If you can't bear to do it, I will send someone to handle it." The Empress Dowager's face was full of loose skin and no expression could be seen.
Song Qingshu was silent for a while and finally shook his head. "I know what I'm doing, I will handle it well." If it was handed over to the Empress Dowager to handle it, Ma Chunhua would either hang herself or fall into the lake and drown. In such a big Forbidden City, a few more wronged souls would not cause a ripple at all.
The Empress Dowager looked at him suspiciously, worried that he was being perfunctory. However, she thought that he was the Emperor after all and it was not good to force him too much. She could only nod. "It's fine that Ma Chunhua has contributed greatly, but what about the other woman of the pugilistic world? What virtue does she have to enter the palace?"
Song Qingshu hurriedly explained Xia Qingqing's role in the whole matter to her. Finally, he added, "Because of the Golden Snake Camp, the imperial court's control over Shandong has always been very weak. The Red Coat Army under Yang Miaozhen's command is a force that cannot be underestimated in Shandong. If we can use the concubine method to take this force for our own use, it will be of great benefit to the imperial court."
"All right." The Empress Dowager nodded, obviously agreeing with what he said. However, she soon hesitated. "She is a Han after all. According to the ancestral rules, Manchu and Han cannot marry."
Song Qingshu hurriedly told her the countermeasures he had thought of before. Hearing that Gabra, the Duke of Chengen, should accept Yang Miaozhen as his adopted daughter, the Empress Dowager finally nodded in satisfaction.
Coming out of the Palace of Compassionate Peace, Song Qingshu finally let out a sigh of relief. He thought that it was not a good idea to come and pay his respects every day …
Returning to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Song Qingshu ordered Xiao Li-zi to move the memorials that had piled up in recent days and read them for the whole day. After this period of hard work, Song QingShu slowly learned how to read memorials to the throne.
However, he read memorials more for the sake of understanding the factions of power in the court and not for the sake of governing this enormous country. Looking at the thick stack of memorials in front of him, Song Qingshu thought hatefully, I have to find a few secretaries to share my burdens. Otherwise, being the Emperor will tire me to death.
Actually, with the existence of the Grand Council, memorials did not need to be handled by the Emperor himself. However, Song Qingshu wanted to seize power as soon as possible, so he planned to bypass the Grand Council.
Song Qingshu tossed the memorials onto the table and stretched. Only then did he realize that it was already late. He thought that he should go and see Xia Qingqing. However, just as he walked out the door, he was stopped by an old eunuch.
"May I ask where Your Majesty is going?" The old eunuch bowed respectfully.
"We are going to Consort Ping's place." Song Qingshu frowned. When he was a palace guard, he did recognize this old eunuch. His name was Liang Jiugong, the head eunuch of the Imperial Palace.
"Could it be that Your Majesty has forgotten the ancestor's rules? In order to be fair and to prevent Your Majesty from favoring only one person, you cannot decide which consort to spend the night with." Looking at Song Qingshu's gloomy face, Liang Jiugong secretly broke out in a cold sweat. However, the Empress Dowager had ordered him to be careful, so he could only brace himself and explain while calling for a young eunuch to bring up a plate.
Looking at the neatly arranged wooden signs on the plate, Song Qingshu was instantly dumbfounded. It wasn't that he hadn't watched period dramas in his previous life, so he naturally knew what this meant. Each sign had the name of a consort written on it. Whichever sign was turned over, that consort would sleep with that consort that night.
Although Song Qingshu's disguise was flawless and could fool the eunuchs and ministers, how could he fool the person who slept with Kangxi? "We are not going anywhere tonight." With a cold snort, Song Qingshu turned around and left.
"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has decreed that Your Majesty has been away from the capital for a long time. When you return, you should properly accompany the consorts in the inner palace." Liang Jiugong had a bitter expression as he stopped Song Qingshu.
Song Qingshu steeled his heart. He knew that hiding like this wasn't a solution. It would inevitably arouse the suspicion of others. Thus, he braced himself and randomly turned over a sign, praying that it would be an unfavored consort. That way, the possibility of him being seen through would be greatly reduced.
When he saw the words on the sign, Song Qingshu couldn't help but groan inwardly: Why is it Empress Tong?
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