After the Water and Land Conference, the Japanese envoy had been ordered to occupy the islands of the East Sea. Once it was verified, the court debated whether to send troops to attack the Japanese as a punishment. The opinions were mainly divided into two groups.
One group thought that the Japanese island nation was unfavorable in crossing the sea and that it was best to send envoys to the Japanese first to denounce and question them. If the other side apologized sincerely, there was no need to mobilize troops.
The other group thought that the Japanese Great General Ashikaga was ambitious and dared to covet the territory of the court. If they didn't send troops to attack, it wouldn't be enough to deter Zhou.
Both sides stuck to their own opinions and refused to give in. Emperor Zhaoqing was hesitant. Half a month after the Water and Land Conference ended, there was still no plan for this matter.
With such a hot topic of discussion, few people paid attention to the murder case of the Taishi Library, which had also happened during the Water and Land Conference.
Xue Rui had been investigating silently for the past few days. Nobody urged him to hurry up, and the entire case seemed to be making no progress, but in reality, only Xue Rui himself knew exactly what he had found out.
That day, there were still two groups of people arguing endlessly. Xue Rui was a fifth-rank Shaoqing of the Supreme Court. He was young and inexperienced. Although he had handled a few major cases, he didn't have much to say in the court. He didn't join in the fun. He stood among the civil officials on the left and watched the two sides argue coldly.
As the princes came of age and moved out of the palace, the factions in the court became increasingly distinct. The six ministries were one. Although Yin Tianhou and Xue Lingnan, the two ministers, were jointly in charge, they were also clearly divided. Yin Tianhou had been the chief examiner of the imperial examinations three times in the dozen years of Zhaoqing. During the reign of the previous emperor, he had come from the Ministry of Appointments and held the position of Minister of Appointments. As a result, the current Minister of Appointments, Minister of Revenue, and Minister of Works were all his students.
The Right Minister Xue Lingnan had come from leading troops. In the first year of Zhaoqing, he had already made great contributions and held the position of Minister of War for ten years. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice all followed his lead.
And the Ministry of Rites, because of its authority, was always controlled by the Celestial Commissioner.
Among the six ministries, the Ministry of Appointments and the Ministry of War were at the forefront, followed by the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites were both government offices with little power. The Ministry of Works was a fertile land, but it didn't have much real power.
Of Emperor Zhao Qing's few remaining sons, the Fourth Prince Li Si had been stripped of his title and banished from the capital, the Eighth Prince Liu Du was incompetent and mediocre, and the Eleventh Prince had been banished to Ascending Cloud Monastery a while ago. The remaining twelve, fifteen, and sixteen princes were either without support or too young.
Empress Rui was childless. Without a legitimate eldest son, the Seventh Prince Liu Hao, who was greatly favored by Emperor Zhaoqing and had the backing of the Yin family, was tacitly accepted as the first candidate for the Eastern Palace.
In comparison, the Ninth Prince, who had been sent to Mount Longhu since he was a child to cultivate his moral character, was much weaker. However, he had Xue Lingnan as his grandfather, so it was not impossible that he would not be able to fight for the throne in the future.
The Celestial Commissioner was firmly appointed by Zhu Muzhao. It was not an exaggeration to say that his words were the law. Zhu Muzhao was deeply trusted by Emperor Zhaoqing. In recent years, the Zhu family had not had a woman enter the palace as a concubine, so they could be considered to be in the middle.
Count Zhongyong's residence had not been as glorious as it had been in recent years, but the Rui family's connections in the capital could not be underestimated. This kind of connections was not built on scholarly honors. To put it bluntly, it was based on nepotism.
The Emperor of Qing had taken back his military power, but he had not been idle. The current empress was his biological sister, and the matriarch of Duke Jing was his aunt. His eldest daughter was married to Junior Supervisor Ren of the Imperial Astronomer. His second daughter was the daughter-in-law of Guo Huaian, an official of the Supreme Court. His third daughter was betrothed to the heir of the Marquis of Junan, who guarded Yunnan. His youngest daughter was unmarried, and it was Rui Zizhu, who was supposed to marry the Xue family.
These were only the direct descendants. The rest of the girls were too many to count.
It was hard for Rui Subaru to manage like this. Empress Rui could only blame her bad luck. She did not give birth to a single child, so she could not protect her first wife's son. The Count's residence had gathered a network of connections, but had no place to place them.
Therefore, no matter whether it was Xue Lingnan or Yin Tianhou, they appeared to be amiable on the surface, but no matter how dirty they were in private, no one would take the initiative to find trouble with Rui Subaru. They were afraid that the Count would take things too hard and stand on the other side. That was no laughing matter.
For example, it was Prime Minister Xue's faction who insisted on directly sending troops to attack Wei Country. Those who thought that envoys should be sent to denounce Wei Country first were mostly Prime Minister Yin's people. Those who supported the two sides were all Rui Subaru's relatives and friends.
Zhu Muzhao did not say anything, so no one in the Celestial Commissioner said anything.
Several princes and dukes stood in front of the civil and military officials. Prince Xiang, who was dressed in an official robe, lazily lowered his eyelids, as if this matter had nothing to do with him.
In the corner, Emperor Zhao Qing rubbed the bridge of his nose. Tiredness appeared on his face. With one sentence, he ended the debate for the day. "Everyone's words are reasonable. Let me think about it and make a decision tomorrow. Court is dismissed."
After this year's ancestral worship, Emperor Zhao Qing fell ill. After he recovered, he was not as energetic as before. The court officials all knew that, so it would be strange if they did not have any opinions.
"Dismissed." The eunuch in charge of etiquette shouted, and the civil and military officials bowed. The first one said, "Long live Your Majesty."
Then, after waiting for the corner of Emperor Zhao Qing's robe to disappear from sight, the officials waited for a while before they left. It was not the day of the lunar new year, so there were only about a hundred people in the court. Those who left first were the nobles and powerful officials. Xue Rui did not follow closely behind Prime Minister Yin like Yin Yuanrong, but waited for most of the people to leave before he walked out.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked down the Nine Dragon Steps, he was stopped by someone.
"Vice Minister Xue, please wait."
Xue Rui turned his head and saw Ren Qiming dismissing a subordinate who was talking to him and walking towards him. His heart skipped a beat, and he guessed what was going on.
"Vice Supervisor Ren." Xue Rui cupped his hands and bowed slightly.
"How is the investigation of the murder case in Taishi Library last month? Is there any progress?" Ren Qiming asked.
Xue Rui sighed softly. "I am ashamed that I have not been able to find out the murderer's background."
Ren Qiming said, "There have been a series of deaths in the library, causing the students there to panic. I will have to trouble Sir Xue to spend more effort on this matter. It is better to find the murderer as soon as possible."
Hearing his words, if Xue Rui did not know about the case of the murderer, he would think that Ren Qiming was simply concerned about the safety of the students in Taishi Library.
"Sir Ren, don't worry. I will not slack off."
Ren Qiming nodded, turned around, and left. Xue Rui stood on the spot for a while until someone came up to strike up a conversation. Only then did he leave with that person.
.....
According to the schedule, it was Imperial Consort Xue's turn to attend to him today. After the court was dismissed, Emperor Zhao Qing did not even change out of his court attire. He strolled around the Imperial Garden for a while, and before the sky turned dark, he immediately set off for Zhongcui Palace.
Along the way, he did not send the eunuchs to inform Emperor Zhao Qing, so when Emperor Zhao Qing stepped into the palace, Imperial Consort Xue was still sitting by the window, cutting flower branches. There was a pot of hibiscus that had just bloomed, and the pink flower leaves were glistening with silvery dew. However, it was not as beautiful as half of her face.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, she turned her head and was startled. Immediately, she smiled like a flower and did not even bother to put on her shoes. Putting down her pliers, she got off the bed and was about to kneel down to pay her respects. However, her words were a little coquettish. "Your Majesty, why didn't you inform me that you are coming? I haven't even changed my clothes."
If these two sentences were spoken by any other concubine in the palace, Emperor Zhao Qing would have fallen out with her, thought that the other party was being disrespectful, and walked away on the spot. However, facing the woman in front of him, he always had some tenderness and guilt that could not be dissolved. How could he not be happy?
"Beloved, quickly get up." Emperor Zhao Qing did not wait for others to help him. He went forward to help Imperial Consort Xue up and pulled her to sit on the bed. With a pleasant expression, he said, "I walked over to your side unintentionally."
He then looked up and down at the peach-colored unlined garment on her body. Her skin and bones that were exposed through the collar and cuffs were as white as crystal. He frowned and said to the palace maids kneeling below, "It's getting cold. Why don't you put on a few more clothes for your mistress? You are just sitting by the window to enjoy the wind. If she falls ill, I will not spare you."
The palace maids serving in front of her were so frightened that they lowered their heads and apologized.
Imperial Consort Xue gently shook Emperor Zhao Qing's arm and said in a gentle voice, "It's my fault for being afraid of the heat. Seeing that the sun is out today, I am too lazy to wear anything. They didn't listen to my advice. Now that you have come, you must stay and eat with me. In the morning, I ordered the kitchen to stew fresh deer tendons. This kind of weather is just right to eat."
With just two sentences, the matter was over. Emperor Zhao Qing's attention was diverted. Imperial Consort Xue gave a look. Song Lan, the senior palace maid, hurriedly took a few servants and quietly left. She secretly broke out in a cold sweat and then rejoiced.
For the next few months, the Book of Heaven had been arranged according to Phoenix Perching Palace's wishes. Although the number of days that the mistress served in bed was not less, it was either next to the lovely and lovely new nobles or next to the empress and Fair Consort Shu, the two big heads. Running over to eat with the mistress in broad daylight almost no longer happened.
Fortunately, the newly appointed Imperial Lady favored our mistress. Otherwise, as the days passed, there would be less and less hope.
Imperial Consort Xue chatted with Emperor Zhao Qing for a while. She didn't talk about court politics or ask about his worries. She only picked out a few interesting things that had happened in Zhong Cui's palace and told him. In the end, she even had someone bring out a large orange-red camellia to play with with Emperor Zhao Qing.
Emperor Zhao Qing saw that the flowers were well taken care of. After asking in detail, he discovered that this rare colored camellia had been cultivated by Imperial Consort Xue herself last year. Only when it had taken a good shape did she present it in front of him. Emperor Zhao Qing appreciated this interest and asked her, "Everything was fine. Why are you in the mood to take care of these flowers and plants?"
Imperial Consort Xue's smile froze. She lowered her head and gently plucked at the green leaves. With some reminiscence in her eyes, she chuckled lightly and said, "Your Majesty, do you still remember that when I was still in my boudoir, you once asked my eldest brother to give me a pot of flowers? It was a camellia. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed, but I still remember the blooming of the flower, just like the sunset glow of the setting sun."
Then, her beautiful eyes turned to look at Emperor Zhao Qing. Pointing at the camellia between the two of them, she asked, "Look, does the color of this flower look like the one you gave me back then?"
Emperor Zhao Qing was a bit dazed. He vaguely remembered such an incident, but he had long forgotten what color the flower was. Seeing that she was reminiscing about the past, he couldn't help but think of when he was young and spirited. He felt guilty and couldn't bear to ruin her mood. He only nodded and said, "That's the color. It's good that you didn't forget."
He then lovingly held it up and said, "Since I gave you one back then, why don't you return it to me now? I like it and will take it back to look at."
How could Noble Consort Xue not agree? She happily gave it to him and said with a bit of heartache, "Then Your Majesty will definitely have people look after it. If it can bloom one more night, it will be one more night."
Emperor Zhao Qing reached out to wipe her face and teased, "You still don't want to part with it? How about this? The flower was raised with great care by you, so I can't take it for free. If you have any wishes, why don't you bring them up now? We will agree to them and treat it as an exchange."
Noble Consort Xue shook her head and said, "Your Majesty has treated me well. I have nothing to ask for."
However, Emperor Zhao Qing didn't agree. He insisted on her saying a wish and fulfilling it for her.
The two of them pushed back and forth. Seeing that Emperor Zhao Qing was about to lose his patience, Noble Consort Xue timely relented. She rubbed her forehead and thought for a while before saying to him, "My son's wedding date is approaching, but Your Majesty knows that my nephew Cheng Bi is already in his twenties. His marriage has been delayed until now and his brother and sister-in-law died early. As his aunt, I can't just ignore it. So, I want to ask for your grace. Allow me to pick a good one for him. In the future, when I choose a good family's young lady, I ask that Your Majesty personally appoint the marriage."
Emperor Zhao Qing hadn't thought that she would bring this up. It wasn't for herself or for Liu Tan, but for Xue Rui.
There was some thought in his eyes, but it only lasted for a moment. Seeing the anticipation on Noble Consort Xue's face, he slowly agreed, "We will do as you say."
"This concubine thanks Your Majesty."
Noble Consort Xue immediately stood up in joy to give her thanks. She silently let out a breath. This matter had made her stifled for three years. Now, the Emperor had let it go. She didn't have to let the Empress disgust her for the Tenth Princess' death.
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