On the first day of the New Year,
The Emperor went to the Retired Emperor's palace to greet him.
"Greetings to father," the Emperor said as he knelt down.
"Get up. It's the first day of the New Year.
Why are you here so early?
Sit, "the Retired Emperor said.
"I'm usually busy with court affairs and don't have time to accompany father.
It's not easy to take advantage of the New Year.
Naturally, I want to come and accompany father.
I hope father won't mind me disturbing you, "the Emperor said as he sat beside the Retired Emperor.
"You're good at talking now.
Zhu Lin,
Bring me my Go.
Since the Emperor is free, let's play two games. "The Retired Emperor was satisfied when he heard the Emperor's words.
No matter who it was,
No matter if they were in a high position or ordinary people.
They were old.
They always felt lonely and wanted to have a younger generation by their side.
"Thank you for your advice, father." Hearing that the Retired Emperor wanted to play chess, the Emperor naturally would not refuse.
"How's the situation in Jiangnan recently?" the Retired Emperor asked. He was still concerned about the situation in Jiangnan.
Especially after he read the account books in Jiangnan.
He was even more angry in his heart.
One by one, they kept scraping the land of Jiangnan and scraping the flesh of the imperial court. Thinking of this, the Retired Emperor wanted to chop off those people's heads.
"With the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Justice in charge, Jiangnan is basically running. We only need to wait for the officials selected by the imperial court to take over. The main officials in Jiangnan have been escorted back to the capital and will be interrogated after the new year. I think that Jiangnan is a very important place, especially Yangzhou, where all the salt merchants in the world gather. Now that this situation has happened once, it's hard to guarantee that it won't happen again." The Emperor sighed. Jiangnan was too far away from the capital, and the Emperor was far away. This kind of situation would not happen only once or twice. If the Jiangnan officialdom was cleaned up every few years, it would take time, effort, and talent for the imperial court.
"In three years, the magistrate has 100,000 silver. Even the most honest officials will become greedy in such an environment. We really need to do something to stop this evil wind," the Retired Emperor said.
Then, the two of them played chess in silence. They did not speak for a long time, but the father and son's attention was not on the chessboard.
After the first round, the Emperor opened his mouth and said, "Father, how about we create another official position?"
"What do you mean?" The Retired Emperor asked.
"The richest people in the world are the merchants, and among the merchants, the richest are the salt merchants. In the imperial court's taxes, the salt tax accounts for 50%. It can be said that the salt tax is very important. How about we set up an official position of Salt Patrol Imperial Censor in Yangzhou? I specialize in the management of salt, "the Emperor replied.
"That's a good idea, but this person has to be absolutely honest and fair." The Retired Emperor also felt that this was a good idea.
"Father, what do you think of Lin Ruhai?" the Emperor asked.
"Lin Ruhai? Why him? " The Retired Emperor frowned slightly. If the position of Salt Patrol Imperial Censor was established, this official position would have real power and wealth. It was estimated that it would be a hot steamed bun in everyone's heart. In this case, many people would want to compete for this position. Therefore, this position was also very risky.
"The Lin family has five generations of Marquises, and five generations of only one son. It is also a scholarly family. Lin Ruhai has the nobility of a scholar. Moreover, the Lin family is not short of money, so there is no need for them to be greedy. In addition, the Lin family is backed by the Jia family. Although they have no power in Yangzhou, the Jia family's hometown is in Jinling. If they want to protect Lin Ruhai, it will be easy.
The Retired Emperor thought about the situation in the capital city. The Emperor's child was still young. Obviously, another round of fighting for the throne had begun in the capital city. Thinking about it, there were not many neutral families in the capital city. The Jia family was obviously the leader of the neutral families. If other neutral officials were to be appointed as the Salt Patrol Imperial Censor, both the Retired Emperor and the Emperor would not be at ease. If it was Lin Ruhai, without personal feelings, he was indeed the most suitable candidate.
"Don't worry, Lin Ruhai is in mourning." The Retired Emperor still wanted to see first.
"Father, you are right." The Emperor was not in a hurry. After all, Lin Ruhai was in mourning, and this was only his idea.
"It's the New Year, let's not talk about the court anymore. Let's play another game." The Retired Emperor grabbed a chess piece and put it on the chessboard that Zhu Lin had already tidied up.
The Emperor naturally accompanied the Retired Emperor and continued to play chess. He said, "Later, Sixth Brother will also go to the palace to pay respects to Father. I heard that Sixth Brother has been too close to the actors in the mansion these days. After all, Sixth Brother is getting old. He can't stay in the mansion and do nothing. After the New Year, should Sixth Brother continue to return to the court?"
"Hmph, he did such a thing. How can he have the face to return to the court?" The Retired Emperor's expression turned ugly when he thought of the Jia Daishan. If Old Sixth hadn't angered him, Dai Shan wouldn't have suddenly suffered a stroke. Last year, he had passed away in such a hurry. It was almost the New Year, but he didn't make it.
"Sixth Brother didn't do it on purpose. Also, Grand Concubine Zhen's service to you counts as a merit. After this incident, Sixth Brother will grow up and won't be so rash again." The Emperor naturally wasn't sincerely pleading for Prince Zhongshun. He wanted nothing more than for Prince Zhongshun to stay at home and drink himself to death with the actors. But as the Emperor, he had to appear magnanimous.
"We'll talk about it later." The Retired Emperor didn't want to talk about it right now.
As expected, Prince Zhongshun came to pay his respects not long after.
"You may rise," the Retired Emperor said.
"Many thanks, Father." Prince Zhongshun stood up and stood to the side.
The Retired Emperor didn't ask for a eunuch to bring him a chair. He just had him stand to the side. Prince Zhongshun had gotten used to the Retired Emperor's coldness. His mother had told him to endure it. After all, the Jia Daishan had died not long ago. Because of the Jia Daishan's death, the Retired Emperor had fallen ill several times. Prince Zhongshun had to be respectful and keep a low profile during this time.
When the new round of chess between the Retired Emperor and the Emperor was coming to an end, Zhu Lin reported, "Retired Emperor, Your Majesty, just now, the Ci 'an Palace came to invite you. They said that they've already arrived. Do you want to go over and take a look?"
"Since everyone is here, let's go take a look after this game," the Retired Emperor said indifferently.
In Ci 'an Palace, the Retired Empress looked at the people who had come to pay their New Year greetings and sighed. She only told her servants to take care of Qin Keqing. The Retired Emperor didn't have any brothers. Back then, the Ancestral Emperor was the only one left. The Emperor also didn't have any elders like Imperial Uncles. Those who came to pay their respects were all the Retired Emperor's children. At that time, the Crown Prince had forced the abdication and killed the princes who fought fiercely. However, their wangfei was still alive and their children were still alive. Seeing that the Crown Prince still had an orphan, even if this orphan was a daughter, they probably couldn't tolerate it.
Since the Retired Emperor had given Qin Keqing to her to raise, it meant that she must protect Qin Keqing well.
In fact, this time, the Retired Empress worried too much. Because the Jiangnan officialdom had been removed, it happened to involve the families of the deceased princes' wives. These people were all thinking about how to save their maternal families and how to plead for mercy when they saw the Retired Emperor later. For a moment, they didn't have time to care about Qin Keqing. They wanted to deal with Qin Keqing, but they had to deal with their own family matters first.
Not letting these people wait for long, the Retired Emperor came with the Emperor and Prince Zhongshun.
"Greetings to the Retired Emperor, greetings to the Emperor." Seeing that the Retired Emperor and the Emperor had arrived, these people quickly stood up and bowed.
"All rise." The Retired Emperor sat down on the main seat and waved his hand, indicating for these people to sit down.
"Today, everyone is here. Rui 'er, I heard that you were not in good health. How are you now?" The Retired Emperor asked the Eldest Prince's second son, Tu Rui, who was also the Eldest Prince's legitimate son. He was already 15 years old.
"Reporting to Imperial Grandfather, I'm much better. I've already returned to the Upper Study to continue studying." Tu Rui stood up and replied.
"Good. It's good that you are diligent in your studies. However, you must also pay attention to your health. If your health is not good, no matter how good your studies are, it will be useless." The Retired Emperor reminded him.
"Imperial Grandfather, don't worry. Grandson will remember this in his heart." Tu Rui said.
"That's good." The Retired Emperor looked at the room full of people. He had many grandchildren, but unfortunately, they were all the same. They expressed their respect for him, but who knew how many schemes they had in private. Ever since the incident in Jiangnan, the Retired Emperor had become more and more disliked seeing these imperial grandchildren alone. Every time he saw them, they would beg for mercy in a roundabout way. Some even used his guilt towards their father to ask him to let go of their maternal family. Thinking of this, the Retired Emperor felt quite uncomfortable.
The entire room was filled with undercurrents. No one wanted to be the one to stand out. The atmosphere was a bit awkward.
The Retired Emperor did not care that much. He said, "Zhu Lin, give the New Year's gifts I prepared to these children. I have been out for a while and am tired. I will return to the palace first."
"Imperial Father's body has not recovered. You should return to the palace early to rest. I will go with you." The Emperor said.
"Alright." The Retired Emperor nodded. Although he was impatient to see these princes and imperial grandchildren, it was inevitable that he would feel lonely staying in the palace alone. It was good that the Emperor accompanied him.
When the Retired Emperor wanted to leave, no one dared to stop him. However, they regretted that they had lost a great opportunity.
On the way back, the Emperor said, "Imperial Father, do you think that our children are not as smart as the children of the Jia family? All the children are old and have no vitality at all."
"Isn't that so? Our children are sensible early. At such a young age, they have more thoughts than adults. There is no vitality." The Retired Emperor sighed. Perhaps this was what they should bear.
"Looking at the children of the Jia family, I am also envious. I have an idea. Why don't we send these children to Ningguo Province for a few days every month and let the Countess teach them? I think the Countess's idea is very novel. The children should not only be taught knowledge, but also their personality. "The Emperor said.
The Retired Emperor stopped and looked at the Emperor.
"Imperial Father, what do you think?" The Emperor asked.
"Your idea is not bad. Call the Jia Zhen over tomorrow and talk to him." The Retired Emperor agreed.
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