The emperor's hesitant silence and embarrassed expression made Zhao Yinshi stop recommending He Tingquan.

It seems that the rumors in the court about the discord between the emperor and his mother's family are not groundless, and it may even be more serious than the rumors say.

After a while, Ye Qinghuai groaned and said, "I'll think about this matter again."

Seeing this, Zhao Yinshi said no more and continued to practice archery with Ye Qinghuai.

The next afternoon, Ye Qinghuai summoned He Tingquan to the palace.

The Queen has been pregnant for three months, and the Jingji Guard has been managed by the Ministry of War. Although Ye Qinghuai occasionally participates in the decision-making of some major events, in fact, the Jingji Guard is still under the jurisdiction of Gu Shihai. The longer the time drags on, the more stable the position of Gu's party in the Jingji Guard will be.

The matter of the Chief Secretary of the Jingji Guard cannot be delayed any longer.

Ye Qinghuai did not choose the Qinxian Hall or Wenxuan Hall where he usually summoned ministers as the meeting place, but chose the Arrow Pavilion in the outer court.

This was the first time the uncle and nephew had met alone since Ye Qinghuai ascended the throne.

Ye Qinghuai was particularly enthusiastic. She was wearing a light riding suit. When she saw He Tingquan, she smiled and greeted him, "I remember that my uncle is good at riding and shooting. I have been practicing archery and horsemanship recently. Uncle, come and compete with me to see if I have improved."

After saying that, she walked straight to the weapon rack at the side of the field, took down a longbow from it, took the reins from the servant, and jumped onto the horse.

The young emperor sat upright on his horse, urging He Tingquan, who was standing beside him with a look of surprise, and said, "Uncle, please don't let me go. I'm very powerful now! If you don't use your full strength, you will lose!"

Seeing Ye Qinghuai's innocent face, calling him "Uncle" all the time, just like a child, He Tingquan put aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind, smiled, and said: "Your Majesty, if you lose later, don't throw a tantrum and cry like you did when you were a child."

The closest time for Ye Qinghuai and He Tingquan was when they lived in Qianxi Palace as children and studied. At that time, He Tingquan, who was a guard, was asked by Empress Dowager Jingmin to go to Qianxi Palace from time to time to look after Ye Qinghuai. When Ye Qinghuai saw him as a child, she always wanted to try out the new boxing and kicking moves she had learned from her teacher on him, but unfortunately, her frail body was easily knocked down by He Tingquan in just a few moves.

"I'm not a child anymore, uncle, please don't underestimate me." After Ye Qinghuai finished speaking, he rode his horse towards the shooting range.

The two of them competed in riding and archery for several rounds, and finally competed in sword skills. They did not stop until the sun was setting. Both of them walked towards the pavilion next to the archery pavilion, sweating.

"Your Majesty's skills are indeed different from before. Even I have a hard time dealing with them."

"Uncle, this is to comfort me. It was obviously my uncle who was suppressing and beating me the whole time."

"I have practiced martial arts for more than twenty years, and I have never slacked off every day. I have only reached this level. When I was your Majesty's age, I was far inferior to you."

He said this sincerely, so Ye Qinghuai stopped being polite with him.

Walking to the pavilion, Ye Qinghuai saw an unexpected person.

Aunt Fanghua walked forward and put the cloak in her hand on Ye Qinghuai.

"Why is Auntie here?"

Aunt Fanghua is a member of the inner court. The Jianting is outside the Xuanqing Gate and belongs to the outer court. According to the rules, the inner court women should not appear in the outer court except for ceremonies. "I saw that the wind was picking up, and I was afraid that Your Majesty would catch a cold because Your Majesty was wearing too little today, so I hurried out." She responded while tying Ye Qinghuai's cloak.

"Auntie, you are so thoughtful. I am a little sweaty after my training. Please don't cover me so tightly."

Although Aunt Fanghua agreed verbally, she still tied up Ye Qinghuai's open collar with her hands.

After she had sorted out her clothes, she looked up at He Tingquan who was following behind Ye Qinghuai, then immediately lowered her eyes, half bowed, and said, "Meet General He."

When she lowered her head, Ye Qinghuai found that she was wearing the long-lost coral jade hairpin. This hairpin was awarded by the late emperor to Empress Dowager Jingmin, and was given to Aunt Fanghua before her death. The hairpin was inlaid with a red coral, with delicate carving and gentle and elegant style. Aunt Fanghua treasured this hairpin very much, and Ye Qinghuai only saw her wearing it twice during the New Year.

Only then did Ye Qinghuai notice that not only the hairpin, but also Aunt Fanghua's attire today seemed to be different from the past.

Although Aunt Fanghua was the emperor's closest nanny and the most outstanding among the maids in the harem, she never liked to dress up. In Ye Qinghuai's memory, she always wore plain clothes, either lotus root or light green, without any decoration, and looked like a low-ranking maid. After Ye Qinghuai took power, he persuaded her several times, saying that he would make her two sets of beautiful clothes, but she always refused.

Although she was still wearing a plain robe today, she wore a floral blue bodice over it. The hem of the bodice was embroidered with a few light-colored hibiscus flowers.

Although in the eyes of others, this is just a relatively exquisite coat, for a senior palace maid like Aunt Fanghua, it is just enough to match her status. However, from Ye Qinghua's understanding of her many years of getting along with her, Aunt Fanghua's description today can be regarded as "carefully dressed up".

As she was looking at Aunt Fanghua, He Tingquan's voice came from behind her: "Hello, Aunt Fanghua."

Ye Qinghuai turned around and saw He Tingquan bowing his head and clasping his fists respectfully to Aunt Fanghua, returning the greeting.

Indeed, let alone He Tingquan, a third-rank captain, even Zhao Yinshi in the entire imperial guards was respectful in front of Aunt Fanghua.

Ye Qinghuai's eyes moved between the two of them, and after a moment's thoughtful reflection, he said with a smile, "It looks like things are going to change. Uncle, come with me to the palace and sit for a while and have some hot tea."

The group then moved from the Arrow Pavilion to the Jingshou Palace in the inner court.

As expected, Ye Qinghuai's words came true. As soon as the imperial carriage stopped at the gate of Jingshou Palace, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

"Spring rain is as precious as oil. It rained just after the Waking of Insects. It seems that there will be no drought in the capital this year." Ye Qinghuai drank tea and looked at the rain curtain outside the door that was like a fine needlework, his eyes unable to hide the joy.

Since she took power, she has been more concerned about weather changes than the farmers. She even issued an order to the governors of each state, requiring them to write a summary report on local weather conditions every ten days.

After all, in Ye Qinghuai's eyes, no matter drought or flood, as long as it is a natural disaster, it is possible to give rise to refugees and rebellions that are enough to destroy Dajing.

"Your Majesty is diligent in his work and loves the people. God has seen your efforts and bestowed blessings upon you." Aunt Fanghua said as she poured tea for Ye Qinghuai.

Ye Qinghuai smiled and said, "Aunt is always praising me. That's because God is kind and merciful, not because of my merit."

She looked at the drizzle outside and murmured, "It would be great if all of Kyushu could have a spring rain like this." (End of this chapter)

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