Sometimes the palace is sunny

Chapter 52
The so-called "every time there are leaks, when there are changes, there are cards, and there are more drums in the newspapers."

In Yanjing City, at dusk, the bell comes first and then the drum, and in the morning, the drum comes first and then the bell. There is also a special rule for telling the time.

When Li Congyuan came out of the Hall of Martial Arts with his hands in his sleeves, he heard the sound of drums coming from the north. He calculated in his heart and knew that it was already time.

A Hanlin scholar hurried over with a few memorials in his arms, and whispered:
"Master Ge, it has been three days since His Majesty was angered by the Empress Dowager to Xiyuan..."

There was a lot of noise in the palace a few days ago, why didn't these foreign officials know about it?

Han Lin, who was about 30 years old, sighed: "Mr. Li Ge, Your Majesty said that Shou Chenghou was accusing the Empress Dowager of accusing him of accusing him and sending him to prison. This is already protecting the Empress Dowager's face. What happened?"

Li Congyuan touched his beard, his eyes were illuminated by the rising sun, and he covered his eyes with his sleeves before saying: "The empress dowager has a deep love for the late emperor, and she regards the late emperor as her husband and your majesty as her son. Good thing."

Hearing what he said, Hanlin was a little annoyed: "There is a saying that a good wife and husband rarely cause harm. It is the right thing for the empress dowager to take care of the late emperor and your majesty, but in the end, the empress dowager is just the empress dowager."

Li Congyuan didn't respond to these words, a steward of the Ministry of Officials was waiting for him in the corridor with a few booklets, so he walked over.

The Hanlin who was talking to him stood still and thought for a while, then looked at the notebook in his hand.

His majesty has kept the papers on the impeachment of the two brothers, Shou Chenghou and Hou Cheng, for the past few days. In the past, these civil servants thought that your majesty was really indulging his relatives. Now seeing the queen mother, they dared to stop her majesty outside the palace gate for a long time until the queen brought him All the ladies in the palace paid their respects together before giving up, and felt that the queen mother was really aggressive.

"Wang Hanlin, a decree from His Majesty a few days ago..."

Zhuang Changxin, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, hurried over and asked about a copy of the previous memorial. After asking, the two chatted a little more.

Zhuang Changxin is a well-known long-sleeved and good dancer among the six parts. He can chat with everyone. Wang Hanlin has served in the imperial court for many years, and he has a good personal relationship with him:

"Zhuang Shilang, your Majesty is feeling uneasy right now. Your Majesty has managed to dispose of Shou Chenghou, but he still misses the Empress Dowager's face. If the Dowager Dowager says a few more words, His Majesty will let Shou Chenghou go..."

Thinking of this situation, the Hanlin couldn't help feeling tense.

These civil servants read the history books thoroughly, and they all think that there have been two major disasters in the court throughout the ages, one is eunuchs, and the other is foreign relatives.

It has only been a few years since His Majesty eradicated Zhang Wan, and the two brothers of the Cao family are a pile of trash. If this can make their relatives sit up, they, the civil servants, just line up and jump into the moat, let alone become officials.

Zhuang Changxin looked at Wang Hanlin's face, smiled and said:
"Wang Hanlin, you don't have to worry too much about this matter. Although Shou Chenghou is absurd, since His Majesty has locked him up, he won't let him out easily."

He seemed to be comforting people, but Wang Hanlin heard another meaning-"Your Majesty is just imprisoning Shou Chenghou now, and he didn't say how to deal with it. When the Queen Mother gets angry again, maybe Gao Pick it up high, put it down gently."

This will not work!

Wang Hanlin took a deep breath, and was determined to let his colleagues who are the censors continue to submit impeachments, not only to impeach Shou Chenghou, but also to impeach the Queen Mother who turned His Majesty out of the door!

Be sure to suppress the arrogance of the relatives!

Seeing Wang Hanlin striding away, Zhuang Changxin shook his head and adjusted the leather belt around his waist.

When he arrived at Wenyuan Pavilion slowly, he handed the note in his hand to Li Congyuan, and poured himself a cup of tea from the pot beside Li Congyuan.

"Master Shangshu, although your tea is cold, it is also very cold. If you drink too much, you will inevitably suffer from diarrhea."

Li Congyuan looked up at him, heaved a sigh of relief, and said with a wry smile: "Since Your Majesty wanted to investigate the Taipu Temple, I only hate that the tea has been drunk less."

Zhuang Changxin also smiled wryly. As the Minister of the Ministry of Officials and Li Congyuan's deputy, how could he not know how difficult Li Congyuan is going through these days?

Looking around, he smiled again: "Fortunately, our Majesty first took the knife on his relatives. After this encounter, some people can't cohere together for a while."

If you jumped out at this time to oppose His Majesty's investigation of the Taipu Temple, wouldn't you be colluding with the relatives they most despise?

"This can only last for a while." Li Congyuan shook his head.

Zhuang Changxin saw that Li Congyuan had more gray hair on his temples in the past few days, so he couldn't help slowing down his tone: "Mr. Yunshan, since Your Majesty already has the heart to get rid of evils, we can just forge ahead, why do you waste so much money?" What about yourself?"

"I'm worried..." Li Congyuan glanced at Zhuang Changxin, then sighed again.

He was worried that the hearts of the people in the court would be scattered, and that officials in various places would doubly harm the people in order to make up for the shortfall. He was also worried that His Majesty was still young and uncertain, and when he encountered a dilemma, he would postpone the elimination of evils.

But these words, others can say, but he Li Congyuan can't.

"Mr. Yunshan, I feel that you might as well tell His Majesty all your worries."

Zhuang Changxin poured himself another cup of "Great Cold Tea" that was extinguishing the fire, and drank it down: "Mr. Yunshan, I have been thinking these days, those of us who are ministers always want to be trusted by His Majesty, so whether His Majesty also What do you think?"

After finishing speaking, Zhuang Changxin laughed first: "In the past, I would not have dared to say such a thing, but although His Majesty is more unpredictable than before, but His Majesty did not kill Chen Shouzhang, I feel in a daze that His Majesty is now There is a heart for good, this kind of heart is rare, and it is a hundred times rare for a king."

Zhuang Changxin left, Li Congyuan looked at the stacked memorials in front of him, poured himself a cup of tea, but only held it in his hand.

Their Majesty, who was stubborn since he was a child, is very talented in power and tactics. How could Li Congyuan not know about this?

It is always said that His Majesty's unpredictable moods make the court fearful, and the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty are afraid of a fatuous and unpredictable emperor?No, what the officials are afraid of is a monarch who is shrewd and uses power as a skill, and doesn't care about the life and death of the officials, nor the lives of the common people.

If the whole Dayong is a ship that is tossing in the wind and rain, a monarch who is skilled in power will not fill the holes on the ship. He just thinks that as long as he pushes people into the water in batches, he will be the last one to survive. .

This is the case for His Majesty today, and it is also the case for the late emperor who was praised as a wise and wise man. Even the Prince Xianduan Sheng, who is still remembered today, is not a person who is not incapable of power.

Li Congyuan has been an official for decades, and the people he has seen the most are those who are pushed into the water. Among those people are his mentors, colleagues, close friends and sworn enemies.

"Have a good heart?"

Muttering these four words softly, Li Congyuan drank the tea in one gulp.

"The Cao family transported property worth 40 silver to the household department!"

Hearing the words of the messenger, Li Congyuan put down the teacup in his hand.

"40 million taels of silver?"

"Yes, Mrs. Shouchenghou took the two sons of the Cao family and delivered the things to the household department in person, and she was still wearing plain clothes to enter the palace to plead guilty."

It was even later that the same news reached Chaohuayuan in Xiyuan. Yiji accepted the booklet, turned around and walked into Chaohuayuan, and summoned his most trusted little eunuch.

"You took my badge and hurried out of the palace to find His Majesty, and presented the news to the Emperor."

After speaking, Yiji hesitated for a moment.

"Forget it, you go and find the three cats to come and guard Chaohuayuan, and then find clothes to wear outside the palace, and I will go find the emperor myself."

Since the emperor came to the throne, he always accompanied him when he left the palace. Even if the emperor occasionally went out to play, he was accompanied by two dogs or four mice. He changed into a black cotton-collared robe and took off his hair. The three-mountain cap changed into a Tang scarf, and when he looked in the mirror, he froze for a moment.

The three cats who helped him tsk-tsk: "Chicken Boss, you are almost thirty, so you look like a young scholar in your early twenties who just passed the exam."

"Don't want Hu Qin, Er Gou is not here, you lead people to guard the door, it's not a trivial matter if something goes wrong."

Where does the three cats not know?With a smile on his face, what he said in his mouth was true: "Don't worry, Boss Chicken, I will take care of what it looks like when you go out, and what it will look like when you come back."

As soon as the chicken lifted its feet and was about to go out, Sanmao babbled while sending it to him: "The roast lamb from Zuixianlou that the emperor asked Sishubao to bring back last time was really fresh and tender, but it was a little less. I secretly hid a lot and ate it myself, Boss Chicken, you can keep an eye on it when you go out, if the emperor asks you to pack something and bring it back to reward us, don’t let that thief and mouse hide it by himself.”

Turning on the horse in front of the gate of Chaohuayuan, a chicken almost got a big footprint on Sanmao's butt first.

This fat cat is always out of shape, no wonder the emperor always wants to kick him.

Go out of Xiyuan along the corner gate, walk along the river for a while, cross the bridge, and insert a few alleys diagonally until you arrive at Gulou Street. A chicken waved to let the Dongchang fans who guarded him spread out. Looking for someone, he also led the horse and walked on the bustling street.

A chicken born handsome, with a face as white as jade, usually in the palace with low brows and trying not to be conspicuous, but at least covered it up, now walking on the street looking up for someone, he is really a very eye-catching person Handsome boy brother.

Sitting on the second floor of Xinghua Building, Shen Shiqing saw him from a distance.

"Sister, look, is that man a dick?"

Lin Miaozhen was looking at a fine steel knife she just bought, and took a look at it: "It's really a chicken, let's not call him a chicken outside the palace."

After finishing speaking, Lin Miaozhen leaned out and waved at Yiji: "Mr. Fang, come up and have a seat?"

Shen Shiqing was so frightened that she dragged back Lin Miaozhen, who was too unrestrained in her words and deeds.

Lin Miaozhen also felt that something was wrong, and couldn't help laughing: "I'll wear men's clothing next time, I'll scare every chicken into black chicken hahahaha!"

Being greeted by the empress in public, how could a chicken not hear it?After a while, I reached the second floor of Xinghua Building lightly.

It was meal time, and the freshly steamed fish was placed in front of their emperor and empress, and the aroma of scallion oil came over the surface.

Shen Shiqing looked at Yiji: "What happened at home that made you come here in such a hurry?"

Yiji lowered his head, and handed over the booklet in his hand: "Mrs. Shouchenghou and the son of the family sent 40 taels of silver to the household department."

Shen Shiqing was stunned for a moment, and opened the notebook with some surprise.

As far as she knew, yesterday afternoon, the Queen Mother was still in the palace to order Mrs. Shouchenghou to enter the palace. She did not expect that Mrs. Shouchenghou not only did not enter the palace, but followed her wishes.

The brochure handed over by Mrs. Shouchenghou made it very clear that Shouchenghou, as a foreign relative, was unable to serve the country, which made Gansu Xingtaipu Temple short of 10 taels of silver. Make it up, otherwise you are ashamed of the emperor and the common people.

"This note is written in a reasonable way."

Shen Shiqing smiled, and handed the notebook to Lin Miaozhen: "Sister, look, our eldest aunt is really a smart person, she is clearly a notebook for apologizing, and if you praise the Holy Grace, don't write it like money. If our uncle is half like this With his scheming, he won’t be crying in Fusi’s prison in Beizhen now.”

What she said was true.

After Cao Fengxi was imprisoned in Beizhen Fusi, he cried three times a day. After crying, he scolded the Beizhen Fusi who imprisoned him for not knowing how to imprison his uncle.

Lin Miaozhen read the excerpt twice, but she was not as happy as "Zhao Surui": "Mrs. Shouchenghou has pleaded guilty, and the Empress Dowager may attack her again."

Also being tortured by the queen mother, Lin Miaozhen became worried about the situation of Mrs. Liang's wife Shouchenghou.

"What's this?"

Shen Shiqing thought for a while: "I remember that Marquis Shoucheng is a title that will not be handed down from generation to generation. He was ordered to be removed from the title of Marquis and demoted to a commoner, and the eldest son of the Liang family was demoted to the rank of General of the Fu Kingdom. What errands did he have before?"

Yiji quickly replied: "Mr. Liang has two sons. The eldest son, Cao Yuanlang, won a Juren before. Liang always wanted him to go further, and he is still studying in the Imperial College. Cao Yuanrun is better than his elder brother in terms of literary talents. I just got a scholar in one subject."

"Hey, the Liang family has a plan to allow her two sons to advance in the imperial examination." Shen Shiqing pondered for a moment: "I will call their brothers into the palace tomorrow, and I will see them face to face. The decree remains the same, and the decree continues, Cao Fengxi was granted the title of Marquis because of his filial piety for the Empress Dowager, and the Liang family has also contributed to the filial piety, so they will keep the Shoucheng Hou Mansion for their family to live in until Liang's death."

After listening to the emperor's order, Yiji quickly responded.

Lin Miaozhen couldn't help laughing: "Keep the imperial order and keep the mansion, but Cao Fengxi has nothing left. Your decree is interesting. Doesn't it mean that Shou Chenghou is already dead?"

"Let Gansu Xingtaipu Temple almost become an empty shell, and Shou Chenghou is of course dead." Shen Shiqing pursed her lips and smiled, her tone light and airy.

Taking a look at the people coming and going below, she took a sip of Xinghualou's unique Xinghua brew.

　Shen Shiqing: This kind of trash should have died a long time ago, let's treat him as dead.

　　Siri Zhao: Shen Sanwaste!You stole my lines!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)