Do you know: I am Yuan Wenshao

Chapter 304 No choice

Zhao Zongquan said that making Zhao Ceying the prince was not just trying to make a big deal.

When he first ascended the throne, he did not ennoble the prince because he himself was not yet stable.

If a prince is established, many officials may move closer to Zhao Ceying.

After all, he is the emperor and lives in a deep palace. It is difficult for officials to contact him. Even if he expresses his loyalty, he may not believe it.

Zhao Ceying is different. Although the East Palace is a palace complex, it has a separate gate, which is not as strict as the palace.

If they show kindness to Zhao Ceying, over time, they will gradually become Zhao Ceying's people.

In addition, Shen Congxing is Zhao Ceying's uncle, and Gu Tingye and Yuan Wenshao are all on good terms with Zhao Ceying. When the time comes, there will even be a situation where the prince is more powerful than the emperor.

Now that he feels he has taken control of the situation, his position as prince cannot remain vacant.

More importantly, a thorough investigation of the salt affairs would definitely offend many people. He was not worried that if Zhao Ceying became the prince, those civil servants would defect to him.

"Father, don't worry, I will definitely handle this matter well."

Although Zhao Ceying had always felt that the position of prince must belong to him, he was still very excited when he really got Zhao Zongquan's promise.

"Well, during this period, you should have more contact with the officials mobilized from various places and make a plan. One month later, I will find an opportunity to propose a thorough investigation of the salt affairs." Zhao Zongquan said.

"Yes." Zhao Ceying responded.

……

It didn't take long for the discussion between Zhao Zongquan and his son to reach the ears of the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother actually supported Zhao Zongquan's desire to thoroughly investigate the salt affairs.

After all, the New Deal implemented by Emperor Renzong included a thorough investigation of salt affairs.

The Queen Mother did not like Zhao Zongquan because she felt that Zhao Zongquan did not develop step by step according to the strategies formulated by Emperor Renzong.

In her opinion, the development strategies formulated by Emperor Renzong were all very good. Zhao Zongquan did not follow them, which naturally made her very dissatisfied.

She agreed, but the Queen Mother felt that Zhao Zongquan was too impatient and wanted to start without being prepared at all.

"If this continues, the late emperor's many years of hard work will be destroyed by him. No, I have to find a way to stop it."

The Queen Mother pondered for a while and said, "Go and find Qi Heng for me."

"Yes." Zhu Neiguan responded and ordered someone to call someone.

About half an hour later, Qi Heng walked in.

"Your Majesty, Qi Heng, pays homage to the Queen Mother." Qi Heng saluted.

"No courtesy, please sit down." said the Queen Mother.

"Thank you, Queen Mother." Qi Heng thanked him.

The Queen Mother looked at Qi Heng and said with a smile: "Ping Ning grew up with the late emperor. After the Ai family entered the palace, she often went to the palace to talk to the Ai family. You are just like the nephew of the Ai family. There is no need to be restrained in the Ai family. .”

"Yes." Qi Heng responded and sat down.

The Queen Mother smiled and chatted with Qi Heng about household matters. She did most of the talking. Qi Heng didn't answer much and kept listening.

As the Queen Mother spoke, her expression suddenly became sad, and she said: "Before, Ping Ning asked the Ai family for help to find a position for you. The Ai family originally wanted you to go to the Hanlin Academy, but after all, the Ai family is not an official biological mother, and she talks lightly. Ah. I can only arrange for you to go to Jianyuan. This is an offending job, so don’t blame the Aijia."

Qi Heng's eyes flashed with anger when he heard this. His anger was not directed at the Queen Mother, but at his mother, Princess Pingning.

After he was named on the gold list, he told Princess Pingning that there was no need to find connections for him, and he would accept any official he was awarded.

Qi Heng always thought that if he could be assigned to Jianyuan, it would be a normal assignment.

Now I know that it was Princess Pingning who came to find the Queen Mother.

The anger in Qi Heng's eyes flashed away, and he said respectfully: "Although the Queen Mother is not the biological mother of the official family, the official family has been adopted in the name of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother is the official mother. The official family dare not disrespect the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother There’s no need to worry, Madam.”

"What aunt? When he came to the throne and his foothold was not stable, he asked the Ai family to listen to the government behind the curtain. Later, he felt that the Ai family was in the way and wanted power. He just said that when he wanted power, the Ai family was not a person who was greedy for power, but he He proposed that his biological father should be granted the imperial title to persecute the Ai family.

Give him the power as long as it is given to him. After all, he is the crown prince designated by the late emperor.

What makes the Ai family sad is that the late emperor was killed by his comrades who rebelled against the king, but the Ai family could not avenge the late emperor. After the Ai family died, they were too embarrassed to see the late emperor. "

By the end of the story, the Queen Mother was crying.

It is said that it is difficult for an upright official to deal with household affairs, let alone royal affairs.

It was hard for Qi Heng to say anything about this kind of thing, but when he heard that the Queen Mother said that the rebels were against the king, Qi Heng was stunned and said: "The Queen Mother, haven't the rebels against the king been executed already?"

"That's just part of it. The rebel king's party is involved in many things. The official has just ascended the throne and doesn't want to cause big turmoil. The Ai family understands and doesn't rush him. However, the official has been on the throne for more than half a year now, and they have yet to pursue the investigation of the rebels. The party's intention. The Ai family asked people to find out evidence that many officials and noble officials had collusion with the rebellious party. They mentioned it several times in front of the officials, but they didn't respond." The Queen Mother said and glanced at Zhu Neiguan.

Zhu Neiguan understood and quickly sent the evidence he found to Qi Heng.

Qi Heng took it and unfolded it and read it. After a long time, Qi Heng said angrily: "Rebellion is an unforgivable crime. How can we tolerate rebels? The Queen Mother, I will ask the officials to investigate the matter thoroughly. I wonder if these can be Give me the evidence?"

"Yuan Ruo, the Ai family came to you to complain. If you report this matter, you will not only offend the official family, but also many people." The Queen Mother said.

"If I am afraid of offending others, then I am not serving as an admonishment officer, nor am I worthy of being an official." Qi Heng said firmly.

The Queen Mother pretended to hesitate and said, "Then take it back."

"I need to go back and write a memorial, so I will leave first." Qi Heng saluted.

"Well, go ahead." The Queen Mother waved her hand.

After Qi Heng left, Zhu Neiguan said: "The Queen Mother, will this Young Master Qi really attend the performance?"

"How many of those who can pass the Jinshi exam are fools? He won't believe what the Ai family said, but he will do it because he has no choice." The Queen Mother said calmly.

She told Qi Heng that he was able to enter Jianyuan because Princess Pingning asked her for help.

In fact, she was telling Qi Heng that the Qi family was on her side.

The official family also knew this. If Qi Heng didn't take the job, no one would help the Qi family if she wanted to deal with it.

Qi Heng is a smart man, so he can naturally hear the threat in this.

Zhu Neiguan didn't know this, and still looked at the Queen Mother with some doubts.

The Queen Mother had no intention of continuing to explain, but asked: "Where is Concubine Liu Guifei now?"

"Back to the Queen Mother, the weather is nice today. Concubine Liu and Prince Yong are playing in the imperial garden." Zhu Neiguan said.

The Queen Mother was silent for a while and said, "The Ai family hasn't gone for a walk in the Imperial Garden for a while, so let's go there and take a walk."

"Yes." Zhu Neiguan hurriedly went down to make arrangements.

……

In a pavilion in the imperial garden, Concubine Liu looked at her son sleeping sweetly in the cradle and murmured: "Son, you are my mother's support in the future, so I can grow up safely."

Concubine Liu was of low origin, became a noble concubine, and enjoyed wealth and honor. It was as if she was living in a dream.

However, one day, she accidentally bumped into a man who ran out of the cold palace and was caught by the internal officials and sent back.

Concubine Liu had heard about some affairs in the palace before and knew that concubines who made mistakes would be thrown into the cold palace.

But that's all I've heard about, and this is the first time I've seen it.

Out of curiosity, I asked someone to inquire about the woman.

This inquiry made Concubine Liu tremble.

It turned out that the woman was the late emperor's concubine.

After the death of the late emperor, according to regulations, except for the queen, all other concubines who had no heirs had to be buried. However, the late emperor was kind and left a last word before his death that his concubines should not be buried.

However, it is difficult to place these women. Since they are the concubines of the late emperor, they cannot be released from the palace.

But it is not suitable to keep it in the palace.

So Zhao Zongquan sent those noble concubines to the royal nunnery to become monks.

As for the ordinary concubines, they were directly thrown into the cold palace.

Knowing the fate of these concubines, Concubine Liu felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured on her in the winter.

She looks beautiful now, but she is just a concubine.

When Zhao Zongquan passes away later, her end will not be much better.

Fortunately, she has a son. As long as his son grows up and lives, she will be safe.

However, at this moment, a rumor spread in the palace.

The reason why the officials did not ennoble the prince was because they were dissatisfied with King Huan and intended to make King Yong the crown prince.

Because the day King Yong was born was the day the official ascended the throne.

It was a lie that Concubine Liu was not moved when she heard the news.

She recalled carefully that since King Yong was born, Zhao Zongquan really liked him very much. No matter how busy he was, he would take time to come to her to see the child basically every day.

Even after he was born, he was crowned a prince.

If her son can become the prince, she will have the opportunity to become the master of the harem and the most noble woman in the world.

Even if it didn't work out, with King Yong here, she wouldn't have to be buried in a monk and relegated to the cold palace.

Therefore, this son is her future support, and she treasures him very much.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother has also come to take a walk in the Royal Garden and is walking this way."

A palace maid hurriedly came over and whispered a few words to the female officer next to Liu Guifei. After hearing this, the female officer asked the palace maid to step back and stepped forward to report to Liu Guifei.

After hearing this, Concubine Liu said: "You look at Yong'er here, I will go over and salute you."

When you meet the Queen Mother, you must go over and salute.

"Yes." The female officer responded.

Concubine Liu took the two maids in the direction of the Queen Mother. Not long after, she saw the Queen Mother walking this way, followed by a group of maids and eunuchs.

"I pay my respects to the Queen Mother." Concubine Liu stepped forward and saluted.

"No gift." The Queen Mother waved her hand and said with a smile, "What a coincidence, Concubine Liu is also in the Imperial Garden."

"Haha, I saw that the weather is good today, so I brought Yong'er over to bask in the sun." Liu Guifei said with a smile.

Facing the Queen Mother, she still has a sense of superiority.

The Queen Mother looks noble, but in fact her position is very embarrassing.

And all this is because the Queen Mother has no children, but she does.

What's more, her son still has a chance to become the prince, and she can also become the queen mother in the future.

By then she, the Queen Mother, will definitely be more noble than this Queen Mother.

Thinking of this, Concubine Liu's lips raised a smile.

"Well, children should be taken out for a walk more often. Where is Brother Yong?" the Queen Mother asked.

"Yong'er is asleep and is being watched by the palace maid in the pavilion in front." Concubine Liu said.

"Oh." The Queen Mother said with some disappointment: "The Ai family still wants to tease me, but since I'm asleep, forget it."

"Haha, when he gets older in a few months, he won't be so sleepy. Then I will take him to play with the Queen Mother. Just don't be bothered by the Queen Mother." Concubine Liu said with a smile.

"How could it be? He likes to be noisy even at this age. If a child is making trouble at Ai's house, it's too late for Ai's family to be happy."

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Since Concubine Liu is fine, please go for a walk with the Ai family."

"Yes." Concubine Liu responded and followed the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother took Concubine Liu for a leisurely walk while chatting.

After walking for a while, he suddenly said: "The Ai family heard that the official family is planning to canonize King Huan as the crown prince. It has been delayed for so long, and it is really time to make a decision."

Concubine Liu was stunned when she heard this, and asked in surprise: "How come I didn't hear about it?"

"Haha, maybe the Ai family heard rumors." The Queen Mother smiled and did not continue to talk about this topic.

Concubine Liu was very confused and wanted to ask, but she didn't know how to ask.

Seeing Concubine Liu's absent-minded look, the Queen Mother sneered in her heart, but her face remained calm.

After walking for a while, the Queen Mother said she was tired and wanted to go back.

Concubine Liu sent the Queen Mother away, her face immediately darkened, and she ordered people to inquire about the news.

However, I didn't get any useful information at all.

…………

Princess Pingning came to Qi Heng's study and knocked on the door.

"Who?"

"Heng'er, it's mother."

Qi Heng inside the house quickly opened the door and saluted: "Mother, why are you here so late?"

Princess Pingning walked into the house, asked the maid to put the snacks on the table, waved them down, waited until only mother and son were left in the house, then reproached: "You also know it's so late, how long have you been married? I work in the study until late at night every day, and sometimes I spend the night in the study. Tell mother whether you have not forgotten the sixth girl of the Sheng family."

"Mother, what are you talking about? They are already married, and I am also married. It is better not to say such words that harm other people's reputation in the future." Qi Heng said.

"Okay, okay, mother won't tell you. But it's not appropriate for you to stay in the study every day and let Shen stay alone in the empty room. It's getting late, so go back to your room to rest early." Princess Pingning said.

"Mother, my son really has something serious to do. We have a morning meeting tomorrow and he is writing a book." Qi Heng said.

"Write a note?"

Princess Pingning was stunned, and while walking towards the desk, she said, "Didn't Mom tell you not to impeach randomly? You only need to stay in the Admonition Court for two years, and then you can be transferred to other departments."

"Mother, don't look at it."

Qi Heng wanted to stop it, but it was already too late.

Princess Pingning had already picked up the memorial he had written on the table and read it.

Qi Heng wanted to snatch it, but Princess Pingning ducked away.

"Heng'er, you are crazy. The rebels have already been executed, and the officials have no intention of pursuing them further. Yet you want to write a letter asking the officials to thoroughly investigate the remnants of the rebels. Let's not talk about whether there are any remnants. You Do you know how many people you will offend if you do this?"

"The rebel king's party has a lot of involvement. I just checked it hastily and there must be many omissions." Qi Heng said.

"You are the only smart person in the civil and military affairs of this dynasty? Don't others know that there are omissions? Who did you see to report it?" Princess Pingning said angrily.

(End of this chapter)