Jiuxi

Chapter 599 597 [White Head]

The palace in the night is like a sleeping beast.

The lights in the imperial study were bright.

During his more than half a year as regent, Li Zongben had become very familiar with handling government affairs. Now that he was in charge of making decisions on his own, reviewing memorials was even easier for him.

He was indeed very similar to the late emperor in some respects, such as his diligence, which had won sincere praise from the two prime ministers.

As the night progressed, the Empress sent eunuchs to pay her respects several times, but Li Zongben still sat behind the imperial desk reading memorials.

"His Majesty."

Yuan Yuji, the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, walked into the imperial study, came close, bowed and said, "Here I am."

Li Zongben responded calmly without even raising his head.

After a moment, a eunuch in his twenties followed behind Yuan Yuji and bowed nervously.

"Flat body."

Li Zongben put down the memorial in his hand, looked up at the eunuch, and said gently: "Has Yuan Yuji explained it to you clearly?"

The eunuch still did not dare to stand up, and knelt respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, I already know."

Li Zongben said with a little emotion: "Don't worry, I will treat your relatives well. Although they need to hide their identities, I guarantee that they can live a safe and prosperous life. When one of your nephews is adopted by you in the future, I will have someone train him and give him an official position."

The eunuch kowtowed with tears of gratitude and said, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!"

Li Zongben waved his hand, and Yuan Yuji understood and took the man out.

When the Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs returned to the imperial study, Li Zongben had already immersed himself in the ocean of memorials again.

Yuan Yuji served quietly, without showing any anxiety, nor did he try to be smart and advise the emperor to rest early.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Zongben finally finished reading the last memorial of the day.

He raised his hand to rub his eyes, then looked at Yuan Yuji who was standing solemnly beside him, and said calmly: "If you have something to say, just say it."

Yuan Yuji lowered his eyes and whispered, "Your Majesty, I think that keeping Wen Changbao's family is a hidden danger after all."

Wen Changbao was the young eunuch he had brought to see the emperor earlier.

Li Zongben raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and said meaningfully: "You are right, the dead will keep secrets forever."

Yuan Yuji understood and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I know what to do."

Li Zongben shook his head and said, "That's all."

Yuan Yuji was stunned.

Li Zongben said calmly: "The reason why Wen Changbao was willing to do such a treasonous thing was because he believed that the emperor would never deceive a ninth-rank eunuch like him, so he was willing to use his life in exchange for a stable life for his family. Killing is a very simple thing, but there are many things in this world that cannot be solved by killing. Doing so may be safer in the short term, but if you look at the future, it is ultimately a hidden danger."

Yuan Yuji was feeling complicated at the moment.

As an old man who lived in the emperor's private residence, his status beside Li Zongben was actually far beyond the imagination of those court officials. He was one of the people Li Zongben trusted most, and he controlled a secret force, including many masters who disappeared quietly from the two elite forces of the palace guards and the Mo Garden guards.

When Li Zongben was a hidden talent, Yuan Yuji had done a lot for him.

The identity of this Junior Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is far more than just a eunuch.

It was precisely because he knew Li Zongben well enough that he felt so emotional at this moment.

On the one hand, he was certainly relieved that the emperor was not so heartless and cold-blooded, but on the other hand, he hoped that the emperor was heartless and cold-blooded enough.

This is a very contradictory yet normal psychology.

Li Zongben knew this very well and continued, "It's not that I can't do it, but the method needs to be different for different people. Throughout history, the emperor has always been alone, but I still hope to have a few people I can trust around me. I hope you can trust me too, and that being loyal to me will not end up being abandoned after my death."

Yuan Yuji immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty is kind and virtuous. How dare I not do my best?"

Li Zongben smiled slightly, looked at him and said, "Besides, can't you even control a few ordinary people?"

Yuan Yuji bowed her head and said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will handle it properly."

"Ah."

Li Zongben stretched his arms slightly, took one last look at the two piles of memorials on the imperial desk, and said calmly, "Go ahead."

Yuan Yuji asked, "Where would your Majesty like to sleep tonight?"

Li Zongben said without thinking: "Yong'an Palace." This is the queen's bedroom.

About an incense stick later, the emperor arrived at Yong'an Palace, and Empress Ning, who had already received the notice, came out to greet him in person.

"I wanted to have someone tell you to rest earlier, but then I thought, you will definitely keep waiting."

Li Zongben's tone was gentle, which was very different from other times.

Queen Ning said with a smile: "No matter how late it is, this is what I should do. Why should Your Majesty worry about it?"

A gentle smile appeared on Li Zongben's face, and he took her hand and walked into the inner hall.

After washing, the emperor and the empress slept on the same bed.

Queen Ning leaned on Li Zongben's shoulder and said softly, "Your Majesty, is the government stable?"

Li Zongben looked up and said calmly, "There are too many smart people in the court. It's much more difficult than I thought."

Queen Ning said with admiration: "No matter how many smart people there are, they are not as smart as Your Majesty."

Li Zongben couldn't help laughing. He adjusted his left arm slightly and held Queen Ning tighter.

After the national mourning is over, according to convention, the palace will be filled with beautiful women to expand the royal family. However, the world does not know that the emperor and empress actually have a very deep relationship.

Although Queen Ning was born with natural beauty, she came from a humble family and was unable to provide any help to Li Zongben in the past years. However, she was the only person in the world who knew most of Li Zongben's secrets.

Unlike the third prince Li Zongjian who deliberately isolated himself, Li Zongben did not go into that extreme situation. He chose to believe his wife.

If there had not been such a flower that could understand his language and help him relieve his depression, put all her thoughts on him all the time and listen to all his troubles, Li Zongben was not sure whether he could have survived the nearly ten years of torment.

Now that he has successfully ascended the throne, his most beloved woman has become the queen, and the eldest son she gave birth to for him was named Prince Yanning.

With this in mind, Li Zongben said softly, "In a few years, I will confer the title of Prince on Daoming, and make him the Crown Prince when he is ten years old."

Queen Ning said happily, "I will follow your majesty's arrangements."

She never concealed her feelings. Whether it was the son's status being due to the mother or the mother's status being due to the son, it was certainly a happy event worth celebrating that her eldest son was able to secure the honorable position of crown prince.

Li Zongben smiled slightly, then said with emotion: "Shuwan, remember to remind me from time to time in the future so that I won't be confused by the smooth scene in front of me, otherwise it will not be a good thing."

"I will do my best."

Queen Ning agreed, and then said delicately: "But I don't think Your Majesty will be too complacent. Your Majesty once said that ascending the throne is only the first step in a long journey. If you want to completely concentrate power and make the Great Qi Dynasty last for hundreds of years, there are still too many difficulties to be solved. Before achieving this goal, how can Your Majesty stop moving forward?"

Li Zongben said frankly: "Because people will change."

Empress Ning thought for a moment, then said softly but firmly, "If that's the case, even if Your Majesty gets annoyed in the future, I will still speak out my advice."

Li Zongben raised his hand and gently stroked her cheek, and said with a touch of emotion: "This is the best. I won't be disgusted. As long as you don't act like Empress Dowager Xu, I will definitely be able to emulate the late emperor."

Hearing him mention the honorable Queen Mother in the Cining Palace, Queen Ning whispered, "Your Majesty, do you really want to use that method?"

Li Zongben was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I have asked Yuan Yuji to select the candidate, a young eunuch who had been in the Third Prince's mansion for a few months. I didn't want to start so early, but Queen Mother Xu is clearly not giving up. If I don't dispel her thoughts as soon as possible, I'm afraid she will keep nagging me."

Empress Ning said with a hint of worry: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is the late emperor's empress after all..."

"I see."

Li Zongben said calmly, his eyes slightly sharp: "Even if she points her finger at me and scolds me, I can't do anything to her, but the third brother is involved in the assassination case, even if he is just a little bit suspicious, he can only stay in the confinement cell in the future. If Queen Mother Xu refuses to continue to behave, I can justifiably deal with the third brother. In fact, you also know that the person I really want to deal with is not the third brother, but Queen Mother Xu insists on forcing me, so I have to kill the rabbit while killing the rabbit."

Of course, Queen Ning knew who he really wanted to deal with.

When Li Zongben was named the crown prince, she thought her husband had finally seen the light of day. Now she knew that was true. This was indeed just the first step in a long journey. She mustered up the courage to ask, "Your Majesty, why don't you keep the Duke of Shanyang in the capital?"

Li Zongben said with a sigh: "The late emperor trusted him too much. Although he is still very young, he is already an indispensable figure in the border army. The victory in Yongqiu is indeed inspiring, but the Jing army will not be devastated by it. The border army is still very important. Moreover, I also hope to realize the late emperor's last wish, at least to recover all the territory lost more than a decade ago. In this case, I must reuse Lu Chen. I set him up before as a reminder to both of us."

Queen Ning listened quietly.

Li Zongben took a breath and continued, "I hope he knows that I understand that I am not the late emperor, and I will not trust him without reservation. If he crosses the line, I will not sit idly by. As for me, I need to be more cautious in dealing with this person. I cannot force him too much, nor can I trust him blindly. I must grasp the right balance."

Queen Ning sighed softly. Just thinking about it, she knew how difficult this would be. So she stretched out her arms and embraced the emperor, saying softly, "I firmly believe that one day, your majesty will be able to realize all his ambitions and become the greatest emperor in history who rules the world."

"If that day comes, I will take you to see the picturesque landscape."

"Your Majesty's words are as good as gold. I will keep them in mind."

Queen Ning smiled sweetly and snuggled up to him.

(End of this chapter)