Marrying into a poor family

Chapter 423

Xiao Chenyu knelt in the Empress Dowager's hall, and for a long time he did not hear the Empress Dowager calling him to get up.

This is one of the most powerful women in the world. She can certainly make Xiao Chenyu kneel for a long time. She can even take Xiao Chenyu's life as easily as crushing an ant.

But Xiao Chenyu knew that he had to pass this level, and he had to pass it himself.

No one can help him, not the emperor, and certainly not the Ninth Prince.

"I heard that the Emperor personally chose your name and wanted to keep you by his side?" The Queen Mother's voice was a little old. Her words were plain, but they carried the pressure of oppression and authority of a superior.

Xiao Chenyu replied respectfully: "Your Highness, I don't know!"

"Don't know? Humph, could it be that you played some trick to catch the emperor's eye?"

"I would never dare to do that!" Xiao Chenyu replied calmly and respectfully, resting his head against the cold floor tiles.

The Queen Mother felt a little bored, and after thinking for a while, she said, "Raise your head and let me see it!"

Xiao Chenyu straightened his upper body and raised his face but he did not dare to look directly at the empress dowager above him. His eyes were only on the floor tiles in front of him.

"I remember you. You have a good wife. She is very eloquent and cunning!"

This is not a good thing to say, it gives Qin Sui a bad definition.

All women like to be kind, virtuous, gentle and filial. At most, they are said to be smart and talented. However, being eloquent is definitely not a good word nowadays, not to mention that the word "cunning" is added at the end.

Xiao Chenyu's fingers were shaking slightly. He claimed that he had met important figures before, and he could handle the Ninth Prince, the Young Prince, and even the Emperor properly and with discretion. But now he suddenly realized that it was because they had no ill will towards him.

"Thank you very much, Queen Mother. I am a clumsy woman and do not deserve your praise."

The Queen Mother's eyelids twitched. Was she praising him? It was clearly a blame, a punishment. As long as her words got out, who would dare to make friends with Lord Xiao's wife?

But the person in front of me praised my praise. Does it mean that he doesn't understand what I mean, or is he the one who is sharp-tongued and cunning?

"Forget it. If you want to call it a compliment, then it is a compliment. However, you should tell her that women should be more virtuous and not show their faces in public all day long and do menial jobs. It is a loss of face for you, the royal family, and even the court."

Xiao Chenyu fell to the ground again, as if he had obtained a great treasure, his voice trembling with joy: "Yes, my wife and I are very lucky to be taught by the Queen Mother. When I return, I will copy down the Queen Mother's words word for word, frame them, and hang them at home as family mottos. I will also strictly urge my family to remember the Queen Mother's teachings. In the future, no matter what you say or do, you must first think about the Queen Mother's good advice, so as to live up to the good intentions of the Queen Mother for my wife and I."

Copy it down and frame it? The Queen Mother had a feeling that this was not a good flattery.

"There's no need to go to the trouble of copying it down. Just keep it in mind and do your best for the court and the people of the world. That will be worthy of what I said today."

Xiao Chenyu kowtowed respectfully again in response.

If the Queen Mother had not heard that the Ninth Prince was behind Xiao Chenyu, she would have had no mood to deal with such a small figure. Moreover, she saw that he was so slick, not like a scholar at all, without any integrity, but instead seemed like a veteran who had been in officialdom for a lifetime.

He waved his hand and let Xiao Chenyu leave.

As soon as Xiao Chenyu left, the Queen Mother stared at the dark sky outside the door in a daze, muttering, "What on earth does this person have that is worthy of the Emperor keeping by his side?" Then, she added slowly, "It's going to be windy this day!"

The palace maids around her held their breath and did not dare to respond, but they all seemed to have a different feeling in their hearts.

After passing the test of the Empress Dowager, Xiao Chenyu was able to stay with the Emperor temporarily.

He told Qin Sui: "The power of the Du family is more serious than we thought."

It turned out that Xiao Chenyu and Qin Sui thought that the emperor just had less power and had to listen to the opinions of the empress dowager and Prime Minister Du on everything.

But the fact is, all memorials went to the cabinet and were finally reviewed by Prime Minister Du. Those that needed to be reviewed were reviewed, those that needed to be rejected were rejected, and those that needed to be kept were kept and not sent out. In the end, only a few were presented to the emperor's desk.

The harem was under the control of the empress dowager, and even the insignificant person Xiao Chenyu who appeared by the emperor's side had to be examined by the empress dowager herself.

What's even more outrageous is that the Empress Dowager has to control which concubine the emperor sleeps with at night. The emperor cannot favor those she doesn't like, so there is no question of the emperor using his in-laws to divide the power of the Du family.

Qin Sui leaned on Xiao Chenyu's shoulder and was silent for a while after listening. Then she asked, "In other words, the emperor and the ninth prince have joined forces?"

"Yes, Ninth Prince, Ninth Prince has the ability to compete with the Du family." Xiao Chenyu seemed to be thinking about what to say. After thinking for a while, he said, "I just heard from the emperor that the emperor had tried to find the Ninth Prince before, but the Ninth Prince never paid any attention."

But suddenly, the Ninth Prince began to move, just like a long-dormant tiger or leopard who finally stretched himself, and those who were spying on him became alert.

"We used to think that the Ninth Prince was planning for Princess Yaoxiang and that he only found us to use us to help Yaoxiang." Qin Sui suddenly said, "But now it seems that we have also benefited, and we have even benefited more."

Xiao Chenyu is now following the emperor, handling some of the emperor's clerical affairs. Even though the emperor is a puppet emperor, he has after all ascended to the emperor's side in one step.

If the Ninth Prince could succeed in his plan and allow the Emperor to gain real power, then Xiao Chenyu's status would be completely different.

"Why do you suddenly feel this way?" Xiao Chenyu asked with a smile.

"It's just a casual remark. In fact, if Yaoxiang wanted to marry outside, she could have left long ago. But now she suddenly decided to marry in Dancheng. It shows that the water in the capital is becoming more and more turbid. When Yaoxiang goes to Dancheng, she will be out of the circle of right and wrong in the capital."

"I think that I can use Yaoxiang's trip to Dancheng to send my mother and two children back as well!"

This was the second time Qin Sui proposed to send the child and mother back to Dancheng, and Xiao Chenyu agreed this time.

However, Princess Yaoxiang's marriage was not made public, and even the dowry had not been prepared. Lu Jiu had already returned to Dancheng, probably to wait for news from Dancheng, and then set out unexpectedly to avoid being stopped by the Du family and the Queen Mother.

The Du family has always believed that Yaoxiang's child is their bloodline, so they think everything in the palace is in their pocket. If Yaoxiang wants to marry out, the Du family's counterattack will certainly not be small.

The next day, Xiao Chenyu went to the palace early in the morning.

The emperor still had to attend court in the morning, although he sat there like a decoration.

However, Xiao Chenyu only needs to handle affairs in the emperor's study, and he is not qualified to attend court.