A Thousand Hills

Chapter 154

Although Xie Moru was considerate of the fifth prince or was shocked by the speculation that "Ling Xiao might have been used by Emperor Mu Yuan", he didn't tell her about Ling Xiao, Xie Moru still complained, "Your Highness should have communicated with me earlier. Say."

The Fifth Prince sighed, "How should I say this?"

"Think about it, Your Majesty, if she really had anything to do with His Majesty, how could she be unwilling if His Majesty asked her to enter the palace this time?" Xie Moru showed the most direct flaw, "I listen to my concubine mother in the palace. Said, Concubine Xie had someone clean up the Mingyue Palace, and the Mingyue Palace used to live in Li Zhaoyi, the biological mother of the fourth prince." Li Zhaoyi came from a humble background, and she was raised from a palace servant, from a palace servant to the head of the nine concubines. Zhaoyi, it can be seen that she was very favored back then.Of course, as soon as Li Zhaoyi left, Mingyue Hall would be given to the newcomer, so the favor was probably just that.Considering the time when Concubine Xie Guifei tidied up the Mingyue Palace, it must have been tidied up for Ling Xiao to enter the palace.If Ling Xiao had been favored by Emperor Mu Yuan earlier, it would be impossible for Concubine Su to let her come to the Prince's Mansion.

The fifth prince said, "Then why isn't she..." Although the fifth prince also had several side concubines, he was not very imaginative when it came to women.If he hadn't been favored by his emperor's father, it would be impossible in the prince's mansion. His daughter-in-law has always run the family very strictly.

Xie Moru pondered for a moment, then said, "Maybe before entering the palace."

The fifth prince thought about it for a while, and was tossed about by Xie Moru's speculation. Dongmu has not been established for a long time, and the people's customs are gradually opening up. It is different from the atmosphere of the previous dynasty where widows remarried, lost their virginity before marriage, and women had no choice but to die. Dong Mu gradually let go of the restrictions on women, but there is no such audacious person who tries to enter the palace after losing his virginity. The fifth prince couldn't understand it, and said, "In terms of the status and grace that can be given to her, we The position of side concubine in the mansion can't be compared with the status in the palace. I don't pay much attention to her on weekdays, and I won't pretend to be so affectionate that she really falls in love with me. I really don't understand why she does everything possible You must stay in our mansion." In the fifth prince's heart, Ling Xiao's attempt to enter the palace in such a way is naturally a conspiracy.In the history books, there is no lack of careerist women, who will be rich and honored when they enter the palace, and they will kill a road to the sky bloody.However, if Ling Xiao is this kind of person, no matter what, he should enter the palace according to the holy will.

"Why is Your Highness so confused? If she really enters the palace again like this, His Majesty will know right away."

"I know it's different."

Xie Moru always felt that Ling Xiao's actions were contradictory and unreasonable, so he said, "Wait a minute, after all, she is pregnant now." For those who lied once, Xie Moru is still willing to wait for the person sent to investigate Ling Xiao's details to come back and then solve Ling Xiao's matter once and for all.

The fifth prince really felt that a woman was even more troublesome than the Chunwei case.

The fifth prince is still busy in the yamen every day, Xie Moru handles Ling Xiao's matter, and the fifth prince himself is at ease.On the contrary, the fifth prince, when the fraud case in the examination room was found out, the court was in a state of shock. Li Xiang, who had made great contributions to the earthquake rescue incident last year and was appointed as the chief examiner of this division, although it was not found that he was related to this matter, but Li Xiang had to stand up and take part of the responsibility. After the decision of the cabinet, Emperor Mu Yuan agreed to move Li Xiang as the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu.

Li Xiang is the chief examiner, and the case itself is not related to him, but the case is so important that both inside and outside the court were shocked. Li Xiang had to resign as the chief examiner. Fortunately, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu is also an important official. It can be seen that Emperor Mu Yuan still showed mercy Divided.

Emperor Mu Yuan deliberately said, "Go to the East Palace and talk to the prince." Li Xiang still has the position of prince and tutor, and now he is working abroad, so naturally this position cannot be kept.

Li Xiang resigned from Emperor Mu Yuan and went to the East Palace. The prince's words were quite sad, "Feng Xiang passed away due to the epidemic, and now Li Qing is leaving alone..." The prince Shao Fu died and the prince Tai Fu left, even if Emperor Mu Yuan treated him He is still the same, but the prince is extremely uneasy.

Li Xiangdao, "Your Highness, don't worry. When Prime Minister Feng passed away, I originally thought that the new Minister of Rites must have made up for it. I didn't want His Majesty to order Xie Xiang to join the cabinet. Now that the minister is gone, there will be a vacancy in the cabinet. I think His Majesty must have one." Arrangement. Your Highness’s honor and disgrace belong to His Majesty. Father and son are close relatives. Your Highness should serve the king with loyalty and father with filial piety. You should have nothing to worry about. Although this is a cliché, it makes sense when you think about it.” At Li Xiang’s age and position , there is nothing unclear. Although he was implicated by the fraud case this time, he has been in the officialdom for many years and has seen a lot of experience. Everything in the world is as simple as it is complicated, like a prince, instead of worrying about it. As for the position of the Eastern Palace, it is better to spend some time on establishing a good relationship with Emperor Mu Yuan. As long as the relationship between father and son is good, the position of the Eastern Palace will naturally be stable.

Li Xiang said a few words of loyalty to the emperor, and then left from the East Palace.The crown prince rewarded Li Xiang with a lot of things. Although Li Xiang did his best to help him, he would only hang up his book bag and talk about the big truth.

Regarding the resignation of Prime Minister Li, the fifth prince reminded him through his parental history, "I'm afraid I have to think about it in the East Palace. Your Highness should find an opportunity to explain to His Highness the Crown Prince when you have time."

The fifth prince said, "How do you explain this? The appointment of Prime Minister Li was appointed by the emperor." In fact, the fifth prince has a good impression of Li Xiang. Ke Chunwei can't choose him as the main examiner.The fifth prince originally thought that with Li Xiang's favor, Su Xiang was old, and if Su Xiang became an official, Li Xiang must be the one who took over, but no one expected that Li Xiang's luck was really not good, and it was so easy to become an official. Returning to the main examination, he caught up with the fraud case.

Zhang Changshi is a good and responsible subordinate. He said, "Everyone has selfish intentions. After all, His Royal Highness presides over the investigation of the scientific fraud case. Because of this, Li Xiang was appointed outside the case. I am afraid that the position of Prince and Taifu will not be guaranteed. Feng Xiang passed away due to illness last year. Now that Li Xiang is away from the capital and the East Palace has lost his arm, His Royal Highness may not be very happy. Our house has always been close to the East Palace, so it is best not to create suspicions in the East Palace." He will be the emperor in the future, after all. , His Royal Highness will have to eat according to the face of others in the future, so what if we don't have a good relationship.

The fifth prince sighed, "It makes sense. The prince will soon be Qianqiu. I discussed with the princess, and it is better to give the prince a generous gift."

The fifth prince made this matter known to his wife, "I didn't target anyone specifically. Who would have the face when this happened? There is a clansman who is located in Juren, who is still the side concubine. Father is not very good these days. Happy, Prime Minister Li is an outsider. In fact, everyone in the court knows that Prime Minister Li has been implicated, and he may not be promoted back in the future. However, Zhang Changshi's words are also reasonable. I am busy these days, and I don't have time to go to the East Palace, Prince Qianqiu, let's make our gifts thicker."

Xie Moru said, "This is not good, the gifts of our families have always been the same. If the eldest prince and his family still follow the usual practice and only our family gives generous gifts, so that people can see it, what do we think. Even to Donggong, it doesn't look good."

The fifth prince patted his forehead, "What a bad idea, otherwise, I'd better go directly to the prince to explain a thing or two."

"If you ask me, Your Highness is too worried." Xie Moru said, "The crown prince is the heir apparent of a country, so Feng Shaofu has no choice but to live like this. As for Li Xiang, as His Highness said, he was just subjected to the fraud case. It’s not that there is anything wrong with him. Although these two are officials of the East Palace, what is the crown prince? Could it be that for the crown prince, only the officials of the East Palace are his subjects, and the others outside the East Palace are not? , How many people come and go every year. The courtiers are used by His Majesty and also by the prince. Ministers like Feng Shaofu and Li Xiang are also important court officials when they are officials of the Eastern Palace. They have only been officials of the Eastern Palace for a few years. How many years have you been serving in the imperial court? I don’t think it’s necessary to say that the East Palace is unhappy because of this matter. Since it’s about employing people, use them when you need them, discard them when they’re discarded, reward them when they’re rewarded, and punish them when they’re punished. Fang is the way of the master. Why worry about one person coming and going, not to mention that the Eastern Palace is not full of officials, could it be that His Majesty is not clear, at this moment, I think His Majesty already has a suitable person to fill the lack of the Eastern Palace's young tutor and grand tutor."

"Your Highness doesn't need to give gifts to the Eastern Palace. This is to underestimate the Eastern Palace." Xie Moru suggested, "I have prepared a small gift, why don't you send it to Mr. Li. This time Mr. Li was implicated by this, and he was really wronged. Your Highness Let me mention this matter before your majesty, don't do it in private to make people gossip, but also to say a few good words to Li Xiang. How can the crown prince and Li Xiang have no relationship in the past few years. It's just that the crown prince is due to his status. Just to intercede for Li Xiang. After His Royal Highness finishes this matter, he will explain to the crown prince, why does the crown prince have any grievances?"

The fifth prince felt that his daughter-in-law was more than a hundred times wiser than his parent, Shi.The Fifth Prince sighed in admiration, "It's still you women who are careful." He asked what was for Li Xiangbei.

Xie Moru said, "Li Xiang is a civil servant, we are not familiar with him, and we don't know what he likes. He is a literati, I asked the maid to prepare a set of the Four Treasures of the Study for His Majesty to reward His Highness and a set of imperial poems, how about it?"

"Prepare well." The ceremony is light, and the affection is not heavy, especially the simple things, absolutely no one can find fault.

Rao Li Xiang didn't expect that the Fifth Prince would send someone to give him something. It was the Chang Shi from the Fifth Prince's Mansion who came. What Zhang Changshi said was sincere and simple, without any detours. Zhang Changshi said, "His Highness said , the scientific fraud case, Mr. Li is innocent, but he was involved in this and went out to be an official. His Highness feels very sorry, knowing that Mr. Li will be far away from the imperial capital in the near future, he ordered the lower officials to send these things, and wish Mr. Li a smooth journey." Send something.

Li Xiangding would not be able to accept any generous gift, but the fifth prince gave it to him. It was simply not easy to refuse, so he accepted it politely, leaving Zhang Changshi to say a few words, and then, when Zhang Changshi was leaving , very politely ordered his son to send Zhang Changshi out.

At Li Xiang's age, Li Duan, the fifth son, served by his side. After Li Duan sent Zhang Changshi back, he expressed his doubts, "Our family has never had any contact with the Fifth Highness. Why did the Fifth Highness suddenly send someone over?" Bring something to dad?"

Li Xiang stroked the wooden box containing the gifts, and said, "Your Highness Fifth is a straightforward person. In this case, His Highness Fifth Highness is quite hard-nosed. No matter how many people intercede, he will not be moved, so the iron case will be settled." People like this mostly agree with what they say and what they say, probably what Chang Shi said, His Highness feels that I have been implicated, so feel sorry for me."

Li Duan said, "So, His Highness Fifth is a man of true temperament."

Li Xiang waved his hand. After many years of ups and downs in the officialdom, he saw that he was only one step away from the position of prime minister. As a result, he was implicated by the case and had to leave the capital. He didn't blame the fifth prince in his heart, but the fifth prince... He hadn't noticed it before. The Fifth Prince handles things so well.

The fifth prince did not forget to report this matter to his father, and the fifth prince did speak for Li Xiang. What he said was frank and aboveboard. Responsibility is just that my son can't bear it when he thinks about his age, and Li Xiangqing is innocent compared to those who really cheated for personal gain. Hearing that his family is cold, he asked someone to give him something. "

Emperor Mu Yuan didn't say anything, and said, "If you have meritorious service, you will be rewarded, and if you have delinquent, you will be punished. For example, in the case of the examination room, heavy responsibility is necessary, and the greedy heart will be restrained. I have governed all the years, nothing more than thinking about the imperial court. Make it clear." As soon as Li Xiang left, the rest of the officials who were found guilty were either beheaded or exiled, and the sentences were extremely severe.It is the cheating case, and it is Qing Yishui who will lose his fame and fame. He will never be recorded in his life and will not be an official.

Emperor Mu Yuan also appointed the lack of Shaofu, the Taifu of the East Palace, Su Xiang appointed the Taifu, and Xie Shangshu, now that his official career is prosperous, appointed Shaofu.

The Fifth Prince was quite happy for the Taizhang, and of course, for the Crown Prince. In the past, it was Li Xiang who was the crown prince's tutor, and Li Xiang was also a capable minister. He was the second assistant in the cabinet.Not to mention Xie Shangshu, this is the Taizhang of the fifth prince's Yue family.Xie Moru also said, "Your Majesty's order is good for these two people." Su Xiang is the most moderate and experienced, and his aspect has been as stable as a rock for many years.Needless to say, Xie Shangshu, he used to be the husband of Emperor Mu Yuan when he was young, but it took many years to get to the phase. Among the gentlemen of Emperor Mu Yuan in the past, he was the latest one.Xie Shangshu can be regarded as a model for a daughter-in-law who has become a mother-in-law for many years.

Xie Moru thought, maybe Emperor Mu Yuan hoped that the crown prince would be as calm as Su Xiang and as persevering as Xie Shangshu.

It was the end of June when the change in court and central government ended, and Xie Moru worriedly said to the fifth prince, "The people sent to investigate Ling Xiao in the middle of Sichuan have not come back, and they have not believed them. What should we do?"

The fifth prince frowned, "It's been half a year now." It's just a trip to Sichuan, although the distance is long, it can take three or four months to go back and forth.Just slow down, now it's time to come back after more than half a year.

The fifth prince comforted, "Don't worry, after all, you are a member of our mansion, whether you live or die, you can't lose your whereabouts. I'll send someone to investigate."

"Ask Ling Xiao first." Xie Moru didn't want to wait anymore.

(End of this chapter)