The husband who forced her to marry her couldn't keep her warm, and she didn't want him to

The previous emperor passed away suddenly, and the new emperor had not yet ascended the throne and his foundation was unstable. The third prince sat there, not knowing how to answer for a moment.

Instinctively, I looked for someone I could trust in the temple.

Zhang Ge Lao was wearing plain clothes over his official uniform. He had gray hair and knelt in front of the Third Prince with a trembling and determined look on his face.

The sorcerer Han Jie he mentioned was once the chief aide to the eldest prince, Prince Kang, who was specially appointed by the late emperor. He also had a close relationship with Empress Cao.

Prince Kang's health was taken care of by Han Jie during his lifetime, and the Guyuan Pill taken by the late emperor was also refined by Han Jie and presented to the late emperor by Empress Cao.

Zhang Ge Lao's condemnation of the evil Taoist Han Jie was undoubtedly a slap in the face of Empress Cao.

Although the Third Prince Zhao Yu had an imperial edict to pass on the throne and was the only candidate for the new emperor, he did not sit on the dragon throne in the Qianqing Palace before the ceremony of ascending the throne.

His name and the names of the concubines in the harem are still the same as when the late emperor was alive.

Zhao Yu's expression was indifferent, a string of Buddhist beads was clenched in his palm, and he lowered his eyes as if thinking about something.

As soon as Lord Zhang said this, several ministers in the Qianqing Palace looked at each other and talked a lot.

Empress Cao sat upright in a chair beside the dragon table, her eyes sweeping over the ministers below. Her usually gentle and dignified face now showed a hint of sadness, making her look tired and old.

Minister of Revenue Fu Chi stood up with a serious expression and refuted: "Mr. Zhang is wrong. Mr. Han Jiehan is the aide of Prince Kang. Prince Kang has been weak since childhood, and Mr. Han has always been loyal and has saved Prince Kang from the brink of death more than once."

Fu Chi was one of the ministers who had the highest voice and the most persistence in advising the late emperor to make the eldest son the crown prince.

Empress Cao frowned slightly, her expression saddened. "The death of Prince Kang and the death of the late emperor are both God's will... As their biological mother and bedmate, I am naturally more sad and grief-stricken than anyone else."

"Your Majesty, please accept our condolences and take care of yourself!" Grand Scholar Yang stood up and bowed.

But that was all he had to say, and he did not express his opinion on the debate in front of the palace.

Empress Cao nodded after hearing this, and continued with a strong effort to suppress her emotions: "...How can you blame Han Jie for your groundless suspicion? After all, everything he did was just to obey the emperor's orders.

"It is clear that Zhang Ge Lao has ulterior motives in this move. Is he trying to turn the blame on me? Is he trying to humiliate me, a widow who lost her husband and her only son?"

A minister said, "The queen is the head of the harem. The princes and princesses must respectfully address you as mother... After the new emperor ascends the throne, you will be the only queen dowager in the harem."

Chen Zhengde looked at the person who was speaking and snorted coldly, "The Queen's status as the Empress Dowager is beyond doubt. On the other hand, you are defending that evil Taoist so much. Are you colluding with him? Are you helping the tyrant to abdicate in order to force the Second Prince to abdicate?"

There is solid evidence that the Second Prince is colluding with the Fuso people, and he has also tried to force the emperor to abdicate. Anyone involved in this case will surely die.

Several ministers who were in favor of Queen Cao suddenly fell silent.

Zhang Gelao once again made a request to the Third Prince: "Please ask the new emperor to order the arrest of Han Jie and bring him to justice, to bring him to justice, to give the people an explanation, to comfort the spirits of the late emperor and Prince Kang in heaven!"

Zhao Yu frowned slightly as he listened to their endless arguments. He roughly understood that behind this argument was nothing more than the struggle between the parties in the previous dynasty.

The cause was Imperial Consort Chen and the Chen family, and the turmoil caused by the fact that Chen Zhengde gave up his military career to pursue literature.

Zhang Ge Lao looked at the new emperor and pondered in his heart.

The Zhang family was originally related to the Wang family, the Minister of Works, and the eldest daughter of the Wang family was the wife of the prince of the Duke of Dingguo. When the new emperor ascends the throne in the future, the fifth master of the Jiang family will have the merit of following the emperor.

Whether it is the Jiang family of the Dingguo Mansion, or the inhumane Chen family of the new emperor's mother, for Lord Zhang, if he can successfully convict Han Jie, he will not only be able to severely strike a blow against Queen Cao's faction for the sake of the new emperor.

He also used his power to improve the new emperor's status in the hearts of court officials and the people, and he made great contributions to the new emperor.

There is no need to rely on marriage ties to consolidate one's power in the previous dynasty, and this is what those in power like to see most.

At this time, Queen Cao was extremely anxious. If Han Jie was convicted, her Cao family would suffer a severe blow.

She has no prince by her side, and the ministers following her will only serve the Chen family.

This is Empress Cao, and she cannot see it even if she doesn't want to.

She lowered her eyes to look at the ministers and asked slowly, "Why didn't I see the Dali Temple Minister, Lord Jiang, today?"

Huang Tong bowed and said, "To the Queen, the new Emperor, and all the adults, the Duke of Dingguo's Mansion sent someone to tell us early this morning that Lord Jiang has not recovered from his serious injuries and his old illness has relapsed..."

After Wang Xi was imprisoned, the position of Chief Eunuch of Silijian became vacant. Huang Tong is currently the personal eunuch of the Third Prince and also the eunuch in charge of the seal.

The Third Prince, who had been silent the whole time, was slightly startled when he heard this and said, "Oh? Have you sent the imperial physician to the Duke Dingguo's mansion?"

Chen Zhengde's face was slightly tense. Why was the Third Prince so dependent on Jiang Nansheng? What about his original family, the Chen family?

He bowed and said, "Lord Jiang has practiced martial arts since he was young, and his body is much stronger than others... Moreover, as the Minister of Justice, Lord Jiang should not be involved in cabinet affairs. The new emperor should also sympathize with Lord Jiang's painstaking efforts."

The Third Prince nodded slightly, his face calm, "Recently, I have been reading the Historical Records and learned that Lord Chen was the runner-up chosen by my father when Lord Jiang won the first place in the imperial examination that year...

Lord Chen and Lord Jiang both come from military families, so they naturally have a mutual understanding and sympathy with each other."

Chen Zhengde cupped his hands and nodded slightly: "I have lived in Liaodong for a long time, so I don't know Shengjing City as well as Lord Jiang."

Huang Tong stood beside the Third Prince, lowered his eyes to look at the patterns on the carpet beneath his feet, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

This Chen Zhengde really deserves the title of the second place, and he has reached the pinnacle of fame and reputation.

Minister of Revenue Fu Chi said, "Back then, the late emperor personally selected Lord Chen as the runner-up, but Lord Chen gave up entering the cabinet and joined the military to guard Ningyuan City with General Huaiyuan... He is truly a rare talent who is both civil and military!"

"When it comes to being both civil and military, the Dragon Tiger General Zheng Wenyang is the best choice... He started out as an ordinary soldier as a Jinshi.

Not only did he garrison the Sanjiang Fortress, he also turned Fusang into a vassal state of our dynasty. Such merits deserve celebration from the entire court, the military and the people of the world." Guo Chen, the commander of the Beijing Guards, said.

Zhao Yu nodded, and asked Huang Tong to serve on the side and write his first imperial edict.

General Zheng Wenyang was appointed as the Minister of War, a rank of the second grade.

When the news reached the Duke Dingguo's Mansion, Gu Jinchu had just woken up from a nap. It was a rare occasion that Fifth Master Jiang was by her side, so he told her the news.

Gu Jinchu's eyes widened when he heard this. "Then Uncle San can stay in Shengjing City and no longer have to go out to fight?"