Force a good concubine

It is said that nobles are busy, this sentence is not wrong to describe the emperor.Apart from other things, the first thing is that there is no blessing to go to bed early.As far as I could remember, the emperor woke up every day at five o'clock in the morning, washed up and greeted his elders, but before taking the throne, he went to the Qinghe Hall to meet the late emperor, but when he ascended the throne, he went to the Renshou Palace to meet the empress dowager.

The first emperor had a long life, but the luck of his descendants was not so good. He appointed two princes, but they both walked ahead of the first emperor, and neither of them came out. After posthumous title of emperor, in fact, he was holding two houses together.Mourning the death of the crown princess in the early years, mourning the death of the crown princess Zhang in the palace, the emperor respectful, every morning and evening, the empress dowager is kind, and also cares about her health, but the two of them are stable and taciturn, and they are always close to each other They seem to be separated by a layer, and there is no usual closeness between mother and daughter.

On this day, as usual, the Empress Dowager became cold after asking about the emperor's daily life, she thought about it again, and then asked: "I heard that Xu Chao in the imperial dining room got into trouble?"

"It's not really causing trouble," the emperor shook his head, "It's because I made a joke myself, and after going out of the palace for a while, I realized that I don't even know the taste of carrots."

"What kind of explanation is this?" The queen mother frowned, and Cui Chengxiu hurriedly stepped forward and described it vividly. Because Xu Chao was born in the queen mother's palace, and the emperor had already said that he would not pursue it, he intentionally passed the words on to Xu Xi and the others. Cited on the body, "Speaking of which, the people in the imperial dining room are also kind, but they don't do things well. On the contrary, those people who gossip outside are hateful. The young master is naturally cherishing blessings, and every meal can't taste five flavors. Don't talk about the ministers of the court, it is Beijing. Ordinary wealthy households are not so frugal! Occasionally, what’s the point of eating stewed radish with seafood? Those poor scholars and wives will make a fuss when they hear a few gossips, let alone those knowledgeable adults, it’s just us Slave, after hearing those words, I feel wronged for my master!"

The Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief, and said to the emperor: "Although there are many people out there, but after all, Xu Chao did not do well enough to provoke people to talk about it, and even if he withdrew the meal card, is there no other way to inform the master about the dishes? It's clearly intentionally vague and perfunctory. The emperor is benevolent and doesn't pursue it, but he should be punished." He said to the maid beside him, "Yucui, let Madam Xu inform the Department of Punishment later that the people in the imperial dining room acted imprudently. , fined half a year's salary up and down, Xu Chao and the deputy steward Xu Lu changed the dishes of the imperial cuisine without authorization, and imposed [-] boards, each grade was downgraded by one level, and the errands were kept, and if they failed again, they would all be dismissed."

The empress dowager has a gentle temperament, such severe punishment is rare, and she was obviously really angry. Cui Chengxiu kowtowed, while secretly applauding herself. After all, the empress dowager and the emperor are mother and daughter, and they are inseparable. That kid Xu Chao, in front of the emperor To make a tiger skin under the empress dowager's flag, isn't it a life-threatening move!

The emperor stood up and apologized: "At the beginning, the withdrawal of the meal card was just a moment of anger, and I never thought it through. Now that I think about it, this incident actually happened because of this. It is really ashamed to ask my mother to deal with the aftermath of the incident caused by my son."

The queen mother sighed and supported the emperor: "The emperor is busy with so many major affairs in the world, except for governing, and I can only help with these trivial matters in the harem. Now I am dealing with Xu Chao. It's just because of him. There are few serious masters in the palace these years. I looked at some idlers who didn't learn well, and started to have some crooked thoughts. At first, they were saving blessings for Emperor Ai, and they didn't want to do anything. Now these people are more and more indulgent. I can’t just leave it alone. This year we have to send out a group of people to keep the palace in order, and next year the emperor and Ji will get married, so it’s easy for the newcomers in the palace to take charge.”

These words were very sensible and considerate, the emperor was slightly moved, he bowed his head and thought for a while: "The queen mother mentioned mourning the emperor, but my son remembered one thing. Xu Hanlin and his son mentioned in the previous day's talk that the late emperor often went to Baoguo Temple to practice meditation in modest clothes. Emperor Ai accompanied him, and he was also proficient in Buddhism under the influence of his ears and eyes. He also gave scriptures to Baoguo Temple. Daochang. June [-]th is the mourning emperor Mingshou, and the son wants to go to the mother's mother to go to the temple to worship, so as to avoid the noise of those royal officials, and secondly, it is quiet and undisturbed, but it is not respectful. I don't know what the mother's intention is. ?”

"The emperor is more thoughtful than I am, so what else can I say?" A comfortable smile appeared on the queen mother's face, "I also went to Baoguo Temple with Emperor Ai, and I only brought a few people with me. I went, and I came back quietly. The Buddha always talked about his heart, regardless of his deeds. The emperor had this kind of filial piety, and the emperor was happy when he was underground, so he went there with great fanfare. , don’t make such false words.”

"Yes." Because Chenzheng wanted to speak at the Wenhua Palace, the emperor was inconvenient to stay for a long time, so he resigned after hearing some old things about going to Baoguo Temple that year from the Empress Dowager.

"My filial piety, I really can't say it! The empress dowager is really wise!" Cui Chengxiu was chattering excitedly as she saw that her old enemy was in trouble. Mrs. Wu's house was troubled by housework. Mrs. Wu said that Mr. Wu's promotion was blessed by the Buddha, and she wanted to make a vow to reshape the golden body for the Buddha. Mr. Wu said that the son was silent and confused, and the mother and son were in a stalemate. Mr. Wu knelt in the court all night. His knees are all swollen! Mr. Wu is an upright person, and his talents should be first-rate, but unfortunately, he just reads and knows how to deal with death, so if he learns from the young master, how can he-"

"Don't judge scholars carelessly in the future." The emperor gave him a light look, "If you offend the cabinet ministers, I won't protect you."

"Everyone in the capital knows about this, how dare the servants talk nonsense?" The emperor usually did not shy away from listening to these gossips in the capital, Cui Chengxiu went through what he had said from beginning to end, and suddenly felt blessed, "Actually, think about it, There are also good scholars, such as Miss Gu, that day when Miss Xu slandered my master, she even spoke for him—isn’t that the benefit of being educated?”

The emperor's slightly frowned eyebrows stretched out, and he didn't speak. He just nodded lightly, got off the chariot, and ordered: "These words should be said to the queen mother when you find a chance. In the future, you must speak fairly, don't hide it." for the benefit of others."

Cui Chengxiu was stunned on the spot, watching the lecturer leading the eunuchs to welcome the emperor into the Wenhua Palace, she closed her mouth after a while.Not to mention whether the Queen Mother has paid attention to remembering Gu Yuan and the others, among the three, the emperor only instructed himself to be "fair" with Gu Yuan, which in itself is partial!

The emperor didn't know his slander, and he was listening to Hanlin Xu Zhang's lecture in an upright manner at the moment.Lectures in the palace are different from those of the common people. Because there is no need to take exams, the time spent on the Four Books is not much. Instead, they pay more attention to the history books and laws of the past dynasties.

This day is about the allusion that the former emperor abolished the emperor and added Fu, which caused the people to live in dire straits.After Xu Zhang finished speaking, students asked questions as usual. At this time, speaking is never taboo. Several attendants raised a lot of questions, Xu Zhang patiently answered them one by one, and finally asked the emperor with a smile: "Your Majesty, what puzzles you?" place?"

The emperor thought for a while: "I'm just surprised that the folk customs are different in different places. Haizhou added [-]% of the tax, and some small people rose up; Wuzhou increased the tax to [-]%, why didn't I see any ambitious people come out?"

This sentence is a detailed question, and it also asks the key points.Xu Zhang was very pleased: "The folk customs are indeed different everywhere. Haizhou is close to the sea, and there are many pirates, and the folk customs are tough; Wuzhou has a very prosperous literary style, and there are many talented scholars. Big households, even though the taxes have been increased by [-]%, the taxable land has also been reduced by [-]% to [-]%, and the total amount of taxes is even lower than when the taxes were increased. Now, although the taxes are treated equally in my court, the style of writing in Wuzhou has not been reduced, and every time the child prodigy takes the test, he is the champion. Your Majesty Li Ruiniang, the servant beside her, is also from Wuzhou."

"Are you from Wuzhou?" The emperor turned his face and asked Li Ruiniang, "Where is Wuzhou?"

Li Ruiniang didn't dare to neglect, stood up and said: "I am from Pingjiang County, Songjiang Prefecture, Wuzhou."

"Pingjiang County, Songjiang Prefecture," the emperor frowned slightly, "Since you have a very strong literary style, when you study, do you have someone who is as good as you?"

The emperor usually put his heart into government affairs and homework, and rarely gossips with others. Li Ruiniang was almost trembling with nervousness, and said calmly, "Don't dare to lie to your majesty. Back then, I lost to one person every year in the palace exams, and I never passed. First."

"Can the article beat Rui Niang?" Even Xu Hanlin became interested, "I remember that you were the only one who took the prodigy exam in Pingjiang County in the last subject. Could it be that there are still talents among the people?"

"That man's writing and character are better than my minister's, but his fate is not good." Li Ruiniang was a little sad, "For some reason, the child prodigy suffered a serious illness before the test, missed the test period, and his studies were neglected later. Last year, the minister's family In the letter, I also mentioned that person, saying that he is still only a scholar, which is really a pity."

Xu Zhang cherished scholars the most, sighed deeply, and said, "What's your name? I'll write a letter to tell Wuzhou Xuezheng to be more careful. If she is really talented, but her health is not good, let her make up the virtuous department." , It is also good to go to Wuzhou College to teach."

"The man's surname is Gu, and his name is Yuan." Li Ruiniang took a blank piece of paper from the desk, wrote "Gu Yuan" with a pen, and showed it to the emperor and Xu Zhang.

"Gu Yuan." The emperor murmured the name twice, with a slight smile on his lips, "Rui Niang does not shy away from the virtuous, she really has a kind heart and a ministerial body. Since the character of the article is better than yours, it must be He is a rare talent, Master Xu and Mr. Zheng preside over the Luanyi Department together, and pay attention to it, if the person recovers from illness and comes to take the exam, just take care of him!"

Xu Zhang readily agreed that Li Ruiniang was very happy to get the emperor's approval, but Cui Chengxiu led the little eunuch in with a tea tray, listened to the emperor's word for word, and sighed secretly in his heart, thinking about the heart of the young master. Now, it's really home!