Qi Ning didn't know how he got back to his house that night. Early the next morning, he was awakened by shouts from outside, but someone from the palace summoned him.
Qining had already expected that Longtai might summon him today, so he immediately packed up and went to the palace to see him.
This time, they did not meet in the imperial study room, but in the study room where they first met Longtai. After the communication, Longtai told Qining to go in. When he saw Longtai, Qining's first feeling was the mood of the little emperor. It seemed very bad. After paying homage to him, he asked, "Is the Emperor unhappy in any way?"
Longtai didn't hide anything, and said: "Before you came, the Queen Mother just left here."
"Oh?" When Qi Ning heard about the Queen Mother, he guessed a bit and asked, "Your Majesty, is it about the wedding again?"
Longtai's face was rather cold and he sneered: "She has now forced me to issue an edict and asked me to send people from the Ministry of Rites to the Zhongyi Marquis Mansion to issue an edict. This means that I must marry the daughter of the Sima family."
"Your Majesty, people get married based on the orders of their parents and the advice of matchmakers. As the emperor, do you also have to obey the wishes of the Queen Mother?" Qi Ning frowned slightly: "Nowadays, all matters in the court are mainly taken care of by Marquis Zhongyi. If the Emperor does not obey the Queen Mother's orders, the Sima family will only be dissatisfied."
Longtai said angrily: "I am the emperor, do I still have to look at the Sima family's face?"
Qi Ning knew that the little emperor was actually a very rational person who could weigh the pros and cons. What he said at this time was nothing more than venting the dissatisfaction accumulated in his heart in front of himself.
"Your Majesty, with all due respect, since you have ascended the throne, it is only a matter of time before you become a queen." Qi Ning said with a smile: "And the harem also needs a royal master."
Longtai frowned and said, "Do you also think that I should welcome the daughter of the Sima family into the palace?" He showed a hint of dissatisfaction.
Qi Ning said: "The emperor has misunderstood. The queen does not have to be a girl from the Sima family. There are many beauties in the world. Who the emperor likes and who he makes as his queen is not decided by others."
"It would be better if I said it like you said." In front of Qining, Longtai no longer looked young and mature, and looked much more relaxed, "It's not that you don't know that until now, Sima Lan has never let me When he convened a court meeting, he said that he would wait for an auspicious day before going to court. I knew about many matters in the court later than he did. In such a situation, do you think I can still make the decision on my own?"
"Your Majesty, you are still young, so there is no need to be anxious." Qi Ning said: "Look at the behavior of these veterans, you may not be able to learn something. But... it is not difficult for the Emperor not to marry a girl from the Sima family."
"Oh?" Long Tai's eyes lit up: "Qining, have you thought of another good idea?"
Qi Ning came closer and said softly: "Your Majesty, although Marquis Zhongyi has a high and powerful position, there are still people like King Huainan who are holding him back, so there are some things that Marquis Zhongyi has to say. Just like the Emperor's wedding this time. , it is not his Marquis Zhongyi who has the final say in preparing to appoint a queen. As long as the Emperor can find a more suitable girl so that neither the Queen Mother nor Marquis Zhongyi can find anything wrong with her, the Empress Dowager will not be able to force the Emperor to take the throne."
"Suitable girl?" Longtai frowned: "What do you mean? In addition to the royal family, my Dachu is the most respected among the four hereditary princes. If I want to establish a queen, in addition to choosing from these four families, I can also choose Are there any more suitable candidates than these four companies?”
Qi Ning smiled and said: "Your Majesty, there is no girl worthy of the Emperor in Jinyihou Mansion."
Longtai smiled and scolded: "If you really have a sister, I will definitely summon her into the palace." Suddenly he thought that the Jinyihou in front of him is just a fake. Even if Qi Jing really has a daughter, she cannot be regarded as the sister of the person in front of him. .
As soon as he smiled, the atmosphere suddenly became more relaxed, and Qi Ning said: "Your Majesty, actually, I have really thought about it. If the Jin Daohou family has a daughter, I can choose one from his house to enter the palace...!"
"Hahaha...!" Longtai slapped his hand on the table and said: "You actually thought of me together. I had thought about it before, but if it didn't work out, I would choose someone from the Jindao Tantai family to enter the palace. I have already learned that , there are several girls in the Tantai family who are similar to me."
Qining was startled, but Longtai shook his head instantly and said: "But it can't be done."
"Why?"
"If I really choose a girl from the Tantai family, then the Tantai family will naturally assist me with all their strength." Longtai said slowly: "But if this happens, I am only worried that Marquis Zhongyi and King Huainan will join forces to deal with Tantai. Family." He sneered: "Both of them want to dominate the country, so how can they allow the Tantai family to come out and block their way."
Qi Ning smiled and said: "It turns out that the emperor has thought of this a long time ago."
Longtai said: "The late Emperor once told me that the Marquis of Jin Dao was more than brave, but not very resourceful, and not good at playing with power. If the King of Huainan and the Marquis of Zhongyi really join forces to deal with him, I am only worried that the old Marquis will temporarily If there is anger and fighting, it will be very bad. After many years of war, we have just broken off the war with the Northern Han people. The most important thing at this time is to restore the national strength. We must not damage the national system because of their fights."
"Your Majesty is wise." Qi Ning nodded and said: "Actually, I am also worried about this. It is easy to summon a girl from the Tantai family into the palace, but things will be very difficult later. Now King Huainan and Marquis Zhongyi have their own power, and they are in the court. The balance is roughly maintained, and if there are no major changes, there will not be too much trouble, but once the Jindao Tantai family is involved, the situation is likely to change, which will break the current stability of the court."
Longtai frowned and said, "That's why I'm worried about this."
"Your Majesty, girls from the Tantai family cannot be called into the palace, but other than that, there are more suitable candidates." Qi Ning whispered: "Has your Majesty ever thought about Dong Qi?"
"Dong Qi?" Long Tai was startled and looked at Qining in surprise.
Qi Ning chuckled and said: "Your Majesty, the Northern Han Dynasty is confronting me, the Chu State, from the north to the south. Whoever can win over the people of Dong Qi will have the upper hand. If the emperor marries the princess of Dong Qi, he will make the princess of Dong Qi our king." The Queen of Dachu, what does the Emperor think?"
Long Tai was thoughtful, his clear eyes gradually glowed with light, he stood up suddenly, stared at Qining, his voice was a little excited: "Why didn't I think of this, Qining, you... you mean Marry Princess Dong Qi and become my queen?"
"Your Majesty, if you marry Princess Dong Qi, it will be for the sake of the diplomatic relations between Da Chu and Dong Qi. Everyone in the civil and military dynasties does not know how important Dong Qi is to me, Da Chu." Qining said with a smile: "Your Majesty, if it is for my sake, Da Chu For their own interests, marrying the princess of Dong Qi, not only will the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty not stop it, but they will also admire the emperor. The people of Dong Qi are lingering between the Northern Han Dynasty and our country, if their princess can become the queen of our country. , I thought they definitely wanted it."
Longtai said excitedly: "Yes, marrying Princess Dong Qi is a great event for the benefit of the country. Even if you are the Marquis of Zhongyi, it's hard to say anything about it."
"It's just... This will offend the Emperor." Qi Ning sighed: "The Emperor has never seen what Princess Dong Qi looks like. If she is extremely ugly...!"
Before he finished speaking, Long Tai shook his head and smiled: "You are wrong. Princess Dong Qi is not only not ugly, but also as beautiful as a flower. She is a hundred times better than the one from the Sima family." He leaned forward slightly and moved closer to Qining. , whispered: "Don't forget, I went to Dong Qi to attend the crown prince ceremony of Dong Qi, and saw the three princesses of Dong Qi at that time."
"So, the emperor has already fallen in love with the third princess of Dong Qi?" Qining said with a smile.
Longtai immediately put away his smile, coughed twice, and said: "Am I a person who is deceived by beauty? It's just your idea that will benefit me greatly...!" After pondering for a while, he nodded and said: "I I have made up my mind to propose marriage to Dong Qi." He snorted coldly and said, "In this case, the Sima family will have nothing to say."
"Your Majesty, if you really want to propose marriage to the Dong Qi people, it's better to keep the matter low-key." Qi Ning said softly: "I'm just worried that if the Northern Han people hear about it, they will interfere with it."
Longtai nodded and said: "I know." After thinking for a while, he asked: "Qining, if I ask Dong Qi to marry me, who do you think is the most suitable person to send?"
"Of course we will send Mr. Yuan from the Ministry of Rites to go there." Qi Ning said immediately: "Old Minister Yuan is familiar with etiquette and is the most suitable person to handle this errand."
Longtai frowned and said: "Yuan Xiuru is already over sixty. I'm just worried about going to Dongqi. The mountains are high and the roads are far away. I'm afraid the old man won't be able to hold on. And even if he really makes it to Dongqi, he's old and has a lot of brains." It’s not a good time, if something unexpected happens to Dong Qi, the old man may not be able to cope with it.”
Qi Ning said: "Besides Yuan Lao Shangshu, who else does the emperor think is more suitable?" He lowered his voice: "The envoy sent to propose marriage must not have anything to do with Zhongyi Marquis. I am only worried that he will not dare to object on the surface, but secretly But he will deliberately sabotage this marriage proposal."
"I also know." Long Tai nodded slightly: "But I have also thought about it. Girls from the Sima family cannot be called into the palace, but... in order to appease this person, I have prepared to make him a duke." He smiled faintly and said: " As you said, let him sit higher and become the target of public criticism."
Qining chuckled, but before he could say anything, Longtai suddenly said: "Qining, if I send you to Dong Qi, what do you think?"
Qi Ning was stunned and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I have just become the commander, and I am also responsible for preparing for the establishment of the Blackscale Camp. This is no small matter. I'm afraid it will be difficult to free up. Besides, I don't know anything about those red tapes. If you really want to go to Dongqi, if you are not careful, it will lead to bad things, and if you fail the errand, it will be very bad."
"Let me think about this matter again." Longtai thought for a moment and then asked: "Do you have any idea about the Black Scale Camp?"
"We are preparing." Qi Ning said: "There are several guards in the Jinyihou Mansion who came from the Black Scale Camp and were also generals of the Black Scale Camp. These people are very familiar with the Black Scale Camp. They have Help and get twice the result with half the effort.”
Longtai said: "That's good, Qining, this is what worries me the most. You have to do your best and never let me down." Suddenly he thought of something, looked Qining up and down, and then asked: "I ask You, where did your martial arts come from? Tell me honestly, if you lie to me, it will be the crime of deceiving the emperor, and I will have someone pull you out and beat you."