Li Wei first set an example by drawing up a list of those who were to be laid off, and then did ideological work one by one, not only giving him money, but also giving him many other benefits.
Li Wei took the lead, and the Sixth Palace had no choice but to follow suit. The noble concubine was extremely unhappy with Li Wei's behavior. She once complained to people around her: "I can only save a few things by being frugal in the palace, but in the end my life is not as good as that of ordinary people."
"The Queen Mother is too petty. This is not the beginning of the founding of the country. Doesn't she still want to imitate the original Empress Xiaocigao? She is afraid that she is not worthy of carrying Queen Xiaocigao's shoes."
Concubine Jinggui frowned and said: "Stop nagging, go and draw up the list and let me see it, so that it can be handed over to her for review. These scenes have to go, no matter what her intentions are, our loyalty I have to follow her, no matter what, I have to respect her position as Queen Mother."
Yunfang felt sorry for her master all the time. The master was the one who had been with the late emperor for the longest time and gave birth to a prince and a princess. That Li family had nothing to do but relied on the late queen's sister to be the crown prince's. The adoptive mother has taken away all the benefits. This is too unfair. If Queen Sheng was still alive, she would never allow such a biased thing to happen.
Not long after the incident involving Concubine Qi and her son passed, everyone had a taste of the young Queen Mother's methods and no longer dared to cause any trouble. Even if he is dissatisfied, he can only complain a few words in private.
As the day went on, lists were drawn up from various places for Li Wei to review. Li Wei was afraid that others would not understand his actions, and he was also afraid that people would misunderstand him and spread something else, so he sent the people on the list to Chongqing Palace one after another to convey his meaning one by one and ask for their understanding. Some of these people have been serving in the palace for three to five years, and many are old people who have been serving in the palace for more than ten or twenty years. Li Wei promised to give these people a settlement allowance based on their years of service.
Li Wei tried his best to appease these people, hoping that this matter could go through smoothly without causing any trouble, so that with the efforts of all parties, most of the maids, eunuchs and even guards who were asked to leave the palace would have no complaints.
I was busy with this matter for several days. When I came to my senses, Governor Li's matter had been taken the lead by Dali Temple, and the joint prosecutors and supervisors had begun a rigorous investigation into a series of cases involving Li Shi's corruption, perversion of the law, and instigation of others.
In the absence of a conviction, Li Shi was charged with being detained at home and not allowed to move around at will. If Li Shi got into such a big trouble, he might not be able to keep his official position. Brothers Li Shao and Li Yi had been officials in the government for decades, and they also had many disciples and staff, and they had many connections. But the Empress Dowager was unwilling to intervene in this matter, and the Regent was taking the lead. There were strong signs that he would use this matter to rectify the government. Those who had relied on him in the past saw that something was wrong and did not dare to provide help rashly.
Li Shuncheng was either acting like a concubine at home every day, or shut himself up in his room and got angry. Mrs. Wen Da couldn't help but get angry when she saw it. She often complained to Li Shao: "I was the head of the country before, but now the emperor is his grandson. It's so frustrating that he still suffers such idleness."
Li Shao has been in the officialdom for decades, and he sees things more clearly than a woman. He said: "Our Li family has a great business, and others are only jealous. If nothing else, three of our two families were officials at the same time. Now that my brother and I have resigned, there are still two people with real power, which makes people jealous, so there are not a few people who are secretly causing trouble. "
Mrs. Wen Da felt sorry for her son and couldn't help but said to her husband: "Are we just going to let the superiors take care of us? We still have to run away, and we can't let our brother go to jail later?"
Li Shao naturally felt sorry for his son. He was silent for a long time before saying, "The key lies with the prince. It depends on what the prince says."
Mrs. Wen rolled her eyes a few times and whispered: "Then please invite the prince to come to the house to talk."
"At this critical juncture, I'm afraid the prince won't come. Besides, it's better to go and visit in person if you want someone to do something." Li Shao hesitated and finally made a decision: "You prepare something, and I'll go visit the regent."
When Mrs. Wen heard about it, she was so worried that she asked someone to prepare it.
There was no time to prepare a greeting card. In the afternoon of the next day, Li Shao prepared a ceremony and took a sedan chair to Prince Shen's Mansion.
The servants at the gatehouse of the palace did not dare to treat Li Shao lightly when they saw that it was the sedan chair from the Shangshu Palace. They quickly welcomed Li Shao into the palace, and the general manager of the palace accompanied him throughout the process.
"Master Li, please come to Linfeng Pavilion to rest for a while until the prince returns."
"Your Majesty, he hasn't come back yet?"
The general manager of the palace, Mr. Ling, said with a smile: "The prince has been busy with official duties recently and often comes back late at night. If the prince knows that Mr. Li is visiting, he might come back early."
Li Shao thought to himself, but he didn't tell him in advance. Could it be that he had to wait until late at night? As a father pities his son and is reluctant to let his son suffer, even if he waits until midnight, as long as he can say a few words in front of the regent, it is worth it in Li Shao's opinion.
Manager Ling invited Li Shao into the house to rest, ordered tea and refreshments, and left a young eunuch waiting in front of him. He said a few words with him and then went to do his own business.
When General Manager Ling came out of Linfeng Pavilion, he sent someone to ask for the chief historian of the palace. After a while, the chief minister finally came over: "Lao Xie, Master Shangshu is here to visit the prince. Did the prince know in advance?"
Xie Changshi thought about it carefully, then shook his head and said, "It seems that there is no such thing."
"Then Master Shangshu came here uninvited, and the prince doesn't know when he will come back. Why don't you send someone to speak to the prince's branch and ask him to come back and see Mr. Li."
Xie Changshi said: "It should be so."
At that moment, Manager Ling ordered him to leave. At that time, Zhao Qian was still very busy at the Hubu Yamen. Suddenly, his family came to report that Li Shao was waiting for him at home. Zhao Qian immediately knew what Li Shao was here for, and about Li Shi. He completely listened to the Queen Mother's direction regarding the matter. Now that he had made it clear that he wanted to handle the matter impartially, it seemed inappropriate to meet Li Shao rashly again. He thought for a while and then told his family: "You go back and tell Master Shangshu that I'm busy with official business these days and I'm afraid I won't be able to go back today. Please go back. If you need help with anything, please leave a message." I will handle it as appropriate.”
Li Shao waited in Prince Shen's Mansion for nearly an hour without seeing any sign of Zhao Qian. Finally, he waited until a young eunuch serving Zhao Qian came to deliver a message.
When Li Shao heard that Zhao Qian would not come back, he was very angry. However, Zhao Qian was also the regent, so he had to be cautious and it was not good for him to have an attack in the palace, so he had to say: "The governor's matter has not yet come back." I hope the prince will see clearly." Then he went back.
When Mrs. Wen saw her husband returning empty-handed, she couldn't help crying and said, "Is there really no way out? The Queen Mother's way is blocked, and the prince is nowhere to be found. Are we just sitting here waiting for death?"
"Otherwise, what else can we do? Let's all hope for our own happiness." Li Shao simply let it go.
(End of chapter)