After the fall of Xu Shun, who had been in control of the cabinet, the cabinet now only has Prime Minister Yang Bo and Gao Ping. These two people are master and apprentice. This time, the Su family, the Wang family, and the Song family have sold this good thing to them, and they have to appreciate it.
It’s not that she didn’t trust Yang Bo’s sincerity in forming an alliance with the Song family.
But in this world, when it comes down to it, people die for money and birds die for food. She was afraid that Yang Bo and the others would not stand firm.
So she whispered, "Shouldn't we add more people to the cabinet?"
Otherwise, the cabinet would not have enough people to do the work.
Xiao Heng and Su Rong both immediately realized what she meant. They looked at each other, and it was Su Rong who spoke up: "We need to fill the vacancies, but the selection of cabinet members is always decided by the imperial court. There are cases where the emperor personally appoints them, but which minister would be so shameless as to accept the imperial order without the imperial court's recommendation?"
What this means is that this matter actually has little to do with them.
It's not something they can control.
Xiao Heng heard something else. He looked at Su Yao quietly, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Are you worried that Xu Shun and his gang will take advantage of this opportunity?"
The three of them fell silent for a moment.
This is not impossible.
After all, the Fenyang Palace was not implicated, and Juhai Manor was still standing.
Seeing that Xiao Heng and Su Rong understood what he meant, Su Yao hummed without further explanation, and just said, "It's better to be safe than sorry. It's never wrong to be cautious."
After talking for a while, Old Lady Su and Su Xingyi sent someone over to invite Xiao Heng to stay here for dinner.
Seeing that it was already time for dinner, Xiao Heng realized it belatedly and stood up and shook his head: "I have to go back to the palace. The palace has invited Master Honghui from Huangjue Temple to give a lecture today. I have to go back."
The little princess who died in infancy made Xiao Heng more tolerant and sympathetic towards Empress Dowager Tian's harshness, so his relationship with Empress Dowager Tian strangely eased.
This was a good thing for Xiao Heng. Su Yao thought of Xiao Heng's situation in his previous life. Hearing this, he couldn't help but feel happy from the bottom of his heart. He smiled and bowed: "Then I won't force Your Highness to stay."
Xiao Heng stopped halfway and said, "Oh, come to think of it, I forgot. We were in such a hurry to go to Juhai Manor last time that we didn't find anything. Why don't we go again some other time? Maybe we can catch those remnants?"
It's really unsafe to keep them around.
Su Yao naturally agreed.
When Xiao Heng went out, he happened to see Liu Jie eagerly entering the mansion. He stopped and looked at Liu Jie: "What are you doing?"
"Your Highness!" Liu Jie's eyes lit up with excitement when he saw it was him. When he heard Xiao Heng's question, he hurriedly said, "This is something sent by the Fenyang Palace. They said it was an apology to the county lady. I happened to be at the gatehouse, so I brought it in."
Fenyang Palace
Xiao Heng raised his eyebrows, and seeing that Su Rong had followed him out, he didn't say anything more. He just asked Su Rong to be careful. After Su Rong agreed, he went straight out the door.
When Xiao Heng returned to the palace, he happened to catch the vegetarian meal in the Cining Palace. Ever since the incident with Princess Jingming, Empress Dowager Tian started chanting sutras, and she has been eating vegetarian food and chanting sutras these days. When she saw Xiao Heng, the smile in Empress Dowager Tian's eyes deepened a little. Over the past few days, she had developed some real feelings for Xiao Heng - Xiao Heng really did his best for Princess Jingming's matter, and he also gave her an explanation. She appreciated this kindness.
Therefore, Empress Dowager Tian asked Xiao Heng a few questions with a smile, and when she heard that Xiao Heng had not eaten, she hurriedly asked Tian Xun: "Hurry up and tell someone to serve a few more dishes."
Tian Xun had already stood up hurriedly.
Xiao Heng had already sat down next to Empress Dowager Tian and shook his head: "No need to bother, this is already good enough."
"It's no trouble!" Tian Xun opened his eyes wide, bit his lower lip with some embarrassment, and said softly: "The vegetarian dishes have been prepared long ago. I'll go and bring the mushroom soup. It's still cold at this time, and a bowl of hot soup is the best!"
Before Xiao Heng could say anything, Empress Dowager Tian had already reacted. She smiled and said, "Yes, this child is the most attentive and sensible. She has been taking care of me these days. Her cooking skills are not much worse than those of the imperial chef. Since you are here, it would be good for you to have a taste."
Xiao Heng did not comment, so Tian Xun suppressed his joy, and hurriedly asked someone to bring the soup that had been kept warm, and looked at Xiao Heng expectantly.
Xiao Heng took a bite, and she was so nervous that her heart was lifted. She grabbed the hem of her clothes and asked Xiao Heng as calmly as possible: "What do you think, Your Highness?"
Xiao Heng frowned and then relaxed his brows, saying calmly: "Miss Tian is indeed a good cook. You can't blame the Queen Mother for liking you."
It's not that he didn't notice Tian Xun's excessive enthusiasm, but she was just a little too enthusiastic, and he couldn't say much.
Queen Mother Tian saw Tian Xun's disappointment and coughed first. After Xiao Heng finished eating, she said to him, "Ah Heng, go over there and wait for me. I'll be there later."
After Xiao Heng left, she looked at Tian Xun and shook her head slightly: "Xiao Xun, I always said that you were the most patient person, but what happened now? Men... "
She started to talk, then stopped with a frown, sighed, said no more, and went to change her clothes.
Tian Xun bit her lip and even bit her lower lip before she finally let go. She was angry and felt wronged. She had already done this, but Xiao Heng still ignored her. What could she do
What Empress Dowager Tian said was simple. She also knew how to be both welcoming and resisting and let the man take the initiative.
But is Xiao Heng an ordinary man
As expected, his mind was not on this and he was unwilling to help her seriously.
She turned her head and stared at Mother Tian.
Master Honghui has been chanting sutras for Princess Jingming for the whole morning, and by the afternoon, the spirit tablet of Princess Jingming should be placed.
Dying young is not a good thing, so elders cannot place a spirit tablet for the younger generations. Emperor Yuanfeng is of such a high status that he cannot do this. In the end, it was decided that Xiao Heng, the younger generation, would place the spirit tablet.
However, when Mother Tian was holding the spirit tablet up, she tripped for some reason and the tablet was about to fall to the ground.
This sudden change came unexpectedly and everyone was shocked.
The princess had died of a stroke, and if there was a problem with the tablet, it would be an even worse omen. Empress Dowager Tian was so frightened that her face turned pale, and her heart almost jumped out of her body, and she almost fainted.
Fortunately, at this time, Tian Xun flew up and cushioned his entire body under Tian Mama, giving Tian Mama some time to buffer. Tian Mama then managed to protect the spirit tablet and prevented it from falling to the ground.
Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with the spirit tablet. Empress Dowager Tian was so frightened that her voice trembled: "Quick! Take a look..." (To be continued)