When the boat reached Duancheng, everyone abandoned the boat and took the carriage, and took the land route to Jiangzhou, the capital of Jin State.
Walk ten miles outside the city.
The three dukes, nine ministers, and hundreds of civil and military officials lined up to welcome him respectfully.
The official system of the State of Jin was very complicated, with three highest officials, namely, Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Protector.
Although he holds a high position, he does not manage the specific affairs of the court. He only appears at important court meetings, which are usually held by elders with high reputations from prominent families.
The three positions of Taizai, Yushi Dafu and Taiwei were in charge of the country's politics, supervision and military affairs.
There are also nine ministers who manage specific state affairs, such as Fengchang, Langzhongling, Weiwei, etc., as well as the lieutenant who is responsible for the security of the capital and the Dachangqiu who manages the affairs of the harem.
In short, the functions are unclear, the rights and responsibilities are mutually encroaching, and most of them are monopolized by the major aristocratic families.
Cheng Qianye glanced at the crowd and deeply felt Cheng Qianyu's sorrow. In front of him, the ministers who seemed to be old and solemn, and saluted respectfully, actually had few of them truly reverent to their lord.
The crowd was filled with different colors, representing different emotions. This gave Cheng Qianye, who was used to playing along, a headache.
After dealing with these court officials, she came to the harem and met her "mother" whom she had only met once - Lady Yang Ji, and her concubine Concubine Xu who was pregnant and about to give birth.
When Madam Yang saw her, tears welled up in her eyes. She grabbed her hand and choked up, saying, "My son, you have suffered so much."
But when her gaze turned to Yao Tianxiang beside Cheng Qianye, she couldn't help but reveal a strange expression.
In front of people who knew the inside story, Cheng Qianye felt a little embarrassed to introduce Yao Tianxiang as his wife.
She touched her nose, took Yao Tianxiang's hand, briefly explained the whole story, and emphasized Yao Tianxiang's help to her.
In the end, he introduced Yao Tianxiang to his mother as a daughter-in-law.
Yao Tianxiang performed a great ceremony and then stepped back to settle down.
Madam Yang dismissed everyone and hugged Cheng Qianye into her arms.
She touched Cheng Qianye's hair, thinking of her daughter who had been raised pampered since childhood and now had to deal with such a difficult situation. She couldn't help but feel sad and choked with sobs.
Although Cheng Qianye had no real feelings for this lady, at this moment, lying in her arms, he could somewhat feel a mother's sincere love for her daughter.
Cheng Qianye thought of his parents and brother in another world, and his heart ached slightly.
After a long time, when Madam Yang had calmed down, Cheng Qianye sat up straight, straightened his clothes, handed her a towel, and comforted her: "Mother, don't be so sad. I am now more familiar with government affairs, and everything is going well. I am not at all uncomfortable."
Madam Yang wiped her tears and said, "I heard that you were in Bianzhou, you put an end to the chaos and abolished the new, and you were very popular with the people. Words praising you spread to the capital one after another. You are really capable, and you have done better than... "
Concubine Xu was standing by, wiping her tears quietly.
Cheng Qianye looked at her huge belly and felt embarrassed to let her stand.
He waved his hand and pulled her to sit beside him. He reached out and carefully touched Concubine Xu's round belly. Suddenly, a small bulge appeared on her abdomen, which moved and nudged Cheng Qianye's palm.
"Oh, this... is kicking me." Cheng Qianye, who had never had much contact with pregnant women, reacted and felt very novel.
"Maybe he knows that it is his aunt who is coming to see him, so he is particularly excited today." Concubine Xu smiled gently.
She was a gentle woman with fair skin and beautiful looks. Her face, which had become slightly fatter due to pregnancy, looked even whiter and more radiant.
At this moment, she lowered her head, gently touching her belly with the tenderness of a woman who is about to become a mother, and her whole body exuded a soft goose yellow color.
It is as charming and beautiful as the delicate forsythia in spring.
Cheng Qianye thought to herself: How could such a weak woman survive in the deep palace while pregnant
Madam Yang coughed and said unhappily, "I have told you so many times that even if there are no outsiders present, you cannot address them casually. If you are careless, it will lead to the destruction of your family and country."
Concubine Xu's face turned pale with fear. She stood up and whispered, "Yes, I was wrong. Please forgive me, mother and husband."
"There's no one else here, so it's okay. Just be careful next time." Cheng Qianye pulled Concubine Xu's hand and found that her hand became icy and cold in an instant.
Why is she so afraid of Madam Yang
Cheng Qianye changed the subject: "Your belly looks particularly big, are you pregnant with twins, just like your mother was with us?"
"No, not my husband." Concubine Xu looked at Cheng Qianye gratefully, "Because this is... my husband's first child, my mother took extra care of me, and sent me all kinds of nourishing holy products. That's why the child grew stronger."
Cheng Qianye was unmarried before he traveled through time, and didn't know much about childbirth. Hearing this, he nodded and no longer paid attention to it.
She looked up and asked Madam Yang, "There were many palace attendants present at the incident that night. Although they were all trusted personal attendants of mother, I think mother has given them all instructions?"
Madam Yang did not respond, but said to Concubine Xu first: "Concubine Xu, please leave first, and let me have a good talk with my son."
Concubine Xu's face turned pale. She stood up, bowed respectfully and left.
Madam Yang then took Cheng Qianye's hand, stroked the back of her hand and said, "Don't worry, my son. I have already dealt with those irrelevant people."
Cheng Qianye understood what this so-called clean-up meant.
She has always been generous and tolerant. After traveling through time, she tried her best to adapt to the different ways of dealing with problems faced by people from a different era.
But Madam Yang's words still made her feel very uncomfortable for a while.
In her memory, when the mother and daughter were desperate and intended to hang themselves, the people who served them were all close people who had served them for many years. There were loyal maids who had watched Cheng Qianye grow up, and old servants who were ready to die with her.
No one is left, and it is cleaned up.
"What about Concubine Xu? What is mother's plan?"
"My child, just keep your position in the front court. You don't have to worry about these matters in the harem. Leave them to mother to handle. Regardless of whether Concubine Xu is carrying a boy or a girl, it is necessary to kill the mother and keep the child."
Madam Yang touched Cheng Qianye's hand lovingly, "Mother has thought it through. You are also your father's blood. If you want to inherit the throne with your own flesh and blood in the future, mother will support you. Concubine Xu's child is a thought left for mother. Mother will take care of him personally and let him grow up safely."
It is not easy for a woman like her who lives in a patriarchal era to say this, and it can be said that she is truly thinking about her daughter.
Her kindness towards Cheng Qianye was very sincere.
But it cannot be denied that she is also a cruel and cold-blooded person. This lady can kill anyone other than her own flesh and blood without hesitation.
Although Cheng Qianye knew that this method was not wrong in this era, she still couldn't like such a "mother".
Cheng Qianye looked at the lady in front of her with mixed emotions. She knew that it would be very difficult to change the fixed mindset of such a middle-aged woman.
These women who live deep in the harem often focus their minds on one or two things. When they insist on doing something, some of the methods they use are often more terrifying and difficult to guard against.
"Since Concubine Xu already knows about it, just keep her. It would not be appropriate if I didn't have any concubines around me." Cheng Qianye said.
"This..." Madam Yang hesitated for a moment, "According to what you mean, the princess of Wei also knows your identity?"
"Mother." Cheng Qianye lowered his voice and explained, "As a girl, it is sometimes very inconvenient if there is no one around me who knows the truth. I need a wife like Tianxiang to be by my side."
"You, must not interfere." She added carefully.
"What you said makes sense, so let's forget about this princess. But I heard..." Madam Yang dodged for a moment, "You favored a man, who is said to be a slave..."
Cheng Qianye sat up straight, trying to suppress his impatience: "Since I am the king, I can own this country and the world, and naturally I can have the person I like. Does mother want me to be alone for the rest of my life?"
Madam Yang was surprised, and she subconsciously explained: "No, of course I don't mean that."
Cheng Qianye calmed down his emotions, stood up and said goodbye to Madam Yang as gently as possible.
At this moment, Mrs. Yang suddenly realized that after all these days of separation, the daughter who always held her arm and acted coquettishly in her memory had already transformed into an imposing monarch in the bloody storm that she had not seen.
She already has the kingly aura that her husband had.
Even if he wasn't angry or talking loudly, but just frowned slightly while sitting there, it would make people feel panic subconsciously.
… …
Cheng Qianye met Zhang Fu and Helan Zhen in his own palace.
"Tomorrow, I will discuss sending troops to support Bianzhou in the court. There will definitely be a lot of resistance in this matter, so you two should be prepared."
Helan Zhen clasped his fists and said, "I will go home later and contact my uncle to try my best to persuade my Helan clan and relatives to support the master's decision."
Cheng Qianye nodded: "This is why I didn't let you go back to Bianzhou first, but brought you back with me."
She looked at Zhang Fu again.
Zhang Fu bowed and said, "I am not afraid of a debate with you ministers. It's just that..."
He hesitated for a moment, frowned and said, "The country has not been at war for a long time, and it is indeed difficult to mobilize a good army in a hurry. Although the ministers have their own troops in their fiefdoms, they are absolutely unwilling to mobilize their own troops for the sake of the country. Go to a remote place where they can't gain any benefits."
"I have an idea. Can you help me discuss it?" Cheng Qianye said, "I want to use slaves as the main force of the army."
"Slave?" Helan Zhen and Zhang Fu looked at each other.
"My lord, please allow me to tell you that slaves are no match for regular troops. They are always slow and weak in battle and can only serve as coolies or vanguard troops to die. If they were used as regular troops, slaves would have no combat capability," Zhang Fu persuaded tactfully.
Cheng Qianye took out a scroll of paper with words written on it from the drawer and slowly unfolded it: "This is the military merit system I developed based on the ideas of the ancient sages. Take a good look at it. I have made up my mind to use it to abolish the slavery system that I hate."
Zhang Fu and Helan Zhen looked up and saw the first line of the scroll: "In every battle, military merit is used to serve the emperor. Those who get one poem will be freed from slavery. Those who get ten poems will be granted a higher rank."