In contrast, the Zhonggong family suffered a serious setback.
Up to now, it is no longer clear what kind of trick King Wei is playing. It is time for King Hui and Queen Chen to dance to Shichahai.
King Hui was so angry that he gritted his teeth and smashed the study into pieces. In recent years, Empress Chen has been in poor health. Feng Sheng heard from Concubine Li that the Kunning Palace recruited two imperial physicians privately in the past few days.
But even if he knew that it was King Wei who did the trick, so what? At the beginning, King Wei went to Shanxi with a heavy responsibility, and he didn’t give any food or money. The death toll in Shanxi was extremely small, and there were no civil disturbances.
Compared with Henan, Hebei, and Shandong, which were also affected by disasters, and the disaster situation was not as serious as Shanxi, the situation in Shanxi is already very good when there are disaster victims attacking the government office today and plague tomorrow.
In particular, since the weather has gradually become hotter, locust plagues have occurred in various places that were hit by the drought last year.
In Shanxi, because the king of Wei started to arrange it last year, he ordered people to catch insects in exchange for food, and asked the victims to work for food to plow the land and dig wide reservoirs. Therefore, it is obviously a disaster-affected area, but Shanxi has no locusts. There is also the reservoir. This year's rainfall is not much, and it seems to be another small drought, but Shanxi has not been affected.
Shanxi Province's supervisory censor's papers were handed over, and Shanxi Wei Wang made several big limelights in a row.
The imperial court has raised the issue of drought and locust resistance for a long time, and now there is a comparative example. This is like a slap from the blue sky, slapping the faces of those officials who are sitting on a vegetarian diet.
The vegetarian meal in the corpse was said by Emperor Jianping. He, who has always been indifferent to emotions, lost his temper for the first time at the Great Court Meeting.
At the same time, Zhou Hui, who was temporarily resigned from his post, was also escorted to the capital.
King Wei did not kill him, but kept him locked up until this time before sending him to the capital.
The assassination of an imperial envoy, although many people knew that there was another reason behind it, was also a big case.
Emperor Jianping handed over the case to Dali Temple for trial, but Zhou Hui hanged himself in the prison the next day after entering Dali Temple.
For the whole life of this matter, if they don't know that there is another person behind the scenes, the people in the capital must be blind. In particular, many people had a guilty conscience, and although they were not involved in this matter, who knew what other tricks Wei Wang had behind his back, this move was undoubtedly a blow to the head, and temporarily silenced the people who had planned to stir up the muddy water.
Cheng Engong's mansion, Cheng Engong's face was gloomy, but the old man sitting opposite him and playing chess with him was calm and indifferent.
"Once Zhou Hui dies, this matter is considered to be a case without a head, so we can only let it go, but such a good opportunity was wasted, and Shanxi also broke several arms before leading the disaster to the border. I didn't continue the investigation, and I don't know if he will bite on it afterwards."
Cheng Engong was worried, originally playing chess was a matter of cultivating his sentiments, but his mind was not on playing chess at all.
"However, how did he think of breaking the situation from the outside? At the beginning, you wrote to Guan Qinghe to ask him to help, and I said it was too much of a fuss. Who knew that he really caught the loophole and turned defeat into victory. Wei Wangfu has many arrangements in the Jiangnan area. , but Minzhe has no foundation, how could he move Haishang's mind!?"
The more he talked, the more angry Cheng Engong almost broke the chess piece in his hand.
The old man glanced at him: "Don't forget that there is Fan Jinchuan in Suzhou. Fan Jinchuan has a personal relationship with the king of Wei. To the king of Wei, it means that the two of them have a deep friendship."
"But Fan Jinchuan, who is an official, knows how to do business. Could it be that he also does business at sea in private?"
The gray-bearded old man pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "Fan Jinchuan is upright and honest, he can't touch that hot potato, and the Holy Majesty is precisely because of this, so he is placed in Jiangsu."
Cheng Engong's face became even more ugly. Ever since that incident happened, his face has never looked so good. He threw the chess pieces into the chess box, stood up, and kept pacing back and forth.
"There is also that Qingfeng old man, who is just a swindling charlatan, and now he is praised as the reincarnation of Sanqing. Qingchenzi just asked him to run him, and the Wei Palace did not know how to get in touch with him. He actually regarded him as a gun in the first place."
"Even if King Wei is not in the capital, have you forgotten Princess Wei?"
Seeing that the chess could not be played, the old man dropped the chess piece, went to the window, looked at the few green plantains outside the window, and turned his head to Cheng Engong.
"Back then, she was able to use her strength to pull the prince off the horse. Although she was quiet after marriage, the Jinjiang Academy opened by the King of Wei, as well as the various chess games in the Wei Palace in recent years, all have the shadow of this woman. The woman is not an ordinary person, so don't treat her like an ordinary woman and child, it is probably her handwriting to use Daoist Qingfeng to break the situation this time."
As soon as King Hui was pulled down from the crown prince, Cheng Engong felt like a knife was digging his heart.
An unknown pawn, unexpectedly moved the heavenly court, it seems that since then, everything has gone wrong. The loss of King Hui's position as the crown prince was the beginning of all tragedies. They have been immersed in this nightmare and can't get rid of it. They even worked hard to get King Hui back as the crown prince. All this is because of that woman named Fang Fengsheng.
How could he look down on this woman, he didn't dare.
"It is said that women with long hair and short knowledge are looked down upon by men in the world. However, there was the imperial concubine Li in the past, and the concubine Wei in the future. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law work together, one is in the palace and the other is outside the palace. They should not be underestimated." It was so that the old man, who was calm from the beginning to the end, couldn't help but sigh a little.
"Hengzhi, what do you say next?"
Chen Hengzhi, surnamed Chen, given name Tsinghua, styled Hengzhi.
He is the eldest son of Chen's family, and also the eldest grandson of Chen Shoufu. His father's name is taboo, and he is the elder brother of the former Cheng Engong Chen Pingwu. This Chen Qinghua is naturally the present Cheng Engong's cousin.
He came from a famous family and was full of talent, and he was considered talented in the capital at that time. It's a pity that at that time the Chen family was cooking oil with fresh flowers and brocade fire. At that time, the Chen family's plan was that after Chen Shoufu retired, Chen Qinghua's father, Chen Pingwen, would take over. The Chen family is a family of officials that has been passed down for many years. Chen Shoufu's disciples and old friends are all over the court, and the old Shoufu is old enough to make way for his son. It is not difficult for the Chen family to find another cabinet minister.
It's a pity that the plan is not as fast as the change. Who would have thought that the first emperor would suddenly die suddenly.
After the death of the first emperor, the crown prince ascended the throne, and the crown princess became the empress.
At that time, the Chen family was both powerful ministers and foreign relatives. Emperor Jianping kept his face on the surface, but in fact he was pressing every step of the way. The prince of the year was able to sit on the throne for more than 20 years. He had two elder brothers who were loved by the late emperor before, and younger brothers who stared at the throne eyeingly. Ascending to the throne is enough to see its means.
In desperation, the strong man Chen Shoufu broke his wrist, separated Cheng Engong's lineage from the Chen family, and cut off contact. After a few years, Chen Pingwen took the whole family to retreat to his hometown in Jiangxi, so that this lineage was preserved. .
This is how Chen Qinghua was delayed. He had long been a Juren, but he never finished the Jinshi examination. When he retired to Jiangxi, he had to keep a low profile, so he wasted until his thirties before passing the Jinshi examination. In order not to attract attention, he was only at the bottom of the top two, so he was put on the back of the car.
Then there was the selection of the hall, and he was lucky enough to choose a good scholar, but after entering the Hanlin Academy, he has been unknown, without attracting attention at all.
In the three years of Hanlin, because of his deliberately low-key, naturally he was not able to stay in Beijing, but was let out.
He has been on this road for 25 years.
He has been a magistrate of the seventh rank, a magistrate of the fifth rank, and a magistrate of the fourth rank.
It's not that he doesn't want to go back to the capital, but that he can't.
As long as the Zhonggong family is still in power, it is not suitable to have more influential wives among the civil servants.
Chen Qinghua planned to return to Beijing until the crown prince was abolished, the middle palace was severely suppressed, and the Cheng'en government could not support the family.
It has been planned for several years, and it will not be until last year.
"Do you want to find someone..." Seeing that Chen Qinghua was silent, Cheng Engong made a gesture.
Chen Qinghua shook his head: "Don't act rashly, Zhou Hui had an accident just now, and now Princess Wei is being moved again, are you afraid that Prince Hui's suspicion is too small? Or wait a little longer, everything will be discussed after I join the cabinet this time."
This time Chen Qinghua returned to the capital as a third-rank political envoy. He has the status of a scholar of the Imperial Academy and has qualifications for exile. If he really wants to join the cabinet, many people may not be able to compare with him.
Especially the current assistant, Zhao Shujie, was Chen Shoufu's protégé. Back then, he competed with Chen Pingwen for the position in the cabinet. Who would have thought that Chen Pingwen would actually give him the position, which would be regarded as a favor from the Chen family. In addition, Chen Qinghua's wife is Zhao Shujie's niece, and with Zhao Shujie's help, Chen Qinghua's entry into the cabinet this time is not to say 100% sure, but at least 70% sure.
At a critical moment, it is really not appropriate to make extravagant incidents.
Cheng Engong also knew the importance and urgency, so he didn't say anything, but nodded.
Chen Qinghua will join the cabinet, which is probably the only good news at present.
"As for King Hui, you should come forward to appease me. I'm not suitable to go out recently. If you have something to do, please order someone to pass on the message. Our two families should move around less, so as not to be noticed by others."
"I know that."
In fact, Chen Qinghua still didn't say anything. Although he did not hesitate to use the Chen family's relationship to trip up King Wei, he never confronted King Wei on the surface. Anyone with eyes can see how much the King of Wei values his concubine. Princess Wei has been in the business for so many years, and the King of Wei doesn't even have a concubine, let alone a concubine.
If Princess Wei is touched, the Chen family will have a feud with King Wei.
Above the court, it is nothing to stumbling each other for a while, but most smart people will not casually form a death feud. As long as it is not a deadly enmity, there is still room for maneuver. After all, people in the court pay attention to the relationship between interests. One day may be an enemy, but tomorrow may be a friend.
When people mention the Chen family, they say that his grandfather and father are rare smart people, but from Chen Qinghua's point of view, his second uncle seems to have no ambitions, but he is actually smart.
When his second uncle was still there, the Duke Cheng's mansion had always been peaceful, but since he left, the current Duke Cheng, who is also his cousin, often made foolish tricks. It's fine for me to be greedy and insatiable, and I still tease the prince, so that so many things happen.
If it hadn't been for that incident back then, as long as the crown prince is still in the position of crown prince, he doesn't need to make any progress, as long as he fights steadily, the throne is better than anyone else.
It's a pity that no matter how good a plan is, it can't count against people's hearts, and it will hold back with your own people.
Thinking of this, Chen Qinghua couldn't help thinking of his second uncle, Chen Pingwu.
It seems to be inconspicuous, but in fact, he made this wonderful move behind his back. At that time, he knew that Concubine Li was from the blood of the Chen family, or that his second uncle had sent him a letter before his death, saying that Cheng Engong was unbearable. Useful, this move is reserved for the Chen family as a backup, don't use it unless it is absolutely necessary.
After the crown prince lost power, it was Chen Qinghua who asked the Chen family to get in touch with King Wei. It was a good move, but it made Empress Chen and Duke Cheng'en's house turn into a rotten game, and also allowed Concubine Li and King Wei to win a game, so that the Zhonggong family fell out of favor in front of the emperor.
Now Chen Qinghua still has the idea of keeping a hand, as long as he can sit in the position of cabinet minister, the king of Wei is also a smart person, he should understand what this power is for him, and it is not too difficult to resolve the conflict with him.
As for King Hui, Chen Qinghua always felt that it was too difficult for King Hui to return to the crown prince.
He never won a fight back then, but now that the eagle has shown its sharp minions, can he still be his opponent? However, one has to be prepared. The Chen family has been able to be stable so far, but they never put all their eggs in one basket.