The weather is getting colder day by day, and the leaves of the Forbidden City are turning yellow in a blink of an eye. The autumn wind blows, the fallen trees are small, and they are particularly sparse and wide against the background of the red wall.
Another month, the first snow fell in the capital. Red walls and white tiles, the palace people are solemn, quiet and solemn.
Cheng Yujin also changed into fur collar clothes, the light was dimming, staring at the small print for a long time, a little dizzy. She put down the book, rested her eyes, and asked, "What time is it?"
"It's time to go back to the Crown Princess."
"It's time for you." Cheng Yujin turned to look out the window, and said to herself, "His Royal Highness should be back."
Forsythia came in to light the lamp, and when he heard this, he replied, "Now that His Highness is being used heavily, the one who comes back is getting late every day. Fortunately, the Crown Princess is taking care of it.
Cheng Yujin glanced at her coolly: "If you don't speak, no one will treat you as dumb."
Du Ruo was serving next to him, and when he heard this, he burst out laughing. Forsythia was not at all afraid of failing to flatter, and made a face at Du Ruo, then came up to laugh as if nothing had happened: "Prince Concubine, you have read the gift book all afternoon, staring at things in the dark is not good for your eyes, You might as well put it down and loosen your muscles and bones."
Cheng Yujin shook his head and said, "There's not much left. There are other arrangements for tomorrow, and we'll solve it together today."
Forsythia knew that she could not be persuaded, so she stopped talking. She hurriedly packed her things, and said while working on the errand: "The servant knows that the princess is very thoughtful, and the servant's mouth is broken. Now who doesn't know that the Crown Princess is extremely virtuous and capable, inside and outside the palace, no one can say anything bad about you. I heard that the ladies outside the palace take you as the standard for teaching their daughters."
Hearing this, Du Ruo lightly replied, "The Crown Princess is a model of a lady in Beijing before she leaves the court, and now she is praised by the ladies, what's surprising."
"That's not the same." Forsythia said in a quick voice, "In the past, high-ranking wives regarded the crown princess as the standard of the daughter-in-law, but now, they regard it as the model of the daughter. How can this be the same?"
The two maids should join forces to make her happy. Cheng Yujin couldn't help smiling softly, and the dullness of the afternoon was swept away: "Okay, one can talk better than the other, and parrots can't compare to you. Just calm down."
Although these two maids had the heart to make Cheng Yujin happy, they were right about one thing, that is, since this time, the reputation of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess of the East Palace was very good. When it comes to the outer court and the inner court, everyone would call it Donggong Rende. .
Cheng Yujin and Li Chengjing are both people who came out halfway, with no achievements, no name and no hope. Li Chengjing is better than Cheng Yujin, returning to the throne half a year earlier, but it is still too shallow to replace the second prince's ten-year-old campaign by only half a year.
Fortunately, both of them are extremely restrained and rational people, and both of them are good-looking. When the two of them stand there, it is the appearance of the prince and the prince's concubine in everyone's imagination. Because the foundation is not stable, the two are not suitable for too publicity, but every time Donggong shows his face, it is very effective.
At first, everyone thought that this was what they pretended to be, and they held a wait-and-see attitude. However, during the six months of their marriage, their behavior has always been flawless. Slowly, the former harem accepted the setting of the perfect couple, and the fame of the East Palace was also prospering day by day.
After Cheng Yujin made a stunning show at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Queen Yang was on guard and never gave Cheng Yujin another chance. Cheng Yujin didn't care either. Governing the harem was not the responsibility of the Crown Princess. She was light and easy, so why bother with Empress Yang
However, during this time, Li Chengjing's progress in the court was much smoother than Cheng Yujin's. Li Chengjing was "recovered" for a year. During this year, there was nothing wrong with assisting in political affairs. He did not take credit, but when the emperor asked him, he could give straight to the point opinions every time. Although it is inconvenient for the cabinet to express their position, except for Yang Shoufu, the rest of the cabinet elders are mostly satisfied when they mention the prince.
And in the half year he was in the Ministry of Industry, he cleaned up the top and bottom, all the projects were progressing in an orderly manner, and the old files that had been squeezed for many years were also sorted out. The minister of the Ministry of Industry praised the prince the most, and he also praised him in private.
After a long time, I see people's hearts. Since others don't believe it, they will prove it little by little. Donggong never strives for merit, but as long as it is handed over to Donggong, they can do it well.
Li Chengjing can be said to be the prince in everyone's ideals. As the eldest son, he is gentle, elegant and noble, but he is also a gentleman. At the same time, he is pure and self-righteous, not greedy for money or sex, has a dignified and virtuous prince concubine, is filial to the emperor's father and son, and is respectful to the second prince's brother. The identity is justified, the virtue is impeccable, and most importantly, the emperor supports.
Such a prince is truly impeccable. The courtiers changed their positions unknowingly.
At the beginning, the emperor defied all opinions, and did not appoint another prince for 14 years. When the prince came back, he would take him with him to govern. In fact, it was quite obvious who the emperor was facing.
This is the most important. The jealousy between rulers and ministers, and the struggle for the throne were the origin of the chaos of many dynasties. Now that the emperor and the prince get along with each other in harmony, it is a good thing that many courtiers can't hope for. The Yang family is indeed powerful, but in this world, after all, the surname is Li.
To put it more crudely, how long can Empress Dowager Yang live, but how long can the Crown Prince live? Not to mention that the prince has the support of the emperor, who should he turn to? Isn't it obvious.
The courtiers silently had ideas in their hearts, but Li Chengjing, the prince, was almost perfect, but there was something wrong.
He has no children yet.
After all, the prince is the heir, and for the stability of the country, the emperor must establish the next heir, the prince. In the same way, the prince should also prepare the country for the continuation of the next imperial power as early as possible.
Only half a year later, various people asked Cheng Yujin if she was pregnant. Cheng Yujin is like this, presumably Li Chengjing is under even more pressure. In particular, this is not a private matter of husband and wife. Whether the prince has a son or not can be discussed in the early court as a major matter of the court.
Giving birth to a child is really all-round without dead ends, and now Cheng Yujin has a headache when she hears these words. She also thought about it, but pregnancy is something that she can't arrange according to her plan.
Cheng Yujin thought that it would be New Year's Day in a month. At that time, the banquets in the capital would be one after another, and many elderly women would gather together, and she would be induced to give birth to a child again.
Just thinking about it gives me a headache.
Cheng Yujin didn't think about these worrying things. She had finished reading the gift list. She put the pen away and sorted the gift list one by one. Halfway through, I heard the palace servants singing outside. When Cheng Yujin got up, Li Chengjing had already walked in.
"Your Highness."
Li Chengjing raised his hand and motioned her to get up. He was wearing a heavy cloak with snow grains left on it, and it could be seen that the wind and the snow were all the way. Cheng Yujin stepped forward, patted the snow on Li Chengjing's shoulder, untied the tie, took off the cape for him, and turned to the maid behind him.
Li Chengjing untied his heavy body. He held Cheng Yujin's hand and led her inside: "The door is leaking, and your clothes are thin. Don't stand in the wind."
Cheng Yujin followed his strength, and while walking, she also used the other hand to test the temperature on the back of Li Chengjing's hand: "His Royal Highness's hand is so cold, if you meet someone on the road, why did you delay outside for so long?"
"Well." Li Chengjing nodded, "I met the Minister of War outside the Qianqing Palace, so I said a few more words."
Cheng Yujin realized that it turned out to be the Minister of War. The palace maid had already put on hot tea at this time. Cheng Yujin and Li Chengjing sat opposite each other on the red sandalwood carved Holohan bed. Cheng Yujin took an orange and asked, "Does your Highness have something on your mind?"
Li Chengjing sighed softly, and sure enough, Cheng Yujin understood him best. After he came in, he just mentioned a sentence, and Cheng Yujin guessed it.
Li Chengjing said: "I'm thinking about the DPRK. I've been absent for too long. Only the support of the Ministry of Industry is not enough."
Of course this is not enough. Among the six departments, the Ministry of Personnel is the most expensive, followed by the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Industry is the lower level, and is regarded by the civil servants as a place to be relegated. It is true that Li Chengjing has accumulated fame in the Ministry of Industry, but for the entire court, he still has no right to speak.
Under the control of Yang Fucheng's cabinet, Li Chengjing couldn't eat a fat man in one bite. He had to start with the six ministries first, and then slowly win the support of other cabinet elders. However, the Ministry of Officials of the Sixth Division was Yang Fucheng's base camp, and the Ministry of Household was also firmly controlled by the Yang family.
However, he is a prince, and this identity is a reliance and a shackle. As a prince, although he can participate in politics justifiably, he also has many concerns when he acts.
Therefore, it is very difficult to make friends with people from the Ministry of War.
Cheng Yujin put down the orange peel and carefully picked off the white orange network on it. She said softly, "Your Highness, you might as well change your angle and follow it in a roundabout way."
"How to say?"
"It's not convenient to make friends with courtiers, but it's always possible to make friends with their wives."
Li Chengjing raised his eyebrows: "You mean..."
"That's right." Cheng Yujin peeled an orange to her satisfaction, handed it to Li Chengjing, and said, "Although the Yichun Houfu has not been very good these years, at first, it was indeed named a marquis with military merit. Xungui and Qingliu are different. , Qingliu used the imperial examinations to select scholars, but the princes all made their fortunes by military merit. In recent years, Yang Shoufu has vigorously promoted his own people, and he has been a veteran of honors and honors. There have long been dissatisfaction among many princes and princes. I am the daughter of honors and honors. Not from a scholarly family, this in itself is already a statement."
Yang Fucheng was a civil servant. He made his fortune with the Empress Dowager Yang and occupied the position of the first assistant. After many years, he also tried his best to cultivate his students. Of course, he received a lot of responses from the civil servants, but his military power was not at all.
The literati who came from the imperial examinations feared him, but the warriors who marched and fought were not necessarily.
And the family of honor and honor is hereditary from generation to generation. Of course, there are not many honors and honors who still follow the path of their ancestors and go to the military to experience, but the thin camel is bigger than the horse, and the appeal of the old honors and honors is still strong in the army, such as Jingyong Houfu, Such as Cai Guogong mansion.
Cheng Yujin, out of selfishness, reluctantly hung up the Yichun Houfu.
Huo Changyuan and Zhai Yanlin are still in charge of the army. Not to mention the sons of other princes who were active in the army. Cheng Yujin's background of honorable background is a natural advantage. One is the Yang family who has always emphasized literature and martial arts, and the other is the daughter of the Cheng family whose ancestors had a fateful relationship. It is self-evident who the honorable and noble are close to.
The real power generals and the Ministry of War are inextricably linked, which can be used as a breakthrough to break the deadlock. Li Chengjing wants to make friends with people in the army, don't those nobles not want to vote for the merit of the dragon? It's just that it's not convenient for each other to come forward because they can't form a party for personal gain. However, it was inconvenient for Li Chengjing and these courtiers, and there were no restrictions on female dependents. Cheng Yujin, as a prince concubine, made friends with several princes and wives, which was completely logical.
Not to mention, she herself is the eldest lady of Yichun Houfu, and her social circle is already among the honorable.
Li Chengjing was clear at one point. He looked at Cheng Yujin with surprise in his eyes: "Prince Concubine's words awakened the dreamer. It seems that I will rely entirely on the Prince Concubine from now on."
"Don't put on a high hat for me, I don't believe you didn't think of it." Cheng Yujin stretched out her hand for a long time, seeing that Li Chengjing didn't mean to take it, she wondered, "Don't you eat oranges?"
Li Chengjing is still sitting on the ground with the old god: "Send the Buddha to the west, is this sincerity the prince concubine feeds people?"
He wanted someone to feed him, so Cheng Yujin didn't bother to care about him, so he put it on a plate, whether he liked it or not.
Li Chengjing sighed and picked it up by himself as if resigned: "You really don't talk about fun at all."
"I've always been like this, did the prince know today?"