Regarding the matter of establishing a queen, there has been a lot of discussion in the court, but Emperor Jin'an has never made a statement.
When a minister asked to play, he listened to it, turned his head and left it behind without saying a word after listening. In private, the courtiers talked a lot, saying everything, anyway, it never stopped.
Just then, something happened.
Things have to start from that day—
In February, the weather has finally started to clear up. Although it is still cold, we can always see some sun.
Today is the day when all the officials are resting and there are fewer sedan chairs and horses on the road than usual, but Ximaoer Hutong is very noisy.
This Ximaoer Hutong is close to the outer city, but it is the edge of the inner city. Most of the people living here are officials of lower rank. The hutongs are deep, but the houses are shallow. This family-to-family house is a good interpretation of the saying that it is difficult to live in the capital.
Even so, the houses in Ximao'er Hutong are very popular. Whenever someone makes a move, they are bought almost in the blink of an eye.
Without him, it is all because of the convenience of taking advantage of the location.
Some petty officials are exhausted from daily work, so they are naturally as close as they can get, so that they can save a lot of time going back and forth in the government office every day. Looking at the modest size of the house, it is several times more expensive than the houses in the outer city.
At this time, a middle-aged man and woman were arguing in front of the gate of Mao's house, which attracted the crowd of residents in the alley.
After all, it is a family of officials, so they pay more attention to the influence, so how can they just stand outside and watch. In the seemingly quiet and deserted alley, the doors of many houses are half exposed. As for whether the person standing behind the door is the master's house or the servant, only God knows.
The man and woman who quarreled were husband and wife. The man's surname was Mao, and he was a censor.
The censor is the poorest and smelliest, with low rank and low salary. Of course, that only refers to a very small number of people. Nowadays, who would be an official would pay attention to the two-sleeve style, but Mao Yushi is just one of them.
This Mao Yushi is not only poor, but also has a bad temper. He is well-known in the court.
However, as a censor, he already has the right to supervise the court and the princes and officials, so there is nothing he can do if others hate him. Some people jokingly said that Mao Yushi is not afraid of anything, and he dares to participate in the emperor's father's mistakes. Probably no one in this world makes him afraid. In fact, it is not, there is someone Mao Dong fears, and that is his wife, Mrs. Mao.
Mao Yushi is famous in Beijing, not only because he is smelly and tough, but also because he is famous for his internal fear.
Mao Yushi is an active member of this matter regarding the establishment of a queen. He does not dislike Yaoniang's slightly cold status. What he opposes is that Yaoniang's status is not upright. .
A pedantic person with a moral benchmark like Mao Yushi doesn't like this kind of person the most. In fact, if you think about it differently, if it weren't for the seduction of the Lord, a woman who was born as a concubine would be able to sit in the position of a dignified princess? Even what Emperor Jin'an did when he was a prince was criticized by him, thinking that he was greedy for women.
From Mao Yushi's point of view, the queen is the mother of a country, and when she is the mother of the world, she must not be a person who seduces the master, otherwise she will endanger the court and the country.
He didn't mention how aggressive he was in the court, this matter somehow reached Mrs. Mao's ears. Because of this matter, Mrs. Mao quarreled with him several times, but Mao Yushi still went into his left ear and out of his right ear. Now Mrs. Mao was annoyed.
Mrs. Mao has a pungent temper, and she wanted to leave as soon as she said, but Yushi Mao couldn't ask for it, so the two of them tugged and pulled out of the courtyard.
"Ma'am, don't make a fuss. Is it still worth paying for your husband?"
Mao Yushi bowed again and again. He was born with a thin body and a goatee. Judging from his appearance, he was a rigid and pedantic person. On the contrary, Mrs. Mao has a round body, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and she has a sharp and capable face at first glance.
"Then you shouldn't say what I told you?" Mrs. Mao asked.
But Nuonuo stopped talking.
Seeing him like this, Madam Mao turned her head and was about to leave. Before she could take two steps, she was held back by Yushi Mao again.
"Ma'am, stop making trouble. This matter is related to the country, the country, and the well-being of all people. It is not for women like you to comment. A husband can answer whatever you say, but this matter, this matter..."
"I'm going to spoil your country, the welfare of all the people! I'm a woman, I don't know any big principles, I just know that being a person can't be ungrateful, and you can't be shameless."
Mao Yushi stomped his feet and sighed: "Why are you called shameless? Ma'am, look at what you said."
Mrs. Mao stretched out a fat finger and poked Mao Yushi's shoulder: "Then tell me, who saved our family when the rebels broke out, and who took our family in? Don’t let us die tragically at the hands of the rebels, who gave you food and drink in those days, and ordered people to send us home after the rebels were wiped out?”
This questioning made Mao Yushi speechless, and he held back for a long time before he could say: "What does this have to do with Lihou? This is today's benevolence, and it has nothing to do with that person!"
"It has nothing to do with you, it has something to do with me! I only know that when I borrowed the Jinwang Mansion, everything was done properly, and there was no such thing as a dog from a high-ranking family who looked down on people. When I came out in a hurry, my daughter-in-law Shan and I changed clothes Nothing, the concubine personally ordered someone to bring it to us, and she was even worried that the servants would not serve her properly, so she came forward to warn her... You are useless, you have been an official for so many years and you are still a seventh-rank censor. Please forgive me for causing your wife and children to suffer, otherwise we would not have to accept favors for nothing, and feel guilty and restless every day... "
Madam Mao began to howl as she spoke, this crying was really earth-shattering.
Mao Yushi scratched his ears and cheeks anxiously, showing guilt, but he didn't know how to persuade him. Because what Mrs. Mao said was true, it was his incompetence that caused his wife and children to suffer.
Mrs. Mao blew her nose, stopped crying, and then said: "Anyway, I don't care, since you are embarrassing others, I have no face to be with you anymore. Don't stop me, let's get together and break up, I will go back go to my mother's house."
Mao Yushi stomped his feet and said, "They're quite old now, so I don't have to worry my father-in-law and mother-in-law when I go back to my mother's house."
Mrs. Mao was about to say something, when suddenly a few people rushed out from the door of Mao's house, but they were the son, daughter and daughter-in-law of Mao Yushi and his wife.
Several people hurriedly dragged Mrs. Mao in.
"Mother, don't worry about it. If you have something to say, you don't have to make a joke."
"That's it."
The door of Mao's house was closed from the inside, blocking countless sightlines from outside.
After listening to such a big play early in the morning, while the neighbors of the Mao family had endless aftertaste, some people felt a little uncomfortable. Because the sage, who was still a prince, brought people out to save people, and many of them were beneficiaries.
Most of the people who can live here are not high-ranking officials. They can't afford to hire a nursing home, and the house is shallow. That day when the rebel army rebelled, many people here suffered disasters. Fortunately, His Royal Highness King Jin arrived in time. Afterwards, he was brought back to Prince Jin's mansion, where he slept peacefully in the high wall, the concubine was friendly, his servants were appropriate, and he was not short of clothes or food. Needless to say, he was grateful.
It's just that it's been a long time, and many people have forgotten the embarrassment of that day and the feeling of surviving after the catastrophe.
…
Mao family.
After Mrs. Mao entered the house, she quickly rushed into the room, picked up tea from the table and drank it.
"I'm dying of thirst."
Mao Yushi was also sweating profusely. He entered the hall and sat down on a chair.
After drinking the water, Madam Mao calmed down and said, "Master, do you think this method is useful?"
At this time, Mao Yushi didn't have any pedantic looks. He stroked his beard and said, "It's not up to us to say whether it's useful or not. Anyway, we just do what we should do."
This is Mao Yushi's real way of dealing with the world. Without a backer and no winks, with his annoying temperament, he would have been thrown back to his hometown to farm a long time ago. He was able to survive the Hongjing Dynasty safely, nothing more than relying on his understanding of Shangyi.
"But I still hope to help the empress."
Although Mrs. Mao and the princess only had two photos, and they passed by in a hurry, she felt that the princess was a kind person from the bottom of her heart. Because her husband was annoying outside, and even Mrs. Mao was not very popular outside, but the princess did not look down on them because of this. That kind of sincere kindness cannot be deceived, and it is also very rare.
Based on this alone, Mrs. Mao felt that the queen and concubine deserved it.
Although the matter of the Mao family was a trivial matter, somehow it spread throughout the three divisions and six departments, and everyone in every family heard about it. For a time, there were those who disdain, those who hated, those who laughed, and those who remained silent.
I have to say that Mao Yushi and his wife are really annoying, they always poke their hearts out like this when they talk and do things. Scholar-bureaucrats pay attention to decency and pay attention to knowing kindness, how can they make people poke their spines and scold the white-eyed wolf. Although the men had never been in contact with the former princess, they lived in the palace that day, and the servants said that they were all arranged by the princess.
The reason why the fig leaf is a fig leaf is that everyone tacitly chooses to ignore it. Now that the fig leaf has been torn off, anyone who wants some face is embarrassed to jump too high.
Of course, this is only a small part, and there are still some who claim to have never received the favor of the palace, so they can stand in the position of defenders and condemn them. However, Emperor Jin'an also gave a response at this time, and the imperial decree for the Empress has been issued to the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites.
This is the second time that Emperor Jin'an has issued an imperial edict. The Dagan Dynasty is a cabinet system. If the current edict is inappropriate, the cabinet and the six departments have the right to seal and refute edicts and edicts.
But the so-called refutation is only a method, not a means. To put it bluntly, the whole world belongs to the emperor, and you, a courtier, have disobeyed Shangyi one after another, so you just don't plan to continue doing it.
Refutation is just a kind of temptation and tacit understanding, let the higher-ups know that this edict is inappropriate, if the higher-ups are scrupulous, they will naturally not issue another decree. But if the superiors insist on going their own way, the subordinates can only think of other ways, and they will not do it hard. Of course, the audience watched from all dynasties and generations, and there were some who stood up to confront the emperor, but the end was miserable without exception.
The cabinet only restrains the imperial power, never checks and balances the imperial power.
The imperial decree has been issued to the Ministry of Rites, and it will be announced to all officials and the world soon. Even if it can be delayed, there is only a three-day time limit. After this time limit, the entire Ministry of Rites will be charged with dereliction of duty.
An imperial decree caused turbulent waves below the surface of the water. Even though night had fallen, everything that should move in private began to move.
At this time, the Hall of Mental Cultivation is also busy.
Emperor Jin'an came back late today, and Yaoniang ordered someone to ask before, and Emperor Jin'an said that he would return in a while, so after Yaoniang sent the food to Qianqing Palace, she led her two children to wait. With Emperor Jin'an back. Erbao is hungry, let him eat some pastries first.
When it was dark, Emperor Jin'an came back. After being busy for a while, Emperor Jin'an changed into casual clothes and had dinner with Yaoniang and the two children.
Today Yaoniang changed to a different way of eating, the mutton pot that was delivered to Qianqing Palace before was quite the favorite of the Supreme Emperor, the Supreme Emperor said it several times in secret, Yaoniang gave it away twice, and dared not give it away again. Although mutton is warming and tonic, it is sweet and hot in nature, and the emperor is recuperating, so it is not suitable to eat too much. But recently the Taishanghuang has fallen in love with this mouthful. He can't fly in the sky and run on the ground, so he fell in love with this.
Yaoniang really had no choice but to find another way. Under the suggestion of Mrs. Xue, she used mutton to stew the soup, but scooped up all the mutton, and used the mutton soup to cook other vegetables to eat, which took the taste of it, but not too much. Pass.
In fact, this way of eating is not uncommon. It has been popular in Beijing for a while, but it still uses mutton or other meat as the main ingredient. Even the shabu-shabu dishes are all seasonal and vegetarian dishes, just for flavoring. It's common people who are not well-off but also greedy for the taste of meat, so they add tofu and vegetarian dishes to the broth. They say it's a meat pot, but it's actually a pot of vegetarian food.
Of course, the way of eating in the palace is different. They pay attention to freshness and taste. They all choose freshly cooked and ready-to-eat, which is quite interesting.
Logically speaking, it is good, but it is a pity that Erbao and Xiaobao are too small, with short arms and small hands, it is too unsafe to fish in boiling soup, but the two young ones don't like to be served. Yaoniang had an idea, and asked people to cut a lot of bamboo sticks, put vegetables and meat on the sticks, and then boiled them in the soup base, and then dipped them in special dipping sauces, which had a unique flavor.
After just trying it once, Erbao fell in love with it, and made troubles for Yaoniang to do it for him every day. The key point is that Emperor Jin'an seemed to like it quite a bit, and his appetite increased. This made Yaoniang, who was worried about eating too little every day, overjoyed, and asked the people below to rack their brains to make all kinds of delicious dishes for cooking.
As for Qianqing Palace, the Supreme Emperor actually liked it very much, and it can be regarded as a success in one fell swoop.
The whole family had a satisfying meal, and they were all sweating profusely. Even though it was February, it was not too cold, which was rare after all.
The court ladies and eunuchs came up to clean their hands and faces, and they each drank some tea to relieve their tiredness. Fucheng walked in from the outside and whispered something in Emperor Jin'an's ear. Emperor Jin'an just nodded slightly and did not speak.
After that, Fu Chengcheng withdrew, and Yaoniang looked at him curiously: "What's wrong?"
"nothing."