As the night grew darker, the furnace in the East Palace was filled with smoke, and the candles were burning brightly in the gauze palace lanterns hanging on both sides of the Arhat's bed.
The room was filled with a long and loose scent of incense. Rong Xi sniffed this pleasant smell, but her mood did not calm down at all.
After hearing Mu Huai's words, Rong Xi's beautiful peach blossom eyes seemed a little dazed.
Mu Huai said that he would be her backer and protect her so that she would not feel inferior to her family background.
But for a man of Mu Huai's status, he cannot fully believe the promise he made to a woman when he was young.
Rong Xi didn't know how long Mu Huai's promise to her could last, she didn't dare to entrust her trust completely to the man in front of her.
Tonight, when she was arguing with Zhai Shiyin in the Royal Garden, her words and deeds were all acting, but when she taught Zhai Shiyin a lesson, seeing Mu Huai protecting her like this, she finally had a terrible thought in her heart for a moment—
It's a good feeling to be a proud woman.
If her temperament is really like Yu Zhaorong's, domineering and arrogant, but no matter what disasters she encounters, there will be men who will protect her and pamper her.
This feeling is a hundred times stronger than being a courteous wife or a cautious concubine.
Now Mu Huai's promise to her should be out of sincerity in his heart, but one day if it is not guaranteed, this promise will disappear with the arrival of the newcomer.
Before the newcomer came, Rong Xi chose to trust Mu Huai, she cherished his pampering for her alone.
Seeing that the rumors inside and outside the palace are getting worse, sooner or later she will not be able to hide her identity as the daughter of a criminal minister, Rong Xi looked a little ashamed, and asked in a low voice: "...but the identity of a concubine is a crime after all. The minister's daughter, if she's just a commoner, she won't have so much trouble... After all, she's causing trouble to her husband."
The beauty's soft voice was slightly timid, and her fair and slender ankles turned red under his kneading.
The cloud-like jet-black bun was messed up, obviously she should be in a downcast embarrassment, but under the warm yellow candle, her eyelashes drooped slightly, she looked gorgeous and charming, revealing a heart-swaying coquettish attitude .
Mu Huai couldn't help stretching out his hand to disassemble the hairpin on her hair. The hair bun for banquets is always complicated and heavy, so it took a little effort for him to remove it.
Although his brows were furrowed, his movements were patient.
While brushing the woman's hair, Mu Huai said in a low voice: "You don't have to think about these things, as long as you have your baby in the East Palace, the outside affairs will be taken care of for you."
Rong Xi's eyes moved down with the light fall of her long hair, and said softly: "Well, fortunately, there is a husband here to protect the concubine."
Mu Huai's words made her feel very secure. Although he is strong and rebellious, Rong Xi knew that whether he was his slave or his woman, Mu Huai would not see others bullying her, even Some excuses.
At this time, the attendant who was ordered by Mu Huai to pull Di Shiyin's hair back to the East Palace to return to the East Palace, he knelt on the ground and explained to Mu Huai that the queen personally prevented him from punishing Di Shiyin.
Then he lowered his head and waited quietly for Mu Huai to punish him.
With begging eyes, Rong Xi signaled Mu Huai to spare the attendant.
Mu Huaihui had Rong Xi's intentions, after all, it was the empress who stopped him, and even his little attendant dared not disobey the order of the master of the harem.
He nodded, but his expression was getting darker, and he said coldly: "It's better for that bitch."
The word bitch made Rong Xi startled.
Since he called Zhai Shiyin a slut, it should mean that he didn't like her very much.
But what if Emperor Zhuang wants Mu Huai to marry her
Emperor Zhuang delegated power very thoroughly, and he was not afraid of Mu Huai's status as the heir apparent, and trusted his son extremely. Mu Huai was naturally filial and would not easily disobey Emperor Zhuang's wishes.
Rong Xi knew that, regardless of whether it was inside or outside the palace, when a man took a concubine, he would always take the one he liked, but to marry a wife, he had to marry someone who was of high status and virtuous.
Even if he doesn't marry Zhai Shiyin, he will marry another noble daughter from a noble family as his wife.
Rong Xi quietly looked at Mu Huai's handsome profile, feeling a little lonely in his heart, after all, he would not let her be his wife, he would always marry a wife.
Now, she should cherish the time she can monopolize him.
*****
After Mu Huai asked his attendants to retreat, he ordered Rong Xi to rest earlier, while he took advantage of the moonlight to go to Qianyuan Hall.
After the death of Emperor Zhuang in the previous life, he felt that Zhai's daughter always appeared in front of him under the arrangement of the empress to be an eyesore, so he issued an order not to allow Zhai's daughter to enter the palace again.
Empress Dowager Zhai was dissatisfied with this, but since Emperor Zhuang was not around, he really didn't need to see her expression.
Now that Rong Xi is pregnant, if that bitch keeps flirting around in front of her, it will inevitably make her feel uncomfortable. He has to explain this matter to Emperor Zhuang, and now let the second daughter of the Zhai family not enter the palace again.
After arriving at the Qianyuan Hall, Emperor Zhuang had just finished drinking the bitter decoction.
After Mu Huai was established as the reserve, he helped him share a lot of political affairs. As his health got worse, he really couldn't afford these heavy government affairs. Only the most important ones were selected from the papers, and most of the rest were approved by Mu Huai.
Fortunately, Mu Huai was able to live up to his spirit, and he was able to manage the government with ease just now, which made Emperor Zhuang very gratified.
After Mu Huai sat down on the armchair in the Qianyuan Hall, the court lady brought green tea at the high place beside him. Mu Huai glanced at the cup of tea, but didn't want to use it.
Emperor Zhuang knew why Mu Huai came looking for him, so he asked first, "I heard that tonight, your concubine Liang and the daughter of the Zhai family scuffled?"
Mu Huai bowed his head, and replied respectfully: "Return to father, there is indeed such a thing."
Emperor Zhuang raised his gray brows slightly, because of tonight's matter, his view of Zhai Shiyin changed, and he was also dissatisfied with her.
Originally thought that she would be a docile and courteous young lady of the family, but also wanted to persuade Mu Huai to accept the daughter of the Zhai family as his concubine.
But what happened tonight made Emperor Zhuang give up this idea.
Even though Rong Liangdi was pregnant, but with her background, she would not be able to be the main wife no matter what.
Being spoiled is a bit spoiled, it's just a plaything.
Mu Huai likes her now, it's his business how he gets used to her, sooner or later there will be someone new to replace Rong Liangdi.
If Zhai Shiyin was smarter, he shouldn't have argued with her when she was pregnant.
Not to mention, he hasn't let go of the marriage yet, and the Zhai daughter has no status now.
Thinking of this, Emperor Zhuang shook his head helplessly, but said: "Rong Liangdi has been wronged tonight, but the daughter of the Zhai family is the queen's relative after all, so it's fine to punish her by kneeling after a few reprimands, you really shouldn't order her servants Go pull her hair..."
Emperor Zhuang thought to himself, Man Ya is still young, and he is still the same as when he was a child, and he never shows mercy when he teaches others.
He has a gentle temperament, although he is an emperor, he treats others kindly.
Concubine Xian is also a gentle and submissive woman.
However, Mu Huai's personality is not at all like the two of them, on the contrary, he resembles his grandfather, who was also the founding monarch of Daqi: Chengdi Muyou.
Mu Huai replied calmly: "I will keep in mind the teachings of my father. It was only for tonight. I was really afraid that the Zhai daughter would hurt Rong Liangdi's child, so I acted rashly. In order to ensure the safety of her baby, my son I also ask my father to issue a decree that the two daughters of the Zhai family will never enter the Yongxi Forbidden Palace again."
When he returned to Emperor Zhuang, he was very humble, but he was quite disdainful in his heart.
If you dare to bully Lao Tzu and a woman, it will be fine if you don't screw her head off.
Emperor Zhuang smiled helplessly, and after thinking for a while, he said: "This is impossible. The queen has no heirs, and treats her two nieces as her own daughters. If she is not allowed to see those two, it would be too cruel to the queen... Since we are afraid that the daughter of the Rong family will be in danger, we can let her stay in the East Palace, there is no need to prevent the second daughter of the Zhai family from entering the palace to visit the queen."
Mu Huai pursed his lips after hearing this. In his previous life, he did not give Empress Dowager Zhai any face until Emperor Zhuang passed away.
At this time, Emperor Zhuang said something similar to his previous life: "You don't like the daughter of the Zhai family, I know it in my heart. Let this Liang Di serve you first, and in the future, I will choose a better seat for Man Ya Concubine Zheng. There are so many noble girls in Bianjing, this girl from the Zhai family is definitely not the best, and she is not worthy of my full teeth."
But Mu Huai thought, there are so many noble women in Bianjing, but he only wants that petite woman in the East Palace.
But his father Muzhen has always loved and even indulged him. No matter how strong his temperament is, he also knows that his father will die soon, and he doesn't want to contradict Emperor Zhuang for marrying a concubine.
Mu Huai didn't want that woman to be just his concubine, he just wanted her to be his legitimate wife.
In this life, he had Rong Xi, but for the first time he felt that the prince's status was a shackle.
What is a concubine? It's just the servant of the husband master.
But if you add the status of the daughter of a guilty minister, let alone his wife, even if you are his concubine, it will be difficult to stop everyone's leisurely mouths.
Perhaps in the eyes of Emperor Zhuang and outsiders, Rong Xi was just a temporary plaything for him to entertain, and he loved him so much that he would change his concubine sooner or later.
But Mu Huai knew exactly how much this woman weighed in his heart.
He is never a person who is threatened by anything, the more terrifying his opponent is, the stronger he is.
The more serious and distressed the situation, the more fighting spirit he will have.
He must help the woman to that position, let others respect her and fear her, and prevent her from being humiliated and despised now.
*****
The rainy season in Bianjing came in early spring, and the sky was rarely sunny this day.
The smoke is empty and the water is clear, a peaceful atmosphere.
After Mu Huai returned from His Royal Highness Jiazheng's court that day, he went directly to the Political Affairs Hall with Yan Juxu, and secretly summoned the new officials with lower ranks in the Admonition Court.
From high to low, the official ranks of Daqi Jianyuan were Du Yushi, Deputy Du Yushi, and Liandu Yushi①, while the lower-ranking officials were prison officials and school inspectors.
The group of people in the Admonition Court has not yet fully become Mu Huai's minions, and most of the high-ranking censors are stubborn old men who are not afraid of power.
After a few years, this group of people died and resigned. Only then did Mu Huai in his previous life slowly implant his power into the remonstrance court.
In his previous life, he started with the lowest-ranking prison guard and school inspector in this remonstrance courtyard, and slowly replaced the old blood with these new blood.
The newly appointed prison guards and school inspectors were naturally excited and full of energy when they learned that they were being reused by the prince. If they were able to do things effectively, they would be the former ministers of the future monarch. Different from ordinary officials.
In this life, Mu Huai first used these low-level officials of the Admonition Court, but this time, he asked these officials to go to the public to collect all the scandals about the Zhai clan, and at the same time secretly mixed the detailed work into the Shangshufu from Yaxingxin Among the servants who bought it.
Zhai Zhuo went to the court as usual this morning, but he didn't know that there were so many officials behind him who wanted to collect information about him.
Mu Huai ordered someone to drop the manuscript of the Ministry of Rites, which recorded the positions, hometowns and resumes of all the officials in the Ministry of Rites.
He originally wanted to order someone to send the account books of the Ministry of Rites who had presided over the ceremonies over the years to the Political Affairs Hall, but after careful consideration, he realized that if there was something wrong with the account books, they would have been faked long ago, and nothing could be found.
Mu Huai's face was slightly stern. He looked at the manuscript of the Ministry of Rites and sighed slightly.
Seeing this, Yan Juxu couldn't help asking respectfully, "Why is your Highness sighing?"
Mu Huai put the manuscript in his hand on the desk, and replied in a slightly solemn tone: "There are too many redundant officials in this Ministry of Rites, and they are all useless people who sit on the table and eat without food, and they take the imperial salary for nothing."
Yan Juxu sneered, he bowed his head, and said slowly: "Not only the Ministry of Rites, but also in the six departments and twelve divisions of Daqi, there are many such redundant officials. But as long as no serious mistakes are made, the imperial court will still take the treasury, and raising these can be described as moths." officials."
After hearing this, Mu Huai recalled that in his previous life, he had devoted all his attention to military affairs.
This time, in order to help Rong Xi's father, Rong Bing, to reverse the case, he only read the officials' manuscripts of the Ministry of Rites, but unexpectedly found so many problems.
Cultural governance is no less important to a country than a strong army.
A policy change often involves many things, all of which are closely related to the people's livelihood, so the monarch must be cautious before making a decision.
Fortunately, Yan Juxu was by his side.
Mu Huai asked: "Then Yan Qing, what's your opinion on this?"
With a calm tone, Yan Juxu shared his thoughts with Mu Huai.
He said: "Da Qi needs officials to govern. We can start with the Ministry of Rites to check whether the abilities of the officials are suitable for their positions. We should also let the censor of the admonition court discuss the words, deeds and style of these officials at any time. Those who are not capable will be dismissed. Useless redundant official positions can also be cut."
Mu Huai nodded approvingly.
However, the process of official administration can be described as drastic. Thinking of the drought that will occur in Daqi three years later, the first thing he should do is to reform, so that Daqi's national strength can withstand future disasters.
Perhaps it is necessary to adopt a loose policy in advance to increase the population of Daqi.
In this way, after more than ten years, the newly added male Ding can become the backbone of Daqi's army, and he can fight the Yan State in the north a few years earlier.
Fighting against the outside world, Annei, nothing can be left behind.
*****
Mu Huai doesn't like to procrastinate, thinking that at least before he ascends the throne, the new law must be implemented.
In the middle of the night, even after returning to the East Palace from the Zhengshitang, he still had to read the decrees of the previous dynasty and other countries in the study.
The only tricky thing was that if he didn't sleep, neither would that torturer.
Every time Rong Xi braced his tired body, accompanied him to read the law in the study, grinding ink and cooking tea for him just like when he was a prince.
Tonight, she was so sleepy that she couldn't stand it, so she fell asleep lying on the small case.
Mu Huai shook his head helplessly, and carried the weak and sleepy little pregnant woman back to the bed in the bedroom. As soon as she stabilized her body, the woman woke up.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes, and said in a soft voice: "I am not sleepy, I will accompany His Highness to read the law."
So clingy.
Mu Huai's tone was low, and he said in a low voice, "You're not sleepy yet, you can't even open your eyes."
Rong Xi forced himself to open his eyes wide, pretending to be energetic, and said softly: "I'm really not sleepy..."
After all, you have to go to the ground barefoot.
Mu Huai held down the stubborn little woman in time, and stopped him: "Lie down, Gu Ye will go to bed with you to sleep, don't run to the study anymore..."
Only then did Rong Xi nodded in bewilderment, and retracted into the soft quilt again.
Mu Huai went to the study room to get a volume of laws from the previous dynasty, and then half-lyed on the bed, after wrapping up the quilt for the woman, he read the volume carefully by the candlelight in the hall.
At this moment, Rong Xi gradually lost her sleepiness, she opened her eyes and quietly looked at the handsome man beside her.
She thought, Mu Huai is really an industrious and studious prince. When he was a prince before, even if his legs were not comfortable in rainy weather, he never dropped out of his studies.
When the man became serious, he looked even more handsome. He only used the green jade hairpin to tie his jet-black hair, and was wearing plain white pajamas.
Although Mu Huai's temperament is strong, his appearance has always been extremely handsome.
Rong Xi blinked, just looking at him so quietly, she was in a great mood.
Mu Huai felt that the woman beside him was not sleeping peacefully, but was looking straight at him with those seductive eyes.
He asked displeasedly: "What are you doing? Go to sleep now."
Rong Xi's voice was sweet and soft, and she said in a very low voice: "My husband is beautiful, I can't help but look at it."
After hearing this, Mu Huai's heart felt as if it had been drenched with honey.
However, he still forced himself to suppress his smile, covered his side face with a book, stretched out his hand and turned the woman's head away, and said again, "Close your eyes and go to sleep."
Rong Xi had no choice but to close her eyes. She had a hard time being pregnant, curled up in the quilt, and fell asleep without time.
In the dream, Mu Huai was wearing a moon-white shirt, wearing a white jade crown, holding a folding fan, and dressed like a nobleman.
The demeanor is clear and elegant, but the eyebrows are still masculine and handsome. There is no such sultry aura on his body, and his eyes are not sharp. He looks very easy-going.
In her dream, she walked with Mu Huai in the bustling tile market in Bianjing at night, admiring the beautiful scenery of Daqi's prosperous age, because the two of them had outstanding looks, many young ladies looked at them.
The two are like an ordinary couple.
In the dream, she actually called Mu Huai's nickname, Zhi Yan.
Mu Huai also called her Xi'er in a gentle tone.
Rong Xi knew that the scene in front of her was not real, but she still laughed out loud in her sleep, with a sweet voice, she murmured his name: "...Zhi Yan."
She buried her wish deeply in her heart and dared not reveal it.
Rong Xi hopes to be the most ordinary couple with Mu Huai, instead of being his concubine. She wants to grow old with the man beside her, and even greedily wants to be a couple with him for the rest of her life.
In reality, this wish cannot be realized.
But being able to be husband and wife with him in the dream, Rong Xi is also satisfied.
Hearing these two words, Mu Huai shifted his gaze from the scroll to the woman on the bed, and there was a touch of pampering in his cold eyes.
He put down the scroll in his hand, finally lay down on the bed, and carefully embraced the woman in his arms.
Mu Huai lowered his head and kissed the woman's soft brow, and after closing his eyes, he called out in a low voice, "Hey Xier."