The next morning, a quarter before noon, the court meeting was about to begin.
According to convention, the ministers who arrived early gathered in the East Court Hall and waited for Empress Dowager Liu to bring the young emperor to court to attend government affairs.
People were sitting or standing in groups of three or five, talking in low voices.
The topic they discussed naturally revolved around Empress Liu's favorite, Xie Changgeng, the governor of Hexi.
He arrived in the capital yesterday evening and submitted a memorial to the palace. The empress dowager sympathized with his fatigue from the journey and told him that there was no need to come to the palace immediately to pay a visit. Instead, he could rest for a night and it would not be too late to meet her tomorrow morning.
This news has already spread.
Everyone was talking about his merits in suppressing the Jiangdu Rebellion not long ago, and they envied him for making more great achievements. This time when he went to the capital to report on his work, he would surely be given an official position and a higher title.
As they were talking, a palace maid came in and delivered the Queen Mother's words, saying that this morning's court meeting would be delayed for half an hour and asked all the ministers to continue waiting here.
As soon as the palace maid left, the East Court Hall was suddenly filled with buzzing sounds.
Everyone knew that this must be Empress Dowager Liu meeting Xie Changgeng alone.
In order to have an audience with him, even the court meeting had to be delayed, leaving them all waiting here.
In addition to envy, everyone can't help but feel a little jealous.
Soon, no one knew who started it, but the focus of everyone's attention shifted from the achievements of Hexi Jiedushi Xie Changgeng to a piece of gossip that had just reached the officialdom in Beijing a few days ago.
At the beginning of the year, Xie Changgeng married the daughter of the King of Changsha, who he had been engaged to three years ago. Unexpectedly, he encountered the rebellion of the King of Jiangdu. On the wedding night, he abandoned his wife and left home. This matter was no longer a secret. At that time, some colleagues went to the wedding banquet, and the news spread from one person to ten people, and from ten to a hundred people. Everyone knew about it.
But perhaps he did not appease the bride at that time, and the bride was angry and returned to Changsha. Just last month, after suppressing the rebellion, Jiedushi Xie rushed to Changsha without stopping, wanting to take the princess back. But he did not expect to be rejected there.
Not only did he fail to bring his beloved wife back, but it is said that he was also humiliated by the young King of Changsha, who had always looked down on his background. In the end, he returned home in disgrace and empty-handed.
The original source of this gossip should have come from the supervisor sent by the imperial court to Changsha State.
The imperial court stationed supervisors in each vassal state, who submitted a report every month to report their findings. This was a rule set when the vassal states were first established.
Regardless of the authenticity of the news, most officials in Beijing were jealous and looked down on Xie Changgeng, whose background was not easy to talk about. From this standpoint, they all became supporters of Changsha King Mu Xuanqing. Who wouldn't gloat over Xie Changgeng's misfortune and say a few words after dinner when they saw him suffer such a setback and make such a fool of himself
Now the court meeting has been postponed because of his arrival.
Everyone simply let go and started whispering, sharing the news they had heard and expressing their deep sympathy for Jiedushi Xie's experience.
At the same time, Xie Changgeng was waiting outside the Xuanzheng Hall.
Although he was not in the East Court Hall, he knew exactly what his colleagues there were talking about at the moment.
This matter was also mentioned in the secret letter Cao Jin sent to him last night. Perhaps because he was afraid of causing him displeasure, he only mentioned it briefly, saying that his experience during this trip to Changsha had spread.
Xie Changgeng looked calm as he stood outside the hall waiting to be summoned.
With the sound of footsteps, Yang Guangshu, the chief eunuch beside Empress Liu, came out from the hall and said that the Empress Dowager had summoned them, and led Xie Changgeng in.
Xie Changgeng followed him in and walked to the front of Empress Liu who was sitting in the hall, and knelt down to pay homage as a subject would do.
Empress Liu was only in her forties, but she had been the empress dowager for many years. Ten years ago, Empress Mu from Changsha died, and the following year she was made the successor empress, and her son was also made the crown prince.
The emperor had a hidden illness and died within two years. The next emperor was young, so naturally, all matters were handled by her, who had been promoted to the position of empress dowager.
After she came to power, she eliminated dissidents. The princes of the Zhao family who were enfeoffed in various places, claiming to be the descendants of the emperor and the royal family, were not willing to be controlled by the relatives of the emperor, and they all wanted to get rid of the treacherous queen and replace her.
This is the root cause of the national chaos that has lasted for many years.
There were too many princes who united to oppose Empress Liu's rule. They either rebelled here or forced her to abdicate there. Even if Empress Liu had all the means and her mother's family was powerful, she was still unable to balance both ends and was overwhelmed.
Three years ago, rebellion broke out again and the rebel soldiers attacked Shangjing. Empress Liu sent people to suppress the rebellion but they suffered repeated defeats and Shangjing was in danger. Just when facing unprecedented pressure, Xie Changgeng suddenly appeared.
During these three years, with his outstanding military talent, he helped Empress Liu suppress several rebellions by the vassal kings. Only then was Empress Liu's position consolidated. How could she not look at him differently
She smiled and asked Xie Changgeng to stand up, ordered the palace maid to give him a seat, and said with a smile: "The petition you submitted yesterday was read by me and His Majesty overnight. It is very good. You have made great contributions to the suppression of the rebellion of Prince Jiangdu. You have helped the court solve problems. Although His Majesty is young, he knows how to tell me that Xie Qing is a loyal minister and a good general. Whatever reward you want, just ask for it."
Xie Changgeng said: "This is just my duty as a minister. I was ordered to suppress the rebellion. Thanks to the great blessing of the Queen Mother and Your Majesty, and the dedication of the soldiers in the army, I was able to fulfill my mission. I was just a commoner, and I am grateful for the honor I have today. I no longer have the slightest thought of seeking credit.
Empress Liu was very satisfied with his attitude and a smile appeared on her face.
"Xie Qing, you are so young, but you have already achieved your current position. Although you were awarded the title for your merits, if you move up, I am afraid you will become a target of public criticism. This time, I will not confer a higher title on you. How about conferring your mother's imperial edict instead?"
Xie Changgeng knelt down to express his gratitude.
Empress Liu asked him to stand up and said a few more words, "Because of the rebellion of King Jiangdu, I made you leave home on your wedding night. I feel guilty. I heard that you went to Changsha last month?"
Xie Changgeng raised his eyes and met Empress Liu's concerned gaze, and said, "After suppressing the rebellion of King Jiangdu, I was fortunate enough to be granted the opportunity to return home to visit my relatives. When I got home, I learned that my wife had returned to Changsha due to poor health after coming to my place due to the unfamiliar climate, so I went there."
"I see. How is she?"
"It's fine now. Just need more rest. Thank you very much, Queen Mother, for your concern."
Empress Liu nodded.
"But I heard that you were humiliated in Changsha?"
Xie Changgeng looked ashamed.
"I dare not hide it. I was born in a humble family and I am a humble person. When I first asked for marriage with the King of Changsha, my wife's brother was dissatisfied with me. Now that I am gone, I am neglected, which is also human nature."
Empress Liu frowned: "This Mu Xuanqing is so brave to treat you like this! He knows that you are someone I value, but he is still so arrogant. What can he not do in the future?"
She paused. "The Mu family of Changsha has always harbored ill will towards me. Someone once reminded me to beware of the Mu family. What do you think of this?"
She suddenly asked this question.
Xie Changgeng said: "The King of Changsha is young and hot-tempered, and acts rashly. Even the ruler of a country is like this. Changsha is short of soldiers and generals, unlike other vassal kings, who all have strong soldiers and horses. What is there to be afraid of? Even if they really dare to cause trouble in the future, how big a splash can they make?"
"Mr. Xie, if I want to eliminate the State of Changsha in the future, how will you deal with it?" Queen Liu stared at Xie Changgeng and asked again.
Xie Changgeng met the two glances that Empress Liu cast at him, and without blinking, he said, "If the king wants me to die, I have to die. What else can I do?"
Empress Liu fell silent.
A few days ago, she summoned the internal historian Zhang Ban to discuss the next national plan. When talking about Changsha State, Zhang Ban said that Changsha State was originally a small country with weak soldiers. The new king Mu Xuanqing who succeeded to the throne three years ago was not only far less capable than his father, the old king of Changsha, but also acted recklessly. It is said that not long ago, he fell into a ravine while hunting alone. If he had not been lucky enough to be found by the searchers in time, he would have lost his life. The recent rumors that he did not let his sister go back with Xie Jiedushi and humiliated her in public are even more evidence.
Compared to the not-so-threatening Changsha, the shrewd Prince Lu and the heavily armed Prince Pingyang were the real troubles. In the eyes of the court officials, Changsha was not a troublemaker and paid tribute on time, and there was no solid evidence of rebellion. There was a secret saying in the court that the reason why Empress Liu did not tolerate Changsha was because of the grudge she had with Empress Mu. If we deal with Changsha now, it would not only give Prince Lu and Prince Pingyang an opportunity to take advantage of it, but it would also give people something to talk about.
Zhang Ban said that now was not a good time to attack Changsha. It would be easier to deal with Changsha in the future after getting rid of the King of Lu and the King of Pingyang.
Empress Liu thought it made sense at the time, and after thinking about it, she decided to adopt it.
She had deliberately asked this question in front of Xie Changgeng just now, just to test his attitude.
After all, he married the princess of the Mu family.
Now his reply is completely consistent with her prediction about Xie Changgeng.
With his background, on one side is his wife's family, and on the other side is the imperial power that can bring him great success. There is no doubt about what choice he will make.
Without himself, he is nothing.
Empress Liu was relieved and said with a smile: "A few days ago, when I was discussing matters with Internal Secretary Zhang, I mentioned Changsha State. His views are similar to yours. After all, you also married the daughter of the Mu family. If it is not necessary, I don't want to embarrass you. From now on, as long as the Mu family behaves honestly, I will not touch them."
Xie Changgeng said respectfully: "On behalf of the Mu family of Changsha, I thank the Queen Mother for her grace."
Queen Liu nodded, pondered for a moment, and quickly made a decision in her heart.
After Xie Changgeng left, she called her trusted eunuch Yang Guangshu and said, "Draft an imperial edict for me immediately and send someone to Changsha with the reward."
"Let me just say that I am thinking about the deep friendship between me and Empress Mu in the past, and I feel a lot of emotion. I remember that Princess Fulan of the Mu family lived in the palace ten years ago. I have a history with her, and I miss her a little. I specially summoned her to the capital to reminisce about the past. If she is in good health, she will go to the capital."
Eunuch Yang was slightly startled and asked, "Empress Dowager, didn't Governor Xie just say that she was recuperating in Changsha? Why did you summon her to the capital?"
Empress Liu smiled.
"Do you think what Mr. Xie said just now is true? Most likely, he ran into a snag in Changsha and couldn't take Princess Mu back. He had no choice but to use this excuse to cover up in front of others."
"He is my man. Even if I don't move Changsha now, I have to let Mu Xuanqing know that disrespecting Xie Qing is disrespecting me! Xie Qing is in the capital now. His married sister, let alone not being sick, even if she is really dying, as long as I give the order, she will have to follow Xie Qing to the capital!"
Eunuch Yang suddenly realized.
"Your Majesty is right. I have heard some gossip these days. I think those people are jealous of Jiedushi Xie. Some of the gossip is unbearable to hear. Your Majesty is killing two birds with one stone. Not only is it warning Changsha State, but it is also helping Jiedushi Xie save face. If he knows, he will definitely be grateful to you."
Empress Liu was lost in thought for a moment, and then said, "Not only that. I heard that the princess of the Mu family is outstanding in appearance and is known as the most beautiful woman in Changsha. Although Xie Qing has just expressed his loyalty to me, the so-called hometown of beauties is the tomb of heroes. Throughout history, countless heroes have fallen into the hands of women. Don't look at Mu Xuanqing's current attitude. As long as Xie Qing and the daughter of the Mu family are still husband and wife, in the future, if she listens to others' instigation, or harbors evil intentions, it is not impossible to alienate Xie Qing and me. I have to see it with my own eyes before I can rest assured. If he is honest, it's fine. I don't think I can control a person like Xie Qing. But if he is an unsuitable person..."
There was a gloomy look in her eyes.
"Then think of a way to solve it for Xie Qing as soon as possible, so as to avoid trouble in the future."
Eunuch Yang whispered, "The Queen Mother has really thought it through! Although Changsha will be spared for now, we must be on guard. I will draft the decree right away!"