Back at the Prime Minister's Mansion, a group of palace people blocked the door.
The crowd poured into the mansion like running water with all kinds of rewards, and seeing Yufu coming back, the leader, Eunuch Chi, came up to pay respects obsequiously.
"My servant greets Princess Zhenjiang, where did Princess Snow go?"
Eunuch Chi was from the second prince's mansion in the past. When the second prince ascended the throne and became the king, he became the new head of the palace.
As for Eunuch Gao, the original chief executive, because he testified above the hall that the late emperor had said that he wanted to make the second prince the crown prince, he also received preferential treatment and was rewarded with a lot of gold and silver, and returned home when he was old.
Yufu still likes the old Eunuch Gao, and the two father-in-laws treat Yufu very kindly, but Eunuch Gao is not as flattering as the one in front of him, which makes people feel numb.
No matter how much she doesn't like it, it's useless, Yufu still understands the principle that one emperor and one courtier.
"So it's Eunuch Chi, is he here to give the New Year's gift to His Majesty? I didn't go anywhere, I just went out for a stroll."
Yufu cheered up to deal with him, Eunuch Chi smiled and said: "Princess guessed wrong, this servant is not here to give His Majesty an annual gift, but to present Your Majesty's reward to the Eldest Princess. Your Majesty said that the Eldest Princess is born beautiful and worthy of the whole world The best jewelry, so send all the good jewelry from the surrounding islands and small countries to the eldest princess!"
Yu Fu glanced at the hands of those palace servants, everyone was holding jewelry, piled up in a pile that might make a hill.
She forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty orders people to bring me gifts every now and then. After all, I am not His Majesty's own sister. How dare I be that? Your Majesty should care more about Princess Danyang, who is his only direct sister."
Eunuch Chi suddenly laughed, his high-pitched voice gave Yu Fu a headache from laughing.
He covered his mouth with a handkerchief, "What did the eldest princess say if you kiss your sister or not? You are the princess who was bestowed by the late emperor. Who dares to say you won't?"
Eunuch Chi looked at Yufu quietly, and saw that she was dressed in plain clothes, wearing a white fox cloak to make her look even more fairy-like, and he couldn't complain that His Majesty couldn't do without her all the time.
"Actually, Your Majesty also cares about Princess Danyang, but Princess Danyang doesn't like to enter the palace, and she doesn't see the servant when the servant sends the reward. Then Your Majesty gradually calmed down, and just rewarded Prime Minister Yin. No, after the slave sent the prince The princess’s reward is still going to the Prime Minister’s mansion to give a new year’s gift!”
Ning Chengzhi never doubted whether it was Princess Danyang who didn't like to enter the palace or Yin Shuo who didn't want her to enter the palace.
He actually doted on Yin Shuo to such an extent.
"Annual gift?"
Yu Fu was slightly surprised, "Yes, today is the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month. Your Majesty has always given New Year's gifts to the ministers who value him very early. This is a rule left over from the time of the first emperor. Every year in the past, Gu Hou's mansion was The first to get the annual gift."
She unconsciously glanced at the plaque on the gate of the mansion. No matter how glamorous the lintel of Guhou's mansion is, after all, he is a former courtier like Eunuch Gao, and it has been covered with a layer of haze.
Now His Majesty's most important thing is the Prime Minister's Mansion, not Guhou's Mansion.
Eunuch Chi seemed to have sensed Yu Fu's mood, looked around, and lowered his voice, "Your Highness the eldest princess, don't be sad, this year's annual ceremony in Guhou's mansion is a bit late, but the rewards from the eldest princess have never been cut off! Guhou's Mansion is Guhou's Mansion, the eldest princess, you are the eldest princess, it has nothing to do with it, and it will not affect His Majesty's love for you!"
irrelevant.
How could it be irrelevant
Yu Fu smiled faintly, "Please Eunuch Chi go back to thank His Majesty on my behalf, and Yu Fu will personally thank His Majesty at the New Year's Eve family banquet."
Eunuch Chi reminded: "His Royal Highness, forgive me for talking too much. Our Majesty has been on the throne for two months, but we have not registered as the Empress of the Central Palace. The courtiers are talking about it, and your Majesty has turned a deaf ear to it. You should know best what your Majesty is waiting for..."
He raised his eyes to look at the beautiful girl. In the heavy snow, her skin was clearer than snow.
Such a beauty, I can't blame His Majesty for always remembering her, even leaving her the position of empress.
Yu Fu was startled, the eldest prince's words that Yin Shuo wanted to marry her were still lingering in his mind, and now Eunuch Chi hinted at her words again.
She is not stupid, she can understand Eunuch Chi's meaning, but she doesn't think about it at all.
"Grandpa Chi, it's snowing heavily outside, I'm really tired and I'll go back and rest first, please go ahead."
Eunuch Chi still wanted to say something more, but Yu Fu had already lifted the hem of his skirt and walked quickly towards the mansion, he could only sigh softly, and the palace people next to him vaguely heard him talking about the beauty of the country.
At this moment, the west chamber was thought to be full of things rewarded by His Majesty, Yu Fu resisted a little, and walked to the upper room.
Gu Huaijiang, Gu Shubai, and Gu Wenqing were sitting facing each other drinking tea, Yu Fu went in and took off his cloak, "It's rare that the general didn't go out today, even the eldest brother is so free."
Gu Shubai smiled and said: "Father relieved His Majesty of some of the military affairs, and now he is relaxed. This year, our family can finally spend a good time together."
Gu Wenqing also laughed, "Yes, if it was like in previous years, my father would not even be able to rest during the Chinese New Year. It's good to be relieved of some military affairs now. Last year, half of our mansion was in Changzhou Mansion. This year we can finally have a reunion year."
They spoke easily, but Yu Fu could hear the bitterness in the words.
Gu Huaijiang has fought on the battlefield for decades, and he has never chosen to step down from his position because he was tired. There is only one possibility for him to do so—
That is, to deal with the suspicion of those in power.
This was the case when the first emperor was in power, and it was also the same when Ning Chengzhi was in power. The difference is that the first emperor did not allow Gu Huaijiang to resign even though he was suspicious, but Ning Chengzhi agreed very happily.
Thinking back to what Eunuch Chi said, Yu Fu felt more and more unhappy, forced a smile and said: "Yeah, that's good, this year we can finally reunite as a family."
Gu Huaijiang said: "I heard from my servant, have you gone to the First Prince's Mansion?"
The plaque of the Great Prince's Mansion was removed two months ago. The so-called Great Prince's Mansion is now just a mansion of a traitor, and the family members in the mansion can be bullied by everyone.
The position of the First Prince has also been abolished, and no one in the court dares to mention these three words, only private discussions will occasionally appear.
Yu Fu nodded, "It's better to send him off as my identity than to let my elder brothers go. One is for the past friendship, and the other is for Yin Shuo's affairs."
She raised her head to look at the crowd, and said in a difficult tone, "Yin Shuo knew about the first prince poisoning the late emperor in order to threaten the first prince to attack the late emperor. Yin Shuo was the instigator, and our guess is correct."
Gu Shubai said: "When a person is about to die, his words are good. The eldest prince has no reason to deceive us. Yin Shuo is really a man with sinister intentions. Now that he is favored by His Majesty, we are afraid that our Guhou Mansion..."
Gu Huaijiang sighed and said: "Yin Shuo has already shown signs of targeting Guhou's mansion. He has now emptied the power of the cabinet, which is larger than the scope of power controlled by the prime minister in the late emperor's time. As a civil servant, he intervenes in military affairs to carry out military reforms. Refers to the Guhou Mansion, in the final analysis, it is the authority given to him by His Majesty. This is the reason why I took the initiative to resign part of my duties. We can not give an inch to Yin Shuo, but not to Your Majesty."
As the saying goes, the king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die. He is not so foolish and loyal, but he will definitely cooperate fully if he wants to weaken his power for the sake of the king.
Power was never what he wanted, and it was worth it to exchange it for His Majesty's peace of mind.
Gu Wenqing said: "Father, blindly giving in is not the answer. Do we know that Yin Shuo was the one who murdered the late emperor, but we want to let him get away with it and still call the wind and rain in the court?"
Gu Shubai glanced at him and signaled him not to talk about this topic again.
If there was a way to reveal Yin Shuo's true face, they would have done it long ago, but they tried to collect evidence of Yin Shuo's participation in the past two full months, but there was no clue.
He moved too fast, targeting them to deploy everything during the battle with Xikun at the border, and then wiped out all the evidence against him before they rushed back to the imperial capital.
All the crimes were on the Eldest Prince, Yin Shuo washed himself clean.
He changed the topic, "Yu Fu, what was the noise outside just now, is it another reward from the palace?"
"Um."
Yu Fu nodded lightly, looking absent-minded.
Yao Lan stood waiting by the door, and suddenly raised her head, "Miss, why didn't you finish your sentence? The eldest prince said something important before leaving, why didn't you tell Lord Hou and them?"
Before Yu Fu could stop him, Gu Shubai said, "What's the matter?"
Yao Lan ignored Yu Fu's wink, "Miss, don't try to stop me, this matter is too important, I must tell everyone! The eldest prince said that Prime Minister Yin's condition for cooperating with him is to marry Miss!"