After Chen Tingjian and Empress Dowager Qi reached an agreement, he quickly worked out a new schedule for Emperor Yuanyou. From then on, on days when there were no court meetings, Emperor Yuanyou could not only sleep for half an hour longer, but also had three quarters of an hour every day to do as he pleased, either reading or painting to cultivate his character, or strolling in the Imperial Garden to enjoy himself, or playing Cuju with the young eunuchs to stretch his muscles. In short, as long as it did not violate etiquette or heresy, Chen Tingjian and Empress Dowager Qi would not interfere or restrict him too much.
Of course, Emperor Yuanyou did not spend less time studying and governing. As an emperor, this is what he should learn and devote energy to.
Huayang had just lived in the palace in early June and had not been to the palace recently, but she heard about the changes in court meetings from Chen Jingzong.
She asked Chen Jingzong: "Do you think this is good?"
Chen Jingzong looked at her meaningfully and said, "This question is not easy to answer. I'm afraid you will punish me."
Huayang glared at him.
Everyone in the world might be afraid of her, the eldest princess, except Chen Jingzong, who never treated her as the eldest princess and respected her at all. Now he is pretending to be cautious.
Chen Jingzong sat on the couch and ate his meal leisurely.
Hua Yang wanted to hear what he meant, but seeing that he really wasn't going to speak, he could only say, "You can talk as you please. No matter what you say, I will just pretend you never said it."
Chen Jingzong glanced out the window and patted the seat next to him.
Huayang didn't know whether he was pretending or was really afraid of eavesdropping, but thinking that this matter could be a big deal or a small one, Huayang put down the book in his hand, walked around the coffee table and sat next to him.
Chen Jingzong raised the wine bowl and handed it to her.
Huayang frowned: "If you don't say anything, I'm leaving."
Chen Jingzong took a sip himself and then said, "The emperor must attend court every morning. This was stipulated by your great grandfather himself."
Huayang nodded, that was indeed the case.
Chen Jingzong: "The ancestors before you all followed this instruction and never stopped attending court without a reason. The ones after you... you know it yourself."
Huayang lowered his eyes.
After that, they all started to get lazy. The laziest was her grandfather the emperor, who hadn't attended court for decades. Her father, except for being diligent for a while when he first ascended the throne, also became a lazy bone later on. He was only slightly better than her grandfather the emperor, who would at least attend court twice a month.
Why do my mother and father-in-law insist on my younger brother attending the morning court at such a young age? Isn't it because they are afraid that my younger brother will learn from my grandfather and father the emperor
The issue is…
She just tried to excuse her brother in her heart, but Chen Jingzong said, "But your brother is still young, and he has never suffered since he was a child. If you push him too hard all of a sudden, I wouldn't be able to bear it either."
In previous dynasties, young emperors aged three, four, seven or eight were very common, and the age at which Emperor Yuanyou ascended the throne was not unusual.
But Emperor Yuanyou was probably the luckiest of these young emperors. He was crown prince soon after he was born, so he didn't have to compete with other princes for the position of heir. Prince Yu was sent to a fiefdom early, and with Empress Dowager Qi, a powerful mother in the harem, no one dared to murder the crown prince. The previous emperor was just lazy, but he was not stupid. He appointed wise ministers to manage the country in an orderly manner, so that Emperor Yuanyou didn't have to worry about foreign invasions.
Only Emperor Yuanyou, who was born in such a blessed environment, had the opportunity to complain about not getting enough sleep.
After he said all that, Huayang could only sigh.
When she was reborn, it was only the twelfth month of the third year of Yuanyou, and her younger brother was only sixteen years old. He still insisted on attending the morning court nine times a month, but Huayang didn't know how long her younger brother persisted or what kind of emperor he became.
She helped her brother pretend to be sick in order to reduce the number of court meetings because she knew that her brother would really get sick. Her father-in-law would compromise anyway, so why not use this as an opportunity to ease the relationship between the monarch and his subjects
Well, just take it one step at a time. As an elder sister, she can only try her best to guide her brother on the path to becoming a wise ruler. But whether he can become a wise ruler depends on him.
.
It's July and the weather is still hot.
Huayang first stayed in the palace for two nights, and after leaving the palace on the third day of the New Year, he went to Chen's Mansion.
At night, Chen Jingzong asked her, "How long do you plan to stay at home this time?"
Huayang: "Let's finish the Qixi Festival."
Chen Jingzong: "Qixi Festival is not a serious festival, why do we have to celebrate it here?"
Huayang sensed something was wrong: "Are you in such a hurry to go back? It's no wonder your mother always teases you like this."
Chen Jingzong half-pinned her down, looked at her and said, "It's been a long time since we went out for a walk. There is no curfew in the city on the night of the Chinese Valentine's Day. I want to take you for a walk on the street."
Living in the Princess's Mansion, the couple can hang out as long as they want. Living here, the old man's mother will know when they go out and when they come back.
It's rare for a rough man like him to still have such a romantic interest, but this year on Valentine's Day, his father-in-law will encounter an "unexpected disaster", and Huayang must stay in the Chen family to help resolve it.
"There are too many people in the city. I feel too crowded. Why don't we go to Hongfu Temple and stay overnight on the ninth day? You can have a day off the next day and have fun outside for a day."
Huayang suggested.
Chen Jingzong: "The ninth day is the ninth day, and the seventh day is the seventh day."
On the Qixi Festival, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet, and men and women who are interested in each other will also meet after dusk. Chen Jingzong wanted to go out for a "secret meeting" with her.
Huayang understood: "You want to be a gigolo?"
Chen Jingzong said nothing, just looked at her.
Huayang: "You don't think it's unlucky. The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl can only meet once a year. You might as well continue to be a rabbit in the Moon Palace."
At least the Jade Rabbit can always be with Chang'e.
Chen Jingzong: …
Huayang: "Besides, I have promised Wanyi and Wanqing that I will accompany them to pray for wisdom on the night of the Qixi Festival."
Can Chen Jingzong let the princess go back on her word
He had no choice but to give up going out on Valentine's Day night.
.
On the night of the sixth day of the seventh lunar month, after Sun and Chen Tingjian lay down, she said to her husband, "Tomorrow is the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Our two granddaughters are going to pray for wisdom. Can you come back early to accompany them?"
Chen Tingjian: "Women are begging for skills, you guys just do it."
If he had that much time, he might as well read a few more memorials and write a few more documents.
Sun sneered: "I don't know who it was back then, but he said he would spend every Chinese Valentine's Day with me from now on."
Chen Tingjian: …
It turns out that asking him to accompany his granddaughter was fake, and accompanying her was the real thing.
But the combined age of the two of them is over a hundred years old, so why are they still celebrating the Chinese Valentine's Day? It would be a waste of time and make the children laugh.
Sun lay with her back to him and continued to mutter, "He comes home so late every day, saying he's busy with official business. Who knows if he has a mistress outside?"
Sun: "Who knows? A man may be old but his heart is not. It is not uncommon for a man in his seventies or eighties to have a baby."
Chen Tingjian was silent for a moment, then silently hugged his wife.
Sun: …
The next morning, Chen Tingjian went to the cabinet early again. He also wanted to go home early, but there were so many things to do in the court that sometimes he forgot about it because he was so busy.
When he arrived at the cabinet, Chen Tingjian found that Lord Zeng had handed in another letter of resignation due to illness.
Chen Tingjian shook his head when he saw the words he had already memorized.
There are four cabinet ministers in the cabinet now. Besides him and Lu, who are still working diligently, the remaining two are Yin, who is 75 years old and really old. He can only go to the palace two or three times a month. The other is Zeng, who is 61 years old and was originally in good health. However, he became sick in the past two years because of his fear of him. He begged the emperor to let him go back to his hometown to retire every few days.
Chen Tingjian did not like Zeng Ge Lao, because Zeng Ge Lao and Gao Ge Lao, the former Prime Minister who had left Beijing, were in the same boat, and had opposed him in the court. But now Chen Tingjian had the final say in the cabinet, as long as Zeng Ge Lao supported his reforms, or did not support but did not make trouble, Chen Tingjian did not have to deal with Zeng Ge Lao.
Now Lord Zeng acts like he is worried about being persecuted by him every day. He is simply judging others by his own mean standards.
He handed the memorial to Emperor Yuanyou and Empress Dowager Qi.
Emperor Yuanyou didn't care. If Old Man Zeng wanted to leave, let him go. There was no point in keeping him around anyway.
Empress Dowager Qi knew that the matter was not that simple. If Lord Zeng left the capital without any fault, other ministers who opposed the reform would only criticize Chen Tingjian for being intolerant.
"Lord Zeng was a close minister to the previous emperor. Now that he is ill, please go visit him on behalf of the emperor and me, and tell him to rest and not worry too much."
Putting down the memorial, Empress Dowager Qi said to Chen Tingjian.
Chen Tingjian nodded: "That's exactly what I meant."
He had to visit, but after finishing his shift, Chen Tingjian stayed in the cabinet for another three quarters of an hour before leaving the palace with his attendant.
As soon as he left the imperial city, Chen Tingjian saw a steward of the family standing beside the carriage, looking eagerly.
Chen Tingjian: "But something happened at home?"
The steward said worriedly, "It was the eldest lady. She was playing in the garden just now and accidentally twisted her ankle. She was crying in pain. Only the eldest princess was with her at the time. She blamed herself very much for this."
Chen Tingjian was surprised and asked, "What did the doctor say?"
Steward: "I don't know. When the Madam called me over, the doctor hadn't arrived yet."
Chen Tingjian immediately got on the car and ordered the driver to go home as quickly as possible.
Whether it is the granddaughter's foot injury or the eldest princess's self-blame, they are more important than Lord Zeng's illness. Chen Tingjian even suspected that Lord Zeng's illness was fake, so it doesn't matter if he visits him tomorrow.
Chen family.
The masters of each room gathered in Wanyi's room in Guanhe Hall at this time, watching the doctor who had just been invited in gently lift Wanyi's ankle.
Wanyi didn't scream, but just bit her lips tightly, looking like she was trying hard to endure the pain, with two tears in her eyes that were about to fall.
Yu Xiu was heartbroken, but she knew that the princess was blaming herself, so she didn't dare show it at all.
Huayang sat beside Wanyi's bed, holding a handkerchief in his hand, and looked at the doctor with self-blame and concern.
The doctor was Mr. Wang from Deyuan Hall. That year, Huayang pretended to be sick so that her father would not be selected for the imperial selection and jumped into an ice hole. After leaving the palace, she really had a nightmare. Chen Jingzong was worried about her but did not want to alarm the whole family, so he pretended to sprain his foot and asked Mr. Wang to come and see her.
When Mr. Wang pinched Wanyi's slender ankle, he started to wonder in his heart, "Are all the Chen family members so delicate? They are so frightened when there is obviously nothing serious?"
Looking at Wanyi's tearful face and then at the princess who was worried and confused, Mr. Wang couldn't show it. He said some soothing words and prescribed a plaster for Wanyi to treat the bruise.
Chen Bozong personally saw the old man out.
Wanyi exchanged glances secretly with Fourth Aunt.
Fourth Aunt said that Fourth Uncle really wanted to go out for a walk tonight, but he thought the streets were too crowded and he had no interest in going out. She also didn't want to say anything directly to disappoint Fourth Uncle, so she asked her to pretend to be hurt to cover it up.
Since Fourth Aunt was so kind to her, Wanyi was of course willing to help. As for Fourth Uncle, he should just stay at home with Fourth Aunt and celebrate the festival.
In order to put on a show, Wanyi even applied chili water on her sleeves!
When her tears were not enough, she would rub her eyes gently.
When Chen Tingjian hurried over and saw his eldest granddaughter crying with red eyes, how could he have any doubts
He first cared about his eldest granddaughter, and then persuaded the eldest princess's daughter-in-law not to blame herself.
Huayang agreed verbally, but his eyes were still full of regret when he looked at Wanyi.
It was not until nightfall that Wanyi suddenly announced that her feet no longer hurt, and happily ran to Siyi Hall to invite her aunt to accompany them to the garden to pray for skills.
Of course Huayang gave face to his niece and took Chen Jingzong with him.
Not only the couple, but also Chen Bozong Yu Xiu, Chen Xiaozong Luo Yuyan, and even Chen Tingjian and Sun came, watching the children fiddling with needlework and laughing at the Milky Way in the sky.
Chen Tingjian seldom had the time to calm down and enjoy this kind of family happiness. At this moment, sitting on the rattan chair, his long beard fluttering in the wind could not hide his smile.
Seeing that her father-in-law was in a good mood, Huayang also felt good.
In his previous life, my father-in-law was extremely unlucky. On the evening of Chinese Valentine’s Day, he went to visit Lord Zeng at his residence. That night, Lord Zeng’s condition worsened and he passed away.
The imperial doctors went to examine Zeng and confirmed that Lord Zeng's fate had indeed come to an end and he died of illness.
But after his father-in-law died, the new prime minister wrote a letter to accuse his father-in-law of seven major crimes, and the fourth of the seven crimes was accusing his father-in-law of excluding dissidents!
My father-in-law had served as Prime Minister for many years. He had demoted and punished corrupt and incompetent officials. In order to implement reforms, he had also demoted and punished some officials who refused to cooperate. However, these local officials were numerous but not influential enough, so Lord Zeng was elected and became the biggest victim who was "deliberately angered to death" by my father-in-law in order to eliminate dissidents!
Huayang could not interfere with her father-in-law's appointment of officials, nor did she know which officials her father-in-law had demoted. The only thing she could do about this crime was to stop her father-in-law from visiting Lord Zeng.
The plan was successful and Huayang looked very satisfied.
Suddenly, someone coughed softly in her ear.
Huayang tilted his head and met Chen Jingzong's dark face. His eyes clearly said, "You don't want to spend the holiday with me, but you stare at the old man and smile. What does that mean?"
Huayang: …
In fact, she could have completely ignored Chen Jingzong's jealousy, but who made her in a good mood
That night, although the moon was only half full, Huayang still let Chen Jingzong carry her to the window to accompany him in his literary pursuits.
(End of this chapter)