Since being taken away by Yang Feng that cold night, Han Ruzi and his mother have drifted farther and farther.
He often recalled the scene when he was a child. The mother and son depended on each other for life. Although Wang Meiren did not read much, she did her best to educate her son, teach him how to read, and teach him how to be a man.
Han Ruzi's biggest dream at that time was to stay by his mother's side forever.
He will always be grateful to his mother, but his dream has changed dramatically. Part of the reason he insists on going out to Beijing for hunting is to avoid his mother.
He still doesn't know how to deal with his mother, but fortunately, her mother has not done anything particularly excessive so far, which saves a big problem.
Now the problem is finally here.
Empress Dowager Cining not only wrote a letter, but also sent a person.
Meng E was ordered to travel thousands of miles to see the emperor and brought letters and oral letters from the Empress Dowager Cining and the Empress.
The content of the queen's letter is relatively simple. It is mainly to accuse Cui's family of owning slaves. The news of Cui Hong's collusion with Nan Zhijin has not been made public yet. She did not mention it and may not know it.
Empress Dowager Cining's letter was relatively long and her words were humble. It was not like the empress dowager facing the emperor, nor the mother speaking to her son. Instead, she blamed herself in the tone of a courtier, claiming that she was incompetent and deceived by foreign relatives. Wang Pingyang was chosen. Such a person serves the emperor and hopes that the emperor will escort Wang Pingyang back to the capital, and she will question it in person.
The second half of the letter was persuasion, hoping that the ruler and his ministers would be in harmony and not fight.
Han Ruzi put down the letter and sighed deeply. He was the emperor, but he couldn't let his mother and wife stand out in front of others, and he couldn't even make them carefree. Every plan he made would hit his foreign relatives incidentally, and the heads of the Cui and Wang families would bear the brunt.
The empress dowager's letter will be kept in the official historian's office, and the emperor's name of unfilial piety will be recorded in the history books.
Han Ruzi did not immediately summon Meng E, who had sent the letter, and went back to bed to rest. When he was free the next afternoon, he took time to ask Zhang Youcai to call Meng E.
Meng E has always stayed by the Queen's side, dressed and behaved the same as ordinary palace maids, but her expression was as indifferent as before. It was like this when she stayed by the Emperor's side every day, and it was the same even when they were separated for a long time.
This is not a private meeting. Zhang Youcai waited for several eunuchs to be present. Meng E saluted and began to relay the message from the Empress Dowager Cining and the emperor, "The Empress Dowager said, 'What's wrong with Your Majesty? If you think I've done something wrong, just say it directly. Why bother Wang Pingyang? He was originally a businessman, greedy for petty profits, did not understand the rules of the court, and was mistaken by a traitor. He should not have committed any serious crime, right? I arranged for Wang Pingyang to serve His Majesty. From now on, I will not dare to recommend one person or one thing to Your Majesty. The Wang family are all mediocre people, and they are not in His Majesty's eyes. I will send them all back to their hometown in the countryside, and I will not allow them to step into the capital again. I hope Your Majesty will be satisfied.'"
The letter was to be recorded by the historian, and the tone was rather euphemistic, while the oral letter was relatively straightforward. Meng E's tone was rigid, but the Empress Dowager Cining's anger was still evident.
Zhang Youcai and others all lowered their heads, pretending that they couldn't hear a word, Han Ruzi hummed and motioned Meng E to continue.
"The queen said, 'Your Majesty is running around, if you have time, please remember the prince and princess.'"
Han Ruzi also lowered her head. Cui Xiaojun was always on his side as before, and she couldn't say any harsh words. She did so without knowing how much pressure and accusations she would endure from all sides.
He quickly raised his head, separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, and he didn't have to face his mother and the queen directly, his heart was more likely to harden, "I understand, I will write a reply, you and Zhang Youcai will bring them back to the capital together."
Meng E should be, and Zhang Youcai let out an "ah" in surprise.
Han Ruzi turned to Zhang Youcai, "You are my confidant, and only you can explain the situation to the Queen Mother and Queen."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Youcai secretly glanced at Meng E, the expression on her face did not change at all.
Meng E retired, and Han Ruzi wrote a letter, just as Kang Zijiao suggested, in the letter, he used the Dao to filial piety, and spent a lot of time talking about the harm of private slaves to Da Chu, "For example, people who are terminally ill, only violent Medicine can be cured, but if it is delayed any longer, even if a strong man breaks his wrist or cuts his heart, it will be difficult to cure.”
This letter was written to the Empress Dowager Cining and the Empress at the same time. She would be kept by the historian. Han Ruzi called Kang Zijiao and other three advisers and ordered them to polish it and rewrite it.
Han Ruzi asked Zhang Youcai to bring a few messages, "Tell the Queen Mother, 'It is difficult for the country to take care of the family, and it is difficult for the family to take care of the country. The son is not filial and cannot have both. Please rest in peace with the Queen Mother. After the son returns to Beijing, he will apologize in person.' Tell the Queen... Tell the Queen..."
Han Ruzi was silent for a long time, "What the Queen asks you, just answer truthfully."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Youcai said.
The letters that Kang Zijiao and others have corrected have been sent back, with a lot of content added, some of which are obviously written by Kang Zijiao, "Righteous people first straighten themselves, although the crime of foreign relatives is small, but it is the world's attention, all officials flatter, self-confidence. I think it can be imitated, so its evil is very great." There are many words of this kind.
Han Ruzi revised it again, and then handed it over to the consultant to transcribe it clearly. It became an official letter, stamped with a seal, and handed it to Zhang Youcai. He and Meng E would set off early the next morning and rush back to the capital.
The court's three moves have been used, and Han Ruzi also returned them one by one. The two sides were deadlocked, and the outcome was unpredictable. Han Ruzi decided to plan the next step after arriving in Luoyang.
That evening, Han Ruzi was absent-minded during the meal, and returned to the study tent after the meal. He read the resignation memorials of the ministers repeatedly, and looked for differences from the stereotypes. He believed that the ministers could not really be united, and there must be differences. I just didn't dare to show it publicly.
Nearly midnight, Han Ruzi put down the memorial, hesitated for a while, and decided to go back to bed to rest. Concubine Shu was already used to the emperor's late return, and she slept soundly and would not be disturbed.
Today was an exception. Concubine Shu didn't go to bed early. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, chatting hand in hand with Meng E. When they saw the emperor come in, they both stood up.
Han Ruzi was surprised.
Concubine Shu smiled and said, "Your Majesty is really cruel. Sister Meng E has come from a long way, so it's fine if she doesn't pick up the wind to wash away the dust. She even asked her to leave early in the morning. Are you afraid she won't be tired?"
Concubine Shu called Meng E "sister", obviously not thinking she was an ordinary palace maid.
"This is an official business..." Han Ruzi wanted to say that Meng E's martial arts practice could bear the rush, and after thinking about it, he swallowed, "Why didn't you rest earlier?"
"When Your Majesty comes back, I have something to say." Concubine Shu walked outside with a smile, "You guys talk first, I'll go outside to see if there is any tea or something."
"The queen mother and the queen have something to say?" Han Ruzi asked.
Meng E nodded, "The queen has nothing to say. The queen mother wants to ask her majesty how long will she fight with the minister?"
"Until the minister gives in."
"Okay, I'll go back to the queen mother like this."
"Any more?"
"Gone."
Han Ruzi felt that there was really no need to ask this sentence in private, "Okay. Please understand, my words and deeds will be watched now, and I must not show the slightest hesitation. If the ministers feel that the queen mother or the queen is my weakness, they will Going even further."
"I understand, and I think the queen mother actually understands that she just feels ashamed. Compared with another queen mother, her power is too small, almost dispensable."
"Don't spread this sentence to the palace: the empress dowager should not have been in politics in the first place. The empress dowager Shangguan is an anomaly of the Great Chu and must never happen again."
"Um."
The two were silent for a while, and the atmosphere was a little awkward. Han Ruzi said, "I'm still practicing."
"Your Majesty is too busy, and your internal strength will not improve, but it is always good to practice more."
"Yes, at least I can stay up late and endure the pain of running around."
"Practice is not a panacea after all. His Majesty's ability to stay up late is mainly because of his youth. Wang Wang, His Majesty, pays attention to his body. Otherwise, it will be affected after middle age."
Han Ruzi showed a slight smile, and felt that Meng E had changed a lot, and it seemed that it was not the same as before.
Meng E didn't laugh. After waiting for a while, she saw that the emperor didn't speak. She said, "The Yuan Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials is willing to support His Majesty."
Han Ruzi was taken aback, "Yuan Jiuding?"
Yuan Jiuding was originally the Minister of Rites, and later became the Minister of Personnel. He was best at speculation. He had courted the Empress Dowager Shangguan and Empress Dowager Cining successively, and now he is flattering the emperor.
"He... found the Queen Mother?"
"No, he asked someone to find me directly."
Han Ruzi's eyebrows raised, vigilant in his heart.
Meng E continued: "The Empress Dowager and the Queen ordered me to send a letter to His Majesty. After Yuan Jiuding learned about it, Mrs. Tuoping Enhou came to me and said that he was willing to serve His Majesty. What to do, just one command."
"There is nothing without this Mrs. Ping'en Hou."
"Mrs. Ping'en Hou said that her family has very few farms and no private servants. If His Majesty needs, you can use her family to warn the ministers."
"Isn't she afraid that the Marquis Pingen family will become a public enemy of the imperial court?"
"She said about the Marquis Ping'en family, and she specifically emphasized that Marquis Ping'en's son, Miao Yuan, is willing to go through fire and water for His Majesty."
Han Ruzi thought for a while, "What do you think? Are Yuan Jiuding and Mrs. Ping'en Hou trustworthy?"
"It doesn't matter whether it is credible or not. The Marquis Pingen family has been out of power for a long time, and most of the fields are sold to pave the way for her son. Mrs. Marquis Ping'en said that she has no private slaves, which should be true. As for the willingness to go through fire and water for His Majesty, It is to seek wealth and honor in danger, no matter what happens in the future. Yuan Jiuding is a bit suspicious. I guess he is testing. If His Majesty responds urgently, or even reuses Yuan Jiuding, it means that His Majesty is alone and helpless and is about to be unable to hold on. already."
Han Ruzi was very surprised. After a while, he said, "Are you still learning the art of the emperor?"
"Your Majesty insisted on practicing, and I did not give up."
Han Ruzi smiled, and a feeling of nostalgia surged in his heart. If it wasn't for Meng E who often kept secrets, he really wanted to keep her.
The nostalgia soon disappeared. Han Ruzi had to make himself as cold and hard as a stone. This had nothing to do with Meng E, and even less with the queen mother and queen. Instead, she had to show her persistence through all possible channels.
"Tell Mrs. Ping'enhou to abide by women's morals and not to interfere in politics. Miao Yuan is in my team. If he wants to go through fire and water for us, he must first show his ability to go through fire and water."
"Hmm. Where's Yuan Jiuding?"
"Yuan Jiuding..." It's hard to answer this old fox, too eager to show timidity, too cold to retreat. Yuan Jiuding is the minister of personnel, and if he has the opportunity to take over as prime minister, he may really be able to win it.
Han Ruzi thought for a moment, "Tell him, 'I know'."