Zhuo Ruhe was the prime minister who stayed behind, and King Donghai was the envoy sent by the emperor. The two should meet, but King Donghai did not make a request, nor did Zhuo Ruhe send an invitation. Both were willing to pretend to be confused.
The King of the East Sea can no longer pretend, and he has not much time left, so he must convince the Queen Mother Cining as soon as possible.
Zhuo Ruhe was surprised when he received the post of worship, and showed obvious hesitation in front of his servants. In the end, he agreed with the King of the East Sea. About the next morning, Zhuo Ruhe returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion after finishing the discussion in Qinzheng Hall. Before.
This is not a formal meeting, Zhuo Ruhe did not intend to invite the King of the East Sea to enter the Palace of Qinzheng.
This is not a private meeting. There are ministers, guards and others outside the Qinzheng Hall, and they can all be seen talking.
The emperor was away, and the government discussion was over soon. When Zhuo Ruhe and other ministers came out, the East Sea King was standing outside the door waiting with a smile on his face, nodding to several ministers.
The ministers returned their salute and did not leave immediately. They stood outside the door and chatted in a low voice. Only Zhuo Ruhe came over and cupped his hands: "Is there any news from the Queen Mother?"
The King of the East Sea shook his head, "It seems that I will return empty-handed this time, and I can't explain to His Majesty when I go back."
"As long as it is the Queen Mother's decision, Your Majesty must understand. Do you need any help from me?"
The King of Donghai looked at Zhuo Ruhe with a smile, "I want the Prime Minister to do me a big favor."
"It's easy to talk about other things, but it's not enough to persuade the queen mother. As a foreign minister, it's not easy to participate in the affairs of the palace, and..." Zhuo Ruhe sighed, "I'm just a corpse meal right now. ."
"Master Prime Minister, don't say that. Your Majesty is relying on you now. Every time I see the Prime Minister's resignation memorial, I will sigh and sigh. It will be dull for a few days, and even the lives of us are not easy."
Zhuo Ruhe shook his head, expressing disbelief, "Say, what's the matter, I'm busy today."
The King of the East Sea turned sideways, motioned Zhuo Ruhe to take a few steps to the side, and after a little distance from the minister, he said, "If I don't walk at the corners, I won't look for the prime minister."
"I said, about the queen mother..."
"It's not easy for the prime minister to be a foreign minister, but what about the princess?"
Zhuo Ruhe was taken aback, "Which princess?"
"Of course it's the princess of the prime minister's family, and also my aunt." The King of the East Sea smiled.
Zhuo Ruhe's face turned cold, "Princess has nothing to do with this matter." After that, he turned around and left.
"The Prime Minister should go home and ask." The King of the East Sea raised his voice slightly.
Zhuo Ruhe strode away and never looked back.
The ministers quickly dispersed, the East Sea King stood in the same place, looked up at the Qinzheng Hall, turned his head and glanced at the halberd-wielding guard not far away, sighed in his heart, and walked outside. Hall, didn't even look at it.
King Donghai didn't want to wait for a reply, so after leaving Qinzheng Palace, he went to Zongzheng's mansion to meet Han He.
Han He was an old official of the clan, and he was ordered to replace Han Chou in charge of Zongzheng's mansion.
"What is your majesty thinking?" Han He was much more polite than Zhuo Ruhe, and invited the King of the East Sea into the main hall of Zongzheng's mansion. After serving tea, he screened his servants and subordinate officials.
"No one can guess what Your Majesty is thinking. Your Majesty is more cautious now."
Han He sighed heavily, "It's no wonder that the ministers have gone too far, and they have sent special people to try to figure out His Majesty's thoughts. I really don't know what they thought. Nan Zhijin and Zhao Ruosu, the two little officials, what skills did they have? The court has turned the world upside down? It's incredible that Your Majesty will let them go."
"That's what I said. No one can guess what Your Majesty's thoughts are now."
Han He laughed twice, "Yeah, are you coming to see me for something?"
"The queen mother refused to go to Luoyang."
"If you want me to say, this is really not in line with the rules. The first month is the busiest time in the palace, and everyone is gone. Who will worship the sky and ancestors? Who will judge the Lantern Festival? Who will come to the court to meet the descendants of the clan? A lot of things can't be solved. , I am completely at a loss now, and I really regret taking over Zongzheng's mansion."
Han Heel was more cunning than Zhuo Ruhe, and he refused before Donghai King could speak.
The King of the East Sea smiled and said: "The boat will naturally go straight to the bridge, the boss needn't worry, the queen mother refuses to accept her majesty's invitation, this is a big trouble."
"Yeah, big trouble, East Sea King, you have to be careful, if you take a wrong step, you will suffer."
The King of Donghai laughed several times, "I am not afraid of suffering, but I am afraid that the Queen Mother and His Majesty's mother and son will not be in harmony, and even affect the stability of the court."
"Then you have to find a way." Han He said sternly, showing great concern, but his hint was also obvious that he would never interfere in this matter.
"The old man's grandson is engaged to a niece of Prime Minister Zhuo?"
Han He waved his hand, motioning for the King of the East Sea to come closer, and said softly: "After all, everyone is relatives, the prime minister's wife is your aunt, she even called me uncle, you want to seek help from here, you can't be more wrong. ."
The King of the East Sea laughed dryly, "They are all relatives, but there are not many who are willing to kiss and kiss. The boss said I was wrong, but what else can I do except for one mistake? I can't go back to see your majesty empty-handed? Please boss Forgive me, my identity is different from yours. It is not an exaggeration to say that I am walking on thin ice and I am in danger. If you take a wrong step, it is a big deal to apologize. , even if you encounter the south wall, you will have to break your head and say it again."
Han He looked at the East Sea King coldly, and suddenly smiled, it was a smile from the inside out, not a perfunctory, "You go back to the house first, wait for my news, maybe I can really help you, they are all descendants of the clan, do The elders should take care of the younger ones."
"The younger generation must also respect the elders." The King of the East Sea said with a smile.
Back at home, the King of Donghai scolded Zhuo Ruhe and Han Ji in front of Mrs Tan, "These two old men are confused, do you think you can defeat Your Majesty by keeping the Queen Mother? I know His Majesty's methods best, don't Looking at the forbearance now, when he really makes a move, the minister will definitely be defeated."
Mrs Tan sat there listening, and finally said, "Does your Majesty really want to replace the entire court?"
"The whole thing is not enough, but if the ministers are still unwilling to admit defeat, His Majesty will really remove half of it with a ruthless hand."
"Um."
"Don't think about it, the army is under His Majesty's control."
"Bah, what am I thinking, to scare you like this? I mean, a lot of new people are about to arise, I don't know who will be the big winner in the end?"
"Don't think about it, His Majesty is most taboo about this kind of thing now, no one knows who His Majesty admires the most. There is a Kang Zijiao who has been favored recently, but I think this is a blind trick used by His Majesty, the person His Majesty really wants to reuse, It is very likely that he has been sent somewhere to be an inconspicuous little official, and maybe one day he will be able to ascend to the sky in one step."
"Where's Chai Yue? He is now in command of the southern and northern armies, and he is in the limelight."
"Needless to say, he is one of His Majesty's most trusted people. Why are you asking this?"
"Of course it's to pave the way for the future, don't we just live humbly like this?"
Donghai Wang was startled, "I didn't tell you just now, don't think about it..."
"Oh, you're just thinking nonsense. We're not talking about the same thing at all. Chai Yue has a younger brother with the same mother. Wouldn't it be great if the Tan family could marry the Chai family?"
The King of Donghai breathed a sigh of relief and shook his head, "It's too late. How long has Chai Yue been in power? Someone has long been thinking about his younger brother. As far as I know, the Cui family and the Deng family are fighting each other, and others have no chance."
Tan thought for a while, "Then you have to work hard."
"Effort for what?"
"Among the group of new officials appointed by Your Majesty recently, there must be a future prime minister. If you can guess and let the Tan family marry him in advance, it will pave a bright road for the future."
King Donghai smiled and shook his head, "You still don't understand. First, I can't guess. Second, whether it's the Tan family or a certain family, marrying this person will immediately ruin the person's future."
Mr. Tan thought for a while, "The emperor is very difficult to deal with."
"Shh." King Donghai walked to the door and glanced at it, "Of course it's difficult to deal with, I've been able to persevere until now, it's already a skill."
"So, if the Tan family wants to revive, they can only introduce a capable person from their own family."
"Why, aren't you optimistic about me?" Donghai King asked with a smile.
"Unless the sun comes out from the west, how can the emperor reuse you?"
Donghai Wang also knew it was impossible, but he couldn't help but think for a while, "Forget it, I'll go to bed first, if someone comes and wakes me up immediately, I don't believe Zhuo Ruhe and Han Hel can survive tonight. ."
The King of the East Sea was right, someone came to visit before dark, not Zhuo Ruhe, nor Han He, but Nan Zhijin.
Nan Zhijin was still serving as the censor, but his former position was completely lost. Although the emperor could not trust him, the ministers also had a lot of doubts about him, and only thought of him when he was about to speak to the emperor.
After not seeing him for a few months, Nan Zhijin became even thinner. He seemed to have only a pair of skins wrapped around his skeleton, but he did not forget the etiquette and did not sit down. , Empress Dowager Cishun may not go."
The King of the East Sea was relieved in his heart, but his face did not reveal it. He smiled and said, "Lord Lao Nan told me."
"What will the King of the East Sea say to His Majesty when he returns to Luoyang?"
"Everything is going well. Your Majesty misses the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother also misses Her Majesty. The relationship between mother and son is there, and any attempt to provoke us will not succeed. I will never be the one who talks nonsense."
Nan Zhijin was expressionless and nodded, "Now is not the time to talk nonsense. The Great Chu needs stability, and the court also needs stability."
"Isn't that the truth? If everyone thinks like Nanda, the world will be at peace."
Nan Zhijin's eyes were stern, "Isn't the King of the East China Sea heard of?"
"What did you hear?" Donghai King was a little confused.
"The news just came today that General Deng was defeated in the West, and the Huns also participated in the war, but they were not helping Da Chu, but the god and ghost Da Chanyu. Your Majesty's worries are correct, Da Chu is indeed facing strong forces. The enemy, and this strong enemy has already conquered the Huns."
The East Sea King was stunned, "This, so fast?"
"Your Majesty hopes to use five to ten years to restore national strength, I'm afraid there is no chance."