Even a fool could see that the emperor was killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.
It seems that the Emperor is now very wary of the Chen family, and he wants to slowly remove the Duke of England's wings.
But Chu Yunhuai, who knew the inside story because of Ye Jun, understood it more deeply.
The emperor's actions are not only aimed at the Chen family, but at all the aristocratic families.
It's long overdue.
In the first imperial examination after the emperor ascended the throne, the vast majority of those selected were young talents from prominent families, with only a few from humble backgrounds.
Even Chu Yunhuai was secretly taken care of by the Ye family.
No emperor wants a court monopolized by aristocratic families.
In fact, Ning Chen had one more thing to do during this southern tour. He had to find a way to gradually turn these grassroots officials from other places into his own people.
The aristocratic families have high standards and don't like to pay attention to these small officials, but a tall building is built from the ground up, and these grassroots officials are often the final executors.
Lanzhou dismissed six people at once. This decisive measure was taken in order to place his own people in power.
With Zhang Qun's deeds in mind, no one dared to say anything more. In the end, the position of the prefect of Lanzhou was decided, and they only had to wait for the imperial edict to be officially issued after returning to Beijing.
Ning Chen took advantage of the fact that he had not returned to Beijing and did not have to be bothered by too many things and quickly made the decision.
Everything is going well for him at the moment, but there are some minor setbacks in the palace.
Ye Jun specially ordered someone to cook chicken soup in the morning, but when he went to get it for lunch, it was gone.
The manager of the kitchen was also in a difficult situation because the person who was going to give the soup was Yunxiu, who was by Yi Xiurong's side.
This time it wasn't completely intentional. Yi Xiurong really suddenly wanted to drink it, but chicken soup had to be stewed for a long time, so she took away Ye Jun's bowl that had been stewed for half a day.
The kitchen sent a pot of stew that had only been simmered for more than half an hour to Yuxiu Pavilion. He did not dare to hide anything and told the whole story.
Huiyue immediately became angry, "You guys saw that Yi Xiurong was pregnant, and you're using her to humiliate our Concubine?"
"Oh dear sister, how dare we do that!" The eunuch delivering the meal said bitterly, "On weekdays, Concubine Ming treats us the best, and gives us the most in rewards. Naturally, we will serve her well even if it costs us our lives, but... Ke Yi wants to take the makeup away, and we dare not stop her, right?"
"I said it clearly, but Yunxiu still took it?!" Nan Zhi was angry.
The eunuch who delivered the food nodded, "That's right. She is using the heir to the throne to pressure us. How can we in the kitchen afford to offend her?"
Nan Zhi was about to say something when Ye Jun interrupted her.
"Forget it, put your things down and go back. They have an heir to the throne, shouldn't we be more considerate?"
"Yes, yes, your Majesty is always magnanimous. I will leave now." The young eunuch kowtowed hurriedly.
Huiyue suppressed her annoyance and gave him the reward money anyway, which made him overjoyed.
I thought it was good enough that I didn't get scolded or beaten, so I didn't dare to ask for a reward. I didn't expect that I actually got one.
For a moment, I was more inclined towards Ye Jun from the bottom of my heart.
"Don't be angry, Concubine. Yi Xiurong is just a villain who has succeeded. She will suffer in the future!" Huiyue comforted.
Ye Jun chuckled, looking unconcerned, but his eyes turned cold.
"Some people don't learn their lessons. I can't do anything about it. You see, she won't dare to eat fish or chicken anymore. How much fun will she lose?"
"But she's about to give birth, and Jieyu's method... is a bit dangerous." Nan Zhi said carefully.
It was impressive enough that you sent fish as a gift before, but now you are doing the same thing and sending chicken as a gift
"It's not possible now. Will she just stay pregnant forever?" Ye Jun snorted, pointing at the chicken soup on the table, "Bai Shu, send this soup to Yi Xiurong and tell her that it's best to drink it during the confinement period. When she gives birth, I will personally make chicken soup every day and send it to Yingyan Pavilion."
Bai Zhu naturally understood what this meant. He smiled and served the soup.
Yingyan Pavilion.
Yi Xiurong was drinking chicken soup at the moment and seemed satisfied.
"This soup seems to have been simmered for a long time. The heat and taste are both excellent. The kitchen staff is very attentive. I'll give them a reward of twenty taels of silver."
Yunxiu served her another bowl and said with a smile, "Now that the queen is pregnant and will soon give birth to a prince, how dare the kitchen not serve her attentively."
"You are such a talkative girl. You know it's a prince before the baby is born? And don't call me Your Majesty. Don't make people think I'm arrogant." Yi Xiurong said while holding her belly.
Although he blamed her, there was a smile on his face, which showed that he appreciated the words.
"Your Majesty is really cautious. If she becomes one of the Nine Concubines, can she be called the Majesty? She will be promoted to a higher position if she gives birth to a royal heir in the future!" Yunxi also started to laugh.
The two girls made Yi Xiurong in a very good mood.
Although it doesn't matter what kind of baby is born in the palace, a prince is naturally more promising than a princess.
Didn’t you see that Concubine Dowager De, who gave birth to two daughters, was not living as well as Concubine Dowager Taigui, who gave birth to one son
These are just the concubines. What if your son sits on that position in the future
During the time of the previous emperor, the empress dowager was not as powerful as the noble concubine and the De concubine. But now, because of her son, she has become the queen.
Thinking this in her mind, Yi Xiurong became more and more excited.
Her due date is in the next two days. The imperial physician said that the fetus is in the right position and healthy, so she thinks everything will go smoothly.
The master and servant were chatting and laughing inside when a little palace maid came in and said that Concubine Ming had sent something over.
For a moment, Yunxiu's expression changed.
"Ming Jieyu has always been competing with you, the Queen, and now she is sending you something, I'm afraid she has bad intentions."
"I am about to give birth, and now my position is higher than hers. What else can she do to make you so scared?"
Yi Xiurong glanced at Yunxiu, then stood up holding Yunxi's hand.
In the past, she was more favored, and now she is pregnant with the royal heir first. Thinking about the bullying by Ye Jun when she first entered the palace, Yi Xiurong also holds a grudge in her heart.
No one comes here for no reason. She wanted to see what Ye Jun was going to do.
Yunxiu couldn't stop him, so she had to follow him out.
She didn't dare to tell Yi Xiurong how she got this bowl of chicken soup today, for she was thinking that the person in charge of Yuxiu Pavilion would be concerned about the mistress's pregnancy and would not dare to do anything rash.
But I didn't expect that he would come to my door.
If something really happened, wouldn't it be her fault
Outside, Bai Zhu was very respectful and bowed with a mahogany food box in his hand.
"I am here to pay my respects to Xiurong. Our Concubine heard that Xiurong wanted to drink chicken soup today, so she specially sent another bowl."
Baizhu could have emphasized the word "again" a little so that people could hear it more easily.
Yi Xiurong frowned, somewhat confused, "When did Concubine Ming send me chicken soup before? Why did she send me another bowl?"
As soon as the question was asked, Yunxiu, who was standing next to him, looked even worse.
Bai Zhu's eyes flashed, he looked up and assessed the expressions of the people in front of him, then he smiled immediately.
"Oh, I guess Miss Yunxiu didn't tell Xiurong? The chicken soup that Xiurong drank today was specially cooked by our Concubine in the kitchen this morning. It took half a day to cook, so it must have tasted great."