In fact, Zi'an and Zhuangzhuang both knew that no matter which palace they went to, Concubine Yi's schemes and conspiracies would be waiting for them.
There was another reason why Concubine Yi did not allow them to stay in Changsheng Palace. It was because Changsheng Palace was close to Xiwei Palace. If something happened, it would easily alarm the emperor. To put it bluntly, it would be easier to ask for help.
Today, Huiqing Palace is some distance away from Xiwei Palace. In front of it is Xiaoning Palace where Concubine Gui and Prince Nanhuai live. On the left is the abandoned Changsheng Palace. Further to the left is Yilan Palace where Concubine Yi lives, and on the right is Caiyi Palace where Concubine Cui lives. Concubine Cui and Concubine Yi have a good relationship, which is equivalent to controlling Zi'an in the middle.
This is truly a house that is attacked from all sides.
Murong Jie had said before that Prince Liang and Prince An would be in charge of the government after he left, but now Prince An has also left with his troops, leaving Prince Liang as the only one in charge.
However, on the third day after the army set out, the emperor suddenly issued an imperial decree, appointing King Ye as a first-rank general, bypassing the Minister of War to take charge of military power and assist King Liang in managing court affairs.
This is equivalent to the position of regent. Although Prince Liang has not been named crown prince, he already has the treatment of a crown prince.
Many officials in the court shook their heads when the Night King was named Grand Marshal. How could such a fool be qualified to be the Grand Marshal
Moreover, the position of Grand Marshal had ceased to exist during the reign of Emperor Hui, because the Grand Marshal had too much power, surpassing the Prime Minister. The court had not established a Prime Minister since the death of Xia Huaijun. Now, King Ye has even done the work of the Prime Minister. All civil and military officials in the court think that the Emperor is sick and confused, and that he has let the power fall into the hands of someone like King Ye. Isn't this a joke on the country
The poor Regent is now fighting for his country outside, while the Night King is defeating the Great Zhou.
The first ridiculous thing the Night King did was to ask the Emperor to issue an order to move the deposed Queen Liang Pin out of the cold palace, saying that this was to make her repent.
The second thing was to send the Seventh Prince to the training ground and let the top martial arts scholar teach him riding and archery. In order to let him concentrate on learning riding and archery, he was only allowed to return to the palace once a month.
The third thing is that there is no big boss in the harem now. He suggested that the eldest princess Murong Zhuangzhuang should temporarily take over the position of queen and rule the six palaces.
The fourth thing was to have the emperor issue an edict to formally appoint Xia Zian as the chief steward of the inner court, in charge of all expenses in the palace.
The fifth thing is that Sun Fang'er is not the Princess of Nan Huai yet, and she was expelled from the Sun family. She should not stay in the palace to avoid criticism, so she is asked to leave the palace immediately. However, because the Prince of Nan Huai wants to marry her, the palace can pay money to give her a house to live in.
These five trivial matters, taken separately, are not a big deal, and the emperor will naturally approve them.
But, if you think about it carefully, what the Night King did was really ruthless.
The first thing was that the deposed queen was moved out of the cold palace, which meant that Prince Liang’s biological mother was no longer a sinner, because her title had not been abolished and she was still Concubine Liang.
The second thing was to throw the Seventh Prince onto the parade ground. The top martial arts champion was his man, so he restrained Concubine Yi.
The third thing is that the harem was ruled by Murong Zhuangzhuang, which meant that Concubine Yi's power to assist in managing the six palaces was directly taken away.
The fourth thing is that Zi'an is in charge of the palace's accounts with justification. If Concubine Yi and Concubine Gui want to have an extra midnight snack, they have to look at Zi'an's face. So, Zi'an can put on a stern face and deal with a lot of people who come to ask for things with justification in the future.
The fifth thing separated Sun Fang'er and the noble concubine Nan Huai Wang. The court paid for Sun Fang'er to find a place to live, so Sun Fang'er was naturally under the supervision of the court.
After the emperor promised these five things, Concubine Dowager Gui and Concubine Yi were so angry that they were snotting.
Zhuangzhuang was happy to accept this task in such a critical moment. It was not difficult to rule the six palaces because she was the princess who guarded the country and the emperor's aunt. She did not need to please the emperor, so she was naturally ruthless in her actions.
Just after taking office as the president of the harem, Zhuangzhuang also issued three edicts.
The first step was to move the Noble Concubine to Ci'an Palace, the palace where the Empress Dowager originally lived. The Noble Concubine had always wanted to live in Ci'an Palace. This time, Zhuangzhuang allowed her to move in, but there was a reason. She was going there to observe mourning. Originally, after 49 days, the spirit tablet could be removed from the ancestral tablet, but Zhuangzhuang said that in order to express grief, the spirit tablet had to be kept for three years.
This means that the noble concubine must observe mourning for her original sister in the name of a concubine and is not allowed to leave Ci'an Palace at will for three years.
The second one raised Concubine Yi's rank and conferred her the title of Imperial Concubine. This was a good thing for Concubine Yi as she was finally above all the concubines. Now that there was no queen in the harem, her rank was the highest.
But, as the old saying goes, the higher the position, the greater the responsibility.
Princess Zhenguo said that she was not in good health and could not take care of so many tedious affairs in the harem, so she entrusted some of the work to Concubine Yi. For example, she wanted her to cut the annual salary in the palace and explain it to the concubines one by one, plan various large and small activities and even parties, and preside over the incense burning and worship ceremony on the first and fifteenth day of every month. Because the Murong family has an ancestral rule, Guanyin Sutra must be burned on the first and fifteenth day of the month. The copying of Guanyin Sutra cannot be delegated to others and must be done independently by the concubine herself.
As a result, Concubine Yi was so busy that even breathing seemed a luxury.
The third step is to bring Chen Liuliu into the palace to accompany him.
This is harmless, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that Zhuangzhuang has firmly blocked the Chen family from everyone. With Chen Liuliu entering the palace, how can Old Lady Chen be idle? This old thing must have followed into the palace. After all, all twelve generals of the Chen family went to war, and this old lady came to live in the palace under the pretext of taking care of her granddaughter who was about to get pregnant.
This is the order from Murong Zhuangzhuang, who dares to disobey it
After all, the old lady is a lady of noble birth and has a title. As long as the person in power is willing, no one can question her staying in the palace for a while.
Before this battle even started, a secret contest had already begun.
Murong Zhuangzhuang and King Ye caught Concubine Yi and Concubine Dowager Gui off guard.
Then, the newly appointed chief eunuch of the inner court, Xia Zian, issued three orders in succession.
First, all the palace maids and eunuchs were under her charge. In other words, this chief eunuch had taken the job of the chief eunuch.
What does this mean? Needless to say, Boss Xia holds the lifeline of the palace workers. If she is unhappy, she can dispatch the palace maids at will. If you want to please the job, you have to please her.
Secondly, the meals for the palaces would no longer be supplied by the imperial kitchen. Each palace would have to prepare its own meals in its own small kitchen. The daily job of the imperial kitchen was only to serve the emperor's meals and then distribute the ingredients to the palaces. These ingredients were personally checked by Xia Zian, the chief steward of the inner court, every day. This meant that it would not be easy for someone to poison the ingredients.
The third one was not an order she could give. She found Zhuangzhuang and Zhuangzhuang distributed it.
She began a strict reform of the Imperial Medical Service. All imperial doctors began to practice acupuncture and moxibustion, and she taught them. In other words, she became the master of all imperial doctors.
The ultimate purpose of this order puzzled many people. She was just too ambitious!
But if you think deeply, you will know everything.
Then it would be easy for her to tamper with anyone's illness.
The people in the palace ate all kinds of grains, so who wouldn't have some illness or something? After summoning the imperial physician, Xia Zian knew who had hemorrhoids and who had constipation.
Does this make any sense? Yes, but why not
(End of this chapter)