In the back hall of Jinxiang Palace, Fu Jinzhan smiled at her second sister and said, "Don't worry, I will summon the envoys of Li Yu and his wife from the Southern Tang Kingdom this afternoon. Guo Shao and several ministers will also come. When he comes to the imperial city, he will just pick you up on the way."
Who is anxious? Fu Ermei's cheeks turned slightly red. They had not been separated for long, and this time her husband went off to fight really quickly.
Jinzhan smiled and said: Sister, are you used to living in the palace? I am sorry for treating you unfairly.
Fu Ermei's two clear eyes were filled with excitement. She turned around and looked back at the spacious, comfortable and magnificent palace, nodded and said: "It has been a month and I haven't been around the entire Imperial City. It is really too big. Perhaps it is as big as the entire Daming City. I usually cannot wander around in Daming City; but in the Imperial City I can walk around freely. Every place is different. It is a great place for my sister to live here."
Everyone who has just entered the palace thinks that the palace is a good place. Jinzhan sighed softly, but what if you are asked to live here for ten or eight years? Ten or eight years is fine, some old women in the cold palace in the north have lived here for most of their lives.
Fu Ermei felt that her tone was a little sad, so she quickly said, "I will come to the palace to accompany my elder sister when I have nothing to do. We will be just like at home. Then my elder sister won't feel bored."
Jinzhan restrained her tone and smiled again: That's great, if you want to see me, just ask someone to tell the eunuch and I will send someone to pick you up.
Fu Ermei immediately put aside her previous sadness, nodded vigorously, and regained her cheerful look. Jinzhan felt that Ermei was truly happy from the bottom of her heart, and she was a little envious.
The minister Fu Ermei's bright eyes turned when she met him. Jinzhan knew she was in the mood for fun again. It was fine a while ago, because Fu Ermei was worried about Guo Shao's war and was a little depressed, so she was more well-behaved; now that Guo Shao came back unscathed and made great contributions, she no longer had any worries and was happy all day long.
As expected, she asked curiously: How does it feel to be the Queen Mother and give orders
Jinzhan smiled and said: You will know if you think about it.
Fu Ermei paced two steps in front of her, pondered for a moment, turned around and said seriously: Come on, take Li Chongjin out and chop him up, and see if he dares to rebel again. After that, she covered her mouth and burst out laughing.
Jinzhan smiled and said: You are really quite impressive, but don't say the last sentence. Because you have great power, you don't have to explain anything to others, just issuing an order is enough.
Fu Ermei laughed so hard that she bent over: I did a really good job
Jinzhan nodded. Fu Ermei thought for a moment and decided that when I meet with the ministers this afternoon, I can try wearing my elder sister's clothes behind the curtain.
No, this time is different from the last time when we deceived the palace maids. In the afternoon, there will be a minister from the Southern Tang Dynasty to discuss state affairs. If someone finds out, won't we be criticized for treating state affairs as a joke? Jinzhan said casually.
Fu Ermei said with a disappointed look: It is meaningless to bully those palace maids and eunuchs. It is interesting to pass the test in front of the ministers.
Jinzhan pondered for a long time, thinking of the last time she and her second sister changed clothes, her cheeks slightly reddened, and she felt an unspeakable urge to do something. Jinzhan was not born serious and steady, she was tempered by experience, but she was not a strict and old-fashioned person at heart, and neither of them was like their mother Zhang.
Sister, yesterday a palace maid mistook me for someone else at the entrance of the Wansui Palace. She knelt on the ground and trembled with fear. Fu Ermei whispered, "If someone finds out, that person won't dare to tell anyone."
Jinzhan raised her eyebrows slightly after hearing this, and was immediately reminded: she was right next to Fu Ermei, and even if someone found something strange, they would not dare to rush to question it, as if they would not have to bear too serious consequences. Since Fu Ermei was so interested in being the queen mother, maybe if she was happy with it once, she would have another chance.
Jinzhan's heart started pounding as she thought about it. She was tempted by something simple yet tempting.
Then I will do as the inspector Guo Du said. Fu Jinzhan suddenly said in a soothing rhythm, turned to look at Fu Ermei, you learn it once.
Fu Ermei followed suit and imitated a sentence. Jinzhan listened carefully and corrected some of the subtle points. She added, "You are behind the curtain, and you can only see roughly outside, and you can't see the people clearly. The main thing is that you can't say too much in your voice and tone. Even if it is something you often say, you can keep it to yourself. You can look at the eunuch Cao Tai outside the curtain, and he will know what to do. And what Guo Shao said, you just issue an order according to his words; he usually won't say the wrong thing in such occasions, and he must have considered it carefully."
Jinzhan said a few more sentences that she often said and asked Fu Ermei to imitate them repeatedly.
Fu Ermei said: Those people around my elder sister will find out, why don't we tell them first
Fu Jinzhan said: "No need. The eunuchs who are close to me are mainly Cao Tai and Mu Shang Gong and Bei Guo Cai Mian. It doesn't matter if they see it, they will definitely not tell. There is no need to tell them. Since I am by your side, they should know what is going on and will pretend that nothing happened. Besides, even if they are close servants, according to etiquette, no one can stare at me. I will dress you up, and they may not see it once or twice; didn't no one notice it last time?"
If Li Yu of the Rites Hall knew that the Zhou Dynasty royal family treated his important affairs as a joke, he would probably be so angry that he vomited blood.
Could it be that Zhou Chao's sudden meeting this time was to send me to the envoy sent from Jinling? Li Yu was already dressed, but did not move, and walked quickly back and forth in the room.
Zhou Xian looked at his panic-stricken look and felt unsure about what to do, and he also fell into a state of panic.
When Li Yu was anxious, his eyes were still on Zhou Xian's face, as if he was observing her reaction. Zhou Xian sat there with mixed emotions, feeling very uncomfortable. At this moment, Li Yu asked: "Didn't you say last time that someone from the Zhou family was an official under Guo Shao? Did he go to persuade Guo Shao?"
The man's name is Zhou Duan. I have sent someone to deliver the letter. He replied that he had met Guo Shao more than a month ago. Zhou Xian said softly, "My husband, I don't think Guo Shao is a man who doesn't keep his word. He should help you. Even if something goes wrong, it won't be him who is the culprit."
Li Yu was helpless. Seeing that it was already past noon, he said: I have to see the Queen Mother first and can't go too late.
Li Yu and his wife were taken to a palace on the west side of the main hall of Jinxiang Palace, where the Queen Mother specially summoned people from the Southern Tang Kingdom to deal with the matter. This was not the main hall, and only a few people were summoned. The Political Affairs Hall was originally in the imperial city, and the four prime ministers were not far away; the same was true for the two privy envoys. Because it was a diplomatic matter, only Guo Shao was involved.
Zhou Xian followed Li Yu into the palace, still wearing a veil to cover his face. Even so, several ministers looked at him sideways, and some pretended not to look at him, but still looked at Zhou Xian secretly, and ignored Li Yu.
The ministers have been here for quite some time and have just discussed something in front of the Queen Mother. Now the Queen Mother has temporarily left the table, waiting for the arrival of people from the Southern Tang Kingdom.
After Zhou Xian entered the palace, she looked at the officials' attire, and her eyes swept over Guo Shao, her face flushed. She finally focused her attention on a civil servant behind her. That person should be an envoy from the Southern Tang Kingdom, but Zhou Xian didn't know him and had never seen him in Jinling.
Soon, the Queen Mother of Zhou Dynasty was seen sitting on the imperial couch behind the thin curtain, surrounded by people. Everyone knelt on the ground and shouted: "We are here to see the Queen Mother."
The person above said in a slow and rhythmic tone: Stand up.
Thank you, Queen Mother. Then everyone got up and stood respectfully on both sides.
Zhou Xian was quite moved when she saw this scene. She was originally a person who had no enthusiasm for power, but now she feels that power has its advantages. At least she can maintain her dignity and face without worrying about being forced by others; sometimes she can do whatever she wants. If she had power like the Queen Mother of the Great Zhou, why would she have fallen to this point with her fate in the hands of others
The woman above said nothing.
At this time, the envoy of Southern Tang kowtowed and said: Our monarch admires the power of the Queen Mother of the Great Zhou, and is full of respect. He awaits the imperial edict of the Great Zhou every day, and asks the Queen Mother to show mercy.
The Queen Mother still said nothing.
Guo Shao stepped out of the line and bowed, saying: "I ask the Queen Mother to think twice. The ruler of the Southern Tang, Li Jing, pledged his loyalty to the late Emperor and put aside all past grudges. The Southern Tang is nominally a vassal of our Great Zhou. The ruler did nothing wrong after pledging his loyalty. Now Li Hongji has rebelled and seized the throne. He is truly disloyal and unfilial. How can our Great Zhou ignore justice for a little profit?"
He turned around and said to the Southern Tang envoy: "Go back and tell the ministers of the Southern Tang to welcome Li Jing as the king to show the righteousness. Li Hongji's usurpation of the throne was not permitted by the Great Zhou, so his position is not legal."
The Queen Mother's envoy hurriedly looked upwards.
The person above showed no emotion and said slowly: Just do as Inspector Guo Du said.
Guo Shao was immediately furious, pointing at the envoy and saying: "The ministers of the Southern Tang Kingdom are following the traitor, which is like a rebellion. If you don't restore Li Jing to the throne, I will ask for permission to lead a large army to attack the border, and make you regret it forever."
The envoy looked pale and said hurriedly: Our Lord wants to offer 1.2 million strings of cash.
The prime ministers immediately whispered a few words.
At this time, Guo Shao said angrily: "After Li Jing's restoration, he still wants to pay. If he doesn't give us money, we can lead our troops across the Yangtze River to get it ourselves. Do you dare to refuse to pay?"
Zhou Xian thought Guo Shao was being polite, but when he heard this, he felt it was outrageous. Li Jing had not agreed to pay, but Guo Shao insisted that he pay tribute after he was restored to the throne. However, this kind of thing was not uncommon. The Zhou Dynasty was such a country. No matter how the Southern Tang Dynasty fought, no one could expect to get benefits from the Zhou Dynasty for free.
The envoy was about to speak again, but Guo Shao shouted: The Queen Mother has issued an order. If you do not obey it, Li Chongjin and Li Jixun will end up like you.
Zhou Xian didn't find him scary when he got angry, but felt that he was very straightforward. Zhou Xian breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn't suppress her feelings for Guo Shao. She knew it was wrong, but she thought: But there is really nothing I can do. A weak woman like me will always admire such a powerful person.