From deep in the courtyard, the sound of a zither could be heard. Guo Shao listened attentively, but could not understand the sound. After staying in Daming Prefecture for a while, it was time to return to Beijing in the next few days.
He placed the brush on the inkstone, opened the bundle again, stretched out his rough palm, gently stroked the purple robe, and gently stroked the stitches with his index finger.
The shy smile of the beauty seemed to appear before his eyes, and her eyes were like warm hands, brushing across his heart. He seemed to hear the soothing voice again: I personally make sure my husband is well fed and clothed, that is what a wife should do.
He didn't dare to wear this dress for the time being. It was sewn by Jinzhan, and maybe people in the Fu family's mansion could recognize it.
Jinzhan, why are you so nice to me
Guo Shao stood up and paced back and forth in the room. There was a couplet hanging on the wall at the door. He glanced at it and didn't understand what it meant. But he thought of another couplet: "Knowledge of the world is learning, and understanding of human nature is writing."
We must not let Jinzhan be used as a handle for people to accuse him. This kind of thing is very important. Maybe no one dares to accuse him face to face, but sometimes if he is questioned and cannot refute, it will be very hurtful. At this time, it is still the clan's human relations and the world. Guo Shao can roughly imagine how it feels to be attacked with morality.
When Yu Lian still lived in Longjinfang, people said that she walked with her head down, and she was in a state of inferiority complex and afraid to see people for a long time. This is a clear example.
Maybe no matter what you do, there will be some unofficial stories. But if there is no real evidence, it would be much better to have a fair and aboveboard reason to refute it.
Guo Shao stood for a while and then sat down again.
He reached out and picked up the chess pieces, and placed a few on the board. They were all fixed moves in the chess book. Everything was ready, and the game had to be completed step by step.
Thinking of this, Guo Shao took a deep breath and wrote a private letter. When Cao Tai came to see the emperor, he asked Cao Tai to take it to him.
If he wants to visit concubines other than the second sister in the future, he must ask Jinzhan to agree first. It was she who arranged the marriage between Guo Shao and the second sister. At this point, exclusive favor and loyalty are probably unrealistic. Only in this way can Jinzhan's position in his heart be highlighted.
Guo Shao made some preparations and ordered to return to the capital. He left two officials from the Imperial Medical Bureau to continue to nurse Fu Yanqing back to health. At the same time, Guo Shao could also directly ask the imperial physician about the affairs of the Prince of Wei's mansion, because the imperial physician was a Beijing official.
At this time, the Daxu Dynasty had two similar intelligence spy organizations, one was the Imperial City Department and the other was the Privy Council Military Department. However, both agencies hardly monitored the ministers inside; they mainly targeted the external countries and the generals of the frontiers because Wang Pu and Zuo You, the trusted ministers, agreed that this would cause greater suspicion and alienation between the monarch and his ministers. Guo Shao followed the advice.
After a round of rumors, the fact that Lü Chuncai wanted to marry Lady Fu to rebel was known to everyone. Everyone knew that Lady Fu was a queen who was seen through by the gods and Taoists. Anyone who wanted to marry her wanted to be the emperor, such as Li Shouzhen's son in the past and the Lü family this year.
When Wang Pu heard that the emperor's ceremonial guards had left Daming Prefecture and returned to the capital, he immediately summoned Li Xin, the envoy to the Ministry of Guests, and instructed Li Xin to write a letter to persuade the emperor to marry Madam Fu as his queen.
Li Xin was afraid again, because Madam Fu was the empress of the previous dynasty and had also been the empress dowager. If he wrote the wrong letter, he would most likely be blamed for defaming the reputation of the emperor and the empress of the previous dynasty.
Moreover, the current emperor's queen is originally the daughter of the Fu family. What's the point of marrying another daughter of the Fu family? Even if Madam Fu is beautiful, she is already a woman in her early thirties. The current emperor has all the beauties he wants. Why does he have to go and ask for trouble? Why doesn't he quickly cut off all ties with her
This statement is totally unreasonable.
Wang Pu saw Li Xin's doubts and said calmly: Just write the letter, don't worry, you will not be wrong.
Li Xin hesitated.
Wang Pu said: I have never made a mistake in judging people, and I have interacted with the current emperor since he was still an ordinary general. I asked you to write a letter last time, but was it wrong? Now you have been awarded the title of founding the country for nothing.
Li Xinxin: What Envoy Wang said is true. I think that even if the Zhao family's rumors were true or false, the emperor is not willing to marry the daughter of the Fu family again.
You know nothing. Wang Pu was annoyed. The Taoist priest in hemp clothes was said to be so amazing that even his apprentice could be called a half-immortal. What's the difference between a master and an immortal? Saints respect gods and stay away from them. But it's better to believe such things than not to believe them. Now Madam Fu has no identity. She is just the daughter of the King of Wei. Now the emperor is following the will of heaven and wants her to be the queen. What's wrong with that
That's, that's my stupidity. Li Xin's eyebrows were almost knitted together.
Unexpectedly, when Guo Shaogang returned to the palace and was attending court in Jinxiang Hall that day, Lu Duoxun, the Minister of Rites, wrote a letter to the emperor, advising him to marry Madam Fu as his empress. For a moment, all the civil and military officials looked at him with awe.
Guo Shao refused on the spot and said righteously on the throne: The current queen is my wife from my humble beginnings. She is virtuous and has done nothing wrong in being a model mother of the country. She also gave birth to my eldest son, Guo Hong. How can I depose her for no reason
The ministers who were unaware of the truth could not help but nod their heads, especially the civil officials, who felt that the emperor's strict adherence to etiquette was really satisfying.
Unexpectedly, Li Xin, the guest minister, immediately risked his life to submit a memorial, saying that the will of heaven could not be violated and that Madam Fu had the potential to become the empress, so she should follow the will of heaven.
There was a dispute in the hall for a while. Some people said that saints do not talk about strange powers. The current queen is fine and has a legitimate son. There is no reason to change the queen because of the Taoist monk's face reading. Otherwise, it may cause turmoil in etiquette and government.
Some people still said that they should follow the will of heaven. The generals also took the opportunity to seek a sense of existence and show their right to speak. Most generals supported Lady Fu as the queen because the soldiers of the imperial guards loved Jinzhan and thought she was kind to the soldiers and would be happy to see her continue to be the queen.
Shi Yanchao loudly supported Madam Fu: "The empress of the previous dynasty, Taizu, also lost her husband, but Taizu did not despise her, and later even did not confer the title of empress on her. What's wrong with Madam Fu? Madam Fu cannot be the mother of the country. This emperor has no woman who can be the mother of the country."
A civil servant accused: General Shi thinks that the current queen cannot be the mother of the country.
Shi Yanchao said: You dog official are only good at talking. It is not difficult for me to tear your mouth apart. Just establish the second queen.
Li Chuyun, the chief of the military officers, immediately rebuked: "General Shi, this is in the Jinxiang Palace, you must be careful with your words."
But the military generals were secretly happy. They also disliked Shi Yanchao, but when they heard Shi Yanchao scolding the civil officials, they felt that he also had some good points.
The civil servant said: Shi Yanchao, you actually insulted the imperial official in the palace.
Shi Yanchao said: "So what if I scold you? You are an official appointed by the court, and I am still your majesty's general."
The civil servant said: You ignorant warrior, the country has the rules of the second queen
Shi Yanchao sneered: "There is no second king in a country, I recognize him." But whether it is one queen or two queens, the rules are also set by your majesty. The current emperor is the founding king of the Daxu Dynasty. Why should the etiquette of the Daxu Dynasty be copied from the previous dynasty
At this time, the eunuch Wang Zhong stood up and said: His Majesty has ordered you to stop arguing. If you have something to report, please report it. If not, please leave the court.
Everyone was speechless and bowed to express their gratitude.
Guo Shao only said that the current queen had not committed any misconduct and could not be deposed, but he did not comment on Jinzhan's attitude.
The next morning, the important officials of the East Hall of Jinxiang Palace met to discuss the matter, and the matter was brought up again. Because Guo Shao did not express his position, the dispute was again unsuccessful.
Li Chuyun left the imperial city and returned to the Duke's Mansion. His cousin Li Liangshi asked to see him. He had heard about the story of the eldest lady of the Fu family. When they met, he asked: "Does the emperor really want to establish a second empress?"
Li Chuyun said: It has not been decided yet.
Liang Shi asked again: What is your opinion
Li Chuyun said: I said nothing.
Liang Shi slapped his thigh and said: "How can the lord remain silent about such a matter? It doesn't matter what the two queens are like, but why are the two queens from the Fu family? It is a great favor to make a girl from the Fu family a concubine.
Li Chuyun said: The generals all support Madam Fu, so it is not convenient for me to advocate it.
Liang Shi shook his head and said: This matter is of great importance. After the two sisters of the Fu family were separated, the power of the foreign relatives all belonged to the Fu family. In the past, the lord held the power of the imperial army, but now he is only a duke. You can fight for it.
Li Chuyun pondered for a moment and said: But Zuo You has already expressed his opinion. He opposes the division of Fu's brother-in-law into two. He believes that restoring the ancient rituals will be more beneficial to the orthodoxy of the country.
Good Scholar: Zuo You
Li Chuyun said: "Zuo You is a civil servant, but he has always been the emperor's confidant. His words are more effective than mine. Moreover, if I echo him, I am afraid that people will accuse me of forming a clique between civil officials and military officials."
Liang Shi sighed.
Li Chuyun said in a deep voice: The second queen is just a figurehead, the current queen has no role. Last time I was in the back hall of Jinxiang Palace, I was summoned by Imperial Concubine Yuaner, who told me that the queen cannot rule the harem, and that things in the harem are in chaos. But the eldest lady is not an ordinary woman. She was the queen mother in the past, and she could even rule the imperial guards.
But last time when Madam Fu was still honored as Empress Duanci, the court had a dispute over whether she should govern, and Fan Zhi was dismissed. Your Majesty was kind at the time and calmed the situation down, but now thinking about it, I am a little scared.
Li Chuyun raised his head and remained silent for a moment, stroking his thick beard, and whispered: "The king is strong and the ministers are weak. If the ministers are too obsessed with power, there will be great trouble."
Li Chuyun was really unwilling to take any risks for a higher position. He now only wanted to keep all the existing founding generals, hereditary dukes, and royal relatives. In three generations at most, the Li family would become a stable aristocratic family. After this generation of monarchs and ministers, a hundred years later, the Li family would be a prominent aristocratic family in the Great Xu Dynasty.
It is not a dream for the nobility and the royal family to share the world.
He pondered for a long time, slapped the table and said: Tomorrow I will write a letter to support the government to make Madam Fu the queen
Liangshi was stunned and looked at Li Chuyun with disbelief.
Li Chuyun seemed to have it all figured out, and said slowly: "Competing with the Fu family for status is the spirit of a petty family. Keeping the status of our dukes and marquises is the long-term consideration. In the future, the military meritorious nobles will definitely be grateful to our dukes."