Father Li's fainting can only be regarded as a minor episode, and everyone can understand it.
After all, anyone involved in such a thing would inevitably be nervous.
It's just that many people think that he let his daughter show up and join Cao Bin for the sake of his future official position.
Therefore, I feel contempt in my heart.
After Li's father woke up, he was embarrassed and annoyed by the strange looks from everyone, but he didn't use the excuse of fainting to ask for leave. He was really worried.
If Li Qingzhao behaves poorly in court, his family may be harmed.
At this moment, a eunuch came into the palace and reported:
"Queen Mother, Lady Li has been brought here."
Queen Mother Pan nodded and said:
"Declarate it."
When everyone saw that Li Qingzhao was as slim as a willow and his face was like a hibiscus rising from the water, they suddenly felt relieved.
This woman can be recruited as an official by Cao Bin regardless of his face. She is indeed a rare beauty.
When the Qingliu officials saw this, they were even more angry.
Cao Bin regarded the officialdom of the Song Dynasty as a place for messing around with men and women. What a bastard!
However, Queen Mother Pan didn't think so much. Seeing that she had finished her court ceremony, she couldn't wait to ask:
"Daughter of the Li family, Zhongjing Hou has asked you to take charge of the seal, which shows that he trusts you very much."
"Let's be honest. Does he have any solution to the Jianghuai salt case?"
Li Qingzhao was inevitably a little nervous when he went to court for the first time, but he was able to suppress his mood swings and responded calmly:
"Reporting to the Queen Mother, Zhongjinghou's plan is to buy salt from Xixia at a low price so that the people in the southeast can temporarily survive the crisis."
As she spoke, she took out a memorial, held it over her head and said:
"This is the memorial that Zhongjinghou handed over to the ministers, and it is about to be uploaded to the table."
When Queen Mother Pan heard this, her eyes suddenly lit up. She hurriedly asked the eunuch to take the memorial, read it over and over, and asked the ministers:
"What do you think, sir? Is this plan feasible?"
Pan Renmei looked happy and walked out of class:
"Back to the Queen Mother, Xixia is poor and has wanted to sell green salt for a long time. This plan is completely feasible."
"We can even use this strategy as a bargaining chip to get him to compromise on Zhao Ji."
"... Just don't let Xixia discover our plans, lest they have other ideas."
Hearing this, Li Qingzhao couldn't help but glance at Pan Renmei.
His idea coincided with part of Cao Bin's plan, but his idea was too late, and the plan was already being implemented.
When Queen Mother Pan heard this, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said happily:
"Zhongjinghou is a man of great talent. The Ai family has known for a long time that he is not someone who neglects state affairs and only cares about sex."
When Li Qingzhao heard this, he couldn't help but rolled his eyes secretly.
Just when she thought the trouble was over, Sima Guang suddenly retorted:
"Queen Mother, although Xixia Qingyan can help in emergencies, this is not the reason for Zhongjing to pretend to be ill,"
"Xixia is far away from the southeastern roads. How to transport it? The price of salt will inevitably rise sharply. How will the people buy it?"
"Besides, this is not a long-term solution. The Jianghuai Saltworks needs to be rebuilt and the salt affairs need to be rectified. Isn't this the responsibility of Marquis Zhongjing?"
"As an important minister of the imperial court, how can he take on such a big responsibility if he is so lazy and lazy?"
Although Li Qingzhao felt that his words made sense, as someone from Cao Bin's side, she still responded angrily:
"Master Cao is in charge of the third division. When there was a problem with the salt channel, he pointed out the direction and solved the problem."
"Does he also need to arrange these details personally? If so, what is the use of the Salt and Iron Department?"
"Master Han Jianghan is also a Jinshi, and is an important official in the court, right? Why not ask Lord Cao how to take the scientific examination?"
Han Jiang blushed at her rebuke. No longer embarrassed to pretend to be deaf and dumb, she could only say:
"These things are Han's own responsibility. I dare not shirk them. Please rest assured, Mr. Cao."
When Li Qingzhao heard this, he couldn't help but feel pity. In Cao Bin's heart, it was impossible for Han Jiang to solve these details.
Father Li was stunned by Li Qingzhao at this time. He did not expect that his daughter would be so courageous. She could just quarrel with others at home, but she would also dare to be arrogant in front of so many big shots in the court.
This made him break into a cold sweat, and at the same time he felt quite ashamed...
Wang Yanling glanced at Sima Guang angrily and nodded in agreement:
"There is really no need to trouble Zhong Jinghou with these matters."
Now that the most difficult issues have been resolved, what's left to argue about?
This is clearly giving credit to Han Jiang, so why bother holding on to Cao Bin's pretending to be ill?
Sima Guang was also shocked and turned pale, but he could no longer care about Wang Yanling. He found that the current situation was not good for him, especially Pan Renmei's idea of blackmailing Xixia.
You know, I have made a bet.
If he loses the bet, he will have to make his own decision in front of Kong Sheng. This is not a matter of simply dying, but whether he will become a laughing stock for the ages.
Without even looking at Li Qingzhao, he said to Queen Mother Pan:
"Your Majesty, there has never been a precedent in our court for an unmarried woman to serve as an official alone."
"This woman is neither the wife of Marquis Zhongjing nor is she related to Marquis Zhongjing."
"Today, shamelessly hanging around in three offices is really a morally corrupt act."
"If everyone is like this, won't our Song Dynasty court become a filthy place for men and women with bad morals?"
"The Queen Mother Wanwang will punish you severely and take it as a warning."
This guy knows how to debate. If he can't argue with the facts, he will attack your character and personal ethics.
Although he did not say it directly, it was obvious that he insinuated that Li Qingzhao and Cao Bin had a relationship between men and women in the officialdom.
And what he said was not unreasonable.
Even in later generations, it was very easy for women to be criticized for being involved in officialdom, let alone the Song Dynasty, which valued etiquette.
No one cares about how you take concubines at home, but it is unacceptable to bring this kind of thing to the officialdom.
Li Qingzhao did not expect that he would be so insidious as to make a fuss about the relationship between men and women, and as long as his reasons were recognized, no matter how difficult it was for a woman to become an official, he would have no choice but to return to the boudoir.
So she was extremely angry:
"My lord, those who are clean will be cleansed themselves. What evidence do you have that I have misbehaved?"
Sima Guangli ignored him, looked up at the sky and said disdainfully:
"I will not argue with the women in my boudoir."
This unruly look almost made Li Qingzhao angry to death.
Even the Queen Mother Pan frowned a little. She felt a lot more relaxed after getting the method to resolve the salt case. She also admired Li Qingzhao when she saw him dressed in men's official uniform, moving coolly and with high spirits.
Unexpectedly, Sima Guang came up and made a fuss about the affairs between men and women, but what he said was not unreasonable.
If a precedent was set, some women might use their beauty to seduce the court, but she was still very taboo about this.
I don't want the court to collapse because of one of my decisions.
But Li Qingzhao was Cao Bin's man, and if he wanted to agree with Sima Guang, he would have to remove her, which made her hesitate for a while.
At this time, many ministers also started arguing. Most of them supported Sima Guang, and some supported Cao Bin, but that was because they were in the same party as Cao Bin.
It doesn't mean that they don't agree with Sima Guang's statement.
At this time, Li Qingzhao faced many accusations. Even if she was very eloquent, it was difficult for her to defend herself. She only felt that there was malice everywhere.
Just when Queen Mother Pan was in trouble, the guard outside the door suddenly reported:
"Queen Mother, Zhongjing Hou is sick and is asking for a visit."
