The restoration of the small court meeting has both advantages and disadvantages for the cabinet ministers.
The good thing is that the emperor can no longer do whatever he wants and issue orders directly without consulting the cabinet and the six ministries.
The bad thing is that once the emperor shows up, a series of major reforms will begin.
The other cabinet ministers were drinking tea on the first floor of Qingyun Pavilion, while Chen Xun was called to Guanxin Pavilion halfway up the mountain.
On the occasion of the construction of the Ganquan Palace wall, the entire Qingshan area was also renovated.
Since it is called Ganquan Palace, there is also a sweet spring in the palace. Walking more than ten steps up from Guanxin Pavilion, you will see a sweet spring.
Qianxue ordered people to lead the sweet spring down and built a pool next to Guanxin Pavilion, named Guanxin Pool. The water in the pond is extremely clear, with various kinds of lotus flowers planted in it and various kinds of swimming fish.
Chen Xun sat in Guanxin Pavilion for a while, and then Zhu Qiyu came over with the two little princesses.
"Weak ministers will die!"
Chen Xun knelt down and kowtowed, while weeping and begging for forgiveness.
Zhu Qiyu personally helped Chen Xun up and the four of them sat down.
Looking at the lotus flowers covering Kunming Lake in the distance, Zhu Qiyu smiled and said: "Yang Wanli has a poem: After all, in June, the scenery of West Lake is different from that of the four seasons. The lotus leaves touching the sky are infinitely green, and the lotus flowers reflecting the sun are unique. red.
Although my Kunming Lake is not as good as the West Lake in Hangzhou, it is endless fun to sit at the Guanxin Pavilion every day or lean out the window at Lian Yueju and enjoy the contrast between the mountains and rivers.
If I couldn't help myself, I would really like to be a free and easy king, roaming the mountains and rivers with my beloved concubine every day, but this life is not in vain. "
Although the words were said so euphemistically, Chen Xun understood instantly: "What the Holy One said is absolutely true. In the past, the old minister was busy with cases every day, but he was burdened by fame and fortune and had long lost his original intention.
The sage has power over the world, but his mind is natural and magnanimous. The old ministers appreciate and admire him.
He also asked the Holy Master to allow the old minister to serve as an official, and the old minister also returned to his hometown, where he spent the rest of his life learning from the Holy Master, getting close to the mountains and rivers, and cultivating his sentiments. "
Zhu Qiyu nodded: "Then I won't force you to keep Aiqing. I will give you the dignity you deserve, so I don't have to worry. I just need you to stay for another month to deal with the aftermath of the mutiny for me first, and then It’s not too late to return home.”
When Chen Xun heard this, he quickly accepted the order to thank him.
The monarch and his ministers reached a consensus and just came to Qingyun Pavilion together.
After everyone had finished the ceremony, Zhu Qiyu was still leaning on the soft couch and looking at the scenery. Qianxue and Suxi placed the food boxes in their hands and smiled at everyone:
"Grandmaesters, you all got up early today. I guess you didn't have a good breakfast. We made some snacks with our own hands. Let's try them."
Everyone quickly thanked them again. It was an honor to be able to taste the princess's craftsmanship. What's more, this snack is indeed delicious and delicious, and everyone praises the princess's ingenuity.
However, Qianxue and Su Xi had no intention of leaving. Instead, they got on the couch and sat on the left and right sides of Zhu Qiyu.
Zhu Qiyu smiled at everyone and said: "I have been feeling weak recently. It's summer, but I always feel a little cold. So I need the princess to serve me at all times. Please bear with me."
There are some things that everyone knows, but no one says anything about it.
Besides, this is said to be a small court meeting, but in fact it is not a serious court meeting at all. In essence, it is more like a meeting between monarchs and ministers. In form, the atmosphere has always been relaxed and the etiquette is rough.
During a serious court meeting, no ministers would sit and drink herbal tea and eat snacks in front of the emperor.
Zhu Qiyu didn't wait for anyone to say anything else, and took the lead in asking: "Mr. Chen Ge has written a petition to depose the Empress Dowager, Emperor Gongjang, Empress Qian, and Empress Zhou. What do you all, my beloved ministers, think?"
Zhu Qiyu originally wanted to discuss it with everyone, but surprisingly, everyone unanimously agreed, and no one raised any objection.
Zhu Qiyu was a little confused: "If I want to depose Emperor Gongrang, how dare you agree?"
In desperation, Zhu Qiyu continued to ask: "Have you read the memorial of Duke Xin? What do all the civil and military officials think?"
Chen Xun replied: "There are still many people who believe that the crown prince has no fault and should not be deposed according to the laws of the court. Moreover, the crown prince was established by the empress dowager and is the undoubted foundation of the country. Once he is deposed, it may cause turmoil in the world."
Zhu Qiyu nodded: "I believe that what the Duke said in the letter is indeed inappropriate. However, according to the court regulations, Tang Jie holds the iron certificate awarded by Taizu, which is undoubtedly hereditary. It is really unreasonable to respectfully surrender to the emperor. Life and death will not let Tang Jie attack the king.
The cabinet has drafted a decree to formally restore the title of Duke Tang Jie to the Duke of Xin. "
After hearing this, everyone looked at each other. The officials used the court's laws to oppose the deposing of the prince, and the emperor immediately used the court's laws to restore Tang Jie to the dukedom of Xinguo. Even a fool would understand the emperor's true attitude.
Besides, whoever becomes the emperor would not want to pass the throne to his son. Now everyone in the government and the public knows that the emperor will change the prince sooner or later, and after this mutiny, there is no way to stop it.
Everyone looked up at the two princesses in unison, wanting to prevent the emperor from changing the crown prince. Now the only way was to start an internal fight among the emperor's favored concubines and kill all the emperor's sons.
But the gossip circulating in the capital was that twelve of the emperor's fifteen favored concubines were pregnant one after another. As for the three who were not pregnant, it was purely because they did not want to have children for the time being.
The emperor's woman is not in a hurry to have children? This is truly a strange thing that has never been heard of before.
If this is true, it would be too scary: the two little princesses in front of them hold the power of the palace and the inner court, and are actually like queens.
But the two little princesses didn't want to rush to have children, which meant that they had no intention of competing for favor.
The loyal ministers in both the government and the public who were still respectful to the emperor were completely speechless: The emperor's beloved concubines are such a bunch of weirdos, when will they start fighting among themselves?
You know, the strongest fortresses are often breached from within.
But now the emperor has made his harem airtight and impeccable, which is really annoying.
If it were the previous emperor, he could also bribe the palace people around him with huge sums of money. Now, no one is allowed to enter the emperor's Lingyu Palace.
There are no palace people at all, so who can we bribe?
To bribe the emperor's concubines? Do not be silly!
The day before yesterday, the little princess casually waved her hand and gave Tang Jie, the Duke of Xin, a million-dollar fortune. If you are so rich and willful, what can you ask others to bribe you with?
There was nothing left to talk about, so the ministers had no choice but to change the topic. Wei Ji asked Zhu Qiyu: "May I ask, Your Majesty, where will the Empress Dowager, Emperor Gongrang, and the Crown Prince live in the future, and how will their daily lives be arranged?"
Zhu Qiyu smiled and said: "The Empress Dowager lives in the Yinghua Palace in seclusion, and no one is allowed to come in or out to visit.
The emperor is respectfully allowed to live in Chonghua Palace to cultivate his moral character. All civil and military officials, vassal princes, dignitaries, and relatives can enter Chonghua Palace for pilgrimage as long as they have reported.
The Crown Prince lived in Ciqing Palace and was cared for by capable people arranged by the inner court. He could study and practice calligraphy normally.
The living conditions of the Empress Dowager, Emperor Gongrang, and the Crown Prince remained unchanged, and they were all given preferential treatment in accordance with the court system. "
When everyone heard this, they had nothing to say.
Zhu Qiyu added: "The Zongren Mansion was changed to Dazongzhengyuan, the King of Min was appointed as Dazongzheng, the King of Dongwu County was appointed as Zuo Zongzheng, and the King of Qin was appointed as You Zongzheng.
On the tenth day of the seventh month, a meeting of relatives was held at Fengtianmen. The three Zongzhengs presided over the meeting, and the imperial concubine and the eldest princess Yongjia were present.
All the relatives specified by Taizu will attend, as well as hundreds of civil and military officials, and other nobles and relatives can attend the ceremony outside Fengtian Gate. "
Today's small court meeting was mainly about Zhu Qiyu informing the ministers of his decision. Before the situation was clear, the ministers were very cautious and did not express their opinions easily.
Zhu Qiyu emphasized the recent decision to everyone again and let everyone leave.
After seeing everyone off, Zhu Qiyu asked the two little princesses: "I just talked to the ministers for a long time, and I don't know how Sun and the eldest brother are actually doing recently. I'm not neglecting them, right?"
When Qianxue and Su Xi heard this, they both showed sly smiles like little foxes.
Zhu Qiyu felt a cold feeling on his back: "My two dear mothers, you have not deprived Mr. Sun and my eldest brother of enough food and clothing. If you do it too disgracefully, all the officials will be embarrassed again."
Qianxue smiled and said: "There is no shortage of food, clothes, and medicine. It's just that the weather in Beijing is getting hotter and hotter. It's not like the countless clear springs and green lakes in our Lingyu Palace, which are refreshing and pleasant everywhere, so it should have been given to Sun and Gong. Let the emperor use ice.
It’s just that there was a mutiny before and too many people died. Those corpses were all smelly after being left there for two or three days. So Hao Yi asked the Nu family for instructions and wanted to use the ice stored in the palace ice cellar to preserve the body.
The Nu family thought that it would be too shameful for the corpses of so many vassal kings, nobles, civil servants, and generals to stink, so they took it upon themselves to approve Hao Yi's request.
Then there was no more ice left in the ice cellar to supply Sun and Emperor Gongrang.
The slave is guilty and please be punished by your husband. "
Zhu Qiyu smiled bitterly and said: "You two are really wicked, and you must be punished. Go to the window, face the direction of Kunming Lake, and sit side by side. I will educate you well."
There was no talk for three days, and in the blink of an eye it was the tenth day of July.
Early that morning, almost all the dignitaries still alive in the capital were focused outside Fengtian Gate.
But what no one expected was that outside the Meridian Gate, it had become a makeshift execution ground, packed with prisoners kneeling on their knees. The leader among them was Wu Qinghou Shi Heng.
Those who were familiar with the emperor's behavior immediately realized that the emperor was going to execute him in public to shock the officials. As for Wu Qinghou Shi Heng, I am afraid that he will inevitably be punished.
While the relatives were meeting inside the Meridian Gate, and at the same time Ling Chi rebelled against his ministers outside the Meridian Gate, the emperor was really ruthless.
(End of chapter)
