Three days later, the enthronement ceremony will be held.
The new emperor ascended the throne, drafted a reign name, granted amnesty to the world, exempted and exempted taxes...step by step.
Everything went smoothly and the court was running smoothly. Zhu Jianshen moved into the palace and sat on the dragon throne. However, he did not have any opinions and just went to court every day to handle official affairs.
In the early days of the new emperor's accession to the throne, he generally did not make any big moves to show respect for the previous emperor's rule and to appease the officials.
All in all, everyone is quite satisfied and everything is running as usual...
So, three months later.
The peaceful court situation finally ushered in a big event, but this big event was not a big deal to Li Qing.
——Choose the Queen!
Zhu Jianshen was seventeen years old, and people usually got married at this age. Since Zhu Qiyu was not Zhu Jianshen's biological father, he was afraid that choosing his first wife would cause the latter to be rebellious, so he simply did not choose her.
But now that Zhu Jianshen is the emperor and has reached adulthood, how can the Ming Dynasty not have a queen?
The position of empress is very rare. If you can be selected, it will be a step to the sky. Not only will you become a relative of the emperor, but the future emperors of the Ming Dynasty will also have their own blood.
The temptation was too great, so everyone was attracted to it.
The capital immediately became lively. Some minor officials and generals, with daughters of the right age at home, immediately became popular, and the high officials in the court often moved around.
Because the daughters of high-ranking officials were not eligible to run for queen, this was mainly to prevent relatives from taking over the throne.
Furthermore, even if it wasn't for this reason, the emperor was somewhat uncomfortable with the fact that his father-in-law was standing below him when he went to court.
However, the Empress of the Ming Dynasty cannot be a child of the common people who is illiterate. Based on this, under normal circumstances, most of the candidates for the Empress come from the families of small officials.
It is a compromise to have cultural literacy without making the relatives bigger.
For a time, everyone cast a wide net and formed a good relationship in advance. If they were not selected, they would not lose much, but if they were selected, they would make a lot of money.
At any time, providing help in times of need is far better than adding icing on the cake.
Waiting until you are chosen and trying to curry favor with someone else will cost you as much as it will pay off in return. It is not as good as building a good relationship in advance.
…
Compared to the hustle and bustle of the capital, the small courtyard is quiet and cozy.
Zhu Qizhen had already left. He couldn't bear to leave the small money in Jinling for a long time and went back to be with her.
Li Hong didn't leave, and neither did the little girl.
The two stayed here to honor Li Qing, because in their understanding, Li Qing was already old.
In the donkey shed, Li Qing sat on the pony and fed the donkey with fodder.
Zhu Wanqing stood behind Li Qing and patted his shoulders.
"Uncle Li, how old is this donkey?"
"I bought it the year your parents got married." Li Qing clapped his hands and sighed: "So many years have passed in a blink of an eye."
Zhu Wanqing asked curiously: "Uncle Li, was it very lively on the day my parents got married?"
"Of course." Li Qing said with a smile, "The wedding of the first emperor in the history of the Ming Dynasty, how can it not be exciting? I should go to welcome him."
"Uncle Li is the wedding envoy?" Zhu Wanqing was surprised, "Uncle Li, you just entered the court not long ago, right?"
"You know this as well?"
"Uh-huh..." Zhu Wanqing said, "I heard from my second uncle before that Uncle Li entered the court in the fifth year of Zhengtong. At first he was just a doctor, but he was soon promoted to Du Geishizhong..."
She was a little curious: "Uncle Li, how did you rise from the ranks of talented officials in the capital in a short period of time, and how did you stir up the situation with a seventh-rank official?"
"Of course Uncle Li is very capable, has good character, and is steady in his work..."
Zhu Wanqing rolled her eyes: "They are all family members. Uncle Li, can you tell the truth?"
Li Qing was embarrassed. To be honest... it's not honorable. You can't say that he read the archives and Xuanzong's layout, so he was able to break out of the siege quickly, right?
"Why do girls ask this?" Li Qing snorted, "What, you still want to be an official?"
"How can I be an official if I have a daughter?" Zhu Wanqing explained humorously, "I'm just curious. In terms of perspective, Uncle Li, you keep crushing me."
"You say I'm too narrow-minded?" Li Qing smiled, "Why, your skin is itchy again?"
Zhu Wanqing was on the verge of crying, "That's not what I meant, niece. I just want to know, Uncle Li, how did you rise so quickly? Didn't you make fun of you?"
"What good does knowing this do you?"
"Learn from smart people and you will naturally become smarter." Zhu Wanqing said with a smile, "Those who are close to red are red, and those who are close to ink are dark."
Li Qing said calmly: "First of all, you are already smart enough. Secondly, Uncle Li is not a good person in the traditional sense. Don't learn from me."
After a pause, he said, "In the future, read less books on the art of war, conspiracy, and calculations. It's rare to be confused in life. The more you know, the more troubles you will have. Uncle Li hopes that you will be naive rather than good at calculations. Besides, you want to make calculations." Who is it?"
Zhu Wanqing pouted: "It's just a hobby."
"Stop acting coquettishly with me." Li Qing didn't accept her behavior and hummed: "Thank you for being a girl. If you were a boy, I might kill you."
"...Uncle Li, why are you like this?"
Li Qing turned his head and said quietly: "I'm not joking."
Zhu Wanqing was frightened again. She could see that Uncle Li was really not joking. She said aggrievedly: "Uncle Li, you have done so much for our family, I just want to help you."
"Help me? Be my think tank?"
"OK."
"No need, no need at all." Li Qing shook his head, "Your cleverness is not suitable for temples at all. Besides, Uncle Li hasn't reached the point of asking the little girl to help. If that happens, then Uncle Li doesn't have to hang around. .”
"Just because you don't use it now, doesn't mean you won't use it in the future. What if you...are an old fool?" The little girl refused.
Li Qing smiled: "It's still early. If you really want to help Uncle Li, Uncle Li can give you a clear path."
"What is it?"
"Jinling's family business will eventually fall into the hands of you and Li Hong. Take good care of it and make more money." Li Qing said.
"That's it?"
Li Qing raised an eyebrow: "You think it's easy?"
"Well, it's really not difficult." Zhu Wanqing nodded, "I gave dad some advice and got a lot of rewards."
At this point, she became curious again: "Uncle Li, do you have anything to do with the Yongqing Marquis?
You see, you two have the same name and the same title, so the Marquis of Yongqing is the one who took up the post. Also, you have not been in politics for too long, but you have such a rich family fortune..."
Don't force me to be murderous... Li Qing rolled his eyes: "What do you mean?"
"It's not interesting, it's just..."
"Godfather, sister Wanqing, it's time to eat." Li Hong walked out of the east kitchen and shouted to the two of them.
"Here we come." Li Qing responded and glanced at the little girl again, "Hey, you are here. After this meal, get out of here!"
Zhu Wanqing said with a sad face: "Uncle Li, it's almost the Chinese New Year. I don't have time to go out. It's freezing cold..."
"If you don't want to leave, just stop saying a few words. Now you are living under someone else's roof." Li Qing said with a stern face.
Zhu Wanqing: "..."
In fact, Li Qing also knows that someone still needs to know his secret, otherwise it will be extremely difficult to correct the chaos if something happens in the future.
No matter how capable he is, he still needs a springboard.
In the early days of Orthodoxy, the situation was a mess. His ability to stabilize quickly relied on reading files and Zhu Zhanji's backhand.
When it came to Zhu Qiyu, he chose to expose himself. This was his capital for being reused.
Of course, Li Qing was confident that even if he did not have a showdown with the emperor in the future and took the orthodox imperial examination route, he would be able to correct the chaos to a certain extent, but only if he had a trace to follow.
The imperial court will not use a person with unknown origins. There must be traces of his life. Even if he is made up, there must even be related people.
Therefore, sooner or later, he will tell his godson and little girl. This is inevitable, but not now.
Especially since the little girl is young and arrogant, telling her this now will only be counterproductive, and it is not necessary at all now.
Now he is still the Marquis of Yongqing, with ready-made powerful energy.
~
royal palace.
Zhu Jianshen had been busy all morning and finally felt free. These days had made him very tired, but he gradually adapted to this kind of life.
"Your Majesty, please have some tea." Xiao Hengzi served the tea diligently and served the new master carefully.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, he, the chief of rituals and the eunuch, did not touch him, but Xiao Hengzi did not dare to be careless at all.
He understood that the emperor wanted to move something that he could only say a word about. The reason why he didn't move was not because he couldn't move, but because he wanted to stabilize it first.
This period of time is his performance period. If he performs well, he may be able to continue to be his palm eunuch. If he performs poorly, he will have to say goodbye to his position as palm eunuch.
Zhu Jianshen took the tea, took a sip, and then put it down again. His face was not pretty, as if he was worried about something.
Xiao Hengzi observed the words and quickly picked up something nice to say: "The emperor is very happy. I am very happy to congratulate you."
It was okay not to say this, but Zhu Jianshen's face turned even darker when he said it: "What's there to be happy about?"
"..." Xiao Hengzi looked confused. He didn't expect that such a foolproof flattery could actually shoot in the wrong place, and he couldn't help but feel anxious.
Could it be that the new emperor didn't like him and wanted to get rid of him?
"My slave... my slave said something wrong. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
"Forget it, forget it." Zhu Jianshen waved his hands impatiently, "I ask you, are you sure about the choice of queen?"
"Not yet, but it's coming soon." Xiao Hengzi murmured, "It's only about ten days, and the Queen Mother has said that the wedding will be before the year before, so there will be more happiness."
He couldn't understand why a young man with a strong temper was not happy at all about marrying a wife.
If this had been him when he was young...if he still had the conditions, he would have been so happy that he couldn't sleep.
"Well...I know." Zhu Jianshen sighed sadly, stood up and said, "Come for a walk with me."
"Yes, I obey the order." Xiao Hengzi's anxious heart relaxed, and the emperor asked him to accompany him, indicating that he was not tired of him.
But this also shows that the new emperor really doesn't want to marry a wife.
This is strange, why don't young men like to have a wife... Xiao Hengzi is puzzled.
