After passing through Yingtianmen, Su Xian stopped for a moment and looked around carefully. This was the power center of the Liang Dynasty. He felt both novel and a little bit excited.
It is said that the current empress was once the most beautiful woman in the world, and her beauty is rare in the world. Her daughter Princess Lanling is already extraordinary. What will happen to her as the biological mother?
Su Xian gradually began to look forward to it.
The palace maid led the way, followed by Su Xian and Princess Lanling.
After passing Yingtian Gate, within two steps, there is another city wall in front. There are also three city gates on this city wall. From left to right, they are "Jingyun Gate", "Yongtai Gate" and "Huichang Gate".
The scale is smaller than the first three city gates, but it is still majestic enough, and the guards guarding the city are even more strict and meticulous...
After passing through the Yongtai Gate, we officially entered the palace grounds.
The interior of the palace city can be divided into two parts, the north and the south. The south part is commonly known as "Da Nei", where the emperor handles government affairs and where the yamen such as the Zhongshu Ministry and the Internal Affairs Ministry are located.
The most important palace among them is the "Wanxiang Shrine", also known as "Mingtang", where the Queen goes to court to discuss affairs. The little palace maid who led the way took Su Xian and Li Youqing there.
To the north of the palace city is the "harem" area, where the emperor and his concubines lived.
The entire palace city conforms to the general yamen layout of "front hall and back house", which can meet the emperor's needs for office and residence, and is also the most tightly defended.
Su Xian and Li Youqing, led by the little palace maid, passed through the "Qianyuan Gate" and finally came to the main hall of the Wanxiang Shrine... This is a magnificent, exquisite and luxurious palace.
The gold decorations on the outer wall of the palace emit bursts of golden light under the morning sun. They are extremely dazzling and splendor cannot be described...
Li Youqing told Su Xian to wait in front of the stone steps of the main hall, while she slowly walked into the main hall.
Later, where Su Xian was standing, people in purple robes passed by from time to time, running in a hurry towards the main hall of the Wanxiang Shrine.
These people are the prime ministers of the dynasty.
The prime minister of Daliang is actually not a fixed position. As long as he meets a certain level and is given the title of "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Ping Zhang Shi" by the Queen, then this person will be the prime minister of the dynasty.
The senior official in Zhongshu, Qian Zhongshu; the senior official in his subordinates, Liu Shizhong; and the ministers in the six departments of Shangshu, including Princess Lanling, are all prime ministers.
In addition, Si Kuo, the Shao of the Prison Department, and the Yin of the Henan Prefecture were often used as prime ministers by the Queen even though they were not given the title of "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Ping Zhang Shi" due to the special nature of their responsibilities.
Similar to today's Umrah gathering, the two of them were also invited.
Most of the purple-robed prime ministers who passed by in a hurry did not notice the young man waiting at the stone steps in front of the palace. Even if they noticed Su Xian, they only glanced at him and passed by.
Su Xian had just entered Beijing today and had hardly seen any strangers, not even the prime ministers under Li Youqing, so it was normal that no one noticed his presence.
Su Xian looked carefully——
These prime ministers are all well-dressed, with steady steps, solemn faces, and fluttering beards. They really look like that, with the temperament of a scholar and a court.
The prime ministers must be a bunch of old stubborns and stubborn people... Su Xian secretly slandered them in his heart.
After waiting for a while, there was no more hurried prime minister passing by, and a loud voice shouted faintly from the hall:
"Your Majesty has arrived."
Umrah has begun.
Then came the sound of worship from all the prime ministers...
There was no sound after that.
Su Xian felt bored waiting there alone.
But he hasn't been idle either.
He first looked around secretly, secretly comparing the imperial palace with the Forbidden City of later generations, and then went over Li Youqing's instructions to him, previewing various situations after meeting the queen later.
…
At this time, in the main hall of the Vientiane Shrine.
The prime ministers were divided into two groups, bowing and standing in silence, all with their heads lowered.
The queen looked pretty good, dressed in casual clothes, sitting on the throne, slowly scanned the prime ministers below, and then asked:
"The case of the fire in Hanjiacang City has been delayed for several months. How are the various government offices doing with their investigations? Have they found out the modus operandi of the remnants of the previous dynasty? Have they found out where the remnants of the previous dynasty are now?"
After the Queen finished speaking, the hall became eerily quiet.
The prime ministers lowered their heads and did not dare to raise their heads.
The Queen's face darkened, she looked sideways at Henan Prefecture Yin and asked, "He Nan Prefecture Yin, do you have any news about the remnants of the previous dynasty? Is there any progress in this case?"
"Your Majesty...Old Minister..." He Fuyin walked out of the queue with an ugly face, hesitant to speak, his head lowered like a hunchback.
The Queen's face became a little darker. She turned to look at Young Sikou and asked, "Young Sikou, is there any progress in your Prison Department?"
Shao Si Kou had a bitter look on his face and could only say: "Report to your Majesty, I am... incompetent. The Prison Department has not made any progress on this case yet..."
"waste!"
The Queen stood up in anger. Although she had known this would be the result, she was still so angry that her chest heaved and Long Yan was furious.
Seeing this, Princess Lanling and the other prime ministers hurriedly reported in unison: "Your Majesty, please calm down, the dragon body is more important."
The Queen suppressed her anger, sat back on the throne, and said coldly and ruthlessly:
"Starting today, I will give the Henan Prefecture and the Department of Prisons and Prisons one month. If you cannot solve the case within one month, you should retire and return to your hometown! The imperial court does not support waste."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
He Fuyin and Shao Sikou smiled bitterly and thanked them.
The other prime ministers all looked sad when they saw this, and they inevitably felt like a rabbit had died and a dog had been cooked.
The Queen is ruthless to her courtiers. No matter how big an official is, she will withdraw as soon as possible. She may be chatting and laughing one second, but may be relegated to the cold palace the next second.
Since the Queen said this in front of all the ministers today, if the case is not solved in a month, she will really take off the veil from the heads of He Fuyin and Shao Sikou...
When a woman is in power, she always gives people a feeling of being mean and unkind, but what can the ministers do? I have no choice but to admit defeat, unless I can relieve the Queen's worries.
But...the Queen's worries are difficult to resolve!
Not to mention the Prison Department, even the internal defense has not made any progress... He Fuyin really feels that he has suffered an unreasonable disaster, but there is no other way but to be dumb and unable to tell the pain of eating coptis.
Umrah will continue.
The monarch and his ministers also discussed "General Shi's military preparations for war", "the situation in the Liao Kingdom", "the progress of purchasing grain from the Shu Kingdom", and other miscellaneous matters.
Half an hour passed like this.
The Queen felt a little tired and stroked her forehead with her hand. She was about to leave the court. Princess Lanling below saw the opportunity and came out to pay homage: "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"Say it." The queen cheered up when she saw that it was Li Youqing who spoke.
