Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 358 Indecision
With the statement made by the lady of the Feng family, everyone responded and proposed to Princess Chenliu to donate military rations to help the army.

Princess Chenliu agreed with a smile, and the daughter of the Li family also announced on behalf of the Longxi Li family that they would donate another 20,000 hu of grain to help Hou Jing fight on the front line.

Hearing what Lady Li said, Princess Chenliu asked gently:

"I heard that General Hou is at the front line, and your Longxi Li family has contributed a lot. Will donating another 20,000 hu of grain affect the livelihood of the Li family?"

Lady Li immediately said:
"The general is fighting for Guanzhong. As a member of the Guanzhong noble family, how can I not be dedicated? Grandpa told me that the general has lightened taxes and levies over the years, and the family has saved some money."

After hearing what the Li girl said, everyone praised the Longxi Li family for being the leader of the Guanxi gentry and for their high level of awareness.

Ms. Li just smiled and then returned to her seat.

Princess Chenliu nodded slightly. If others have made efforts, then there should be rewards. Those present were all women, so it was impossible to promise them official positions. These were not things that women pursued.

Things like fame, wealth and honor are what one's own man has fought for on the battlefield. Princess Chenliu is very clear about her position. She never interferes in the personnel appointments and dismissals of the shogunate under Su Ze, and has never even personally recommended any talents to Su Ze.

But there are some things that men are not convenient to ask about.

Princess Chenliu raised her head, looked at Lady Li and said:
"The lady from the Hou family has a younger sister in the boudoir, right?"

Ms. Li quickly stood up and said yes, and then briefly introduced her sister's situation.

Princess Chenliu nodded and said:

"Li Cunzhen, Li Li, does Madam Hou know him? His family is from the Suiye Li clan that migrated to the Western Regions. He is a descendant of the Li Liang royal family, but he is still unmarried."

The Li girl's eyes lit up. Li Cunzhen was a general under Su Ze and one of his most trusted generals.

Moreover, he comes from a good family and has a bright future.

Lady Li quickly said to Princess Chenliu:

"Thank you for your grace, Your Highness."

Princess Chenliu said:
"The general always told me not to match people up randomly. I'd better talk to your grandfather first and then talk about it if it's a good match."

The Li girl thanked Princess Chenliu again, and everyone looked at her with envy.

Marriage is the most important node in the life of a woman from aristocratic family, second only to reincarnation.

For the women from these big families, family property has nothing to do with them, whether they are legitimate or illegitimate. The most important thing about their family background is that it adds points when they get married.

Women from high-class families are more selective in choosing their husbands. If they find a husband of their dreams, then being the mistress of the house is much better than being a legitimate daughter.

If one is unhappy in marriage, or marries a loser, even if the daughter is a legitimate child, she will be looked down upon when she returns to her parents' home.

Princess Chenliu will personally act as a matchmaker, and the man will definitely not object.

Li Cunzhen is also a famous rich son-in-law under Su Ze. He is of marriageable age, has an extraordinary family background, and is deeply trusted by Su Ze.

With two good sons-in-law, Li Cunzhen and Hou Jing, the Li family was sure to prosper for decades.

This is the feedback that Princess Chenliu gives to these ladies.

After finishing the serious business, everyone started chatting again.

Princess Chenliu just listened with a smile. From these ladies, she could understand the relationships between the subordinates under Su Ze, and also know the private matters of many people's families.

After dinner, Lady Li came out of the Baizhang Tower. Her maidservant who came with her as a dowry immediately said:

"My lady, if the master knew about this important event of marrying General Li, he would be very happy."

The Li family girl still looked calm and composed. She said calmly:
"My grandfather has many daughters, and there are several sisters as well. You can't marry into the family and bring disgrace to the Longxi Li family."

The maid shut up immediately. Her lady was humble and low-key when she was in the Li family, and she never showed off.

But now after marriage, she manages the household in an orderly manner and keeps Hou Jing's rear house in an orderly manner. Even Hou Jing's family generals admire this mistress very much.

Now, is he going to reach back to his mother's home?

If General Hou can make more great achievements, there is no telling how powerful the Hou family will be in the future. Maybe the Longxi Li family will really have to rely on this married daughter.
-
Luoyang, Imperial Palace.

Since Empress Dowager Hu returned to power, the palace has become much quieter.

On the one hand, Empress Dowager Hu was afraid of losing power. In order to control the little emperor, she strictly prohibited ministers from entering and leaving the palace at will, and did not allow ministers to contact the little emperor privately. She arranged eunuchs and palace maids in the little emperor's bedroom to monitor the little emperor.

On the other hand, after Empress Dowager Hu became promiscuous in the harem, she spent her days either worshiping Buddha in the harem or having fun with her male favorites. She was even more unwilling to receive foreign officials, and even the women of the court no longer entered the palace to meet her.

The Luoyang Imperial Palace seemed to be shrouded in a layer of dark clouds, and the entire palace was dead silent.

Su Shun (a eunuch who changes his attitude according to the situation) followed Prince Changle Yuan Ziyou into the palace. As one of the few princes trusted by Empress Dowager Hu who had contact with the young emperor, Yuan Ziyou tried to go in and out of the palace as little as possible to avoid alerting Empress Dowager Hu.

When they arrived near the Taiji Palace where the little emperor lived, the eunuch who was appointed by Empress Dowager Hu to guard the little emperor came up enthusiastically and saluted Yuan Ziyou familiarly.

Su Shun was good at observing people's words and expressions. Every time he entered the palace, the atmosphere in the palace changed quietly.

The most intuitive feeling is that the supervision of the little emperor has become loose. This is not because Empress Dowager Hu has a change of heart and ordered the relaxation of supervision of the little emperor, but because the eunuchs and palace maids who are responsible for the specific affairs have changed their minds.

Just like King Jiangyang Yuan Yi, who lost control of the palace after the death of Grand Chamberlain Liu Teng.

Empress Dowager Hu suffered a series of defeats in the court and was promiscuous in the harem, which gradually reduced her prestige. Her subordinates then pretended to obey her orders but actually disobeyed them.

The supreme queen mother still needs specific people to execute her orders. Politics is about playing decently. When the ruler himself is not decent, the people below will help you to be decent.
However, Yuan Ziyou was also an old conspirator. He himself had experienced two coups and instinctively distrusted these eunuchs.

Su Shun cleverly offered the bribe, but this time the eunuch refused to accept it.

"It is only natural for the king to come to see His Majesty. How can we eunuchs stop him? Your Majesty, please go in quickly. His Majesty is waiting for you!"

Yuan Ziyou did not relax his vigilance against the eunuchs because of their enthusiasm. He still let Su Shun stuff the bribe into the other party's hands before entering the side hall.

Yuan Ziyou met the little emperor. Because he had been confined in the palace for a long time, the little emperor's face was unnaturally pale.

Because he was too worried, the little emperor was always thin and in poor health.

Seeing the little emperor like this, Yuan Ziyou felt heartbroken again.

At this time, the eunuch who had received the bribe from Yuan Ziyou called out the eunuchs guarding the little emperor. After Su Shun confirmed that there was no one around, he stepped forward and said to the little emperor:
"Your Majesty, Prince Gaoyang has agreed to come forward as the head of the royal family and ask the Queen Mother to kill those treacherous villains!"

The young emperor was overjoyed when he heard this. The treacherous people the two were talking about were the concubines of Empress Dowager Hu.

The Minister of the Central Secretariat Zheng Yan, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Xu He, and the General who Expeditioned the East Li Shengui.

Because Empress Dowager Hu favored these people, these male favorites of Empress Dowager Hu took advantage of their favor to sell official positions and titles, making the court a chaotic place.

Now that Yuan Shen was defeated, the princes and ministers in Luoyang were talking about it and put all the blame on the male favorite of Empress Dowager Hu.

Prince Gaoyang Yuan Yong, who had been "recuperating" at home for a long time, stood up again. Under the matchmaking of Prince Changle Yuan Ziyou, the ministers began to collude and decided to use this to force the emperor to abdicate.

If Empress Dowager Hu refuses to kill those male favorites, then she will be forced to return power to the young emperor.

The little emperor clasped his hands together and said:
"May the spirits of our ancestors bless us and punish those treacherous villains."

Yuan Ziyou asked:
"Your Majesty, if you can take the lead and use this as an excuse to force the Queen Mother to return power, then the royal family and ministers will assist us, and our Great Wei will have hope."

After hearing Yuan Ziyou's words, the young emperor Yuan Xu hesitated.

The young emperor was weak in character and his methods were not ruthless enough, so he was controlled by others.

Now that he was asked to stand up against his queen mother, the little emperor backed off again.

Yuan Ziyou sighed secretly, thinking that it would be difficult for such an emperor to achieve great things.

But the little emperor was the only son of the previous emperor and the legitimate heir of the court. Both the Empress Dowager Hu and the King of Jiangyang and the King of Qinghe at that time needed to rely on the legitimacy of the little emperor to rule.

Yuan Ziyou colluded with Gaoyang King Yuan Yong to launch a coup, which also required the legitimacy endorsement of the young emperor.

"Then please have Your Majesty write the imperial edict in your own hand and I will take it out to mobilize the imperial guards."

Now Ziyuan Ziyou hesitated again. If he wrote the imperial edict by hand, it would be tantamount to breaking with Empress Dowager Hu, and he would have no room for maneuver in the future.

The young emperor had no idea whether Prince Gaoyang Yuan Yong's coup could succeed, so he naturally refused to hand over the token of trust, the Secret Decree, to Yuan Ziyou.

Just when Yuan Ziyou was about to persuade him again, Su Shun suddenly rushed in and said:
"The Queen is late!"

Yuan Ziyou immediately retreated to the jade steps. The eunuchs and palace servants who had just retreated rushed in. Soon, Empress Dowager Hu, dressed in gorgeous clothes, walked into the hall.

"Prince Changle came to pay his respects, but no one notified me."

Empress Dowager Hu's simple words made the eunuch guarding the emperor break into a cold sweat. Yuan Ziyou reacted quickly and stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, I was ill a few days ago, and Your Majesty gave me some medicine. Today I am well again and I came to the palace to pay my respects."

Empress Dowager Hu did not doubt it and chatted with Yuan Ziyou for a while. Yuan Ziyou saw that Empress Dowager Hu had something to discuss with the young emperor, so he immediately tactfully excused himself and left.

After Yuan Ziyou left, Empress Dowager Hu said:
"I heard Pan Chonghua had a miscarriage?"

The little emperor trembled slightly, knowing that he could not hide such a big thing from his mother, so he could only say:

"The doctor said Pan Chonghua was too weak to carry the dragon fetus."

Empress Dowager Hu said dissatisfiedly:

"The royal family's heirs all depend on your majesty. In order for your majesty to focus on his heirs, I, your mother, have to take care of state affairs. The emperor should still pay more attention to it."

"Although Pan Chonghua was unable to carry the dragon fetus, he was still rewarded with ten pieces of brocade and some nourishing medicine."

After Empress Dowager Hu left, the young Emperor Yuan Xu remembered the advice Yuan Ziyou had once given him regarding the royal heirs, and he could not help but clench his fists.

(End of this chapter)