Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 558 Fate

Three days after the wedding, Luxi returned home.

Yang Yuan and Song Luxi went to the palace to meet the emperor first.

The official family recognized a sister as their adopted daughter, not a daughter, so if they want to go back to Fengweilou first, that is fine.

But if they go back to Fengwei Building first and then go to the Imperial Palace, then they will not stay in Fengwei Building for too long, unless they come out of the Imperial Palace and then go back to Fengwei Building.

So the couple discussed and decided that it would be better to go and meet their sworn brother’s family in Luxi first. That would be the real social event and it wouldn’t take too long.

Therefore, the request for an audience was submitted to the palace the day before and was approved.

Early the next morning, Lu Xi dressed up carefully and entered the palace with Yang Yuan.

The eunuchs led the couple to the Cining Palace.

Grand Empress Dowager Wei, Empress Dowager Wu, Emperor Zhao Yuan, and Empress Guo were all here.

Since the emperor recognized Luxi as his sister, the emperor's grandmother and mother naturally became Luxi's grandmother and mother, and Yang Yuan became their grandson-in-law and son-in-law.

The Grand Empress Dowager Wei and the Empress Dowager Wu gave gifts to the newlyweds, and Empress Guo was no exception.

Empress Guo was born into the Guo family of Taiyuan. She just turned thirty this year. She was a gentle and beautiful young woman with a soft temperament and a soft voice. She was very friendly to Luxi, the sudden sister-in-law.

Zhao Yuan now had three sons and one daughter, all of whom were brought in to meet their aunt and uncle.

Among Zhao Yuan's three sons, the youngest one is only two years old and is being held by his wet nurse.

Before Luxi was canonized as a princess, the only princess of the Song Dynasty, Princess Jiaguo, had just turned six years old this year.

The little girl had an oval face, a bit like her mother, with big eyes and a pointed chin. She was very pretty, but her cheeks were too pale and she looked like she was not in good health.

However, her mother, Guo, also looked pale and not particularly healthy.

Both mother and daughter were of relatively weak constitution. According to the original history, Empress Guo was going to die of illness the next year, and little Jiaguo died within a few years.

Luxi is a very healthy girl since she was a child. Her life is like the wild grass growing out of the cracks in the blue bricks, full of resilience.

From childhood to adulthood, she seldom suffered from headaches or fevers. Now, seeing this frail little niece, Song Luxi suddenly felt pity for her.

She couldn't help but hold the little princess in her arms. She felt her palms against her back, and her shoulder blades were hard. She couldn't help but ask with pity, "What is your maiden name, Princess Jiaguo?"

"My name is Ning'er."

Because she was not familiar with Lu Xi yet, Zhao Ning'er just answered in a soft voice and then stopped talking quietly.

"Ning'er, what a nice name."

Lu Xi thought, the title bestowed upon me by the emperor is Yongning, and the princess of Jiaguo is Zhao Ning'er, so we are destined to be together."

Lu Xi touched Zhao Ning'er's little face lovingly and said, "Ning'er is so beautiful, but... she's too thin.

You are still a little girl, don't worry about getting fat. I was a fat girl when I was a child.

Look, I am not fat at all now. You should eat more."

Zhao Ning'er smiled shyly. She was in the period of changing teeth and had one tooth missing on her lower gum. She looked quite cute when she smiled.

But she obviously didn't think so. She opened her mouth for a moment and then quickly closed it again.

Guo sighed quietly and said to Lu Xi, "Sister Yu, you don't know that Ning'er is born with a weak constitution, and has the same problem as me.

She usually eats like a kitten, only a few mouthfuls. The imperial physician has been treating her since she was young, but there is no improvement, alas!

After hearing this, Zhao Ning'er frowned slightly and waved to Lu Xi.

Lu Xi bent down and put his ear close to her. Zhao Ning'er then complained in a low voice, "Aunt, you don't know, mother forces me to take medicine every day. The medicine is so bitter that I feel like vomiting after drinking it. How can I eat anything?"

Lu Xi felt distressed when he heard this, and he gently hugged Zhao Ning'er and put her on his lap.

The child was really too thin, with hardly any flesh on his body, so Luxi picked him up easily.

Of course, this may also be related to Luxi's practice of the "Zhelong Gong".

After she married Yang Yuan, the Zhelong technique was able to harmonize the yin and yang, and her strength increased unknowingly.

Lu Xi held Zhao Ning'er, who was as light as a feather, and said to her, "This time, my aunt came to the palace and brought some homemade snacks. Would you like to try them? My young lady is a very good cook. People in the martial arts world call her the Little God of Food."

When Zhao Ning'er heard this, her eyes, which seemed particularly big because of her thin cheeks, suddenly lit up and she nodded impatiently.

Because she was too weak and sickly since childhood, and looked like she would die at any time, she had no freedom in her diet.

How many meals she eats a day, what she eats for each meal, and how much she eats of each thing, are all measured at regular times and in fixed quantities, just like taking medicine.

Of course, he didn't care about the taste of the food he ate. He just ate three meals a day just to replenish his body, which made the child's appetite worse and worse.

The princess, a daughter of the royal family, has been in a state of chronic hunger for a long time.

Now, after hearing what Luxi said, he felt a little greedy. He swallowed his saliva and nodded quickly.

Lu Xi asked, "Sister-in-law, my sister came to the palace and brought some snacks. Can Ning'er have a taste?"

Guo was naturally reluctant, for she was afraid that her only daughter would die young, so she took good care of her like a delicate little flower every day. How could she allow someone to eat this thing carelessly?

She was about to refuse, but Empress Dowager Wu said, "Luxi's cooking skills are indeed good. The last time I came to the palace to prepare imperial cuisine, it was very much to my taste.

We have never tasted the snacks you made, please bring them out so we can have a taste."

Wu was born into a family of military commanders. She was not only skilled in martial arts, but also had a cheerful personality. She had long been dissatisfied with the way her daughter-in-law fed her granddaughter.

At this time, I was deliberately trying to shut her up.

Guo was about to decline, but her mother-in-law had already expressed her opinion, so she could only smile awkwardly and said:

"Look at what you said, sister. Let your niece taste your cooking skills. What else are you asking? Come on, bring the snacks that the eldest princess brought."

The Empress Dowager Wei looked at her daughter-in-law and then at her granddaughter-in-law with a smile, and wisely did not get involved.

Even if it was food that the eldest princess brought into the palace, the eunuchs would test it with silver needles and then taste it first.

There was no need to test it again and it was presented directly. The Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager and the Queen all picked a piece that they liked and tasted it.

However, Lu Xi asked someone to take a piece of each of the snacks she had made and bring them to Zhao Ning'er.

When Zhao Ning'er saw the exquisite snacks on the plate, her eyes widened immediately.

The crispy abalone snail is made of cream, honey, and cane sugar. It is shaped like a snail and is crispy and sweet.

Cream has been used in China since the Tang Dynasty, and it was also used in the court of the Song Dynasty.

The problem is, the poor little princess of Jia country has never eaten it, or even seen it.

She picked up a pill curiously and put it into her mouth. The sweet fragrance spread in her mouth, and Zhao Ning'er's pupils suddenly dilated.

It was as if she knew for the first time in her life that there was such a delicious food in the world.

Then she picked up a piece of "cherry pancake" that looked great. It was sweet and slightly sour, very appetizing. The little princess squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

This time, she put down her chopsticks and picked up a mung bean cake shaped like a small pumpkin. She took a bite and found that it had a light and pure taste, with a faint bean fragrance, and was soft but not sticky.

When Zhao Ning'er was eating the second piece, Guo wanted to stop her. Now seeing her pick up another piece, she suddenly became restless.

My daughter is too weak. How can she eat anything she wants? What if she gets sick from eating so much?
Seeing Zhao Ning'er picking up another piece of mung bean cake, Empress Guo smiled and said, "This child really likes the food made by your aunt. Eat slowly and don't choke.

Come on, take the snacks away and send them to the princess in a moment."

The palace maid agreed and took away all the snacks that had not been eaten.

The light in Zhao Ning'er's eyes dimmed for a moment. She knew that once these snacks were taken away, she would not be able to eat them anymore.

Then, the movements of her hands suddenly slowed down, and she took small bites and chewed carefully.

She knew that she would probably never be able to eat such delicious food again, so she had to cherish it.

Empress Dowager Wu disliked the way her daughter-in-law disciplined her granddaughter, but it was inconvenient for her to stop her because the queen was the master of the palace after all.

Seeing how Zhao Ning'er loved the food but was reluctant to eat more, Wu put down the snack that was passed to her and said to Zhao Ning'er, "Ning'er, come here, let me give you this snack to try."

The Empress Dowager Wu and Empress Guo were not much different in age, only about three or four years older.

The relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was not easy to get along with, not to mention that they were of the same age. When Empress Guo saw this, she was worried that her daughter would get sick and became even more unhappy.

It was just that this was Luxi’s first time entering the palace to recognize her relatives, and she didn’t want to cause discord among the family. She could only comfort herself in her heart, saying that fortunately, this imperial sister didn’t come to the palace often, so she thought, “Forget it, it’s not too much, so I’ll just endure it.”

……

Zhao Yuan and Yang Yuan were unaware of the drama involving the three queens and two princesses.

Since Yang Yuan had come to the palace, Zhao Yuan wanted to inform him in advance about his new appointment after the change of the reign title, so she took him to the study in a side hall.

"Son-in-law, you are accompanying your wife to visit her parents today, so don't be too concerned about etiquette. Please sit down."

Zhao Yuan, wearing casual clothes, sat down calmly and said something to Yang Yuan with a smile.

After Yang Yuan sat down, Zhao Yuan casually asked a few questions about Yang Yuan's family situation, expressing the concern of an elder brother-in-law for his sister-in-law, and then changed the subject and got to the point.

"Ziyue, the court is about to change the era name. After the change, I plan to transfer you to the Censorate to serve as the Chief Censor. What do you think?"

Yang Yuan was slightly surprised when he heard this. He knew that he probably couldn't stay in Lin'an Prefecture anymore and he had to move up a level at least.

However, he had made some predictions about his possible destination, and the Censorate was not the most likely place he predicted. Unexpectedly, he actually went to the Censorate.

Fortunately, the establishment of the Censorate was originally a suggestion made by Yang Yuan to Zhao Yuan, and Yang Yuan was very clear about its functions and powers.

Moreover, he had done some research in advance on all the places he might go.

This can be considered as some advance preparation, after all, he is holding the title of "Three Firsts in the Imperial Examination".

This was a supreme halo of glory, but also a heavy burden for him. Because he was the top scholar, and the first top scholar to pass the imperial examinations since the Song Dynasty moved south, others had different expectations of him.

Don't say that he performed poorly or mediocrely. Even if he just performed well, it's not enough. He must perform exceptionally well to meet everyone's expectations of him.

So how could he not do some work first?

Now that the emperor had asked, Yang Yuan thought quickly, organized his words, and said:

"Wherever the emperor wants me to go, it means that he values ​​me. I should do my best to live up to the emperor's grace. There is no reason for me to be picky.

Moreover, the Metropolitan Censorate is responsible for supervision, impeachment and admonition. It can not only supervise and criticize the officials for their wrong government affairs, arrogance, deceit, greed and lawlessness.

You can also report on the gains and losses of the court's political affairs and the benefits and disadvantages of people's livelihood in real time.

The Censorate even had the power to supervise the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple, which were also judicial offices. It was responsible for adjudicating major matters and making immediate decisions on minor ones. Its power was unparalleled.

The emperor has placed me in such an important position. How dare I not devote all my energy and loyalty to you?"

Zhao Yuan said helplessly: "I told you that you came to the palace today to visit your relatives. There is no need for us to be as cautious in our conversation as you did before. If you have any ideas, just speak freely."

Yang Yuan laughed dryly, secretly organized his words, and started with "the gains and losses of political affairs" and talked about his views on the Song Dynasty's redundant officials and bad policies.

The discussion of "political gains and losses" is certainly one of the responsibilities of the Censorate, but what Zhao Yuan is asking now is obviously what he plans to focus on after he goes to the Censorate.

Therefore, directly talking about the bad government policies at this time is obviously the wrong answer.

But what was strange was that Zhao Yuan not only did not show any displeasure, but instead nodded slightly, indicating that he should continue.

When talking about the phenomenon of redundant officials, we inevitably have to talk about the "system of separation of officials, positions, and assignments."

When many people talk about a certain phenomenon or a certain outcome, they like to regard the only reason they find as the only reason for this consequence.

In fact, no problem can be caused by a single reason. It’s just that among the many causes of a phenomenon, there are main causes and secondary causes.

Take the "officials, posts, and dispatches" of the Song Dynasty for example. They were not original to the Song Dynasty, nor were they unique to the Song Dynasty.

This phenomenon still existed in the Han and Tang dynasties before it, the Ming and Qing dynasties after it, and even in modern times, but it was most prominent in the Song Dynasty, and the resulting phenomenon of redundant officials was also the most serious.

There are too many objective reasons for this. One of the main reasons is that Zhao Kuangyin launched a military coup at Chenqiao, put on the yellow robe, and changed the dynasty at a very small cost.

At that time, there were many countries and powerful enemies around him, and he could not use tough measures to solve internal problems. Therefore, he could only adopt a policy of appeasement towards the old people, meritorious officials, old friends, and local vassal states of the Later Zhou Dynasty.

By utilizing the system of separation of officials, posts, and dispatches, he could retain these people's official positions and posts, so as not to cut off their retreat and force them to rebel.

At the same time, he took away the real power related to finance, politics and the military, and granted it to people of low rank and little experience but who he trusted.

For the old men of the Later Zhou Dynasty, old friends who had made great contributions, and local vassal states who had lost their power, although they no longer had the power to interfere in government affairs, they could still enjoy high positions and generous salaries, so it was difficult for them to take the risk of launching a rebellion.

This policy of neither killing nor demoting, but granting official positions to win over people, made the government and the people "live in peace and unity", thus stabilizing the political situation and consolidating the regime.

Since the Five Dynasties, the generals have supported their commander-in-chief to kill the emperor, and then the commander-in-chief became the emperor, and the generals themselves became the commander-in-chief. Then his subordinates supported him to kill the emperor, and he became the emperor, and his subordinates became the commander-in-chief again. This magical cycle made Zhao Kuangyin feel uneasy even when he was the emperor.

Therefore, he also adopted this method to deal with the group of heroes who supported him to become emperor after the Chenqiao Rebellion. He gave them high positions and generous salaries as long as they handed over the real power.

This bloodless method ended the chaos of the Five Dynasties where generations of lords were killed, but it also gave rise to a large number of idle officials.

As the Song Dynasty's rule became increasingly stable, the court could have gradually changed this phenomenon, but the Song Dynasty felt that it was an important tool for maintaining stability and instead developed it further.

There are more and more Jinshi (Jinshi) and not so many vacant positions. If we don't grant them official titles or raise the threshold for the imperial examination, will some people defect to other countries?
Isn't this a system that separates officials, posts and assignments? Appoint an official, pay him a salary and support him first.

This method of resolving conflicts gradually led to the formation of a fixed way of thinking in the court, and it was no longer limited to the officialdom.

The emergence of "redundant officials" was also due to this kind of thinking.

Whenever any natural disaster or man-made disaster occurred, in order to prevent the refugees from causing chaos, they used the most worry-free method, which was to recruit all these people into the army and raise them.

However, many of these soldiers had extremely poor quality and poor military discipline. This method, while it solved the possibility of local unrest, also created a bloated army with little combat effectiveness.

There are too many redundant officials and soldiers, so is there any need to talk about the problem of redundant expenses? Of course, there are more.

After analyzing this issue, Yang Yuan talked about the current situation between Song and Jin.

If we say that the peace faction had previously obstructed the court from changing its national policy because they did not want the Song Dynasty to become too radical, it was only based on their mature principles of statecraft and their original intention was also to do so for the sake of the Song Dynasty.

Well, in the current situation that is favorable to the Song Dynasty, continuing to obstruct the preparations for the Northern Expedition is obviously entirely based on factional self-interest.

The opportunity to recover our homeland must be seized accurately, not too early.

The problem of Western Xia's containment of the Song Dynasty must be resolved. Let the Jin Kingdom fight with the New Jin first to consume its strength. This is also the plan of the Song Dynasty.

But when the opportunity comes, you must be able to act quickly, accurately and decisively. If it is too late, you may miss the opportunity.

During this period, those officials who have become parasites to the country for the sake of factional selfishness must be gradually eliminated.

If this process does not arouse the vigilance of the Jin Kingdom, then the Censorate can play an extremely good role.

It is entirely possible to get rid of these officials by targeting their laziness, inaction, corruption and other behaviors.

From the perspective of the Jin Kingdom, this was a major overhaul of the civil service system after the new emperor of the Song Dynasty ascended the throne. It was completely an internal affair and was relatively covert.

After hearing this, Zhao Yuan couldn't help but ponder.

He understood what Yang Yuan meant. He wanted to transfer Yang Yuan to the Censorate because he wanted Yang Yuan to play a role in this area.

But he didn't expect that Yang Yuan would be even more radical than he wanted Yang Yuan to be.

Although Yang Yuan's words were very tactful, he still sensed the murderous intent in them.

Zhao Yuan is a person who is too upright and doesn't know how to adapt.

Yang Yuan is the kind of person who believes in outcome justice, while Zhao Yuan is more inclined to process justice.

These two are consistent most of the time, but not absolutely. So when they conflict, which one is more important depends entirely on personal philosophy.

Once Yang Yuan went to the Censorate, if he wanted to make drastic changes, he could not do without the understanding and support of the emperor Zhao Yuan.

Therefore, although his tone was euphemistic, he still revealed the result he wanted:

He wanted to use the Censorate as a weapon to take action against the politics of redundant officials and the peace faction.

Although this is still only a temporary solution to the Song Dynasty's bad policies and not a fundamental solution, it will be easier to achieve if we have to cut out the rotten meat first and then solve the problem fundamentally.

Otherwise, if you want to touch the root, this piece of rotten meat will make you unable to lift the knife.

Zhao Yuan was worried that Yang Yuan's actions would be too big and would hurt his vitality. He did not have Yang Yuan's "foresight" golden finger, and could not see through the harm of this drawback from the perspective of an experienced person.

Seeing Zhao Yuan pondering, Yang Yuan said, "Of course, every time I deal with someone, I must obtain irrefutable evidence of their guilt.

If you fabricate charges, fabricate accusations, or torture me into confessing, then what is the difference between me and Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen?"

Hearing this, Zhao Yuan finally let go of his worries and nodded, saying, "Okay! As long as this person really deserves it, then just go ahead and do it!"

……

Fei family, Qingchen hall.

Yuye and Madam Li lay side by side in the misty bathtub.

The peach and plum blossoms are speechless, the apricot blossoms are beautiful, the pear blossoms are white in the mist and rain.

Two white bodies with well-proportioned curves and slender figure seemed to float up and down in the bath water.

As the New Year was approaching, Yuye invited her godmother to celebrate the New Year together. Chen Erniang and other servants were given holidays and went home happily.

As soon as Mrs. Fat saw Mrs. Li's son, Xiao Yangsheng, she couldn't let him go, so much so that now, except when it was time to breastfeed, Mrs. Li couldn't get the chance to hold her son.

Of course, there were people vying to hold the baby, and Mrs. Li was happy to do so; she was content to have some free time.

"So, my godmother is on the lonely mountain, or... in the wild..."

Fei Yuye turned her face to the side, her eyes were charming and bright, with a hint of shyness, yet full of curiosity.

Li Shishi was amused by her. This girl wanted to listen but was shy. She felt it was ridiculous but also exciting. How could she not feel that complicated mentality?

"Oh, yes."

Li Shishi then openly talked about some details. "You want to hear it, don't you? Then I'll tell you."

Li Shishi had such eloquence and such culture that when she spoke some things, it was so beautiful that Fei Yuye blushed and was full of imagination.

The sturdy and masculine figure of a man standing beside the lotus pond under the moonlight, which she had secretly seen at Li Gan's mother's house, was like the pond water surging beside him, attacking her heart over and over again.

"Okay, okay, I don't want to listen anymore..."

Fei Yuye pouted coquettishly. She felt her mouth dry and her chest began to swell. She couldn't help but sink into the water guiltily, immersing her snow-white and round shoulders in the water.

Li Shishi smiled slightly, closed her eyes and began to rest.

Just stop there. The little one also needs to be fed at night, so now is a good time to catch up on some sleep.

Fei Yuye secretly looked at her godmother's body. They had bathed together before. Although her godmother had a beautiful figure, the firmness and elasticity of her body could not be compared with that of a young woman like her.

But looking at it now, there seems to be no difference between her godmother's body and hers.

Is that root of Polygonum multiflorum really so miraculous?
Originally, Yang Yuan's handsomeness and youth made Yuye secretly fond of him.

His status as the top scholar gave him a halo of glory.

Now the temptation of eternal youth is even more...

Fei Yuye bit her lip, her eyes full of tears.

Spring has not yet arrived, but the breath of spring has quietly spread in her heart...

……

(End of this chapter)