The prince is more stable

Chapter 146 First Meeting with Zhao Ji
The moonlight is bright, and the candlesticks cast shadows.

The entry of a concubine into the house should not be publicized, but Zhao Xiaoqian still tried his best to give Jiang Miaoxian respect.

There was no outside guest at the palace banquet that night. It was basically the palace guards and servants. There were dozens of tables set up in front and back of the yard. It was quite lively and spectacular.

Jiang Miaoxian sat alone in Zhao Xiaoqian's room, wearing a bright red wedding gown and a veil, quietly waiting for the important moment in her life.

More than an hour later, Zhao Xiaoqian, who was eight percent drunk, staggered into the house.

Jiang Miaoxian, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, trembled all over when she heard the noise. She clenched the corner of her clothes with her slender hands and was extremely nervous.

Zhao Xiaoqian came in with a long burp and sat down next to Jiang Miaoxian.

Just as he sat down, he felt the edge of the bed shaking. Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head vigorously: "Am I drunk or is there an earthquake? Why is the bed shaking?"

When I turned around, I saw Jiang Miaoxian with her face covered by a veil, trembling with nervousness.

"The earthquake was so strong." Zhao Xiaoqian chuckled.

In the dim light of the flickering red candle, Zhao Xiaoqian used a weighing rod to lift her red veil.

Jiang Miaoxian wore light makeup tonight, and she looked even more charming under the candlelight. Her shy look with her head down made Zhao Xiaoqian's heart beat faster.

The ceremonial atmosphere made Zhao Xiaoqian a little nervous.

"My lady, let's... take a rest?" Zhao Xiaoqian said with a smile, then hugged her and leaned his weight onto the bed.

"My lord, wait... wait! We haven't drunk the wedding wine yet." Jiang Miaoxian struggled and said anxiously.

A gourd was split in two, each person held one, poured a little wine into it, and the two drank it all from the cup.

Jiang Miaoxian looked at Zhao Xiaoqian's resolute face in the candlelight, her eyes moving as if water was rippling.

"Sir, in the days ahead, regardless of wealth or poverty, high or low, good times or bad, I swear to be with you through thick and thin, through thick and thin. This oath of mine is for the witness of heaven and earth."

Jiang Miaoxian's voice was low, but firm as a rock.

Zhao Xiaoqian sobered up immediately. He couldn't bring himself to utter any vows. After a moment's contemplation, he whispered, "Let's... live a good life, peacefully and calmly, and finally die a natural death. Okay?"

Jiang Miaoxian sniffed hard and said with red eyes: "Okay!"

Vows of love are too frivolous. I only wish that we can grow old together and die peacefully.

The red candle is not extinguished, the light and shadow are swaying, inside the mandarin duck quilt, the wind is not calm, the waves are not tranquil, it turns out to be a night of autumn rain hitting the crabapple tree.

…………

For several days, Zhao Xiaoqian was addicted to the land of pleasure, reluctant to leave, and became thinner than a yellow flower.

As for the official business of the Imperial City Office, they were all pushed to Wei Jie.

This is Zhao Xiaoqian's original intention of living. Serving the country and the people is enough, just shouting slogans, but don't really die for it. Personal quality of life should be put first.

Anyway, Zhao Xiaoqian had been living a very comfortable life these days. After his first taste of sexual pleasure, he became addicted to it and spent every day having fun with Jiang Miaoxian.

Only then did Zhao Xiaoqian finally understand his father's happiness.

Having one concubine at home is already happy enough. I really can’t imagine whether Zhao Hao’s life with more than a dozen concubines must be more than ten times happier.

Question the father, understand the father, become the father, and eventually surpass the father in the future.

Time passed unnoticed in the palace, and outside the palace, dramatic changes took place in the court.

Fan Chunren and Lu Dafang, who were originally from the old party, resigned from the position of prime minister three times before Zhao Xu finally approved it.

The two were exiled to the local area, Fan Chunren was appointed as the training envoy of Huangzhou, and Lu Dafang was appointed as the governor of Suizhou.

The two were originally Shangshu Zuo Pushe and Shangshu Zuo Pushe, the legitimate prime ministers of the dynasty. After being demoted, the positions of Zuo Pushe and Zuo Pushe became vacant.

Such an important position certainly cannot be left vacant.

After Zhao Xu approved the resignation petitions of Fan Chunren and Lu Dafang, he appointed Zhang Dun as Shangshu Zuo Pushe the next day to oversee the implementation of the new law.

Zhang Dun stood up.

At the beginning of this year, he was a demoted official in Ruzhou. Within a year, he jumped three levels, from prefect to minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and then to minister of the left. He had reached the pinnacle of officialdom.

It is not easy to guess what Zhao Xu was thinking, but it is certain that the appointment of Zhang Dun as prime minister shows Zhao Xu's firm determination to implement the new law.

Because Zhang Dun was not a good person. To put it nicely, he was "hateful of evil", and to put it bluntly, he was "violent in temperament".

When Zhao Xiaoqian first met Zhang Dun, he had sensed an inexplicable rage between his brows. This wasn't an illusion. The demotion of both Fan Chunren and Lü Dafang signified the loss of the Old Party's crucial position in the government, the Prime Minister's Hall, and the gradual rise of the New Party.

When the old party in the court was full of resentment, the Council of State issued a decree on the second day after Zhang Dun took office as the Left Prime Minister.

From then on, the court fully implemented the new laws, and no court official was allowed to discuss the old policies again.

This decree made the political intentions of Zhao Xu and Zhang Dun public for the first time, and also meant that the court was about to begin a large-scale purge of the old party and promote the new party.

In the past, Zhao Xu's secretive behavior was so obvious that even a blind person could see his inclination after he took power, but the court had not yet issued a clear order, so the old party could still rise up to argue and save the situation.

With Zhang Dun officially taking office as the Left Prime Minister, the emperor and his ministers finally stopped pretending and laid their cards on the table: I'm going to kill the old party.

Not only that, after Zhang Dun took office as the Left Prime Minister, Zhao Xu also issued several appointment decrees in succession.

Zeng Bu, formerly in charge of the Privy Council, was promoted to Privy Envoy.

Xu Jiang, the former Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, was promoted to the Minister of Personnel, and was appointed as the Left Prime Minister and Vice Minister of the Secretariat.

Xing Shu, the former prefect of Heyang, was promoted to vice minister of the Ministry of Justice.

Cai Bian, formerly the Secretary of the Secretariat and the Imperial Lecturer, was promoted to the Chief Secretary.

The appointment decrees one after another completely turned the court upside down.

The court officials were in a state of panic, and everyone felt insecure.

All the people appointed by Zhao Xuxin were members of the New Party. Among them, Zhang Dun and Xing Shu were both very violent in character. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they were cruel ministers.

What will happen next if such a person is in charge of the court?
No one knows what will happen, but it is certain that the old party court officials will have a hard time.

The smartest way is to learn from Fan Chunren and Lu Dafang. When they knew the situation was not good, they took the initiative to resign and went into exile far away to avoid disaster.

Unfortunately, it is the nature of officials to cling to power. Who would be willing to hand over such great power to others?

When Zhao Xiaoqian woke up from his gentle embrace, he suddenly realized that the situation outside had changed.

Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly looked solemn. He immediately found Zhao Hao and sternly told his restless father that he should be careful with his words and actions recently, not to get involved in state affairs, and not to casually submit memorials and talk nonsense.

Zhao Hao naturally knew the danger better than his son, so he quickly agreed, turned around, covered his eyes, and lost himself in the concubines' constant calls of "Your Majesty"...

Zhao Xiaoqian naturally hid himself even deeper. After the dramatic changes in the court, he even refused to leave the palace.

I have no interest in getting involved in these messy things. After Zhang Dun became the left prime minister, one can imagine that the court became more and more chaotic. Keeping a low profile on such matters is the right thing to do.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't keep a low profile even if he wanted to.

Someone suddenly came to the palace and Zhao Xu summoned him.

Zhao Xiaoqian had no choice but to put on his official uniform and go to the palace to meet the emperor.

In Funing Palace, Zhao Xu's face was pale and his eyes were dark. It was obvious that he had stayed up late again.

He really works hard. Being an emperor is a waste of his talent. Being a network administrator in an Internet cafe is a suitable career for him.

Although he looked tired, Zhao Xu was in very good spirits and still smiled brightly.

Zhao Xiaoqian walked into the hall with his head lowered and stood in front of Zhao Xu to salute.

Zhao Xu waved his sleeves to disclaim the formality. Zhao Xiaoqian was just about to ask Zhao Xu why he was so happy, why he seemed so exhausted yet so excited. Should he go to the Public Security Bureau for a urine test?

Before the king and his ministers started chatting, a strange and somewhat childish voice came from the side.

"Brother Ji, I pay my respects to Brother Zi'an."

Zhao Xiaoqian was startled and turned his head to look, only to see a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old bowing to him.

When he stood up, he looked like a handsome, fresh young man.

"I wonder who you are..." Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated and bowed.

Before the young man could speak, Zhao Xu smiled and said, "He is my younger brother, Zhao Ji, Prince of Suining. You should have met him. Zi'an, don't you remember him?"

Zhao Xiaoqian's mind exploded and his body shook a few times.

Artist and veteran prodigal, Zhao Ji!

Damn it, the Song Dynasty was completely defeated by you!
(End of this chapter)