The White-haired Queen

The sky in the east was slowly turning white. It was really inconvenient without a watch. Not knowing the exact time, Wen Lanyue had to hurry to the palace gate.

As luck would have it, the ministers were already waiting at the palace gate and were entering the palace one after another.

Wen Lanyue wanted to sneak in quietly during the hazy night at dawn, but when the palace gate opened for the first time every day, only court officials could enter.

By the way, the Regent can bring his personal attendants in, so Wen Lanyue began to look for the Regent’s carriage.

The Regent's carriage came slowly. Wen Lanyue quietly hid at the side of the carriage, patted the curtains on the side of the carriage, and called softly, "Brother Changfeng, Brother Changfeng."

The driver saw someone and was about to shout. Gu Changfeng lifted the curtain and said, "Yue'er, why are you dressed as a man again? Did you just come back or are you going out again?"

When Wen Lanyue heard this, she immediately felt overwhelmed and begged softly, "Brother Changfeng, I'm under house arrest. I want to return to the palace quietly now."

Gu Changfeng said: "Tell me where you went first?"

Wen Lanyue wanted to say that she had come to find him specially, but she felt that Gu Changfeng would not believe it, so she had to act coquettishly and said, "Brother Changfeng, can we talk about this problem later? Let's find a way to get in first. I don't want to cause trouble for the little emperor."

Gu Changfeng asked the driver to stop, got out of the carriage and said, "Let's go." Wen Lanyue lowered her head and followed behind Gu Changfeng, keeping a distance. The two walked in silence, one after the other.

From time to time, ministers came to greet Gu Changfeng, and Gu Changfeng just nodded lightly.

Wen Lanyue originally wanted to find a place to quietly hide in her Shengde Palace when no one was around, but along the way, ministers always came to say hello from time to time. Wen Lanyue had no choice but to step forward and say, "Your Majesty, I need to go to the toilet."

Gu Changfeng said: "Go ahead."

Wen Lanyue walked towards the toilet, and seeing that there was no one around, she took a few turns and returned to her Shengde Palace.

As soon as I opened the door, Hong He grabbed my arm and I could only hear her say, "You bold thief, take my punch."

Wen Lanyue hurriedly said, "It's me, it's me, it's me."

It happened so quickly that Hong He's fist had already passed. At this time, the secret guard Dong Chen flashed in and pulled Wen Lanyue away, and Hong He's fist missed.

Hong He quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Queen Mother."

Then he asked hurriedly, "Queen Mother, what are you doing so early in the morning dressed in men's clothes?"

Wen Lanyue said: "I just want to relax. By the way, Dongchen, why are you here?"

Dongchen replied: "I just came back from Yongshou Palace."

Wen Lanyue asked: "Did you find anything?"

Dong Chen said, "I saw a eunuch throwing a wounded rabbit into Yongshou Palace. I have already controlled that eunuch, so I came to ask for your help."

Wen Lanyue asked: "Have you found out who it is?"

Dong Chen said, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, I'm afraid we won't be able to find out the truth without torture."

Wen Lanyue said: "Then let's use some torture."

Dongchen took the order and left.

Less than 10 minutes later, Dongchen came back and said, "Your Majesty, the eunuch has bitten his tongue and committed suicide."

Wen Lanyue was shocked and thought: What a big deal! It's worth biting your tongue and killing yourself. It seems that the mastermind behind this is not simple. So she asked, "Are there any other clues?"

Dongchen said: "Not for now."

Wen Lanyue said: "It's okay, you can continue to wait at night."

Dongchen took the order and left.

Wen Lanyue thought about it and felt that there was nothing to do this morning, so she might as well go to the court and listen.

So, they dressed up and went to the court. When Bilian was about to shout "The Queen Mother has arrived", Wen Lanyue put his index finger on his lips to silence her.

Wen Lanyue hid behind the curtain and heard someone say, "Reject the memorial from Grand Concubine Zhang and bury Concubine Song with her as a warning to others."

"I second the proposal."

"I second the proposal."

……

Prime Minister Zhang said, "No."

"No? Then let Concubine Zhang be buried alive with him."

Prime Minister Zhang said: "But Concubine Song is an innocent person."

"Innocent, how can she be innocent? She was originally a criminal, and her whole family was exiled, but she is still enjoying her good years in the palace."

"If Prime Minister Zhang insists that Concubine Song is innocent, then let Concubine Zhang be buried alive with him. It is she who is restless."

Prime Minister Zhang was speechless for a moment.

Gu Changfeng said: "Besides what you said about damaging the reputation of the royal family, what other disadvantages are there?"

Minister Pang said: "Women should follow the Three Obediences and Four Virtues. Concubine Zhang has failed in her virtues, so she should... Besides, the late emperor loved Concubine Zhang the most during his lifetime. Wouldn't it be better to let her accompany the late emperor?"

Prime Minister Zhang said: "The late emperor was very kind to Consort Pang when he was alive. Are you willing to let Consort Pang be buried with him?"

...Ministers from the Zhang faction and the Pang faction began to argue with each other again.

The little emperor said: "Since everyone still has differences, let's discuss this matter tomorrow."

Xiao Xizi said: "If you have something to say, please report it. If not, please leave the court."

"Your Majesty, the envoy from the Northern Cang Kingdom will arrive in the capital soon, and the Ministry of Rites has arranged for his reception. But I heard that the envoy brought a fierce-tempered Ferghana horse, so I would like to ask the Herdsmen's Office to assist him."

The little emperor said, "Yes."

"Your Majesty. The potatoes have been distributed according to the ratio of food to seeds, but the people don't know how to arrange the planting."

The little emperor asked: "Who can solve this problem?"

Regent Gu Changfeng said: "Let Defu take care of this matter."

The little emperor said, "Okay, I'll grant it."

"Your Majesty, a commercial bank has recently opened in the capital. The common people said that the wall clocks and bellows given away are very practical. I, your humble servant, also received a wall clock." After saying this, he took out a wall clock and presented it.

The little emperor took the wall clock, looked at it again and again, and said, "It is really good. It is more accurate and convenient than the sundial and hourglass timer. It is worth promoting."

"So I implore the emperor to order the commercial banks to submit the design drawings to the Ministry of Industry for use by the country and the people."

The young emperor said, "What Li Aiqing said is very true. What do you think?"

When Wen Lanyue heard this, she cursed in her heart, "This is robbery."

Gu Changfeng said: "Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate."

The little emperor asked: "What do you think, uncle?"

Gu Changfeng said: "Does the emperor want to buy out the design or rob it by force?"

The little emperor said without hesitation: "Of course I have to buy out the design. Otherwise, what's the difference between this and robbery?"

Gu Changfeng asked: "What if the other party doesn't sell it?"

The little emperor asked: "The price is reasonable, why don't you sell it?"

Gu Changfeng said: "What does the emperor mean by a reasonable price? How much is a reasonable price?"

The little emperor was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Lord Li, what do you think?"

Li Qiang, the Minister of Industry, said, "Two thousand taels of silver can buy out the design, right?"

Gu Changfeng said: "If the market opens up, the profit will be more than just two thousand taels."

For a moment, everyone was speechless.

Seeing that no one spoke, the young emperor said, "Then my dear ministers, go back and think about it. We will discuss it again tomorrow."

Seeing that no one was talking, Xiao Xizi hurriedly said, "If you have something to say, please report it. If not, please adjourn the court." Seeing that no one was talking, Xiao Xizi shouted, "Adjourn the court."