The scheming empress starts by conquering men

At three quarters past three in the morning, before daybreak, courtiers for the morning court arrived one after another in front of the palace gate. They were of lower rank, so they arrived earlier than the prime minister, general, chief censor, and nine ministers.

It was not to take up space, but they did not want to be arrogant and make those high-ranking officials wait for them.

Wenren was the Right Minister of Rites and, like Kuang Ziyu, was in charge of court ceremonies and matters concerning ethnic minorities. She was indispensable in all matters, including major banquets, diplomacy, and weddings.

In this dynasty, there were no ranks, only official titles. Each title was divided into left and right levels, with the left being the most important and the right being the most auxiliary.

Wenren was among them. She came earlier than usual today.

Everyone greeted each other and talked about what happened during the night.

As soon as Wen Ren arrived, people started to make friends and talk with her, simply because she was Wen Zhong's sister. Although she did not have much real power, Wen Zhong was a general and held military power.

"Master Wen, have you heard? The Sixth Prince actually distributed fine food to us for free. What do you think of this?"

"I heard that the Sixth Princess killed a man because of releasing grain. If it were her, Your Majesty should have imprisoned such a cruel person earlier than letting her out to harm others."

"Oh, that's not right. Why did I hear that the attack was done by the Second Prince's personal guard Hongmei?"

"No matter who did it, in the final analysis, it must be the fault of His Highness the Sixth Prince."

"No, what I heard is different from what you heard. I heard that the man chopped by the Second Prince was an assassin who deliberately provoked trouble."

"Is it true? I really don't know about this."

"I don't know why the Second Prince is not sleeping in the middle of the night and is running outside the Sixth Prince's mansion."

"It seems like you are pleading for the son of Marquis Shao. I heard that the son of Marquis Shao is already dead?"

"It is said that Bianjing is a city that provides for the well-being of people. This person has only been here for a few days, but he has already been killed. Could he have been assassinated by someone?"

"Hush, don't talk nonsense! Who are we? How can we say such things? Be careful that the walls have ears."

"Oh! This damn snowy day, when will it end? It's so cold!"

Everyone changed the subject, but threw it back to Wenren again.

"Master Wen, what do you think about what happened in the past few days?"

"Yes, I heard that Lord Yin was killed outside the city. It was such a tragic scene. I don't know who did it secretly."

"I also heard that Chi Feiyan has taken up the position of Imperial Censor, and it was General Wen who recommended her. Does Lord Wen know about this?"

"Chi Feiyan is only the lowest of the nine ministers, with the lowest rank. How could she suddenly become the Imperial Censor? I wonder what Your Majesty is thinking?"

"General Wen and Lord Wen are brothers from the same mother, so they should recommend their own family members. Lord Wen, General Wen Zhong doesn't take you seriously."

Wherever there are people, there is the world of martial arts, and the same is true for the court.

He seemed to be speaking for Wenren, but in fact he was secretly sowing discord.

"The affairs of the royal family are not something that we court officials can discuss at will. Since we are officials of the Great Zhou, we must share your majesty's worries."

Wenren put his hands in his pockets and stared at the person who was trying to sow discord.

Yu Weifeng, a member of the Second Prince's faction, is in charge of the administration of the palace and is also in charge of the affairs of the surrendered barbarians.

They have always been at odds with the royalists, so it is inevitable that they will sow discord between them.

But since the provocation has come to her head, how could Wenren tolerate her?

"Master Yu, it was His Majesty's decision who General Wen recommended. Are you questioning His Majesty's decision? Or is Master Yu used to using the same rhetoric on his own people that he uses on barbarians?"

"Instead of worrying so much about the appointment, why not come to the court early so that you can ask His Majesty to revoke the order?"

After Wenren finished his sarcasm, he yawned with his hands in his pockets, looked at them with disdain, then tucked his head into his collar, closed his eyes and waited for the morning court.

Not only did she fail to sow discord, but she was also rejected by the public. Some civil servants and generals glared at her unhappily.

It's really like a stone in a toilet, smelly and hard!

I have never seen a civil servant with a worse temper than her.

A few people turned around unhappily and talked among themselves in low voices.

"What are you so proud of? I just accompanied the Sixth Prince to a wedding. How can you be so arrogant?"

"What a self-righteous fellow! I heard that the palace banquet on the Spring Festival was organized by Lord Kuang alone, and she didn't even help."

"Tsk, it's just her personality, who can be blamed for this?"

"Look, Lord Kuang is here."

As one person finished speaking, Dianke Zuo Qing and Kuang Ziyu also came in slowly.

"Master Kuang, long time no see! Happy New Year."

"Oh my, I've only been away for one day and I already miss you, Lord Kuang."

"Yes, Lord Yu, Lord Hao, long time no see, long time no see."

Kuang Ziyu raised his hand with a smile on his face, bowed to a few people, and then stood in front of Wenren.

Several people chatted in low voices and seemed to be very familiar with each other.

Wenren, who had his eyes closed, opened them, looked at a few people with disdain, then closed his eyes again and continued to stand there waiting for the morning court.

The morning court session is at 6:30 AM.

Most low-ranking officials arrive at 5:30 and never late.

As time passed, first the Third Princess Shaodian Chun'e, then the Fourth Princess Shaodian Sheyu and the Seventh Princess Shaodian Ziqing arrived at six o'clock.

After them came Grand Commandant Sheng Xuan, Prime Minister Yan Xiangru, and General Wen Zhong, who came one by one.

When these three people arrived, the court officials who were talking in a lively manner stopped talking and bowed to them.

"Your humble servant greets His Excellency the Grand Commandant."

"I have met the Prime Minister."

"Your humble servant greets the general."

The three of them smiled and nodded to the civil and military officials in the court, without talking much.

"The second princess has arrived~~"

At 6:20, Shaodian Haolan arrived according to the time.

Shaodian Haolan wanted to come early, but when she thought about the time and order of arrival of the civil and military officials, in order to avoid the Prime Minister and General Wen from thinking too much, she hid her excitement and waited for the moment of her arrival.

"Greetings, Second Prince."

"Greetings, Second Prince."

Every official bowed and greeted Shaodian Haolan, who smiled faintly, nodded, and walked to his seat.

She subconsciously looked towards Shaodian Sishui's position with a provocative look on her face, but she did not see the person she wanted to see.

Shaodian Haolan turned around and looked around quickly, and his expression suddenly changed.

"What about people?"

Why hasn't Shaodian Sishui come yet? Is he afraid?

"What are you looking for, second sister?"

Shaoding Chun'e asked beside her.

Shaodian Haolan tilted his head and glared at her, asking the question even though he knew the answer.

Of course she was looking for Shaodian Sishui.

However, she ignored Shao Dian Chun'e, but withdrew her gaze and took a deep breath.

Being ignored, Shaoding Chun'e was not angry and had a smile on her face.

"Second sister, are you looking for sixth sister? She hasn't recovered yet, I'm afraid she doesn't have the face to attend the court this morning."

Shaoding Chun'e had a sarcastic smile on her face.

"I heard that she was injured while saving Shao Jincong and couldn't bear a daughter. Hehehe... Second sister is really good at making plans."

Shaodian Haolan frowned and looked at her, pretending to be puzzled and asked, "Third sister, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say anything you want. Sixth sister was deeply hurt in order to save Shao Jincong, and this has nothing to do with me."