Princess Promotion

An Tian stood in front of the bronze mirror, holding the bronze candlestick in her hand. The flickering candlelight reflected her delicate face.

Gently stroking the official robe embroidered with gold thread, my fingertips glided over the delicate silk, feeling the exquisiteness of every stitch and thread.

It was late at night, and the sound of night watchmen beating in the street came from afar, reminding her of the passage of time.

An Tian took a deep breath, temporarily suppressed the hesitation and fear in her heart, and decided to give it a try no matter what.

The first ray of sunlight in the morning shines through the window lattice and falls on An Tian, adding a bit of vitality to her.

He stood up, straightened his clothes, got on the carriage, and slowly drove towards the palace.

The sound of the carriage wheels turning could be heard. An Tian was sitting in the carriage, but her heart was surging.

The carriage finally arrived at the main gate of the palace. An Tian took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and then slowly got off the carriage.

She walked into the palace gate, passed through the long corridor, and came to the court hall.

Many officials had gathered in the hall, some were whispering to each other, some were thinking alone. An Tian's arrival attracted the attention of some officials, and their eyes were filled with curiosity and scrutiny.

But no one came forward to talk to An Tian, and no one came up to ask why he came here. If an unrelated person could just casually enter the court hall.

The chief eunuch would be the first to lose his head, but perhaps some officials would come up to exchange a few words with the others.

But who among the officials in the Anting Hall didn't know the culprit who caused the uproar in the city a while ago?

The most taboo thing for an official is to be involved in trouble. One mistake can lead to eternal damnation.

"Your Majesty has arrived!" Eunuch Feng's voice echoed in the hall, and every word sounded so solemn and majestic.

An Tian was extremely alert. Although he was a little nervous in his heart, his expression was calm.

This is just the beginning, she still has a long way to go...

As Eunuch Feng's clear and long voice echoed in the hall, Yao Chuguang and Zhou Mingrui slowly walked into the solemn and dignified hall.

The sunlight shines through the high window lattices and falls on the mirror-smooth marble floor, creating mottled light and shadows.

Yao Chuguang slowly sat down on the dragon throne that symbolized supremacy, her posture elegant and calm, as if everything under the scepter was under her control.

Yao Chuguang's voice came from the dragon throne, breaking the silence of the hall: "Everyone, please stand."

An Tian raised his head and looked at Yao Chuguang sitting on the high seat.

Yao Chuguang didn't say any more nonsense: "Today, just one thing, to appoint two officials."

"Zhou Mingrui, I appoint you as Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue. From now on, you will be responsible for checking the national treasury accounts." Yao Chuguang's eyes fell on Zhou Mingrui.

At this time, Zhou Mingrui was tugged at the corner of Yao Chuguang's clothes and was in a daze. Eunuch Feng on the side couldn't bear it anymore, so he pulled Zhou Mingrui to the middle of the hall to kowtow.

As a result, as soon as Eunuch Feng let go, Zhou Mingrui ran back happily and continued to pull the corner of Yao Chuguang's clothes.

An Tian looked around and found that all the ministers in the hall were standing still, with no one raising any objections.

Then, Yao Chuguang turned to An Tian and said, "An Tian, I appoint you as the Third Secretary, in charge of my inner treasury."

The atmosphere in the court suddenly became a little subtle.

Some officials began to exchange glances. They might have different plans in their minds, but in front of Yao Chuguang, they all chose to remain silent.

Eunuch Feng gave up on letting Zhou Mingrui stand among the ministers, stood up and returned to his seat, shouting, "If you have something to say, please report it together; if not, please dismiss the court."

Afterwards, Yao Chuguang slowly stepped down from the dragon throne and walked out of the hall.

An Tian followed the crowd out of the hall in a daze.

So simple?

Is this it?

So all her tossing and turning all night and preparing so many countermeasures were in vain?

It went so smoothly that An Tian even wondered if she was dreaming.

No! Why didn't these ministers play by the rules?

After leaving court, Li Jinglong returned to his residence with a lot of doubts and a sense of heaviness.

After passing through the front hall with carved beams and painted buildings, he stepped into the main hall which was usually used to receive colleagues.

Li Jinglong looked at the few colleagues scattered around in the main hall, sitting in their respective seats.

Li Jinglong couldn't help feeling lonely in his heart, as he remembered that this place used to be full of colleagues.

Now, I can only sigh heavily and wither away!

At this time, Lord Qi came over with a look of concern and inquiry on his face. He said to Li Jinglong, "Sir, His Majesty suddenly rewarded Zhou Mingrui today. Is there any clue?"

Li Jinglong was slightly stunned. Today, Yao Chuguang suddenly appointed Zhou Mingrui as the Minister of Revenue.

If one only looked at Zhou Mingrui's age, one would definitely criticize Yao Chuguang for being absurd, asking how a child could be allowed to hold an official position.

But Zhou Mingrui's identity is too special. He is a prince of the previous dynasty and is rumored to be an idiot. This is very subtle.

Li Jinglong pondered for a moment and slowly spoke, "Your Majesty suddenly conferred the title of Duke of Zhou on us today. This is a gesture of goodwill to us."

Lord Qi and his colleagues nodded together, they thought so too.

First of all, Zhou Mingrui and Yao Chuguang are not related at all, and it can even be said that they are enemies.

The only possibility left for Yao Chuguang to suddenly promote Zhou Mingrui was that he wanted to win over the old ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

So it doesn’t matter what kind of official Zhou Mingrui holds or whether he can do a good job.

The important thing is that Yao Chuguang intends to win over these old ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

How could they object? That would be slapping themselves in the face and ruining their own future. Not to mention that Zhou Mingrui was a child, they would not object even if it was a dog.

As for why Yao Chuguang chose Zhou Mingrui instead of other Zhou nobles, this is also easy to understand. First of all, Zhou Mingrui has a legitimate bloodline after all.

Secondly, he is an idiot and will be easy to control even when he grows up. Yao Chuguang just wants to win over the old ministers of the Western Zhou Dynasty, not to leave hidden dangers for himself.

Lord Qi nodded, but his brows were still furrowed. "That being said, Your Majesty has promoted An Tian again. This move may cause dissatisfaction among some people. After all, many old officials in the court have grudges against An Tian."

Li Jinglong sighed. He knew this very well.

Because so many people were implicated in the Mengchangjun case, even though they knew that the mastermind was the thief Xiao, An Tian was Xiao's henchman, so how could he not vent his anger on him?

Li Jinglong: "Master Qi, you and I are both veteran officials in the court. We should understand that Her Majesty's decisions naturally have their own profound meanings."

Since Yao Chuguang showed goodwill to them, he naturally had to appease the Qi State as well.

It's just a check and balance technique used by the emperor. If they oppose An Tian's appointment as an official in the court, then the ministers of Qi will definitely seize the opportunity and oppose Zhou Mingrui's appointment as an official in the court.

We can't use An Tian's ability as an excuse. After all, An Tian is better than Zhou Mingrui, a child.

Are you going to make a fuss about An Tian being a woman?

Even the emperor is a woman. If you use this as an excuse, you are simply asking for too much.

In the court, the struggle for power and the distribution of interests are always complex and subtle.

Li Jinglong stood up, walked to the window, looked at the scenery outside, and had a lot of thoughts in his mind.

At the same time, in a teahouse in a corner of the imperial capital, the three family heads gathered together again.

Although this teahouse is not conspicuous, its unique location and elegant environment have made it an ideal place for the dignitaries of the imperial capital to communicate privately.

The head of the Wu family sat by the window, fiddling with the lid of his teacup in his hand, and suddenly said, "Mr. Xiao has been back in Huayang City for over half a month, right?"

The head of the Liu family sat opposite him, playing with a string of sandalwood beads in his hand, and his tone seemed to be profound: "It has been a while. I wonder what errand he has done for His Majesty."

The head of the Qing family sat between the two of them. He picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and savored the slight bitterness.

Looking at the two people in front of me pretending to be ignorant even though they knew the truth, I couldn't help but feel a little sarcastic.

When Lord Xiao suddenly returned to Huayang City, even Li Jinglong heard the news and sent people to follow him. These people's hometowns were all in Huayang City.

It can be said that they have a full view of every move of Lord Xiao since he returned to Huayang City.

On the day Lord Xiao returned to Huayang City, the Zhang family fell and was cleared out.

Lord Xiao's purpose is self-evident. It seems that Lord Xiao has reached some kind of agreement with His Majesty to let Lord Xiao deal with the mess of the Zhang family.

They were all officials in the same dynasty, so how could they really not know what kind of people they were?

As for Zhang Huaijin's shameful habit, if another emperor came, as long as it did not involve major cases such as treason or corruption, he would basically turn a blind eye and let it go for the sake of Zhang Huaijin's reputation.

They might even use that as leverage to control the Zhang family.

But judging from the style of Yao Chuguang since he ascended the throne, he is a person who cannot tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes.

It was only a matter of time before Zhang Huaijin was dealt with. An official does not necessarily need to have talent, family background or even ability, but there is one thing that he must know in order to be an official.

That is to guess what the real bottom line of the person above is.

Some people’s bottom line is that as long as they don’t expose the truth, then everything will be fine, because if you look closely, they themselves are not clean either.

"Lord Xiao is truly in the emperor's favor. His Majesty has even promoted An Tian to reward him." The head of the Qing family put down his teacup, his voice full of amusement.

To be honest, it’s no wonder that Li Jinglong insisted that An Tian was Lord Xiao’s man, because even the three major family heads believed that An Tian was on their side.

If An Tian was involved in the Mengchangjun case, the three of them were half-believing and half-doubting at that time, after all, they had been tricked by Yao Chuguang too many times.

Yao Chuguang is best at muddying the situation and then taking advantage of it to achieve his own goals.

So they really couldn't rule out the possibility that Yao Chuguang had deliberately framed them. After all, their Majesty was really capable of doing such a thing.

But ever since the last time An Tian was released from prison and caused a disturbance in the An Mansion, the three family heads have been certain that An Tian is definitely Lord Xiao's man.

Things happened too quickly that day and there was no time to think. After calming down and analyzing, I realized that An Tian might be His Majesty's man, but he must have a close relationship with Lord Xiao.

Otherwise, with so many powerful people in Qi State, why would An Tian act under the name of the Xiao family? Isn't it because he has connections and is not afraid of being exposed?

It can't be that none of the three families are as famous as the Xiao family. That's absolutely impossible!

Besides, if they were not his own people, Lord Xiao would not have put so much effort into settling these troubles.

If you are not careful, these things will become a ready-made handle.

This time, Yao Chuguang promoted Zhou Mingrui in the court again, which was obviously a gesture of goodwill to the old subordinates of Western Zhou. After all, Western Zhou had not been completely conquered yet, and the people in the western border had been eyeing it covetously.

Yao Chuguang certainly couldn't let the old members of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the officials of Qi State quarrel too much in the court. This was to show goodwill to the old members of the Western Zhou Dynasty, but also to warn them to be more restrained.

Thinking of this, the head of the Qing family had to admire Yao Chuguang's checks and balances. He promoted Zhou Mingrui and An Tian at the same time.

While beating the enemy again, he also appeased the old ministers of Qi State, and ultimately did not go too far.

Zhou Mingrui is a ten-year-old child, and it is said that he is also a moron. Even if such a person holds a high position and has a generous salary, he will ultimately be nothing more than a decoration.

Apart from appeasing the old subordinates of the Western Zhou Dynasty, it had no effect on the old ministers of the Qi State.

If only Zhou Mingrui is promoted, it will more or less be seen as a sign of weakness, which will encourage the old subordinates of the Western Zhou Dynasty to suppress the old ministers of Qi State, which is disheartening.

But Yao Chuguang also promoted An Tian at the same time, and the delicate balance between them can only be understood intuitively.

On the surface, An Tian is Xiao Ge Lao's man, and can be considered to be on the side of Qi State. The subtle point is that An Tian is also Yao Chuguang's man, and a Western Zhou person who has integrated multiple forces.

On the surface, Yao Chuguang promoted Zhou Mingrui and An Tian. These two people seemed outrageous, and the ministers would definitely oppose them.

But in fact, everyone benefits and they also constrain each other.

The head of the Liu family said with a deep meaning in his tone: "It seems that Lord Xiao and His Majesty have reached some agreement in private."

After all, if one wants to appease the old ministers of Qi State, there are many candidates, but Yao Chuguang chose An Tian, who has a close relationship with Lord Xiao.

The head of the Wu family sneered and said, "Perhaps this matter was already arranged before Mr. Xiao left."

After a brief thought, Patriarch Liu and Patriarch Qing felt that it made sense!

At the same time, on an official road in the suburbs leading back to Yundu City, Lord Xiao was riding slowly in a carriage.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew in from the window, and Elder Xiao shivered involuntarily.

Elder Xiao tightened his collar, feeling an inexplicable uneasiness in his heart.