Summer wraps autumn, water keeps wind

Ever since the late emperor passed away, Wan Zhao accompanied Qing Yang to observe ceremonies in the palace, and never went to school.Wanzhao had just finished accompanying the princess, and when she saw people moving outside, she asked about it and found out that she was preparing for the palace move.Bo Zhe came out from the main hall and asked Wan Zhao to come in and talk.The Empress Dowager was haggard with tears on her face, she was wrapped in plain robes, with silver hairpins and white flowers, she looked like a widow.

Wan Zhao saluted and sat down, "No matter how sad your lady is, she must take care of herself."

The queen mother slightly raised her hand and said: "The late emperor has gone, what does the Ai family need this body for?"

Hearing this, Wan Zhao seemed interested, and said, "This servant is stupid, I just want to try my best to relieve the empress dowager's worries."

The queen mother murmured: "Queen mother? What's the use of the Ai family wanting this queen mother?" She wiped her tears with a silk cloth.

Bai Zhe hurriedly said, "Miss has been serving the princess for a long time, don't you know that the emperor let the queen dowager live in a separate palace with the princess?"

It turned out that Bi Xin had always been suspicious of what the concubine said. Although he didn't say a thorough investigation of the past, he only used the matter of moving the palace to separate Qingyang.

Wan Zhao said: "The queen mother is not in good health, so it is better to live alone in the Palace of Compassion and Peace. The young princess will inevitably disturb the queen mother's rest."

"You have the same thoughts as the emperor." The queen mother stopped crying.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager's eyes were getting colder, Wan Zhao hurriedly said, "The Emperor is thinking of you, as well as of the Empress Dowager's body. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do as a servant is of low status."

The queen mother said slowly: "In the future, you will be a concubine and concubine, so you will naturally have the ability."

Wanzhao's heart tightened, and he knelt down and kowtowed: "This slave has no talent or virtue, so I can't take on this great responsibility."

The queen mother waved her hand, and Bai Zhe handed over a memorial. The queen mother said: "The emperor doesn't even have a concubine around him now, and every family is thinking about sending their daughters into the palace. The emperor is very busy and has no time to care about these trivial matters. It is run by the Ai family, so take a good look."

Wan Zhao opened it and saw that it was written jointly by Uncle Zong and his father. Wan Zhao was recommended to be a concubine in the palace.

The Empress Dowager sat on top, stuffed the silk back into her waist, and said: "The emperor comes to pay his respects every day, and Ai's family told him. The emperor just asked what you mean."

Wan Zhao was already shaking into a ball, how could she become his concubine?She already has a heart to belong to, even though she is deprived of all love and love in this deep palace, she still has the wish of a little girl: "I wish to have a person with one heart, and never leave each other." 'But she had to become a chess piece to be manipulated.

Thinking of Youqing, even if she is lingering on the sick bed, at least she can wait, there is someone who is worth waiting for her.As for Wanzhao, she was just thinking hard on her own, and she didn't even dare to express that little bit of emotion, because she didn't live for herself, and she still had the hope of her family and the requirements of the world.

Wan Zhao tried her best to bear it, not letting the cry come out of her throat, but the tears in her eyes couldn't stop flowing down, hitting the white mourning clothes, leaving a stain.

Seeing this, the queen mother said: "Since Mrs. Liu is crying with joy, she is naturally willing to go back and rest well, and wait for the emperor to seal you." After finishing speaking, Bo Zhe helped Wan Zhao out.

Regardless of Qin Huan's dissuasion, Wan Zhao ran all the way to the corner of the imperial garden under the cherry blossom trees. There are no cherry blossoms in summer, only the lush green leaves glowing in the sun.Wan Zhao knelt under the tree, hugging the tree and weeping bitterly.There are too many sad voices in this palace, and through the national mourning, everyone comes to cry for themselves, no one cares about the joys and sorrows of a court lady.

Finally, I don't know how long it has passed, and Wan Zhao can no longer shed tears. What can she do now?When people no longer live for themselves, those loves that shouldn't emerge will eventually disappear silently in the summer sun like flowers in spring.

He has not yet ascended the throne, and he does not see all the officials. He invites cabinet ministers into the palace to discuss state affairs every day.When the ministers saw Bi Xin in Qixia Palace, Bi Xin was very polite and set up a seat in the main hall for them to sit and talk.

On this day, all the ministers were talking in the palace, and Tong Zhiben, a scholar of the cabinet, said: "The old minister read His Majesty's instructions carefully yesterday and found that the handwriting is different from other memorials. I am afraid that someone will use His Majesty's name to issue orders indiscriminately."

The approval of the memorial is very cumbersome, and it is submitted by the minister to the palace, and it is impossible for the emperor to read every copy, and the eunuch who is in charge of ceremonies will approve some small things to be done according to the rules for the emperor, and then the eunuch with palm prints will read it if there is no problem. Affix the seal of the supervisor of etiquette.The same is true for the memorials personally approved by the emperor. They are stamped with the imperial seal and placed in one place, and then all the memorials are sent to the cabinet for review.If the cabinet disagrees with the emperor's instructions, the cabinet ministers can reject the emperor's edict. This power is called "rejection", and then the edict will be sent back to the palace for re-approval.Wait for the cabinet to pass the instructions, and then send them to the ministries for handling.In addition to the imperial seal used by the emperor, Zhu’s approval on the memorials was stamped with different seals to show the difference, whether it was the king who discussed politics, the eunuch who was in charge of ceremonies, or was approved by the cabinet.But the approval document that Tong Zhiben took was stamped with the imperial seal, which is supposed to be the emperor's own approval, but the handwriting is not the emperor's, so he asked the question.

The emperor did not answer him, but only cared in a gentle tone: "Master Tong is getting old and has always had leg problems. I don't know if he will participate in politics in the future. Can he stand still?"

Tong Zhi didn't understand what the emperor meant, so he said: "The old minister has been an official for many years, and it is the duty of the minister to stand in the court."

The emperor nodded and said coldly: "My lord has gone through three dynasties, so he naturally knows the duty of being an official. Then my lord will definitely obey my edict." Seeing this, Tong Zhiben had no choice but to say yes.

The emperor leaned on the court chair and said: "Today, I also want to discuss with you about the appointment of the king."

As he spoke, he asked Li He to pass an edict to Wei Dingzhen, the chief minister of the cabinet. After reading it, he remained calm, and then passed it to Yan Binghe, the second minister, and circulated it one by one.Everyone looked at it with different expressions.

The emperor looked at Tong Zhiben and said, "Your memorial was approved by Prince Zhen Rangxuan, but because there is no seal before it can be sealed, I use my imperial seal instead."

Tong Zhi was an upright person, so he got up and said: "The old minister has clearly understood the benefits and disadvantages of the vassal king's stay in Beijing in the memorial, and besides, Prince Xuan is young and does not understand government affairs, so it is difficult to convince the public. I hope your majesty will think twice." Only the first assistant, the second assistant, Liu Yunxun and the lowest senior Sun Panjin didn't say a word.

The emperor snorted coldly, looked at the ministers and said, "I'm still young, and you don't accept me?" Tong Zhiben and others found that the words offended the emperor, and kowtowed to apologize.

The emperor smiled, and said to everyone with Yan Yan: "Masters, you don't need to plead guilty every now and then. It's better to kneel down and sit down." While everyone stood up, the emperor said again: "I'm just discussing with you, there's no need to do that."

At this time, the Chief Assistant Wei Dingzhen got up and replied: "The old minister agrees with Your Majesty's intention. Your Majesty likes Prince Xuan. He is naturally very talented." The cabinet ministers saw that the Shoufu had said so, and stopped talking.

The emperor said: "Then I will trouble you, my lords." He also said: "In summer, floods and droughts occur frequently in various places, and the people suffer from disasters. I am worried day and night. Master Tong is upright, so I trouble you to supervise the relief of money and food, and the rest. Let's put it aside for now." This remark was to make Tong Zhiben stop participating in the peace discussion of the king.Tong insisted on his ability and purpose, and all the officials knelt down.Bi Xin was secretly happy that things went so smoothly, and went to work on other things.

On the way out of the palace, Tong Zhiben was very puzzled and asked Wei Dingzhen, the chief assistant, "Why did Mr. Ge agree to His Majesty's words, knowing that His Majesty is young and messing around without stopping?"

Wei Dingzhen stroked his beard, narrowed his eyes and said: "Don't forget who we are. The cabinet is the place to pass on His Majesty's orders. If we don't act according to His Majesty's will, what will the ministers do?"

There is no prime minister among the officials of our dynasty. We only set up a cabinet to assist the emperor in governing, and then set up various ministries to handle specific matters.The members of the cabinet are all appointed by the emperor, and the ministers who handle the government affairs, although they have great power, are often only a matter of the emperor's words.People who can get into this position, especially the position of chief assistant, are all old foxes who have been in the officialdom for many years, and they have their own ways of protecting themselves.

Most of the officials in our dynasty came from two backgrounds. One was elected by aristocratic families to become officials, so that the disciples of the officialdom and powerful families entered the official career; the other was the imperial examination, and the humble scholars became officials.In recent generations of emperors, the aristocratic family colluded closely to control the government, and the emperor wanted to suppress it.Therefore, in order to balance the power of the cabinet, the ministers are divided into half and half.

But Tong Zhi was born in a noble family, he was not afraid of offending the Holy Majesty, and he always spoke out.And Wei Dingzhen was born in a poor family, and he really climbed up from the bottom, and his methods should not be underestimated.

Tong Zhiben sighed heavily and said: "How can you and I, as ministers who care for your fate, care about ourselves? The new emperor has done bad things, and we should reject his will."

Wei Dingzhen looked at Tong Zhiben, and said with a slight smile: "Master Tong has been in the cabinet for many years and still doesn't know the role of his position? We have to balance Your Majesty and all the ministers, and then just pass on His Majesty's will, and you and I naturally don't have to go through this mess." , all the speakers below are for nothing?" Saying this, he glanced at his assistant Yan Binghe, who bowed and smiled knowingly.

Yan Binghe also came from a poor family. He became an official through the imperial examination, and he rose to a high position step by step from the dust. Needless to say, he suffered hardships.Over the years, he has developed a calm and reticent character. The late emperor also liked his steady temperament, and was elected to the cabinet to reconcile the relationship between the ministers.

Wei Dingzhen called Sun Panjin, who was at the end, and said, "Go to the Ministry of Rites to supervise the affairs of the king, and don't embarrass your majesty." Several people smiled mockingly. Compared with these veterans in the officialdom, the emperor was too young after all.Sun Panjin saluted respectfully and said yes, showing no expression other than respect.

The seven cabinet ministers on the long street, the carvings of vicissitudes are not only the wrinkles on the face and the white hair under the black gauze, but also the tempering of the heart.In this world, as long as life is linked to fame and fortune, there will be no smoothness. For example, Wei Dingzhen was studying hard in front of the cold window in rags in his 20s, and was still writing documents for others in the Imperial Academy in his 50s. High position, but also have to work hard.The ministers present were as old as Wei Dingzhen, and as young as Sun Panjin, who was also nearly fifty years old.

In today's officialdom, seniority is a person's capital.If someone like Sun Panjin wants to be the first assistant, he just needs to beat the top six.But how easy is that?So he has to fight and grab, as long as everyone who is stronger than himself is eliminated, then you will be the most powerful person.

Wanzhao is depressed and doesn't care about her knee injury, so she often goes outside to relax.

There was no scene in the palace, so Wanzhao helped Qin Huan back to the Police Fangxuan. As soon as she entered the palace gate, the aunt in charge led all the attendants to pay respects and worship with a smile. Even though she was dressed in mourning clothes, she felt happy. May the concubine be safe and prosperous." Only then did she know that the emperor wanted to make Wanzhao his concubine, and the queen mother notified the policeman Fangxuan in advance to make preparations.

Wanzhao already knew that he couldn't escape, so he only said a few perfunctory words to everyone.Just at this moment, Li He brought people to announce the decree in person, and everyone knelt down to accept it.Li He held the imperial decree to Wanzhao with both hands, and said with a smile: "Master Ning, you are the first concubine of our emperor, and you will be officially canonized on July [-]th. On such a good day, you are specially given to the Yonghe Palace. Alright, you are in charge of the affairs of the harem, but you are very favored!"

Wanzhao thought, if you don't have a lover, what about the best days?She thanked Li He and sent Li He away, and everyone congratulated him again.Wan Zhao saw two pots of jasmine flowers in full bloom in front of his house, which were not against the funeral ceremony, but also pleasing to the eye.

Wan Zhao stood in front of the flowers and looked at them, smelling the fragrance of the flowers was really refreshing.Pushing the door open and entering, the girl in charge at the back begged and said: "Your Majesty has to give in these few days. The slaves have prepared seasonal fruits and vegetables and good snacks. These little things are used to honor your Majesty and reward others." There are a lot of congratulatory gifts piled up on it.As she said that, she bowed again and said: "I hope that your mother will not forget the policeman Fangxuan in the future."

Wan Zhao sat down and said, "That's natural." Then the aunt retreated.

Qin Huan pursed her lips and said: "This is the face now, I have never seen them so attentive before."

Wan Zhao said indifferently: "It's most common in this palace to follow the trend, so just ignore it."

Qin Huan couldn't help but knelt down and said, "My servant congratulates Miss on her success as a concubine."

"That's it." Wan Zhao said while supporting the handle of the newly replaced lantern chair with long legs.

Qin Huan got up and said with a smile: "Although this servant doesn't understand Miss's thoughts, being a concubine is always a good thing, and this servant is really happy from the bottom of her heart."

Wan Zhao shook Qin Huan's hand and said, "You are the one who treats me with all your heart in this palace."