Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 477 6.48 Princess Yongjing: She must have been called by the emperor’s sister-in-law
Volume VI

6.48 Princess Yongjing: She must have been called by the emperor's wife
On February [-]th, there was a small court meeting in the Imperial Study Room of Daming Palace.

"Let's all take a look." Emperor Changxing's expression was a little gloomy, but he still controlled his emotions. He passed a report to the following people. Before they could pass it on, he said, "The right minister of the Ministry of War, who is a dignified figure in the imperial court, died in a group of horses." In the hands of bandits, it is simply the most ridiculous thing in the world - if you, my dear friends, have anything to say, you might as well mention it now."

The bosses below ignored what he said and read the report one by one. The military generals were okay, they all knew more or less the news, but the civil servants were worse. Most of them didn't care about it. I didn't know anything, so after a brief look around, everyone's expressions changed drastically. The atmosphere in the imperial study room, which was not small in size, was obviously depressing.

"Your Majesty, I don't know much about this matter in the army, so I can't say much." After being silent for a long time, I saw that everyone was looking at their noses and hearts. The nominal head of the hundred officials and the seniority of the emperor was Emperor Changxing. Li Mian, the second uncle's minister of rites, bravely came forward, but when he spoke, he was shirking his responsibility, "Master Wang has been away from Beijing for a long time, and I really don't know him very well."

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Personnel has only filed some of Mr. Wang's reports for investigation. We don't know much about the rest." Lin Ruhai, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was also too lazy to take care of it.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has not owed any salary and silver supplies. Logically speaking, the officers and men under Lord Wang's command should be enough." Wen Fu, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is here.

The ministers of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Punishment simply didn't bother to speak.

It is not surprising that the civil servants are so Buddhist. Although Wang Ziteng is a military commander, he has long been rejected by the entire martial arts core group. He was indeed a good target for utilization, but that refers to a living person. The dead Wang Ziteng has no Value, in this case, they would only meddle in other people's business if their brains are in trouble.

"Really?" Emperor Changxing was furious in his heart, but he understood the thoughts of the civil servants. He endured his emotions and turned to the general and asked, "What does Niu Aiqing think?"

"Your Majesty," Niu Jizong said with a look of embarrassment on his face, "Since Mr. Wang received the king's order to patrol the nine borders, he has not had any official dealings with the Ministry of War other than the payment of salary and silver. The veteran really doesn't know much about it; Regarding the Nine Border Horse Bandits, I learned from the Pingbei Army report that although there are remnants, they do not have much combat power."

"Niu Aiqing means that Mr. Wang was killed this time because the troops he led were too weak?" Emperor Changxing almost burst out.

"Old minister, I don't dare!" Niu Jizong hurriedly bowed to apologize, "It's just that the soldiers and horses led by Mr. Wang are all his own soldiers. Logically speaking, they should be the most elite. For some reason, after being attacked on the twelfth day, they were dragged down to I didn’t go to the nearest post station to report it until the [-]th. I was in such a hurry that I postponed it until yesterday.”

"That's enough!" Emperor Changxing interrupted him directly with a cold expression.

Speaking of this, he couldn't tell that neither the civil or military parties paid much attention to the news of Wang Ziteng's death. The attitude of the civil servants was "it's none of their business." It would be nice for the generals to celebrate without drinking. Well, expecting them to find out something is probably overthinking.

"Your Majesty, according to the court's practice, the assassination of Mr. Wang has become a Tongtian case. The Jinyi Army should first sort out the information and then assign a division to work together to investigate." Liu Fang, the left minister of the Ministry of War, came out and said, "After the case is investigated, the The Ministry of War, together with the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Punishment, will conduct a three-party joint investigation to strictly follow up and never let the culprits go!"

Emperor Changxing's expression became even more gloomy.

Is what Liu Fang said wrong?There is no problem. This is indeed what the court did. The problem is that this method that was adopted in the early years of the founding of the Zhou Dynasty is now difficult to implement. The most basic one is that when Taizong returned to the capital, he could find out the menus and banquets for the officials below. Even the order of the dishes is placed in the Jinyi Army. Now that they are outside the Gyeonggi area, the subordinate guards outside may not be reliable.

There is also the so-called "tripartite joint trial between the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Punishment." The time that one department can delay by wrangling can be calculated on a monthly basis at least. If they really want to deal with it like this, they may not be able to get rid of the day lily even if it is cooled eight times. There is no meaningful conclusion at all - it is obvious that Wang Ziteng has lost his value.

"Since there is a precedent set by the court, let's handle it accordingly." After thinking about this clearly, Emperor Changxing stopped worrying and nodded to the next topic, "But before the matter is over, the nine-sided banditry must be thoroughly dealt with." solve!"

"What your Majesty said is true!" Niu Jizong nodded without hesitation this time. "The old minister immediately arranged to issue an official document and strictly ordered the Pingbei Army to deploy elite troops, lay down a dragnet, and never allow mere horse bandits to go unpunished!" "Niu Aiqing is determined." Emperor Changxing nodded.
The Small Court Meeting is not as focused on wrangling as the Great Court Meeting. Except for a few controversial issues, it is basically a process of "raising questions, discussing, and solving problems." The only people who can really speak during the whole process are actually a few cabinet elders. Others are more like "attending" and occasionally provide some suggestions and explanations on content related to themselves.

But the whole process really lasted a long time. It started at [-]:[-] in the morning and rarely ended before noon. Occasionally, you could also encounter "dinner appreciation". This was where the Zhou Dynasty really dealt with court affairs, and where a minister could sit down. The highest position he reached was the so-called "courteous elder" position.

Zhou Mansion, inner garden.

"Your Highness, let's have tea. It's a pity that the spring tea hasn't arrived yet. Otherwise, the taste would be a little fresher." Xue Baochai held the tea tray and gently placed it on the small table next to Princess Yongjing. "Brother Zhou arrived at the palace early in the morning. "Looking at this situation, I can have a meal in the imperial dining room again. I don't know what's going on today."

"I haven't heard anything big in recent days. Brother Zhou has attended the Xiaochao meeting for the first time in the past few days. When I went to Sister Huang's place yesterday, I didn't hear anything mentioned by her." Princess Yongjing smiled calmly. Of course she knew , Wang Ziteng was assassinated, but there is no need to talk to the sisters in the inner courtyard about this kind of thing, "Sister Lin, is there any news about Mr. Lin these days?"

"Father didn't mention anything. Yesterday Xueyan went back and gave me a few pieces of needlework that I made. Father just told me not to think too much." Lin Daiyu said softly, "But last night, Brother Zhou mentioned that the Queen Mother already has someone There are no greetings on the day, I guess not only the court will need to be busy today, but I don’t know what the Queen Mother has ordered.”

"How can the emperor's sister-in-law care about any 'instructions' now? I'm afraid my little nephew will annoy her to death." Princess Yongjing couldn't help laughing, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, "Speaking of which , the emperor’s sister-in-law is really a blessing from heaven, if the emperor brother is alive in heaven, I am afraid he would have to thank her for leaving his bloodline - well, sister Bao’s tea-making skills are getting better and better."

"Your Highness is ridiculous." Xue Baochai smiled slightly, "Of course the Queen Mother is a blessing from heaven. Otherwise, she would not have such an honorable position. To say a disrespectful thing, the Tian family is now a little weak. Only your Highness is afraid. It’s still too little, Your Majesty has now been honored as a great treasure, and according to the rules, it is time to enrich the harem and spread the branches and leaves of the Tian family.”

"What Sister Bao is saying is that these days I heard from Sister Huang that the Queen's Wife has urged her several times. Unfortunately, there are currently no suitable girls to fill up the Fengzao Palace. She only said that there are a few candidates for other places in the Sixth Palace." Princess Yongjing nodded with a smile. Normally, it is not right for outsiders to discuss the emperor's harem like this, but she is a princess, and Xue Baochai also has the status of an attendant, so it is okay to talk for a while. Lin Daiyu next to her did not say a word.

"You guys, if you want to care about His Majesty, you might as well think about yourself; His Highness and Sister Lin are fine. Sister Bao, are you not nervous at all now that you have an empty stomach?" Just as he was talking, Xue Baoqin walked in with a smile. First, he created a sense of artificial urgency, then turned to Lin Daiyu and said, "Sister Lin——"

"No, I have nothing here." But before Xue Baoqin could continue to speak, Lin Daiyu shook her head and refused without hesitation, "How can your majestic princess concubine plot our money all day long? She is obviously on the list. I haven’t won much at the poker table, but I’m extremely addicted. If it doesn’t work, just follow Brother Zhou’s advice and lose a piece of clothing once you lose.”

"Bah, bah, bah, you have learned bad things from that cruel person." Princess Yongjing blushed and hit someone, "How much did Sister Qin lose today? I remember it was you and Yun in Sister Bao's courtyard. Sister, Qingwen girl, and Keqing, right? Why, you can't even defeat them? Last time you lost to the Sanchun sisters, you could still say that they were plotting, what should you say this time? "

"Hmph, I'm just unlucky!" A princess turned her head to look at Xue Baochai, only to find that her cousin didn't seem to see her, and she turned around and walked out the door with a tea tray, "Neither of you Good people, when I find the money, return my money, and treat myself to a host, don’t even think about eating it!"

"I think it's enough to have a table to eat in this life. It's better not to think about the next life so early, so as to save you a headache from overthinking." Lin Daiyu said coolly, and an angry Xue Baoqin rushed towards her with "Wow, wow", The two were fighting and laughing.

"You guys!" Princess Yongjing shook her head helplessly, looked at Xue Baochai who came in with a tea tray and said, "This time, Brother Zhou must have been called by the emperor's sister-in-law. When he had breakfast and went to court early in the morning, I also brought sister Yuanchun with me, saying that the emperor’s sister-in-law wanted to meet her, but I was worried that I was too prepared to be beaten, so at least I would have someone to take care of her when I came back."

"Your Highness, I feel sorry for you." Xue Baochai said while holding back a smile.

"Well - then just follow what Brother Zhou often says, and it takes a few breaths to feel distressed?" Princess Yongjing said "seriously".

The living room was instantly filled with laughter.

(End of this chapter)