As Zhu Jian's loud words echoed in the flower hall, everyone fell silent.
Jiao Jing's face clearly showed approval, while Zhu Yi looked a little surprised, as if he didn't expect that Zhu Jian would suddenly say such self-reflective words.
As for Ren Li who was questioned directly by Zhu Jian...
The old Marquis felt as if he had eaten a fly at this moment, a little disgusting!
As expected, these civil servants are used to pretending to be hypocrites in a high-sounding manner. They have read too many books and have a sharp tongue. In other words, they bully a military general who cannot say so many polished words.
However, seeing Zhu Jian's clear conscience, Ren Li suddenly laughed, without any other meaning, just an ordinary gentle smile.
He felt that Zhu Jian was a bit pitiful!
The hypocrite's skin has been worn for a long time. Many times, it has grown on his body and cannot be taken off even if he wants to. He didn't know what kind of inner struggle Mr. Zhu Ge had just gone through.
However, it doesn’t matter whether you say you are deceiving yourself or others, or you say you have a clear conscience.
In short, in Ren Li's opinion, Zhu Jian had lied to him for so long that he could no longer tell the truth from the lie.
The so-called civil servant with character is nothing more than this!
How sad is it to read the books of sages and find such a situation?
He is a marquis in the auditorium and has countless military exploits. It is really not worth it to argue with this rotten scholar who only shouts "Know your heart and see your nature".
Then, the uncomfortable feeling in Lord Ren's heart suddenly disappeared. He stood up, cupped his hands, and said.
"Young Master Ge is a man of integrity. I judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. I have offended many people today. Please don't take it to heart, Mr. Zhu."
No matter what everyone was thinking in their hearts, Ren Li lowered his head and the storm disappeared on the surface.
Perhaps because he was afraid of causing further trouble, Jiao Jing quickly changed the topic back to business.
"Master Zhu just now said that the Ministry of Rites has made preparations, but the ceremony of leaving the cabinet has been postponed until later in the year. As a result, if we rush to present the performance, there will indeed be some marks..."
Their original plan was for the Ministry of Rites to take the lead and bring up the matter of leaving the cabinet, and then they would come forward to lead the way. This way, it would not appear so deliberate.
However, if the Ministry of Rites plans to wait until after the new year, it will be a bit late.
Hearing this, Zhu Yi also frowned and asked: "Prince-in-law, for such a big matter, didn't you prepare any other plan when you and Mr. Zhu discussed it?"
Jiao Jing looked at Zhu Jian. At this time, Zhu Jian's emotions had calmed down, but his eyes still deliberately ignored Ren Li.
"Of course there is, but it depends on luck."
luck?
Zhu Yi pondered for a moment, then suddenly an idea flashed in his mind and he said.
"You mean, the Queen of the Central Palace?"
Feeling a burst of praise for Zhu Yi's cleverness again, Zhu Jian nodded and sighed.
"Yes, the queen in the palace is pregnant now and will give birth soon. If the baby is a prince, he will be your majesty's eldest son and will have a distinguished status."
"On the contrary, although the position of the East Palace was determined long before His Majesty ascended the throne, in the end, His Highness is only the eldest son of the Supreme Emperor."
"Although moral order is at the top, the two offset each other. Among the courtiers, there will inevitably be people who have objections to the position of the East Palace. Taking this opportunity, we can also raise the matter of Zhan Shifu to safeguard the status of His Highness the Crown Prince."
"But, again, it depends on luck. If the queen gives birth to a princess, then naturally it will be difficult to take the opportunity to mention it."
"What's more, this is a double-edged sword. Originally, the court had a final decision on the status of the East Palace. Even if the Queen gave birth to her eldest son, it would only be discussed privately."
"However, once this matter is brought to the court, it is equivalent to expanding the scope of discussion to all officials. Perhaps for a while, with the original edict and commitment, His Highness the Crown Prince's status will be more stable, but it will also make some people
The number of people with dissent increases, and over time, it may become a hidden danger."
After hearing this, Ren Li opened his mouth to speak, but in the end he didn't say anything, but there was a hint of disdain in his expression.
Sure enough, after going round and round, I still can't get past the so-called "righteousness".
These words are high-sounding, but they are nothing more than cowardice.
In fact, from Ren Li's point of view, so what if it is mentioned directly?
That so-called opportunity is just to conceal the real purpose, but once the battle begins, the purpose will be clearly revealed.
What’s the point of maintaining such a fig leaf?
It's nothing more than... becoming a bitch and setting up a memorial arch!
This expression was not too concealed, and Zhu Jian naturally saw it, but he had no choice. Ren Li was actually quite good. Ren Li had to contribute to the prince's affairs, so as long as he did not do too much, Zhu Jian
Even if Jian sees it, he can only pretend that he didn't see it.
On the contrary, Jiao Jing really focused his energy on "business" and didn't pay too much attention to such small actions.
After pondering for a moment, Jiao Jing said: "Having said that, if there is really no other way, we can only take risks. After all, Zhan Shifu is the most urgent need. If we miss the opportunity to leave the cabinet, we will later plan to arrange for His Highness the Crown Prince."
As an official, I don’t know how long the time will be delayed.”
"So, whether this opportunity exists or not, it doesn't actually matter much. The most important thing is..."
Jiao Jing looked at Zhu Jian, frowned and asked: "Just now, Mr. Zhu said that the emperor may have noticed this matter. What do you mean? Is it just because the Ministry of Rites delayed the time?"
Zhu Jian shook his head and said, "Of course not."
After saying this, Zhu Jian glanced at Ren Li reluctantly and said.
"There is a saying that Renhou just made is right. That is, to prepare the Zhan Shifu for the East Palace this time, we need to take advantage of the power, firstly of the courtiers, and secondly of the emperor."
"There are no problems on the courtiers' side, everything is stable, but on the emperor's side, I always feel something is unusual."
"These days, Yu Shiyue and I have been fighting for a long time in cabinet discussions, almost to the point of falling out. However, the emperor has never intervened to mediate. Even Wang Ao seems to be sitting on the mountain watching the fight between tigers."
"And what makes me most suspicious is the Nangong guard incident. At that time, Yu Shiyue clearly had the advantage, but was interrupted by Cheng Jing."
"After thinking about it carefully, I felt that Cheng Jing had already prepared it, and it was not a so-called temporary 'reminder'."
"In other words, during the fight between me and Yu Shiyue, the emperor deliberately suppressed Yu Shiyue and allowed me to maintain the upper hand. This made me always uneasy, and more importantly..."
After hearing this, Lord Ren finally couldn't bear it anymore and answered.
"More importantly, in this way, it will be difficult to create the illusion that the emperor is suppressing you. If there is no such momentum in the court, then when the matter of Zhan Shifu comes to the court, we will really have to wait and see. Can we refute the ministers who supported leaving the cabinet without preparing a government?"
"Moreover, even if we really refute them, we still need the emperor to make the final decision. Without this constraint, if the emperor rejects the establishment of a government, even if he needs to bear a certain amount of pressure, it is not very difficult."
"Master Zhu, is what I said right?"
Zhu Jian didn't speak, just nodded silently.
Because Ren Li is right.
The most difficult thing to handle in this matter is actually the emperor. If the emperor cannot create the impression that he is deliberately suppressing him, then when the emperor rejects his memorial, there will be no pressure in the court.
In this way, their efforts to weaken the significance of Zhan Shifu will be revealed.
Then, if you want to promote this matter, the difficulty will increase dramatically.
If nothing else, the first to oppose it must be the group of ministers who strongly supported it at the beginning.
The atmosphere was a little dull for a while. The Emperor came back, but the first thing he ordered was met with such great difficulties.
Not to mention, His Highness the Crown Prince actually means more to them...
After a while, Zhu Yi continued to ask.
"Prince-in-law, for such a major matter as preparing an official for His Highness the Crown Prince, careful consideration must be given in advance. Forgive me, my nephew, but in the current situation, what orders does the Supreme Emperor have?"
They have been working together for a while.
Therefore, we have an understanding of each other.
Zhu Yi could feel that Jiao Jing attached great importance to the things that the Emperor ordered for the first time after returning to the court.
After all, it was the Queen Mother who made the final decision before, so Jiao Jing could be fully trusted.
However, now that the Supreme Emperor has returned to Nangong, the person making the decision has changed. For the time being, the Supreme Emperor has not seen any bias.
In other words, given the Emperor's character, he was actually vaguely partial to the British government who sacrificed his life for him.
Previously, there was a conflict between Jiao Jing and the British government.
Once the British government regains the upper hand, Jiao Jing's life will probably not be easy. Therefore, if things really come to a head, Jiao Jing will definitely not be as calm as he is now.
His demeanor can only mean that he still has a trump card in his hand that has not yet been revealed.
However, it is obvious that this trump card cannot be used so easily...
As expected, when he heard Zhu Yi's question, Jiao Jing's expression was a little uncertain, and he seemed to be hesitant.
However, he actually had no room for hesitation.
Because, as Zhu Yi asked this question, Ren Li and Zhu Jian also looked at him.
It should be said that Jiao Jing's core interests are different from those of people like Ren Li.
Jiao Jing is a relative, and his family involvement is relatively small. For him, what he wants is nothing more than to ensure that the status of the Supreme Emperor is stable in the future, or that His Highness the Crown Prince will one day ascend the throne and be able to take care of his descendants and find a good future.
Therefore, he is not in a hurry and can wait slowly. What he needs is to establish a good relationship with the Emperor and the Queen Mother. In this way, things will naturally go smoothly in the future.
However, Ren Li and others are different.
A group of nobles headed by the British Crown Prince suppressed the prince.
For them, it would be the most serious harm for them to leave the palace without preparing a palace.
The opening of Zhan Shifu means a large number of honorary guards, and it means that the descendants of each family can enter the East Palace and grow up with the prince.
This is of great significance to a noble family with flourishing branches and leaves.
This is part of the reason why Ren Li was angry with Jiao Jing and Zhu Jian for not informing him of this matter in advance.
For the Xunchen family, once there is an opportunity to prepare the East Palace for the palace, they must do it at any cost.
This is even more important than welcoming back the Supreme Emperor!
Therefore, in this situation, Jiao Jing actually had no choice.
Because Ren Li followed closely and asked: "Prince-in-law, we have already reached this point. Is there anything we can do that you can't tell me?"
There was dissatisfaction hidden in these words, which made Jiao Jing sigh.
After thinking for a moment, he knew he couldn't hide it, so he had no choice but to speak.
"In this case, I will not deny it. When Yuan Bin brought the Emperor's oral instructions before, he did consider how to deal with the matter if it was leaked in advance and was guarded by the emperor. However, the Emperor also repeatedly warned that this was the last resort.
No need, no need."
After hearing this, Zhu Jian also felt doubtful.
Because even he had never heard Jiao Jing mention this matter.
Facing everyone's gaze, Jiao Jing sighed again, then lowered his voice and softly spoke out a name.
There was a moment of silence in the flower hall.
Ren Li, Zhu Jian, and Zhu Yi looked at each other, and they all saw the shock in each other's eyes.
So much so that for a moment, the three of them did not continue to ask what exactly they should do.
But they didn't ask, but Jiao Jing had already spoken. After all, the conversation had already begun, and there was no point in hiding it any longer.
"The biggest difficulty now is actually that the emperor gives in everywhere, so that we can hardly find a loophole. If we can't restrain the emperor, then the matter of Zhan Shifu will be easily dismissed by the emperor when it comes to the court."
"So, the best way is to create a situation that makes it difficult for the emperor to continue to maintain the illusion of the current holy emperor. Therefore, asking that person to take action is the best way."
At this time, Zhu Yi and the other three finally recovered from their shock. After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Yi said, "That's true, but with that person's status, are you willing to intervene in this matter?"
Jiao Jing waved his hand and said: "Don't worry about this. If you are really sure about inviting that person, the Supreme Emperor will take action."
As a result, Zhu Yi stopped talking, but her expression became a little more awe-inspiring.
Zhu Jian, on the other hand, looked a little complicated and seemed to want to say something, but in the end he remained silent.
As for Ren Li, he didn't have any special reaction. If anything, his complexion became much better.
Among the three of them, he was the only one with the prettiest expression after listening to Jiao Jing's words. After thinking about it for a moment, he said.
"In this case, the Prince Consort should not hesitate any longer. In the current situation, there is no better way."
Jiao Jing glanced at him, his expression vaguely dissatisfied, but in the end he didn't say anything and just said.
"This matter is of great importance. How to do it still needs to be decided by the Supreme Emperor. Therefore, you don't have to worry. Marquis Ren, young prince, you should make preparations first. If the Supreme Emperor finally decides, then we will
, must not drop the chain.”
Ren Li nodded, and Zhu Yi followed suit.
Thus, this small meeting came to an end for the time being.
Outside the window, I don’t know when heavy snow started to drift again, and it fell on the roof ridges and melted on the shoulders of passers-by.
If nothing else happens, the capital will be a snow-white world tomorrow...
This chapter has been completed!