Before dark, the main forces in the capital learned that Empress Dowager Zhang and Empress Xia went to the Leopard Room but returned in a defeat.

Xie Qian even went to the Ministry of Revenue for this.

Because the least leisurely one of the government offices in the capital after the New Year was the Ministry of Revenue. Yang Yiqing was responsible for the budget and money dispatch of various departments after the New Year, and returned to the yamen to handle the work very early.

Of course, among the six ministries, the Ministry of Personnel opened the first yamen, but after a few days of work, Chen Xi returned to her leisurely state. Moreover, no matter how much effort Chen Xi made, it seemed insignificant to Xie Qian.

Yang Yiqing received Xie Qian in the public housing of the Ministry of Revenue.

When Xie Qian expressed his intention to come and inquire about the Leopard Room, Yang Yiqing looked a little avoidant.

Yang Yiqing said: "There are not much news now. I only know that the Queen Mother and the Queen go to the Leopard Room and come out in less than an hour. I don't know whether the Saint will be successful. But it seems that they are in a hurry, maybe... I haven't seen it."

Knowing what you know and knowing what you don’t know. Yang Yiqing understands the way to survive in the officialdom very well. At this critical moment, he just makes a basic judgment based on known news. As for deeper things, he will not say them even if he knows them, because there are many sources of these news that cannot be put on the table.

I can only tell Xie Qian what is simple.

Xie Qian's face looked a little ugly, obviously the answer he hoped to get was not the case.

Xie Qian sighed, "I heard that the Empress Dowager did not see His Majesty himself, and even the Queen did not meet His Majesty. There are rumors that His Majesty sent Jiang Bin to block the enemy..."

Yang Yiqing looked at Xie Qian and found that when Xie Qian looked back, he immediately understood that Xie Qian was testing, so he simply avoided the other party's gaze and did not answer.

"It seems that it is impossible to save the border troops from being transferred now." Xie Qian said, "Can the Ministry of Revenue have begun to prepare corresponding money and grain?"

"Um."

Yang Yiqian nodded and said, "The palace directly issued an order to the Ministry of Revenue to be responsible for the supply of food and supplies for the transfer of troops. As for the things outside of food and food, such as weapons and equipment, they will be provided by themselves. The General Xuanda Office will uniformly allocate them with the local government. This matter has been greeted by the Governor's Office."

Xie Qian said: "Actually, we can talk to the Ministry of War."

Yang Yiqing was a little surprised and didn't understand why Xie Qian insisted on pushing some errands to the Ministry of War. Logically speaking, since the Ministry of Revenue took over the food and grass dispatch, it was not appropriate to throw them to the Ministry of War. After all, the emperor's order was issued directly to the Ministry of Revenue.

Xie Qian explained a little: "Zhihou said he wanted to step down as Minister of War, so he had to see his actual actions. At least so far, no news has been heard. It will probably be done until the end of the Yuan Dynasty... In this way, it might as well send more errands to the Ministry of War to see what the situation is. As for other things, you don't have to worry about it, and this matter has been settled."

Yang Yiqing understood a little.

Xie Qian directly issued an order to him in the name of the chief minister of the cabinet, and bypassing the imperial edict, which was equivalent to saying that Xie Qian had "used". But Xie Qian himself would not admit it, and Yang Yiqing could not blame anything for this, and even had to accept the order obediently.

"Will we inform the Ministry of War of the subsequent allocation of food and grass?" Yang Yiqing asked for instructions.

Xie Qian thought for a moment and shook his head and said, "First arrange the initial allocation. As for the follow-up, it depends on the situation. I still don't know which sentence of the news is true and which sentence is false. If there is a chaos in the Ministry of War, everything will be futile."

...

...

All forces in the North Korea and China are still inquiring about the inside story of Empress Dowager Zhang and Empress Xia’s visit to the Leopard Room.

There is not much news at this time, and it is related to the fact that the people who are rotating in the leopard room have not changed shifts. Most of the sources of information from many forces are guards, eunuchs and palace maids, and several important figures, including Zhang Yong, Gao Feng, Xiao Taozi, Jiang Bin, etc., have not made much comments on this.

Chen Xi knew about the situation in detail, and he knew basically the details of the conflict between Empress Dowager Zhang and Jiang Bin.

By dusk, Chen Xi thought that Zhu Houzhao had already gotten up at this time, but he did not plan to meet the saint. At this time, he still had guests to entertain, but Li Liu, the Minister of Works.

The excuse Li Li used to find Chen Xi to ask for advice on the manufacturing and transportation of weapons, and "by the way" the situation that happened in the leopard room that day was very sad.

Chen Xi seemed to be feeling that Li Li was lamenting that the emperor was doing something wrong and ignored the most basic filial piety, righteousness, etiquette and law. I and my wife couldn't meet each other even after a trip.

Chen Xi gave some opinions to Li Li, but in general, everything was still followed by the emperor's order.

It was not that he deliberately shirked the responsibility, but that he was not in charge of the transfer of border troops into the pass. The emperor promoted it, and no one could speak well. He was preparing to step down as Minister of War, so it was naturally difficult to interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of Works.

However, when it comes to the affairs of the Leopard Facility, Chen Xi directly expressed his views: "...There is no precedent for the monarchs of all dynasties to set up villas outside the imperial palace in the capital. However, now His Majesty has a bit of a relationship with the Empress Dowager, mainly related to the case before the Zhang family. As a minister, it is actually difficult to interfere with the king's family affairs."

Li Li asked, "That's the hell, don't you plan to report on this matter?"

Chen Xi smiled and said, "Who is more important, loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness? Should I be loyal to the emperor or the empress dowager? As a minister, I will not care about the king's family affairs. Now the lectures on the imperial courts are stopped every day. Even if someone wants to submit a memorial to your Majesty, it is still a matter of Hanyuan. What does it have to do with our foreign ministers?"

Li Jue thought about it after hearing this, and finally nodded, agreeing with Chen Xi's answer.

Chen Xi said again: "The rest of the year is about to end, and all the officials will open the yamen. At this time, no matter what happens in the Leopard Room, it is best not to interfere. Before, due to opposition to the dispatch of troops, there has been a little unhappy with His Majesty... Let me tell you, the first thing I have to do after the New Year is to propose to Your Majesty to step down as Minister of War. If you have any affairs in the Ministry of War in the future, you can go directly to Mr. Lu."

Li Liu shook his head and smiled bitterly: "In that case, Zhihou, are you planning to...refer to Mr. Lu to replace you?"

"Um."

Chen Xi nodded. He had no reservations about Li Yu. After all, the relationship between the two in the court was quite strong. Li Yu was also alienated by Xie Qian because of his relationship.

Involving factional struggles, Li Jue has been classified as a neutral or even a party in Chenxi.

Li Wu said: "It's good that you are two ministers. You have encountered a lot of criticism before. You can also save yourself lightly after resigning. The Minister of Personnel is better than the Minister of War. You don't have to do so many thankless things."

Chen Xi smiled and said, "You have summarized it well. Many things in the Ministry of War are indeed laborious and not gratifying, but it's good to get used to it. If everything goes well, then you are not a minister."

Li Jue was stunned, and then the two looked at each other and smiled, not saying anything more about this issue.

...

...

When Emperor Zhengde got up, it was completely dark.

Because yesterday was too ridiculous, my spirits did not fully recover after sleeping for a day. After Zhu Hou got up, she couldn't help but complain while waiting for the eunuchs and palace maids to wash him: "How come my body is not as good as before in the past few days..."

Xiao Tiaozi stood at the door, and in front of him was Jiang Bin who was also waiting for the order.

Xiao Taozi thought to himself: "Will Jiang Bin tell His Majesty about the Empress Dowager and the Empress Leopard Room to His Majesty? Why didn't His Majesty even mention it?"

Zhu Houzhao finished washing, turned around, saw Xiao Guozi and Jiang Bin, and asked casually: "Where is that dog thing Zhang Yuan? Is there nothing to tell me today?"

Xiao Tiaozi felt a little nervous.

"Your Majesty's attitude is a bit abnormal... Your Majesty didn't want others to come and disturb you, so why did you take the initiative to ask if Zhang Yuan came here? Oh, by the way, why is that guy Zhang Yuan missing?"

Just as Xiao Tiaozi complained in his heart, Jiang Bin had already answered on his behalf: "If you say to Your Majesty, Eunuch Zhang has not arrived, maybe it's nothing important."

Zhu Houzhao nodded: "It's good to have a calm and calm situation. Let's go and tell Concubine Li and Concubine Hua that I will invite two guests today and invite them to come and drink together."

Jiang Bin said: "Your Majesty, is it the person who was invited by the outside of the palace?"

"What do you care about so many things? They are just two friends. They will not threaten my safety." Zhu Houzhao looked at Xiao Tiaozi again and said, "Little Tiaozi, you can arrange this matter."

"Yes, your Majesty."

Xiao Tiaozi respectfully accepted the order, probably guessing in his heart that the guests were Su Tong and Zheng Qian.

Su Tong and Zheng Qian have not been to the Leopard Room, and the emperor has always been very close to these two people.

Zhu Houzhao yawned and said, "Okay, you all retreat. I must go in and prepare first. I must take out the best things and treat the two guests well. If the hospitality is not good, I will ask you!"

...

………

After receiving the order from Zhu Houzhao for the banquet, Su Tong and Zheng Qian met and discussed it and decided to go to the Shen family first.

The two of them had no chance to give gifts to Shen Xi after the New Year. They were summoned by the emperor that day. They wanted to ask Shen Xi for advice on the precautions of the Holy Times below and give the New Year gifts as the way.

At this time, the two of them were extremely glorious in the capital and each had their own houses. As for their hometown in western Fujian, their business was smooth. With an official background, the business situation was naturally very different. Especially Sutong's tea gardens, which rely on Fujian local salt tea and other monopoly systems, as well as Folang Jiren's purchase at high prices, and they are generous.

Shen Xi went to the main courtyard to welcome two old friends. After seeing the gifts they gave, he knew how rich and generous the two old friends were.

"...A little bit of concern will not be respectful. I hope Lord Shen will not dislike him." Su Tong came over first and saluted Shen Xi with a smile.

At this moment, both of them changed into official uniforms, which made them feel like they were going to the government office to do their jobs.

Shen Xi asked, "What are you going to do?"

When the two of them came to the Shen family before, they were not wearing official uniforms. Su Tong looked at him and smiled and said, "Your Majesty asked me to go to the leopard room to attend a banquet. After all, it is the first time I met the saint after the New Year, so it's better to be formal."

Zheng Qian immediately came over to say hello to Shen Xi.

Shen Xi did not see each other, so he asked the two to go to the main hall.

After waiting for the tea, Shen Xi said: "The saint in the leopard room does not talk about court affairs, but just eat and drink, so there is no need to be so formal."

“It’s true.”

Su Tong was somewhat embarrassed.

As a scholar, he also knew that being a priest was not a matter of glorious things. After all, it was not made by real talent and knowledge. However, he directly admitted it and realized that such an answer was not appropriate.

After exchanging glances with Zheng Qian, Su Tongcai said again: "If you only talk about eating and drinking in front of His Majesty for a long time, it probably won't work. Let's ask Lord Shen first to see if there is anything that asked me and His Majesty to inform you."

Su Tong understands the truth very well.

In terms of personal ethics, it is nothing to be indulged. The key is to be loyal and understand right and wrong. As a member of the landlord class, their social and economic status determines that they do not need to abide by the rules and regulations. Those who work for three meals all day long naturally cannot imagine the thinking logic of people in this class. At least Chen Xi did not question the lifestyles of these two people.

People have money, and how they love to live is their own business.

Chen Xi thought to himself: "It's a special period. If I hadn't been to eat, drink and have fun today, why would I introduce them to Your Majesty? It's just taking advantage of the situation."

Chen Xidao: "Your Majesty is now indifferent to the affairs of the court, so I don't mention much to Your Majesty. However, today the Empress Dowager and the Queen were blocked from going to the Leopard Room, and there was a lot of discussion outside..."

After Su Tong and Zheng Qian looked at each other, they immediately understood.

Zheng Qian seemed to have something to say, but in the end he held back because in front of Shen Xi, Zheng Qian had no high voice. Before, he and Su Tong were able to get Chen Xi's appreciation and promotion, mainly because Su Tong played a role.

"I understand." Su Tong nodded, "If you can tell Your Majesty, I will mention it. Look for an opportunity... Brother Zheng, what do you think?"

Zheng Qian smiled and replied, "That's right."

Chen Xidao: "Today is your Majesty's banquet for you. Try to only talk about the wind and moon and not the other things. If you want to talk about something in the court, you will say it as soon as you want to. In fact, there is no need to ask me."
To be continued...