The seventeenth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the Queen Mother.【】
As the emperor's aunt and biological mother, and even managed the affairs of the Li family for several years, the empress dowager's status was naturally incomparable.
The emperor was in charge for the sixth year of Hongde's reign.
In fact, from the first year of Hongde to around the eighth year of Hongde, the Queen Mother had the final say on many really big things.
Nowadays, although the supreme position has been peacefully transferred away, the filial piety that the emperor should fulfill must continue to be fulfilled. Therefore, this year's holy birthday of the Mother of the Nation was held with great splendor.
From early morning, the palace became lively.
The Empress Dowager received congratulations from civil and military officials, dignitaries, and foreign countries in Deqing Palace.
Because the relationship between Northern Qi and Chen has temporarily eased, Northern Qi even sent an envoy to congratulate the Queen Mother and gave the Queen Mother a necklace made of Liaodong pearls, which made the Queen Mother very happy.
As the Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager Sun is no longer happy about a piece of jewelry.
What makes her happy is that now even Qi people have come to give her gifts.
People who grew up in different eras and environments have different thinking patterns and ideas.
For example, Prime Minister Zhang Jing and his group had seen the unified Chen State, so even if they are as white as snow now, they will look at the north and think about the north when they have nothing to do.
Although Shen Yi's father-in-law, Mrs. Lu, had never met the unified Chen, their fathers were the people of Chen Yi. People of Mr. Lu's generation still have the idea of restoring their homeland in their hearts.
In fact, people of Master Lu's generation did work hard with Emperor Xianzong for more than ten or twenty years. Unfortunately, "the magic power was not matched by the numbers of days". Emperor Xianzong died suddenly, and the Great Chen Zhongxing came to an abrupt end.
In the Xiandi Dynasty, two major defeats brought Chen State back to the shrinking state it had been in during the reign of Emperor Sejong.
Queen Mother Sun grew up in this environment.
She had entered the palace to accompany the late emperor when she was a girl, and had a deep understanding of the power of Northern Qi. She always felt that the people of Qi were stronger than the people of Chen State, and Northern Qi was stronger than the entire Chen State.
In the later period of the late emperor's dynasty, even if it was the late emperor's birthday, the Qi people did not send envoys to congratulate him. Now that the late emperor has passed away and her grandson the Queen Mother has celebrated her birthday, the Qi people have sent envoys to congratulate them. Doesn't this mean that Dachen is becoming more and more prosperous?
This shows that the Hongde Dynasty was more powerful than the Xiandi Dynasty.
And the Hong De Dynasty was controlled by her most of the time, which naturally means that she has made great contributions to the country in these years.
Since it was the birthday of the Empress Dowager Sun, it was naturally a good thing for the Empress Dowager to be happy. The birthday was quite successful. In the evening, the Empress Dowager and His Majesty the Emperor entertained all the civil and military officials and nobles in the palace.
In the outer vassal, the dinner party did not disperse until late at night.
After the dinner was over, His Majesty the Emperor did not rest in the palace, but came to the Manna Hall to handle political affairs as usual.
There was not much government affairs today, only twenty or thirty books, thinly piled on his desk.
His Majesty the Emperor narrowed his eyes and said calmly: "Those old men are quite sensible. Knowing that today is the birthday of the Queen Mother, they didn't bother me with too many memorials."
As he spoke, the emperor stretched out, sat in his seat, casually opened a memorial book, and picked up the ink pen to comment.
"Those old men at Zhongshu are very smart and clever. You should go to Zhongshu Province more tomorrow and tell them that as long as it is something above the state level, it must be sent to me whether I want to see it or not.
."
"Today, the Empress Dowager's birthday, is considered an exception."
Gao Ming responded and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother's birthday is well organized today. The Queen Mother looks very happy and smiles from ear to ear."
The emperor stopped the pen in his hand and glanced at Gao Ming. He said calmly: "The queen mother was happy because the Qi people came to congratulate her on her birthday. When the envoys from the Qi people came up, they looked up at you and had no rules.
I am still so happy after losing my mother."
At this point, the emperor curled his lips: "The Queen Mother thought that those Qi people came specifically to celebrate her birthday. These Qi people's envoys have been making small moves in Jiankang these days..."
At this point, the emperor snorted and did not continue.
Eunuch Gao lowered his head and smiled: "They can't make any waves in Jiankang City. Anyway, your Majesty's birthday banquet today was very well done, and the Queen Mother is also satisfied..."
During this period, the relationship between mother and son has not been particularly good.
After this birthday party, the relationship between the two men has somewhat eased.
The emperor nodded "Yes" and asked, "How much money did it cost?"
"About one and a half million taels before and after."
He lowered his head and said: "The Ministry of Revenue only provided one million taels of silver, and the rest was all from Your Majesty's internal funds..."
"My internal money..."
The emperor's eyelids twitched.
Somewhat distressed.
But then I thought about it, I was celebrating my own mother’s birthday anyway, so the more I spent, the more I would spend.
"How much money do I have left in my internal funds?"
Eunuch Gao lowered his head and said, "There are less than five hundred thousand taels left."
The emperor frowned and said, "That's it?"
Eunuch Gao lowered his head and was respectful, but there was some helplessness in his tone: "Your Majesty, if it hadn't been for some money coming from the southeast last year, the money would have been empty now. However, at the end of last year, Eunuch Du received a sum of money in Fuzhou Mansion, which is estimated to be around 100 yuan."
More than 10,000 taels should be shipped back to Jiankang in the spring and summer of this year, and then it can be replenished into the inner treasury. The days in the palace..."
"It will feel better."
Hearing this, the emperor laughed at himself: "So, I still have to rely on Shen Qi to support my family."
Gao Ming lowered his head and said nothing.
When Shen Yi was mentioned, the pen in the emperor's hand stopped. He frowned and thought for a while, and suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, why didn't I see Shen Qi in the palace today? He neither sent gifts to the queen mother nor attended the dinner, right?"
Gao Ming lowered his head slightly, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Your Majesty, Bachelor Shen..."
"It seems that he is in good health."
The emperor originally just asked casually, but when he heard Gao Ming's words, he was stunned, put down the ink pen in his hand, frowned and said, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Your Majesty, you are too busy these days..."
Gao Ming bowed his head deeply and explained: "It is also about Concubine Hui, and it is the birthday of the Queen Mother. I want to talk to you about this matter, but I have never found the opportunity."
The emperor was not like his mother-in-law, so he did not continue to ask questions. He just frowned slightly and asked, "When did he leave Jiankang?"
"yesterday afternoon."
The emperor asked again: "Going north?"
Eunuch Gao lowered his head slightly and said: "Yes, he went all the way north, probably towards the Huai River. If your Majesty wants to chase him back now, I will send someone out immediately..."
"The inner guards following Academician Shen can also bring him back."
The emperor frowned and said nothing.
He stood up silently, walked to the window, looked at the night outside, and after being lost in thought for a while, murmured: "What an elusive person."
"Did he forget that he was always accompanied by an inner guard?"
Gao Ming shook his head slightly: "Your Majesty, Academician Shen is a very smart person. There is no reason for him to forget such things..."
The emperor thought thoughtfully: "Then he didn't want to hide it from me."
His Majesty the Emperor turned to look at Gao Ming and asked, "He wants to kill that Qi man, right?"
Gao Ming shook his head.
"I don't know, slave..."
The emperor stood by the window and thought for a long time, looking towards the north and... further north.
"It's been more than two years since I settled down, so I might as well test them."
"clever…"
Eunuch Gao bowed his head deeply: "My servant is here."
"Send some people to follow. Don't let anything happen. If the opportunity is good enough, you can help Shen Qi."
Eunuch Gao immediately lowered his head and said, "I understand."
"The most important thing is to bring Shen Qi back to Jiankang safely. I still have many things for him to do."
Eunuch Gao lowered his head again and said, "I will make arrangements right now."
After that, he respectfully left the Manna Hall.
His Majesty the Emperor was still standing by the window, looking out the window.
"Secretly dispatching guards with the intention of intercepting and killing the foreign envoys."
