Chapter 329 Prepare to accept Xie Zhuohua as the concubine
The war between the two sides, although it was a small one, consumed the most food and money from the treasury.
In the past, most of the hundreds of thousands of troops at the border were supported by the Fu family. The royal family had always been harsh on the Fu family in terms of military pay.
When Fu Jingchao led his people to retreat from the border pass, he took away all the food, grass and silver.
The pressure from all the soldiers at the border overwhelmed the emperor and came here.
The new emperor came to power, and the treasury was quickly stretched.
The Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of War had already complained to him several times that he was poor. Lu Jia himself did not expect that he would have to worry about money after becoming emperor.
Lu Guogong took the lead in donating 100,000 taels as the emperor's ancestral family, the Tao family donated 60,000 taels because they were the queen's natal family, and Concubine Xi in the palace donated 40,000 taels on behalf of the Lingxi Kingdom.
As the emperor's favorite concubine, Zhou Yao gritted her teeth and donated 20,000 yuan. Su Jingyi struggled all night and only donated 10,000 yuan.
The best thing to do in the palace is to be favored or rich. After the Su family retreated, she didn't have much money in her hands, so she really couldn't bear to part with it.
Other court officials also expressed their opinions to some extent, but the Xie family did not. Of course, no one from the Xie family was officially an official in the court.
Lu Guogong couldn't help fanning the flames, "The Xie family is one of the four major families in Jiangnan. Jiangnan is famous for its wealth. They didn't show any inappropriateness at all."
The emperor lowered his eyes and said, "I am not the Queen Mother's biological son. It is normal for the Xie family not to want to help me wholeheartedly."
The Xie family's recent craziness in amassing money in Jiangnan has seriously affected the Lu family, which makes Lu Guogong very dissatisfied.
As for the death of Prince Lu, the Lu family found clues that were closely related to the Shen family.
He has nothing to do about the Shen family for the time being. The relationship between Xie and Shen's families has always been good, so he should start with the Xie family.
"The Xie and Shen families have been friends for generations. The old lady of the Shen family is a girl from the Xie family. I am just worried that the Xie family has other ideas..." Lu Guogong hinted.
The emperor's expression became serious. After all, the Shen family had rebelled against Fu Jingchao. Maybe the Xie family had other ideas as well.
But the emperor is not stupid. The Xie family is a Qingliu family and has a very good reputation among scholars. If he easily accuses the Xie family, public opinion will be unfavorable to him.
"I understand." The emperor only said this sentence and did not say more.
Privately, I was worried about this matter.
Zhou Yao, as his interpreter, listened to his troubles and said gently while massaging him, "Then your Majesty might as well win over them. I heard that the eldest daughter of the Xie family is very talented."
The emperor was stunned and then burst into laughter, "My beloved concubine is really my caring person."
After a spring supper, the emperor left with satisfaction.
Zhou Yao's confidant asked puzzledly while combing her hair, "Why did the empress propose to let Miss Xie enter the palace, so that there will be another high-ranking concubine in the palace..."
Doesn't this add more opponents to yourself? The palace maid can't understand it.
Zhou Yao looked at himself with beautiful features in the mirror, "I don't care how many powerful women there are, as long as I am the most special one in His Majesty's heart."
And only if the emperor's dragon chair is stable, she will enjoy endless glory and wealth, and he is clear about this.
The emperor made a decision and immediately summoned Mr. Xie. The reply he received was that Mr. Xie had recently contracted a cold and was in bed recuperating. He did not dare to see Tianyan for fear of infecting the body of the dragon with the cold.
The emperor could not force himself. In the name of filial piety, he took the queen to visit the Queen Mother Xie in the palace.
Queen Mother Xie was a little surprised when she received the news of his arrival, but she cheered up to welcome him.
Along the way, the emperor saw that the palace was well taken care of. He even had the illusion that these women were living a better life than he was.
Queen Mother Xie received him dressed in plain clothes and looked in good spirits.
"How is the Queen Mother doing in the palace?"
Queen Mother Xie looked at them kindly, "Everything is well in the Ai family, but why did the emperor come suddenly?"
The emperor told Mr. Xie about his condition, and the queen mother sighed, "Older people have poor bones and are prone to illness. If you take good care of him, you will get well soon."
The emperor glanced at the queen, who immediately understood and asked with a smile, "Why haven't you seen the Xie family girls recently?"
Queen Mother Xie was an old fox in the palace. She immediately sensed the unusual information. Why did she suddenly ask Xie Zhuohua for no reason?
"The child said he missed his mother, so he followed his brother back to Jiangnan." Queen Mother Xie said calmly.
The emperor immediately showed a regretful expression, "If nothing had happened to my brother back then, I would have had a good relationship with Miss Xie."
Queen Mother Xie said calmly, "It's Zhuohua who is unlucky. Later, the eminent monk in the temple showed her that she was destined to marry late."
The emperor did not give up, "What happened back then was that the royal family was ashamed of Miss Xie. Now I admire Miss Xie's talent and boldly asked the Queen Mother to ask Miss Xie to enter the palace."
Even the queen felt that what she said was shameless and couldn't bear to hear it.
Queen Mother Xie was instantly angry, but years of living in the harem had trained her to manage her expressions, and her face still looked calm.
"She is lucky that the emperor likes her." The queen mother smiled and changed the subject, "It's just that Zhuohua was engaged to the prince after all, so her reputation in the palace is not good."
The prince is his biological brother. After his brother died, he would miss the woman he was engaged to. No matter how he looked at it, it was inappropriate.
The emperor had obviously thought about this problem. He smiled and said, "There is no real wedding, nothing to hinder it."
The Queen Mother's eyes sharpened in an instant, and she lowered her head to drink tea without saying a word.
The emperor played with the ring on his hand, "Why, the Queen Mother is unwilling?"
Queen Mother Xie said expressionlessly, "It's not my aunt's turn to decide her marriage. Your Majesty asked the wrong person."
The emperor obviously didn't come to ask what she meant. They couldn't help but say no to the woman the emperor liked.
"I am here to inform the Queen Mother in advance." The emperor said directly, "In a few days, I will issue an order to make Miss Xie my concubine. Don't worry, Queen Mother, I will treat her well."
After the emperor achieved his goal, he left without intending to stay longer and took the queen with him.
Queen Mother Xie slammed the table hard and said, "Immediately send a message to the palace to find out why he went crazy for no reason."
"What should I do with the girl?" Nanny asked worriedly, "We can't get trapped in the palace at this time."
Queen Mother Xie's eyes turned cold, "Find a way to hold him back so that he can't issue orders too quickly."
Once an order is issued and the Xie family either resists it or accepts it, it will be troublesome for the Xie family.
"I'm just afraid that his evil intentions will persist." Grandma was still very worried.
"For the current plan, we can only let Zhuohua get married first." Queen Mother Xie said, "Anyway, Zhuohua is not in Jiangnan. When the time comes, it will be said that she met a lover outside. She will kill her first and tell her later, and the family will not know about it."
Although it may not be good for Xie Zhuohua's reputation, compared to entering the palace and becoming the emperor's concubine, it is better to choose the former.
"Have someone send the news to your family and ask them to act as soon as possible. The emperor probably won't be able to delay it for long." Queen Mother Xie quickly made a decision.
Xie Zhuohua, who was still looking for someone at the border, didn't know that her life-long event had already been targeted by the emperor.
