In the imperial study just now, although Emperor Chen did not mention what happened in the garden today, both Emperor Chen and Tang Ning were both old foxes in the court.
The old fox in the court rarely goes straight to the point when doing things. Many times, with just one look or expression, he can reach an agreement on something without saying anything.
It is meaningless to talk about these things.
The agreement that Chen Huang and Tang Ning reached was that he and Zhao Man could be together secretly, provided that no one would discover them or cause a scandal in the royal family. At the same time, Tang Ning would help Chen Huang solve these troubles as a betrothal gift.
Chen Huang is a forgetful person. Tangning gave him 100 million taels of silver, a stable Jiangnan, and a peaceful northwest. He had forgotten all these, and actually wanted him to work as a cow or horse in the future...
For Zhao Man, he could work for Chen Huang for another year. In the past few years, what he had paid was enough to marry her home.
Tangning went straight home after leaving the palace. After dinner, she went to a room in the inner courtyard, where Zhao Man was already waiting for him.
She closed the door and asked with some anxiety: "It's so late, why did the emperor summon you to the palace, and why did the emperor ask Mr. Wei to come in person..."
Tang Ning said: "His Majesty left the palace today and went to the garden we went to today."
Zhao Man turned pale and said in a trembling voice: "Father, has Father seen it?"
Tangning nodded.
Zhao Man looked panicked and cried in her voice, "Then, what should I do? Will my father send someone to arrest you..."
Tang Ning held her in her arms and said with a smile, "Don't worry, His Majesty didn't say anything. You don't have to worry anymore in the future."
"Really?" Zhao Man suddenly raised his head and looked at him with a little sparkle in his beautiful eyes.
"Really." Tangning held her slender waist, picked her up and spun her around, and said, "As long as we are not discovered, Your Majesty will not care..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhao Man's rain-like kiss fell on his face. Her eyes were full of tears, but her face was filled with a smile.
She wiped her nose and said happily: "I knew that my father still liked me..."
Tangning looked at her crying with joy and hugged her tighter.
He raised his head and couldn't bear to tell Zhao Man that the reason why Chen Huang turned a blind eye to their affairs was not because he cared about Zhao Man's happiness. It was just that relatively speaking, Tang Ning could bring him more things.
And Zhao Man was just a bargaining chip for him to exchange.
It was precisely because Tang Ning understood Emperor Chen's thoughts so well that she was so confident before entering the palace.
He looked down at Zhao Man and said seriously: "One day, I will marry you back openly."
Zhao Man wiped away her tears, raised her head and said, "I don't care about this. As long as we can be together for the rest of my life, I am willing to do this for the rest of my life..."
…
In the imperial study room, most of the anger in Chen Huang's heart had disappeared, but he was still muttering to himself: "Even when I was young, I was not as lustful as him!"
Wei Jian smiled and said: "I think this person always has weaknesses. Some are greedy for money, some are lustful, and some are in love with power. Mr. Tang is not greedy for money or power. It's just that he has too many wives. It's you too."
It’s my wish, it’s really normal…”
Huang Chen snorted coldly: "Is it normal for you to hook up with the princess after you have a family?"
Wei Jian smiled and said, "This is not all bad..."
Chen Huang said angrily: "You dog slave, the royal family has lost face. Is this a good thing?"
Wei Jian looked at him and asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty always said that Mr. Tang's heart is not here. In this way, as long as the princess is in the capital, won't he be firmly tied to the capital?"
The two looked at each other, and then smiled in understanding. Chen Huang pointed at him and said: "You old guy, you are so bad..."
…
A few days ago, due to two incidents, students from the south of the Yangtze River and the gentry from the capital were in a quarrel. Almost half of the imperial court was involved, and even King Duan was deeply involved in the whirlpool. In the end, the matter that had been settled could only be left alone.
The number of candidates allocated to Jiangnan is related to the right to speak of Jiangnan and Jiangnan in the court in the next few decades. The streamlining of taxation is also related to the interests of rural gentry, noble families, and powerful families all over the world. Many officials in the court are also involved. This
Neither of these two things is a trivial matter, and in the end, it can only be left alone.
Everyone thought that His Majesty had taken a step back and settled the matter. However, they did not expect that one wave would arise after another. Within two days, everyone learned that His Majesty had given full authority to Marquis Dingguo to handle these two matters.
.
In Prince Duan's palace, Prince Duan, who had been kicked out of the court and could only relax at home, heard about this and couldn't help laughing.
"Tang, I want to see how you deal with this time!"
As the most powerful prince, he naturally received more information than others.
For example, last night, Tangning was summoned to the palace. She seemed to have been scolded in the royal study. When she came out, her face was extremely ugly. Soon after, these two difficult matters fell into his hands.
Having experienced these two difficult things personally, King Duan knew better than anyone how difficult it was to accomplish these two things.
More than half a year ago, due to the fall of Prime Minister Feng, a large number of Jiangnan officials were implicated, which greatly damaged the strength of the Jiangnan Party in the court. They were trying to catch up and make up for the loss, and the court wanted to reduce their power at this time.
Wouldn't the quota for people's promotion be a complete blow to their roots and cut off their thoughts?
How could Jiangnan officials and students agree to this? If this matter is not handled properly, Jiangnan, which has just settled down, may be in chaos again. Who in the entire court can bear this responsibility?
Not to mention that in addition to this matter, there is also the major issue of tax reform. Although the court and the people benefit, the interests of the gentry and the powerful are affected. How can these people spare him?
If he fails to handle these two things, His Majesty will be offended. If he does, he will offend the students from Jiangnan and the powerful people in Beijing. It is a matter that will inevitably lead to losses.
King Duan was naturally happy to see his number one enemy in such a situation where he would suffer a loss no matter what.
Moreover, even though his father knew this, he still asked him to do these two things. Does this mean that he has gradually fallen out of favor? This is what King Duan is even more concerned about...
Prince Kang's Mansion.
After King Kang learned the news, he was not very happy, but a little regretful.
There is no doubt that the two things Tang Ning took over were two hot potatoes, two big troubles that could not be solved. He hoped that these two troubles would fall into the hands of King Duan and drag him into the water. In comparison,
Although he doesn't like Tang Ning either, his biggest opponent is still King Duan.
When everyone in the court felt that Tang Ning would not be able to complete these two matters even if they fell into his hands, in a garden in the middle of the capital, several top Jiangnan students gathered together and discussed something in panic.
"How could it be him……"
"This is the god of plague and the broom star..."
"The last time something happened in Jiangnan, it was because of him. Is he going to kill everyone in Jiangnan this time?"
"No, I have to go find some adults to discuss it..."
…
At the same time, in a certain dignitary's mansion in central Beijing, after hearing the news that Tang Ning would be responsible for the tax reform, a richly dressed middle man looked at the people in the hall, subconsciously touched his chest and said, "What's wrong with my heart?"
