When Huang Cheng came to Qinzheng Hall, Yuan Bao was serving tea to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, why are we so angry?" He said in a low voice.
"It was not enough for me to pretend to be a grandson before, now I have to pretend to be a grandson." The emperor said with an annoyed look.
Their conversation was in the dialect of Shandong. Although he was born in the capital, the Queen had sent him to a fiefdom early. The emperor and the prince were reluctant to part with it. No other prince had opened his palace so early to fiefdom, but the Queen said
That's all for other princes, because the prince she gave birth to is no exception.
The emperor also knew that the queen had always been upright, so he could only sigh and be happy and sent King Qi away.
Although the wet nurses and others who followed him were all from the palace, the affairs of the palace were complicated, with servants purchased locally and gifts given by local officials. There were many locals in the palace, so King Qi still learned a few local words and received a letter from the queen.
After the letter, King Qi began to speak the local dialect more deliberately, and gradually it became a habit. Later, when he went to Beijing to celebrate the emperor's birthday, other relatives of the emperor made fun of him because of his Shandong dialect, and the emperor was furious.
Yuan Bao thought about what happened back then and sighed.
"Yes, Your Majesty, there is no need for this." He said, "He has offended you. If you don't like him, just kick him out. You are the emperor, and you keep your word."
This is the truth, and it feels comfortable to hear. Of course, those ministers are not willing to tell the truth. It seems that praising him will turn him into a treacherous minister and embarrass him in front of the world.
Well, not everyone, except Ning Yan’s nephew Ning Yunzhao.
After thinking about it wildly, the emperor smiled and felt a little better.
"It's not that easy." He said.
"It's not that easy. How can an official make no mistakes? I don't believe it," Yuan Bao said.
This is also the truth, no one is perfect, no one is perfect, as long as you are willing, you can always find mistakes, the emperor laughed.
"Yeah, take your time." His eyes were a little angry and a little gloomy, "I'm sorry for him, but he's sorry for me."
Outside the door came the eunuch reporting the arrival of Huang Cheng.
Yuan Bao was about to resign.
"You can stay." The emperor said, stroking the memorial in front of him. "What I'm going to say is about Deshengchang. You should also listen to it."
Yuan Bao responded and stepped aside with his hands down.
Huang Cheng was announced and kowtowed tremblingly. At other times, the emperor would have stopped him from sitting down, but this time the emperor just lowered his head to read the memorial and seemed not to see him.
Huang Cheng knelt down and called His Majesty.
"It's not enough to borrow Lu Yunqi's things, so you want to borrow Cheng Guogong's things again?" The emperor said without raising his head, "Is he rushing to give his people a reward?"
Huang Cheng hurriedly leaned to the ground.
"I don't dare," he said tremblingly.
The emperor threw the memorial on the table.
"What are you afraid of? You dare to lie that King Huai is bewitched by evil spirits, and you dare to ask Lu Yunqi to guard Prince Huai's palace for you. Why don't you dare to attack Duke Cheng first and then win over him?" He shouted, "In short, you are a liar.
We are all good people on the outside, so let me be the bad guy, right?"
Hearing these words, Huang Cheng felt relieved, Lu Yunqi had indeed done everything properly.
It was really appropriate to guard Prince Huai's Mansion and not let the Crown Prince Chengguo enter.
Lu Yunqi would definitely not tell His Majesty that he was looking for him privately, but if he asked him to speak when the Emperor asked about Deshengchang, he would not be able to tell the Emperor.
This is what the emperor is most taboo about. Lu Yunqi can only be used by him alone. Lu Yunqi used by ministers is not reliable.
But if we guard Prince Huai's Mansion and prevent Prince Cheng from approaching, there will be no problem.
When doing things, you have to mix truth and falsehood in order to avoid being suspected.
For Commander Lu to achieve such a status from such a humble status was not just a matter of luck.
"Your Majesty, I don't dare." Huang Cheng cried bitterly and kowtowed repeatedly, "I am worried about King Huai. If King Huai has bad intentions, Your Majesty will suffer. If you care about me, you will be in chaos. I would rather make a mistake a hundred times.
I dare not let it go once. As for rewarding virtue and prosperity, it is not for Duke Cheng. It is not the merit of Duke Cheng. It belongs to Your Majesty. It is His Majesty’s people. It is His Majesty’s people who have contributed to it.
Your Majesty is dedicated to serving the country, but I cannot bear to see Duke Cheng acting like everything is done by his own people and is his own credit."
Yes, that was his. The emperor looked at Huang Cheng who kowtowed with a heavy expression, and felt angry and depressed at the same time, but it became Duke Cheng's pocket.
He raised his hand and took pictures of several cases.
"Enough!" he shouted.
Huang Cheng immediately stopped crying and kowtowing, and leaned on the ground silently.
The emperor exhaled.
"How unbecoming is it to cry when you have something to say!" he shouted.
Huang Cheng wiped his tears and looked up.
"I am terrified in my heart, lest I do something wrong and expose Your Majesty to injustice," he said.
The emperor sighed and said nothing.
"Your Majesty, I will not deceive you. I have selfish motives in asking Your Majesty to reward virtue and prosperity." Huang Cheng raised his head and said.
The emperor looked at him.
"Nowadays, the country's affairs are very difficult and complicated." Huang Cheng continued, "First there were wars that cost the people and money, and now there are hundreds of thousands of refugees waiting to be resettled. Rewards for hundreds of thousands of soldiers including Duke Cheng has exhausted the national treasury.
Your Majesty, I am so worried that I cannot sleep."
He said and looked at the emperor carefully.
"Since Deshengchang is so rich and devoted to serving the country, it's better to let them spend money to resettle the refugees."
The emperor's eyes suddenly lit up.
Yes, that's how he got his money back.
Yes, this is his money.
The emperor sat up straight.
"It's just that it would cost a lot. Is Deshengchang willing to do it?" he said hesitantly.
A smile appeared on the corner of Huang Cheng's mouth.
"Is it possible that the people who lead the land are the royal ministers?" He said, "What's more, it's not for nothing, it's just a temporary loan, and the Fang family will be given a title and a generous salary, so that they can honor their ancestors. What's not to like?"
He said and smiled.
"When one is alive, one's name will remain in history, and one's money is nothing more than rubbish. As the Fang family is so wealthy, we naturally know how much grace this is."
The emperor lowered his head and looked at the memorial on the table, took the ink pen and stroked it.
"Let the cabinet discuss this matter," he said.
Huang Cheng leaned over and kowtowed.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty," he said loudly, raising his hands.
Yuan Bao on the side came over, took the memorial and handed it to Huang Cheng's hand.
Huang Cheng raised his head, as if he had just seen Yuan Bao at this moment, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
"Eunuch Yuan, long time no see," he said.
Yuan Bao smiled at him and stepped back without saying a word.
…………
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"Originally, I wanted to invite you, but your Majesty changed your mind after suddenly hearing what the eunuch said." A guard in royal robes said in a low voice.
Lu Yunqi was sitting on a chair, twirling a small dagger with a dull expression, as if he was listening to him and seemed to be in a trance.
"Why did Yuan Bao suddenly return to the capital? He seems to have been running some errands for His Majesty all these years." Jiang Qianhu said from the side, "Would you like to check on him..."
Lu Yunqi raised his hand.
"Since it is His Majesty's errand, we cannot investigate it," he said.
Jiang Qianhu hurriedly answered yes.
Lu Yunqi waved his hand, and the Jin Yiwei retreated.
"Your Majesty has always had great trust in you, but when this person named Yuan came, your Majesty didn't see him but you. I was worried that this person named Yuan was not good." Jiang Qianhu said in a low voice.
"Believe it or not, it depends on doing things." Lu Yunqi said, "Everyone does his own thing, and everyone gets his own trust. There is nothing to worry about."
Jiang Qianhu responded yes.
"Also, is there no news about the woman from the Guan Temple?" Lu Yunqi asked suddenly.
Jiang Qianhu shook his head.
"I've been checking for more than a year, but it just disappeared out of thin air." He said in a low voice.
Lu Yunqi pressed the dagger in his hand on the table.
"Nothing in this world happens in a vacuum," he said.
He stood up and took back his hand. The dagger had already sunk into the table, leaving only the handle outside.