—In the afternoon, He Yuanhao ate his meal, rested for a while, and prepared to go into the palace to meet the Empress Dowager.
Even though the Empress Dowager was no longer in power, marrying the Princess still had considerable political influence.
This influence is not too big, but not too small.
If an ordinary third or fourth rank official were to have the Princess as his daughter-in-law, it would inevitably mean that he would be drawn in by the Meng family and choose to side with them. But He Yuanhao was different. The He family has deep roots and is a military general, almost all of whom are under the prime minister. Anyone with a discerning eye would understand that a non-favored princess would not be enough to sway He Yuanhao from replacing the family’s 120,000-strong elite army.
Although Nanzhu’s unpopularity makes the He family feel less pressure to marry, she is still the pearl of the late emperor, the first princess of Qi with a proper name.
This was different from the average family.
In ordinary families, even if there was a slight difference in status between the two families, when the elders met each other, they had to be polite, treat each other as equals and call each other “in-laws”.
But the Meng family was not an ordinary family. It was the imperial family of the Great Qi.
Theoretically, He Yuanhao had won the Princess Nanzhu as his daughter-in-law, and in theory, he was tied to the royal family.
But this is only theoretical. In reality, even if he takes the Emperor’s sister, the Princess, as his daughter-in-law, the Emperor is still the Emperor and the Empress Dowager is still the Empress Dowager. None of the courtesies that should be performed by a courtier could be missing. There was no exception for marrying the Princess.
For example, although He Yuanhao was going to talk about marriage, he still had to put on the official uniform, which represented his status as a subject.
When Zhang Jingxian was serving him to put on the official uniform, He Yuanhao specifically instructed, “Be careful.”
“I don’t see your Lordship this careful when going to court.”
“This time we are going to see the Empress Dowager to discuss the marriage of the little brat, it is not as simple as going to court.”
Zhang Jingxian hummed, “Other people go to court with fear and trepidation, like walking on thin ice, but Master is at leisure, so relaxed.”
He Yuanhao laughed, “You don’t understand. If you have something in mind, if you want something, then you will be worried and anxious. Just like those courtiers who are restless in their position. I don’t have so many thoughts and ideas, as long as I can have a bowl of chicken soup when I get out of court, I’m satisfied.”
Zhang Jingxian tidied the folds on He Yuanhao’s official uniform and laughed helplessly, “Your Lordship just said ‘don’t mean what you say’ in his speech, but you broke the rule yourself and reminded me of it.”
After finishing dressing, He Yuanhao touched the official uniform with two smooth sleeves and said with satisfaction, “I am not a monk, my mind is free of distractions. I am not looking for wealth and prosperity, only peace for the people. Let’s go.”
The Marquis’ wife sent the Marquis on his horse, but after riding a couple of feet, the Marquis jumped off again, and ran towards the Marquis’ residence.
“Jingxian, take the horse, there is something I forgot to take.”
“Didn’t you already take the gift invitation?”
“There’s something else.”
Something else?
Zhang Jingxian didn’t quite understand.
What else do you need to take when you go to the palace to propose?
A sword?
Impossible. The palace is not our home. How can he take a sword in?
***
The six ministries of the court, three to Han and three to Meng, are a subtle balance that the Qi dynasty has been trying to maintain since the previous emperor divided power.
Even when the Empress Dowager was in power, the Meng clan held at least two ministries.
After the Empress Dowager took power, she was able to combine grace and power, and had already secured the three ministries of Rites, and Labor in her hands. The Meng clan is gradually overpowering the Prime Minister in terms of the number of civil officials.
At this moment, outside Meng Qinghao’s bedchamber, Changhe Palace.
Li Gongqin, the father of Li Jin, the Minister of Rites, Huang Qinghe, the father of Huang Buren, the Minister of Rites. Yang Zhe, the father of Yang Dong, and Yang Xingguang, the Minister of Labor, the three second-ranking officials of the Meng clan, were all standing outside the door of the eldest princess.
Huang Qinghe, who had arrived early, stood around for a while, but did not see the Princess call for an audience, so he asked Li Gongqin, who had just arrived. “Brother Li, Her Highness suddenly asked us to come here today, do you have any clues?”
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(Subtext: The boss suddenly shakes people, so I’m a bit panicked, you’re the boss’ cousin, give me a clue.)
Li Gongqin rushed all the way here, sweating profusely, and said, “Minister Huang, how can I guess the heart of Her Highness?”
(Subtext: I can’t!)
Even though they were all Meng’s confidants, they didn’t often get together. Taking this opportunity, Yang Xingguang said, “Brother Li, Brother Huang, Her Highness will soon be twenty. Although it is not a big birthday, but a coming-of-age ceremony, we should not fail to take care of it and make Her Highness lose face. I wonder if you two have prepared?”
(Subtext: Have you thought of any gifts for the boss’ birthday?)
Li Gongqin said, “Her Highness doesn’t like mundane things, and in this eventful season, it is a great gift to minimize trouble.”
(Subtext: Tell Yang Zhe not to be a demon. My cousin doesn’t see him.)
Huang Qinghe said, “What brother Li said is very true.”
(Subtext: So do I.)
(Subtext: I’ll do the same.) Yang Xingguang arched his hand, smiled, and although he saluted, he didn’t thank them, but turned to face Changhe Palace, silent.
(Subtext: We’ll see.)
In a short while, the palace maid led the three into the palace.
As usual, Meng Qingqian was dressed in a long dark red dress and leaned back on the seat by the tea table. The folding of the memo did not leave her hand for a moment.
Jian Ling, on the other hand, was not standing not far from Meng Qingqian, as he had done when Li entered, but behind her, with his eyes closed, and his sword clasped, not saying a word.
The three Shang Shu entered the hall and immediately fell to their knees.
“Your Highness, I pay my respects.”
Meng Qingqian said, “Get up.”
She took one last look at the memo, tossed it onto the table, then rose from her chair, trailing her long skirt that touched the ground, and, under the gaze of the three second-ranking courtiers, came to the back of their side, to a position they had not noticed when they entered the room.
The three courtiers, from the moment they entered the room, did not dare to look at the eldest princess more than once. Most of the time, all that appeared in their view was the hem of their long red dresses.
At this moment, when the Princess abruptly walked behind them, they only dared to glance at her. but their bodies were still facing in the direction of her original seat, and they did not dare to move.
It was not until Meng Qingqian’s clear and crisp voice rang out.
“You three, this palace has a happy event to tell you today.”
Only when the three heard Meng Qingqian speak did they dare to turn around and face her, saying, “I congratulate Your Highness.”
When they did, they realized that in their field of vision, in addition to Meng Qingqian’s long dress, there was an official uniform.
Meng Qingqian smiled and said, “There is no need for pleasantries, look up and meet an old friend.”
When the three of them looked up, they suddenly found that beside Meng Qingqian stood a minister in a third-rank official’s uniform.
Lu Liang, the minister of the Honglu Temple!
Wasn’t Lu Liang on Han Wenxin’s side? Why is he….
Meng Qingqian held out her slender jade hand and gently patted Lu Liang’s shoulder.
“Lord Lu has always been a top minister of our dynasty, his eyesight, ability, and talent are all first class. From now on, you are all friends, so you don’t have to worry about much and can visit from time to time.”
He waited for the Princess to finish speaking before he arched his hand with the three officials and said, “My lords, we are all friends from now on. I would like to work with all of you and serve Your Highness.”
The three men were all in court, so how could they not know what the reversal of Lu Liang, the Prime Minister’s inner circle, meant?
Li Gongqin said, “Congratulations, Your Highness.”
Huang Buren said, “Your Highness is wise.”
Yang Xingguang said, “I, together with Yang Zhe and other members of the Yang clan, will follow Your Highness to the death and serve the country!”