Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Just when Qin Conggui was about to open his mouth, Zhu Youtang seemed to suddenly think of something, so he put down the scroll in his hand and said: "Looking at how embarrassed you are, it's better not to speak!"

"Yes!" Tan Conggui swallowed the words that came to his lips and hurriedly expressed his position.

Huh?

Liu Jin was stunned immediately, but looked at Zhu Youtang in confusion. He really couldn't see through this emperor more and more.

Zhu Youtang handed the scroll to Liu Jin who came forward, and looked at Qin Conggui seriously: "Even if we have to trace three generations of his ancestors, we must find out his crimes!"

"This slave accepts the order!" Tan Conggui's eyes flashed with coldness, and he expressed his attitude in a dignified manner.

When Han Youying saw Zhu Youtang flipping the teacup backwards, she knew that there was no need to continue making tea today.

Zhu Youtang picked up the nylon stick again, and when he saw that it was getting late, he ordered: "Go back to the palace!"

Even though he is a high-ranking emperor, his life today is very similar to that of the social beasts of later generations. Every day is a life of two o'clock and one line of work. In the morning, we went from the Forbidden City to Xiyuan, and in the evening, we returned from Xiyuan to the Forbidden City.

At this time, the setting sun has completely disappeared, and the whole world has an extra layer of twilight.

At Xiyuan Gate, Jinwu Guards wearing silver armor stood upright.

Similar to the maids of the Qianqing Palace, their only mission is to serve the emperor and ensure his absolute safety. Knowing that Zhu Youtang's dragon chariot is going to enter the opposite Xihua Gate from Xiyuan Gate, everyone will be alert.

Chang Feng knew that the rise and fall of his family was tied to Zhu Youtang, and his own future also depended on Zhu Youtang, so he paid great attention to the safety of the emperor's brother-in-law.

Zhu Youtang knew that his biggest crisis came from the dark side, but no one dared to be treacherous and attack him in the open. Now he has become accustomed to the people around him.

After the team entered through the Xihua Gate, this place belonged to the Forbidden City. It had high palace walls and strict guards, and was almost isolated from the outside world.

The Forbidden City under twilight has a different flavor. The straight palace roads look very clean. The palace in front is magnificent, and occasionally there is the sound of beautiful piano.

When it comes to the quality of living, this 720,000-square-meter Forbidden City has an unparalleled security system and is definitely the most luxurious residence in contemporary times.

"Your Majesty, it seems that the Queen Mother wants to see you!"

Liu Jin led the team back along the fixed palace road. When he saw a palace maid standing in front of the Renshou Palace from a distance, he whispered to Zhu Youtang who was sleeping.

The palace maid standing in front is somewhat similar to Qingyue, who was also wearing cyan clothes back then, but she doesn't have Qingyue's aura and can only be regarded as a beautiful palace maid.

Although Zhu Youtang basically cut off contact with the Empress Dowager Zhou's biological grandmother, he became closer to the Empress Dowager and would often go to Renshou Palace to say hello.

If the Queen Mother is looking for her, she does not need to take the initiative to ask for a meeting or notify her. She only needs to arrange for a palace maid to wait here.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother has just cooked ginseng soup and would like to invite you to Renshou Palace to try the taste!" The beautiful palace maid said with a sweet and authentic voice after seeing the ceremony.

Zhu Youtang knew that this was all a pretense, so he waved his hand gently, and the dragon chariot turned into the Renshou Palace.

Renshou Palace was the earliest residence of Empress Dowager Sun.

As the Queen Mother's palace, although its scale is far smaller than that of Qianqing Palace, it is still a huge courtyard.

The Queen Mother is already in her forties, but because she takes good care of herself and dresses beautifully, she gives the impression of a mature woman who is still young.

Just living in this era, even though she is the most noble woman in the world, she has now entered the retirement mode ahead of schedule.

Unlike some empress dowagers who like to point fingers, she has almost no longer intervened in any affairs of the palace since she handed over all palace affairs to Queen Chang.

Daily life consists of playing mahjong, growing flowers and plants, and occasionally calling her mother-in-law's family to the palace to chat about home affairs. Life seems to be uneventful.

The eunuch brought up a bowl of ginseng soup, which was still steaming.

"Queen Mother, it's okay to speak up if you have something to say!" When Zhu Youtang was drinking the ginseng soup, he noticed that the Queen Mother seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he took the initiative to clarify.

As if she had made a big decision, the Queen Mother looked seriously into Zhu Youtang's eyes and said: "The Ai family and the Queen chatted for a long time today. Both the Queen and the Ai family hope that you can have an heir! Although the adoptive family It’s a good idea, but Prince Xing is just getting ready to get married now, and it would be unfilial to look for a stepson from the clan now, so what we mean is... please depose the queen and appoint her as a concubine!"

Someone's status means there is a world. No matter how pure the Queen Mother is, she still has to safeguard her core interests and have her own position.

The issue of Zhu Youtang's heirs has never been his problem alone, but involves the entire core ruling class and the interests of the Queen Mother.

She is now the well-deserved queen mother of this dynasty, but once King Xing comes to power, her situation as the queen mother will be very embarrassing.

Unlike Zhu Youtang, who still doesn't know the origin of his biological mother, Prince Xing's mother-in-law is the current dynasty's Concubine Shao, and all of Concubine Shao's family members are still alive.

Although the two palaces will have equal emphasis at that time, the lessons learned from Empress Dowager Qian and Empress Dowager Zhou are in front of her, not to mention that she is still a queen mother who has long been indifferent. What can she compare with Concubine Shao?

Just like this, if the Queen Mother wants her position not to be replaced and her family to still be valued, she must stand in the lineage of Zhu Youtang.

Various signs indicate that if Zhu Youtang insists on going his own way, the final result is likely to be extinct, and the throne will fall on King Xing.

Whether it was for Zhu Youtang to have a son or for his own benefit, the best thing to do was to comply with God's will and abolish Queen Chang and establish the Zhang family.

Liu Jin was a person close to Zhu Youtang, so he naturally knew that the emperor did not intend to depose the queen, so he turned to look at Zhu Youtang cautiously.

For a moment, the atmosphere here seemed very tense.

Although the relationship between Zhu Youtang and Empress Chang cannot be said to be as strong as love, they are still a couple who love each other. Now, for the sake of the heirs, or because of the Eastern gods' secret to support the emperor, there is no guarantee that he will offend the emperor.

"It is true that I did not consider the adoption method carefully, but the abolition of the queen is not what I want in my heart. I was also thinking about the heirs just now, and suspected that the problem may lie with a few of them, so I have already moved to canonize a few more Concubine's thoughts!" Zhu Youtang knew that the Queen Mother's position was correct, but she said with a slight smile.

Originally, adoption was a good idea, but he offended the powerful class too much and was labeled as unfilial too hard.

The reason why Emperor Jingtai did not adopt the imperial family back then was that he could not pass the "filial piety" hurdle.

It would be okay if Emperor Jingtai had no brothers, but his brother was still alive at that time, and he still had a lot of sons. It would indeed be unfilial to forcibly give the throne to a descendant who has nothing to do with his father.

Of course, Zhu Youtang could forcibly find a successor from the clan, but the target left for those powerful people was too big, so he had to give in.

It was just that the adoption failed, and he had no intention of deposing his wife. He always felt that God could not completely block his way and forced him to appoint an arrogant concubine whom he clearly did not love as his queen.

Canonizing concubines?

The Queen Mother was stunned for a moment, and then took a deep look at Zhu Youtang.

If he hadn't already figured out Zhu Youtang's temperament, he would have mistakenly thought that he was a lustful person, and the purpose of consecrating the new concubine was to satisfy his lust.

It just made her very confused. With Zhu Youtang's wisdom, he should know that this would not solve the current problem at all.

"I just summoned the Eastern Immortal, and he also said that the issue of the heir can be resolved on his own, so I decided to look for a few concubines again to try!" Zhu Youtang has never been short of scapegoats, and he seems to be half-truthful and half-false.

Ah!

Dongfang Dao, who was eating roast chicken in Chengxi Restaurant, suddenly sneezed loudly, rubbed his red nose, frowned and looked around.

Faintly, he realized that someone had ill intentions towards him, or even deliberately framed him.

The Queen Mother had a high degree of trust in Dongfang Dao, otherwise she would not have taken the initiative to persuade Zhu Youtang to depose him. After that, she nodded gently and said: "Since Your Majesty wants to try it, then give it a try! It just increases the number of concubines." It's not a good time for an election. The Ai family has nothing to do these days. How about helping you find a few women with good background, beauty and fertility in Beizhili for you to choose from?"

She knew that the problem of the emperor having no heirs was not on the woman's side. Just as the Eastern gods said, it was God's will that the emperor still had no heirs.

Although she was not optimistic about this approach at all, Zhu Youtang had already proposed it in front of her, so she had to give it a try after all.

What's more, among the common wives, if they have no children, they still have concubines.

It's just that this kind of matter should not be left to the Queen, and the relationship between Zhu Youtang and the Queen Mother has broken down, so the most suitable person to handle this matter is herself.

In her heart, she actually regards Zhu Youtang as half a son, so she is actually very willing to choose a "daughter-in-law".

"This will help the Queen Mother!" When Zhu Youtang saw that the Queen Mother took the initiative to take care of this matter, he immediately expressed his gratitude secretly in his heart.

The Queen Mother saw that Zhu Youtang seemed to be looking forward to this matter, so she smiled slightly and asked: "I wonder what the emperor wants from the new concubines?"

"As long as you can get into the eyes of the Queen Mother! Speaking of which, Tan Conggui is somewhat loyal, but he thinks of me!" Zhu Youtang said casually while drinking ginseng soup.

Aju!

Qin Conggui sneezed loudly, thinking that he had not done anything bad recently, and could not help but frown in confusion.

But his eyes quickly brightened. Although the emperor stopped the rice hoarding of the powerful people in the capital, he had recently arrested some young men who were holding silver coins but could not make trouble, and he went to jail with a sullen face.

After a while, there was a sound like killing a pig, and the young men were tortured beyond human dignity.

The Queen Mother's curiosity was aroused, and she asked seriously: "Qin Conggui? Well, the Ai family remembers this eunuch. He was your old man from the East Palace. What did he do?"

"He was secretly looking for a woman of the right age in the capital a while ago, and found a woman who is said to have the appearance of a golden phoenix. She is a top choice regardless of her family background and talent. Today, she also sent her paintings!" Zhu You! Zang drank the last mouthful of soup and said with a smile.

The Queen Mother smiled bitterly, as if she had seen through everything and said: "I'm afraid your Majesty doesn't know something. Many women from wealthy families in the capital have asked for help to claim that they are the reincarnation of golden phoenixes, but how can there be so many golden phoenixes in the world?"

"I didn't believe it at first, but he has already pulled Dongfang Xiang over, and Dongfang Dao said that this girl does have the appearance of a golden phoenix!" Zhu Youtang put down the soup bowl and said seriously.

Ah!

Dongfang Dao, who was eating roast chicken in Chengxi Restaurant, sneezed heavily again. He looked at the evening breeze blowing in from the window, but he noticed the majestic Imperial City in front of him.

When the Queen Mother learned that it was Dongfang Dao who was inspecting it in person, she cheered up and said, "Give me the portrait!"

Although it was in his own interest to abolish the queen, Zhang Yujiao belonged to the Empress Dowager Zhou. Once Zhang Yujiao took the position of empress, then she, the empress dowager, would only be a decoration.

If he could find a real golden phoenix from among the people, a woman who could help the emperor give birth, then his situation would be much better than that of the deposed queen.

That's why she immediately paid attention to this matter, and she must arrange for this mysterious woman with a golden phoenix appearance to enter the palace to help her and the emperor solve the current dilemma.

Liu Jin had been holding the painting beside him. When Zhu Youtang looked at him with surprise, he handed the painting in his hand to the Queen Mother.

Although the whole story was not what the emperor said, he knew who his master was, so it was naturally impossible for him to expose Zhu Youtang's lies.

After the Queen Mother sent Zhu Youtang away, she held the painting seriously and said, "The woman in this painting is pretty pretty, but I don't know whose family she is from?"

"How about I catch up and ask the emperor?" When the female officer next to her heard this, she immediately took the initiative to ask for help.

The Queen Mother gently shook her head and said very confidently: "Don't bother the emperor with such trivial matters. Just ask Qin Conggui and he will tell you!"

On the first day of September, there will be a great meeting on the first day of the lunar month

All the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty gathered together in Fengtian Hall. Only officials of the fourth rank or above were eligible to enter the hall, while the rest of the officials could only wait outside the hall.

Fortunately, the sky was clear today, and even officials who were not qualified to enter the palace did not need to worry about being caught in the rain, and the autumn sun falling on them made people feel warm.

The Fengtian Palace is a men's world, but the Renshou Palace is also very lively. The Queen Mother and Queen Chang jointly hosted today's banquet.

When the atmosphere was getting thicker, the Queen Mother said frankly and honestly: "The emperor has no heirs so far, and the Ai family is also worried about it! Today the Ai family and the queen want to find some concubines for the emperor. If there are any suitable ones among your clan, Please be sure to recommend women, as both the Ai family and the Queen will be rewarded!"

Mrs. Gaoming who was present was full of joy and worry. Originally, the emperor's acceptance of concubines was an opportunity for their family, but it was already known to the world that the emperor had no heirs.

If she is a daughter of the clan, if her daughter is allowed to marry into the palace, even if she is lucky enough to get the queen's throne, she will still be a royal wife without any capital in the future.

"I heard that the Queen Mother has found a daughter of a golden phoenix. Is this possible?" Queen Chang saw that the scene was a bit colder than expected, so she deliberately changed the subject.

The Queen Mother also saw through some people's thoughts, and immediately smiled and said: "The queen is not allowed to be jealous! It is indeed true. The Eastern God has personally verified that this girl is indeed a golden phoenix!"

"Jinfeng? Is this fake?"

"What the Eastern God said is probably true!"

"If it is really a golden phoenix, then doesn't the emperor have a queen?"

…

The mind of Mrs. Gaoming who was present became active again. If a newly promoted concubine did not give birth to an heir, she would not be able to compete for the position of queen. If she gave birth to an heir, she could help the emperor break his destiny.

If this is the case, then all of them will have to re-examine the current emperor.

"Queen Mother, I wonder whose daughter lives here?" A bold Mrs. Gaoming's curiosity was piqued and she asked immediately.

The other ladies of Gaoming had similar thoughts, and they also had a deep interest in this daughter of the Golden Phoenix. They were also curious about whether Zhu Youtang could really break the destiny without abolishing the queen.

The Queen Mother clapped her palms and said with a smile on her face: "The person is not here, and the Ai family has not seen the real person yet, but let a famous teacher draw a portrait for everyone to take a look at!"

Women are naturally gossipy. Now when they saw the female officer fetching a painting, they immediately gathered around her. I want to know whose daughter this golden phoenix is, and whether she was born in a state of shyness.

"Born with a heart!"

"They look a bit familiar to me!"

"This body shape is indeed good for fertility!"

…

The onlookers, Mrs. Gaoming, couldn't help but comment on the beautiful girl in the portrait. Several of the Mrs. Gaoming looked familiar.

"That's weird! I obviously saw her somewhere, but I can't remember it. She's from the same clan!" An active wife, Duan Xiang, took a portrait for a long time and said to herself very distressedly.

The Marquis of Xiangcheng was granted the title of Crown Prince Taibao due to his meritorious service, so Wu's wife was granted the title of first-grade imperial concubine due to her husband's high rank. Today, she followed all the imperial concubines to the palace for a banquet.

She had the same confusion as the few wives of Gaoming, but she suddenly realized it and slapped her thigh and said: "That's wrong! Queen Mother, the emperor cannot accept this woman as a concubine!"

"Mrs. Wu, could it be that this girl is unclean?" As soon as these words came out, everyone was immediately alert.

Although the Ming Dynasty did not have too many requirements for birth, if the woman was unclean, she would indeed not be able to have a concubine. It just made them very puzzled as to how the Marquis and his wife could know the dirty details of the other party.

Mrs. Wu immediately shook her head, but explained seriously: "Don't talk nonsense! This woman has a clean family background, and she is a virgin. She is a rare and good girl! If His Majesty hadn't been so young when he was drafted, everyone said that she could be a good girl. Concubine!"

"Presumptuous! Since this girl is innocent, why can't the emperor accept her as his concubine?" The Queen Mother reprimanded mercilessly when she heard this.

Mrs. Gaoming present nodded one after another and found that the Marquis's wife was really ridiculous. It was a natural thing for such a good girl to be accepted as a concubine. How could there be any reason to stop her? (End of chapter)