Chapter 108 Subtext
In the afternoon, He Yuanhao had his meal, rested for a while, and prepared to go to the palace to meet the Queen Mother.
There is no private matter in the palace. Even if the Queen Mother is no longer in power, marrying the princess still has considerable political influence.
This influence is not big, but not small.
For ordinary third- and fourth-rank officials, if they get the princess as their daughter-in-law, it must mean that they are wooed by the Meng family and choose to stand with the Meng family. But He Yuanhao is different. The He family has deep roots, and he is a military general, and almost all the military generals are under the prime minister. Anyone with a discerning eye understands that a mere princess who is not favored will not make He Yuanhao waver and cannot replace the 120,000 elite soldiers of the He family.
Although the He family is not under much pressure in marrying because of Nanzhu's disfavor, no matter how disfavored she is, she is still the pearl of the previous emperor, the upright and well-known Princess of Daqi.
This is different from ordinary families.
In general families, even if the status of the two families is slightly different, when the elders meet each other, they must observe etiquette, treat each other equally, and call each other "relatives".
But the Meng family is not an ordinary family, but the royal family of Daqi.
He Yuanhao got Princess Nanzhu as his daughter-in-law. In theory, he married into the royal family. Even if he calculated the generation, he could become the emperor's uncle and the empress dowager's relative.
But this is only theoretical. In fact, even if he married the emperor's sister Princess as his daughter-in-law, the emperor is still the emperor and the empress dowager is still the empress dowager. All the etiquette of a minister must be performed. There will be no exceptions because of marrying the princess.
Take dressing for example. Although He Yuanhao went to discuss marriage, he still had to wear the official uniform that represented his status as a minister.
When Zhang Jingxian was helping him put on his official uniform, He Yuanhao specifically told her, "Be careful."
"You are not so careful when you go to court."
"This time I am going to see the Queen Mother to discuss the marriage of the little bastard. It is not as simple as going to court."
Zhang Jingxian snorted, "Others go to court with fear and trepidation, but you are just strolling in the garden, so leisurely."
He Yuanhao smiled and said, "You don't understand. If you have something in your heart and something in your mind, you will be worried about gains and losses and be anxious. Just like those court officials who are uneasy about their positions. I can I don't have so many thoughts and ideas. As long as I can drink a bowl of black chicken soup after the court session, I will be satisfied. "
Zhang Jingxian carefully adjusted the wrinkles on He Yuanhao's official uniform and smiled helplessly: "The master just said that he should not be implicit in his speech, but he broke the precepts and reminded me."
After adjusting his clothes, He Yuanhao touched the smooth sleeves of his official uniform and said with satisfaction: "I am not a monk, and my mind is free of distractions. This marquis does not seek wealth and honor, but only seeks the safety of the people. Let's go."
The wife of the marquis's mansion sent the marquis on the horse, but the marquis rode twice, jumped off again, and ran to the marquis's mansion.
"Jingxian, hold the horse, I forgot to take something."
"Haven't you taken the gift card?"
"There are other things."
Something else?
Zhang Jingxian didn't quite understand.
When going to the palace to propose marriage, what else should I take besides the gift card?
Take a knife?
Impossible. The palace is not my home, how can I let him take a knife in?
…
Three of the six ministries in the court belong to Han, and three belong to Meng. This is the delicate balance that the court and the public of Qi have been trying to maintain since the previous emperor divided power.
Even during the reign of the Queen Mother, the Meng family held at least two ministries.
After Princess Xiaoyue took power, she used both kindness and force to firmly control the three ministries of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Works. At this time, the Meng family gradually had a tendency to surpass the prime minister in terms of the number of civil servants.
At this time, Meng Qingqian's bedroom, outside Changhe Palace.
Li Gongqin, the father of Li Jin, the Minister of Rites, Huang Qinghe, the father of Huang Buren, the Minister of Justice, and Yang Zhe's uncle, Yang Dong's father, and Yang Xingguang, the Minister of Works, these three second-rank officials on the Meng family's side, all stood outside the door of the "boss" Princess Xiaoyue.
Huang Qinghe arrived early, stood around for a while, and did not see the princess summon him, so he asked about Li Gongqin who had just arrived. "Brother Li, His Highness suddenly asked us to come here today, do you have any clues?"
(Subtext: The boss suddenly called us, and I was a little panicked. You are the boss's cousin, please tell me the truth.)
Li Gongqin rushed all the way here, sweating profusely, and said: "Huang Shangshu, how can we guess what His Highness is thinking?"
(Subtext: I can't come!)
Even though the three of them were all Meng's confidants, they didn't often get together. Taking this opportunity, Yang Xingguang said: "Brother Li, Brother Huang, His Highness will be twenty soon. Although twenty is a coming-of-age ceremony, not a birthday, it's not a big deal. Although we are busy organizing the event, we cannot help but pay attention to it, otherwise it will make His Highness lose face. I wonder if you two have prepared anything? "
(Subtext: It's the boss's birthday, have you thought about what gift to give?)
Li Gongqin said: "His Highness doesn't like vulgar things. Now is a time of trouble. It is a great gift to avoid trouble."
(Subtext: Tell Yang Zhe not to make trouble. My cousin doesn't like him.)
Huang Qinghe said: "Brother Li is right."
(Subtext: I am the same.)
Yang Xingguang bowed and smiled. Although he bowed, he didn't thank the two of them. He turned to face Changhe Palace and said nothing.
(Subtext: Let's wait and see.)
After a while, the palace maid led the three people into the palace.
Meng Qingqian, as usual, was wearing a dark red long skirt and leaning on the chair next to the tea table. The memorial never left her hand.
Jian Ling did not stand not far from Meng Qingqian like Li did when he came in. Instead, he stood behind her, closed his eyes and held the sword, without saying a word.
The three ministers entered the hall and immediately knelt down.
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."
Meng Qingqian said, "Get up."
She took a last look at the memorial, threw it on the table, then stood up from the chair, dragged her long skirt touching the ground, and under the gaze of the three second-rank officials, came to the side and back of them, to a position that they did not notice when they entered the room.
The three ministers did not dare to look at the eldest princess from the moment they entered the room. Most of the time, the hem of the red long skirt appeared in their field of vision.
At this time, the eldest princess suddenly walked behind them, and they only dared to glance at her from the corner of their eyes, and their bodies were still facing the direction of the eldest princess's original seat, and they did not dare to move.
Until Meng Qingqian's clear voice sounded.
"Three ministers, I have a happy event to tell you today."
The three dared to turn around and face Meng Qingqian when they heard her speak, saying: "I congratulate Your Highness."
At this time, they found that in addition to Meng Qingqian's long skirt, there was also an official uniform in their field of vision.
Meng Qingqian smiled and said, "Congratulations are not necessary. Look up and meet old friends."
The three looked up and found that there was a minister in the uniform of the third rank standing next to Meng Qingqian.
Honglu Temple Minister Lu Liang!
Isn't Lu Liang from Han Wenxin's side? How come he...
Meng Qingqian stretched out her delicate hand and gently patted Lu Liang's shoulder.
"Lord Lu has always been a loyal minister of our dynasty. His vision, ability and talent are all first-class. From now on, you are all friends. You don't have to worry about many things and can visit each other often."
Lu Liang's waist, as Meng Qingqian patted his palm, became more and more bent. After waiting for the princess to finish speaking, he bowed to the three ministers and said, "My lords, we are all friends from now on. I am willing to work with you to serve your highness."
The three of them were all in the court. How could they not know what the defection of Lu Liang, the prime minister's confidant, meant.
Li Gongqin said: "Congratulations, Your Highness."
Huang Buren said: "Your Highness is wise."
Yang Xingguang said: "I and Yang Zhe and other members of the Yang family will swear to follow Your Highness until death and serve the country!"