Chapter 76
The dinner was quite rich, but Han Ruzi thought it was not as delicious as the rice porridge and pickles at breakfast. Zhang Youcai, who was serving at the side, felt the same way: "I didn't feel anything when I ate it, and now my nose is full of the smell of that time, which is really strange."
After dinner, Han Ruzi returned to the study. The bedroom in the main room was still being cleaned up, and he still wanted to stay here temporarily.
There are several wooden boxes in the room, which are full of pen, ink, paper, inkstone, fans, accessories and other small objects, but there are no books, it seems that I will have to buy them myself in the future.
Zhang Youcai came in and lit a candle and asked, "Master, do you really need me to serve?"
Han Ruzi shook his head, he liked to be alone in the study.
Not long after nightfall, Cai Xinghai came back. He was not idle all day, he had been running around outside, and finally brought back vital information.
"Tomorrow at dusk, Madam Huanhou will leave the palace at Penglai Gate in the north, take Huashi Alley, Foyi Alley, and Shuying Alley, and enter Cui's house from the back door." Cai Xinghai let out a sigh of relief, "It's too much, Madam. After all, she used to be the queen, even if she is abolished, she is still qualified to leave the palace in a fair and open manner and enter the house through the main gate."
Han Ruzi sympathized with Cui Xiaojun, and wanted to take her to the House of Marquis Juan.
Yang Feng's mind was never on Mrs. Juan Hou, and asked, "Is there any news about the establishment of the emperor?"
Cai Xinghai sighed, "The Queen Mother left the King of the East Sea in the Cishun Palace, and Jing Yao, the supervisor of the Central Division, has frequently traveled between the inner palace and the Southern Army these days, and it seems that he wants to establish the King of the East Sea."
"The King of the East Sea can be considered to have tasted what he wants." Han Ruzi was still a little jealous in his heart, and he felt even more uncomfortable when he thought that he might bow down to the King of the East Sea in the future.
Yang Feng sat on a box, thought for a while, and said, "It's not necessarily the King of the East Sea."
Cai Xinghai knew that Yang Feng was a smart man, but he believed the news he had inquired even more, "It was spread outside that it was Master Cui who was in charge of the Southern Army and demanded that the Queen Mother must make his nephew the emperor, otherwise the capital would be washed with blood. I am in the Northern Army. At that time, the generals and soldiers over there were in a panic, and they might not know when the war was going to start."
"But you can still bring a group of people into the city, which shows that the Northern Army is not ready to fight." Yang Feng said.
Cai Xinghai scratched his head, "No way, the Northern Army has been scattered like this for many years. Even if the Queen Mother is going to confront the Southern Army, she will not use them. Also, I heard that many ministers went to please Mrs. Cui, Jin Before the Southern Army Camp, I went to Cui’s house in the city to deliver gifts, and the gate of Cui’s house has been busy for several months.”
Yang Feng smiled but said nothing, Cai Xinghai chatted for a while and retired.
Yang Feng stood up, "What do you think about Hou Tien?"
"I have too little information to make a judgment."
"To know too much information is not necessarily a good thing, tired Hou has to learn to see the little things."
Han Ruzi thought for a while, "Last night you asked me to think about one thing: how can you express your meaning clearly when you are the supreme being."
"Well, do you have an answer?"
"Not yet, I'm thinking about the opposite question: how can you be the supreme being, how can you understand the true thoughts of the courtiers, this is the biggest dilemma for the empress dowager right now."
Yang Feng nodded, "Putting yourself in one's shoes is the key to knowing the book at a glance, please go on."
"It took five months for the queen mother to let me abdicate. During the period, rumors spread. As Cai Xinghai said, many ministers voted for the Cui family-perhaps this is the means for the queen mother to understand the true thoughts of the ministers, to observe their actions, not just listen to their words. ."
Yang Feng was noncommittal, and raised his hand to signal for Hou Juan to continue.
"There are those who please the Cui family, and there are those who avoid the Cui family or even oppose the Cui family. In this way, the queen mother can see who among the ministers is on her side." Han Ruzi pondered, imagining that he was the queen mother, who held the power. The emperor, things gradually became clearer, "The Queen Mother will never establish the King of the East Sea, the King of the East Sea is different from me, he has the Cui family as a backer, and making him the emperor will give the court a wrong message, making the minister think that the Cui family Victory, the Queen Mother loses miserably, in that case, she will never be able to turn over again."
Yang Feng finally nodded, "This is exactly my guess."
The confusion in Han Ruzi's heart did not disappear, but deepened. "Can't Mrs. Cui see such an obvious fact? The longer you wait, the worse it will be for him. And those ministers, do they make the same mistake?"
Yang Feng smiled slightly, "How can things be so easy, Hou Wan only put himself in the shoes of the Queen Mother, but not Mrs. Cui."
Han Ruzi thought for a while and sighed: "It's too difficult, the Cui family is deeply rooted in the court, and Master Cui has regained the military power of the Southern Army. Even if the queen mother has a clever plan, she may not be able to succeed. No wonder some ministers will vote for the Cui family."
"So it may not be a good thing for Hou Juan to abdicate and stay away from disputes."
Han Ruzi smiled, it was easy to abdicate but it was difficult to regain the position. He could only sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and he was addicted to his mouth. "Then who will the Queen Mother make emperor? There are many descendants of the Han family, but the son of Emperor Huan. Only me and the King of the East China Sea, making someone else the emperor, her position as the queen mother is a bit unreasonable. Does she still want to establish the King of the East China Sea, but think of a way to deter the Cui family and other officials?"
"The result will probably be known tomorrow night." Yang Feng didn't say his judgment, "The struggle between the Queen Mother and the Cui family is likely to last for a while, but tomorrow's battle is very important, and it is also very important for Hou Juan."
"If the King of the East Sea becomes emperor normally, the power of the Cui family will increase greatly, and the influence of the Queen Mother in the court will decline. When someone comes to kill me again, it will not be to please the Queen Mother, but to please the Cui family and the King of the East China Sea."
"Rest, let's just talk about the general trend here, we don't have to come to a conclusion, the emperor's technique is right and wrong, and the general trend is right, it's amazing that you come to me to fight, the queen mother and Mrs. Cui may be able to win by surprise, how can this be? Can't guess."
However, Han Ruzi couldn't stop his heart immediately. He sighed, still thinking about it in his mind. Seeing that Yang Feng had already walked to the door, he said, "The officials of the Ministry of Rites see me like a tiger. Did they know something in advance?"
Yang Feng stopped and said, "The Queen Mother promoted Yuan Jiuding, the Minister of Rites, and introduced him to the Palace of Diligence.
"At that time, the palace change had not happened yet. Did the queen mother want me to abdicate a long time ago? My mother just happened to talk about the heart of the queen mother?"
"Don't think too much, some things may never be answered, and some things will only be understood when you are in that position." Yang Feng pushed the door and went out, leaving Hou Wan with a lot of doubts.
Han Ruzi undressed, blew out the candles, and lay in bed for a long time, unable to fall asleep.
"The Cui family..." Thinking that the Cui family might marry several daughters to the King of the East Sea as queens and concubines, Han Ruzi felt obliged to bring his wife back.
But Yang Feng's relaxed attitude surprised Han Ruzi. Does he think that the Cui family will be defeated in the battle with the Queen Mother, so he doesn't care about offending the Cui family?
Yang Feng wanted to use twenty cavalry guards to directly connect Mrs. Juan Hou to the mansion. The plan was simple, but it was not easy to execute.
Early the next morning, when Zhang Youcai came to serve Marquis Juan, he said, "It was really effective to go to the Ministry of Rites yesterday to make a fuss. We are full of officers and soldiers outside the house, and there must be hundreds of them from the street to the end of the street."
Not only that, but the prefects and commanders sent by Zongzheng's mansion also began to formally perform their duties. All are registered in detail.
The Marquis Mansion was indeed safe, but he also lost the freedom he had in the beginning. Han Ruzi felt that it would be difficult for him to go out, let alone rob someone halfway, and he couldn't help but feel anxious.
However, Yang Feng had no urgency at all. He seemed to have simply forgotten about today's major events. He had been entangled with two government officials all morning. These two were appointed by the imperial court. The monitor, Yang Feng is the head of the Hou Mansion. Although he has no rank, he manages more things.
In order to argue about the scope of responsibility of the two sides and whose status is higher, Yang Feng and the government officials launched a battle for every inch of land, and the other party did not show weakness.
Seeing that noon was over, Han Ruzi began to fidget, Cai Xinghai ran in and out, and kept winking at Hou Wan.
Soon after the afternoon, Cai Xinghai was expelled from the mansion. He was not on the list of designated eunuchs, and he was not an official slave. He stayed in the mansion for too long.
Yang Feng fought hard, but finally gave in and personally sent Cai Xinghai out of the mansion, along with Du's grandfather and grandson.
On the surface, Yang Feng lost more and won less in a series of battles, but as the general manager, he could manage less and less things. He kept shaking his head and stomping his feet, looking very annoyed.
At an hour in the afternoon, Yang Feng finally won a small victory, and with the consent of the government officials, he wanted to hire a teacher for the tired Hou.
After a morning of fighting, the prefect and the prefect were already exhausted. I heard that the gentleman who was invited was Guo Cong, the master of Marquis Juan in the palace, and reluctantly agreed.
Yang Feng chased after the victory, and was about to ask for a teacher, and Hou Juan personally asked, "You all know Mr. Guo's identity. A few months ago, he did a lot of work and was rewarded by the court. If it wasn't because he was too old, I am absolutely reluctant to enter the DPRK, and now I am at least a minister..."
The government official was already in a daze, so he had to nod his head, but at the request, the two government officials, twenty cavalry guards, and officers and soldiers sent by several major ministries had to follow, and the Marquis Juan would never be allowed to ride through the city alone.
Yang Feng fought for a while and reluctantly accepted the conditions.
Han Ruzi traveled in a horse-drawn carriage, not a canopy carriage with a ventilated face, but a closed carriage like a sedan chair, probably specially made for him, because after getting in, he found that the sedan curtains on both sides were sewn dead, and there was no way to go out. Looking around, no one outside can see him.
Seeing that it was not long before dusk, Han Ruzi felt that it was too late. Guo Cong was known as an old-fashioned gentleman who was very polite, and it took a lot of time just to meet.
As a result, Guo Cong was not at home at all, perhaps because he wanted to stay away from the turmoil in the imperial court.
Yang Feng was very sorry, but the two government officials who followed were very calm, and obviously knew that the trip would definitely be unsuccessful.
Han Ruzi only had the word "admiration" for Yang Feng. They finally made time to pick up Cui Xiaojun, but they didn't know how to get rid of the two government officials.
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