Chapter 111
Qin Xianger stood beside Empress Dowager Zhang, wetted the veil herself, and handed it to Empress Dowager Zhang to wipe her face. The water temperature is neither cold nor hot, and the handkerchief is twisted just right, and it is very comfortable to apply on the face. After the empress dowager wiped away the tears, she regained the respect of the empress dowager. The palace maid re-applied the powder to Empress Dowager Zhang inside. Qin Xianger went out to pour water. She stopped a palace maid who was passing by and asked, "Where are Duke Chang and Marquis Jianchang?"
The palace maid pointed to the lower main hall and said, "Changguo is just waiting for the queen mother inside, and the Marquis of Jianchang has not returned."
Men don't need to put on makeup. After so long, Jianchang Hou hasn't finished cleaning up yet? Qin Xianger frowned slightly, gave the water basin to the little palace maid behind him, and tapped: "You are all smart, hurry up to exchange hot tea and hot water, don't neglect Duke Chang and Marquis Jianchang."
The palace maid squatted down as she should, and quickly lowered her head and ran away. Qin Xianger walked to the palace where Zhang Yanling was changing clothes. She went to the place and found that the doors and windows were closed. Her face remained motionless, she raised her hand, and knocked on the door crisply and forcefully: "Marquis Jianchang, the Empress Dowager is back, have you sorted it out?"
There seemed to be some noise inside, ping ping ping pong, as if something had fallen to the ground. After a while, the door to the hall opened, revealing Zhang Yanling from behind.
The traces of wiping could be seen on Zhang Yanling's face, and her eyes were slightly red and swollen, with blood streaks in the whites of her eyes, making her eyes more and more cloudy. He will be fifty in a few years, his belly is already fat, his face is sagging, and there are deep ravines around his eyes. He is no longer young. But based on his bones, he can still guess that his skin was pretty good when he was young.
Empress Dowager Zhang was selected as the Crown Princess, and she was only favored for many years after that. In addition to the factors of Emperor Hongzhi's childhood, Empress Zhang's beauty was also a very important reason. The elder sister is good-looking, and the younger brother will not be bad.
Zhang Yanling's face seemed a little unhappy, but when she saw Qin Xianger, she held back and asked, "Is the queen mother back so soon?"
Qin Xianger lowered his eyebrows and replied with a straight face: "The Queen Mother has not seen Jianchang Marquis for a long time, so she sent me to ask."
After all, this is the palace, Zhang Yanling threw up his sleeves in disappointment, adjusted the belt, and strode out. Qin Xianger stepped aside, maintained her etiquette steadily, and kept seeing Zhang Yanling out. After Zhang Yanling walked away, she slowly stood up and looked inside.
A little palace maid knelt on the ground, her body shivering. Not far away, there was a pot of overturned water.
Qin Xianger didn't say anything, and Jiwei said solemnly: "Don't hurry up and do errands."
The little palace maid hurriedly saluted Qin Xianger and ran out tremblingly.
After Zhang Yanling returned to the main hall, she happened to meet the Queen Mother Zhang coming out of the inner room. He was afraid that his sister would investigate further, so he didn't mention what happened just now after sitting down. The Empress Dowager Zhang had another conversation with her two younger brothers. In conclusion, it was nothing more than nostalgia for the past and grief for the present. Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling were soft-hearted, and the Empress Dowager Zhang was soft-hearted, and the matter of agreeing to the title was on her shoulders. With her, no one could move the Zhang family.
Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling returned with satisfaction. After the two brothers left, the Empress Dowager Zhang sat in the inner hall and sighed and said, "Aijia really recruited Qun Zhongshan, and they didn't think about it. Without Aijia, where would they be now?"
Empress Dowager Zhang did not name her name, but it was not hard to guess that she was complaining about the emperor and Empress Dowager Jiang again. Qin Xianger lowered his face, looked at his nose and heart, and refused to answer easily. Empress Dowager Zhang cursed for a while, but no matter how much she regretted it, she couldn't put the emperor back in Anlu. The matter of the title of Zhang family still had to be resolved. Empress Dowager Zhang held back her anger and said, "Qin Xiang'er, go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity and find the emperor."
Qin Xianger obeyed the order: "Yes."
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In the Cining Palace, the emperor is greeting the Empress Dowager Jiang. When he heard the message from the palace servant, he didn't take it to heart at all: "No."
The Empress Dowager Jiang leaned on the pillow and coughed. Her voice was weak, and the last tone was long dragged: "Emperor, after all, that is the female official next to Empress Dowager Zhang. Did the female official say what Empress Dowager Zhang is looking for the emperor?"
The emperor snorted, his eyes showing ridicule: "Why? Today, Duke Chang and Marquis Jianchang entered the palace. I heard that they cried for a long time in Ciqing Palace. A bunch of idiots without self-knowledge, what I want to do is up to me. Are they pointing fingers?"
Empress Dowager Jiang was speechless after hearing this, Empress Dowager Zhang indulged her family for the benefit of Jian, and occupied a lot of fields, pavements, and official camps. That is, starting from Emperor Hongzhi, the treasury was empty.
The treasury had no money, and the emperor could not do anything. While filling his own private treasury, Taicang, the emperor tried to solve the problem of the empty treasury. The biggest source of the treasury is taxes, but the amount of arable land is less than a year. If the country cannot collect taxes, the treasury will have no money. If the treasury has no money, the emperor will not be able to implement the decree, and gradually it will become a dead end.
Daming has not lost its land so far, so how could there be less arable land? The emperor's heart is clear, because the increasingly large group of bureaucrats and noble relatives annexed land, resulting in no tax to the national treasury. As the emperor planned to re-measure the land, he was raking in the oil and water of the officials. Years ago, he raided the homes of several officials in a row, and finally solved the urgent need of the national treasury, but it was not enough.
The emperor quickly set his sights on the Zhang family. He has endured the Zhang family for a long time, and the Zhang family dared to enter the palace to argue without hurrying to protect their wealth and life?
Courage can be really big.
Empress Dowager Jiang's illness was getting worse day by day. The emperor was in a bad mood and had no intention to deal with Empress Dowager Zhang at all. He was unmoved, and said coldly: "I don't think they are idlers, send them back."