After reviewing the question book and the recital, the emperor returned to the Qianqing Palace a little tired.

The eunuch in charge of Shangshan, the eunuch of the Admiral Guanglu and the female official of the Shanggong Bureau were waiting in the Qianqing Palace, preparing to give orders to Zhang Luo for dinner, and to pass the female music into the palace Zhang Le, so as to relieve the fatigue of the Son of Heaven who had worked hard all day.

The emperor had no appetite, and he was not interested in the palace banquet, so he waved away the ministers and female officials, and sat alone in the Dongnuan Pavilion to rest.

The aftershocks on the Fujian side continued, and the punishment of a large number of officials still could not calm the situation, and the newly appointed Zuobu political envoy Li Wending was unable to stabilize the situation, and repeatedly asked for Zhishi, but the emperor had to allow him to play, and Zhang Chen was promoted to be the political envoy of Fujian Zuobu. At this time, the disaster is not a single line, the governor Yu Qian, the thirteen superintendent of the imperial history Chen Pu successively handed over the book, reporting that Shandong, Shanxi, Huguang, Zhili and other places have occurred a large area of famine, the victims fled in all directions, sold their wives and concubines, children, and in some places even happened to the human tragedy of changing children and eating. In the face of the external pressure exerted by Wara, the entire Ming Dynasty reflexively strengthened internal control, in such a political ecology, small disasters can still be timely relief, in the event of a large-scale disaster, government offices at all levels will be weak to deal with, in addition to concealing the report, is trying to break the head to find an excuse to shirk responsibility.

The emperor was saddened by the suffering of a large number of victims, and he hated a group of cold-blooded officials, but he did not have much choice but to send an edict to all ministries and localities to vigorously provide disaster relief so as not to provoke a new popular uprising. As if falling into a huge whirlpool, the young Son of Heaven was firmly engulfed by a powerful force, and he only knew that he would have to cut back on food and clothing again in the following days!

Spirit? Bullshit! He had never been so disgusted by the graceful rhetoric that whitewashed the peace.

Fortunately, there has been nothing to do in the north recently, and the Warat people seem to have converged a lot, even if this kind of border situation is a short period of tranquility before the storm, it is still what the emperor desires, and his heart is really unable to bear the double pressure brought by internal and external troubles at the same time!

"The concubine greets Your Majesty."

Concubine Zhou, who was dressed without makeup, walked in with a solemn face, "Your Majesty, the concubine has saved 20,000 taels of silver from there, and she is willing to donate it for disaster relief." ”

The emperor was moved in his heart, "Ai Concubine sit down." ”

Although Concubine Zhou is plain clothes and no makeup, she has a unique charm, and even her posture when she is seated is full of freshness. "Your Majesty, the concubine's younger sister is persuading her father to sell her property for disaster relief."

That's great! Most of the relatives in the world are iron roosters, and at this time, it is too necessary for any royal relatives to come forward and take the lead. The emperor's mind began to sway again, and for some reason he forgot the queen's hint, and wanted to give the Zhou family a return, and the canonization of Zhou Xiaodie as the princess of Yue was the best reward.

Well, let King Yue temporarily live in Beijing after marriage, and when the situation settles down one day, he will order him to go to a place far away from Jingshi to become a vassal, so that all worries will not become superfluous!

"Your sister ······" The emperor opened his mouth and was about to say something, but saw the queen suddenly walk in.

"Blessed is the Holy Bow!"

It's really a narrow road! The emperor has not yet reacted, and Concubine Zhou is already unhappy.

"The concubine knew that the emperor had not yet had dinner, so she sent a bowl of porridge and a plate of side dishes, and asked the emperor to eat and take care of himself."

The queen waved her hand at Yutang behind her, and Yutang skillfully spread the bowls and plates on the table.

Although it is necessary to cut down on food and clothing, one porridge and one dish are in line with the meaning of saving, and the porridge cooked in the exclusive small stove of Kunning Palace is really tempting! So, under the service of the first queen and one concubine, the emperor swept away the porridge and vegetables, wiped it with his mouth, and never mentioned the second daughter of the Zhou family.

20,000 taels of silver and then on the family property, it is not worth a bowl of porridge from others, this day is unbearable! Concubine Zhou was depressed, and when she secretly glanced at the queen, the hatred in her eyes was brought to Mars.

And that's not all! The queen is accustomed to creating topics, and at this moment she wasted no time in provoking a surprising topic. "Your Majesty, the female official of the Shangyi Bureau said that Li Yingji, the daughter of the Korean envoy Li Sui, is still in Beijing, and she heard that the emperor is choosing a concubine for the Yue Wang, so she wants to compete with the Yue Princess candidate, she said, the future Yue Princess must be of good character and talent, so she admires it."

The emperor was stunned for a moment, "She was saved by King Yue, and it is not surprising that she has such a thought." ”

"Ridiculous!" Concubine Zhou had a premonition that something was not good, and her face was anxious, "Your Majesty, the prince of the upper kingdom chooses a concubine, how can it be the turn of the vassal country to point fingers!" ”

The queen chuckled, "My sister is serious!" People didn't make irresponsible remarks about the selection of concubines, but just a talent competition, which was an elegant thing. North Korea learns Chinese culture throughout the country, and my well-educated people in the Ming Dynasty often meet friends with Korean scholars in literature, and what is it to compete with women in the boudoir to compete in talents! Good neighborliness with grace is beneficial to diplomatic relations. ”

The emperor seemed a little tempted, "What does she want to try?" ”

"Confucianism or piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, poetry and song are all acceptable."

The emperor was embarrassed, "The queen mother wants two candidates, one is Concubine Zhou's sister, and the other is what······ Lin, neither of them seems to know this. Well, I've heard people say that Li Sui's daughter is very talented, and this matter is a bit troublesome. ”

"Your Majesty, isn't there still Lu Xi's eldest daughter Lu Xiyu?" Queen's Road.

"The woman that King Yue liked was originally ······" The emperor glanced at Concubine Zhou and immediately changed the topic: "Let the Lu family come forward, I'm afraid that the queen mother won't nod." ”

"Your Majesty, a woman is virtuous if she is not talented, and choosing a concubine is not talent!" Concubine Zhou said urgently.

Hearing this, the emperor became more and more hesitant, and when the queen saw this, she smiled and said: "Your Majesty, it is reasonable to ignore Li Yingji's request, after all, this kind of thing has never been seen for a long time. However, some people will look at this matter in a big way, since Li Yingji has released her words, if she ignores it, she is afraid that it will be difficult to Du Youyou's mouth, and it will involve the face of the Ming Dynasty and the reputation of the future Princess Yue, and I hope the emperor will investigate it carefully. ”

The emperor frowned deeply, and Concubine Zhou on the side secretly gritted her teeth.

At this time, the imperial chamberlain entered the inner chamber and said, "Your Majesty, the secretary of the military department, Kuang Yu, asks to see you." ”

The emperor looked at the queen, "I think about it again, you can go back." ”

After the queen and Concubine Zhou left, the emperor moved to the main hall and took a seat, and ordered the attendants to pass Kuang Yu to see.

"The secretary of the Ministry of Soldiers, Kuang Yu, knocks to see Your Majesty."

"Flat."

The emperor's mind was still resting on the things mentioned by Empress Fangcai, and suddenly he caught a glimpse of Kuang Yu constantly scanning the ministers close to him, but without saying a word, he came back to his senses and waved away the three officials.

"Your Majesty, there is an urgent performance from Datong."

What the! The emperor stood up suddenly, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes. The episodes brought by Empress Fang Cai and Concubine Zhou finally alleviated the emperor's anxiety from civil strife and famine, and now any disturbance at the border will make him suddenly frightened.