On the same day, the Qixi Festival, the imperial study in the Qianming Palace.

The middle-aged man stood with his backlight, and on the bright yellow sara robe, the golden dragon took off the cloud pattern.

Behind him, there is a spacious dragon case, on which are stacked several books, the top one, at this time open and shelved, between the black characters, there is no Zhu Batch.

A thin pen wolf reclined on the vermilion inkstone in frustration, and the slightly upturned tip of the pen slowly dripped gorgeous cinnabar.

The two attendants with gray temples, holding the dust, bowed down and stood in the light and shadow, even breathing very slightly, for fear of making a sound.

There is also a puddle of residual tea stains on the gold brick floor, which is the "evidence" of the anger of the early child.

The atmosphere in the study was tense in silence, with only the crunching sound of dripping and gradually reminding of the passage of time.

The old waiter's forehead was unconsciously covered with a layer of hot sweat, condensed into a bean, and slid down to the corners of his eyes, he didn't dare to wipe it, so he had to blink hard, and the stinging feeling caused more and more uneasiness in his heart.

An apricot-robed chamberlain with a sharp beak leaned out of the heavy brocade and made a gesture.

The old chamberlain seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, controlled his unhurried tone, and said lightly: "Your Majesty, the prince of Chu has arrived." ”

The saint turned around and sat down on the throne, and spat out two words in a deep voice: "Please." ”

But without waiting for Yu Feng to fall to his knees, he slightly supported his right arm, shouted to excuse him, and sat down.

"Dali Temple and the Criminal Department have come to a conclusion, and the prefect of Ninghai has also made a concert, saying that the real murderer of Zheng Naining is his wife!" The black eyebrows of the Son of Heaven like a long sword were raised obliquely, and a thick mockery flashed in the phoenix's eyes: "Zheng Naining is not virtuous in marrying a wife, because of the competition for favor in the back house, so that his wife is jealous, so he bought a murder to assassinate him. Speaking of later, there was already a sonorous meaning in the words, and the Son of Heaven fell on the chapter with a palm, and sneered: "My criminal department and Dali Temple, the case is really decisive, and after a few months, the murder case thousands of miles away will be investigated!" ”

Because of the saint, Yu Feng is wearing a round-necked purple gauze robe today, with a jade belt around his waist, and a beaded crown on his hair, which is a little more noble and calm than usual, but between his eyebrows, he is still calm and indifferent, even in the face of the hidden anger of the Son of Heaven, he does not see the color of fear, at this time, he just smiled lightly: "The saint is wise, I expected such a result to happen." ”

The Son of Heaven was stunned, and seemed to laugh angrily, but the heavy atmosphere eased: "Yes, I expected it...... Just let Zheng Naining secretly investigate the bad deeds of the prefect of Ninghai, he was assassinated, and he died under the jealousy of his wife, it is really ...... Death is interesting. ”

"The Shangshu of the Criminal Department and the Dali Temple, one is a protégé of Jinxiang, and the other is an in-law, so naturally they can only find out such a result." Yu Feng still smiled at the corner of his lips: "The prefect of Ninghai doesn't need to say it, but he is only the head of a mansion, and he can't cover the sky in the southern Zhejiang region with one hand." ”

Eleven prefectures, one state, and seventy-five counties in southern Zhejiang, have always been a rich land, the land of fish and rice, since the founding of Dalong, with the declaration of the political secretary and the prime minister of a provincial government, whenever the Son of Heaven inquires, all the plays are political and peaceful, stable and peaceful, but now the saint has since the establishment of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, in the past year, but learned that the situation is completely different from that of the locality.

Among them, the most serious is Ninghai Mansion, it is said that the local prefect is extravagant and faint, accepts bribes, indulges the powerful and bullying the people, robs people's wives and daughters, and dominates people's family business, so that many innocent people are cornered, and good people and small businesses are ruined and lost.

When the saint learned about it, he was naturally furious.

But before it was too late to strictly investigate the truth, the supervision of the imperial history was jointly impeached by a group of officials in southern Zhejiang, saying that he could not ask for bribes, and he had revenge, fabricated and distorted, and defiled the officials, which caused the Jin Xiang and Qin Xiang to compete against each other in the court meeting, and the officials of the two factions attacked each other.

That imperial history was originally a party of Qin Xiang, and it was not clean.

But the local officials in southern Zhejiang may not be honest and innocent.

Zheng Naining was originally appointed by Emperor Taizong as a subordinate of the East Palace, he was very loyal and upright, and he was very trusted by today's son, and later, he was appointed as a counselor of the General Political Department, but he was a veritable "lonely minister", therefore, he was deeply feared by the left and right ministers, and since the saint ascended the throne, he continued to stumble on Zheng Naining, and he was supported by the saint with all his might, and spent several years in the center with ups and downs.

When the Son of Heaven wanted to investigate the corruption of local officials, the first thing that came to mind was Zheng Naining.

Therefore, when he was stumped again, the Son of Heaven was "helpless", so he pushed the boat down the river, demoted him to Ninghai Mansion, and became the governor.

I didn't want Zheng Naining to take office not long after, and he was suddenly assassinated.

And Dali Temple and the Criminal Department only took more than a month to find the "real murderer", Zheng's wife is dead, and there is no evidence.

How can you not let the Son of Heaven be angry!

The pool of water in southern Zhejiang is really turbid and turbulent!

The Son of Heaven's awe-inspiring gaze fell on the unfolded movement in front of him, and he was silent for a long time before he said in a deep voice: "I heard the King of Chu mention that Wei Yuan, who was ordered to go to Ninghai to investigate this time, was recommended by you?" ”

"Exactly, Wei Yuan was originally a proud protégé of his subordinates' mentors, talented, but because he hated the filth of officialdom and did not want to be in the same stream, he played the world and sent his love to the landscape, but his heart was really loyal and upright, and he was deeply ambitious, so when his subordinates knew the righteousness, he inspired him to hide his ambition for many years, and he was willing to do his best for the rule of the Holy Clear."

"But the situation in southern Zhejiang is really dangerous, and Zheng Naining's death is a lesson from the past." The Son of Heaven frowned slightly, and seemed to be a little worried: "Wei Yuan, can there be any news back?" ”

Yu Feng smiled again: "According to His Majesty, Senior Brother has traveled all the way and has just entered the territory of Southern Zhejiang. ”

The saint was slightly stunned, and then he smiled sincerely: "If you want to come to him as an unruly person, you won't attract attention." Looking at Yu Feng's gaze again, the appreciation increased a little, and the tense and solemn atmosphere in the imperial study room was completely relaxed: "Yuanyang's book and strategy, I have read it carefully, and I want to talk about it in depth today." ”

Yuanyang, it was the saint himself who gave Yu Feng the word, when Yu Feng returned from school, he entered the palace for the first time to face the saint.

The saint pondered for a moment before he said slowly: "Resume the opening of the department and take scholars, and further improve the reform, not directly recommended by the state government, but set up Confucianism, which is more admitted by the academic and political examinations, and is assessed and awarded by the township examination, the meeting examination, and the palace scholars...... In this way, all the poor people in the world have a way to become a leader, and fundamentally dismantle the problem of the left and right controlling officials and forming a party for personal gain. ”

"This policy has been planned for a long time, and his subordinates are just improving the detailed rules." Yu Feng heard the appreciation of the Son of Heaven, and said modestly without a trace, but said: "At present, most of the courtiers in the court are all from noble or noble families, not protégés of Jinxiang, but the former officials of Qin Xiang, although there are many people who are really talented and learned, but once they involve interests, most of them are more important than self-interest, and they are not good ministers. After being disheartened, he gave up his career. What's more, even if a person from a poor family is full of wealth and outstanding talent, he suffers from no way to enter the office, and his ambitions are difficult to display. The saint is wise, and has long had the intention of reforming the system, giving the world's poor people a fair opportunity, cultivating talented and virtuous ministers, determined to produce new capable ministers, purging the official system, and returning the world to the rule of Qingming. ”

These words are in the arms of the Son of Heaven, although Yu Feng's expression is still faint, but in the heart of the saint, he is already agitated.

"But the Jin family and the Qin clan have controlled the government for many years, and they have their own nobles and families behind them...... However, in the current situation, the left and right are facing each other-for-tat, the situation is the same as fire and water, in order to strengthen their own power and form a party for government, it is really a hidden worry of Dalong, and the saint must know that it has come to the time of decision. Yu Feng said again, his words were not passionate, but once again hit the sacred heart.

If it weren't for the unbearable, he wouldn't let Zheng Naining secretly investigate the hidden situation in Nanzhejiang, but he didn't want to take the lives of his cronies in vain.

"Yuanyang explained that he must have a careful plan, no need to worry, he can speak bluntly." The originally frowning sword eyebrows were raised heavily, and the Son of Heaven couldn't help but cross his arm and lean over to wash his ears.

"Your Majesty obeys." Yu Feng stood up and waved it, without hesitation: "The dispute between Jin Xiang and Qin Xiang, although it is a hidden danger, is also an opportunity. ”

"But whether it is a noble or a family, as long as one side is weak, the balance will be broken, and Dalong has been fighting for many years, and it is the time to recuperate, and I really don't want to have frequent turmoil."

"The Holy Mercy is grateful to the people, but if it is a dispute between the left and the right, it does not involve the nobles and the family...... The weak ones are just a family. Yu Feng still said indifferently: "The left and right phases, as long as one side is removed, the imperial power can be consolidated, and the holy restructuring can be implemented." ”

In fact, whether it is the Jin family or the Qin family, they naturally cannot influence the government by their own strength, and their reliance is on the nobles and families behind them.

And Yu Feng's strategy is to divide the alliance between the nobles, the family and the two phases.

And this strategy, the Son of Heaven has long been calculating, and the reason why he has not made a decision is that he is hesitating who to choose.

Jin Rongzhong's father, once followed Gaozu in Chuzhou to raise troops, make suggestions, make contributions to the founding of the country, and many noble generals have a friendship of life and death, very respected, and Qin Huaiyu's father, but also the former courtiers, in the last years of the Eastern Ming Dynasty, united the old family of the family, many civil and military generals, crusaded against Emperor Mourning, forced him to abdicate, for Gaozu to successfully enter Jinyang Jing, made great contributions, respected by the family as a leader, to break the alliance between them, the Son of Heaven thought it was not easy.

But Yu Feng has another opinion: "Shengshang Rongyu, at the beginning of the founding of Dalong, the surnames Jin and Qin were the heads of the noble and the family respectively, because of the friendship in the old days, and there were also interests; Emperor Gaozu in order to alleviate the conflict between the noble and the family, encourage the marriage of the two major forces, after decades, the noble and the family has become a tangle of intertwined, the interests are more complicated, the current gold is good, Qin Xiang, what is relied on is only the old prestige of the ancestors, and the interests are involved, long ago no longer the absolute influence on the two major forces, as long as the saint takes care of the majority, the noble courtiers will inevitably feel the grace of heaven. ”

That is to say, today's two prime ministers, not as prestige as their fathers and ancestors, although they are still the head of the two major forces, just because of the relationship of interests, the connection is no longer as strong as before, and there is a lot of room to stir up division.

The Son of Heaven pondered for a long time, and finally bowed his head heavily: "Then according to what Qing sees, how to choose between the left and right phases." ”

"Most of the nobles are military generals, although there are scribes, not the general trend, when the restoration of the imperial examination system is still resistant, the family is relatively speaking, easy to accept is more, moreover, only said that Jin Xiang and Qin Xiang, although they both have selfish desires, compared with the two, Jin Xiang is more domineering, and the prime minister of a country, but only for his own selfishness, excluding dissidents, but also indulging his old ministers, fish and meat people, it is really a disaster, therefore, the view of the ministers, Jin Xiangshi is not worthy of being the minister of Dalong, if the saint removes him, it is really in line with the people's feelings, to correct discipline." Yu Feng said these words quite resolutely and without hesitation.

Qin Huaiyu, who was born in a family, will still be more or less concerned about the reputation of the family for hundreds of years, and the heart of greed and desire, compared to Jin Rongzhong, it is indeed much more restrained.

And the intention of the Son of Heaven is really biased towards this, thinking that the Jin party does whatever they want, hurting the people, and causing disaster to the people, Jin Rongzhong is this person is tyrannical and domineering, and repeatedly denounces dissidents when the court is in the court, once someone threatens his interests and power, he will do everything he can to put him to death, the cruelty of the wrist, the viciousness of the heart, and the intolerable nature of the saint.

The Son of Heaven wanted to suppress the momentum of the golden phase several times, but Jin Rongzhong also called himself a minister of direct advice, loyal to the monarchy, and his words were for the world!

And the courtiers who followed Jin Xiang knelt down at every turn, and urged the saints to uphold justice and maintain loyalty.

This time, Zheng Naining's innocent death was wronged......

When the Holy Sword frowned, there was no longer half a moment of hesitation.

"After all, the Jin family is respected by the nobles, if you want to get rid of it, you have to waste some twists and turns, saint, you can't be in a hurry, you should slowly figure it out." Yu Fengdu Tianzi's expression, knowing the dragon's heart, reminded again.

"What Yuan Yang said, deeply in line with my intentions, Jin Rongzhong's temperament is arrogant, think about it, even if some nobles are afraid of him, they are afraid that they are also unwilling." The saint bowed slightly.

"Your Majesty thinks that the matter of Nanzhejiang is an opportunity, and Qin Xiang understands it." Yu Feng smiled slightly.

The saint Feng's eyes were raised, and he picked up the book of the Ninghai prefect's recital, thoughtful.

In the imperial garden, the "begging" banquet had ended at this time, the nobles left the palace one after another, and Queen Kong also returned to Kunren Palace, silently thinking about her thoughts.

In her opinion, no matter the scheming and family background, among the several noble girls, the most outstanding is the Su family's Wuniang, no wonder her mother specially advised, that girl is young, but she is Bingxue smart, and she can hold her breath, no matter how the Jin family and the Qin family provoke ridicule, they don't pay attention to it, but when their sister is troubled, just one sentence chokes the Qin family's self-esteemed Sanniang speechless.

Su Wuniang is the pearl of the eldest princess and the queen mother, and she will marry in the future, but I am afraid that she will also marry into the royal family.

It's a pity that she only has one son, the crown prince.

If Wu Niang can be the prince's side concubine......

The eldest princess is afraid that she will not let Wu Niang be a side room.

Empress Kong couldn't help but sigh lightly, pinching her eyebrows annoyedly, the fifth prince and the sixth prince are only fourteen this year, and there is no need to think about marriage for the time being, but if it is another three or two years, even the seven princes will have to marry together, at that time, the five mothers of the Su family are just right...... Although it is rare to have two princesses in a row, Wei Guogong is not ordinary people in the end, and the Queen Mother and the Holy Lord are so different from the Su family's five mothers...... Su Wuniang is more favored by the queen mother and the saint than the eldest mother, if she really marries the prince, it is indeed a hidden danger to the prince.

Mother is right when she says that you should plan ahead and not let those who have ambitions succeed.

And the rest of the noble ladies ...... Zhuo's second mother, regardless of appearance or bearing, is far inferior to the daughter of Jianning Hou and the Liangxiang family, even if she is the prince's concubine, Queen Kong is 10,000 unsightly, and the Zhuo family is not a prestigious family, but it is relying on the Jin family to have today's prominence, but this is a holy will and cannot be violated.

The sixth mother of the Jin family is a deep city, cunning and insidious, exquisite, and the granddaughter of Jin Xiang's relatives, with a noble background, compared to it, Qin Sanniang is much more conceited, and the five mothers of the Huang family......

These three people are all from famous families, and according to Empress Kong's opinion, no matter which one of the four princesses falls on, they are a threat to the crown prince.

But in contrast, Qin Sanniang is proud of herself, and her arrogant temperament is the biggest weakness, if she becomes the "virtuous helper" of the four princes, maybe it is really not enough to succeed, and there are more than failures, and then there is, the left and right phases are already in power, and the four princes have a biological mother who was born in a family, if she marries the daughter of Qin Xiang as a concubine, even if she completely conflicts with Xungui and Jinxiang, it will not be too cheap.

After thinking about it for a while, Empress Kong made up her mind that she would not let the slut of the Chen family get into the noble family again, so she must promote the marriage between the four princes and the Qin family.

As for the second prince......

Neither the Sacred Heart nor a foreign family to rely on, Jin Xiangxin is arrogant and does not want his granddaughter to be his concubine.

If the second prince marries Huang Wuniang of Jianning Houfu......

Jian Ninghou and Wei Guogong are in-laws, the two families get along very well, and the second prince is really not afraid, even if he marries a famous lady, it is not a threat.

With her mind decided, Empress Kong was confident, immediately changed her clothes and makeup, and went to Ci'an Palace to "say goodbye" to the Queen Mother.

But I didn't want to meet the saint and Chen Guifei by chance, and went to Ci'an Palace hand in hand, this time I had already accompanied the queen mother to finish lunch and was sitting idly in the side hall drinking tea.

Queen Kong saw Chen's bright yellow peony robe, the white skirt of the silk moon, the skin was like frost and snow, and the posture was like a fairy, she felt that her eyes were tingling and painful, and the smile that she finally squeezed out became more and more stiff and far-fetched, and saw her like a spring breeze and a lotus flower, coaxing the queen mother to smile, only pinching the brightly painted armor tightly in the palm of her hand!

"If you want to say that he is talented, Shiro can't be compared with Saburo anyway, he was naughty when he was a child, he only likes to dance and play with swords, but it doesn't make the doctors of Guozijian nerve-wracking, it's just these two years, gradually governor, I can sit still, after all, I only like to read historical books, those poems and songs, I really don't have any talent." Chen Guifei said with a smile: "It's still the queen's mother, she was a famous talented girl in the boudoir at the beginning, and San Lang was trained by her mother, so she has today's fame." ”

These words are naturally satirizing the queen and guiding the three princes not to do their jobs.

The queen endured a few endurances, but she didn't snort coldly, and always glanced at Chen with a sharp eye: "Why should my sister be humble, Shiro is old and serious, and he is good at riding and shooting, and he is very good at riding and shooting, and he is full of praise, even once the saint and the queen mother mention it, they are full of praise." But it was a change of tone: "San Lang is very elegant and loves to make friends with scribes, if he is born in an ordinary family, it doesn't matter, he is a prince in the end, he shouldn't be so wild and uninhibited, the concubines have repeatedly reminded him, but he can't listen...... Fortunately, in the future, there will be a steady princess on the side, and it will also reverse such a youthful righteousness. ”

Chen was stunned: "San Lang's marriage has been decided?" ”

The saint only cared about drinking tea, and seemed to smile and glanced at the queen.

The Queen Mother is also silent.

Empress Kong had the confidence and smiled slightly: "Today, a few little ladies entered the palace to beg, and the concubines looked, Ah Chen is the most serious, the queen mother, don't you often praise her, if she is by San Lang's side, the concubines don't have to worry." ”

The Queen Mother bowed slightly: "Chen'er is a good child, both dignified and dignified, gentle and virtuous, the mourning family is reluctant to let her be calculated by others first, the queen this time, but she thought of a place with the mourning family." ”

This is obviously already a tacit approval of the marriage between the three princes and the Weiguo Mansion.

Empress Kong was naturally overjoyed, but Chen Guifei's eager smile suddenly stiffened.

couldn't help but look at the saint aggrievedly.

She had already taken a fancy to Aunt Su's family, and she began to blow the wind on the pillow half a year ago, but she had no choice but to move flowers and trees last time, but she refused to give an accurate sentence.

The saint only didn't notice it, and looked at the queen sideways: "I heard that Jin Xiang's granddaughter also came to the banquet today, how does the queen look at her?" ”

These words made Empress Kong and Concubine Chen exchange faces.

It turned out that although Chen Guifei was bent on marrying with the Weiguo Mansion, she had already expected that the queen would not allow it, and she retreated to the second, but she was very blue-eyed to the six mothers of the Jin family - the Chen family is a prestigious family, with a deep foundation, and it is already the support of the four princes, if the four princes marry the women of the family again, they will not be able to get the support of the nobles, therefore, Chen Guifei wants to try her best to fight for the marriage with the Weiguo Mansion.

The biological mother of the second prince was from a humble background, and the saint did not pay attention to him, and when he mentioned the sixth mother of the Jin family, of course, it was for the fourth prince.

Chen Guifei's smile returned to her usual gentleness, and she slowly shook the fan, only looking at the anxiety and embarrassment between the queen's eyebrows, and her body and mind were comfortable.

The queen stabilized her mind, weighed it in her mind, but after all, she still didn't reveal anything, and only said lightly: "From the perspective of the concubine, the sixth mother of the Jin family is a clever child, it is difficult to believe that she was originally from a noble background, but she does not have the domineering willfulness of the noble daughter's family." ”

The saint bowed slightly, but he didn't say anything, but when he looked at the Queen Mother, he exchanged a knowing look.

Only the queen and the concubine at the bottom were busy looking at Guan Si -

"Even if you don't marry the Weiguo Mansion, my family Shiro has a father-in-law like Jin Xiang, and it's not far off."

"Wait, I won't let you succeed."

Neither of them paid attention to the understanding between the Holy Lord and the Queen Mother.