Feng Xiang's fatal problem was that he didn't report it to the person who should report it most.

Choosing a queen is choosing a wife for the emperor, which is true.

However, Ma Yunfang and Murong Ling are also Li Bing's current wives. Their every move, word and deed needs to be approved by their husbands, which is not only the rule of the Holy Religion, but also the law of the imperial court.

And Wei Zixuan and others made thousands of calculations, but in terms of laws and regulations, they directly ignored Li Bing.

Truth be told, they can't be blamed entirely for that.

Because in the matter of electing the queen, Li Bing plays two roles at the same time: the husband of the queen and the husband of the imperial concubine.

From the perspective of the queen's husband, the Ministry of Rites held a public discussion in the court, and the emperor himself should not interfere too much with whoever does not retreat. This system is designed so that the future queen can withstand the public opinion of the government and the opposition, and at the same time play a role in selecting the best.

But from the perspective of the imperial concubine's husband, Concubine Ma Yunfang and Concubine Hui Murong Ling, as long as they are elected by important ministers of the royal family, they can participate in the post-election public discussion, and Li Bing is tacitly agreed at this level.

Therefore, the Ministry of Rites does not need to send a letter to the emperor, let alone send a letter to the Ma family and the Murong family.

However, it was such an operation that made Wei Zixuan forget Li Bing's identity as the husband of the imperial concubine, so that he mistook the object of his power.

Scaring and suggesting that Ma Hongjie and Murong Xue are useless? Is it useful for Concubine Hui to take the initiative to withdraw from the public discussion after the election?

The husband is the one who can make up his mind, okay.

Although Li Jiangyao has always disdained to participate in this post-election battle, as an outsider, he has seen the whole thing very thoroughly. At this time, he looked at Feng Xiang for a long time, and laughed: "How is it?" Lord Feng, should you tell the emperor first and let Your Majesty make a holy judgment? ”

Feng Xiang looked like a defeated rooster, looked at Wei Zixuan with a frown, and sighed, "What did you say...... That's right. ”

Li Jiangyao turned his head to look at the Ministry of Rites: "What are your opinions?" ”

The Ministry of Rites Shangshu was really afraid that this big capital would be protected at this time, so he nodded hurriedly: "It is true that Your Majesty should be allowed to make a holy judgment, and we are not qualified to make up our minds for Niangniang." ”

Li Jiangyao clapped his hands lightly and said to the ministers around him: "Since the Ministry of Rites and Zongzheng Temple have said so, then things will be easy to do." Concubine Hui entered the selection book and presented it to the emperor, what do you think? ”

"Good!" The generals took the lead in expressing their stance and responded one after another.

Civil officials, you look at me, I look at you, and finally they all looked at Wei Zixuan, the left servant of Shangshu who was standing in front, waiting for him to speak.

Wei Zixuan's eyes rolled, and he said compassionately: "I think, I'm afraid this is not very appropriate." ”

He paced two steps forward and said in a deep voice: "Since the two ladies have the intention of being humble, those of us who are courtiers should support and cooperate with admiration, instead of pushing the problem to the emperor. ”

Tian Mu agreed: "Wei Xiang's words are reasonable. It is one thing for His Majesty to choose the queen in the end, but it is another thing for Concubine Shu and Concubine Hui to take the initiative to let Xian, and General Li should not confuse it. The withdrawal of the two ladies means that there are two more ladies for His Majesty to choose from, isn't that bad? ”

His words were immediately echoed by his party accomplices, causing the entire hall to instantly become a mess.

The generals supported Concubine Shu and Concubine Hui, and were unwilling to let them easily give up the battle for the queen, so they cheapened Wei Zixuan and others for nothing; The civil servants, on the other hand, generally followed the lead of the left prime minister, and were in favor of following the wishes of the two mothers and withdrawing from the gold leaf selection.

Both sides say that you are reasonable, and I say that I am reasonable, and each has its own opinions and disputes.

Li Jiangyao clasped his hands on his shoulders and watched them quarrel with interest, glancing at Wei Zixuan from time to time. Wei Zixuan's face sank like water, staring at Li Jiangyao viciously, obviously very unhappy in his heart.

At present, a fierce debate broke out in the court, and it is impossible to easily kill Concubine Shu and Concubine Hui.

The head of the Ministry of Rites was as big as a fight by the arguing on both sides, and he hurriedly raised his hands and asked the ministers to calm down first.

"Ladies and gentlemen, don't make a noise. If you have any opinions, say them one by one. ”

"Nothing to say!" A military general shouted: "Write Concubine Hui Niangniang into the selection book!" ”

"And the lady lady!" Another general shouted.

The voices of the civil officials are no worse than those of the soldiers: "The two imperial concubines themselves have decided to quit, what are you guys shouting about?" ”

"It's too strange for the mother to quit, who knows if someone is behind it!"

"That's it, report it first. Choose whether to choose or not, let the emperor decide! ”

"That's right! Let the emperor decide! Let the emperor decide! ”

The Ministry of Rites Shangshu looked helplessly at Wei Zixuan next to him: "My lord, what do you think you should do about this?" ”

Wei Zixuan sneered: "Above the court, noisy and noisy, what kind of system has it become? Where are the samurai in front of the palace?! ”

With his words, the forbidden army guarding the Taiji Hall immediately responded in a neat manner, and the sound suddenly covered the noise of the civil and military officials.

After everyone quieted down, Wei Zixuan continued: "Since everyone has disagreements about the withdrawal of the imperial concubine, it is better to do this, the two mothers have another volume, and submit it to the imperial review together with the gold leaf anthology." ”

Another volume?

The civil and military officials couldn't help but look at each other.

Wei Zixuan's method is indeed a compromise: Concubine Shuhui took the initiative to withdraw from the election and did not include them in the gold leaf selection book, which is reasonable; The generals insisted that the two ladies participate in the election of the queen, and arranged another volume for them, and presented it to the emperor at the same time, which can also be said.

Everyone pondered for a while, and they all felt that their ideas were satisfied, so they were no longer entangled, and nodded in approval.

However, Li Jiangyao saw Wei Zixuan's thoughts.

The so-called having another volume is about the same as being eliminated from the gold leaf anthology, which means losing the opportunity to compete for the queen's throne. When the time comes, Wei Zixuan will use any means or make up a reason to let Li Bing only choose his wife from the qualified ones in the gold leaf selection book.

Thinking of this, Li Jiangyao smiled slightly, raised his hand and said, "I don't agree!" ”

Wei Zixuan was almost angry to death. While scolding in his heart, he asked in a deep voice: "Li Jiangyao, what do you want?" ”

"It's very simple, the court has to discuss the gold leaf anthology, and it must be postponed!" Li Jiangyao replied unhurriedly: "Let Zongzheng Temple first inform the emperor of the withdrawal of the two mothers, and after obtaining the holy judgment, then decide on the list of candidates." ”

Compared with Wei Zixuan's compromise method, Li Jiangyao's proposal at this time was obviously more secure, and as soon as this remark came out, no matter whether it was an official or a general, they all nodded again and again.

Originally, choosing the queen was not a very urgent matter, and there was no need to rush to come up with the results today. Let the emperor first determine whether the imperial concubine can withdraw, and then re-discuss, this is in line with the rules.

Seeing that everyone seemed to be more inclined to Li Jiangyao's proposal, the Ministry of Rites Shangshu turned to Wei Zixuan and said, "Wei Xiang, or just do it according to the will of the capital." Anyway, the other candidates have already been evaluated, so it doesn't hurt if we wait one more day. ”

Hearing this, Wei Zixuan really wanted to kick him. However, in front of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, as the left servant of Shangshu, he can't just put a decent way and not choose, so he has to do it in a hurry, right?

He thought for a moment and sighed depressedly: "Okay, if you want to drag it, then drag it, it doesn't matter!" ”

After saying that, Wei Zixuan flicked the sleeves of his robe and walked away angrily.

The Ministry of Rites Shangshu watched his back disappear outside the gate of the Taiji Palace, and he was also quite helpless, and turned to Zongzheng Siqing and said: "Lord Feng, I bother you to enter the palace today to face the saint, and tell Your Majesty the intention of withdrawing the Niangniang Imperial Post." Alas, speaking of which, such a big matter should indeed be told to His Majesty first. You are too hasty, to get to this point, even the court must be postponed. ”

Feng Xiang was complained by the other party, and seeing that he had delayed Zuo Xiang's major event, he couldn't help but be ashamed and annoyed. He first glared at Li Jiangyao viciously, and then replied angrily: "I know, I'll go in a while!" ”

Li Jiangyao smiled nonchalantly and asked, "Lord Shangshu, can you go home now?" It's past lunch time. ”

-

"Brother, I thought you really didn't plan to participate in the post-election battle," Li Xi sandwiched a dish for Li Jiangyao, and said with a smile: "I didn't think about it, in the end, you will be the most fierce." ”

Li Jiangyao smiled faintly: "Princess, your news is also well-informed." When I came back from a dissipation, the meal was put on the table, and you had already received the news. ”

Li Xi stopped his subordinates, and while personally pouring wine for Li Jiangyao, he said: "There are as many as two or three hundred officials participating in the public discussion today, and at this time, the events that happened in the court have already spread throughout the entire imperial capital, how can I not know?" ”

She put down the flask and asked, "Brother, what do you think?" ”

"To be honest, I didn't think much of it at all." Li Jiangyao said: "I, like your husband, don't want Murong Ling to ascend to the throne of the queen. Today's incident was just because Wei Zixuan was unhappy, so he deliberately made trouble for him. ”

Li Xiyan smiled: "Don't hide it from my brother, I've always watched that guy unhappy." If you have the chance, you still have to try to bring him down. This is not only for our own sake, but also for the safety of the dynasty. ”

Li Jiangyao knew that she was referring to the matter of Jinghui nun and maid Xiaoting, and knew that Wei Zixuan was very likely to be Lao Jianhua's person, but he still persuaded: "Princess, Murong Xue and I have been fighting abroad for a long time, and it is sometimes difficult to take care of it here in the imperial capital. ”

"Thank you brother for your concern, I know." Li Xi nodded and responded: "My brother asked the people from the Intelligence Department to protect me personally, and it was also out of my safety considerations, and Fenyang knew it in his heart." However, since Wei Peng of the Zuo Prime Minister's Mansion had a connection with the southern rebels, Wei Zixuan would definitely not be able to escape the suspicion. He is in a high position of power, and if he is not removed sooner, sooner or later he will cause greater harm to the country. ”

Speaking of this, Li Xi paused slightly, and then a cold light flashed in his beautiful eyes: "If you can't find ironclad evidence that Wei Zixuan is a traitor for a while, then shouldn't you think about it and send someone to kill him secretly!" ”