wear it lord god

Chapter 2679 Being an Empress Isn't Easy 25
Minister Xiao gritted his teeth and was determined to take the position of Consort Shu for his daughter's sake.

He secretly contacted some of his own people and wrote a memorial impeaching the Empress.

But what should I write about?
Saying the Empress is jealous? There are so many women in the palace now, and after two years of imperial concubine selections, the number has already exceeded fifty. Even if the Emperor favors one woman a day, it would still take two months to complete his collection.

The number of imperial offspring born in the last two years is almost equal to the number of women; nearly half of the concubines have each given birth to a son or daughter. The first one born last year is already over a year old.

Ministers in the court often talked about those foolish emperors who ruined the country because of women, which was practically an open instruction to the emperor to keep himself pure.

An official timidly said, "It's difficult with the Empress. Perhaps we should impeach the Duke of Zhenguo instead."

How to impeach someone? For those who hold military power, it's nothing more than having an army to rely on, plotting a rebellion, or colluding with the enemy and betraying the country.

A few days ago, a report came from the border that the Duke of Zhenguo had repelled the invading Tartar troops and even killed one of the Tartar princes. The body was detained and sent back to the capital by express courier. The report asked the emperor what to do with the body.

He also wanted to retire and return to his hometown. The Duke of Zhenguo felt he was getting old and wanted to go home to enjoy his grandchildren and family life. His sons had also been serving on the frontier for many years and wanted to go home to recuperate from their injuries or to live with their wives. Therefore, he wanted to take this opportunity to relinquish his military power and have the whole family return to the capital for a few years to recuperate so that they could better serve the country in the future.

The emperor sent an envoy to negotiate with the Tartars and to appease the Duke of Zhenguo, asking him to hold out for another two years.

They killed the enemy prince and then accused him of treason?

Even military power is being handed over, yet they still maintain their own power? Are they plotting a rebellion?
The emperor could either impeach the crown prince, but the crown prince was always intelligent and kind, and the crown princess was newly pregnant, which pleased the emperor.

After thinking for a long time, I still couldn't come up with a convincing charge. Perhaps I should start by gathering evidence from the other sons of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, as well as from their collateral relatives and in-laws?

The matter eventually fizzled out, but since impeachment wasn't working, they could try to stir up something else.

After court, Liu Cheng went to the Empress's residence for lunch. After lunch was served, he chatted casually for a few minutes while eating, and then explained the purpose of his visit.

"The Duke of Zhenguo and his heir wish to resign to recuperate from their injuries. What is the Empress's opinion?"

Xi Ning smiled gently, with a hint of ingratiation, a standard feature of a virtuous empress: "Your Majesty, I cannot presume to discuss state affairs, but my father and brothers have indeed been engaged in many battles and should take some time to recuperate."

It was at her suggestion that the memorial requesting resignation was delivered to the Duke of Zhenguo through the host's mother.

Military generals are actually more dangerous than civil officials. If some treacherous official were to say that the Northern Frontier only knows the Duke of Zhenguo and not His Majesty, or that the three armies of the Northern Frontier only obey the Duke of Zhenguo's orders, the Emperor would lose sleep at night.

The best way is to take a vacation every now and then.

Other methods included feigning madness or acting lecherous to lower the emperor's guard.

Two of Liu Bang's subordinates, Chen Ping and Xiao He, both pretended to be greedy and lustful, and both ultimately saved their lives.

Comparing the two options, the former is preferable. After all, the Duchess of Zhenguo would not allow her husband to be a womanizer.

Then relinquish military power and rest. When the border is in dire need of manpower, an imperial decree will summon him back into battle.

"This morning at court, someone submitted a memorial saying that the border still cannot do without the Duke of Zhenguo for the time being. They would like to ask Ji'er to represent me in appeasing the enemy and, incidentally, give the Crown Prince some experience." Liu Cheng's gaze remained fixed on her face, his expression subtly probing.

"Your Majesty, please have some vegetables. They were just picked in the courtyard, and there are also scrambled eggs, which were cooked this morning." Xi Ning diligently served food to Liu Cheng, her mind racing.

After Liu Cheng ate and praised the taste, he finally spoke. "It's not inappropriate for Ji'er to go on a training trip. The Crown Princess is newly pregnant and has moved into Chuxiu Palace for the sake of the child. They were already sleeping in separate rooms, so this is a good opportunity. We can also have Wen'er go with her, so they can look after each other in the future."

Since this damned emperor will inevitably become suspicious of his sons sooner or later, it's better to send both princes to their maternal grandfather's place at the border. With the Duke of Zhenguo protecting them, plus an army of 200,000, they'll be safer than in the capital.

After listening, Liu Cheng nodded, picked up a scrambled egg with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth: "Mmm, these eggs are fragrant, smooth and tender, very delicious."

"Your Majesty, please use as much as you like. However, there are only a few chickens in the courtyard. If you want to eat them, you'll have to come back in a couple of days." She quickly brought up another matter: "Jiahe has come of age and gets along well with the third son of the General of Zhennan. But I think the second son of the Marquis of Hanyang is also good. I would like Your Majesty to make a decision."

The General Who Guards the South holds military power in the southern frontier and will eventually be ennobled. Even if the third son does not inherit the title, the title of Marquis of Hanyang is proposed to guard against Liu Cheng's suspicion of a north-south alliance.

Although the Marquis of Hanyang had a fiefdom, which was ruled by local rulers, the fiefdom was far from the capital.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Cheng asked, "What is the Empress's opinion?"

Well, they've passed the buck back to us again.

She calmly took a sip of mutton soup: "Both of them are not favored by their families, so they should agree to stay in the capital. I am thinking of arranging a princess's residence for Jiahe in the capital, so that she can come to the palace to keep me company often. As for the rest, Your Majesty can decide."

It's up to the emperor to decide which one can be controlled through marriage, or which one won't affect the throne. In any case, she only wants to ensure that the original owner's daughter doesn't die in childbirth this time, resulting in the loss of both mother and child.

Liu Cheng responded: "Then I will send someone to investigate the background of the two men and check whether their character is innocent. I will give you a definite answer after the investigation."

“If Your Majesty has decided, then I will simply prepare the dowry.” Xi Ning smiled and pointed to a bowl of pastries beside her: “Give me a piece of hibiscus pastry.”

After finishing his meal, Liu Cheng took a short nap at Changqiu Palace before going to his study to handle government affairs.

A few days later, Crown Prince Liu Ji and Prince Liu Wen were ordered by the Emperor to inspect the northern border.

It's supposed to be an inspection, but once they get there, they might not be recalled and will just stay there.

But Xi Ning didn't plan for the two of them to come back, at least not until Liu Cheng was close to death.

Think back to the previous plot, Liu Cheng was almost seventy years old when he died, and if Liu Ji were alive, he would be almost fifty years old, so he would remain the crown prince for more than thirty years.

As time goes by, Liu Cheng will become increasingly worried as he looks at the younger crown prince, fearing that the prince will covet his throne and that he will be sidelined and forced to abdicate.

Therefore, it's best to send the Crown Prince away. After some time, send the Crown Princess and two concubines there together, so they can settle down in the northern frontier, have many children, and wait for the right time to return.

The two princes came over to pay their respects and say goodbye. Xining asked someone to prepare warm clothes for them and gave them some routine instructions.

Finally, I asked the Crown Prince, "Ji'er, do you remember the story your mother once told you about the Crown Prince of a certain country who received an imperial edict while stationed at the border?"

The crown prince was taken aback, then replied, "I remember!" He vividly remembered that the empress had told the Grand Tutor that day that she wanted to arrange a marriage for him.

"Alright." Xi Ning nodded with a smile, reached out and patted off some non-existent dust from the Crown Prince's shoulder, speaking softly like a mother's admonition: "Be careful when you're out in the world. Consult with your maternal grandfather if anything happens. Don't worry about me. Your well-being is my well-being, understand?"

The Crown Prince agreed, and together with Prince Wen, they kowtowed and bid farewell before departing.

Xining watched the carriage depart from the palace walls, secretly sneering. The Empress Dowager's 60th birthday banquet was just around the corner. This time, the Duke of Zhenguo and the Crown Prince could not be ambushed and killed by bandits again, because they would never come back!