lady, please calm down

April 1366, in the Great Chu calendar.

It was the middle of the Chou hour, when everything was quiet and the time for a good sleep was right. However, Hanlu, who was on duty outside the bedroom tonight, had already knocked on the door of the palace. "Your Majesty, it is the middle of the Chou hour. Your Majesty should get up and attend the court."

The night before, perhaps because of excitement or nervousness, almost no one in the family slept except Chen Chu who got drunk.

Yesterday, the various processes had exhausted the people, and even the diligent cat could not stand it. Hanlu called twice outside the palace, and the cat was too tired to open its eyes. Half asleep and half awake, it subconsciously arched its back into the thick and warm embrace, closed its eyes and murmured, "Sir, Aunt Yang is calling us to get up and dig potatoes. It's time to get up."

The person next to me smacked his lips in his sleep and replied vaguely, "Did our family plant potatoes this year?"

The hazy cat listened to the official's question and tried to think about it.
"My lady, I'm feeling better."

Just then, the voice outside the door called again. The cat used a lot of effort to barely open his eyes. With the help of the dim candlelight, he looked at the face beside him. After a moment of confusion, he realized that it was just a dream.
Perhaps it was because I was too tired, even in my dreams I was back in Qifeng Ridge when I had to work every day.

"Empress~"

“I understand.”

Mao'er responded first, then he took away Chen Chu's arm around his waist, gently pushed him and said, "Master~Master! Get up, it's time to go to court."

"Well, take a nap for another half a minute."

Chen Chu didn't even want to open his eyes and spoke vaguely.

Mao'er knew that this was a delaying tactic of the master. If he was allowed to sleep for another half a quarter of an hour, he would need to ask for another half a quarter of an hour when the time was up. Mao'er imitated what he had done in the past. He stroked Chen Chu's neatly trimmed beard with his left index finger, pinched his nose with his right hand, and hummed with a smile: "Little baby, wake up early, open your eyes, smile, babble, learn to speak, stretch out your hands, want to be held"

After having his nose pinched, Chen Chu naturally couldn't fall asleep anymore, so he had to open his sleepy eyes and yawned, "No, my wife touched my beard, so I have to touch yours too."

The cat immediately let go of Chen Chu's nose, and hurried back to help with both hands, holding the official's hand at the navel, blocking the latter's attack, and coaxing: "Sir, don't make a fuss, wait until the official leaves the court, and then we can talk. Be obedient."

The couple's playfulness helped to drive away their sleepiness.

After Chen Chu got up, Maoer personally helped him comb his hair and put on the crown.

"From now on, let others do these things, and you can get more sleep."

From now on, it will become a routine to wash and dress up and go to court before the hour of Yin every day. As they can only have a rest once every ten days, Chen Chu feels that there is no need to let the cat get up so early.

Mao'er skillfully tied a bun on the back of Chen Chu's head and fixed it with a hairpin. She smiled and said, "Mao'er is helping you comb your hair. I like it. Why should I ask someone else to do it for me?"

At the hour of Yin, the first grand court meeting of the new dynasty was held.

There are many things that need to be discussed at the court meeting. According to convention, when a new monarch ascends the throne, there should be a general amnesty. All prisoners in the world, except those who are guilty of treason, should be pardoned to show the new monarch's benevolence and imperial grace.

But Chen Chu had a different opinion on this. It was unreasonable for me to release a group of prisoners after I ascended the throne!

Finally, under his insistence, only minor offenders who were sentenced to exile 800 miles or imprisonment for less than two years were pardoned, and the rest were exiled to Liaodong to strengthen the border.

Most officials have become accustomed to Chen Chu's practice of not following the old system. After all, our new monarch has repeatedly broken the old system since he was conferred the title of King of Chu.

Furthermore, the new monarch is young and strong, and he is also the founding monarch with high prestige. There is no need for him to go against the emperor for a few prisoners.

Unexpectedly, the next thing Zhang Xingyan reported to the Honglu Temple was about Liaodong. "The Korean envoy Jin has been crying to the Honglu Temple every day recently. She said that the Liaodong Gate Master and Commander Yang have invaded more than ten cities in the past six months and looted tens of thousands of people. She also said that last month, the Korean envoys were beaten by soldiers in Sui Mian Street, three of them were seriously injured, and countless others were slightly injured."

The most recent of these two events happened more than 20 days ago.

During this period, Chen Chu first "recuperated from his injuries", and later the entire court was preparing for his ascension to the throne, so he had no time to deal with the Goryeo issue.

It is thought that Kim Bu-sik, the Goryeo envoy, felt extremely humiliated and had nowhere to turn to, so he stayed in the Honglu Temple all day long, demanding an explanation.

"My Lords, how do you think the affairs of Liaodong and Goryeo should be handled?"

When Chen Chu asked this question, all the officials below lowered their heads and remained silent.

The Central Plains dynasties have always prided themselves on being a country of etiquette. Whether it was capturing Korean border residents in Liaodong or beating envoys in the street, it was a bit inappropriate, especially the latter, which seemed a bit barbaric.

But everyone knows that of the two men in Liaodong, one was your Majesty's sworn brother when he was in humble circumstances, and the other was your Majesty's most trusted general. Attacking them is very likely to cause your Majesty's displeasure.

As for those who beat the Goryeo envoys in Sui-Mian Street, they were the followers of the Queen's cousin.

The above three people are all your Majesty’s most trusted confidants.

All civil officials are naturally wary of indulging military commanders. Now they are unable to impeach the three due to the new monarch, but it is impossible for them to say good things and exonerate the three men.

Being able to remain silent and not express an opinion is the biggest concession.

Only Cai Yuan, the chief of all officials, tilted his head slightly and exchanged a quick glance with Xu Bang, who was standing behind him. The latter then stepped out and said, "I have something to report."

Normally, Xu Bang, as the prefect of Caizhou, was not qualified to attend court, but he came to attend the coronation ceremony and had not yet returned, so he had the experience of attending a court meeting for the first time in his life.

But as a local official in Huaibei, he dared to express his opinions on what happened in Liaodong, which immediately attracted the attention of many ministers.

"Master Xu, please tell me."

"I heard that the border people that General Yang relocated back to Goryeo were all the people of the former Jin Kingdom who fled to Goryeo to avoid the war during the war in Liaodong. Now that Jin has destroyed Liaodong and annexed the Great Chu, the former people of the Jin Kingdom are the people of our Great Chu. What does the relocation of the border people of our country have to do with Goryeo?"

Gao Li said that Yang Zhen abducted border residents, but Xu Bang said it was "return migration". The latter statement makes it sound like the border residents had intended to return north, and Yang Zhen just happened to organize it.

It sounds much gentler than 'robbery'.

No matter what words were used, Ximen Gong and Yang Zhen were both trying to enrich and develop Liaodong.

At the beginning, when Chen Chunan returned, he promised the two men to "act at their own discretion" and they should not be punished for this. Naturally, he was very satisfied with Xu Bang's statement.

But for Zhang Xingyan, who had recently been harassed by the Korean envoys, Xu Bang's words were too shameless. He could not help but questioned: "Sir Xu, you are an official far away in Huaibei, but I don't know who told you that the border residents are all former Jin people?"

"."

These statements were made by my elder brother in advance. He couldn't say that Prime Minister Cai taught me to say this. He was speechless for a moment and couldn't help but act arrogantly again, "Why do you care who I heard it from? If you don't believe it, you can go to Liaodong to investigate!"

"How can we judge national affairs based on hearsay? If we are so careless, how can we convince our neighbors? How can we demonstrate the magnanimity of our country?"

In terms of debate, Xu Bang was naturally no match for these officials who made a living by quarreling, so he couldn't help but act like a rogue, "What does Lord Zhang mean? Lord Ximen and Commander Yang followed Your Majesty to conquer Liaodong and expanded the territory by 3,000 miles. Now the blood on their battle clothes is not yet dry, and Lord Zhang is chasing after the two gentlemen. Is he going to force the two heroes to death before he is satisfied?"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Zhang Xingyan was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. As the head of a diplomatic agency, he really didn't want to allow the Liaodong governor to bully Goryeo without a proper reason.

But he also understood the sensitivity of Ximen Gong and Yang Zhen, and never mentioned them from beginning to end. He just wanted the emperor to restrain the two of them and not make things too ugly, so as not to affect the image of Da Chu in the eyes of neighboring countries.

Unexpectedly, Xu Bang was so shameless that he slandered me and accused me of forcing two people to death, which was a bit too much.

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Chen Chu on the throne waved his hand and said, "Master Xu, Master Zhang did not mean that. Stop arguing."

He spoke, and the two looked at each other angrily and returned to their own queues.

But since it has been brought up for discussion at the court meeting, there must be a set of rules.

Cai Yuan, who had not expressed his opinion, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Liaodong is thousands of miles away, and it is difficult to determine the right and wrong. In my opinion, you can send someone to investigate and then draw a conclusion."

survey?

It's thousands of miles back and forth, isn't this just dragging it out?

Then, Cai Yuan said, "As for the conflict between the Korean envoys and the generals in Sui Mian Street, it was ultimately a misunderstanding. There is no need to make a fuss about it. Just pay some money for the medicine."

These people from Huaibei still have a bit of ruffian spirit even when they become prime ministers. When someone gets beaten, it becomes a conflict in Lao Cai's mouth, and he even "pays for the medicine".
The party that got the advantage should pay three or five taels of silver to the party that suffered the loss?

This is a diplomatic incident that concerns the reputation of the country, but he is dealing with it like he is dealing with a street fight with thugs!
"Well, Prime Minister Cai is mature and prudent, this method is appropriate."

But after Chen Chu's affirmation, several officials who were eager to discuss the matter with Prime Minister Cai immediately gave up. The officials wanted to use this opportunity to slightly discourage the general's first attempt, so they gave up.

However, it can also be seen from this that Prime Minister Cai, who always does things according to the emperor's wishes, is still weak in the court. Such a small matter should not be handled personally by him, a prime minister.

Didn’t you see that there was only one Zhang Xingyan on this side, and Xu Bang and Cai Yuan were about to speak one after another, while Chen Jingyan, Zhang Chunxiao, Du Zhaoqing and others on the other side had not yet appeared.

After this matter was exposed, people started to discuss where the former emperor of Zhou, today's Duke Anle Chai Ji, should be placed.

Then, it was the highlight of today's court meeting. There was solid evidence of an attempt to assassinate the emperor in Lin'an, so what measures should be taken next?

This time, the entire court reached a rare high degree of consensus!
Even the officials who had been most cautious about "going to war" in the past clamored to attack and destroy Lin'an and recover Jiangnan.

From a personal perspective, if the king humiliates his subjects, they will die. People have bullied the boss, and if anyone still complains about sending troops, people will have to doubt your loyalty.

In terms of state affairs, the Chu State is now strong in both military and military power, so how can it allow Lin'an to live in a corner? After the destruction of the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains Dynasty finally saw the opportunity to unify the north and the south and make the country intact.

This last battle of the Great Chu will surely go down in history. Who wouldn’t want to leave a mark in the history books?

"The Lin'an Chai family has no strategy to protect the country, and no ability to protect the people. They are tolerant on the outside and cruel on the inside. Your Majesty should punish them!"

"The thirteen emperors of the Zhou Dynasty have lived for two hundred years. Their luck has faded and only their bodies remain. Your Majesty should follow the will of heaven!"

"The Southern Dynasty assassinated the emperor. This is intolerable. If we don't destroy their ancestral temple, we will never be able to eliminate the hatred of the people of Great Chu!"

"Your Majesty, you should announce to the world that the people we, the Great Chu, are attacking are the Chai family, the Qin family and other treacherous people. It has nothing to do with the people, officials and soldiers. The rest of you should not help the tyrant to commit atrocities!"

The crowd was really excited!
Compared with conquering the bitter cold Liaodong, the officials are undoubtedly more envious of the splendid Jiangnan
The day before yesterday, Zhang Xingyan had just received a handwritten letter from the Emperor of Zhou. In the letter, the Emperor of Zhou was extremely humble and tried to explain that he had nothing to do with the assassination. He also said that if anyone in the Zhou court was involved in this matter, he would definitely investigate it thoroughly and give an explanation to the Emperor of Great Chu.

In the past two days, because of the enthronement, Zhang Xingyan had not found a chance to present the letter to the emperor. However, seeing the scene in front of him, he simply stuffed the half-pulled letter back into his sleeve.

It’s better to present it in private later.

Conquering the Southern Dynasty is in the common interests of the civil and military officials of the Great Chu. No matter what Emperor Zhou says, this war must be fought.

At noon, the court was dismissed.

Although they didn't say much, Chen Chu felt extremely tired.

Rejecting the sedan chair prepared by Huang Doudou, Chen Chuchu walked back to Mao'er's bedroom, Ciyuan Hall.

There were more than a dozen beautiful girls gathered in the flower hall. Mao'er sat at the top, and Grandma, Cai Huan and others sat on his left and right below him. They were talking about something, but there was a burst of laughter in the hall.

Because Chen Chu arrived suddenly, everyone in the hall stood up to greet him.

Chen Chu just waved his hand, and the family members who were familiar with his temper understood that he didn't want them to go through the formalities, so they knelt down and bowed, led by Mao'er.

Ru'er and Zhuan Yun were also among them. Yesterday, they were both conferred the title of Concubine.

This matter originated from Mao'er and Cai Huan. According to them, even if Chen Chu had never held Ru'er and Zhuan Yun's hands, they were both maids and had spent ten years in the palace. It would be irresponsible if they did not give them a status.

After the ceremony, before Chen Chu could say anything, Ru'er immediately took a towel, wet it, and handed it to him.

Chen Chu took it and said with a smile: "Ru'er knows what I mean."

What he meant was that he wanted to wipe his face more, so Ruer handed him a towel, which was very considerate.

The roles have changed. Ru'er, who used to be very bold in front of Chen Chu, couldn't help but blush slightly. She turned behind Chen Chu and helped him take off his heavy court clothes, revealing his casual clothes underneath.

Cai Hua, who was standing by, couldn't help but smile, "Of course, Ru'er grew up with me, so naturally she has to learn some intelligence from me."

This shameless boast immediately caused another round of laughter.

But Zhuan Yun, who was standing beside Ayu, was a step slower than Ru'er and missed the chance to get close to Chen Chu. He looked at Ayu with grievance. Ayu looked helpless and said with his eyes: I can help you get this concubine, can I also help you please His Majesty? You should be smarter, look at how discerning Ru'er is.
After taking off his court robes, Chen Chu took a step forward with a relaxed look, only to find that there was a pair of women wearing the same ruqun kneeling next to him. He was stunned.

Cai Hua, who had been paying attention to Chen Chu's expression, chuckled and said, "Poetry and painting raise their heads."

Upon hearing this, the two girls slowly raised their heads. They looked exactly the same, with wandering and pitiful eyes.

"?" Chen Chu looked at Cai Huan in confusion.

Seeing this, the cat pursed its lips and smiled.

Cai Hua was even happier and said directly: "Your Majesty is so heartless. In the past, Lord Gao Cunfu, who was in charge of Zhongjing in the Jin Kingdom, gave your Majesty a pair of twins in Lulong County. Have you forgotten?"

The twin sisters looked at Cai Huan in horror after hearing this. Isn't this the emperor? How dare this Concubine Cai say to his face that the emperor has no conscience? ? ?
Chen Chu pretended to understand something and said, "Oh, so that's how it is. Stand up. I don't allow kneeling here."

After that, Chen Chu took a few steps forward, bowed to his grandmother and said, "Grandma, are you healthy? I haven't seen you for a while."

"Your Majesty, how can you be so polite to me? It's really embarrassing."

The grandmother was about to kneel, so Chen Chu quickly lifted her arm and helped her back to her seat. Then he turned around and sat with Mao'er on either side. He smiled and replied, "The queen has been poor since she was young. It is rare for her to have a relative like the grandmother. We are husband and wife, and her elders are my elders. How can she not accept my respect?"

Grandma's wrinkled face suddenly turned into a smile.

After asking in detail, Chen Chu found out that this time, the great-grandmother brought a few capable descendants to Beijing with Prefect Xu, intending to renovate the abandoned ancestral home.

The family ancestral hall also needs to be rebuilt, and Mao'er, as the patriarch of the Zhao family, should contribute some money. Today, the Zhao family is no longer what it used to be, so they are not short of this little money, but the meaning of grandma's move is different.

Mao'er contributed a symbolic amount of money. On the one hand, this could help her to continue to establish herself as the clan leader. On the other hand, if the outside world knew that even the current queen had paid for the construction of the Zhao Clan Ancestral Hall, it would be such a great honor for the Zhao family!

After hearing this, Chen Chu couldn't help but say, "In that case, I and my wife will pay one thousand taels of silver."

The grandmother was overjoyed when she heard this. She originally thought that it was a great kindness to have Maoer contribute some money, but she didn't expect that the current emperor would also contribute money to support it. However, she said, "It won't cost that much. My Zhao family is just a middle-class family. If the ancestral hall is built too luxuriously, people will inevitably say that we are showing off by borrowing the power of the queen. Besides, the ancestral hall is the business of the whole family. If everyone contributes a little, it will be enough for the queen to make up a hundred taels."

He not only pointed out that he would not use Mao'er's power to bully others, but also stated that he was just asking Mao'er to raise some money as the clan leader and not to extort money. Such words made Chen Chu and Mao'er very comfortable.

"Grandma, if the money is not enough, Yunong will also give you some."

Grandma couldn't help but laugh, "I appreciate Concubine Yi's kindness. I have enough money right now. If not, I will definitely ask Concubine Yi to borrow."

Chen Chu and Mao'er are husband and wife, so it is reasonable for them to contribute, but Yunong and Mao'er have different surnames, so why should they join in the fun of building the ancestral hall?

Such silly words were perfectly in line with Yunong's simple personality. As the person involved, Mao'er felt that Yunong said such silly words because she was close to him, and he couldn't help but look at Yunong with an intimate look.

Taking advantage of the time when Grandma and Yunong were talking, Chen Chu casually asked, "Sisters Shiqing and Huayi, were they brought here by Grandma?"

"Yes, in recent years." Mao'er just opened his mouth, and was suddenly startled. The peach blossom eyes that were looking at the twin girls slowly looked at Chen Chu.

Chen Chu reacted immediately and realized that he had let the cat out of the bag!

Just now he was pretending not to know them, or he had completely forgotten about the two girls, but now he could accurately say that the two girls were sent by his great-grandmother. You should know that after Cai Huan brought the two girls back from Nanjing, the Kingdom of Jin, Mao'er hid them in Zhaojiazhuang!
Chen Chu had never asked about it over the years, so when he pretended to have forgotten just now, both Mao'er and Cai Huan believed it.

It seems that he already knew that this pair of stunning beauties who were said to be able to sense each other's feelings were placed in Zhaojiazhuang!

If I say I have never thought about it, who would believe me?
"Sir." The cat called slowly.

"Ahem." Chen Chu, eager to change the subject, propped up his elbows on the low table, approached Mao'er, and whispered hurriedly, "In the morning, did my wife promise me when to let your husband trim your beard?"

"."

In public! In public!

Mao'er's face immediately turned red, as if blood was about to drip out, and he no longer bothered to question Chen Chu.

She wore a phoenix crown and luxurious clothes, but she looked so shy that she looked like a virgin.

Even Cai Huan who was sitting below noticed something strange. When she was young, Mao'er was shy and loved to blush, so Cai Huan teased her a lot for this. But now, Mao'er has been completely transformed. How come she has become the beauty of Luliu Village again?
Looking at Chen Chu who had delivered the fatal blow and completely stopped Mao'er's questioning, Cai Hua couldn't help but ask curiously: "What are you two whispering about? Tell me!" (End of this chapter)