After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 651 Joining the Cabinet
Haijiao left school early on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. He originally wanted to meet up with some friends and chat, but after leaving the gate of Weixue, he met his servant Cui Xiaodao.

He came to deliver a message to Haijiao on Haitang's orders.

Haijiao immediately rushed back home. There was no one in the upper room of the main courtyard, so he went directly to the study in the west wing.

Haitang had been staying here reading. When she saw him coming back, she knew what he was most concerned about, so she told him, "I heard about Tao Yue's appointment to the cabinet from the Zhenguo Mansion. It's absolutely true, and it happened half a month ago. My cousin got the news and has already rushed to the Zhenguo Mansion to inquire about the details. Grandma went to Mama's place, and grandpa is still in the government office and hasn't come back yet."

Haijiao took a deep breath, took off his hat, casually put it on the table, and sat down on the kang: "What do you mean? Although Lord Tao will enter the cabinet sooner or later, but... I didn't expect it to be so soon."

Tao Yue had been lying low in an idle government office for many years, until he met Xie Wenzai again in the border town that year and had a deep talk with him, and then he really cheered up. It had been less than two years since he became the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and officially entered the power center of the court. The Hai brothers and sisters thought that he would have to keep a low profile for another two years before he would officially enter the cabinet, and they never expected it would be at this time.

Haitang whispered, "The Zhenguo Mansion seemed quite surprised as well. Unfortunately, I heard the news from Zhou Xuejun, so I don't know much. She was asking for this kind of information because she was concerned about her parents' situation in the capital. Zhou Huajun, who usually interacts with her, doesn't care about political affairs. Wu Qiong always has to take care of her mother, and the maids and servants around her don't know anything, so she would discuss similar topics with me. However, she is too young, and no matter how smart she is, her elders will not talk too much about such court affairs in front of her."

Hai Jiao raised his eyebrows: "Madam Gui is still ill? She has been ill for several months, but she is not dead yet?"

Haitang smiled and said, "She has been ill and taking medicine all the time. I heard that she developed a cough since winter, but her condition is not serious. Although Wu Qiong has to take care of her mother every day, she still has the leisure to come and see me and chat about family matters. From her expression, Madam Gui doesn't look like she is seriously ill. I guess her illness is just a way for the Zhenguo Mansion to restrain her?"

Hai Jiao curled his lips, put Madam Gui's matter aside, and returned to the main topic: "It seems that Lord Tao's entry into the cabinet is true. It is not a bad thing to become a cabinet elder a few years earlier. At least the Sun family cannot be allowed to dominate the cabinet. Lord Sun is old, and since there is someone in the cabinet who can support the overall situation, he should retire and enjoy his retirement, right?"

Even if Lord Sun is not happy, the emperor will find a way to issue a "favorable decree".

Haitang was speculating: "It is certain that the emperor wants to push Tao Yue to the throne, but why at this time? The Sun family suffered several big losses this year, and they are suspected of collaborating with the enemy. The prince of Prince Ji who they supported has lost the possibility of returning to the clan and establishing a crown prince. I think their family is now in front of the emperor. It is not good to be too tough when encountering things. The emperor wants to push Tao Yue to join the cabinet. If the people of Sun Ge Lao strongly oppose it, then the emperor will really turn against him."

Hai Jiao thought that this might be related to the previous controversy in the capital about choosing a concubine for the seventh prince: "The Sun family first tried to sow discord between the two princes, and then wanted to send the daughter of their cronies to the seventh prince as his principal wife. They even wanted to let the eighth prince go. The emperor tried to suppress it several times but failed. He must be very angry. Since Lord Sun wanted to do something wrong, whether it was choosing a concubine for the seventh prince or something else, he needed the emperor's approval. Then, when the emperor proposed to let his cousin join the cabinet at this time, could Lord Sun still shake his head and refuse?"

If the cabinet refuses to add new members, the emperor can show his displeasure to the cabinet, and then the trivial matters such as the selection of the prince's consort can be put on hold. But if Lord Sun gives in and allows Tao Yue to join the cabinet, the news about the new Lord will quickly become a new hot topic in the capital, suppressing the previous discussion of the selection of the prince's consort. If the new Lord introduces some new policies and new ideas... who will care about whose daughter the sickly seventh prince will marry as his principal wife? The seventh prince is not very old, and it will take at least two or three years for him to get married. Of course, the court officials will pay attention to the new Lord's ideas first!

Haitang and Haijiao looked at each other and both felt that the emperor was very likely to use the topic of the new cabinet elder to suppress the matter of the prince's selection of a concubine. However, Tao Yue had just taken power and was not yet fully grown. If he joined the cabinet at this time, he would easily become a target of others. Would his smooth career as a powerful official in his previous life be affected? And would Hai Xiya, who was attached to him, usher in any new changes in his official career?
Hai Jiao thought about it again and again, and lowered his voice: "Hasn't my cousin received the letter from Lord Tao? Logically speaking, Lord Tao should have said hello to my cousin after such a big incident."

Haitang replied, "General Zhou Si's letter was delivered yesterday. He used the fast horse of the Zhenguo Mansion to deliver the message in such a short time. If Lord Tao sent someone from his family to deliver the letter, I'm afraid it would take some more time."

However, his cousin, Xie Wenzai, had already gone to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, and he should be able to get the details from the Duke of Zhenguo. The Hai brothers and sisters tried their best to control their tempers, thinking that they should be able to know the details by the evening.

When it was dark, Xie Wenzai returned from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. Hai Xiya also got the news in the government office, and invited his cousin to have dinner, and also called his adopted son Hai Chang'an and grandson Hai Jiao to discuss it together. Haitang stayed on the kang in the inner room with her grandmother Ma, listening attentively.

Xie Wenzai told his cousin: "Tao Nanshan also wrote me a letter, and asked General Zhou Si to deliver it. The Duke of Zhenguo originally planned to have someone bring it to me when he delivered Laba porridge, but I went to ask him in advance, and he gave me the letter."

In the letter, Tao Yue explained to Xie Wenzai how he came to join the cabinet. It turned out that it was because Lord Sun and his cronies had recently raised the topic of the prince's wife in the court. They had also proposed to let the seventh prince go out of the cabinet to study, and had also invited great scholars to teach the seventh prince, which made the emperor very angry.

Sun Ge Lao's proposal was equivalent to asking the emperor to confirm the Seventh Prince's status as the crown prince in disguise, adding uncertainty to the Eighth Prince's future succession. Sun Ge Lao also did not forget to let his accomplices raise various initiatives in an attempt to sow discord between the two princes. He was very inclined to use the old students of Wumen to fight for treatment for the Seventh Prince and indirectly damage the interests of the Eighth Prince. The emperor thought that he could not let Sun Ge Lao's group stir up trouble anymore, so he made a deal with Sun Ge Lao about Tao Yue's entry into the cabinet. On the surface, the emperor seemed to agree to let the Seventh Prince go out of the cabinet to study, and then choose a concubine for the Seventh Prince from a famous family. In fact, these two things would take a lot of time and could not be decided in a short period of time.

Just the treatment of the Seventh Prince when he went out to study and which great scholar should be invited to be the Prince's tutor were enough for the court to debate for a year or two. Before the matter was settled, the Seventh Prince did not need to appear in public, which saved him the trouble.

As for the selection of the seventh prince's consort, there are so many families with daughters of the right age that it would take the Queen Mother and Concubine Xu more than half a year to meet them one by one. Those with better conditions might have to be met several times before they can be selected. The outsiders cannot complain, after all, this is the selection of a consort for the legitimate prince! How can they not be cautious?
Let's delay the matter for now. When something big happens in the court that grabs the attention of the ministers, this topic will naturally fade away.

Tao Yue believed that even if he entered the cabinet, he still needed to be cautious and not spend his energy on fighting for power with Sun Ge Lao's faction. On this point, he and Sun Ge Lao's faction had a tacit understanding, and neither of them would embarrass the other.

After making sure that he could safely serve as a new cabinet minister, the first thing Tao Yue had to do was to add more staff to himself.

So he wrote a letter to Xie Wenzai.

(End of this chapter)