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Chapter 311 Small Banquet ()

Empress Dowager Zheng fell ill and stayed in bed to recuperate. After raising it for two months, the body of the phoenix improved.

The former Empress Dowager Zheng liked to wear fancy clothes and heavy makeup. It has only been a few months since Emperor Taikang passed away. Empress Dowager Zheng is wearing plain clothes. There is no makeup on her thin face, and her wrinkles are clearly visible. At first glance, she looks like a sixty-year-old woman.

However, no one dared to underestimate this sixty-year-old woman who needed help to walk and looked extremely weak. As soon as Emperor Taikang dies, the new emperor will ascend the throne tomorrow. Empress Dowager Zheng, who is about to be promoted to the Empress Dowager, is undoubtedly the most noble and powerful woman in Daliang.

Attached to the Empress Dowager Zheng were the Duke of Anguo and many courtiers. Even King Huaiyang, the king of Dongping, who came to Jingyang Palace for the banquet today, has a close relationship with Queen Mother Zheng.

And Jiang Shaohua, the princess of Nanyang, also relied on the power of Empress Dowager Zheng to gain a foothold in the court.

Therefore, Queen Mother Zheng is destined to be the center of attention at tonight's palace banquet. Even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was respectful to Queen Mother Zheng.

The prince is like a fledgling eagle, still far from spreading its wings and flying high.

"Tomorrow is the coronation ceremony of the new emperor," Empress Dowager Zheng smiled at the prince: "Tonight the Ai family calls you prince, but tomorrow you have to change your name to emperor."

The prince immediately stood up and responded respectfully: "In front of the Imperial Grandmother, I will always be the Grandmother's beloved grandson. In the future, my grandson must be filial to the Imperial Grandmother, and when encountering difficulties, he will definitely ask the Imperial Grandmother for advice."

Empress Dowager Zheng was very satisfied with the prince's obedience, but she said with a smile: "The Ai family is old and doesn't know much about political affairs. The most I can do is encourage you. For important matters in the court, we still have to rely on Prime Minister Wang and Zheng Shangshu. ”

Those sitting here today are either surnamed Jiang or are female relatives of the harem. Empress Dowager Zheng also spoke very casually.

The Fourth Young Master Wang, who was sitting below the Crown Prince, lowered his head silently.

General Wei was imprisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, waiting for execution after the new emperor ascended the throne. Prime Minister Wang cruelly cut off one of his arms, and finally managed to stabilize the situation.

The young and energetic Crown Prince had a completely different temperament from the deceased Emperor Taikang. Emperor Taikang trusted and relied heavily on Prime Minister Wang and was wary of the Queen Mother's party. On the contrary, the prince trusted Empress Dowager Zheng more and was quite dissatisfied with the powerful Prime Minister Wang.

Because of this, he, the youngest son of the Prime Minister, was quite embarrassed walking around the palace.

Empress Dowager Zheng happily asked the prince to take his seat, then turned to talk to several vassal princes gently.

There are five actual vassal kings in Daliang. The oldest one is King Wu'an, followed by King Dongping. When I arrived at the King of Huaiyang, I was a generation shorter.

King Gaoliang was the younger brother of Emperor Taikang. He had a high fever when he was young and his brain was burned out. I have been living in the capital for these years and have never been to the feudal land at all.

The largest and richest person in the vassal territory was Princess Nanyang.

In terms of seniority, Jiang Shaohua is a junior. In terms of blood relationship, she is not as good as King Gaoliang. However, in terms of strength, she is the undisputed leader of the feudal lord.

The strength of Nanyang Palace played a key role in Empress Dowager Zheng's "favor" for Jiang Shaohua.

"Shaohua, you will stay in Jingyang Palace tonight." Empress Dowager Zheng casually ordered like an ordinary elder: "Send someone back to the palace and bring the dress into the palace. This will save you the trouble of traveling back and forth. ”

Jiang Wanhua and Jiang Yuehua felt sour in their hearts. They stayed in the palace for several years and lived with Princess Baohua. He came to pay his respects to Empress Dowager Zheng every day, but he never stayed in Jingyang Palace.

Jiang Shaohua responded with a smile from the corner of his eyes.

Prince Wu'an was married to Jiang Shaohua. Seeing that Jiang Shaohua didn't like her in every way, he said in front of everyone: "Tomorrow is the new emperor's coronation ceremony, so the girl's family should not get involved. It's better to stay with the Queen Mother."

Jiang Shaohua seemed not to have heard anything and turned around to joke with Princess Baohua.

Anger flashed in the eyes of the ignored King of Wu'an County. He didn't care about the prince's unsightly expression and continued: "Jiang Shaohua, you go to court every day. It's really a fool's errand. We all just turn a blind eye and turn a blind eye." . You are not allowed to show up at the coronation ceremony of the new emperor tomorrow, lest you be ridiculed by the royal family..."

"Auntie," Jiang Shaohua said to Empress Dowager Zheng without even looking at Prince Wu'an: "There are no outsiders at the palace banquet tonight. They are all elders of the Jiang family. There are some things that my grandniece has to say that I really don't like to say."

"I, Jiang Shaohua, am the upright Princess of Daliang County. I govern Nanyang County in the vassal territory, with 14 counties and a population of 100,000. I am safe and prosperous, far better than Wu'an County. When I was in charge of government, I never spoke carelessly or disturbed I will unswervingly support my cousin and follow my great-aunt's teachings."

"I ask myself that there is nothing wrong in what I do. Prince Wu'an is old and disrespectful. He makes unreasonable accusations and talks nonsense. He always wants to bully me because of his age and seniority."

"As the Prince of the Jiang family, I will always make things difficult and mean to my juniors. What are the benefits of doing this? Please give me some advice."

Empress Dowager Zheng's eyes flashed with anger, and she looked at Prince Wu'an coldly: "Prince Wu'an, you have made things difficult for Shao Hua many times before, but this is the first time the Ai family has witnessed it with their own eyes."

"Everything Shaohua did was under the instruction of the Ai family. It seems that you are very dissatisfied with the Ai family and full of complaints!"

Prince Wu'an's expression froze and he stood up immediately: "The Queen Mother has misunderstood. I have always respected the Queen Mother and have never been dissatisfied. I am just angry with this yellow-haired girl. She speaks carelessly and acts domineeringly, which damages the dignity of the Tian family."

Empress Dowager Zheng sneered: "What's so disrespectful about it? Tell me."

Prince Wu'an: "..."

Empress Dowager Zheng was famously domineering. It started to spread, and even Prime Minister Wang's face was scratched.

How could Prince Wu'an dare to offend Empress Dowager Zheng? He explained with a stern look: "A girl's family should be gentle, chaste, virtuous and virtuous. In the officialdom, there are His Highness the Crown Prince and all the courtiers, so it is not her turn to worry about it as a yellow-haired girl... "

Jiang Shaohua interrupted Prince Wu'an unhurriedly: "Does the Prince want to say that the Queen Mother should be content in the harem and should not care about government affairs?"

Mrs. Zheng's expression suddenly darkened, her eyes as sharp as flying knives.

Prince Wu'an felt a chill in his heart. Today he couldn't hold it back and violated Empress Dowager Zheng's taboo.

In fact, Jiang Shaohua dared to act so arrogantly because Empress Dowager Zheng was behind her.

Empress Dowager Zheng did this, firstly, to show the power of the Queen Mother, and secondly, she also had a subtle psychology of throwing stones to explore the way forward. The courtiers began to adapt to Jiang Shaohua's existence. Perhaps, one day, Empress Dowager Zheng would be able to truly extend her hand to the harem.

In front of Empress Dowager Zheng, he kept saying that women should not participate in political affairs, but didn't he put himself on the knife's edge?
"Prince Wu'an drank too much today." There was obviously no wine at the banquet, but Queen Mother Zheng said that Prince Wu'an was drunk. The sarcasm and unhappiness in her tone were clearly visible: "Come here, take Prince Wu'an out of the palace and back to the county." Rest in the palace."