spend time

As she spoke, Queen Mother Li suddenly became confident and said, "Nanyang County is a grain-producing area, and Daliang is in need of grain. If she is truly loyal, she should offer Nanyang County to us."

Emperor Taihe was annoyed: "According to what my mother said, should all the civil and military officials in the court donate their family assets? Otherwise, let's start with the Li family?"

Queen Mother Li was choked and couldn't breathe: "You! What nonsense are you talking about! The Li family is your maternal family! Thousands of people in the family depend on our family for their livelihood, how can you have your eyes on the Li family!"

"Nanyang County belongs to cousin Shaohua. Can I have any intention of taking Nanyang County?" Emperor Taihe's face turned cold and his tone was very stern: "Cousin Shaohua is devoted to sharing my worries. She is loyal and devoted. She has contributed manpower, effort and food. I just promised her that I will always be her backer and will never allow anyone to have any intention of taking Nanyang County."

"I want to ensure that she will live a peaceful and prosperous life. If anyone dares to do something sneaky, I will find out and show no mercy!"

Seeing that Emperor Taihe was really angry, Empress Dowager Li dared not say anything more: "I just said it casually, why is the emperor so anxious and angry? Okay, the emperor doesn't want to hear it, I won't say it again in the future."

"I can't even think about it."

"Yes, yes, I will listen to you."

Empress Dowager Li lowered her status and coaxed her son, and soon brought the topic to the selection of concubines next spring: "Next February, you will have been in mourning for three years. It is time to choose a concubine and get married. The Ministry of Rites has selected the daughters of officials above the fifth rank, who are outstanding in talent and appearance and of the right age, and have all been put on the list. You can choose one who suits your heart to be the queen, and choose a few concubines to fill the harem. You can have children for the royal family as soon as possible."

As the Son of Heaven, choosing a concubine is not just about beauty; continuing the royal family line by having offspring is the most important thing.

Emperor Taihe was not that concerned about this matter and said calmly, "I intend to leave the matter of the selection of the best candidates to the Empress Dowager."

Empress Dowager Li was startled and felt a little annoyed: "Your grandmother is old, and she has to worry about the selection of concubines. Please don't tire her out. Let me do it!"

Emperor Taihe's eyes showed fatigue, and he sighed: "Why does my mother have to fight with the imperial grandmother? I am not in good health now, and I need to rest. Once my mother and the imperial grandmother compete with each other, I will be caught in the middle and feel uncomfortable. My mother loves her son, so please be quiet for once and let her son worry less!"

The key point is that Empress Dowager Li could not win the fight, and every time she was wronged, she would cry and ask her son for support. Emperor Taihe was exhausted, and at least half of it came from the harem.

When Empress Dowager Li heard this, she felt wronged again and wiped her tears with a handkerchief. As usual, she said the same old things, such as "I have endured so many years as the empress dowager and have to please others everywhere, and my own son doesn't even support me."

Emperor Taihe sighed, closed his eyes, and let Empress Dowager Li make a fuss.

Empress Dowager Li cried for a long time, and felt a little strange when her son did not come to comfort her. She wiped her tears and saw that Emperor Taihe had fallen asleep due to exhaustion.

Empress Dowager Li had no choice but to get up and leave.

After returning to Ning'an Palace, Empress Dowager Li sighed and said to her trusted palace maid Lanxiang: "I have good intentions for the emperor. But the emperor has been drugged by Jiang Shaohua and can't listen at all."

Lanxiang thought to herself, I wouldn't be happy to hear this either. The princess is so powerful, it's not enough to win her over. If the princess knew that Queen Mother Li was planning to take over Nanyang County, what good would Queen Mother Li do?

In the final analysis, it was all because of the greed of the Li family. A few days ago, the sister-in-law of Empress Dowager Li came to the palace and talked with Empress Dowager Li for a long time, talking about the matter of changing the fiefdom.

The Li family was making plans, thinking of giving Jiang Shaohua a new fiefdom and letting a member of the Li family serve as the prefect of Nanyang County.

He was clearly trying to pick peaches, but he didn't even look at how powerful the princess was. If he provoked the Nanyang army to rebel, the imperial court would be attacked from all sides, how could it withstand it?
Lan Xiang naturally did not dare to say these words out loud, and only gently comforted Empress Dowager Li: "The affairs of the court are for the Emperor and his ministers to worry about. Your Majesty, eat well, drink well and take good care of your body. You don't need to worry about these things."

Empress Dowager Li said angrily: "What do you mean by worrying about other people's affairs? The country of Daliang belongs to the emperor, and I am his mother. It is only natural for me to worry about him."

That would require the Emperor's approval and the Empress Dowager's permission. Lanxiang knelt down to apologize and slapped herself in the face.

Empress Dowager Li was still angry and asked Lanxiang to kneel outside the door. She angrily smashed two sets of tea bowls.

……

There is no impenetrable wall in the palace. The news in Ning'an Palace reached the ears of Empress Dowager Zheng in just half a day.

Empress Dowager Zheng sneered and said to her confidant, Eunuch Zhao, "This Li family is really greedy and wants to extend their hands to Nanyang County. I have never thought of this. Even if we want to change the fiefdom, it is not the turn of the Li family to be the governor of Nanyang County."

Eunuch Zhao had served the Grand Empress Dowager Zheng for more than ten years and was very familiar with her master's temperament. He knew something was wrong when he heard it and said with a smile, "Nanyang County was passed down to the princess by the King of Nanyang. The princess has made the vassal state prosperous and has sent generous tributes to the Jingyang Palace every year. She has also donated a large amount of military rations to the court, and her contributions are outstanding."

"The court should reward the princess generously. There is no reason to change the fiefdom at will. Not to mention that the emperor would not agree, even the officials in the court would not agree."

The court is barely stable now, so let's stop making trouble!

If the princess gets angry and turns hostile, who will clean up the mess?
Empress Dowager Zheng listened to Eunuch Zhao's gentle persuasion and thought for a moment before saying, "This is really not an option. There is no reason to do things this way."

"The Empress Dowager is wise!" Eunuch Zhao immediately laughed and said, "This kind of thing has never happened in the past dynasties. If it is recorded in the history books of Daliang, it will be ridiculed by future generations."

Empress Dowager Zheng nodded and ordered, "Send my oral order to the Li family, saying that the Queen Mother is not feeling well and needs to rest in the palace. The women of the Li family are not allowed to enter the palace to disturb the Queen Mother before the New Year."

This was a warning to the Li family to withdraw their hand.

Eunuch Zhao quickly responded respectfully.

……

Jiang Shaohua returned to Jingyang Palace after dark.

Eunuch Zhao was not the kind of person who would do good deeds without leaving his name, so he whispered something to the princess when he greeted her.

Jiang Shaohua's eyes flashed coldly, and he smiled at Eunuch Zhao and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Zhao, for your kind words. The harvest in Nanyang County is good this year. I'll have someone prepare some local offerings and send them to Eunuch Zhao's mansion."

Eunuch Zhao was notoriously greedy for money and had several private residences in the capital. Over the past five years, the generous gifts sent by Nanyang County had almost filled up his warehouse.

Eunuch Zhao couldn't wait to get closer to such a big money sponsor.

Eunuch Zhao was so happy that his face was beaming with joy: "My lord, you are so generous. I thank you very much."

Jiang Shaohua pretended to know nothing, and after dealing with Empress Dowager Zheng, he returned to his bedroom. After closing the door, his face darkened.

"Prepare your pen and ink. This county lord is writing a letter!" (End of this chapter)