Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 121: The Queen is deposed, and the concubines in the harem fight for the title! The Queen Mother: I have fallen into the trap of the fake emperor again

Yonghe Palace.

Sun Zhenzhen was wearing an elegant and noble purple dress, her long black hair reached her waist and was bound by a slender hairpin. She had a luxurious aura and exquisite facial features.

"Your Majesty~" When she saw Zhu Qizhen coming in, she threw herself at him.

Zhu Qizhen put his arm around her waist, held her in his arms, and smiled: "My beloved, why are you so thin?"

Sun Zhenzhen leaned in his arms, her eyes full of tenderness and affection: "Your Majesty, if you don't come to see me, I will think about you day and night, and naturally I will lose weight."

She was different from Zhang Jingshu, she was charming and passionate, and bold enough to say anything. Zhu Qizhen picked her up and walked towards the soft couch. He decided to express his feelings with practical actions.

Sometimes, no matter how many words you use, they are pale...powerless!

After all the ups and downs, he was really tired. He had been busy with government affairs during the day and traveling back and forth between Changchun Palace and Yonghe Palace at night, and was overworked.

Sun Zhenzhen sensed his fatigue, sat up, stretched out her hands to place his head on her legs, and gently massaged him: "Your Majesty, government affairs are busy, but you must also pay attention to rest. Your health is important."

Zhu Qizhen lay comfortably, smelling the intoxicating fragrance, and said with his eyes closed: "It's time to rest. After this busy period is over, I will take you out of the palace to enjoy the spring."

"Okay." Sun Zhenzhen's eyes moved slightly, and she was looking forward to it. She came from her hometown in Shandong and went directly to the capital. In fact, she didn't go anywhere but entered the deep palace.

Zhu Qizhen opened his eyes and touched his stomach: "I'm suddenly a little hungry."

"Wait."

Sun Zhenzhen slowly stood up, her long legs lightly placed on the precious plush carpet, and then she casually put on a red tulle dress. Her figure was looming under the tulle. She walked gracefully out of the palace and told the palace maids to prepare food.

After a while, the food was served.

Sun Zhenzhen fed him with her own hands, and Zhu Qizhen enjoyed it. It was completely different with Sun Zhenzhen and with Zhang Jingshu. He sighed in his heart, and he didn't know how long the harmony in front of him could last.

After all, "The Legend of Zhen Huan" is the correct way to open the harem.

……

The Imperial Garden is already so full of spring beauty that it cannot be contained.

The willow branches sway gently in the breeze, like a girl's hair. Peach, apricot and cherry blossoms bloom, emitting fragrance that attracts bees and butterflies to dance among the flowers.

On the lawn, tender green grass poked its head out, like a soft carpet covering the ground. Occasionally, there were a few wild flowers dotted among them, which were inconspicuous but bloomed vigorously.

In the distance, beside the rockery, a spring gurgles, the sound of water is crisp and pleasant, adding a bit of spirit to this imperial garden. On the water, a few fallen petals float leisurely, with a bit of poetry.

The Queen and Concubine Zhou walked side by side on the lawn. They were both mature women, more beautiful than flowers. Concubine Zhou took the Queen's arm and sighed, "Since the two new concubines entered the palace, His Majesty has been staying in their palaces. We sisters have been neglected."

"When the wedding is over, mandarin ducks do not sleep alone. We only see the smiles of the new couple and never hear the cries of the old couple." The queen's tone was very calm, "Sister, you have to be open-minded. That is the fate of women in the palace."

Concubine Zhou frowned and said, "I am worried about you, sister. I am afraid... they are aiming for the position of Queen. One is the granddaughter of the British prince, and the other is the niece of the Queen Mother. Haha, we cannot compare in status."

A trace of sadness appeared on the queen's beautiful face: "I have let it go a long time ago. As a queen, I have no children. Sooner or later, I will lose my position as queen."

When Concubine Zhou heard this, her expression changed drastically.

Wouldn't that mean that one of the two women, Zhang Jingshu and Sun Zhenzhen, would be the queen? Why? I am the imperial concubine and I gave birth to the eldest son.

Why can't I be the queen?
……

Outside the capital.

Zhu Qizhen went incognito with Yang Guifang on horseback, walking slowly along a river. It was sunny and spring was in its prime. Zhu Qizhen breathed in the fresh air and felt much more relaxed.

"I just told you about the Biography of Traitors. Go back and think about it carefully." Zhu Qizhen said, "You need to spread this book in Jiangnan. It would be best if storytellers spread it everywhere."

Yang Guifang spread his hands and smiled, "Your Majesty, you are cutting off the source of the trouble, exposing the shameful and selfish side of the so-called gentry. In this way, it will not be so easy for those gentry to deceive the people again."

Zhu Qizhen dismounted and walked by the river, feeling the breeze. At this moment, his mind was very clear, and he said, "I have another idea. In the past, it was difficult to collect taxes from the gentry. One of the reasons was that the tax collectors were all locals. Even if we mobilized the soldiers from the local yamen, they were also locals, so it was difficult to deal with them."

"Are we going to transfer troops from other places?" Yang Guifang asked.

"No matter where we mobilize troops from, they will be for the gentry, because their leaders represent the gentry." Zhu Qizhen sighed, "No wonder Emperor Taizu failed to completely solve the gentry problem."

Yang Guifang was curious and asked, "Your Majesty, what is your solution?"

Zhu Qizhen frowned and said, "Didn't many Mongols surrender to us? Some of them helped us fight. Since the Three Guards of Duoyan during the reign of Emperor Taizong, there have always been Mongols in the Ming army. Therefore, I plan to recruit some Mongols as officials and let them take a group of Mongolian soldiers to Jiangnan to assist Xu Youzhen."

Yang Guifang was shocked and scared.

If a group of Mongols went to Jiangnan, they would only obey the orders of the court and would not care about the gentry at all.

"This... is a bit vicious." He held his forehead with his hand.

"Let's go find Yu Qian." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand.

……

This day, early morning court.

Zhu Qizhen was still thinking about how to continue delaying the issue of establishing a crown prince proposed by the ministers. He already had several reasons in his mind, and delaying it for half a year would not be a problem.

But what he didn't expect was that some ministers actually stood up to oppose the appointment of a crown prince at this time. The reasons for the opposition were also very sufficient. First, His Majesty was still young and vigorous; second, the princes were still young and His Majesty had no legitimate son, so all the princes should have a chance and the most virtuous should be chosen to be the crown prince.

Many ministers opposed the idea and gave various reasons. They argued with the ministers who advocated the immediate appointment of a crown prince in the court, and spit flew everywhere.

Zhu Qizhen was secretly pleased and announced that he would withdraw from the court and discuss the issue of appointing a crown prince later. After returning to the Qianqing Palace, he immediately summoned Shi Biao, the commander of the Jinyiwei.

"You know what happened in the court today, right?" Zhu Qizhen frowned. "What happened?"

Shi Biao pondered for a moment and bowed, "Your Majesty, it should be the King of Qing who is behind this. Almost all of the ministers who stood out against this have connections with the King of Qing."

Zhu Qizhen narrowed his eyes, as if thinking about something.

At present, the court is roughly divided into three factions. One of them is of course the one that supports him as the emperor. The other two are the Queen Mother Party and the Prince of Qin Party. These two factions are somewhat complicated, and you are part of me and I am part of you.

The Prince of Qing's party was originally the weakest, but after the Queen Mother stopped ruling the country, she supported the Prince of Qing. Zhu Qizhen guessed that the Queen Mother and the Prince of Qing must have reached some kind of agreement.

So the people who supported the Queen Mother before turned to support King Qing. However, these people finally supported the Queen Mother. However, King Qing conquered some of them through his own means, and these people only recognized King Qing.

"Haha, Prince Qing is against establishing a crown prince." Zhu Qizhen sneered, "My brother has big plans."

Shi Biao clasped his fists and bowed: "Your Majesty, if you give the order, I will surround the Prince of Qing's palace."

Zhu Qizhen glanced at him and said, "Use your brain more. If things were so simple, wouldn't it be over if I just sent troops to kill them randomly?"

Shi Biao looked puzzled: "Isn't it?"

"Get lost!" Zhu Qizhen was speechless. "You should read more books and stop learning from your vulgar uncle Shi Heng."

Shi Biao rolled away quickly.

……

Zhu Qizhen sat down to review memorials. After a while, the chief minister of the cabinet, Wang Zhi, asked for a meeting.

"Lord Wang, are you feeling well lately?" Zhu Qizhen stood up to greet him and asked Cao Jixiang to bring a chair to Wang Zhi.

The gray-haired Wang Zhi was in good spirits, holding a memorial and about to report. Zhu Qizhen interrupted him and said, "If it is still about the appointment of a crown prince, I will not discuss it."

"It's about the selection of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue." Wang Zhi bowed and said, "Xu Youzhen has been demoted, so the Ministry of Revenue should choose a new minister, right?" Zhu Qizhen took the memorial and opened it to read.

The nominee for the Minister of Revenue was Chen Xun, who was the Empress Dowager's man and already a Grand Secretary in the Cabinet.

"Your Majesty, now is the time to recruit people. Chen Xun was in charge of the Ministry of Transfers ten years before the Zhengtong period. He is the most suitable person." Wang Zhi continued, "Now that the government and the people are promoting new policies, the Ministry of Transfers needs someone to keep things under control."

"Uh, where is Shang Lu?" Zhu Qizhen asked.

He would rather choose Shang Lu, who has a straightforward temper but will not rely on the Queen Mother for everything.

Wang Zhi looked strange and said with a smile: "Shang Lu was cheated by an old woman when he went to buy vegetables. How could he calculate? The Minister of Revenue must be able to calculate. Chen Xun's calculation ability is even better than Xu Youzhen's."

Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "Okay, if you don't embarrass me, I won't embarrass you. The Minister of Finance is Chen Xun, you can ask him to come over later, I have something to tell you."

Wang Zhi understood the emperor's first half of the sentence, which was to ask him not to bring up the issue of 'appointing a crown prince'. He bowed respectfully and left the hall.

Zhu Qizhen looked at his back, feeling somewhat puzzled. Was this old man's recent succession of actions due to the Queen Mother's intention? However, this old man would not be confused about major issues, and he could still be trusted.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Wang Zhi came back again.

Zhu Qizhen was very upset: "Lord, please slow down. If you fall to death in my palace, I will have no place to complain."

Wang Zhi ran forward, bowed, and said in a low voice with a gossipy expression on his face, "Your Majesty, this old minister still has to remind you that since you have decided not to appoint a crown prince for the time being, some ministers are already discussing asking your Majesty to depose the queen. Because the queen has not given birth to any children, they want your Majesty to appoint a new queen. In this way, won't you have a legitimate son?"

"Ah, this..." Zhu Qizhen held his forehead with his hand.

"I'm going to take my leave now." Wang Zhi turned around and left.

……

Kunning Palace.

Defei Sun Zhenzhen came to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager. She was the Empress Dowager's niece and of course she was loved by her.

"Recently, there are rumors in the court and the public that the ministers are going to petition Your Majesty to depose the Queen." The Queen Mother looked coldly, "If that is the case, I will support you as the new Queen."

Sun Zhenzhen was shocked and looked doubtful: "But... His Majesty likes Sister Xianfei more. He won't agree."

"Humph, as long as I am still here, I have the final say on matters like choosing a concubine and establishing a queen." The Queen Mother said coldly, "Listen to me carefully. I will fight for you, but you have to fight too!"

"Yes!" Sun Zhenzhen nodded. She was a little afraid of the Queen Mother.

At this time, Zhu Qizhen came in and bowed to the empress dowager: "Greetings to the queen mother. My mother, you look much better. Standing together with Concubine De, you look like a pair of sisters."

The Queen Mother glanced at him with a cold gaze: "Slippery tongue, you are the Son of Heaven, don't act like a scoundrel."

Zhu Qizhen shrugged. Sun Zhenzhen came to him, took his arm, and said softly, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is right. You will come to Kunning Palace for dinner. The Queen Mother has asked Shuangxi to prepare your favorite dishes."

"Are you here to eat for free too?" Zhu Qizhen reached out and pinched her cheek.

"Wherever your majesty goes, I will follow." Sun Zhenzhen blinked, her bright peach blossom eyes were clean and clear, and she seemed to have no scheming in her heart.

The Queen Mother glanced at them, her eyes drooped slightly, and a hint of sadness flashed across them. She recalled the days when she had just married into the palace, and how she and Zhu Zhanji, who was then the Crown Prince, had been in love.

"I heard that you want to depose the queen?" the queen mother asked coldly.

Zhu Qizhen pretended to be innocent and spread his hands: "I didn't. Although the queen has no children, she is very loyal to me."

The Queen Mother sighed softly: "The key is this! Let's see if you can withstand the pressure from the ministers."

"They want to interfere in my family affairs?" Zhu Qizhen snorted.

The Queen Mother's voice suddenly rose, majestic and cold: "The Emperor has no family affairs!"

……

Wang Zhi did not raise the issue of appointing a crown prince. The ministers did not formally raise the issue of deposing the queen, but Shi Biao reported that the ministers were indeed in contact and preparing to submit a memorial.

Zhu Qizhen was temporarily relieved, and his mind was still on the implementation of the new policy in Jiangnan. The four-member team in Jiangnan had been sending memorials, and the progress of the new policy implementation had hardly been passed down, but only from the governor's office to the various provincial governors' offices and prefectural offices. However, the people below were delaying.

"There are countermeasures for every policy." Zhu Qizhen snorted, "If we really push it this way, it will take several years to implement it."

Yang Guifang, who was standing by, finished reading the memorial and said, "I don't think Xu Youzhen is in a hurry. He should have a plan in mind. However, he is still observing. That's why he said in the memorial that he would use some unorthodox methods. There will definitely be a lot of memorials impeaching him. Your Majesty, you need to be prepared."

"Please help me write back to him and let him do it without any worries." Zhu Qizhen slammed the table and said, "I will support him from behind."

Yang Guifang pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the four of them are still weak. Regarding the matter of "Bi Chen Zhuan", I have found a suitable partner in Jiangnan. They will publish it and distribute it with all their strength. Your Majesty, you mentioned last time to recruit a group of Mongolians and let them go to Jiangnan. I think it should be done as soon as possible."

"Yu Qian is already transferring people, so it will take some time." Zhu Qizhen said.

"Then I will go and write them a reply first." Yang Guifang bowed.

……

Prince Qing's Palace.

Zhu Qiyu took a stack of letters and handed them to military advisor Tung Xingdao, smiling: "They are all sent from Jiangnan. Xu Youzhen and his men can hardly move an inch in Jiangnan, and the new policy can't be implemented at all. I think that in two months, I will let the officials in Jiangnan submit a memorial together, saying that the new policy is not feasible at all."

Tung Xingdao read through the letters carefully, then took a sip from his teacup and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, you have to write to them and tell them not to be careless. Xu Youzhen has some tricks up his sleeve. He is holding back now, probably because he is observing. Your Highness, don't forget that when he was collecting disaster relief funds in Yangzhou, he arranged for the victims to enter the city. Later, the salt merchants and wealthy families had to donate money to calm the situation."

"Sir, your reminder is correct." Zhu Qiyu nodded, "I will reply later."

Tung Xingdao smiled: "However, the overall situation in Jiangnan is in our hands. If we leave Xu Youzhen alone, he won't be able to cause any big trouble. The officialdom in Jiangnan is enough for him to deal with, not to mention Shen Yihan."

"Sir, Shen Yihuan's son Shen Manqing is also with Xu Youzhen. He should be used to target Shen Yihuan, right?" Zhu Qiyu frowned, "Your Majesty is really vicious. He uses his son to deal with me."

Tung Xingdao shook his head nonchalantly: "A big family like the Shen family has no shortage of sons. Haha, the family is big, there are many people born, and it is normal for a few people to die. Shen Yihuan's son can also die. If his death is valuable to the Shen family, Shen Yihuan will not hesitate."

Zhu Qiyu listened and snorted, "How can he be worthy of being like us royal family?"

……

The night is hazy and the moonlight is as bright as a silk thread.

Zhu Qizhen had a meal at Changchun Palace today, all prepared by Zhang Jingshu. After the meal, he stood by the window and admired the moon leisurely.

After taking a bath, Zhang Jingshu walked in slowly in a light long dress. She bowed slightly, her delicate white ankles lightly stepped on the soft blanket, and her long black hair fell casually like a waterfall, unable to hide her stunning figure.

She approached Zhu Qizhen, her tall figure almost level with his chin. She raised her head slightly, staring at him deeply with her dreamy eyes, and a touch of charm appeared on her delicate and beautiful face.

"Your Majesty~" She opened her red lips and slowly wrapped her fair arms around his neck, her breath as sweet as orchids, her voice soft and charming, "I am willing to give birth to a dragon son for Your Majesty."

"Good." Zhu Qizhen hugged her waist tightly and said with a smile, "In this way, I will have hope of having a legitimate son."

Zhang Jingshu blushed slightly and blinked her eyes: "I have not yet been crowned as the queen. There are many concubines in your majesty's harem who want to compete for the position of queen. As for the queen mother, I think she will support Concubine De, after all, Concubine De is her niece."

"It's indeed a bit tricky." Zhu Qizhen pinched her cheek lightly, with a hint of helplessness in his words.

Zhang Jingshu was about to speak, but he suddenly blocked her lips. She opened her beautiful eyes slightly, dazed for a moment, then hugged Zhu Qizhen's neck tightly and responded enthusiastically.

"Whoever gives birth to a prince first will have a better chance." Zhu Qizhen blinked, "So, let's work harder."

He picked up Zhang Jingshu and carried her horizontally, walking towards the inner hall at the back.

After a while, two figures were looming on the couch in the inner hall, leaning against each other. After a phoenix cry, Zhang Jingshu fell into Zhu Qizhen's arms, like a blooming flower, delicate and beautiful.

(End of this chapter)