After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 76: An imperial decree summons the Jia family girl to the palace
At night, around three o'clock in the morning.

With the help of several lights lit in the Qianqing Palace, Empress Zhang looked at the man sleeping beside her.

He was much taller than her husband, with a muscular body. She was shocked when she first saw him, but after looking at him carefully and touching him, she felt... it was really good.

She also looks different from her husband, Emperor Yongning, with a tough appearance, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes.

Empress Zhang looked at him again. Because he held her in his arms, she could trace her fingertips across his chest. She couldn't help but mutter, "You truly have bones of steel... Who in the world could withstand such torment from you?"

She thought of Qinghe. The poor princess had not yet married and was weaker than her. She was usually gentle and well-behaved, but she didn't know how he would torment her on her wedding night.

Empress Zhang looked at his throat again. He had such a strong body. No wonder he dared to sleep with her without worry after ordering her to serve him in bed, and really be the queen for a night.

What she had been worrying about for the past few days had now happened, and it was more humiliating than she had imagined, but in a different way.

The humiliation was real, and when she took off her armor she almost wanted to commit suicide by banging her head against the wall.

But he was not a heartless man. After she took off her armor, he personally carried her to the bed and taught her how to be a woman.

She was originally the queen, but she just experienced what it was like to be a favored concubine.

"Never mind... I'm just someone who cherishes my life, not a chaste and heroic woman."

Empress Zhang laughed at herself in her heart, closed her eyes, and slowly fell asleep in his arms.

Day two.

When Chu Yan got up, he woke up the Queen who was sleeping beside him.

She propped herself up. The phoenix crown had fallen off last night. Her long black hair was very messy, and she looked extremely charming.

"The Queen is awake too?" Chu Yan sat down and rubbed her smooth, fair face.

"How was my service to Your Majesty last night?" Empress Zhang asked with her head lowered.

Chu Yan was a little surprised. He looked at her twice and said with a smile, "I'm not very satisfied!"

Empress Zhang looked up and glared at him angrily. Was he trying to torture her to death because he was not satisfied?
She pretended not to hear and said directly: "Since I have served Your Majesty to your satisfaction, I would like to ask Your Majesty for a favor."

"Tell me."

"Princess Qinghe is already betrothed to the son of Marquis Anyuan. Her body is far more delicate than mine, and she cannot withstand your majesty's favor. I hope your majesty will show mercy and allow her to leave the palace and marry."

Chu Yan asked: "What do you want to say?"

The queen must have known that he would not let the princess leave the palace.

Empress Zhang knelt on the bed and kowtowed respectfully, "I cannot hide my thoughts from Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to show some mercy to Qinghe. A delicate flower cannot withstand the violent wind and rain... Last night, I almost broke my waist."

Chu Yan laughed dumbly. "The Queen has deeply absorbed the essence of Concubine Zhou. I promise you this. I will make Qinghe a consort. In addition, the few little princesses will be handed over to you for education. The rest of the princes will be sent out of the palace and ordered to be guarded by Prince Zhongshun."

"I have one more thing to ask, Your Majesty, to allow me to move out of Kunning Palace!"

"Don't worry, there's still plenty of room in the harem. I'm going to court now."

Chu Yan rubbed her, stood up and walked out, still taking a bath before going to court.

The court meeting on the second day after he ascended the throne was not grand. About thirty people went to Linjing Hall to discuss matters.

Chu Yan said, "Have you drafted the imperial edict to announce it to the world?"

Minister of Rites Xie Defu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites has already drafted the document!"

Chu Yan gestured for him to read it out loud.

The content of the edict is 70% similar to yesterday's prayer to heaven. It still promotes the legitimacy of Daqian, and mentions that Chu Yan conferred the former emperor and the retired emperor of the Shun Dynasty as Duke Anle and Duke Chongle, moved the spirit of Shun Taizu into the Imperial Temple, and the fact that the Shun Dynasty clan members submitted a congratulatory letter.

The name of the country Daqian and the reign title were also written in the edict, telling the people of the world that the reign title was no longer Yongning, but was changed to Guangqi, and now it was Guangqi April.

The Song and Ming dynasties were both founded in the first month of the lunar calendar, so it was natural to change the reign title. Fortunately, the Tang Dynasty was founded in June, and following Li Yuan's example, the reign title of the previous dynasty was directly abolished, and the new reign title was started from the first month of the lunar calendar.

After listening to it, all the ministers discussed it, slightly changed a few words, and then decided on the final content of the edict.

Chu Yan said, "Please send me a copy of the imperial edict. I will seal it and announce it to the world. Prime Ministers, have you chosen someone to be the messenger to read the imperial edict to the border troops?"

The person who negotiates with the border troops must be chosen carefully, otherwise he might end up being another Wu Sangui.

Chu Yan was not afraid of fighting again, but it would be best if he could successfully persuade the enemy to surrender.

After another discussion, the list of envoys was decided.

"Is there anything else you want to discuss?" Chu Yan asked.

When the Xin Dynasty was established, many things needed to be done and many rules and regulations were not perfect. However, there was no time to rush. People had to be given time to adapt. All changes could not be made at once, otherwise it would be too big a step and he would become like Wang Mang again.

"Your Majesty, please establish three ministries, or a cabinet."

Chu Ming began to speak. The left and right prime ministers and the generals were all nominal positions, relying on their previous prestige in Prince Qian's mansion and Chu Yan's trust to hold real power.

"Three provinces?"

Chu Yan began to think.

This world has many similarities and differences with the Chinese history he is familiar with. In this world, Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty also abolished the prime minister and the three-province and six-department system, and later dynasties all used the cabinet system.

For example, the Shun Dynasty had the Grand Council, which was originally a military institution. Later, all state affairs came from the Grand Council, and it also became the cabinet.

"We'll discuss this later."

Chu Yan needs to consider opinions from all parties. Even if he makes a rough decision about the cabinet, the list of members must also be considered.

He then said, "First, appoint a fifth-rank Zhongshu Sheren to draft imperial edicts and imperial decrees."

After spending the whole morning dealing with government affairs, Chu Yan finally had half a day free in the afternoon.

As for the emperor, a busy person can review memorials all day long and take care of every detail, while an idle person can eat, drink and have fun every day. The country can still function normally. As long as the country has not been destroyed, he is not a king who has destroyed the country.

Chu Yan is somewhere in between.

He used to do everything himself, big and small, but after the team was established, he only needed to focus on the big things.

Glancing at Xia Shouzhong, Chu Yan called him and said, "Accompany me to walk around the Linjing Palace. I haven't been here for a few days. Can you introduce it to me?"

The Linjing Hall is quite large. It was where several emperors of the Shun Dynasty summoned their ministers, lived, and handled state affairs. They rarely lived in the Qianqing Palace.

Most ancient emperors were like this. Not only did they not live in the Qianqing Palace, they also did not like to live in the palace.

For example, the emperors of the Tang Dynasty, Gaozong lived in the Daming Palace, and Xuanzong lived in the Xingqing Palace when he was a prince.

After he entered the palace, he felt that Emperor Yongning had just lived in the back hall of Linjing Palace, so he asked the eunuchs to clean it. He lived in the warm room next to it for the past few days.

Xia Shouzhong smiled and said quickly:

"Being able to explain this to Your Majesty is a blessing earned in ten lifetimes! Your Majesty, where would you like to start? To the east and west are the side halls and surrounding buildings."

"Go east first."

Chu Yandao said that Xia Shouzhong was busy leading the way in front, and there were about ten eunuchs and palace maids accompanying him.

Chu Yan took a rough look around and found that the Linjing Hall could be divided into three parts. The front part was the residences of the palace maids and eunuchs, the kitchen, the storehouse, etc. The middle part was the main hall, and the back part was the living area, which was not much different from a courtyard house.

There are five rooms in the rear hall, with beds on the east and west sides for the emperor to live in. There are also five side rooms on both sides of the rear hall. The east side is exclusively for the queen, and the right side is for the imperial concubine.

On both sides of the main hall were side halls, with a Taoist temple and a Buddhist hall. Chu Yan ordered Xia Shouzhong to clear them out.

There is an enclosure behind the side hall, which is where concubines usually live after serving the emperor.

After reading it, Chu Yan finally understood that after the emperor summoned his concubines to sleep with him, he would ask them to go back to sleep.

"This place is nice. I'll stay at the Linjing Palace tonight!"

Chu Yan nodded and said.

Compared to the grand and majestic Qianqing Palace, the area behind the Linjing Hall is more like a place where people live. It is small and elegant, and has a back door leading directly to the harem.

Of course, since it leads directly to the emperor's room, the back door can only be used with the emperor's order and is usually closed.

Xia Shouzhong smiled and said, "Your Majesty, will you summon the concubines tonight? I will send someone to convey your order so that the concubines who will be sleeping with you can bathe and change clothes."

Chu Yan smiled and asked, "How did the Emperor of Shun Dynasty summon someone to sleep with him?"

"Emperor Shun Taizu established the rules for sleeping with concubines in the harem, but since Emperor Shun Taizong, the emperor has been able to summon concubines at will. There was once a concubine who was favored by the harem for three years, and only stopped after being repeatedly admonished by the ministers."

Chu Yan nodded, not knowing who to invite tonight.

Xia Shouzhong took the opportunity to say, "Your Majesty, Miss Xue of the Jia family sent someone to deliver a letter yesterday, but I haven't presented it to Your Majesty yet."

"Oh? Bring it here."

Chu Yan opened the letter and read it. It turned out to be a letter written by Xue Baoqin and signed by Baochai and Daiyu, congratulating him on becoming emperor.

"Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Xue Baoqin..."

Looking at the elegant and timeless handwriting of the three people on the letter, Chu Yan thought of Lingguan.

However, he did not plan to summon her and Baochai first. He had already decided on other candidates.

"Oral order: summon the second daughter of the Jia family and Miss Yun of the Shi family to the palace at 9:00 PM tomorrow!"

"The slave obeys the order!"

(End of this chapter)