Tyrant, your vest fell off

Chapter 369 – Clouds are clear like rain, water is thin and smoke is born
Except for going to court, she stayed at home in the pagoda almost every day, chanting scriptures and Buddha, copying the mantra of rebirth, and the Diamond Sutra, but she still felt that she could not wash away the sins all over her body.

It was already midnight in the Prince Regent's mansion, and tonight was bound to be an uneasy Mid-Autumn Festival night, just now when a wave of incoming assassins had been killed, the sharp sword in Sikong Que's hand was still dripping with blood.

At this time, he was leaning on the railing, staring at the towering Futu Pagoda in the vermilion palace wall not far away.

The light on the top of the pagoda has not been extinguished, and he has already developed a habit during this period of time. He will rest after the candle on the top of the pagoda goes out, deceiving himself as if he can fall into a dream with her in this way.

"Master, there are three more hours to go to court to discuss state affairs, you'd better rest earlier."

Feng Zhan followed the direction of Sikong Que's eyes, looked at the dazzling candlelight on the top of the Buddha Pagoda, and secretly thought that tonight might be another sleepless night
There were hardly any disturbances in the imperial court today, except for the small-scale harassment that broke out in the north of Dayan because of Huyan Wuji's death, the Prime Minister Mu Feng proposed two new policies that benefited the country and the people.

To Sikong Que's surprise, Li Qingmei, the Holy Mother and Empress Dowager sitting behind the bead curtain, unexpectedly spoke up to support Mu Feng's proposal for the New Deal.

You must know that during this period of time, although she listened to politics behind a curtain, she never expressed any political opinions.

There was a faint smile on the corner of Sikong Que's mouth, so he stood up leisurely, and was the first to stand up to express support for the content of the new policy. At the same time, he put the responsibility on the specific officials in charge, and strictly ordered all ministries to have the absolute right to speak Officials defended the New Deal.

But two days later, the prime minister, Mu Feng, once again put forward a new system for the selection of officials through the imperial examination.

This new policy was like a pot of scalding boiling water, splashed on the sensitive nerves of the gentry and ministers, and immediately aroused fierce opposition from most courtiers, including Si Kongque.

Just as the dispute between the two sides intensified, and there was a faint moment of crisis, Li Qingmei's light cough sounded again after the bead curtain that had not made any sound for a long time.

"The Ai family thinks that this new policy is feasible. Although the gentry ministers are devoting themselves to selecting and recommending available talents with real talents and practical learning for the imperial court, the world is so big and there are so many talents. After all, your energy is really limited. If you miss out on good talents for governing the country because of this, how can you Not a pity?"

"Empress Dowager, we are able to contribute a little bit to the country and society of the empire, and we will die without regret. It is our duty to select talents."

"If the imperial examination system is implemented, it doesn't matter whether there are good or bad talents. This new policy seems to be feasible, but in real implementation, it will take a lot of labor from the local government to the central government, and it will take a long time to adapt."

Pei Ruoqing, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, began to speak eloquently about the disadvantages of the New Deal. He said between the lines how the New Deal wasted money on the people and how it mobilized the people. In his mouth, the New Deal for the selection of talents was belittled and worthless.

"Prince Regent, what do you think?"

Li Qingmei threw the hot potato to Sikong Que. Hearing this, Sikong Que raised his eyes to look at Li Qingmei who was dressed up behind the curtain. She was gently stroking a slanted sapphire hairpin on her temples.

He followed her movements, and after seeing the pattern on the hairpin, he suddenly smiled helplessly and shook his head again and again, that's all, since it's what she wants to do, even if it's picking the stars and the moon, he will do whatever it takes price to fulfill her wish.

So he withdrew his gaze, with a stern expression on his face, and glanced at Pei Ruoqing who was still chattering without anger and prestige, and the latter hurriedly silenced under the signal of his eyes.

"Gu Wang thinks this decree is very good, but if the recommendation system is abolished immediately, there may be something wrong. The new system is not yet mature, and no one knows what kind of situation or loopholes will appear. Gu Wang suggests that the new mechanism should be completely mature. , before it becomes effective, the two selection systems can be parallelized, and when the time is ripe, the old system will be gradually abandoned."

"The selection of talents for the empire is a big matter, and it is related to the ancestral temple of the empire, so the new policy of selecting talents will be more laborious for those who are capable, and we will work together with Mu Cheng to implement the new policy."

"Follow the Queen Mother's order."

"Follow the Queen Mother's order."

The two old and new systems are running side by side. Although the gentry and officials are still unwilling to see the success, under the pressure of Sikong Que, they can only hold back their flags and drums.

And after Sikong Que caught the hot potato thrown by Li Qingmei, he darted back and forth on Prime Minister Mu Feng's face with sharp eyes, hoping to see some clues.

Li Qingmei and Mu Feng seem to have reached a certain consensus on the new policy, so the two of them will sing and cooperate with each other. He is a little annoyed. If she has any ideas about the imperial power, she can directly discuss it with him. Why should she find someone else? man?
So in the second half of the early court, the courtiers found that the regent's temper was particularly irritable today. Several officials were impeached for crimes that should not have been fatal, but the regent killed them all with the excuse of killing others.

The frighteningly cold and low pressure inside the Yizheng Hall made all the courtiers tremble uncontrollably.

It wasn't until the Empress Dowager Li Qingmei behind the curtain couldn't bear Sikong Que's chilling coldness, hurriedly ended today's political discussion, and retreated first, that the courtiers fled away in a hurry.

"The regent stays!"

But seeing Li Qingmei's Kunlun Gong'e Yinqiao standing in front of Sikong Que, she was blessed and immediately began to convey the Queen Mother's will.

"Prince Regent, the Empress Dowager has prepared thin wine in Minser Hall, and is inviting the prince to have lunch."

"Oh? She invited me to dinner?"

Sikong Que was a little surprised, he thought he was having auditory hallucinations, but she actually invited him to lunch?
After receiving Gong'e's nod and nod repeatedly to confirm, he felt a flash of joy in his heart, but suddenly thought of something, the smile that was originally blooming immediately sank, maybe she had other plans for today's lunch.

But since she hosted the banquet in person, even if it was a Hongmen banquet, he would like to enjoy it, so he put away his sore and bitter feeling for a moment, adjusted his court clothes, and followed Gong'e towards Mingse Hall.

Under the guidance of Gong'e, he quickly arrived at the front hall of Minser Hall. She had already taken her seat. Taking a peek at her, he found that she was wearing a peach-pink elegant palace attire, which was rare today, and she even wore a light pink. , and the topknot is not too cumbersome, it is still the green plum hairpin that he personally made for her back then.

The more abnormal she behaved, the heavier and disappointed Sikong Que felt. She was very smart and knew how to use her position in his heart to take advantage of her step by step to achieve what she wanted.

"Come on, sit down."

The tone was serene, as if his wife was waiting for her husband to return home, but Sikong Que felt that the voice was like a sharp blade, stabbing his heart.

"eat first!"

She brought a bowl of steaming white rice in front of Sikong Que, and immediately held up her chopsticks to serve him dishes.

He glanced at the rich dishes on the table and immediately recognized that she had cooked them herself.

Toon scrambled eggs, shiitake mushrooms and cabbage, braised pork, fried liver, honey sauce chicken wings, Tai Chi soup.They are all his favorite dishes, so she still remembers them.

Inadvertently, he smiled knowingly, so he picked up the bowl of sharp rice and began to feast on it.

The two of them had a tacit understanding and did not speak. During the period, Si Kongque also started to serve Li Qingmei with food, and she did not refuse his kindness.

Sikong Que ate this meal very slowly, chewing slowly, carefully feeling the familiar taste pervading between his lips and teeth.

(End of this chapter)