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At the New Year's Eve palace banquet, the Emperor and Empress Dowager Zhuang fled together, leaving Empress Xiao and the Crown Prince in charge of the overall situation. They invited Princess Xinyang and other imperial relatives to celebrate the victory in the border war and welcome the new year.
This was truly an unprecedented situation.
The Emperor entered the courtyard without any psychological pressure. Wherever his imperial mother was, that was where he stayed!
Eunuch Wei looked at his own Emperor with mixed feelings.
Ever since His Majesty believed that he had taken the antidote, His Majesty had embarked on a path of self-indulgence. Should he remind His Majesty that what he had consumed was just a hair growth pill?
"Imperial mother! Zhen is here!"
The Emperor immediately incarnated into Empress Dowager Zhuang's little tail.
Eunuch Wei covered his eyes, damn it! Can't bear to watch this!
Gu Jiao originally intended to enter the palace to pay respects to Grandaunt, but since Grandaunt herself had arrived, there was no need to go to that trouble. contemporary romance
Gu Jiao and Grandaunt entered the main room.
She hadn't observed closely before, but now accompanying Grandaunt around the house, she noticed significant changes during the three months she had been away.
The vegetable patch in the front yard had expanded, with additions of scallions and radishes. The small fish pond opposite the vegetable patch was filled in, replaced by a large fish tank.
This was suggested by Little Jing Kong. He mentioned that since there was a younger brother in the family now, he should also have his own place to play. Even though the younger brother was still very young right now, he still willingly contributed his small fish pond.
Additionally, the passage from the backyard to the neighboring courtyard was no longer just a moon gate, as the wall was completely removed. Now, the backyards of the two houses were connected, forming a larger yard.
"Granduncle bought the residence." Xiao Heng explained softly to Gu Jiao as she looked in astonishment at the connected yard.
"Isn’t it expensive?" Gu Jiao muttered.
Xiao Heng nodded, "Mm, it cost a thousand taels."
Initially, it wasn't that expensive, but ever since a new top scholar emerged from it, Bishui Alley gained the title of Top Scholar Alley, causing land and house prices to skyrocket.
Even this price of a thousand taels was already a friendly one.
Gu Jiao asked curiously, "Where did Granduncle get so much money from?"
If she remembered correctly, the salary of the Imperial Academy Chief didn't seem that high.
Xiao Heng felt the corner of his lips twitch as he said, "That... He sold an official position."
Gu Jiao: Granduncle does such things too!
Old Chief's method of selling the position was like this: first, he spread the news that he wanted to buy a house; then, unscrupulous individuals approached him, offering hefty bribes.
Old Chief directly took the gold to the Emperor's imperial study and told His Majesty with righteous indignation, "I, Huo Xian, have been upright my entire life, loyal to Your Majesty, my heart never wavering! To think they'd try to bribe me, it's simply delusional! This official swears here, even if all the civil and military officials in the court were bought off, I, your humble subject, would never be bribed!"
Old Chief's final words successfully made the Emperor ponder deeply. Since taking over governance, the Emperor had encountered many situations and suddenly understood some of Empress Dowager Zhuang's past decisions.
The Emperor and Empress Dowager Zhuang had radically different approaches to employing people. The Emperor couldn’t tolerate any flaws in his officials. He required people of upright character, such as the Old Marquis and Old Chief. Only Marquis Xuanping had a more free-spirited demeanor, but he had never really broken the law or violated ethical norms.
Empress Dowager Zhuang was more lenient and open-minded. She emphasized strengths and accommodated weaknesses. The most typical example was Tang Yueshan.
Tang Yueshan was ambitious, eager for quick success and instant glory. He also had a morally questionable relationship with his sister-in-law. He was someone the Emperor would never use.
However, after this frontier war, the Emperor suddenly felt that Tang Yueshan's strengths outweighed his faults.
The Emperor began contemplating Empress Dowager Zhuang's style of governance and realized there were many aspects worth considering.
If the water was too clear, there would be no fish.
Just like the hereditary official system passed down from ancestors; abolishing it was absolutely impossible, as it disrupted the interests of many powerful figures and scholars. But his imperial mother effortlessly solved the problem with a six-department assessment system.
Although there would still be hereditary officials, it significantly reduced their mediocre qualifications and terms in office to the greatest extent, achieving a perfect balance.
The Emperor felt that the buying and selling of official positions would always exist.
If Old Chief refused, there was no guarantee the other party wouldn't approach someone else. Instead of the position falling into an unknown official's hands, it was better to let Old Chief accept their bribes.
At least this way, he would know which officials were bought. Everything was under control. When the situation at court was completely stable, he would then round up and eliminate this group of people!
Hence, with the Emperor's permission, Old Chief openly accepted bribes and purchased the residence next to the top scholar’s residence!
Empress Dowager Zhuang and the Emperor sat down in the main room, both having much to discuss with Gu Jiao.
Old Chief discreetly went to the kitchen to make brown sugar rice cakes.
Xiao Heng intended to assist his master but was mercilessly refused by Old Chief.
Didn't he have any idea about his own cooking skills?
"Ah Heng, come help with pasting the couplets." Yao shi said with a smile.
"Okay." Xiao Heng walked out with a bucket of paste, accompanied by several young men from the family, to paste the couplets at the door.
Empress Dowager Zhuang didn't mention the matters on the battlefield. Those could be discussed after the new year. She talked about the things in Qingquan Village.
She dispatched eunuchs and guards to Qingquan Village to meet Xue Ningxiang. The rumored proposal from both Zhou Erzhuang and Dean Li to marry Xue Ningxiang had caused quite a stir far and wide.
Xue Ningxiang, a young widow, was looked down upon by the people of the countryside. There were some with ill intentions trying to target her. When Gu Jiao's family and Mother-in-law Zhou were around, those malicious individuals restrained themselves.
However, after Gu Jiao's family left, Mother-in-law Zhou passed away, and Gu Yan's two dark guards returned to the capital, Xue Ningxiang's situation became difficult.
Once, she was assaulted at night. A thug from the neighboring village climbed over her wall and tried to take advantage of her. It was only when Gouwa woke up and cried loudly that the villagers rushed over, preventing the assailant from succeeding.
Rumors couldn't be concealed in the countryside. What happened at night would spread throughout the whole area by the next day.
The thug was named Li Dazhu. The next day, his wife came over and had a loud argument with Xue Ningxiang, accusing her of being a vixen, a shameless woman, and… a whore who stripped naked in the sorghum fields to seduce his man, calling him to meet her in the dead of night.
Xue Ningxiang went from being a victim to being branded a seductive vixen, which didn’t make sense.
There were numerous incidents like this, which she never mentioned in her letters. If not for Empress Dowager Zhuang's people visiting the countryside, they wouldn't have known about Xue Ningxiang's numerous grievances.
Luo Li, who was supposed to protect Xue Ningxiang, encountered more gossip and rumors the more he protected her.
Eventually, he, as the village chief, became a target of criticism both inside and outside the village.
Dean Li wanted to bring Xue Ningxiang to the town upon hearing of this, but precisely at that time, Zhou Erzhuang returned.
How the news spread to everyone was unknown, but the entire village knew that her own younger brother-in-law and the Dean from Tianxiang Academy had eyes for Xue Ningxiang. Or rather, they believed Xue Ningxiang had seduced both of them.
Xue Ningxiang faced severe verbal abuse.
Even her maiden family, who was hundreds of miles away, received letters and came over to scold her.
Sometimes, human nature was like this. Having witnessed Xue Ningxiang struggling in the quagmire, they were reluctant to see her climb out of it.
In the eyes of many, a widow suspected of causing her husband's death deserved to be shunned, why should she live a comfortable life?
Of course, all of this could be resolved. People dared to curse a stone blocking their path but hardly anyone would criticize the mountains behind and around the village.
Empress Dowager Zhuang simply turned Xue Ningxiang into the highest mountain in the village.
"Empress Dowager Zhuang wants to invite Madam Xue to the capital."
As soon as the eunuch said this, people from the surrounding area knelt down.
The most significant official they knew was the County Magistrate. Who was Empress Dowager Zhuang? To them, she was a Bodhisattva, a Buddha, a deity! Just a wave of her hand or a breath could take the lives of everyone in the entire village!
The looks people cast towards Xue Ningxiang changed from jealousy to fear.
They no longer dared to be jealous.
Of course, Empress Dowager Zhuang didn't actually intend to forcibly summon Xue Ningxiang to the capital. It was merely a gesture to support her.
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