When Emperor Deqing made up his mind to suppress Zhao Junchen, he did not show any signs on the surface. Instead, he sent a decree to select some precious tributes from his own funds and asked them to deliver them to Zhao Junchen's house tomorrow morning.
He was given to Zhao Junchen's first wife Cui Qianxue to show that he still has great love for Zhao Junchen.
That night, after Emperor Deqing left the imperial study, he went to Hui Bin's residence to sleep.
The so-called "Hui concubine" refers to Zhao Ying'er, a daughter of the Zhao family who was sent to the palace by Zhao Junchen.
After Zhao Ying'er entered the palace, she quickly gained the favor of Emperor Deqing and was given the rank of "Jieyu" on the same day. However, within two months, she was further named "Hui Concubine".
Emperor Qing would go to her residence to sleep every three or five days, and from time to time would give her treasures, delicious food, and fine clothes. She was a holy family member with great grace and scenery, which attracted a lot of red eyes, but because everyone knew
Zhao Ying'er's backstage is due to Zhao Junchen, and Zhao Ying'er has deliberately made good friends with Li Jiamin, the most favored concubine in the palace, so she hasn't encountered many difficulties yet.
However, Zhang De was the eunuch of Emperor Deqing, but he knew very well that Emperor Deqing's favor and holy love for Zhao Ying'er were just a disguise. In fact, Emperor Deqing did not like Zhao Ying'er, because Zhao Ying'er would always be there.
Inadvertently showing a philistine and vulgar side, Emperor Deqing's behavior was just to appease Zhao Junchen.
But he said that after waiting for Emperor Deqing and Zhao Ying'er to go to bed, Zhang De returned to his palace residence.
There, the palace maid Lin Jie had prepared dinner and had been waiting for him for a long time.
In ancient times, the eunuchs and maids in the palace were trapped in the palace for a long time. The eunuchs had no wives and the maids had no husbands, so they could not have contact with the opposite sex. Naturally, they were lonely and unbearable. Therefore, the two formed temporary partners to comfort the palace.
Due to loneliness, this relationship is called "eating" by the world.
In addition to "eating with each other", there is another kind of relationship called "caihu". The so-called "caihu" means that after a long-term relationship between the palace maid and the eunuch, the two parties have become like husband and wife. Compared with "caihu", "caihu"
"Food" has stronger stability and sustainability.
Zhang Denai was the eunuch who served Emperor Deqing. Although he did not hold any real power in the inner court, his status in the palace was extremely high. Even the eunuchs in charge of the ceremonial department and the horse eunuch had to treat him with courtesy when they saw him.
, so he naturally has a stable "servant" relationship in the palace, and no one dares to say anything.
And Zhang De's "caihu" is the palace maid Lin Jie.
Lin Jie is about in her early thirties, and her appearance and figure are not outstanding, with a slightly depressed look between her eyebrows. However, she has good facial features, fair skin, and a gentle and restrained temperament, which makes it easy for people to like her.
.
After seeing Zhang De return to the room, Lin Jie greeted him like an ordinary virtuous wife, waiting on Zhang De to undress and take off his shoes, wash his face and rinse his mouth.
Then, the two came to the dining table to have dinner together.
This dinner was not that sumptuous, but it included fish, meat, soup, and fruits. It could be called exquisite. However, because Zhang De came back too late, several dishes were already cold.
Lin Jie carefully picked out a piece of fish meat and put it into Zhang De's bowl, complaining: "Why did you come back so late? The steamed seabass I prepared for you is already cold."
Seeing Lin Jie's considerate approach, Zhang De's eyes flashed with satisfaction.
In fact, Zhang De had fallen in love with Lin Jie a long time ago, but Lin Jie had always been unwilling to live with Zhang De until she suddenly changed her mind three months ago, and the two officially established a "caihu" relationship.
"relation.
In the past three months, Zhang De has been extremely satisfied with Lin Jie's gentleness and considerateness. Sometimes he even feels that he has become a normal man. Now he is quite inseparable from Lin Jie, and he is completely indifferent when facing Lin Jie.
A defensive mind.
After hearing Lin Jie's complaint, Zhang De sighed helplessly and said, "Sir, what can I do? I have served your Majesty for more than twenty years, and your Majesty cannot do without me. Your Majesty will summon the important ministers of the previous dynasty tonight.
The discussion of important court affairs has not ended until now. I can only accompany your majesty and wait for you... Well, sir, I also know that you have been waiting for me for a long time, so I took advantage of your majesty's bedtime to come over and have dinner with you. But tomorrow
I am still on duty and have to rush back after dinner... If His Majesty suddenly has something to ask me to do, and I am not around to accompany you, it might cause some trouble... Your Majesty, he is in a bad mood these days.
, it’s better not to cause trouble!”
After hearing what Zhang De said, a trace of curiosity flashed across Lin Jie's face, and she asked: "Your Majesty summoned important ministers to talk overnight? Did something big happen in the previous dynasty? Why is Your Majesty in a bad mood?"
Logically speaking, these matters involve court secrets, and Zhang De should not talk to Lin Jie, but now Zhang De has already lost his guard when facing Lin Jie, so he did not hide anything and said: "It can still be done."
Because of what? Zhao Junchen, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, has been restless since he left Beijing and always caused some troubles. Now he even boasts that he will wipe out the Mongolian coalition forces in Haikou and even lead the army to regain the Hetao. His Majesty has nothing to do with the previous dynasty.
The ministers have been discussing this matter for a long time!"
After a pause, Zhang De continued: "As for the reason why His Majesty is unhappy, it is mostly because of Zhao Junchen! You should have heard that Zhao Junchen has done many major things since leaving Beijing this time, not only preventing
The northwest governors' timid struggle for peace stabilized the northwest border defense in a short period of time. All the civil and military officials in Shaanxi and Gansu were under his control, and he even personally led troops to defeat a Mongolian army... I think.
How much ability and skills are needed to accomplish these things? When you think about it, it’s shocking! But when Zhao Junchen was still in the capital, had he ever shown these abilities? Obviously he was always in front of His Majesty.
He was hiding his clumsiness and deliberately hiding it from Your Majesty. After His Majesty found out that Zhao Junchen had been fooling him, he was naturally unhappy!... Hey, just wait and see, after Zhao Junchen returns to Beijing, Your Majesty will definitely try to deal with him!"
Speaking of this, Zhang De frowned and his expression was full of tangles: "Oh, actually I am in a dilemma now because of this matter! You also know that I have received a lot of benefits from Zhao Junchen on weekdays, but now I see
Since His Majesty is planning to take action against him, it is appropriate to inform him! But I am an old man next to Your Majesty, so I naturally know what can and cannot be leaked. Logically speaking, this kind of thing should never be leaked.
, In the past year, how many eunuchs has His Majesty killed because of leaks of information around him?... But this Zhao Junchen is not easy to mess with. Every time the inner court accepts money and does not provide him with information, he will be punished.
He retaliated so violently that the Director of Ceremonies was almost purged several times. If I kept hiding this news from him, I'm afraid it would also lead to retaliation later..."
After saying that, Zhang De shook his head repeatedly and said: "Oh, you are in a dilemma! You are in a dilemma!"
Lin Jie's eyes flickered slightly, and she took a piece of fish meat to Zhang De again, and said: "As a woman, I don't have any idea about your men's matters, but I think this kind of matter still depends on the situation. If His Majesty, he should deal with Zhao
If Junchen's method is more subtle and clever, Zhao Junchen will definitely not be able to detect it in a short period of time, and sooner or later he will fall into a big somersault, so you might as well hide this matter from your majesty. Zhao Junchen may not be able to retaliate after he falls, but
If His Majesty's method of dealing with Zhao Junchen is more drastic and obvious, Zhao Junchen will soon be able to sense His Majesty's intentions, so Sir, you might as well be a favor and leak the news to him."
After hearing Lin Jie's suggestion, Zhang De felt even happier.
It's not that Lin Jie's suggestion was so clever. In fact, Zhang De could think of these things without Lin Jie's suggestion. The main reason was that Lin Jie called Zhang De "man", "Ms." and so on, which just happened to offend Zhang De.
The itch of virtue.
Therefore, Zhang De nodded repeatedly and expressed his appreciation for Lin Jie's suggestion. By the way, he also revealed to Lin Jie some of Emperor Deqing's orders for Zhao Junchen tonight.
During the conversation, the two of them had finished dinner. Zhang De took the time to spend some time with Lin Jiewen, then hurriedly left the room and continued to serve Emperor Deqing.
After Zhang De left, Lin Jie tidied the room a little, but did not go to bed to fall asleep. Instead, she sat at the table and waited for something quietly.
Not long after, the door was pushed open again, and an older palace maid entered the room. When Lin Jie saw this person appear, she quickly stood up to greet her.
The elderly palace maid walked up to Lin Jie, made a strange gesture, and said solemnly: "The Taoist Lord is compassionate and helps the world!"
Lin Jie also made strange gestures and said with a pious expression: "The Taoist Lord is compassionate and helps the world!"
Then, the elder palace maid asked: "Lin Jie, did Zhang De reveal any useful information to you tonight?"
*
At the same time that Zhao Junchen's sixth memorial was sent to the capital, a secret letter from Zhao Junchen was also sent to the Zhao mansion.
Then, in order to complete several instructions in Zhao Junchen's secret letter, Fang Ru stayed up all night long.
Seeing that the sky was about to dawn, Fang Ru's body was inevitably a little sleepy, but her spirit was good and her mind was still clear.
In fact, Fang Ru liked this feeling of being busy for Zhao Junchen, which made her feel extremely fulfilled, especially since many of Zhao Junchen's plans not only bypassed those "Zhao Party" officials, but also concealed the truth from his real wife Cui Qianxue.
And entrusted everything to Fang Ru, which made Fang Ru deeply feel Zhao Junchen's trust in her, and she was full of energy when doing things, and she didn't feel tired at all even if she didn't sleep all night.
"According to the speculation in the secret letter, after Your Majesty received the sixth memorial from Your Majesty, it would be fine if you did not agree with Your Majesty's plan to regain the Hetao. Once Your Majesty agrees with Your Majesty's plan, you will definitely be dissatisfied with Your Majesty's plan.
She is afraid of the power and influence that will secretly suppress her husband, but she has to guard against it...
... It is still not possible to know the specific means by which Your Majesty will deal with your husband, but your Majesty believes that he will definitely use Liang Fuchen to share his achievements. This matter must be prepared in advance. Your Majesty risked his life and fortunately gained the merits of his hard work.
, how can someone easily divide half of it? We must build momentum for the Prime Minister in advance before His Majesty takes action, so that all officials and people in the government and the opposition can understand the truth of the matter...
...Well, my husband has been secretly controlling famous storytellers from all over the world. I thought it was of little use at the time, but now I can use it... Cui Qianxue's grandfather has some influence in Qingliu, and we can also use his connections to
To build momentum and rectify Mr. Xian’s name..."
While thinking deeply, Fang Ru took a pen and wrote the words "storyteller" and "Cui Mian" on a piece of paper.
There are many words written densely on this letter, which are all things that Fang Ru needs to do next.
After putting down the pen, Fang Ru continued to think: "At first, my husband used Guo Tang's collection of poems to arouse His Majesty's anger and secretly promote a literary disaster. Now this literary disaster has gradually spread to various places, and the preliminary preparations are similar.
Well, Dongchang is now collecting anti-poetry and anti-essays from everywhere, and has arrested many scholars. The whole Shilin is in panic, but it is almost possible to move on to the next step... As long as this literary disaster is used properly, it can just happen.
In line with my husband’s planning and timing..."
Thinking of this, Fang Ru once again took the pen and wrote the word "literary disaster" on the paper.
And just as Fang Ru continued to think, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Then, Fang Ru's trusted servant Xiaobi entered the room and handed Fang Ru a secret letter, saying: "Madam, this is the news from Tongji Temple, saying it is related to the palace."
Fang Ru took the secret letter and opened it to look at it. A look of surprise soon appeared on her face. Her almond-shaped eyes, which had been dull due to exhaustion, gradually brightened up and she said, "I really did it unintentionally, but I didn't expect Tongji."
The information from the temple was so timely! I was originally worried about how Your Majesty would deal with my husband, but I never thought I would receive the news so soon... Allowing Tongji Temple to enter the palace to develop believers is really a wonderful move, so quickly.
Very useful!"
At the beginning, as part of the plan to infiltrate the inner court, when Zhao Junchen sent Li Ruan into the palace, he also took the opportunity to insert many informants and spies into the palace.
As the largest intelligence network in Zhao Junchen's hands, Tongji Temple was naturally involved in this matter.
Zhao Junchen originally hoped that Tongji Temple could develop some believers in the officialdom, and even if it failed, he would develop those close to important ministers and nobles into believers. However, because the foundation of Tongji Temple was still shallow, the progress of this plan has been slow.
It was relatively slow, but no one would have thought that after these Tongji Temple believers entered the palace, they found the right direction by mistake and achieved unimaginable development!
The eunuchs in the palace are all disabled, and most of the palace maids are also depressed people. They have been locked in the palace for most of their lives, with no support and no place to fall. What they need most is faith, and
The power of Tongji Temple was naturally at home in this environment, and it quickly developed a large number of believers!
And Zhang De's "caihu" Lin Jie is one of them!
Therefore, through this relationship, Tongji Temple’s intelligence network quickly obtained some of Emperor Deqing’s plans and delivered them to Fang Ru!
This situation can be described as an unexpected surprise, and Fang Ru was naturally a little surprised.
However, not long after she was happy, Fang Ru became a little worried again.
After all, although Fang Ru is a shrewd and capable woman, her vision and methods are not that brilliant! Now, although she has obtained an extremely critical piece of information, how should she use this information to obtain the maximum benefit for Zhao Junchen?
Although it was the safest way to send this information to Shaanxi and Gansu for Zhao Junchen to decide, it would inevitably delay the opportunity.
And just as Fang Ru was frowning and thinking secretly, another female steward of the Zhao family entered the room.
After the female steward entered the room, her expression showed a hint of fear, as if she had brought bad news. She was worried that Fang Ru would be angry with her, so she whispered: "Mrs. Ruyi...'that person' has already taken the carriage.
After entering the capital, we will return home soon!"