"I'm not joking anymore. I'll call you sister. What does this Privy Council member do? Does he need to light his forehead every day and go to court? Otherwise, he will make a fool of himself again." He Qizhou said seriously.
"The average member of the Privy Council is only a seventh-rank official, but he still goes to court? Who will get you!" Xu Mu chuckled.
"What does this title mean?" He Qizhou asked.
"Two meanings. One is that the Privy Council reports directly to the emperor. Once you enter the Privy Council, the emperor will treat you as a confidant. This is similar to carrying a sword to guard. The second meaning is that you are considered a member of the military. If the superiors need it,
You can be transferred from the Criminal Department at any time!"
He Qizhou said happily: "That's about it. So where do you usually apply for transfer or are they assigned at will? Say hello to your grandpa and transfer me to Youzhou too!"
Xu Mu said: "It is very taboo to ask oneself to be a general, and generally no one dares to do so. If they think you have some talent, they will first let you enter the Privy Council to do some work in dealing with grassroots military aircraft. Wherever there is a vacancy in the army, they will
They will choose the opportunity to send troops there, like Xiao Jihuai, who was only allowed to command the army the second year after he entered the Privy Council."
He Qizhou asked again: "With this status, you can enter and leave the Privy Council at will?"
"Except for some confidential places, that's probably the case. We still need to go there to report." Xu Mu replied.
"Oh, one last question. After entering the palace, can I get the money that the old emperor promised to give me immediately?"
"roll!"
He Qizhou still liked listening to Xu Mu's words, even if he told himself to "get lost". Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Before entering the inner city, two horses were left at the door, and he and Xu Mu were invited to enter the old eunuch's carriage.
The father-in-law's irritating chatter did not stop until he reached the entrance of the palace. Although most of what he talked about was to teach He Qizhou some palace rules, He Qizhou would rather not know anything and just follow Xu Mu in everything.
Following the fast-moving eunuch, He Qizhou entered the palace for the second time. He passed three halls along the side corridors. A long wall blocked the way. At a glance, behind the wall were countless palaces, with layered glazed tile roofs like
rolling hills.
"Inside the wall is the harem. Have you seen the long corridor-like houses on the east and west rows outside the wall?" Xu Mu asked.
"I saw it. The emperor is not there to receive us, is he?"
"No. The east side is where the cabinet works; the west side is the Privy Council. It's so close to report to the emperor. Thanks to them, our majesty can still control the government without going to court for more than 20 years." Xu Mu.
Said in a low voice.
"Stop talking secretly!" The eunuch had already walked down the steps and stopped near the entrance of the harem. He turned back and said to Xu Mu and Xu Mu: "You guys wait here, I will inform you, remember not to go away."
"Yes, thank you, father-in-law." Xu Mu replied. The eunuch passed through the gate guarded by eight imperial guards and walked straight into the inner palace.
Along the way, He Qizhou, who was still weak, was about to sit down on Danbi at the back of the third hall. Xu Mu, who had quick eyes and quick hands, grabbed him and said, "Is this at your house? Stand and wait!"
"Is it illegal to sit on the steps?" He Qizhou was a little dissatisfied.
"Oh - the royal family just let your butt sit on the dragon's head like this? I'll sue you for lese majeste!" Xu Mu smiled softly, because there was no one around, and his smile was extremely bright.
"It's so beautiful, Lady Xuemei..."
"Shut up!" Xu Mu was really a little angry. Although the two of them were more than twenty feet away from the guards at the door, people from the cabinet and the Privy Council passed by from time to time, which really made people listen. His "heroic reputation" in this life was considered over.
.
"Xu Mu——"
Suddenly they heard someone calling from the corridor on the west side. They turned around and saw Xiao Jihuai walking out of a room, waving to them to follow him.
Xu Mu hesitated for a moment, but still took He Qizhou and walked over. Xiao Jihuai saw the two people approaching and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty said he wanted to summon the three of us together. He is talking to the two Privy Councilors now. You'd better come in."
Let’s have a cup of tea.”
"What if the eunuch can't find anyone?" He Qizhou became a little worried. Sitting on the steps is a felony. If he disappears for fun, he won't be implicated.
"Junior brother, if you feel that the room is not comfortable, you can stand outside for a while." Xiao Jihuai said.
Seeing that Xu Mu had already sat down to drink tea, He Qizhou no longer worried and found a corner to sit down. In the evening, it was freezing cold outside, so he still had to take care of himself.
Xiao Jihuai smiled and said, "Xu Mu, this is the place where the Privy Council receives guests. You can do whatever you want."
The three of them sat there for nearly half an hour, because there were people from the Privy Council coming in and out all the time, and it was not convenient to talk. He Qizhou actually wanted to stand outside, but when he thought that only Xu Mu and Xiao Ji were left in the room,
She was pregnant with two people, so she gritted her teeth and endured.
It wasn't until the eunuch's shriek came from outside the house that He Qizhou breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out of the Privy Council's reception room while responding: "Here he is, he's here, he's here!"
"Where is the person? Where is the person -" The old eunuch called for the second time when he saw He Qizhou, Xu Mu and others walking out of the Privy Council. These three people are likely to become popular people around the emperor, so they did not dare to blame, but were angry.
He said: "Come with our family to see the saint."
Just a few steps after entering the harem gate, I met King Cheng, Mo Dezheng, and Zhang Zhiren who were just coming out of the meeting.
After saluting, the three young men hurriedly stepped aside by the road. Because they were in the harem, the three nobles couldn't talk much. They all showed kind smiles, said a few words of encouragement and then walked out of the palace.
"Don't look around. Especially don't stare at the concubines." Xu Mu whispered.
He Qizhou exclaimed: "What concubine is there? I'm just looking at a palace maid..."
"The palace maids can't look at it either! Learn from Senior Brother Xiao." That guy was so ignorant that Xu Mu almost yelled.
"It looks familiar. It looks like..." He Qizhou was looking towards the alley on the left, where a girl dressed as a palace maid was looking in the direction of the three of them.
"It's Jiang Xing!" Xu Mu suddenly felt a headache. After not seeing her for more than a year, the girl turned out to be so beautiful. The palace maid's dress could not cover up her lovely appearance.
"What a little princess." He Qizhou also recognized it. After the little princess waved to him, she ran away without a trace in the blink of an eye. Before he could wave the hand he just raised, the other party disappeared.
"Why are you raising your hands? Does anyone want to ask you to speak?" Xu Mu asked coldly.
"A little sleepy." He Qizhou rubbed his face vigorously with his raised hand.
The emperor's study room was actually not far away. It was in the second row of courtyards on the east side of the central axis of the harem, and it was only a few hundred steps away. After the old eunuch passed the message, he finally didn't have to wait any longer, and was immediately called in and led there.
The person they entered was none other than Eunuch Tang.
Sitting on the bed in the Imperial Study Room were an old man and a young man. They hadn't seen each other for a year. In He Qizhou's eyes, Jiang Cong looked much older. The other person sitting on the bed with Jiang Cong was Jiang Di.
"The humble minister He Qizhou pays homage to Your Majesty. Long live, long live, long live your Majesty." He Qizhou, along with Xiao Jihuai and Xu Mu, fell to the ground and shouted long live.
"Let's all lie down and sit down." Jiang Cong chuckled.
"Yes." He Qizhou found a nearby seat and sat down.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the seat." Xiao Jihuai bowed again in a decent manner, glanced at Tang Taicheng, and saw that the other party pointed to a seat, and then sat down.
Xu Mu was more casual, sitting in the seat between the two of them, and said: "Thank you, Grandpa Emperor."
"Girl, why are you so thin? Have you met your grandpa? He was sitting in He Qizhou's seat just now." Jiang Cong looked at Xu Mu with a kind look on his face and said.
"Did you sit in the wrong seat?" He Qizhou was startled and stood up hurriedly.
"Xiao Jihuai is sitting in the seat of King Cheng, and Xu Mu is sitting in the seat of Privy Councilor. Why don't you switch with them?" Jiang Cong said with a deliberately pulled face.
"Why are you still standing there? Sit down quickly!" Xu Mu whispered.
He Qizhou's face turned red and he sat down again.
Jiang Cong said: "You girl, if you don't act like a good girl, you insist on pretending to be a man all day long. Alas, it's all because of your grandfather!"
"What are you doing with him?" Xu Mu asked.
"Don't think I'm an old fool. Your grandpa was always looking forward to having a grandson, but unexpectedly he gave birth to a girl. Didn't your mother raise you as a boy just to please him? Speaking of which, you really cheered for him. Those few in my family
They are not as good as you, but this is not a long-term solution. Girls, they should always look like girls."
Xiao Jihuai hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is right."
"Grandpa Emperor, why did you summon us here?" Xu Mu quickly changed the subject. She had wanted to dress up as a man ever since she became sensible. To a large extent, she did not want to disappoint Zhang Zhiren, and of course she was doing it for her father.
relieve pressure.
Jiang Cong said: "Of course not. I called you here because I want my ministers and soldiers to know that as long as I fight against the Zhou Dynasty with all my strength, I will not hesitate to reward you. You are all the best young people in our country, and you should be encouraged!
"
"Your Majesty, Xiao Jihuai has so much virtue and ability. I am so ashamed of myself. I still hope that your Majesty will allow me to send Xiao Jihuai to the front line of Youzhou..."
"Stop, stop, stop, I've left this matter to King Cheng and the Privy Council. The army hasn't even set out yet, so just inserting people at will is not a slap in their face." Jiang Cong interrupted hurriedly.
"Grandpa Huang, then Uncle Wang agreed for me to follow, why did you stop me from going?" Jiang Di asked.
"Please stop causing trouble! It's not yet time." Jiang Cong overruled Jiang Di and continued:
"All I see all the time are bad old men, and I think I'm old. It's better to look at young people more! When I was your age, I ran back and forth on the battlefield several times.
The world only thinks that I am warlike. In fact, when I was the crown prince, I set a goal to let the people of Daqi live and work in peace and contentment, and never be devastated by war again. But there is a truth that they don't understand. Sometimes only
Only by fighting all the battles that need to be fought can the fence be built firmly and a peaceful and prosperous world be achieved.
Therefore, I want to finish this last battle so that the next generation will not have to fight anymore. Ahem..."