In the West Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, Xiao You, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, and Li Rongzheng, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, and several young eunuchs presented a large pile of memorials to the emperor. According to the rules, these memorials were presented to the emperor only after the emperor visited them. The memorials that come up and those collected from the right will be transferred to the cabinet, and then the ministers of the cabinet will make a draft, and then send them to Zhu for approval. Although the process is like this, this first step of the royal viewing process, even if it is as simple as the one in front of you, Emperor Hongzhi, the leader of the ZTE, mostly listened to the oral reports from the eunuchs in charge of rites, and occasionally read two books on a whim.
The eunuch in charge of Li Rong is known as the internal minister, and the first person to write the pen is equivalent to the second assistant of the cabinet. Li Rong should have taken the lead in verbal reporting. However, the emperor took pity on him because he was old, and in addition Xiao Jing was modest about his youth, so Xiao Jing had been doing these abbreviated reports personally since his early years. Now he reported on several common impeachment cases one after another, and then changed the topic: "In addition, In the ninth year of his career, Ma Wensheng, the Young Master and Crown Prince Taifu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, begged to become an official."
"Uwen Sheng?"
"Yes, it is Ma Shangshu, the veteran of the Five Dynasties." Xiao Jing said with a smile, "As an old man, I can tell you that although Ma Shangshu is not young, he is still strong. Moreover, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has always been the most difficult yamen. Mr. Yu."
"Yes, that's right." Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly, and then glanced at Li Rong, who was standing respectfully at the side, "Just like Li Banban, who was also a veteran of the Five Dynasties, but now he is over seventy, and he still has the same responsibility. The responsibility of the Supervisor of Ceremonies?"
"Long live the Lord's words, how dare I compare myself to Ma Shangshu?" Li Rong bowed with a smile, and then said... "However, Ma Shangshu is old, so he is a little energetic. The old slave remembers that the official said a few days ago During the Keji incident, Wu Bian also impeached Ma Shangshu for being comatose and forgetful. It is actually very simple to say, but the Department of Civil Service Examinations decided to instruct Xue Deng to become an official. As a result, the Department of Literature and Selection did not know about it, and actually decided that Xue Deng had no merit and transferred the order. Hebo was an official. He became an official on the 13th and changed his official position on the 14th. Even if Ma Shangshu did it unintentionally, how could he identify the virtuous people in the world? And if it was intentional, how could he be regarded as a tool of the world? Wu Burial Theory He immediately wrote a letter to deceive the emperor and used some exaggerated words. I heard that the cabinet will bow today, but I don't know if the three cabinet ministers have reprimanded him."
"Officials should discuss matters and do not interfere too much. As for Ma Wensheng, just let Mr. Liu draw up the votes and stay in office."
Emperor Hongzhi didn't seem to notice Li Rong's slightly stiff expression, and then nodded and signaled Xiao Jing to continue. When he read the excerpt about Xing'an Bo's funeral, his face suddenly condensed, and then he ordered to pick out the excerpt and read it. Wait a minute, little eunuch. After finding the fold, he hurriedly knelt down and presented it to him. He took it casually, frowned after taking a second look at it, and finally put it down without saying a word. The two bosses in charge of rituals knew that this supreme Although Xiao Jing pretended not to know what he was thinking, Xiao Jing continued to report one by one, and stopped after about a quarter of an hour. The emperor enjoyed a bowl of tea as usual, and then asked a question as if casually.
"There are no children or grandchildren in the Xing'an Bo Mansion, and there is no wife. Has the Ministry of Rites sent someone to handle the funeral?"
At this time, Chen Kuan, the eunuch and eunuch in charge of etiquette, responded quickly: "Reporting to the emperor, Xing'an Bo Mansion announced the funeral yesterday, and the Ministry of Rites probably hasn't had time yet."
"It's not too late yet? It would be fine if it were another mansion. There is no one inside and outside Xing'anbo Mansion. How can we handle this funeral if the Ministry of Rites doesn't send anyone! Those people in the Ministry of Rites are all old people who have experienced a lot. Why do you do this this time?
So confused!"
The emperor's words swept in a bunch of people from the Ministry of Rites. All the chief ceremonial supervisors looked at each other. Xiao Jing glanced at Wang Yue, the eunuch of the East Factory who was in charge. Sure enough, Wang Yue saw that the others were also looking at him.
Then he coughed lightly and said: "Report to the emperor, although the Ministry of Rites will not be able to send someone to attend the funeral in the future, someone has already come forward. It is the grandson of Dingguo Gongxu Guangzuo. The next article came to report, saying that it was fortunate that the grandson of Ding came forward, otherwise the Xing'an Bo Mansion would not be here today.
I'm afraid it's going to be a big joke.
"oh?"
Emperor Hongzhi had just asked this question when an excited voice suddenly came from outside: "What's the joke in Xing'an Bo Mansion? Come tell me and let me hear it!"
Following this clear voice, a figure rushed in. Who else could it be if it wasn't Prince Zhu Houzhao? Seeing a large number of people in front of him busy saluting, Zhu Houzhao impatiently waved his hands and shouted, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."
As he bent his knees in front of him, he was helped up before his knees even touched the ground. He called out "Father" with a smile, and immediately stood up next to Emperor Hongzhi, looking straight at the several eunuchs.
Seeing the little prince's appearance, and the emperor's eyes signaling him, Wang Yue cleared his throat and told the truth about Xing'an Boyi's situation at that time. If Xu Xun were here, he would definitely be amazed that Wang Yue spoke as if he had seen it himself.
Obviously, at that time, either there were spies from Dongchang in Xing'anbo Mansion, or someone among the visitors was acting as a spy for Dongchang. At the end of the day, Wang Yue said again: "Ding Changsun usually doesn't go out much, but this time he took care of all aspects of the funeral.
, the matter did not alert the government because of the previous crying concubine in the mourning hall. Although Xu Yi and Xu Liang were slightly biased at first, they have been impartial in their affairs since then. Therefore, in the evening, several princes and uncles came to pay their respects in person.
Even at this time, everything is not messy."
"Not bad, this Xu Guangzuo is good!"
Zhu Houzhao praised Xu Guangzuo vigorously, and then quietly looked at his father out of the corner of his eye. When he found that Emperor Hongzhi didn't answer, he immediately sat down and didn't say a word. He waited until Xiao Jing
He kowtowed and left together with the others. He breathed a sigh of relief and immediately jumped up and sat down with his father.
Just now in front of outsiders, Emperor Hongzhi could only keep a straight face. Now that he almost looked up at him, he suddenly softened. After thinking for a moment, he said meaningfully: "Huzhao, you secretly left the palace to Xuzhou last time.
You went to Xun Na's new residence to congratulate you on your move, you think I don't know?"
Seeing Zhu Houzhao looking at him with wide eyes, and immediately showing an innocent expression, Emperor Hongzhi was angry and funny, and couldn't help but shouted softly: "Father, I know what you are thinking, but as the emperor, you should be impartial."
, don’t make judgments based on temporary preferences. Fortunately, Xu Xun is not a arrogant person, otherwise he would have definitely asked you to speak in front of me. With your personality, there is a chance that you won’t be able to do so.
Will you refuse?"
He originally thought that his son would be playful, but Zhu Houzhao actually nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice. He was instantly angry and his face became more serious: "That's right! You have already
Because of Your Majesty's little preferences, you forgot what you, the prince, should do! Look at him, there was such a fuss in the mourning hall of Xing'an Bo Mansion. Ding Changsun was clearly invited there, but he didn't use this excuse to
The matter got serious, but we tried our best to suppress it, and only took back the power of funeral arrangements from Xu Yi. What is this called? This is called justice. You are the prince, and you must remember this ineffective way to govern the country in the future.
Four words."
"It's justifiable..." Zhu Houzhao blinked and then snorted angrily... "What's so difficult about this? Isn't it that everything must be justified?"
"Hahahaha, my son, you were right this time!"
Emperor Hongzhi stroked Zhu Houzhao's head lovingly, then put away his smile and said lightly: "Everything in this world is indispensable for excuses and reasons. As long as you make others speechless, it will be done less often."
There are three constraints. The same is true for a king. He cannot do whatever he wants, and his every move must be unpredictable. Take Xu Xun as an example, even if you like him, you can't take it all in your face.
, otherwise he won’t be able to make him respect you from the bottom of his heart!”
Listening to these extremely complicated imperial tricks, Zhu Houzhao nodded in confusion, but another, completely unrelated thought was spinning in his mind. If his father knew that he actually asked Xu Xun to investigate whether he was his mother's biological child,
Will the father chop off Xu Xun's head in a fit of anger? Speaking of which, the three elders in the cabinet are too slow. They have already made their wishes to Xu Xun, so what happened to the avant-garde of the government army?
Now there’s not even a follow-up?
Facts have proved that inviting Ding Zhang Sun Xu Guangzuo to Xing'an Bolu to help with the funeral was an excellent move. Even though Xu Xun didn't know how the news was received when it reached the imperial court, he was very satisfied with the future Duke of Ding.
Couldn't be more satisfied.
Xu Guangzuo, who came from an aristocratic family, lost his father in his early years, and his grandfather was a careless man. He had always been in charge of the Dingguo Palace, and he naturally managed things in an orderly manner. He could not find any mistakes by others. Xu Xun also hinted that the emperor should pay attention to this.
Regarding the situation at hand, Xu Guangzuo became more and more impartial and fair, and even the subordinates of Xing'an Bolu who were a little agitated at first were convinced.
After being busy until late in the evening, Xu Xun helped Xu Liang out of Xing'anbo Mansion. Seeing Xu Yi gouging out his own eyes, he angrily got into the car. He only smiled and pushed Xu Liang into the carriage.
He smiled and invited Wang Shikun to get in the car with him. When Jin Liuyi whipped his whip and set off, he said: "Brother Wang, it's all thanks to you this time!"
"It's no thanks. Don't look at Xu Guangzuo, who is one generation younger than me. He is a real man. If you hadn't taken the fourth son to the Imperial Academy, if it hadn't been for you, I would have gotten such a thing from the prince."
As for the jade pendant, it's a damn thing if he comes forward!" In front of Xu Xun and his son, Wang Shikun found out the expenses directly, and then gave a thumbs up and shook his head, "I'm convinced that you have the same surname.
Let Xu Guangzuo help with the funeral! But I really don’t understand why you didn’t use such a good excuse in the mourning hall today!”
"That will only make you lose the rank. Do you think that if this situation doesn't go to the government, no one will spread it?" Xu Xun glanced at Xu Liang, who had a tired face, and quickly took out a bag from the side.
With the teapot still warm, the Yamen handed a glass of water to his father, then looked at Wang Shikun and said, "This is also a great opportunity for Ding Changsun. Let the court see his ability, and he will not be an idle Duke in the future.
By the way, can you let anyone mention the identity of the prince to Xu Xu in the Imperial College?"