The annual leave for female
courtiers is only three days.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, when Qiu Che mentioned the establishment of a girls' school in the court, as expected, he was opposed by the officials.
Perhaps it was because she seemed to have lost much of her verbal fighting power since she returned from the expedition, and these ministers gradually became bolder.
Little did he know that Qiu Che was just too lazy to argue with them pointlessly on trivial matters.
When she made this suggestion this time, she also mentioned: "To be honest, this idea was actually proposed by Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess. It was Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess who also decided to fund the establishment of the school in the name of Zhu Yan. No cents from the national treasury will be charged. A penny. So, gentlemen, there is no need to be so nervous."
As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.
Who doesn't know Zhu Yan's name now? He is the richest businessman in the capital?
It would be best if Zhu Yan was willing to help fund girls' education without consuming money from Daxia's treasury.
But why did Qiu Che bring this up?
She has already established herself as a woman in the officialdom. Should she still take this opportunity to bring the eldest princess who has made meritorious service in this matter into the court?
Not to mention anything else, just mentioning that royal women do business is already a special case among special cases.
Now if you want to enter the court, wouldn't it be necessary to modify the law that prohibits merchants from entering the court as officials?
Once this law comes out, it will affect more than just whether the eldest princess enters politics.
...Their association is reasonable, but it is not.
Qiu Che had also discussed this issue with Li Qingwu.
It actually made sense for Daxia to ban merchants from becoming officials. This was a centralized imperialist country, and most of the power was controlled by the emperor.
The current situation where the emperor was detained was an exception.
Merchants competed in other industries in terms of financial resources. If the richest man in Great Xia also wanted to serve as an official in the court, it would be easy for his financial resources to control everything, dominate the family, devour the imperial power, or even destroy the dynasty.
I won't say whether this situation is good or bad, but I just want to say that Li Qingwu doesn't have such big ambitions.
In fact, Qiu Che did not intend to overthrow the entire dynasty system and rebuild it.
This project was too big, and she only wanted to transform a small part to pave the way for future reforms and subtly change people's thinking.
It is still too early to change the dynasty.
Of course, if Li Qingwu wanted it, Qiu Che wouldn't mind speeding up the reform process, making it rough and quick.
But Li Qingwu thought for a long time and finally shook his head.
"My wish is very simple from beginning to end," Li Qingwu said, "I just hope that the people I care about are safe."
If she also enters the court, she will first have to face the difficulties and bloodshed from all walks of life. As a historical reform Forerunners, these are indispensable experiences.
But at the same time, she also had to take care of her own business - Li Qingwu didn't think that he was much stronger than Qiu Che, that he could step on two boats without overturning them.
What's more, this will bring a lot of unnecessary trouble to the person who brought her into the court, Qiu Che.
The best option is actually for her to stay out of court and continue to work on her business.
As long as she doesn't go bankrupt, even if Qiu Che is dismissed and exiled, Li Qingwu will be able to get her back and take care of her until she dies.
One is in business and the other is in politics.
They will be each other's strongest support.
Letâs go back to the court.
No matter how others whispered about conspiracy theories, the prince just listened to their quarrel and had a headache.
Although the prince's brain circuit is quite straightforward, a year of court discussions has indeed made him grow a lot.
If you use your brain a little, you can naturally think of things that others can think of.
He glanced at Qiu Che with a strange look, and shuddered involuntarily when he saw the other party looking back with an unsympathetic look.
The prince hesitated for a moment, and finally made a tired decision: "We will discuss this matter tomorrow. If there are no other important matters, please retreat from the court."
The incense burner was burning in the palace, and everything was quiet.
The emperor on the dragon bed closed his eyes tightly, as if he was caught in some nightmare, and his lips were pale and a little green.
Concubine Xu Xian wore two layers of veil on her face, which effectively blocked the transmission of the smell from the incense burner.
At this time, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes lowered quietly, and she wiped the emperor's fingers with a wet towel.
Because he had been bedridden for more than three months, Li Shi's cheeks were sunken and his beard was unkempt. It could be seen that it had not been trimmed for a long time, and he looked extremely ill.
Concubine Xu Xian looked a little distracted.
In fact, she was not able to come here to serve patients from the beginning.
Four months ago, the emperor suddenly fell ill, and the prince, who was in charge of the country, ordered the entire Yangxin Hall to be sealed off.
Before anyone else could react, the prince had quickly cut off the possibility of anyone visiting the emperor.
The eunuch chief Fuzi and the Jinyiwei commander Cui Wenshen agreed with his remarks, which was naturally the ironclad evidence that sealed his words.
Although these two men had appeared once since then, they had never appeared in front of the public again after calming public opinion for the prince.
Especially Cui Wenshen.
Concubine Xu Xian keenly sensed something was wrong.
Soon after, her baby was miscarried.
After that, she found two people at the same time.
One is Li Qingwu and the other is the prince.
After surrendering to Li Qingwu, she did not send any news outside the palace, but turned to join the prince.
With a pale face, she recounted her experience, as if she didn't know that the prince had done something to her that caused her miscarriage.
He also apologized to the prince for his arrogant and domineering appearance.
And said, I know you imprisoned His Majesty.
I can help you.
The swords of the guards around the prince fell on Concubine Xu Xian's neck, and they suddenly paused because of the last sentence.
Concubine Xu Xian was always calm and composed.
The prince didn't believe it and asked her why.
She said she just wanted to live.
Although the other party still didn't believe it, he didn't attack her again.
Concubine Xu Xian knew that he would not take action.
Although Cui Wenshen and others stepped forward to calm public opinion for him, this still did not explain why the emperor could not see people.
The prince needed someone who was close to the emperor but not very close to him to patch up his lies.
Concubine Xu Xian bumped into him at this moment. It was like he was about to doze off, so someone handed him a pillow.
The concubine is a good choice.
Not only can it silence the courtiers' doubtful mouths - you see, it's not that I don't see anyone, I just don't want to see you.
At the same time, he can also monitor Concubine Xu Xian who already knows the truth.
When a beloved concubine dies suddenly, it is difficult to find a valid reason to arrange it.
As expected, a month later, Xu Xianfei's pretended melancholy and worry about the current situation took effect.
She was summoned to attend to the emperor's illness.
Concubine Xu Xian understood that she was still chosen by the prince.
ââIn other words, he was chosen by the people behind the prince.
The other party studied her words and deeds for a long time and finally settled on her.
The moment she saw the emperor paralyzed on the bed, human and ghost, Concubine Xu Xian confirmed her suspicions and heard the prince's faint voice behind her:
"You know what to do."
Concubine Xu Xian certainly knew.
It wasn't until this moment that her test really began.
She served the emperor with trepidation and never told the outside world about the emperor's true situation, just like a frightened bird.
In order to show that he was deeply worried, he only ate a few bites of three meals a day and became extremely thin.
But she managed to grasp that degree. Even when she was threatened by assassins sent by the prince, she never revealed anything she shouldn't have to others.
She vividly portrays the image of a weak woman who works hard, is a little clever, but has no ambition and just wants to live.
But despite this, after serving the emperor for more than three months, she had never seen the person behind the prince.
Li Shi also woke up many times during this period.
At first, I woke up every two or three days, and then it gradually became three days, five days, ten days, and half a month.
Even since the last time he woke up, the emperor had been silent for twenty-five days.
Because of the imprisoned nature of the emperor, Concubine Xu Xian had to rely on Concubine Xu alone to serve him.
Fortunately, the emperor didn't wake up for long each time. He would fall asleep again within a quarter of an hour.
And because the poison was so deep, he couldn't move at all, and he couldn't even speak clearly. He could only "uh-uh-uh-uh" like he was having a stroke.
After serving the emperor for a long time, Concubine Xu Xian was finally able to extract some information from the prince's occasional words to confirm his situation.
The emperor became like this, largely due to Nanyi.
On the surface, no one in the Imperial Hospital could find out what the emperor's illness was. In fact, everyone knew it, but they just didn't dare to say it.
If you say anything, you will be beheaded by the furious prince.
The majestic crown prince of Great Xia cooperated with the Nanyi people to bring down the emperor... It was simply appalling.
But...
Concubine Xu Xian smiled slightly when she thought of this.
The prince probably couldn't have imagined that during the time she was serving the emperor, because the emperor had no help and she acted unusually cowardly, the emperor had already regarded her as the last straw.
Just like now...
Concubine Xu Xian paused slightly as she faced the emperor's slowly opening eyes.
Then she whispered with worry on her face: "Your Majesty, are you awake?"
She immediately called Eunuch Fu at the door to come in as usual, and said in front of the emperor: "Your Majesty is awake again. Please hurry up and talk to His Highness the Prince." Say something."
Fuzi grinned, as if he couldn't see the emperor's look for help: "å»"
and then stepped back.
ââSince three months ago, every time the emperor wakes up, he will stare at them closely with such eyes.
Who couldn't see that he was asking for help?
It was just ignored.
The palace door then closed, and the bead curtain that opened and fell returned to calm.
In the eyes of the emperor, the last hope he had for the people around him also disappeared.
Concubine Xu Xian's gentle eyes fell on the emperor again: "Your Majesty, are you feeling okay?"
She expressed with sad eyes: I am really desperate. I must report you every time you wake up. This is not something I can decide.
The emperor looked at her for a long time, then opened and closed his lips slightly.
Make a few "ho ho" noises.
"What did you say?"
Concubine Xu Xian stood up and came forward.
Not knowing what she heard, her eyes widened slightly: "Are you...sure?"
Outside the hall, Cui Wenshen stood quietly in the corridor.
The figure was silent, like a quiet and ferocious wolf dog.
Only attack at the most appropriate time.
He glanced into the palace, but could only see a hazy shadow.
After hearing no other sound for a long time, Cui Wenshen turned around and left.
Inside the East Palace.
The prince opened the bead curtain irritably, making the curtain crackle.
"Qiu Che is really crazy! Completely crazy! Not to mention that he raided a brothel and gambling house a while ago, and now he is going to run a girls' school!"
His footsteps were pounding, revealing that the master was not in a calm mood, "This emperor Whoever wants to be fooled, I donât want to do this anymore!â
âYour Highness, this is wrongâ
came a faint voice from somewhere.
The prince was so frightened that he almost jumped up from the bed. When he took a closer look, he saw a thin and familiar figure standing behind the screen.
"Why are you here?" the prince asked unhappily. "You have been disappearing all day long. Aren't you afraid that I will have you dragged out and beheaded?"
"Your Highness," the man said softly, "You are not 'Your Majesty' yet. When you ascend the throne, you will understand the painstaking efforts of your subordinates.
"The power of a prince cannot be compared with that of an emperor."