Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Lu Bing stood in the main hall with his hands hanging down, wiping the cold sweat off his forehead. Even in the middle of winter, he was still scared out of his wits.
He was secretly glad that he did not collude with those who begged for mercy. Otherwise, today would be the day he died.
Lu Bing looked at Cao Zhengchun who was standing at the side with his hands down and thought,"The East Chamber has been rebuilt. From now on, you have to be careful.”
Now, the East Chamber was the Emperor's eyes and ears, and the Brocade Guards were His Majesty's minions.
If the Embroidered Uniform Guards could not satisfy the Emperor, it was not impossible to get rid of the Embroidered Uniform Guards 'minions and train the East Chamber's minions.
In the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Zhu Zaihou, Cao Zhengchun, and Lu Bing were discussing the battle at the front line. Shangguan Haitang stood in the main hall with a booklet and did not participate.
Cining Palace.
Empress Dowager Fang and Empress Dowager Du were counting the silver deposits of the Internal Affairs Office with the chief eunuch of the Internal Affairs Office.
If they wanted to hold a civil selection next year, they would need to spend a lot of money. If they wanted to be thrifty, they could only choose beautiful women from the counties around the capital to enter the palace.
"A single selection actually costs 300,000 silver taels? Isn't this too extravagant?" Zhu Zaihou's birth mother, Empress Dowager Du, frowned. Especially when she heard that the money from the Internal Affairs Bureau was less than 800,000 taels, she felt that the money spent on the civil selection was too much.
"Alright, go and prepare for the selection. As for the money, this widow has her own ways.”Empress Dowager Fang said to the chief eunuch of the Internal Affairs Office.
"As you wish."
The chief eunuch of the Internal Affairs Office withdrew from Cining Palace and began to prepare for the civil selection of talents.
Empress Dowager Du looked at Empress Dowager Fang uneasily and said,""Elder sister, the Internal Affairs Bureau doesn't have much silver left. It's better to be frugal and choose some beautiful women from the counties near the capital to enter the palace.”
Empress Dowager Fang waved her hand and said calmly,""This is Hou 'er's first selection after she ascended the throne. How can we ignore it? They had to select beautiful women to enter the palace within the Nine Provinces! If they only selected beautiful women from the surrounding counties to enter the palace, wouldn't it be a disgrace to the dignity of the royal family?”
"But the Internal Affairs Office doesn't have much money left.”Empress Dowager Du said.
Empress Dowager Fang summoned Empress Dowager Du to her side and whispered in her ear,""Younger sister, don't worry. This widow will hold a birthday ceremony and have the civil and military officials send gifts. This silver deficit will be made up for.”
When Empress Dowager Du heard Empress Dowager Fang's words, she suddenly realized,""Now that things have come to this, this is the only way.”
The two empress dowager had decided on the matter of the selection of talents. As for the matter of the lack of silver in the Imperial Household, they had also come up with a solution.
At this moment, the chief eunuch of Cining Palace said something in a low voice. Empress Dowager Fang frowned.
"A woman from outside the palace is entering the palace to meet His Majesty? What kind of woman?" Empress Dowager Fang asked.
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, this woman is the manor master of the world's number one manor. She controls the world's secrets, is intelligent, and her beauty is unparalleled in the world!”
As the eunuch of Cining Palace finished speaking, Empress Fang suddenly stood up."How can this be! Hou 'er was just nine years old this year and would only turn ten in a month! How can you get close to women? This is harming my Hou 'er!”
"Someone come! Set up the Palace of Heavenly Purity, aijia wants to see what kind of beauty is unparalleled in the world?”
"If this demoness brings disaster to the country, this widow will not tolerate her!”
The two Empress Dowager set out to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Ever since Zhu Zaihou ascended the throne, the two Empress Dowager had never stepped into the Palace of Heavenly Purity. In their eyes, the Palace of Heavenly Purity was the Emperor's business.
Although they were the empress dowager, they still had to respect the emperor. Even if Zhu Zaihou was the young emperor, he was still their backer.
Empress Dowager Fang's expression was very gloomy.
There had been cases of demonesses bringing disaster to the country in every dynasty, and Empress Dowager Fang would never allow such a thing to happen to Hou 'er. In Empress Dowager Fang's opinion, the women of the common people entering the palace would not have good intentions.
If His Majesty was already an adult, it was fine for these women to enter the palace. However, His Majesty was still young. If he was bewitched by the demoness and injured his body, it would be too late for regret.
When the two Empress Dowager went to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, they asked the Chief Eunuch of Cining Palace,""Who brought this woman into the palace?”
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager, it was Cao Zhengchun, the supervisor of the East Chamber, who brought this woman into the palace.”
The Empress Dowager's carriage stopped outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Zhu Zaihou was reading the memorial. Cao Zhengchun and Lu Bing had already left the Forbidden City. In the huge Palace of Heavenly Purity, Shangguan Haitang was the only one left, grinding ink for Zhu Zaihou.
Zhu Zaihou left Shangguan Haitang alone because he knew about The Best Manor. Although Zhu Zaihou also thought that Shangguan Haitang was very handsome, he was only a teenager…
Therefore, Zhu Zaihou did not think about these things between men and women.
When Shangguan Haitang was grinding ink for Zhu Zaihou, she sighed in her heart. The Emperor was handling state affairs at such a young age. It really made her heart ache.
Shangguan Haitang did not glance at the contents of the memorial. Even if she wanted to read it, she did not have the courage to do so.
At this moment, the eunuch of Cining Palace announced outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity,""The Empress Dowager has arrived!"
Before Zhu Zaihou could get up, the two Empress Dowager had already appeared outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Empress Dowager Fang turned to look at the eunuchs of Cining Palace behind her and ordered,""All of you wait outside!"
"I will obey the Empress Dowager's orders."
Zhu Zaihou looked at the two empress dowager with a puzzled expression.
"Mother, Consort Mother…"
"This lowly subject greets the Empress Dowager." Shangguan Haitang kowtowed.
Shangguan Haitang was a second-class imperial guard with a saber. She was a fifth-grade official who received a salary from the imperial court.
After Zhu Zaihou stood up and greeted the two Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager Fang looked at Shangguan Haitang, who was kneeling on the ground.
Empress Dowager Fang looked at Shangguan Haitang and said,""Raise your head."
"As you wish."
Shangguan Haitang raised her head. When she looked at the Empress Dowager, she was surprised to find that Empress Dowager Fang's expression was extremely cold.
Empress Dowager Fang looked at Shangguan Haitang and said,""She is indeed a heavenly beauty!"
After Empress Dowager Fang finished speaking, she turned to look at Zhu Zaihou, and her expression became amiable.
"Hou 'er, this widow likes this little guard very much. Let her go to Ci Ning Palace with this widow.”
When the two Empress Dowager entered the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Zhu Zaihou knew that there must be something important. However, he did not expect that the Empress Dowager would come for Shangguan Haitang.
Shangguan Haitang was intelligent and immediately heard the clues from the Empress Dowager's expression and words.
If he went to Cining Palace, his life and death would be unknown!
However, the empress dowager was concerned about the emperor's face and did not mention anything about the demoness disrupting the country or taking care of her body.
Zhu Zaihou listened to the Empress Dowager's words and frowned.""Mother came here for her?”
Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Zhu Zaihou looked straight at the Empress Dowager. Shangguan Haitang was kneeling in the main hall. In the Empress Dowager's eyes, even though Shangguan Haitang was wearing a flying fish robe, she was still a heavenly beauty with a unique charm!
Such a woman must not stay by Tian Zi's side!
However, the empress dowager also noticed that the emperor's gaze revealed the majesty of an emperor.
If he forcefully took Shangguan Haitang away, he was afraid that it would not work, so he could only make up an excuse.
Of course, Zhu Zaihou would not let Shangguan Haitang follow the Empress Dowager to Cining Palace. Shangguan Haitang still had to manage the world's best manor for him. How could she go to Cining Palace to serve the Empress Dowager?
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。