Chapter 570 I Don’t Believe It
When Shi's son heard Mrs. Xie calling him "Ai Qing" left and right, he couldn't help but burst into tears. He raised his sleeves to wipe away his tears and told Mrs. Xie to stop calling him "Ai Qing" anymore.
He trembled as he told Old Lady Xie that he was no longer the elder Taijian of the New Song Dynasty, nor was he a minister of the Lin'an court.
Shi's son told them tearfully that he had been demoted and was only a third-level research officer.
Old Mrs. Xie looked at her son Shi in confusion and asked: Why? What is the official position of the third-level researcher?
Shi's son didn't understand what was going on either. Overall, he was demoted four levels at least, and was a far cry from the position of Taijian Elder. After this guy's explanation, the empress dowager realized that it was no good to stick with the restoration. Meritorious officials like Shi's son were demoted to second-rate officials. Who would dare to clamor for restoration to fight for the rights and interests of her, the deposed empress dowager and the government?
Old Mrs. Xie was unwilling to accept this and cursed Zhao Feiyan and Zhao Yulin for demoting Shi Aiqing, who was a great contributor to the Song Dynasty. Then she fell into deep thought and remained silent.
The emperor was secretly delighted. Back then, Shi's son, his father and the empress dowager had colluded to turn the emperor into a puppet. Today it was the turn of Shi's family to go to jail, and Shi's son had become a disabled person. It was really retribution.
Shi's son kept shaking his head, advising the Queen Mother to rest and enjoy her old age. The state machine established by the Third Young Master is extremely powerful, far surpassing the Lin'an court. Don't do those little tricks, it's impossible to imagine that you won't be caught by Zhao Yulin.
Shi and Zhao Yulin fought for more than ten years, and Shi was convinced of his defeat.
He told the Queen Mother helplessly that he felt mixed emotions at heart as he watched the elders of Taijian Hall and the directors of various departments riding in the imperial carriage to Qingcheng Mountain to spend the summer, while he, a third-level research official, could only endure the scorching heat at home.
Shi's son stood up, staggered, and bowed to say goodbye.
After everyone left the living room, Old Lady Xie finally woke up. She glared at the emperor and yelled: "Why don't you say a few words? Is the emperor only good at pretending to be a god?"
The emperor has been absorbed in practicing calligraphy recently, and his temper has improved a lot. He asked the empress dowager: What else can I say? Are you asking me to fight with Yulin?
That’s Feiyan’s husband, my good son-in-law.
As a mother, I have already made it clear that I want to return power, and that guy has also clearly told me not to dream of taking back the power.
The Song Dynasty is gone. Now we have the New Song Dynasty, a republican country.
Wake up.
The empress dowager was extremely dissatisfied. She looked at the emperor with a puzzled look and said: I just don't believe it. Doesn't your Majesty want to sit on the throne anymore?
The emperor shook his body and said: What's the use of thinking about it? Now I have no soldiers in my hands and no money in my pocket. If I want to reward them with a fiefdom to trick them into following me, the New Song Dynasty has already distributed the land to the common people.
The most important thing is: kneeling ceremony has long been abolished in the New Song Dynasty. Officials and common people only kneel to their parents. Everyone wants to live with their head held high. Who would be willing to be a spineless person and kneel down all the time?
Old Lady Xie gradually lost her confidence and asked him unwillingly: Is my son willing to live like this? There are not many servants in this courtyard, and the imperial concubine has to clean the toilet herself. The weather is hot and sweaty, doesn't the emperor want to go to Qingcheng Mountain to cool down?
The emperor laughed when questioned by Old Lady Xie, and asked the Empress Dowager: There were servants in the yard when you first came in, who told them to be taken away?
He thought that being an ordinary person was not necessarily that difficult, so the emperor immediately asked his attendants to invite Xie Wuhui over.
Xie Wuhui went in quickly and asked: Uncle Zhao, what do you want?
The emperor said with a smile: Wuhui, please go to the Ministry of Rites and tell them that Mr. Zhao feels Huaxi is too hot and wants to take his family to Qingcheng to escape the summer heat. Let's see if arrangements can be made?
Xie Wuhui was stunned at first, then immediately replied: I’ll do it right away.
When the emperor saw Xie Wuhui leaving, he said to Old Lady Xie that he had nothing to do here anymore, then got up and went back into the study.
Old Mrs. Xie shook her head as she watched the emperor walking away, unable to understand why her son had become so weak.
Zhao Yulin was discussing military discipline inspection with Fenghuang, Miao Gui and others in the Ministry of War when the Minister of Rites Li Liang and Xie Wuhui hurried over.
Li Liang took a sip of water and told him that the official of the previous dynasty called him "Sir" and asked to take his family to Qingcheng Mountain to escape the summer heat.
Zhao Yulin looked at Xie Wuhui, and Wuhui told him in surprise: Uncle Zhao asked his subordinates to tell the Ministry of Rites: Mr. Zhao feels that Huaxi is too hot, and wants to take his family to Qingcheng Mountain to escape the heat. Let's see if arrangements can be made?
Zhao Yulin was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that this calligrapher who had been emperor for decades would voluntarily call him "Sir".
He thought for a moment and told Li Liang that Mr. Zhao was the emperor of the previous dynasty and the father of the King of Feiyan. We cannot neglect him. As long as this person supports the republic and our strategy of governing the country with equality for all, the Ministry of Rites should provide him with sufficient convenience.
However, the Censorate just went to the Jianfu Palace in Qingcheng today. Where else can Mr. Zhao and his family be accommodated?
Li Liang immediately said: The Patriarch's Hall next to the Tianshi Cave has just been renovated, and there are houses there that are just enough for us.
Zhao Yulin nodded and asked Xie Wuhui to go to his office to get a bottle of Longjing tea and send it to Mr. Zhao. He told Mr. Zhao that this was the only way for now and that he would need to wait for some time if he wanted to live at the foot of the mountain.
Xie Wuhui went there happily immediately.
As soon as I returned to Huaxi Villa, I went directly to the east wing where the emperor lived. The emperor and the empress were having tea and chatting together.
After she presented Zhao Yulin's Longjing tea, she happily told the emperor that it was Commander Zhao who sent it. The Commander said: The Censorate had just gone to Jianfu Palace in Qingcheng, and if we want to go there, we can only go to the Zushi Hall halfway up the mountain, otherwise it will take some time. The Zushi Hall is cooler than Jianfu Palace, and it was renovated this year.
The emperor played with the exquisite tea can given to him by Zhao Yulin and said with a smile: Let's go to the Ancestral Hall.
Xie Wuhui said immediately: Let's set off the next day, and she will prepare all the necessary things as soon as possible.
The emperor nodded and continued to play with the tea can and observe the tea leaves inside.
When the queen saw Xie Wuhui leaving, she smiled and said: Yulin's son-in-law is very thoughtful. He knows that the emperor likes Shifeng tea. This tea can is also newly made, so crystal clear that you can see through it at a glance.
The emperor handed the tea can to the queen lovingly and said: There is Longjing tea everywhere in Lin'an, but the real Longjing tea is only from a few old tea trees.
Immediately, he told the queen to stop calling her "the emperor" and to call her "husband" which was more intimate.
Now it was the queen's turn to be stunned, and she immediately said, "Hmm," "My husband is right. I'll remember it." The queen understood that the emperor was tired and didn't want to fight for that hot potato anymore.
It is true that although the emperor used to wear the hat of the supreme ruler, he never really served as emperor for a few days. It was always his mother who made decisions for him.
In this case, it would be better for him not to be the emperor.
The empress had lived in fear for seven or eight years in Mobei and was physically and mentally exhausted. After seeing the emperor give up his power, she felt much more relaxed. She happily picked up the ink stick and ground it carefully, watching her husband writing with love.
At this time, the imperial concubine came back, pounding her back and complaining that the weather was too hot. The empress dowager asked the servants to clean the kitchen, and her back was bent and painful.
Then he teased the emperor and said: I have worked so hard, why don’t you reward me with a bamboo forest firewood chicken to eat?
The emperor ignored her and continued to write with the brush in his hand.
The queen immediately said: Don’t call me emperor from now on, my husband doesn’t like it.
The emperor put down the brush in his hand, pointed to the Longjing tea Zhao Yulin gave him on the table and said: "New Longjing tea, try it."
The imperial concubine was still wondering, "Majesty, are we going to change our address?" When she heard the queen shout, "What's wrong, sister? Make some tea?" she hurriedly followed the queen to get the teacup and pour the tea.
The emperor picked up the teacup, glanced at the stunned concubine and said: Try it, this is the new tea sent by Yulin.
Then, the emperor smelled the tea very elegantly , blew on the bubbles and took a sip.
After the queen smelled the tea, she happily asked the imperial concubine to taste it. It was really fragrant. She happily asked the emperor: My husband, should we also pack up our things for the trip to Qingcheng?
The emperor said: There is nothing to take with you, just the books on the table.
When the imperial concubine heard that they were going to Qingcheng Mountain, she asked in surprise, "What are you really going to Qingcheng to escape the summer heat?"
The queen said with a smile: It was arranged personally by my son-in-law Yulin, so we are going to stay in the Ancestral Hall in Qingcheng for some time.
The imperial concubine was happy for only three seconds, and then her face turned black. She muttered: Living halfway up the mountain, I have to move everything up there, I'm going to break my legs.
The emperor put the tea bowl on the table and said: You will feel much more relaxed if you go to the backyard less and scream less.
When the Queen saw that the Emperor was unhappy, she immediately winked at the Imperial Concubine, and the two of them walked out quickly in small steps. When they came to Tingyuxuan in the courtyard, the Queen said: My husband is tired, and he doesn't want to be used as a gun by the Empress Dowager anymore. In the future, my sister will also be wanted to be the Imperial Concubine again. Let's all live a good and relaxed life.
When the imperial concubine heard what the queen said, she understood everything.
Two days later, the Ministry of Rites sent the same senator who had welcomed the emperor last time to take care of the itinerary. Old Lady Xie was surprised to find that two brand new carriages were provided for her and the emperor. The four-wheeled carriages looked majestic and beautiful. The group got on the carriages and headed towards Qingcheng Mountain.
The old lady was bored, so she called Xie Wuhui into the carriage to chat.
Wu Hui told her that it was a new model carriage from Yibin sent by the Central Court's Office. This time, Jinguan City purchased a large number of this carriage for all officials above the level of deputy envoys of various departments, and they also needed to buy healthy horses from Corning Prefecture for distribution.
Old Mrs. Xie exclaimed, "Oh my!" and said, "What a wonderful dragon cave! How much silver will this cost?"
Anyone can ride in such a luxurious carriage, isn't that against the rules?
Xie Wuhui smiled and said that the New Song Dynasty did not have so many rules. This was the newest shock-absorbing carriage in the New Song Dynasty, designed by the Third Young Master himself. It was called mass production and mass use. Only by finding out the problems with the carriage and improving it to make a better one, this was called government leadership to stimulate domestic demand.
How could Old Mrs. Xie understand what Zhao Yulin said about the principles of economic development in future generations? She always felt that such an exquisite and comfortable carriage could only be used by the royal family. How could anyone ride it?
