When Shi Ying was pregnant and

Jiang Weiren left, the situation in the DPRK and China changed even more. In midsummer, there was another drought on Hedong Road. There was no rain in several state capitals for two months in a row. The disaster was urgent. Nine out of ten warehouses on Hedong Road were affected. When the situation was empty, Zhao Yuan asked the cabinet to draw up funds for disaster relief, but the Ministry of Household Affairs could not come up with the money.

The newly promoted Minister of Household Affairs was quite embarrassed, saying that last year the Ministry of Works carried out extensive construction work and renovated several palaces. In the first half of this year, the Ministry of War renovated its military equipment and built dozens of new warships. In addition, at the end of spring, the Huainan Road was repaired and the dam... After all, the Ministry of Household Affairs was stretched thin and could not come up with such a huge sum of money for a while. Number of disaster relief.

The Minister of Hubu was appointed by Zhao Yuanxin, and he already had a weak relationship with the other officials. Now he blamed the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War for the emptiness of the treasury, which aroused the anger of the two ministers and refuted them one after another.

"The expenditures of each ministry were discussed in the cabinet at the beginning of the year and then allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs. In which years in the past did the Ministry of Works not build palaces? Why was there no objection to the expenditures in previous years, but this year it was said that our Ministry of Works was carrying out large-scale construction?

"Renovation of military equipment is The importance of military affairs cannot be delayed, and disasters and injuries occur every year. There was also a drought in the east a few years ago. If your household department did not make preparations early, the household department has never been so sad before. "

In the past, Jiang Weiren personally presided over the Ministry of Household Affairs. The new Minister of Household Affairs encountered a drought as soon as he took office. Naturally, he could not cope with it. This is understandable.

But the officials in the other departments have always respected him in their hearts. The chief minister, Jiang Weiren, was naturally dissatisfied with the newly appointed Minister of Household Affairs.

Zhao Yuan was upset when he saw them arguing, so

he sent someone to drive him to Qionghua Hall after leaving court . After Xue Shiying entered the palace, Zhao Yuan did not enter the palace again. Everyone was secretly guessing

whether his majesty was interested in deposing the queen. He had such a plan, but he knew in his heart how much resistance he would encounter in the court if he really wanted to be deposed. At this time, Zhao Yuanzha was completely blinded when he heard the news

that Xue Shiying was pregnant.

Yes, he came to his senses after the imperial doctor reported it again, and asked Zhang Fang blankly, "My dear friend, did I hear wrongly? Zhang

Fang looked at it and said with a smile: "Congratulations, Your Majesty!" "

But...but...I never thought..." Zhao Yuan couldn't even speak smoothly. Zhang

Fang was the person who understood him best. Seeing him like this, he said: "Your Majesty, Emperor Yingzong had a son when he was fourteen years old." The eldest son was born, and Shizong also had Prince Mingxian at the age of sixteen. It is absolutely normal for you to be a father at this time. "

It will be the Wanshou Festival soon, and Zhao Yuan will be seventeen. Among the kings of Dayu, all the kings at this age have indeed had heirs. The late emperor Zhao Chun still lost some money in heirs because he was sick and weak since childhood. It took more than twenty years for him to have his only heir.

"Well, I'm going to see the Lord of Qinghe County..."

Naturally, the Qionghua Palace got the news early. When Zhao Yuan passed by, he saw that the door of the main palace was closed. Xue Shiying's personal maid also retreated to wait outside the palace.

When she saw the holy driver, the maid hurriedly stepped forward to pick him up. Zhao Yuan was more nervous than ever before. He looked at her and asked, "Where is the county master?"

"Your Majesty, the county master said he was not feeling well, so he just rested. " "

Zhao Yuan nodded, walked back and forth a few steps, and then asked the maid: "Then I ask you, does the county master know you..."

He was obviously very happy, but as soon as he mentioned the word "pregnant" , Zhao Yuan actually felt a little shy and hesitant.

"I know, the imperial doctor told the county chief after checking the pulse. "The maid replied.

Zhao Yuan suddenly raised his eyes, stared at the palace maid and asked: "Is the county master happy? "

The maid was a little panicked by his gaze, lowered her gaze, and replied in a low voice: "Happy, the county master is very happy. "

Zhao Yuan noticed the hesitation in the maid's eyes. He was so happy that he couldn't control himself. He turned around to look at Zhang Fang and murmured: "Daban, this is true. I am really going to be a father! "

He clasped his hands and stood under the eaves. After a while, when his mind calmed down a little, he said in a low voice: "I'll go and see her..."

He walked softly to her couch, Xue Shiying was lying on her side, and Zhao Yuan quietly sat on the small stool on the edge of the couch, not daring to move for fear of waking her up, so he looked at the back of her like

a majestic king . Sitting carefully.

Xue Shiying was sleeping lightly and felt a little hot when suddenly there was a breeze behind her. She thought it was the palace fan blowing, so she fell asleep again

until the sun turned to the west and the palace door was closed . , the light was a little dim, she felt the cool breeze beside her, and murmured with some sleepiness before she woke up: "Aluan? "

"It's me, sister. "Zhao Yuan stood up, came closer and whispered.

Xue Shiying looked at him, "Your Majesty..."

Zhao Yuan sat next to her, put down the fan in his hand, and helped her stand up, "There are only two of us here, why are we still here? Call me Your Majesty. Sister, you used to call me 'A Yuan' in private. Can you do the same in the future? "

That was because I was ignorant, arrogant and rude before..."

Zhao Yuan's smile deepened, and he put her hand in his palm and held it gently, "As long as I am here, sister can be arrogant for the rest of her life..."

Xue Shiying turned her head, not daring to look at his eyes at this moment.

Zhao Yuan stared at her, his eyes were so soft, "Sister, do you know that although the emperor is the emperor, I am not the emperor. Unhappy... Since I was young, my father has strictly disciplined me. I can't play or make trouble. I studied poetry at the age of three and learned archery at the age of five. I entered the Wenhua Hall and was supervised by more than a dozen Hanlin Academy masters. None of the five virtues dare to fall behind.

"In more than ten years, I have not been myself for a day... But today, I suddenly understand the benefits of being an emperor, because in the future, I can make my sister whatever she wants."

Xue Shiying said softly . She smiled, but did not speak. She did not want to tell him that even if he was a king, he could not give her what she wanted.

The news that Zhao Yuan planned to abolish the post shocked the government and the public, and they wrote letters to dissuade him.

"Your Majesty! There have been cases of abolishing the throne in every dynasty, but it was all because of the Queen's faulty virtues. Now the Queen's virtue is known both inside and outside. Your Majesty, deposing the Queen for no reason, how will the people of the world view your Majesty?"

Liang Chenghuan, the Minister of Rites, advised bitterly. , "Besides, even ordinary people have to follow the rules of seven exits if they want to divorce their wives. What's more, the abolition of the middle palace is a major matter related to the government. To abolish the queen easily will undermine the majesty of His Majesty!"

"Seven exits? " "Zhao Yuan chuckled and said, "If we talk about the seven births, the queen has no children, does this count as a reason?"

"Yes, the queen is young and has only been married to your majesty for a few years. How can your majesty abandon the queen at this time? . The queen is your majesty’s first wife. It has been said since ancient times that a wife of wretched men will not go to court..."

Seeing that he was going to make a long speech again, Zhao Yuan felt depressed. There was a pile of memorials from the Hanlin Academy in the past few days, and he could tell what they said without having to read them. Something happened.

"Liang Ge is an old minister from several dynasties. He is still working hard on state affairs in his seventies. I can't bear it. Let's do this. I have allowed Mr. Liang to retire and become an official. He can entertain his grandchildren and take care of himself."

He originally thought that Liang Chenghuan would be fine . His position can always shut up the ministers in the DPRK. But who would have thought that those officials were even more encouraging when they saw Mr. Liang Ge's outspoken advice. As soon as they came to court, they all knelt under Danqi and begged Zhao Yuan to take back his life.

After Empress Cao found out, she took off her hairpin and knelt outside the Manlu Palace. Even Yan Qing was alarmed and came to persuade him.

Yan Qing naturally also knew about the news of Xue Shiying's pregnancy. She understood Zhao Yuan's temperament, and if she blocked him blindly, it would only make him feel disgusted, so she advised: "The abolition of the queen caused such a big disturbance, if it caused such a big disturbance, The separation of monarchs and ministers is not good for the country. It will damage your reputation in the future. Even if Xue Shiying gives birth to a prince, how will this child win the hearts of the people in the future? You have to be patient for the sake of their mother and son. "

That's what Zhao Yuan is. He didn't care about anyone anymore, and he didn't dare to argue with her, not to mention what Yan Qing said was not unreasonable.

He could only temporarily suppress the thoughts of the deposed queen and decreed to make Xue Shiying his concubine. In this way, the former dynasty came to an end.

As soon as the turmoil subsided, news came of the civil uprising in the affected state capitals on Hedong Road.

Speaking of which, the victims of the disaster on Donghe Road are really desperate. It hasn’t rained for months, and the fields are dry and cracked. Autumn has already entered. There is no food left at home, and the harvest for the year cannot be counted on. No granaries were opened to release grain, and there was no news from the court about allocating disaster relief funds.

Moreover, in the Yu Dynasty, whenever there was a disaster in any county or county, various taxes would be exempted from the disaster-stricken areas.

Officials in several state capitals saw that the imperial court had not yet decided on disaster relief matters, and His Majesty had not issued an explicit decree to exempt taxes, so those officials continued to press for collection, thinking of waiting for the taxes to be paid. If it is collected into the vassal treasury, and when the court orders it to be tax-free, the money will no longer need to be transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, and it can be used to enrich one's own pockets.

The victims were already worried about their livelihood, but as a result, the government continued to impose taxes at this time, cutting off the people's livelihood. Naturally, they rose up and risked their lives to fight.

It's good now. We no longer have to worry about raising money for disaster relief. We have to directly send troops to quell the chaos. Zhao Yuan was extremely busy, and everyone in the court was looking forward to the chief minister returning from Ganzhou as soon as possible to take charge of the overall situation.

But Jiang Weiren is now in the west, with dozens of small countries in the west and a vast stretch of yellow sand desert. The person he is looking for has lost his homeland and has been displaced. He has to travel between countries, but finding the person is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"A-luan," Xue Shiying retreated from the palace in Qionghua Palace, leaving only his personal maid to ask, "Is there any news from Ganzhou?"

"Yes, there is news, master." A-luan replied. , "The people over there said that the Chief Assistant is not in Ganzhou at all, nor is he in the Protector's Mansion, and he has not repaired any border equipment. He left Yilan Pass early in the morning and has traveled to dozens of countries in the past few months. , asking around for a person's whereabouts. "

When Jiang Weiren suddenly requested an order to go to Ganzhou, Xue Shiying became suspicious. Wen Ying was still in her hands, so he could abandon such an important matter, no matter how he left Beijing. Look how strange it is.

The trade routes in the Western Territory were developed and there were many caravans traveling to and from the capital, so she asked Aluan to find someone in the caravan heading to the Western Territory and follow Jiang Weiren secretly to detect his movements.

Xue Shiying frowned, "Looking for someone? He has to travel thousands of miles outside the Great Wall to find someone in person? Who is he looking for?"

"That person is the royal family of a small country called Qule in the Western Region, but Qule The country was annexed by the Liang Kingdom many years ago, and all the royal families in the country were captured and taken to the Huangcheng of the Liang Kingdom. I heard that the only one left in the Qule royal family was the First Assistant who saved those prisoners in the battle with the Liang Kingdom. The whereabouts of these people were unknown later, including that person."

"Qule..." Xue Shiying pondered for a while, then came back to his senses and asked Aluan again, "By the way, I heard that Queen Mother Shengyi was quite ill this time. ?"

Aluan nodded and said: "It's not like you don't know that Queen Shengyi's body has been ailing for many years. She used to suffer from frequent colds in autumn and winter. This time, she didn't get better in midsummer. Now the weather is cold. Listen. It's even worse. Because Empress Shengyi is ill, Zhonggong has to go to the Qingsi Court every day to pay her respects. Naturally, the ministers in the court praise her for her obedience and virtue."

Xue Shiying glanced at her and said, "How is Zhonggong doing? , after all, you are not sorry for us, why don't we allow others to go if you don't go to pay your respects? From now on, you should stop talking about the merits of the palace!"

People outside thought that she and Cao Yujun were incompatible, but in fact she was not interested in them. The queen has no feelings of disgust. She used to be the adopted daughter of Empress Cao. Cao Yujun was the daughter of the Cao family. She often visited the palace to visit Empress Dowager Cao. She generally knew what kind of temper Cao Yujun was.

It's just that the people around her are eager for her to enter the middle palace, so they are naturally unhappy with the queen.

A Luan was scolded by her and could only lower her head and answer yes. Then she remembered something and came closer and said, "By the way, Master, I heard that because of the illness of Queen Mother Shengyi, Eunuch Zhang specially went to the palace to invite a doctor. Now at Qing Si Yuan The medicine cooked over there is not the recipe from the Taiyuan Hospital, it is all made by that private doctor. I am afraid that even your Majesty does not know about it. "

Zhao Yuan was busy with government affairs. Although he knew the news of Yan Qing's illness, he could not be separated. Lacking any skills, he could only order the imperial hospital to serve him wholeheartedly, and he had no time to ask anyone else.

"When it comes to medical skills, there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the Imperial Hospital. If she really just had an ordinary cold, why did she go to such trouble and hide it from His Majesty... What's more, how could her illness be cured after being treated by the Imperial Hospital for so many years? The doctor is getting worse, and it doesn't look like an ordinary cold syndrome."

After thinking for a while, Xue Shiying said to Aluan, "Just check it from the private doctor. You can go directly to get someone to interrogate it, not Eunuch Zhang. If you’re afraid, just say I asked you to go.”