Extra Chapter 2
Fu Chen and Tang Ying traveled around the country and it was already mid-August when they returned to Beijing, which was considered a long vacation for them.
Perhaps it was because Tang Ying had put down the heavy burden on her heart, and her mental state was very different from before. She looked much more lively, so much so that when Jing Feng heard that Manager Tang had returned to Beijing, he went to visit her and found that she did not look tired at all from the long journey, but instead looked very energetic.
"I heard that the headmaster has returned to the capital. I guessed that the headmaster would have to go to the palace to see the emperor. It just so happens that I also want to go to the palace, so I came here on the way. Did the headmaster Tang encounter any happy things?"
Tang Ying: "Does getting promoted and getting rich count?"
Jing Feng suppressed his laughter: "As long as we don't get married, it's fine."
Jing Huai is an old fox. He knows that he is old and it is time for him to retire. However, before retiring, he always wants to pave the way for his descendants. Moreover, the previous emperor was obsessed with alchemy and favored treacherous ministers. So he continued to act in the same way as before and tried to smooth things over. However, his youngest son Jing Feng acted impartially and was not afraid to disobey his own father for the sake of the treacherous ministers. Young Master Jing became famous among the literati.
After the new emperor Yuan Jian came to the throne, he submitted his resignation and asked to retire to live out his days.
Yuan Jian approved his request and promoted Lord Xiao Jing as a reward for his consideration.
Lord Xiao Jing is now the youngest third-rank Dali Temple Minister in Southern Qi, and most importantly, he is single.
Since his promotion, countless young ladies from prominent families in the capital were interested in marrying into the Jing family. For a while, Jing Feng was extremely popular in the capital. Matchmakers almost broke down the door of the Jing mansion, but no news came out.
Tang Ying packed up and prepared to go to the palace to meet the emperor and to meet the Empress Yang Huniu, and to ask her childhood friend if she was accustomed to life in the palace. Since Jing Feng had a keen sense of smell and came to invite her personally, she did not refuse and rode into the palace with him.
When Yuan Jian saw Jing Feng and Tang Ying coming together, he was stunned for a moment.
"Second brother, what are you doing..." You kicked Lord Fu as soon as you arrived in Beijing?
Tang Ying coughed and solemnly paid homage to the new emperor: "I left Beijing and was unable to attend your Majesty's coronation ceremony. I hope your Majesty will forgive me."
"No need to be polite, but please stand up." Yuan Jian didn't care about this. Instead, he was more concerned about Tang Ying's lifelong event: "Tang Qing, you have worked hard along the way. The Queen has mentioned it to me countless times. I have been looking forward to it. Tang Qing, please go and see the Queen when you are free, so that she won't worry."
When Yuan Jian entered the capital in response to the late emperor's edict, he only brought his soldiers with him. The princess and the young prince stayed in Gyeongzhou. It was only after their status was initially determined that someone was sent to Gyeongzhou to pick them up. When Tang Ying left the capital, Yang Huniu had not yet arrived, so the two missed each other.
Tang Ying and Yuan Jian chatted briefly about official business, but since it was not appropriate to discuss the matter in front of Jingfeng, she said goodbye and went straight to the harem to meet the empress, leaving Jingfeng to discuss state affairs with the new emperor.
As soon as the news of Master Tang's return to the capital spread, she was stopped by Bao Yi, who was smiling, before she even reached the harem: "Master, you are back? Did you have a smooth journey?" Bao Yi also teased her: "You are going to have a wedding after you come back this time, right?"
"You are well-informed." Tang Ying smiled and said, "There is no rush for marriage." She asked about the Forbidden Cavalry Division again. Baoyi talked as they walked and told her about all the changes that had happened in the Forbidden Cavalry Division in the past few months.
Nothing serious will happen if the Imperial Cavalry Division is handed over to Yao Niang and Gan Jun. Moreover, the new emperor is merciful and has summoned back the spies staying in the residences of ministers. If there are really members of the division who are willing to stay in the residences of ministers and cannot bear to leave because they want to raise children, they can simply be deregistered from the division and become ordinary people from now on.
This move was praised by many people as a benevolent policy, and it also led to reforms within the Imperial Cavalry Department.
Tang Ying and Fu Chen returned just in time for the internal reforms of the department.
In the last years of the previous emperor, in order to pave the way for the crown prince, he killed many old ministers. In addition, he listened to the treacherous and evil ways of flatterers and killed countless people. The wide range of people implicated and the deep impact had caused turmoil in the court and instability among the people. The new emperor ascended the throne at this time, just in time to implement benevolent policies and win the hearts of the ministers.
"We are lucky to have a benevolent new monarch." Tang Ying said goodbye to Baoyi in front of the Queen's Kunning Palace and stepped into the Central Palace.
Yang Huniu, dressed in tight clothes, was practicing wooden cannon in the palace. Her wooden cannon was as long as a rope. Flowers and leaves fell wherever it passed. The little prince clapped his hands excitedly and laughed loudly.
"The palace servants have taken good care of the flowers and trees in this yard, but you and your son have really ruined it." Tang Ying walked out from between the flowers and trees, bent down, picked up the little prince, and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
The little prince's chubby face was full of confusion, as if he was saying "Where did this lunatic come from?" He silently struggled with his short legs and tried to slip out of her arms, and kept looking at his mother, as if asking for help.
Unfortunately, his mother was always careless and had difficulty understanding the sensitive thoughts of young children. She threw away Changmukang and rushed over to hug both her son and her friend: "Yingying, you're back!" Her joy and enthusiasm overflowed, and the palace maids beside her were stunned.
Tang Ying was almost unable to breathe because of her iron arms. She said with disgust: "Let go! Let go! I'm really afraid that His Majesty can't stand you like this!"
The new emperor's body is not as strong as hers in terms of resistance and tolerance.
Yang Huniu didn't care about all this. Her laughter was so loud that it shook the eardrums: "I'm glad you're back! You don't know how bored I was in the palace..." She kept talking about her longing for Tang Ying. Those who didn't know would think that Tang Ying was her lover.
Just as she was feeling happy, two old maids with stern faces suddenly came in from the palace gate. One of them came forward and reminded her, "Your Highness, please pay attention to your manners!"
Yang Huniu's smile froze, and she was a little embarrassed. She was about to glare in anger, but Tang Ying smiled and said, "Where did you come from, you old servant? How dare you criticize the Queen? I wonder whose order you are following?"
The old maid's eyes still showed a bit of pride: "The queen is from Qingzhou, and she is not familiar with many palace rules. I am here to teach her the palace rules in accordance with the order of the queen mother. If the princess is dissatisfied, why not go to the queen mother to argue with her."
Yang Huniu was not very good at household affairs and always liked to wield swords and sticks. Unexpectedly, when her luck came, she could not be stopped. She first became a prince's consort, and then she could cope in Prince Qing's Mansion. After all, she had capable subordinates and no mother-in-law to trouble her, so she could get away with it.
But things were completely different after entering the palace. He was bullied several times by the Empress Dowager, and then an old nanny was sent to teach him etiquette as his biological mother. The new emperor was busy with the affairs of the previous dynasty and had to clean up the mess left by the late emperor. He was so busy that he often had to rest in the imperial study. He only hurried to the harem once in a few days and had to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager. Hu Niu did not want to make things difficult for him, so she had to endure the anger of the old nanny beside the Empress Dowager.
Seeing Tang Ying coming back was like finding a savior.
"Your Majesty, thank you for your kindness. As for teaching you the palace rules, please don't worry about it. There are many palace maids who are familiar with the palace rules. I heard that your Majesty has always been in poor health. When the late emperor was alive, she didn't dare to work. If you have to worry about such a small matter, wouldn't it be unfilial of your Majesty?"
Tang Ying quickly dismissed the two old maids: "Come here, send the maids who are with the Empress Dowager back. The Empress Dowager is not feeling well, and instead of serving her are running to the Empress's palace to help. These servants are actually getting more and more lazy!"
Immediately, two secret guards from the Imperial Cavalry Division appeared, one holding the old lady and trying to send her back.
The old nanny was not prepared for Tang Ying's move and immediately said angrily, "The Empress Dowager has ordered you to intervene in the palace affairs without authorization. Don't you think you are overreaching?"
Tang Ying was not afraid of these old slaves. She said with a smile, "Since Madam is so stubborn and refuses to leave, she even dares to accuse me of interfering in palace affairs!" She pointed at a young maid beside Yang Huniu and said, "Go to the Imperial Hospital and ask a few more doctors to come to the Empress Dowager's Shoukang Palace to check her pulse. We, as ministers, don't care about the Empress Dowager's health, but instead make her listen to the instigation of these old slaves and sow discord between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in - We deserve to be beaten!"
She changed her mind and ordered her men: "Send these two old slaves to the inner prison for Aunt Chun to interrogate them and find out what they are thinking."
The inner prison of the Imperial Cavalry Department is like the ground where you can’t return. Besides, Chunniang has a bad reputation. Her name alone will make people tremble. When the two old maids heard that Tang Ying wanted to send them to the inner prison, they were so scared that they didn’t care about the palace rules and etiquette. They shouted, “Mr. Tang, we are the people around the Empress Dowager. How dare you send us to the inner prison without permission? You are so bold!”
Yang Huniu was already stunned, hugging her son with a look of admiration.
Tang Ying smiled and said, "It's just two worthless lives. Your Majesty is busy, and the Empress is new here and doesn't know what's going on in the palace. You old slaves like you are bossing her around. If I stand by and watch, wouldn't I be letting the Empress be bullied?"
"Go ahead."
At her command, the secret guards protecting the palace stuffed the mouths of the two old maids and dragged them away.
"Yingying, thank goodness you are here!" After entering the palace, Yang Huniu was unfamiliar with palace affairs, and did not quite understand palace rules and etiquette. She suffered a lot from the empress dowager, and even the miscellaneous affairs of the palace are still in the hands of the empress dowager.
When Tang Ying heard about this, her brows furrowed. "Forget it. In this case, I will accompany you to the Queen Mother's Palace today to take back the power first."
Yang Huniu was a little hesitant: "But Yingying, you know I have always... not liked these things."
Tang Ying slapped her hard on the shoulder: "What nonsense are you talking about? There are so many things in this world that you don't like, how can everything go as you wish? Now you are the Empress, you have to learn even if you don't like it, and you have to bite the bullet. Do you still want to let the Emperor hold your neck and send old servants to make things difficult for you?" She sighed again: "You don't understand the palace. There are always intricate relationships between the previous dynasty and the harem. If you can't manage the harem for His Majesty, and let His Majesty's harem become a sieve, then someone will volunteer to manage the harem for His Majesty." She changed the subject and encouraged her: "Besides, what's the difficulty? Use Uncle Yang's skills in managing the army, and I guarantee that the palace will be managed like an iron bucket."
Speaking of military management, Yang Huniu immediately smiled and said, "That makes sense. I'll listen to you!"
