The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 261: very ingenious
Chapter 261: Very Artisan
“Although my eldest sister won a great victory in southern Xinjiang this time, the left prime minister Li Mao and his people in the court have reported to the emperor the matter of burning and killing surrendered prisoners in Wengshan, hoping that the emperor will severely punish my eldest sister. The emperor has kept the memorials and has not sent them out. I don’t know what his plan is.” Bai Jinxiu frowned.
“The King of Xiliang, Li Zhijie, and the Princess of Xiliang have both come to the capital. The emperor will not embarrass me in front of outsiders, or he will tell Xiliang… that His Majesty is dissatisfied with the generals who won the great victory over Southern Xinjiang.” Bai Qingyan rested his elbows on the table and blew into the teacup slowly. “Although the emperor is suspicious and narrow-minded, he is very proud. How could he let other countries know about the discord between the emperor and his ministers in our court?”
Bai Jinxiu also picked up her teacup and thought carefully about the recent developments in the court: “The emperor’s attitude is ambiguous. He didn’t reprimand the left prime minister Li Mao’s faction, but he also suppressed the memorial. It’s really… hard to understand.”
“It’s probably because the Crown Prince hasn’t returned yet. His Majesty doesn’t know the situation in Southern Xinjiang. More importantly, His Majesty doesn’t know whether the Crown Prince has subdued me. This time His Majesty didn’t let the victorious generals enter the palace, but only asked the Crown Prince to go. I think… at the latest at the banquet tomorrow, the reward will definitely come!”
“That depends on what the emperor wants to reward my elder sister and the fourth child.” Bai Jinxiu clenched her teacup and looked at Bai Qingyan. “If it is a title of princess or something like that, it means that the Bai family will no longer be used. If it is a general… it means that our dynasty is going to use women as generals.”
“So…” She raised her eyes to look at Bai Jinxiu, with a faint smile in the corners of her eyes, “The emperor will definitely not appoint a general. The current emperor… does not have the courage of the Queen of Yan! Employing a woman as a general… will definitely lead to criticism from the whole court. The emperor will not put himself on the stove for Bai Qingyan, even if now is the best time to appoint a woman as an official.”
She looked at the steaming cup in her hand. “But the emperor must reward the crown prince, reward Zhang Duanrui, Shi Panshan, General Zhen Zeping who returned victoriously, and reward the generals of the Bai family army. The more unfair the emperor is to the Bai family, Xiao Si and me, the more united we in the Bai family army will be.”
Bai Jinxiu nodded. Yes…Eldest sister is the Bai family army’s little Bai Shuai, and is the biggest contributor to the victory over Xiliang. If the emperor treats eldest sister poorly, what will the Bai family army soldiers who follow the Bai family’s lead think? They will definitely feel unwilling, and thus their hearts will be more towards the Bai family and eldest sister.
“There is one more thing.” Bai Jinxiu put down the teacup in her hand, raised her head and said solemnly, “Prince Liang… was released from prison half a month ago. Gao Sheng will be executed soon, and Tian Weijun and Tong Ji died from torture. Dali Temple Minister Lu Jin did not get anything out of Tong Ji, and Tian Weijun got some useless things. Prince Liang insisted that he did it to save Prince Xin, so the emperor had Prince Liang imprisoned in the palace.”
This was expected. Tong Ji was loyal, and King Liang was cautious and would not let Tian Weijun get in touch with anything that could take his life. Tian Weijun must have received those insidious and vicious orders from Gao Sheng!
As for Gao Sheng… he would naturally take full responsibility and say that he arranged everything alone to avenge his brother and it had nothing to do with King Liang. King Liang was naturally just a prince who made a big mistake in order to save his brother.
“On the 15th of this month, Prince Liang claimed that he was guilty and could not appear at the palace banquet, let alone enter the palace to deliver gifts to His Majesty. He wanted to deliver the gifts he had prepared for His Majesty to the palace. I heard that it was a painting drawn by Prince Liang himself, but the strange thing is that the day after the painting was delivered to the palace… His Majesty appointed a noble lady named Qiu, who was very favored. I learned from Princess Fuling that… this noble lady Qiu was the one who delivered the painting to the palace on behalf of Prince Liang. Because it involves palace affairs, I can’t ask in detail, but I have sent people to investigate, and there should be results soon.”
Bai Qingyan raised his eyebrows: “Prince Liang is sending a painting, but in fact he is sending a person. If the Crown Prince finds out, he will be more anxious than us. Who in the court doesn’t fear pillow talk?”
“You didn’t mention it in your last letter. I wonder if Qin Lang did well in the imperial examination this time?” She turned around and looked at Bai Jinxiu and asked with a smile.
Speaking of Qin Lang, Bai Jinxiu smiled. “This year, Qin Lang ranked pretty well in the imperial examination. Originally, the palace examination was supposed to be held on the 15th, but it happened to coincide with the great victory in Southern Xinjiang and your majesty’s birthday. The Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated an auspicious date and requested the emperor to move the palace examination to the first day of April. I heard from Princess Fuling that someone mentioned to your majesty… I am a super first-rank imperial lady, but Qin Lang is still a commoner. I guess… if Qin Lang can rank well in this palace examination, even if he can’t get his title back, his official position will not be too low.”
She nodded and asked, “Qin Mansion…Have those two girls, and Qin Lang’s brother, ever troubled you again?”
Bai Jinxiu shook her head: “Now that the two girls of the Qin family have a bad reputation, those three people are already avoiding me, how dare they provoke me?”
Without the pressure from her mother-in-law, Bai Jinxiu lived a very comfortable life among the new brides in the capital city. Countless people envied her.
But the Qin Mansion was not without troubles. Bai Jinxiu didn’t want to say it out loud and make her elder sister worry about her, so she changed the subject: “Eldest sister, there is a nanny in the Qin Mansion. She was the former companion of Qin Lang’s biological mother. She was an expert in preparing medicinal food. Later, when Qin Lang’s mother passed away, she was transferred to the manor. I brought her here today, and I want her to stay with you and take care of you. Don’t refuse!”
Bai Qingyan’s health has always been the biggest concern for the Bai family.
“Okay…” She nodded with a smile.
·
The prince was now standing beside the Imperial Lake with the emperor, fishing in a very proper manner. The look in his eyes, which was full of admiration for the emperor just now, was now filled with a hint of regret and dejection.
Today, it was the first time since the Crown Prince was a child that his father praised him for his ability to manage and judge people. It was also the first time that he heard his father say that he was better than his father was when he was young. His eyes and brain became hot, and he answered all the questions the emperor asked honestly, including the origin of the divine deer.
Originally, the prince intended to conceal the fact that the divine deer was arranged by Bai Qingyan. Only by concealing the origin of the divine deer, he could truly be destined to be the one. But he…
The prince sighed in his heart. He had been impulsive today and had put Bai Qingyan’s efforts in vain.
“It looks like… Bai Qingyan has really been conquered by my son!” The emperor stroked the fishing rod with his fingers, turned back to the prince and said with a smile, “However, Bai Qingyan was afraid that you would tell father, so he kept it a secret from you. You told father everything at once, which was a waste of Bai Qingyan’s efforts. Originally… if you didn’t say anything about this matter, it would be destiny. If you said it was man-made, it would be very artificial.”
Asking for monthly ticket…