A concubine enters the mansion? Reborn, three matchmakers and six engagements to marry the Prime Min

Su Qingyu also perked up after hearing what he said.

"What do you mean? Is there any inside story?"

Shen Zhixiu said: "The emperor built a palace in the palace, called Taiqing Palace, to worship Taoist gods."

"He also kept a few Taoist priests and alchemists, who spent their days pondering the art of alchemy and seeking the way to immortality."

Su Qingyu asked in confusion: "Why is the emperor pursuing the art of immortality?"

Unless someone instigated this kind of thing, it would be difficult for the emperor to even contact a Taoist priest, let alone make elixirs.

Shen Zhixiu sneered and said, "I checked it out. At first, he and Empress Chen were unable to have sex, so Empress Chen offered him the elixir. After His Majesty used it, he was very happy. When he heard that it was a Taoist elixir, he invited the Taoist priest into the palace."

Su Qingyu asked again: "Didn't the imperial doctors advise against it? Most alchemists are charlatans, how can we easily take their stuff?"

Shen Zhixiu smiled helplessly, "You don't know yet, Director Liu of the Imperial Hospital has been demoted. The new Director of the Imperial Hospital doesn't dare to advise. He can only take the emperor's pulse every day and prescribe some mild health-preserving prescriptions for him."

"The emperor has not been attending court these days, and it is not to pave the way for the crown prince. Instead, he has been refining elixirs all day, taking the elixirs and having fun with the Concubine Chen."

Su Qingyu sighed in her heart, no wonder the Third Master was so worried. At the Emperor's current age, he could still reign for at least another ten years.

To put it bluntly, it would be fine if he just went there directly, because the prince's talent can stabilize the court.

The scary thing is that he refuses to abdicate and is incompetent and suspicious, which is not a good thing for these powerful officials and their families.

There was such an example in the previous dynasty. Because the emperor believed in Taoist elixirs, his favorite concubines were involved in politics and treacherous officials were in power. In the end, loyal officials were eliminated and the people were in dire straits.

"Don't be too anxious, Third Master. Fortunately, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is able to handle the affairs of state."

It’s better than when the former crown prince was still alive. If the emperor really passes away, we won’t know who can take on this important task.

Shen Zhixiu glanced at Su Qingyu's expression and suddenly felt a little guilty. Today was Zhenzhu's wedding day, and she was already feeling upset, and he said these things that made her upset.

Thinking of this, Shen Zhixiu stood up and walked to Su Qingyu, holding her in his arms.

Then he changed the subject, "I'm afraid you won't be able to adapt to Zhenzhu's marriage for a while. If the new people you promote are not useful, you can tell the housekeeper. If not, buy some more people to come into the house."

Su Qingyu leaned towards him and said, "The people below were all trained by Jadeite. They are sensible and polite. It's just that Jadeite and Pearl have been with me for many years, and they left suddenly. I'm a little uncomfortable."

Shen Zhixiu gently stroked her cheek with his large palm, intending to spend more time with her during these days.

*

In October, the cabinet ministers realized that the emperor's negligence in state affairs was only the beginning.

During this period, the emperor repeatedly intervened in the appointment and dismissal of officials by the Ministry of Personnel, and promoted many people from the Jiang family to important positions.

That day, Shen Zhizheng was playing with his son in the study when Wenzhu came in to report that the Crown Prince had arrived.

Su Qingyu was sitting by the window sewing pajamas for Shen Zhixiu. Upon hearing this, she stood up and took over Shen Cong. "The Third Master is talking to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I will take the children to play in the yard first."

When she was carrying the child out of the study, she happened to meet Song Hongshen coming in.

Su Qingyu was about to salute while holding the child, but was stopped by Song Hongshen.

"Third Madam, you are too polite. There are no outsiders here, so there is no need to be polite."

While speaking, he reached out and pinched Shen Cong's face.

After exchanging a few words with Su Qingyu, Song Hongshen entered the study.

When I went in, Shen Zhixiu had already started making tea, which was his favorite Mingqian Longjing tea.

"Teacher, you still have the leisure to make tea. If you continue like this, I'm afraid you will have to give up your position as the Prime Minister to the Jiang family."

Song Hongshen said jokingly, then sat down opposite Shen Zhixiu.

Shen Zhixiu knew what he was going to say. At the morning court today, the emperor issued an order for the second son of the Jiang family to go to Shanxi to supervise the river repairs.

Everyone knew that this was a lucrative job. Everyone also knew that the second son of the Jiang family was a complete idiot.

Putting a straw bag in such a lucrative position is tantamount to giving the court's money to the Jiang family for free.

If it was just money it would be fine, but water conservancy is an important matter for future generations, so it cannot be treated as a joke.

Shen Zhixiu handed the tea to Song Hongshen calmly and said, "What does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince mean?"

He thought that Song Hongshen's sudden visit was not to complain to him.

I'm afraid I have some ideas and solutions to this matter.

Song Hongshen took the tea, stroked the lines on the edge of the cup with his fingers, and said, "I wrote a memorial, teacher, can you help me take a look?"

When he was alone with Shen Zhixiu, he never called himself "this palace" and was quite respectful to Shen Zhixiu in his words.

Shen Zhixiu didn't expect that he could write a memorial, so he took it, opened it and started reading.

When reading the memorial, Shen Zhixiu couldn't hide the admiration in his eyes.

The memorial contained the prince's opinion on the emperor's decision to use the Jiang family, analyzing the pros and cons with concise words. The whole article was to the point, without a single word of nonsense.

Shen Zhixiu even thought that if there could be such an essay in the palace examination after the new year, even the top scorer would be able to do it.

After he finished reading, Song Hongshen asked, "Teacher, what do you think? If you think it's okay, I will present the memorial privately tomorrow and have a long talk with the emperor."

Shen Zhixiu put down the memorial and said, "It's not appropriate. The emperor now favors the Empress Chen and is devoted to the pursuit of immortality. If the Crown Prince were to reason with the emperor at this time, I'm afraid he wouldn't listen. It would be bad if the father and son got into a fight."

Song Hongshen did not give up and continued, "But what I said..."

Shen Zhixiu raised his hand to interrupt Song Hongshen's words, "Your Highness, what you said is naturally reasonable. But have you ever thought about it, His Majesty has been in office for twenty years, doesn't he understand these principles?"

The emperor naturally understood everything, so it would be strange if he would listen to Song Hongshen's preaching at this time.

I'm afraid that if he gets too angry, he might think that Song Hongshen has lost his mind after being in power for a few days.

Shen Zhixiu knew what Song Hongshen was worried about, so he said, "Your Highness, don't worry about those people from the Jiang family. Although they are in important positions, it is not difficult to undermine their power."

He hesitated a bit when he said this, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "There is one thing I want to remind Your Highness."

Song Hong was puzzled, "What's the matter?"

Shen Zhixiu tapped the tabletop lightly with his slender fingers and said, "For this matter, the prince must be prepared for the worst."

Song Hongshen was startled, and instantly understood what Shen Zhixiu meant. If the day came when he could affect the government, he should be prepared to ascend the throne.

But Song Hongshen smiled helplessly, "Teacher, I actually never thought of ascending the throne."