The Empire and the Kingdom

Cheng Haobai was dismissed, Zhuang Haisen is of course not much better, he was found to be unfavorable in the Ministry of War, intercepted war supplies, shoddy and other problems, and even forced to death a woman from a good family, the emperor was furious, and immediately dismissed Zhuang Haisen and sent him to prison .

The Zhuang family was worse than the Cheng family. Zhuang Haisen's father, Zhuang Yuejiang, passed out when he heard the news that his second son had been imprisoned, and was bedridden since he woke up.It is rare for the Zhuang family to enter the palace to beg the queen.The queen was full of anger, and when she saw the Zhuang family scolding herself, she was not polite, and said something wrong with the Zhuang family. Of course, in the end, she still said to the Zhuang family earnestly, that she should be punished for any crime now. No more fuss.This case was investigated by the emperor, and no one can protect Zhuang Haisen.

One case broke the queen's nephew and cousin all at once. While she complained that the family members were ignorant, she also wondered if this incident was aimed at herself.If so, what does she have to deal with?One is her queen position, and the other is the crown prince's crown prince.In a sense, this is actually one thing.If she is not the queen, then the crown prince is not a legitimate son, and naturally he is not qualified to be the crown prince.That's why the queen didn't dare to save the Cheng family and the Zhuang family. She could give up everything, but she must keep her son's crown prince.

Cheng Haobai pulled out the radish and brought out the mud. The emperor found that there was a lot of confusion in the official department, so he ordered to rectify the official department, and sent Master Feng to take charge of this matter.

Mr. Feng is an upright person, but he is not completely ignorant of flexibility.In the case of the Ministry of Officials, he caught some of the main problems, and turned a blind eye to some minor problems.When the water is clear, there will be no fish. Even in his Zhongshu Province, there is no guarantee that there will be no problems at all.

After the Ministry of Officials has been rectified, other positions are okay, and there are people who can replace them, but the position left by Cheng Haobo is responsible for reviewing officials' assessment results and grading, which is very important. No one dares to say anything. .

The emperor was also troubled by this matter. This is a piece of fat, everyone wants to eat it, but who can sit in this position can guarantee that there will be no problems?

When things were in doubt, the emperor called Feng Jingsu to play chess to relax.All the concubines and princesses in the harem can play chess, but since Feng Jingsu returned to the palace, the emperor only likes to play chess with her.The women in the harem can only see the square sky when they look up, and they can only see the gains and losses of one place when playing chess, without seeing the overall situation.Only Feng Jingsu never cared about gains and losses in one place, and only sought the final victory. Playing chess with such a person is enjoyable.

"I see that my father is always frowning these days, but it's still because of the evaluation of officials by the Ministry of Officials?" Feng Jingsu didn't deliberately avoid this topic.This matter has spread throughout the entire harem, and pretending not to know it at this time would be too deliberate.

The emperor looked up at her, "I can't find anyone who can replace Cheng Haobai."

"Master Cheng is so powerful?" Feng Jingsu asked knowingly.

The emperor dropped his son, "He's not great, but his position is very important." He looked up and saw Feng Jingsu looking at him, and said with a smile, "This official position is not high, he is only a fourth-rank official, but he can be appointed by a second-rank official." Level, tell me how important it is."

Feng Jingsu nodded, "The position is important but the position is low. Just thinking about it, I feel a lot of pressure. If I find a poor family, I am afraid it will be difficult to bear this pressure. Even if I can, without the support of family background, there will only be two kinds of pressure." result."

"Oh?" The emperor became interested after hearing her analysis, "Tell me, what are the two results."

"One is to compromise for the sake of interests like Master Cheng. The other is to stick to the bottom line and keep friction." Feng Jingsu's white pieces fell, eating a large number of black pieces.

"Hey, you kid, you actually attacked me unexpectedly." The emperor felt that he was accidentally attacked by surprise, but he had no regrets. Of course he would not regret the game. Put it all on Feng Jingsu's words.

"Indeed, those from poor families who have the backbone will probably take the latter path. Although this way they will not pervert the law, but in the long run, something will happen eventually." This is also the reason why the emperor was unable to choose a candidate.

"Father, have you ever thought about choosing an upright person from among the honorable children in the capital to take over?" Feng Jingsu dropped another son and ate a large number of sunspots.

The emperor shook his head when he heard this, "Isn't Cheng Haobai a noble son? I thought he was put in this position. With the Cheng family's background, he would never break the law for a small gain, but something went wrong in the end." These days, I have also asked Feng Qing to pay attention to available talents, but until now he has not recommended anyone to me."

Feng Jingsu saw that he had failed this time, and Heizi had lost completely.She simply packed up the chess pieces, and there was no winner in this game. "It's not that Mr. Feng has no candidates, it's that he can't name the candidates."

The emperor raised his eyebrows, "Yun Yi, what do you mean by that?"

Feng Jingsu said with a smile: "Father, if you talk about the character of the family, the Feng family should not be left behind in the imperial court, right?"

The emperor's eyes lit up, "It makes sense." He was very familiar with the Feng family, Lord Feng had three sons and a daughter.The eldest son is Feng Shili, the second son is Feng Baiwen, the third son is Feng Wanji, and the only daughter is Feng Qianzi.Feng Shili is now working in the Ministry of Officials, and has always had a good reputation.Although Feng Shili is a child of an aristocratic family, because of the rigorous family style of the Feng family, Feng Shili also upholds the upright and rigorous style of work, and is still a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Officials.

"The Feng family is trustworthy." The emperor had already made up his mind, and his brows that had never been raised all day also stretched out, and he played another game with Feng Jingsu, winning a big victory.The emperor laughed loudly, "I know you keep your hands. Although I won, I still want to reward you with something small." After the emperor finished speaking, a eunuch brought up a pair of jade bracelets on a tray.

"This is the Zifang Nuanyu that was brought up as a tribute two days ago. I know that the martial arts you practice is ice-cold, but women are inherently yin, so you still have to pay attention to your body. This pair of Nuanyu has been obtained in total. The bracelet, I didn’t give it to anyone, but I gave it to you.” When he said this, the emperor seemed to be a father who sold himself in front of his daughter.

Feng Jingsu knelt down to thank her, "Thank you, Father!"

"Get up." The emperor helped Feng Jingsu up, "Yun Yi, when the weather gets warmer, I will give you a task. You go and help me train a group of people who are good at martial arts. I have something for them to do." He took Feng Jingsu's hand and said in a low voice, "Only you and my father and daughter know about this, don't tell anyone else."

"My son understands."

Feng Jingsu returned to her Shenhe Palace, took out the warm jade bracelet bestowed by the emperor, it was really warm to the touch, and it was not cold in this weather.With good things, Xue Ai's shy and bold appearance naturally appeared in her mind. This girl is not congenitally deficient, so it is suitable to use this.

When Feng Jingsu and Xue Ai's attention was on the front court, Xue Ying was not idle, and took advantage of the Longevity Festival Palace banquet to invite Ann with Princess Ming Qi. She has been visiting the Princess Palace recently.Princess Lingxin had already left Beijing with her husband before, and Xue Ai hadn't come here recently because she was busy planning the previous court with Feng Jingsu. The eldest princess Xue Ying took the initiative to come and thought it was very good.However, after several exchanges, Princess Ming Qi no longer saw Xue Ying.

Xue Ying is a very beautiful girl, and she is obedient and obedient in front of Princess Ming Qi. When she speaks, she chooses what the princess likes to hear.But all of this seemed too deliberate. There are many court ladies and wives around the eldest princess, so she heard it from morning to night. She likes Xue Ai because Xue Ai is eccentric and mischievous from time to time to make her happy.Xue Ying is trying to please her all day long, but the eldest princess is tired of it.From the very beginning, the eldest princess understood what Xue Ying meant. If Xue Ying was as cute and lovable as Xue Ai, she wouldn't mind pampering one more, but it's a pity that this young lady of the Xue family is really boring.

After visiting the door three times in a row without seeing the eldest princess, Xue Ying finally understood that the eldest princess had rejected her.She returned to her yard depressed, and all the joy before had turned into resentment.Why did Xue Aijian simply win the favor of the eldest princess, but he couldn't do it so deliberately?She looked at her face in the mirror, and asked again and again, in what way was she inferior to Xue Ai?

In Pingle Pavilion, Xue Ai is playing the guzheng.Because she was in the limelight at Princess Ming Qi's mansion before, Xue Xiang gave her a new guzheng during the Chinese New Year. I heard it was a good thing. She tried it and it was indeed different from the one she used before. She practiced it when she was free these two days. Practice the tune so that you won't be ashamed when you go out in the future.

"Miss, Second Miss is here." Meng An came in and said.

Xue Ai is not a spoiled person, because of Xue Xiang's order before, everyone always thought it was weird to see Pingle Pavilion.Xue Ai took advantage of Xue Xiang's leisure during the Chinese New Year, and when chatting with Xue Xiang, he begged Xue Xiang to remove the protection of Pingle Pavilion.In her words, "We're all one family, so doing this will create divisions."

Xue Xiang is very satisfied with Xue Ai's knowledge. Protecting Pingle Pavilion alone is not a long-term solution. This will undoubtedly isolate Xue Ai. The protection is there, but no matter how difficult it is for Xue Ai to integrate into the sisters, this is not what he wants to see. As a result, the separate protection for Pingle Pavilion was lifted.

"Please come in." Xue Ai stopped playing the piano, looked up, and Xue Ruo had already entered the yard.

"Third Sister is so excited!" Xue Zhi came in, looking at Gu Zheng with jealous eyes. "A few years ago, I told my father that I wanted a guqin, but my father refused to pay a thousand taels, but now he is willing to pay double the price to give Sanmei a guzheng. It can be seen that in my father's heart, Sanmei is the most favored one."

Xue Zhi's piano skills are very good, and the few pianos in the room are famous products.One of them would cost more than a thousand pieces of gold, but Mrs. Wang bought these for her daughter with her own money, and Xiang Xue never gave her a valuable piano.

Xue Ai knew that she was so angry that she came to find fault. In fact, Xue Zhi was not the first one. As soon as Guzheng moved into her yard, Xue Ying came to make a fuss. Xue Ruo also came. All musical instruments are worth more than this guzheng, and they are only angry because the person who gave the guzheng is Xue Xiang.

"Second sister has so many good violins in her room, how could she fancy a violin worth a thousand taels? Even if it's a waste to buy it, my father just doesn't want to waste it." Xue Ai stood up, "Whether it's a violin or a zither, it's all worth it. It is a thing of entertainment, as long as the mind is pure, even the most common instrument can produce elegant sounds. Second sister, we are a big family with many sisters. The most important thing is to love each other, so as not to be poisoned like the eldest sister before , everyone suffers accordingly, don’t you think so?”

Xue Zhi stared at her, "What do you know?"

Xue Ai smiled, picked up the tea on the table and took a sip, "It's nothing, but someone moved my pearl walker, and I thought I couldn't see it. That walker was given to me by Princess Yunyi. Even though you don’t wear it, you have to take it out to look at it every day, how can you not recognize it?”

Xue Zhi immediately understood, she took a step forward and grabbed Xue Ai's arm, "So it was you who told my father!"

Xue Zhi was quite strong this time, and Xue Ai was so thin that she couldn't get rid of her all at once, "Second sister also underestimated my father's ability too much. He is the prime minister, and he can sort out the affairs of a country, let alone the little ones in the back house. Means? Father just doesn’t want to care about it, but how can father ignore such things as murdering siblings? How long has the second sister been lifted from her confinement, and she still has the nerve to ask her father for something? If my sister were you, I’m afraid she would be ashamed to leave the yard .”

Xue Zhi was so angry that she raised her hand and slapped her.Xue Ai wanted to hide, but her hand was grabbed, she could only turn her head to avoid her cheek, and this slap hit her on the shoulder.Even so, Xue Ai also felt a pain in his shoulder, which shows how much strength Xue Zhi used.

"Second Sister, is she angry?" Xue Ai sneered, "You just finished poisoning Eldest Sister, if I told my mother at this time, given how much she loves Eldest Sister, what would happen to you?"

"You dare to threaten me?" Xue Zhi blushed with anger.

"You are the one who came to my yard to annoy people." Xue Ai was like a little girl defending her toys at the moment, "If I really wanted to harm you, would you still be able to come here to act wildly?" She said Finally breaking free from Xue Zhi's restraint, her wrist was already red from being scratched.

"You'd better keep your mouth shut, or I won't let you go!" Xue Zhi said and left.

Xue Ai rubbed his wrist which was caught red, "Second Sister is so strong!"

"It's because your own strength is too weak, like a little milk cat." This teasing tone is definitely not what Meng An can say.

Xue Ai turned her head, and Feng Jingsu was already standing in the room.Mengan saw that the princess jumped in from the window again, but there was no one else.

"Show me." Feng Jing pulled Xue Ai's wrist and saw the bright red, which made my heart ache.My own little fox, who was not willing to touch it, was actually made like this by others.

"It's okay, it will disappear in a while." Seeing Feng Jingsu's hands and feet, Xue Ai quickly retracted her arms and covered them with her sleeves. She doesn't mind some intimate actions when no one is around, but now Meng'an is still watching. .

Meng An looked a little silly, what did the princess and her own lady usually do in the room?

Feng Jingsu looked at Meng An, "Do you have anything else to do?"

Only then did Meng An come back to her senses, her face flushed red, "Ah...well, the servants are going to guard the door, guard the door." She hurried out and closed the door carefully.

Xue Ai covered her mouth and smiled, "Sister Su, you scared Meng'an!"

"Come here, let me look at your shoulders." Feng Jingsu sat on the edge of the bed, pulled Xue Ai over, and began to pull her clothes.

Xue Ai blushed so hard, "It's okay, don't look at it!" She struggled a few times, and when she saw Feng Jingsu insisted on looking at it, she obeyed.

The clothes were torn apart, revealing the girl's slender skeleton, the skin on her shoulders was already red, and the contrast with the fair skin next to her was distressing.

"Sister Su, when did you come?" Xue Ai saw that Feng Jingsu's eyes had been looking at her shoulders. Her daughter's family was always embarrassed to show her body to others, even women.She tried to gather her clothes, but Feng Jingsu didn't stop her, and even helped her tidy them up.

"It's been a while, I wanted to go in, but when I heard movement in your room, I turned to the back window to peek. I heard the conversation between you and your second sister. You are almost forcing her to deal with you, so you You plotted against your eldest sister, and now you are here to provoke your second sister again, do you want to solve two at once? Are you too impatient?" Feng Jingsu was a little distracted just now, thinking about the appearance of this small body in her arms... Cough... She can only focus on Xue Ai's face now.

"I didn't intend to deal with her at first, who asked her to mess with me?" When mentioning this, Xue Ai had an aggrieved expression of "she did it first".

"Okay, okay, she is bad or she is stupid, my Xiaoai is the kindest and most innocent." Feng Jingsu quickly pulled her into his arms and coaxed her.

"It was originally." Xue Ai still emphasized.The little fox was so delicate and cute, Feng Jingsu secretly swallowed, thinking that she was quite ascetic, otherwise she would have eaten up the little fox by now.

"Xue Zhi won't be so easy to learn to be good, you still have to be more careful. She dared to do something to you. I think I'll transfer someone who can learn martial arts to be your maid. Just Meng'an, she's still stupid, I don't know. Don't worry." Originally, Feng Jingsu thought that at least Xue Ai should be safe in the mansion, but this time seeing Xue Zhi dared to attack Xue Ai, but Xue Ai was weak and weak because of her congenital inadequacy, so she was not an opponent at all.

"It's okay." Xue Ai felt that Feng Jingsu was making a big fuss, but the feeling of being loved, cared about, and loved was really good. "Sister Su, I just want to help you all the time, and I don't want to cause trouble for you."

Feng Jingsu didn't bother with this matter any more, she took out the pair of warm jade bracelets, and kissed Xue Ai's wrists. "My father gave it to me, it is good for the woman's health."

Xue Ai was also attracted by the warm feeling, looking at the pair of crystal purple jade bracelets on his wrist, "It's warm!"

"Zifang Nuanyu, I only got such a pair this year. I recommended the young master of the Feng family to my father in exchange for it."

Xue Ai giggled, "Sister Su, you are really good, you can benefit from both left and right."

"My benefit is your benefit." Feng Jingsu looked at Xue Ai's blushing cheek, and couldn't help but kiss her.

Xue Ai cooperated extremely, grabbed Feng Jingsu's shoulders with both hands, and kissed Feng Jingsu's lips.The temperature in the room rose instantly, and the two lovers expressed their love for each other with the most direct contact.

After the first lunar month, under the imperial decree, Feng Shili, the eldest son of Feng, took over Cheng Haobai's position, was promoted to a rank, and was responsible for the assessment and grading of officials.Zhongshu ordered Master Feng to be in charge of rectifying the bureaucracy for his meritorious service and gave him many rewards.The Feng family's momentum is at its peak, and many powerful families have their eyes on the children of the Feng family.

After the news that Fang Yihou and Feng's family had a good relationship spread in the capital, Mrs. Fang Yihou asked her natal sister to go to Feng's house to find out.Mrs. Feng Di's words were gentle, but her stand was extremely firm.Among the children of the Feng family, except for the young master Feng Shili who is already married, the other children have no plans to discuss marriage for the time being.