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At this time, Lu Cai was holding a pair of small scissors in his hand and helping to trim the flowers.
The Queen Mother saw this and said, "Your Majesty is worried about the person in Lingqi Pavilion. He has always been afraid that I would find that person, so he asked Sun Shanggong to accommodate you in many things and even kept forcing me, leaving me no time to take care of that girl."
Xianghong bowed and dared not say much.
The Queen Mother said, "Tell the eunuch that next time you send flowers, find a rose in the flower room and bring it with you. Tell him that it's from me and looks just like the flowers. I hope it will always be beautiful and new."
Xiang Hong responded.
The Empress Dowager turned her head to look at the female official of Taichang Temple: "Your Majesty and Su Chang'an's wedding has already begun preparations, right?"
The female official immediately replied, "Yes, the palace's Shang Gong Sun, as well as the nine temples and six government offices have all begun to discuss what to do."
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "What a big commotion! Those so-called neutral people, seeing His Majesty like this, immediately turned over and started to think of ways to curry favor with Him. Even Yang Shanchang took several steps back and began to retreat and plan. That old guy doesn't think he can become the next Li Jiulang. He is still so nice to us, thinking that as long as I don't get into trouble, His Majesty will not move? Forget it, forget about it. What about the Double Ninth Festival sacrifice to the Imperial Ancestral Temple in a few days and His Majesty's sacrifice to the heaven on the same day to pray for the students' good luck in the imperial examinations?"
The female official immediately said, "It will be held every year, so just follow the routine. As for offering sacrifices to the heavens to pray for the students, the preparations are almost done. Now we just need to wait for the final day. I will personally watch over it, and there will be no mistakes."
The Queen Mother frowned, wanted to say something, and turned to look at Lu Cai.
Lu Cai happened to see the Queen Mother looking at him, and he immediately bowed in greeting.
Seeing this, the Queen Mother smiled, and suddenly turned back to look at Xiang Hong and the female official: "What do you think the scene will be like on the day of the sacrifice?"
Xianghong and the female official didn't dare to speak.
The queen mother looked back at Lu Cai: "There are still three days, it's really slow."
……
The residence of the Grand Tutor.
Just now, Taifu Yang Shanchang was summoned into the palace.
After learning that those who were summoned also included Su Wenqing, Li Jiulang, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and several people from the Honglu Temple.
Yang Guofu, Yan Jingqing and others sat by the fireplace in the lobby, and everyone looked at Yang Guofu.
Yang Guofu's one eye moved around, wondering what His Majesty was going to do by suddenly summoning these people.
Especially he brought his father with him, after all, those people in front were all His Majesty's men.
Yan Jingqing, as the person with the highest official rank under Yang Guofu, looked at the others who didn't dare to speak, and said, "Guofu, maybe we should just talk about the thing that the old man gave to Su Changan today. We still have to thank the old man. And we have asked the eunuchs to wait. They will send the news back as soon as the old man comes out. There is no point in thinking about it now."
Yang Guofu frowned and nodded. He really couldn't figure out what to do, so he could only think so. But he still frowned and said, "Your Majesty, every move in the past two or three months has forced us to think seriously. But let's not talk about this. What about the people we arranged? Others are fine, but Yu Yang and Ouyang Wenhua must pass the exam this time."
Yan Jingqing smiled and said, "Don't worry, even if the old man doesn't let us collect money this time, we don't have to collect money. It's always right to arrange our own people."
At this point, Yan Jingqing looked at Yang Guofu and said, "Why don't you tell the old man about this? Anyway, we didn't take any money. Even if His Majesty blames us, at most he will just scold us a few times."
Yang Guofu shook his head: "No, if we have to tell the old man about arranging a few people, he will be exhausted. My sister's affairs are enough to worry him, so let's just ignore them."
Yan Jingqing frowned and said, "When I came here this afternoon, I heard that His Majesty asked Sister Wangshu to give that restaurant with a great location to the Su family?"
Hearing this, Yang Guofu's face turned ugly. "Damn it, the old man gave in and asked me not to even give the dragon and phoenix rings and just let the matter hang. His Majesty didn't say anything, but the old man rushed to apologize. Now not only are the priceless dragon and phoenix rings gone, but even such a good shop is going to be lost. In the afternoon, I asked Wangshu to deliver it, but Wangshu was reluctant and even beat her. I'm really old and have become too timid."
Yan Jingqing sighed, but smiled and said, "But there is good news. Yulang said that they collected a lot of taxes during their salt inspection. They also brought you two beautiful concubines from Yangzhou, so don't be angry. A large sum of money will be in your account soon. Sister Wangshu will be happy, and you can enjoy it too. I heard from Yulang that she is a top-notch beauty in Yangzhou. I heard that she will serve you, and the two of you will be very happy."
Hearing this, Yang Guofu smiled and said, "After you come, arrange for me to stay in the house over at Xianghuofang. Don't let the old man see you."
Yan Jingqing and others laughed.
Yang Guofu thought about what he was going to do next and smiled, but suddenly he remembered something and looked at the official sitting next to Yan Jingqing: "Zitong, is that crazy woman the Queen Mother still doing those weird things?"
The official named Zi Tong, who was from the Taichang Temple, nodded immediately and said, "Well, the news from the palace is that they bought a lot of Su Chang'an's perfume, so the expensive perfume was poured into the palace at will, and the whole palace was filled with flowers. But it probably attracted a lot of insects, so the whole palace was covered with lime."
Yang Guofu frowned: "What is this for?"
Yan Jingqing smiled and said, "She's gone crazy again. I heard that Su Changan's appearance has stimulated her a lot. Guo Fu forgot that she was very jealous when she was young. After forcing her way into the palace, she was also jealous of the late queen. But as long as she stays quiet and acts as a shield for us, she can do whatever she wants."
Yang Guofu frowned, "We still need to investigate. Although that woman always does some inexplicable things, she has been forced into this state. Today, that old man Li Lian publicly jumped out to support Li Jiulang, which clearly shows that he has leaned over. Even when she has been forced into this state, she still has time to smell perfume? This is not the style of that woman, so I'll trouble Zitong to investigate it thoroughly."
The official named Zi Tong immediately said, "Okay."
Yang Guofu stared at the stove with one eye and felt that something was not quite right. There was something not right about the empress dowager. She was not like her usual style.
Yan Jingqing smiled and said, "Guo Fu is still very thoughtful. I will also let people take a look at this, but I wonder what else she can do. Can she blow up our Luoan City? Even if she can, does she have the ability to do so?"
Yang Guofu and the others were stunned for a moment, then immediately looked at Yan Jingqing and said, "Don't talk nonsense!"
Yan Jingqing smiled and slapped his mouth.
However, Yang Guofu picked up the teacup, smiled and took a sip of tea.
That woman definitely couldn't have blown up Luoan City.
After all, where could one get so much gunpowder? Gunpowder was strictly controlled by the imperial court, and fireworks were only allowed to be sold during festivals.
But just after finishing the drink, Yang Guofu frowned: "The two trucks of goods shipped from the Western Regions were taken away directly by the Queen Mother, right? What's on the trucks?"
An official joked: "It's either gunpowder or some small things from the Western Regions. Everyone has checked. There are also spices and sesame oils from the Western Regions in a few barrels. They have all been checked."
Hearing this, Yang Guofu smiled and shook his head, thinking that he was always suspicious.
Chapter 147 My Useless and Lazy Queen
In the past, when Empress Xia Fengxiang was working, she liked to review memorials on the dragon couch in the imperial study. If she met one or two officials alone, she would meet them in the imperial study.
But if an official was summoned, the meeting would take place in a small hall on the side of the Tianhe Hall.
Today, Grand Tutor Su Wenqing, Grand Tutor Yang Shanchang, Minister of the Central Secretariat Su Zimu, Minister of Revenue Li Jiulang, Minister of Rites Cao Shen, Minister of Honglu Temple Li Chunfang, Vice Minister of Revenue Zhang Gu and other officials were summoned to meet in this hall called Wuyi Palace.
With so many adults present, everything seemed normal, except for Xun Kuang who was at the very end.
Xun Kuang stood at the back, feeling somewhat nervous. He didn't know why His Majesty wanted to call him over among so many people.
Let's talk about the imperial examination. There was no inspector, examiner or chief examiner.
At first glance, it was either the Ministry of Revenue or the Ministry of Rites. No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find any of them as the Director of the Imperial College.
So Lord Siye was worried and was wondering what was going on.
Xia Fengxiang was wearing a black robe with a golden dragon on it. He sat on the dragon throne in the front, leaning back, supporting his face with one hand in a half-fist, looking at the ministers below who could be regarded as the superiors of the people.
His expression was calm and he looked intimidating without being angry, which was completely different from his appearance in front of Su Changan.
Li Jiulang was standing in the middle, talking about the trade goods with Japan over the years, some trade activities this year, and the current situation in Japan.
However, although Xia Fengxiang was listening, he had actually read it long ago. After all, there were files in the imperial study.
After returning from Su Changan, she looked through all the files from Japan. After reading them, she discovered that her father had actually guessed about it a long time ago. Even when she looked carefully, she found that what his father was going to do was exactly the same as what Su Changan said.
But her father's real purpose was to station troops in Japan to deter the northern barbarians. As for the gold, it was just a guess.
But just this alone made Xia Fengxiang a little surprised.
I felt that the bastard who had revealed that he was a man, not only was thinking about taking advantage of me all day long, but he also had such plans and plots.
Love it and hate it!
Especially when I think about that dirty bastard always thinking about touching my butt, it makes me so angry!
Especially today, before leaving, he even said something like "why don't you stay?" How could she not know what he was planning?!
No one knows what the empress is thinking while keeping silent.
In the small hall, only Grand Tutor Su Wenqing and Grand Tutor Yang Shanchang were allowed to sit, while the rest could only stand.
Everyone present didn't quite understand why His Majesty suddenly summoned them here.
Originally, everyone thought they were just going to talk about the wedding. After all, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites was here, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was here, the Minister of the Chancellery was here, and there was also Xun Kuang from the Imperial College. Together, they were indeed talking about the wedding.
But unexpectedly, the first thing His Majesty asked Li Jiulang to talk about the trade with Japan in recent years, which surprised everyone.
After saying this, Li Jiulang bowed and returned to where he was standing.
Xia Fengxiang said softly, "I was chatting with my queen today and talked about Japan. My queen said that Japan has a lot of gold and silver, so the exchange rate of gold and silver is one tael of gold for five taels of silver. I found it interesting, so I asked everyone to come here today to talk about this country called Treasure Island."
When everyone heard this, they were all shocked.
'My Queen' said it clearly.
Everyone knew that they were talking about Su Changan.
As for the fact that she was called queen before they were officially married yet.
Does anyone dare to speak out?
The emperor claimed it, so you jumped out and committed suicide? The empress has been acting more and more like the late emperor these days. If you don't want to live, just jump out.
But what really surprised everyone was the golden ratio.
The ratio of gold to silver in the Great Xia Dynasty was one to eleven, and one tael of gold was equal to eleven taels of silver.
And it's not just their Daxia, but also the barbarians in the north and many countries in the Western Regions have such a ratio.
But in Japan, the exchange rate between gold and silver is 1:5. The difference is so huge.
If we trade this with Japan, wouldn't we be making twice as much money, directly earning twice as much gold!
Everyone present was smart, and without further explanation, they noticed the huge business opportunities hidden in these two simple sentences.
At this time, Li Chunfang, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know how long it is..."
At this point, the somewhat plump old minister bowed and said, "I wonder how the Queen knew this. Because from what I know about Japan, it is not only barbaric, but the Japanese people there are starving and miserable. Only the officials and nobles have a good life."
Xia Fengxiang said, "He has been going to the Hanlin Academy a lot recently, saying that he read books there. He is not very talented, and doesn't want to read other books. He likes to read strange books. He lies in the yard all day long, and it makes me angry when I see them."
hear the words
Su Wenqing and Su Zimu smiled.
Others were ashamed.
The one you are talking about is the most talented woman in the capital today. In her two articles, she has praised all the beauties in the world, sung the snow scenes in the world, and made the Mid-Autumn Festival poetry unique throughout the ages. Yet you say she has no talent.
If she had no talent, she wouldn't have to take the winter exam this year.
Xun Kuang was even more ashamed, and he thought that the emperor was finding ways to scold him for not doing his job and spending his days in debauchery.
Xia Fengxiang smiled and said, "But I remember when I was reading the files of the Honglu Temple, I saw a record that the Japanese delegation sent to Daxia was rewarded with 100 taels of gold, but they exchanged it for 500 taels of silver."
Li Chunfang, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was stunned for a moment.