Chapter 309 Testing each other
Looking at Song Qingci's receding back, the smile on the Queen Mother's face instantly disappeared.
She turned around, put her hand on Madam Zhao's arm, and walked back to the main hall step by step.
There were all kinds of lotus flowers in the yard, but not a single one could catch the Empress Dowager's eye.
"Empress Dowager, this young lady is not the same as what Lord Song said." Thinking about what happened today, Nanny Zhao had some ideas in her mind.
"She is smarter than her father." The Queen Mother lowered her eyes and looked a little tired as she sat in the main seat.
After all, I'm old, and no matter how I take care of myself, my body is not as good as before.
"Then..." Nanny Zhao hesitated, not knowing whether she should say the following words.
"If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you being so secretive in front of me, Zhao Ling? You are going backwards as you grow older!" The Queen Mother was very displeased with her confidant acting like this.
Being in the deep palace is already difficult, if you still cover it up like this, wouldn't it cost you more time to guess? It's really tiring.
"I wonder if this young lady's intelligence can be of no use to you?" "A smart woman is generally not easy to control.
Being smart means being thoughtful. How can a thoughtful person be easily used by others?
"No." The Queen Mother recalled the cunning woman and said, "It is precisely because she is smarter than her father that I can use her more easily. If a woman is too stupid, she will only be able to stay with her husband and children all day long."
She doesn't like women like that.
"The Queen Mother is still wise." Although Aunt Zhao has served her master for her entire life, she still cannot see through her master's thoughts most of the time.
"Okay, I'm tired. Go and prepare a gift for that girl Qingci."
The Queen Mother raised her hand and waved away Nanny Zhao.
Meanwhile, Song Qingci and Shan Li were already sitting in the carriage heading back to the general's mansion.
The two met at the palace gate. They didn't say much to each other, but got into the carriage tacitly.
Yinping and Feng Er were stopped outside the palace gate, so they kept guarding the carriage.
The master had already boarded the car, so they naturally drove to the general's mansion.
"How did you win or lose the game of chess with the emperor?" Song Qingci left early and did not see the end, so he asked out of curiosity.
"What do you think, Ah Ci?" Shan Li asked instead of answering. There was a hint of expectation in his eyes.
Song Qingci looked Shan Li up and down, and said, "I guess you win."
"Aci is really smart," Shan Li praised.
"This is not cleverness, but a reasonable guess." Song Qingci would not accept such flattery. She continued, "You are going to the palace to see the emperor today to surrender. The emperor asking you to play chess is also a test. If you don't even dare to beat him or even say you can't beat him, then what's the point of your surrender? The old emperor is not short of flatterers. In his current situation, he needs people who can do practical things. "
"It's smart to speculate like this." Shan Li had long known that Ah Ci was not an ordinary woman confined to a deep house.
However, every time he heard her reasonable speculation about things, he would be amazed.
You know, there are so many people in this world who can't make the reasonable guess she made.
"You defeated the emperor, did he give you any reward?" Song Qingci felt that if she were in the emperor's position, she would have to show some expression in the face of Shan Li's surrender, even if it was just a test.
Shan Li took out an identity badge from his pocket and said, "Starting tomorrow, I will go to the Ministry of War to serve."
Song Qingci took the badge and looked at it. There was a big word "Ku" engraved on it.
She looked at Shan Li in confusion, waiting for his answer.
"This is the badge of the Treasurer of the Ministry of War. His Majesty the Emperor appointed me as the new Treasurer of the Ministry of War. I am in charge of military equipment and weapons." Shan Li explained to A Ci carefully.
"You are not allowed to lead the troops, but to take care of logistics?" Song Qingci understood that this position was equivalent to the director of the logistics department of the Ministry of War.
Shan Li had heard the word logistics from Ah Ci before, and roughly understood its meaning, so he nodded and said, "His Majesty the Emperor is not completely confident in me, so until he is confident, I can't continue to lead the troops."
Song Qingci nodded to show his understanding.
If she were the emperor, she would not be willing to let Shan Li lead the troops at this time.
The General's Mansion had a high reputation to begin with, and Shan Li returned victorious. He had a high prestige in the army. Otherwise, he would not have been idle at home for so long.
"What rank is this treasurer?" Song Qingci asked curiously.
"Third rank." Shan Li was originally a general of Xuanwu, also a third rank official. Even if he was not allowed to continue to lead the troops and was required to do something else, his rank could not be lower than that of general of Xuanwu.
It seems that the emperor had thought about this treasurer for a long time.
The grade and major are suitable, and it won’t give people any room for criticism.
As for how Shan Li will perform in the future, we will just have to wait and see.
"Besides this, there is nothing else?" Song Qingci threw the sign back to Shan Li.
"Of course..." Shan Li stared at Ah Ci for a long time before continuing, "There is more."
Seeing that Song Qingci had not been led astray by him at all, Shan Li resigned himself to his fate and said the rest directly, "The Emperor also gave some gold, silver and jewelry. A palace servant will send it back to the general's mansion later."
When she heard about gold, silver and jewelry, Song Qingci's eyes lit up. She felt much better. She had been working hard all day, kneeling and standing. If she didn't get some benefits, she would feel like she was losing out.
The official position belongs to Shan Li, and has nothing to do with her. As for the gold, silver and jewelry~
"Let's make it clear first, I'll be the first to pick out these gold, silver and jewels!" She didn't want to keep them all for herself, but she should have the right to choose first.
"No need to choose, they are all yours." Shan Li didn't want any in the first place.
''real?''
"Really! These things were originally given to you by His Majesty the Emperor." What Shan Li didn't say was that he took the initiative to ask for them for her.
"Then I won't be polite!" Since the other party gave it sincerely, she should accept it reluctantly.
After that, Song Qingci, as if he had just remembered it, took out a waist badge from his arms, shook it in front of Shan Li, and said, "This is the waist badge given to me by the Queen Mother, saying that with this waist badge, I can enter the palace to visit her at will. This is worthy of being a royal family member, the gifts are almost the same. One for you and one for me. It's good, fair."
Shan Li did not take the badge. "Since it was given to you by the Queen Mother, you should keep it. As for whether to go to the palace or when to go, it's all up to you."