The night gradually enveloped the entire Yanjing City before the New Year. Perhaps because of the closest New Year, there were more pedestrians on the road than usual. The newly opened restaurants and tea shops and other industries were brightly lit, and carriages and sedans were shuttled back and forth on the wide streets. Under the reflection of the fiery red lanterns, the Yanjing City under the night looked particularly lively and noisy.

As we headed north and south, there were more and more powerful people, officials, merchants and scholars. In this way, the Yanjing City, which originally had only cold buildings, gradually began to have a trace of cultural atmosphere. Most of the ships that kept shuttled across the river were opened by merchants who went north. At this time, there were also beauties and the sounds of silk and bamboo were endless.

Unlike the undercurrent officialdom, the people in Yanjing City are obviously not so sensitive and solemn. Although they gather in restaurants and tea shops and talk about the current situation, most of their remarks are at a higher level. For some details in the officialdom, it is often difficult to detect and experience the helplessness and pressure in it.

Talking loudly, singing and dancing sounds, intertwining the streets, carriages, sedan chairs and pedestrians in Yanjing City under the night, like the best embellishments in the prosperous era, presenting a prosperous picture no less than the Qingming Festival.

The closed Yanjing city gate was slowly opened at this time, and slowly closed again as two carriages and dozens of people entered.

The carriage slowly stopped by the street. Wanyan Congyi jumped off the carriage as soon as possible, and the curtain of the carriage behind was also lifted from Wanyan to Yi. Li Shi'er and Zhao Pan'er were sitting in the same carriage, looking at Wanyan Congyi under the carriage.

"Just go here, we will go back by ourselves." Li Shi'er said with some fatigue between the gods.

Wanyan nodded in Congyi, and then unconsciously looked around the streets where there were still people coming and going under the night sky. Lanterns continued straight along the streets, making the street seem like there was no end.

Although the lights on the city tower were not very bright, you could still vaguely see the figures of soldiers guarding the city flashing back and forth.

"Then I won't send you to you." Wanyan Congyi obeyed the order.

"After tomorrow's court meeting, if Wanyan Tak has time, let him go to the mansion." Li Shi'er nodded and said before putting down the curtain.

Wanyan Congyi nodded silently, then watched the carriage that Li Shi'er and Zhao Pan'er were riding slowly leaving. He looked at the back of the carriage and let out a sigh. Then he stretched his waist in the bustling streets that were brightly lit and could not see the end. After getting on the carriage again, he said, "Don't go back to the mansion for the time being, we can't go to the palace for the time being, so we might as well visit Prince Yun Wanyan Cong first. Today, with the evidence in our hands, let's see if Wanyan Cong will still make a quibble."

After saying that, a smile gradually appeared on the corner of Congyi's mouth. Everything was beyond his expectations. The difference in circumstances after coming to Yanjing made Wanyan congyi feel even more moved: Life is like a play.

When the carriage passed by the imperial palace in the center of Yanjing City, the majestic and magnificent palace seemed even more majestic against the lights. The huge city gate and the patrolling imperial guards also made the palace gate more majestic and domineering.

Several carriages were parked in the stable next to the palace, which made Wanyan Congyi lift the curtain and look at him. He couldn't help but guess: Who would stay in the palace so late?

King Yan? It is impossible. Today, the emperor went to the Yan King’s mansion in person, so it is impossible to be King Yan. Moreover, if there was no major event, the King Yan would not take the initiative to go to the palace.

At this time, the harem had already lit fire candles and lanterns when night fell, making the thicker night more silent and difficult to detect when it enveloped the palace.

The Empress Dowager Li Fengniang had drunk several times the hot tea, and even had a lot of delicious snacks on the table, but Xie Shenfu and Xu Yi had no plans to leave.

"Have the emperor returned to the palace?" Li Fengniang asked the palace maid next to her.

The palace maid shook her head and replied in a low voice. Before she could do it, Li Fengniang sighed involuntarily, and looked at Xie Shenfu and Xu Yi.

"Since the King of Yan is back, I should not interfere too much in the court. After all, I am only in charge of this harem, and there is a queen in this palace. I am not qualified to be so irresponsible about the affairs of the court. What's more, the emperor has grown up now. Whether in Lin'an or after coming to Yanjing, I have become more and more skilled and mature in handling affairs of the court in recent years, which makes me feel relieved." Li Fengniang frowned slightly, and the candlelight reflected on her face, which made Li Fengniang's skin, who had always been very caring, still had a faint bright luster.

Xie Shenfu frowned, while Xu Yi looked nervous and uneasy. Neither expected that after Ye Qing returned to Yanjing, the empress dowager's transformation would be so great that it even made them a little unbelievable. Is this still the empress dowager with a tough personality?

"Empress Dowager, I understand that the Empress Dowager takes into account the overall situation... and feel at ease with the priest in the court. But... I am afraid that we ministers, who are ministers, can't just sit idly by and watch a powerful minister above the court..." Xie Shenfu was already talking dryly today, and he had already said almost the same thing today, just to say that Ye Qing was a traitor with ill-conspiracy.

"I don't know what evidence is the Left Prime Minister's words? As far as I know, it has been three days since the King of Yan returned to Yanjing, right? Has the King of Yan done any major moves in the past three days? The court did not even prepare a ceremony for the King of Yan, and the King of Yan had no complaints. Now he has returned to Yanjing and stayed in the door. Is this wrong?" Li Fengniang was already displeased. Although Xie Shenfu was the Left Prime Minister, it was a bit too much to attack the King of Yan who made great contributions to the Song Dynasty court?

However, she was indeed afraid that Ye Qing's power was getting bigger and bigger in the north. Similarly, she promoted Xie Shenfu in the court to restrain Ye Qing, but she was just restraining him and did not intend to make Xie Shenfu embarrassed Ye Qing everywhere, right?

Now Xie Shenfu's actions have exceeded his left prime minister, and even made Li Fengniang feel that Xie Shenfu's move is to avenge his private revenge!

In addition, he had always wanted to elect Xu Yi as the right prime minister, which forced Li Fengniang to guess Xie Shenfu's real intention. Could it be that it was to exclude Ye Qing and then he could control the court alone?

"The Empress Dowager is afraid that the empress dowager is not aware that the transfer of officials from the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Personnel and the prefect of Yanjing today are all done by Ye Qing, and the emperor is concerned about these things..." Xie Shenfu said again.

"Random!" Li Fengniang finally couldn't help but feel angry, and slapped the desk and scolded him angrily: "Whether the Minister of Personnel, the Minister of Rites, or the Prime Minister of Yanjing, you think I don't know that these were all appointed by the Emperor's Study. What does it have to do with Ye Qing?"

"The Empress Dowager calmed down. Lord Xie, the left prime minister, did not deliberately arrange the King of Yan, but... but..." Xu Yi hurriedly defended Xie Shenfu, and stuttered: "Wanyan Tu, Wanyan Congyi and Yelu Chucai, are both Jin people. If the power in the court was controlled by the Jin people, it would be unfavorable to our Song Dynasty. These Jin people did have a close relationship with the King of Yan. Needless to say, Yelu Chucai was left to the King of Yan in Jinan Prefecture in the early years and sent to the King of Yan for heavy use. Wanyan Tucai, Wanyan Tucai, was the royal family of the Jin Kingdom who went out of the city to surrender to the King of Yan when the King of Yan attacked the Jin Kingdom, and Wanyan Tucai defeated Yan Yun Sixteenth when the King of Yan captured Yan Yun.

After the state, the ministers of the Jin Kingdom were used locally. And….”

"And just morning today, the imperial guards in the palace had a legitimate deputy commander of the imperial guards. As for who this person was, the Empress Dowager must also know very well. This person was a loyal minister in front of the Jin Dynasty Emperor Wanyan Jing. Later, because of Wanyan Jing's death, he secretly surrendered to Ye Qing, but he had been enduring humiliation in the Jin Dynasty. Finally, he cooperated with the King of Yan and took over Huining Prefecture, the capital of the Jin Dynasty."

Before Xu Yi finished speaking, Xie Shenfu continued, "Now that the King of Yan has put the slave of the gods in the palace as the deputy commander of the imperial guards, it makes people have to guess whether this will be the King of Yan for the future... and wants to imitate their internal and external strategies when attacking Huining Mansion. What's more, the imperial guards in the palace are all elite soldiers and generals who have been following the King of Yan for many years. Empress Dowager, the King of Yan is so obviously disrespectful to the royal family, we cannot take it lightly."

"Since that's the case, Ye Qing also won the northern lands of Yanjing and others by his own strength. So should this palace suggest that the emperor lead the ministers back to Lin'an? After all, these are all cities that Ye Qing has experienced. Who knows if Ye Qing will one day think that the court is occupying the nest?" Li Fengniang asked back with a sneer on her face.

Li Fengniang became more and more angry the more she thought about it. Her original intention of promoting Xie Shenfu was just that she simply did not want Ye Qing to be the only one in the court, and her power was overwhelming. Of course, the reason why she did this was indeed because of the court, and because of Zhao Kuo's concerns and concerns, she was afraid that one day Ye Qing would really undermine the power of the royal family.

But her thoughts were limited to this. She did not intend to do anything to Ye Qing, nor did she think about undoing the grind and killing the donkey. After peace today, she pushed Ye Qing out of the officialdom and completely cut off the power in Ye Qing's hands.

She also knew very well that it was unrealistic to completely exclude Ye Qing from the court or take away the rights in Ye Qing's hands. If it was so easy, the royal family would not have used several generations of people. In the end, they could not defeat Ye Qing. Instead, Ye Qing's power became greater and his prestige in the north became more and more prosperous.

Emperor Gaozong wanted to get rid of Ye Qing, whom he personally supported, but what about the end? Ye Qing was promoted to the title!

When Emperor Xiaozong was Emperor Xiaoqing, Ye Qing was highly valued and trusted. Although in the last period, Emperor Xiaozong also intended to get rid of Ye Qing, but at that time, Ye Qing... Although he was not as powerful as he is now, he was already in a state of great power. In addition, there were other powerful ministers in the court, which made Ye Qing safe again and his power went to a higher level.

Although Emperor Guangzong's reign was short, he even wanted to get rid of Ye Qing before he ascended the throne. However, at that time, Ye Qing... whether in the court or in the palace, even in the entire Song court, his strength and power were complicated. From the three religions and the other ranks, he had an indescribable relationship with him. Even if she was the Empress Dowager, she and Ye Qing were unclear.

The three emperors, plus two court officials who were extremely influential and powerful in the court, and other royal families, were unable to get rid of Ye Qing as they wished. Instead, in the end, they all became stepping stones for Ye Qing to rise step by step, thus allowing Ye Qing to have such a status today.

Now, just because Xie Shenfu alone wants to compete with Ye Qing in the court and make wits?

Even if Xu Yi and Li Bi and others next to him were added, they only had no basic foundation and power in Yanjing. What else could they do to fight Ye Qing?

Li Fengniang even thought that if it weren't for Xie Shenfu and others' backing, they would probably not even have the qualifications to speak in front of Ye Qing!

So rather than saying that Xie Shenfu and the others wanted to fight with Ye Qing in the court, it would be better to say that they wanted to coerce the saint Zhao Kuo and himself to fight with Ye Qing in the court. But in the end, Li Fengniang didn't have to think about it, and there would be no possibility of a fish-death fight, which would make the fisherman profit from it.

Who is Ye Qing? Although there have been dangers in the face of the suppression and exclusion of the court, royal family, royal family, and powerful ministers, it is precisely because of these experiences that Ye Qing has reached his current status step by step. Among them, only Ye Qing himself knows what Ye Qing has experienced.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager Li Fengniang could not convince the Empress Dowager Li Fengniang on this matter, Xie Shenfu began to plan to settle for the second best.

Since the right prime minister cannot be fought for Xu Yi, then... can the position of the Minister of Personnel be fought for in front of the Empress Dowager?

After all, since Ye Qing appointed and removed a Jin man to take the position of Left Minister, according to the Empress Dowager's idea of ​​restraining Ye Qing's power in the court, let Xu Yi be the Minister of Personnel, isn't it an excellent restraint for Ye Qing's party?

"I am trusted by the Empress Dowager, and naturally I will never let down the Empress Dowager's expectations. In the assignment of the Left Prime Minister, I promise that I will never make any mistakes, nor will I succumb to the authority of the King of Yan. But... if the assignment of the Right Prime Minister, the Empress Dowager has to compromise because he is concerned about the King of Yan. Then... can I do something in the Ministry of Personnel? After all, no matter whether Yelu Chucai is only loyal to the court, the relationship between him and the King of Yan is well known. The Ministry of Personnel is the head of the six ministries of our dynasty, and he has the power to promote and dismiss. Yelu Chucai, a Jin man, was appointed as the Left Minister of Personnel. I believe that no matter what, an important minister trusted by the court needs to be restrained, and supervision is the only way to be taken seriously." Xie Shenfu said carefully.

Li Fengniang did not speak immediately, but instead wandered around Xie Shenfu and Xu Yi for a moment, then looked at the two of them quietly for a while, then slowly spoke: "Is there any rumor in the court now?"

Li Fengniang, who was jealous of evil, was already dissatisfied with his words and deeds, so after Xie Shenfu settled down, Li Fengniang's heart immediately became vigilant.

She believed that Xie Shenfu talked about Xiang for Xu Yi was not a whim, nor was it just for the court, as well as her and the emperor Zhao Kuo, which probably also included his own selfish desires.

Facing Li Fengniang's question, Xie Shenfu was shocked in his heart, and Xu Yi was even more shocked.

After Ye Qing returned to Yanjing, Xu Yi was actually ready to settle for the second best. The Ministry of Personnel was the head of the six ministries. Lou Yu has been appointed as the Minister of the Secretariat for the past two years. Lou Yu is now far away from Lin'an. The new dynasty of Yanjing is now imperative and gradually improved, thus replacing the old dynasty of Lin'an.

Therefore, this is naturally the best opportunity for Xu Yi to replace Lou Key. What's more, because of the step by step improvement of the new dynasty, the Ministry of Personnel will naturally have huge power to appoint and remove some officials from the north. There are countless officials from Lin'an to Yanjing. Once he is appointed as the Minister of Personnel, he may not be as prominent as the Right Prime Minister, but he is very respected.

"It is said... the emperor planned to issue an order to go north to Yanjing after the New Year's Day. Once the loujing arrives in Yanjing, the emperor planned to promote Loujing to the right prime minister." Xu Yi looked at Li Fengniang's frowning expression and said carefully.

When Li Fengniang heard Xu Yi's words, she laughed instantly. The charm and charm made Xu Yi unable to help but feel dazed for a while before gradually coming back to her senses.

Li Fengniang looked at Xie Shenfu and smiled and said, "I'm afraid this is your real purpose today, right? It's for Lord Xu's career, and even for the sending of the Minister of Personnel?"

Prestige in front of others

There are many revered dispatches, but if they are truly respected, they can be respected by the entire officialdom and even have a place in the court, or rely on that dispatch, and can enter and exit the palace at will and find the emperor to discuss politics and affairs, and they can almost count them with one hand. These dispatches are almost equivalent to one person and more than ten thousand people. They have always been the ultimate career pursued by officials, and the Minister of Personnel is naturally in it.

"I am even more concerned about the court and the country, and even more so that I can live up to the trust of the emperor and the empress dowager. I am even more unwilling to see that my Song Dynasty was subjected to some people with injustice..." Xie Shenfu said solemnly.

"The Zuo Prime Minister must have found the wrong person for this matter. No matter who he is thinking about, the left prime minister should discuss these government affairs in the court. Even if he can't meet the emperor, he should discuss with the King of Yan. There is no need to come to the harem to discuss with the palace who does not care about government affairs in the court." Li Fengniang's words completely blocked the other words that Xie Shenfu had said, and even blocked Xie Shenfu's plan to use his own hands to plan a greater future for Xu Yi.

Under the shallow moon shadows and bright lights, the entire palace seemed quiet. Xie Shenfu and Xu Yi now seemed to be in another world isolated and helpless. For a moment, facing Li Fengniang's decisiveness, I didn't know how to continue to speak.

At this time, Ye Qing and Zhao Kuo walked out of the study side by side at the gate of the Yan Palace, which was also in the light moon shadow and brightly lit lights.

No other Yan Prince's Mansion came out to accompany Zhao Kuo around the two of them, but they walked on the quiet path paved with bluestone with a relaxed expression.

"Han Yanjia and Xie Shenfu were quarreling in front of me, and now almost everyone knows that the two have had a quarrel. These days, Xie Shenfu has been aggressive in the court, and Han Yanjia has been looking for an excuse for being ill in the past few days. He has not been to court for several days. I am afraid it is just to avoid quarrel with Xie Shenfu in public again. Now... you also know that Han Yanjia is..." Every family has a difficult sutra, and even Zhao Kuo, who is the current saint, cannot escape this fate.

Xie Shenfu is the left prime minister appointed by the Empress Dowager, and Han Yanjia is his father-in-law and the father of Empress Han Ying. Now the two are incompatible with each other in the court. Although the impact of the quarrel between them does not endanger the court for the time being, if this continues, these two people will probably cause other officials in the court to stand between them and they have to choose a sideline.

Han Yanjia obviously understood this truth well, so when the aftermath of his quarrel with Xie Shenfu had not been fully exposed and Xie Shenfu was still aggressive in the court, Han Yanjia chose to retreat, thinking that the impact of this matter would not continue to expand the situation, thereby affecting other officials in the court, and even making Zhao Kuo embarrassed.

"Han Yanjia is worthy of praise for the overall situation. And Xie Shenfu... a scholar, although he was pedantic and stubborn back then, he still had a trace of rationality and scholarly character. But..." Ye Qing slowly walked forward behind his hands, paused and continued, "To be honest, this was all because of your mother. If she hadn't suddenly promoted Xie Shenfu, it would not have made Xie Shenfu blinded by power and become fluttering. To put it bluntly, Xie Shenfu obviously never thought that one day he would become the left prime minister of the dynasty, and he did not think that power would blind people and become more utilitarian after all, and he would not be able to see himself clearly, and he could not recognize his position."

Zhao Kuo nodded in agreement, and the two of them walked side by side. At this time, Zhao Kuo couldn't help but look at Ye Qing sideways. Then, after Ye Qing also stopped slowly, Zhao Kuo bowed deeply to Ye Qing, and Ye Qing accepted calmly and waited for Zhao Kuo's explanation.

"I was fortunately the King of Yan in the Song Dynasty, but what I admire even more was the King of Yan's ambitions." Zhao Kuo sighed slightly, and then said: "Actually, I often wonder who can maintain a clear self when facing power? In Lin'an, not to mention that officials are promoted to a higher level, they will become unaware of subordinates, and even their family members. This shows how much influence the power has on people. Just like some merchants, they can also maintain a normal mind when they are not rich, but once they get rich overnight, they will immediately become arrogant, take a concubine, buy a house, buy a title for themselves, and even after making more money, they still want to enter the official career. So it has to be said that King of Yan has been able to keep a clear mind for so many years, which is really admirable."

Ye Qing looked down at Zhao Kuo's frank compliments and laughed in silence, then raised his head and said, "I am not a saint, how could I not be obsessed with power, greedy for beauty, and prefer luxury? But there is no way. In recent years, I seem to have always held the power of the North, and even can dominate the entire North, even if the court has to endure it. But... only I know that over the years, if it weren't for the idea of ​​whether the court would praise or strip it down, I would never dare to relax and dare to really relax, I would probably follow in the footsteps of Xie Shenfu and others."

"But no matter what, you have finally mastered the rights, rather than letting the rights dominate you, right?" Zhao Kuo's words were even faintly mixed with a hint of seeking answers.

Ye Qing reached out and gestured back and forth between him and Zhao Kuo for a few times, then smiled and said, "Your mother has always wanted to support a trusted official in the court to balance and restrain my influence on the court and my rights in the north. But he didn't know that it was enough to have you."

"So... are we restraining each other?" Zhao Kuo also imitated Ye Qing's appearance, and asked back and forth between the two of them with one hand, then thought for a while: "Maybe this is true. I want to be open and honest. Through my efforts, you have to keep your rights clear and vigilant because I, the emperor, want to get back all the rights?"

"You said you missed a little." Ye Qing shook his head and smiled, and then continued to move forward first.

Zhao Kuo followed behind and asked, "What is it?"

"Or it can be said that since you ascended the throne, you have made me who I am today, and Ye Qing has made me who I am today." Ye Qing said with a smile.

"I made you who made you today and me who made you today?" Zhao Kuo was a little puzzled.

Walking to the carriage, without waiting for Ye Qing to speak, Zhao Kuo took the lead in signaling the imperial guards to let the eunuchs retreat far away, and then asked, "How can you explain this?"

"If it weren't for me, would you be so motivated?" Ye Qing asked with a smile, then patted Zhao Kuo on the shoulder and said, "Don't think so much, hurry back to the palace. As for Xie Shenfu's affairs... let the prefect of Yanjing to deal with it."

Zhao Kuo nodded subconsciously, and then after hearing that he wanted to hand Xie Shenfu over to the prefect of Yanjing for treatment, he was stunned at first, and then he understood what Ye Qing meant.

"You'd better go there on the day of the New Year." After getting on the bus, Zhao Kuo thought for a while, then lifted the curtain and said to Ye Qing who was still standing there: "You have been back for three days. I can understand if you don't enter the palace, but I don't see my mother... I'm afraid that my mother will not understand. I've been in your mansion for so long today. Even if you enter the palace tomorrow, I believe those officials will not say anything."
Chapter completed!