In Tai Chi Palace. Zhao Jie failed to deal with political affairs well today. It was not until he went to the Empress Dowager Zhou's house for dinner in the evening that Zhao Jie put aside the distracting thoughts swirling in his heart. Empress Dowager Zhou gave Zhao Jie a dish and said: "Jie'er, this is what you like to eat. Eat more. I heard that the regent has found portraits of more than a dozen girls for you and asked you to choose the queen from them. Do you have a choice?" come out?" Zhao Jie said: "My child has already refused." Empress Dowager Zhou nodded and said: "Good refusal. The regent seems uneasy and well-intentioned at first glance. You have to choose the queen yourself! You cannot follow the arrangements of the Lu Qi family. They may want to support someone from the Qi family to be the queen." , so that you can set up a puppet in the future. I heard from your second cousin-in-law that her brother-in-law has a niece who is very beautiful. The most important thing is that she has a noble status. She is the eldest lady of the Chu family. She happens to be fourteen this year, so she happens to be the queen..." Zhao Jie frowned slightly and said: "Mom, the reason why I refused is because I am still young, not because I think my cousin is uneasy and well-intentioned." Empress Dowager Zhou said: "Why don't you understand, kid? Do you think Lu Ze is really so kind to let you take charge? He has held the power in the world for nearly ten years, will he let it go easily? He just wants to use your harem. I heard that Chu Chi, the new minister in the harem, is a maid from Prince Qi's palace. Don't you understand? They want to control your future harem! " Zhao Jie only frowned and said, "Mother, you are worrying too much."
Queen Mother Zhou sighed, "Oh, you, please be more careful." On the way back to Tai Chi Hall, Zhao Jie happened to meet Chu Chi who came to deliver a sachet to Chu Qing. The wind was still cold on the night of February 2nd, and he saw that Chu Chi was still wearing the thin gown he wore during the day. Zhao Jie took off his cloak and stepped forward to put it on Chu Chi. Chu Chi was startled. She turned around and looked up to see Zhao Jie. Zhao Jie, who was obviously several years younger than her, was already more than half a head taller than her. "His Majesty." Zhao Jie said: "It's cold, be careful of catching a cold." "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I will take my leave first." After Chu Chi returned the cloak to Zhao Jie, he took it off again and again. Zhao Jie entered the Tai Chi Palace and smelled the faint fragrance of peonies on the cloak. In his dream at night, he entered a trance among peonies, and the peonies in the middle transformed into the appearance of Chu Chi. Zhao Jie instinctively went over, lowering his head and inhaling the fragrance of peonies... Under the blue sky, there is a cluster of peonies, with a fragrant fragrance. Chu Chi's eyebrows gradually become blurred among the peonies... After Zhao Jie woke up early in the morning, he frowned. When the maid who came to make Zhao Jie's bed saw the marks on the bed, she happily went to report it to the Queen Mother Zhou. After hearing this, the Queen Mother Zhou said: "This child is still young. Since this is the case, it is time to find a queen to get married, and to be able to rule as soon as possible." …… The end of February was Lu Ze's thirtieth birthday, so Lu Ze took a bath for three days to give himself a good vacation. He took Qi Yuning to Shengjing Village, but he did not bring his two children with him, but he had the most satisfying birthday. On a spring night, Qi Yuning and Lu Ze were lying in the courtyard of Zhuangzi, watching the setting sun. Beside them were the peach blossom trees in full bloom. It was rare to see the clouds rolling in and out, and Qi Yuning felt very comfortable. Lu Ze stroked Qi Yuning's hair and said, "I haven't been this peaceful for a long time. I really want Zhao Jie to get married as soon as possible, so that I can spend more time with you and your children."
Qi Yuning said: "Zhao Jie is only fourteen, and it is too early to get married now, but when he reaches sixteen or seventeen, it is time to get married, but we still don't know what he will be like after he takes charge. Now I see that the Zhou family is tied to the same boat as those aristocratic families. The Shen family, the Ning family, the Yang family, and the Chu family have intermarried with each other, and they are already connected. I also heard that the eldest lady of the Chu family He was quite famous in the area south of the Yangtze River, and all the virtuous names in the south of the Yangtze River spread to Shengjing City. The Empress Dowager Zhou also praised this Miss Zhou a few days ago. She is not just here to make a name for herself. I think she is heading towards the position of queen. " Lu Ze squeezed Qi Yuning's hand and said, "It's rare to relax for two days without talking about business." Qi Yuning looked at Lu Ze and said, "It's not all business. After all, Jie'er is also a child we watched grow up." Lu Ze said: "Let's take it one step at a time, as long as we have a clear conscience." Qi Yuning looked at Lu Ze and said, "By the way, do you really not want to covet the power to dominate the world for a few more years?" Lu Ze chuckled and said: "Who doesn't like the feeling of having power in hand, but this power is also a hot potato." Qi Yuning said: "I don't know who your Majesty will choose to be the queen. If he really chooses the Chu family to be the queen, ugh." After Qi Yuning and Lu Ze left their two children behind and returned to the princess mansion again, Lingling was angry for several days. Lu Ze and Qi Yuning also coaxed her for several days before coaxing her properly. Xiao Zhixiu was not angry at all and seemed not to care whether his parents were around him or not. Qi Yuning has never experienced the feeling of being clingy when it comes to her son. She actually misses Lingling when she was three years old. She would stick to her side and call her mother "kiss" every day. She was much cuter than her son. In March, it was Qi Yuning's little niece's birthday party. It was a great joy for the Qi family to have a daughter for the first time in twenty-seven years, and the Zhuzhou banquet was no less grand than Lingling's. Qi Yuning arrived at Prince Qi's Mansion next door early in the morning to help hold her niece. Qi Yuning liked his little niece very much. Seeing her soft and cute appearance, Qi Yuning also had the idea of giving Lingling a sister, but after much thought, he decided against it. Although the child was cute, she really didn't want to suffer again. When it was time to catch Zhou at the auspicious time, Qi Yuning put his niece down, and she grabbed a sword, which made Qi Yuan extremely happy. The Qi family naturally hopes that there will be successors to the Qi family army. Lingling asked Qi Yuning from the side: "Mother, what did I catch when I was a kid?" Qi Yuning recalled the time when Lingling captured Zhou, and smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't mention it, you don't want to know." "What did I catch?" Qi Zhiyuan covered his smile and said, "You caught someone else's steamed buns, the kind that were snatched away." "Ah?" Lingling suddenly blushed, "That must be because I was young and naive." Qi Yuning smiled lightly: "You are still a child now." Lingling waved her hands and said, "I'm almost eight years old, and I'm no longer a child. I'll have haircuts in seven years. The time spent in these seven years is just a snap of the fingers, very fast." Qi Yuning saw that Lingling's height had reached her waist. She thought that growing up only took a moment. After all, Zhao Jie was almost as tall as Lu Ze. Thinking about it this way, Qi Yuning hoped that Lingling could grow slower. As spring passed and autumn came, a major event occurred in the court. The right prime minister died of a sudden illness. Lu Zeben still wanted to choose between Lin Jiang and Qian Yun to succeed the right prime minister. However, Zhao Jie proposed to Lu Ze that Gu Wei should be appointed as the right minister. Gu Wei was the governor of Jiangnan after the Zhou family. He had been in office for three years and had indeed made many achievements while in office.
Lu Ze did not refuse, but it was only after Gu Wei came to Beijing that Qi Yuning found out the origin of Gu Wei. "This Gu Wei was promoted by Chu Yan. He is actually a member of the Chu family. Little Zhao Jie doesn't really want to repay kindness with hatred, right? Or does he want to use the power of the Chu family to suppress us? To balance the relationship between the court and the court?" After hearing Gu Wei's origin, Lu Ze said: "The Chu family has really put a lot of thought into it. This Chu Yan should not be underestimated. Chu Yan is not the eldest son of Chu. In this family where he is the eldest son of the direct branch, he The fifth eldest child must have extraordinary means to become the head of the Chu family." Qi Yuning looked at Lu Ze worriedly and said, "You should be more careful about him." Lu Ze said: "Okay." (End of chapter)