Harem Daily Life

Chapter 485: The Battle for the Queen

As soon as Ningyuan Hou's proposal came out, it immediately received support and endorsement from many court officials. Many officials from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Rites almost all stood on Ningyuan Hou's side.

The Minister of War raised his eyebrows slightly and said slowly, "Marquis Ningyuan, what you said is a bit inappropriate. Although it is true that the imperial concubine is pregnant with twins, the children have not been born yet! And the virtuous concubine has successfully given birth to the eldest prince! Besides, the father and son of the Rong family have been stationed in the bitter and cold border for many years to ensure the stability and peace of our border. They have worked tirelessly and devotedly. It can be said that they have sacrificed their small family for the Great Zhou and the people. Shouldn't the Rong family be praised and their daughter be made queen?"

Ningyuan Hou narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Sir Shangshu, I am not denying the Rong family's contribution. The father and son of the Rong family have served the country and the people and guarded the border. We are all grateful. It's just that the matter of establishing a queen is related to the foundation of the country. Not only does it require high moral character, but it must also be talented. I believe everyone knows that the imperial concubine fought against the cold disaster and donated earthen kangs, improved farm tools to increase grain production, built various workshops to increase income, and offered advice to relieve your majesty's worries. She can be said to be virtuous and intelligent."

He praised her a lot, then looked at the emperor and said, "The most important thing is that the imperial concubine is deeply loved by His Majesty and has a deep friendship with His Majesty. The fetus in her belly is a sign of good fortune. This is God's favor to the Great Zhou."

"Your Majesty, I think that if you want to establish a queen, the Imperial Concubine is the best choice. Please make your decision, Your Majesty."

The Minister of Justice stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I think that although the Imperial Concubine is deeply favored by the Emperor, she has not yet given birth to an heir. Compared with the Virtuous Concubine, the Imperial Concubine is indeed less experienced. Moreover, the Imperial Concubine's family background is also inferior to that of the Virtuous Concubine, and she is not a good match for Your Majesty."

The Minister of Justice spoke very bluntly, which made He Linzhang very unhappy.

In his opinion, Yan Yan is the best woman in the world, worthy of being on par with him.

At this time, the Minister of Personnel, who had been silent all this time, stood up and said, "My Lords, please stop arguing and listen to me."

After he finished speaking, everyone quieted down and listened to him patiently.

"I think that there are still many noble ladies from aristocratic families in the capital, some of whom are both talented and virtuous, and some of whom are of noble birth. It would be better to restart the selection and choose concubines from them. This will not only expand the harem and multiply offspring, but also select the best one to be the queen." As soon as these words came out, there was a lot of discussion in the court.

Those families who had wanted to send their daughters to the palace before were very happy. His Majesty had unilaterally stopped the selection of concubines before. If it was restarted, their family would have the opportunity to produce an imperial concubine, or even a queen!

The court officials were divided into three factions and argued endlessly. He Linzhang rubbed his brows.

A re-draft is certainly out of the question.

He raised his hand and asked everyone to be quiet: "Okay, the matter of establishing a queen should not be decided hastily. It's the end of the year now, and there are many things that need to be done by you, my dear ministers. Please focus on the government affairs."

After saying that, He Linzhang stood up and left.

All the ministers knelt down hurriedly to see him off.

After leaving the palace, Ning Yuanhou glanced at Tao Qian and said unhappily, "Master Tao, why didn't you say a few words to defend the Imperial Concubine? If the Imperial Concubine is the Empress, she will be able to walk around the palace as she pleases!"

Tao Qian thought of his good daughter walking sideways and couldn't help laughing: "My Lord, a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. The most important thing for the imperial concubine now is to give birth to the child safely. I think the more critical the moment, the more you can't make enemies. Don't stand out. It's best to maintain the status quo and wait for an opportunity to act in the future."

Ning Yuanhou thought for a moment and said, "Someone is anxious to establish a virtuous concubine. I am worried that Yan Yan will have no hope by then."

Tao Qian patted his arm and said, "Don't worry, my Lord. If His Majesty wanted to appoint Consort De, he would have done so when the former Queen was demoted."

Ning Yuanhou thought about it and felt relieved.

Tao Qian continued, "My Lord, can't you see that Concubine De and the Ministry of War are now tightly bound together? The Ministry of War and the Rong family are probably closely related. What happened today must have made Concubine De and the Rong family anxious. As for why they are anxious, my Lord, why don't you try to guess?"

Ning Yuanhou narrowed his eyes and asked, "Because of the baby in the imperial concubine's belly?"

Tao Qian nodded: "If a prince is born, or even two princes, do you think, based on the degree of His Majesty's love for the concubine, will he directly make her the queen?"

Ning Yuanhou agreed with him. He looked around and whispered, "Come back with me and we'll discuss this. If Yan Yan and the children get in the way, they might get punished. We have to come up with a plan to prevent it."

Tao Qian waved his hand and said, "Not during the day, I still have to go on an inspection. Let's go to the mansion at night."

Ningyuan Hou had no choice but to let Tao Qian go to do the work, while he thought about it and finally decided to go to the military camp to find his son. His son was in charge of the garrison in the capital, and although he might not be able to use it, it would be good to inform him in advance so that he could be prepared.

Gu Yi didn't expect his father to come to him. After arranging for the soldiers to continue training, he returned to the tent to see Lord Gu.

When Gu Yi saw his own father, he also had a cold look on his face. Marquis Gu was already used to it. He drank a sip of tea and said in a deep voice: "Today in the court, all parties were arguing fiercely about the issue of establishing the queen. There is a lot of story behind this."

Gu Yi frowned when he heard this: "Some people support the imperial concubine, and some people support others, right?"

When he thought about her being crowned as queen, Gu Yi was happy for her, but also felt sad.

Marquis Gu then told his son what happened in the court: "Today's events were probably led by the Rong family and Concubine De. The Rong family has been generals for three generations, and they have a solid foundation in the army, a huge influence, and have always had a close relationship with the Ministry of War. Concubine De has also given birth to the eldest prince, and they probably won't allow the concubine to give birth to a child smoothly and be crowned queen."

Gu Yi said cautiously: "Then what does father want to do?" Gu Yi is good at fighting on the battlefield. The fighting in the court is not his strong point. He still has to listen to the old fox sitting opposite him.

Marquis Gu's eyes were firm: "The Imperial Concubine is the only blood of your aunt left in this world. We must protect her well. She and our Gu family will rise and fall together. I will not feel at ease until she ascends the throne."

"I understand. I will do whatever father says. Now the garrison troops in the capital are under my command, so father does not need to worry."

Marquis Gu nodded and said, "I came here today just to remind you and let you prepare for a rainy day. It doesn't necessarily mean that you will go to war with the Rong family."

Gu Yi said, "It is better to take precautions before they happen. I understand this principle. By the way, the Ministry of War seems to have made some unusual moves recently. Together with the Ministry of Personnel, they are conducting an annual assessment of generals. I see that there are indeed some of General Rong's former subordinates on the list."

Marquis Gu frowned: "Could it be that they have already started to make plans?" First, they arrange their people in various places. With real power, it will be much easier to do anything later.

"Do you have a list?" Gu Hou asked nervously.

Gu Yi thought for a while and said, "I remember a few and wrote them down for you." Marquis Gu needs to investigate the background of these people and even keep them under close surveillance.