The Gilded Cage - Chapter 138

The first thing that happened was that Qi Mu suddenly submitted a letter of resignation. (2)

In the end, as part of the noble family that had been so rejected, she could not help but to say what was in her heart, as if this would prove anything in general.

Hearing this, Xiao Kezhi raised his eyebrows and glanced at her. There was no sarcasm in his eyes, but a trace of surprise, “It’s better this way, and it won’t affect your marriage prospects.”

The Empress Dowager Qi, however, only shook her head silently in her heart.

“Let the underlings restrain themselves. What the Imperial court wants are officials with real abilities. Don’t keep those corpses who are devoid of ability and only seek personal gain.” Xiao Kezhi continued to speak slowly, holding the teacup in his hands, then personally pouring a cup of tea for the Empress Dowager Qi. “If you can clean up your own house, the court of Great Liang will naturally have a place for the Qi family.”

His words seem to be light, but in fact, he meant to let the Qi family break their own arms, give up most of the interests that have been originally for themselves, and be an exemplar. If the Qi family did not complain, the other big families naturally would not set off any trouble.

“Well, I’ll give you some time. If things are not arranged to my satisfaction before the Crown Prince’s wedding… these swords and spears will not be idle threats.”

Xiao Kezhi did not wait for a reply. He simply got up and left with big steps, bringing away hundreds of fully armed guards with the sound of neat footsteps and clanging armor.

……

The marriage between the East Palace and the Zhao family was finally decided a few days later.

The Ministry of Rites and the Zongzheng Temple performed the six rites according to the Emperor’s wishes. Xiao Yu wanted to make this happen as soon as possible, and since they were not first marriages, it was not advisable to make a big deal out of it according to the custom of Daliang, so the six rites, which would have taken at least half a year to complete, only took about three months.

There was still a lot of talk in the court about the matter, and speculation about whether there was a collusion between Xiao Yu and Zhao Lun, and whether the emperor knew about it.

A few days later, however, everyone’s thoughts turned to something else.

Qi Mu, the Grand Chancellor, suddenly submitted a letter of resignation, saying that he was too old to hold the post of Grand Chancellor anymore and asked the emperor for permission to retire!

This matter was really unexpected.

In today’s court, the Qi family had their hands in every corner. In the capital, half of the officials of higher rank were promoted by Qi Mu or those who were closely related to the Qi family, and Qi Mu was their main backbone.

He was now just over half a hundred years old. Although he was not in his prime anymore, he also was not at the time when his body was too old and decrepit to serve.

The people originally thought that it was about the Qi family and the Emperor’s differences of opinion, which was used as a means to make a show. It was not surprising that he not only took the initiative to resign, and even privately instructed several other powerful confidants to retire to the second line and no longer involve themselves too much in political affairs.

The courtiers then slowly understood that the Qi family was not going to call the emperor’s bluff? It was clear that they have completely softened, taking the initiative to give in!

The Grand Chancellor’s decision to give up all of his hard-earned successes was a matter of speculation, and the emperor had used some kind of method to make the Empress Dowager and Qi Mu, who had been in charge of the government for many years, give up most of their hard-earned successes without a word.

In a full month of time, more than a dozen important official positions changed, which set off a huge wave of alertness in officials large and small. Everyone became much more conscientious.

……

In the Guizhen Temple, Chu Ning listened to the news sent by the chamberlain, and the ripples in her heart became smaller every day.

At first, every time she heard the word “Crown Prince,” she would still feel a little strange, but now he was now like an irrelevant person.

At night, the sound of music came from the direction of Ganlu Hall.

Cuihe came in with the decocted tonic medicine, sent it to Chu Ning, went outside the courtyard to open the door a few inches, and then retreated.

It was already April, and winter was already over. The air was filled with the warm scent of grass and trees, so fragrant that it was slightly intoxicating.

Creak…

The wooden door was pushed open and closed from the outside, followed by a tall, upright figure walking to the door.

He didn’t go in, but walked silently to the open window and quietly looked at the woman in the window.

She was sitting upright on her knees on the couch, her left hand on the paper, her right hand squeezing the brush, meticulously copying words.

The orange light shone on her side face, giving a layer of warmth to the originally fair skin. The side of her face was slightly downcast, outlining the delicate and exquisite graceful lines. The hair tied in the bun was too slippery, and a thin strand fell down to her cheek when she was not careful.

She wrote carefully, one stroke at a time, and only when the character “” was finished did she use her left hand to pin the strand of hair behind her ear. But the next character “” was two strokes written before the strand of hair fell down again.

The person outside the window couldn’t help but reach out and pin that strand of hair behind her ear for her.

The soft and delicate touch under his fingertips was too much to let go of, and he gently stroked her face and refused to leave.

“Your Majesty.” The words under her brush failed to finish, Chu Ning put down the brush, twisted her head, and met a pair of rarely gentle eyes by the window.

She did not feel surprised at all.

These days, he quietly visited every one or two days. The time he spent here was not in the least bit shorter than in Ganlu Hall.

“There’s still a bowl of cherry milk dessert left.” She tilted her head and smiled, her eyes glowing with the starlight behind him.

He stood outside the window and couldn’t help but lower his head and lightly kiss her eyes.