I Became The Stepmother of My Ex-husband

Chapter 96: The Wind Blows

From the end of the sixth year of Yuanjia, the political turmoil that later generations called the Wenzhong Change had already revealed signs.

Countless people wrung their wrists when reading through this history. Zhang Xiao Lian had been in the cabinet for half his life, in those ten years he had been the First Assistant. How many people praised him was how many people slandered him. The later generation also half criticized half praised this powerful First Assistant. However, no matter how later generations evaluated, at this time, Zhang Xiao Lian still did what he thought was right with a clear conscience.

For example, choosing the Empress candidate for the Emperor.

After the New Year, the Emperor would be sixteen years old, not to mention imperial family, even the children from ordinary officials should consider starting a family at this age. As the head of a country, the Emperor naturally had many ministers worrying about his marriage.

The ministers carefully selected from the official households of the fifth grade in the capital, the third grade and above in other provinces, and carefully drafted a list of young lady with innocent backgrounds, good morals, and ages between thirteen and sixteen. The Empress Dowager Qian and the cabinet soon got a copy. As soon as the Empress Dowager held the list, she immediately circled the Qian family's young lady.

The Empress Dowager Qian's thoughts were well understood. Three thousand were pampering one person, not hoping to give birth to children only long to become the woman. She herself could stand up because of her family, of course, she understood that the Emperor's family womenfolk have so many benefits. Now because of her the Qian family had become one of the most honorable family in the capital. It didn't make sense for them to have so much influence but didn't send their daughter to the palace.

The Empress Dowager wanted to let the Qian family continued to be the empress, but how could First Assistant Zhang agree.

First Assistant Zhang had made plans for the Emperor for the next ten years. This year the Emperor would choose a candidate who has both ability and political integrity, has warm and virtuous personality to become the empress. According to the legacy of the founding emperor, the concubines of the harem shall not be selected from the houses of important officials, and to select the best from ordinary families, this was to prevent the monopoly of the maternal relatives. Although the legacy of the founding emperor was not very realistic, but the main idea was not wrong. That was, the Empress's family should not be too prominent, so as not to threaten the Emperor's power in the future.

And since she was the empress, her appearance must be dignified and generous, too seductive or too outstanding was not acceptable. The sage of the ancient times valued morality and literary talent, because those who were famous for their beauty all without exception became the calamity for the country.

In this way, one could imagine what kind of women First Assistant Zhang singled out.

When the list that had been instructed by the First Assistant passed on to the Emperor, the Emperor only looked at the first few names and his face turned dark.

The Empress Dowager also eagerly lobbied the Emperor and highly recommended her perfect nieces. However, the Emperor had the heart to set up a little palace maid by his side. The little palace maid had accompanied the Emperor for five years. The two thoughts were very much in line. Whether commenting on the ancient history or poetry, the Emperor and this palace maid had endless topics to talk about, endless jokes to tell. The Emperor ascended the throne at the age of eight. Before ascending to the throne, because Bu Guifei was especially pampered in the harem, he did not receive any attention from his father emperor, let alone favor. After he ascended the throne, although he lived in luxury, but outside there was teacher First Assistant Zhang and inside there was adoptive mother Empress Dowager Qian. Before the Emperor could enjoy his childhood, he had to learn to be an ideal sage king. For ten years in the quite Forbidden City, he could only comfortably talk with this little palace. The Emperor pulled this little palace maid as confidant, and naturally wanted to give his sweetheart a good name.