Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 88: The Queen Mother is secretly communicating with the enemy country?
Prince Qing's Palace.

In the back garden, Zhu Qiyu was drinking tea with Tung Xingdao.

"Your Highness, we can make that move now." A gleam of light flashed in Tung Xingdao's eyes. "This is a chance to overthrow the Queen Mother. And after this move, the Queen Mother will definitely fall."

Zhu Qiyu was excited: "I have been patient for so long, and finally I can use it. The Queen Mother probably thought she did it carefully and no one knew about it."

Tung Xingdao looked worried, "Xu Bin has been in Mobei for so long and hasn't come back. Even if the emperor didn't notice, Yu Qian and the other old foxes must have noticed it a long time ago, but they just didn't mention it on purpose."

Zhu Qiyu slowly drank a cup of tea.

Xu Bin is not a simple person. He is childhood sweethearts with the Queen Mother. If the Queen Mother hadn't told him, he wouldn't have known that Xu Bin and the Queen Mother had this relationship. So the Queen Mother sent Xu Bin to Mobei for a very clear purpose.

"After the fall of Marquis Huichang, the Queen Mother urgently needs a helper, so she recommended you to take charge of the Rear Army Commandery." Tung Xingdao frowned, "However, the Queen Mother's decision seems a bit hasty? I always feel that she has other plans."

Zhu Qiyu shook his head: "Mr. Tung, the Queen Mother's party is indeed very powerful. But how many people does she really trust? Besides, there are some things that cannot be known to the court officials, so she can only choose me."

“I hope so!” Tung Xingdao spread his hands. “No matter what, let the Queen Mother fall first. Only then will she truly rely on you, Your Highness. Then, it will be your chance.”

Zhu Qiyu gulped down a glass of wine and said, "Well, tomorrow morning, I will give the Queen Mother a great gift."

……

Kunning Palace.

Huichang Marquis Sun Jizhong and his nephew Sun Lian knelt in the hall. It was obvious that Sun Jizhong was in great sorrow because his son Sun Zhen was beheaded after all.

"Brother, there is nothing we can do about it." The Queen Mother, who was sitting on the chair, sighed softly.

"Your Majesty, I would like to request to retire and return home." Sun Jizhong looked sad and helpless. "I still have a few acres of land in my hometown, which is enough for me to spend the rest of my life."

The Queen Mother stared at him in silence for a long time, and finally sighed, "Forget it, brother, just go back to your hometown to retire."

Upon hearing this, Sun Jizhong immediately kowtowed and thanked her: "I thank the Queen Mother for her grace."

After saying this, he stood up and left without looking back. The Queen Mother looked at his back and knew that from this moment on, the fate between them as siblings had ended and they might never see each other again.

A wave of sadness surged in her heart and she fell silent. At this time, Sun Lian, who was kneeling on the ground, bowed respectfully and said, "Queen Mother, my uncle entrusted all affairs to me last night. I will be loyal to you like my uncle."

"Humph, you are the one who can do this?" The Queen Mother's voice sounded coldly, "Stand up and report your uncle. Did someone teach you to do this?"

Sun Lian's expression suddenly changed, and he kowtowed hurriedly to explain: "Queen Mother, your subject...your subject..."

The Queen Mother did not listen to his explanation and interrupted him, saying, "Since your uncle finally chose you, I will use you for the time being! Alas, you are still a member of the Sun family after all. The future of the Sun family depends on you to support it."

"I will definitely not let the Queen Mother down." Sun Lian thanked her.

"Get up." The Queen Mother took a sip of the teacup and said calmly, "In a few days, I will let you inherit the title of Marquis of Huichang. You should first go to the Rear Army Governor's Office to serve as the Deputy Governor and learn more."

Sun Lian was overjoyed when he heard this: "I obey your order!"

……

Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Qizhen had converted the side hall into a study, with rows of bookshelves filled with books. At this moment, Zhu Qizhen was flipping through the books, while Yang Guifang climbed up the ladder to look for a book.

"Your Majesty, can I borrow a few books?" Yang Guifang's eyes were full of desire. "Some of these are rare and unique copies."

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand generously: "I will give it to you!"

Yang Guifang was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurried down the ladder, bowing respectfully: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your gift." Zhu Qizhen liked to invite Yang Guifang to read whenever he was reading, because he knew a lot and could easily talk about Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Zhu Qizhen treated him like Baidu, and would search for anything he was confused about.

"Yang Guifang, you have been in the cabinet for some time, right?" Zhu Qizhen suddenly asked.

"It's only been a few months, and I haven't been able to share much with Your Majesty. As a Grand Secretary, I have a low rank, and I can only help Your Majesty copy and write, and I don't even have a say in the cabinet." Yang Guifang spread his hands helplessly.

Zhu Qizhen frowned and said, "Prince Qin is in charge of both the Ministry of Personnel and the Commandery of the Rear Army. I intend to ask him to give up one of his positions. Do you dare to become the Minister of Personnel?"

Yang Guifang shook her head decisively: "I dare not!"

Zhu Qizhen: “!!!”

"Your Majesty, my qualifications are far from enough. I play a greater role in the cabinet. Although I cannot speak, I am involved in confidential matters." Yang Guifang spread his hands, "As for the Minister of Personnel, if the Prince of Qing can spit it out, I think Li Xian is suitable."

Zhu Qizhen glared at him angrily: "Don't you want to spit it out, Prince Qing?"

Yang Guifang frowned thoughtfully, "Your Majesty, I always feel that Prince Qing is growing very fast, and he is making rapid progress. I am worried that he will be difficult to control in the future."

Zhu Qizhen's heart trembled, and he thought of Prince Qing's military advisor, Tung Xingdao. Prince Qing's change was probably because of him.

"Alas, I am in great need of people right now." He sighed, "You know I am not satisfied with the 'land annexation' case, right? There is too much resistance because I don't have enough people available."

Yang Guifang shook her head and said, "In fact, there is not much difference. The people do not know what the court is. In their minds, the court is the officials. And Your Majesty cannot control every official in the world, right?"

Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "I am worried. If the people lose their land, the country will lose its people. If a country loses its people, it has never been able to survive without chaos! So if you lose your land, you will have no people, and if you have no people, the country will perish!"

"It's a pity that the officials don't understand these principles." Yang Guifang snorted, "No, they do! It's just that this involves their interests."

Zhu Qizhen rubbed his face, thoughtfully.

……

The next day, morning.

After the court session, Prince Zhu Qiyu of Qin stood up, then knelt down and kowtowed with a look of grief on his face.

"Second brother, what are you doing? If you have something to say, just say it." Zhu Qizhen glared.

"Your Majesty, I am going to be an unfilial person today, but for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, I have no choice but to do it!" Zhu Qiyu kowtowed heavily behind the curtain, "Today, I will report to the Queen Mother!"

The ministers' faces changed drastically.

Zhu Qizhen stood up suddenly and glared at him: "Second brother, stop talking nonsense. You've been drinking, haven't you? Come on, take him out."

"Your Majesty, even if you kill me today, I will still tell you." Zhu Qiyu said with tears in his eyes.

At this time, Prince Xiang stood up and bowed: "Your Majesty, it is not too late to wait for Prince Qing to finish speaking. If he talks nonsense, I will teach him a lesson as the emperor's uncle. I am also in charge of the Da Zongzhengyuan."

Zhu Qizhen nodded: "Uncle Huang is right!"

He glanced behind the curtain and saw a frosty look on the queen's face.

"Second brother, why do you want to report to the Queen Mother?" he asked in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is secretly communicating with the enemy country!" Zhu Qiyu bowed.

(End of this chapter)