What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 283 The Empress becomes Su Mo's disciple, and Su Mo's return gift!

Upon hearing the official's words, the six Grand Secretaries' expressions suddenly turned strange, and they looked at each other in bewilderment.

The Empress left the palace to become Su Mo's disciple.
Tomorrow at the morning court session, I will explain to the court officials why the Empress has taken Su Mo as her teacher.

Xiao Yuan and the others all turned their gazes to Wang Hao!

Although a commoner can become an imperial tutor, during the reign of the previous emperor, which of those commoner imperial tutors was not a renowned Confucian scholar?

The reason they remained commoners was simply because they were devoted to learning, or single-mindedly pursued the path of immortality, or were immersed in the beauty of nature and had no interest in serving as officials in the court!

Su Mo?

Although he has some cleverness and is skilled in business management... well, he also has some literary talent.

However, Xiao Yuan and others felt that they were still a long way from meeting the standards of becoming an imperial tutor.

The fact that the Empress suddenly wanted to become Su Mo's disciple at this time was clearly aimed at these old foxes.
Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Wang Hao frowned and pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Things have come to this point, and we cannot stop His Majesty's decision!"

He frowned slightly: "I actually quite admire Su Mo, and even considered recruiting him to work in the Ministry of Revenue."

As he spoke, Wang Hao's gaze swept over the other Grand Secretaries: "Regardless of whether this young man truly possesses great learning or is merely a facade, the matter of him becoming the Imperial Tutor is now settled."

"However..." He frowned and said with a wry smile, "The court's lackeys have become the emperor's teachers. If the whole world knew this, wouldn't we become a laughing stock!"

"Scholars and students, please do not think that we are no longer capable of assisting the sage in governing the world!"

Cui Xuan, a Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, came from the prestigious Cui family of Boling. Upon hearing this, he nodded slightly.

"Minister Wang is right!"

"No matter what, we must never allow the court's lackeys to become the emperor's teachers!"

Xiao Yuan frowned and looked at Wang Hao: "What does Minister Wang mean?"

Wang Hao said calmly, "Since this boy has become the teacher of a sage, his identities as a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Phoenix Cry Division must not be spared!"

Yang Ji, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but say, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Phoenix Cry Division are the Emperor's personal troops. Is it inappropriate for us to get involved?"

Wang Hao said calmly, "How can a lackey serve as the emperor's teacher!"

"If they have the self-awareness to refuse His Majesty, we will naturally not interfere in the affairs of the Imperial Guard."

"If I lack self-awareness, how can I, who bear the heavy responsibility of upholding His Majesty, ignore such an absurd and outrageous matter!"

Yuan Xingdao suddenly said in a deep voice, "No matter what, it is still a great taboo for us court officials to interfere in the appointment of the Emperor's personal guards!"

"In my opinion, why not first explain the dangers to Su Mo?"

"If he is willing to resign from his positions in the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Phoenix Cry Division, let's see what happens next."

"If they dare to rely on the Emperor's favor to bewitch the Emperor, then it will not be too late to deal with them!"

Wang Hao's face immediately darkened slightly.

However, Yuan Xingdao has never been on the same page as scholars, so it is normal that he did not express his opinion at this juncture.

To Wang Hao's surprise, Wang Hua, the Left Censor-in-Chief, also nodded and said, "In my opinion, this matter does indeed need to be carefully considered."

“The Imperial Guard is no ordinary force. Even though we are senior cabinet ministers, we cannot make a decision on our own.”

He sighed: "Even if we really want to remove Su Mo's status as a centurion and a flag officer, we need to discuss it with Minister He first."

He Jiang was the Minister of Personnel and the Imperial Censor.

His power was no less than that of the six ministers of the cabinet.

If it weren't for the long-standing tradition in Dawu that the Minister of Personnel could not enter the cabinet, he might not have been able to take the position of Grand Secretary. But Wang Hao would definitely have to give up the position of Grand Secretary to He Jiang this time.

Although Wang Hua also shares the surname Wang, he is not from the Wang family of Taizhou, so he would not regard Su Mo as a mortal enemy.

On the contrary, the fiercer the battle between the Wang family and Su Mo, the better!

It would be best to remove Wang Hao, the second-in-command!
There's only one position for the second-highest-ranking official, and Wang Hao is holding onto it. How can the other senior officials rise to the top?

In addition, although Su Mo was a lackey of the imperial court, he did not have many evil deeds or a bad reputation.

On the contrary, Su Mo had a pretty good reputation in the eyes of most mid- to low-ranking officials.

Su Mo proposed relaxing regulations on merchants to bring a continuous stream of additional revenue to the imperial court.

The reason why the imperial court was able to make up for the arrears in salaries this year and even issue a winter bonus at the end of the year was something that the officials understood perfectly well, though they didn't say it aloud.

In fact, low- and mid-level officials in the capital lived a rather austere life.

They dared not exploit the people like local officials, and lived off the government's salary.

People need to eat eventually.

The government's salary was not only pitifully small, but it was also often insufficient!

In their hearts, Su Mo, who could provide them with their full salaries, might be more important than the six ministers of the cabinet!

Whether they are imperial henchmen or court officials in the Taiji Hall!
All five elders had expressed their opinions. Xiao Yuan glanced at everyone and finally spoke: "In that case, I will first find Su Mo and explain the situation to him!"

"If this child remains obstinate, it won't be too late to deal with him later!"

He paused, glanced at Wang Hao, and then slowly said, "Although this young man comes from a humble background, he is quite intelligent and talented. It is a real pity that he is a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

“To guide them onto the right path and use their intelligence and talents in the right way is the duty of a cabinet minister.”

……

Su Zhai.

Su Mo, leading a group of "family members," stared in disbelief as the Empress slowly walked into the mansion through the main gate, under a yellow canopy, amidst the ceremonial procession of eunuchs, palace maids, Imperial Guards, and Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Su Mo had seen Leng Liuxi countless times.

During this period, the six cabinet ministers, apart from their morning audiences with the Empress in the Taiji Hall, probably did not pay more private visits to the Empress than Su Mo!
A mere county clerk in the capital region was able to have frequent audiences with the emperor. Zhong Yin and the others had previously regarded Su Mo as a treacherous minister, and they were not wrong about it!

But this was the first time Su Mo had ever seen an empress dressed in a dragon robe and wearing a phoenix crown, exuding an awe-inspiring and incomparably majestic aura!
Su Mo stared intently at the Empress, who seemed like a completely different person.

For a moment, they even forgot to kneel and welcome the emperor!

If he didn't kneel, Liu Siyun and the others naturally couldn't kneel down either!
Finally, Ning Jing coughed lightly twice and gave Su Mo a series of meaningful glances before Su Mo realized what was happening and knelt down.

"Your subject Su Mo respectfully welcomes Your Majesty!" The crowd behind him immediately followed suit and knelt down.

Seeing Su Mo staring at her with a bewildered expression, Leng Liuxi couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

Hmph, let him keep courting death in front of me, even pulling out a knife right under my nose, and being even more audacious... to ambush me!
Now you know how powerful I am!

She suppressed a laugh and raised her hand expressionlessly: "Rise!"

Su Mo: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Before he finished speaking, he quickly got up!

Then, blinking at Leng Liuxi, he asked, "Your Majesty, it's getting late. Can we begin the apprenticeship process now?"

"I haven't even had dinner yet!"

Leng Liuxi...

Ning Jing...

Nangong Shoots the Moon...

Zhang Zong...

The Empress remained silent for a moment, then parted her cherry lips slightly and uttered a single word: "Good!"

Just as Su Mo was about to speak, a clear, crisp voice came from beside him: "Daddy, this big sister..."

Qin Bier's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly covered Dian Dian's mouth with her hand.

The Empress couldn't resist looking at Dian Dian out of curiosity.

Su Mo frowned and looked at Qin Bi'er, then snatched Dian Dian away and said with a smile, "Dian Dian, this is His Majesty the Emperor."

"Hmm... Your Majesty, her name is Qin Wei, her nickname is Diandian, she is my daughter."

The Empress rolled her eyes at Su Mo speechlessly, then smiled and asked Dian Dian, "You just said I... what's wrong with this older sister?"

Dian Dian glanced timidly at the Empress, then at Qin Bi'er, and finally her gaze settled on Su Mo.

Su Mo smiled wryly and said, "Big sister is asking Dian Dian a question, so Dian Dian should just answer it directly."

He paused, then looked at the Empress: "Your Majesty, children speak without thinking."

"Your Majesty, please don't blame Diandian for anything she said wrong!"

Leng Liuxi was furious with Su Mo and gave a soft snort: "Of course I won't hold a grudge against Minister Su's...daughter!"

The word "daughter" was emphasized with particular force!
Dian Dian hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Um... Dian Dian wants to ask Daddy, big sister is so pretty, is she Daddy's wife?"

Su Mo's expression changed drastically, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He was about to scold Dian Dian.

The Empress suddenly waved her hand to stop Su Mo, and looked at Dian Dian with a smile, chuckling, "Why would Dian Dian ask you... Daddy, am I your daddy's... wife?"

Dian Dian blurted out, "Because Dian Dian wants to stay with Daddy forever!"

“Dian Dian used to ask her mother where her father had gone. Her mother said that Dian Dian and her mother could only move in with her father after he got married…”

Qin Bier's pretty face instantly turned bright red, and she wanted to bury her head in her chest, too ashamed to show herself!
Everyone present stared in disbelief at the little girl.

These childish words... are far too unrestrained!

Su Mo finally lost her temper and was about to cover the little guy's mouth when Diandian suddenly said, "How about big sister becomes Daddy's wife?"

"That way, Didi can stay with Daddy all the time!"

The Empress's expression turned incredibly strange, and she glared fiercely at Su Mo.

Su Mo coughed twice: "Your Majesty, my little girl is just speaking without thinking and talking nonsense!"

He paused, then added, "It really wasn't me who taught her to say that!"

Empress...

After a long pause, he said slowly with a blank expression, "I cannot leave the palace for too long, so let's begin the apprenticeship process!"

Afterwards, Su Mo entered the main hall and, following Ning Jing's instructions, sat down behind the desk.

Of course, the Empress would not kowtow to Su Mo.

The one representing the Empress in the apprenticeship ceremony was a rather pretty young palace maid. Holding a yellow silk ribbon, she represented the Empress, presented offerings according to the apprenticeship ceremony, knelt before Confucius, and then kowtowed three times to Su Mo.

The palace maids presented the six gifts for the apprenticeship ceremony: dried meat, celery, lotus seeds, red dates, red beans, and longan.

Finally, Su Mo thought it was just a palace maid offering tea to the Empress on behalf of her master.

Unexpectedly, the Empress waved for the palace maid to leave and personally served tea to Su Mo: "Teacher, please have some tea!"

Su Mo was slightly taken aback, but in the end, he could only bite the bullet and take the teacup, tilting his head back to drink it all in one gulp.

He then solemnly handed the dried longan, celery, and scallions that Ning Jing had prepared to the Empress with both hands.

"I hope Your Majesty will devote yourself to your studies from now on. Your subject will do everything in my power to guide you without reservation!"

The Empress blinked and looked at Su Mo...

The meaning in his eyes was clear—that's it?
Su Mo's forehead was covered in black lines!

When I asked you to become my apprentice, all you gave me were jerky, celery, lotus seeds, red dates, red beans, and longan – this worthless stuff. How dare you ask me for so much more?
Fortunately, I knew the Empress's temperament well and was prepared!

He glared at the empress, who had almost embarrassed him, then took something out of his sleeve and handed it to her: "Your Majesty, please take this!"

He paused, then snorted, "That's it! I didn't prepare any other return gifts!"

The empress was stunned when she saw what she held in her hand.

She naturally knew what this was; what else could it be but the vine that Su Mo planted in the greenhouse and treasured?
But what's the point of giving yourself vines?
Am I being too stingy as a teacher?

Shouldn't they give themselves ancient books and classics from Baiyujing and Kunlunxu?

An Wu, Ning Jing, and the others who were watching the ceremony looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering what the object was all about.

(End of this chapter)