Liu Changlan was actually still a bit dazed, but fortunately his mind turned especially fast, and he could hear that His Majesty was in a good mood at the moment, so he followed Li Yue’s lead and said: “It is a good thing that the Emperor wants to establish an Empress.”
The officials behind him looked at each other, but none dared to speak up immediately.
Why did His Majesty suddenly think of establishing an Empress?
However, what Lord Liu said wasn’t wrong — that His Majesty could have such a thought was indeed a good thing. Previously, every time they brought up this matter to His Majesty, they couldn’t avoid getting a fierce scolding right off the bat, to the point where they all developed psychological trauma, thinking perhaps there was something wrong with His Majesty’s body. They even considered that if things continued like this, in the future they might have to adopt a Crown Prince from within the royal clan.
But since His Majesty was still young, and his health was also good, this matter had the implication of suggesting His Majesty was “not capable”, so for the sake of keeping their own heads, no one dared to bring it up.
The ministers truly did not expect that today His Majesty would actually mention it himself. Could it be that the sun rose from the west this morning?
They glanced around, silently exchanging looks. The establishment of an Empress was no small matter — the future Empress must be chosen with utmost care; whether family background or appearance, neither could be lacking. At present, there probably weren’t many eligible, unmarried women in the capital whose status matched. No one knew what exactly His Majesty had in mind.
Wei Jun’an thought it over for a moment. Seeing that his colleagues were still mulling over the matter, he thought — what’s there to mull over at this time? Preventing His Majesty from changing his mind was the real task. So he stepped forward and asked: “Your Majesty, do you intend to first hold a selection draft? If we have the Ministry of Revenue arrange it now, a grand selection could be held within two months — the timing is just right.”
Minister of Revenue Qian Dongzhou also reacted upon hearing this and quickly stepped forward to echo: “This humble official will begin preparations for the matter as soon as I return.”
The officials all had varying expressions when they heard the words selection draft. Especially those with marriageable daughters at home — their thoughts were all different. If there really was going to be a selection, His Majesty couldn’t possibly only choose one Empress, right? Wouldn’t there also need to be consorts selected to enrich the inner palace?
The Xuanzheng Hall once again fell into silence. Just as Qian Dongzhou wanted to ask whether His Majesty had any further instructions, they heard His Majesty above suddenly ask in a deep voice: “Who said I was going to hold a selection?”
Qian Dongzhou was confused for a moment. Didn’t His Majesty say he was going to establish an Empress? Was he just going to forcibly appoint one?
Liu Changlan thought he more or less understood His Majesty’s thoughts. He cast a glance at the Minister of Revenue beside him and said slowly: “If Your Majesty finds the selection too tedious and ostentatious, the Ministry of Revenue could first collect portraits of noble girls in the capital with suitable family background and outstanding appearance, and present them to Your Majesty to choose from.”
Li Yue lowered his gaze and looked down at the hundreds of officials in the court. One by one, they looked like they were worrying about this matter even more than his own birth mother. He chuckled and said: “No need. I already have someone in mind.”
The officials, upon hearing this, again looked at each other, faces full of confusion. They had heard nothing of His Majesty taking a liking to any particular girl. The most recent matter remotely connected to His Majesty and romance was with that little granddaughter of the Duke of Jingguo. But that didn’t really count as a romance either — after all, that little girl didn’t even touch the hem of His Majesty’s robe. And the Duke of Jingguo had been scolded by His Majesty so badly he nearly lost his bearings, and was still staying obediently at home, not daring to show his face.
Wei Jun’an quickly went over the families in the capital that could possibly produce an empress in his mind, but not a single suitable girl came to mind. The colleagues beside him were like a group of little quails, none daring to speak — so it fell to him, the Zhongshuling, to step forward and ask: “May I ask which family’s young lady His Majesty has taken a liking to?”
“Meng Fu,” Li Yue said this name with a tone that carried even more obvious amusement than earlier — just from hearing it, it was clear that His Majesty was very fond of this girl.
Meng Fu?
This name seemed familiar — the officials pricked up their ears, wanting to hear the Emperor introduce her a bit more, but His Majesty only said one name and then said nothing further.
If the wives of these officials were present, they would certainly have immediately reminded them who this Meng Fu was. Fortunately, there were some officials in court who paid more attention to the capital’s gossip. Because Meng Fu divorced Xie Wenzhao last year, and then just last month Xie Wenzhao married Meng Fu’s biological younger sister — the name Meng Fu had actually come up quite frequently.
And the Minister of Revenue, Qian Dongzhou, being Xie Wenzhao’s superior, knew even more about this gossip than others. So the moment he heard this name, he was stunned. The Meng Fu His Majesty mentioned couldn’t possibly be the same one he was thinking of, right? That would be way too outrageous!
Wei Jun’an and Liu Changlan were both still wearing expressions of confusion, wondering who Meng Fu was. Qian Dongzhou, after much hesitation, finally stepped forward and carefully asked:
“Your Majesty, the Meng Fu you mentioned — is she the eldest daughter of Old Master Meng Yanxing?”
“No,” Li Yue denied.
Qian Dongzhou instantly let out a breath of relief — thank goodness, thank goodness — it must just be a different girl with the same name. Were there any other prominent families with the surname Meng in the capital? He hadn’t thought of a conclusion yet, when His Majesty’s next words made him freeze again.
The Emperor said: “Didn’t Meng Yanxing already disown A’Fu?”
As soon as the words fell, a series of sharp intakes of breath rang out in the Xuanzheng Hall. Several officials immediately showed expressions of shock and fear, wondering if they were hallucinating — Qian Dongzhou was naturally among them.
If it really was that Meng Fu, fine. But the Emperor even called her A’Fu!
Qian Dongzhou’s mouth twitched, completely unsure of what he should say at this point. He suddenly recalled that at some banquet last year, the Empress Dowager had even asked the Emperor to take better care of that young lady.
So this was how the Emperor took care of her?
That’s… a bit too much “care,” no?
Most of the ministers in the Xuanzheng Hall weren’t clear on who Meng Fu was. From what Qian Dongzhou said, they now understood she was Meng Yanxing’s eldest daughter. Although Meng Yanxing currently held no official post, he was a well-known grand scholar of the time and had once served as the Crown Prince’s tutor. His daughter wasn’t bad — only her family background was a bit lacking. In the future, as the Central Palace Empress, it might be difficult for her to suppress the other consorts. But what did His Majesty mean by saying that Meng Yanxing no longer acknowledged her?
The officials who were in the know very helpfully shared the information they had with their colleagues: Meng Fu had already been removed from the family register by Meng Yanxing — Meng Yanxing no longer acknowledged this daughter.
But that wasn’t the most important part — the crucial issue was that she had already married the Marquis of Xuanping, Xie Wenzhao, back in the sixteenth year of Wenkang, and had divorced him in September of last year.
Once everyone heard that, their mouths opened so wide you could toss an egg into them. Upon learning Meng Fu’s identity, the ministers who had just been pretending to be little quails in court suddenly all became lively. The Xuanzheng Hall exploded like a pot — crackling and chirping with chatter, each official saying his own piece, but all meaning more or less the same:
The matter of establishing an Empress is no trifling matter — we hope His Majesty will reconsider.
Li Yue had not just “reconsidered” — he had thought about it for half a year.
Propping his head on his hand, he listened to their bickering for a while, but soon realized these ministers really had no self-awareness — the arguing just wouldn’t stop.
Li Yue raised his eyes and looked at Gao Xi. Gao Xi quickly picked up a cup of tea and, taking small hurried steps, brought it to Li Yue’s side.
Li Yue took the cup — but instead of drinking it, he directly smashed it to the ground.
That crisp crash made all the officials in the court shiver in unison.
They had just been shouting so passionately, they’d completely forgotten that the Emperor was right there watching them.
Every voice stopped instantly. They all lowered their heads and held their breath.
You could hear a pin drop in the Xuanzheng Hall.
Li Yue spoke slowly: “Beloved officials, what are your thoughts? Speak one by one, then.”
After his words fell, no one dared say a thing.
Li Yue decided to pick a scapegoat.
His gaze landed on Wei Jun’an.
Wei Jun’an, sensing the Emperor’s gaze, felt a chill run down his spine.
Li Yue said: “Wei Jun’an, weren’t you very talkative just now? Why are you mute now? Do I need to call an imperial physician to examine you?”
Wei Jun’an could only steel himself and say: “Your Majesty, this is not appropriate!”
“What is inappropriate?” Li Yue asked.
Such an obvious question — did His Majesty still need to ask them?
Wei Jun’an’s brows were tightly furrowed, and he spoke out: “This… this Miss Meng, she was married before.”
“So what if she was married before? She was married, not a murderer,” Li Yue asked, his face full of mockery.
“Is having been married a crime? I don’t recall there being such a law in the Da Zhou Code — is this a clause you beloved ministers have newly added today?”
“Being married before is naturally not a crime, but to be the mother of a nation, it’s truly improper,” Wei Jun’an said with his head lowered. At this moment, he didn’t even dare lift his head to look at the Emperor’s expression.
Li Yue let out a cold laugh and asked: “How amusing. Wei Jun’an, haven’t you married three wives already? Do you not feel that, as the Director of the Central Secretariat, you’re also quite improper?”
Wei Jun’an frowned and said: “Your Majesty, how could this be compared as the same thing?”
“Why couldn’t it be compared? Let’s hear your reasoning,” Li Yue said.
Lord Wei opened his mouth, but after quite a while, not a single word came out. He could try to find some phrases from the classics of the sages to argue, but given His Majesty’s temper, he’d immediately be able to turn those same words right back at him.
Qian Dongzhou, seeing that Wei Jun’an was stuck and probably wouldn’t be able to come up with any strong reasoning in the short term, immediately stepped forward and said: “Your Majesty, even setting aside the matter of Miss Meng having been married — her background is also not sufficient.”
Li Yue replied: “It is I who am taking a wife, not you who are taking a wife — what are you picking and choosing for? Is it your place to be choosy?”
Qian Dongzhou dared not speak further — judging by His Majesty’s tone, this matter was absolutely going to happen. Then who would still dare to criticize the future Empress?
Perhaps the Empress Dowager could — but it was the Empress Dowager herself who had told His Majesty back then to take good care of the young lady.
Liu Changlan turned to look at Wei Jun’an on his left, who was still racking his brains trying to think of a rebuttal, then at Qian Dongzhou on his right, who had already lost the will to fight. As for the other colleagues, they no longer had that rousing momentum from earlier either.
In this situation, it looked like he’d have to step forward himself.
However, Liu Changlan was different from the others — he was someone “born from muddy waters”. He was more adept at following the path of moderation.
He advised: “Your Majesty, how about inviting Miss Meng into the palace first and bestowing her with a consort’s rank. Later, once she bears Your Majesty a dragon son, then she could be granted the title of Empress — how would that be?”