ebookland Chapter 282 Empress Dowager Cao Acts as Matchmaker
Chapter 282 Empress Dowager Cao Acts as Matchmaker
Yao Yiyi was taken by the eunuch to a side hall in the Empress Dowager's palace.
Covered by heavy gauze curtains, Empress Dowager Cao sat on the bed with charcoal braziers burning around her.
In the steaming heat, the cool aroma of Ruinao is particularly refreshing.
If this was not a summons from Empress Dowager Cao, Yao Yiyi would have certainly carefully savored the fragrance of this ancient exclusive incense luxury.
"Your humble servant pays respect to the Empress Dowager."
"..."
There was no response from the inner room.
The eunuchs and palace maids standing by remained silent at this time, lowered their heads, and did what they were supposed to do, as silent as a summer night.
——This deafening silence.
Fortunately, as a subject, the salute to the Empress Dowager is to bend down about 20 degrees and raise both hands above the head in a bow.
This is not a big deal for Yao Yiyi, who has been practicing basic exercises such as horse stance and Tai Chi for many years.
Ugh……
During this time, she could also think carefully about what this old woman was planning.
And, give Sister Molan enough time to notice.
Mrs. Cao thought she was making things difficult for him, but in fact she was giving him an opportunity.
About fifteen minutes later, a sound was heard from the inner room.
Empress Dowager Cao drank a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and suddenly said,
"I actually forgot that Master Xiao Sheng is here too.
Get up quickly and take a seat."
Oh?
That's Alzheimer's disease, a precursor to senile dementia. We can't delay. We have to arrange for Madam Rong to give you a thorough injection.
Why are you still behind the scenes? The most important thing is to save your life.
Otherwise, wouldn’t a demented Empress Dowager be detrimental to the dignity of the royal family?
Cursing in her heart, Yao Yiyi remained calm and composed, using the false voice she learned from Molan to imitate the male voice, and answered humbly,
"I am still young, so I will naturally put my consideration for the Queen Mother first in everything I do."
What does this mean?
I am only fifteen years old, unlike you, Old Deng, who are already confused in your fifties.
I sympathize with your poor health and hope you will pass away soon. What does it matter if I stand there a little longer?
Yao Yiyi was not afraid of her outspokenness, and her blatant sarcasm angered Empress Dowager Cao.
If you have the guts, pin her down in the palace and lynch her.
In this case, the virtue of Empress Dowager Cao is questionable.
How could a woman who is so moody and arbitrarily treats important officials in the court be able to rule the country from behind the curtain and hold the imperial seal?
There are simply too many jade seals from the Song Dynasty.
The so-called real "Imperial Seal" has long been lost, and what exists now are just "replicas".
Some stamp official documents, some stamp imperial edicts, and some stamp documents that have been stamped...
What Empress Dowager Cao held in her hand was just a harmless weapon.
Even if it is a 'real thing', since all the jade seals in the hands of the royal family are imitations, just engrave a new one.
Taking from her or asking for it is nothing more than giving her dignity and face.
If pushed to the limit, this jade seal will be of no use.
Of course, at present, since the relationship between the two has not yet fallen out and Empress Dowager Cao is the empress of the late emperor, the "inheritance" and "recognition" contained in this jade seal are still very necessary.
If she could get herself beaten up and forced to hand over the evidence to the new emperor as an exchange, then she would have done a great deed for Sister Molan.
(???????)??
Empress Dowager Cao could not see the expression of Sheng Changtong, who kept his head down and his eyes straight ahead even when he was sitting.
She looked at Sheng Changtong's figure and appearance and asked,
"But is there a marriage?"
Yao Yiyi answered truthfully,
"Not yet."
Empress Dowager Cao had already known about this situation.
The first time she learned about it, she ridiculed the layout of the Sheng Mansion.
After all, he was born a merchant and is not capable of doing anything important. Even his vision is so small that it's laughable.
The eldest son gets engaged first and gets married after passing the imperial examination.
The second legitimate son will be engaged and married after being nominated.
However, as the top scholar and the most outstanding third son of a concubine in this session, he did not get engaged or have his fortune told after being nominated.
Even if the Sheng Mansion gave him so much wealth, he couldn't handle it himself!
If it weren't for their luck, their daughter who married down and had a bad reputation had the merit of following the emperor with her bravery, and Zhao Ceying was valued by the late emperor because of his mediocrity, would the Sheng family have become the emperor's uncle? And would they have the wealth to continue in the future?
A foolish person, what good would it do even if you gave him ten thousand taels of gold?
What great things can be accomplished?
How could Sheng Changtong not be dissatisfied with his situation?
Ha ha.
Thinking of this, Empress Dowager Cao's tone couldn't help but carry a hint of pride and almsgiving, and of course these two emotions were mixed in with that hypocritical concern.
If Yao Yiyi wasn't a simple sixteen-year-old girl at all, she probably wouldn't have discovered it.
"Then I will be your matchmaker.
The eldest granddaughter of Duke Rong is accompanying you. She is of a suitable age."
Duke Rong is the younger brother of Empress Dowager Cao.
Originally, Empress Dowager Cao intended the word "Jin".
However, among the 109 vassal states in the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin was a powerful country and one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period.
He is a relative of the Cao family who has accomplished nothing and only beats chickens and dogs all day long. Is he worthy of it?
Even the Empress Dowager Cao's followers did not have any high-sounding excuses. They thought they had used some broken window effect to secure the title of Duke, and then took a few steps back and proposed the name of the small country "Rong".
But little did people know that from beginning to end, the Sheng family and Sister Molan had no intention of stopping Empress Dowager Cao from going crazy.
(The perspective here is Yao Yiyi’s monologue, so there will be modern narration.
The same is true for the narration from the heroine's perspective, which will be changed when stating objective facts or indigenous peoples.
The same is true for the previous article, but it’s still Zhen Huan Zhuan. Some people criticized the protagonist’s narration for being too modern. I, ah, this...
So, let me explain, please don’t criticize if you don’t like it, thank you.)
If God wants to destroy someone, he will indulge him in madness.
The eternal truth.
The practice of flattery to death does not only happen in the harem.
The pattern should be big and we should be far ahead.
Yao Yiyi's mind moved quickly, but her official tone when responding to Empress Dowager Cao was not ambiguous at all.
With fear on his face, but also with some respectful gratitude,
"Thank you very much, Madam Queen, for your kindness.
However, I am devoted to my official career and have no intention of lingering on the love between men and women.
Moreover, I am only a minor official now, how can I be worthy of the daughter of a duke."
Yao Yiyi's official refusal made Empress Dowager Cao frown and slammed the table and scolded,
"presumptuous!"
After saying this, Yao Yiyi slid down from the stool, knelt on the ground, kowtowed and shouted,
"Please forgive me, Empress Dowager!"
Yao Yiyi's voice was quite loud and the guards on duty outside the door could hear it clearly.
The eunuchs are the Empress Dowager's own people, but the guards are not.
The current imperial guards all belong to her sister Molan. This is what her sister Molan secretly told them. If there is any life-and-death crisis, they can just use the special password to ask for help from the inner court imperial guards.
In this way, the guards, who were not loyal to the Empress Dowager, would naturally not keep their mouths shut about some of the things they saw and heard in the palace.
Human memory is undefined, and it is difficult to say what is remembered clearly and what is accidentally forgotten.
And from Sister Molan, I learned that she did not issue any gag order to the imperial guards. Although some of the privacy of the emperor and empress was not protected, the old woman would have even less privacy.