allonlinenovel Chapter 469: Legend of Zhen Huan - Nian Shilan 73
Chapter 469: Legend of Zhen Huan - Nian Shilan 73
"Shilan, why are you here?"
The emperor was not completely unaware of the confrontations between Nian Shilan and the queen over the years, so he was very surprised to see Nian Shilan at the queen's funeral.
"I thought you wouldn't come. After all, the Queen once..."
"Once a person dies, his sins are forgiven. I am willing to see the Queen off. After all, the Queen is still the Emperor's wife. Even if I am doing this for the Emperor..."
At this moment, the emperor no longer remembered his past inferiority complex. He just felt that he was very lucky. After all the twists and turns, there was still Nian Shilan waiting for him.
As for whether what Nian Shilan said was true or false, it was not important at all. The emperor only knew that although his biological mother did not like him, his legitimate wife wanted him to have no children or grandchildren, and his son killed his mother and was unfilial, he still had Nian Shilan.
Feeling love again, the emperor began to fall into a new round of passionate love with Nian Shilan as if he had a second spring. As the queen's funeral came to an end, voices began to emerge inside and outside the court urging the emperor to establish a new queen.
Most officials submitted memorials requesting the emperor to choose a new empress. Among them, Manchu nobles such as Ulanara, Fuca, Niuhuru, and Guwalgiya lobbied many relatives to recommend their own daughters to the emperor. Apart from these, only a small number of officials requested the emperor to enthrone Imperial Noble Consort Nian Shilan as empress. However, these officials were weak and their request was rejected by the Manchu ministers as soon as they made the request, on the grounds that the Imperial Noble Consort was a member of the Han army banner.
The emperor was unwilling to appoint another queen, whether it was to marry a new Manchu noblewoman or to enthrone his beloved Nian Shilan as queen. To the emperor, he was the master of the world. He had to appoint Yixiu as queen before, and now that Yixiu was gone, he didn't want another queen who could be on an equal footing with him to share power.
However, the position of queen is a hot commodity in the eyes of the ministers. Which qualified family would not want to fight for it? Even if the emperor is unwilling, there is nothing that can be done. Everyone has the same demands, so for the sake of the stability of the court, the emperor naturally has to agree.
The Nian family adopted the method of not competing but competing when they nominated Nian Shilan. On the surface, they chose families that the emperor was wary of, forcing the emperor to choose a person he thought he could control.
"Nian Xialing has retired, Nian Xiyao is just a civil servant, and Nian Gengyao surrendered his military power three years ago and has been a wealthy idler in the capital. Now, only Nian Gengyao's second son Nian Fu is in the army in the entire Nian family, and Shilan is not someone who likes to abuse power."
"The Fucha clan supported the Eighth in the early years, and came to seek peace after I ascended the throne. Now they actually have the nerve to compete for the position of the new queen?"
"Guaerjia clan was silent for many years because of Oboi, but now they are eyeing the position of the master of the harem. It seems that Guaerjia clan has been keeping a low profile in recent years."
The emperor looked at the piles of memorials on the table recommending the new queen, frowning. He wanted to find someone to discuss with, but found that the former dynasty and the harem were closely connected, so no one was suitable. So the emperor thought of his good brother, Prince Guo. Since the emperor ascended the throne, Prince Guo has shown that he does not like power and is interested in mountains and rivers. Now he is not doing his job all day and playing everywhere. Discussing with Prince Guo not only does not need to worry about him being bribed by others, but also can help the emperor answer from the perspective of an observer.
Prince Guo sat below and listened to the emperor, who was sitting at the top, picking faults with the piles of classified memorials. He had a caring smile on his face, but his mind had already drifted off to who knows where.
"The Nian family really understood my brother's thoughts very accurately, and every step they took was in line with my brother's bottom line."
"If Se-ran becomes the queen, will I be useless to her? Should I help Se-ran?"
"If I don't help, Se-ran will be very disappointed."
"The Niuhulu clan has produced one empress and one imperial concubine, but they are still not satisfied. They even want to produce another empress. Prince Dun has been disrespectful to me because of his good family background. If I really follow the Niuhulu clan's wish, wouldn't the throne really become the Niuhulu clan's possession?"
"If Shilan becomes the queen, then if she gets pregnant, will our child become a legitimate son?"
"Yunli, which one do you think I should choose?"
"Ah? Brother, what did you just say?"
When Prince Guo was distracted by Nian Shilan, the emperor suddenly asked for his opinion. Prince Guo asked back reflexively, but he happened to expose his secret that he did not listen to the emperor seriously.
Seeing that the emperor's face was not right and he was about to get angry, Prince Guo reacted quickly and added, "Your Majesty, you also know that I am not interested in what you said, and I don't know as much as you do."
"But if I were asked to choose, I would naturally choose a woman who looks decent on paper but does not actually affect the current situation as the queen."
The emperor's expression became thoughtful when he heard this. He thought carefully about what Prince Guo said and felt that it made sense. No matter if he chose Fucha, Guaerjia, Niuhulu or Ulanara, he would inevitably have to welcome a new Manchu queen.
Only enthroning Se-ran as queen would not affect the structure of the harem. Se-ran was already the royal concubine below the queen. The power of managing the harem and the queen's seal were all in Se-ran's hands.
If he makes Shilan the heir, not only can he preserve the love between him and Shilan for so many years, but it will also make it more legitimate for Shilan to manage the harem. It will not affect anything in essence.
It’s a pity that Shilan is only from the Han Army Banner, and logically speaking she is not qualified to be the queen. If I really give the order to enthrone Shilan as the queen, the civil and military officials in the court will definitely not agree.
At this time, the emperor suddenly felt that there were too few ministers who recommended Nian Shilan. Some of them were minor Han officials who had old ties with the Nian family or had few supporters.
How could such a small number of people resist so many Manchu ministers in the court?
Thinking of this, the emperor began to worry again. Prince Guo sat aside, pretending that he did not exist, while secretly glancing at the emperor's expression. He witnessed with his own eyes the emperor's process from consideration to understanding and then to worry.
Suddenly I started to worry that I might ask the emperor to give up on enthroning Shilan as the empress. Didn't I just figure it out? Why am I suddenly worried again?
"Yunli, do you think a woman from the Han army can be the queen?"
This question was too obvious, and Prince Guo immediately understood what the emperor was worried about. It was not easy for the emperor to raise the flag for the whole family, but it was not difficult to raise the flag for just one person. However, since the emperor asked this question, it naturally meant that he had no intention of raising the flag for the imperial concubine.
Since that was the case, he naturally couldn't suggest that the emperor could solve the problem by raising the banner. Prince Guo thought about it seriously, stood up and replied, "It has been a tradition since the emperor's grandfather's generation for women from the Han Army Banner to be empresses. The late emperor's biological mother, Empress Dowager Tong, was from the Han Army Banner. Although she didn't become empress, the Holy Mother Empress Dowager did."
"Besides, there is my brother's adoptive mother, Queen Tong. Even though she was only queen for one day, she is still queen even if she was queen for one day."