All Hail Cousin Brother

303 The vassal king will definitely rebel

“Of course I like it.” Zhou Linghuai rubbed the embroidery on the pouch. Compared to before, the embroidery on it was much denser, and very smooth.

It seemed that she had spent a lot of effort to embroider this pouch.

Hearing her cousin say that he liked it, Yu Youyao looked at the sachet at her cousin’s waist. It was the first time she had embroidered it, so she was even more disinterested. She wondered how her cousin could wear it for so long without changing his expression.

Yu Youyao quickly said, “Cousin, quickly take off the sachet and change it to the newly embroidered pouch.”

Zhou Linghuai looked down at his waist. He had been wearing the sachet for a long time. As the little girl’s embroidery skills were not good, the embroidery patterns on it were a little loose, and the color was not as bright as before.

After all, it was the young lady’s first time embroidering.He She was used to wearing it, so he couldn’t bear to take it off and change into a new one.

Yu Youyao did not know what her cousin was thinking. Seeing that he did not react, she quickly leaned over and was about to take off the sachet.

Zhou Linghuai was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously held her hand and stopped her. “I’ll do it myself.”

Yu Youyao pouted.

Zhou Linghuai untied the knot on his belt. Under Yu Youyao’s clear gaze, he smoothed out the sachet he had taken off and stuffed it into his sleeve.

Yu Youyao’s eyes widened. “Cousin, the sachet is broken. Why are you still keeping it?”

Wasn’t it time to throw it away?

Zhou Linghuai smiled. “How can I throw away something that Cousin gave me so easily?!”

Yu Youyao pursed her lips. “Cousin, you’re probably worried that I won’t return the sachet to you after I take it, so you want to keep it yourself!”

That was indeed what she thought.

She felt that this sachet was too ugly. It was simply a dark history. It was better to get rid of it.

Zhou Linghuai smiled but said nothing.

Yu Youyao was speechless. Although she really wanted to get rid of the sachet, it wasn’t appropriate for her to ask her cousin back what she had given away. Besides, she was actually quite happy that her cousin valued what she had given him.

So be it!

Anyway, her cousin wouldn’t mind.

After figuring this out, Yu Youyao took the pouch. “I’ll put it on Cousin.”

Before her cousin could react, she had leaned over and tied the knot of the pouch to his belt. She even tied a beautiful “gift” knot.

Then, she tilted her head and looked left and right.

The pouch was embroidered very exquisitely. Coupled with her cousin’s sky-green accessory, it looked like a burst of green after the rain. It matched very well. No matter how she looked at it, she felt very satisfied.

Yu Youyao sat on the stone chair and rested her chin on her hand. She smiled sweetly. “Cousin, you look very good in this pouch. You won’t be a joke in the future.”

Zhou Linghuai looked down, his eyes bright. He couldn’t help but smile.

The two of them chatted for a while longer.

Zhou Linghuai changed the topic. “After the palace examination, it will soon be time for the triennial official appraisal. After a while, the officials who are sent out would enter the capital one after another. Your second uncle has been in the position of the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue for a long time. It’s time to move up.”

Yu Youyao did not expect her cousin to say this to her. Her eyes widened. “Move up?!”

After every examination, there would be many changes in the court. Those that needed to be moved would be moved, and those that needed to be delegated would be delegated. This was the best opportunity to promote the subordinates.

Second Uncle was Xia Yansheng’s disciple. If he moved any further, he would be the Minister of Revenue. He directly passed the Second Grade and advanced two ranks in a row.

However, Xia Yansheng had been the Minister of Revenue for many years, and he was also the Grand Secretary of the East Pavilion. He was the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, so there was no room for the Ministry of Revenue.

Zhou Linghuai nodded. “The Minister of Revenue.”

“Elder Xia is going to step down as Minister?!” After saying that, Yu Youyao gasped.

If Second Uncle became the Minister of Revenue, his status in the cabinet would also improve to second only to Xia Yansheng, and he would become a true second-in-command.

On the other hand, even though Xia Yansheng had lost his position as the Minister of Revenue, he was still the cabinet’s Grand Secretary.

This way, Xia Yansheng’s influence in the royal court would also deepen.

She finally understood why her second uncle had been staying in the position of the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue for so many years. It was because he wanted to hide his talent and bide his time to take over as the minister.

However, why was her cousin suddenly talking about this?

Zhou Linghuai said calmly, “Yao Yao!”

“Huh?” Yu Youyao looked up at her cousin.

Looking at the little girl’s clear and bright eyes, Zhou Linghuai suddenly fell silent.

Yu Youyao was a little suspicious. “Cousin, what’s wrong?”

Zhou Linghuai’s breathing tightened slightly before he said, “Most of the ministers in the cabinet are scholars who have entered the Hanlin Pavilion and have been in the Hanlin Court for a long time. They talk about literature and writing and don’t have any experience in governing the country. They have talent but no knowledge. The ministers are in charge of protecting the ranks of the officials, and most of them are mediocre. The eunuchs are also in the middle. The ministers are submissive to the emperor and bow their heads to the eunuchs. They don’t dare to disobey, so they corrupt politics.”

“Cousin…” Yu Youyao opened her mouth. Why was her cousin suddenly telling her this?

For some reason, she suddenly felt a strong sense of uneasiness.

Zhou Linghuai continued, “Although Xia Yansheng had some achievements, he couldn’t help but be accused of overstepping his authority and dictatorship. The emperor was afraid of him, so he praised the Marquis of Weining to keep him in check. Most of the court officials followed the customs in order to avoid disaster. They only tried to curry favor with the emperor to consolidate their power, but they didn’t have any opinions on political matters. Politics followed the accumulation of ills. As time passed, King You was convicted of rebellion. Other than a few censors from the Imperial Court who said a few words, the entire court actually went with it and pointed fingers at him.”

Yu Youyao’s heart was beating wildly. Her cousin’s tone was calm, as if he was just saying it casually. However, when he mentioned King You, his tone revealed a strong sense of sorrow.

She roughly knew a little about the situation in the imperial court, but she appeared calm.

Therefore, her cousin’s words had a huge impact on her.

Zhou Linghuai lowered his head. As he rubbed the incense beads on his wrist, he said, “The emperor is lazy and lives deep in the inner palace. He’s not involved in political matters and doesn’t see any ministers. The cabinet officials colluded and colluded with each other. The harem did political work and pretended to be a conflict between friends. It was a fierce struggle for power among the cabinet ministers. All the cabinet ministers were obtained by pushing each other out. Everyone in the court only knows how to fight but doesn’t want to govern the country. The Marquis of Weining even crushed the You King and obtained 300,000 troops from Youzhou.”

Yu Youyao was stunned.

King You was known as a rebel, and the entire court was secretive. She had heard a little from her father and guessed that there was probably some inside story.

However, her cousin was now saying that the reason why King You was plotting against him was because he had been schemed against by the Marquis of Weining.

...

She gasped and looked at her cousin. Her mouth opened, but she didn’t know what to say.

A trace of coldness appeared on Zhou Linghuai’s fair lips. “Yao Yao, the vassal lords will definitely rebel. It’s time for chaos in the royal court.”

Yu Youyao thought of King Ping, who had already entered the capital. Her blood immediately turned cold. She looked at her cousin in a daze and asked, “Cousin, why are you telling me this?”