Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1227 Zhen Huan Enlarged to 151

After seeing off Qianlong, the sky began to darken. Jianqiu led the men to clean up the mess quickly and easily, and then came to apologize to Jiang Xinxin: "Your Majesty, it's all my fault. I was soft-hearted towards the emperor and almost brought a lot of trouble to your Majesty."

After listening to what she said all afternoon, how could Jianqiu not understand that Qianlong had planned everything and came to the Cining Palace just to let Jiang Xinxin take the blame.

Jiang Xinxin didn't think much of Jianqiu's inappropriate softness towards the younger generation. After all, she could afford the cost of Jianqiu's mistakes, so she spoke in a comforting manner: "I know you like children, and you always look at the younger generation with some kindness. What's more, the emperor is indeed very filial and respectful to you."

"It's just that he is now an emperor. You have followed me all the way here and you can see clearly what the previous emperor was like. Although Hongli is different from the previous emperor, he is also an emperor after all. He will always avoid being emotional when considering things."

"And the relationship between Hongli and me is no longer a simple mother and son. We are the emperor and the empress dowager. Without the natural blood relationship, this close relationship must be maintained by interests."

Jianqiu felt ashamed and angry for Jiang Xinxin: "My lady, I was wrong. I will never be sentimental again!"

Jiang Xinxin helped Jianqiu up again and comforted her, "Interactions between people are complicated, not to mention that people are not static."

"I used to be the stepmother, and I even had some say in who would take the throne. But now the throne has been decided, and I have no say at all. And I am only the stepmother of the new emperor. Even if he is my son in the imperial edict, it cannot change the fact that the new emperor and I have no blood relationship at all."

"Today, Hongli asked me about the redistribution of the royal family's wool business. On the one hand, he was testing whether I really wanted to take power. On the other hand, I'm afraid he also wanted to take the opportunity to weaken my influence in the royal family."

Jianqiu burst into tears upon hearing this, "My Lady, you've suffered so much..."

Jiang Xinxin was amused by Jianqiu, "Why am I so miserable?"

"My luxurious living is second only to the emperor, and even higher than the empress. The women of the royal family and the ladies from outside the court still have to act according to my wishes. Otherwise, why would Hongli be so anxious to weaken my influence?"

"I am in power. Although my past experiences were somewhat painful, so much time has passed. I have already let go of what I should have let go of. My future life will only be more comfortable. Why should I feel bitter?"

Jianqiu didn't say anything more. She quickly stepped aside and let Huichun take over to stand beside Jiang Xinxin and serve her. She warned herself not to be so short-sighted in the future. As Jiang Xinxin's most trusted confidant, she should follow Jiang Xinxin's attitude and should not collude with others privately.

Huichun stood aside and watched everything that happened between Jiang Xinxin and Jianqiu. Of course, she did not agree with Jianqiu's behavior of almost ruining her reputation in her old age and bringing trouble to Jiang Xinxin. But seeing that Jiang Xinxin herself did not blame her, she could only give Jianqiu more advice in private. After all, even if she complained a lot, seeing that Jianqiu knew right from wrong and Jiang Xinxin was indeed tolerant, she felt more at ease.

Qianlong's trip to the Cining Palace was not in vain. No matter what he said in the Cining Palace, as long as he went out and did things, people would naturally easily associate his actions with the Cining Palace, unless Jiang Xinxin jumped out to distinguish the line between her and Qianlong. But just based on the fact that Qianlong recorded Jiang Xinxin's name in the jade book, no matter what Jiang Xinxin said, others would not easily believe it.

Fortunately, Jiang Xinxin did not care about anything, and made her attitude clear to the royal wives who came to the emperor. No matter how Qianlong acted, Jiang Xinxin's attitude was already there.

What's more, the most important thing for the royal family at the moment is to redistribute the shares that were vacated by Qianlong as "illegal gains".

The profits from the wool business were so huge that even before the business between the Qing Dynasty and Mongolia, Junggar, Qinghai and Tibet was fully developed, everyone was already making a fortune, not to mention foreign places like Russia which also needed to keep warm.

The corruption of the Eight Banners had already been evident during the reign of Emperor Kangxi. During the short thirteen years of the previous emperor's rule, there were constant frictions on the northwest border, Tibet was also restless, and Qinghai even colluded with Dzungar.

In addition, Myanmar and Vietnam in the southwest kept testing them, so the Eight Banners had quite a lot of time to train, and the rewards from the late emperor were also generous enough, which seemed to have allowed the Eight Banners to regain some of their bravery.

Qianlong had already thought it through. The first of the three fires had already been set on the bondservants of the Imperial Household Department. The second fire would be set on the royal family and the Eight Banners. As for the third fire, it would depend on Japan across the East China Sea.

The previous dynasty was busy, and it had been less than a year since the death of the previous emperor. It was not a good time to celebrate Jiang Xinxin's Thousand Years' Day, the Chinese Valentine's Day, the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Double Ninth Festival, or the Golden Award Festival. Otherwise, there would be so many festivals in the second half of the year, and the queen would probably be very busy.

Jiang Xinxin had a lot of helpers at that time. Now the queen has no intention of sharing power with the concubines. What's more, she is still young and was brought up by an orthodox noble lady. She can follow the precedents provided by Jiang Xinxin in handling palace affairs, so she quickly became proficient in her work.

This year's New Year is also very simple, because the era name has not been changed yet, the New Year's Eve banquet can even be reduced to a family banquet. Normal rewards will be enough. Of course, there is no need to think about dancing, music, wine and other things. They are not allowed in the palace. Instead, they can be used to reward ministers and ladies other than royal family members.

The Queen had no intention of competing with Jiang Xinxin for power, because she knew that Jiang Xinxin would move to Changchun Garden for "recuperation" after the new year, and the power struggle that others had maliciously speculated about would not exist at all.

What's more, Jiang Xinxin's current suggestions and opinions are very pertinent, and she also needs an elder who can truly teach her how to deal with these trivial matters.

Just like the reason why Huaiyang cuisine has gradually become the main dish for state banquets in New China, the dishes for the state banquets of the Qing Dynasty are almost fixed. The main focus is on safety and not making mistakes. Unlike other banquets, there is no need to consider not only everyone's seating arrangement, but also everyone's preferences and taboos.

Of course, as people who stand at the top of power like the Queen and the Queen Mother, if they do not want to show their importance to the guests, there is no need for them to consider the guests' identities, status, preferences and dietary taboos.

A huge mess of things was about to be completely thrown away. Jiang Xinxin also wanted to earn some face for the Queen so that the royal wives would stop bothering her in the future. So she asked Jianqiu to bring the things she had secretly prepared to show the Queen.

"Only the royal family members will be attending the New Year's Eve banquet this year. No outsiders or ladies will be attending. Your burden is much lighter, but the lack of meat dishes on the table is not very pretty after all. So I have an idea. Why not serve a vegetarian pot this year, using broth and mushrooms as the base, so that people can at least eat something warm."