"Your Majesty's kindness, I am deeply grateful. [] But I dare not agree to this kind of request!"
"Don't you dare?"
"yes!"
Xia Xun said in a deep voice: "I can't do it, but I really don't dare! When I was young, my two virtuous wives never left me. Zi Qi and I were in love, but because they were blocked by their family, they followed me south regardless of their status. Fortunately,
His Majesty Emperor Meng Taizu showed mercy and allowed me to return to Shandong as a visiting envoy. After going through many ups and downs, I obtained her consent.
A descendant of the Xie family in Yufei County, Chen County, although my family was in decline at the time, I did not regret the marriage. Later, a very popular nobleman wanted to take her as my concubine, but she refused. Her love for me was more than gold.
Tough and chaste as ice and snow!"
"Who is that person?"
Zhu Di's gossipy marriage was raging. Although he spent his whole life in the military, he was a theater fan in his spare time, and there was no shortage of romantic cells in his body. He almost asked this question. But... Yang Xu was so impassioned that it seemed too much to ask.
It was out of tune, so I had to suppress my curiosity.
Xia Xun continued: "Since I have been loyal to Your Majesty, I have been hiding alone in Jinling, which has caused them to wander around and live on an isolated island. However, the two women have never complained or regretted towards me. If I forget the love between husband and wife in times of trouble for the sake of the princess, don't do it."
It is said that everyone in the world laughs at me, but even I can't afford it. The ancients said that the knowledge of poverty and lowliness should not be forgotten, and the wife of chaff should not go to court. Even if there is His Majesty's decree, I can hide it from the ghosts and gods of heaven and earth, but I can't hide it from my own conscience!"
"Well……"
"Your Majesty can't afford such a person, who likes the new and hates the old, right?"
"Well……"
"Your Majesty, is this a request made by the princess?"
Zhu Di groaned. What could he say? It can't be said that it was my queen who interfered, right? Alas! My son is not worried, and my wife is not worried either!
Xia Xun said flatly: "The princess has a noble status, but Yang Xu's situation is really beyond her reach. I am self-aware, so I never dare to think anything wrong! Your Majesty, please don't mention this matter again!"
Zhu Di was beaten by him. Although his words were as tactful as possible, he still felt a little embarrassed on his face, but... this is a family matter, and he can't force others to marry even though he is the emperor.
Zhu Di could only say: "Let's expose this matter for now, well, let's not mention it, let's not mention it..."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. If Your Majesty has no other instructions, then I... will resign!"
Zhu Di waved his hand, and Xia Xun bowed and retreated. As soon as he turned around, a self-deprecating smile tugged at the corner of his mouth: "Xia Xun! You are such a bastard! You are not greedy enough, and you still long for the little princess...
, yes! The little princess is lively and cute, with a graceful appearance, but... what is her status? Will she marry into your family without any hesitation? She is wishful thinking and brings humiliation to herself! "
Zhu Di glanced at his back, embarrassed, feeling quite shameless.
He thought it was unkind to do this from the beginning. Did you...have you fallen out? This matter should not be concerned at all! Think about what Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, did, and Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, also did the same. What was the result? Eh.
! Not to mention, these two people are both promising kings. It seems that only a promising king would be idle and interfere with his subordinates' wives... Let's talk about it, talk about it!
At this time, a little guy with red lips and white teeth and lively eyes ran over and climbed over the high threshold with great effort. As soon as he entered the door, he shouted in a sweet voice: "Grandpa Huang! Hug Grandpa Huang! Give it to Grandpa Huang!"
Eat some snacks!”
Zhu Di immediately turned his anger into joy, hurried up to meet him, opened his arms and said: "Oh, my little grandson is here, hahaha, please call grandpa to hug him!"
From behind, Zhu Gaochi struggled to move his fat body and called out: "Zhanji, Zhanji, please slow down, don't fall, don't disturb Grandpa Huang!"
Zhu Di picked up his eldest grandson with a sweet smile, kissed him hard on his smooth little face, and said to Mu En: "Hurry up, hurry up, get a box of snacks for my grandson!"
Turning around, he saw his son holding on to the doorframe and walking into the palace door. Zhu Di's thick eyebrows immediately furrowed.
"My son has met my father!"
Zhu Gaochi bent down and gave a salute. Zhu Di hummed and asked with a straight face: "How are your studies lately?"
"Thanks to my father's inquiry, I have been reading "Yong" recently. Whenever I have any doubts, I will discuss it with the lecturer and ask for advice. I don't dare to neglect my studies. Every afternoon, I have to practice calligraphy for an hour."
"Well, the masters that my father has found for you are all knowledgeable and well-behaved people who you can rely on. You should respect and obey them and follow the disciple's etiquette. This is the way to respect Taoism and Confucianism, and you should not respect yourself as a prince."
"My father taught me a lesson, and my son understands!"
This father and son, you ask me questions and answer them in a very orderly manner.
Since ancient times, fathers seem to be particularly strict with their eldest sons, and this is especially true for this father and son. The second son of the emperor, Zhu Gaoxu, has been used to being harsh in front of his father since he was a child. Zhu Di is used to it, but he likes his son's unruly but family-friendly behavior.
The display of affection towards the eldest son is no different from those in wealthy families with very strict rules. What they say is that the father is strict and the son is filial.
Zhu Di said "Yes". When he saw his son chasing his grandson in, he ran for just a few steps. His forehead was already sweating. His body was really weak and his heart was even more unhappy. However, he couldn't bear to scold him any more, so he said: "
You are so sweaty, go and sit down, I will accompany your grandson."
"Yes, I obey my orders!"
Zhu Gaochi was particularly cautious in front of me, and quickly turned around and walked to the chair aside. Zhu Di glanced at him, and suddenly remembered what he had just said to Xia Xun about establishing the crown prince, "Put it aside, for once." He couldn't help but move, and ordered: "Father,
I'm tired. The memorial hasn't been approved yet. Please help me select the important ones first and put them aside alone. I'll review them later."
"Yes, my son..."
Just as Zhu Gaochi was about to ask his father what kind of memorial he wanted to write first, Zhu Di had already smiled at his precious grandson and said, "Let's go, grandpa will take you to play."
"Grandpa, I want some snacks!"
"Little greedy kid, don't you miss grandpa if you don't eat snacks?"
"Miss you grandpa!"
"Haha, that's good. The waiter has gone to get some snacks. Come on, let's go for a walk first. There are a lot of new rare fish species in the imperial pond. They are very beautiful. Do you like fishing? Let's go fishing..."
The old man and the young man left happily. Zhu Gaochi had no choice but to walk to the throne and select them one by one according to his own standards.
More than an hour later, Zhu Di returned with Zhu Zhanji in his arms. Zhu Gaochi quickly stood up to greet him: "Father..."
Zhu Di hurriedly said: "Keep your voice down. Zhan Ji is sleepy and fell asleep in his father's arms. Haha, please take him back to have a rest. Cover your head with your sleeves so as not to catch the wind."
Zhu Di carefully handed over his grandson to his son. Zhu Gaochi held his son in his arms. He could not salute his father any more, so he had to bow and walk to the harem with his sleeping son in his arms.
Zhu Di returned to the imperial desk and sat down. Mu En hurriedly brought a cup of tea. Zhu Di took a sip of tea and saw that the memorials reviewed by Shang Shui had been divided into two piles. One pile was placed on the right side of the imperial desk, pressed down with a jade paperweight.
There is another small pile in front of me. I think it is the memorials that my son has specially selected and needs to be dealt with first.
Zhu Di opened the memorials, not in detail. He just glanced at them briefly and then put them aside to read another. After a while, he briefly read all the memorials specially selected by his son. The memorials selected by Zhu Gaochi were all about farmers.
Regarding mulberry, industry and commerce, taxation, corvee and disaster relief, water conservancy, frontier settlements, etc., Zhu Di tapped the table gently, a smile gradually appeared on his face, he thought for a while, but then sighed softly...
※
In the evening, Xia Xun came to Duke Dingguo's mansion as promised.
When Xu Jingchang heard that Xia Xun had arrived, he went out to greet him personally and happily took him into his house.
Xia Xun smiled and said: "Dong Dingguo is so polite. We treat everyone to dinner these days. It's too frequent and it's a bit overwhelming. If it hadn't been for your invitation, Yang would never have gone out today."
Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "When the new emperor ascends the throne and the court is established, there will naturally be more things to welcome and send off. Today I am hosting a banquet to entertain all the friends we are familiar with. We are all here, and we will not be embarrassed.
Shape, forcing the auxiliary prince to drink wine."
"Oh? Who else did Duke Dingguo invite?"
Xu Jingchang smiled slightly: "Haha, the Duke will know it as soon as he sees it!"
Stepping into the flower hall, a little dwarf took the lead to greet him. His face was full of spring breeze, and he bowed his head and said: "Master Fu Guoguo, the great gentleman has looked through the autumn water, and he has finally expected you to come!"
This sentence made the whole hall laugh, so everyone stepped forward to greet them. Xia Xun took a closer look and saw that the person standing in front of him was Xie Jin, the chief minister of the cabinet. Then, most of them also knew him, the Minister of the Hanlin Academy,
There are four cabinet bachelors, Yang Shiqi, who is studying at the Hanlin Academy, Huang Huai, the cabinet bachelor, and Yang Rong. There are four cabinet bachelors.
Among these people, Xie Jin is one of them. When King Zhu Di of Yan was about to ascend the throne, Yang Rong, who reminded him that he should visit Xiaoling first, is also considered a friend. The others are just casual acquaintances. Yang Rong's real name is Yang Zirong. In fact, this
Yang Rong, whose name was given by Zhu Di without the word "son", was also a highly valued minister in the cabinet. In addition, there were Zhang Yu's son Zhang Fu, and Xia Yuanji, the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
Xia Xun was full of confusion, and he bowed his hands one by one in return. Suddenly he realized that there was someone who was not approaching, and there was no need to greet him during the banquet... Xia Xun looked closely, and couldn't help being secretly surprised.
The man who stood in front of the banquet and smiled at him was broad and fat, with a calm expression. He was the emperor's eldest son Zhu Gaochi.
, he just didn't move, and when he suddenly started to put on such a scene, he was not ignorant of the fight for heirs.
"Your Majesty, Yang Xu, has met His Highness!"
"Haha, I am exempting you from the ceremony, please get up quickly." Zhu Gaochi smiled and raised his hands to support him, not letting Xia Xun salute: "Today, Jingchang is inviting guests, and I don't call you prince, I only call you Jingchang.
If you attend the banquet as your cousin, please don't be polite, otherwise, Gao Chi will be the guest of honor!"
"Yes, Duke Fu, the guests invited by Duke Ding today are all friends with similar temperaments, so there is no need to talk about superiority and inferiority." This man stood quietly half a step behind Zhu Gaochi, Xia Xun said
At first, he only thought he was Zhu Gaochi's bodyguard and paid no attention to him. Only when he spoke did Xia Xun recognize the person: "Zheng He!"
Among the people present, Zheng He, the eunuch, was considered to have the lowest position. But what kind of power does Zheng He's appearance mean? Xia Xun suddenly felt that today's meal might not be simple.
★★★★★★ I have been holding it back for a long time, but I really can’t hold back the exciting and eloquent single chapter. I watch the time passing by, helpless! Let’s use the time to correct it! Last night, the Golden Keyboard works list
It was revealed that this morning, the list was surpassed again. The update is not more than mine, but a single chapter... I did write less words, and I was not excited or sensational enough. Naihe is really not good at this. I solemnly request that I continue.