There are more than 30 men in the Zhao family working as officials outside, and the one with the highest official position is Zhao Yuanren, the third-rank minister of the Ministry of Industry.
Zhao Yuanren is the eldest son of the third wife of the Zhao family, and he and Zhao Yuanxiu and Zhao Yuanming are cousins.
At that time, Zhao Yuanming and Zhao Yuanren took the imperial examination together in Beijing. Zhao Yuanming won the first place in the examination and became famous. Zhao Yuanren also won the second place in that subject, which was slightly overshadowed by his cousin's halo.
Later, Zhao Yuanming served as a Hanlin scholar for two years before resigning and returned to his hometown. Zhao Yuanren worked as the eighth-grade chief clerk in the Ministry of Industry. Over twenty years later, Zhao Yuanming became a great scholar in Qingzhou, and Zhao Yuanren became a high-ranking official in the court.
The Zhao clan has a strong bond. Zhao Yuanxiu sends his clan members to the capital every year to send generous new year gifts, and Zhao Shilang writes a letter home every three months.
"My eldest cousin just wrote a letter last month," Zhao Yuanming said in a low voice, "he is writing again now. There must be something important."
Zhao Yuanxiu suppressed his smile and took the letter from the boy.
Zhao Xiyan couldn't stay any longer, so she bowed and left.
In the study, Zhao Yuanxiu looked a little strange after reading the letter, and gave the letter to Zhao Yuanming: "Third brother, please take a look at this letter!"
Zhao Yuanming responded, took the letter and looked at it, he was also stunned.
"Yue Ya'er has never been out of Beihai County since he has grown so big. Although he is famous throughout Qingzhou, not many people have actually seen Yue Ya'er."
Zhao Yuanxiu continued with some confusion: "Furthermore, our Zhao family is from a scholarly family and has never had any contact with military commanders and nobles. Why does this son of the Murong family suddenly want to propose marriage to the Zhao family and ask for Yue Ya'er?"
It is a good thing for a family to have a girl, but this marriage proposal is really strange.
The Jin Dynasty valued literature over military affairs, and the status of generals was low, generally inferior to that of civilian officials. However, there were three exceptions. One was the Murong family, the other was the Feng family, and the other was the Gao family.
The Murong family has been in charge of the imperial guards for generations, guarding the imperial city, and is the emperor's confidant.
The ancestors of the Feng family made great contributions during the founding of the dynasty. At the founding of the People's Republic of China, they were granted the title of Duke of Dingguo. The title was hereditary and they were in charge of the Iron Guard Camp.
The Gao family was a rising star. When Emperor Yongxing was fighting for the throne, the Gao family helped him. After Emperor Yongxing sat on the throne, he granted the Gao family the title of Marquis of Zhongyong and placed the Gao family in charge of the Xiaoqi camp.
Thirty thousand Imperial Guards, 20,000 Valiant Cavalry Battalion, and 50,000 Iron Guard Battalion, a total of 100,000 troops, guard the capital. General Murong Yao, Ding Guogong Feng Chuan, and Zhongyong Hou Gaopeng, these three are among the military generals of the Jin Dynasty.
He is a top figure that no one dares to look down upon.
The young master Murong mentioned by Zhao Yuanxiu was Murong Yao's eldest son Murong Shen.
At the age of sixteen, he entered the palace and became an imperial guard. He became famous in the imperial guard competition and was praised by everyone as the number one master of the Murong clan. He is twenty-two years old this year and is already a fifth-grade imperial captain. He has not yet married a wife.
Why did such a young and talented man who could not be beaten suddenly asked to marry Yue Ya'er?
During the national mourning period, it was inconvenient for the Murong family to come to Qingzhou to propose marriage with great fanfare. Murong Shen went to the Minister of Industry's Mansion in person to propose marriage to Zhao Yuanren in private.
Zhao Yuanren was also surprised and wrote in the letter: "...Murong is in charge of the imperial guards. He has won the trust of the emperor and has huge power in the army."
"Murong Shen is the eldest son of General Murong. He has outstanding skills and is also the next head of the Murong family. It is a good thing for such a person to take the initiative to marry the Zhao family."
"Yue Ya'er and the Prince of Beihai are childhood sweethearts and have a lot of affection. They are a match made in heaven. However, Murong Shen is really outstanding and is a young handsome man like no other. This marriage can be considered carefully."
…
Zhao Yuanming looked at the letter, not happy at all, but frowned.
This matter is really strange.
The Zhao family has no soldiers and power, and most of the officials in the family are middle and low-level officials. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a prominent family in Qingzhou. However, compared with the famous families in the capital, it is far behind.
To put it bluntly, the Murong family's decision to marry the Zhao family is to promote the Zhao family.
What is the purpose of this Murong Shen, whom he has never met before?
"Third brother, what are your plans?" Zhao Yuanxiu asked.
Zhao Yuanming came to his senses and said calmly: "I will write a reply right away and politely decline."
Zhao Yuanxiu felt a little regretful: "You really don't want to think about it?"
Zhao Yuanming glanced at his brother: "I only have a daughter like Yue Ya'er, and I don't want her to marry far away."
This is true.
Just such a precious girl, who married far away and went to the capital, would be hard to see even once. With the handsome and lively Prince of Beihai in front of her, there was no need to think about Mr. Murong.
Zhao Yuanxiu thought for a while and smiled: "Since it's not intentional, it would be better to refuse earlier. By the way, do you want to tell Yue Ya'er about this matter?"
"No need." Zhao Yuanming said casually: "Brother, please keep your mouth shut about this matter. Even to my mother, don't talk about it."
To prevent anything from happening to my wife.
Zhao Yuanxiu nodded, glanced at his brother, and suddenly whispered: "You really don't want to remarry anymore? You should have let go of Mrs. Liu after so many years. Could it be that you still miss that person in the capital?"
"Back then, you resigned and returned home for her, ruining your great career. Otherwise, you must be much better than your eldest cousin, and you might even become a minister."
"It's been more than twenty years, are you still thinking about her?"
Zhao Yuanming coughed heavily and interrupted his brother's babble: "The clan is busy with affairs, so please go and do your work, brother!"
Zhao Yuanxiu rolled his eyes: "Yes, yes, I won't mention it. As soon as you mention it, you will turn your back and kick me out. I'll leave now."
Zhao Yuanxiu left quickly.
Zhao Yuanming was left alone in the study.
Zhao Yuanming lit a fire and burned the letter. Then he sat down and wrote a reply to his eldest cousin Zhao Yuanren. The pen was written like a dragon in one stroke. He packed the letter and sent it out.
After finishing these tasks, Zhao Yuanming was silent for a long time. He stood up and went to the bookshelf inside the study room. He reached out and pulled out a Book of Songs from the top row of the bookshelf.
This is the most common book, and everyone has a few copies in their study. No one will come to borrow it, and no one will have time to read this old and yellowed book.
In fact, he hasn't watched it for a long time.
Opening the Book of Songs, there was a piece of paper with the same age inside.
On this piece of paper, a small portrait of a young girl was carefully painted with meticulous brushwork. The girl was wearing a light blue skirt, with black hair as black as ink, and was unparalleled in beauty. She was sitting in front of the guqin, playing with her bare hands, with a smile on her lips, and an extraordinary temperament.
There is a poem written on it.
The dusk clouds are all gone and overflowing with coldness, and the silver man turns the jade plate silently.
This night in this life will not last long. Where can I see the bright moon next year?
Zhao Yuanming stared at it, distant memories flashed in his eyes.
…
The next day, news spread that King Beihai was heartbroken and seriously ill.
The crown prince Xu Jing wrote a tearful memorial and sent it to the capital.
With Xu Jing's writing style, it was naturally impossible to write it. He privately asked Zhao Xiyan to write for him and copied it himself.
Two days later, a soldier with a wounded left arm rode into Beihai County on a fast horse.