Long live Emperor Wu!

Chapter 39 Don't rob me

King Jin turned his head and glanced at her. Because Wu Rou was standing and he was sitting, and the two of them were only two steps away, he had to raise his neck when he raised his eyes.

His eyes were so wide open, he looked surprised and confused, as cute as a child.

Wu Rou couldn't help but smile.

He suddenly lowered his eyes and withdrew his gaze, as if thanking him.Then he said to everyone:

"As the saying goes, do as the Romans do. The most important thing is respect. If you marry in Tuyuhun, it represents the attitude of the Tang Dynasty. If you criticize or even laugh at the customs of Tuyuhun because you don't understand it, this goes against the original intention of the Tang Dynasty to support the stability of Tuyuhun. It is not conducive to the peace and marriage policy."

King Jin made it so clear, you would be stupid if you didn't understand what he was going to say.

So many people turned their attention to the four girls from the Li clan.

It can be seen that everyone has assumed that it must be one of them.

A girl named Li was frightened and said to everyone:
"Everyone watches what I do, but I don't necessarily have to do it!"

King Jin answered the question promptly and said gently:
"Indeed, my father said that you must be willing to choose your relatives. Tuyuhun has an important geographical location and is adjacent to many countries. It is the main road from the Tang Dynasty to the countries in the Western Regions.

Those who go there must not only be accustomed to local customs and endure hardships, but more importantly, they must be able to rely on the power of the Tang Dynasty to help the Murong clan stabilize the political situation and ensure smooth trade routes.

To go into detail, it is necessary to promote the prestige of the Tang Dynasty, highlight the close relationship between Tuyuhun and the Tang Dynasty, and deter the surrounding people not to use weapons indiscriminately.These are difficult tasks, and no one without talent can afford them. "

As soon as he finished speaking, Miss Yan, who was sitting in the first row, finally raised her eyes, with an inexplicable light shining in her eyes, and she said:

"His Highness, it sounds like the purpose of organizing this football match today is to select candidates for marriage. So...not only the clan members surnamed Li, but also us, are also among the candidates?"

Prince Jin looked directly at her and everyone present, raised his chin slightly, and replied seriously:
"Yes, exactly."

As soon as the words fell, the attic suddenly became noisy, and the girls who were panicked and even felt that it was absurd began to discuss it.

Only the four Li girls from before breathed a sigh of relief, and their expressions seemed much more relaxed.

Prince Jin naturally noticed their reaction, shook his head slightly and said:

"It stands to reason that this kind of job should belong to the Li clan, but the talent and will of the candidate are more important than the blood surname.

If you are willing to go there, the Tang Dynasty will give you the honor of a first-class princess, the position of Queen of Tuyuhun, a thousand personal guards, various craftsmen, farming talents, and a large amount of financial resources to protect your dignity and status in Tuyuhun. "

There was another whisper.

After a while, a military commander’s daughter whispered:

"His Royal Highness Prince Jin is joking. How can anyone volunteer to go? Although the honor of the princess is noble, the palaces we can enter are all people from well-off families and have no shortage of wealth and status.

I heard from my father that Tuyuhun's national power is now weak and no one can defeat it. In the past, it was controlled by the Western Turks, who killed our people and cut off our trade routes. Your Majesty was furious, so he ordered a conquest and became a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.

But the status of a vassal state cannot increase his national strength. Should he be weak, he should still be weak. If one day, the Western Turks or Tubo want to attack it, and the Tang Dynasty will be beyond its reach, the princess will die. "

King Jin thought for a while and said:

"Your Majesty has said that Princess He is an envoy of the Tang Dynasty, serving as the eyes and ears of the Tang Dynasty, and representing the dignity of the Tang Dynasty. I will ask your Majesty to give you a token of troop deployment, so that you can ask for help from the border guards of the Tang Dynasty at critical times."

There was another whisper.

After a while, someone else answered shyly:

"In this case, with Tang Jun as the backing, the choice does not seem to be that important. Let's choose from the clan members surnamed Li. After all, the person I want to marry is a princess. Even if she is not born to His Majesty, she must be surnamed Li anyway."

When the girls surnamed Li heard this, their backs stiffened, and one of them said with an unhappy look:

"Didn't you hear what His Highness just said, the most important thing is talent? Although our surname is Li, to be fair, we are not much better than your sisters."

Someone else sneered and retorted:

"This sister is joking. We are all human beings. How can anyone be much worse than the other? As members of the royal family, you are responsible for your personal safety. Why are you pushing it on someone who has nothing to do with it? "

Seeing that they were about to start a quarrel, Wu Rou quickly took a step forward and said:

"Everyone, please listen to what I have to say."

As she spoke, she glanced at everyone present. When she saw that everyone was quiet, she said in a clear voice like an oriole: "To be honest, I have been taking this job for a long time. His Majesty said that I am similar in age to you, so he understands better. The thoughts in each other's hearts make it convenient to talk.

So I also asked myself, if it were me, under what circumstances would I voluntarily abandon the current comfort and go to a foreign country? "

She paused, lowered her head slightly, grabbed the shawl on her arm and raised her arm, putting her fingers to her mouth, thinking, as if she was very troubled and distressed.

Everyone looked at her, expecting what she would say next.

"...Then I thought about it. If going to Tuyuhun is extremely difficult, the only thing that attracts me is that I can create a career and leave a name in history.

This is the first princess to marry since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, and she has been given such an important responsibility. You all must know what a rare opportunity this is for women. "

As soon as these words came out, many people's eyes lit up for a moment and their pupils swayed.

Leaving a name in history, having a career... those are opportunities only men have.

Do women really not want to have a career?Don’t you want to be a glorious figure and be recorded in history and remembered by future generations?
It’s something everyone would think about.

But they never had this opportunity.

"Everyone sitting here can at most become someone's first wife or someone's mother. If the husband and son are good enough, they will be mentioned in passing and become a footnote to some glorious figure.

If you can become another Wang Zhaojun, why not? "

Miss Yan was moved. Her eyes were like water. She looked at the wine glass in front of her for a long time without moving. Then she chuckled to herself, stood up and said:
"I'll go. I'll go."

When Wu Rou heard this, she looked at her in surprise, and then her eyebrows drooped in concern, as if sympathetic and pitiful, she asked;
"Miss Yan, have you really thought about it? You can think about it carefully and don't make a decision in a hurry."

Miss Yan glanced at her and saw that King Jin also opened his mouth slightly in surprise, so she calmly explained:

"Actually... this is nothing to think about. Since everyone here today is of the same generation and we all know each other, I will say something that I have never said before."

She paused, then picked up the glass of wine from the table, raised her arm to cover her mouth, and drank it all in one gulp with her head raised, her posture graceful, and her heroic desperation.

After drinking, she held the empty wine glass, turned slightly sideways, looked at the girls and said:

"You all know that I am from the Yan family. There are seven officials in the Yan family, many of whom are high-ranking and powerful. They also have daughters, but they only accepted me, the daughter of a sixth-grade official. Chang'an, you are cultivating me with all your heart, why do you think it is?"

"Of course it's because Sister Yan has good looks and intelligence. We all have seen this. Is there any other reason?" someone asked.

"Yes!" Miss Yan said with a smile, "Back then, the clan hired an old Taoist priest to tell the girls' fortunes. The Taoist priest said that I had the appearance of the mother of the country, and that was the reason why they chose me.

Everyone in the Yan family has high hopes for me, including myself.Over the years, I have worked hard to get the first place in whatever I study.The results of it?The prince failed in choosing his concubine...hahaha..."

She seemed to be laughing with tears as she spoke, extremely bitter, and said:

"I'm not afraid of your jokes. Before I lost the election, I always dreamed that one day I could become a virtuous empress like Queen Wende and be admired by the world.

...I was extremely disappointed at the time. I couldn't believe it was such a result, so I thought maybe I could become the prince's concubine?So he went to the palace to recommend himself to the Queen and beg for mercy.

I still remember the expression of Queen Wende shaking her head. She looked at me, her compassionate face was full of apology, but she refused.

I am anxious and must ask the Queen, why can't I serve in the East Palace?She said to me: I'm sorry, girl, because your surname is Yan, I have troubled you. "

As Miss Yan spoke, she was obviously smiling, but she was crying, with big tears falling down, and she choked with sobs;
"I thought to myself at that time, what is fate? It turns out that fate has already destined me to have no fate with the prince. So what have I been doing all these years? Why have I persisted for so long?...Isn't this life a joke?"

She raised her face and looked at the sky, as if she wanted to stop the flowing tears and calm her heartache, and tried her best to say in an indifferent tone:
"Hey... I really cried for many days at that time, and my eyes almost went blind from crying."

Wu Rou glanced at King Jin and saw that King Jin lowered his eyes and frowned slightly as if he couldn't bear it. She thought to herself: This may be the background of King Jin's proposal to her at that time.

He was young and kind-hearted at the time, and could not bear to see her sad and in pain, but he didn't know the pain that Yan girl was in at that time. How could she be cured just because of his words to marry her?
That’s why I was scolded by Miss Yan...

Many women in the field, seeing Miss Yan like this, felt the same and secretly wiped away tears.

But she has already given up:

"Hi! Don't you think this is a coincidence? I am sixteen this year. According to the decree of the Tang Dynasty, I must get married. I can't find anyone suitable to marry. Isn't this an opportunity?"

She raised her hand to wipe her tears and said rather boldly and self-deprecatingly:
"Don't rob me. The mother of the country in Tuyuhun is also the mother of the country. The Taoist priest's words may have come true here! ... At least, my hard work for so many years can be put to use."

(End of this chapter)