Do you know the long song of laughter?

Chapter 444 The old king Xietang Qianyan

Empress Shen was stunned when she heard this and said, "Your Majesty, Congxing intends to marry Xiao Zou as his second wife, and I have already agreed."

Shen Congxing and Zou had a very good relationship, and Zou even died to save her.

Queen Shen felt very guilty, so when Shen Congxing proposed to marry Xiao Zou, she agreed without much thought.

Zhao Zongquan frowned and said, "How come I don't know about this? Congxing and Zou have a deep relationship, why would he want to remarry so soon?"

"It was the Zou family who came to Congxing to tell him. Your Majesty has been busy with the late emperor's burial and enthronement. I wanted to mention this to Your Majesty after some time." Queen Shen said.

When Zhao Zongquan heard this, he knew what the Zou family was planning.

Generally, when a wealthy family arranges a marriage for an alliance, if the daughter who is married off dies, in order to maintain the marriage relationship between the two families, another girl will be married off.

She could be the former wife’s younger sister, or a cousin.

Logically speaking, the Zou family couldn't be so anxious, after all, Zou's body was still warm.

But Shen Congxing’s status is no longer the same as before. The Zou family must be worried that Shen Congxing has become rich and will look down on the Zou family.

The Zou family took advantage of the time when Shen Congxing returned to Yuzhou and was grieving over his wife's death to bring up this matter.

"Zou died to save you, which is indeed a meritorious service. I will reward the Zou family, but Congxing cannot marry a girl from the Zou family. He must marry the daughter of the Duke of Yingguo." Zhao Zongquan said.

"But…"

"Nothing but!"

Empress Shen wanted to say something but was interrupted by Zhao Zongquan, who said, "Although I have ascended the throne and become an official of the Song Dynasty, I have no foundation in the court and must win over the people through marriage. Since Congxing has enjoyed this wealth, he must bear this responsibility. Tell him that he has to agree to this matter whether he agrees or not."

"I understand." Seeing that Zhao Zongquan was so determined, Queen Shen knew that there was no room for change in this matter.

After a moment of silence, she said, "Your Majesty, I will go and persuade Congxing, but I heard that the daughter of Duke Ying had long intended to be married to the brother of Marquis Zhongjing. It was only because of the rebellion in Jiangnan at that time that Duke Ying led the troops to suppress the rebellion, which delayed it. If the daughter of Duke Ying was allowed to marry Congxing, the Marquis Zhongjing's mansion would definitely feel resentful."

The influence of the Zhongjing Marquis' Mansion in the military is no less than that of the Gu family.

Even when the old Marquis Zhongjing was alive, the Zheng family of Marquis Zhongjing's mansion was even better than the Gu family.

"I plan to marry your sister to the brother of Marquis Zhongjing." Zhao Zongquan said.

Queen Shen opened her mouth, sighed inwardly, and said nothing more.

As their family enjoyed this wealth, they were destined to have no control over many things.

……

"Ziqian, congratulations." Gu Tingye said with a smile.

"Haha, I should be the one congratulating you. You are now a third-rank official. I will have to bow to you when I see you in the future." Li An said with a smile.

"You are a civil servant and I am a military general, how can we be the same? Besides, the government has rewarded you with a mansion." Gu Tingye said.

"It's like you haven't been rewarded. I don't even know how big my house is. But the government has rewarded you with the orange orchard." Li An said enviously.

Strictly speaking, Orange Garden is not a house, but a garden.

It was originally the palace of a king of a different surname during the reign of Taizu.

One can imagine what happened to those who established a king of a different surname at the beginning of a country.

Later, the house was reclaimed and rebuilt into a royal summer garden.

In his early years, he was awarded by the previous emperor to the imperial tutor Xiong Da Xianggong.

Finally, after the old husband retired, he returned the house to the late emperor, and it has been vacant ever since.

As a garden, the main purpose of the Orange Garden is not for living, but for entertainment.

Therefore, although it covers an area of ​​more than 100 acres, there are not many buildings. Not only are there nearly 100 acres of forest, but there is also a river running through it.

The average royal palace is inferior to the Orange Garden.

Not to mention that the Orange Garden is right next to the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion, separated by only a wall.

As long as it is broken through, it will become a house of more than 200 acres.

"Your house is not simple either." Gu Tingye said with a smile.

"How do you know?" Li An asked in surprise.

"His Royal Highness Prince Huan told me that the house awarded to you was originally a marquis' mansion, and it has been passed down since the founding of the country." Gu Tingye said.

"Really?" Li An was surprised when he heard that.

When the country was founded, the population of Bianliang was not so large, so the houses rewarded to the dukes and marquises were very large.

Generally speaking, a duke's mansion covers nearly a hundred acres, while a marquis's mansion covers between thirty and fifty acres.

Those who were later granted the titles of duke or marquis naturally were not rewarded with such large houses.

"Why would I lie to you? Your house is not far from the Orange Garden, only two streets away. Find time to move there. Then it will be convenient for your wife and my wife to visit each other." Gu Tingye said.

"It seems that you are not planning to move back to the Sheng family?" Li An asked.

"After the family split up, my father gradually reduced the restrictions on my stepmother. Why should I go back?" Gu Tingye said self-deprecatingly.

"You must know the reason why the government gave you the orange orchard, right?" Li An said.

Many nobles were implicated in Prince Yan's rebellion this time, including two dukes.

Treason is a serious crime. Even if the clan is not exterminated, the title and house will be taken away.

There are quite a few vacant houses in the inner city now, so there is no need for Zhao Zongquan to reward the orange orchard to Gu Tingye.

The reason for doing this was to let Gu Tingye inherit the title of Marquis of Ningyuan and take over the Gu family's connections in the military.

"I know, but my father is in poor health and I won't be able to inherit the title in a short time. My father also understands the emperor's intention of doing this, and he will naturally give me the title when the time comes." Gu Tingye said.

"But the emperor will surely gradually take control of the military power in the future. The emperor has few confidants, and you will definitely be given important positions. If you don't know how to take care of your family, it may be disadvantageous for you to take charge of the army in the future." Li An said.

"It's just a little troublesome. I have confidence in my abilities." Gu Tingye said.

Li An didn't say anything after hearing this.

"I'm hosting a family dinner tonight. Why don't you bring your wife to my house for a drink?" Gu Tingye suggested.

"Nothing will happen, right?" Li An said worriedly, "Although the national mourning is over now, according to the rules, no banquets or feasts are allowed within a hundred days after the death of the late emperor."

"It's said to be a family dinner, and no one outside the door will know what's going on. Do you think those officials and nobles in Bianliang will abide by it honestly? As long as there are no banquets during the national mourning period, everyone knows it at other times. As long as there are no lavish banquets, no one will bring this up." Gu Tingye said.

"Okay, then I'll take my wife there in the evening." Li An said.

After leaving the palace and separating from Gu Tingye, Li An got on a carriage and went home.

After returning home, he told Minglan about his promotion and reward.

Minglan was very happy for Li An after hearing this and said with a smile, "We now have a house in the inner city, so you don't have to get up so early to attend court, and you can sleep a little longer."

"This is not an ordinary house. I heard from Gu Tingye that it was originally a marquis' mansion." Li An said with a smile.

Minglan was surprised and said, "Marquis's Mansion? That would be too spacious for the two of us to live in."

"Let's have a few more children then the space will not be empty." Li An said with a smile.

"What nonsense are you talking about, sir?"

Minglan rolled her eyes at Li An and said with a sad look, "In the old days, the swallows that flew in front of the halls of the rich and powerful now fly into the homes of ordinary people. My grandmother used to tell me that the court was dangerous, but I didn't feel anything. The noble families that have been passed down for hundreds of years are so honorable, but now they have ended up with their property confiscated and their clans exterminated."

"Who can we blame for their wrong choice?" Li An shook his head. Minglan sent Danju and the others away and said worriedly, "Sir, when I went to the palace to deliver food to my father, you stopped me. Did you know something?"

Li An was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said, "Minglan, don't worry, I will think carefully about what I will do in the future. I am a civil servant, and as long as I don't rebel and don't make any big mistakes, the most I will do is be demoted."

"Yeah." Minglan nodded silently.

"Okay, be happy. Don't think about those trivial things. By the way, Zhong Huai asked us to go to his house for dinner tonight." Li An said.

"Then I'll tell the kitchen to not prepare dinner for us. It happens that I haven't seen Sister Yanran for a long time." Minglan said with a smile.

"I'll be taking a day off the day after tomorrow. Please ask someone to prepare some more things and we'll go to the Sheng family." Li An said.

Because it was a period of national mourning, Li An did not accompany Minglan back to the Sheng family.

Now that the national mourning is over, I must go there, otherwise it would be unreasonable.

"Okay, I'll ask someone to go back and tell them tomorrow." Minglan nodded when she heard that.

"Lord."

At this moment, Danju hurried in and saluted, saying, "The concierge just came over to report that someone from the palace has come to deliver a reward."

"Madam, let's go and welcome him quickly." Li An said.

The imperial edict read out when Zhao Zongquan ascended the throne was read out together.

However, Li An had a separate imperial edict of reward, and he had not yet received the title deed to the rewarded house and the imperial farm.

The people coming from the palace now are here to deliver these.

"Danju, go to the accounting office and get a few hundred taels of silver notes." Minglan ordered.

"Yes!" Danju responded and hurried away.

Li An and Minglan arrived at the gate of the house. The eunuch who was supposed to deliver the imperial edict had not arrived yet. He had just sent someone to convey the message.

After a while, Danju came trotting over and handed Minglan a few banknotes.

Minglan took a look, stuffed two bills into Li An's pocket, and said, "People from all over the country must pay for tea and water."

"This is too much. Just give me a few dozen taels as a token of your appreciation."

Minglan said, "Sir, you have received a reward today, so you can't be stingy."

"My lady is really thoughtful." Li An nodded and stuffed the banknote into his sleeve.

After waiting for a long time, the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict finally arrived.

Because the contents of the imperial edict had already been read out, there was no need to read it out again. The eunuch did not enter the room. He directly handed the imperial edict and the land deed to Li An, then took the wedding money given by Li An and left in the carriage.

There was no ancestral hall in Li An's house, so Minglan ordered people to set up an incense table in the main hall and enshrine the imperial edict.

"It's actually a house on Gonghou Street." Minglan looked at the title deed and said in surprise.

Gonghou Street, as the name suggests, is inhabited by either dukes or marquises, so it was called Gonghou Street by the people of Bianjing. Over time, no one remembered the original name anymore.

Of course, this was only at the beginning of the founding of the country.

During the hundred years since the founding of the Song Dynasty, many dukes and marquises on both sides of Gonghou Street had committed crimes and had their titles stripped away, and their houses were awarded to ministers in the court.

Today, nearly one-third of the houses on Gonghou Street have changed owners, and some of them are not the first time.

"Go back and ask someone to check if the house needs repairs. If not, arrange for someone to clean it up and we can choose a date to move in."

Li An was not surprised to hear this. Gu Tingye had already said that it was a founding marquis's mansion, so it was normal to be in Gonghou Street.

"Yes." Minglan nodded and said, "I contacted the man a few days ago and asked him to prepare a batch of servants. Now it seems that I need to buy more."

The title deed states that the land area is 42 acres. Such a large house would be impossible to manage if there were not enough servants.

"It's up to you." Li An said.

……

In the evening, Li An and Minglan changed their clothes and went out to Gu Tingye's house.

Orange Garden has been uninhabited for many years, and it is impossible for Gu Tingye to move in immediately. Now he still lives in the original house, not far from Li An's home.

After a while, the carriage stopped in front of Gu Tingye's house.

Li An and Minglan got off the carriage, and Gu Tingye came out to greet them after hearing the news.

"Zhong Huai, I haven't even arrived yet, and you're already drinking?"

Seeing that Gu Tingye's face was slightly red and he smelled of alcohol, Li An pretended to be displeased.

Gu Tingye smiled bitterly and whispered, "Uncle Shen came half an hour earlier than you. He looked unhappy and kept asking for a drink. I had no choice but to drink with him."

"Since Uncle Shen is here, why don't I go back first?" Li An said after hearing this.

As soon as he heard it, he knew that Shen Congxing either married because of his wife's death or because Zhao Zongquan had arranged the marriage for him.

The former is okay, but I really don’t know how to comfort the latter.

"Uncle Shen knows you're here, and wants you to drink with him."

Gu Tingye held Li An's arm and said to Minglan, "Madam Shengda, my wife is in the backyard. I'll have someone take you there and you can eat. Ziqian and I will have a drink."

"Sir, I'll go then." Minglan said.

"Well, go ahead." Li An nodded.

Minglan followed the maid, while Li An was pulled to the main hall by Gu Tingye.

As soon as I entered the room, I smelled a strong smell of alcohol. Shen Congxing was sitting at the eight-immortals table, drinking by himself.

Shen Congxing saw Li An coming over and said with a smile: "Ziqian is here, come sit down and drink with us."

"Quick, take a seat."

Gu Tingye pointed to the right side of Shen Congxing and said.

"Uncle Shen." Li An bowed.

"What uncle?"

Shen Congxing said, "Ziqian, I treat you as my friends. Today I am still the Shen Congxing of Yuzhou. There is no uncle of the emperor. Please sit down."

"Yes, Ziqian, it's a private occasion, there's no need to be so polite." Gu Tingye gave Li An a wink.

Li An knew from the look on Shen Congxing's face that he had drunk too much, so he sat down next to him but didn't dare say much, for fear that he would say something nonsense when drunk.

The maid brought bowls and chopsticks and poured wine for Li An.

"Come, have a drink first." Shen Congxing raised his glass.

Li An and Gu Tingye raised their wine glasses, gestured to Shen Congxing, and drank from them with their heads raised.

The cups were put down, and the maid holding the wine pot beside them added more wine for the three people.

"Zhonghuai, Ziqian, what do you think of Bianjing?" Shen Congxing said.

Li An and Gu Tingye looked at each other and said nothing.

(End of this chapter)