I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 183 Marriage Grant
Queen Ma didn't care about Song Shen's reaction for the time being.

She muttered to herself, trying to figure out if there were any women of marriageable age in the families of officials in the court, while also considering these people's positions.

After all, Hu Weiyong was becoming more and more powerful, and many officials in the capital and even those who were sent out to other places wanted to curry favor with him. Zhu Yuanzhang had a bad temper, and there were very few people who could persist in being a lone minister under him.

In fact, apart from the Chang Yuchun family and the Xu Da family who were prepared for the Crown Prince Zhu Biao, other people were afraid that His Majesty would use them as a target and they were unsure, so it was natural for them to want to find someone to back them up.

However, those in power don’t care whether you have a compelling reason or not; they only care whether you are on their side.

Queen Ma thought for a moment and then said:
"Ziwei, I actually thought of someone!"

"Duke Hanguo Li Shanchang, even if you have lost your memory, you must have heard people mention him these days, right?"

"He has a granddaughter, surnamed Lin. Although the child's father is not a high-ranking official, Duke Hanguo has good eyesight. When marrying off a daughter, he does not look at family background, but only at the person. A good family tradition is good. I have seen this girl before. She is about sixteen or seventeen years old this year. They should have been married a long time ago, but unfortunately her father died of illness in the ninth year of Hongwu, and she had to observe mourning, so it was delayed."

"Don't worry, she is definitely a dignified lady from a good family. After her father passed away, she returned to live with her mother in the Duke of Korea's mansion. The Duke of Korea also likes this child very much and teaches her personally. I just saw her at the palace banquet before. She looks perfect!"

Song Shenhan is almost here.

It took a lot of effort to come up with a way to get rid of Zhu Mengyan, the former father-in-law, and it seemed that he could get out of the whirlpool of the Hu Weiyong case by talking to Empress Ma a few more times...

Who would have thought that now Empress Ma actually wanted to marry Li Shanchang's granddaughter to him?

What a random match!
Modern people say that marriage is the grave of love, but if he marries Li Shanchang's granddaughter now, then he is really half buried in the earth. It is obvious that his family is going to be confiscated!
"Empress, this... I thank you for your kindness, but marriage is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly. I cannot make the decision myself, nor can my father and uncle. I still have to write back to ask for my grandfather's opinion."

Song Shen racked his brains to come up with this reply.

Fortunately, this is a feudal dynasty where marriages are arranged by parents and matchmakers, and fortunately, his grandfather Song Lian is a man who knows what he is doing. Otherwise, even if he temporarily refuses now, when the time comes, his family will get excited and agree to the marriage with Li Shanchang, the Duke, and he will be in a complete mess.

Anyway, my grandfather is not in Yingtian Prefecture now, so I can just push everything onto him. The old man is already so old, he must be better at dealing with a marriage than him.

Queen Ma shook her head disapprovingly:
"What do you mean? Your Majesty and I have granted marriages more than once or twice. I have only granted marriages after seeing the candidates with my own eyes and thinking they are good. Mr. Song must be aware of my vision."

"As long as you think it's appropriate, I'll go talk to him. Feel free to speak your mind!"

Song Shen: ...

He felt like there was something stuck in his throat and he didn't know how to answer for a moment.

As for urging him to get married, he had already been urged when he just graduated from college, but he had no family, so he just dealt with the jokes from friends and colleagues and just said a few perfunctory words and let it go.

But now he is facing the mother of a country, the Queen Mother, who is urging him to get married.

The fact that the other party did not directly issue an imperial decree to grant the marriage was already a great favor to him. Apart from pushing the matter onto Song Lian, how could he decline politely without seeming so humble?

You absolutely cannot agree to this.

He had just basically confirmed that the reason why he was implicated in the Hu Weiyong case was his former father-in-law. Now Empress Ma wanted to arrange a marriage for him with the granddaughter of Li Shanchang, the highest-ranking official and victim in the Hu Weiyong case. This was adding layers of pressure. He would be dead without a burial place at that time. If he agreed, he would be crazy!
A moment of silence.

Song Shen's brain twitched, and he bowed in the direction of Empress Ma's voice and said:
"I dare not hide it. Actually, ever since I fell, I have had some unspeakable secrets... I am not good at this. I am afraid that I will delay others in the future."

Queen Ma: ...?
Are you so shameless as to refuse the arranged marriage?

She was so shocked by Song Shen's shamelessness that she couldn't speak for a long time.

Behind the screen, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang also had subtle expressions.

Even Li Shimin and others in the light curtain had colorful expressions on their faces after hearing their conversation, which was quite comical.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned and looked at Li Shanchang, holding a note in his hand.

[What will happen to you in the future? Song Shen would rather say that he is not capable than marry your granddaughter? ]

Li Shanchang's face turned pale and he gritted his teeth in silence.

Song Shen just talked about his ending in the office at noon today. If history is really as what was written on that piece of paper, then it is reasonable for Song Shen to refuse the marriage.

No one wants to die.

And if I marry into his family, no matter how distant the relationship is, when the crime is discovered, I will not be able to escape the fate of implicating all nine generations of my clan.

He picked up the pen to write and almost broke it.

[In the future, my entire clan will be implicated. Except for Qi'er, who is spared death as a consort, no one else will survive. My granddaughter and her husband's family may also be included.]

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment, and the teasing look on his face disappeared.

If he were in Li Shanchang's shoes and knew his fate in advance, he probably would not be so resigned to his fate and continue to work for the emperor honestly.

The more likely possibility is that, regardless of whether he can succeed or not, he will overturn the table and give it a try. It is better to struggle than to wait for death.

But Li Shanchang did not do so.

He obediently followed all his arrangements and even told Song Shen what he had said.

Perhaps it was out of fear, or perhaps it was because he knew he couldn't fight against himself...

But no matter what, a gentleman judges by deeds rather than by heart, and no one is perfect in the world. Li Shanchang did not hide it from him, and this is enough to show his attitude.

Zhu Yuanzhang also picked up his pen and wrote a new line of words.

[Don't worry, I'm serious. If it weren't for Song Shen, I wouldn't have come to your house in the middle of the night, nor would I have believed you.]

[But now you are already helping me. You went to Hu Weiyong's house for the banquet at my instruction. After the matter is accomplished, I will not treat you unfairly.]

Li Shanchang actually didn't really believe it, but he had no choice but to believe it.

He bowed in silence to express his gratitude, and then wrote another sentence on the paper.

[Does the Queen really want to marry my granddaughter to Song Shen, or is this just a test? ]

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at her and shook his head. [It could be a test, or it could be true. It depends on how Song Shen makes his own decision. If he is determined not to marry, then there is nothing we can do. We cannot force him to do anything.]

…………

Inside Kunning Palace.

Queen Ma stared at Song Shen for a long time, and then slowly said:
"Ziwei, if you don't want to, you can just say it. I won't force you. This is not an official statement. It's not His Majesty talking to you. Since you regard me as your elder, just say what you think in your heart."

"During the time when you were injured and unconscious, the imperial physician visited you every day. I have also read your medical records. Don't joke with your own body."

Obviously, Queen Ma was a little angry.

Song Shen pondered over it for a moment and determined why she was angry.

——It seems like, you are really angry because I used my body as an excuse to talk nonsense?
Is this really caring about yourself?

Song Shen was stunned for a moment, and inevitably a little moved. After coming to Daming, many people showed kindness to him, but the only elder who truly cared about him, besides Song Lian, was Empress Ma.

In this case, Song Shenya gritted his teeth and said sincerely,
"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. The reason I just said that nonsense was because I was a little worried."

"Everyone knows that the current prime minister was promoted by Duke Hanguo when he was in a low position. Logically, there is still some teacher-student relationship between them. But now the prime minister seems to be determined to oppose Your Majesty. Even if Duke Hanguo stays out of it and doesn't take any action, Your Majesty will not care whether he is involved or not when he gets angry."

"I don't have any lofty ambitions, but I cherish my life."

"This life was saved by the King of Hell. I heard that the imperial physician once thought that I would never wake up. Now I am lucky to be alive. I don't want to be dragged into these things, and I am even more afraid of involving my family."

"So, I dare to ask the Queen to take back her order. I will never marry before my eyes recover. I don't want to delay a good family, nor do I want the Song family to be implicated by other families, even the former Minister Zhu of the Yue family."

Queen Ma sighed.

She knew that Song Shen had made up his mind and would not give in.

Although she didn't see what was said behind the screen, she could now guess that Li Shanchang's ending in history was probably very bad, otherwise Song Shen would not have avoided him like a snake and feared him like a tiger.

However, Li Shanchang had been with Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time after all. She was very familiar with this old guy. He did not have much ambition, and the worst sin he could commit was probably being soft-hearted.

Perhaps he was implicated because of shielding his family members, or perhaps he was shielding Hu Weiyong. In short, Li Shanchang himself was not capable of doing anything outrageous. He did not have that kind of character, and he knew his own weight very well. It was impossible for him to be so self-righteous as to think that he, a group of civil officials, could force Zhu Yuanzhang to do anything.

Secretly, Empress Ma still wanted to get something for Li Shanchang.

"Ziwei, I know you are a filial child, and I also know that you don't want to implicate your family because of your own affairs, but if you change your mind, granting you a marriage with the granddaughter of the Li family is actually a good thing."

Queen Ma carefully advised:

"Think about it, Duke Han is old and easily deceived. If he listens to the words of those close to him, he might do something in a moment of confusion."

"This is human nature, but I did not say it is right."

"If you can become close friends with his family, and have the status of grandson-in-law, wouldn't it be easier for you to talk?"

"To be honest, I know some of his things and have thought about giving him advice, but I just don't have the chance. He is not such a stubborn and courageous person. Sometimes, if he just needs a reminder, things might be completely different."

"Your Majesty naturally hopes that Duke Han will stand on his side. If you can persuade him to understand, it will be a great achievement... If there is anything in the future, I will be able to speak for you more easily. Do you understand what I mean?"

She said it cryptically, yet not so cryptically.

To put it bluntly, if Song Shen married Li Shanchang's granddaughter, he would have a status that could speak for itself. Even if Li Shanchang was deceived by his family and did something foolish, Song Shen could use this status to persuade him to come back. Although it sounds difficult and unnecessary, this is the result Zhu Yuanzhang hoped to see.

Song Shen recalled it carefully.

Historically, Li Shanchang escaped twice. The first time was the Hu Weiyong case in the 13th year of Hongwu. After the case, Zhu Yuanzhang did not pursue him as the person who promoted Hu Weiyong, and let it go on as usual; the second time was when his brother Li Cunyi got into trouble and was again involved in the Hu Weiyong case, but Zhu Yuanzhang still did not touch Li Shanchang, and even exiled Li Cunyi and threw him away, without beheading him.

As the saying goes, there is no such thing as three times the limit. The third time was when the Li family was ransacked and exterminated in the 23rd year of Hongwu. Zhu Yuanzhang must have been unable to tolerate it any longer.

Whether the events recorded in historical documents are true or false has yet to be determined, but judging from these three times, Zhu Yuanzhang at least gave several chances.

His death-free gold medal worked, and it was not like what later generations joked about, that the red-lettered iron certificate of the Hongwu Dynasty was equivalent to a death warrant. Perhaps it was because of this thing that Li Shanchang's sense of crisis was weakened, thinking that the red-lettered iron certificate could protect himself and his descendants from lifelong prosperity.

Queen Ma was telling the truth.

If I could make Li Shanchang stop in his tracks, then I would have accomplished a great feat.

If Li Shanchang stood on the emperor's side, Hu Weiyong, the current left chancellor of the Secretariat, might not have as much prestige as Li Shanchang, a retired old man.

Song Shen was silent now.

He was very confused.

It is said that wealth and honor are sought in danger. He also knew that if he could change Li Shanchang's position, the situation of the Hu Weiyong case would undergo a huge change. Such a huge butterfly effect might very well blow the Song family out of the center of the vortex.

But if he did not agree to this matter and chose not to get involved, and now he had already reported Zhu Mengyan's matter to Empress Ma in advance, there was a great possibility that he could escape.

How do I choose this thing?

"Your Majesty, I want to go back and think about it."

After a long while, Song Shen bowed and said:

"This is a marriage after all. I know you are considering it for me, but I am still young and I don't think clearly about many things. So, I still want to discuss it with my grandfather. Your Majesty, can you allow me to reply in a few days?"

This time, Queen Ma did not force him, but just nodded kindly.

"Good boy, your worries are normal. There is no rush. If you have thought it over, come back and reply to me."

"Your grandfather is not in Yingtian, so it's normal for you to feel uneasy. I don't blame you, I don't blame you."

(End of this chapter)