A Thousand Hills

Chapter 317

The Fifth Prince believed that the most correct thing in his life was to marry the right wife.

The fifth prince and his wife were discussing the succession of the Minister of Criminal Affairs, and the eldest prince hurriedly entered the palace to announce the good news to his old lady. When Concubine Zhao heard that His Majesty ordered the Ministry of Industry to overhaul the Fengyi Palace next year, she immediately beamed with joy. Holding his son's hand again and again, he asked, "But really?"

"It can be false, my son heard it in front of the emperor." The eldest prince was also beaming, and said to his mother, "Mother and concubine just wait, busy at the end of the year, and the Ministry of Industry will not be free, and this It's freezing cold, and it's not the time to repair the house. However, the matter is settled. I will remind you again in the spring of next year, and the work will start."

Concubine Zhao Guifei put her hands together, her face was full of joy, a few glistening tears welled up from the corners of her eyes, after reciting back to the Buddha, she wiped her tears with a handkerchief and said, "I never thought I would have such a blessing in my life." She praised her son, "Everyone It's my son who strives."

The eldest prince looked like a manly man, and said, "What does the concubine mother say? If the son is not the mother, who is the concubine?"

Concubine Zhao felt that it was worth closing her eyes now that she had this son in her life.The mother and son had a heart-to-heart talk, and when the eldest prince saw that it was getting late, he asked his mother to rest and take care of himself, and then he said goodbye and left the palace.

Knowing that the Fengyi Palace was going to be repaired, Concubine Zhao was cured of her illness without taking medicine, she stood up and said, "There are many things to do during this festival, and at the age of the Empress Dowager, I can't ask her to come out to support her. Concubine Xie is a delicate and noble person, I will not bear to bear all the weight on her shoulders, I just have to endure the illness and force myself." Seeing her son leave the palace, Concubine Zhao recovered from her illness.

The direction of the wind in the imperial capital is so strange. As soon as the Fengyi Palace was repaired, everyone felt that Concubine Zhao was the next in line.

Therefore, the gifts received by the First Prince this year are indescribably nourishing.

Xiao Tang was well-informed, and said to the Fifth Prince, "Everyone has added [-]% to the annual gifts sent to the First Prince's Mansion."

Fifth Prince:  …

Not only were many small and medium officials frenzied in sending new year gifts to the First Prince's Mansion, but the Fifth Prince also enjoyed a few "elder brother's care" from the First Prince recently, which made the Fifth Prince get goosebumps all over his body.

It was here that Xie Moru, and the third concubine came to inquire whether the New Year gifts for the eldest prince's residence should be thicker.I don't know when, Xie Moru became the backbone of the sister-in-law, everyone would come to her to discuss any difficult things.Otherwise, Mrs. Chu is worthy of being a couple with the third prince, a pair of exquisite glass beads, no one can offend, and they will not resist anything, especially when there is something difficult to decide, and they need to find someone to support them.Xie Moru, on the contrary, she is born to make up her own mind and make decisions, she doesn't care what others do, she has a very right mind.Now that this happened, Mrs. Chu invited the fourth concubine and the sixth concubine to come together, Xie Moru said, "There is no difference between the previous year and this year, just follow the usual practice."

Xie Moru said so, and the Chu family and the four princes and concubines followed suit.

On the contrary, the eldest prince saw that others gave him thicker annual gifts, but the annual gifts of his younger brothers were still the same as usual, so he couldn't help muttering, "In the past, everyone was so smart, why are they so confused now?" Get up." The First Prince felt that even though the New Year ceremony given to him could not be compared with the East Palace, of course, it was not that the First Prince felt that he was not compared to the East Palace, but rather, the status of the East Palace.But right now, his mother and concubine are about to become a queen, and he will soon be the eldest brother, so he can no longer follow the example of previous years.These younger brothers are really, one is worse than the other.

The eldest concubine is shrewd, she guessed it right away, and said, "The third younger siblings are always very alert, but she never offends anyone, this matter is definitely not her idea, what's the matter with the fourth younger siblings and sixth younger siblings?" They all listen to the fifth sibling, so it must be the fifth sibling's idea."

The eldest prince snorted and said, "The fifth son is afraid of his wife!"

However, the younger brothers and sisters will be given the annual gifts as in previous years, even if the eldest prince and his wife are not happy, they can't pick this reason.

After Zhao Guifei heard about this, she said to the eldest prince, "Be safe now, and we'll talk about it when the big things are settled." As long as she becomes a queen, is she afraid that she won't be able to deal with the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law Concubine Su and Xie Moru?She is not useless like Queen Mother Hu.

On the contrary, Mrs. Yongding Hou was always cautious, and she persuaded her daughter privately, "One day's decree is not made, and one day's affairs are not settled. The empress can just be as she used to be, even if someone flatters her, don't take it seriously."

The eldest prince and concubine said, "In the past, I always said that this matter would not be possible, but unexpectedly it did, and it is also the fate of my concubine mother. Don't worry, mother, I know. Besides, mother doesn't know me, so she is a frivolous person." I feel that what my mother said is reasonable, although I feel that Xie Moru will not give her family face, but her mother-in-law has become a queen, and her husband is a high-minded person. There is still a long way to go in the future, and it is not easy to offend several princes government.Thinking this way, the eldest princess concubine accepted her mother seriously, and kept her for lunch.

Mrs. Yongding Hou was also busy during the new year, so she didn't stay for dinner, so she took her daughter-in-law home.

In the evening, Mrs. Yongding Hou said to her husband, "I didn't expect Mistress Zhao to be so lucky. Before, I thought that Empress Concubine Su should be the queen."

Marquis Yongding said lightly, "Don't listen to outsiders talking nonsense, how do you know it's not Concubine Su?"

Mrs. Yongdinghou hurriedly said, "Needless to say, half of the people in the next city now know that Lady Zhao is going to be established!"

Marquis Yongding sipped hot tea and said, "Have you seen the imperial decree?"

"Doesn't this mean that Fengyi Palace will be built next year?"

"Whoever establishes a queen must repair the Fengyi Palace, which just means that your majesty will definitely become a queen." Marquis Yongding didn't want to talk too much about this matter, let alone see the eldest prince becoming a son-in-law, the two have different tempers.The eldest prince colluded with the court to ask his own mother, Concubine Zhao, to be his queen, but the Marquis of Yongding never said a word for Concubine Zhao. For this reason, Weng and his son-in-law were also indifferent.Marquis Yongding said to his old wife, "The boy from the Tang family is getting married, let's all go to have a wedding banquet. I have worked with Tang Shangshu in Fujian for five or six years, so there is nothing special to congratulate."

"I still don't know." Mrs. Yongding Hou said with a smile, "Speaking of which, the Tang family's marriage is really good."

Yongding Hou nodded, "It's not bad."

The marriage is imminent, and Xiao Tang, the groom, is naturally busy.

On the contrary, two things happened one after another in the court. One was the passing away of Honglu Siqing. As for the work, he was already planning to make him retire, but the old Siqing died first.Emperor Mu Yuan immediately ordered Xie Bai to return to the court to serve as the minister of Honglu Temple.The second matter that the Fifth Prince had already discussed with Xie Moru was the appointment of Jiang Shilang from the Ministry of Punishment.Emperor Mu Yuan also agreed, but he hadn't figured out who would replace the servant of the Ministry of Punishment.

The eldest prince had his own ideas and wanted his in-laws and uncle's cousin Zhao Ji to be the Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. Zhao Ji was originally a doctor of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and being promoted to the position of Minister of Criminal Justice was a legitimate promotion.On the part of the prince, he asked another Fang Langzhong, after the fifth prince discussed with Li Jiujiang, he pushed out Su Buyu.Among the three candidates, the fifth prince won in the end.Even Zhao Ji and Fang Langzhong were not promoted, but because Su Buyu was originally the governor, he was transferred to the Minister of Punishment, and his official position was higher than them, so they had nothing to say.

The first prince then followed Xie Bai and Su Buyu's vacant positions from the third-rank Shanxi-Gansu government and the third-rank governor. Of course, not only the first prince has sharp eyes, but Donggong's hands are faster, and the two sides are fighting again However, the fifth prince never reached out.

Mrs. Xie knew that her second son was going to be transferred back to the imperial capital, and that Aunt Xie's annual gift was coming. Every year there must be a share for Xie Moru, so Mrs. Xie brought them to Xie Moru, saying that Xie Bo was about to return to the imperial capital. thing.Mrs. Xie couldn't suppress her joy, her eyes were reddish, and she said, "I couldn't come back years ago, but this time I will stay in the imperial capital for a long time." Her heart was full of joy.

Xie Mo asked Mrs. Xie, "I wonder if the old lady is okay in Beichang Mansion?"

Mrs. Xie said, "Beichang mansion is a place that people in the imperial capital say no one likes to go to, but it is actually a good place. Not to mention the precious medicinal materials such as deer husk and ginseng, even the skin of the northern face is very popular in the imperial capital. Both my aunt and my aunt are good. At first, your grandfather asked if your aunt would be willing to transfer to the south to work. Although you can't go back to Fujian, there are still vacancies in Huguang, but your aunt is willing to stay in Beichang Mansion."

Xie Moru said, "My aunt is a down-to-earth person."

Mrs. Xie thought so deeply, and her second grandson, Xie Lan Kaichun, was going to take a job in Beichang Mansion. In the future, she was afraid that she would have to take care of her aunt, aunt, and aunt, and she felt more and more that the aunt was reliable.

Xie Moru asked which gentleman gave the New Year's gift, this is the cleverness of the Yu family, Aunt Yu would send people to the imperial capital every year to give the New Year's gift, but not only the manager, but also all the confidants will come .After all, management has limited knowledge, and many things are not as far-sighted as staff.Mrs. Xie said, "In the past few years, my aunt has always sent Mr. Min here, and this year is also Mr. Min."

Xie Moru said, "If Mr. Min is free, why don't you come and see me tomorrow."

Xie Moru suddenly asked to see Mr. Min, although Mrs. Xie was a little puzzled, she agreed, thinking that Xie Moru might have something to do.

Mr. Min has been with Aunt Yu for many years, so it goes without saying that he is loyal and reliable, otherwise, the Yu family wouldn't be able to send him all the way here.Aunt Yu is the governor of Beichang Mansion, and Mr. Min is also a big and small figure in Beichang Mansion, but this is the first time seeing Wangfei and Empress.Mrs. Xie ordered him to go to the palace to pay her respects, but Mr. Min really couldn't figure it out. The princess called him over and didn't know what was going on.However, I still sent the servant to ask for several barrels of hot water. Mr. Min soaked in a hot bath and drank the fragrance of chicken tongue for a long time, and went to the prince's mansion early the next day.

Xie Moru first asked Mrs. Yu and Mrs. Yu about her health before talking about Beichang Mansion and said, "I heard from my aunt that it is a place with strong folk customs."

Mr. Min is a middle-aged man in his forties. Compared with ordinary literati, he looks a little more refined. He wears a jade blue cotton robe. There are [-] troops stationed. Furthermore, the weather in Beichang Mansion is severe, especially in winter. To tell you the truth, it starts to snow in September and October. Furthermore, the land is sparsely populated, the mountains are lush, and there are many wild animals. The local men Knowing how to hunt, it is obvious that the folk customs are more sturdy."

Xie Moru asked, "I heard that there are occasional Western barbarians harassing the border."

"Not only the Western barbarians, but also the Beiliang people. Most of them are first-class merchants and bandits, and some are even desperadoes. They go to the borders where no one cares about them, fight bravely, and live in exile."

Xie Moru asked, "Are these situations serious?"

Mr. Min pondered for a moment. Mr. Min also knew a little about the situation in the imperial capital. The Yu family and the Xie family were originally related by marriage. What's more, the mistress of the family was the aunt of Princess Xie's direct relative. , the relationship between the two is very good.Concubine Xie asked, Mr. Min didn't hold anything back, and he didn't even hide it. He said, "People like this can't be killed. Once we attack, they will hide in the borders of Ximan or Beiliang. Withdraw the army, and they will Then I came back again. There are always a few cases every year, but it’s not serious.”

Mr. Min looked at Xie Moru, and said, "Your Majesty, you mean..." Princess Xie would never ask him about the security issues on the Beichang border, and Mr. Min wondered if Xie Moru had any inside information.

Xie Moru waved his hand, "Because I'm not sure, I'll ask you, my aunt has been in Beichang Mansion for many years, so there is nothing wrong with being careful."

Mr. Min's heart trembled, "The grass people will go back to Beichang right now."

Xie Moru said, "It's not necessarily accurate, it's cold now, sir, I'd better go back after the Chinese New Year."

Mr. Min said, "Compared to Beichang, the imperial capital is really not colder. The grassroots are used to coming and going, so there is no need to delay. Nothing is a blessing. If something really happens, the grasslanders will be able to make the adults take precautions in a day. day."

Xie Moru didn't stay with Mr. Min much.

Mr. Min resigned from the palace, thought about the meaning of Xie Wangfu's words, and suddenly thought, Princess Xie is in her early thirties, she looks really young.After thinking about the maintenance of Prince Xie's mansion, Mr. Min arrived at Xie's house, discussed with Shangshu Xie, and returned to Beichang mansion overnight.

Xie Moru also told the fifth prince what he said to Mr. Min, and the fifth prince said, "There is no memorial from Beichang at the moment, so Governor Yu should pay more attention."

There are a lot of things in the next year, Xiao Tang got married, the fifth prince and Xie Moru did not come in person, but sent Da Lang and a few to have fun, San Lang used all the flowers in the bridal chamber that could not be used in the grandson's wedding to Xiao Tang When they got married, Xiao Tang was annoyed and said that Saburo was dishonest and delayed his birth of a son.These words made the upper class of the imperial capital laugh until the end of the year, saying that Tang Jiawulang was a real person, and that Tie Yushi had found a real uncle for his daughter.

Xiao Tang didn't care what others said, he had a sweet little life.

After Xiao Tang's big wedding, after the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth to ancestors, it will be a year in a blink of an eye.Years ago, Emperor Mu Yuan finally arranged marriages for the fifth daughter and the seventh son. The fifth princess refers to Qin Xing, the grandson of Qin Chuan, Minister of the Wedding Department, and the seventh prince chooses Han, the daughter of the governor of Huguang, as his wife.

This is also another two happy events before the year.

The New Year's Eve is going to be a great one, and Concubine Zhao is doing her part. No one among the concubines dares to compete with her. Even Queen Mother Hu murmured to her daughter, "Your imperial brother's vision is just like this. According to Yi Ai's family, Instead of setting up the Zhao family, it is better to establish the Xie family." She looked at Concubine Xie again pleasing to the eye.

Princess Wenkang said, "Mother, why bother to do this, no matter who you are, you must honor you."

No matter immediately, it is not the Hu family.Empress Dowager Hu didn't care about the issue of establishing a queen at all.

Concubine Su, on the other hand, had a cough that didn't improve. Doctor Dou, who was judged by the imperial hospital, said it was a chronic illness, and it might get better when the spring warms.Sure enough, after the new year, Concubine Su's cough improved.The fifth prince heaved a sigh of relief. After the first month of the month, the Su family was still thinking about sending out a few offerings from the palace staff. On the day when the dragon raised its head, the fifth prince accompanied Xie Moru to Xishan Temple to perform a ceremony for the Fang family. .

There was a day off in the middle of the second lunar month, when the fifth prince and Xie Moru came out from Xishan Temple, they encountered the carriage of Li Xiangfu from the Ministry of Punishment, so they couldn't help saying hello.Mrs. Li Xiang learned that it was the fifth prince and his wife, and said to her husband in the car, "The fifth prince and the concubine have a deep relationship. I heard that as long as the fifth prince is here, he will accompany Princess Xie to the temple every year on the day when the dragon raises his head. Mrs. Wei Fang's family is doing things."

Hearing what the old wife said, Li Xiangdong was very worried.I also think that His Majesty left Mrs. Wei at the beginning, and now there is Xie Moru, the blood of the assistant saint is endless, I am afraid that one day...

Xie Moru didn't know that Li Xiang was thinking of cutting off the bloodline, but Su Fangfei's family came to see him.The fifth prince brought this family out of the secret prison last winter, and the previous official positions were irrelevant. If the family hadn't been able to leave when they came out, the fifth prince would have sent their family back to their hometown.Now it's almost the same as being worthy of support, so please go to the house to pay your respects.

The fifth prince didn't see them, so he asked them to pay five hundred silver from the account and sent them back to their hometown.

On the same day, the fifth prince talked to Dalang about the Su family again, and taught Dalang, "This family is a fool, let's live in peace and contentment. If they are really promoted to high positions, they will fall down and die. If future generations If you are promising, you can also take scientific examinations, if your qualifications are mediocre, just let nature take its course."

Da Lang thanked his father for his help. Although he is young, he is not a holy father. He sighed when he thought of his parents, "I don't know how to grow a brain. It hurts others and ourselves."

As soon as spring began, the Ministry of Industry began to overhaul Fengyi Palace.

Although this is an errand from the Ministry of Industry, the eldest prince often goes over to be a supervisor, which only annoys the fourth prince.The birth of the eldest prince is plausible, "The place where the queen mother lives, must not be sloppy. Fourth brother, you are busy, so I will take a look at it for you."

The fourth prince really annoyed his elder brother to death, and complained to the fifth younger brother, "It's better to ask the elder brother to take this job."

In addition to overhauling Fengyi Palace, Xie Moru is here to prepare for Xie Bai and Su Buyu to return to the imperial capital. One is his second uncle, and Su Buyu also has old friendships. He even helped the fifth prince write a book "Purple Gold Record", Xie Moru is still looking forward to the two returning to the imperial capital.

However, Xie Moru did not expect Su Buyu to have such a great reputation among the people, Xiao Tang asked the fifth prince, "I heard that Su Buyu is very beautiful."

The Fifth Prince said, "You are not as many as Xiao Tang."

Xiao Tang went happily.

The fifth prince said, "I only know that Su Buyu was famous when he was young, but unexpectedly, many years later, there are still people who remember him."

Not only some people remember Su Caizi, but many people remember Su Caizi, okay?
Xie Bai and Princess Yi'an returned to the imperial capital one step ahead of Su Buyu, and because Princess Yi'an was a princess, there was quite a lot of ostentation.This is the power of the princess.Su Buyu was different. Su Buyu was a third-rank governor outside, and the Emperor Hui served as a third-rank servant. Wherever you say, they are all middle-rank officials.Coupled with the low-key family style of the Su family, Su Buyu was quite low-key when he returned to the emperor.

But, Su Buyu's fame can't stand it!

As soon as Su Buyu entered the imperial capital, countless boys and girls lined up on both sides of the imperial capital to welcome him. However, some middle-aged and elderly people heard that Su Talent had returned, so they had to come out to take a look, not to mention the sachets thrown at Su Buyu, Handkerchiefs, purses, silk flowers, and jade pendants and gold hairpins thrown by big households directly caused a massive siege on Suzaku Street, and later officers and soldiers from the imperial capital had to be dispatched to maintain order.As for Su Caizi, he entered the imperial capital sideways, and a big grapefruit flew out of nowhere, smashing Su Caizi's forehead into a big bag.

This is smashing, don't mention how relieved it is.

You know, as many people like Su Caizi, there are as many people who hate him.Especially when the wife and daughter at home go on and on about Su Caizi talking endlessly, which man would be happy.Li Jiujiang said, "Fortunately, it was a grapefruit that fell over. If it was a brick, you would be dead now." At that time, it was not a person who entered the punishment department, but a corpse.

Su Buyu sighed, twitched three strands of beard, and said, "I thought, I haven't been back for many years, and now I'm old and decrepit. I didn't expect so many people to come out to see me." As he said, Su Without saying a word, he looked at the mustache on Li Jiujiang's lips, and said, "Such beards are popular in the imperial capital now!" He has been away for a long time, and he doesn't understand that the imperial capital is popular.

Li Jiujiang said, "Well, everyone likes to trim such beards recently."

So, Su Buyu changed his bearded appearance before going to see His Majesty in the palace.When Emperor Mu Yuan saw the green bump on his forehead, he couldn't help asking. After knowing the cause and effect, he laughed and said, "It's a pity that you have already married a wife, and my princess has also promised to go out. Otherwise, if there is a sixth princess, I will definitely marry you." Call you to be your son-in-law."

These words were naturally a joke, Su Buyu smiled coyly, solemnly, and listened to His Majesty's orders.

In spring and March, the trial of Nan'an Hou's poisoning case officially started.

(End of this chapter)