The Splendid Medical Concubine: The Journey of a Concubine

Chapter 433 Extra 24 Holding Hands

Under Pei Linye's burning eyes, Shen Zhi walked up to him.

"I..." Pei Linye was about to speak when he saw Shen Qianchen and Shen Qianhuang walking in hand in hand behind Shen Zhi.

Pei Linye was stunned for a moment, and then he smiled with his lips raised, his eyes bright, firm and calm, like a tall and tough birch tree in the wind.

After the four people met and greeted each other, Pei Linye called out warmly: "Azhi." He called her name and no longer called her cousin.

"I love you and sincerely seek to marry you. Are you willing to hold your hand and grow old with me?" Pei Linye openly proposed to Shen Zhi in front of the two sisters Shen Qianchen and Shen Qianhuang, and went straight to the point.

His expression was solemn and his eyes were sincere, cutting open his sincerity and displaying it nakedly in front of the eyes of those present.

He wanted both Shen Zhi and Shen Qianchen to know that he was sincere.

Shen Qianchen and Shen Qianhuang looked at each other silently. The two sisters looked at each other and smiled, very satisfied with Pei Linye's open attitude.

The two sisters did not speak. They would talk to Shen Zhi in private, but they would not persuade Shen Zhi in front of others. Shen Zhi had to figure it out for herself whether she would remarry or not.

The room was silent for a moment.

Pei Linye stared at Shen Zhi, and Shen Zhi also stared at Pei Linye, and slowly said: "I am married for the second time, and I have a son and two daughters."

Pei Linye said seriously: "I know."

Shen Zhi looked deeply at Pei Linye, who was only three steps away from her. Her heart was not as calm as she appeared.

She had never been the one to hesitate, and she didn't want to hang on to Pei Linye on purpose, but this time, she hesitated for a long time and couldn't make up her mind.

She looks forward and backward, fearing the wolf before and the tiger behind. Sometimes even she hates her hesitation. She feels that she is no longer like herself.

The last person to change her was her daughters.

She saw with her own eyes that Shen Qianhuang stepped out of the shadow of "that incident" step by step. In the past three months, Shen Qianhuang went from staying at home to going with Qiu Xing. She made new friends and a smile appeared on her face, giving her a new look.

Also, Shen Qianchen told himself time and time again to follow his heart and not worry about her.

Her two daughters are far stronger and braver than she is. If she were in the same situation as they were, there would be no way she could do better than them.

Both of them have emerged from the haze of the past with strength, but she, the mother, is a generation older than them, stuck in her ways, and being mediocre.

Many times, it only takes a moment to "figure it out."

Her intention had actually been clear for a long time. If she didn't want to, she could have sternly refused and not given any hope to Pei Linye. It was because she cared in her heart that she would care about some unreasonable things.

Shen Zhi took a step forward, suddenly stretched out her right hand, took Pei Linye's hand, and held it tightly.

The two people's fingers were intertwined, palms touching.

She didn't say anything, but both Pei Linye and the sisters Shen Qianchen and Shen Qianhuang could understand Shen Zhi's thoughts -

Shen Zhi agreed!

In an instant, Pei Linye's eyes suddenly lit up, his pupils glowed with unusually bright light, and he was ecstatic.

His thin lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't say it, as if he was afraid that words would break this sweet dream.

Shen Qianchen tugged on Shen Qianhuang's sleeve and winked at her playfully.

Shen Qianhuang was also smiling, that smile was so pure, bright and brilliant.

Both sisters were happy for their mother.

Outside the hall, Mrs. Mu Guogong appeared under the eaves at some point. She also saw this scene and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Aunt Xu kept saying: "Great, great!" She was also very happy, tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, and she wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

Immediately, Mrs. Mu Guogong couldn't help but look at Shen Qianchen and made sure that Shen Qianchen was really happy. She felt relieved, but she was still worried about what those boring censors would do with this matter. Women's virtues tell the story.

Mrs. Mu Guogong calmed down and stopped thinking about these troublesome things.

No matter what, Mrs. Mu Guogong, as a mother, naturally feels sorry for her daughter. The eldest daughter, Shen Zhi, is only in her early thirties. Life is still very long. Shen Qianhuang will eventually get married, and Shen Yunmu will also get married. Yes, children cannot accompany Shen Zhi for a lifetime. Mrs. Mu Guogong still hopes that Shen Zhi can have a companion to grow old with, and hopes that her daughter can be happy for the rest of her life and not be alone for the rest of her life.

Besides, Pei Linye is really good. There is nothing wrong with his appearance, character, and temperament.

The key is that he is a caring person.

This is also the reason why Mrs. Mu Guogong wants to facilitate this marriage from the bottom of her heart.

She just wants her eldest daughter to find a loving husband.

"..." Shen Zhi's cheeks gradually turned a faint blush.

At first, she was embarrassed to tell Pei Linye, so she answered Pei Linye with a handshake, which represented holding her son's hand and growing old together with him.

But now that the two of them had held hands for a long time, she felt that this action was a bit too intimate, especially since the two daughters were still there.

She wanted to take her hand back, but Pei Linye held her hand tightly and refused to let go. At this time, Shen Qianchen said with a smile: "Uncle Pei, when do you plan to hold a happy event?"

"Hurry up and invite the matchmaker to your door." Shen Qianhuang joked in harmony with her.

Of course, Pei Linye's visit today cannot be regarded as a formal engagement. For families like the Pei family and the Shen family, when conducting marriages, they either ask a female family member of a relative or an old acquaintance to act as a matchmaker, or ask an official mediator to propose marriage to the woman's family. This is considered a formal marriage proposal.

Pei Linye is also in his thirties. He is usually calm and even known as a cold smiling tiger, but now his handsome wheat-colored face shows a trace of rare fear.

He shook Shen Zhi's hand again, his palms sweating due to nervousness. He rubbed the back of her hand with his fingertips fondly, then let go and said, "I'm going to find a matchmaker today!"

Before he finished speaking, he ran away as fast as a frizzy boy.

By the time Shen Zhi, Shen Qianchen and the others came to their senses, they had already run away.

Shen Zhi: "..."

Shen Qianchen: "..."

Shen Qianhuang: "..."

After being stunned for a short time, Shen Zhi burst into laughter.

Her smile was so bright and joyful, a joyful smile that came from the heart, as bright as the scorching sun in June in summer, without a trace of haze.

At this moment, Shen Zhi was as beautiful as a rose blooming freely.

Even Mrs. Mu Guogong was dumbfounded. It had been several years since she had seen her eldest daughter smile like this. It was as if her edge and happiness had been worn away bit by bit during her marriage to Chu Lingxiao.

Shen Qianchen looked at Shen Zhi who was smiling, and the corners of his lips curled up, thinking this was good.

It was hard enough for Shen Zhi to be trapped in the Chu family for the best fifteen years of her life. In her previous life, she died in the Shen family and completely missed Pei Linye. She might even die without knowing that Pei Linye had been waiting for her.

In this life, perhaps God showed mercy and made up for Shen Zhi and Pei Linye.

How good!

Shen Qianchen's eyes were slightly dazed, and he felt that the events of his previous life had become very far away.

Mrs. Mu Guogong cleared her throat and said: "Azhi, I will send someone to fetch Brother Mu later. You and Sister Huang will also stay in the mansion tonight. Don't leave."

Mrs. Mu Guogong was so happy that she smiled so much that her eyes narrowed into windproof ears. She sent people to prepare lunch, and then sent people to tell Duke Mu and his son the good news. She was also thinking about what to do for her eldest daughter. For marriage, prepare dowry. Thinking of this, Mrs. Mu Guogong felt that there were too many things to do.

This good news spread throughout the entire Duke Mu's mansion in the blink of an eye.

An hour later, the official media hired by Pei Linye went to the house to propose marriage. So, the whole capital knew that the queen's biological mother was going to remarry. It was like a stone that stirred up a thousand waves.

At that time, most people were influenced by some Confucian thoughts on women's virtues, which emphasized the superiority of men and the inferiority of women, and advocated that women should stay together. There were many places in Daqi that were proud of chastity memorials. They felt that it was really humiliating for Shen Zhi to divorce first and then remarry. Gentle.

Early the next morning, the censor impeached the queen's biological mother for being unruly, frivolous, etc. Shen Zhi was even mentioned for disrespecting her mother-in-law in her previous marriage.

After the censor finished recounting Shen Zhi's five major crimes, the whole court fell silent.

The courtiers had different expressions, some were non-committal, some were staring at the tips of their shoes with lowered eyebrows, and some officials were looking at the censor with indescribable eyes, thinking that this man had a wooden head, and some even raised their heads quietly. Go take a look at Gu Jue in front of you.

Gu Jue tapped the armrest of the dragon chair twice with one hand and asked two questions: "Wang Yushi, do you know how many young men Daqi has lost due to wars in the past five years? Daqi's population has decreased. How many?"

Wang Yushi: “…”

Wang Yushi belonged to neither the Ministry of War nor the Ministry of Household Affairs. He was confused about these two questions and could only reply stiffly: "I don't know."

So Gu Jue asked the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Minister of Hubu to answer. The two ministers stood up one after another and answered respectfully:

"In the past five years, more than 200,000 soldiers have died in various parts of Daqi."

"The population of Daqi decreased by five million."

The figures reported by the two ministers shocked the civil and military officials of the entire court. When the late Emperor Gu Lang ascended the throne, the Qi Dynasty still had a population of about 40 million. In just a few years, five million people disappeared.

Gu Jue continued: "The imperial court encourages widows to remarry, and encourages men and women to get married and have children. As the queen's biological mother, Shen Zhi sets an example and responds to the imperial court's call. She should be rewarded and named Mrs. Anguo!"

Manchao was in an uproar again.

In the Great Qi Dynasty, in addition to titles such as princess, princess, and county lord, women generally regarded their husbands as the most noble of their wives and relied on the titles obtained by their husbands. For example, Shen Zhi used to be the wife of the Marquis of Yongding.

In the history of the Qi Dynasty for more than a hundred years, there were only two people who were awarded the title of "Mrs. Anguo". One was Mrs. Liang who went to the front line as her husband and defeated the enemy. The other was the wife of Nie Shicong, the first minister fifty years ago. During Mrs. Nie's lifetime, He established dozens of charity halls in Daqi, rescued countless abandoned orphans, and was named Mrs. Anguo by the then Empress Dowager Zhao.

Shen Zhi is the third Mrs. Anguo.

Wang Yushi: "..."

Wang Yushi's face looked extremely ugly, turning green and white at one time.

He impeached Shen Zhi for being unruly and frivolous, but the new emperor gave Shen Zhi the title of Mrs. Anguo in public. This was too arbitrary.

Wang Yushi felt the mocking gazes of the people around him piercing him like needles.

"emperor…"

Wang Yushi wanted to say more, but Gu Jue was impatient to listen and asked directly: "Do you think the imperial decree is unreasonable?"

Wang Yushi also knew that the new emperor was displeased, but he was already riding a tiger and could only bite the bullet and said: "It is unchaste for a widow to remarry."

"What about the young men that Daqi has lost?" Gu Jue asked immediately.

Wang Yushi replied seriously: "Your Majesty, I can encourage each household to have more children and reduce taxes appropriately; women of suitable age must get married, otherwise they will be fined silver or the court will arrange a marriage."

Wang Yushi really thinks so. If there is a shortage of people, then we should encourage more children and early marriages and early childbearing. Why encourage widows to remarry? Isn't this corrupting the trend? !

Everyone else was silent, quietly watching the showdown between king and minister.

Gu Jue's slender fingers tapped on the armrest twice more. He neither agreed nor objected, but just asked again: "How many children will one family have?"

Wang Yushi pondered for a moment and thought that most ordinary people's families had five or six children, so he said: "It is better to have more than seven."

People at that time believed that having more children would bring happiness, and those who did not dare to have more children were generally afraid that they would not be able to support them. As long as the court gave the people tax exemptions and preached that it is good to have more children and raise more children, in five years, the population of Daqi would not be able to return to the level of five years. The previous peak will also be greatly improved.

Wang Yushi had already thought about whether to draft a new document after the next court meeting, detailing the terms of this decree.

The next moment, Gu Jue nodded and said, "Okay."

Wang Yushi was overjoyed and tried hard to suppress the corners of his lips that were about to curl up, thinking that the new emperor was convinced by his advice and felt that he had made a piece of advice that was beneficial to the country and the people.

Just as he was about to thank him, Gu Jue said calmly: "How many children does Wang Aiqing have in his family?"

Wang Yushi: "..."

Wang Yushi was stunned and had not yet reacted, but Gu Jue did not give him a chance to speak again and said with a smile: "Then Wang Aiqing should go back to have a baby first. Yu Shi is an official, and he should set an example for the people. The people have to give birth." Seven, you should at least double the number and wait until you have fourteen."

"There is no need to pick up the errands for the time being, so as not to disturb your childbirth."

Gu Jue said shocking words, but his expression and tone were understated. The meaning was very clear. It was tantamount to giving away Wang Yushi's official position and telling him not to come to work until he had given birth to fourteen children.

Wang Yushi's eyes widened and he couldn't believe his ears. He almost pinched his thigh to see if he was dreaming.

“…”

“…”

“…”

There was silence in Jinluan Hall again.

All civil and military officials in the court looked at Wang Yushi with strange expressions.

Although they didn't know how many children Wang Yushi had in his family, most of them were upright officials and straight ministers, and they didn't keep too many concubines. They had the impression that the marriage ceremony in Wang Yushi's family happened ten years ago, and it seemed that Wang Yushi's family was married at that time. The third son married.

Wang Yushi is already in his fifties, and he looks very frail. If he really has a child at this age, he will be told that he will have children when he is old. Regardless of whether he could still have children at his age, if he had to give birth to fourteen, he would probably lose all the royal family.

Thinking of this, the eyes of everyone looking at Wang Yushi became more complicated, with sympathy, sigh, and emotion all at once, and they felt that this person was not very smooth in his actions.

If the queen's mother remarries, even if Wang Yushi feels it is inappropriate, he can report it to the new emperor privately and test the new emperor's intentions first. There is no need to say it in public at the Jinluan Palace.

Many courtiers secretly exchanged glances and knew what was going on.

It seems that the new emperor is optimistic about the marriage between Pei Linye and Shen Zhi. The man is the commander of the Jinyi Guard and Gu Jue's confidant, and the woman is the queen's biological mother. I am afraid that Gu Jue is also willing to let Pei Linye become "one of his own".

Several cabinet elders thought more, especially Xu Qian, the Minister of Household Affairs.

In the past few years, the population of Daqi has dropped sharply due to various wars. Xu Qian knew it best and mentioned it to the late emperor. However, the late emperor felt that the declining population was basically in the north, northwest and northeast. , did not take it seriously, but emphasized that the population of Beijing and Jizhou had grown.

Xu Qian also discussed this issue privately with Zhang Shoufu, Yang Xuanshan and others, because the customs in many places in Daqi were too pedantic. Although the population was declining sharply, they still insisted on requiring women who lost their husbands due to the war to remain chaste. , there are even young women who guard the widows before they have married, insisting that the women are not allowed to remarry.

The imperial court has repeatedly issued decrees to encourage widows to remarry, but there are always some old-fashioned people like Wang Yushi who jump out and say that they will live forever, that the husband will die and the son will be the son, etc. It seems that women remarry to dig out their power. Like ancestral graves.

Therefore, the implementation of these decrees was not smooth.

(End of chapter)