Bright Spring

Xue Yan became an official in the Hongwu period. Until the Jianwen year, he used to go to the "Jingnan Army" as an imperial envoy to pretend to negotiate a peace, hoping to delay the Jingnan army's southward march and buy time for Qin Wang's army.Unexpectedly, after Xue Yan saw the Jingnan army's formation, he went back and persuaded Emperor Jianwen to sincerely seek peace and try to rule by drawing the river, so he was excluded by Jianwen's emperor and ministers.Later, when the Jingnan army entered the city, Xue Yan brought together the relationship between the founding hero Wuding Hou Guo's family and Zhu Di's family, and continued to serve as an official in the Yongle Dynasty.

In the years of Hongxi and Wude, because Xue Yan was the matchmaker between Zhu Gaoxu and Guo Wei, he changed from a minister of the Hongxi Dynasty to a senior official of the Wude Dynasty.

In the past few years, due to the change of the throne and the turmoil within the Zhu family, many officials were forced to switch to the front.Compared with the scholarly spirit of people like Hu Guang, Xue Yan is more tactful and knowledgeable about current affairs.Hu Guang made a mess all over, and Xue Yan's situation was much better.Moreover, Xue Yan was still a prisoner in Annan, and his reputation is still not bad.

Xue Yan's sophistication lies in that he knows who to stand with, but he doesn't make a bad face.

Just like just now, he must have clearly understood that when the "Battle of Liaodong" was discussed, the emperor was the main combatant; but he did not follow the emperor's lead indefinitely, but thought of reasonable reasons to support the war, and expressed his proposition very generously.

The same is true of Xue Yan's propositions on the "Wu De New Deal". He may not necessarily think that the New Deal is good; but because the emperor supports the New Deal, Xue Yan does not seem to let himself have the mentality to resist the New Deal.

What's more, Xue Yan had a deep friendship with Wuding Marquis Guo Ying back then, and is the matchmaker of the current emperor and empress, so his relationship with the royal family is even stronger...

The Imperial Gate Audition soon came to an end.The civil and military officials had many opinions, and Zhu Gaoxu left Fengtianmen without expressing his opinion.

The crowd surrounded Luan and drove through the Wulou to the gate of Rouyi Hall.Most of the attendants stopped outside the door, Zhu Gaoxu got out of the car and walked, leading a few people inside, the eunuch beside him was Wang Gui.

After entering the door, Zhu Gaoxu walked along the gallery to the main hall.He stopped on the eaves at the entrance of the main hall, watched the scenery for a while, and then suddenly said: "Xue Yan should be good at judging cases."

Wang Gui hurriedly echoed, "There are a few big cases that were handled by Xue Butang. The servants and servants have heard that Xue Butang is good at resolving doubtful cases among all the princes in the court."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said: "Those smuggled generals in the capital of Liaodong are complicated. Ordinary people go to investigate, I am afraid that they will not be able to find out, and they will not be able to move people. Xue Yan may be competent."

Wang Gui bowed and said: "When the maidservant saw Xue Butang, she told him what the emperor wanted."

Zhu Gaoxu made a sound, then turned and walked into the main hall.

The "Battle of Liaodong" still needs to be prepared for a long time, and it has just begun at this time; the matter of changing the Beiping chief envoy to Beizhili and reforming the supply of the nine borders is also very complicated.But Zhu Gaoxu didn't have anything to worry about, he had decided the candidate in his heart in advance, and the rest was just a step-by-step process.

It rained intermittently for the past few days, and then cleared up for two days.

A few days ago, Zhu Gaoxu had promised Guo Wei that he would take the concubines to the old mansion to enjoy the peonies.He roughly straightened out the affairs in the court, and when he remembered this, he sent someone to the old mansion to have a look, and said that the peonies were in full bloom.Zhu Gaoxu has confirmed the date and is going to accompany his family members to the old mansion to enjoy the flowers.

When Zhu Gaoxu told Guo Wei, she seemed surprised, and said, "I thought the Holy Majesty had forgotten it."Her movements also became brisk, and after dinner, she took Zhu Gaoxu to help her choose the dress she wore on the day of viewing the flowers.Zhu Gaoxu watched her turn around in front of him, and suddenly felt that she seemed to return to the way she just got married more than ten years ago.

Guo Wei had been busy for a while, and probably suddenly remembered what the scriptures taught her, so she calmed down for a while, carefully persuading: "If the Holy Majesty has more important matters, you should put them first."

Zhu Gaoxu immediately shook his head with a smile, he felt that they were not like a couple, maybe because of their unusual identities, or because they couldn't see each other every day.

Guo Wei blushed and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhu Gaoxu said: "It's nothing, but we are not outsiders, so we don't need to be so deliberate. Besides, you are also very important. In history, there are kings who ignore the government and only care about the harem, and there are also ruthless heroes who only have ambitions in their hearts. What does Wei Er think? Kind of good?"

Guo Wei said softly: "It's good for the Holy Majesty to do this. I don't want to be someone like Daji or Yuhuan, but I also hope that the Holy Majesty will think of me from time to time. But I didn't help the Holy Majesty, but the family has received a lot of favors." , I’m afraid I don’t know how to repay the Holy Majesty.”

"Why do you care about those things?" Zhu Gaoxu held her hand and said casually: "A person who walks around in the world is only a lone traveler after all. We are destined to be a family. The fate is not easy. We get along well so that we don't regret it."

"Hearing what the Holy Majesty said is quite uncomfortable. You are right. I didn't know the Holy Majesty earlier, so how could I have imagined the current situation." Guo Wei's expression changed subtly, she sighed softly, and continued, "But The concubine loves to hear the words of the Holy Majesty, unlike some people who are always calculating the pros and cons and are cold."

"I'm the same as you." Zhu Gaoxu echoed.

He was calculating those things inside and outside the court, no matter the major strategic issues, or the small matters of employing people, he remembered that it was indeed as Guo Wei said, he was trying to calculate the pros and cons as accurately as possible.Only by constantly choosing favorable decisions can we accumulate an overall advantage in the situation.

Days that are too calm are indeed easy to be boring.And women seem to be more emotional, a good useless word, an insignificant little thing, can make her happy for a long time.Sometimes Zhu Gaoxu is willing to experience such a simple feeling.

The two talked for a while without any calculations, but Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help asking: "Are Xue Yan and your father in close contact now?" It happened that Guo Wei was by his side, so he just asked by the way.

Guo Wei said: "I heard from my father that no matter what happens at home, Xue Butang will come in person for banquets such as birthday and birthday banquets. Usually during the New Year and holidays, the two families will definitely move around, just like relatives. The Holy Majesty and the concubine The acquaintance was connected by Xue Butang. What's more, when my grandfather was alive, Xue Butang had a good relationship with the Guo family; when my grandfather was neglected by the court, only Xue Yan was not so snobbish and still came to the door."

Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but blurted out: "It's not that he's not snobbish." He paused and then added, "It's just that he doesn't turn his face like a book like some people, and he is a more reliable and meticulous person."

Guo Wei responded, and suddenly asked: "What important thing does the Holy One want to use Xue Yan for?"

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned by the sudden question, and he said, "Wei'er is very smart, shouldn't I say it at this time, it's not appropriate."

Guo Wei shook her head.

It was a long time after dinner, at this time Zhu Gaoxu looked outside the door and found that it was still dark.As summer approaches, the days should also get longer.

Chapter 959 The Old Mansion

Inside the Kunning Gate in the early morning, there is a moist mist, entangled among the majestic palaces.The sun has not yet come out, and the light is a bit hazy. At this time, the Kunning Palace is not so clear yet, it looks quiet and mysterious.

Just as Wang Gui, the eunuch and supervisor of ceremonies, came over, he saw some palace servants cleaning the brick floor in the square, and a group of court ladies walking unhurriedly on the verandah.Every time the maids came to a lampstand, they opened the lid of the lampstand and took out the unburned lanterns inside to blow them out.

There are a lot of people here in the morning, all doing their own things; probably because they often do these things, people seem very natural.Wang Gui suddenly remembered that the scene in the morning in ordinary people's homes and the scene of people tidying up the courtyard after getting up seemed somewhat similar to the situation in front of them, at least the expressions on people's faces were somewhat similar.

Everyone in the palace is serving the emperor, but maybe the palace people feel that they are just doing their own thing?

At this moment, Cao Fu also came.Cao Fu quickly walked up to Wang Gui, bent down and said, "Good morning godfather."

Wang Gui first nodded indifferently in response, then suddenly slapped his forehead and let out a sigh of relief: "There is one more thing in our family, I almost forgot. You stay here, so that the emperor has something to ask someone to tell you later. I can't find it either."

Cao Fu said: "My son is waiting here, godfather don't worry."

Wang Gui made a sound, turned around and walked out of Kunning Gate.He was going to the yamen of the Supervisor of Rites in the imperial city, but he could only go out of the palace through the Xihua Gate first, because there was no door directly out of the palace on the side of the harem.

Go out through the Xihua gate, and then Wang Gui walks west to the north gate in the narrow alley, so that he can reach the offices of the prisons in the inner palace.

Sure enough, Meng Ji, who was in charge of the post of chief inspector and junior supervisor, was already in the yamen.As soon as Wang Gui entered the hall, Meng Ji and other eunuchs came up to greet him courteously.Meng Ji ordered the people: "Go quickly and make a cup of morning tea for the prince."

"Don't worry about it, each should do his own thing." Wang Gui said, "Eunuch Meng will follow me."

Meng Ji bowed and agreed.

The two walked back and forth through the hall, found a room and went in.Wang Gui sat down on the chair and greeted him: "Find a place to sit, our family has an errand for you."

"Yes." Meng Ji bowed again.

Wang Gui went on to say: "The day after tomorrow, the emperor and the ladies are going to the old mansion to appreciate the peonies. The emperor hasn't been there for a long time, so you go over and tidy up today, and see what is missing.

And the people inside, also ask again.Now the front yard is where the people from the Northern Department of the Imperial Guard are there. Many of these people are the former department of the emperor. You can find some people in charge to ask about the situation.In the back garden, we didn't take care of it much before, so you should go and check it out and get things ready. "

It was all simple things, Meng Ji showed a relaxed expression, and said, "Our family will go later."

Seeing this, Wang Gui said in a deep voice: "As long as it is a matter in the palace, you can't be careless. There was an accident before. When Mrs. Guo was out of the palace to enjoy the flowers, she was besieged by bees and lost the baby after falling into the water. Later, our family heard people say that Mrs. Guo's clothes were tampered with, and honey was smeared on them, so I can't be negligent."

Meng Ji's expression froze, and he hurriedly said, "Our family will definitely ask about it carefully."

Wang Gui nodded, and then said in a dazed tone: "Yes, there is one more thing. When the ladies are all together, the emperor doesn't talk much. It seems that the emperor doesn't talk to the ladies. There is nothing to say. You prepare something to relieve boredom in the back garden, such as chess, books, or court ladies who can play and sing."

Meng Ji was stunned for a moment before cupping his fists and said, "Our family understands."

After Wang Gui finished speaking, he stood up, and Meng Ji hurriedly sent him out.

...Meng Ji was originally an eunuch promoted during the reign of Emperor Taizong. During the Hongxi Dynasty, he was often excluded by the palace because he was suspected of being part of Zheng He's party.Because of this, in the Wude Dynasty, he returned to the Supervisor of Rites.But even so, there is still a difference between him and those eunuchs from the Han Palace.

Since Wang Gonggong said things so carefully, why did he have to let Meng Ji take care of it?Meng Ji then thought about it, whether it was the officers and men guarding the North Department of the Royal Division or the slaves who stayed behind to look after the mansion, there probably were quite a few people in the old mansion who were acquainted with the prince and his father.Wang Gonggong knew what was going on as soon as he asked, so why should Meng Ji worry about it?