Drive a RV and go farming in ancient times.

Years ago, Emperor Jianxing issued an imperial decree granting marriage without any warning, catching everyone off guard. No one dared to guess his intentions openly, but everyone could not help but pondering it in private.

The more involved one is, the more one cannot stay out of it. The emperor's every move will be interpreted with countless meanings and possibilities. Who can pretend that such a big event as the granted marriage did not happen?

The other princes were the most anxious and worried. They inquired a lot in secret. While being on guard, they were also trying to stop it. The deputy commander of the imperial guards was a piece of fat meat that was too tempting. They had never dared to think about it before. Who would have thought that the eldest prince could get it into his own bowl without any effort?

They were unwilling, jealous, and even more fearful, fearing that this was a signal sent by the emperor, implying that he valued the great prince more than them.

Otherwise, why not give them such significant help?

The struggles during this period now seemed like a joke. They fought to the death, but were not as effective as the emperor's light words.

After all, if you want to sit on that throne, unless you force a rebellion, the emperor's favor is the most important thing.

But it was extremely difficult to gain the emperor's favor. They had tried to curry favor with the emperor, paying their respects every day and begging for his care, but they were rejected time and time again.

This road was not feasible, and they had no choice but to seek help from other parties to build momentum for themselves. Since the eldest prince could get a good marriage, they could naturally gain support through marriage.

Of course, they had all been married a long time ago, but no one had too many concubines.

Therefore, not long after the imperial decree of marriage was announced, several adult princes' houses brought in concubines in a high-profile manner. The concubines were either rich or noble, and were carefully selected according to the needs of the princes.

There is nothing wrong with this, but the timing of its occurrence is rather delicate, which makes people feel that the princes' behavior is a little too anxious.

After hearing this, Gu Huanxi told Xu Huaiyi a joke and mocked him at the end, "In order to compete with the eldest prince for power, you don't even care about your dignity. It's really ugly. Even if you wait for a year or two, it will be fine. You are so impatient. Where is the dignity of the royal family?"

Xu Huaiyi also had a look of disdain on his face. "What dignity does the royal family have now? What happened to Emperor Jianxing and the King of Chu? The princes are jumping up and down, they have long lost their shame. Just wait and see, there will definitely be more ridiculous things in the future..."

Gu Huanxi frowned in confusion, "Ordinarily, they shouldn't be so impetuous. The prince has received elite education since childhood, so why are he becoming more and more brainless in doing things?"

Xu Huaiyi thought about it and had a guess in his mind, "There is a high probability that there are people from the Chu Palace around those princes."

"You mean... they were instigated by the spies sent by the King of Chu?"

"Well, it's almost certain. There's nothing strange about it. The King of Chu has been secretly planning for who knows how many years. He can even get involved in the palace. It's normal for him to place a few secret pawns around the princes."

"I wonder if there is any in the Grand Prince's Palace?"

"There should have been some before. In those years, the eldest prince's behavior was not very harmonious. His wife and eldest son could be harmed by a concubine. Is this something a human would do? There must be someone around him who cooperated with him to do bad things. After Xiaoyu left and her whereabouts were unknown, he seemed to be less confused. He also knew to stick to his heart and avoid fighting. Obviously, no one was brainwashing him and instigating him to make stupid moves."

"I hope so..." Gu Huanxi sighed. She didn't care about the eldest prince. She was just afraid that he was so disappointing and would bring trouble to Gu Xiaoyu.

Xu Huaiyi curiously asked about another topic, "Which family did the three princes marry?"

Gu Huanxi had already found out clearly, "The second prince married a girl from the Chi family, the third prince married a girl from the Wu family, and the fourth prince married a girl from the Yin family. They all have their own merits."

Xu Huaiyi asked in surprise, "Chi family? Yin family? Are they the two families I was thinking of?"

Gu Huanxi nodded.

Xu Huaiyi was amazed. "Wow, these two are quite capable. They can even coax a girl from such a high family back to be a concubine. Amazing, amazing. How much benefit must they have given to the other party..."

In fact, the Chi family's status in Beijing is not very high. The head of the family, Chi Hui, is only a Yuwenlang of the Ministry of Works, a fifth-rank official, and is really not very impressive. However, his younger sister married into the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion and is the legitimate wife of the crown prince. A few years ago, this identity was nothing to brag about. After all, the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion had already shown signs of decline and had no real power. A title alone was not enough.

But since last year, when Meng Yao was single-handedly awarded the title of county lady, the Bo Mansion has once again entered people's attention, and the Chi family, as a relative, has also risen in status.

Especially not long ago, after presenting a mine, the Earl of Pingyuan finally had real power. The actual position of a third-rank official was a height that many scholars could not achieve in their entire lives. He was in high spirits and brought honor to his family. Meng Yao was even granted the title of princess, which brought honor to the entire Meng family.

Including in-laws like them.

The Second Prince was willing to marry the daughter of the Chi family. Was it because he was attracted by the power of the Chi family? Of course not. This was a roundabout way to take over the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion.

Who said that the Meng family is very respected by Emperor Jianxing now, especially Meng Yao? After Meng Yao went in and out of the palace and Prince Chu's Mansion not long ago, the tense situation eased. Who would believe it if someone said it had nothing to do with her?

What the Second Prince values ​​is Meng Yao’s importance.

As for the Yin family, they are the richest family in Dayong after the Su family. They are also extremely wealthy and have many branches, but their business methods are quite ruthless, and they don't have a very good reputation outside. The Yin family's base camp is close to the northwest, where the people are tough and don't care much about their reputation.

Gu Huanxi reminded, "The Yin family is willing to send their daughter to the Fourth Prince's mansion as a concubine. It is very likely that they will come to the capital to grab meat for themselves. I am afraid that there will be twists and turns in the business next year."

Xu Huaiyi didn't care. "Just come. Competition is a good thing in business. A single company can't dominate the market for long."

"I'm worried they might do something bad..."

"The Su family is not a kind family. If the Yin family plays dirty, can the Su family still treat them as gentlemen? Anyway, both families have the support of the prince. If they compete for backers, the Su family will not suffer any loss."

"What if they target our family?"

"Are we easy to bully? Don't worry, I will definitely go back next year. I will be there for you then."

"Okay..." Gu Huanxi stopped worrying and started talking about the Wu family. "Do you know why the Third Prince chose the girl from the Wu family?"

There are many people with the surname Wu in the capital. Xu Huaiyi had no idea for a moment, but when he saw that she put the girl from the Wu family last, he guessed that something was unusual. "Is it related to us?"

Gu Huanxi said meaningfully, "To be precise, it is related to the Sun family."

Xu Huaiyi's eyes widened. "How is it possible? The Sun family would never get involved in such a thing. Could it be... that they were plotted against?"

Gu Huanxi said, "Is it because they didn't know the plan? This matter concerns the reputation of the women in the entire family, so it must be kept secret. It's not easy for me to find out. Anyway, it involves the Sun family..."

Xu Huaiyi had already reacted by now, "That girl from the Wu family who entered the Third Prince's mansion... could she be Third Master Sun's sister-in-law?"

Gu Huanxi said "hmm", "She is just a concubine's child."

Xu Huaiyi said in annoyance, "Both the illegitimate and the unmarried are daughters of the Wu family. In the eyes of outsiders, Third Master Sun and the Third Prince are brothers-in-law. Even if the Sun family does not stand in the Third Prince's camp, it is impossible for them to support other princes. Damn it, it's really frustrating..."

"The Sun family seems very peaceful."

"What can I do if I'm not calm? The more you show that you care, the more you'll be controlled."

"Then you don't need to worry about it. You and Li Yunting are classmates and friends. This relationship is not much worse than that of brothers-in-law, right?"

"..."

"Why don't you say anything?"

Xu Huaiyi laughed dryly and touched his nose. "I was too excited. I was too concerned. Although the Sun family is neutral, it is such a big family. I don't know how many relatives and old friends there are. They can always be related to the royal family in a roundabout way. If we really care about these, I'm afraid it's because of a fight between the two families. Haha, as long as the closest ones don't get involved, it's fine."

Gu Huanxi snorted and stopped pestering him. "What do you think Emperor Jianxing will do to the princes' actions?"

Xu Huaiyi stroked his chin and pondered for a while, "I guess he is angry but happy to see it happen, right? Now that things have come to a conclusion, in order to show his kindness and balance the government, he will probably make the princes kings."

Originally, according to convention, the princes should be crowned kings after they reach adulthood, leave the palace and set up their own houses. At the latest, it should be after their wedding. But it has been dragged on until now and Emperor Jianxing has not made any move. The ministers have mentioned it before, but the emperor played deaf and dumb and found reasons to dismiss it. There has been no further news since then.

"Be crowned king..."

"Well, with the title of prince, the concubines they take in can legitimately be listed on the royal jade disc. According to the Dayong Law, a prince can have one principal wife and two concubines. These are considered daughters-in-law recognized by the royal family, which is much more respectable than the title of the prince's concubines. Isn't the Chi family and the Yin family fighting for this position?"

Gu Huanxi's eyes lit up, "But there are too many monks and too little meat. Those princes already have many concubines in their backyards. They entered the palace early and their family backgrounds are not low. They naturally don't want to be snatched away by others. Anyone who comes later will be envied. So, isn't this the reason for the fight among women?"

Xu Huaiyi said, "And the families behind them will also follow suit and show their skills, so the water in the pool will become more and more muddy."

Gu Huanxi sighed, "I don't see how capable Emperor Jianxing is in governing the country, but he is quite good at this kind of scheme. Why doesn't he use his intelligence in the right way?"

Xu Huaiyi snorted, "If it was used in the right way, there wouldn't be the current chaos, and the people everywhere would have a much better life. If a general fails, the army will be exhausted, and if an emperor fails, it will bring disaster to the people."

"So, we have to educate Xiaoyu well..."

Speaking of this, Xu Huaiyi also looked serious for the first time, "We must pay more attention to this, otherwise, we will become sinners!"

The couple looked at each other, and they couldn't help but feel more pressure in their hearts. They were not afraid of asking them to educate their children to become successful, but to train a qualified emperor... who had the experience?

The next day, while having breakfast, Gu Huanxi couldn't help but glance at Gu Xiaoyu twice more.

There is no problem with his knowledge and conduct, but how should I teach him as a king?

Mr. Jiang should know this, but the key point is that he doesn’t know Xiaoyu’s true identity now, so he naturally won’t teach him that.

Gu Xiaoyu noticed something and couldn't help asking, "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Nothing important..." Gu Huanxi came back to his senses, shook his head and smiled, "I just want to ask you, the New Year is coming soon, do you want to buy anything?"

Walking on the streets and buying New Year's goods is also one of the pleasures of children.

Sure enough, after she dropped the topic, the children started discussing it enthusiastically, talking about food, drinks, toys and daily necessities, each of them mentioning several things without repeating themselves.

By the time they reached a conclusion, a long list of names was already written on the paper.

Gu Huanxi was also willing to indulge them, and in the next few days, he took them shopping. They visited all the shops on several busy streets in the capital. Every time they went out, they returned with a full load, bringing home cartloads of New Year's goods.

In addition to preparing for her home, she also had people purchase a lot of practical rice, flour, grain and oil, and distributed them to the workers in various workshops and shops as year-end benefits. She also had people send holiday gifts to several families in Hutian Village with whom she had close relations.

Of course, she would not leave out other families related to the Gu family, such as the Sun family, the Lu family, and the homes of Gu Xiaoyu's senior brothers. The gifts she gave were more generous and thoughtful. They have taken good care of her in the past six months.

After finishing all these, the officials in the court finally waited for the holiday. However, before the holiday, Emperor Jianxing asked people to draft four imperial edicts at once.

The four imperial edicts all conferred the title of king.

There were no signs beforehand, and it happened so suddenly that everyone was caught off guard.

When the imperial edict was issued, the whole court was shocked.

After dinner, people have more things to talk about.

Gu Huanxi could only sigh secretly that Emperor Jianxing was becoming more and more willful. He did whatever he wanted and his main goal was to make people confused.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to doing things this way. The advantage is that it is mysterious and can prevent people from acting rashly. But the disadvantage is also obvious. It is easy to be defined as willful and reckless. As an emperor, acting recklessly is foolish and will damage your dignity.