After His Majesty was reborn, the poor little girl in his previous life was spoiled to death

After the Flower Festival, the temperature starts to warm up completely. The capital is covered with white cherry blossoms and pink peaches. The blossoms are like clouds and mist, blooming in profusion in the spring.

At the end of February, two major events occurred in the Xinyuan Marquis Mansion that shocked the entire mansion.

The first one was that Wen Huaichen, the Minister of Rites and a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, recommended Shen Chongyao, the second son of Shen Weigang, the Marquis of Xinyuan, who was a successful candidate in the imperial examination in the sixth year of Zhaoyuan, to serve as the right secretary of the Honglu Temple with the sixth rank!

The memorial was submitted and received imperial approval the next day, with Emperor Zhaoyuan personally writing the word "approved".

When the news reached the Marquis' Mansion, even Old Madam Zhu was shocked.

It's not that she looked down on her second son, but throughout the Tianqing and Zhaoyuan dynasties, there was no example like Shen Chongyao, who had not been selected as an official for more than ten years after passing the imperial examination, but was recommended by important officials and suddenly rose to the sixth rank.

The dynasty's selection of talents is based solely on the imperial examination. Not only are the requirements for those who are recommended for official positions very strict, but also, if the recommended person commits an illegal act in the future, the recommender will be held accountable no matter how many years have passed.

Such high political risks made it extremely difficult to be recommended into officialdom, even for the children of nobles.

No matter how close the friendship is, it is still very difficult to expect the other party to give up real political resources or even sacrifice their future political life.

Not to mention finding a second-rank official like Wen Huaichen who has a promising future and is careful about his reputation.

It can be said that after this incident, Shen Chongyao was completely labeled as a "wen" from now on, and his official career was completely tied to Wen Huaichen.

Share the same honor and disgrace.

To some extent, the close relationship formed by political interests is even stronger than blood ties.

Don't underestimate Shen Chongyao, a mere sixth-rank Right Temple Secretary. You should know that the Honglu Temple is in charge of many national affairs such as tribute, court meetings, sacrifices, banquets, auspicious and inauspicious ceremonies, etc.

Favored officials of the Honglu Temple even had the opportunity to meet the emperor from time to time, which was something only the emperor's trusted ministers could do.

I don’t know how much effort Wen Huaichen put in to recommend him to this position.

So much so that Old Madam Zhu couldn't help but ask about Shen Chongyan, thinking that the Marquis had made some kind of exchange of interests with Wen Huaichen in private, which was why he worked so hard to get Shen Chongyao into the Honglu Temple.

Shen Chongyan was rarely confused.

He recalled every word he had spoken with Wen Huaichen that day during Hua Chao's reign, and confirmed once again that he had never hinted at or even mentioned a word about his second brother.

Given Chongyao's free-spirited personality, if he had intended to pursue a career in officialdom, he would not have passed the imperial examinations for many years without being appointed to an official position.

He himself had no ambition to push his second brother into the court. Shen Chongyan understood that the Shen family had always established itself through military achievements and had never thought of switching from military to civil, or promoting both civil and military affairs.

If Wen Huaichen had not recommended Shen Chongyao, which would have been a great thing for the Xinyuan Marquis Mansion with only benefits and no disadvantages, he could not help but make a conspiracy theory.

He told his mother frankly: "I have never had such an idea, and I have never asked Master Wen to do something for Chong Yao!"

Otherwise, given the Shen family's status and connections, if they wanted to find an official position for Shen Chongyao, there would be no need to ask the Shangshu to report directly to the emperor.

This is simply killing a chicken with a knife.

Shen Chongyao was busy setting up the incense table, opening the ancestral temple, reporting to heaven and earth, and offering sacrifices to his ancestors. In the midst of this dizzying moment, he received the imperial edict and officially received his official appointment. He would soon have to report to the office for duty.

As the person involved, he was no less shocked than his family. He spoke less than five sentences to Lord Wen that day and showed no emotion at all.

To say that Lord Wen appreciated him because of his so-called title of "Mr. Qingyuan" is even less likely.

If Shen Chongyao, who was very self-aware, was more surprised than happy, his wife, Madam Xiang, was completely overjoyed.

Shen Chongyao was born with a gentle and handsome appearance, and now wearing a brand new official robe, he looked even more radiant.

Looking at her husband dressed in new clothes, Madam Xiang led a room full of concubines and children and bowed to Shen Chongyao: "Master, congratulations, congratulations!"

She said in a tender voice: "I am just waiting for the day when I can rely on you to wear a phoenix crown and a red robe and become a royal consort."

She covered her lips and smiled, "From now on, I will call you Sir."

Shen Chongyao shuddered at his wife's joke. He suddenly understood the meaning of the words that his master had thrown to him before leaving on the Flower Festival.

"Next time we meet, you won't have to call yourself a villain."

------

As spring deepened and the days became warmer, Ning'er took off her winter clothes in her boudoir and put on spring clothes.

"The second thing is even more surprising!" Lingzhi rarely kept the secret.

Ning Er smiled: "Could it be more unexpected than the Second Master suddenly becoming an official?"

Lingzhi nodded: "That's right."

Ning Er smiled and said, "Good sister, tell me."

Zishan helped Ning'er tie her hair up while laughing, "The young lady indulged her too much. She dared to talk about her master behind her back and even made fun of her."

Lingzhi hurriedly smiled and said, "I dare not."

Then he confessed everything: "It is the old lady who wants to take a new concubine for the Marquis!"

Ning'er and Chuncao were both shocked:

"what?"

"Really?"

Zishan quickly let go of her hand, fearing that Ning'er would stand up and pull her hair. She smiled and replied:

"It's absolutely true. Sister Xiuyu in the old lady's room told us herself. I guess it's spread all over the mansion now. The old lady is spreading rumors!"

Ning Er then sat down: "Amitabha, this is really unexpected!"

Zishan smiled and said, "This is also a rare happy event in our house." Her hands kept moving, and while she was talking, she tied Ning'er into a somewhat complicated high bun.

Ning Er looked in the mirror and asked a series of questions, "Why did the Marquis take a concubine when everything was fine? I wonder whose daughter she is? Have all the sisters seen her?"

Lingzhi shook her head: "We don't know anything either. Maybe Sister Xiuyu has seen her, but I heard that the old lady has chosen her. She is the niece of the second lady's family."

"He has good character and looks, and he is about 18 or 19 years old now. His father is a tribute student."

Ning'er was filled with emotion, and she couldn't help but become curious: "If she can satisfy the old lady, she must be a beauty."

Zishan saw that she was just like a child, so she smiled and said, "Since she is a proper concubine, there will be several tables of wedding wine in the mansion. Then you can go and see the bride and you will know."

Lingzhi smiled mysteriously: "If you ask me, her appearance is secondary. The old lady has taken a fancy to her and wants to give birth to a family for the Marquis."

"Although this girl's family is a little poor, she has seven brothers and sisters. More importantly, they were all born to her mother!"

Everyone in Songshou Hall knew that the Marquis's offspring had always been a source of worry for the old lady.

To put it nicely, it was twin boys and girls, a boy and a girl; but to put it bluntly, in the past ten years or so, except for Young Master An who died young, there has been no pregnancy in the direct line of the Marquis' Mansion.

People on horseback only complain about having too few children, not too many. Moreover, Shen Chongyan's children are few even in ordinary people's families.

Old Madam Zhu has been looking forward to taking a concubine for her son for a long time, but she has always been unable to resist the wishes of the Marquis and his wife.

But I don't know what stimulated the old lady this time, but she didn't even inform her son and daughter-in-law, and let the news out first.

Now you have to pay it whether you want to or not.

Otherwise, what will happen to the girl's reputation?

Ning'er was thinking about what kind of gift she should give to congratulate the Marquis on his new marriage.