Linzhi

He Mu also seemed to feel that it was a bit difficult to talk about it, and after thinking about it for a long time, he couldn't say it.

On the contrary, He Rong pointed it out: "I think that since my father has ascended the throne now, in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the late emperor, we made a big plan for the society early on, and decided on a candidate for the heir, so as to put the hearts of the people in the court and the people at ease. The eldest brother is the elder brother, His virtue is in line with everyone's expectations, so he should be the best choice for the prince."

He Mu was really surprised and delighted. What surprised him was that He Rong directly said what he couldn't say, and what pleased him was that He Rong's words completely touched his heart.

"Sanlang, do you really think so?"

He Rong nodded: "In his later years, the first emperor hesitated again and again, did not establish a crown prince, and vacillated between his father and the king of Qi, so that later, the king of Qi had an unreasonable idea. To say something disrespectful, the king of Qi conspired to rebel. , Although it is a heinous crime, the late emperor was not at fault."

He Mu sighed: "You and my brother are here, so why not tell you the truth, if you say that I have no ambition at all and don't want to be the prince, that would be a lie, but I also don't want a gap between the brothers. In terms of merit, you and Goro are well-deserved; in terms of succession, Empress Pei is still young now, and may not have a son in the future. In fact, if you and Goro are interested... Goro certainly has military exploits, but after all, he is young and vigorous, not enough to convince the public , if it were you..."

He paused and made up his mind: "If you are interested, I will speak to my father and make you the crown prince!"

Who knows that He Rong shook his head, unmoved at all: "I can't be the prince. In terms of superiority, I am not superior. In terms of virtue, Goro's contribution is no less than mine. What's more, my biological mother is still charged with the crime of rebelling against the case. If she doesn't clean up for a day, she won't be able to restore her reputation for a day. Although heroes don't ask where they come from, it's impossible for the court officials not to care about this. More importantly, my father doesn't like me."

He Mu: "Sanlang..."

He Rong waved his hand: "Brother, you don't need to comfort me. This is a fact. We all know that my father has always been obsessed with the death of Prince Gongmin. Now that time has passed, although he will not be angry, he still can't talk about loving me. If you want me to be the crown prince, not to mention that the court and the wild are not convinced, my father will not agree. I know this very well, so I never thought of fighting with my eldest brother."

He Mu was a little embarrassed. His younger brother was neither the elder nor the younger brother, but he was the most sensible and steady one in the family since he was a child. Whenever the whole family was at a loss, he could always find a way. Over time, he became everyone's favorite. backbone.The family enjoyed themselves in Fangzhou. After coming to the capital, because of the changing situation, and even more because of the wealth and prosperity, the eyes were confused, and people's hearts gradually changed. He Mu asked himself that he still took good care of his younger brothers, but it was difficult to guarantee that everyone would start a family and start a career. The journey is getting farther and farther, and the most obvious one is Erlang Hexiu.

Compared with He Xiu's heartbreaking words, He Rong's attitude undoubtedly made He Mu feel greatly comforted.

He Rong: "Father is not only our father, but also the lord of the world. As the eldest son himself, he has been neglected by the late emperor, and he feels the same way. I think my father's attitude is most likely to be biased towards the eldest brother, so the eldest brother does not have to worry. As for Empress Pei, I heard that she had offered to take the initiative to recognize eldest brother as her name, so it must be reasonable."

He Mu couldn't help being moved: "Sanlang!"

He Rong continued: "For me, although the throne is no longer in dispute, there are Turks in the north, Nanyi in the south, and Xiao Yu and others. In the late years of the late emperor, natural disasters continued and the treasury was empty. Last time, Ji and I Ling inspected Luozhou and found that every year at the turn of spring and summer, or at the turn of autumn and winter, the flooding of the Yellow River is very common. , or even let it flow, and let the yamen through which the tributaries flow deal with it. Therefore, once the water potential rises and there is a heavy rain, it will inevitably aggravate the disaster and form a vicious circle. If the country is stable, it will be stable, and if it is not stable, it will be unstable. Imagine if In the event of a natural disaster, the common people can't survive, so they will naturally rise up, and at this time, there are foreigners who take advantage of the situation, can we keep our status as the nobles of the heavenly family?"

He Mu couldn't help but nodded: "You're right, if our brothers fight against the wall, the only ones who will benefit in the end will be outsiders."

He Rong cupped his hands: "Brother is so sensible, it's the younger brothers' luck."

He Mu: "To tell you the truth, Erlang has drifted away from us since we got married. The second brother and sister are arrogant and look down on your sister-in-law who came from a poor family. Over time, it will inevitably affect Erlang. I don't care about these trivial things in the house." I want to bother you, but since I want to ask you to help persuade Erlang, I have to explain the ins and outs clearly. After something happened in the palace that day, your sister-in-law was always tossing and turning in the night, blaming herself for the death of her second sibling. I wanted to invite my second brother and sister's family to come over as guests, but the Lu family has already had a grudge against us, so they excused them several times, I guess they have fanned the flames in front of Erlang and provoked our brotherhood."

He Rong pondered and said: "Second brother looks cheerful and outgoing, but in fact he is rough and delicate, and he is very emotional. I heard Goro said that he saw that you and sister-in-law are deeply in love and will never leave, so he also swore to second sister-in-law." , I won't marry again in this life, no matter how narrow-minded my second sister-in-law is, in my second brother's heart, she is very kind and impeccable."

He Mu sighed and filled a glass of wine for him.

He Rong took it, took a sip, pursed his lips, and continued: "Now that the second sister-in-law is dead, it has nothing to do with the eldest sister-in-law, but in the eyes of the second brother, he is powerless over his wife's death, so he is resentful, so he must find someone This is a way to vent, that's why I came up with the idea of ​​Ling Chi King Qi. It seems extremely unacceptable to outsiders, but we should be more tolerant as brothers. If I persuade you, the second brother may not be able to change his mind. The eldest brother should find a chance , and then have a good talk with the second brother in person."

He Mu was very emotional: "Thank you, Saburo, I know you don't like to talk too much, but today you have said so much for me and Erlang. I will remember your love."

He Rong touched his cup: "They are all siblings, so why be polite."

He Mu patted the other party's shoulder and said with a smile, "Siblings for a lifetime!"

……

Not long after He Rong became the king, he moved from the original Lu Palace to the Prince An's Mansion, and had his own mansion.

The reason why it is so fast is because this mansion was originally given to him by the first emperor of Anguo. As a result, the first emperor passed away before he lived in it. Today, the kings are entrusted, and He Rong is promoted from An Guogong to An Wang. Therefore, the regulation of the mansion will naturally be different, and the Ministry of Industry hastened to send people to renovate it.Renovation and expansion are always faster than rebuilding the mansion. He and He Zhan took advantage of the previous titles and moved out earlier than He Xiu and Hexi.

And He Xiu and He Xi's Prince Ji's Mansion and Prince Mi's Mansion are still under construction, so they are naturally still living in the Prince Lu's Mansion.

He Zhu who originally followed He Xi, because once He Xi left, he was not a servant and could not stay in the palace, and it would be embarrassing to stay in the Lu Palace. Give Wen Jiang a hand.

According to the rules, Prince An's Mansion has the post of Chief History, which is similar to the butler of the Prince's Mansion, but has more authority than the butler, and is equivalent to the deputy of the prince. He Rong then reported to the emperor, hoping to appoint Wen Jiang as the official book of Prince An's Mansion.

But this move caused a lot of criticism, and the officials expressed their opposition one after another, thinking that the imperial court had never had any reason to assign official positions lightly to women.

However, He Rong thinks that An Wangfu's book is only in charge of the palace's documents, and he does not hold positions in the court, let alone a post such as the governor of the palace, Sima, etc., and will not shake the court's laws.

However, all the ministers strictly guarded against women being officials. Even a trivial official position, they also thought that this case should not be dismissed lightly. Emperor Jiayou was in a dilemma. Not agreeing, not to mention that Wen Jiang is also an old man who has followed them since they were in Fangzhou. Since his son does not want to take her as a concubine, it would be a good idea to give her a proper title and let her stay in Prince An's mansion justifiably. A good way.

But on the other hand, the almost one-sided opposition from the courtiers made it difficult for Emperor Jiayou to deal with it. After all, he had just ascended the throne. Before, there was indeed no precedent for a woman to be an official in the court. The ministers even cited the example of Empress Lu intervening in politics and Empress Jin Huijia's monopoly, which Emperor Jiayou could not refute.

In the end, He Rong was annoyed, so he directly withdrew the request, and no longer asked for Wen Jiang's seal.

However, when this matter happened, there were inevitably some gossip outside, thinking that King An was vaguely domineering because of his merits. Today, even the women around him want to ask for an official. In the future, others will follow suit. Can you also ask for an official title?

As soon as He Rong returned to the palace from the palace, a maidservant greeted him and offered him a basin of handkerchief to wash his face and hands, and helped him take off his outer clothes and put on ordinary clothes.

Wen Jiang came over and asked, "Does Your Highness want to eat?"

He Rong: "No need, I used it at my brother's place."

Now in Prince An's Mansion, Chang Shi and Sima are appointed by the imperial court, and Wen Jiang is actually the steward of the inner house. These trivial matters of personal service no longer require her to do everything herself, but Wen Jiang has never relied on her status. As long as she is there, Do everything yourself.

Wen Jiang: "How about peach drink or plum drink?"

He Rong: "Where do you get plums at this time of year?"

Wen Jiang smiled and said: "I picked it earlier, marinated it and sealed it up. If you want to eat it, put one or two in it, add some honey, it will be very delicious."

He Rong: "Let's have a cup then."

Wen Jiang Yingshi was about to step back when He Rong called her back: "Go back and ask someone to invite Second Brother and Wulang to come over to the house, and just say that I invited them to dinner. Also, you don't have to worry about the rumors outside. ,Nothing to do with you."

Everyone in the mansion knew that she was deeply trusted by King An, and she was not enough to flatter her. Naturally, she would not cause trouble in front of Wen Jiang, and said some inappropriate words, but Wen Jiang was not deaf, so he could naturally hear the rumors outside.

Those who are willing to leave a little bit of morality are nothing more than saying that Wen Jiang is favored by King An, and that King An begged for an official for her.

Wen Jiang smiled slightly, and was about to speak, when a maidservant came outside to report that Mr. Ji Ling Ji was begging to see him.

He Rong turned his head to look at Wen Jiang, and saw that the latter's face was flushed, and he couldn't help asking: "What is your Highness looking at me for?"

"How about we make a bet?"

Wen Jiang subconsciously shook his head: "I don't gamble."

He Rong: "I bet he came to the door, he must be looking for you."

Wen Jiang's face became hot, and he still said: "Your Highness has a clever plan, I will not bet with you."

He Rong: "Then you go and have a look with me, so as not to say that my victory is invincible afterwards."

Wen Jiang had no choice but to follow behind him.

Ji Ling waited in the flower hall for a while, a little restless, and didn't even have the heart to drink tea. Seeing He Rong appearing with Wen Jiang, he was overjoyed at first. Seeing He Rong's expression that seemed to be a smile but not a smile, he hurriedly suppressed his joy and saluted solemnly: " Greetings Your Highness."

He Rong: "It's time for dinner. Jing Bing is here, so why don't you ask me to treat you to dinner?"

Ji Ling was stunned for a moment before realizing that he had come at the wrong time, so he said embarrassingly, "That's not what I meant..."

He Rong raised his hand: "Sit down, Wen Jiang, and serve tea."

Wen Jiang curtseyed, and glanced at Ji Ling, who just happened to raise his head to look at Wen Jiang, and the two of them looked at each other, and they hurriedly moved away, which seemed to mean that there was no money here.

He Rong: "Has Jing Bing eaten?"

Ji Ling: "Not yet."

He Rong: "But Wen Jiang and I have already used it, so I won't keep you."

Ji Ling didn't know whether to laugh or cry, remembering that before he left for Luozhou, he was cheated. One moment he heard Wang An say that he couldn't ride a horse because of his leg disease, but the next moment the other party got on the horse faster than anyone else. But there are many lively places, so I can't help but relax a little.

"Taking the liberty to come here to bother His Highness is actually asking for something."

It happened that Wen Jiang brought his maidservant over to bring tea. When Ji Ling saw her, he couldn't continue with his drafts. Distraught, he casually said, "Well, I want to ask... I don't know what His Highness submitted to Zhihe." Tiao Chen, what did His Majesty say?"

He Rong had a good time: "I said Jing Bing, if you want to talk about business, it's not too late for us to talk at the Ministry of Industry tomorrow."

The words rolled around his mouth a few times, and Ji Ling finally made up his mind: "Actually, I am here to ask His Highness to marry Wen Jiang!"

He Rong glanced at Wen Jiang.

Although the latter's expression is still calm, his cheeks have begun to flush a little.

He Rong: "I have already returned Wen Jiang's deed of selling herself to her. Who do you want to marry, you should tell your parents and send a matchmaker to your door to make a match, instead of rushing to your door by yourself."

Ji Ling hurriedly said: "Forgive me, Your Highness, of course I know, but you are Wen Jiang's lord after all, and she is loyal to you. I have to come to ask you what you mean about this matter first, so I can do three matchmaking and six employment. Follow the rules."

He Rong raised his eyebrows: "So, you have already asked Wen Jiang's meaning first? Wen Jiang also agreed?"

Ji Ling was a little nervous: "Wen Jiang said, if you don't agree, she won't marry."

No matter how calm Ren Wenjiang was, he felt a little ashamed to listen to others talking about his marriage in person.

"Your Highness, please allow me to leave."

She and Ji Ling met on the way to Luozhou for the first time. The latter was engrossed in business and had no other distractions. The two had nothing to do with each other. But later He Rong and Luozhou often ran on the river embankment, and Wen Jiang followed them, making fire and cooking. Ji Ling Some felt sorry, and occasionally came to help with their own hands. Over time, the two sides became familiar with each other.

When Wen Jiang stayed by He Rong's side, he saw too much warmth and coldness in people's hearts. Those high-school children often had their eyes above the top. Just imagine that when He Rong just returned to Beijing, he was looked down upon by Song Yun and others, let alone Wen Jiang, a little maid. However, Ji Ling was completely different from those people, not only did he not have the dignity of being superior, but he was also willing to treat others with sincerity.As time went on, the two fell in love with each other. Wen Jiang heard that the other party had not remarried after his first wife died in childbirth three years ago, so he was naturally moved.

He Rong said, "No need, you just stay and listen together."

He turned to Ji Ling: "You guys love concubines, unmarried men and women are unmarried, it is a good marriage, and I have no intention of stopping it, but Jing Bing, do you know that it is not that simple for you to marry Wen Jiang ?”

Wen Jiang's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but look up at the two of them.

Ji Ling hesitated and said, "Your Highness, are you worried that my parents will have a difficult time?"

He Rong: "This is one of them. Your Bohai Ji family has always been as famous as the Yixing Zhou family and the Duling Zhang family. The late emperor pitied the general Ji Cuo's parents, and wanted to find a family member for him, so he invited the head of Ji's family to explain the matter, but your patriarch said: "Although they have the same surname, they are not of the same root. Both Ji Cuo's parents died. , there is no basis for finding roots, doubts about life experience, truth and falsehood are all based on words, if this example is opened, in the future, Ji's family will probably have many more descendants out of thin air."

The implication is that the Ji family feels that although Ji Zuo is also surnamed Ji, he can't prove his origin at all. If everyone fabricates a famous origin for themselves, then anyone can pretend to be a noble family in the future. What rules are there?

Ji Zuo was proud and upright. After hearing about this matter, he personally expressed his feelings to the first emperor, saying that he had no intention of clinging to the high school, and the matter was left alone. It can be seen that the views of current sects are deeply rooted, and even what the emperor said may not be effective.

Ji Ling said shamelessly: "I've also heard about this. The patriarch really takes his clan's reputation very seriously."

He Rong shook his head: "I don't intend to criticize anything, I just want to tell you that the Ji family is like this to General Ji, not to mention Wen Jiang is just a maid by my side, who has no status at all, even if I regard her as my own sister , would rather buy her a dowry and send her off to marry, but in the eyes of others, her origin cannot be changed, can your parents and clan accept her?"

Ji Ling solemnly said: "Your Majesty, my mother is from the Zhang family of Duling, and she does place a lot of emphasis on the prestige of the county, but my father is an enlightened person. I have already mentioned this matter to my father. I have no objection, please give me some time, Your Highness, after I formally report to my parents, I will let the Iceman come to matchmaking."

Seeing the other party's correct attitude, He Rong nodded: "Then Wen Jiang and I will wait for your good news."

After that, he glanced at Wen Jiang again: "Wen Jiang, go and send Jing Bing off."

Wen Jiang responded, and just a few steps away with Ji Ling, he heard He Rong say from behind: "In order to buy a dowry for you, I will save money in the future, and someone just invited you, so you can eat lunch outside, don't worry." Come back and waste the expenditure of the government."

Your Highness!

From neck to face, Wen Jiang felt hot all of a sudden.