Sheng Shi Merciful Light

Emperor Deguang grabbed Mu Ci's hand, feeling the coldness of his fingertips, and asked someone to bring a thick cloak over, and wrapped Mu Ci tightly with his own hands.The courtiers are used to "brothers controlling" His Majesty's various mothers-in-law, and it's not surprising to see them.

Mu Ci didn't refuse either.

Emperor Deguang saw that the ninth younger brother was lazy, so soft and not cruel, and cuter than a porcelain doll. He couldn't help pampering and scratching the tip of his nose, and asked softly, "Are you interested in going down to see what the students wrote?"

Mu Ci said: "Too lazy to move."

In fact, his mental strength has already sensed that Gong Sheng became more nervous after he came in.It is immoral for such a key exam to influence others.

"You..." Emperor Deguang said dotingly, without forcing, and whispered in his ear, "Ce asked four questions, do you understand?"

"Yeah." Mu Ci responded lightly, and he sorted out the key information with a glance when he entered the hall, and he couldn't forget it.

"Then what do you think?"

Mu Ci yawned, adjusted to lie down more comfortably, and then said boredly: "I don't have any opinions."

Emperor Deguang had long been used to the willful temper of his ninth younger brother, so he leaned closer to his ear and whispered: "There is news from King Zhong that the prefect of Jiangzhou is indeed doing bad things, but this year saw the outbreak of insects, and there are other people on the border... this year Insufficient food has involved the deep fear of national turmoil.”

Mu Ci simply said: "Then don't look down."

"Huh?" Emperor Deguang was a little stunned for a moment. His ninth younger brother hated breaking laws and regulations the most. How could he let go of such a major national issue as land annexation so easily.

There are many disadvantages of land annexation. Not only does the common people have no land to grow, but more importantly, the land is concentrated in the hands of the privileged class. They have various methods to avoid taxes, and the land tax collected by the country is getting less and less, which leads to the weakness of the country. In the end...

But Mu Ci said unhurriedly: "If you want to solve this matter completely, you must first exempt all land taxes in the world, otherwise you will treat the symptoms but not the root cause. Even if you wantonly investigate and kill people, it will still be the same after ten or twenty years."

Emperor Deguang: "..."

Mu Ci lightly wrote: "Don't worry about it, let's deal with it this year." He was extremely passive and inactive, not like Mu Ci.

Emperor Deguang: "...how are you?"

"Let's not talk about this," Mu Ci slowly sat upright, turned to look at Emperor Deguang, and said seriously, "Third Brother..."

Emperor Deguang immediately sat upright, waiting for him to make a big move.

Mu Ci said earnestly: "I heard...the egg pancakes fried in sister-in-law's small kitchen are getting more and more delicious, shall we try it?"

Emperor Deguang: "..." His eyelids twitched, and he said weakly, "I'm going to have a test at the palace now." Wouldn't it be good to leave?

"Then what's the matter, let the two nephews come out to take the test for the father. What are you doing to raise the son? Do you not do anything every day, and eat after fattening up?" Mu Ci took it for granted.

Emperor Deguang was very hesitant. The two imperial sons were the sons of the criminal daughter of the Xie family. Although he loved them for many years, he finally killed their biological mother with his own hands.Besides, letting the two princes have unreasonable thoughts is also the source of turmoil.

Cultivating an idle king is also a way of preservation. It is said that Emperor Deguang was also raised as an idle king before.

Mu Ci stood up, and Emperor Lade Guang stood up: "Let's go, I can't go to my sister-in-law alone." Then he whispered, "Call Aqi and Ayu to come here. They have the surname Mu no matter what. What a pity to lose it." Seeing that Emperor Deguang was still hesitating, Mu Ci smiled lightly, "We have a good relationship and get along happily, which is the best way to teach by precept and example. My nephew is smart and sensible, and it is only right to know how to behave. You teach with your heart , it won't grow crooked."

When Emperor Deguang thought about it, it was indeed the truth. If the dignified prince turned into a useless person, wouldn't it be enough for the world to laugh at him?Besides, the two sons also grew up under their own supervision, and their dispositions are not bad, so they just need to teach them well.It's not that I and my ninth brother are incompetent, so I'm not afraid of them turning the world upside down.

"Let's talk about it, what's wrong with a child?" Mu Ci sighed.

Emperor Deguang was very sensitive, and immediately remembered that the ninth brother grew up in the cold palace, how innocent and pitiful he was.How can you ask children to bear the consequences for the mistakes made by adults?Emperor Deguang hurriedly grabbed Mu Ci's shoulders and hugged him. He was so distressed that he forgot to lower his voice, and said anxiously, "Okay, okay, I listen to you, I listen to you."

The tone of this speech, as gentle as you want it to be, as much pampering as you want it to be, it's almost like a faint king coaxing a pet concubine.

The courtier's eyelids twitched when he heard this, and he thought to himself that the two brothers don't know what big move they are going to make together!

Some Gongsheng also heard it, and they only felt that the emperor and the king of Chu really had a good relationship, which was a great blessing.

The two brothers left the Chongzheng Hall shoulder to shoulder, and Emperor Deguang still remembered waving his hand to tell everyone not to send them off, so as not to affect the Gongsheng examination.

Shui Lianxin just raised her head, and watched thoughtfully as the two people's backs that almost merged into one disappeared from the inner door, then lowered her head, but she was not busy writing, like other Gongsheng, she was seriously thinking about something.

……

The palace examination will be held for one day, and there is no reason for the emperor to keep it for one day. Zhao Rui did not stop the emperor and the king of Chu from leaving.Not long after, I saw two little princes coming over.The servant said it was the emperor's oral order and asked the prince to supervise the test.

The two princes lost a lot of weight, and they were a little cowering in their actions.Zhao Rui didn't show it on the face, and sighed in his heart, but he knew the depth of the royal water, so he didn't want to ask more questions, so he just added two small chairs under the imperial steps for the little prince to sit on.

The two little princes couldn't understand anything, and it was an attitude to let them come, to show that the emperor attached great importance to the palace examination.The little prince didn't move around and make noise, but sat obediently, with a stern face like two little adults, very cute.

Gong Sheng, who was still a little nervous under the majesty of the emperor, became even more nervous after the King of Chu appeared, heaved a sigh of relief.They didn't understand the complicated relationship among members of the royal family. Except for a few who thought a little bit more because someone in their family was an official, the others didn't have any ideas and focused their energy on answering the questions.

Emperor Deguang ordered his servant to go to the empress's Hall of Renming, and while leading Mu Ci to talk, he asked: "It's hard to say in the main hall just now, the land is exempt from tax, isn't that going to work?"

Mu Ci said: "The national treasury revenue, the proportion of commercial tax is increasing year by year, and the agricultural tax has been declining due to production reduction, land and other reasons... If one day the national treasury can be filled only by commercial tax, it is not impossible to exempt the national agricultural tax .”

Emperor Deguang laughed and shook his head: "If the national treasury is fully supported by commercial taxes, wouldn't it be ridiculous?"Besides, if another Wei family, a descendant of King Dongxing, comes out, what should we do?

"Why don't you put it another way?" Mu Ci said, "The nobles are exempt from taxes, farmers are also exempt from taxes, and businesses will never be exempt from taxes. Wouldn't it better reflect the superior status of scholars and farmers? The substantial benefits are better than anything else."

Emperor Deguang still felt that it was inappropriate. The land was a real thing. If a businessman said he lost money, he would lose money, and if he said he was bankrupt, he would go bankrupt. It was too unsafe.How can a country's finances only rely on pure commercial taxes?

Mu Ci doesn't always argue with this ancient man. In this world, interests come first. When people see enough benefits, some deep-rooted ideas will change.

When they arrived at the Hall of Renming, Empress Mei greeted the two brothers with a smile: "Your family is safe, and the ninth brother is here too."

Mu Ci liked the homely atmosphere of Empress Mei's place the most, it was better than the gorgeous cold palace, and said softly: "Sister-in-law has cleaned up here with care, and everything is comfortable." His eyes paused for a few more seconds on the fiery red roses.

Empress Mei kept Mu Ci's look in her heart, and said with a gentle smile, "Ninth brother, don't be ashamed of sister-in-law, your palace is the best in Beijing, and there are beautiful scenery everywhere."

Empress Mei was not favored before, but she was still a legitimate concubine and she often attended various banquets. She has also been to the current Chu Palace and the original Shou Palace many times.

Mu Ci invited: "The sister-in-law will go to play when she is free. I haven't made any major changes to the original layout of the palace."

Empress Mei smiled and nodded: "If there is a chance, I will definitely go." But everyone knows that it is very difficult for Empress Mei to have the opportunity to leave the palace.

The three of them chatted and sat at a table to eat egg pancakes. Mou Yu, who was in charge of protection, was also seated. Seeing that Mu Ci took the egg pancakes to eat, he ate them too. It was really delicious.No need for poison testing.Mou Yu never asked Mu Ci what method he used to confirm whether the food was harmful, so he trusted him anyway.

In the eyes of the two of them, Emperor Deguang and Empress Mei showed great trust in them, so they were naturally very happy.

Invisibly, everyone got close and chatted together, and the topic turned around to Mu Ci's wedding. Emperor Deguang said angrily: "You kid, what do you think? Even if you don't want to marry the youngest daughter of Wang Xiang's family, don't marry me." Mix it in. You don't know, you caught the son-in-law under the list and matched the Su Wang family, and Su Yutai didn't say thank you, but turned around and sold you." He ordered Peng Yu, "Take Su Yutai's son-in-law. Bring the bullets."

There is no guilt at all for betraying the courtiers.

Mu Ci waved her hand and said indifferently, "I'm not interested. I know what Su Yutai will say even if I don't read it. It must not only impeach me, but also talk about the disadvantages of 'getting a son-in-law under the list'?"

Emperor Deguang nodded: "You know?"

"Well, the day I came to arrest my little son-in-law for my little cousin, I met Su Yutai. He had already quoted scriptures and scriptures eloquently, and criticized me for half an hour. I remember what he said." Mu Ci's expression remained calm. No Lan, no joy or anger.

Emperor Deguang laughed: "This Su Yutai..." He is really a loyal and admonishing minister who dares to speak and do, so it can be seen that the ninth younger brother is right to recommend him, it is a public heart.

Emperor Deguang said again: "This matter is not easy to pursue. Many courtiers have participated in it. Do you know Pei Yan, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry? It is the old son-in-law who was arrested under the list. His wife is 20 years younger than him." Even the royal family The princess is no exception, the emperor's own sister is the son-in-law caught under the list.

Mu Ci lightly wrote: "In fact, what Su Yutai said is also reasonable. Why don't you let the governor of the capital and the Ministry of Officials strictly investigate those who abandon their wretched wives because of "catching their sons-in-law under the list"."

This can be regarded as an explanation to all parties. Emperor Deguang nodded and said: "Such tribute students have bad conduct, and they forget righteousness for profit, so it is difficult to keep their loyalty. Enke is not easy to be dismissed, so he will be included in the list of fellow scholars."

Whoever let the bad wife off the court, the emperor will let him off the list.

This practice of Emperor Deguang was later widely praised by scholars and people, who praised the emperor's benevolence, especially the majority of women compatriots, who cited the emperor as a friend of women.

The few Gongsheng students who divorced their wives due to temptation regretted it unceasingly, leaving a bad impression in front of the emperor.Although Enke did not fail in the palace examination, but his moral character has been stained, and he became a fellow Jinshi again. What good future can he have?

……

It was the Imperial Catering Secretary from the palace who came to ask how the lunch would be arranged.Empress Mei was in charge of the lunches for more than 300 examiners and tribute students, so that the imperial cooker still prepared steamed food, and explained to Emperor Deguang and Mu Ci: "The concubine is afraid that some candidates have not eaten fried vegetables. It’s not good to answer the questions in the palace exam.”

Emperor Deguang looked at Queen Mei tenderly, and praised: "You are considerate."

Empress Mei smiled gently, "It's my concubine's job, I dare not take credit for it." Seeing that the atmosphere was good, she suggested at the right time, "Your family, my concubine has also heard about 'catching a son-in-law under the list', so I have an idea. I don’t know if it’s feasible or not.”

Emperor Deguang said: "It's okay for the queen to say."

Queen Mei said: "Although there are disadvantages in catching a son-in-law, we should also pity the hearts of parents in the world. We only hope that our children will have a happy marriage, so it's not easy to stop it all at once. Why don't we change the method, after the palace examination, there will be Lu Ming Banquet and Qiong Qiong." Lin Banquet? Your Majesty can hold another banquet and invite only unmarried Jinshi and interested school-age girls, both parties will be accompanied by their parents and relatives, and the men and women will meet and see each other directly, which is worse than blind marriage."

What Empress Mei said was actually a blind date banquet. Fortunately, the atmosphere is open, and she doesn't think there is anything wrong with seeing each other. Anyway, parents and relatives can accompany the party.

Scholars must also be happy, they don't want to be arrested, they will be troubled if they are married, and sad if they are not married.If you can hold a blind date banquet, you can choose carefully.

Once in high school, it is the greatest honor for a student, not to mention Guangzong Yaozu, of course you can choose a better lady, the icing on the cake is not too much!

Besides, the young women are not willing to find an old son-in-law or a second-married man for him at home, so they are naturally more willing to participate in blind dates and use their own charm to attract good talents they like.

Therefore, Empress Mei's proposal was immediately approved by all votes. This year's Enke will be held immediately after the Enke, called "Tianyuan Banquet", hosted by Empress Mei herself to show the royal grace.Empress Mei gladly accepted the task. This move will not only enhance the image of the royal family, but also benefit Empress Mei personally. It will make the mother of a country have a good reputation, and invisibly draw the hearts of the majority of Jinshi and future Jinshi's wives, and stabilize her position. , all happy.

Empress Mei has benefited, knowing that she has been able to go smoothly in recent days because of the benefits of King Chu, and she is very grateful to Mu Ci in her heart.

After this matter was settled, Emperor Deguang returned to his ultimate goal: "Ninth Brother, you are already seventeen, and it's time to think about getting married."

Mu Ci didn't refuse this time, but just nodded: "I will think about it."

This answer made Mou Yu look sideways.

Emperor Deguang laughed so hard that he couldn't see his teeth and eyes: "You agreed," and urged Queen Mei, "You sister-in-law should take care of the important affairs of the ninth brother, and take care of it. A lady with a good family background, appearance and temperament, Hurry up and make a list for the ninth brother to choose."

"I will decide the candidates myself, don't worry about it," Mu Ci said.

Emperor Deguang wanted to say something, but was pulled back by Empress Mei. He remembered that Mu Ci was a dog-tempered person who would turn his face when he said it. Today, his attitude has softened.I endured it, and decided to draw it slowly...

Several people talked about other gossip, and soon it was lunch time, so they simply ate together.

When Empress Mei learned that the two princes were supervising the examination, her smile was not forced at all, and she graciously invited the two princes to have dinner together.Emperor Deguang hadn't seen the two children for a long time, and it was impossible for him to say that he didn't want to think about it at all. Besides, the ninth younger brother said "children are innocent", so it would be bad to neglect the children, and there was no objection.

For the magnanimous and tolerant Queen Mei, I have a higher opinion.

The two princes came over, greeted them politely, sat down to eat, and acted cautiously, making the atmosphere weird.But Mu Ci was never affected, and Mou Yu was more comfortable eating.Queen Mei didn't intentionally enliven the atmosphere, she didn't talk too much, she always kept a stretched smile and ate elegantly.

Then everyone at the table looked at Emperor Deguang, the "brother", who was more attentive than taking care of children. He would introduce this dish to the King of Chu for a while, and let him taste that taste for a while, in order to make him eat a few more mouthfuls, and said softly Coaxing, it almost caught his mouth directly.This made Mu Ci annoyed, and gave him a white look: "My appetite is much better, I can eat by myself. You eat yours, don't make me lose my appetite."

What if you don't say anything?

Only then did Emperor Deguang stop.

Empress Mei had never seen such an ink-stained side of the emperor. If she didn't know that the two were purely brotherly, she would have thought that the king of Chu was the emperor's favorite.But it's not bad, the king of Chu is indeed Emperor Deguang's heart and soul, the most precious brother.

The two princes watched eagerly, envious and jealous, secretly looking at Emperor Deguang with envious eyes.Emperor Deguang was softened by the child's dark eyes, finally sighed, put food for the child, and patted his head.

Both children smiled.

When the family eats, they gradually have a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

After lunch, Mu Ci was going to leave the palace, and Emperor Deguang couldn't always keep him and give him a gift.Mu Qi dragged Mu Yu to grab the errand.

Along the way, Mu Ci asked the two princes about their homework, and the two children were well-behaved one by one, and they answered crisply, their smiles were so cute that Mu Ci pinched their little cheeks several times.

When he was approaching the gate of the palace, Mu Qi took the courage to hold Mu Ci's hand.

Mu Ci didn't shake him off, she stood still and looked at him.

Mu Yu rolled his eyes, and quickly grabbed Mu Ci's other hand with both hands.Children are the most sensitive, and it is easy to feel that Mu Ci has never been malicious or hypocritical towards them.

Mu Ci was amused, and asked gently: "What? Want to go out and play?"

Mu Qi shook his head, bit his lip, and said, "Thank you Uncle Jiu Wang."

Thanks to Uncle Jiu Wang for his tolerance, after their biological mother made a mistake and tried to hurt Uncle Wang, she can still treat them kindly.I also thank Uncle Jiu Wang for his generosity, for being able to say a few words for them after his father was jealous and disliked them.

For the emperor to allow them to appear on such an important occasion as the palace examination, it represents a kind of value... They no longer have the extravagant hope of inheriting the throne.But Uncle Nine Kings was the only one in this world who could make their father who had neglected them suddenly change his attitude.

Mu Ci was always more patient with children, shook their little hands and said: "It's okay. If you want to go out to play, I'll tell your father."

Mu Yu is still young, his eyes are bright: "Is it really possible?"

Mu Qi originally wanted to refuse, fearing that it would be too troublesome, but then he thought about it... In the palace, they don't have a mother and concubine, and they are disliked by their father and lose their protection. If they can get closer to Uncle Jiu Wang, of course it will be beneficial One harm.Besides... He actually wanted to go out to play, so he gently pulled Mu Yu not very firmly.

It is impossible to hide this little thought from Mu Ci, but Mu Ci doesn't mind that Mu Qi has a heart with twists and turns.Being scheming doesn't mean your morals are corrupted, it's a bad thing only if you go astray and hurt others with scheming.

The prince with an embarrassing status must also think about everything in order to protect himself and his younger brother.

Mu Ci was kind, and pulled the two children out: "That's okay, let's go out of the palace to play."

Mou Yu followed behind, slightly hooked his lips and shook his head, summoned a servant to come over and speak to Emperor Deguang, and then left the palace with his third uncle and nephew.

After leaving the palace, Mu Ci sent the two children to the carriage, and whispered to Mou Yu: "Investigate the Gong students who are fourth from the left in the palace examination."

Mou Yu immediately remembered that the fourth from the left in a row was an extremely handsome and beautiful Gongsheng.This kind of eye-catching beauty has a charm that transcends gender. Even if Mou Yu is a straight man, he cannot deny that this beauty is really pleasing to the eye.

Mou Yu was lamenting the great lethal power of the beauty, when suddenly he had a flash of inspiration, and stared at Mu Ci: "No way...you fell in love with her again?"

Empathy, don't fall in love, how could such a philandering prince be so embarrassing for Mei Saburo who abandoned everything and went ashore to follow?

Mu Ci, who had already stepped into the star chasing car with one foot, was expressionless, and the one who answered Mou Yu was...he slapped him on the back of the head: "Brain tonic is a disease, you need to take medicine!"