The Prime Minister's Mansion is very large, with six courtyards from front to back. Xiaodai and his mother Mei Yunniang live in the last courtyard. Except for the maids from the Prime Minister's Mansion who come in to help Mei Yunniang with some chores, Zhao Gang stipulates that the male servants in the mansion are No one is allowed to step into Mei Yunniang's yard. Except for outings in spring and autumn outings every year, Mei Yunniang almost never leaves the gate of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
He spends most of his time hanging out with Zhao Gang's wife Yu Shilan every day. Although there is a big age difference between the two, Zhao Gang, although he is the prime minister, does not take any concubines. He has only one wife, Yu Shilan, for the rest of his life! As Mei Yunniang and Yu Shilan spent more and more time together, their relationship became deeper and deeper. In the end, they became like mother and daughter. Except for the time when Zhao Gang returned home, Yu Shilan spent the rest of the time with Mei Yunniang. Mother and son are together with their youngest daughter Zhao Yiqiu.
Zhao Yiqiu is two years older than Xiao Dai. His personality is completely opposite to that of Xiao Dai. He is lively and eccentric. In addition to playing around with some maids from the prime minister's house, his favorite thing is to tease the silly little idiots. However, Xiao Dai No matter how much he was teased by her, he would not get angry with her. At most, he would just say stupidly, "I won't play with you anymore. When it's time to go to school, Yu Shilan and Mei Yunniang sent Xiaodai to the prime minister's house." The teacher, Old Master Zhong, bent down and asked Xiaodai gently, "What's your name?" Xiaodai was stunned for a long time before murmuring: "My name is Xiaodai!" Old Master Zhong couldn't help but laugh, "What's your name?" It’s a name!” Yu Shilan and Mei Yuniang were used to calling Xiao Dai this name, so they didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. Now that Xiao Dai said it from his own mouth, they felt that the name Xiao Dai seemed to be a curse to themselves. The meaning is in it!
Zhao Gang came home from the next morning. At the dinner table, Yu Shilan told her husband as a joke that Xiao Dai was asked his name by the teacher at school today. Zhao Gang suddenly remembered that Chen Ruchang asked him to name Xiao Dai, and then he put down his chopsticks. She began to meditate hard. When she saw her prime minister eating a good meal, Yu Shilan suddenly put down her chopsticks like an old monk in trance, and asked strangely, "Master Prime Minister, why are you so stunned after eating a good meal?"
"Oh, I was thinking that Old Master Zhong is right. It's time for Xiao Dai to have a formal nickname. It's okay to call him Xiao Dai at home. After all, there are no outsiders here. It's okay to use this name when going out. It’s an insult to politeness!”
"I see him acting silly all day long. He doesn't even want to say much. He only knows how to giggle. Calling him Xiaodai doesn't count as killing him!" Zhao Yiqiu, who was lowering his head to put rice into his mouth, heard what his father Zhao Gang said. Holding back a laugh, he mumbled something under his breath.
Zhao Gang's face darkened when he heard this, "Are you still teasing him all day long?"
"Well, what's the fun in him being like a piece of wood all day long? Let's just call him a piece of wood!" Zhao Yiqiu pouted and protested dissatisfiedly to his father while looking at his mother with a furtive look.
Yu Shilan smiled and said nothing, but kept adding vegetables to Zhao Gang's bowl.
Zhao Gang shook his head, "Madam, look at how your daughter has been spoiled by you!"
Yu Shilan put down her chopsticks and sighed slightly, "Prime Minister, Xiaodai is too dull. What my daughter said is quite appropriate. He is really no different from a piece of wood all day long!"
"Madam, don't be too absolute in everything. Xiaodai is still in his early teens. He will definitely change when he grows up. Just like a small tree, how can he become a pillar without going through ups and downs?"
Yu Shilan nodded, "Master Xiang, why not let Xiaodai call him Xiaoshu? I hope he can change in the future."
Zhao Gang thought for a moment, "The name Madam chose is very good, but using the word "little tree" as a name is too awkward. You and your daughter both said that Xiaodai looks like a log all day long. I think it's better to call him Xiaomu. Bar?"
Yu Shilan gave a thumbs up, "Master Xiang is brilliant!"
Due to the divine mandate, Xiaodai had to take the surname of his mother, Mei Yunniang, so Xiaodai's nickname was Mei Xiaomu!
In this way, Mei Xiaomu and Zhao Yiqiu, under the guidance of Yu Shilan, worshiped Old Master Zhong as their teacher and began their enlightenment studies. At this time, Zhao Yiqiu's three brothers, Zhao Hu, Zhao Biao, and Zhao Shengji, successively became teachers and were admitted to the famous academy of the Chen Dynasty, Lishan Academy. study!
A few years later, Zhao Yiqiu has grown into a slim, beautiful woman, who is proficient in poetry, calligraphy and painting. Mei Xiaomu has also grown up in the past few years. She is tall and although not handsome, she still looks quite delicate. The only thing that remains unchanged is dullness and clumsiness. Zhao Yiqiu has a photographic memory, while Mei Xiaomu has a photographic memory. The three words "Mei Xiaomu" forced Mr. Zhong to rack his brain for more than ten days before he taught him to write them like this. The words that came out were still crooked and unreadable. In short, in the end, Old Master Zhong would smile as soon as he saw Zhao Yiqiu. He wished that everyone would know that Zhao Yiqiu was his disciple. If he met Mei Xiaomu, he could only shake his head and murmur that rotten wood cannot be carved. !
Zhao Yiqiu soon followed in the footsteps of his three elder brothers, and was admitted to Lishan Academy right after graduation. Now he is about to graduate from Lishan Academy. At this time, Mei Xiaomu is still following Old Master Zhong, shaking his head and reciting "The Beginning of Man" all day long. , the Three-Character Sutra of "nature is inherently good"!
Zhao Gang and Yu Shilan have also aged very fast in recent years. Of their three sons, two died fighting for Chen Guo. The only remaining youngest son, Zhao Sheng, is also in a very dangerous situation. Yu Shilan has asked Zhao Gang many times to give birth to his only son Zhao Sheng. He was transferred back to the capital city of Luocheng, even if he did not need an official position. However, Zhao Gang always said that Jiangling was far away from the border between Chen and Wu, and there was no danger. What he never expected was that Weicheng, which had been guarded by Chen for many years, would be destroyed overnight. Suddenly captured by the Wu and Zhou coalition forces, Jiangling has now become the frontline of the Chen Kingdom!
Today at noon, Zhao Gang was summoned to the palace by Feng Baobao, the eunuch beside Emperor Chen Ruchang, just after dinner. He had not returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion until the time of lighting the lamp in the evening. This had never happened before. Yu Shilan began to feel restless. She was in Mei Yunniang's house. Accompanied by his wife, he had already gone outside the prime minister's mansion gate and looked at the road leading to the palace several times. For the last time, he simply asked his servants to put a chair at the gate of the prime minister's mansion and wait for her husband, Zhao Gang, to return home!
Just when Yu Shilan was looking forward to seeing what was going on, she finally saw the light from some lanterns on the road leading to the palace. Yu Shilan breathed a sigh of relief and ordered her servants, "Hurry up and prepare the food, the prime minister is back!"
"Prime Minister, why are you back so late today?" As soon as Zhao Gang's eight-carrying sedan landed in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Yu Shilan couldn't wait to greet him. Zhao Gang held Yu Shilan's frozen hands, worried. He said solemnly: "Let's talk after Madam goes in!" Seeing Mei Yunniang standing behind Yu Shilan, "Yunniang, please come over and talk to Madam and me tonight!" Yu Shilan was startled, "Master Xiang, in the end What happened?"
"Prime Minister, you are confused. How can you agree to this matter to the emperor?" After listening to Zhao Gang telling Chen Ruchang that he was going to let Mei Xiaomu marry the Princess of Zheng instead of the sixth prince, Yu Shilan stood up from the chair. Over the years, she and Mei Yun Mother and son get along day and night, and she has already regarded them as her closest relatives!
"Alas" Zhao Gang sighed heavily, "Now that our country, Chen, is under attack from both sides, and the country is at a critical moment of life and death, it might as well let this child do something for the country!" Zhao Gang said helplessly.
"Prime Minister, this is definitely not appropriate. Do you think that this child is dull by nature and knows nothing about the rules and etiquette of the palace? If you ask him to replace the sixth prince, the secret will be revealed all of a sudden? Why don't I go to the palace with you in the morning to beg for help? emperor!"
Zhao Gang shook his head, "It's late. Today at Shenshi, the emperor has asked Eunuch Feng to go to Honglu Temple to exchange marriage letters with Princess Su Xingran of Zhengguo. He also told her that due to the tense war, the marriage ceremony has been postponed. Eunuch Feng will bring people to pick her up tomorrow at Youshi. Xiaomu and Princess Zheng are going back to Zheng to visit relatives!"
"Mr. Prime Minister, I'm just wondering. Isn't this Princess Zheng illiterate? Our Xiaomu's surname is Mei and not Chen. And the names don't even match. How was this marriage certificate written?"
"The emperor had already issued a decree to change Mei Xiaomu's surname to Chen when he announced my entry into the palace. As for the name in the marriage certificate, I heard Eunuch Feng say that he explained to Princess Zheng Guona that the name "Xiaomu" was the name of the sixth prince. Chen Hong's nickname means the same thing as my name is Zhao Gang, and my nickname is "Ziming"!
Yu Shilan took a breath of cold air. This emperor must be too wicked. He will do whatever it takes to protect his little court. She pulled Mei Yunniang, who was still confused and sitting next to her, and said, "Yunniang, let's go see Mu'er first."
"Madam, is Mu'er's father going to recognize Mu'er?" The two of them walked out of Zhao Gang's study, and Mei Yunniang asked anxiously what she wanted to ask but didn't dare to ask just now.
"Haha, he has such good intentions, he just wants to be a scapegoat!" Yu Shilan said coldly.
"Why? Just now, I heard from the Prime Minister that Mu'er's father not only wants to recognize Mu'er, but also finds him a princess as his wife. Isn't this a good thing?"
"Yunniang, Yunniang, do you know who this princess is? Her country is about to perish. Not only will she be homeless, she will also be hunted by many people. Will Mu'er die with her? "
"No way. This princess is so dangerous. Why does his father want Mu'er to marry this princess? Mu'er is his son after all, right?"
"Yun Niang, this is a marriage contract he signed with someone many years ago. Now that she is in danger, she wants to ask him for help in the name of marriage. He wants to protect himself and the upright son in his palace. , so I had to push Mu'er and the princess who was in danger out to be their scapegoats!"
"Then what should we do? Madam!" Mei Yunniang reacted immediately and held Yu Shilan's hands tightly.
"Don't worry, Master Sanjie, the abbot of Bao'en Temple, is my natal brother. I'll find a way to inform him and ask him to take Mu'er away!" Looking at Mei Yunniang's pitiful look, I thought about the miserable life experiences of this mother and son. , Yu Shilan was heartbroken and determined to rescue Mei Xiaomu regardless of the consequences!
