The Xuanzhengyuan in Taiji Palace was originally a five-day court for the prince to supervise the country. After the emperor went to Taiji Palace to practice Taoism, the Xuanzhengyuan became a meeting that notified courtiers from time to time.
Sometimes Mu Sheng didn't know when he would go to court, so he would listen to the notice from above at short notice. However, every court meeting was a very important matter. From this point of view, the Prince Supervisor still shared a lot of important responsibilities for the emperor.
A few days later, Mu Sheng went to Tianji Palace again to attend court. After the court was dismissed, Sima Tan, the imperial servant, took the initiative to come forward and talk to Lord Changping.
Sima Tan said cheerfully, "Chang Pingjun, your Majesty has canceled the construction of high platforms in various counties. All resources and manpower have been mainly used to build a few small canals, and the construction period of the canals has also been extended." No more forcing people to meet deadlines."
Mu Sheng was surprised when he heard this and said, "Father, you didn't blame me for speaking out and remonstrating?"
Sima Tan smiled and said, "At first, His Majesty was a little unhappy, but later, for some unknown reason, His Majesty simply gave up on building the high platform."
Mu Sheng let out a long sigh of relief...
Mu Sheng thought to himself, what a guy! Is the emperor supporting him? Or did you really accept his opinion? Your heart is unpredictable!
After leaving Taiji Palace, Mu Sheng had the intention of visiting Sima Tan's house. After thinking about it, he decided not to do it. Sima Tan was considered a close official of the emperor and ranked among the nine ministers. If he had close contacts with the prince, it would arouse the emperor's suspicion. Something bad happened.
After the dynasty was over, Mu Sheng boarded a four-carriage that was over the limit and drove back to his mansion. It was not until he returned to the mansion that he felt safe and secure in taking control of the overall situation.
After the court meeting a few days ago, Mu Sheng was lying on the couch and kept telling himself in his heart not to talk nonsense and just be a quiet person. Who knows that one day the emperor would suddenly turn his back on him and be ruthless? Accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. Just cooperate with the emperor and act out the script arranged by the emperor. Don't talk too much if there is nothing wrong.
After returning home, Mu Sheng went straight to the inner hall. Sure enough, Wu Xie was waiting for him in the hall, so he told Wu Xie in detail what he had seen and heard in Taiji Palace.
Mu Sheng wondered, "What happened today is just as expected... By the way, sir, haven't my father already handed over all the government affairs of the court to His Highness the Crown Prince? How could he still think of setting up a Xuanzhengyuan in Taiji Palace? This Could it be that there is another small court in Taiji Palace?"
Wu Xie said, "What the young master said is true. It is indeed a small court. The prince is responsible for supervising state affairs and is only responsible for the common affairs, which belong to the daily affairs of the government. However, every major military and national event still requires your majesty's nod."
oh! He understood immediately that the emperor still did not want to delegate power. In fact, the real core of power was still in the Tai Chi Palace. However, this was a normal operation. As long as the old emperor was clear-minded, he would not really trust the prince to hand over power. That would really make him the emperor. In fact, the officials of the Xuanzhengyuan that Mu Sheng saw today were actually the emperor's true confidants, or officials in charge of key departments of the imperial court.
Wu Xie said, "Young Master is favored by Zhenglong. Your Majesty, you are in a high position now. Moreover, Your Majesty has rewarded the Crown Prince with a guard of honor for you to use. This may cause a huge backlash from the princelings. Just watch, there will be more later." It’s a good show.”
Mu Sheng asked, "Sir, under what circumstances do you think the prince would really lose your majesty's trust?"
Wu Xie smiled and said, "Sir, you are asking His Majesty what his attitude is towards the Crown Prince, right?"
Mu Sheng nodded when he heard this.
Wu Xie said, "The prince has really lost trust in your majesty. Just look at one thing, whether the prince's teacher, the prince's tutor, the right prime minister Cui Yan, has completely fallen. As long as Cui Yan is still in the position of the right prime minister, it means that your majesty There is no intention to change the prince..."
Mu Sheng nodded and said, "That's it."
The two chatted in the hall for a long time and roughly discussed the current development direction of the court. Mu Sheng's thinking became much clearer...
Early the next morning, Mu Sheng came to the lobby and saw the eunuch bringing another bundle of greeting cards.
He flipped through it casually, and found that there were many more people visiting him than before. It was really good! It seems that the emperor's method has immediate results, so many people have taken advantage of it so quickly...
Seeing this situation, Mu Sheng fortunately called in his guests Feng Wei and Xia Chuan, and said, "I will host a banquet tomorrow and welcome all the tourists and officials who come to visit me."
Feng Wei said, "Sir, please leave this matter to me!"
Xia Chuan also said, "Master, please rest assured."
After Feng Wei recovered from his leg injury, he stayed at the house and became Lord Changping's first guest.
In the afternoon of the next day, Mu Sheng greeted the visiting guests in front of the door. He saw that the courtyard was crowded with people, at least several hundred people.
Mu Sheng went to the lobby to chat with the guests.
As the landlord, Mu Sheng first raised his wine glass and said, "I am deeply honored that you are honored to be a guest at my house in Changping, and I would like to toast you with this glass."
After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp.
All the guests said in unison, "Thank you, Mr. Changping, for your hospitality." After saying this, they all raised their glasses and drank.
Mu Sheng clapped his hands, and a group of dancers came to the courtyard to dance...
Ancient music played during the banquet, and some guests raised their glasses and came to toast Mr. Mu Changping. He also treated all comers with courtesy.
Afterwards, Mu Sheng asked the kitchen to bring the prepared hot pot and some raw dishes. In this era, people generally shared meals. Each person had a small table in front of him. The servants in the mansion brought a strange-shaped dish to each guest's table. There was charcoal burning in the copper pot, and many people looked at each other in shock.
Mu Sheng smiled slightly and said, "Everyone, this is a unique way of eating that I discovered while traveling around the world. I will share it with you today, and I will personally demonstrate it to you."
After saying that, he picked up a piece of meat, rinsed it in a copper pot, and dipped it into his mouth. Seeing this, everyone also imitated the situation and praised it profusely after eating. This banquet lasted until the evening, and everyone was drunk and staggering around.
Mu Sheng also looked at the dancer dancing in the courtyard with drunken eyes, fascinated.
It was only now that he realized that the waists of these dancers were soft and their sleeves were flying in the ancient vocal music as if they were fairies descending to earth. He usually turned a blind eye to this kind of luxurious configuration. He must appreciate it more in the future...
In the evening, the banquet dispersed, and Mr. Changping personally saw off the guests at the door.
When everyone was almost gone, he remembered that he had to go to Tai Chi Palace to listen to politics tomorrow.
Mu Sheng shook his head and thought, Hey! Today he was so drunk that he felt dizzy. With Xixue's help, he returned to the inner room and fell asleep...
The next day, after Mu Sheng returned home from court, as soon as he entered the lobby, the guard handed over a greeting card and a gift box.
The guard said, "There is a man named Song Zhong outside the mansion asking to see you."
Mu Sheng opened it and seemed a little surprised. There was a mutton-fat jade-carved unicorn in the box. It was exquisite and elegant in shape. He carefully took out the unicorn and played with it. He actually couldn't put it down.
He roughly estimated it in his mind. It was worth at least tens of thousands of gold. How could someone give such a heavy gift? It seemed that what he was asking for was unusual. Mu Sheng took out the greeting card and looked at it carefully, Song Zhong? Ending? This name is really auspicious!
This man's ancestor had been an official in the Jin Dynasty. He had been doing business for generations since his great-grandfather, and no one had ever been in politics.
Mu Sheng thought for a while and asked someone to call him in to see what kind of medicine he bought in his gourd! For the sake of such a great gift, at least I have to meet him.
After a while, the eunuch led a short and fat man in ordinary robes over. He bowed to him respectfully and said, "Greetings to Mr. Changping. The villain Song Zhong admires you very much. There are quite a few in this gentleman's family." The capital is originally a merchant in this city. It is a great honor for me to be summoned by the Lord last night with such a humble status..."
Mu Sheng wondered why he had no impression of this person yesterday. Anyway, basically everyone who came to visit was received.
Mu Sheng waved his hand and said, "Everyone who comes is a guest, and I treat them all equally."
Mu Sheng played with the jade unicorn in his hand and said to Song Zhong, "Why are you offering such a generous gift today?"
Song Zhong turned his eyes and said with a smile, "The superior has a keen eye like a torch. When I look at you, I don't care about my family background. I treat everyone equally. I don't ask for an official position or fame. I only care about wealth and sex in my life. I want to join the shogunate for you." I am a guest, but I ask your Majesty to guarantee the property under my name."
After that, he handed a bundle of land deeds to Mu Sheng to show his sincerity...
After chatting with him in detail for half an hour, Mu Sheng couldn't help but smile a little. This man was honest. In this era, the status of merchants was low, and many merchants had to cling to the powerful officials in the court as a protective umbrella for their business. His dignified Lord Chang Ping was not interested in his property, and he was not short of money anyway. After thinking about it, he realized that this person was knowledgeable in business, and he was afraid that he might be useful in the future.
Mu Sheng touched the jade unicorn in his hand and said, "Okay! Okay! From now on, you, Song Zhong, will be a member of my family. Is this just for this reason?"
Song Zhong was overjoyed and said, "Your Majesty is aware of everything."
Song Zhong considered his tone again and said, "Your Majesty, actually, I have one more thing to ask for, and I hope your Majesty will grant it to you. Yesterday, I had hot pot in your residence and was not satisfied with the taste! There are many restaurants in various places under my name. Management, I would like to ask the chef of your mansion to hand over this gourmet recipe to me?"
Mu Shengxin said, why should it be such a big deal?
He casually agreed, "It's easy! Since you have become my disciple, I will give you the formula."
He casually pulled out a blank bamboo slip and wrote the recipe quickly. After finishing the book, Mu Sheng handed the bamboo slips to the eunuch and handed them to Song Zhong. Song Zhong expressed his gratitude as if he had found a treasure.
When Mu Sheng saw that Song Zhong seemed to be doing his duty, he remembered Mrs. Sun, whom he had met once while staying at Tai Chi Palace that day. According to Yang Liu, it seemed that this famous person next to his father would have a birthday in a while. Yes, he must pay homage in advance.
Thinking of this, Mu Sheng's heart moved and he said, "Song Zhong, I have something I need you to handle."
Song Zhong smiled and cupped his hands and said, "Please tell me, your Majesty, it is a small man's blessing to be able to share your worries with your Majesty."
Mu Sheng said, "Song Zhong, do you know that there is a strange thing in this world called a white fox?"
Song Zhong heard this and said, "Reporting to your Majesty, I know that I heard that this spiritual creature is extremely rare. It is usually alert and alert, and its fur is especially gorgeous. Only an old hunter in the mountains has seen it with his own eyes. Could it be that your Majesty is looking for this creature to make it into fur?"
Mu Sheng said, "Well! See if there is any way to find ready-made white fox furs. I have my own uses. If I can find this thing, I will definitely spend a lot of money to buy it."
Song Zhong promised, "Your Majesty, this is easy to say. Song will definitely accomplish this for Your Majesty even if he searches all over the capital."
After saying this, Song Zhong left the inner hall.
