Mrs. Dugu and the girl Lihua, surrounded by maids and eunuchs, entered a small but extremely gorgeous living room. Two people sat on the left and right in the middle of the hall.
One is the Empress Dowager Chinu, whom Madam Dugu is familiar with, and the other is about the same age as Madam Dugu. Just looking at her sitting appearance, she can tell that she is a great nobleman. Cultivation and wealth.
Madam Dugu glanced at her and felt that she looked familiar, but she couldn't remember which adult's wife she was. The mother and daughter went in and knelt down to worship her. The Queen Mother said with a smile.
"No gifts, no gifts, please get up quickly."
The lady who was similar in age to Mrs. Dugu stood up and held up the mother and daughter one by one. She sat down on the chair on the right side with the mother and daughter and scolded the Empress Dowager, pointing to the noble lady who was holding her up and said to Mrs. Dugu.
"Don't you know her? She is the daughter-in-law of the Ai family, Queen Li."
"This slave is disrespectful."
Mrs. Dugu asked and immediately fell down from her chair in surprise and knelt on the ground.
"This servant is ignorant and does not recognize the queen. Now I remember meeting her at the crown prince's coronation ceremony and the queen mother's birthday banquet."
When Lihua saw her mother kneeling on all fours, she cleverly knelt down as well.
"No gifts, no gifts."
Empress Li helped the mother and daughter up again with a smile and said.
"Dugu, you are such a beauty and your daughter is so beautiful."
Then the Chinu Queen Mother said to Lihua again.
"Don't you know that when your mother grew up to your age, many people came to her to ask for matchmaking? Later, it was your grandfather who fell in love with your father and he made the decision to marry your mother to the Yang family."
Everyone burst out laughing after hearing this. The one who laughed the happiest was the smart Madam Dugu. At this time, her original worries had dissipated with the laughter. Madam Dugu pretended to be unaware.
"You always invite slaves into the palace, so I'm wondering what to bring to honor our ancestors. After much deliberation, I decided to bring only two jars of old wine."
"Haha, I am the only one who knows me. I have no other hobbies than these two, and the older I get, the more greedy I become."
"But your mouth is much more than just two mouthfuls. I haven't finished what I have to say. These two jars of wine are medicinal wine brewed with Korean wild ginseng for many years. Drinking less can prolong your life. Drinking too much at one time can't stand it."
"I know, I know."
The emperor is as happy as if he has found a treasure.
"Do you know why I asked you to bring your daughter to the palace today?"
Mrs. Dugu glanced at Queen Mother Chinu and Queen Li and said.
"This slave doesn't know."
The Queen Mother Chinu turned her face and suddenly said to Lihua with a smile.
"Girl, can my ancestor tell you something about me?"
Lihua stood up and saluted, she said.
"It is Lihua's blessing to have ancestors make decisions for Lihua."
"Look at how well-behaved Xiao Nizi is."
Queen Mother Chinu smiled from ear to ear and turned around to ask Queen Li again.
"What do you think of this girl?"
"Okay, she is a smart girl."
The reserved Queen Li was already elated.
"Tell you what."
The Queen Mother Chi Nu solemnly said to Madam Dugu.
"I heard that your daughter-in-law had a good birth a long time ago. Today I saw that she is so well-behaved and sensible. Besides, the prince is not young at all. Today his mother, Empress Li, happens to be here at the Ai family, so she decided to make the marriage arrangements. What do you think of coming down?"
"Thank you, ancestor, and thank you Queen Li."
The lonely mother and daughter both knelt down and bowed solemnly three times. The emperor had already had a good impression of Yang Jian and was very satisfied with the marriage. Then both parties became busy. First, the emperor would personally send an envoy to the Yang family to deliver the gift of marriage. It was called Nacai at that time.
The visitor saluted outside the gate and entered the hall to ask for the woman's date of birth. Then she chose a day. Monk Situ and Shuling were sent as envoys to the woman's family, and they sent an engagement gift and called her Naji. After that, the emperor sent the chief minister Zheng Qing. An envoy came to the Yang family to inquire about the wedding date and to ask for a wife.
Because Yang Jian was on errands outside, Mrs. Dugu took care of it all alone. She not only had to welcome the envoys sent by the emperor, but also received the relatives and friends who came to congratulate after hearing the news, and dealt with various trivial matters before her daughter got married. Although the mother and daughter were complicated, People's hearts are happy.
"My father, Dugu Xinjun, was forced to death by the Yuwen family in the end of his life. My husband was hardworking and uncomplaining, but he was framed by Yuwen Hu. He escaped from death several times and now he has finally become a relative of the emperor. From now on, my husband's family should turn around."
The Crown Prince Yu Wenyun, who was released from prison after being beaten dozens of times and injured, heard the news that his ancestor was about to get married, but he was like an ant on a hot pot, eager to see the beauty of the Crown Princess who had not yet married. .
The Crown Prince had long heard that Yang Lihua was so beautiful that she had no chance to meet him. Today, he suddenly heard that she was about to become the Crown Princess. He completely forgot about his father's severe punishment and wanted to see this beautiful queen as soon as possible, who was called the best in the world.
Upon hearing the news, the Grand Chief Yu Wenhu not only sent a congratulatory gift to the prince, but also presented a particularly precious jade to the emperor. The Emperor was frugal in his life and rarely found rare treasures, so he displayed the jade sent by the Grand Chief conspicuously in the study. position.
The Crown Prince finally waited for the day to marry the Crown Princess. This morning, the Crown Prince was neatly dressed, wearing a hat and a black crown, hanging with white beads and nine glazes, decorated with three-color jade. He was wearing a black top and a sauce-colored long robe with mountains printed on the top. Five patterns of dragon, fire, phoenix and eagle.
The lower length was embroidered with various patterns of unicorns, canthus, flowers, birds, and insects. Then he bravely boarded the deer cart. Under the guidance of the ceremonial guard decorated with feathers, he set off with noisy drums to welcome the Crown Princess. He entered the newly decorated Yang Family Ancestral Temple, which was filled with joy. Yang Lihua stood in the east room with a shy face and dressed in fish clothes.
Yuwen Hu led the Yuwen family members, dressed in red and colorful, to distribute wedding candies and led a large group of people to explore the road. The prince was too conspicuous to avoid something bad happening.
"Cheer up! Bandits like to rob people at the foot of the mountain on days like this. We must always protect the safety of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess."
The accompanying young generals joked boredly.
"The general manager will make jokes all by relying on the sun and moon boring machine in your hand. Which bandit dares to come? Aren't they waiting to report to Grandpa Hell's side?"
After saying this, everyone laughed heartily, and the atmosphere of the wedding team suddenly became lively.
When the ceremonial chariots and horses to welcome the bride arrived, Madam Dugu went out to welcome the Crown Prince in. Then Dugu stood in the hall and faced the west. The Crown Prince stood in front of the family temple door and faced the north. He kneeled respectfully and presented a happy swallow to Madam Dugu. He bowed and bowed, then walked down the steps and went out, standing sideways to wait.
In the hall, Mrs. Dugu arranged the collar of the Crown Princess, tied her scarf, put on the ribbon for the Crown Princess, reiterated her parents' orders, and then went out.
The Crown Princess, surrounded by guests and maids, walked out of the temple gate, went down the steps, and boarded the deer cart. At this time, the female priest put a red blouse on the Crown Princess, and the Prince got into the carriage and drove.
After the wheels completed three turns, the charioteer drove the crown prince instead. The crown prince got off the car and returned to his deer cart. Inside, amid the lively sound of drums and firecrackers, the honor guard marching toward the East Palace slowly meandered towards the East Palace to welcome the bride.
Three days later, the loving couple paid homage to the Emperor and Empress Li. The Emperor was pleased with the Crown Princess's appearance, speech, and behavior. A few days later, news came from the East Palace.
"The prince's drinking and dissolute habits have been greatly cured."
On a particularly cold day after winter, Grand Sima Yu Wenxian drove to Yanshou Hall. After getting off the car, he called two palace guards to carry out a large box and cage from the car and gave instructions.
"Be careful and carry the cage into the emperor's study."
"what is this?"
The emperor asked, pointing to the cage.
"Your Majesty, this is a memorial sent from Xiangzhou."
Yu Wenxian said.
"The Grand Chief has already reviewed what the ministers sent to His Majesty for approval."
"If nothing happens in Xiangzhou, there has been no movement there for a long time. Whenever there is something, there are just a lot of big boxes like this."
When the emperor heard this, he immediately felt that this matter was a bit unusual. Suizhou has always been controlled by Xiangzhou, so major events in Suizhou must be reported to Xiangzhou first. After Yu Wenxian delivered these memorials, he left without saying anything. The emperor took out a specially made The copper key opened the copper lock of the box and took out a memorial on the side of the box.
This excerpt was described by the General Manager of Xiangzhou and reported to Suizhou to destroy a series of local criminal gangs headed by a father and son. All the following excerpts are from Suizhou's investigation and handling of the case. There are dozens of volumes. The emperor used two I just finished reading the memorials that day.
After a period of time, after reading this batch of memorials, waves of waves arose in his heart, which could not calm down for a long time. The most difficult thing to let him go was that such a group of bad guys could make such a big Suizhou ruined, withered, and full of smoke. The single family committed evil and fattened up. However, he has seriously damaged the vitality of the local people.
The emperor had long questioned the excessive expansion of mutual insurance companies by the powerful party, but was unable to investigate and deal with them and carry out effective crackdowns. The emperor once again expressed his sincere admiration for Yang Jian's ability. What is unusual is that the chief minister did not appear in this incident. A single word was approved on a large number of memorials.
Moreover, when Yu Wenxian sent the memorial, he did not express his views on this important case. He just put all the files here without specifying the intention. At this time, a eunuch came to report.
"The prince and the young master lured Lu Ben to see the Holy One."
The emperor asked after Lu Ben came in.
"How is the prince today?"
"The young couple were inseparable, and the prince's temperament also changed drastically."
Lu Ben said a few words about the prince's current situation and waited until everyone around him had gone out.
"I'm not here to meet the Holy One today about the Crown Prince's affairs. I wonder if His Majesty knows about the Crown Princess's father's current stay in Suizhou."
"What's the matter?"
The emperor suddenly felt suppressed and could not scold the uninformed Tao.
"What did you hear?"
"Recently, I heard that people from Suizhou entered the capital to sue Yang Jian. I also heard that the people who came to sue filled the hotels in Kyoto."
"Is this happening under our capital? What are they complaining about?"
"According to the people who complained, the governor Yang Jian indiscriminately killed wealthy businessmen who had done great service to the court when he could not collect taxes in Suizhou. He also imprisoned some innocent people and confiscated their family properties that they had accumulated over several lifetimes, causing everyone in Suizhou to panic. Public resentment boils over."
The emperor placed the tea in front of Lu Ben and said.
"How did Aiqing know these things?"
"First, the people from the East Palace Dining Room who went to the city to buy vegetables came back and told them. Later, people in the East Palace were whispering all kinds of stories, and they were changing their stories every day. Then the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess also knew about it?"
Lu Ben said.
"How dare I tell them that the Crown Princess's mother came to the East Palace gate yesterday and was anxious to see the Crown Princess. I was afraid that her daughter would cause trouble if she saw her, so I didn't let her in. Mr. Liu and Mr. Zheng were also very anxious. They came up from the top. The first time I was reprimanded by the Holy One, I was afraid to meet the Holy One, so I dragged my minister here to retaliate."
The emperor paced in the room and was silent for a long time before speaking.
"Well, you go back to the East Palace first, put on your casual clothes, and go to the Yang Mansion to see Madam Dugu. Tell the Crown Princess everything in the palace to reassure her. If she doesn't mention Yang Jian, don't say anything. If she hears anything, comfort her and call her She shouldn't believe the rumors and don't go around looking for random people. To make her believe that the pure will self-purify, go to Yang Jian's house and try not to let outsiders know."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Lu Ben stood up and wanted to kneel down and go out.
"Wait a minute."
"The emperor frowned."
Go on.
"Have you ever found out who is staying at the Kyoto Hotel?"
"Even if your Majesty doesn't tell me, I will ask you for clear information."
"This matter should not be tampered with. Even if you change into civilian clothes, you should not show up in those places. This matter is not just for Yang Jian alone. There may be something unknown hidden inside!! You must be taller. Mind’s eye.”
"If Your Majesty didn't remind me, I would have just left."
Lu Ben scratched his head and continued.
"If you can't go there in person, then think of other ways. If it doesn't work, we have to not go there for the time being."
"Just follow what you said. You are a close minister around us and you need to be careful about everything."
As soon as Lu Ben left, the emperor's heart became even more uneasy. The emperor thought for a while and shouted.
"Someone is coming."
A personal eunuch came in and he immediately gave orders.
"Go and find Uncle Xiao for me."
In a moment, a slightly fat official about the same age as the emperor walked in and was about to kneel down.
"Oh, don't do this."
The emperor said impatiently.
"Forget it."
"Didn't Your Majesty say that in the near future, I have to take care of the housework and let my ministers study?"
"You can't enjoy family happiness anymore."
The emperor said, pointing to the memorial written by the Xiangzhou government office on a desk.
"You take a look at this brochure first."
Uncle Xiao held the edge of the case with both hands and looked carefully at the first page of the memorial.
The emperor said.
"Sit down and watch."
He said and pushed his shoulders down with his hands.
