Nankang Princess Mansion.
Huan Wen, who had gone to Taicheng to receive the imperial edict, returned to his mansion, called Huan Xi to his side, and said with an emotional expression:
"I feel sorry for you to bear this bad reputation."
Huan Chong returned to Jingkou before and did not hide anything. He reported Huan Xi's actions to Huan Wen one by one. Huan Wen was greatly moved.
Huan Xi shook his head and said:
"My father and I are closely related. As long as the father gets his way, it doesn't matter if the child suffers some injustice."
As he said this, Huan Xi said doubtfully:
"I don't know where my mother has gone, but I don't see her returning home with my father."
"She stayed in Taicheng and went to look for trouble with He Xiang."
Huan Wen explained, and after saying that, the father and son looked at each other and smiled.
Taicheng, Shangshu Terrace.
In the Han Dynasty, the Shangshutai was subordinate to the Shaofu. Since the Three Kingdoms, it has gradually become the gathering place for national government affairs. When Cao Cao came to power, Xun Yu was in the middle as a Shangshuling.
He Chong, who was in charge of the affairs of the Shangshu, usually worked in the Taichung of the Shangshu. However, this general general, the de facto prime minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, encountered trouble today.
Sima Xingnan came to the chancellery angrily, pointed at He Chong with one hand, and cursed angrily with his hand on his hips:
"Old slave! How dare you insult my Xi'er!"
He Chong knew that he was in the wrong and did not dare to talk back. How could he have expected that it was just a joke between him and his cronies, but it would spread so quickly.
Just when He Chong was about to commit suicide, Chu Suanzi heard the news and hurried over to persuade him to make peace. Sima Xingnan was furious:
"Queen Mother, you are here to judge. This old slave said that my Xi'er is a dolphin dog. Xi'er was born to me. He is a dolphin dog. Who am I? Who are my father and mother who gave birth to me! With me What are the two late emperors who have the same father and mother! This old slave is obviously talking about my Xi'er, but he is actually insulting the late emperor. He really deserves to be killed!"
He Chong's eyes turned black when he heard this. He knew that the eldest princess of Nankang had been unruly and willful since she was a child. Who knew that after being married for more than ten years and having several children, she still did not change her fiery temper.
Fortunately, Chu Suanzi would not really blame He Chong for disrespecting the late emperor because of Sima Xingnan's words. She persuaded Sima Xingnan to quit. Sima Xingnan only treated He Chong for the sake of the Queen Mother. He said fiercely:
"You are old and dazzled. If you don't recognize my Qilin son, don't imitate others in criticizing people!"
After that, he said goodbye to Chu Suanzi and walked away.
Chu Suanzi was left shaking her head helplessly. Although she was only twenty-two years old, she was still a mother after all, so she could naturally understand why her sister-in-law was so angry.
Saying behind someone's back that a person's son is as stupid as a pig or a dog, no one will let him go, no one will be impatient.
Chu Suanzi said to He Chong:
"Xiang He should still be cautious in his words and deeds in the future, and don't let others offend others."
He Chong sighed and agreed, but there was nothing he could do about Sima Xingnan's offence. Who could make sense of someone with a high status?
Sima Xingnan returned to his mansion, summoned Huan Xi, and said earnestly:
"Son, you have to give your mother a good reputation and don't let others look down upon you."
Huan Xi comforted and said:
"Don't worry, mother. People in the world are laughing at me now, but looking forward to the future, they will find that they are the porpoise that was fooled."
Sima Xingnan was extremely helpful, she smiled and said:
"That's right. When we get to Jingzhou, let them take a good look at my son's abilities."
Don't say Huan Xi did it on purpose. Even if he was really stupid, in Sima Xingnan's eyes, he was still her impeccable son.
Someone coughed slightly outside the house, interrupting their conversation. When Sima Xingnan saw it was Huan Wen, he said angrily:
"I didn't see Xi'er and I talking, what are you doing here!"
Huan Wen laughed dryly and said:
"Uncle Yan has come to Jiankang. I will take Xi'er to meet him."
The uncle Huan Wen spoke of was Yuan Qiao, the Prime Minister of Xuzhou Sima and Guangling. He was Huan Wen's most trusted confidant. He hurriedly asked his mother to resign.
Seeing Huan Xi's eagerness, Sima Xingnan had no choice but to let him go.
As the father and son walked in the corridor, Huan Wen suddenly sighed:
"Xi'er, remember as a father, when you marry a wife in the future, looks and family background are not important, she must be gentle and gentle.
We already have your mother at home. If you marry another unruly wife and they won't give in, we, father and son, will also suffer. "
Seeing Huan Wen's shortness of breath, Huan Xi expressed deep sympathy.
Suddenly, there was a slave behind him who addressed her as Madam. Huan Wen felt a chill on his back. He looked back in fear and saw that it was the wife of his second brother Huan Yun. He couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing Huan Xi standing by, he couldn't help laughing. Huan Wen became angry and glared at him. Huan Xi had to suppress his laughter. Huan Wen defended:
"I'm not afraid of my mother, I just respect her and don't want to argue with her and affect the harmony in the family."
"Ah, yes, yes, what father said is absolutely true."
Huan Xi nodded like garlic, but his tone was perfunctory.
In fact, Sima Xingnan acted very measuredly. Although she had a fierce temper and even forbade Huan Wen from taking concubines, she would always give Huan Wen face in front of outsiders.
If he had any temper, he would vent it behind closed doors in the inner house. He would never boss Huan Wen around or order him around in front of his subordinate officials.
"Why, you don't believe it?"
Huan Wen glanced at him sideways, and Huan Xi said quickly:
"My father is a hero respected by both Duke Yu and Prime Minister He. How can he be afraid of a woman? The man is the master of the house and the woman is the master of the house. The mother has to take care of the servants of a large family. The father does not want her to argue, which is also to protect her. A mother’s majesty in front of a house slave.”
Huan Wen smiled and said:
"Yes, what my son said is exactly what my father is thinking."
Huan Xi didn't criticize him either. Being henpecked was nothing. Even if Yang Jian became the emperor, he would still be afraid of his wife. He even tasted forbidden fruit and was discovered by Empress Dugu, who killed the palace maid with a knife. Yang Jian could only run away from the palace in anger.
The father and son came to the front hall, where Yuan Qiao was already waiting.
Facing his subordinates, Huan Wen had a different look. As soon as he sat down on the main seat, a heroic spirit came over him.
Yuan Qiao bowed in greeting, Huan Wen nodded and said:
"No need to be polite. Uncle Yan is tired from traveling. I specially called you here today to introduce someone to Uncle Yan."
As he spoke, Huan Wen called out:
"Xi'er, why don't you come forward and greet me quickly?"
Huan Xi, who was standing behind Huan Wen, agreed and saluted Yuan Qiao:
"The boy Huan Xi, whose courtesy name is Bo Dao, has met his uncle."
Yuan Qiao had already noticed the young man behind Huan Wen. Although Huan Xi was raised in the inner house in the past and rarely saw guests, due to the relationship between Yuan Qiao and Huan Wen, she had met Huan Xi several times, but never talked to him.
Huan Wen introduced him so solemnly today, which reminded Yuan Qiao of He Chong's comment.
Huan Wen said seriously:
"I can go out to control Jingzhou, and Xi'er has contributed a lot. As for the rumors, Shuyan doesn't need to pay attention to them."
Yuan Qiao was suddenly enlightened and couldn't help but look at Huan Xi in a different light. He returned the greeting:
"My Yuan Qiao, I have met the young master."
Huan Wen introduced Huan Xi:
"Uncle Yan previously served as the Prime Minister of Guangling. He went to Jingzhou to serve as the Prime Minister of Jiangxia and General Jianwu, supervising the military affairs of Jiangxia, Sui and Yiyang counties."
Huan Xi took a step forward, regardless of Yuan Qiao's surprise, he held his hand tightly and laughed loudly.
"I have often heard my father praise Mr. Yuan, and I have always wanted to make friends with you as the mastermind. However, my father thought that I was too young to do anything, so he kept me in the back house. I can meet Mr. Yuan today, and my life is not in vain."
Yuan Qiao was flattered by Huan Xi's enthusiasm. He did not doubt whether Huan Wen had praised him in front of Huan Xi. After all, Huan Wen had always entrusted him with important tasks, and the word "strategist" was worthy of his name.
As early as when Huan Wen was serving as the general of the auxiliary state, he invited Yuan Qiao to be his Sima, but Yuan Qiao did not accept it at that time.
After that, Huan Wen left the town of Xuzhou and invited Yuan Qiao to join the shogunate. Only then did Yuan Qiao apply for the position of Sima. He paid homage to Guangling Prime Minister and was the first subordinate official of Huan Wen's shogunate.
From the official position Yuan Qiao held in Jingzhou, we can also see how much Huan Wen relied on him.
Yuan Qiao didn't know whether what Huan Xi said was true or false, but how could Huan Wen not know that he was telling nonsense.
At first, he never discussed official matters with Huan Xi because of his mediocre qualifications.
But Huan Xi's way of dealing with people today still made Huan Wen nod secretly. Obviously, Huan Wen was extremely satisfied with his approach.
Introducing Huan Xi to the plotter Yuan Qiao not only shows Huan Wen's trust in Yuan Qiao, but also indicates that Huan Xi will participate in the planning of major military and political events in Jingzhou in the future.
When Yuan Qiao left Huan Mansion, he looked back at the door and sighed:
"Why does Prime Minister treat Huan Lang as a dolphin dog? He is really old and stupid."
After receiving the favor and being sued, Huan Wen was not in a hurry to go to Jingzhou to take up his post. He had to stay in Jiankang for some time to recruit talents.
Although there are many Xuzhou officials who will follow Huan Wen to Jingzhou, Jingzhou, as an important town, is not a small place for overseas Chinese to settle in Xuzhou. Such manpower is obviously not enough.
Huan Wen stayed in Jiankang for several days and recruited many famous people into his service. Among them, the one that attracted Huan Xi's most attention was Xie Yi from the Xie family in Chen County.
Xie Yi and Huan Wen were good friends before they became officials. They were acquaintances of common people.
When Huan Wen was the governor of Xuzhou, Xie Yi was the governor of Jinling County in Yangzhou. Although the two had similar jurisdictions, they deliberately kept a distance and did not have much contact.
It was not until Huan Wen accepted the post of governor of Jingzhou that his contacts with Xie Yi became frequent again.
Upon seeing this, Wang, the wife of Xie Zhi, Xie Yi's second brother, asserted that Huan Anxi (Huan Wen) wanted to take Jin Ling (Xie Yi) to Jingzhou.
Sure enough, Huan Wen quickly asked the court for an order to be appointed Sima of General Xie Yi's Anxi Mansion, and received the court's permission.
The reason why Huan Xi pays attention to Xie Yi is simple. Xie Yi's third brother is named Xie An, and Xie Yi has a pair of children who are also famous in later generations.
His daughter's name is Xie Daoyun, and his son's name is Xie Xuan.
Later generations all called Wang Xie together, but at this time, the Xie family in Chen County had not yet fully emerged.
Huan Xi followed his father Huan Wen's advice and did not easily show his wisdom in front of others before going to Jingzhou, so he still showed his stupidity to others.
But there were exceptions. Huan Xi invited someone to the eldest princess's mansion based on his father Huan Wen's name.
The man was not very old, at least much younger than the celebrities who came to the house these days. He was only nineteen years old.
"Master Xi, my master is waiting in the house. Please come in and talk."
Xi Chao stepped into the house without doubting the truth.
The windows of the wing room were closed and the light was dim, but Xi Chao could see clearly that the person on the throne was not Huan Wen, the governor of Jingzhou, but a young man in brocade clothes.
