Until then, Huan Xi finally raised his head and looked around, only to see a beautiful and dignified woman looking at him.
This was not the first time the two met. When Huan Xi was young, he often followed his mother Sima Xingnan into the palace, but those were the memories of the original owner.
While Chu Suanzi looked at Huan Xi, Huan Xi was also secretly looking at her.
Although they are separated by generations, they are only eight years apart in age. Chu Suanzi was widowed at the age of twenty-one and is still only twenty-five years old.
It's just that Huan Xi is not a thief of Cao, and Chu Suanzi is not a prostitute like Jia Nanfeng of the Western Jin Dynasty or Empress Dowager Hu of the Northern Wei Dynasty. There is no atmosphere of ambiguity between the two.
Chu Suanzi praised:
"Huan Qing fought through thorns and thorns in the battle against Shu and recovered the two prefectures of Yi and Ning and the four counties of Liang Prefecture for the country. He made great contributions, and his martial virtue was outstanding, just like his father.
"After that, he stayed in Yizhou and governed Shu for less than a year. He made the local people fall in love with him and the people praised him. I heard that when Huan Qing left, Li Shu cried and stopped him. He is really a capable minister in governing the world."
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Queen Mother who came to the throne could call herself "I", and the ministers also addressed themselves as "Your Majesty". When Huan Xi greeted Chu Suanzi, he called her the Queen Mother, just to distinguish her from the little emperor. After all, he continued to address this. Salute to mother and son.
Huan Xi said modestly:
"Your Majesty, you are so complimentary. I can only rely on my father's mighty virtue to unite the hearts of my subordinates. I am only able to achieve today's achievements by relying on the collective efforts of everyone."
Chu Suanzi didn't believe what he said.
Although he was born in Jiankang, as the actual controller of the highest power in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he knew a lot about the process of Huan Wen's conquest of Shu.
Chu Suanzi shook his head and said:
"Huan Qing doesn't need to be too modest."
As he said this, Chu Suanzi changed the subject and said reproachfully:
"Since Huan Qing has the talent to manage the world, why did he deceive He Sikong and pretend to be stupid?"
He Sikong was He Chong who died of illness before. He was posthumously given the post of Sikong, hence his title.
It seemed like she was blaming him, but there was no hint of blame on Chu Suanzi's face. Obviously, it was impossible for her to make a fuss about this matter to punish Huan Xi.
This question is just out of curiosity as to why Huan Xi was willing to be ridiculed in the first place.
Huan Xi said seriously:
"Reporting to your majesty, when I paid homage to He Sikong, I did so because I was ill. At that time, my mind was dizzy and my expression was in a daze. It was really difficult for me to respond to He Sikong's questioning. That's why I got a bad reputation. I didn't mean to deceive."
Chu Suanzi nodded slightly. Ever since the Huan family grew up, she had paid close attention to the father and son. Naturally, she also knew that Huan Xi had suffered a serious illness.
"I see. I just said that Huan Qing is a handsome gentleman, so how could he fool a moral elder?"
Chu Suanzi respected He Chong very much. Compared with his unreliable father, it was He Chong's persistence that withstood the pressure of the Yu brothers and helped their mother and son sit on the throne.
After letting go of her worries, Chu Suanzi asked Huan Xi about the scenery of Yizhou. Huan Xi answered her questions one by one, which greatly satisfied her curiosity.
The two of them talked intently, while the little emperor beside them was completely reduced to a foil.
Of course, Sima Tan was only six years old. No one cared what he thought, and he didn't know what others were saying. To the court, the young emperor was just a decoration and had not yet learned how to govern a country.
Children don't have much patience. Sima Dan has been impatient after sitting on the throne for a long time. When Chu Suanzi saw this, he was about to ask Huan Xi to resign, but Huan Xi asked Chu Suanzi to arrange a marriage ceremony for him and Xie Daoyun.
Why is Chu Suanzi:
"I am the same generation as Ling Jiang, but Huan Qing is my junior. I'm afraid your marriage will mess up the seniority."
Chu Suanzi and Xie Daoyun are related, and their mother's family is the Xie family of Chen County.
Her mother, Xie Zhenshi, is the daughter of Xie Kun. Xie Kun and Xie Sa are brothers from the same father, and Xie Sa is Xie Daoyun's grandfather.
To be precise, Chu Suanzi and Xie Daoyun are cousins.
And Chu Suanzi is Huan Xi's aunt. In strict terms of seniority, Xie Daoyun is Huan Xi's cousin.
Of course Huan Xi understood this, but he was worried that Xie Yi would use this as an excuse to break off the engagement in the future, so he requested:
"Wei Chen and Ling Jiang have known each other since they were young, and they were already engaged. They were afraid that Mr. Xie would regret it, so they asked each other.
"If your majesty can fulfill my wishes, I will die as a minister in life and weave grass in death to repay your majesty's kindness."
With that said, Huan Xi kowtowed.
Chu Suanzi pondered for a moment and saw that he was sincere. Of course, he was also referring to Huan Xi's words that life should be the end of the world and death should be the weeds. He finally nodded and said:
"Since we have made a marriage contract, we cannot break our promise. I hope Huan Qing will remember what I said today."
Now that Huan Wen is in great difficulty and he covets the artifact, Chu Suanzi sells Huan Xi a favor just in case. If Huan Xi can take care of his old relationship, mother and son can also have a good death in the future.
Of course, it would be best if the imperial court could maintain the current fettered relationship with the Western Fan.
As for the Xie family in Chen County, Chu Suanzi was not worried. Xie Daoyun's cousin Xie Shang was able to guard Yuzhou because he was Chu Suanzi's uncle.
Chu Suanzi came to the throne in the second year of Jianyuan (344 AD), and Xie Shang was also promoted to the governor of Yuzhou in this year.
She believed that, no matter what, her uncle was interested in her, not her cousin's husband's family.
Huan Xi was overjoyed to get Chu Suanzi's promise. This at least solved one of his worries.
After leaving the main hall, Huan Xi went to Taiwan Province to present himself, and his assistant, King Sima Yu of Kuaiji, had been waiting for a long time.
In the main hall, Sima Yu smiled and praised:
"Huan Lang is fengshen and handsome. He is really a talented person."
Huan Xi still showed a modest image, but compared to talking with Chu Suanzi about Yizhou's customs and customs, Huan Xi had no intention of chatting with Sima Yu.
Now that Sima Yu is in charge of the government to fight against Huan Wen, the Huan family father and son are destined to have a tense relationship with him.
If it weren't for the purpose of collecting the petition, Huan Xi wouldn't even make the trip to Provincial Taiwan, feeling that it was a waste of his time.
After some perfunctory talk, Huan Xi left Taicheng and ran straight to Xie's Mansion.
Not only did she want to tell Xie Daoyun the good news and give her some reassurance, but she also wanted to find a chance to meet Xie An and see if she could persuade him to become an official and go to Liangzhou with her.
After Xi Chao left, Huan Xi had one less political helper. If he could get help from Xie An, Huan Xi could concentrate on military affairs.
However, contrary to expectations, Huan Xi came to Xie's Mansion, but only saw Xie Daoyun. After Xie An learned that he was about to arrive in Jiankang, he deliberately left Beijing for a long trip, obviously not wanting to get involved in the Huan family's hegemony.
In fact, Huan Xi had already been mentally prepared. After all, Xie An liked to travel and repeatedly refused the imperial court's conquests. It was only when no one in the family could support the situation that he had to become an official.
Fortunately, Huan Xi was not without gains. Being able to reunite with Xie Daoyun was a blessing for him.
