Sima Xingnan stayed in Jiankang for three days. During this period, he held a banquet at the princess's palace, and his ears were filled with compliments and flattery that he never tired of hearing.
There is no woman in the world who doesn't envy Sima Xingnan.
When she was not married, she was favored by thousands of people. Now that her husband's family has such power, they can still control her husband to death.
Before leaving, Sima Xingnan made a special trip to the Prince of Kuaiji's Mansion.
"Uncle Wang, I see that Daofu has reached the age of marriage. I wonder if Uncle Wang has a descendant that he likes?"
Sima Xingnan asked directly after the greetings.
Sima Yu didn't understand why she suddenly mentioned this matter, and said frankly:
"I was busy with official duties when I came in, so I didn't pay attention."
Sima Xingnan hurriedly said:
"I do have a candidate who is a good match for Daofu."
Sima Yu said doubtfully:
"Oh? I don't know who he is, but he can be chosen by the eldest princess."
Sima Xingnan smiled and said:
"The right way is to promote virtuous people without avoiding relatives. He is my second son, Huan Ji."
Sima Yu is not a woman without much political acumen like Sima Xingnan. He is very keenly aware of the impact that this marriage can bring.
Previously, Sima Yu followed Yin Hao's suggestion and appointed Huan Xi as the general to conquer the east and ennobled him as the Duke of Jingzhao County. This was not just to arouse Huan Wen's dissatisfaction with Huan Xi and him, so as to split the Huan family internally.
Unexpectedly, Huan Wen, Huan Xi and his son did not fall into the trap, and Sima Xingnan handed over the pillow himself.
Sima Yu suppressed his excitement and asked:
"I wonder if this is the will of the eldest princess alone, or does it have the approval of Linhe County Duke (Huan Wen)?"
Sima Xingnan said nonchalantly:
"There is no need to ask old slave about matters at home. I can make the decision on my own, niece."
Sima Yu was overjoyed and immediately agreed to the marriage. He didn't even look at his birth date and signed a marriage contract with Sima Xingnan in a hurry, fearing that Huan Wen would regret the marriage after knowing about it.
...
"Princess! A happy event! A great happy event! Your Majesty has found a perfect husband for you, he is the son of the Huan family!"
The maid learned the news from the slave serving in the front hall, and happily ran back to the backyard to report the good news.
Sima Daofu was startled when he heard this.
Young Master Huan? Could it be Huan Xi! Could it be that his marriage to Xie Daoyun went wrong again, so my cousin came to my house to talk about a matchmaker?
"But Duke Jingzhao!"
Sima Daofu asked impatiently.
The maidservant was dumbfounded and did not dare to answer for a while.
Sima Daofu saw the clues from the maid's face, and she felt even more disappointed:
"Say quickly! Who is it?"
The maid replied hesitantly:
"He is the second son of Linhe County Duke..."
Before he finished speaking, Sima Daofu was already smashing things in the house like crazy, leaving a mess all over the floor.
If you can't be Huan Xi's wife, then you have to be his sister-in-law?
Sima Daofu was very unwilling. In fact, although Huan Ji was not very talented, he was also born with great appearance.
But having such a dazzling brother as a comparison makes it even more obvious that he has nothing to show for his skin and a rough belly, like a straw bag.
After Sima Daofu vented her anger, she hurried to the front yard. At this time, Sima Xingnan had already left, leaving only Sima Yu looking at the newly signed marriage certificate happily.
"Father! My daughter doesn't want to marry Huan Ji!"
As soon as Sima Daofu entered the door, he made his position clear to his father.
When Sima Yu heard this, his face turned cold and he reprimanded:
"How can I allow you to make the decision on your own regarding marriage? I have already made up my mind. You must marry whether you want to or not!"
Sima Daofu said with tears:
"My father is trying to force his daughter to death!"
Sima Yu is not threatened by her:
"Even if you die, I will send your body to Jiangling!"
This matter is of vital importance, how can it be abolished just because of Sima Daofu's likes and dislikes.
Sima Daofu burst into tears when he saw that his father could even say such heartless words.
Just as she turned to leave, Sima Yu reminded:
"Tomorrow the eldest princess will go back to Jiangling, and her son will marry a daughter of the Xie family. You will go to watch the ceremony together, and pay a visit to the Duke of Linhe by the way. I heard that her son Huan Ji is also very handsome, in terms of family background, appearance, etc. You will be wronged."
Sima Daofu stopped at the door and said without looking back:
"How can the father know about his daughter's grievances?"
At this time, Sima Xingnan didn't know how much trouble she had caused for Huan Wen and Huan Xi. When she returned to the princess mansion, she couldn't wait to write a letter to Huan Wen, talking about the good marriage she had found for Huan Ji. At the same time, he sent Queen Mother Chu's private message to Huan Xi.
The next day, everyone gathered at Wuma Ferry.
Sima Daofu's eyes were a little swollen, which surprised Sima Xingnan:
"Princess, why is this happening?"
Sima Daofu explained:
"I was very reluctant to say goodbye to my father, the king, and my mother and concubine this morning, and I was delayed in resting last night."
Sima Xingnan suddenly said:
"Uncle Wang must have talked to the princess about the marriage between the two families. I remember that before I got married, I couldn't sleep all night long."
As he spoke, Sima Xingnan recalled the days when he had just married into the Huan family, and a sweet smile appeared on his face.
Not far away, Xie Daoyun was no better than Sima Daofu.
She understood that after marrying Huan Xi, she would inevitably move to Chang'an with her husband, and it would be difficult for her to see her parents, brothers and sisters again in the future.
Although Xie Yi did not want to go to Jiangling, he still made a special trip to see his daughter off. Xie Daoyun burst into tears in her mother's arms.
Xie Xuan on the side was not so worried about separation. Instead, he couldn't wait to go to Jiangling to meet Huan Xi.
Young people admire heroes the most, and Huan Xi's actions are worthy of the word hero. He was the first to conquer Shu with Yuan Qiao, and now he has conquered Guan Long, so how can he not be praised by Xie Xuan.
"Sister, don't be sad. In a few years, I will go to Chang'an to join you and make a name for myself."
Hearing this, Xie Daoyun burst into tears and smiled. Only Xie Yi frowned and thought about these words.
Xie Xuan and the young emperor Sima Dan were the same age, both were only eight years old. However, compared to Sima Dan, Xie Xuan had already shown his extraordinary qualities in front of his father and uncle at a young age.
Although Xie Yi was not on good terms with Huan Wen, he also felt that if Xie Xuan could train under Huan Xi, he would become a great weapon in the future.
After a reluctant farewell, the Sima sisters, Mother Xie and their children boarded the ship one after another. As for Li Shi and his wife, they were sent away with letters yesterday.
...
Jingzhou, Jiangling.
Li Shi and his wife were sent to the Linhe County Duke's Mansion together with the letter. Huan Xi fulfilled his promise to Li Yuan, so he naturally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately sent someone to send them to Chang'an to reunite with Li Yuan.
As for Sima Xingnan's family letter, it gave Huan Xi a big headache.
In the study, Huan Wen slapped the table and said angrily:
"Foolish! Foolish woman! I shouldn't have allowed her to go to Jiankang!
"You are so smart! After causing such trouble, you are still complacent with me in the letter, thinking that you have arranged a good marriage for Jier!"
Huan Xi sighed helplessly and said:
"Father, is there any remedy?"
Huan Wen was still angry and hummed:
"Now that things have come to this, can we still regret the marriage?"
It was obvious that he came to ask for marriage, but now he regrets the marriage, which is a bit too much.
It would be fine if he was from a small family. Sima Yu was not an ordinary prince, he was also an auxiliary minister of the imperial court. No matter how weak the imperial court was, it could not be bullied like this.
Huan Xi also knew that regretting a marriage would make it impossible to regret it again. After much thought, he finally came up with a plan. He suggested:
"Father, it has been many years since the fall of Guanlong, the Hu Dynasty was very strong, and culture and education were not yet developed. I am in need of help in the north. It is better to send the couple to Chang'an after the second brother gets married, which can also help me."
When Huan Wen heard this, his eyes lit up. This was indeed a good idea.
As long as Huan Ji leaves the south and is under the care of Huan Xi, this marriage will not pose much hidden danger to the Huan family.
Huan Wen stroked his beard with his hand and couldn't help but nodded:
"Well, as a descendant of my Huan family, Ji'er should also contribute to the family business. How can he play games all day long? It's just that he has little talent and little knowledge, so he shouldn't be entrusted with important tasks, otherwise he will delay important events."
In fact, even if Huan Wen didn't remind him, Huan Xi only planned to arrange a casual position for Huan Ji in the shogunate.
"My child obeys."
The father and son discussed the matter. Just as Huan Xi was saying goodbye and leaving, Huan Wen stopped him again and said awkwardly:
"My father was so angry just now that he verbally offended your mother. Remember, this matter must not be told to outsiders."
Huan Xi nodded, then stretched out five fingers:
"Five thousand households."
This is asking for hush money.
Huan Wen's expression changed and he said angrily:
"Then just go ahead and talk to her, don't use this as a threat! I don't believe it, your mother can eat me alive!"
Huan Xi quickly retracted his hand and said with a smile:
"Father, calm down and just tease me."
After he left, Huan Wen sat alone in the study and said angrily:
"This child, Xi'er, is getting more and more arrogant in front of me. I have to blame his mother for this. She bosses me around at home. How can I still have the dignity of a father?"
Of course, having said that, if he really had to face Sima Xingnan, how could he still have such toughness?
Huan Xi returned to his bedroom, still regretting the loss of 5,000 households.
Many of his true words were said in a joking tone. He really wanted to take away 5,000 more households from Jingzhou.
Huan Xi took out a letter from his arms, which was a private letter from the Queen Mother that had been sent with him. Huan Xi looked at the handwriting on the envelope and couldn't help but praise:
"The person is beautiful, and so are the words."
Huan Xi carefully cut open the seal and looked at the words on the letter. Empress Dowager Chu's face vividly appeared on the paper, as if she was pouring out a miserable woman's memory of her deceased father and her plea to him in front of him.
"That's all, the Queen Mother was kind to me when she arranged for me to marry Ling Jiang, so why should I continue to target a dead man.
"Besides, adding so many memorials is enough for the northern Han people to understand what I mean. As the saying goes, too much is too little, so we should stop there."
With that said, Huan Xi was about to burn the letter, but as soon as the trustworthy paper came close to the candlestick, he immediately took it back.
"It would be a pity to burn such beautiful calligraphy. I might as well keep it and observe it from time to time. I think it can also improve my calligraphy skills."
But Huan Xi had ambitions for the world, so he never really cared about his own calligraphy skills.
Even if he really wanted to practice calligraphy, not to mention his contemporary calligrapher Wang Xizhi, even Xi Chao, who often corresponded with him, had calligraphy skills that Empress Dowager Chu could not match.
In the final analysis, Empress Dowager Chu's calligraphy can only be called "juanxiu", and it is difficult to compare with calligraphy masters like Xi Chao.
Carefully put away the private letters of Empress Dowager Chu. The ancients often said that seeing words is like meeting each other. Huan Xi felt that he was a Zhongliang of the Jin Dynasty, so he took out the letters from time to time to pay homage to the holy face of the Empress Dowager.
Speaking of which, the family hierarchy is really chaotic. He married his cousin Xie Daoyun, and now Huanji will marry his cousin Sima Daofu. He can't find another aunt for the other brothers.
At the same time, Huan Wen also sent someone to inform his brothers that Huan Xi was getting married, and they, as uncles, would naturally have to attend.
Among them, Huan Wen's second brother Huan Yun was the general of Jianwu and the prefect of Xiyang (now Huanggang, Hubei).
The third brother Huan Huo initially served in Sima Yu's shogunate. However, as the relationship between his elder brother Huan Wen and the head of the palace Sima Yu became increasingly tense, he resigned on the grounds of illness. He has not yet served. Like most celebrities of this era, Dedicated to the joy of mountains and rivers.
Of course, the current situation allows him to indulge himself. If Huan Wen really wants to fight against him, Huan Huo can still afford to help his brother.
The fourth brother Huan Mi was Secretary Lang in Jiankang and an official of the Secretariat.
Huan Mi and Huan Wen had a bad relationship. He had been talented since he was a child, but he was not loved by his brother and was often suppressed by him.
The relationship with his fifth brother Huan Chong was even more intense.
After all, he was afraid of comparison in everything. Huan Chong was highly valued by Huan Wen. Thinking about how depressed he was, even if Huan Chong did nothing, breathing in Huan Mi's eyes was a mistake.
Just like Huan Ji was jealous that Huan Xi could monopolize his father's favor.
In a letter to his third brother Huan Huo, Huan Wen also specifically told him to bring his eldest son Huan Shiqian.
Among all the nephews, Huan Wen loved the eldest son of his third brother the most. Although Huan Shiqian was young, only thirteen years old, he had been courageous since he was a child, and he was proficient in bow and horse. He was expected to be a brave general in the future.
While Huan Wen was waiting for his brothers to come to Jiangling with their children for reunion, Sima Xingnan and his party were about to arrive in Jiangling.
Huan Ji heard the news somewhere and was overjoyed to learn that his mother had found such a good match for him.
He thought secretly:
'My father doesn't want to use me. Could it be that I can't follow my father-in-law's footsteps? '
Sima Yu was in charge of the government affairs, so it was not easy to arrange an official position for himself.
Huan Ji felt that as long as he had the opportunity to show his talents, his father would be impressed by him.
Therefore, when he learned that his mother was about to return to Jiangling and that Sima Daofu was accompanying him, he couldn't hold back his excitement and rushed to the ferry early in the morning to wait, in order to see his fiancée Sima Daofu earlier.
However, no matter how Huan Ji turned the abacus into smoke, he never expected that the father and brother Huan Wen and Huan Xi had already arranged his life path, and he was destined to live under his brother's wings.
Huan Xi left home a little late. Along the way, his fourth brother Huan Yi, who is known for his stupidity, was like a curious baby. He took the trouble to ask Huan Xi questions. Huan Xi did not despise his low intelligence, but found Huan Yi innocent and cute. .
After all, as long as there is good guidance, there is no need to worry about him committing crimes in the future.
