A loud "Wo Cao" came from the study room of Prince Chi's Mansion.
The few people who put their ears against the door and listened to what was going on inside were frightened into sweating.
Zhizhi looked at the sisters who were connected to him through [Orchid] in confusion, and opened and closed his lips: "Master, what do you want...?"
Pingping was confused and unsure: "...Grass?"
Lily tilted her head: "Who?"
Jing Xuemei pursed her lips and wanted to smile but couldn't: "...Stop making trouble, I'm afraid something will happen."
When Zheng Xiu suddenly pushed open the study room with a dark face, the four girls stood outside the door at a loss, with their heads lowered like children who had done something wrong.
"Hurry and bathe and change my clothes."
Zheng Xiu didn't blame them for eavesdropping. His face was terrifyingly gloomy, as black as if he could squeeze out ink.
The whistle is loud and clear.
Qing Shisan, who was squatting on the roof doing a pedicure, was suddenly startled.
"Hurry and prepare your horses, the master is going to the palace to face the emperor!"
After a while.
The carriage of Prince Chi's Palace was speeding on the street. Zheng Xiu was sitting in the carriage, saying nothing and silently rubbing the jade ring on his thumb.
The imperial edict was accompanied by thaumaturgy, and after the real "content" was conveyed in the form of an illusion, the scroll spontaneously ignited and was burned, leaving only ashes everywhere.
Zheng Xiu closed his eyes and carefully recalled every word the emperor said in the imperial edict, pondering its deep meaning.
After turning over and over, he thought about Wei Yangzun's brief words several times. After experiencing the initial shock and disbelief, Zheng Xiu calmed down now, and was only filled with confusion and confusion.
When we arrived in front of the palace, there were many guards.
On the snow, Yi Gao Er's roots were red, waiting quietly.
It took Zheng Xiu nearly half an hour to read the imperial edict, bathe and change clothes, and go out in brocade clothes, while Yi Gao waited for half an hour.
Qing Shisan helped Zheng Xiu out of the car, and Yi Gao stepped forward to pay his respects.
Zheng Xiu nodded with a dull face, and Yi Gao asked in a low voice: "The Holy One left a message, and ordered me to take a humble position in front of the palace. I asked the prince: Is the person coming now, Prince Zheng, or Zheng Xiu?"
Before Zheng Xiu could answer, Yi Gao smiled slightly: "The Holy One said that if the prince answers 'Red King', he can enter the palace to meet the Holy One. If he answers 'Zheng Xiu', he can return the same way and there is no need to enter the court."
The cold wind filled his mouth and nose. Zheng Xiu took a deep breath and cupped his hands towards Yi Gaogong: "I have my own sense of propriety. Thank you, Master Yi, for reminding me."
"Don't dare! The Red King invites you."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of drums was like raindrops, passing from drum to drum, resounding throughout the palace.
"Xuan!"
"Pass on the Red King!"
Dong dong dong dong——
"Pass on the Red King!"
"Pass on the Red King!"
There was a message hidden in the raindrop drum. In the main hall, Wei Yangzun waved his hand and said with a slight smile: "Password - Red King!"
Climbing the thousand-step ladder to heaven, Zheng Xiu walked as if on flat ground, stepping on the thick snow, leaving a lonely line of footprints, and stepped into the main hall.
The civil and military officials stood in several columns, with clear distinctions.
As one of the six ministers, Jiang Gaoyi stood at the head of one of the columns. He lowered his head and turned his face, trying his best to wink at Zheng Xiu, who was approaching from behind, and pursed his lips. Zheng Xiu didn't have the ability to "observe words and expressions" like Jiang Gaoyi, so naturally he couldn't understand what Jiang Gaoyi's expression was saying. But as he walked along, he could also feel the strange atmosphere in the hall.
In the main hall, you can hear a needle drop. The emperor was sitting on the dragon chair with a smile on his face, watching Zheng Xiu step forward.
"My lord, please see your Majesty."
Zheng Xiu bowed his hands in salute, and Wei Yangzun waved his hand and gestured aside: "Give me a seat."
A small chair was brought out, Zheng Xiu thanked him deeply, waved his cloak without a smile, and sat on it. Looking down at the court, Zheng Xiu's eyes were like lightning, scanning everyone's faces one by one.
Jiang Gaoyi, who was keeping his head down and secretly observing the situation, couldn't help but be secretly shocked. After not seeing him for a few days, Zheng Xiu once again came to the morning court as the "Red King", and there was a faint majesty in his eyebrows that was not inferior to the emperor.
Of course, with this thought in his mind, Jiang Gaoyi would never dare to say this comparison, as it would make him lose his head. Looking at Zheng Xiu's face, Zheng Xiu's face was filled with three words: unhappy. Jiang Gaoyi was thinking about what had caused a heated debate in the morning court this morning. Several parties were competing, and it happened that at this moment, King Chi, who never went to court early, was announced to go to court - even a fool could see who Zheng Xiu meant to go to court.
As soon as Zheng Xiu took his seat, the Emperor first gave a light compliment, saying that when it came to droughts and floods in summer, King Chi was generous and selfless and contributed to disaster relief.
The ministers all agreed.
Zheng Xiu's face darkened and he was not very happy.
He had now recovered from the shock of the "Secret Imperial Edict", raised his head, and looked at the emperor.
At this moment, Wei Yangzun's eyes were bright and there were words hidden in them. When he admired the Red King in front of all the civil and military officials, he caught the eye of the Red King. In an instant, an old man and a young man, now the most powerful and highest-status people in the Daqian Dynasty, looked at each other in silence.
"The only one who can relieve my worries is the Red King of the Zheng family."
The emperor smiled, and Zheng Xiu held his hands in his seat: "I don't dare to accept it, my minister."
"No need to be too modest, you can afford it."
There was an unmistakable flavor in the Emperor's tone.
At the end of his edict, he only said one thing.
It concerns both countries!
This is why Zheng Xiu couldn't help but shout "I'm stupid" after hearing Wei Yangzun's words from the imperial edict.
Since ancient times, the relationship between countries has been either war or peace.
The Northern Barbarians had been fighting with Da Gan for hundreds of years, and there had been friction in several dynasties.
Since the previous dynasties, there have been emperors with great ambitions, who want to incorporate the Northern Barbarian countries into their own territory and become an emperor through the ages and be famous for generations to come.
Due to the barren land and lack of materials in the northern wilderness, people have always relied on animal husbandry to make a living. If the Northern Barbarian countries are weak, then it is not bad. They can honestly submit to Daqian and share their needs with each other. They can benefit from the vast land and resources of Daqian, live a healthy life, and have a happy family.
The northern barbarians are strong, brave and good at fighting, especially on horseback. The "Black Wind Horse" they spent hundreds of years and generations cultivating is a fighter among war horses. It comes and goes like the wind on the grassland. They have worked hard to cultivate a war horse that can rival the Black Wind Horse. It ended in failure.
As a brave and warlike nation, the Northern Barbarians would rather choose aggression than live in peace with Daqian in recent years. As a result, the relationship between the Northern Barbarians and Daqian was more war than peace. Hundreds of years passed in the blink of an eye.
Zheng Xiu still remembered that two hundred years ago, the Northern Barbarian King even united the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions. He wanted to cooperate internally and externally, invade from the north and harass the west, and invade the Daqian territory in one fell swoop. In the end, the martial arts knights blocked the Western Region army from the pass, and the war in the north eased. The war between the two countries two hundred years ago left a mark in the history books.
When the relationship between the two countries is in the hazy period of non-war, there are only three things that can maintain the relationship between the two countries: materials, gold, and women.
Not to mention materials and gold, the Northern Barbarians have rare furs, war horses, and gold mines, and Daqian has grain, rice seeds, cloth, and ironware. There is no loss in mutual transactions.
No matter what period in history, marriage and marriage have always been an extremely important link in the exchanges between the two countries.
No matter how you say it, the two parties can barely be considered relatives, and they have built a simple communication bridge through this.
From any perspective, the marriage between the two countries is a good thing.
When the envoys from the Northern Kingdom entered the city with great fanfare, Zheng Xiu saw the back of a woman from the rooftop of Xiangman Tower. He vaguely guessed the matter at that time, and sincerely hoped that the marriage between the two countries would go smoothly.
Who would want to go to war, waste people and money, and make people resentful?
Marriage is a good thing!
There are many benefits.
The premise is...don't let this happen to you.
What a coincidence.
In the secret edict, the Emperor laid the foundation for his profound words, in order to persuade the honest and honest King Chi to be the scapegoat... to be the Prince Consort!
I'll go to your uncle's consort!
Zheng Xiu's eyes were calm, his heart was surging, and his heart was turbulent as he looked at the emperor.
The emperor's eyes were majestic, he smiled slightly, and actually started a family affair with the Red King in front of all the civil and military officials:
"How are you doing these days?"
"Thanks to His Majesty's blessing," Zheng Xiu's mouth twitched slightly and he forced out a polite smile: "I have just made an engagement with my sweetheart. My family is in harmony and my family is in good health. I don't need to worry about Your Majesty."
I just got engaged, and I am still the same Feng Bei who has a bad temper when he sees whoever wants to kill someone. You let me be the prince-consort, marry another country, and eat the bitter pill. Are you deliberately making this king uncomfortable?
If it weren't for Wei Yangzun's care for Zheng over the years, Zheng Xiu might have flipped the table on the spot.
At this moment, Zheng Xiu deliberately mentioned his engagement in front of all the civil and military officials. He was also reminding the emperor: I have just engaged and I have a master. Don't do this. This is not good.
Even if the Emperor was busy negotiating with the envoys of the Northern Kingdom, he could not have missed hearing about the "Red King's Engagement" that caused a stir in the imperial circle. He chose to send a secret edict to Zheng Xiu at this juncture. Zheng Xiu suspected that the emperor knew about his engagement and did so accidentally.
Didn't he also present a pair of golden mandarin ducks?
At that time, Er Niang was playing with the pair of jeweled golden mandarin ducks, and said to Zheng Xiu with a smile that the emperor was so careless that he couldn't even tell the mandarin ducks apart. Among the mandarin ducks, the male bird has a crest and is flamboyant, while the female bird has a graceful figure without a crest. The pair of golden mandarin ducks given by the emperor both have no crests and are both female birds. This is not a pair of mandarin ducks, they are clearly golden ducks.
Zheng Xiu also joked with Erniang at that time: The emperor said that this is a mandarin duck, it is a mandarin duck, and it is what he says. To put it bluntly, this mandarin duck is an ordinary duck, even if the emperor said that the mice on the roadside are ducks, it is still correct. How can we tolerate others' slander? You are not the great emperor, how can you tell whether a duck is male or female?
Thinking back on this matter, Zheng Xiu glared and secretly complained that a person who can trust the emperor will not make any messy things. Those two female golden ducks did something wrong. They were clearly foreshadowing what happened today.
I only blame myself for not thinking about it and being careless.
At that time, the emperor had already laid the groundwork when he sent the congratulatory gift. He sent a pair of ducks with the intention of letting Zheng Xiu fly away.
My mind was spinning, just for a moment. Hearing this, the emperor laughed heartily: "Hahaha! Congratulations! It's not as good as...good things come in pairs!"
As he spoke, the emperor glanced at him, and all the civil and military officials lowered their heads. The emperor said leisurely: "The Red King people are in high spirits during happy events, haha. Do you have any objections about the marriage with the Northern Barbarians and the choice of the consort?"
Baiguan was silent, with his head lowered. You looked at me, and I looked at you.
The hall was completely silent, except for the sound of deep and shallow breathing.
Zheng Xiu decided to try his best and spoke to break the silence.
"I have always been single-minded, but now I am very frightened."
"A good man has his ambitions in all directions. How can he be single-minded when he is looking at everything!"
"This matter is of great importance, and I feel that we need to take a long-term approach!"
"Haha." The emperor chuckled: "About the marriage, I have been discussing it with the civil and military officials for more than a month."
Zheng Xiu and the emperor exchanged a few words of Tai Chi. On the surface, they seemed to be caring for each other, but in fact, Zhuji was hiding it.
Zheng Xiu said he didn't want it, but the emperor planned to force the identity of this "consort" on him. Zheng Xiu was still a little confused. This incident was too sudden. Jiang Gaoyi was supposed to have a very good relationship with him. If the emperor showed any intention of making him his consort during this month, Jiang Gaoyi would definitely notify him in advance. Second, it was impossible to keep Zheng Xiu in the dark.
Or maybe this matter was also the emperor's impromptu decision?
Impossible. The pair of golden ducks showed that the Emperor had already had the idea of letting Zheng Xiu fly.
Zheng Xiu's butt felt as if there was a nest of ants sitting on it, and he could not sit still. His eyes swept over the faces of the three princes. Forget about other small countries, just find the godson of a minister and throw them out for marriage, and set up a line to complete the matter. But the Northern Barbarians were of great significance to Daqian. Let alone others, the three princes who had fought so hard for the throne not long ago would never watch Zheng Xiu become the consort.
Being able to marry the princess of the Northern Kingdom, even if it is a crooked melon and split jujube, finally has this level of status.
Why don't the three princes fight?
Zheng Xiu's eyes swept over the faces of the three princes respectively. He saw that the eldest prince was calm and composed, the second prince had a gloomy face, and the third prince had a playful face and his eyes were rolling.
It's a pity that he doesn't have the magic skills like Jiang Gaoyi, so nothing can be seen from the faces of the three princes.
At this time, the emperor once again brought up the "Xiaoyaofang case", brought up the old matter again, and praised Jiang Gaoyi. But when Jiang Gaoyi was frightened, the emperor looked at Zheng Xiu and asked Zheng Xiu what he thought.
This inquiry is a bit intriguing. Who in the court today doesn't know that Jiang Gaoyi, the Minister of Punishment, is from the Red King's side? Jiang Gaoyi was blatantly working overtime in the Disaster Prevention Bureau day and night. Could the Emperor know that? When he asked like this, he was just telling Zheng Xiu that I've given you my face again, and I've also said the unnecessary words in the imperial edict, so don't be ignorant.
Zheng Xiu followed the trend and gave Jiang Gaoyi a thumbs up. Jiang Gaoyi couldn't hold back his laughter and grinned so much that his mouth was crooked. At this time, the Minister of Rites moved. Just when he was about to boldly stand up and say something, the third prince whispered: "The princess is beautiful, beautiful, and exotic. She and the Red King are a perfect match for each other. If the marriage can be achieved, the two countries will be together." The diplomatic relations and the end of the war can be said to be a great joy for Daqian and his father!"
The Minister of Rites shivered, stepped back, bowed his head and said nothing.
I don't know who started it, and all the officials shouted: "God bless you! Congratulations to the Holy One, congratulations to the Red King!"
"God bless you! Congratulations to the Holy One, congratulations to the Red King!"
"God bless you! Congratulations to the Holy One, congratulations to the Red King!"
Zheng Xiu sat down and retired from the court.
All civil and military officials exited the hall in an orderly manner. Zheng Xiu hurriedly walked out and walked down the stairs. He saw Jiang Gaoyi from a distance. Zheng Xiu's face darkened. He took a few steps and hooked Jiang Gaoyi's neck with his strong arms. He directly used a strongman's lock to drag Jiang Gaoyi to the corner of the palace. .
In the eyes of others, this is a friendship that is envied by countless people. But Jiang Gaoyi saw the word "murderous intent" on King Chi's face, and said with a sad face: "My lord, please don't misunderstand me!"
"Tell me! Which bastard suggested that I become the consort?"
Jiang Gaoyi hesitantly explained the political affairs discussed in court this month.
This month's morning meeting was almost all about the "Northern Barbarians".
The Northern Barbarians took the initiative to show their goodwill, and the DPRK was divided into three factions: the hawks, the doves, and the peaceful faction.
The hawks advocated: There must be something fishy in the Northern Barbarians' show of goodwill. If we don't fight now, we'll wait until later.
The doves advocated that the Northern Barbarians should add fuel to the flames by signing an agreement to show their goodwill. Through marriage, the two countries would have good relations and would not invade each other, thus ensuring peace in Daqian for decades.
It's very simple to be a lie-flat faction. You don't express your stance or refuse, and you don't have to cause any big trouble.
Jiang Gaoyi is obviously the one who is lying down, which obviously has something to do with Zheng Xiu's attitude. Zheng Xiu never cared about this matter. Jiang Gaoyi did not take sides and chose to lie down, so he didn't take this matter to heart this month.
"There is a group that advocates peace talks with the Northern Barbarians, and there are several factions among them." Jiang Gaoyi lowered his voice and said: "Among them, the third prince has the loudest voice. Many ministers have said that the third prince has a lively and easy-going temperament, and he is very different from that. The Northern Barbarian princess gets along well with her, so she should marry her husband."
"Among them, Mr. Dou, the Minister of Rites, has contributed a lot."
"Jiang originally thought that the third prince's matter was settled, and that was settled, so what could he do? So he ignored it."
"As everyone knows, today the Holy One suddenly introduced the prince to the court, which made Jiang Mou dumbfounded."
"I can't guess! You really can't understand the emperor's thoughts!"
Jiang Gaoyi looked lonely and sighed.
(End of chapter)
