When the Taifu Mansion in the imperial capital is crowded with guests, thousands of miles away, Fengzhou.
Ruiyu Hall is also decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Entering the hall, one can see that the hall is full of guests, the sound of silk and bamboo is playing in the hall, the singers relax their throats, the dancers draw back their sleeves, and while singing and dancing, eight treasures of water and land are presented in an endless stream, making it very lively.
As the host, Wei Huan, at the moment when the sound of silk and bamboo was at its peak and the dancing girl was at her most charming, quietly excused himself from the banquet to the people on the left and right, using the excuse that he was too drunk, and left the task of hosting the banquet to his third son, Wei Shengnian.
Back in the back hall, a servant had already handed over a hot handkerchief. Wei Huan took it and wiped his face. He breathed a sigh of relief. The drunkenness that made him stagger before had disappeared. He asked the servant: "Where is the person?"
"According to the previous instructions of the Valve Master, I led him around most of the courtyard, avoiding the eyes and ears of everyone, and please go to the study at the back to entertain him." The servant said softly.
Wei Huan nodded, took a step forward, remembered something, and asked again: "Did he come alone, or with an entourage?"
"He only brought a book boy with him, and he called the book boy a tiger slave."
"Well, that's really his book boy." Wei Huan stroked his long beard, but did not rush to the study to meet this hidden guest. Instead, he went to the upper room to change his clothes first, and then went to the upper room to change his robes, and then went to the upper room to change his robes, and then went to the study room to meet the guests who also left early. Mrs. Song said a few words and then passed.
Pushing open the door of the study room, I saw a table of exquisite wine and food listed on the long wenge wood table outside, which was probably all gone now. A handsome man in his twenties, with a somewhat weathered look on his face, sat upright behind the desk, holding a toothbrush and using it under the service of a young man in green.
Although this man has a weathered face, his temperament is like the bright moon and bright snow, which is very unusual. Seeing Wei Huan come in, he put down his toothbrush slowly, took the embroidered handkerchief handed by the young man in green and wiped the corners of his mouth, then lifted his robe, stood up and saluted: "Xin Yong has met the Valve Master!"
"My nephew, you don't have to be polite." Although he knew what Wei Xinyong did the year before, Wei Huan didn't look angry when he saw him at this moment. Instead, he smiled and gave him a hand, and said kindly, "I heard that my nephew is here. I was afraid of neglecting my nephew, so I came immediately after changing my clothes. I didn’t want to disturb my nephew while he was eating.” He told him not to be polite and just keep on using it.
Wei Xinyong smiled lightly and said: "Thank you Lord, Xinyong has almost used it."
The two exchanged pleasantries for a few more words before Wei Huan asked someone to remove the food table and replace it with tea.
After being polite as usual, Wei Huan asked Wei Xinyong the reason for his sudden arrival: "But what's wrong with Chaoyun County?"
"I would like to ask the feudal lord, Chaoyun County is just a remote and small county. Even if there are winds and rains, the place is small and the climate is difficult. Is it worth telling the clan lord?" Wei Xinyong smiled calmly and denied Wei Huan's speculation.
Wei Huan asked with a smile: "The wise nephew came suddenly...could it be that he wanted to celebrate the full moon of my great-grandson?"
"Xin Yong didn't expect such a coincidence." Wei Xinyong picked up the tea bowl, lifted the lid and poured out the tea foam, seeming a little sad, and said, "I remember that the last time I saw my niece, she had not yet left the palace, and now my eldest son is also one month old. Yes, it’s really gratifying.”
He said "congratulations", but his tone was very calm. It was obviously just a casual remark to suit the occasion.
Wei Huan didn't care. He smiled and twirled his beard and said, "I am old and not as agile as you young people. My nephew has something to say, but it doesn't matter."
"The clan niece has great blessings." Wei Xinyong said with a faint smile, "Of course it was the clan leader who had a keen eye and chose a good marriage for her."
"Chang Ying's blessing is still a little shallow." Wei Huan smiled kindly, "If she could win the favor of her nephew the year before last and help her a little, that would be a truly profound blessing."
Wei Xinyong smiled and said: "I was born and raised in the imperial capital of Xinyong and just left the year before last. Shen Zangfeng is so famous among the clan members. Compared with Xinyong, it is like a glowing fire and a bright moon. Shen Zangfeng doesn't know Xinyong. How can Xinyong not know about Shen Zangfeng? If the family's niece is someone else, Xinyong will not stand by and watch, but since he is this person, why should Xinyong be troublesome? What does the clan leader think? "
Wei Huan knew that he was quibbling, but the matter was over anyway. The news that his granddaughter Wei Changying had returned since leaving the cabinet was that she was doing well in the Shen family. Especially now that she has given birth to Shen Zangfeng's eldest son, and there is still no concubine in the backyard. In Wei Huan's opinion, this granddaughter is living a very comfortable life - even if a person like him loves his younger generation, he will not care about the trivial matters of his children. After arguing, he dismissed it and said: "My nephew has really good intentions."
Wei Xinyong pretended not to hear the teasing in these words, and said with a faint smile: "It's a pity that the fortune of nephew Changfeng is weaker than that of his sister."
"Oh?" Wei Huan said in surprise, "I am very surprised by what my nephew said! Although Changfeng is not sensitive and is far inferior to my nephew, he has always been eager to learn and make progress. Yongshi often praises me, but even his marriage has not been mentioned recently. The Holy Master personally intervened and gave the Qingzhou Su family's legitimate daughter as his wife. Isn't this considered a great blessing? "
"The Lord of the Valve clearly knows thousands of miles away. What is the purpose of the marriage given by the Holy One? Why do we need Xinyong's explanation?" Wei Xinyong said with a smile, "Chaoyun County is really remote, and Xinyong only found out about it recently. Regarding this matter, I hurriedly dealt with the matters at hand and came here to relieve the Lord of the trouble."
He smiled meaningfully, "Xin Yong thought the Valve Master was also waiting for Xi Yong."
Wei Huan said calmly: "I didn't expect my nephew to be so concerned about Changfeng... Since my nephew is here, why not talk to me for a few words?" Seeing Wei Xinyong, he said again, "I don't dare to do anything in front of the clan leader." "Wei Huan waved his hands and said, "You are a great nephew, I know very well that there are no outsiders at this moment, so why should I be so humble?"
He added, "I drank a few too many drinks at the table just now, and now I feel that my mind is in chaos. It would be great if I could listen to my nephew's wise words and feel refreshed. Why should my nephew refuse anymore?"
Wei Xinyong no longer refused after hearing this, and said with a faint smile: "The Holy Emperor was very fashionable and diligent in his work for a while when he first came to the throne. However, there were frequent border troubles, bandits were everywhere, and corrupt officials were punished with hard punishments. There was a lot of bad news. Your Majesty is too lazy to look at political affairs anymore. After that, political affairs will be entrusted to the hands of the Wenyue family, but Your Majesty is afraid that our Wenyue tree will have deep roots... "
"Previously, the Liu family was the Holy Queen of the Yuan Dynasty. When she was still alive, due to the love between her hair, the eldest son of the emperor became the crown prince. Later, Empress Liu fell ill and Empress Qian was established, so the eldest son of the emperor was abandoned." Wei Xinyong He said calmly, "Although Empress Qian was selfish for her own son and was framed by slander, the reason why the Holy Emperor 'believed the slander' was because he felt that the Liu family was powerful. One was a hereditary Weiyuan Marquis, the other was a Taiwei, and the eldest son of the emperor was also close to his maternal family. Is it because they are afraid that the throne will be unstable? After all, the Deng family in Rongcheng relies on the power of the empress dowager Deng, and has not allowed the family to see the glory of the family for more than ten years. What's more, the Liu family in Donghu is one of the top six families in the country. one?"
Wei Huan stroked his long beard with his hand, his expression was calm, but he smiled and said nothing.
Wei Xinyong continued: "It is the custom in this dynasty that the civil servants are headed by the Taishi, and the military general is the Taifu. After the eldest son of the emperor abdicated the throne and committed suicide, the fourth son of the emperor was born after the establishment of Qian in the East Palace. Xinghe Qian's family is Even if the family is prosperous thanks to money, it is expected to be nothing like the Deng family. However, the princess of the fourth prince is the legitimate daughter of Jinxiu Duanmu and the eldest granddaughter of Grand Master Duanmu Xing! Extremely loving!”
"The wise nephew thinks that the fourth son of the emperor lost his throne because he dotes on the concubine?" Wei Huan smiled and said.
"The fourth son of the emperor lost his throne. Firstly, the queen of Qian succeeded and lost; secondly, the grand master has been controlling the government for many years, and the emperor is a little worried." Wei Xinyong said calmly, "Otherwise, major events in Yichu will involve the country. Originally. How could the Holy Emperor implicate his son because of the words of the harem woman? He must have secretly ordered the Queen to commit suicide in order to save the fourth son of the emperor! When the fourth son of the emperor chose his concubine, didn't everyone else do it? Do you think it's natural? However, after the fourth son of the emperor lost his throne, Duanmu Xing immediately claimed that he was old and infirm, and handed over nearly half of his political affairs to the emperor... Didn't the emperor give some encouragement and decide on the prosperity of Jinxiu Duanmu's descendants? However, in the past few years, except for Duanmu Wuyou, who has gained a little reputation in the imperial capital due to his martial arts performance in front of the emperor, none of the other children in the clan can be called outstanding - is it just because there is no more outstanding child in Jinxiu Duanmu than Duanmu Wuyou? Your Majesty, I don’t dare to publicize the reputation of Jiamei’s children, lest your Majesty become suspicious of the Duanmu family again!”
Speaking of this, Wei Xinyong smiled lightly and said, "It is said that not long ago, Song Yuwang's second son divorced his wife Duanmu. Although this matter was very embarrassing for Jinxiu Duanmu, I'm afraid Duanmu Xing still secretly What a relief!”
"The Song family and the Duanmu family are of the same family. The Song family actually divorced the daughter of the Duanmu family regardless of their previous friendship. Although the Duanmu family has no womanly virtues, it can also be seen that Jinxiu Duanmu is no longer the one who used to hold the Grand Master and the Crown Princess hostage. The power is so great that the other five clans do not dare to be disrespectful." Wei Huan stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Of course Duanmu Xing should be relieved. The Jiangnan Song family now has only a few heirs. Song Yu looked at his descendants, who now only had two sons and one grandson. Empress Gu... Gu Zhaoyi had such good eyesight back then that she immediately chose my grand-niece's daughter. I will receive benefits without displeasing the Holy One."
Wei Xinyong smiled lightly and said: "The Liu family lost their empress Liu first and then the emperor's eldest son. Now the internal fighting is very fierce. Even though there is a new crown princess, it is said that the prince does not like this princess very much. The surname Dong Hu would probably not attract the emperor's attention for the time being. The emperor was afraid of punishing the Liu family, which caused the Taiwei and Weiyuan Marquis to work together. Empress Gu deeply loved the emperor and chose another one named Liu. The Duanmu clan lost a princess, and they frequently taught their disciples things that they didn't know how to do. It seemed that things were going downhill, and the Holy Emperor was probably relieved of them for the time being. "The Su family in Qingzhou and the Song family in Jiangnan have been keeping a low profile in the feudal society, and the only ones left are my Fengzhou Wei family, and my niece's husband's family, the Xiliang family."
Wei Huan smiled kindly and said: "Although Chaoyun County is a small place, my nephew is also the magistrate of the county. Now he can go all the way to make this trip in person. I must have prepared a lot before leaving... I thought, my nephew is afraid. Did you plan to come to Fengzhou when you received the news that His Highness Prince Ji and Princess Ji were returning to Beijing to accompany you?"
Note that the author's concept of bureaucracy is very vague... Anyway, it is just a fiction, and the author has the final say. (To be continued)