"If His Highness the First Prince hadn't taken a fancy to my Qiniang, wouldn't all of this happen?"
Sun Zhuangyuan seemed to have aged ten years in just a short time, his eyes were full of fatigue, and his tone became weak.
Gu Jiu said: "Sooner or later, it will be delayed by a year or two at most."
"That is to say, no matter what, the court will touch the Sun family?"
"The role model is too bad, I have to do something about it." Gu Jiu said loudly.
Sun Zhuangyuan looked miserable, "Your Majesty put this old man on the stove to roast!"
Gu Jiu smiled apologetically, "I didn't intend to embarrass Mr. Sun. However, since our two families are going to get married, I naturally have to remove all obstacles in advance."
Sun Zhuangyuan was unexpected, "Your Majesty is still willing to marry Qiniang from my family. Are you not afraid that the Sun family will become the number one family in the world again after the division?"
"There will never be another chance like that."
In the future, when the time is right, the imperial court will formulate a series of systems to limit the development of aristocratic families.
The Sun family's delusion to become a giant family again, and its influence extending from the literary world to the imperial court, is just a dream.
Dynasties rise and fall, and so do families.
"It seems that the empress has already made preparations and made a series of follow-up plans. The old man is deeply admired and terrified at the same time."
"Mr. Sun, don't be afraid, I am not a bloodthirsty person."
Sun Zhuangyuan shook his head, "Your Majesty doesn't kill people, she only punishes her heart! Your Majesty kills people but doesn't punish her heart. In comparison, His Majesty is more merciful."
Gu Jiu laughed, "Mr. Sun is serious."
Sun Zhuangyuan sighed, "If the old man doesn't agree, will the empress completely destroy the Sun family?"
"If Mister refuses to cooperate with Bengong, Mr. Sun will definitely not want to see the end of the Sun family."
"The old man understands! My little seven, He De He Neng, actually fell into the eyes of the empress. The day she married His Royal Highness, it meant that she became a sinner of the Sun family. She can only get limited help from her natal family. It is unimaginable how difficult the road will be. How cruel is it for the empress to treat a little girl so cruelly."
Gu Jiu said solemnly: "Being a prince's wife has never been an easy task. It may not be a bad thing to cut off the ties with her mother's family. That position requires a large-scale grandeur, and being entangled in her mother's interests is not a good thing."
Sun Zhuangyuan argued: "No one can survive without the family. The empress also relies on the foundation laid by the family to become what she is today. The empress knows well that the family is a woman's dependence, confidence, and courage. It's gone. The family is trembling with trepidation, how can there be any big picture and grandeur."
Gu Jiu smiled and said: "It depends on Qiniang's personal endurance and Mr. Sun's attitude. If you support her, she will have her family to rely on. If you refuse to support her, she can only fight alone .”
Sun Zhuangyuan sighed again and again, "Things are not as easy as what your mother said. She has offended the family, and the family will hate her to the bone. Even the old man is beyond his power."
"Mister is wrong!"
Gu Jiu said with certainty: "She is not a sinner, she is a hero of the Sun family. Without her, the Sun family will be uprooted in a few years. At that time, my methods will not be as meek as they are now, they must be cruel and cruel." She is ruthless and shows no mercy. Everyone in the Sun family should be grateful to her, it is she who gave you a new life."
Sun Zhuangyuan frowned, pointing to the case files scattered all over the place, "What are these?"
"Only talk about the culprit, not the family."
Gu Jiu is very straightforward, she can make an exception.
A blunt knife cuts flesh, don't act too hastily.
She has always been patient, and she can afford to spend years on the layout.
Just like the layout in the northwest, it took more than ten years to uproot the Pei family and the Northwest Army and send them to Xiliang in their entirety.
The Pei family lost the Marquis Lu, and their vitality was greatly injured, and they are not as good as they used to be.
If this generation doesn't have an outstanding son-in-law to become an official and stand up for the family, after twenty or thirty years, the Pei family will fall.
If future generations want to get up again, they will put in ten times more effort than this generation.
This generation of the Pei family can still rest on the merits of their ancestors and save ten or twenty years of struggle.
Waiting until the next generation, the next generation, is not such a good thing.
The merits of the ancestors are not gold and silver mountains, and they will not last for generations.
Even if it is a mountain of gold and silver, there will be a day when it is finished.
Sun Zhuangyuan struggled and hesitated.
His choice will determine the future of the family and the life and death of tens of thousands of people.
"Back then, the old man was selected as the number one scholar, so of course he should become an official."
Sun Zhuangyuan recalled the past.
Gu Jiu listened attentively, she was very interested in old things.
Who makes there are too few things for entertainment these days.
Listen to the old imperial calendar, it's very interesting, and it can pass the time.
"From the very beginning, the old man was exceptionally promoted to be a bachelor's servant. He went in and out of the palace every day and served in front of the emperor. It can be said that he is proud of his spring and has a bright future."
Recalling the past, Sun Zhuangyuan is full of regret and resentment.
After so many years, he is already a very old bad old man, and he is still uneasy.
"Unexpectedly, the girl from the eldest room was accused of being the prince's concubine for Prince Renxuan. As a bachelor's attendant, I suddenly looked very conspicuous and became a thorn in the side of the palace. The emperor was furious. The old man knew very well that someone in the palace was giving the old man small shoes to wear, just because he was afraid that the old man would speak well for the prince of the East Palace in front of the emperor. The old man had already decided to resign from his bachelor's degree and return to the Imperial Academy to study honestly. Unexpectedly, he was still in the middle school He made a trick and was sent to Lantai Temple by His Majesty."
Gu Jiu raised her eyebrows, she was not clear about this past.
Sun Zhuangyuan smiled wryly, "That's right, the old man, like Zhou Shi'an, has worked in Lantai Temple. But the old man only worked in Lantai Temple for a month, then resigned and went home, and never entered the officialdom."
"Because the big house asked you to leave the court?"
"The old man is the number one scholar, and his surname is Sun. He is a very eye-catching person. Dafang didn't explicitly force the old man to resign, but he just meant to let the old man keep his own place and not cause trouble for the East Palace. A number one scholar is in the Sun family It’s nothing. At that time, the old man was also young and energetic, so he resigned from office in a fit of rage, and lived in a separate courtyard in the mountains for Qingxiu.”
"You resigned, and the big house didn't keep you? You are also the number one scholar. If you work hard, you can always make a difference."
Sun Zhuangyuan laughed, "The champion is rare in other families, but the Sun family is not rare. It just so happened that the year was the big year, the son of the big house, my cousin finally ended, and was named Tanhua. With Tanhualang, I Zhuangyuan Lang, who offended the emperor, naturally has to stand aside."
"Pity!"
The Sun family doesn't care about the number one scholar, but Gu Jiu does.
Those who can be admitted to the No. 1 Scholar are all very smart people.
Talents are rare, and the Sun family actually left Zhuangyuanlang idle in the other courtyard in the mountains, and this idleness lasted for decades.
What a waste of money.
"I'm glad I didn't miss Mr. Sun."
Sun Zhuangyuan heard the words, but wanted to cry.
"If the old man hadn't come to Shanhe Academy to teach, would all of this today have been avoided?"
Gu Jiu shook his head, "Some things are predestined and inevitable. What this palace and His Majesty want to do, even if the world criticizes and the crowd is raging, it cannot stop us."
"Your Majesty is right! Thinking about how much trouble was caused by letting the Pei family go, Your Majesty and Your Majesty have never wavered."
Gu Jiu said solemnly: "Since you already know about Ben Gong's determination, why are you still hesitating?"
Sun Zhuangyuan raised his head and begged: "Can you please let my little Qi go, she shouldn't have to bear all this, she is not worthy of His Highness the First Prince."
Gu Jiu asked back, "Sir, do you think that if I give up Xiao Qi, Xiao Qi will be able to marry into a good family? Storms are coming, are you sure your future husband will be able to protect her?"
Sun Zhuangyuan burst into tears, "It's better than marrying into the royal family and enduring a lifetime of infamy."
"Mr. is wrong again."
Gu Jiu said softly: "I don't want to comment on what the royal family was like in the past. Now the royal family, I am the head of the family, so I naturally have the final say. Whether the prince's wife can gain a foothold in the royal family depends not on the natal family, but on the It is her own ability. The ability is strong enough, even if her natal family is a lump of mud, I will support her. If the ability is not good, even if her natal family is the world's number one family, I will still look down on her. My daughter-in-law, It can only be a green pine that is not afraid of wind and rain, not a delicate flower in a greenhouse."
Sun Zhuangyuan was speechless.
Gu Jiu said again: "You and Dafang have a grudge, it's time to settle it."
"The old man hurt Xiaoqi." Sun Zhuangyuan had a miserable expression.
Gu Jiu rubbed his brows, "Forget it! I don't force this marriage. As long as Sun Qiniang says that she doesn't want to marry His Highness the First Prince, this marriage will be over. But the division of the Sun family is imperative, and I will never force it." No compromise."
Sun Zhuangyuan felt relieved, "Thank you, ma'am! Regarding the division of the clan, I can take the lead and promise my majesty now. I will ask her personally about Xiaoqi's marriage."
"I trust Mr. Sun!"
"The old man would never dare to lie to the empress."
The matter is over, and Sun Zhuangyuan bid farewell and left.
His steps were heavier than when he came, and his figure was like autumn leaves, with a bit of bleakness.
Liu Zhao came out from the room.
Gu Jiu leaned into his arms, "Am I forcing you too much? Mr. Sun looks pitiful."
"Have you softened your heart?" Liu Zhao asked her.
Gu Jiu shook her head, "It's not that I'm soft-hearted, but I'm thinking that the method can be more gentle."
But Liu Zhao said: "They are all old foxes. If your methods are mild, old man Sun will definitely not agree to split the clan. The family supports him, and he is loyal to the family."
"Rather than saying that he is loyal to the family, it is better to say that he is afraid that he will lose face to see his ancestors after death, and that his innocence will be ruined once, and he will bear the infamy of the world."
"Fame before and after life is what a scholar wants all his life. Forcing him to be a sinner of the Sun family, he will definitely hate you and me in his heart. No wonder he is unwilling to marry his granddaughter into the royal family even if he dies."
"I don't have to marry the daughter of the Sun family, although Sun Qiniang is indeed very good and a good match." Gu Jiu had already figured it out.
The important matter of marriage is of course your love and my wish.
Born out of adversity, talent becomes stronger.
Gu Jiu looked forward to Sun Qiniang becoming stronger.
However, if Sun Qiniang refused to marry, she could only find another marriage for Liu Yu.