Although many officials in the court were dissatisfied with the result of the emperor's selection of a son-in-law, the marriage of the princess and the county lady was, after all, an internal affair of the royal family, and the empress dowager had not intervened. They could do nothing except privately scold Zhang Shou for his partiality. As for writing these slanderous words behind his back in a memorial to impeach him... What a joke, the emperor selected the person, can you still say that the emperor listened to Zhang Shou in everything
So, when some people heard that Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu and some other students of Banshan Hall frequently visited Huixian Hall on the shore of Shichahai and repeatedly submitted notes to invite the Twelve Rains of Tingyu Xiaozhu to hold meetings, they were naturally filled with indignation.
Although scholars who had studied hard for more than a decade before entering officialdom did not necessarily want to marry a princess or a county princess and become a royal relative, they were still indignant that mediocre children of noble families like Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu, and Zhao Mingxiang could surpass several recognized excellent children of officials. There was even an imperial censor who was determined to shock people and directly impeached the matter.
However, the impeachment letter was sent to the emperor, and then there was no news, as if nothing had happened. Although some people lobbied high-ranking officials to criticize these noble children in front of the emperor for failing to live up to the emperor's grace, they achieved almost nothing. In the end, Wu Ge Lao, like a good man, gave a clear hint to one of his students, the censor.
"You young and inexperienced people, why are you meddling in other people's business? You should know that the confinement order for the two palaces will soon be over, and the Ministry of Rites will begin selecting concubines for the two princes. Instead of meddling in the affairs of the royal son-in-law, you might as well focus on the important matter of selecting concubines. Even if Zhang Shou is favored by the emperor again and can enter the cabinet and become a prime minister, it will take another 10 to 20 years. Why are you keeping an eye on him?"
With what Lord Wu said, and within two days, the Ministry of Rites became busy again. The matter of selecting a concubine became a hot topic, and no one knew how many people who had been planning in secret were ready to go. It was more than twice as lively as the previous matter of selecting a son-in-law.
On this day, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu once again invited Zhang Chen, Lu Sanlang, Zhu Er and several other familiar students, and sent a note in Huixian Hall to call Twelve Yu from Tingyu Cottage.
Huixiantang was originally a restaurant with a theater. The name was changed because Emperor Taizu came here in person in the early years of the founding of the country and wrote a plaque with his own hand when he was drunk. Although it has changed hands many times since then, it has always been called Huixiantang. Naturally, no one knows the original name anymore.
The fathers and brothers of this group of young masters were all famous officials in the court. Among them were Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, the two newly-minted imperial consorts and groomsmen. Therefore, although the entire Huixian Hall was booked every time, even if the guys had some grudges in their hearts, Wan Yuanbao, the owner of Huixian Hall and Tingyu Cottage, had no objection. They could only secretly envy these young masters for their good fortune.
It was already afternoon, and everyone was watching Twelve Rain perform several segments in turn. As they were evaluating the performance in groups of three or four, they suddenly heard voices coming from outside. Zhang Chen, who had been visiting Huixian Hall every now and then and had been beaten by his mother several times, was already in a bad mood. He immediately slapped the armrest and shouted, "Didn't you say that you don't accept outsiders?"