Linzhi

As long as Emperor Jiayou can remember, Zhou Xiang has always had a long beard. The only difference is that before he was exiled, Zhou Xiang’s beard was still gray. When he returned to Beijing 11 years later, Zhou Ying’s beard and hair would all be white. up.

The first emperor was quick-tempered, while Zhou Ying was slow-tempered. Although it is easy to neutralize the quick-tempered and the slow-tempered, the first emperor actually prefers Fan Yi, who is also quick-tempered. To be in charge of the emperor and reconcile yin and yang, it is still a bit short, and Zhou Ying, although doing things in a stable manner, has not made any mistakes. , Not only without fault, but with merit.

After Emperor Jiayou came to the throne, he had no intention of changing the various personnel arrangements left by the late emperor, Xiao Guicao followed, and won the praise of "stable and mature" from the officials.With his temperament, he got along very well with Zhou Ying, one delayed the other, and the monarch and his ministers cooperated seamlessly.As the elder of the three dynasties, Zhou Ying didn't have the embarrassment of "one emperor and one courtier". Zhou Ying, the king of flowing water and iron-clad Zhou Xiang, this kind of honor and favor is really enviable.

But no one is perfect, Zhou Ying is proud of her career, but her family is not.He had three sons, the eldest son died early, the second son was mediocre, and when he was 60 years old, he had another son, the youngest son who was prepared to be the Lord.After the accidental death of Princess Leping, Zhou Ying originally wanted his youngest son to marry the princess, but his son refused to agree to it. There was a commotion because of this matter. Although Emperor Jiayou didn't blame Zhou Ying, he grew old every day. Gray hair is also getting more and more day by day, and all the hard work of burying his head in copywriting in the early years and sleeping through the night has all exploded, and he can't afford to be sick.

Almost eighty people, everyone was mentally prepared, but hearing the news suddenly, Emperor Jiayou was still in a bad mood.

"What did the doctor say?"

The crown prince sighed, shook his head, did not speak, but had expressed his meaning.

Empress Pei said: "Does Your Majesty want to visit the Prime Minister's Mansion in person?"

Emperor Jiayou was reminded: "The empress is right. Prime Minister Zhou has worked hard for the country all his life. He is the elder of the three dynasties. I should go and have a look."

There has always been an unwritten rule that the emperor will not visit important officials in person, but if he visits in person, it must be the last time, so people joke that if the emperor is visiting a sick person, you must die if you don't die.Emperor Jiayou naturally didn't want Zhou Xiang to die, but with Zhou Ying's status, no matter what, the emperor had to come in person to show his respect.

Emperor Jiayou asked again: "I asked you to mention the successor to Zhou Xiang. Has Zhou Xiang recommended a new candidate for you?"

The prince should be, but he didn't go on.

Empress Pei laughed and said, "Your Majesty is talking about serious matters with the prince. I should avoid it. Your Majesty will allow me to leave."

Emperor Jiayou hurriedly said: "The queen doesn't have to go, it's okay to stay and listen. You are not ordinary women in the harem, so it's good to help me with the details."

The prince also smiled and said: "Mother misunderstood, I just want my father to guess with you, who is the candidate recommended by Zhou Xiang?"

Emperor Jiayou: "It's still guesswork? The one who can get into the eyes of Zhou Xiangfa is nothing more than his student, Zhang Song, Minister of the Household Department."

Empress Pei: "Since the crown prince asked us to guess, Prime Minister Zhou must have proposed more than one candidate."

The prince sighed in admiration: "Mother is wise, Prime Minister Zhou did mention several candidates for my father to choose. In addition to Zhang Song, there are also Fan Yi, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, Wang Xuan, Minister of Dali Temple, and, "

He paused, and continued: "Mr. Heng, Li Kuan."

Because of Li Kuan's meritorious service in saving Jia, Emperor Jiayou raised his title to a higher level after he ascended the throne.

Emperor Jiayou turned his head and asked Empress Pei: "What does the Empress think?"

Empress Pei pondered: "Except for Duke Heng, they all seem to be from aristocratic families."

The crown prince said: "Exactly. Your Majesty, there are many aristocratic families nowadays, and when officials are selected and appointed as officials, they cannot be avoided no matter what. Although Zhou Xiang was born in the Yixing Zhou family, he has been in the court for decades, and he is fair and respected by everyone. But the officials of the aristocratic family may not all be as selfless as Zhou Xiang. When King Qi was abolished, the reason why the rebel He Xuan was able to play the Chen Wuliang case in his hands, deceived the audience for more than ten years , relying on nothing more than his collusion with the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and the Minister of Dali Temple, and these people all come from aristocratic families, and the interests are linked, and everyone will suffer."

Speaking of this, he didn't continue, but Empress Pei heard the implication: Zhou Xiang was seriously ill, and it was a good opportunity to promote the poor family.

But Emperor Jiayou frowned, but didn't intend to answer, instead he asked the two of them: "In your opinion, how is Duke Heng?"

The prince's heart skipped a beat, and he asked tentatively, "Do you want Duke Heng?"

Empress Pei's expression did not change, but instead she smiled and said: "Your Majesty is a person who values ​​affection, and he must still be thinking of Duke Heng's kindness in saving him that day."

Emperor Jiayou nodded: "Li Kuan made great achievements that day, and afterwards I wanted to order him to continue to be in charge of Nanya, but in order to avoid suspicion, he voluntarily resigned from all official positions, even the title of Duke Heng, he resigned modestly and repeatedly before accepting the order to thank you. I always feel that, Some can't stand him."

Prince: "Your Majesty is benevolent, which is rare in the world. However, I heard that when Li Kuan was young, his eyes were high above the top of the head, and he was quite arrogant. Now that he is standing in the past year, he has become low-key and humble. He doesn't want an official or a title. The minister also heard that , His daily life is not considered extravagant, he never spends money like water, and he is not like other princes and nobles who hold banquets from time to time, could it be that there are really saints in this world?"

Zhou Gong was afraid of rumors, and Wang Mang remained courteous.

The prince almost didn't say this poem.

Emperor Jiayou laughed with his beard: "Have you been influenced by Saburo before and thought that the Bingshen rebellion case was related to him? In fact, I sent someone to investigate later. When the Bingshen rebellion case happened, Li Kuan was stationed at the frontier. He Lin has no skills, and He Lin wants to plot rebellion, and I am the eldest son, who is a stumbling block in front of him. It is not surprising that he wants to get rid of me. Furthermore, the kind of spice that Saburo mentioned was later raided on King Qi's mansion , also found, and it doesn’t explain anything.”

The prince wanted to say more, but Empress Pei glanced at him, her expression was indifferent, as if she didn't care.

After being slightly startled, the prince immediately woke up and realized that he was too impatient.

Because he was afraid that Li Kuan would be appointed as the prime minister, and he was eager to expose his stains, it might backfire and make the emperor feel rebellious.

He barely suppressed the anxiety in his heart, and said humbly: "Father is right, it is my son who has blinded my eyes."

Emperor Jiayou didn't take it seriously: "I know that you and Sanlang don't like Li Kuan very much, but I think it's very rare for him to take credit and not be proud, not to mention that his mother is my aunt, Yiyang Dazhang. Princess, just for this, he can be regarded as a half-family member, far closer than those noble families."

The prince said: "Yes, I heard that the Eldest Princess entered the palace due to illness, and begged His Majesty to marry Li Shi and Erlang."

Empress Pei laughed and said, "That's the case. The Eldest Princess has always loved her eldest granddaughter. His Majesty has also asked Erlang. When Erlang returns to Beijing, he can hold a wedding for them."

The prince also laughed: "This is really a great event, but in this way, since His Majesty and Duke Heng are about to become in-laws, should we also avoid suspicion if we let Duke Heng be your chancellor?"

Empress Pei looked at Emperor Jiayou, the latter's smile really faded a little, and he stared at the prince: "Does the prince have any recommendations for the prime minister?"

The crown prince did not doubt that he was there, and said directly: "My son really has a name in his heart. This person is not from a high-ranking family, nor does he have a deep backer. It is all because of his shrewdness and ability that he has come to this day."

Emperor Jiayou: "Oh? Did you mean Liu Zhong, Minister of the Ministry of Officials?"

The prince cupped his hands: "Your Majesty is wise, it is this person."

Emperor Jiayou thought for a moment, and said: "Liu Zhong is indeed capable, but I remember that when I first became the throne, he was just promoted to the position of minister, and it has only been more than a year. There are many people who are dissatisfied."

The crown prince was about to speak again, when he heard Emperor Jiayou say: "I heard that the crown prince has been getting close to officials from humble backgrounds recently, it is better to pay more attention. As the crown prince, you should put yourself in the right position, and your heart is like the sun and the moon. Being open and upright, impartial, being close to the poor family for no reason and distant from the family, it is easy for people to think that you, the prince, are prejudiced against the family, you must know that although the late emperor favored the promotion of the poor family, he never neglected and alienated the high family."

These words were spoken in a pleasant manner, but the prince suddenly broke out in cold sweat.

Although they don't say it, the He family brothers always feel that their father is a bit meek in their hearts, and the prince is no exception. He still regards the emperor as his former father, and he doesn't realize the relationship between "King Lu" and "Son of Heaven". distance.

It wasn't until this moment that the prince suddenly realized that he had made a big mistake.

He tried in vain to put his own will above the will of the Son of Heaven. This was not intentional, but it was very stupid. No matter how meek the Son of Heaven was, he was still the Son of Heaven, not a puppet that he could lead by the nose.

Just now, Empress Pei's glance was clearly a warning to him not to speak any further, but the crown prince was already very afraid of Li Kuan, so he couldn't help it for a while, breaking the emperor's taboo, which attracted this warning.

"I know I'm wrong!" The prince quickly knelt down and bowed his head.

"As for the new Prime Minister, I will talk to Zhou Xiang in person later. Come here today. You are tired too. Go back and rest. One day I will bring the emperor's eldest grandson to me. Maybe I haven't seen Ah Xin for a long time. gone."

The emperor held his hands behind his back and walked out as he spoke, but he didn't see much displeasure, and his tone was the same as usual, but the crown prince didn't dare to stand up until the emperor's figure disappeared at the door before he raised his head.

"Mother, about Mr. Heng..." The prince hesitated to speak.

Empress Pei shook her head and cut off his words: "You didn't say the words to avoid suspicion before, maybe your majesty hasn't made up your mind yet, but now, I don't want to persuade you rashly, otherwise it will only make your majesty feel that we are all in collusion. Alright, if you want to suppress Duke Heng wholeheartedly, then His Majesty will not change his mind, and now we can only see His Majesty's own choice."

The crown prince sighed: "I'm the one who said too much."

Empress Pei supported her waist: "My body is getting heavier and heavier, and I feel uncomfortable after standing for a long time. I'd better go back and lie down. The prince can take care of himself."

After bidding farewell to the prince, and returning to the Queen's bedroom, a group of maids came to serve him.

Sushuang carefully helped Empress Pei to sit down and took off her shoes.

"Your Majesty's feet are all swollen." Su Shuang said distressedly, "If the prince hadn't talked too much, you would have been able to return to the palace to rest by now."

Empress Pei sighed: "He's too impatient, I'm afraid it will be self-defeating."

Su Shuang said: "Wen Jiang from Prince An's Mansion came to the palace to ask for an audience, and has been waiting in the side hall for a long time, why don't I go back to her and say that you are too tired and have already rested?"

Empress Pei pondered: "Let's meet her."