wait for another year

At this moment, Zhao Xu, who was thousands of miles away, was sitting and drinking with his father whom he hadn't seen in ten years, "Why did father resign from the Duke of Yingchuan? Even if I can't claim the title, don't I still have a younger brother?"

Zhao Ruo has spent these years in Yingchuan, indulged in the mountains and rivers, except for the white hair scattered around his temples, but he doesn't see much old-fashioned, "The tree attracts the wind, I still want to save you some trouble."

"Trouble?" Zhao Xu smiled, "Did Father hear some gossip?"

Zhao Ruoping looked at his proud eldest son, "Father still remembers you when you were young. At that time, everyone said that you were the talent of the prime minister. I, Yingchuan, are going to have a Zhao Xiang again. Unexpectedly, fate made you People, in the end you were reduced to the inner room, and you were slandered and accused by all the young people."

Zhao Xu put down the teacup, although he was still smiling, his eyes were full of coldness, "Oh? I wonder if it is from my Zhao clan, or other Hedong gentry, or some courtiers who don't have eyes and don't know people? They How did you make up your son, did you say that I served people with sex, or that I seduced the Lord and flattered me? It’s fine to say that I am, but to let such dirty words reach the father’s ears is really a son’s disobedience.”

After ten years of not seeing each other, Zhao Ruoping couldn't tell whether Zhao Xu was really angry, and was a little embarrassed for a while, "Such things, especially the issue of His Majesty's heirs, even I..."

"That's the end of this matter," Zhao Xu pointed to the case with his index finger, "The distribution of meritorious officials, the heirs of the harem, and more importantly the establishment of the law of the land, I just didn't want to deal with these things before I left the palace. Father might as well go back and send a message to all the clansmen, asking them to keep their duties. I think this style of family should be cleaned up. I don’t think about how to make meritorious deeds and glorify the lintel. What's the difference?"

His words were so harsh that even Zhao Ruoping was terrified in his heart, and hurriedly bowed and said, "I have no way to govern the family, and I am guilty!"

Zhao Xu looked at his father's terrified expression, and suddenly felt that the food and drink on the table had lost all flavor, "Why is the whole family here? After all, they are divided."

Zhao Ruoping just sat down again, Zhao Xu had sharp eyes, saw that he had only sat for half a few minutes, and felt bitter and unspeakable, and finally had to sigh, "I may have said something seriously just now, father, don't take it to heart. It's just that now is the time when the flowers are blooming, and the family members still need to exercise restraint so as not to cause serious mistakes. The title of the Duke of Yingchuan should be kept at home. Zhao Hue earned it in Suzhou all these years."

Seeing that Zhao Ruoping was already showing signs of fatigue, it was obvious that it was quite strenuous to deal with him, the son of the lord of the middle palace, Zhao Xu smiled wryly, "I won't go ashore, and I won't go back to Yingchuan, so I won't waste people's money and waste money. Father If you go to Beijing, please let me know in advance, and I will order someone to escort you along the way."

Zhao Ruoping glanced at Zhao Xu with a complicated expression, and finally said: "Why don't you make peace? Is it the king's heart, the public heart, or the selfish heart?"

"It's both." Zhao Xu said lightly, "Xuanyuanhui and I can't live without anyone now."

Zhao Ruoping didn't know how to teach this son who had gone through life and death and turned upside down, so he finally had to sigh, "If there is any difficulty, just raise it with the clan. After all, the honor and loss are one, and the father will never abandon you."

Zhao Xu held the wine glass, put it down slowly, got up and knelt down.

Zhao Ruoping was startled, and immediately knelt down opposite him.

Both father and son kowtowed bitterly.

Sending off Zhao Ruoping, Zhao Xu lay back on the couch exhausted, and at night received a letter from Xuanyuan Hui from Chang'an - Cui Jinghu went to the Western Regions to gain fame; Princess Xiaohui hanged herself, leaving behind a dementia The son who can't speak; the empress dowager died in Huangquan when she was fleeing; Deng Chengfeng was also executed.

The enemies that made the Xuanyuan clan fearful and hated so much that they hated blood, are now like long-standing names, buried in the dust, and can no longer make trouble.

Xuanyuan Hui even took a somewhat melancholy tone, saying that his old friend was far away and his bosom friend was rare, and that resentment seeped out little by little like spring rain through the letter paper, dripping into Zhao Xu's heart.

The woodcutter Mo Kai turned back at some point, and said respectfully: "The Queen Mother Dugu refused to eat, so Your Majesty asked Dugu Dun, who is about to go out to fight, to kneel down and beg her to eat, otherwise he would not be able to get up."

Zhao Xu folded the letter and put it back into a red sandalwood box, "What did the queen dowager do recently, that your majesty is so tough. Did you persuade your majesty to accept a concubine, ask your majesty for a title, or let your majesty depose me?" "

Mo Kai didn't know how to answer for a while. After all, this pair of the most honorable mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the world is really special. "The specific situation is indeed a little unclear, but it seems that there are courtiers who have reported. Please Your Majesty make Duguyuan a king with a different surname."

Zhao Xu couldn't help laughing, "The queen mother must hate him to death, is this helping the Dugu family or harming them?"

Don't laugh out loud, "Your Majesty also secretly sent someone to investigate, and found that this person seems to have received the kindness of a prince from the Duke's family when he was young..."

Zhao Xu smiled, "After finding out, what did His Majesty say? How did the Queen Mother react?"

His move is similar to the previous Deng Dang's prophecy, but he blocked the way of the Dugu family first, and brought up the matter when their foundation was not deep. At this moment, all the officials will definitely object. If someone speaks in the future, it will be Xuanyuan Hui's approval. , Yushitai will not be kind.

"The empress dowager was furious, but she still issued a decree to resign modestly. Please don't let villains encourage you to use your relatives."

Zhao Xu sneered, "You have to take me along with you, it seems that Queen Mother Dugu is open-minded. What about later? Your Majesty won't be angry with her because of this, right?"

Mo Kai hesitated and said: "When the Empress Dowager was in Suzhou, she invited her niece from her natal family to serve her. Just last month, Her Majesty wanted to recognize her as a younger sister and make her a princess..."

"You didn't mention it in your Majesty's letter." Zhao Xu didn't move, but Mo Kai looked flustered, "The Dugu family said that Princess Feng with a different surname is unreasonable, so they resigned... and then His Majesty will marry that young lady , wanting to point her to Master Pei Jun Pei."

Zhao Xu brushed off his sleeves, "If I were them, I would definitely not refuse. It stands to reason that the Empress Dowager should know His Majesty's intentions by now, so why is she pressing so hard? Isn't she afraid of offending His Majesty?"

"I'm afraid there is some reason why riding a tiger is hard to get off, but in the end, the lady was found to have an affair with the guard. His Majesty was furious, saying that she was promiscuous and messed up the forbidden palace, and asked her to either marry the guard, or shave her hair and become a sister-in-law. As a result, the queen mother saved Miss Dugu and sent her back to her home."

"Then Your Majesty sent Dugu Dun to fight in Lingnan, so the Empress Dowager won't have to eat? Although my dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, Your Majesty is not a foolish and filial person. The Empress Dowager made a wrong move." Zhao Xu got up and opened the window to see Looking at the clear water outside the window, "Continue to stare at Chang'an, the queen mother is not an ordinary woman, she will definitely have a countermeasure in the future, so don't be careless."