After raising the emperor, he always wanted to marry me

The spring breeze brings warmth and gentle breeze.

Zhong Shuling set up a poker table in the back garden of Zheng Han's mansion.Concubine Zheng of Yucheng, her direct sister-in-law Zhou, and relatives of two aunts and cousins ​​all gathered around the table, eating snacks and playing cards at the same time.

He also took some fashionable hairpins as the winners and losers of the game.

"Sister, since you're back, let's stay longer. Your three nephews have all gone to various places to pay foreign jobs, and your niece is getting married again. If you don't come, I will be bored to death on weekdays." Zhou Shi stroked the golden hairpin on her sideburns, and smiled happily: "Go back and ask your brother to open an extra door for your yard, so that you don't have to take a detour to enter and exit through the gate of this mansion."

"Sister-in-law, don't be joking. If you don't open the door later, the carriage from Prince Yucheng's mansion will have to come over to pick up the third sister. This is called deep affection." It was Zheng's cousin Lu who spoke, and Fu The wife of the second son of King Changjun.The whole family followed Fuchang County Prince Jiufan in the early years, and only returned to the capital three years ago.

"This time, even if there is a car to pick me up, I won't go back." Zheng touched the domino in his hand, and said frankly to the sisters and sisters-in-law: "Tell me, what is the prince doing this time? The family belongings went to the streets to embarrass the king, and when they turned back, they were punished, but they were all assigned to others."

"Sister, don't worry, isn't your lord thinking about the two heirs in the family? It's also a matter of benefiting the descendants to increase the court salary." Zhou smiled and handed Zheng a piece of money. The freshly cut melon: "Shut up, get rid of the gas."

"Speaking of this, my heart is the same as that of the third sister. Even us housekeepers who are women know the truth that starting a business is easy and difficult. Instead of thinking about how to manage the family business, I think about how to divide the family first? I am afraid that I will lose a cent of the family's money. To put it more seriously, isn't this self-destructive foundation?" Lu Shi played a card conveniently, and was clever Afraid that she would be thirsty after talking, the little girl hurriedly handed her a cup of tea.

"Isn't it? Let's just say that this reduces the imperial salary, so that the sons of the clans can learn to support themselves, or join the army as an official or do business and farming. What's wrong? Chengfeng, why are you afraid that your children will be successful when you come to them?" The woman who spoke at this time was also surnamed Lu, and she was the direct younger sister of the former Mrs. Lu. The two sisters were married one after the other. Both married the sons of the Wang family in Fuchang County.

"If you want me to say, this time it's Prince Yucheng's fault. I took the clan members to the palace to tell them, His Majesty is kind, and respects them as elders and will not punish them. If it is the late emperor..." Da Lu The madam shook her head, and handed the teacup in her hand to the girl next to her: "I'm afraid my head is hanging on the tower right now."

"In my opinion, isn't this just asking for trouble?" Mrs. Zheng put a piece of melon into her mouth: "Not to mention that your nephew is sitting on the dragon chair, this country belongs to your Gu family. Just say that you are a junior, you shouldn't be so arrogant, relying on your seniority to force people to submit? This time is good, all the property in the house has been looted by others, and you still can't say a word. Listen It is said that Prince Kang Sheng found a few storytellers, and arranged this matter into a play, and the whole capital watched jokes together. They are both princes, and they are also reduced in salary. How can they be so calm? Can you hold your breath?"

"Sister, you really need to calm down. It is estimated that the prince will restrain himself in the future after this incident." Zhou is still smiling, she has always been a bodhisattva, and she can say anything that Zheng's royal family members say. She didn't quite understand, but she only heard her husband come back and talk to her, saying that His Majesty is a rare and good emperor: "Your brother said that our current Majesty is a rare and good emperor in ancient and modern times. With him in the Great Zhou Dynasty, We people can just eat, drink and fight cards."

"Even my elder brother, who is a courtier, knows the benefits of being the emperor, but he doesn't." Zheng wiped his hands with a soft handkerchief, and touched the dominoes again: "Before your Majesty ascended the throne, he entered the military camp at the age of 14 and went to the battlefield at the age of 15." , 17 years old leading a million soldiers, what a young hero? He is also a descendant of the Gu family, how come your son has to rely on his salary to be a dude? This time I will not tolerate him, let him finish the trouble, I will go back .”

It is said that Prince Yucheng, Gu Chao, spent three days and three nights pitifully in that big palace with no property, and finally couldn't stand it any longer.

He took care of the storeroom at home, took out a hundred thousand taels of silver, and sealed it to the palace for Han Mochu.He insisted that it was the housekeeper at the time who was guarding and stealing, and sold the belongings privately.

Seeing the suspicion in Han Mochu's smile, Gu Chao went back to the mansion and beat up the old butler at home, and brought them into the palace to confess to Han Mochu.

The old butler was really an acting school, he confessed his crimes one by one, kowtowed until his head was bleeding, and the king Gu Xiu persuaded him to make peace, the upright and upright Taifu Han reluctantly took the money and let Gu Chao go He went to move on the land of the homestead in Taifu's mansion.

From tables and chairs to antiques, to bits and pieces of jade ornaments, there are a total of 160 pieces, and one piece is quite a lot.

The old prince Gu Chao didn't bother to look at the list of his belongings, and let his subordinates carry them around, while he himself took the most spacious eight-horse carriage in the mansion to pick up his wife in front of Shang Shuling Zheng's mansion.

That night, the first light rain since the beginning of spring fell in central Beijing.

Sitting in the carriage returning home, Mrs. Zheng patted her husband on the back to comfort him all the way.

The old prince's mouth was still stubborn and strong, but his body was quite honest and he hugged his wife so tightly that he couldn't move.It seemed that he was afraid that Mrs. Zheng would be unhappy again and would leave him and go back to live with her mother's parents.

Opening his eyes for the past few days is the life of a bastard with no family, and Gu Chao doesn't want to live it again in his life.

***

The pattering spring rain made people's eyes heavy.

The charcoal basins used to keep warm in the warm pavilion of Xuanzheng Hall were taken out and replaced with gilt smoked cages for dehumidification.

Gu Xiu sat in front of the table and reviewed the memorials that had been backlogged for two or three days, while Han Mochu sat opposite him and sorted out the local financial reports.

Based on these financial reports, Han Mochu wanted to remove the titles and local officials from those prefectures and counties that were too sparsely populated, and merge them into the jurisdiction of the nearby or surrounded government. In this way, many impoverished places can gradually prosper.

The territory of the Great Zhou was huge. In addition to the prefectures and counties, there were also outer tribes such as Mohe, Mengshi, Xirong, etc. attached to the Great Zhou.When he was in Baiming Mountain in the past, Mr. Yi Ji once said that if such foreigners who belong to the same clan as the Great Zhou were not educated for a long time, sooner or later they would become chaotic.

When the first emperor was in power in the old days, he did not control and guard against these foreigners, which led to several wars in the later period.Now, before Gu Xiu ascended the throne, although he had leveled these areas as a deterrent, as time passed, he would definitely rekindle his rebellious heart.

At that time, it will inevitably be another bloodbath.

Mr. Yi also said that for those of the same clan and alien race, attacking the heart should be the top priority, and deterrence should be the bottom.When Gu Xiu's throne is firmly established in the future, the first thing to do is to collect those places as Zhou soil.

In the middle of the night, the rain outside the window became quieter.

Shanggong Wu brought the newly stewed Polygonatum Polygonatum Chicken Soup, put it warmly in front of the two of them, and walked out without saying much.

Only two people were left sitting face to face, drinking soup and talking.

"Today's soup seems a bit bland." Han Mochu held the bowl, as if tasting a bowl of old wine.

"Is it light? I think it's okay."

"Maybe it's because Chen Squirrel Mandarin Fish eats a lot these days and the taste becomes heavier."

"Why did you want to compete with Prince Yucheng that day? Fortunately, his city is not deep. Otherwise, if he wants to participate in politics in the future, he will definitely target you everywhere." Gu Xiu gently stirred the chicken soup in his hand: "Master, if you feel weak, ask Aunt Wu to add more salt later."

"Your Majesty was joking, how can a pot of soup be half salty and half bland? Just like a country, a family, and clan blood, there is no reason for half to prosper and half to decline." Han Mochu smiled warmly, his eyes as if they were new. Yue: "Prince Yucheng is your elder, and filial piety is the first word. If something happens, you have to give him three points. But the minister is different. The minister is a minister in the court. You can respect or disrespect your clan. Your Majesty thinks If you do things you can't do, you can do it for your majesty. If you are disrespectful to your clan and the royal family, your majesty will just punish you. After all, it's hard to defend yourself, and there must be someone to take the blame for your majesty and be this villain of."

When Han Mochu said this, his tone was calm, but every word hit Gu Xiu's heart.

Many years ago, Han Mochu also went to the northern wilderness to visit his relatives in such a silent way for him.In order to avoid being convicted, Han Mochu would rather be subject to military law than to be whipped, and he would never let him have a hard time.

It seemed that no matter how much time passed, he, Gu Xiu, was the prince or the king.

Han Mochu treated him the same as before, there was no need for Gu Xiu to say a word about anything, and he was not even afraid of being misunderstood or infamous.

Gu Xiu grew up beside him, he can understand all the good intentions of Han Mochu, and he also knows how much Han Mochu has prepared for him behind all the safety and well-being he has walked along the way.

Now that he is the king, Han Mochu has not alienated him because of the change of status, he still protects him unreservedly.

Protect his ideals and ambitions, protect his innocence.

Because of this, he never got lost after the imperial power was added to him.

How could he live up to such a Han Mochu?

***

In the first year of Yongding, late at night on the second day of March.

When Concubine Xie Zhang's family gave birth, only Princess Qingzhao Gu Jin was by her side because of the early death of Mrs. Lu Guogong.

That night, the palace of King Xuan was brightly lit.

Mrs. Zhang screamed heartbreakingly while clutching the pillow, watching those palace people carrying blood in and out, Princess Qingzhao could only stand in front of the fetus statue outside the house and recite in a low voice.

It was the only flesh and blood of her fourth brother left in this world, and there must be no mistake.

Mrs. Zhang struggled desperately all night, until the morning of the third day of March, when the nurse who announced the good news came to the front hall with a brightly colored and festively patterned swaddling baby: "Congratulations, Your Royal Highness, the princess gave birth safely, and she is a little child."

Gu Jin hurriedly picked up the little baby who hadn't opened his eyes yet, and finally let go of his heart that had been hanging all night: "Send two proper people to the palace to spread the word, only to say that Princess Xie gave birth to a son, and go ask Your Majesty to give her a name." .”

Gu Jin gently kissed the little baby's forehead, and dragged it in her arms, bouncing and bouncing, looking at that crumpled little red face, her fourth brother Gu Yan inevitably appeared in her mind again.

Her fourth brother was once so good and so proud.

Smart and courageous, both civil and military.

Her fourth brother was supposed to be the most outstanding and capable prince in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

He was supposed to be his seventh brother Gu Xiu's right-hand man, he was supposed to make contributions together with his seventh brother, and they should be brothers and sisters.

When Gu Yan was very young, his mother Han Guifei never allowed him to get too close to brothers and sisters like Gu Jin, let alone say a word with his mother and Concubine Yunmu who had not yet left the palace.

Father Huang often said that her fourth brother was born in the first year of Yongxi, and his character is precious, so he has to work extra hard.

How many times she took Gu You to play, Gu Yan watched eagerly while holding an enlightenment book.Concubine Han Guifei and Han Ming taught his fourth brother to be invincible, and at the same time ruined the brotherhood that he should have had.

When she was 11 years old, she took Gu You to fly a kite in the palace.Gu You broke the string of the kite in his hand and landed on a tree.The young Gu You was crying and relentless at that time, and the nurse and eunuch who followed him couldn't be coaxed by anyone.

Gu Yan passed by here and climbed up the tree without saying a word. Even though his face was pale with fright, he still tried his best to help Gu You, the younger brother, get the kite back.

I heard that Concubine Han Guifei did not let Gu Yan eat that night.Three days later, Gu You got smallpox and almost didn't survive.

Gu Jin couldn't bear to think about Gu Yan's childhood.But I couldn't help thinking, if he was still here today, how happy would he be as a new father?

He will definitely hold out his chest proudly, run to show her the child in his arms as if he has won a battle, and say to her: "Elder Sister, look at Yan'er has a son! Look at how beautiful he was born! can laugh!"

Unfortunately, he left.

Even the unborn child did not keep him.

He fulfilled his younger brother and the whole world, and he ended all the infamy on him alone.

"His Royal Highness, it's not good." A little maid ran out of the delivery room, her voice panicked and urgent: "The princess saw Dahong after giving birth, but she refused to take medicine, and she refused to stop the bleeding. Go in and persuade her." .”

Gu Jin calmed down, walked quickly into the delivery room with the baby in her arms, sat by Zhang's bed, and whispered Zhang's boudoir name: "Zhuzhu, why are you so good at refusing to take medicine? Don't take medicine?" , how will the body get better?"

Mrs. Zhang shook her head weakly, her bloodless face was drenched with sweat from the pain, her wet hair stuck to her face but she didn't have the energy to tidy it up, her whole body seemed to be hollowed out, it took a long time to say anything A heartbreaking sentence came out: "Eldest sister, please, let me go."

Zhang, who yelled all night, her voice was hoarse, and Zhang's eye circles turned red with a short sentence: "Sister, I really miss my lord... Please... let Zhuzhu let's go..."

Gu Jin stretched out his hand to wipe away the beads of sweat on Zhang's forehead, and his eyes blurred unconsciously: "Eldest sister knows that you are thinking of the prince. But if you leave, what will this child do? He has no father anymore. , do you still want him to have no mother?" As he spoke, Gu Jin moved the swaddling baby in his arms towards Mrs. Zhang who was on the bed.

Probably due to the nature of mother and child, the baby in swaddling unconsciously pressed his face to Zhang's, and rubbed unconsciously.

Gritting her teeth, Mrs. Zhang resisted to turn her head away, refusing to look at the child who was close to her.

She knew that as long as she took one look at the child, she would never want to let go: "Sister, don't blame me. He is the flesh and blood that I left in this world for the prince. My heart has long gone with the prince. Already gone..."

Zhang's choked sobs forced Gu Jin to hold the child back into her arms: "You said you wanted to follow the prince, but what about this child? Who will take care of him in the future? You brought him into this world for a lifetime." Yu, are you going to abandon him so easily?!"

"Elder Sister." Mrs. Zhang propped herself up and grabbed Gu Jin's sleeve. The warm blood gradually flowed from her lower body. She felt that all the strength in her body was being sucked away, but she still tried her best for the sake of her newborn son. I begged with all my strength: "You will take care of him, right? You will definitely take care of him, right? You are his real aunt, you treat Zhuzhu so well, you treat the prince so well, and you will definitely treat our children well Right? Zhuzhu begs you, take care of him for Zhuzhu, okay? Since the prince left, I have dreamed of him more than once, dreaming that he was cold and lonely in that world alone, I really want to go Be with him, really want to be with him..."

These days, Gu Jin's meticulous care made Mrs. Zhang feel more at ease in entrusting her child to Gu Jin.Gu Jin is gentle, loving, pure and sincere.

She knew that Gu Jin was the most valued sibling of the emperor and King Ning. No matter what happened, they would take care of Gu Jin's face and treat this child kindly.

As long as Gu Jin is around, the child will be safe and sound, which is much better than following her as a widowed biological mother.

Gu Jin hugged the child, feeling pain in his heart.

Even without Zhang's words, she would definitely take good care of this child, after all, this is the child of her fourth brother Gu Yan.

Flesh and blood is thicker than water.

"Zhuzhu, are you tired?" Gu Jin gently supported Mrs. Zhang and laid her back on the bed: "Take a rest when you're tired, Eldest Sister will take good care of this child."

Ms. Zhang raised the corners of her mouth in relief, and nodded weakly: "Sister, after Zhuzhu falls asleep, you can ask someone to bathe and change Zhuzhu, and then put on some makeup. Zhuzhu wants to wear the dress that Princess Ning's sister gave her." The goose-yellow Suzhou embroidery here...the prince said...my complexion is fair...it looks good in light colors..."

"Okay." Gu Jin shook the child in her arms, and gently covered Mrs. Zhang with the quilt. The maids behind her couldn't help kneeling and crying.Gu Jin, who heard the cry, calmed down a lot: "Notify Lu Guogong's mansion that Concubine Xie has passed away. Please prepare an order for the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the funeral."

At dusk, Lu Guogong Zhang Ye rushed to the mansion of Prince Xun, and watched over his daughter's body with tears streaming down his face.

Mrs. Zhang was lying there quietly, wearing a goose-yellow Suzhou embroidered palace dress, her gray complexion covered by a touch of powder, with a gratifying smile on the corner of her mouth, as if she was asleep.

In fact, before getting married, Mrs. Zhang had never met Gu Yan at all.

But the moment Gu Yan lifted the hijab, she fell in love with the boy in front of her.

She didn't know what it was like to be a wife.She is stupid, she can't learn to be as good as Princess Ning, and she is not as capable as Princess Ning and knows how to manage the house.Gu Yan never blamed her.She was punished by Concubine Han Gui for failing to do things well, and Gu Yan would accompany her to copy the women's training until late at night, and then rubbed her sore wrist, telling her to be more careful in doing things in the future.

In her eyes, Gu Yan is the best husband in the world.

Although her life was not satisfactory, she did not regret it after all.

When the news of Mrs. Zhang's death spread to the palace, Gu Xiu drew up a name for the newborn baby on paper.

Yucheng.

The word "Cheng" was first selected by Han Mo, which not only fulfilled his father's title, but also placed high hopes on this child.

Both Gu Xiu and Han Mochu were satisfied with this word.

When Yuan Bao came with the news, he looked embarrassed and didn't know what to say for a while.

It was Han Mochu who saw the clue, and said bluntly to Yuan Bao who came to report the letter: "Today is His Majesty's birthday, if it's something that happens in Prince Xuan's mansion, you can just pass the decree to the Ministry of Rites and handle it according to the etiquette."

Yuan Bao, who has always been smart, was really taken aback when he heard this, thinking to himself how could this Taifu Han be so predictable?Forgive him the sin of commemorating the king's birthday.

"Yes, the servant understands, so let's do it." After finishing speaking, Yuan Bao quickly retreated from the warm pavilion of Xuanzheng Hall as if he had received a pardon.

After Yuan Bao left.

Han Mochu patted the shoulder of Gu Xiu next to him, Ruo Ruo Wu said: "This child is born today, so it can be seen that he has a predestined relationship with His Majesty and a minister. From now on, Aunt Wu will add another bowl of birthday noodles every year."

"You always knew what I was thinking, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. After all, I didn't take good care of my fourth brother's wife and children." Gu Xiu looked sideways at the word "Yucheng" on the red paper with the name proposed, unconsciously. Sigh: "A child is born without parents."

"I don't have any biological parents. Since I can remember, there are only two people around me, Mr. and Chang Ru, and I don't even have a blood relative around me." Han Mochu's hand on Gu Xiu's shoulder became a little heavier: "However, I never I am envious of the children who can take care of me, because Mr. Yi has never loved his ministers less than his own parents, so..."

"You still have me from now on." Gu Xiu blurted out and interrupted Han Mochu's next statement, but when his eyes met, his sudden firmness was easily disintegrated by those beautiful eyes: "I mean, from now on, if you If you miss your parents, I can let you build an ancestral hall with them, and set up an ancestral temple, as long as you want, I will allow it."

"Your Majesty, if your words don't convey your meaning, you don't need to say anything. I understand everything." Han Mochu raised his lips and smiled warmly, like the warm sun in spring: "You don't need to say, I understand."

The author has something to say:

I don't know why, but my eyes were red when I wrote Zhuzhu.