Zhi Xuan

An autumn rain and a cold.

The drizzle is hazy, the cold wind dispels the last ray of heat, and autumn frost covers the ground.

A fast horse came from the east and galloped across the dirt road in the field, splashing a large amount of mud where the horse's hooves passed.

Hearing the sound of horseshoes, the two advancing caravans immediately moved aside.The guard servants in the team tightened the reins to control the restless cows and horses, so as not to block the flying cavalry.

The knight rushed on the road in the rain, his whole body was soaked, and the young feathers on the top of his head lost their color and were no longer eye-catching and gorgeous.Only the baby in his arms was safe and sound, wrapped in layers of linen and animal skins, and unstained by any rain.

When encountering a caravan, the knight galloped past without slowing down.The businessman backed away as much as possible, not to be splashed with mud.

"You Zhiyu is from the east." Watching the knight go away, a businessman said.

"East Liang Kingdom?" Another person said.

"It should be right." The businessman nodded.

"I heard that a fight is about to start in the south." The merchant in the team took up the reins and checked the goods under the cloth.He is not a member of the caravan, he joined halfway, paid a sum of goods in exchange for the protection of the caravan, and traveled with everyone.

"Is the news true?"

"Bei'an's army has already moved south, and I heard that the leader of the army is Gongzi Hao."

"It's actually Young Master Hao!"

Everyone took a deep breath.

The Dongliang Kingdom was oppressed by the soldiers of the Xiyuan Kingdom, and the capital of the country was in jeopardy.Young Master Hao led his troops to the south, and Nanyou Kingdom was about to start a war again.The four vassal states are relatives of each other by marriage, and now they are fighting in the same room, and the world may be in chaos.Did Zhongducheng really ignore it and just let it go?

"The Human King is not in good health." A businessman said mysteriously, "I was bedridden some time ago, and it has only improved recently."

King Ren fainted in public and was ill for a long time after waking up. The matter was not trivial.

It happened so suddenly that the palace thought of blocking the news, but it was too late.

During the days when King Ren was ill, rumors arose in the capital of Zhongdu and became very loud.There are even rumors that the king's life is not long, and the prince is about to take the throne.

As soon as the rumors came out, the prince broke out in a cold sweat, and immediately ordered a strict investigation, and those who caught spreading the rumors were severely punished.At the same time, he did not forget to enter the palace to serve the sick, and stayed in front of the king's bed day and night, personally testing the medicine for the king.

Within three days, the prince's reputation for loyalty and filial piety rose, attracting praise from all over the place.

The officials and retainers of the prince's mansion are running around, keeping an eye on the wind direction all the time, guarding against death while promoting the reputation, so as not to be taken advantage of and stigmatize the prince.

Wang Ziliang and Wang Zichuan also entered the palace every day. As soon as the crown prince arrived, they immediately followed.

The three brothers stood in front of the king's sick bed, and each of them showed more filial piety than the other. Regardless of their past experiences, they were all filial sons to the letter.On the contrary, Wang Zihuai did not show up for several days, completely different from when Wang Gang fell ill, which aroused a lot of suspicion.

The three sons tried their best to compete for favor, never forgetting to act with each other, showing brotherhood and brotherhood, and all they had to do was engrave the four characters "filial piety, loyalty, loyalty" on their foreheads.Human King remained unmoved, with a very indifferent attitude, often unwilling to even say a word.Only when Wang Zihuai entered the palace, the king's attitude eased, his cold expression gradually melted, revealing a bit of father-son affection.

The difference in treatment was too obvious, and the three princes were jealous, and the more they looked at Wang Zihuai, the more they disliked it.

They didn't dare to do anything to the king, but they could make Wang Zihuai feel bad.

Rumors spread like wildfire, and bad words about Wang Zihuai spread everywhere. All the things from a few years ago were revealed, just to slander Wang Zihuai and step his reputation to the bottom.

What's more, he implicated Zhixuan's attack on Dongliang and Wang Zihuai, blatantly slandering Wang Zihuai's private alliance with the big vassal states, insidious and deceitful, and his intentions for the kingship were wrong.

The above rumors are groundless, but they have been spread in style.

When the matter reached the ears of the king of men, the king of men was furious and ordered to severely punish those who slandered and spread rumors.

The clans knew the elegant meaning when they heard the stringed songs, and immediately understood the king's attitude.

When the prince and the retainers of the two princes came to the door, each family entertained them with good manners and good manners, and they could not find any mistakes.When it comes to business, he will talk about him left and right, trying to divert the topic.

Facing the scheming patriarch of the clan, the retainers could only return home in defeat.

Once or twice was okay, and it was like this every time. The three princes gradually tasted the taste, and felt bitter in their hearts, but there was nothing they could do.

Although the King of People leaned towards Wang Zihuai, he did not change his will for a long time.

Everyone couldn't help guessing that the king's love for Wang Zihuai was somewhat genuine.Is it true father-son love, or is it through Prince Huai'an to appease Marquis Xiyuan.

No wind, no waves, such speculation is not unreasonable.

The two vassal kingdoms clashed, and the Dongliang Kingdom retreated steadily. It was not the opponent of the Xiyuan Kingdom at all.Zhixuan did have tricks, but it is an indisputable fact that the military strength of the Xiyuan Kingdom is strong.

The strength of Dongliang Kingdom is unquestionable. If you want to defeat such a big country and reach the capital within a few months, it is absolutely impossible to rely on tricks.Without sufficient military and national power to support it, it is foolish to want to achieve the current results.

The clans that took root in Zhongdu City, not to mention extremely smart, would definitely not be stupid.

The facts are right in front of us, and there is no room for evasion.After this battle, the Xiyuan Kingdom is destined to become stronger and stronger, while the Dongliang Kingdom may fall into a slump and will be at the bottom of the four major vassal states.

Zhixuan's vicious reputation spread throughout the countries, Wang Zihuai married the Yuan family, and married Zhixuan's younger sister, which represented a powerful in-law.Under such circumstances, it is not difficult for the King of People to love Wang Zihuai and express his kindness towards Marquis Xiyuan.

The clans speculated secretly, and there were different opinions for a while.It is impossible to assert the heir that the king prefers, so one has to be cautious and not to bet immediately, so as not to make mistakes and bring hidden dangers to the family.

The arrival of a new round of battle reports pushed things to another peak.

In three days, the eastern capital was broken, the Marquis of Dongliang left the city and surrendered, and the Marquis of Xiyuan entered the city.

The battle report was sent to the city, and before the early court, the heads of every family knew about it.Faced with such a result, surprise is inevitable.At the same time, the chill was rising, and he was afraid of the young Xi Yuanhou.

"Take half the soil in March, and go to the capital in three days!"

Going back a hundred years, such a big victory is unique.

"Marquis Nishihara is so strong!"

The tyranny of the four vassal states is world-renowned, how can they subdue the Hu Yi and deter the Quartet if they are not strong enough.But being as strong as Zhixuan is really unreasonable, and attacking another big country is like cutting melons and vegetables, which is really incredible.

How exactly is it done?

The clans did not come to the battlefield in person, so they did not know the details of the battle between the two sides.The battle report is also very brief, only writing about the powerful weapons of the Xiyuan army, which showed great power during the siege process.There is no description about what kind of sharp weapon it is, how it is operated, or how many it is.

The information is not equal, and it is useless for the clans to turn over the battle reports, and the conclusions drawn must be different.

As the flying riders returned one after another, the heads of each family had to abandon their prejudices and exchange information in order to obtain more information.

What everyone didn't expect was that the summary of the news did not make the situation clear, but brought more doubts, and the wise men were also at a loss.

"The sharp weapon is as huge as a mountain."

"A soldier can't fall down when hit by an arrow."

"Big chariots have the power to move mountains, and soldiers go straight to the top of the city."

"The giant arrow smashes through the wall and destroys the house."

"The wind breaks the battle flag and overwhelms the Marquis of Dongliang."

"The Marquis of Xiyuan enters the city, and the people of Dongliang welcome him."

The information was gathered together, and the doctors looked through it one by one. The first part can be understood, but what is the last two?

They did not understand and were greatly shocked.

The silk cloth was circulated in the hands, and everyone who saw it frowned and looked at the clan head who had received the news.Who is writing the information, is it a joke?

The person being watched spread his hands, and he was also puzzled by the news sent back from the battlefield.Invite the knight to ask, every word is true, there is no half a word of falsehood.

The Qing doctors fell silent, their thoughts were flying, they were calm on the surface, but they had made up their minds in their hearts, they could only get married with this young Xiyuanhou, and they must not offend unless it was a last resort!

Changes in the court will also affect the back house.

Due to various reasons, Wang Zihuai was pushed to the forefront, all kinds of eyes gathered, there were a lot of visitors at the house, and the carriages and horses in front of the gate could fill half a long street.

Wang Zihuai is well versed in the principle of keeping a low profile, but the situation does not allow it.When a big clan comes to visit, you can see it even if you don't want to, otherwise you will offend others.

Mrs. Ji also had no leisure time, and the female relatives of each family took turns to visit and invite them to banquets one after another.Most of them could be shirked, and she couldn't refuse the banquet of the Six Ministers, especially Madam Zhengqing's invitation, so she had to show up.

This banquet was ingenious, in addition to the wife, the wife and concubine could also attend.But everyone was very winking, and all the concubines they brought were concubines with better backgrounds, and those whose family background could not be on the stage, no matter how favored they were, they would not have the chance to have a banquet.

When Mrs. Ji received the invitation, she only brought the original peach, and none of the others.

Before departure, Mrs. Ji told Yuan Tao that the banquet would not be peaceful and she had to be prepared.

"There is no such thing as a good banquet."

Yuan Tao was a little nervous, but not afraid.After experiencing many things, she is more and more able to confirm her status.A strong natal family is her confidence, let alone provoke her, if provoked for no reason, don't think she will swallow her anger.

In Zhongdu City, she does not represent herself, but the Yuan clan.She is weak because Yuan Shi is weak, she cannot let others bully her, let alone lose face!

"Excellent." Mrs. Ji patted Yuan Tao's shoulder, agreeing with her thoughts.

The two were sitting in the car together, and as the car shook, Yuan Tao accidentally leaned on Mrs. Ji's shoulder.She wanted to stand up straight, but was surrounded by Mrs. Ji, the elegant fragrance lingered on her nose, and the top of her hair was stroked, one after another, which made her relax unconsciously, half-closed her eyes and didn't want to move away.

"Just do whatever you want, if something really happens, it's all up to me."

Yuan Tao raised her head, looked at Mrs. Ji, and unconsciously rubbed her shoulder, describing her as cute and cute.

"promise!"

The carriage traveled all the way, crossed the long street, and arrived at the square where the Zhengqing family lived.

To welcome visitors, the doors of the workshop were opened before dawn, and the streets were cleaned and cleaned.Domestic servants and maidservants stand on both sides of the road, and they surround the street with long silk to show their importance to the banquet.

At that time, there were several ox carts in front of the gate, and the decorations on the car bodies were all totems, symbolizing various clans.

When Mrs. Ji and Yuan Tao arrived, Mrs. Xiang and the two side ladies had just got off the car.

I don't know whether to call it a coincidence or not, the two parties met in front of the mansion before the banquet started.

Mrs. Ji had a smile on her face, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.Mrs. Xiang sneered, her eyes swept over Yuan Tao, with obvious scrutiny, her attitude was full of arrogance.

The two side wives next to Mrs. Xiang behaved differently. One of them looked indifferent, greeted Mrs. Ji and Yuan Tao, and behaved in a well-regulated manner, which was a bit contrary to her gorgeous appearance.The other person's gaze was like a knife, and he stabbed at Yuan Tao fiercely, his hatred and loathing were undisguised.

Yuan Tao looked at the other party, saw the jade ornaments on his body, and knew it in his heart.

I heard that the Liang family has a daughter in the Prince's Mansion, so it should be this person.She's really pretty, but she doesn't seem to have a good brain.