The Wife is First

The fourth prince was not happy at all when he received this gift. He knew that Yanji was given to Jing Shao by the eldest prince back then, and now Jing Shao gave it to him intact, but he could not push away this hot potato. Because an elder brother can give his younger brother beauty, but there is no reason for a younger brother to give his elder brother a concubine. However, there are no adult brothers under him.

Jing Shao had actually finished copying his book a long time ago, but he had been lazy for a long time and didn't want to go to court.

Mu Hanzhang urged him to go back as soon as possible: "Things are changing rapidly in the court. Now that the fourth prince returns to the court, it is better to be careful."

So, he left Ge Ruoyi to Gui Jiudao to learn hidden weapons, and asked Ren Feng to secretly clean up the desolate forest in the eastern suburbs. Jing Shao reluctantly packed his luggage and returned to the palace with his princess.

On the third day after the fourth prince returned to the court, King Cheng Jingshao also completed the "Book of War" ten times. Emperor Hongzheng read through it at home and asked questions in it. All the answers were fluent. The dragon was very happy and rewarded him with ten pieces of royal satin and a bucket of pearls.

The courtiers are all Taoist. Although the king cannot inherit the throne, his favor will not fade. Only Jing Shao knew that what his father rewarded was his stance on the San Francisco affair, and he was just flattering him to the right point.

The satin is a good thing. Jing Shao is going to make some new clothes for Jun Qing and himself. As for the bucket of pearls, they are of no use. Now Song Lingxin is the only female family member in the palace. He is still bored when he sees it, so he lets Mu Han Zhang took this bucket of fine pearls back to Beiweihou Mansion and distributed them to his seven aunts and eight aunts.

Mu Hanzhang knew that he wanted to save face for himself, so he naturally would not brush off his kindness. He asked Duofu to go to the warehouse to pick out a few gifts and bring them with him, and led Yunzhu back to Beiweihou Mansion.

A bucket of pearls, each handful for the aunts and uncles, each handful for the sisters, and twenty pearls for each of the aunts. The remaining half should be given to the grandmother, and the remaining half should be given to the husband of Beiweihou.

"Hey ~ these are tribute pearls, each one is round and full, only a few of which my mother has ever seen. The talkative third aunt couldn't put it down while holding the pearl in her hand.

The other aunts and sisters were also smiling, and each one called the princess affectionately.

Aunt Qiu's body has recovered, and she finally feels relieved when she stands behind Beiwei Houfu and looks at her son, who is dressed in rich clothes and looks very elegant.

However, the Marquis of Beiwei kept a cold face from beginning to end. Without saying a few words, he began to reprimand Mu Hanzhang: "I am a man who cannot have any heirs, so a wife must be virtuous! Now the prince has no heirs, but he still All the concubines have been sent away, and I have no shame in speaking out. What I know is that I am young and ignorant, and what I don’t know is that I don’t know how to teach my son.”

The third husband, who was talking happily to the fourth husband about the Pearl Beauty Soup, immediately stopped talking when he heard this. As soon as the slightly sharp voice stopped, the whole hall became quiet. Although the Marquis of Beiwei is the legitimate mother, Mu Hanzhang is now the prince and concubine, and has a higher rank than the Marquis of Beiwei. Everyone is a little embarrassed and doesn't know what to do.

Mu Hanzhang slowly put down his cup and looked at Mrs. Du with some humor. She said this just because Jing Shao gave the fourth prince a royal concubine and was afraid that his daughter would be wronged if she married him. He really regarded the fourth prince as his son-in-law!

"Mom, you are too worried. Your son has been reading the Four Books and Five Classics since he was in elementary school, and he is taught by a master of ethnic studies. Even if your son cannot do the three obediences and four virtues, the husbands in the capital will not laugh at you." Mu Hanzhang slowly rubbed his cup. Along the way, he pointed out something, "The prince has always made the final decision on the affairs of the prince's palace. It is useless for a mother to lose her temper with her son."

Marquis Beiwei banged the cup in his hand on the table, stared at him for a long time, and suddenly softened his tone and said: "It doesn't mean that since you are married, you have to think about your husband's family. The prince is young, so he should give more advice. Since Since he can no longer inherit the throne, he must leave more avenues for himself. If he is qualified enough to marry the fourth prince, the prince and the fourth prince will be brothers-in-law. If anything happens in the future, there will be a way out.

When Mu Hanzhang heard this, he felt extremely ridiculous. Does Du Shi think he is a three-year-old child? Are brothers-in-law closer than brothers? In the royal family, brothers can kill each other, and the relationship between a brother-in-law is worthless. He couldn't help but sneer: "How can a married brother have the final say in my sister's marriage? Besides, my mother has the final say in this matter, so even if the prince is willing, he can't help it."

"..." Marquis Beiwei was so angry that he couldn't speak, but Mu Hanzhang made sense. His daughter's marriage had not yet been decided, and talking too much would affect her reputation. After staring at him for a long time, he had to give up.

Mu Hanzhang was a man. Even though he was from his natal family, he could not sit at home for a long time. He estimated that the time had come and it was almost time for the Marquis of Beiwei to return from the court, so he got up and left to see his father.

At the same time, a big event happened in the court that day.

The king of the southwest reported that the tribute sent to the capital from the southwest fiefdom was robbed, and the border areas were in distress. He requested that the tribute be reduced this year.

"What do you think of this matter?" Emperor Hongzheng asked in a deep voice, holding the pale yellow-covered memorial of the Southwest King.

"The southwest is close to Yunnan and Tibet. There is chaos there now. It is helpless that the tribute has been robbed. In my opinion, the tribute can be reduced." The Minister of the Ministry of Finance said carefully about his words.

"These thieves are really rampant if they dare to rob the tribute. In my opinion, we should send troops to encircle and suppress the tribute and recapture the tribute." The Minister of War said angrily.

"This year's renovation of the Summer Resort urgently requires the use of marble from the southwest. If the tribute is reduced, more marbles must be sent from the southwest." The minister of the Ministry of Industry was confused. He thought that the marble would be delivered in June, so he did not purchase other stones. Now even if it is sent again, it is estimated that it will not arrive in Beijing until July. No matter how fast the work is done, it will probably delay the emperor's summer vacation.

The ministers were arguing endlessly, but Emperor Hongzheng's brows furrowed deeper and deeper as he glanced at the three princes: "What do you three think?"

The fourth prince had just returned to the court and was eager to express himself. Seeing that his father was displeased, he stepped forward and said, "My son heard that there was a spring drought in the southwest and the people were suffering. Now that the tributes have been robbed, it is even worse. Although it is helpless to reduce the tributes, we can pay tribute to them." The people of the southwest demonstrate the benevolence of the emperor."

Emperor Hongzheng's eyes were deep and showed no emotion or anger. He didn't express anything about the fourth prince speaking before his two brothers. He turned to the second prince who lowered his eyes and said nothing: "Jingchen, what do you think?"

Jingchen took a step forward, bowed and said: "The imperial court pays tribute not for the sake of money, but to frighten the three vassals and show the power of God. If the tribute was suddenly robbed while on its way, the responsibility is to the southwest, not the imperial court. Therefore, I thought, The tribute cannot be reduced!" The voice was steady and powerful, neither urgent nor slow. Every sentence was resounding, and the noisy court suddenly became silent.

The fierceness in Emperor Hongzheng's eyes gradually softened, and he showed a look of relief, but he didn't say anything. He continued to look at Jing Shao who was looking impatient: "Jing Shao, what do you want to say?"

"Hmph, the distance traveled by transporting tributes from the southwest to Beijing is no more than Yunnan and Tibet! And half of the tributes are marbles weighing thousands of kilograms. What bandit wouldn't want to rob these tributes?" Jing Shao just stood there, He didn't even salute, he opened his mouth and spoke, looking like he was offended by the crowd.

When Emperor Hongzheng heard such straightforward and rude words, instead of being annoyed, he raised the corners of his lips: "Do you understand?"

The final result was that Emperor Hongzheng was sent to investigate the robbery of the tributes, but the selection was not mentioned in court. As the king of the southwest sent marble materials first, he did not mention the reduction of tribute for the time being.

After retiring from the court, Emperor Hongzheng called the second prince Jingchen to the imperial study alone.

Jing Shao patted the frustrated fourth prince on the shoulder, turned around and grabbed Bei Weihou who was about to go home.

"What advice does the prince have?" Mu Jin politely walked out side by side with Jing Shao.

"Father-in-law made a serious statement. Today Jun Qing returns to the Marquis Mansion and I will pick him up along the way with you." Jing Shao chuckled.

"Has Zhang gone to the Marquis' Mansion?" Mu Jin couldn't help but smile a little after hearing this, "That's great, Your Majesty, just have lunch on the way and then go back."

"Then you're welcome. I'll just have a drink with the Marquis. I've been thinking about the northwest liquor from last time." Jing Shao laughed, letting the Marquis of Beiwei go first, and got on his horse.

Mu Jin looked at Jing Shao, who was respectful and cordial, and then glanced at the fourth prince who was walking with his head down not far away. He couldn't help but frown slightly, turned around and got into the carriage.

The old man, Beiwei Hou, was not in good health a few years ago. He has been bedridden all year round and rarely sees visitors.

Mu Hanzhang went to see his grandmother and presented her with the precious medicinal materials. The gray-haired old man held his hand and talked for a while.

"Grandma is old and can't take care of things. When you marry into the royal family, you have to be cautious in what you say and do, and you must love and care for your husband. We have become husband and wife, and we will both prosper and suffer. There must be no resentment. It is not easy to become a king. , what was he like when Empress Yuan returned, and what kind of life is he living now? He has a heart full of flesh, and he will not treat him harshly if he is kind to him." I have lived a lifetime in a princely house, and I will understand things when I see them. but.

"My grandson understands. Grandma doesn't have to worry. The prince treats his grandson very well." Mu Hanzhang held the old man's hand with both hands, and bursts of warmth filled his heart. His grandmother had loved him since he was a child. Although she was not as fond as her direct grandson, she had never been too biased or made things difficult for him. The family also tried their best to protect him, so that he would not suffer a lot of grievances.

The old man was getting old, and after talking for a while, he became a little exhausted. Mu Hanzhang helped his grandmother to sleep and then withdrew. As soon as I walked to the front yard, I met a group of cousins ​​returning from school.

"Hey, isn't this the princess? Why, the prince was wronged and came back to her parents' home to cry?" When Mu Yangwen saw Mu Hanzhang, he habitually wanted to stab him. The younger brothers behind him couldn't help laughing after hearing this.