Concubine like a house

Chapter 145 The world is like a chess game (1)
On the second day when Shen Yu and Danxin went to Jingzhou, an imperial decree was issued from Yingyuan Palace - Zhuang Yiran, the youngest daughter of Zuoxiang Zhuangqin, has both good looks and good looks, bestowing marriage and divorce letter on Yun Cheng, son of the prince Hou.

In this imperial decree, the Emperor Tianshou used the word "Yao Nu" instead of "Concubine", which shows that he has carefully considered the words.Anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that this is deliberately promoting Zhuang Yiran's status, deliberately obliterating her status as a concubine, and also implying that Zhuang Xiang wants to treat this daughter as a concubine.

The decree was sent to Zuo Xiangfu and Yunfu respectively on the same day. On that day, Zuo Xiang Zhuang Qin's first wife took Zhuang Yiran into her knees and carefully taught her according to the standard of a descendant.At the same time, Empress Zhuang Xiaoran also bestowed a lot of silk, satin and jewelry from the palace, specifying that it was for this girl.

The news of Yun's and Zhuang's marriage spread like wildfire, and it became known to the whole world in just one month.Shen Yu and Dan Xin had heard about this matter on the way before they arrived in Jingzhou City, and when they entered the city, half of the ministers in the court had already gone to Zuo Xiang's mansion to congratulate them.

For a while, Zuo Xiang's mansion was full of guests, and the threshold was trampled down.Yun Xian, who was in Jingzhou, also sent two letters to Xiu, saying that he had been tossed about and thanked guests behind closed doors.

The situation of Yun Mansion is not much better, and the degree of welcoming and sending is by no means lower than that of Zuo Xiang Mansion.Fortunately, Mrs. Tai is relatively strong. Now that she is married to the head of the country, she no longer regards other aristocratic families in her eyes. The aristocratic families who come to pay homage to congratulations can push it away. Yun Feng came forward to receive him.

Originally Chuxiu thought that the days would pass like this, and after Shen Yu reconciled with Yun Xiangrong and Yun Cheng got married, she would be able to get rid of the troubles of the world and go back to seclusion hand in hand with Shen Yu.

Unexpectedly, God did not fulfill his wishes, Shen Yu not only failed to resign the title of "Marquis of Weiyuan" after returning to Beijing, but even retained his previous title of "General Weiyuan", and was promoted from the third rank to the second rank. Jump two levels in a row.

From then on, Shen Yu not only took on the civil position of "Marquis of Weiyuan", but also became independent from the command of Nie Peixiao, the king of Cheng, and served Jingzhou directly under the orders of the emperor. The surname "Shen" was re-written into the Gongqing Houmen, completing the leap and transformation from civil to military.

For Shen Yu's unexpected rise, Nanxi court has mixed opinions, and all kinds of rumors, envy, and jealousy come one after another, generally pointing to one thing——Shen Yu is in the Yun family's glory!
Just when everyone was talking about Shen Yu, a major incident diverted Nanxi's attention at the right time——

In the first year of Tianshou in Nanxi, on the ninth day of September, Emperor Beixuan Aiyi personally wrote a letter to Emperor Tianshou, expressing his willingness to make peace and exchange flags, and surrender on the table.

The news shocked Kyushu!
As we all know, Beixuan Chengrui Emperor Chenxuan had no heirs and no relatives, so after his death at a young age, his righteous brother Chenlang took over the throne and took charge of Beixuan.

Emperor Shengrui and Emperor Tianshou are about the same age, and have the same means. They have always been equally famous in the world in this troubled time between the north and the south, and they are equal.What's more, there are rumors in the world that the dragon among these two people also likes the same woman - Beixi's famous prostitute Luansu.Competing for the country and beauties, this also adds a bit of hostile relationship full of gunpowder to the evenly matched two.

However, since Emperor Chengrui died of a sudden serious illness, Beixuan's newly enthroned Emperor Aiyi was limited by his status and ability, so he has not done much.Anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that Emperor Tianshou will take advantage of the situation to attack and unify the north and the south.

However, the people of the world never imagined that before the Emperor Tianshou could make a move, the Northern Xuanyiyi Emperor would surrender without a fight!Take the initiative to make peace!
Just imagine that the North and the South have been divided for nearly a hundred years. Whether it is the five northern states or the four Nanxi states, every emperor has the ambition to unify the North and the South after he ascends the throne.

Now, the great cause of unification is finally going to be completed in the hands of Emperor Tianshou!As soon as the news spread, the prestige of Emperor Tianshou was even greater than before, and his various deeds were spread in a mystical manner, such as how he was invincible, how he ascended the throne with an iron fist, and how he got entangled with the famous prostitute Luan Su...

And at this moment, Emperor Beixuan Aiyi was also on the cusp—

Those who praise it say that they understand current affairs, understand righteousness, and that peaceful reunification will not cause the loss of life.

The scolders called him as cowardly as a mouse, cowardly and useless, and handed over the Beixuan Jiangshan that his adoptive father and brother had worked so hard to lay down.

All in all, for the two emperors of the north and the south, the world has both praise and criticism.But it is undeniable that both of them will become a stroke that cannot be ignored in history.

Overnight, everyone seemed to have forgotten Shen Yu's leapfrog promotion, and the marriage between Yun's and Zhuang's, and they couldn't even care about the relationship between the new female official who wrote the palace and Yun's.

Most of the topics discussed in the Nanxi court were about the word "unification". Several high-ranking ministers were particularly active, queuing up outside the holy study every day to offer advice and suggestions.They all want to take this opportunity to share a piece of the pie, and take advantage of this momentum to become famous all over the world and shine in the annals of history.

What is quite surprising is that Emperor Tianshou has remained calm, going up and down court on time every day, and summoning very few ministers.The other ministers who were waiting to see him were all rejected, but the papers presented were kept by the emperor, but nothing happened.

The emperor's heart is unpredictable, and the ministers have no choice but to wait and see.The centuries-old families of Yun, Zhuang, and Helian were extremely calm and calm in this matter, and the new Weiyuan Marquis Shen Yu was also very low-key and restrained, declining a few ministers who came to inquire about the news.

Finally, just five days after Beixuan's letter of sue and credence arrived in Nanxi, Emperor Tianshou made a move.On September [-]th, he personally wrote a decree, appointing Zuo Xiang Zhuang Qin and Weiyuan Marquis Shen Yu as envoys to discuss peace, leading the six tribes of Nanxi to Beixuan Imperial City to discuss the unification in detail.

Zuoxiang Zhuangqin was in charge of writing, and Marquis of Weiyuan Shen Yu was in charge of military affairs. This allocation seemed appropriate, but it also surprised the world—the Emperor Tianshou excluded Cheng Wang Nie Peixiao from the negotiation, and instead let his former minister Shen Yu do it for him.

For not using Nie Peixiao, the Emperor Tianshou had his own concerns.It is true that he and Nie Peixiao are close brothers and sisters, but he is always on guard against his mother, Queen Mother Ye.He was worried that after Nie Peixiao gained a firm foothold in Beixuan, the Empress Dowager Ye and the entire Ye family would take the opportunity to make trouble, using Beixuan's power to instigate new uprisings or rebellions, and even proclaim themselves king, or support Nie Peixiao to become emperor.

The bold appointment of Shen Yu was a decision made by Emperor Tianshou after careful consideration.The internal reason is that Emperor Tianshou himself ascended the throne in a disgraceful way, forcing Nie Si to rebel and forcing his father to abdicate, so some veterans in the court have always been dissatisfied with him.Under such circumstances, he did not dare to employ veterans easily.

In addition, Ding Yifei, the mentor of Emperor Tianshou and the veteran of the two dynasties, the "parachutist" Ding Yifei, attempted a rebellion, which also involved a group of cronies in the army, resulting in no successors for military generals in the DPRK and China.

Nie Peixiao can't be used, Ding Yifei and his cronies have been cut off, and other veterans are worried... After thinking about it, there are only a handful of generals who are suitable for holding heavy soldiers.Therefore, Emperor Tianshou had no choice but to promote Shen Yu, and he was determined that he would never betray himself and fall into the injustice of the Yun family.

On the second day after the decree was issued, the Nanxi peace mission delegation went to Beixuan in a mighty way and started the peace negotiation journey.This should be the most important peace negotiation. Once a consensus is reached, the North and the South will become one again.

This is also the least stressful peace negotiation, because it is just a formality, nothing more than discussing conditions: how to arrange the people of Beixuan, the ministers, and Emperor Aiyi himself... If the conditions are negotiated, unification will be imminent; if the conditions are not negotiated, Beixuan Xuan also can't beat Nanxi.

News about the situation in the North and the South comes out every day, and it changes every day. After Chuxiu learned that Shen Yu went to the North to declare peace, he also had mixed feelings:

The good news is that if Shen Yu succeeds, he will be able to feel proud and elated, and will do his best for the unification of the North and the South;

The worry is that once Shen Yu is in a high position, it will be difficult to get out, and the exhausting journey will affect his physical recovery.

Happiness turns to joy, worry turns to worry, now that things have come to an end, Chuxiu has no choice but to put Shen Yu aside for the time being, and concentrate on preparing for Yun Cheng's marriage.For this reason, she ordered someone to renovate an old garden in Yunfu, which was grand and magnificent according to the layout of Rongjin Hall, and used it as Yuncheng's wedding residence.Mrs. Tai gave it the name "Jiyuntang".

Jiyun is also Jiyun and Jiyun, and its meaning is self-evident.

On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, Yun Cheng officially moved into Jiyun Hall to live alone, and Qian Yun became the first big maid in Jiyun Hall, and several servant girls who served Yun Cheng on weekdays were also transferred from Zhiyanxuan.In addition, Chuxiu gave Qingxin Zhai to Yun Cheng for use.

Half a month later, on the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Yang gave birth to a fat boy weighing eight catties.Mrs. Tai was very happy when she found out, and thought it was a good sign of many happy events in the coming year.

"If it wasn't for Zhu Yang's background in martial arts and good health, how could such a big and fat boy be born?" Mother Chi said with a blunt smile in front of Mrs. Tai and Chuxiu, and she still did not forget to gesture for the child with her hands the size of.

When Chuxiu thought of the child's size and weight, he was also very surprised.How could Zhu Yang give birth to such a big child!

Mrs. Tai is a person who has been here. Seeing Chuxiu's expression, she knew what she was thinking. She couldn't help knocking on the table to bring her back to her senses. Give it to her, just to protect the child from disasters and accumulate blessings."

"On behalf of Zhuyang, I thank you for the great reward, old man." Chuxiu replied with a smile.

Mrs. Tai knew that when she came out of Xiuxiu to visit Rongjin Hall, it was not just because of Zhu Yang's birth, so she ordered Mama Chi: "You find the jade Buddha seat right now and send it to Zhiyan Xuan in person. Zhu Yang Yingtao and his wife are loyal to the Yunfu, so I can't be negligent."

The identity of Chi's mother is well known in the house.Since this reward was sent by her, the weight was naturally heavy.Mother Chi happily accepted the order to resign when she heard the news, and went to do it immediately.

Seeing Mama Chi leaving, Mrs. Tai smiled and asked Xiu: "Tell me, why did you come here?"

"You can't hide everything from your old man." Chuxiu didn't hide anything, and said in the future, "Now that the north and the south are reunified, I want to go to the palace in the next year and discuss with Emperor Tianshou about taking back the North Xuan business."

"So urgent?" Mrs. Tai teased her with a smile, "Why don't you wait for Yi and the mission to come back? Otherwise, if you go to Jingzhou, you won't see anyone!"

Chuxiu naturally knew that Mrs. Tai was referring to Shen Yu, so she laughed dryly, and replied: "Why can't I see anyone? The third master and Xiangrong are both in Jingzhou. And I also want to take this opportunity to visit Miss Zhuangjia, to see her Is it worthy of Cheng'er?"

Mrs. Tai waved her hand: "President Zhuang is now in the north to declare peace. The master is not at home, but you rush to see his daughter. This is out of etiquette." Mrs. Tai paused for a moment, and suddenly her face darkened, "And , you go to Beijing when you go to Beijing, do you still go to see Lao San and Yun Xiangrong specially? You are the matriarch of the house, shouldn't they come to see you? Why do you want to condescend to see them?"

Mrs. Tai hadn't spoken harshly to Chuxiu for a long time, and the latter was a little uncomfortable for a while, and quickly bowed her head to admit her mistake: "I didn't think carefully, and I ask mother to punish me."

Mrs. Tai snorted coldly: "You have always been unassuming to others. Although you have won the hearts of the people, you have also lost your prestige. You have to be strict when you should be strict, otherwise they will think you are easy to bully! Wei?"

Chuxiu lowered her eyes: "I understand."

Mrs. Tai was still perplexed, and continued to reprimand: "Leave aside the matter of putting the cart before the horse, but whose children are Yun Xiangrong and Yun Xian? The children of the second and third wards, why are you being so kind to them? Are you repaying grievances with virtue?"

"It's not repaying grievances with kindness." Chuxiu said his thoughts, "When will the grievances be repaid. The evil things done by the second concubine and the third concubine are not as sinful as their children...not to mention that Yun Qi and Mu Ge are gone." The more Chuxiu spoke, the lower her voice was, especially when she thought of Yun Muge being tricked into marrying into the Ye family in Quzhou, and finally dying unexpectedly, she felt extremely uncomfortable.

Mrs. Tai sneered after hearing this: "You mean, I killed Yun Qi and Yun Muge?"

"That's not what I mean..." Chuxiu hurriedly explained, "I think..."

"Kneel down!" Mrs. Tai interrupted her explanation sharply, and uttered these two words loudly.

Chuxiu was taken aback, and immediately knelt down and said urgently, "Mom, calm down."

"Calm down? Chuxiu, don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Now that the reunification has not been settled, why are you in a hurry to take back Beixuan's business? Also, since Prime Minister Zhuang is not here, why are you going to see Zhuang Yiran at the Prime Minister's Mansion? " Mrs. Tai asked back in a concentrated voice.

Chuxiu bit her lower lip and pondered for a moment before replying: "I think that after the reunification of the North and the South, there will be many things, and the Emperor Tianshou may not be able to take care of Yun's business. If we don't take this opportunity to negotiate with him first, the two countries After the reunification, everything will come naturally, and there is no need to procrastinate."

"Oh? So you are afraid that the emperor will delay you?" Mrs. Tai sneered, "I thought you wanted to go high with Shen Yuyuan, so you were in a hurry to get Cheng'er married, and you were also in a hurry to take back Beixuan's business."

"Mother!" Chuxiu looked up at Mrs. Tai, feeling wronged and chilled by these remarks.It is true that she did decide to go high with Shen Yuyuan, but she always put Yun's safety first, otherwise she would not have made a three-year contract with Shen Yu!

Chuxiu suddenly felt panicked in her heart, she devoted all her efforts to Yun's, fearing that one wrong step would lead to irreversible mistakes... But now Mrs. Tai has misunderstood her so far with a single word!
Chu Xiuqiang suppressed the grievance and sadness in his heart, and explained in a low voice: "I really want Cheng'er to get married as soon as possible, and I am also anxious to take back Beixuan's business, but it has nothing to do with Shen Yu."

Apparently Mrs. Tai didn't really believe it: "If you want to leave, you can leave now. Even if my old woman is useless, it doesn't matter if you last another ten or eight years. But I want to remind you, Yun Xiangrong is not a vegetarian. "

Chu Xiuwen said that she just wanted to cry, knelt on the ground and replied earnestly again: "Mother, I have never kept secrets from you about Shen Yu... Believe it or not, I made an appointment with him to give each other another three years , I will plan for Yun's future in these three years, otherwise the two of us will not be able to leave with peace of mind."

Hearing Chuxiu's words, Mrs. Tai's face softened a bit, and her tone gradually calmed down: "Just now you talked about the old affairs of the second and third bedrooms, which made me angry, so I spoke harshly...you have to understand, The second and third houses are the chief culprits who killed the two Marquises, and they must not be forgiven lightly! Even if the two houses are all dead, a few humble lives will not be able to repay the sins owed!"

Speaking of this, Mrs. Tai sighed heavily again, and asked repeatedly: "If Yun Xian was not the only remaining flesh and blood of the old Marquis, how could I spare him? But he didn't know the value of blood, and even married Luanqing regardless of blood! "

The more Mrs. Tai spoke, the angrier she became: "Luanqing is a woman from the Jiang clan! Yun Xian is not counting marrying a concubine, but is she still planning to give birth to a bastard? Where does this put my Yun family's face? This bloodline is always dirty! "

(End of this chapter)