The next afternoon, Jing Shao sent his own princess to the House of Flavors to let Zhou Zhuan take him to the capital's monthly gathering of men's wives. Zhou Zhuan today did not wear bright clothes, a dark blue robe looks much more stable.
"Boss Zhou, Jun Qing is in your care." Jing Shao arched his hand towards Boss Zhou.
"Your Highness, don't worry about it." Zhou Zhuan was already a bright person, and older than them all, so after becoming familiar with him, even Mu Hanzhang followed suit and called him Big Brother Zhou.
Mu Hanzhang looked at Jing Shao who was as nagging as entrusting a small child, and smiled helplessly, "Your Highness, don't worry about going back is, I can still lose it?"
Jing Shao scratched his head and rolled onto his horse, the male wives in the capital who attended this party were mostly from prominent families, but with Jun Qing's wisdom he should not suffer any losses. So rest assured that the carriage and Yunzhu left behind, he rode Xiaohei to find his elder brother to drink tea.
The south of the city had a good view, and many princely families had gardens here. The monthly gatherings were mostly in the ink garden of the Duke of Maoguo's family.
Second son, concubine son can marry a male wife, this is an unwritten rule, do not have to abide by, but the Duke of Maoguo family traditionally will be established as a rule of the family, even if you do not like the man, the concubine son must also take a male wife. So the capital of the princes and lords of the house, Maoguo Gongfu's male wife is the most.
Into the ink garden, you will hear a sound of silk and bamboo, through the layers of bamboo, a wide water salon in front of us, the water salon above the tables and chairs, refreshments, the bank of a woman playing music, a stringed zither, two bamboo xiao, the ghost into the ear, beautiful.
"This is a place of elegance." Mu Hanzhang looked at the several people sitting quietly listening to the music on the water pavilion, originally worried that the scene as lively as the women stringing together had not appeared, and could not help but feel secretly relieved.
"Big Brother Zhou is here." Upon seeing Zhou Zhuan, several people rose and bowed politely.
"This is?" The man at the head of the water pavilion was dressed in a light blue tunic, his age was about twenty-five to twenty-six, similar to Zhou Zhuan, with handsome features, except that there were deep lines between his eyebrows, when it was due to frequent frowning.
"This is Princess Cheng, Prince Mu." Zhou Zhuan smiled and introduced him to the crowd. Male wives usually didn't like others calling them madams and young grandmothers, so they referred to each other as dukes.
"Greetings, Your Highness." Hearing this, several people looked at each other and came forward to salute.
"There is no need for all of you to be so courteous on such an occasion." Mu Hanzhang humbly and courteously asked the crowd to rise.
"I've heard that Duke Wen Yuan has an extraordinary demeanor, and when I see him today, he really lives up to his name." The man at the head smiled gently and motioned them inside.
"But it's just a young man's frivolity, the false name gained in the poetry meeting." Hearing this person call his former name, Mu Hanzhang felt that it seemed to go back to the past, to participate in the reader's poetry meeting situation, the mood could not help but happy up, to the person in front of him also gave birth to a few feelings of closeness.
Zhou Zhuan introduced Mu Huanzhang one by one, the one at the head is surnamed Lin, the male wife of the second young master of the Dingnan Marquis family. The other few are basically the families of court officials.
"Why don't we see the Duke Maoguo Mansion?" Zhou Zhuan asked Duke Lin.
"They went to the forest in the back with the Prince of the Marquis of Yongchang to fight chickens, we didn't want to go and join in on that fun, so we're here listening to the music." When Mr. Lin spoke, he would naturally frown, looking rather sad.
"What's wrong this?" Zhou Zhuan couldn't help but open his mouth and ask when he saw Mr. Lin's worried brows.
"The second young master insisted on marrying a first lady from an official family as a concubine," Zhang Gongzi, who was stoned on the side, opened his mouth to speak on his behalf, "Lin Daoguo's life is already difficult, and then marrying a concubine with a high birth ...... hei ......"
Mu Hanzhang slowly sipping tea, quietly listening to a few people chatting with you and me, these men are all read, and speak more implicitly, all to the point, but this only words, he can still hear, most of the male wives are not doing well at home.
Husbands were mostly commoners and were sometimes forced to take male wives. Moreover, few sons were brought up with male wives, most of them did not know how to run a household, and once a concubine had an heir, it was even more difficult to manage. Therefore, if the husband does not have a preference, even if they can do each other like guests, trapped in the inner house to wear down the will of the man, it is difficult to get what they want.
"I heard that King Cheng requested an order last month to demote the side wife to a concubine consort, how did Duke Mu do it?" That talkative Duke Zhang suddenly directed his words to Mu Hanzhang.
"Everything is the king's intention." Mu Hanzhang put down his tea and said lightly, not intending to say much about his own family's affairs.
"Why are you kid like a woman now, always prying into these family matters." Zhou Zhuan huffed and slapped Zhang Gongzi's head, stopping the conversation.
Mu Hanzhang picked up his cup again, he found that although Zhou Zhun's husband was only a small minister, and he himself was only a restaurant owner, but his reputation was very high among these noble men's wives, and all of them honored him with the title of "Big Brother Zhou". In addition to his own bright and easy-going behavior, the fact that Xiao Yuan has been married for seven or eight years and has not taken a single concubine is the reason why everyone really admires him. A male wife who can't leave an heir, but can follow the example of the Hedong lion, controlling his husband not to take concubines, really needs some extraordinary means.
"Yo~ I thought who is this gentleman in full fancy clothes, but it turns out to be Hanyang!" A conspiratorial voice came from outside the water pavilion, the crowd looked up and saw five or six men circling out from behind the bamboo forest with a few attendants, marching towards the water pavilion with great vigor.
Mu Hanzhang frowned and recognized the person who spoke as Du Yinghao, who had been his classmate for five years. The head of the Mu family's academy was a clan uncle who had won the scholar's prize, and because of his fame, other relatives in the family would also send their children to study. This Du Yinghao is the nephew of Mrs. Beiwei Marquis, because he is not used to Mu Huanzhang being praised by the teacher, so he is always against him.
"I haven't seen you for two years, I thought you had gone to take the countryside exams, but it turns out that you married into the Duke of Maoguo Mansion." Mu Hanzhang sat still, glanced at the overbearing Du Yinghao, and continued to drink tea blandly.
"Hmph, even though you won the Lift, you were still married off by your aunt?" Du Yinghao coldly grunted, the Du family was not a distinguished family, even though he was the first second son, he was used to climb up the ladder to marry the third young master of the Duke of Maoguo family.
"Don't be rude!" Du Yinghao was about to say something else when he was stopped by his own second sister-in-law at the side.
There were three male wives in the Maoguo family in this generation alone, and they all took their seats after saluting.
"Yesterday, I went to the Bei Wei Marquis' mansion to celebrate his birthday and saw something quite interesting." Du Yinghao saw that even though Mu Hanzhang was married off, he was still the object of others' admiration and respect, and his heart was so uneven that he couldn't help but want to stab him twice.
Tired of playing the crowd while drinking tea and chatting, heard this and asked him what was the matter.
"King Cheng saved a very beautiful woman under the hooves of the Fourth Prince's horse," Du Yinghao smiled at the expressionless Mu Huanzhang and intentionally lengthened his voice to say, "I heard that King Cheng liked it so much that he directly raised it to the aliyah as a foreign room."
Hearing this, the original lively atmosphere instantly cooled down, the people are awkwardly silent do not know how to answer. In their hearts, they said that the original Wangfei Cheng is not very favored, heard that the King of Cheng for his relegation of the side room, but this turn of the eye and find a foreign room.
Mu Hanzhang looked at Du Yinghao who was looking at the joke with a funny face, he only felt funny, this person is still this childish even after so many years. Looking at the sky, "It's getting late, I'm staying at the other house these days, I need to go back earlier." Saying this, he put down the tea and got up to say goodbye.
The King Cheng's Residence is in the east of the city, and the Ink Garden is in the south of the city, which is really a bit far away, so it's not good to stay, and all the people got up to see them off.
"Third brother Xu doesn't know any better, please don't be offended, Your Highness." Sent to the outside of the Mo Garden, the second son of the Maoguo family made amends to Mu Hanzhang.
Mu Hanzhang smiled, but did not answer, Yunzhu drove the carriage over and was about to get on, when a burst of hoofbeats came from not far away.
"Whinny~" with a clear neigh, the black steed braked sharply in front of the crowd, the man on the horse was upright and handsome, it was the thin-skinned King Jing Shao of Cheng that people just said.
When the crowd saw the visitor, they all knelt down and saluted, "Greetings to His Highness, King Cheng."
Waving his hand for the crowd to get up, Jing Shao saw that his own Wangfei was already standing in front of the carriage and smiled lightly, "I'm afraid that it's not a good idea for you to return late, so I've come to pick you up."
"I'm watching the hour." Mu Hanzhang hooked his lips and watched as the man slowly drove his horse over and extended a hand to himself. He didn't want to be too intimate in front of outsiders, but his afterglow skimmed Du Yinghao's jealous expression, and ghostly put his hand in his palm, borrowing the force of the man on the horse, he rolled over and sat in front of Jing Shao.
"Yunzhu, you send Brother Zhou back before returning to the other courtyard." Mu Hanzhang gave an explanation to the boy beside the carriage, and after saying goodbye to the crowd, he left with Jing Shao in a dashing, dusty manner.
Du Yinghao reddened his face in anger, Duke Lin and the others also showed envious gazes, and only Zhou Zhun was happy for having no money to sit in the Huagai carriage.
From that day onwards, the news that King Cheng greatly favored his royal consort quickly spread in the upper circles.
Given that the set of "Book of War" is really too thick, a person copy, the fastest will take a month, in order to both play and can appear to admit their mistakes good attitude, Jing Shao and Mu Huanzhang began to copy together. Every morning a practice martial arts, a deal with internal affairs, together in the afternoon in the garden set up a table to enjoy the flowers, copying books, evening together to soak in the hot springs, the day is very pleasant.
About Ge Ruoyi thing, Jing Shao wrote a folding up, waiting for three days have no news. This day just ate lunch, is holding their own princess lying in a rocking chair in the sun, Jing Shao was a decree declared into the palace.
"What do you think about the southeastern matter?" Emperor Hongzheng asked Jing Shao, who was kneeling behind him, with his hands behind his back, looking at the mountain and river map in the imperial study.
Jing Shao carefully worded: "Ge family is not a big family, this matter in the southeast area may not have spread, just that woman came to the capital to sue the imperial court, the son of the minister also do not know how to deal with, only to report in full to the father."
Emperor Hongzheng nodded and did not let Jing Shao get up, still looking at the map of mountains and rivers in front of him that took up an entire wall, "Do you know why Taizu sealed the vassal kings?"
"The previous dynasty was unkind in its governance, the Great Ancestor fought the world with the three anti-king, and the first to break the capital city was the emperor," Jing Shao tilted his head and looked at the map that he had looked at countless times in his previous life, the southwest, the southeast, and the Huainan three pieces of land, counting the pacification of the Southern Barbarian Rebellion, he had fought for a whole ten years, "The Great Ancestor was kind and benevolent, and after he got the world, he sealed the southwest, Southeast and Huainan three hereditary vassal kings."
"Fiefdom thing, I am not willing to care more." Hongzheng emperor's back to Jing Shao see not expression, but Jing Shao know what his father is thinking, said aloud: "Although the southeast for the fiefdom, but also my great Chen's land, the people of the southeast, but also only recognize father an emperor."
When Emperor Hongzheng heard this, he violently turned around and stared tightly at Jing Shao, who was kneeling on the ground, and Jing Shao slightly lowered his head, letting him glare at him.
After a long time, Emperor Hongzheng suddenly laughed aloud, "Worthy of being my son! Hahaha!" Walking over to Jing Shao's side, he patted his shoulder and said in a deep voice, "San Fan, is a trouble to my heart, only, it's not the right time yet."
Jing Shao's pupils suddenly tightened, but on the face is not show, kowtowed: "I understand." Father's meaning was that now was not a good time to pacify the three clans, and this matter needed to be suppressed first. No wonder in the previous life, Jing Yu dared to blatantly withhold her as a royal concubine, and finally forced her to take revenge herself, and no wonder Jing Yu dared to be the first to come forward and propose the withdrawal of the clan. But it turned out that at this time, it had already gotten an affirmative answer from Father.