Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 220: The Prince Consort and the Courtesan
It's not like she's taking on the throne as the empress.
These six short words accurately summarized the mentality of most officials after they learned about the three marriages from various channels. Just as the Grand Secretary Kong pushed back against the Prime Minister Jiang Gelao, most people who complained in various government offices thought of these six words. Except for a few people who were determined to win and were sulking , most others just sighed.
However, after the three families received the good news and urgently called their sons back home, their reactions were completely different.
The Zhao family, deputy governor, was overjoyed and set off a string of firecrackers, and wanted to send people to all their relatives and friends to announce the good news. Zhao Mingxiang, the second son, was so happy that he could only smile foolishly. When asked what he said when he met the emperor, he thought for a long time but scratched his head and said he didn't remember.
In fact, the only thing he remembered was that when the emperor asked him about his family situation, he kept saying good things about his parents and brother, and exaggerating the harmony of his family - after all, his family was indeed harmonious. When he talked about being taught a lesson for his occasional stupidity, his face was full of pride and pride. However, even if he remembered this now, he didn't plan to say it out loud... Would he be scolded if he said it out loud?
In the Nanyang Marquis's mansion, after receiving the decree, the Nanyang Marquis's wife immediately called Zhang Wu to her, looked him up and down, gave him a few instructions, and then ordered the servants to start preparing for the wedding from that day on, as a year was not a long time after all. As for the study room that she had promised Zhang Wu yesterday, she had notified the other two illegitimate sons early in the morning, and naturally ordered people to urge them to start moving.
As for the other bastards who had sensed the signs yesterday and were simply envious and jealous of Zhang Wu, she did not bother to sow discord between them, but instead sent a mother to give them a beating. Who made these guys fail to cling to Zhang Chen's thigh early, so as to get the quota of the supervisor, and then go to Banshan Hall with Zhang Chen to become Zhang Shou's students?
The reaction of the Huaiqing Marquis's residence was initially subdued and dull. Since the day before yesterday when the wife of the Huaiqing Marquis learned that Zhang Lu had been rewarded, she had been "sick" in bed. When the imperial edict arrived at home, she even tried to lie in bed and pretend to be seriously ill, but was frightened by her confidant mother's coaxing and deception, so she quickly got up and washed up to go to greet him. When she learned that Zhang Lu was actually going to marry the princess, she almost fainted from anger.
Soon, the people she sent to investigate came back and reported that Princess Xinyang acted virtuous and gentle in front of , but in fact she had no father at home. As the eldest sister, she was raised as half a boy. She was the master of everything, while her mother had no opinion. Moreover, Princess Xinyang left Qingning Palace yesterday and went to Qianqing Palace to ask the emperor to live separately from her husband after marriage.
It is said that the emperor agreed without even asking the empress dowager.
After getting over the annoyance she had felt when receiving the imperial edict, the wife of Marquis Huaiqing thought that no matter how noble the princess' daughter-in-law's family background was, she was still her daughter-in-law, so she planned to go through the marriage with all her might. When the time came, she, as the mother-in-law, would have to give her some nagging and let her know who was the boss in the house.
But now, she heard that the emperor had personally agreed to separate the illegitimate son whom she had always looked down upon, and let him live with the princess's daughter-in-law, and at most he would return home once during the holidays. She was so angry that she fainted.
That was not all. When Marquis Huaiqing, who stayed in the capital at night, came back, she was unwilling to give in to her husband and wanted to argue with him. As a result, he yelled at her rudely: "It's the best thing for A-Lu to marry the princess. Why are you nagging? If you separate them, you can turn a blind eye to it and don't have to pretend to be sick all day and let others take care of you. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"
"Do you still want to embarrass yourself in front of the royal family?"
When Zhang Lu learned from those who wanted to please him that his stepmother was actually exposed by his father as faking illness, he was immediately angry and amused, but more than that, he felt indescribably happy. Of course, what made him most ecstatic was undoubtedly that his father called him in front of him and told him directly that he would give him a share of the family property and let him and Princess Xinyang live separately.
"Your second uncle is away with Duke Zhao. If he knew that his brother Xiao Wu had married someone, he would be so happy that he would go crazy. Our Zhang family really started from humble beginnings. To be where we are today, we two brothers have narrowly escaped death several times. You and Xiao Wu have had a good relationship since childhood, so remember to help each other in the future. As for the other brothers, help those who are good to you, and ignore those who are not."
Zhang Hanzhou, Marquis of Huaiqing, laughed and said nonchalantly, "Your second uncle and I have built up our family business and have given birth to enough sons. We have done our best for our ancestors. What happens next is up to you. After we die, we won't see anything. Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. Don't expect me to give you more of my family business just because you want to marry the princess. I will treat you equally."
When Zhang Lu came out of the meeting with his father with mixed feelings, and then went to the Nanyang Marquis Mansion next door to find Zhang Wu, he found that compared with the indescribable atmosphere at his own home, the atmosphere at the Nanyang Marquis Mansion was obviously much more relaxed and cheerful.
When he arrived at Zhang Wu's yard, he saw that the sixth and seventh brothers of the Nanyang Marquis's mansion, who had lived with Zhang Wu before, had moved out. Their room had been cleaned up to serve as a study for Zhang Wu. There were even a few pots of flowers and plants in the yard, and the servants were all very attentive. As he knew a little about the Nanyang Marquis's wife, he was really surprised.
After all, even his father was full of praise for this amazing aunt.
Although he knew that there were many people here, Zhang Lu couldn't help but joked when he saw Zhang Wu: "Your place has really changed a lot. It has become a private house in a short time. Even the servants have become much more polite." You still say that your stepmother is powerful? Compared to my stepmother who is already thinking about how to torture the princess' daughter-in-law, her attitude softened too quickly!
Zhang Wu smiled bitterly and said, "Don't mention it. I'm still dizzy. The books in this study were all sent by my mother. Apart from that, she let me choose the books myself and gave me some advice. But things like clothes and monthly allowance are still the same as before. But when I think about it, if I start to spend money lavishly from tomorrow, I'll look like a nouveau riche!"
This time, Zhang Lu was really shocked. His extremely stingy stepmother had already ordered people to open the warehouse to get clothes to make him four sets of winter clothes, and symbolically raised the monthly salary from one string to two strings, while Zhang Wu didn't get anything extra except for the courtyard and study! But after the initial shock, he thought about it for a while and finally sighed.
"Aunt is the one who can control herself. My family...my mother is like that. Do you know what my father said?"
Zhang Wu was stunned for a moment after listening to Zhang Lu's retelling of Marquis Huaiqing's original words, and then he couldn't help but sigh. Because after receiving the imperial decree, his stepmother, the wife of Marquis Nanyang, also said something similar after she called him over. Since he was the Shangzhu, his family would do their best to arrange the marriage according to the royal requirements, but the share of his family property was what he deserved, no more, no less.
"In fact, I'm satisfied if I can get the share I deserve. Well , let's not talk too much. We were urgently called back from the Imperial College to receive the imperial edict. Yesterday, the young master said he had something to tell us, but we didn't have time to go to him. Let's go back to the Imperial College and see if he is in the dormitory. First, to report the good news, second, to thank him, and third, to hear if he has any instructions!"
Zhang Lu nodded immediately and said, "If you didn't come, I would have been planning to go back too. Let's go!"
The future imperial consort and the future imperial concubine were called back from the Imperial College by their family, but they didn't even have time to eat lunch. In the middle of the day, they both rode back to the Imperial College. To ordinary people who didn't know the truth, it was natural that the two were hardworking and studious, but those who thought they knew their background would not think that they had changed their nature, and only believed that the two marriages were all planned by Zhang Shou.
When Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu arrived at the Imperial College, the morning classes had already ended and most of the students in the six halls had already left. When people who occasionally left late saw them, some looked down on them, some were envious, and some pointed fingers. Only a very small number of people could remain calm. On the way, they unexpectedly met Lu Sanlang again.
"Oh, the Prince Consort and the Prince Yibin are back again?" The chubby Lu Sanlang smiled and bowed to them, then coughed and said, "If you hadn't come back, I would have gone to look for you. I'm curious about what the young master is going to teach you. By the way, the class in Banshan Hall hasn't ended yet!"
Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu didn't care much about Lu Sanlang's teasing, but when they heard that the class in Banshan Hall had not yet ended, they looked at each other, but they didn't care about Lu Sanlang and hurried to Banshan Hall. When they saw the door, they heard Zhang Shou's steady voice, which was actually talking about the future class system.
"I have already mentioned this to the Emperor. After the Imperial College resumes classes after the New Year, it will be gradually implemented. Of course, you are still members of Banshan Hall, but most courses will no longer be attended by more than a hundred people at a time. Instead, they will be divided into various small classes, with specialized teachers teaching you individually according to your progress. Of course, I will also have half-day classes every two days..."
Zhang Shou, who rarely stayed late, roughly introduced the class system, and then saw Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu standing at the outermost, as well as the heroic and high-spirited Lu Sanlang, and immediately couldn't help but smile. When he smiled, a group of men below seemed to have telepathic communication, and suddenly turned their heads and looked back, and immediately found the Zhang brothers and Lu Sanlang.
Thinking that Zhang Wu would be the consort of the emperor and Zhang Lu would be the imperial concubine in the future, some of the other candidates who participated in the selection of sons-in-law were inevitably upset. But who would have thought that at this moment, the fourth prince at the front suddenly shouted, "Second brother-in-law! The emperor said that you are honest and down-to-earth, and you will not bully my second sister. Don't let him down!"
After these words were spoken, the huge Banshan Hall fell silent for a moment, and then burst into laughter. However, after the laughter, someone realized the meaning. Could it be that when the emperor met Zhang Wu, he saw that he was honest and down-to-earth? Could this be the true meaning of Zhang Shou's original advice to them to be frank and honest?
They are quite honest... Of course, they played some tricks in some places, but could it be that the emperor really has sharp eyes and can detect such small details?
Zhang Wu was also extremely embarrassed by the Fourth Prince's shouting. If he was not in public, facing such a quirky brother-in-law, he would be willing to make his promise solemnly, but what could he say now?
I will never let Princess Deyang down, right? But I haven't even met her, so is it inappropriate to say this?
But Zhang Shou did not speak to help him out, nor did he change the subject to say anything about dismissal. Zhang Wu could only think of a way out of his urgency and said, "I will certainly not let the emperor down. Please rest assured, Fourth Prince!"
The fourth prince nodded smugly, and was about to turn his head to brag to his third brother, but he saw the third prince with a panicked look on his face: "Fourth brother, why are you saying this? Father and the Queen Mother will be unhappy... Second sister may not be happy either!"
Before the puzzled Fourth Prince could ask why, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "Okay, this is the end of today's morning class. Let's go. I know that when the results come out today, some will be happy and some will be sad, but don't forget, when you look back, that person is at the end of the street. Who knows if your great marriage will come when you least expect it?"
"When you were in front of the emperor yesterday, the emperor would make witty remarks and comment on each person after you met them. I remember them all. Compared to those people who have studied hard for more than ten years and may not be able to meet the emperor alone even if they pass the imperial examination, you are already very lucky. So, don't hang your head, you are not a loser!"
Although their frustration was not really dispelled by Zhang Shou's few words, some people wanted to know how the emperor evaluated them, some wanted to know if they could really get other good marriages, and some did not dare to offend Zhang Shou who had been accompanying them in the selection yesterday... In short, the crowd dispersed quickly, and even the third and fourth princes were driven away by Zhang Shou.
The only two who didn't leave were Zhang Chen and Zhu Er. Zhang Chen used to be close to Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, and now that there were no outsiders around, he said in a carefree manner: "Congratulations, you can now be proud of yourself at home, and you don't have to worry about anyone giving you a hard time anymore!"
Zhu Er also laughed and said, "The Huaiqing Marquis's Mansion has a Yibin, the Nanyang Marquis's Mansion has a Fuma, and the two brothers' mansions have two royal daughters-in-law. This is rare in this dynasty! At this time, you still remember to come back to class?"
Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu had already calmed down. After returning the greeting, Zhang Wu smiled bitterly and said, "Please don't laugh at us. If it weren't for the advice from the young master, Lu and I wouldn't be where we are today. We hurried back, not because we studied so hard, but because we didn't want to see the rude faces of the servants at home, and secondly..."
Zhang Lu immediately followed up, "Secondly, I remember the young master mentioned yesterday that he had something to tell us?"
“You guys are thoughtful.”
Zhang Shou was not surprised by this answer, and immediately asked with a smile: "Do you know why the emperor wants you to get married in a year?"
After these words were spoken, everyone was confused. Even Lu Sanlang, who prided himself on being smart, could not come to a conclusion after thinking hard.
Zhang Shou then said meaningfully, "You are about to get married, one to a princess, and the other to a princess. Both of you are royal daughters. Even if the wedding expenses are paid by your mansion, you can't live on your wife's dowry after marriage, right? This year is for you to get familiar with your identities and work hard to prepare for the future with this identity."
Zhu Er suddenly realized: "Just like you want to marry my sister, you can't let her eat coarse food with you!"
