Chapter 7

In the morning, each mansion sent the young master to the palace to study. Before two hours had passed, the ladies in the backyard heard news from the front yard: the young master is back.

"Why is it so early today?"

"It's not even noon yet, but Xu'er must have had some problem..."

Just thinking of this possibility made the women in the back house feel dizzy and panic. The situation in each mansion was similar, and some mansions even alarmed the old ladies, who looked like "Maybe my grandson has caused a disaster" and sent their sons and grandsons who could walk around to the master's office to inquire about what happened.

Everyone took it seriously.

After all, His Majesty had opened a palace school for two years, and this was the first time that his own child had been sent out so quickly.

When the young masters of each mansion came out of the palace and entered the gate of their own mansion, they usually went to the back house first to pay their respects to their elders. But today, as soon as they arrived at the inner house, they saw the servants of their grandmother/mother coming to greet them, all of them with worried and anxious faces.

After a flurry of activity, the young masters finally explained what had happened in Chongming Hall today.

"My grandson dare not say anything nonsense. It was indeed Duoduofu who beat Tian Wenhe first. Later, the emperor sent a eunuch to investigate. The eunuch was biased towards Duoduofu, so he let us go back first." He was honest.

"...Mother, Eunuch Zhao has asked about this several times. I think this matter is a little strange. I didn't play with Tian Wenhe in the past. Du Chong and Tian Wenhe are close. This time the fight has nothing to do with me. Don't worry." A little smart.

"I don't know. I heard there was a fight and Xuanyi Fu was knocked unconscious by Tian Wenhe. I didn't see it. When I leaned over to take a look, Xuanyi Fu was already unconscious. It was so scary. The emperor issued an oral order for us to return." He was confused and couldn't understand.

"When Eunuch Zhao asked, I listened to my grandmother. Normally, I didn't dare to speak out in the palace. No one dared to speak up. The atmosphere was weird. Later, Li Ang spoke up and told me about what happened four days ago..."

"What happened four days ago?"

Du Chong was worried. He was the most aggressive in his argument four days ago, and he was very straightforward at that time. But now...

My father will be back from the yamen soon.

Compared with the official residences, the residences of the royal family were not so nervous, but they also asked their children what happened. The royal family children basically just watched the fun and no one intervened. After each family listened to the children's theories, the matter was over.

"But Li Ang is Princess Changping's favorite grandson anyway. How can he flatter the eunuch's son?"

"Why else? When Taizu was alive, Princess Changping was very favored. The daughter of a prince was given the title of princess. Now, His Majesty can only pretend not to notice the royal family."

"No matter how different things are now, you still have royal blood flowing through your body. Now you have fallen into depravity and are praising a eunuch's son. Ha, Third Brother, don't play with Li Ang anymore. Stay away from him."

"I understand, Dad."

Taizu Zhongyu had three sons. When Taizu overthrew the previous dynasty and led his troops to revolt, the three sons all followed their father and made great military contributions. The only pity was that Taizu's eldest son died on the battlefield to save his father. At that time, the army was indignant about this incident and was unstoppable.

The following year, the 55-year-old Taizu ascended the throne and changed the country's name to Sheng and the reign title to Tianyuan.

Taizu was most concerned about his eldest son, and he posthumously conferred him the title of Prince of Weiyang. His only daughter was given the title of Princess Changping, who was Li Ang's grandmother.

Because Taizu valued them, the lineage of Prince Weiyang was very prosperous during the Tianyuan and Minghe years.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long.

Taizu reigned for 11 years, and passed the throne to his third son Zhongmou Kai as emperor, changing the reign title to Minghe. When Emperor Minghe was in power for 21 years, he was assassinated and became seriously ill and unable to manage state affairs. He passed the throne to the son of the imperial concubine, Zhongrui, and called himself the Grand Emperor. The first thing the new emperor did after ascending the throne was to reduce the power of the vassal states. Then, Zhongyun, the son of Empress Yuan, naturally "upheld justice" and rushed to Shengdu to "save his father."

At that time Wuzhou sent out troops, and the new emperor called the King of Wuzhou a traitor and a rebel. King Zhongrui of Wuzhou certainly could not accept this reputation, so he wrote a manifesto to punish the rebels, listing Zhongrui's crimes in detail. He meant that his father, Emperor Minghe, was assassinated for no reason when he was in his prime, and it was Zhongrui who planned the assassination and then imprisoned his father. Such a beast was worse than pigs and dogs. Zhongrui did not recognize his younger brother, and he would expose the truth today so that the people of the world would strongly despise Zhongrui's behavior.

When it comes to seizing power, one must always pretend to be just.

As for why Emperor Ming He did not come out to clarify, Emperor Ming He was paralyzed after the assassination and fell into a coma.

The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. If Wuzhou Wang Zhongyun wins and ascends the throne as emperor, the manifesto he wrote at the beginning will be confirmed, and he did go to Shengdu to save his father. If he loses, he will be a traitor and rebel.

Zhong Yun won, and was chosen by destiny, and was named Emperor Ningwu.

Zhongrui was defeated and was emperor for only four years.

The Sheng Dynasty experienced four emperors, but in fact it has only been forty years since the founding of the country.

Then again, Emperor Ningwu's original proclamation was only for the world to see, and no one in the royal family who was smart believed it: because Emperor Minghe killed the entire Zhao family, saying that the Zhao family was treasonous, but the evidence was sloppy and sudden. The royal family secret was that Empress Yuan was killed by a cup of poisoned wine.

Zhongyun's mother's surname was Zhao.

The Zhao family is one of the four great generals who followed Taizu to establish the country, the Hedong Zhao family.

When Taizu passed away eleven years after the founding of the country, he was worried about the military power of the four great generals' clans. His third son, Emperor Minghe, planned for many years. He was ruthless and disregarded the feelings of his first wife, and killed the Zhao family, the leaders of the four great generals.

Emperor Minghe took the throne as the Grand Emperor, and the first thing the new emperor did was to reduce the power of the feudal lords.

The methods of the father and son are exactly the same.

Therefore, Emperor Ningwu is not close to the royal family nowadays. All the close relatives of his maternal grandfather are gone, and the royal family nowadays consists of some marginal relatives. All those who took advantage of the "Zhao Family Rebellion Case" and the close brothers of the "thief" Zhongrui were dealt with after Emperor Ningwu ascended the throne.

Take revenge when there is a grudge.

The royal family members nowadays are all obedient and cowardly.

A new emperor appoints new ministers, and some people are unwilling to accept this and still want to provide some future for their descendants. They cannot really decline and just have a noble title. Princess Changping is a cousin of the current emperor, but she is 20 years older than the new emperor, so they are not close and have not spent much time together.

I risked my old face to personally ask for the grace of Gong Xue for my grandson.

At this time, the princess's mansion.

"Grandma, shouldn't I say that?" Li Ang was raised by his grandmother.

Princess Changping smiled, her eyes were full of fine lines, very peaceful, and she didn't say anything else to comfort him, but talked about another thing: "Before His Majesty was ten years old, he was the legitimate son of the Empress, and his status was noble. Then, everything changed suddenly. The Empress was away, and His Majesty went from being a royal family to the most unpopular prince in the cold palace without a mother to protect him."

"People outside are saying that Xu Xiaoman is a eunuch, but a little eunuch was able to protect the emperor and bring him to Wuzhou safely—"

"Grandma, does Xu Xiaoman protect His Majesty so much because he knows that His Majesty will be a great emperor?" Li Ang couldn't wait to speak, and after he finished speaking, his eyes revealed an expression of 'I'm stupid'.

He asked a stupid question.

Princess Changping did not laugh at her grandson, and said seriously: "The cold palace is a place with no one to protect it. A single rain can kill someone. Xu Xiaoman was only thirteen years old at that time, and he was probably really kind-hearted."

The eunuchs in the palace are the most likely to flatter the powerful and look down on the weak.

It was difficult for a young eunuch to take care of a down-and-out prince, and the friendship between the two of them was something that outsiders could not describe.

"It doesn't matter what people say outside. You didn't lie." Princess Changping knew why her grandson stood up today. He wanted to win the emperor's favor. There was nothing shameful about it. She was just reminding her grandson not to have too high expectations in case his hopes were dashed.

After so many years, the little prince and the eunuch have grown up, one has become the emperor, and the other is still a eunuch. If Zhao Erxi did not mention his grandson's words, it might be that the emperor did not care. After all, the quarrels between children could not affect the positions of court officials.

"Just go to school. Your grandmother is still at home." Princess Changping said with a smile.

Li Ang nodded and understood, but he hoped that he could grow up quickly so that he could take on the heavy burden of the family, otherwise it would be too hard for him to rely on his grandmother alone.

Taiji Palace, inside the East Factory.

Xu Xiaoman played with the kid for a while, because he had something important to do. He needed evidence after catching the murderer.

"Dad, you focus on your work, I'm fine." Xuan Xufu's eyes were still red after he had just cried loudly. He felt embarrassed and didn't know why he was crying. He comforted himself over and over again: I am only nine years old now, a real child, there is nothing shameful about crying.

Xu Xiaoman looks after the cub carefully.

Xuan Duofu held the little rabbit and tiger that his father had knitted for him, one on each side, against his cheeks, and said adorably, "Dad, I'm not afraid, I have the tiger and rabbit you knitted to protect me."

"...Okay." Xu Xiaoman agreed.

Xuan Duofu was originally nestling in his father's arms - he couldn't help but dive into his father's arms when he started crying, but now he wanted to roll out and onto the couch. Seeing this, Xu Xiaoman teased his son and pretended to throw him out, but in fact he gently placed him on the couch and covered him with a blanket.

"When dad is done with his work, I will take you out of the palace to play."

Many blessings:!!!

My dear big daddy!

After Xu Xiaoman left the East Factory, he did not go towards the Youye Gate. Instead, he looked up at the sky and went towards the Xuanzheng Hall. Zhao Erxi saw the Ninth Prince from afar and hurriedly sent his apprentice Xiao Luzi in to pass on the message, while he waited there in person.

"Greetings, Lord Xu." Zhao Erxi bowed.

Xu Xiaoman: "Hello, Eunuch Zhao."

The two of them praised each other, and they were old acquaintances. Xiao Luzi came out of the hall, greeted him, and said, "Master Xu, the emperor invites you in."

Xu Xiaoman didn't continue to entertain Zhao Erxi.

Zhong Yun was sitting on a couch in a side hall and surprisingly did not read the memorial. When Xu Xiaoman entered the inner hall, an official came out. The official was not of high rank. When he saw the excitement in Xu Xiaoman's eyes, he bowed respectfully and left immediately.

"Who was that person who just went out? He looked familiar." Xu Xiaoman asked, while thinking 'how did he look familiar'.

Zhong Yun: "Li Tong——" Knowing that Xiao Man didn't remember, Emperor Ningwu personally explained to his eunuch: "The second son of Princess Changping, he was originally the bookkeeper of Taiping Temple, and he was a seventh-rank official."

Taiping Temple is not a Buddhist temple, but an office responsible for some lawsuits of the royal clan.

Bookkeeping is the work of organizing documents, which can be said to be a simple job in a government office.

Xu Xiaoman also remembered why the face looked familiar, but after looking at Zhong Yun, he held back his words. Zhong Yun was amused. This man was straightforward. He held back his words for him, which meant he really loved me.

"His mother and I are cousins, so maybe they are somewhat similar." Zhong Yun said proactively.

Xu Xiaoman: ...

"You're not angry anymore?"

"Zhong Moukai is dead, Zhong Rui is dead. Besides, my cousin was born to my great uncle, why should I be angry?" Zhong Yun said.

Xu Xiaoman: You are more magnanimous now, but in the past, whenever you mentioned your beastly father, you would drag me to do it endlessly and say that you were uncomfortable - he looked suspicious, could it be that I deliberately tricked him into bed?

Emperor Ningwu's beloved eunuch, whatever he was thinking was written on his face.

So Zhong Yun asked, "You don't like it?"

"..." Xu Xiaoman thought about it and was quite happy, but he changed the subject. He didn't have time to do this now. He didn't want to provoke Zhong Yan and make him have a seizure. He would do it endlessly.

"Duoduo just cried for a while, and I coaxed him back to health. I have to be busy these two days, so please help me take care of him and coax him to eat and sleep." Xu Xiaoman was afraid that Zhong Yun would not agree, as he was very jealous, so she quickly offered him a sweet treat: "When I'm done with my work, I'll go to your palace and sleep for three days."

Zhong Yun: “…” He almost agreed.

"OK."

Xu Xiaoman felt that he had made a profit. He still had to go to the torture chamber. Before leaving, he asked casually, "Li Tong, come here. Which clan leader has committed a serious crime?" Zhong Yun didn't like those "relatives". If someone committed a crime and got into trouble, he would be happy for Zhong Yun.

Emperor Ningwu said with regret: "Those clan members did nothing wrong." He also said: "Ming Qian was arrested and the position in the Ministry of Revenue was vacant. I transferred Li Tong there. He is of average talent, but fortunately he is loyal to me and can be used." The most important thing is to be obedient and learn a few lessons. He knew that the transfer was because of Xiaoman.

Xu Xiaoman:?

ah?

He was promoted from a seventh-rank handyman in a yamen to a fifth-rank official in a yamen with a serious and lucrative job.

The author has something to say:

Li Ang: In a word, my dad got promoted! [Zhong Yun knew that Duozi was his and Xiaoman’s child.