Although the Ming family is well-known among scholars, the prince found that they do not like to talk in a bookish manner. They do not care about romance when eating, and occasionally they will mutter a few words, saying that things in the East Market are cheaper than those in the West Market.
Before coming, he was worried that the elders of the Ming family would play drinking games and pair up, so he read several books of poetry to cram, but in the end he didn't use any of them.
"This year's spring rain has come at the right time. I hope the people can have a good harvest." Ming Jingzhou picked up the teacup and said, "Your Highness will return to the palace at night. It is not appropriate to drink outside the palace. I will use tea instead of wine to toast Your Highness."
When they clinked glasses, Prince Chen intentionally lowered the rim of his glass to that of Ming Jingzhou. Ming Jingzhou grabbed his wrist and said, "Your Highness, you can't do that. You are the king and I am the minister. How can my cup be higher than yours?"
"My father-in-law is the elder and I am the younger. It is natural for the younger to respect the elder."
As the two of them were arguing, Jiuzhu put down his chopsticks, held their wrists, and clinked their cups together: "Drink."
The two looked at Jiuzhu and laughed at the same time.
For the sake of his daughter, a man carefully observed the etiquette between the ruler and his subjects.
For the sake of the princess, a man put aside his status and respected his elders.
They thought Jiuzhu didn't care about it, but she saw everything.
The tea has a refreshing aroma and leaves a sweet aftertaste on your lips and teeth.
"Your Highness, according to the ancestral system, His Majesty can issue a pardon order during the ceremony of conferring the title of Queen to show his love and respect for the Queen. What do you think the pardon order should be?" Ming Jinghai put down his chopsticks and said with a smile, "We are just family members talking about family matters, Your Highness can speak freely."
"The pardon order is nothing more than pardoning minor prisoners, exempting taxes, and increasing the number of special examinations." The Prince of Chen said without thinking, "People who make mistakes should be punished. Pardoning prisoners is unfair to the victims. How much tax should be exempted and how long it should be exempted are likely to cause disagreements. Only by opening special examinations can we not only recruit talents for the court, but also avoid opposition from court officials."
More importantly, civil officials will also support it.
The scholars who came to take part in the imperial examination could no longer say bad things about the queen mother, which could be said to be killing three birds with one stone.
"Your Highness has made a very good choice. Many conflicts can be resolved through common interests." Ming Jinghai looked at Prince Chen with satisfaction. This fifth prince was more promising than he had imagined.
The biggest conflict between the civil officials and the mother and son of Prince Chen stems from the various disagreements over the years.
But if one day, the King of Chen suddenly begins to agree with their ideas, their impression of him will change dramatically.
After dinner, Ming Jinghai asked Ming Jingzhou, "Third brother, find something to do this afternoon to kill time. Don't do those elegant things like throwing pots and composing poems. Do something fun."
"Draw a card leaf?" Ming Jingzhou turned his head to look at Prince Chen: "Your Highness, do you know how to play cards?"
"A little bit." Prince Chen thought, looking at the whole Dacheng, how many people have better card skills than him?
"Then the four of us men will play cards together and let Jiuzhu and her mother talk." Ming Jingzhou asked the servant to get the cards and taught the Prince of Chen how to get along with his wife: "When women are chatting, they hate it most when we men are around. When we should squat in the corner, we must not wander around in front of them."
"When a woman loses her temper, tsk tsk tsk." Ming Jingzhou whispered, "It can be as scary as it can be."
Prince Chen turned his head to look at Jiuzhu who was sitting and laughing with his mother-in-law, and thought to himself, how scary could it be?
His Jiuzhu is so nice, she definitely won’t lose her temper with him.
"Four?" Ming Cunfu looked around and said in confusion: "That's not right, aren't we five men?"
"Go back to your room and read." Ming Jinghai looked at him mercilessly: "A man without any achievements or official positions is not worthy of being called a man."
"He who doesn't even have a fiancée is not a man." Ming Cunfu didn't dare to refute his father. He muttered softly, turned around and ran away.
Ming Jiyuan: “…”
Who are you scolding? !
When the cards were placed on the table and two rounds were played, Prince Chen discovered that although the Ming family were so good at writing essays, they were surprisingly poor at playing cards.
Play whatever cards you have, without caring whether your opponent will beat them.
It is easy to win against them, but it is very difficult to make them win without being discovered by them that you are letting them win.
"With their poor card-playing skills, they dare to play cards with Lord Wang." Shen Ying glanced at the four men sitting in the pavilion and teased, "The salary of your father and brother is not enough for them to lose."
"Don't worry, mother. Your Highness will definitely not dare to win over your father and brother." Jiuzhu said with certainty: "Before going to bed last night, Your Highness was still asking me what topics my family members like to use to write poems and lyrics."
"I told him that my father didn't like to recite poetry at home, but he didn't believe it."
"Your father also loved to write poetry in the past." Shen Ying smiled gently at Jiuzhu: "He has stopped writing in the past year."
Before Jiuzhu returned to Beijing, he would always drink a pot of wine on Mid-Autumn Festival Eve. Before the bottle was half full, he would have written a poem about missing his daughter.
Perhaps people who have a fulfilling life are no longer suitable for writing poetry or lyrics.
"I really want to read the poems my father wrote."
"He doesn't like to tidy up things. He just throws them away after writing. How can we find them here?" Shen Ying couldn't bear to show her daughter those poems full of longing, so she changed the subject: "Are you used to living in the palace?"
"Everything is fine. The servants are considerate and attentive. Father and mother often send people to inquire about me." Jiuzhu held Shen Ying's hand: "The Queen treats me as usual."
"That's good, that's good." Shen Ying looked at the hairpins and earrings on Jiuzhu's body, all of which were made by herself, and knew that what she said was true: "Although your four sisters-in-law are not of low birth, you are not inferior to them. There is no need to be too jealous of them."
"Mother, I always feel that there is something wrong with the Fourth Prince's wife." Jiuzhu said, "Is there any entanglement between our family and the Sun family?"
"The Sun family is a family of scholars that has been passed down from generation to generation. The Ming family has not produced any great figures for several generations. It was not until your father's generation that your eldest uncle and second uncle passed the imperial examination and your father passed the imperial examination and became the third place, and then they began to become prominent. Later..."
Shen Ying paused and said, "Forget it. We have already separated from the Lingzhou Ming family and have nothing to do with them. There is no point in mentioning them again."
"Although the Ming family has been quite influential among the scholars these years, the Sun family doesn't think highly of our family." Shen Ying hesitated for a moment, and chose to confess to Jiuzhu: "Last spring, His Majesty intended to become in-laws with the Sun family, but the Sun family was not very willing."
"But Sun Caiyao has already married the Fourth Prince." Jiuzhu thought carefully and it seemed that the Sun family had no dissatisfaction with the Fourth Prince.
"Because at that time, His Majesty wanted Miss Sun to marry the Prince of Chen." Shen Ying looked at her daughter's wide eyes, patted the back of her hand, and signaled her not to rush and listen to her slowly: "But before His Majesty officially sent someone to propose marriage to the Sun family, news came out that Sun Caiyao and the Fourth Prince were boating on the lake and were unusually close. In addition, the Fourth Prince is older than the Prince of Chen, so this marriage fell on the Fourth Prince."
"Marriage is a matter of fate. Miss Sun and Prince Chen are not destined to be together, so you don't have to take it to heart." Shen Ying took a sip of tea and said, "I told you this because I was afraid that people in the palace would gossip and exaggerate a simple matter to stir up a conflict between you and Prince Chen."
"Is it because of this that she treats me so strangely?" Jiuzhu was even more confused: "Why is it necessary?"
"People have different minds. You don't need to figure out what others want to do. You only need to understand what you want and what you want, and you won't be confused by others."
"I just want my family to be well, His Highness and the Queen to be safe, and my two masters to achieve great success in their cultivation." Jiuzhu thought about it carefully, "It seems that I have nothing else to ask for."
Those who ask for nothing are fearless.
It seems like he has nothing to ask for, but he actually has great desires.
Shen Ying smiled, her daughter was a sensible person.
Ming Jingzhou, who had rarely won in card games, finally won a few games from his son-in-law. He praised Prince Chen with great enthusiasm: "Your Highness is naturally intelligent. If you calm down and study hard, you will be able to surpass the other princes in a few days."
As early as in the Ministry of Rites, when he first selected the content of Prince Chen's policy essay to be recited, he discovered that Prince Chen had an extraordinary memory and was able to draw inferences from one instance. He was a good candidate for the imperial examination.
Unfortunately, the other party is not interested in studying, and because of his status as a prince, he does not have to worry about his career.
"Thank you, father-in-law." Prince Chen opened a hand of Lianhuashun and picked the smallest one and threw it on the table: "You are my good guide."
"No matter how good a carver is, he can't carve a flower out of rotten wood." Ming Jingzhou's eyes lit up when he saw the card that Prince Chen played, and he threw the small card in his hand that he almost couldn't get out of it onto the table: "Don't underestimate yourself."
Listening to the father-in-law and son-in-law praising each other, Ming Jinghai almost crumpled the cards into a ball. Could they please take him into consideration?
"I have read all the military books that my uncle lent me last time." Prince Chen looked at Ming Jinghai's cards and lied with his eyes wide open: "I can't accept it."
"Have you finished reading?" Seeing that no one was willing to take his cards, Ming Jinghai collected all the cards contentedly.
"I never thought that my uncle, a civil official, would have such a talent for leading troops in battle." Prince Chen praised him, "If you were a general, you would definitely be a great general respected by all."
Ming Jinghai said proudly: "That's right. My master who taught me swordsmanship also said that I have the talent to be a general. But I am more talented in poetry and calligraphy, so I chose the path of imperial examinations."
After praising his uncle, the Prince of Chen also did not forget to praise his elder brother-in-law, and expressed great expectations for his upcoming appointment to the Dali Temple.
After a round of cards, the three men of the Ming family all won a little, and Prince Chen didn't lose much either. It can be said that both the host and the guests had a great time and were in great joy.
When dinner started, Ming Jingzhou praised the Prince of Chen in front of Jiuzhu.
After dinner, night fell, and the originally happy mood was gradually occupied by separation. The Prince of Chen held Jiuzhu's hand and said to the Ming family who sent them out: "Don't worry, elders, I will bring Jiuzhu home often to reunite with you."
"We know that Your Highness can do it." Ming Jingzhou smiled: "Tomorrow at the court, I will propose to Your Majesty the matter of opening the imperial examination. Your Majesty will not agree immediately. Tomorrow afternoon, I will go to the Taiyang Palace with some officials from the six ministries to persuade Your Majesty. Your Highness can come and help us. Your Highness does not need to worry about anything else. This is also His Majesty's intention."
Wang Chaoming bowed to Zhou Jingzhou and said, "Thank you, father-in-law. I will remember this."
His father and father-in-law were helping him win the favor of the civil officials.
"Wait." Ming Jiyuan suddenly remembered the female Taoist priest who had come to the Ming family two days ago, and hurriedly said, "Sister, I have something for you. It was sent by your two masters."
"Master?" Jiuzhu was surprised.
"I was so happy to see you back today that I almost forgot about this." Ming Jiyuan turned and ran: "You and His Highness wait here for a while, I will be back soon."
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