Chapter 101: Be Her Husband and Wife for Life
Imperial study.
Emperor Huo Yuan was discussing the construction of the imperial mausoleum with a group of trusted ministers. The national treasury had been empty in recent years and it was impossible to allocate money. Several ministers were frowning.
Huo Zheng was waiting outside the imperial study when a eunuch entered and announced, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Chang'an requests an audience."
"He still remembers to come back!" The emperor was worried about his lack of money. When he heard that his son had returned after disappearing for a whole month and not even showing up at the palace banquet on New Year's Eve, he said angrily, "Let him wait outside."
The eunuch replied "yes" and went out to tell Prince Chang'an that the emperor was discussing important matters with the ministers and asked the prince to wait a little longer.
Huo Zheng naturally knew that he had not returned to Beijing for the New Year, which had displeased his father. This matter could not be let go. It was common for him to be left out in the cold, and he would also be punished.
The emperor was angry with Prince Chang'an, and the young eunuch did not dare to invite Huo Zheng to the side hall for tea.
Huo Zheng just stood outside the door waiting.
From time to time, the voices of several ministers could be heard in the imperial study. Not only were the ministers worried about money, but even the emperor was worried about money.
Huo Zheng stood in front of the door, watching his nose and his heart, without any impatience.
After about half an hour, the political affairs were finally discussed. Several ministers walked out of the imperial study and met Huo Zheng.
Several ministers saluted Huo Zheng and said, "Your Highness Prince Chang'an."
Huo Zheng returned a half-bow to the ministers, but before he could say anything, a eunuch from the imperial study came out and said, "Your Highness Prince Chang'an, the Emperor wants you in."
Huo Zheng said goodbye to several ministers and walked into the imperial study. He bowed and said, "Your son Huo Zheng pays homage to the emperor."
The emperor did not immediately tell him to excuse himself, but said unhappily, "You still remember to come back!"
Huo Zheng raised his eyes to look at his father and said sternly, "I know I was wrong."
Emperor Huo Yuan is nearly fifty years old, but he looks a little younger, still in his forties. You can still tell that he was extremely handsome when he was young.
Huo Zheng is the one who looks most like the emperor among the princes.
Sometimes when the emperor looked at him, he would think of himself when he was younger.
Seeing Huo Zheng admit his mistake right away, the emperor immediately asked him, "Tell me, where did you go wrong?"
Huo Zheng said, "My father ordered me to stay in the palace to reflect on my actions, but I left the capital without permission. This is my first mistake."
The emperor said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
Huo Zheng immediately added, "I stayed in Dongzhou for a long time, causing my father to worry and miss me. This is my second mistake."
The emperor snorted coldly and did not respond.
Huo Zheng continued, "Without my father's permission, I married and had children outside. This is my third mistake."
The fact that he mobilized the Nanzhou navy to block the river in Nanzhou in order to find Chunzhi had a huge impact and could not be concealed from the emperor at all.
During these days in Dongzhou, perhaps the emperor's spies had already reported the matter to him.
Huo Zheng knew that he couldn't hide these things from his father, so he just told the truth.
The emperor asked in a deep voice, "Since you know you've done something wrong, why don't you change?"
"Love is a thing, even if it is wrong, it cannot be changed. I, your son, dare to ask for your blessing, Father."
Huo Zheng said this as he lifted his robe and knelt down.
It was still February and the ground was cold, but he knelt with his back straight, without any sign of grace.
The emperor looked down at his son, and while he was annoyed, he also found his appearance quite amusing.
Huo Zheng was raised by Queen Wang since he was a child. Queen Wang loved to act virtuous and dignified, and raised Huo Zheng to be very well-behaved. Although he was young, he looked like an old-fashioned person.
Since he was young, Huo Zheng has never made a wrong step and never does anything that he shouldn't do.
Among the emperor's many sons, some were lustful, some were greedy for money, and many of them wanted to hold power.
Only Huo Zheng only does what he should do and doesn't get involved in anything else.
When other princes were fifteen or sixteen years old, they were introduced to sexual intercourse by palace maids, but he was not allowed to let even a palace maid get close to him.
He lived until he was twenty-four years old and had hardly ever spoken to a woman.
Wang Liuniang from the Wang family often came to the palace to visit her aunt, calling him cousin all the time. Apart from greeting each other, Huo Zheng never spoke a word to the girl.
Who would have thought that after Huo Zheng went to Nanzhou, he would suddenly become enlightened, not only breaking his chastity taboo, but also getting married and having children.
Even the emperor was very curious about what the woman who could make Huo Zheng's iron tree bloom looked like.
But the emperor was still pretending to be angry and couldn't forgive him so quickly.
Huo Yuan coughed twice and said seriously, "Your mother has already planned your marriage. How do you want me to fulfill your wish?"
Huo Zheng said, "As long as my father authorizes the marriage, my mother will not hesitate."
The emperor thought to himself that the queen didn't want to be the bad guy, so she let me be the bad guy.
Huo Zheng said, "I have never asked your Majesty for anything. I beg you to fulfill my sincere wish."
Huo Zheng returned from his inspection tour of Nanzhou. Although he had made contributions, he was punished with 100 lashes for killing Prince Ning and his son.
At that time, Huo Zheng would rather accept the hundred whips than ask his father for mercy.
Now, he has broken his back for that woman.
The emperor had received secret information long ago that Prince Chang'an had married a country girl in a small town in Nanzhou, and lived with her in a small, shabby house, becoming a common couple.
Later, for some reason, the two had a falling out, and the woman jumped into the river in front of Huo Zheng, and Huo Zheng jumped in after her.
The two were separated for a long time and met again in Dongzhou.
This time Huo Zheng brought her back to the capital, having already made up his mind to marry her.
The emperor asked, "What if I don't agree?"
Huo Zheng said, "If I cannot marry Chunzhi, then I will never marry again."
The emperor said unhappily, "Are you threatening me?"
Huo Zheng lowered his head and said, "I dare not."
The emperor said, "According to your mother's wishes, it would be sufficient to let that commoner woman be a concubine. You insist on marrying her as your principal wife. Isn't that a disgrace to the royal family?"
Huo Zheng said, "Chunzhi saved my life, so I should repay her. If I let her be my concubine, wouldn't that be repaying kindness with enmity?"
The emperor pondered for a moment and said, "If it's just to repay the favor, then reward her."
Huo Zheng said, "Chunzhi and I are already married and have a son. I married her not just to repay her kindness, but also because I love her and want to be her husband for life."
The emperor said, "But she is just a commoner. Your brothers' wives are all from famous families. If you marry her, you will definitely be ridiculed."
"I'm not afraid of being laughed at." Huo Zheng said, "Chunzhi is the sister of Song Anlan, the richest man in Dongzhou. I'm marrying her for myself and for my father."
The emperor became interested and asked, "What do you mean?"
Huo Zheng said: "Everyone knows that the four classes of people are scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, and merchants are the lowest class. But now the national treasury is empty, and we need merchants to show their abilities."
He said solemnly, "If Your Majesty can decree a marriage between me and the sister of the richest man in Dongzhou, it won't be long before the world knows that Your Majesty values ​​businessmen. Our dynasty will surely prosper, and the treasury will be full in no time."
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