Looking at the Duke of England Zhang Weixian talking about the art of drinking tea, the expression on Xu Xi's face was wonderful.
Of course, he couldn't be unaware of what the Duke of England meant. The fact that he could see him today was the reason why he stayed here and didn't leave.
It's normal that the Duke of England doesn't want to say anything to me now, but instead says all these vague things.
But Xu Xi was not in a hurry. He had made up his mind anyway. If the Duke of England did not give him an explanation today, he would definitely not leave here.
So he sat there with the Duke of England, chatting and drinking tea, looking very calm.
Picking up the tea and taking a sip, Zhang Weixian looked at Xu Xi, feeling a little helpless.
The expression on Zhang Weixian's face is wonderful.
It is really hard to say that a Duke of the Ming Dynasty would act so shamelessly. However, the lineage of Duke Ding was indeed special in the Ming Dynasty.
The nobles of the Ming Dynasty, the families of the successive empresses, were different from the nobles. Often, even though they were useless, they would still enjoy some wealth and splendor. This was the treatment given to them by the court, and it wasn't uncommon.
However, among the nobles, the Duke of Dingguo was different. All the nobles were awarded through military merit, which could be said to be won through hard work, but the title of Duke of Dingguo was different, as it originally belonged to Xu Zengshou.
At that time, Xu Da, the Prince of Jing of Zhongshan, had two dukes from the same family: Duke of Ding and Duke of Wei. Duke of Wei inherited the title from the Prince of Jing of Zhongshan, while the title of Duke of Ding actually belonged to Xu Zengshou.
Someone once said that the reason why Xu Zengshou was able to obtain this title was largely because of the Empress of Emperor Chengzu, because the Empress of Emperor Chengzu was from the Xu family.
Xu Zengshou was killed by Emperor Jianwen because he was implicated in the affairs of Empress Chengzu. In order to compensate Xu Zengshou, his descendants were given the title of Duke.
But all the nobles knew that this was not the case. The veteran nobles all knew that even if compensation was offered, it would be impossible to truly give the Xu family the title of Duke. This would make the Xu family have two Dukes, which was really too much honor.
The reason why Duke Dingguo was able to obtain this title and the reason why Emperor Jianwen killed Xu Zengshou was because Xu Zengshou was a spy for Emperor Chengzu.
When Xu Zengshou was in Nanjing, he often delivered messages to Emperor Chengzu, so Emperor Jianwen killed him in anger.
This is how the title of Duke Dingguo came about. In this case, in order to compensate Xu Zengshou's descendants, such a title was given.
Of course, Empress Chengzu certainly had something to do with this. However, Zhang Weixian also knew that over the years, the Duke of Dingguo's mansion hadn't been highly valued by His Majesty. After all, there was also the Duke of Wei in Nanjing, and if both families were favored, it would be difficult to handle.
However, something happened not long ago. Xu Hongji, the Duke of Wei in Nanjing, submitted a petition saying that he was in poor health and wanted to resign from his post.
This incident caused some commotion, although not a big one, but everyone knew about it. At that time, His Majesty had just ascended the throne and agreed.
So, the Duke of Wei’s Mansion is no longer favored, especially by His Majesty.
This time, something like this happened in Duke Dingguo's Mansion, and it is hard not to suspect that there is some connection involved.
A big part of the reason why Duke Dingguo Xu Xi came here was to find out what was going on.
But Zhang Weixian didn't want to get involved in this matter at all, but looking at Xu Xi's expression, if he didn't say something today, Xu Xi would definitely not leave.
Helplessly, Zhang Weixian could only sigh and say, "Why are you doing this?"
"My Lord, please enlighten me. We are nobles of the same blood. You should help me when it's due, right?"
"If not for the sake of our relationship, you should also consider it for the sake of the elders." Xu Xi looked at Zhang Weixian and said with a smile: "I don't ask for your help, I just ask for your guidance."
"Your family has never been involved in official affairs. Why do you have to get involved? Without you this time, I think it's better for me to stay away from it." Zhang Weixian looked at Xu Xi and said.
"As long as you don't cause trouble, His Majesty won't bother you."
Xu Xi sighed helplessly and said, "Who wants to get involved in this? Isn't it good to live a peaceful life?"
"But you also know how many people are targeting me now. Although there are only five dukes left in the Ming Dynasty, there were more than five before this."
After hearing this, Zhang Weixian suddenly fell silent.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Weixian said, "What we do is, in the final analysis, to consolidate His Majesty's favor. First, we can't appear out of place; second, we can't appear useless."
"You should be able to judge the right balance here, so I won't waste my time on you. The current situation is that you need to make a contribution. As for how to make a contribution, you have to think carefully about it."
After hearing this, Xu Xi said with a sad face: "If I knew how to make merit, I wouldn't come to you. Look at Duke Chengguo, he did it very well and is now very popular in front of Your Majesty. But if I want to do what he did, I have to find the right direction."
After taking a deep look at Xu Xi, Zhang Weixian said in a deep voice: "If I really gave you that opportunity, would you dare?"
This question really stumped Xu Xi.
To be honest, he really didn't dare.
Although what Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen did brought him great benefits on the surface, it also made His Majesty look at him with new eyes, and he was indeed promoted this time.
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