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"I have long admired the princess."
In addition to Zhang Su, Emperor Xingwu also rewarded several others. For example, Fu Kui, who had been dismissed from his post for more than two years due to his father's involvement, but this time he beat Deng Tai by three points and came in sixth place. Emperor Xingwu appointed him to fill the vacancy of a third-rank deputy commander under Lü Zan of the Dongying Camp. For example, Fan Huaizhong, who was only seventeen years old but hunted a leopard and came in third place, was appointed as a sixth-rank centurion of the Imperial Army by Emperor Xingwu. Cheng Zhixu, a former top scholar in the imperial military examination and a centurion of the Imperial Guard, was directly promoted to deputy captain because he came in fifth place.
It seems that Fan Huaizhong suffered a loss, as he got the lowest official position despite having a high ranking. However, Emperor Xingwu did not only consider the hunting results this time when granting official positions, but also looked at the past qualifications of these men. Fu Kui joined the army at the age of 18. He and his father Fu Daonian and his brother Fu Shu followed Emperor Xingwu in the Battle of Pingnan, and also followed Emperor Xingwu in the expedition against the Western Hu. If his ranking was higher, Emperor Xingwu could directly reinstate him.
As for Qin Bing and Deng Tai, they were just there to make up the numbers and there was no special situation, so Emperor Xingwu did not give them any rewards. Fourteen-year-old Fan Huaian got seventeenth place, but he was too young, so Emperor Xingwu rewarded him with a precious sword.
After the hunt, everyone moved to the walking palace for lunch.
Qingyang accompanied his mother into a carriage.
Concubine Li had to keep her composure in public. As soon as they sat down in the carriage, she took her daughter's hand and said happily, "I know Su'er's character very well. He was so aggressive chasing the tiger in the enclosure today, even refusing to give in to your second brother. This shows that he guessed the emperor's intentions in choosing a son-in-law for you. It also shows that he has you in his heart and doesn't want to give up the position of your consort to anyone else!"
What could make her happier than knowing that the best son-in-law she has chosen actually likes her daughter very much?
Concubine Li could not be found. After her son's marriage was settled, the only thing she was still concerned about was her daughter's marriage.
Qingyang teased his mother, "Mother, you like Zhang Su so much. Could it be that you told Father that and Father chose Zhang Su on purpose? Otherwise, I would have thought Father would let me choose from the top three."
Concubine Li: "How is that possible? Even if it's your marriage, I wouldn't dare to make any rash suggestions."
Zhang Su is a good person, but he already has a father who is a duke with great military achievements, and this year he has an older brother who is appointed as the general of Yunzhou. If Concubine Li takes the initiative to choose Zhang Su, what should the emperor do if he suspects that she is using his daughter's marriage to help his son win over the powerful?
Concubine Li would rather keep it to herself than arouse the emperor's suspicion and implicate her two children.
Qingyang could tell that her mother's fear of her father was genuine, which piqued her curiosity: "Does mother like my father?"
The question was too unexpected. Concubine Li was stunned for a moment: "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
Qingyang asked his mother to answer first.
Concubine Li, who was almost forty, blushed a little and whispered to her daughter, "Your father is wise and powerful, so naturally I like him."
Qingyang: "Then why is mother so afraid of father? Everyone in the capital knows that father favors mother, and mother is the only one who worries that father will be angry with you. She even dares not discuss my marriage with father."
Concubine Li was silent for a moment before she explained, "Perhaps the day I met your father was like a dream. I couldn't imagine that the Prince of Qi, who already controlled most of the court at the time, would actually accept me. The better he treated me later, the more I feared I'd accidentally anger him and ruin this dream... Even if I told you, Lin'er probably wouldn't understand. While the Emperor might be fickle and neglect his former favorites, he wouldn't neglect his own flesh and blood for trivial matters."
Qingyang hugged his mother and coaxed her, "My third brother and I are already this old. How could a dream last so long? Mother should have been relieved long ago."
Concubine Li smiled and turned to look at her daughter: "Alright, alright, today is a good day for Lin'er, so let's talk more about you and Su'er. I can finally see how Su'er feels about you. Do you like Su'er?"
Qingyang nodded.
Concubine Li had no doubt: "I guessed it a long time ago. When you were little, you liked playing with Su Ge'er. You would miss him even if you didn't see him for a day."
Qingyang: “…I don’t even remember.”
Concubine Li: "I remember, in the autumn when you were two years old, we once accompanied you to the Imperial Garden to play. You two walked hand in hand in front, and Su Ge'er followed behind. As we walked, a leaf fell from above. I didn't think the leaf would hit you, but Su Ge'er quickly walked and waved his hand to pick up the leaf. At that time, I saw that Su Ge'er was a good child who was careful and caring."
When Zhang Su was in his teens, he might have protected his daughter out of duty, but when Zhang Su was only seven or eight years old, Concubine Li believed that Zhang Su was purely concerned about his daughter. It was this kind of care and concern that made her daughter feel special towards Zhang Su.
Qingyang suddenly realized that she quite liked listening to her mother talk about these trivial matters.
Sitting in the carriage behind the mother and daughter were Yongkang and his daughter Fu Xi.
Fu Xi was only seven years old. Compared with her aunt's marriage, she was happier that her father had finally fulfilled his wish and became an official again. Because when her father was happy, he would be in the mood to play with her, and her mother could smile more.
But when Fu Xi quietly observed his mother, he saw that his mother's brows were slightly frowned, and she was not in as good a mood as when she came.
Fu Xi couldn't help but tug at his mother's sleeve: "Mom, Dad only got sixth place, so you're not happy?"
Facing his daughter's worried face, Yongkang smiled and said, "No, Mom just complained that the grassland roads were uneven and the carriage was a bit bumpy. There were so many talented people on the hunting ground today, and it's already impressive that your father got sixth place."
Fu Kui's martial arts were not as good as Deng Tai's, but his hunting score was higher than Deng Tai's. He even dared to do what Deng Tai and Fan Huaizhong dared not do when chasing a tiger, which earned him face for the couple.
However, Yongkang herself was the eldest princess. After the Fu family fell into poverty, she no longer cared about Fu Kui's little respectability. What worried her just now was whether her father chose Zhang Su for her sister simply because of Zhang Su's personal character and talent, or whether there was some hidden meaning behind it.
The third brother is the most unsuccessful among the princes. Even so, he still has a biological mother, Concubine Li, who has been the only favorite in the harem for many years, and a younger sister who may be even more important to his father than Concubine Li. Last year, he added the left prime minister Yan Xizheng as his father's father's wife, and today he has Zhang Su, the son of the Duke of Weiguo and the younger brother of the Yunzhou general, as his brother-in-law.
Once this marriage was completed, the third brother became the one with the most power among the princes.
When his younger sister was nine years old, Yongkang had suspected whether she had the possibility of supporting her brother to become emperor, but his younger sister was still young at that time, and Yongkang quickly let it go after being refuted by her younger brother. Now his younger sister is more powerful than he expected, and has already entered the court as an official. So if his younger sister really has the ambition to support her brother, it will be easier for her to realize it.
Yongkang may not care how favored his sister is with their father, but if his sister's favor threatens his brother's position as crown prince, Yongkang will never stand idly by.
.
The Zhang family has an ancestral precept that they cannot drink too much unless the emperor grants them wine or they are accompanying guests at a wedding banquet. Today, Emperor Xingwu is inviting Zhang Su to be the royal son-in-law. Although the marriage has just been granted, it is still a happy occasion. In addition, before the banquet, Emperor Xingwu instructed Zhang Jie and Zhang Su to drink as much as they want. It is difficult for the father and son to refuse the wine offered by everyone.
Deng Chong was under the watchful eye of Emperor Xingwu, who only allowed him to drink tea instead of wine. He thought there was no point in forcing people to drink tea, so he simply chose not to join in the fun.
But Prince Yong loves to drink, and usually he cannot force Zhang Jie to drink. Today he wants to test how much Zhang Jie can drink. Although Lu Zan, Hou Wanzhong, Fan Zhong and others will not force Zhang Jie to drink, Zhang Jie has got such a great blessing for nothing and is going to become a relative of the emperor. Everyone must add some joy to him no matter what, and at the same time express their envy in front of the emperor.
The famous generals drank Zhang Jie, while the younger ones such as Qin Bing, Qin Liang, Deng Tai, and Fan Huaizhong drank Zhang Su.
Zhang Su accepted all the drinks offered to him, which made Qin Ren feel sorry for him. He had experienced the feeling of being forced to drink, which was spicy and bitter. How could it be good to drink it?
"Alright, alright, drink less!" Seeing that his second brother was about to pour wine for Zhang Su again, Qin Ren walked around to the back of Zhang Su's table and stopped him.
Qin Bing laughed at him: "You are stupid, he is going to marry our sister, you, the third brother, should get him drunk!"
Qin Ren: "These are two different things..."
Qin Bing: "You won't move aside, right? Then you drink for him!"
Although Zhang Su snatched the bowl of wine from Qin Bing, Qin Ren could not escape the wine brought to him by others.
Deng Chong watched the show with a smile and said to Emperor Xingwu, "Your Majesty, I have always felt that the Third Prince's personality is the least like yours. Look, he is daring to block the wine for his brother. He is somewhat like you."
Emperor Xingwu: "...I won't get red-faced after just three bowls of wine."
Besides, the third brother is actually very brave, and the prince's cowardly look is the least like him.
The three people who were forced to drink were his son, his future son-in-law, and his future relative-in-law, Duke of Wei. Emperor Xingwu did not let Prince Yong and others make trouble for too long. Despite this, Qin Ren was still drunk. Zhang Su had been tanned in the past two years and his blush was not very obvious, while Zhang Jie, who had been the commander of the Beijing camp in the capital for more than two years, had somehow become white again. His face was covered with alcohol and lust. At the age of 54, his appearance even surpassed many young and handsome men present.
Even Emperor Xingwu looked at Zhang Jie a few more times, wondering if he looked like this, would Concubine Li still be so afraid of him?
Never mind, he is also quite handsome, but he just doesn't have the literary elegance of Zhang Jie. If all girls like guys like the Zhang father and son, at least his son Lin is the most handsome among Zhang Jie's three sons.
.
Qin Ren was drunk and refused to let Fu'an support him. He insisted on drinking more than him, but Zhang Su, who was more sober than him, was sent back.
His Royal Highness Prince Xian, who had not yet married, was still living in the inner palace of the temporary palace. Zhang Su first asked Emperor Xingwu for permission before helping Qin Ren leave.
On the way, a drunk Qin Ren wanted to ask Zhang Su if he was really willing to be his sister's consort, but Zhang Su interrupted him as soon as he opened his mouth, lest these drunken words that would damage the little princess's reputation spread to others. Finally arriving at Qin Ren's palace, Qin Ren vomited again. He was not going to serve Zhang Su anymore, as Fu An and Fu Gui would do their job.
After the two men had dealt with the third prince, Zhang Su took the opportunity to clean himself up and then went in.
To prevent the Third Prince from vomiting again, Fu'an and the other two pushed their master onto the couch in the back room.
After the two of them left, Qin Ren asked drunkenly to the person standing there who was much taller than him, "Do you like my sister?"
Zhang Su listened to the footsteps of Fu'an and the other man walking away, then he whispered, "I have admired the princess for a long time."
After receiving a positive answer, Qin Ren fell asleep immediately. As for his sister, he would ask her after she woke up.
Zhang Su: “…”
He pushed the third prince inward to prevent him from rolling down, and left after taking care of the situation.
As soon as I walked into the front yard, I saw Jie Yu standing in the shade in front of the door.
Zhang Su belatedly felt the aftereffects of the wine.
Xie Yu still smiled warmly: "The princess will go horseback riding the next morning. Please ask the third young master to accompany her."
【Author’s words】
The treatment has increased [dog head]
100 small red envelopes, the second update will be at 8pm for the sake of conservativeness [Three-color cat head]
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