He was the first to bow his head and made a long bow respectfully.

Immediately afterwards, other cabinet ministers such as Yang Xuanshan behind him also bowed their heads and showed their submission and agreement.

After a cup of tea, when they walked out of the Qianqing Palace, they heard the black cat following them meow again. Suddenly, everyone felt a shudder as if they had just woken up from a dream, as if they had come from one world to another in just a few steps.

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat.

Prime Minister Zhang was relatively calm and composed, but Yang Xuanshan had already wiped the cold sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, still feeling lingering fear.

Gu Jue clearly didn't say anything harsh just now, nor did he order them to be punished, but just by looking at him, there was a kind of deterrent power without anger. It was the pressure of a superior that made people submit and dare not act rashly.

Prime Minister Zhang turned his head to glance at the Qianqing Palace in the back, feeling a little emotional and sighing. A thought emerged in his mind: Emperor Renzong and Empress Dowager Yin were both gentle people, so who does Prince Chen look like?

"Oh." Yang Xuanshan, who had walked down a step of the white marble steps, suddenly stopped and remembered, "I still have a memorial for the beauty contest..." He originally wanted to ask when the beauty contest would be held after Gu Jue ascended the throne.

Generally speaking, the national mourning lasts for three months. Three months after the death of the previous emperor, the people can hold weddings and funerals. If the new emperor wants to mourn for the previous emperor, then he has to wait for a year before he can propose the selection of concubines. Rules are dead, but people are alive. In history, there are also cases where the new emperor had no children, and the mourning period was shortened at the repeated requests of the ministers.

Gu Jue is different. The late emperor Gu Lang is Gu Jue’s elder brother. Gu Jue only needs to mourn for a hundred days, which means that the national mourning period is almost over.

Therefore, Yang Xuanshan felt that this matter should be asked in advance so that the Ministry of Rites could make arrangements.

Especially since Gu Jue is already in his early twenties and still has no children. As long as he has no heir, the whole court will be in unrest and people's hearts will be easily shaken.

In order to stabilize the court, the new emperor had to have an heir as soon as possible. The eldest son was of course the first choice, but it didn't matter if there were no heirs. He had to have a little prince first.

Yang Xuanshan turned his head and asked Prime Minister Zhang: "Master Zhang, do you think I should go back and ask the Prince of Chen?"

After what happened just now, Yang Xuanshan felt awe for the new emperor who was about to ascend the throne. He dared not speak nonsense again, for fear of getting into trouble.

Before Prime Minister Zhang could answer, Prince Li said, "Stop worrying about this."

He only said this one sentence and walked down the white marble steps.

Prime Minister Zhang also nodded, indicating that he agreed with Prince Li's idea.

Yang Xuanshan paused and said with a smile, "The ceremony of establishing the queen needs to be adjusted. There will be more things to do next. It will be the same if you ask again after the prince ascends the throne."

The ritual had to be revised as soon as possible. Yang Xuanshan felt overwhelmed just thinking about it. It was conceivable that the Ministry of Rites would have to work overtime again, and he would have to spend three days without returning home.

Several cabinet ministers walked towards the Qianqing Gate while talking.

Facing them was a young man wearing a light green robe with dark patterns. He was thin and had a high ponytail. He was walking towards them from the Qianqing Gate in front.

The thirteen-year-old boy has a youthfulness that is different from that of adults. His figure is unusually tall and straight, just like the lush and green phoenix tree, full of vitality and heroic.

Even Prince Li and the cabinet elders took a second look at the boy. They didn't know him, so they didn't look at him for long.

Chu Yunyi also came here for the matter of inheriting the title, and he came here specifically to express his gratitude.

He also noticed the looks from Prince Li and the others, but he didn't care. It was up to him or not. He was preoccupied, so he was a little uneasy. He only glanced at them once more when he crossed paths with them, his eyes flickering.

When Chu Yunyi walked outside the Qianqing Palace, the six Jinyiwei guarding under the eaves saluted him.

The current Jinyiwei has been taken over by Pei Linye, and 70 to 80 percent of the personnel have been replaced. Those Jinyiwei who can serve as personal guards in the palace were all transferred from the royal guards and the Black Armor Army to the Jinyiwei.

Chu Yunyi lived in Prince Chen's Mansion for a long time and went in and out of Xuanjia Camp every day. Naturally, he knew a lot of people, including these six Jinyiwei.

If it were someone else, he would have to wait outside, wait for the eunuch to go in and report and then come out to convey Gu Jue's intention. However, Chu Yunyi was treated obviously differently. While he walked in quickly to report, a Jinyiwei had already led him into the main hall.

This scene also fell into the eyes of Yang Xuanshan who was looking back not far away.

Yang Xuanshan stopped again, and then Zhang Shoufu and others also stopped. They also noticed that Chu Yunyi received special treatment, and curiosity arose in everyone's hearts.

Yang Xuanshan curiously asked the eunuch who led them, "Eunuch Xu, do you know who that young man was just now?"

The young eunuch smiled an overly friendly smile, his eyes narrowed into slits, and replied in a shrill voice, "Minister Yang, this is the eldest son of the Chu family."

The expressions of Yang Xuanshan, Prince Li and others changed again, becoming a little strange.

The eldest son of the Chu family is the brother-in-law of Prince Chen and the future uncle of the king.

Moreover, the news that Prince Chen had issued an edict today allowing Chu Yunyi to inherit the title of Marquis of Yongding had spread throughout the capital, and immediately some people went to inquire about the new Marquis of Yongding, Chu Yunyi.

To outsiders, it doesn't matter who Chu Yunyi's biological mother is. The key is that Prince Chen wants to promote his brother-in-law. Since the beginning of the year, Chu Yunyi has joined the Xuanjia Camp and was given the title today. It is not difficult to guess Prince Chen's intentions.

Chu Yunyi was absent-minded and unaware of the commotion behind him.

After crossing the high threshold of the main hall and walking forward for a distance, his steps became slower and slower, and his mood was complicated.

He has spent most of the past half month in Fengtai Camp.

On the day of forcing the emperor to abdicate, his brother-in-law told him before sending him away that he should go and see it with his own eyes. He did as his brother-in-law said and followed Su Mubai to see it with his own eyes. He witnessed the bloody war with his own eyes and saw countless soldiers buried in a sea of ​​corpses and blood.

This shocking scene was deeply engraved in his heart, making him understand what war was and what his brother-in-law meant by his words at the time.

After the tragic battle, he still followed Su Mubai. Although he was not a formal Xuanjia soldier, he followed the Xuanjia army to guard the capital city and patrol to maintain stability in the next few days. He was also assigned a small errand by Su Mubai to search people entering and leaving the north gate, and he also caught Kang Hongda and his party who intended to leave the city.

Whenever Chu Yunyi thinks of the scenes at that time, he still feels excited. At that time, Yunzhan praised him for his meticulous observation, which enabled him to discover clues from those people who intended to disguise themselves and leave the city.

Chu Yunyi has been living a fulfilling life these days.

In the meantime, he only went back to the Chu family once the day before yesterday when he heard that his father Chu Lingxiao had suffered a stroke. He went there in a hurry and left in a hurry. Then today, he learned the news that he was going to inherit the title.

Chu Yunyi was still holding the decree in his hand, tightly.

He had never thought that he would get the title of Marquis of Yongding. All he wanted was to achieve great things for himself.

However, he inexplicably obtained this title, a title that should have belonged to Shen Yunmu.

He took a deep breath, sorted out his complicated and chaotic emotions, and then lifted the curtain and went in.

Chu Yunyi originally came to find Gu Jue, so when he saw Shen Qianchen was there, he was stunned at first.

His surprise was different from that of Zhang Shoufu and others just now. After all, he knew best how deeply in love his sister and brother-in-law were, so his sister's presence here was not surprising.

Since Shen Qianchen was here, he simply decided to talk to his sister directly.

So, after someone had obediently saluted his sister and brother-in-law, he said bluntly: "Sister, I don't want this title."

Shen Qianchen: "..."

Gu Jue: “…”

Gu Jue didn't say anything, but Shen Qianchen was amused by this kid's stupidity. He felt that he had been following Su Mubai for the past half month in vain and hadn't made any progress at all... No, Su Mubai had been doing stupid things himself recently and how could he care about Chu Yunyi.

Alas, no matter how stupid her brother is, she can only accept it and teach him.

At this moment, Shen Qianchen suddenly felt that she had a long way to go, after all, she had a younger brother.

"If you don't want the title, then who should you give it to?" Shen Qianchen asked with a smile.

A smile appeared on her face. Although her smile was so bright and she was more beautiful than a flower, it made Chu Yunyi feel cold for no reason.

Chu Yunyi gritted his teeth and replied, "To Brother Mu."

"Brother Mu's surname is not Chu." Shen Qianchen retorted lightly.

Chu Yunyi: “…”

Chu Yunyi's expression was dull. He was stunned for a moment before he reacted.

Yes, he forgot about that too.

Because the sister is still the sister and the brother is still the brother, Chu Yunyi completely forgot that Shen Qianchen and Shen Yunmu changed their surnames to "Shen".

As for this stupid brother, Shen Qianchen decided to shorten the exhausting process and make a long story short: "Everyone has their own aspirations. If you really don't want it, then don't give it up. Go to the army and fight for yourself."

Shen Qianchen smiled calmly. She didn't have any preferences that were forced upon her. A mere title of marquis was not enough for her to take seriously.

Chu Yunyi's eyes lit up, bright and shining.

He also thought this was a good idea. As the young master of the Chu family, there was nothing he couldn't accomplish.

In Chu Yunyi's opinion, his discussion with his sister had come to an end. Then, he turned his burning gaze to Gu Jue.

Gu Jue: “…”

Gu Jue originally wanted to watch his little girl scolding her brother, but he didn't expect it to turn out like this. He didn't know whether to feel funny or helpless.

Well, who made this guy her younger brother?

Perhaps only her silly brother could turn the little girl into a furious cat.

Gu Jue curled the corners of his lips, feeling very happy, so his patience improved. He cleared his throat and said, "Do you know that the title of the Chu family was not easy to come by?"

Chu Yunyi: “…”

Gu Jue continued, "The Chu family's ancestor, Chu Yuanhong, was also a hero. He was born in a farming family. He was drafted into the army when the Red Di invaded sixty years ago. It took him twenty years to become a general from an ordinary soldier. Chu Yuanhong had three sons, all of whom died on the battlefield at that time, leaving behind several young grandchildren."

"The Emperor Xuanzong at that time was also moved by the loyalty and bravery of the Chu family, so he conferred the title of Marquis of Yongding on Chu Yuanhong."

The titles of military generals were won with the blood and lives of their children and their bloody military exploits, so that they could benefit their descendants.

Once upon a time, the Chu family had many brave and ambitious men among their ancestors. Unfortunately, the succeeding generations were inferior to the previous ones, and by the time of Chu Lingxiao's generation, they were almost useless.

To put it bluntly, if it weren't for Shen Qianchen, Gu Jue wouldn't even look at the Chu family.

Gu Jue peeled a loquat with a smile and fed it to Shen Qianchen, then continued to peel another one.

“……” Chu Yunyi listened to Gu Jue’s words carefully and clenched his fists.

This was the first time someone had told him this.

His lips were tightly pursed into a straight line, and he heard Gu Jue still slowly saying: "Brother Yi, you should be able to see clearly that the Chu family has been on a downward slope for several generations."

Chu Yunyi hummed softly.

The Chu family's decline is the fault of both the clan members and the inheritor of the title.

After his stepmother and father divorced, Chu Yunyi realized that his grandfather could no longer support the title of marquis.

Gu Jue pointed out in an extremely sharp tone: "I know you want to fight for a future, which is not difficult, but do you know who your sister is?"

Chu Yunyi was still immersed in the realization that the Chu family was on the decline. His mind hadn't yet figured it out. When asked by Gu Jue, he was a little confused. He blinked stupidly and almost said, "Shen Qianchen?"

Fortunately, he didn't say it out loud, because Shen Qianchen was one step faster than him and pointed at herself first: "Your sister is me, and your brother-in-law is him." As she spoke, she pointed her finger at Gu Jue.

Shen Qianchen's smile was as bright as the summer sun, and he said in an infuriating tone: "By then, everyone will say that your future and your title are all because you have a sister, so you have so many opportunities that others don't have."

Shen Qianchen snuggled happily in Gu Jue's arms. She felt that teaching a younger brother was too tiring and it would be more satisfying to just vent her anger.

(End of this chapter)