The Wife is First - 79 Chapter 79: Marquisship

“The Emperor of Heaven has summoned Mu Hanzhang, the royal concubine of King Cheng, who is rich in knowledge and intelligence. She has repeatedly performed extraordinary feats on the battlefield and is worthy of great use. As a heir of the royal family, she is granted a waiting title and is named Wenyuan, among the military generals. Ban, I will perform my duties as a civil servant. In seven days, I will hold the ceremony of ennobling you. I am here to express my gratitude!” The voice of the eunuch who announced the decree was high-pitched, but sonorous and powerful, and every word was very powerful.

“My minister Mu Hanzhang accepts the decree, long live my emperor!” Mu Hanzhang kowtowed and accepted the decree with both hands.

The eunuch who announced the decree softened his expression and said, “Congratulations, Lord Marquis.”

Jing Shao jumped up first and pulled his princess. Mu Hanzhang took the imperial edict and the bright yellow scroll in his hand, and then he realized that he was really going to be made a marquis. He turned to look at Jing Shao, who gave him a reassuring smile in return.

Duofu had already brought the gold and silver for reward. Jing Shao raised his chin and handed it directly to the eunuch who announced the decree.

The old eunuch and a group of young eunuchs behind him immediately beamed with joy. Mu Hanzhang came back to his senses and said with a smile: “Thank you for your hard work, father-in-law.”

“Thank you for the reward, Lord Marquis, let’s also be a little happy!” Several eunuchs shared the reward money, and they were all overjoyed. Now is the year of peace, and there are basically no marquises, so they usually declare decrees. Even the prime minister can’t get such a generous reward. reward.

“Eunuch Yuan, I saw that the second emperor brother only went to the imperial study room after going to court. Why did the imperial edict come down so quickly?” Jing Shao invited a few eunuchs in for a cup of tea, but they hurried back to the palace and stopped by on their way out. asked.

“Hey, aren’t those two ladies making a fuss?” Eunuch Yuan was the eunuch serving in the Imperial Study Room, so he naturally knew more. He looked around and whispered, “The Queen Mother was so noisy that she couldn’t help it, so she urged the Emperor to put this aside quickly.” The matter is done, so that no one will make trouble again. His Royal Highness Prince Rui just decided on the title with the emperor, so he directly issued the decree.”

Jing Shao curled his lips when he heard this and gave him a small golden Buddha.

Mu Hanzhang looked at the words on the imperial edict and couldn’t help feeling a little emotional. He never expected that the title would be “Wenyuan”. This was the title he got at the poetry meeting in the capital. Now that he had lost it and found it again, it seemed like the title he had in his youth. The high spirits have never been lost.

Jing Shao saw that he was looking attentively, so he didn’t say anything to disturb him. He just gently pulled the person into his arms from behind. The person in his arms turned to look at him: “You are not going to the Ministry of War today?”

“Let’s go in the afternoon.” Jing Shao stretched out his hand to hold the imperial edict for him, and took his left hand to look at the blisters on it. “My princess has been granted the title of Marquis, so I will have lunch with the Marquis at home.”

Mu Hanzhang glared at him and used him as an excuse for being lazy: “You have become even more lazy since you came back. Be careful if someone takes the credit for you.”

Jing Shao disapproved and staggered into the house holding the person in his arms: “If I suddenly become diligent, someone will have ulterior motives for me.”

Mu Hanzhang thought about it, the king’s heart is unpredictable, and it is not advisable to be too active or too lazy. It is better to stick to the way before, three days of fishing and two days of surfing the Internet. Without further words, he dragged the guy hanging on his back back to Dongyuan.

Although Jingchen advocated simplicity in the Marquis Ceremony, the necessary etiquette was still cumbersome.

In the next seven days, people kept coming to congratulate him, and officials from the Ministry of Rites often came to inquire. Even Jingchen came twice in person.

“I’m going to transfer Song An to the southwest.” Jingchen took a sip of tea and said calmly.

Jing Shao nodded. During this period, they found excuses for Song An, which was enough to demote him three levels in a row and send him to a remote place as a minor official. After all, Song An had done a lot for them in the past few years, so he couldn’t do too much in everything.

“Song An gave me these,” Jingchen put a stack of letters on the table, “I just want him to take his daughter away.”

Mu Hanzhang took the letters and looked at them, frowning slightly. There were many incriminating evidences of officials in them, and they could bring down many people if they were taken out. He sighed: “Song An really has nothing to say about his daughter.”

Jing Shao heard him sigh and knew that he was thinking of Bei Weihou’s various deeds, so he reached out and held his hand: “It’s just that I spoiled him too much, so I got like that.”

Mu Hanzhang knew that he was comforting him and nodded.

“Have the Marquis of Beiwei been here in the past two days?” Jingchen lowered his head and looked at the tiger skin blanket that appeared at Mu Hanzhang’s feet.

“Father has never been here.” Mu Hanzhang replied. When he saw Jingchen looking at his feet, he lowered his head and found that Xiao Huang had been lying at his feet at some point, sleeping soundly with his shoes on. He couldn’t help but curl his lips slightly. rising.

“Is this the tiger you raised?” Jingchen looked at it carefully, “It’s quite strong.”

“You eat more than me, aren’t you strong?” Jing Shao raised his hand and pulled the little tiger up. This guy has grown quite long. When he stands, he is about the same height as a sitting person. He can no longer carry it casually.

“Wow!” Xiao Huang was very dissatisfied at being disturbed, and waved his thick fur paw at Jing Shao.

Mu Hanzhang saw that Jingchen’s eyes seemed to be full of affection, but he remained polite and sat still, so he handed him a piece of dried meat, but Jingchen didn’t understand. But he soon understood. The fat ball of hair rushed over quickly, pressed its two paws on his legs, and looked at the dried meat in Jingchen’s hand eagerly.

Jingchen was stunned for a moment, then handed over the rub in his hand. The little tiger quickly bit it and swallowed it in one gulp. But she still scratched his knees, wanting to see if he had any other flesh hidden inside.

“Brother, touch it and see.” Jing Shao looked at his brother’s stiff body and wanted to laugh, and hurriedly urged him to try it out.

Jingchen slowly raised his hand and touched the little tiger’s head. He rarely did this kind of action, just like the last time he touched Jing Shao’s head, the action was very unfamiliar.

There was a smile in Mu Hanzhang’s eyes, and he spoke at the right time: “Thanks to my brother for traveling back and forth for the title of Marquis this time, I don’t know how to thank my brother.”

“You can take good care of Jing Shao, which is the best thank you.” Jing Chen pinched his soft fur ears and said in a deep voice, “Although this position is not hereditary, but with the title of Bei Weihou, The grades are the same. After the Marquis Ceremony, you can go to court. It happens that I will not be in Beijing in March, so you can mention Jing Shao more at court.”

Jing Shao: “…” My brother’s tone sounded like he was asking someone to babysit his child.

“There is a lion about the same size as a tiger cub in the Wading Garden. If my brother goes to Jiangnan, you can go to Pingjiang to see the lion.” Knowing that Jingchen was going to see the King of Huainan, Mu Hanzhang reminded him to go to the Wading Garden to look for it.

Jingchen nodded slightly. Spring was about to begin on the ninth day of February, and the Ministry of Rites was too busy. Besides, he also wanted to find talents among new scholars, so he asked for a job to go to Jiangnan in March.

The Marquis Ceremony was held as scheduled, and Jing Shao personally dressed his princess in a new dress. Those of the third rank and above are all purple robes, but the princess is of the first rank, but the Marquis is of the superior rank, so the cranes embroidered on them have all been changed into complicated and gorgeous cloud patterns.

The Marquis of Beiwei also went to watch the ceremony. Seeing Mu Hanzhang kneeling on the stage, watching Emperor Hongzheng put the marquis’ crown on him with his own hands, the bells rang and the drums played, and all the officials congratulated him, he just felt that if the position of the Marquis of Beiwei was given to him, He might be able to make the Mu family the most prosperous family in the Chen Dynasty. But now, it’s too late to say anything. There are few talents in the Mu family now. If this continues, it will decline within three generations.

No matter how sad Bei Weihou was, Jing Shao never took his eyes off the people on the stage. Now Mu Hanzhang has truly washed away the depression and sorrow in the inner house. The sword is unsheathed and shining brightly. Even so many hardships have not eroded half of his sharpness. Now he is fully displayed in the world. No one dares to bully him anymore. he.

After the ceremony, Mu Hanzhang can go to court.

The court hall that I had been dreaming of for ten years but could not get it was now within reach. When I actually stood there, I lost the excitement I expected. After all, Jinluan Palace is not a place for fun. He didn’t think that he could judge the affairs of the court based on the conclusions he had obtained in the book, so he rarely spoke and stood quietly beside Bei Weihou. He occasionally exchanged glances with Jing Shao, but never spoke again. other.

The ministers of the DPRK were originally very wary of Wenyuanhou who appeared out of nowhere. After all, the emperor meant that although he was a marquis, he held the position of civil servant. He was of a higher rank than the officials who took the imperial examination and became officials. He was gesticulating. But seeing that Mu Hanzhang rarely spoke, was tolerant and polite, and never put on airs, he gradually became less resistant.

In the blink of an eye, it was February, and Qiu’s pregnancy could no longer be concealed. Mu Hanzhang asked Imperial Physician Jiang to take a pulse every seven days, and temporarily sent Ge Ruoyi to her mother.

Since Mu Hanzhang was granted the title of Marquis, the Qiu family’s status in the palace has also increased. In the eyes of many servants, Madam Side’s status is actually higher than that of the Madam. After all, Mu Lingbao is only the heir apparent, and Mu Hanzhang is already the Marquis. Although Mrs. Beiwei Hou was angry, she couldn’t say anything. After all, the maid sent by the Marquis could not be sent back.

In addition, the Marquis of Beiwei had warned her repeatedly, so the people in the Marquis of Beiwei’s mansion did not dare to do anything for the time being. However, Qiu’s successive incidents made her extremely frightened.

On the seventh day of February, the capital was already crowded with candidates who had come to take part in the examination. Teahouses and restaurants were full of literati. Of course, among these literati and poets there were also playboys who had been spending time in such places all year round, such as King Cheng Jingshao who was not doing his job properly.

“Being granted the title of Marquis once is worth ten years of hardship.” In the Huashui Building, several officials gathered around a table and were talking loudly.

“According to what you say, it’s useless for us to take the imperial examination. We might as well find a relative of the emperor to marry.” A person at the same table agreed.

“Huh, if you want to get married, you must be favored by others.” The one who spoke at first seemed even more excited, “I will arrive in Beijing after the new year, just in time to catch up with the Marquis Wenyuan’s ceremony.”

“What does Marquis Wenyuan look like?” A young man with a slightly wretched appearance couldn’t help but ask.

The man took a deep breath, glanced around for a week, and then said slowly: “I didn’t see clearly.” He immediately received a sigh.

“If you ask me, he definitely looks…” The man suddenly lowered his voice and couldn’t hear exactly what he said. After a while, a burst of laughter spread from the table.

“Damn thing!” Jing Shao slammed the table, knocking a wine cup on the edge of the table to the ground, and shattered into pieces with a loud crash. He arrived late and had no room to sit in the lobby. He actually heard these bold people talking openly about his princess, with a lot of disrespect in their words. Damn it!

The few officials turned around and saw a tall man in luxurious clothes glaring at them, and then they realized: “Brother, why are you so cursed?”