Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 347 I will not marry anyone other than a girl from the Zheng family!

Li Zhi walked to the sand table and saw a chess piece with the words "Gaochang Kingdom" written on it on a small city on the west side of the sand table.

Li Zhi sighed, "Hou Junji's greatest achievement in life was destroying the Gaochang Kingdom. Unfortunately, he was unable to maintain his integrity and ultimately perished, along with his clan."

Wu Meiniang suddenly said, "Your Majesty, Hou Junji's clan was not exterminated. He still has a son serving in the court."

Li Zhi was surprised and said, "How is this possible? He committed the serious crime of treason. His sons should have been executed for it."

"It's because before Hou Junji died, he made a request to the late emperor, hoping that the late emperor would forgive his wife and children." Wu Meiniang explained.

Li Zhi frowned and asked, "Did the late emperor agree?"

Wu Meiniang said, "The late emperor brought up this matter in the court at the time and intended to pardon Hou Junji's youngest son, allowing him to leave a branch of his family, but was opposed by his ministers."

"The ministers felt that Hou Junji's crime was too serious and his son must be hanged, otherwise it would not be enough to deter future generations."

When Li Zhi heard this, he understood Wu Meiniang's intention.

Hou Junji's situation is somewhat similar to that of Xu Jingzong.

Wu Meiniang deliberately took him to visit the ship and mentioned Hou Junji because she wanted to plead for Xu Jingzong and let him leave a stick of incense.

He calmly asked, "What happened next? What reason did the late emperor use to pardon Hou Junji's son?"

Wu Meiniang said, "Because of the opposition of the ministers, the late emperor was hesitant to make a decision, so Chu Suiliang made a suggestion to the late emperor."

"Chu Suiliang said that even though Hou Junji's son has no current contribution to the court, it doesn't mean he won't contribute in the future. As long as he can be proven to be talented, he can be kept and serve the country."

After hearing this, Li Zhi secretly laughed. This reason was too far-fetched. It was just a statement made by Chu Suiliang to please Li Shimin.

"Then how can we prove that Hou Junji's son is a talented person?" He did not comment much and continued to ask.

"It was just before the imperial examination, and Chu Suiliang suggested that Hou Junji's youngest son be allowed to take the exam. If he passed, proving his talent, he would be spared."

Li Zhi suddenly asked, "How come I've never heard of this? Mei Niang, where did you get this information?"

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Your Majesty, do you still remember where I went yesterday?"

Li Zhi suddenly realized, "Did your uncle tell you?"

"That's right. I heard from him that Hou Junji's son is a criminal. The late emperor asked him to consult in prison. Not many officials know about this."

"Did he pass the exam?"

"He ranked ninth in the examination. The late emperor then issued an edict, exiling Hou Chunbai for ten years. After serving his sentence, he could return to the capital and serve as an official, thus redeeming his sins."

Li Zhi calculated the time and said, "So, Hou Chunbai has ended his exile and is serving as an official in the court?"

"He returned to Beijing in the fourth year of Yonghui and now works as a clerk in the Secretariat." Wu Meiniang replied.

Li Zhi nodded, without saying anything more, left the cabin, came to the gangway outside the cabin, and looked up at the water.

Wu Meiniang followed him out, turned her head to observe Li Zhi's expression, and was secretly puzzled.

Logically speaking, after the topic reached this point, Li Zhi should have thought of Xu Jingzong's situation and talked about Xu Yanbo.

When the time comes, she can say a few words for Xu Yanbo, and he can follow the example of the late emperor and allow Xu Yanbo to take part in the imperial examination as well.

Although Xu Yanbo was young, he had good literary talent and was able to write for Xu Jingzong. If he took part in the imperial examination, he would have a great chance of passing.

"Mei Niang, look, the view of Merlin from here is quite different." Li Zhi's thoughts seemed to have drifted elsewhere.

Wu Meiniang hummed absentmindedly.

Li Zhi suddenly pointed to a building with flying eaves in the distance and said, "Mei Niang, is that Penglai Palace?"

Wu Meiniang took a look and said, "Well, yes."

The Xiangchi boat sailed south and soon arrived at the Si treasure house.

Li Zhi ordered the boat to the shore, lowered the gangplank, got off the boat, and said to Wu Meiniang with a smile: "Meiniang, I want to go to Xunfeng Palace to listen to some music. Do you want to come with me?"

Wu Meiniang shook her head.

"Then I'll leave." Li Zhi put his hands behind his back and walked towards the palace.

After walking a dozen steps, he looked back and saw Wu Meiniang still standing on the river bank, staring at him with a look of resentment on her face.

Li Zhi returned to her side and said with a smile, "By the way, Mei Niang, I want to follow the example of the late emperor and let Xu Yanbo take part in the imperial examination as well. Give him a chance. What do you think?"

Wu Meiniang was stunned for a moment and said angrily, "Well, Your Majesty has already seen through it and is deliberately teasing me." She turned sideways.

Li Zhi held her hand and said with a smile, "Who told you not to be honest with me? If you want to plead for Xu Yanbo, just say it directly. Why go through so much trouble?"

Wu Meiniang blushed slightly and thought to herself, "It's all Zhangsun Wuji's fault for coming up with such a stupid idea that His Majesty is making fun of me."

In fact, she blamed the wrong person. If Helan Minrou had not betrayed her secret, Li Zhi would not have thought that all her actions today had hidden meanings.

"Okay, don't be angry. Actually, the idea you came up with is not bad. Use the matter of Hou Junji to shut the ministers up. But Mei Niang, you can be more honest with me in the future." Li Zhi pinched her shoulder.

Wu Meiniang glanced sideways at Li Zhi and said with a smile, "Since Your Majesty has said so, I have something else to report to Your Majesty."

Li Zhi said, "You say."

Wu Meiniang said, "This morning, Lady Yang came to see me and said that the Ministry of Rites had not yet completed the process of setting up Sanlang's residence."

Li Zhi walked slowly and pondered, "Since Xu Jingzong's absence, the Ministry of Rites has indeed been somewhat slow in its work. Not to mention Sanlang's affairs, even the preparations for the imperial examinations have not been completed."

Wu Meiniang asked, "Your Majesty, do you still remember how Li Jingxuan entered the officialdom?"

Li Zhi thought for a moment and said, "It seems that he did not enter the officialdom through the imperial examination, nor did he do so through family connections."

Wu Meiniang said, "He was recommended by Ma Zhou to join the government. One of the reasons Ma Zhou recommended him was to praise his extensive reading and mastery of etiquette."

Li Zhi's mind stirred, and he asked, "Are you planning to recommend Li Jingxuan as the Minister of Rites?"

Wu Meiniang said, "That is indeed my intention."

Li Zhi frowned and remained silent.

Wu Meiniang glanced sideways at him and said, "Your Majesty just told me to be honest. Now that I'm speaking frankly, does Your Majesty think I'm interfering too much in state affairs?"

Li Zhi was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt a surge of emotion in his heart.

The human mind is really strange.

Wu Meiniang went through a lot of trouble and tried her best to plead for Xu Yanbo, but she did not feel unhappy when she found out.

However, when Wu Meiniang directly intervened in personnel appointments, he felt uncomfortable.

He shook his head and waved his hand, saying, "Well, the imperial examination is approaching, so I'll let Li Jingxuan be the Minister of Rites. However, if he can't manage well, I'll still have to replace him."

Wu Meiniang smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang strolled around the Plum Garden for a while before returning to Ganlu Palace. They hand-wrote two edicts and ordered Wang Fusheng to deliver them to the Secretariat.

The first was to allow Xu Yanbo to take the imperial examination, and the second was to appoint Li Jingxuan as the Minister of Rites.

There was no trouble with Li Jingxuan's appointment, and the Secretariat quickly approved it.

However, Xu Yanbo's incident surprised all the ministers.

The heads of the two provinces held an emergency meeting to discuss the matter.

Except for Yu Zhining and Li Ji, several prime ministers and six ministers gathered in the government hall to discuss the matter with a serious face.

Lu Chengqing said in a deep voice: "Xu Ang committed the most serious crime of treason, the most serious of the Ten Evils, yet His Majesty ordered him to take the imperial examination. I wonder what his intention is?"

Shangguan Yi said, "I just asked for instructions. Your Majesty meant that when Hou Junji rebelled, his son saved his life by passing the imperial examination. Therefore, Xu Jingzong's grandson should be given a chance." Lu Chengqing asked, "Is this true?"

Everyone looked at Yan Liben.

When Hou Junji was on trial, Yan Liben was the only one with the highest official rank among those present.

Yan Liben nodded and said, "That's true."

Li Jingxuan said, "Since this is a customary practice and His Majesty has issued an order, we should follow it and not go against His Majesty's will."

No one else said anything.

In fact, even if there was no precedent back then, given the emperor's usual tough style, the ministers would have no way to forcibly pardon Xu Yanbo.

Now that the emperor has found a reason, it is even more difficult for them to oppose.

Yan Liben looked at Li Jingxuan and Xu Xiaode and said, "Since that's the case, the matter of Xu Yanbo taking the imperial examination will be left to Minister Xu and Minister Li to arrange."

Both of them nodded in agreement, and the meeting ended.

After the meeting, Shangguan Yi returned to his office and continued to handle official business.

It was not until the hour of You, when most of the officials of the Secretariat had left their offices, that he finished his work.

He first took a walk around the yamen, remembering the diligent officials who were still there, and then left.

After returning home, he did not even change his official uniform and boots, and walked along the corridor to a study in the backyard.

The door of the study was locked. There were two servants outside, one of them was taking a nap on the corridor, and the other was reading a booklet.

When the two saw him coming, they quickly stood up straight and bowed together, saying, "Greetings, Alang."

Shangguan Yi asked calmly, "My dear, are you still studying?"

They both said, "Yes, I have been reading for two hours."

Shangguan Yi nodded and ordered, "Unlock it."

One person immediately took out the key and opened the study.

Shangguan Yi pushed the door open and entered the study. When he saw the scene inside, his face turned ashen with anger.

He saw his son Shangguan Chun lying on the desk, sleeping soundly.

This study is not big, but it is full of books. Shangguan Yi ordered people to move many classic interpretations in his own study to this study, hoping that his son Shangguan Chun could study well.

It’s a pity that although Shangguan Yi himself is well-educated and admired by students in Beijing, his son Shangguan Chun is a complete fool.

Shangguan Chun took the imperial examinations for six consecutive years starting at the age of eighteen. Not only did he fail, but his scores got worse each time.

When Shangguan Yi was out, the last thing he wanted to talk about was his son. He would get angry with anyone who mentioned Shangguan Chun to him.

In his heart, he had already given up on this son and planned to raise his grandchildren after he had them.

However, Xu Jingzong's tragic experience sounded a wake-up call to all officials in Beijing.

No matter how bad a son is, he cannot be left alone, otherwise the whole family may suffer.

Shangguan Yi had no choice but to muster up his patience and discipline his son. He ordered people to lock his son in the study and forced his son to read books of sages to prevent him from going astray.

Unfortunately, there was obviously something wrong with his educational method.

"You bastard, wake up!" He picked up a book and hit Shangguan Chun hard on the head.

Shangguan Chun suddenly woke up with a start. When he saw that it was Shangguan Yi, he complained, "Dad, could you please stop hitting me on the head? I failed the imperial examination because you broke my head."

Shangguan Yi said coldly, "You don't need to sleep tonight. Read to me all night. If you don't study well, you won't have to eat tomorrow morning!"

"I think you might as well beat me to death!" Shangguan Chun tilted his neck, looking like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water.

Shangguan Yi said angrily: "You..."

Shangguan Chun shouted, "You are already the Prime Minister. Why don't you just let me enter the government through family connections? Why do you force me to take the imperial examination?"

Shangguan Yi angrily said, "Foolish! Do you know that His Majesty has just issued an edict allowing Xu Yanbo to take the imperial examination. If he can pass, his death penalty will be spared!"

Shangguan Chun blinked and said, "What does this have to do with me?"

Shangguan Yi asked, "Don't you understand why His Majesty suddenly issued this decree?"

"Isn't it just out of pity for Xu Jingzong that we give Xu Yanbo a chance to survive?" Shangguan Chun curled his lips.

Shangguan Yi said solemnly, "There are many ways to protect Xu Yanbo. Why choose the imperial examination? The late emperor and Your Majesty did this to increase the importance of the imperial examination!"

"As a father, I can tell you that from now on, only officials who have passed the imperial examination will have a smooth career. For those who enter the officialdom through family connections, the road will become very narrow."

Shangguan Chun snorted and said, "As long as I can be an official and receive a salary, I don't want to be a high-ranking official."

Shangguan Yi said, "Then I can tell you clearly that apart from the imperial examination, you can forget about becoming an official!"

Shangguan Chun curled his lips and said, "Then I won't be an official anymore. I'll open a cockfighting shop and support myself."

Shangguan Yi was furious and raised his hand to hit him.

Shangguan Chun raised his head and moved his face closer to Shangguan Yi's palm.

"Beat me, beat me, just beat me to death! Anyway, if you continue to force me to do this, there's no point in living."

Shangguan Yi took a deep breath, put down his hand, and said through gritted teeth: "Then let me ask you, what do I need you to study hard?"

Shangguan Chun glanced at him and muttered, "You should know that as long as you help me find that marriage, I will obey you."

Shangguan Yi said in a deep voice, "Do you still want to marry the third daughter of the Zheng family in Xingyang?"

Shangguan Chun's eyes flashed with a light, and he shouted, "That's right, as long as you can let me marry her, I will study hard even if I don't sleep!"

Shangguan Yi sighed and said, "It's not like your father hasn't begged for help before, but they look down on you. What can I do?"

"Let's not talk about you. This third lady of the Zheng family in Xingyang is beautiful, comes from a high-class family, and is also a talented woman. Countless high-ranking officials in Chang'an have proposed to her."

"Well, let me ask the Cui family for your hand in marriage. The Cui family's daughters are renowned for their beauty and virtue, and are no less beautiful than the Zheng family's daughters!"

Shangguan Chun shouted, "You don't need to persuade me anymore. My son will not marry anyone other than a Zheng girl!"

Shangguan Yi frowned and said, "Even when Wei Yuanzhong, a famous Taixue student in Chang'an, came to propose marriage, Zheng Shi didn't like him. How could someone like you, with your appearance and character, be interested in you?"

Shangguan Chun puffed out his chest and said confidently, "I may be useless, but you are awesome, Dad! Now that you've been promoted to Prime Minister and the head of the Zheng family has changed, if I go and ask for marriage again, it will definitely work out!"

Shangguan Yi was really helpless with his son, so he said in a deep voice: "Then I will go and ask for your hand in marriage. Whether it succeeds or not, you must study hard!"

Shangguan Chun said decisively: "No, I have to ask for it. If I can't get it, even if I want to fight, I won't have the energy!"

Shangguan Yi sighed and said, "Forget it. I will sacrifice my dignity and help you beg once more."

Turned and left the study.

The next afternoon, Shangguan Yi brought gifts and visited Zheng again.

To his surprise, although Zheng Kaiju, the new head of the Zheng family, did not agree directly, he did not refuse either, and seemed to want to think about it.

Shangguan Yi knew that the person who was in charge of the Zheng family now was Concubine Zheng in the palace.

On the morning of the third day, he asked his wife Chen to enter the palace to pay her respects to Concubine Zheng and discuss the marriage between the two families.

(End of this chapter)