In danger, he traveled through time to save her, and the black-bellied prince doted on her

Wang Xun's first wife died of illness, and he later married Cui Qiaoyue as his second wife. Cui Qiaoyue was intelligent and knowledgeable, and was a good wife to Wang Xun, who could also give him advice on political affairs.

Wang Xun and Cui Hengling relied on each other, but they did not have frequent private contacts. Cui Hengling's embezzlement of national taxes was never told to Wang Xun, but only to Lu Shenghe.

Lu Zhongyu had tried Cui Hengling in the Ministry of Justice and proved that Cui Hengling had not committed corruption. The two were in cahoots and now Emperor Hui ordered him to be demoted.

Officials in the court took advantage of each other, and the pace at which one person finished singing and the other took the stage was getting faster and faster.

Seeing Wang Xun didn't say anything, Cui Hengling straightened his back and looked at Wang Xun with his eyes lowered: "Xintong and Huaiyang's marriage will be scheduled in ten days. You will bring him to propose marriage tomorrow."

This means that there is no need for discussion. Cui Hengling has already asked someone to choose an auspicious day. Wang Huaiyang is the most promising among the children of aristocratic families, and he must be firmly held in his hands.

Wang Xun smiled and said, "Okay."

After Cui Hengling left, Wang Xun walked in the palace and carefully recalled his years as an official. The level he had reached was a height that most ordinary people in the world could not reach.

But if his political achievements were given to other officials, could he really be promoted to the rank of Shangshu Ling?

The degree of importance of officials in each dynasty varied. During the Dasheng period, the Shangshu Ling was only half a degree lower in honor than the Prime Minister. In terms of actual power, he was definitely not as good as the Prime Minister.

But Emperor Ming gave Wang Xun some real power, which showed his appeasement but also his caution and his discretion.

Wang Xun thought of Emperor Ming and smiled helplessly: "It is the retired emperor who knows how to check and balance. He let Wang Rui, who has made outstanding achievements, inspect the states, gave me the honorable but empty position of Shangshu Ling, and gave the important position to Wang Huaiyang, who is upright and unyielding and studied under Yao Zhengqian."

"Haha, it's just that Emperor Hui disrupted the plan of the Grand Emperor, and Mu Jinan gave him a push."

Even though Wang Xun had no real power, his respect and salary were enough to continue the Wang family's wealth and glory.

Emperor Ming promoted the young Wang Huaiyang because he was impressed by his talent and integrity.

Wang Rui recently returned to the court to report on his work. After coming out of Emperor Hui's government hall, he happened to meet Wang Xun. He saluted Wang Xun and said, "This subordinate greets Lord Wang."

Wang Rui would bow his head and greet everyone he met, and he would never look down on people of lower official rank than him. He was always calm and elegant.

Wang Xun looked at the worn black boots he was wearing. There was no embroidery on the uppers, which were just the coarse cloth shoes worn by ordinary people. The hands that saluted him were covered with scars, all of which were frostbite from the winter, an old illness left over from when he was treated poorly by the servants at home.

A child born to a dancer named Hu Yulou was able to get second place in the imperial examination, and even his father was asked to be an official. The aristocratic families monopolized the scriptures, but the children they raised were not necessarily able to write to bring peace to the world.

Wang Xun laughed coldly: "You should call me brother."

Wang Rui responded without even thinking: "Your humble servant greets you, brother."

Wang Xun was blocked by this sentence. He felt that Wang Rui had gained the trust of two emperors because of his ability in government affairs and prudence, as well as his extraordinary ability to plan ahead and grasp the situation.

Wang Xun asked humbly, "Do you think Huaiyang can marry Cui Xintong?"

Wang Rui had been neglected since he was a child. The nanny who took care of him treated him harshly. When he got a few dishes, only steamed buns and rotten vegetables were left. He was not as tall as Wang Xun, and he did not raise his eyes to look at her while he spoke:

"Huai Yang is a minister of the state!"

With just one sentence, Wang Rui left. Wang Xun didn't see any expression on Wang Rui's face. What did he mean by that?

He hurried to find Wang Huaiyang, who was studying weapons. Seeing his father coming, he stood up and saluted: "Greetings, Lord Wang."

Wang Xun told Wang Huaiyang about Cui Hengling's proposal for marriage and what Wang Rui said. Wang Huaiyang frowned and said, "Minister of the state?"

The next day, Wang Xun, Cui Qiaoyue and Wang Huaiyang brought many betrothal gifts to Cui Hengling's mansion. The Cui mansion was not as wealthy as Cheng Yu's residence at the beginning, and it still maintained an elegant and low-key style.

Cui Xintong is a kind-hearted woman with a refined temperament and a heroic look between her eyebrows. She looks like the top-notch Princess He, Xie Xurong. She wears a plain dress, without any hairpins or jewelry, and no makeup.

Xie Xurong's face was gloomy because she saw that Wang Huaiyang was tied with ropes. The Wang family's carriage was not parked in front of the mansion, but stopped at the bustling long street.

Emperor Ming was grateful to Prince Qi for helping him ascend the throne, and specially gave this house to Xie Xurong. It was quiet in the midst of noise. From the time she got off the car to the time she walked through the long street, countless people saw Wang Xun forcing Wang Huaiyang to propose marriage.

Cui Hengling immediately lost his good expression: "Wang Huaiyang, what do you mean?"

The sun shines on Wang Huaiyang's angular jaw, and the sharp sword is unsheathed. He is a man of both civil and military skills. He holds a knife to defend the people against foreign invasion, but he can also stab himself without hesitation:

"Uncle, Huaiyang is not very knowledgeable, but he knows what King Xi said: 'If there is no benevolent king in the world, the people will be imprisoned; if there is no loyal minister in the world, the country will be in chaos.'"

"The road you walk on on the dignity of ants can be ten steps and a hundred feet, three states and nine cities, but the bloody road paved by ants for thousands of miles is a bloody sword. Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. Now the bloody sea and swords overturn not the boat, but the family name. You stand on the half wall where the officialdom is seriously ill and the people are full of resentment, and you have become the culprit of the Great Sheng's crisis."

"Now my parents are accumulating evil, undermining the country's pillars, colluding with eunuchs, flattering the treacherous, robbing taxes and destroying the people, undermining the pillars, and I, your nephew, will be the knife to kill my parents for the greater good and eliminate the pests for Dasheng."

"My father tied me up and brought me to this treacherous mansion to propose marriage. I, Wang Huaiyang, am willing to die for the people. I ask my uncle to compete with me. If my uncle doesn't know martial arts, what about Princess Pinhe?"

Cui Hengling's head was buzzing. No one had ever scolded him like that. The cool spring breeze blew up the wide sleeves of his brocade robe, and the slap of corruption in the face of the people's taxes came out from the bottomless well of "aristocratic family".

"Pa!" "Rebellious son, how dare you disobey your elders and slander your relatives?"

There was a red finger mark on Wang Huaiyang's face. Wang Xun naturally felt sorry for his son. Cui Qiaoyue looked at Cui Hengling coldly. An uncle can teach his nephew a lesson, but a mother will also feel sorry when she sees it.

Xie Xurong stood with one hand on the door frame, threw a horizontal knife at Wang Huaiyang's feet, raised her chin and looked at him:

"You have guts, but it's a pity that your father doesn't think so. When Wang Huaiyu was promoted, there were only curses in the court."

"Wang Huaiyu married Lu Chengqing's daughter Lu Zhiluo, and the King of Qi married Lu Shenghe's daughter Lu Zhifu. The King of Qi once competed with Your Majesty for the position of Crown Prince. Now, affected by Lu Shengji's defeat, Wang Huaiyu is being criticized. Your father asked you to marry Xintong to pave the way for you and to prevent Wang Huaiyu from being implicated."

"Your Majesty has demoted the Lu family. If the Cui family and the Wang family develop a rift, your Wang family will be the next."

Xie Xurong saw Wang Xun looking at her with a look of anger and fear. She wanted to see if Wang Huaiyang was really ready to die. She smiled faintly: "Untie him."

Cui Xintong picked up the sword and cut the rope that tied Wang Huaiyang, then handed the sword over with both hands:

"Brother Huaiyang, Prince Xi is a hero and meritorious official of the people, but she and I are born enemies. She wants to trample the noble families under her feet. How can we surrender?"

Wang Huaiyang took the sword she handed over and said, "Your father was the first to embezzle taxes from the people. Mu Jinan just wants to give the people a fair chance! The court officials don't yield for the people? Will they yield for the taxes of the national treasury?"