Chapter 399: Entering and exiting the three prime ministers

Xu Jingzong brought his two legitimate sons to give Huaiyu a New Year gift.

The dignified fifth-rank official is a scholar of national history and an important minister of Yinfei, but he still has to come in person to deliver gifts.

The gift of several large cars was very thoughtful.

While entertaining guests, Huaiyute called his maid Pei Xingnu over to make tea.

Xu Jingzong looked at his wife's personal maid who was getting more and more elegant, and felt a little regretful in his heart. However, since his wife had already been given away and given to Wu Huaiyu, he naturally had no other thoughts and even treated her as her mother's family member.

In front of Huaiyu, he praised her with a few good words.

On the other hand, her eldest son Xu Ang seemed not to forget her, and his eyes fell on her from time to time.

"Are you still getting used to it after returning to Beijing?" Huaiyu asked with a smile.

"The changes have been quite big." Xu Jingzong told the truth. Although he was quite senior, he was the son of the former minister and a descendant of the famous Xu family in Gaoyang. He worked with Wei Zheng as Li Mi's secretary and was one of the eighteen bachelors of the Qin Palace.

But in the Wude Dynasty and even when Emperor Zhenguan came to the throne, the situation was actually a bit embarrassing.

He is not reused and cannot participate in central decision-making. Therefore, even if he is famous, has a good family background, and has senior qualifications, the powerful people do not take him seriously.

Especially after he was demoted from Tongshishiren to the Military Supervisor, he was even more neglected. He really experienced the warmth and warmth of human relationships. Of course, nothing could compare with his experience when he was directly demoted to be the Prime Minister of Xunyang County.

Far away from Chang'an and arriving in the south of the Yangtze River, I really understood what it means to be in a cold world. In a small county like Xunyang, even the subordinate officials in the county dared to openly ignore him. The county magistrate was even more respectful on the surface, but in fact he was in trouble.

It was precisely this experience in Xunyang that made Xu Jingzong change a lot. He polished off the aloofness and impetuousness he had in the past, and learned to be low-key and do things in a down-to-earth manner.

Now that he has returned to Chang'an and holds an important position, he also presented many useful strategies for governing the country when he met the emperor, and was also praised by Li Shimin. He is no longer just a showman who comes from a famous family and is well-written.

In just a short period of time after returning to Beijing, the emperor summoned Xu Jingzong alone three times, and even asked him for advice on major issues such as feudalism. Xu Jingzong knew about the controversy over the feudal system in the court, but he also unequivocally fully supported the emperor, and even spoke of the feudal prince.

, it is not only a state matter, but also a family matter for His Majesty.

This made Li Shimin very satisfied.

He was given silver vases, golden urns, silk, and even purple robes.

For a time, Xu Jingzong became as popular as Ma Zhou, especially since he was from a better background and had more qualifications than Ma Zhou. Many people believed that Xu Jingzong would be able to rise to the top this time when he returned to the court.

In ten years, you can become the prime minister.

After all, Wei Zheng and Wang Gui, who had the same qualifications as him back then, had already become prime ministers.

In front of the Xu Mansion in Chang'an, there is an endless stream of people visiting and giving gifts.

Xu Jingzong knew very well this time and was not lost in the praises.

He knew very well that his qualifications, ability, and background were important for him to return to the court, but what was more important was that Wu Huaiyu fought for him in front of the emperor.

He was grateful in his heart and knew that Wu Huaiyu was now the real emperor's favorite.

Today he not only came to give New Year's gifts, but he even wanted to further develop the relationship between the two families.

"I heard that Lord Yi Guo, Sanlang, hasn't announced our marriage yet. I have many daughters, but I really want to get married to Duke Yi. As long as Duke Yi is willing, I will let Duke Yi choose one of my legitimate daughters, and then I will marry another one.

Concubine."

The legitimate daughter of Xu Jingzong was of course a top choice in terms of family background and status. After all, her father, the Gaoyang Xu family, and her mother, the Hedong Pei family, were not the top noble families, but they were both top-notch.

What's more, today's Xu Jingzong also has a bright future, but Wu Huaiyu's third son Wu Chengzhi was born as a concubine, and his biological mother Chen Runniang was even just Wu Huaiyu's concubine, not a concubine.

This marriage can be said to be a lower marriage.

But Xu Jingzong still took the initiative to bring up the marriage. If this happened, he would definitely be criticized by the scholars. No matter how prosperous the Wu family was, they could only be regarded as a new noble. In the past, they could not even be considered a common people from a poor family. None of the previous three generations had ever been an official.

In the past, Xu Jingzong would definitely not have taken the initiative to get married, and even if the Wu family wanted to propose marriage, he would not have agreed. But after experiencing so many things, Xu Jingzong has now become more pragmatic from the past aloof and arrogant.

Wu Huaiyu and the emperor became in-laws, and both his sons and daughters were married to the emperor's children. He was also married to the brothers Changsun Wuji and Changsun Wuyi.

In addition, Wu Huaiyu's third brother was engaged to Wang Xueshei, the younger brother of Wen Zhongzi of the Wang family in Taiyuan, and his fourth sister was engaged to the second son of Prime Minister Wei Zheng.

The eldest sister was married for the fourth time and remarried to Ma Zhou, a member of Zhongshushe, a favorite of the emperor.

Wu Huaiyu himself married the eldest daughter of Fan Xing, Duke of Yingguo, and his brother Wu Huaiyi married the eldest daughter of Cheng Yaojin.

Wu Huaiyu also adopted the daughter of brother Qiu Xinggong and Qiu Xingze as his concubine, and as his concubine Chen Runniang, who was also adopted as the adopted granddaughter by Li Jing and his wife.

The marriage relationship between the Wu family is very impressive.

Xu Jingzong felt that he could no longer keep up with the changes in the situation in Chang'an even if he stayed in Jiangnan. His wife only sent a maid to Wu Huaiyu and sent his two legitimate sons to be students under Wu Huaiyu's family. However, Xu Jingzong felt that this was not enough.

His wife, Pei, was still hesitant about marrying his legitimate daughter to a concubine of the Wu family, but Xu Jingzong couldn't care less. He had long understood that family status and status were also maintained by power. Without the power of official title, even the Xu family of Gaoyang

No matter how strong your reputation is, it will still be remembered.

"Brother Xu, are you serious?" Huaiyu asked.

"Does Duke Yi Guo still not know about me, Mr. Xu?"

"In that case, Brother Xu, don't be so polite to me. Just call me Erlang. Does Mrs. Pei agree?"

"She is also very fond of the Wu family's family tradition, appreciates Erlang's moral character, and is very supportive of this marriage."

Huaiyu smiled.

He found that Xu Ang was completely focused on the maid Pei Xingnu, but Pei Xingnu turned a blind eye to his frequent glances.

She has entered the Wu family. Although she is now only a maidservant and not even a concubine, she has already been visited by Huaiyu in Xuanyangfang, so naturally her thoughts are focused on Wu Huaiyu.

Previously, in the Xu family, when the girl had just started to fall in love, the only people she came into contact with were the Xu family. The eldest son was kind to her, so she naively fantasized about becoming his concubine in the future.

But now that she has grown up and become smarter, being a concubine to Xu Ang may not be as good as being a concubine to Wu Huaiyu. Besides, she is already a maid of the Wu family and a member of Duke Yi, so there is no way she can turn back.

Besides, she didn't want to look back. Compared with Duke Yi, Xu Ang was really too childish.

"If Erlang doesn't like me, the daughter of the Xu family, just pretend I didn't mention it." Although Xu Jingzong was embarrassed, he still smiled.

"The Xu family of Gaoyang is a famous noble family in the world. Brother Xu is willing to give his daughter to my concubine. This is because he thinks highly of my Wu family. How can I not be reluctant?

As long as Brother Xu doesn't regret this matter, then I definitely have no objection."

When Xu Jingzong heard this, he laughed happily.

"Then this is settled, why not write the marriage letter now?"

"Brother Xu, don't be anxious. Why don't I bring my wife and children to visit you in a few days, and then we can make a decision together."

"Okay, it's all according to what Erlang said."

Xu Jingzong finally settled on the marriage and was full of joy. From then on, the Wu and Xu families became closer.

Huaiyu stayed with the Xu family and his son for dinner. After the meal, he specially asked Runniang to come over to meet her third son Wu Chengzhi. The little guy was chubby, white and tender, and looked very good. After seeing it, Xu Jingzong repeatedly praised the child for his good future.

Fulu's.

When leaving, Huaiyu returned to Xu Jingzong some tea leaves produced by the Wu family, green salt, and Xin, who cooperated with the Qiu family and Duan's consort family, obtained sucrose from them, and processed it through the Wu family's secret yellow mud decolorization method.

White sugar and rock sugar are whiter and better than the Tianzhu white sugar that Tianzhu Asan had a monopoly on before.

In addition, the Wu family's fruit wine, liquor, and even frozen mutton rolls shipped from Shuofang, as well as coal, were also loaded into two carts.

The door was still lined with people who wanted to meet and give gifts.

Li Yifu came early today as usual. He lined up quietly. Occasionally he would discuss poetry and scriptures with the scholars next to him. Most of the time, he would rehearse over and over in his mind. If he got the wings,

How to respond when summoned by the duke.

Wu Huaiyu sent Xu Jingzong and his son out and returned two large carts of gifts. Seeing their cordial appearance, Li Yifu was filled with envy, but he did not try to surround them. He knew that he would not be able to get close.

Sure enough, those who gathered around were all far away from each other by the Wu family's tiger-like and wolf-like guards, and no one could get close.

Li Yifu kept staring at Wu Huaiyu.

Even if Wu Huaiyu didn't look over, he always kept a cheerful smile.

After sending Xu Jingzong and his son away, Wu Huaiyu looked at the visiting officials and scholars in front of the door and felt a little headache. Although the official censor impeached the emperor and ignored it, it was indeed a bit too ostentatious.

He stood on the steps at the gate, clasped his fists in salute to the visitors, greeted everyone, thanked everyone for being so polite to him, Wu Huaiyu, and said that the New Year was about to begin, and the reception was really poor, so he asked everyone not to give gifts.

Among the crowd, Wu Huaiyu noticed that there was such a handsome and gentle young man, who was dressed neatly in white robes and looked handsome. Everyone was vying to squeeze forward, and they were all clamoring to talk to Wu Huaiyu.

But he still stood there quietly, always smiling.

Huaiyu was deeply impressed by this handsome young man who loved to laugh.

He looked at him for a few seconds, but the young man still just smiled and did not step forward.

When Huaiyu looked back and turned around to enter the house, he still had the young man in his mind. He called the housekeeper, "There is a young man in white robe outside, with a gentle and respectful appearance and a cheerful smile. Do you know his identity?"

As soon as the housekeeper heard this, he knew who Wu Huaiyu was talking about.

He was also deeply impressed by that young man. He was very gentle and polite. He always had a smile on his face. No matter how tall he was, he came early every day to line up. When he got to the door, he posted a message, registered, and then presented him with the visiting certificate.

"That young man is from Yingzhou, Hebei. His father is currently the Prime Minister of Shehong County, Yizhou. He studied with his father in Shu, passed the state and county examinations, was promoted as a tribute to the township, and went to Beijing with the imperial envoys to participate in the first month of next year.

Those who take the imperial examination seem to be applying for Jinshi. Every day he comes to submit a cadre examination paper, and it is said that the content is different every time."

After hearing this, Huaiyu became interested, so he asked someone to fetch his books and send them to his study for personal review.

Shangguan Yi, a member of the Secretariat of Duke Yi's Mansion, came to Wu Huaiyu's study with a pile of papers, "Mr. Yi Guo, these are the papers that Li Yi's Mansion has submitted over the past few days. They have all been taken."

Wu Huaiyu was surprised when he looked at the pile of scrolls.
To be continued...