In the first year of Dajing, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, we were at the Hou Mansion in Beiping. "Husband, please sit down and eat quickly." Mrs. Hou saw him coming in and greeted him.

The Marquis of Beiping looked complicated, as if he was worried, but he sat down at the dinner table at her invitation.

Mrs. Hou has a good relationship with him and naturally understands him. Looking at her sad face today, something must have happened.

"Husband, why are you looking so sad today? What happened?" Mrs. Hou asked the questioner while serving him dishes.

The Marquis of Beiping raised his head and sighed deeply, his brows still furrowed.

When Mrs. Hou saw that he was silent, she stopped what she was doing, took his rough, calloused hand, and said worriedly: "You and I are one husband and wife. If you have any difficulties, please feel free to talk to me."

The Marquis of Beiping took a deep look at her, patted the back of her hand to comfort her, and said: "The Supreme Emperor gave up the throne to the Crown Prince, and the two of them are now sitting in the court together, but..."

Mrs. Hou didn't understand why the Marquis of Beiping was talking about this. This happened a while ago. The Marquis of Beiping earned military honors and retired. Now they don't participate in political affairs. There is nothing important. She looked at him doubtfully and waited for him to continue.

Go on.

"Hey..." The Marquis of Beiping sighed again, recalling what happened in the past, and said, "Do you know how I got this title?"

Madam Hou didn't understand what she just said had anything to do with the title, so she asked, "Husband, why are you talking about this? Of course, you got it through your military exploits."

The Marquis of Beiping shook his head, looking at the many servants in the room, he swallowed what he wanted to say.

Mrs. Hou understood and asked everyone to leave.

"Madam, you don't know something. When you followed the Supreme Emperor to conquer the world, you should be rewarded based on your merits after your achievements. This is exactly what the Supreme Emperor did."

The Marquis of Peiping paused and then said: "At that time, four dukes, twenty marquises, and fourteen earls were created, and each of them had a gold medal given by the emperor to avoid death."

Mrs. Hou nodded, she knew all this.

"Then one day, the Supreme Emperor, who was still the Emperor at the time, invited me to the palace for a meal and a drink. I just treated it as normal and ate wine and bragged as usual."

"It shows that the Emperor attaches great importance to his husband." Mrs. Hou didn't know about this matter. Even if the two of them had a good relationship, they didn't detail everything.

The Marquis of Beiping shook his head, with an ugly expression on his face, and said: "After a few bottles of wine, I was already slightly drunk. The Supreme Emperor seemed to be drunk and said such a thing to me..."

"Husband, what did the Emperor say?"

"He said, I know you are a good person, but if the people under your command are ambitious and have to push you from behind, what should you do?"

Mrs. Hou was silent for a while, knowing that since the Supreme Emperor said this, it must not be without purpose, so she pondered and said: "The Supreme Emperor... this is because he is afraid of her husband."

"Madam is smart, I was in a cold sweat at the time. I was a little drunk at first, but I'm all gone. Thinking about it carefully, how could the Emperor have a worse drinking capacity than me? He was deliberately teasing me." The Marquis of Peiping shook his head, and now that he thinks about it, he is even more serious.

Chilling.

He had just conquered the world not long ago, and he had a very good relationship with the Emperor. They were not brothers, but they were brothers and sisters, and even saved his life. He thought he was about to enjoy great wealth. Unexpectedly, a basin of cold water was poured on him, and he sobered up a lot.

.

"Husband, how did you answer?" Mrs. Hou became nervous. After being together for so many years, she knew her husband to some extent. Although he was strong, he was loyal and clumsy.

This is not a good answer, but...

"Although I am a little stupid, I still understand what the Emperor said. He stepped forward to express his loyalty. The next day, he handed over his military power on the grounds that his old illness had recurred and returned to his hometown to recuperate." After finishing speaking, the Marquis of Beiping quickly

He held Madam Hou's hand tightly and said: "After this incident, the Supreme Emperor felt guilty for me and chose a wife and granted me a marriage. Otherwise, how could I have such a good wife now?"

Mrs. Hou's face turned red and she said angrily: "It's not clear. You haven't finished speaking yet. What are you worried about?"

"Hey..." The Marquis of Beiping sighed, recalled the past, and continued: "Madam, you have to continue to listen to me to understand."

"Later, because Prime Minister Liu Ming had monopolized power, the Supreme Emperor wanted to kill him, but that was all. Because a gift list from the Liu Mansion implicated three princes, seventeen marquises, and eight earls for treason.

The nine tribes that were executed totaled more than 30,000 people."

Mrs. Hou's heart tightened. She knew about this. At that time, she had been married to the family for more than a month and was just pregnant, but the Marquis of Beiping was unhappy and trembling.

Later, news of the execution came from the capital, and people were talking about it in the streets and alleys.

It is said that those who commit rebellion mean they no longer want to live and should be killed.

Some say it was a conspiracy, others said it was framed by a villain. There are different opinions.

Only then did Mrs. Hou know why the Marquis of Beiping was acting like this. Thinking about it, she felt scared and her back felt cold.

She entered the mansion and started running the family. She also knew that Prime Minister Liu Ming gave generous gifts during the wedding. If she was implicated, it would be the end of the nine clans.

"The remaining Duke of Zhongguo is the father of Empress Xiaocigao. As for the marquis, one is me, and the other is Hou Huining, who was posthumously granted the title. The title was given to his son. He was only ten years old that year.

He is the Marquis of Guangde who has never had any descendants." The Marquis of Beiping said with regret. If he hadn't left early, I'm afraid he would have been included in the gift list.

After Mrs. Hou listened to what he said, it seemed as if something had been overlooked. After thinking about it carefully, she finally understood.

"Husband, the Emperor still values ​​you." Mrs. Hou said with a slight smile.

The Marquis of Beiping didn't understand that for all these years, he had been sticking to his duty and staying still in this three-quarter acre of land, for fear that the Supreme Emperor would be jealous and one day he would think of what crime he was charged with.

Seeing his doubts, Mrs. Hou knew that his stupid head didn't understand at all, and said: "The Emperor invites you to drink wine to remind you, husband, think about it, there are so many marquises, why do they just invite you to drink wine?"

Suddenly, the Marquis of Beiping seemed to have figured it out, and finally a smile appeared on his face. However, the news he got today was still not good.

"Hey... so what? Now, the Supreme Emperor has issued a decree. From now on, the title can only be inherited by descending one level. From now on, if our son inherits the title, he can only be an earl!" This is what the Marquis of Beiping is worried about, even if he has been in peace.

points, bad things finally happened to him.

The Supreme Emperor's intention to remove his nobility is a matter of just one sentence.

"Seriously?" Mrs. Hou was surprised and couldn't believe it. This was related to her own interests, so she had to ask clearly.

"Really, I estimate that the document will be delivered tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow at the latest." The Marquis of Peiping shook his head and sighed. He was demoted from marquis to earl, and his salary was cut in half. He thought about how miserable his son would be in the future.

This title can only be passed down to three generations at most. Every generation will be demoted, and within a hundred years, they will become ordinary people. How can he not worry about this?
Chapter completed!