When the morning light is faint, the red candle has not yet burned out.

Pei Yue carefully moved Ye Qi's fair arm away from his chest, and then slid out of bed little by little as if he were a thief. He did not call the maid to come in and serve him, but he honestly put on his clothes.

It’s over…the legs are weak…

Turning his head, he saw Ye Qi looking at him with a smile in the dim candlelight, her eyes filled with the brilliance of the spring breeze.

"Are you awake? You can sleep a little longer." Pei Yue quickly put on his clothes, as gentle as ever, but the smile on his face was more or less weak.

Ye Qi said softly: "Husband."

Pei Yue's heart trembled. Recalling the rain and wind last night, he couldn't help but sigh that the best in the world is the best in the world. His body and posture are far beyond compare. He only lamented that when manpower will eventually be exhausted, speaking hard is in vain and is not a long-term solution.

, so he looked begging and said pitifully: "Madam, you have a good rest. I have to attend the Zhengdan Dynasty today, and I will talk to you when I get back."

Ye Qixia fluttered her cheeks, bit her lower lip and said: "Don't make trouble, how do you make them look at me, hum!"

Pei Yue said with a bitter face: "It was clear that Madam was very interested last night and refused to stop..."

"You still said that!"

Ye Qi couldn't bear the shame anymore, so he picked up a pillow and threw it over.

Pei Yue laughed and then strode out.

The Zhengdan Dynasty is solemn and solemn, and the rituals are extremely complicated. It is the most important court meeting of the year in Daliang. However, this importance is limited to the etiquette tradition. The court meeting itself is lackluster, or to put it bluntly, it does not involve any

Specific government affairs.

Compared with previous years, the only difference this year is that three adult princes appeared beside Emperor Kaiping and participated in the entire Zhengdan Dynasty.

After the court meeting, the Daliang court officially entered the half-month New Year's holiday.

Naturally, Pei Yue was not idle. In addition to preparing for the wedding ceremony at the end of the month, he used this rare free time to consolidate his connections in the capital. Let’s not mention Guangping Marquis Mansion and Dingguo Mansion for the time being. Others such as Jining Marquis Mansion,

He personally visited Dingjunhou Mansion, Shanguo Mansion, Ningguo Mansion and other Wuxun families with gifts.

As time goes by, the friendship will naturally become deeper.

The so-called close relatives are actually relationships cultivated over time.

In addition to military honors, Pei Yue also did not ignore the noble civil servants who spoke uprightly. He visited these people in a grand manner, which attracted the admiration of the courtiers who were always staring at him. They secretly sighed that the Marquis of Zhongshan was really not afraid of death. His Majesty had already

He showed a very obvious intention to suppress people, and he even dared to openly form cliques and cliques.

After Sheng Duanming, the Minister of Rites, welcomed Pei Yue into the main hall, his first words were full of worry: "Isn't Marquis Pei afraid of attracting criticism from the court?"

Pei Yue personally presented an ancient inkstone that he bought for a hundred gold and said with a smile: "The elder used his property and life as a guarantee for the younger generation at the court meeting. Have you ever considered that this move will become a lever in the hands of political opponents?"

Sheng Duanming laughed dumbly, but did not take the ancient inkstone immediately. He said with a slight hesitation: "Marquis Pei, this gift is too precious for me to accept it."

Pei Yue smiled and said calmly: "Whether it is valuable or not depends on whether it is useful. Although this ancient inkstone is worth a hundred gold, it is of no use to me. It can only be displayed in the study room in a fashionable manner. But for the old man, it is useless.

Otherwise, it can play its best role. Not to mention it is worth a hundred gold, even if it is worth a thousand gold, it can be used to its best advantage."

Sheng Duanming said with a smile: "Well, since Marquis Pei's kindness is hard to refuse, I will buy it from you at the original price."

Pei Yue thrust the ancient inkstone into Sheng Duanming's hand and said bluntly: "Sir, don't you know that I really don't lack money? It would be too unreasonable to refuse any more. How can I dare to visit you in the future?"

Sheng Duanming had mixed feelings in his heart, and finally accepted the gift and nodded: "That's fine, then I will be so shameless as to show my gratitude."

After the two people sat down separately, Sheng Duanming smiled and asked, "I heard that the marriage issue was properly resolved?"

Pei Yue briefly recounted the story of the eldest prince's intervention, and then said with emotion: "Your Majesty has good intentions, but it's a pity that I am not blessed enough to serve the princess. Fortunately, His Royal Highness King Lu is kind-hearted and can't bear to see me fall into this trap."

Faced with a dilemma, he took the initiative to help me explain it clearly to His Majesty."

Although Sheng Duanming is a representative of Qingliu, he is no stranger to the twists and turns in the court. At this moment, he knows the elegant meaning of the string song, and his old eyes are shining brightly.

Pei Yue stopped as soon as he ordered, picked up the tea cup and sipped the fragrant tea.

After the long examination, Sheng Duanming said cautiously: "Pei Hou is really optimistic about His Royal Highness King Lu?"

Pei Yue pondered: "My lord, King Lu has a tolerant temperament and a pure and filial heart. He has made great progress in the past two years. Your Majesty no longer hides his love for him. The battle for the crown prince continues day by day, and the people in the court are

Internal strife will only intensify without end. In the eyes of the younger generation, appointing a heir early is a strategy to stabilize the country."

"Having said that..." Sheng Duanming sighed quietly and said solemnly: "It is the right way to establish a direct descendant."

Pei Yue looked as usual and said calmly: "Sir, the final decision is always in the hands of your Majesty."

Sheng Duanming frowned, why couldn't he hear what Pei Yue meant?

The reason why Emperor Kaiping did not directly establish the crown prince was, of course, because he did not want to cause turmoil in the court, which was in line with his usual style of behavior. However, if the opposition in the court was too strong, and before anyone with enough weight came forward to dissuade him, the emperor would instead

If it is implemented forcefully, no one can stop a powerful emperor.

By that time, many people may lose their jobs, and it is even unclear whether they will be killed.

Thinking of this, Sheng Duanming sighed and said, "What does Marquis Pei want me to do?"

Pei Yue felt relieved and said leisurely: "Sir, you don't have to do anything."

Sheng Duanming was startled for a moment, then understood the true intention of this young powerful man, and couldn't help but sigh with a complicated expression: "Pei Houduan is so powerful."

There is no need to do anything, naturally including neither support nor objection. However, for the second prince Qi Wang who naturally holds the righteousness of Taoism, the silent attitude of civil servants like Sheng Duanming is a signal of opposition in itself.

From the beginning, Pei Yue never thought about asking Sheng Duanming to come out and cheer for the eldest prince. This was really a bit difficult. In comparison, it was much simpler for him to remain silent at critical moments, and it was also easier for such a clear veteran to accept.

Faced with Sheng Duanming's praise, Pei Yue smiled and said, "Thank you for your love, sir."

Looking at this young and handsome face, Sheng Duanming suddenly had a flash of enlightenment in his heart.

The reason why Pei Yue dared to break the boundaries between civil servants and military officials in Daliang for so many years and openly visited noble civil servants like him as the commander of the Beijing camp was obviously because he had long been tacitly approved by Emperor Kaiping to use the relationship between him and these civil servants.

The relationship between them laid the foundation for the eldest prince's position as heir apparent.

No one believed that these civil servants would form a party with Pei Yue, but he already had such influence quietly.

The future life is terrible...

Pei Yue naturally observed the change in Sheng Duanming's expression, and said gently before leaving: "Sir, there is one more thing I want to ask for your consent."

Sheng Duanming nodded and said, "Marquis Pei, please tell me."

Pei Yue said frankly: "Xiangyun's business in the capital is enviable. I don't know how long the mines in Shouyang Mountain can be kept in my hands, so I have long planned to shift the focus of the business to the capital below. Sir,

The land of Sangzi is located in Lizhou in the south, and the Sheng family is highly respected in the area, so I would like to ask the Sheng family to invest in the Lizhou branch of the Xiangyun Company."

Sheng Duanming laughed and said: "Why should Pei Hou be too worried? As long as your property is in compliance with the law, who would dare to do such a ridiculous thing?"

Pei Yue shook his head and said: "I hold the military power in one hand now. If I hold the people's livelihood in Kyoto in another hand, even if His Majesty is lenient and does not care, some people in the court will definitely not turn a blind eye."

Sheng Duanming sighed softly: "It is indeed a troublesome matter. Since Marquis Pei is willing to give in, it must be a move that will benefit the country and the people. I will write a letter and send it back to his hometown, so that they can contribute a little to Marquis Pei's industry.

"

Pei Yue said: "Thank you very much, sir, for your generous action."

Sheng Duanming twisted his beard and said with a smile: "Marquis Pei has the ability to turn stone into gold. How can a family that is clearly caring for the elderly be worthy of this word of thanks?"

Pei Yue smiled faintly, saying nothing.

In the next few days, in the name of lobbying for the eldest prince, he visited a number of noble officials one after another, not only fulfilling his promise to the eldest prince, but also implementing his plan in a fair and honest manner.

Quietly, a large net gradually took shape.

It may take a long time for the world to understand the truth behind the calm situation in Duzhong in the first ten days of the first month of the seventh year of Kaiping.
Chapter completed!