In the evening, the small hall of the main palace was brightly lit. A beautiful, graceful and elegant woman was waiting eagerly at the door.

This beautiful woman is in her early thirties, with beautiful features and soft lines, but she has a pair of black and bright eyebrows, which makes her look a bit more heroic than most women.

This is Yang Ji's current mother, Princess Dugumin.

Although Dugu Min has a graceful and delicate figure, she is the daughter of a general and has a strong nature. She also lives in Guanzhong, where martial arts is flourishing. She has learned ancestral combat skills since she was a child. Men with good martial arts are all He may not be her opponent.

When she saw her son walking in the snow from a distance, a smile appeared on her face.

"Mother!" Yang Ji stepped forward and saluted. Mother and son, who also had sword-shaped eyebrows, stood together as if they were siblings.

"Here we come." Dugu Min had a straight face, narrowed his eyes slightly, like a cunning fox, and suddenly said: "Kneel down."

Yang Ji didn't know what mistake he had made again, so he simply lifted up his robe and knelt down.

"I asked you to kneel down to eat, why are you kneeling at the door?" Dugu Min opened her big eyes and looked at him strangely.

"Auntie, do you want me to eat?" Yang Ji opened his mouth so wide that he could fit two eggs in one mouthful.

Dugumin chuckled: "Of course you have to sit down on your knees to eat. If you eat standing up, I don't have a problem with it."

"You win!" What can Yang Ji do with such an old woman in front of her?

Dugu Min said proudly: "It's your fault that your knees are weak."

"Come on, my mother!" Yang Ji helplessly took the opportunity to stand up: "It's not that my knees are weak, it's just that I'm too lazy to bother. If you take out Aye's spiritual tablet, I will kneel even longer."

Dugumin said: "You can also bring my Aye's spiritual tablet here."

"Uncle won't let me." The implication is that Yang Ji really wants to move.

"That's your business."

Not long after the mother and son were arguing about taking their seats, a group of maidservants who looked like mountains of flesh walked in at the door. They were all as thick as a bathtub and had trembling fat.

This was the "beautiful maid" that Empress Dugu gave to Yang Ji four years ago. She thought that Yang Ji, who was only twelve years old, did not know how to be beautiful and ugly, and she said beautiful and touching words.

If Yang Jian hadn't tried so hard not to laugh, Yang Ji would have almost believed her lies.

Of course, the palace also has authentic beauties, and there are quite a few of them, but when Dugu Min first saw this group of chubby girls, he made a loud noise and took away all the beauties.

Yang Ji has been able to study and practice diligently over the years without any distractions, and these "beautiful maids" who look like meat mountains are at least half of the credit.

As these "beautiful maids" were busy arranging, Yang Ji knew that he would have hot pot tonight.

Hot pot was called "Antique Soup" in the Sui Dynasty, and it can be traced back to the Eastern Han Dynasty. It got its name from the "clunking" sound made when food is put into boiling water. With the promotion of hot pot, cooking technology has further developed, and various matching cooking utensils and tableware have also changed. It became richer and more diverse.

There is a large rounded hole in the middle of the table with a simple bronze pot with a round bottom and a round top. The burning charcoal below is glowing with a faint fragrance. In the round copper pot above, there is a tiger backbone coiled into a dragon shape, emerging from the water. There is also a big fish head attached to that part. As the hot air rises, the 'dragon's mouth' seems to be swallowing clouds and spitting out mist.

The table was soon filled with small jade plates containing sauce, minced garlic, mustard, pepper, turnip, chives, green onion and ginger, as well as deer tongue, camel bee, mutton, tiger meat, iron-eating beast's paw, mushrooms, Winter bamboo shoots, coriander and other foods are arranged on the plate in the shape of petals.

When a wealthy family eats hot pot, the maid usually boils the dishes and delivers them to the owner's bowl. However, both mother and son are very good carnivores and have no patience to wait.

Pour the plate of tiger meat into the pot, then pick up the ivory chopsticks and start cooking.

Both are left-handed and have about the same speed.

When they were almost done eating, Yang Ji couldn't help but ask: "Mom, have you refused to marry me?"

"Of course I refused." When Dugumin knew that his son was arriving home today, he asked Su Yunniang, the steward of the inner palace, to tell Gongsun Huan about the proposal of marriage and let him convey it to his son, so he understood what his son was asking: "There are elders with such impure intentions, even if they have such impure intentions,

That woman is the best woman in the world, and she can’t even get into our house.”

"That makes sense." Yang Ji thought of how Gao Jiong had gone to great lengths to give his daughter away, and he said with some ecstasy, "Even Gao Jiong took the initiative to get married. It seems that I, the King of Wei, am quite outstanding!"

Dugu Min said disdainfully: "Gao Jiong is interested in your old subordinate Aye. If it weren't for this, he wouldn't even bother to pay attention to you if you showed up."

As soon as these words came out, Yang Ji suddenly realized.

The employment system of the Sui Dynasty was the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System and the Chaju System. Both had a recommender. Whoever recommends you to be an official is your great benefactor. For the person being recommended, the recommender is similar to

The authority of the monarch, parents, and teachers exists, and there is a very obvious master-slave relationship between them.

For the sake of their own interests, each faction will tacitly maintain this mainstream consensus. In order to stabilize their own faction, they will even exclude "traitors" from other factions. Therefore, except for a few "traitors" who have great talents, the more "traitors" they become, the higher the level.

, more than 90% of the "traitors" were accused of "bad conduct", "bad morals" and other crimes, and sadly retired from officialdom.

It is precisely based on this situation that the people promoted by Yang Shuang have a strong color of "King Wei". As long as he continues, these people will be classified as King Wei. As long as they arrive in Daxing City, no matter for their own future

Still nostalgic, they all come to Prince Wei's Mansion to pay homage to Yang Shuang. Once Yang Ji enters the official career, those die-hards who come to pay homage to Yang Shuang every year, even if they don't abandon their jobs to join him, will regard Yang Ji as their leader.

What Gao Yan was interested in was obviously the "King Wei Clan" headed by Yang Ji, and even Dugu Min's natal family was included in his calculations.

Dugu Min's father, Dugu Tun, was originally a descendant of the Li family in Longxi who served as a general in Qi State. Later, he was defeated and captured, and was made a subordinate and retainer of Dugu Xin. He was given the surname Dugu together with Gao Jiong's father, Gao Bin.

After Dugu Xin was forced to death by Yu Wenhu, everyone in the Dugu clan who was suppressed was in danger. Gao Bin and other retainers restored their surnames to protect themselves. However, Dugu Tun not only did not restore their surnames, but also worked hard with Yang Jian to rescue Dugu Xin and protect the blood of Dugu Xin. Yang Jian

After the Sui Dynasty, the Dugu clan came back to appreciate the kindness of Dugu Tun and officially incorporated Dugu Tun into the sect.

Although Dugu Tun has passed away, his eldest son Dugu Kai is the general manager of Yizhou, and his second son Dugu Sheng is a general of chariots and cavalry, both of whom are very important figures.

Since ancient times, uncles and nephews have been on the same side and share weal and woe; if Yang Chi becomes Gao Jiong's son-in-law and firmly sides with Yang Yong, the Dugu brothers will still be assigned to Yang Yong even if they are unwilling to do so.

Be brave on that side.

When Dugu Min saw that his son had realized something, he waved the maids in the hall to leave, and whispered furtively: "The deposed prince who has been the crown prince for twenty years has lost all his power. To them, you and your uncle are actually

It is optional; but as long as you are neutral, it will be a huge blow to the new crown prince who is alone. I think this is the real purpose of Gao Jun's marriage with our family."

Yang Ji nodded: "Gao Jiong and the others used powerful forces to press the prince step by step from the front; behind the scenes, they used in-laws, inducements and other methods to win over neutral forces; these were two battles, one positive and one strange. Compared with

'Qi', 'zheng' war

It is undoubtedly more eye-catching, because whether it is Gao Jun, He Ruobi, Yuwenbi, Yuan Yan and others, all of them are important figures. Now that they join forces, they will inevitably make many wavering people stand on their side.

.”

"That's true, but what's the use?" Dugu Min sighed: If Gao Qiu and the others had fought back like this before deposing the chief minister, the saint might have compromised; now that the new crown prince has been in office for two years, the matter has been decided.

, whoever makes trouble with them will be in trouble. Just watch."

"Awesome, my mother." Yang Ji was greatly amazed. If he hadn't believed that Yang Guang would have the last laugh, he might have lost his opinion under the raging general trend.

Dugu Min couldn't stand the praise the most. When his son said this, he immediately laughed triumphantly: "Of course."

Yang Ji, who is familiar with my mother's virtues, asked wisely: "Excuse me, female Zhuge, what should I do next?"

"Go and correct the attitude of your three golden-headed brothers. They don't have as powerful a strategist as me. They are likely to be influenced by Gao Jun, He Ruobi, Yu Wenbi, Yuan Yan and others, and thus misjudge the situation and make decisions that are hard to save."

Stupid things. After you correct the stance of the golden-headed brothers,

, the prince is grateful to you and appreciates your merits; after the prince ascends the throne, your benefits will be indispensable, and your gold-headed brothers will also be grateful to you. The key is that if one gold head is missing, there will be more people staring at you in the future.

Millions, so saving others means saving yourself, it can be said that it kills three birds with one stone."

"Auntie is wise." Yang Ji couldn't help but laugh. The "golden-headed brothers" his mother was talking about were his cousins ​​Cai Wang Yang Zhiji, Teng Wang Yang Lun, Tao Wang Yang Jing, plus himself, the four brothers made up the four brothers.

Big golden head'.

This nickname comes from Dugu Min's love for her son. She believes that the fragmented Turks are no longer the opponent of the Sui Dynasty. The next Sui Dynasty is very likely to turn from foreign wars to internal political struggles; as the son of the Prince of the Sui Dynasty, there is no way to avoid it.

All kinds of political storms, if you don't have the ability to protect yourself, you will lose everything at least, or your life will be lost at worst. Therefore, she not only wants to train her son to be a war monster like her husband, but also makes him proficient in the skills of hundreds of schools of thought.

Although Dugumin had good intentions, his knowledge was boundless. No matter how smart Yang Ji was, he could not learn so much knowledge. The endless homework finally made Yang Ji lose his temper. However, Dugumin neither hit nor scolded, but just said

The only use of the prince is to be used by others to climb up. On average, every gold head is stared at by tens of millions of people. If you don't learn various ways of survival, you can't keep the priceless gold head on your neck.

Although this statement is suspected of being exaggerated, the truth cannot be refuted. Yang Ji has not even officially enjoyed the blessing, so how can he be willing to be someone else's nomination for promotion? In addition, he is still young and can't do much, so he simply follows his mother's arrangements and goes to learn various skills.

Since then, in private, there has been a saying of the "Four Golden Heads".

But on the other hand, his mother forced him to become a dandy. Her reason was also very good. She said that only a prince who wanted to be a prince or an emperor would win over people with the image of a humble gentleman and a courteous corporal. You Yang Ji are already

Prince, what else can you do if you are not a bad person? If you are not a bad person, can you die in peace?

For Yang Ji, who lost his father when he was young, who can he trust if he doesn't trust his mother?

In fact, although Dugu Min is usually a bit unreliable, she is indeed a very competent and powerful mother.

Although she was just a widow who lost her father when she was young and her husband when she was young, she was able to manage her huge family business in an orderly manner. Not only that, she also had profound political wisdom. She knew that her son could easily get killed if he went around beating people like this.

, if the son makes a small mistake in the future, the small mistake will turn into a fatal disaster; a long time ago, Yang Ji, who was still living in the palace, was asked to go to the East Palace next door to act cute and strive for a good impression.

There was a serious disagreement between mother and son over the issue of holding thighs. Yang Ji not only did not go to the East Palace next door, but also went to the neglected Prince Jin's Mansion. For this, he was beaten many times. Until Yang Guang became the Emperor of Sui Dynasty from the King of Jin.

Prince, the endless beatings came to an abrupt end.

"You and your two uncles should also be reminded," Dugumin said again.

Yang Ji smiled and said, "My uncle and uncle seem to be very smart, right?"

"It's not important, even if they are on the side of the prince. What's important is that as long as you remind them, you can take it for granted that they are on the side of the prince because of you. It doesn't matter if they don't admit it.

, the important thing is that you can make the conditions as a matter of course; it doesn't matter if they don't agree, the important thing is that you can use this reason to find your grandma?"

Dugu Min, who smiled like a fox, seemed to feel that it was damaging to her image as a strict mother, and her face suddenly straightened: "Gao Jiong's daughter, I refused. But these people have great powers, if we are not careful and they

It will be miserable for people to get married. So you should get married as soon as possible to save them from worrying about it."

"Of course I wish for it!" Yang Ji immediately beamed: "Mom, you said in the letter that you have found your marriage partner, whose girl is it?"

"The Crown Princess's sister Xiao Ying, Pei Ju's daughter Pei Shuying, Zheng Yi's daughter Zheng Qiao..." Dugu Min reported the names of seven famous ladies in one breath.

Yang Ji asked: "What's the result?"

Dugumin said listlessly: "There is no result."

Yang Ji was confused: "Why is there no result?"

"My fortune tellers say that you and these seven famous ladies are all incompatible."

"None of the seven match?"

"Yes!"

Yang Ji became suspicious: "I should be the legendary evil star, destined to live a lonely life without a partner."

"That's nonsense." Dugu Min said angrily: "What kind of evil star? It's obviously their bad luck."

"It makes sense." Yang Ji felt much better, and he said with a stern look: "I think the girls from my uncle's family are good, what do you think?"

"That's not possible." Dugu Min said categorically: "Dugu women are famous for being jealous. Your cousins ​​are fine as equal wives, but they are absolutely unacceptable for the main wife."

Only then did Yang Ji understand that my mother was a person who adhered to double standards. Her son could set fire to the city, but her husband could not light a lamp. In order to achieve the goal of having more grandchildren, she even used herself as a negative example, and asked: "Then

Whose daughter do you think is the best?"

"I'm not in a hurry, why are you in a hurry?" Dugu Min glared at his son fiercely.

"I'm not in a hurry, I'm just curious. You can take your time and look for me. My requirements are not high, as long as I don't look like Princess Qin." Yang Jizheng's wife must be as magnanimous as Empress Changsun. Not only did she not object to her husband's taking in concubines, but she actively offered them to her husband.

Concubine. And Yang Jun’s first wife, Princess Qin, was so jealous that she even poisoned her husband to death. Who wouldn’t be afraid of such a daughter-in-law?

The status of women in the Sui Dynasty was extremely high, which was a continuation of the trend of the Northern Dynasties. In the Northern Dynasty, "many generals and ministers favored princesses, and princes also married descendants, so it was customary to have no concubines." So much so that in the Northern Qi Dynasty, "if the whole dynasty had no concubines, the whole world would be the same."

Wife... When parents marry a daughter, they teach them to be jealous; when an aunt welcomes her, they must persuade her to be jealous. To control a husband is a woman's virtue, and to be jealous is a female worker."

Of course, there are also people who have groups of wives and concubines, but marrying only one wife is a trend among the upper echelons of society. The root cause is that this is a Xianbei tradition that has lasted for hundreds of years.

Women in the Northern Dynasties could not only bend bows and shoot arrows, but also fight close to hand. They could also seek officials for their children, fulfill their filial piety for their husbands, and seek officials for their husbands. They struggled with their husbands inside and out, making the world full of 'strong women'

', derived from this is the henpecked style of men.

Although the Sui Dynasty was a unified dynasty, more than 90% of the high-ranking officials were of Xianbei blood. The essence was still continued by the Xianbei people, which also led to the Hu tribe's legacy of strong women being far from dead. Therefore, Yang Jian was afraid of his wife, and Yang Su

It is extremely normal for Yang Shuang to have only one wife because he is afraid of shrews. Even family tragedies such as Yang Su's wife Zheng Qiye suing her husband and Princess Qin poisoning her husband are nothing new.

"Of course." Dugu Min felt a little guilty. She actually started proposing marriage for her son last year, but her son's reputation was so bad that no one was willing to marry her daughter.

This is not to say that there were no people who wanted to be the queen of the Sui Dynasty, but that the most important thing for a high-ranking family was to be well-matched; for a prince like Yang Ji, a small family did not dare to go high, but the number of legitimate daughters from a famous family who could become a princess was rare, and their parents both

If you want to find a good home for your daughter, a notorious playboy like Yang Ji will not be considered at all.

It was not easy to meet seven court wives who were willing to get married. However, each of the ladies from a well-known family was not compatible with Yang Ji, resulting in the current embarrassing situation.

But Dugu Min also had a solution. She couldn't deal with those famous families by herself, so she planned to leave this problem to Yang Jian, the king of a country and the head of a family. After she found a good candidate, Yang Jian would marry her.

The emperor grants marriage, who dares to complain?

At this time, Su Yunniang, the steward of the inner palace, came and bowed to the mother and son: "Yunniang has met the eldest lady, the young master."

Dugumin asked: "What's the matter?"

Su Yunniang replied: "Prince Teng invites the young master to have a banquet in Furong Garden at the end of tomorrow. This is the invitation."

Dugu Min looked very ugly and said coldly: "How did Yang Lun know that King Kong Slave was coming home today? Could it be that he was specifically watching our house?"

"I don't know either." Su Yunniang stepped forward quickly and handed the invitation to Yang Ji.

Yang Ji took it and looked at it, and explained to his mother with a smile: "Tomorrow is Brother Teng Wang's birthday, so he is not specifically watching us."

"Maybe it was because my sister passed away not long ago that he didn't dare to celebrate his birthday at home, so he moved to the Furong Garden, which is far away from the palace." Dugu Min's expression softened slightly and he said with relief: "In that case, it doesn't matter if you go."

"Yes." Yang Ji nodded. The other two golden heads should be there too, which saves him the need to visit them one by one.

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Chapter completed!