Hearing that Emperor Deqing had left him behind, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but feel doubtful.
But Zhao Junchen didn't say much, he just stopped and waited quietly for Emperor Deqing's instructions.
After the elders and the six ministers left one by one, the door of Yangxin Palace was also closed. Emperor Deqing looked at Zhao Junchen for a few times, and then suddenly asked: "Speaking of which, Junchen, at your current age,
It’s almost twenty-five, right?”
Hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but be stunned.
Emperor Deqing was well versed in imperial thinking, and every word he said had a profound meaning. He had also asked Feng Po's age before, but that was to hint that Feng Po had taken the initiative to resign and become an official. Now he asked Zhao Junchen's age, but he didn't know what it was.
What's the article?
He looked up secretly and saw that Emperor Deqing had a gentle look on his face, as if he was just chatting with Zhao Junchen.
Suddenly, Zhao Junchen remembered a piece of information he had obtained from the inner court a few days ago. Could it be... his marriage?
Zhao Junchen's eyes flashed slightly and he replied: "Your Majesty, please remember clearly that I am twenty-four this year. I was born in July and will be twenty-five in a few months."
Emperor Deqing nodded slightly and said thoughtfully: "In the final analysis, life is just a matter of 'getting married and establishing a career'. Now if you talk about 'establishing a career', at the age of less than twenty-five,
He has become the Minister of Household Affairs and a second-rank official in the imperial court. This is certainly too young, but when it comes to 'starting a family', it is really too late to be married at the age of twenty-four."
Hearing what Emperor Deqing said, although Zhao Junchen was mentally prepared, his mood was still a little complicated, and he didn't know how Emperor Deqing would arrange his marriage.
While Zhao Junchen was thinking deeply, Emperor Deqing's expression became gentler. He asked with a smile: "Now there is no news about your marriage. Although you are not anxious yourself, I am a little anxious for you. Now
There is no way to delay it like this... Junchen, which girl do you have a crush on? If you like someone, you can tell her clearly. I will make the decision for you."
Zhao Junchen smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, you also know that since I entered the court as an official, I have been focused on court affairs. I have no energy and no intention to think more. In addition, there are few opportunities to meet women of the right age, so naturally I can't find any."
I found the person I like, so the marriage was delayed."
Emperor Deqing looked like he was considering Zhao Junchen wholeheartedly. He shook his head and sighed: "Junchen, it is certainly a good thing for you to be diligent in government affairs, but you cannot delay your marriage. This is a major event that affects your whole life. If you can find a good wife,
A good match will help you a lot in the future. What's more, if you get married, you will be more mature in nature. You will no longer be a young boy in the eyes of others, and they will value you more, both in public and private matters.
There are only advantages and no disadvantages.”
After a pause, Emperor Deqing waved his hand and said: "I ignored this matter in the past, but now that I have thought of it, I can no longer sit back and do nothing. Junchen, you are loyal to me and work hard.
I can never treat you badly."
As he spoke, Emperor Deqing stretched out his hand and saw eunuch Zhang De holding three copies of the post and delivering them to Zhao Junchen.
Zhao Junchen was stunned again, and took a look. He found that each of the three posts contained a portrait of a woman, with the names, birth dates, and other words of the three women written underneath.
Obviously, these three women were all the marriage candidates that Emperor Deqing was looking for for Zhao Junchen.
Emperor Deqing smiled and said: "In recent days, I have been thinking about your marriage. I have also carefully selected three girls of the right age for you among the junior members of the family who are distinguished ministers in the court. They are:
Su Xiuning, the eldest daughter of Su Changzhen, the governor of southern Zhili, Chen Zhirong, the second daughter of Chen You, the Duke of Jing, and Cui Qianxue, the granddaughter of Cui Mian, the former cabinet minister... These three girls are now of the right age, and both in appearance and family background
, are all worthy of you, I even specially asked for their portraits, Junchen, do you think there is any one you like?"
Zhao Junchen asked in confusion: "Their family...are actually willing to marry me?"
A look of displeasure flashed across Emperor Deqing's face and he said: "Junchen, why do you have to belittle yourself? Now you have achieved such success at a young age. Although there are countless young talents in the whole court, who can compare with you?"
For example, although the three of them are considered noble, getting married to you is a good thing they want, so how can they not be willing?"
Hearing what Emperor Deqing said, Zhao Junchen remained silent. He just followed Emperor Deqing's instructions and opened the post in his hand to read carefully.
…………
In fact, the main reason why Zhao Junchen is still unmarried is because of Zhao Junchen's infamous reputation among the government and the public, and the hostile relationship between Prince Zhu Heyu and Zhao Junchen!
But regarding this point, both Emperor Deqing and Zhao Junchen himself tacitly chose to avoid talking about it just now.
In this era, when a man marries a woman, the most important thing in marriage is "well-matched". Zhao Junchen has now become a second-rank official in the imperial court at a young age, and has won the favor of Emperor Deqing. He seems to have a bright future.
, so among the government and the public, the only families who are qualified to marry Zhao Junchen are those who have been honored for generations in the Ming Dynasty and some powerful ministers in the temple.
However, Zhao Junchen's reputation among the government and the public was too bad, and his hostile relationship with the crown prince Zhu Heyu was well known to everyone, and those in charge of those families who were qualified to marry Zhao Junchen were all well-known.
People with sharp eyes can naturally understand it - even though Zhao Junchen is in great glory now, when Prince Zhu Heyu ascends the throne, I am afraid that Zhao Junchen will be executed.
Therefore, in order to avoid being implicated in the future, these wealthy families who are qualified to marry Zhao Junchen will naturally not marry Zhao Junchen just for temporary gain.
As a result, it also caused the embarrassing situation that although Zhao Junchen was extremely powerful in the court, he was still unable to get married. The qualified wealthy families were unwilling to marry him, but the small family who was willing to marry Zhao Junchen
households, but often lack the qualifications.
Therefore, although Zhao Junchen is now twenty-four years old, which is already past the marriageable age in this era, he still has not gotten married, which is a strange thing in the temple.
It was precisely because of this consideration that Zhao Junchen was so surprised when he saw the list of three companies in his hand.
Su Changzhen, the governor of Southern Zhili, Zhang You, the Duke of Jing, and Cui Mian, the former cabinet minister, should all be able to see Zhao Junchen's hidden dangers and would never want to marry Zhao Junchen.
But now looking at Emperor Deqing's attitude, it is obvious that these three families have acquiesced to the possibility of marriage with Zhao Junchen.
"I'm afraid that Emperor Deqing must have used some means to persuade these three families. He either promised some benefits or secretly exerted pressure."
Zhao Junchen thought secretly.
…………
While thinking secretly, Zhao Junchen opened the three posts in his hand and took a closer look.
There was not much content in the post, just the names, family background, age, appearance, birthdays and other information of the women from the three families - but Zhao Junchen was not interested in this information.
On the other hand, the three portraits included in the post are quite lifelike in their strokes, depicting all the features of the women from the three families. It is obvious that the painter has extraordinary skills, and may be the handiwork of the royal painter in the palace.
First, Su Xiuning, the eldest daughter of Su Changzhen, the governor of Southern Zhili, has a slender figure and a delicate face. Her facial features are exquisite and she seems to have an endearing temperament;
Chen Zhirong, the second daughter of Chen You, Duke of Jing, has a beautiful figure and clear eyebrows. Even from the portrait, you can still feel a touch of charm. There is a beauty mole between the eyebrows, which adds to the charm. Speaking of portraits alone,
, among the three women, she has the best appearance;
As for Cui Qianxue, the granddaughter of Lao Cui Mian in the front cabinet, she seems to be young, but she is also a beauty. She is petite and plump, with a pair of big eyes that are quite eye-catching, and her expression is lively and charming;
But for the portraits of these three women, although Zhao Junchen pretended to read them carefully, he still didn't care.
What he really cares about is the families these three women represent behind their backs!
Su Xiuning is the eldest daughter of Su Changzhen, the governor of Southern Zhili. However, although Su Changzhen is a local official, she is one year older than Feng Po, the former Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice. She is now seventy-four, and I am afraid that she will be in her seventies soon.
I will retire and return to my hometown.
Chen Zhirong is the second daughter of Chen You, Duke of Jing. However, although the Duke of Jing is a hereditary noble, his influence in the court has never been great - but when he heard the title "Gong of Jing", Zhao Junchen
But it always feels a little familiar, as if I have seen it somewhere before, but I can't remember it for a while.
As for Cui Qianxue, she is the granddaughter of Cui Mian, the former cabinet elder. Although Cui Mian is the former cabinet elder, his methods and scheming are probably not as good as those of Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao. He has been sitting in the position of the cabinet elder for three to five years.
Then he retreated. The only thing worthy of praise is that this person always cherishes his own life when doing things, so although he is incompetent, he never leaves anyone behind.
After carefully thinking about the family backgrounds of these three women, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but sneer in his heart, and immediately understood the true intentions of Emperor Deqing.
Zhao Junchen knew very well that as his power and influence in the court increased, Emperor Deqing's attitude towards him gradually changed.
In the past, Emperor Deqing always adopted an attitude of "complete control" over Zhao Junchen. Zhao Junchen's every move in the court was subject to Emperor Deqing's instructions. If there were any private actions, once they did not comply with Emperor Deqing's instructions,
If you think about it, you will be reprimanded by Emperor Deqing.
At that time, Zhao Junchen had no power to compete with Emperor Deqing, so he could only be cautious and obey orders.
Nowadays, Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong have shown no less power and influence than the current court elders in the party struggle. In the eyes of Emperor Deqing, their importance has increased significantly, but they can no longer control them as they did before.
Therefore, the attitude towards Zhao Junchen has changed from "complete control" to "both win-win and prevention".
Today, Emperor Deqing asked Feng Po to retire early and return to his hometown, thus cutting off the possibility of Zhao Junchen's crony Li Lide taking over as Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and then handed over the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry to Ye Shanghong, a disciple of Zhou Shangjing. This was not only to provoke Zhao Junchen
The hostility between Zhou Shangjing and Zhou Shangjing was also due to his precautions against Zhao Junchen.
And now, he is arranging a marriage for Zhao Junchen, just for the purpose of winning over.
However, the three women selected by Emperor Deqing for Zhao Junchen did not have much power and influence in their families. Obviously Emperor Deqing did not hope that Zhao Junchen would expand his power and influence again through this marriage, and he was still very cautious.
obvious.
I am afraid that in the eyes of Emperor Deqing, Zhao Junchen's current power and influence in the court is no longer suitable for increasing.
…………
While Zhao Junchen was thinking secretly, Emperor Deqing smiled and asked: "Junchen, how are you? These three portraits are all made by palace painters, so you don't have to worry about the portraits not being consistent with the real people.
I have also seen that the looks of these three women are all top choices, and I heard that they are all girls with virtuous temperament. They are all good matches, which one do you like?"
Seeing Zhao Junchen's hesitation, Emperor Deqing thought that Zhao Junchen was thin-skinned, so he smiled and said: "Between you and me, monarch and minister, you don't have to worry about anything. Just tell me which one you like. I will marry you personally."
Zhao Junchen shook his head and sighed: "Your Majesty, you are making things difficult for me. I still need to consider the matter of marriage carefully. Although Your Majesty, you have considered it so carefully for me. I was extremely moved, but in a hurry,
I really can’t decide.”
After saying that, Zhao Junchen raised his head and said tentatively: "Otherwise, your Majesty will make the decision for me."
Now among the three women, Zhao Junchen really doesn't know how to choose. He is hesitating.
But Zhao Junchen would not leave all his marriage choices to Emperor Deqing. This was just a trial.
However, Emperor Deqing shook his head and laughed, saying: "It is better for you to make your own decision on marriage matters. I have worried enough about you, and I will not choose for you anymore. What's more, you are now the second-rank minister of the imperial court, and you are not me.
Your prince and grandson, it is not convenient for me to decide for you..."
After a pause, Emperor Deqing saw that Zhao Junchen's expression was still full of hesitation and said: "That's all. I also know that asking you to make a hasty decision is embarrassing for you. You should also think about it for a few days, not to mention
After all, a portrait is just a portrait. No matter how good the painter's skills are, he can't depict everything, let alone express the real person's expression and temperament...
...Well, let's see. It just so happens that Su Changzhen, the governor of Southern Zhili, returns to Beijing to report on his duties. Three days later, I will hold a small royal banquet in the palace to invite Chen You, the Duke of Jing, and Su Changzhen, the governor of Southern Zhili, to the palace.
The three families of Lao Cui and Mian in the front cabinet were all called to the palace for the banquet, and they were asked to bring their respective families. When the time comes, Junchen, you will also go to the palace to accompany you, and you can also take the opportunity to meet the girls from these three families. I hope you can meet the real person when the time comes.
Junchen, how about you have more ideas in mind?"
Emperor Deqing was so interested that he even went to great lengths to hold an imperial banquet in order to arrange Zhao Junchen's marriage. Naturally, Zhao Junchen could not refuse.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen raised his head, put on a moved expression, and said: "Your Majesty, you have thought so carefully for me, and even held a palace banquet specifically for my marriage. I am moved, but I am frightened. From now on, I can only act with loyalty."
, swear to repay each other to the death..."
Emperor Deqing looked at the moved Zhao Junchen in front of him, nodded with satisfaction, and said with a smile: "In today's peaceful and prosperous times, there is no need for you to swear to death, as long as you remember my kindness to you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next, after Zhao Junchen and Emperor Deqing chatted some more, Emperor Deqing asked Zhao Junchen to leave.
When Zhao Junchen left the Meridian Gate, he found Zuo Lanshan, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, waiting for him there.
After seeing Zhao Junchen appear, Zuo Lanshan hurriedly greeted him.
Obviously, Zuo Lanshan was very dissatisfied with the distribution of these real power vacancies during today's meeting between the elders and the six ministers. Zuo Lanshan felt that he had suffered a big loss, so he kept waiting for Zhao Junchen outside the palace and wanted to ask Zhao Junchen
Ask for advice.
"Master Zhao, you are finally here." Zuo Lanshan looked full of annoyance and sighed: "I didn't expect that Your Majesty would suddenly decide on the replacement candidates for the vacancies in the court today. We were caught off guard, but we were so surprised.
After suffering a big loss, he originally planned to win the position of Minister of the Ministry of Justice for Li Lide, but ended up falling into the hands of Zhou Shangjing's faction, making Lin Chengze the new Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and the vacancy of Minister of the Ministry of Industry was also taken over by Zhou Shangjing's disciple Ye Shanghong.
Got it, we finally pulled out the nail that Huang Yourong planted in the Ministry of Works, but Zhou Shangjing got in again, ugh..."
Zhao Junchen saw that Zuo Lanshan looked unhappy, but he said with relief: "That's all, who made us short of manpower? We can only suffer this immediate loss. However, I finally won the job of Shandong Chief Envoy for Li Lide.
Nowadays, due to the "Southern Tour Preparation", Shandong Yiyi has a large number of official vacancies. We can also take the opportunity to promote some officials for our own use to make up for the lack of background. In the long run, this may not be a bad thing. What's more,
Li Lide does have some qualifications. It is natural for him to go to a local place to gain some experience and then return to the center in the future to become the Six Ministers like you and me. So Mr. Zuo, you don’t have to be upset. There are many things now.
There’s no rush…”
After hearing Zhao Junchen's comfort, Zuo Lanshan's expression finally relaxed a little. After nodding in agreement, he asked curiously: "By the way, Mr. Zhao, I don't know why Your Majesty left you in the Yangxin Hall to discuss secretly."
thing?"
Zhao Junchen smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, he sees that I am old but still unmarried, so he plans to act as a matchmaker for me..."
Halfway through his words, Zhao Junchen suddenly remembered the inexplicable familiarity he felt when he saw Duke Jing, but regardless of Zuo Lanshan's surprise, he asked: "By the way, Mr. Zuo, do you think of Duke Jing's family?"
Know?"
Zuo Lanshan was stunned again. After thinking for a moment, he replied: "Does Your Majesty intend to let Duke Jing's family marry Mr. Zhao? I am not familiar with Duke Jing's family. I only know that this family has always kept a low profile.
The influence in the court is not great... By the way, I remember that the seventh prince Zhu Hejian had arranged to marry Chen Luoyi, the eldest daughter of Duke Jing a few years ago. Although the seventh prince's health has not been very good, he has not been married for a long time.
There is no formal marriage, but the relationship between Duke Jing and Your Highness has always been close..."
After hearing Zuo Lanshan's words, Zhao Junchen's eyes flashed.
"Oh? Is the eldest daughter of the Jingguo Duke's family betrothed to the seventh prince Zhu Hejian? This is interesting. If I finally get married to the Jingguo Duke's family, wouldn't I become a brother-in-law with the seventh prince?"
As he spoke, Zhao Junchen seemed to be smiling but not smiling.