"Young Master, did this palace banquet go well? And those three girls, do you think the Young Master likes them?"
Seeing Zhao Junchen leaving the palace, Xu Qingyan came up to greet him and asked.
He and Zhao Junchen are close friends. They grew up together. They are called master and servant and are actually brothers. Now this palace banquet is related to Zhao Junchen's marriage, so Xu Qingyan is naturally very concerned about it.
However, Zhao Junchen looked thoughtful and did not give a clear answer. He just shook his head slightly and said slowly: "This matter... seems to be more complicated than imagined. It was hard for me to decide for a while.
."
"Complicated?" Xu Qingyan was slightly stunned.
Zhao Junchen nodded and said softly: "Today's palace banquet, the thoughts of all parties are somewhat different from what I imagined, especially the daughter of the Jingguo Duke's family, who seems to have other agendas...and your majesty."
His attitude is also a bit unexpected..."
While speaking, Zhao Junchen fell into deep thought again.
These words had no beginning and no end. They seemed to be explained to Xu Qingyan, and they seemed to be talking to himself, which made people confused.
Seeing Zhao Junchen like this, he knew that Zhao Junchen was thinking about things carefully. Although he became more and more curious, Xu Qingyan stopped asking questions and just waited for Zhao Junchen to get into the sedan chair before ordering the bearers to carry the sedan chair back home.
…………
As the sedan chair swayed, Zhao Junchen sat in the sedan chair and thought carefully about what happened at the palace banquet today.
Today's palace banquet seemed ordinary, just a routine. But after Zhao Junchen thought about it carefully, it was enough to obtain a lot of useful information.
First of all, the most clear thing is that Cui Mian, the former cabinet minister, doesn't like to see Zhao Junchen. Although by chance, Cui Qianxue seems to have some curiosity and ignorant affection for Zhao Junchen. All she needs is Zhao Junchen to use some tricks to get with Zhao Junchen.
It is not difficult for the Cui family to get married, but with Cui Mian's attitude, even if the two families get married in the future, it will be difficult for Zhao Junchen to get any help from the Cui family. Even in the worst case, although Zhao Junchen gets married to the Cui family.
But Cui Mian would instead obstruct and make things difficult for Zhao Junchen in the temple - only in this way can Cui Mian recover the loss of his reputation and make his position clear to the Qingliu people - with Cui Mian's temperament of cherishing his body and reputation, this is very possible
of.
Therefore, when it comes to future candidates for his wife, Zhao Junchen first eliminated Cui Qianxue - what he needs is a political marriage that can help him. And marrying the Cui family will obviously have disadvantages but no advantages in this regard.
, and the marriage between Zhao Junchen and Cui Qianxue is difficult to be happy and harmonious under such circumstances.
Thinking of Cui Qianxue's clear and bright eyes without any impurities, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but feel a little regretful. In fact, if political interests were put aside, Zhao Junchen preferred Cui Qianxue among the three women. Although Cui Qianxue always spoke and acted a little inappropriately.
After consideration. But precisely because of this, it was the easiest for Zhao Junchen to get along with her.
It's a pity that the so-called "political interest considerations" are the things that Zhao Junchen cannot avoid at the moment.
…………
Secondly, Su Changzhen's attitude was unexpectedly enthusiastic and proactive. In order to promote his daughter Su Xiuning to Zhao Junchen at the palace banquet, he was almost shameless. He not only seized the opportunity to show Su Xiuning to Zhao Junchen
He also repeatedly hinted to Zhao Junchen the various benefits that could be brought about by marrying the Su family. His attitude was almost flattering, which made Zhao Junchen feel ashamed for him.
It can be said that Su Changzhen's attitude is completely different from Cui Mian's.
At the same time, Su Xiuning is also a very outstanding woman. She is not only talented and beautiful, but also has a gentle and gentle temperament. She has no evil intentions. It can be said that she is destined to be a good wife in the future.
However, the more enthusiastic and proactive Su Changzhen was, the more hesitant Zhao Junchen became.
Without him, Su Changzhen has been floating in the officialdom for many years. He has no strong backer, is not from a famous family, and has dirty hands. However, not only has he not fallen down over the years, but he has climbed step by step to the high position of the governor of South Zhili. This shows that
His methods are superb and his vision is sophisticated. There is no doubt that he is an old fox in the political arena. With his vision, it is impossible not to see the hidden dangers in Zhao Junchen's future. However, he is still eager to marry his daughter to Zhao Junchen. His attitude is almost impatient, even completely.
It would be a bit strange not to worry that this would arouse the hostility of Prince Zhu Heyu.
This kind of performance reminded Zhao Junchen of the four words "drinking poison to quench thirst".
Unless Su Changzhen is facing a greater threat, why would he be so eager to drink Zhao Junchen's "poisonous wine"?
However, Su Changzhen was, after all, a second-rank official of the imperial court and a powerful official in the border areas. Who could force Su Changzhen to such an extent? Su Changzhen had to marry Zhao Junchen to alleviate the dilemma?
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen secretly sighed - except Emperor Deqing, no one else would need to do this, and no one else would have such ability!
Thinking back to the palace banquet, Emperor Deqing was almost naked in favor of Su Xiuning among the three girls. Obviously, although Emperor Deqing chose the three girls to go on a blind date with Zhao Junchen, he preferred Zhao Junchen and Su Changjin.
In terms of marriage, Cui Qianxue, the granddaughter of Lao Cui Mian in the front cabinet, and Chen Zhirong, the daughter of Chen You, the Duke of Jing, were just foils in the eyes of Emperor Deqing.
Emperor Deqing's attitude, at first glance, does not seem to matter. After all, everyone has preferences and preferences. Emperor Deqing favored Su Xiuning, or Emperor Deqing was more optimistic about Su Xiuning. However, the emperor's mind is unfathomable.
, every move has a profound meaning. However, the more Zhao Junchen thought deeply about Emperor Deqing's profound meaning, the colder his heart became.
…………
Originally, Zhao Junchen thought that the blind date arranged by Emperor Deqing for him was just a simple test to test Zhao Junchen's future aspirations and path.
After all, the three marriage partners arranged by Emperor Deqing for Zhao Junchen are really representative!
Among them, Cui Mian, the former cabinet minister, has a good reputation, but lacks power and influence. Marrying the Cui family will help Zhao Junchen improve his reputation, but it will not help Zhao Junchen expand his power. If Zhao Junchen finally chooses to marry the Cui family, it will prove that Zhao Junchen
My future choices and paths tend to be self-preservation and conservatism. I don’t have any big ambitions.
As the governor of Southern Zhili, Su Changzhen had been a local official for many years. He had deep connections and power and influence that should not be underestimated. However, he was a corrupt official. He was notorious among the government and the public. If Zhao Junchen were to marry him, even though Zhao Junchen
It can expand power and influence, but the reputation will be worse, and the officials under the sect will become more and more mixed, and it will be very easy to be caught in the future. If Zhao Junchen chooses to marry Su Changjin, it proves that although Zhao Junchen has certain ambitions, he is not
There was no long-term vision and no plan to escape the control of Emperor Deqing.
As for the Chen family of the Duke of Jing, they have close ties with the seventh prince Zhu Hejian. Zhu Hejian has not been crowned king due to health reasons. He is the only adult prince living in the capital today. Although the seventh prince Zhu Hejian and the prince Zhu Heyu are two
It seems that they are respectful brothers and have a good relationship. But in fact, Zhu Hejian is also the only prince who can threaten Zhu Heyu's status as crown prince! If Zhao Junchen is very ambitious and wants to overthrow the prince Zhu Heyu who is hostile to him, he may have to
Will choose to marry Chen Zhirong, the daughter of Chen You, Duke of Jing, to establish a connection with the seventh prince Zhu Hejian!
It can be said that through Zhao Junchen's marriage choice, Emperor Deqing could clearly understand Zhao Junchen's true ambition, and thus decide his future attitude towards Zhao Junchen.
Originally, Zhao Junchen thought that this was the true purpose of Emperor Deqing.
However, through today's palace banquet, Zhao Junchen discovered that he had misjudged Emperor Deqing's mentality after all!
In a certain sense, Emperor Deqing still "trusted" Zhao Junchen, so he did not test Zhao Junchen's thoughts, but similarly, he did not intend to give Zhao Junchen a chance to choose!
Some time ago, Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong were in a party dispute. Huang Yourong wanted to give Zhao Junchen a fatal blow by checking the accounts department. However, he did not expect that Zhao Junchen actually took precautions and was well prepared, using the accounting methods of later generations.
Due to the accounting techniques, in the end Huang Yourong was unable to catch Zhao Junchen in the accounts of the Ministry of Accounts, and therefore fell into a disadvantage in the party struggle.
In addition, in addition to the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Industry is also following Zhao Junchen's lead. One of the two major yamen is responsible for the management of the world's money and food, and the other is responsible for the expenditure of most money and food. They help each other and complement each other. It can be said that now they want to grasp the situation.
It is almost impossible to take advantage of Zhao Junchen.
Obviously, Emperor Deqing also understood this, but he might not be happy to see it happen!
After all, in the eyes of Emperor Deqing, Zhao Junchen was used to be blamed, to be slaughtered as a fat pig in the future, and to establish his authority when the new emperor ascended the throne! Zhao Junchen is so clueless now
Unfortunately, it will naturally be extremely inconvenient for Zhao Junchen to "retire after his success" in the future.
However, Emperor Deqing knew the emperor's mind well, so he naturally had a way to deal with such a situation.
That is to promote the marriage between Zhao Junchen and Su Changzhen!
Although it is difficult for Zhao Junchen to grasp the handle now, it is very easy to catch the handle of Su Changjin's faction. Once Zhao Junchen marries the Su family, the two factions will inevitably merge gradually, so Su Changjin's faction has embezzled money over the years.
Various crimes that violate the law will inevitably be implicated in Zhao Junchen in the future! In this way, no matter how airtight the two departments of household and industry controlled by Zhao Junchen are, Zhao Junchen will never be able to escape the control of Emperor Deqing.
To control, you can only let it be controlled.
In fact, when Zhao Junchen thought about it, the handles and evidence against Su Changjin and his group must have been in the hands of Emperor Deqing, and Emperor Deqing used these handles and evidence to threaten him, so Su Changjin just
He knows how to "drink poison to quench his thirst". He knows that there will be great hidden dangers in the future after marrying Zhao Junchen, but he still shows his kindness to Zhao Junchen in every way and can't wait to marry Zhao Junchen.
…………
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen narrowed his eyes slightly, and a cold look flashed in his eyes.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it seems that no matter how much I flatter you, no matter how much I show my determination to change my past, no matter how much I show my value in the court, you still haven't changed your attitude towards me...
However, I should probably be more fortunate. Unlike what I imagined, in a certain sense, you still 'trust' me. You have no intention of testing my true intentions at all, you just want to control me more firmly.
In a way, I should also be grateful...
However, since I have guessed your true plan, how can I still be loyal to you and not use any counterattack? Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you are too confident..."
While muttering to himself, Zhao Junchen frowned slightly, rejecting Su Xiuning among the candidates for his future wife.
Marrying Su Xiuning and marrying Su Changjin can certainly expand his power in the short term, but the hidden dangers in the future are too great - although Zhao Junchen has many "near worries" now, they are not fatal, and although there are not many "distant worries"
, but every one of them is a big trouble that makes Zhao Junchen sleepless. Zhao Junchen really doesn’t want to increase his future crisis.
However, since Emperor Deqing has made up his mind, he will definitely not give up until he achieves his goal, and will try every means to bring Zhao Junchen and Su Xiuning together. How to deal with it, Zhao Junchen still has not made up his mind.
…………
However, after rejecting Cui Qianxue and Su Changzhen one after another, the only three wives candidates provided by Emperor Deqing for Zhao Junchen were Chen Zhirong, the daughter of Chen You, Duke of Jing.
However, among the three women, although Chen Zhirong has the best appearance and is the most intelligent and shrewd, Zhao Junchen dislikes her the least.
Without him, Zhao Junchen could not guess Chen Zhirong's true thoughts, and saw too much ambition in Chen Zhirong's eyes!
Zhao Junchen believes that he still has some tolerance for others, but this tolerance is based on what Zhao Junchen can control.
However, a woman like Chen Zhirong, who has ulterior motives, is smart and shrewd, and refuses to be ordinary, is the most difficult to control.
Not to mention that after the marriage between the Duke of Jing and the Chen family, the power of the sect that Zhao Junchen has worked so hard to manage these days is likely to be secretly eroded by the seventh prince Zhu Hejian.
In fact, from a certain perspective, Zhao Junchen was more afraid of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian than the prince Zhu Heyu.
Although Zhu Heyu is the crown prince and is very hostile to Zhao Junchen, Zhao Junchen knows his thoughts, style and power very well, and can use these to make arrangements. However, Zhao Junchen has always been concerned about the seventh prince Zhu Hejian.
It's all smoke and mirrors. We can only guess that he is coveting the throne, is good at forbearing, and has influence in the inner court. As for the rest, we don't know anything about it.
Zhao Junchen was naturally extremely wary of such a person, and was unwilling to establish too much contact with him before he was certain.
In addition, another important reason is that Zhao Junchen already has a shrewd and strong Fang Ru in his house. If he marries the equally shrewd and strong Chen Zhirong, there will probably be conflicts between the two women, and Chen Zhirong is the principal wife after all.
, in the conflict, Fang Ru may suffer.
After all, Zhao Junchen still had some feelings for Fang Ru, but he did not want Fang Ru to be wronged.
In this way, after comprehensive consideration, Chen Zhirong is also not a good candidate for Zhao Junchen's future wife.
…………
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen sighed softly again.
After today's palace banquet, after careful consideration, he actually rejected all three women.
"Since none of the three women are suitable, I have no choice but to start over again, leaving these three women aside and choosing a suitable wife myself. However, how easy is it to find such a candidate? Otherwise, how can I
Will they show up alone today? What's more, these three women were all selected by Emperor Deqing. If he chooses someone else, he may be unhappy with Emperor Deqing. According to Emperor Deqing's temperament, the next step will definitely be a beating, and another
It’s a trouble…”
"Also, Chen Zhirong, at the palace banquet, gave many hints that she had different thoughts from Chen You, the Duke of Jing. We will meet tomorrow, but we have to find out her thoughts and purposes before making a decision...
…”
While thinking, time passed very quickly. When Zhao Junchen thought of this, the sedan chair had already landed, and at the same time, Xu Qingyan's voice came from outside the sedan chair.
"Master, we are at the mansion."
Zhao Junchen nodded, lifted the curtain and got out of the sedan, and walked towards the mansion. At the same time, he told Xu Qingyan: "Tomorrow, you book a private room in Youfeng Pavilion. I will meet the three girls there tomorrow... at three o'clock in the morning.
Send someone to make arrangements."
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ps: Happy New Year everyone!! (To be continued...) i1292