Chapter 18: The Palace’s Request

There are no other important things here, nor are there many physical rewards.

After receiving the order, Zhou Shengchen arranged for personnel to entertain the envoy.

All the generals were angry again;

"Wouldn't this delay the great cause of stabilizing the world?";

"But there are no rewards";

…

Zhou Shengchen waved his hand, and Military Advisor Xie Chong quickly stopped him and said: "Your Majesty and the Queen Mother are always considerate of the soldiers of the Royal Army, and they have worked hard. Your Highness will reward you for your hard work and merit."

This was basically a routine, and the generals had no choice but to obey and handle their own affairs.

Feng Qiao returned to the back house and directed a group of retainers to organize the apprenticeship banquet.

Suddenly remembering it, she grabbed a servant who was passing by and shouted: "I'll see if you smile!"

The man immediately felt extremely embarrassed and could only show a smile that was uglier than crying: "General, you are making things difficult for me."

"Okay, okay, go get busy!" Feng Qiao waved her hands impatiently, and then said to herself, "They say that women from aristocratic families can't walk without a hint of wind and smile without showing their teeth? How uncomfortable that must be. "

In another room, under the service of the maid Cheng Xi, Jian Shiyi was putting on strict clothes.

Niao Sanniang walked in at a leisurely pace and looked at her daughter who was already fully dressed. She felt both reluctance and countless words of comfort in her heart.

Putting a piece of jade pendant in her hand, Sanniang said, "You have to be careful in your words and deeds when you accept King Xiao Nanchen as your teacher, so as not to disgrace the reputation of the Niao family."

Jian Shiyi nodded seriously to express his obedience.

Knowing that she was a little nervous, Sanniang smiled and took her hand out of the house.

Zhang Feng, Zhang Shou and others were already waiting outside and walked with them to the back house of the palace.

Someone came to report, and Zhou Shengchen came to greet him with Hong Xiaoyu, Zhou Tianxing, Xie Yun, Feng Qiao and others.

After the introduction, Zhang Feng and Zhang Shou bowed first, and Zhou Shengchen immediately invited them: "No need to be polite."

Everyone came in and sat down in the room. Zhou Shengchen sat in the middle, Sanniang and Military Advisor Xie Chong sat on one side each, and the others stood quietly on both sides.

Holding a wooden eucalyptus tray in his hand, Kao Shiyi slowly walked in from the main entrance.

Inside the tray are six gifts that symbolize respect for the master, including celery, lotus seeds, red beans, dates, longans, dried meat, etc.

Seeing this little girl's extremely serious look, Zhou Shengchen was immediately moved: Shi Yi was so sincere because of his strict tutoring and his sincere admiration for King Xiao Nanchen.

When he got closer, Kao Shiyi put the tray on the table in front of Zhou Shengchen and took a step back.

She folded her hands together and bowed down gracefully.

Sanniang Sanniang smiled with satisfaction when she saw her daughter saluting generously and gracefully; Feng Feng also smiled at her younger sister to show encouragement.

After praying, Jian Shiyi looked at him with big shining eyes, waiting for his advice.

Holding back the complicated emotions in his heart, Zhou Shengchen asked, "Shi Yi, you must be called 'Eleven' at home, right?"

After hearing this, Jian Shiyi pursed her lips and nodded.

"Okay. Now that I have ten apprentices, I will call you eleven, okay?" Zhou Shengchen said gently with a questioning tone.

Shiyi was very moved when he heard this, because the all-powerful King Xiao Nanchen was very caring and peaceful to him. He first called himself "I" instead of "my king", and then used a questioning tone, which seemed very considerate.

She responded with a serious nod.

Next, she hesitated a little, not knowing whether the ceremony was over or whether she should continue to kowtow.

After thinking about it, she stretched out her hand in front of her again, wanting to bow again.

"No need, get up quickly." Zhou Shengchen stretched out his hand to signal, "Don't worry about these formalities."

Then, he introduced several apprentices in the palace to Jian Shiyi.

At this point, Yang Shiyi got to know senior sister Hong Xiaoyu, second brother Zhou Tianxing and others, and then exchanged greetings with them respectively.

"King Xiao Nanchen looks free and easy, which is admirable." Sanniang felt relieved at first when she saw that Zhou Shengchen was indeed gentle to Kao Shiyi.

"Eleven is young after all, I should take more care of her." Zhou Shengchen replied politely.

While everyone was happy about this, a guard reported recently: "The messenger of the Holy Spirit has arrived."

Zhou Shengchen asked to be invited in, and soon he saw Zhao Teng, the chamberlain, personally bringing the emperor's gift.

The two sides saluted, and Zhao Teng said: "King Xiao Nanchen has made meritorious service in the battle, and I have brought you your majesty's reward."

After saying that, he turned his body to one side and the entourage behind him came forward holding two brocade boxes.

Zhao Teng opened the lid of the box, and there were a ban sword and a yellow ax inside. These are important ministers who receive gifts and can surpass other ministers in etiquette. The little emperor offered a reward last time, but Zhou Shengchen rejected it.

Now that the king's army has won the battle, the young emperor feels that he deserves another reward, so he orders his chamberlain Zhao Teng to deliver it in person.

Zhao Teng then loudly said: "Your Majesty has spoken - since I came to the throne in the first year of Hongde, I have relied most heavily on Emperor Shuchen. His uncle fought bloody battles for three years, so that I and all the people in the world can enjoy peace. According to this, in the third year of Hongde, I I gave Banjian and Huangyue to my uncle. I admire this."

After Zhou Shengchen saluted, he looked at Zhao Teng and said, "What if I still don't accept it this time?"

After hearing this, Zhao Teng couldn't help but smile proudly, and then said: "Your Majesty said again - I am the emperor, and the emperor's uncle values ​​loyalty the most. How can he refuse to accept the things the emperor gives him? He must Accept it. Please accept these two gifts from the emperor, Your Highness and Miss Nao, each of them accept one."

He imitated it so perfectly that everyone felt happy, but they knew it was the emperor's order, so they had no choice but to hold back.

"Since this is the case, then I have no choice but to accept it." Zhou Shengchen said, and then said to Feng Qiao, "Send these two gifts to Miss Yang's residence in the back house."

After Feng Qiao said yes, she and Hong Xiaoyu stepped forward to receive the gift.

Jian Shiyi was shocked again: He didn't seem to care about such a precious gift that symbolized great power, and even gave it to me. This is a show of love for me, and it is also for my future consideration.

Zhou Shengchen had finished the arrangements and looked at Zhao Teng: "Will Changshi Zhao return to Zhongzhou immediately, or will he stay here with me for a few days?"

Zhao Teng chuckled and replied: "I have official duties, so I didn't dare to disturb His Highness much at first. It's just that Your Majesty has arranged another task for me, and I have to tell you."

Zhou Shengchen naturally knew what he was going to say, but he pretended not to know for the time being: "Chang Shi Zhao, just say it clearly."

Zhao Teng immediately held up his hands and thanked him, then turned around and said, "Come here."

Following his shout, a man dressed like a Confucian scholar immediately bowed and stepped forward.

Turning around, Zhao Teng bowed his hands and saluted again: "This is the painter sent by His Majesty. He wants to paint a picture for Miss Niao and hang it in the East Palace."

The little emperor is only nine years old this year, so naturally he cannot have his own heirs. The "East Palace" that Zhao Teng refers to is an accompanying "prince" selected from the royal family by the Queen Mother and others under the checks and balances of power.

King Wu Yan himself was marginalized and powerless. Queen Mother Qi Zhenzhen chose his third son Liu Zixing as the so-called prince who accompanied the emperor to study.

Two years older than the young emperor Liu Hui, Liu Zixing was born frail and sickly, and had a weak personality, so the Queen Mother and others chose him.

The intention of the Queen Mother and others was to wait until Liu Hui had a child of his own before kicking Liu Zixing away. More likely, Liu Zixing, who is in frail health, will not live long.

After Zhao Teng said this, everyone was secretly surprised: Shiyi originally promised to marry the prince, but now that the real prince has ascended the throne, he has created a "big" prince. What a joke to the royal family!

Seeing Zhou Shengchen's brows frowning slightly, Zhao Teng saluted again and said, "Your Highness, please arrange for the painter to draw a picture for Miss Nao."

Zhao Teng urged again, and Zhou Shengchen first looked at Sanniang.

Sanniang was forced to reconcile with her husband Li Qilang because of the influence of her family. She was already sad about this, and of course she was not willing to trade her daughter's happiness for the glory of the Lai family.

Furthermore, the Yang family originally promised the late emperor that Yang should marry the prince. But when the late emperor was still alive, the prince died at an early age, and the late emperor died too quickly, and there was no time to establish a prince.

The current little emperor was selected from the concubine princes. His mother and relatives did not want the power of the Tao family to be too large, so they rejected Tao Shiyi as the queen.

After a dispute between Cao Guang and the royal family, Cao Guang had no choice but to accept that Cao Shiyi was actually demoted to a lower level and married to the future prince of the young emperor.

Now that Liu Zixing has been elected as the crown prince, Piao Shiyi will be regarded as a political victim and may marry Liu Zixing.

Since Niao Sanniang was a female, and because the clan leader Niao Guang had worked so hard to plan for the third house of the Niao family, she had no choice but to agree.

Looking at Zhou Shengchen's look, Sanniang felt not only ashamed and angry at being teased by the royal family, but also ashamed of being sorry for her daughter, Shiyi.

But this was something decided by Cao Guang, the leader of the third branch of the Cao family, and in order to preserve the honor and safety of the Cao family, Cao Sanniang could only blush and bow her head in silence.

Zhou Shengchen looked at Yu Shiyi over there again, and saw that her face was red, but because of her strict tutoring, she just stood with her head down, looking very passive.

Seeing that Zhou Shengchen still hadn't replied, Zhao Teng couldn't help but salute again and said: "Your Highness, please make arrangements so that the painter can complete the painting quickly, so that we can go back to work as soon as possible."

Military advisor Xie Chong was waiting impatiently and winked at Zhou Shengchen repeatedly, asking him to agree quickly.

"No need." Zhou Shengchen said in an indifferent tone with an indifferent expression, everyone present was shocked.

"Well,"

This word with astonishment came out of the mouths of Zhao Teng, Jian Sanniang, and Xie Chong respectively.

And others such as Zhang Feng, Zhang Shou, Hong Xiaoyu, etc. were also surprised.

Only Piao Shiyi was the one who was most moved by Zhou Shengchen's three words.

As a lady, she was forced to accept a lot of harsh etiquette education since she was a child. It is said that as long as you do this, you will be loved by others and you will have a lifetime of happiness.

But she clearly saw her father leave the Tao family in despair and shame. Isn’t my father a learned man?

She has been forced to accept the girl's family since she was a child and can only act according to her parents' opinions. But her loving father was driven away by the Cao family, and she actually had to obey her uncle Cao Guang's arrangements!

First, she was proposed to be married to the prince of the royal family, but when she was only ten years old at the time, she encountered a situation that made a girl regret her marriage and set another marriage.

If he really wanted to marry Liu Zixing, of course Ji Shiyi would know that he would actually be downgraded a generation!

Zhou Shengchen's voice when he said the three words just now was not loud, but to Yu Shiyi's ears, it was no less than the sound of three huge thunders on the land that had been dry for a long time. It was countless times louder than when she stood at the top of Chang'an City and listened to the sound of him beating the giant drum, and compared to the roars of countless soldiers!

Nao Shiyi couldn't help but be shaken by the sound and the silent cry of awakening in his heart, which made his body tremble slightly and he could hardly stand.

Feng Qiao, who was next to her, felt something strange about her and quickly leaned against her.

Jian Shiyi came back to his senses, smiled at her, then bowed his head and remained silent.

"Your Highness," Zhao Teng said suspiciously, "This is His Majesty's will."

Zhou Shengchen didn't have much dislike for the young emperor Liu Hui, but he had great disdain and hatred for Liu Zixing, who looked weak but was narrow-minded and more vicious than anyone in the world.

The bones of Zhou Shengchen's beauty were removed by him and her life was taken away by him; Shiyi died because of him; the world fell into chaos and ruin because of him...

For such a despicable person, not to mention getting a happy marriage, even coughing a few more times in this world is unnecessary!

The little emperor sent a painter to paint a portrait of Shiyi, just to express his gratitude to Liu Zixing, who he thought had always been on good terms with him.

Facing Zhao Teng, Zhou Shengchen said calmly: "Although His Majesty recognizes Liu Zixing as the prince, he will always have his own heirs. Therefore, this is an expedient measure after all. This is something everyone knows. Eleven is for me. Apprentice, she is still young. As her master, I not only have to teach her, but also fulfill my responsibility to protect her."

Zhao Teng blinked a few times and looked confused: "Your Highness, this,"

"I am doing this to avoid embarrassment in the future." After Zhou Shengchen said this, he turned to look at Sanniang.

She had long known that Zhou Shengchen was rebellious and independent in doing things, but Sanniang didn't expect that he would be so sensitive about this matter.

As for the marriage of Liu Zixing when she was about to marry, Sanniang promised to the patriarch of the family, Liu Guang. Now that she suddenly encountered this small change, she didn't know how to respond.

If she agreed to the painter's portrait of Piao Shiyi, she was worried that Zhou Shengchen would insist on making the current situation even more embarrassing; if she followed her heart and sided with Zhou Shengchen, she didn't know how to go back and explain to Piao Guang.

"Your Highness means that you are worried about my daughter's reputation being damaged. As a mother, I would like to thank Your Highness first," said Sanniang.

Before she finished speaking, Zhou Shengchen immediately answered: "Everyone here heard it - Sanniang and I have the same opinion. There is no need to say anything more about this matter, it is settled."

Xie Chong shrank his neck in shock, but because of the serious situation, he did not dare to express his attitude.

Zhao Teng saw this and said anxiously: "But Your Highness, Third Lady, how can I go back and report to Your Majesty?"

Seeing that Zhou Shengchen did not respond, he turned to Military Advisor Xie Chong: "Please Military Advisor, please say a few words on your behalf, so that I don't have difficulty in replying to Your Majesty!"