"Say it." Emperor Guangzhao took a sip of tea, and then responded.

"Father, do you remember the letter that your son wrote to you last month?" Chu Zihou asked.

"Of course." Emperor Guangzhao replied with a smile.

"Regarding the matter that the son wants to marry Miss Shen as his wife, I don't know what my father wants."

Emperor Guangzhao slowly took a few sips of tea, looked at Chu Zihou meaningfully with his eyes and asked, "Sue sù me, what do you love about her, do you love her alluring appearance or extraordinary talent?" Or something else? ”

"The son loves her, father." Chu Zihou replied with great certainty. When he said this, he felt his whole heart stir, as if a hero was ready to do something earth-shattering.

Emperor Guangzhao smiled, stood up and paced around the room, Chu Zihou saw that although he looked calm but seemed to be worried, he asked, "Father, do you still have concerns?" ”

"Hou'er, Miss Shen is not so easy to get, but I am very happy for you to get married, but she is not old enough, and she will not get married until two and a half years later, so you may have to wait."

Emperor Guangzhao's intention in saying this is because Xizhen's age is indeed not enough, and secondly, he is also hiding a little selfishness - he wants her to help him govern the country wholeheartedly in the past few years.

As an emperor, who doesn't want to be a generation of emperors, supported by all the people and praised by all generations?

Of course, he also wants to do more things to benefit the country and the people during his reign, so that the people of Xi can live a better and better life.

And these, only people with ability and vision like Xi Zhen can help him.

However, looking at Xi Kingdom now, how many people can compare to her insight?

"Does my father agree?" Chu Zihou hurriedly asked.

"Hmm. You can go to the marriage proposal first and settle the family business, but the marriage will have to be done after two and a half years. Emperor Guangzhao nodded and said.

"It's good if my father agrees, don't say wait for her for two and a half years, or wait for her for five or ten years, and the son is also willing." Chu Zihou was so happy that a smile bloomed on his face.

"I really didn't expect you to be so fond of her." Emperor Guangzhao said from the bottom of his heart.

"This may be the fate of heaven, once you meet it, you will never be able to have such feelings for other people." Chu Zihou said with a red face.

Seeing your happy expression reminded me of the days when I fell in love with your mother, she ...... Still mad at me, aren't you? ”

"No, my mother is not angry with you at all, she is just keeping her promise back then."

"Then why didn't she come back with you to see me? It's just to see, and it's not like she's going to stay for a long time. Emperor Guangzhao sighed and said, with a sour expression on his face. Although he is the Son of Heaven, he also needs love in his heart.

And Empress Wuwen Ci is still Concubine Dong, although they are both dignified and virtuous, and empathetic, they can't give the feeling that Lazagina gave him.

"The son will definitely persuade her again, please wait patiently." Chu Zihou hurriedly expressed his position.

"I've been waiting for eighteen years, and when will I wait? I have waited from youth to middle age, and I am not far from old age, besides, my body is ......" Emperor Guangzhao did not say any more.

"Father...... You're not yet 50 years old, so as long as you take a break, you'll be fine. Chu Zihou hurriedly comforted.

"Then, Hou'er, come back to Beijing next year to assist me, I have changed my mind, I don't want to wait until you are twenty years old to call you back." Emperor Guangzhao suddenly came to his heart and said loudly.

"This ......" Chu Zihou didn't know how to answer for a while. Some time ago, when he told his mother about returning to Beijing to assist his father, his mother's expression was very entangled, so he never gave him a clear answer, and now that it is a year in advance, she may have more difficulty making a decision.

"Anyway, it's decided, if you want to marry Miss Shen, then you have to agree to my father's condition, otherwise my father will regret it at any time."

"Father, you are not kind!"

"How? Think for yourself. ”

"Okay, well, Erchen will discuss with his mother when he goes back this time, and strive to return to Beijing next year to assist his father."

"Well, then I can rest assured, I will start to ask someone to build you a prince's mansion in the capital, and you will also have your own mansion when you come back."

"Okay."

Seeing that Chu Zihou agreed, Emperor Guangzhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then said: "Hou'er, some ministers have begun to oppose Miss Shen, they think that I trust her too much, and they are worried that I will make a wrong decision because of this. ”

"But the construction she proposed is all for the benefit of the country and the people."

"That's right, that's why I'm willing to adopt it. It's just that the opinions of the ministers can't help but be listened to, and they have to be synthesized, so when you go to court tomorrow, don't worry about those ministers who are in opposition to the court, and listen to what you think is appropriate, and treat the inappropriate ones as wind in your ears. ”

"Okay, thank you for the reminder!"

"Well, you go and rest."

"Yes, Father." Chu Zihou immediately walked out of the Zichen Hall and went straight to his bedroom.

Putting down the luggage, Chu Zihou couldn't wait to change his clothes and prepare to go to the Shen Mansion to see Xizhen.

Gonggong Zhang hurriedly asked, "Is King Qingping going out?" ”

"Hmm."

"If you want to go to the Shen Mansion, the villain advises you not to go first."

"Why?" Chu Zihou hurriedly stopped changing his clothes.

"Miss Shen went to the border to investigate, and she won't be back until the day after tomorrow at the earliest."

"She went to the border to investigate? Which? Chu Zihou asked as he tried his best to hide the loss in his heart.

"It is said to be the critical place to go to the Tribute Country, the Qiu Country and the Zhang Si Kingdom."

"Oh, got it." Chu Zihou sat down at the desk.

When he saw a plate of cleaned mulberries on the table, he grabbed it and ate it in a big gulp.

It's only a few days away, I'll wait! Chu Zihou said to himself, picked up another book and read it.

The next morning, the officials sent to the south to carry out the drought relief work returned and reported to Emperor Guangzhao respectfully.

After these officials finished their reports, Chu Zihou came out and said: "Father, the emperor and the sons think that the problem of drought in the south can be solved by building reservoirs and digging tributaries through guò. ”

"Oh? Let's talk about it. Emperor Guangzhao said with a smile.

"The Qinghua River is the closest to the south and is located in a high depression, so you can dig a tributary from its middle part, which is also on the north side of the Yuzang area, so that part of the river water flows into the Nanjiang River, and from the Nanjiang River to the Lizi River, the Yunjiang River and the Poluo River, these three rivers together can solve the water source problem in the south and northwest. As for the southeast side, we can build a large reservoir in Longluo District, and build several small reservoirs near them, accumulate the water of Gaoling Mountain, Liuyun Mountain and Weidi River, and open the sluice gate to release water whenever the farmland needs to be irrigated, which can basically solve the problem of water shortage in the southeast. Chu Zihou said his thoughts one by one.

The drought in the southeast of Xi is relatively mild, so it is enough to build a few reservoirs.

Although the capital of Xi also belongs to the southern zone, it is only at the junction of the southeast border, so it has not been affected by the drought.

"The manpower and silver required to dig the tributaries and build the reservoir will not be very large, and it is feasible for the King of Qingping to build this yì!" Wen Tibao, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, took the lead in expressing his support.

"Now that the farming is just over, the people are just free, and manpower is not a problem." Fang Fengda, the secretary of the ministry, also came out to support.

Emperor Guangzhao and his ministers also felt that Chu Zihou's construction was very useful, so they decided to leave the relevant officials to do further discussions after retiring from the court, and strive to implement this matter as much as possible.

Soon, before lunchtime, everyone discussed and completed the specific implementation plan, and Emperor Guangzhao immediately issued an order to the relevant officials of the southern government, asking them to organize the staff within ten days. A total of 20 officials who knew water conservancy were arranged from the capital to assist in the field, including Chu Zihou, the king of Qingping.

Since he had to wait for the southern government to give back before he could start working, Chu Zihou would stay in the capital during this time.

This is what he wants, and he wants to go to the Shen Mansion to propose his relatives before going to the south to do business.

"I think King Qingping is more capable than the prince, you see, he was guarding the northern Xinjiang last time, and this time he was building water conservancy, which is not a major event to benefit the country and the people, compared to the prince, isn't it obvious who is more powerful?"

"But what if he's so good? He doesn't have that life, the prince is still the prince, even if he hasn't done a big thing, he is still a legitimate choice to succeed to the throne. ”

The two officials were talking quietly outside the palace gate, but they didn't want to be heard by Liu Shipai, who was just about to leave the palace to do business, and immediately pulled down their faces.

That night, Liu Shi, who came back from going out to run errands, went to Ciyuan Palace to find Empress Wenci after dinner.

As soon as he entered the house, Empress Wenci said to him with a panicked face: "Uncle has come just in time, and I have a big matter to discuss with you." ”