After His Majesty issued the decree, Zhao Xingde insisted on refusing to allow it, but to no avail. Etiquette arrangements such as hiring media, draft posts, bride price, and family discussion are all made by the Ministry of Rites on behalf of the male family. But on the day of the wedding, on the grounds that "the wedding is not fun", and the state affairs are difficult, and the royal family should not be extravagant, the "vulgar rites" such as playing drum classes, scattering profits and money, blocking the door, worshipping the church, picking up hijabs, and handing over a glass of wine are omitted.

Due to the extreme rejection of relatives and eunuchs by scholars, there was no military discipline in the court, and as long as the lord became a concubine, it would be difficult for him to hold important positions. Since the Taizu Dynasty, there have only been two of the lord's concubines in the Privy Council, and none of them have served as prime ministers. As a result, aspiring civil servants and doctors looked at the Lord as a daunting path. There are many intermarriages between the royal family and the nobles, and there are very few ministers and lords in the court. However, for the imperial court, in addition to the grievances of the eldest princess, this is a good way to deal with Zhao Xingde, the lord is more honorable than the Zhuguo of Kansai, but he can't hold real power in name only.

The princess's wedding is envied by many outsiders, and the specific true situation is only known to a few people such as Zhao Qi, Chen Dong, and Deng Su. Because Zhao Xingde already has a wife, in order to maintain the royal dignity, Deng Su, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, found two reasons for the marriage, one is that Zhao Xingde's wife room has been detained by the Xia State, if not, and the other is that even if there is a wife, according to the "Book of Rites" "Hire is a wife", Mrs. Li and Zhao Xingde went to Xia at the beginning, without the order of their parents, and did not go through the six ceremonies, so it was not the main room, and it did not hinder the princess's marriage. However, these were only recorded in the letter of appointment to the royal family by the Ministry of Rites, and were not made public, so as not to completely anger Xia Guo and Zhao Xingde.

In a quiet and even somewhat serious atmosphere, a large sedan chair carried the eldest princess into the Wuchang Marquis Mansion. The next morning, Zhao Xingde moved to the study and lived in the study, and since then he has lived in two separate rooms with the eldest princess. The so-called three watches are lit and five watches are chickens, and the readers will sleep in the study room for a while when they are tired from reading at night. Many hard-working scholars sleep in the study more often than in the bedroom.

But such an undisguised snub is expected, but for the eldest princess, it is too cruel. However, Zhao Huan was willing to go to the study every day to see Zhao Xingde. Zhao Xingde ignored it at the beginning, Zhao Huan was obedient, and covered up for Zhao Xingde behind his back, and never complained.

Regarding the grievances suffered by the princess, although Zhao Qi was furious, he could not ignore decency and issued an order to reprimand Zhao Xingde. Chen Dong, Deng Su and others were also a little ashamed. I feel a little sorry for the eldest princess. Therefore, His Majesty issued a decree, countersigned by the Prime Minister, and crowned Zhao Huan as the eldest princess of Wu, with a monthly salary of 300 yuan, and the common practices of Lu Su, silk silk, firewood and charcoal money, and slaves were the same as those of the Prime Minister and the Privy Envoy, plus the fat powder money of thirty-two maidservants, as compensation and comfort. The servants did not dare to follow Zhao Xingde's orders, and all the affairs in the Marquis of Wuchang's mansion were handed over to the princess to deal with. The world is talking about it, because most of the clan was taken away by the Liao, and the relatives who left His Majesty around him were only the eldest princess of Wu, so the honor and favor were extraordinary, and it was only necessary to open the government office, which could be compared with the prestige of the princess in the Tang Dynasty. Zhao Qi didn't think he was sorry for these statements.

Liu Wengu was originally a disciple, often in and out of the Hou Mansion, and the news was not very strict, which was tantamount to indirectly informing the outside world that Zhao Xingde himself was safe and sound. After His Majesty married the eldest princess, there was no need for this. So the staff warned that the guards and servants also monitored each other, and once they found that someone who spoke to Zhao Xingde without authorization would not only be severely punished, but also immediately replaced. Therefore, although there are hundreds of people in the house, Zhao Xingde is alone. Liu Wengu was arranged to be on duty in the Ministry of Rites, and he could no longer enter and leave the Marquis of Wuchang Mansion at will, cutting off the channel for the outside world to find out about Zhao Xingde's situation.

Zhao Huan became the only person in Wuchang Mansion who dared to talk to Zhao Xingde, and he was also the only source of information for Zhao Xingde to know about the outside world. Zhao Xingde began to suspect that she had ulterior motives, and after secretly observing, he found that this was not the case, so he slowly let down his guard, but carefully kept his distance, unwilling to go beyond the boundary between men and women.

And Zhao Huan is really empathetic, not only telling Zhao Xingde about what is happening outside every day, but also following Zhao Xingde's interests, leading him to talk about military strategy and politics, so as not to cause him to be depressed and hurt because of his current situation. Although there were female dependents in the Great Song Dynasty who did not ask about the family law of foreign dynasties, Zhao Huan suffered great changes in his family and country, and he was exposed to it, so he was not ignorant of court affairs. She can not only understand what Zhao Xingde said, but also occasionally have questions, but also make people think deeply.

"When Xiao Lili led the army to withdraw from Jingdong Road, if Yue Xianggong sent troops to intercept it, he might be able to capture many Liao generals. Therefore, Hou Xianggong and Wang Yushi impeached Yue Xianggong together, saying that he played with self-respect, not only sat back and watched the fall of Jingdong Road and did not save him, but also refused to send troops to intercept the Liao army after seizing the Daimyo's Mansion, so that he let go of Yelu Yilie, Xiao Hulira, Xiao Tachi and other big chiefs. It is also said that Chen Xianggong used the hands of Liao thieves to eradicate dissidents and protect private individuals. ”

"It's really a sin that you want to add, and there is no excuse." Zhao Xingde said angrily, "The Zhenguo army attacked far away, could not carry siege artillery, only relied on the soldiers to serve, fought hard for three days and three nights, captured the fortified city of the Daimyo's mansion, and Liaokou easy to attack and defend, not only shielded Henan, but also could enter Hebei at any time, so that the Liao thieves could not operate with peace of mind, such a great achievement, they were unexpectedly discredited, reversing black and white, it is really shameless!" ”

Zhao Huan only relayed the affairs of the court: "Wang Yushi said that the Zhenguo army should still have the strength to intercept the Liao army," she saw Zhao Xingde's face gloomy, and she couldn't help but be a little scared in her heart, and added weakly, "These are what they said." After speaking, he looked at Zhao Xingde again. In the past few days, Zhao Huan has changed from simply relaying these things to Zhao Xingde, to listening to him analyze the situation in the DPRK and China, as if watching a fire. Although it can't be leaked out, Zhao Huan sometimes thinks that it would be great if the horse could assist the imperial brother. However, she knew almost intuitively that this was not possible.

"Spare power?" Zhao Xingde sneered, "There are only more than 10,000 cavalry in the Zhenguo Army, half of them have gone to rescue Jingdong Road, and the remaining half, how many people can there be?" Although Xiao Lira was the general of the defeated army, Zhending, Changshan and other important towns in Hebei were in the hands of the Liao army, and the cavalry drove straight down, and it did not take much time. In the newly acquired land of Hebei, the Zhenguo army finally captured the Daimyojian City, and in addition, the rest were all Pingchuan. The obedient signatories are suspicious and unbearable. The imperial court wanted Yue Shuai to abandon the fortified city, lead the tired soldiers, drive away the suspicious people, and take the risk of fighting with the Liao army in the field? He shook his head and sighed, "What a ......."

"I see," Zhao Huan nodded and sighed, "Brother Huang is really worried." She frowned slightly, and said in a low voice, "Every time I hear my husband talk about it, things seem to be very clear, but why do the ministers of the court always argue endlessly?" Also, the matter attached to the request of the Liaodong Han Rebel Army to cross the sea has different opinions, and even Chen Xianggong is difficult to decide. She looked confused and said in a low voice, "Every time the minister argues, my father is unhappy very late, and the queen mother will be more careful and make him happy in different ways, but the minister also said that the queen mother confuses her father." ”

"It's easy to see things, but it's hard to judge people." Zhao Xingde sighed, "Some people who use things pretend to be confused, and they have their own interests, so they often argue endlessly. If each party forms a party with its own selfish interests, it will be a great harm to the government. He shook his head, he remembered some past events, his eyes were gloomy, and he said in a low voice, "Those who are masters of the people, with their own selfishness, the selfishness of the enemy of the world, cannot be loyal to the elderly, and blindly loyal people are easy to be controlled by the group." Emperor Qin was greedy and destroyed the Six Kingdoms, and the soldiers did not dare to bend their bows and revenge. Liu Bang is cunning and repeated, killing heroes, these two are not loyal people, but they have the mental skills respected by the emperors of previous dynasties. ”

"Huh?" Zhao Huan's eyes widened in surprise, "How can this be?" ”

"The world is bustling, all for profit." Zhao Xingde shook his head and sighed, "Once a person is locked by this rein, it is difficult to detach himself. The authority of the emperor is both a temptation and a shackle, and it is already good to be able to do what Mencius said, 'Adults do not have to believe in their words, they do not have to be fruitful in their deeds, but where their righteousness lies'. ”

"And what is the righteousness?"

"The righteous are the sum of profits. Therefore, for example, Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, is unlearned, lustful, hypocritical, and cruel, but when Liu Xiang competed for hegemony, he was always able to reconcile interests, and the heroes at that time, such as Xiao He, Zhang Liang, Han Xin, Peng Yue, and Yingbu, were used by the Han Dynasty and repeatedly, which is where the righteousness lies. And most of the princes of Xiang Yu betrayed him, although the overlord of Chu can carry the crown and is the enemy of ten thousand, but he cannot defeat the power of the people of the world to attack him. ”

That night, the spring was cold, Zhao Xingde sneezed a few times, and Zhao Huan showed a worried look.

"It's okay." Zhao Xingde avoided the gaze beside him, Zhao Huan's face showed a touch of gloom, and he said in a low voice: "Mr. should take care of himself." Zhao Xingde shook his head, sighed, and did not speak. People are not wood and stone, these days, Zhao Huan's affection, he is clear, and he is also a little moved in his heart, but more is just a little regretful.

The study was quiet, Zhao Huan sat next to Zhao Xingde, if there was a fragrance, the two of them breathed slightly, and the white candle light illuminated the delicate face, and the skin was like congealed cream. The weather outside was cold, but Zhao Xingde felt that the charcoal fire in the room was too strong, so he pushed open the window and let a cold breeze blow in, he turned his face away, and his eyes fell on the right side of the desk, where there was a small bed against the wall.

The bed is also more elegant than the bedroom, on the four black lacquered bedposts, each has a tin bottle, the bottle is inserted with plum branches, against the wall side, there is also a pair of cold plums, next to the song "lonely goose" words: "...... The light wind and rain are sluggish, and a thousand lines of tears are urged. The man goes to the empty jade building, who does the intestine break and lean on? A branch is broken, and there is no one in the world and heaven who can send it. ”

The snow presses the branches, the white plum blooms in the ice and snow, the flowers loom, the plum is three points white and the snow is white, but the snow loses the fragrance of the plum. This calligraphy and painting are all written by Zhao Xingde, but the words are written by Li Ruoxue, since Zhao Xingde moved into this study to live, he hung this word on the wall.