Ma Shaoguang heard his sister ask him about yesterday, he didn't want his sister to be sad, but it was not his intention to get involved in the prince's dispute, Ma Shaoguang had no choice but to tell the truth: "Eldest sister, yesterday King Qin and the third brother went to the dock to pick up their younger brother, but the younger brother has already made an appointment with his father-in-law, and his nephew is the prince King Qin, and the contact with the foreign minister is really not good, so the younger brother did not go to the palace of King Qin to live temporarily." ”

Although Ma Shaoguang said it tactfully, Ma Ruyan still heard what Ma Shaoguang meant, that is, he didn't want to help his son. Ma Ruyan looked at the palace maids beside her, these palace maids were Ma Ruyan's henchmen, she knew what her master meant, and hurriedly took the palace maids out of the inner room.

Ma Ruyan saw that there was no one else in the house, and asked in a low voice: "Eldest brother, now it is you and my sister and brother in the house, you tell the truth to your sister, why don't you want to help your nephew?" ”

Ma Shaoguang saw his sister asking, and had no choice but to say: "Sister, now that the status of the East Palace is stable, the prince is virtuous, and the world is a gentleman, the younger brother advises my sister, you have always lived and died to win the heir, my sister is already the imperial concubine, and the prince will definitely serve her sister as the queen mother after taking the throne, in this case, why does my sister have to let King Qin do something that I am not sure of?" ”

Ma Shaoguang is right, now Ma Ruyan is already the imperial concubine, no matter if the emperor passes the throne to that son, Ma Ruyan must be the queen mother, after all, the new emperor is bound to buy the big force of the second year of the Apocalypse, Ma Ruyan, you just sit and wait, why do you have to risk for your son?

You must know that the successive dynasties have been very miserable, no matter what your identity is, you won the natural ninety-five, but what if you lose? Empress Lu was so strong back then, after her death, was the Lu clan different and the nine clans were wiped out?

Ma Ruyan heard Ma Shaoguang say this, knowing that this younger brother did not want to assist his son, Ma Ruyan persuaded in a low voice: "Eldest brother, you know that my sister is such a son, and now there are ministers who have written to the emperor, so that all adult princes will be vassals, although the emperor does not agree now, but what about the future?" In the future, when the emperor dies and the crown prince ascends the throne, all the princes will definitely become vassals. Your nephew is in Xi'an as the fief of the King of Qin, and my sister feels uncomfortable when she thinks that Zhu Jiang is going to a poor place like Xi'an, and my sister has heard that Xi'an has no city walls now, and there is a plague all over the city, do you want your nephew to go to that place to die? ”

Ma Shaoguang heard Ma Ruyan say this, and thought in his heart: Sister, you only think about not suffering for your son, but do you know what your whole family will have to bear if you get involved in taking the heir? It's okay to succeed, but if you don't succeed, even your father Ma Jiyuan will be implicated.

Although Ma Shaoguang thought so, he didn't say it, just bowed his head and said nothing.

Ma Ruyan saw Ma Shaoguang bowing his head and not speaking, knowing that this younger brother was very stubborn, and he couldn't convince him at all without using some special means.

Ma Ruyan thought for a while and said, "Eldest brother, has the second brother's son always been raised by you?" ”

mentioned his younger brother Ma Shaoji, which made Ma Shaoguang's heart ache, Ma Shaoji and Ma Shaoguang were born to Ma Jiyuan's wife. However, Ma Shaoji was sent to the Qiongzhou Iron Mine by the emperor at a young age, and died there, and his death was not clear, so the Ma family's father and son and Tong Yangjia's uncle and nephew had a knot of death that could not be solved.

When he fled Xinyang that year, Ma Shaoji's son Ma Yanyuan had just been weaned, and Ma Shaoji's wife died tragically under Zhu Hongsan's butcher's knife. Originally, Ma Shaoji was supposed to be Zhu Hongsan's staff like his brother Ma Shaoguang, but he didn't think that his father was framed by Tong Yangjia and put in prison, and Ma Shaoji died in the iron mine on behalf of his father, thinking of this Ma Shaoguang was full of hatred.

Ma Shaoguang listened to his sister's question: "Sister, Yanyuan is nineteen years old this year, and he just won Xiucai in Guangdong last year, and his younger brother decided to let him and Yanzhi participate in the Shuntianfu Township Test next year." The younger brother can't forget the second brother's hatred until now, and if he has the opportunity, he will definitely let the Tong family's uncle and nephew pay for the blood debt! ”

Ma Ruyan listened to his younger brother gritting his teeth and scolding Tong Yangjia, and said in his heart: "Eldest brother, if you want to avenge the second brother, you have to make Zhu Jiang the emperor!" Zhu Hai* is generous, if he becomes emperor, do you think he can avenge you? ”

Ma Ruyan has some truth in saying this, although Ma Mingyuan also has a grudge against Tong Yangjia, but after all, it is not to the point of life and death, so the crown prince can't deal with Tong Yangjia with a heavy hand for the sake of the stability of the court, and it is very likely that Tong Yangjia will be in trouble. After all, Tong Yangjia was also one of the elders who followed Zhu Hongsan back then, and he was afraid of the instability of the government.

Ma Shaoguang is also an experienced bureaucrat, and he couldn't help but be a little discouraged when he heard his sister say this, so he lowered his head and was silent.

Ma Ruyan saw Ma Shaoguang's attitude and knew that he was going to his heart, so he continued on the side: "Brother, you are forty-one this year, do you want to wander on the five grades in this life?" Don't want to go any further? My father worked hard for the New Deal a few years ago, and you watched your father's hard work go to waste? ”

Ma Ruyan's words went to Ma Shaoguang's heart, Ma Shaoguang always said that he wanted to retreat to the mountains and forests, but he was depressed for more than ten years. Even if Ma Shaoguang has the talents of Zhang Liang and Zhuge Liang, it is naturally uncomfortable for him to nest in a small fishing village, so Ma Shaoguang wants to return to his hometown to farm. But in his heart, he still wants to be a marquis and worship the prime minister, after all, entering the cabinet is the dream of every literati in the Ming Dynasty, and Ma Shaoguang is not exempt from vulgarity.

Another thing that makes Ma Shaoguang's heart move is his father Ma Jiyuan, Ma Shaoguang's governance philosophy is similar to his father's, and he is also a moderate reformer, but seeing his father being framed by political enemies and returning home, Ma Shaoguang still feels a little unhappy for his father.

Ma Shaoguang sat on the chair and thought for a long time, and then said: "Sister, but my father doesn't let my younger brother get involved in the battle between the princes. ”

Ma Ruyan saw Ma Shaoguang's intentions, and her heart was overjoyed, and she hurriedly persuaded her: "Eldest brother, my father has left Beijing for many years, and my father doesn't know what the situation is in the imperial court now. The prince's position is not stable, and the emperor doesn't like the prince, and he wants to change the prince many times, but the second uncle supports him but he doesn't succeed. Now the second uncle Zhishi, the prince will definitely be besieged by several princes, if we don't fight for Zhu Jiang, the position of the prince is likely to fall into the hands of the king of Chu, and when the king of Chu takes the throne, not to mention that the second brother's revenge can't be avenged, you and your father are likely to be in a big disaster! ”

What Ma Ruyan said before just made Ma Shaoguang feel a little lively, but this remark can be said to Ma Shaoguang's heart. That's right! If he doesn't help Zhu Jiang, then the crown prince will definitely fall into the hands of the king of Chu, Zhu Huai, the king of Chu, is the grandson of Tong Yangjia, if the king of Chu takes the throne, let alone avenge the second brother Ma Shaoji, it is difficult to say whether his father and son can survive.

"Sister, younger brother, I am only a shallow learner, and it's nothing to help my nephew, but I'm afraid that I will help my nephew, and then it will be too late to regret it!"

Ma Ruyan was overjoyed when she heard Ma Shaoguang's promise, and hurriedly said: "Brother, to tell you the truth, Fang Fengnian Fang Shangshu has agreed to help Zhu Jiang, but Fang Fengnian's prestige among his father's classmates is not high, and many local governors do not buy Fengnian's account, and only his father has the prestige of ascending to the heights." It is precisely for this reason that the eldest brother went to assist Zhu Jiang, only when the local governor saw that the eldest brother went out to assist Zhu Jiang, could he think that his father agreed, and they could stand on Zhu Jiang's side! ”

Ma Shaoguang thought at first that Zhu Jiang really liked his knowledge, but he knew that it was not the case at all, he was just an image, and he just represented his father to support Zhu Jiang in his struggle for the throne.

Ma Shaoguang smiled bitterly and said: "Sister, the little brother is nothing, but it's not good to deceive my father like this!" ”

"Eldest brother, let's also do this for the good of our father, if Zhu Huai is on the throne, can we still have a father? In the future, my father will definitely understand us! ”

After Ma Ruyan's persuasion, Ma Shaoguang weighed the pros and cons and finally agreed to help Zhu Jiang.

"Sister, it's okay to let my brother help my nephew, but my sister has to promise my brother one thing!"

"Well, whatever your brother wants, just put it forward!"

"Sister, it's dangerous to take the heir, so I want my brother to know everything, and my nephew must not hide anything from me!"

Ma Ruyan nodded and said: "This is no problem, Zhu Jiang is your nephew, if you want to beat or scold, let you go!" ”

"The second point is that all the nephew's decisions must be agreed by me, if the nephew deliberately acts recklessly, then the younger brother will not do it, and the younger brother would rather go back to his hometown to farm than lose the heir and the whole family will be killed."

"Okay, this is no problem, my sister promised you on behalf of Zhu Jiang!"

Ma Shaoguang heard his sister's agreement, sighed, stood up and bowed, and said, "In this case, my brother will buy this life to his nephew!" ”

Ma Ruyan was overjoyed when she heard Ma Shaoguang say this, stood up and took Ma Shaoguang's hand and said: "Eldest brother, how can you say that you will buy your nephew, as long as your nephew succeeds in ascending to that position, the position of first assistant must be the eldest brother!" ”

Ma Shaoguang listened to Ma Ruyan's wish, but there was no joy in his heart, after all, it was only the first step now, and there was still a long way to go to achieve victory in the end.

"Big brother, since you agree to my sister, there will be nothing to do here, you go to Zhu Jiang tonight, Zhu Jiang has something to tell you!"

After the affairs in the palace were over, Ma Shaoguang did not stay in the palace for a long time, said goodbye to his sister Ma Ruyan, and returned the same way under the leadership of the little eunuch. When I came to the Concord Gate, I saw the Wenyuan Pavilion not far away, which was also the location of the central cabinet of the empire. Ma Shaoguang summed up in his heart, this is the cabinet, and he may also enter the office in the future, and the father and son are also considered to have created a precedent for the Ming Dynasty!

Out of Fengtianmen to Qinglong Street in front of the Thousand Steps Corridor, Ma Shaoguang stood at the entrance of the street in a daze, he didn't expect to be persuaded by his sister, did he really want to sit in the position of the first assistant in his heart?

In fact, Ma Shaoguang thought a little too much, and his lack of determination was just one reason. What Ma Shaoguang doesn't understand is that he is just an individual, and Zhu Jiang is a force, although he is still very weak, but it is not something that he can fight against alone, so it is only a matter of time before Ma Shaoguang joins, even if he does not agree with Ma Ruyan, there will be other means to force him to agree.