Another month has passed in the blink of an eye, and the New Year's Festival is approaching in various mansions in the capital, and the ladies of noble families like ordinary people have also visited relatives and friends. Those who are officials in the court even use the excuse of the New Year to flatter and "honor" their bosses openly and honestly, and maintain friendship with each other. Needless to say, there is even more traffic in front of the Prince's Mansion in the East Palace, and there is an endless stream of visitors with generous gifts and greetings every day.

The Tianxi Dynasty has three days of rest every year for the Spring Festival, and the emperor and civil and military officials do not need to go to the early court, and the six yamen are also at ease. Only the Janissaries and the patrol battalion were not allowed to rest, but were busier than usual.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, according to the ancestral rules, tea was served in the afternoon, and all royal brothers and clan dependents entered the palace according to their grades to wait for the palace banquet in the evening. Chinese New Year's Eve vigil reunion, in order to show the kindness of the heavenly family, the empress will come to the Miaoyin Hall to drink and have fun with the royal family.

There are countless feasts in the palace throughout the year, but the two days of Chinese New Year's Eve and Shangyuan Festival are set to drink and feast in the Miaoyin Hall. They are usually guarded by guards, and the gate is closed, and ordinary people are not allowed to approach. The Miaoyin Hall is built in the middle of the Imperial Garden Lake, and the four corners of the eaves are inlaid with four huge night pearls, exuding a unique dazzling brilliance at night. Legend has it that it is the treasure jewel of the Dragon King of the East China Sea paid tribute by neighboring countries, implying that the royal family will be blessed for ten thousand years and bless the peace and well-being of the people of the court and the opposition.

Today's Chinese New Year's Eve, the old lady of the Rongguo Mansion, Jiang Shi, originally wanted to take Bai Muguan into the mansion to reunite and celebrate the New Year, but the emperor specially instructed her to enter the palace with the crown princess to drink and feast, and the news that this holy grace inevitably aroused the envy of many women. Only women who marry into the royal family and collateral relatives who are related by blood are eligible to participate in the Chinese New Year's Eve feast, otherwise even if these families such as the Rongguo Mansion and the Wei State Mansion are still not eligible to enter the palace to accompany the empress to the banquet.

Due to the restrictions of many rules, there are only a few dozen people who are qualified to enter the palace today to have a banquet with the emperor and queen. It is not as good as the Halloween and Mid-Autumn Festival, where hundreds of civil and military officials gather in the hall.

The main hall of the Miaoyin Hall is resplendent in gold, carves the dragon and paints the phoenix, for the celebration of the New Year's Festival, the queen orders the palace people to hang the brocade colored silk and the palace lanterns. The hall is divided into two seats, men and women, who sit opposite each other, and an empty space is set aside in the center for the singers and dancers to perform. The men of the clan sit in turn on the left, and the women sit on the right.

On the high seat of the Jinluan Palace, Emperor Yuwen Haotian wore a bright yellow dragon robe, and his aura was overflowing, and he lifted the dragon robe and slowly sat down in the shouts of everyone.

I saw Yuwen Haotian waving the sleeves embroidered with the golden dragon pattern, and said with a smile: "All of you here today are the relatives of me and the queen, so you don't need to be polite." ”

Neat voices surrounded the main hall, including men, women, old and young, and they were superimposed very loudly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." ”

"Your Majesty, if the concubine is a moment late, she should punish herself." Before the words fell, everyone shifted their eyes to the left side of the hall. I saw a woman in her prime wearing a wide-sleeved bright yellow background trailing fairy skirt walked out, and the long skirt was embroidered with a phoenix with wings embroidered with gold thread, which was vivid and vivid.

During the banquet, everyone saw the comer, and hurriedly got up and knelt down to salute: "Queen Mother Chitose Chitose Chitose!" ”

The noble and dignified queen Tong long hair is all curled up, twisted into the style of the phoenix dance for nine days, wearing a crested head inlaid with ruby hairpins in the middle, a jasper red gold hairpin on both sides of the bun, hanging down the tassel, accompanied by a pleasant and crisp jingle sound when she walks. Once the mother of the country, she was graceful and luxurious, and her temperament was by no means comparable to ordinary beauties.

After the Tong clan said that everyone was exempt, Yu Wenhao said with a smile: "The queen is late today, and she needs to punish herself with three cups." ”

After he said that, Gao Zhan, who received the look, personally trotted to Tong Shi, took the small gem-encrusted gin jug from the palace maid next to him, and filled a glass for her respectfully.

The female relatives in the palace are not inferior to the men, three cups of belly is a piece of cake for the Tong clan, tonight's Chinese New Year's Eve is rare for the emperor Longxin Dayue, as an empress, of course, she will not dismiss his face.

Thinking of this, Tong raised his head and said with a smile: "Okay, the concubine will punish herself three cups first if she obeys the order, and I also wish the Tianxi Dynasty a smooth wind and rain in the coming year, and the country and the people are safe!" Saying that, he raised his head and drank the elixir and jade dew in the small marigold, Gao Zhan hurriedly poured wine for her again, and Tong's eyes did not raise until he drank three glasses.

Yuwen Haotian was satisfied when he saw this, and Prince Sheng Yuwen Haohai under the banquet already smiled and praised: "The queen is virtuous and virtuous, and she has done her best to assist Your Majesty for decades, and she is really a model for women in the world." ”

According to the blood relationship, in addition to the blood of the first emperor's relatives, only Yuwen Haohai is still alive. He was also a prince, and he sat at the head of the first table of the male guests at the Chinese New Year's Eve feast. Immediately after that, it was the turn of the crown prince Yu Wenye at the second table, and the person sitting at the third table tonight was not the eldest son Yu Wencheng who was still grounded, but the third prince Yu Wenjing, who made a lot of limelight a year ago.

Time has passed, and there are many fewer people at this year's Chinese New Year's Eve feast. According to the rules, only noble concubines and above in the harem concubines are eligible to accompany the empress to the Chinese New Year's Eve banquet, and the empress of the last year is next to the concubine Chen and Concubine Lin, who are sitting separately, one is unfortunately damaged due to illness, and the other is strangled by the emperor's holy decree for murdering the prince years ago. Therefore, no palace concubine is eligible to attend this year. and the demure and gentle princess Hexin also died unexpectedly a year ago, and the eldest son of the emperor has been grounded and has not been allowed to leave the house...... It's really embarrassing.

Suddenly, the Duchess Chengen also got up and raised her glass, and said with a smile: "The queen not only loves the six palaces, but also blesses the peace and tranquility of the Tianxi Dynasty, and is worthy of being the wife of the imperial pen hand-picked by the emperor when he was alive." The courtier's family has the protection of the mother, and by the grace of His Majesty, there is no way to repay in this life, the courtiers are willing to wish His Majesty and the mother and wife and the Shun Flounder with this cup, the dragon and the phoenix. ”

Cheng'en Gong Tong Mingxiao is the sibling brother of Queen Tong and the current uncle of the country. From a mother, the brother and sister have been in deep love since childhood, and the Tong family has been very caring for and supporting the mother's family over the years. As a famous aristocratic family in the Tianxi Dynasty, the Tong family has always produced more than this generation of queens, and it is a veritable descendant. Duchess Liu of Chengen is also from a famous family, she was talented and beautiful when she was young, she and Tong Mingxiao have been in love for many years, and now they have two sons and a daughter under their knees.

Tong Shi frowned slightly, and the smile on his face was stalemate, but it did not decrease in the slightest: "Duchess Chengen, you are the maiden sister-in-law of this palace, and it is a little inappropriate to praise this palace so much. After all, the main palace is a female stream, and the Tianxi Dynasty is now rich and strong, relying on His Majesty's wise divine martial arts and the Chinese martial arts of the dynasty, as well as the relatives here to bow to the best, and the main palace has lived in the deep palace for a long time for half a lifetime, where dare to take credit. ”

Sure enough, after Queen Tong finished speaking, anyone who was interested could notice that Yuwen Haotian's tense complexion just now was quietly soothed.

Tong Mingxiao in the men's seat breathed a sigh of relief slightly, obviously Duchess Chengen was a woman who was not very brainy. Her words were pleasant on the surface, but they were actually poking at the emperor's heart.

Most of the royal relatives present knew that when the emperor gave the marriage, Yuwen Haotian, who had a heart, almost resisted and disobeyed. He and Fang Rou, the eldest daughter of the Fang family, are in love with each other, and they fight together on the battlefield in all directions, and their love is stronger than gold. However, the emperor was worried that the Fang family would be the master of the door, and refused to allow Fang Rou to become Yuwen Haotian's concubine. So Yuwen Haotian knelt in front of Zhaoyang Palace and swore to die, this kneeling angered the emperor, and he was almost punished for losing his grace. Later, it was now the Empress Dowager Xiao, the shrewd and capable and scheming mother who came forward to persuade the former emperor to let Fang Rou marry Yuwen Haotian as a side concubine. In this way, Yu Wenhao gave in and obeyed the order to marry Tong's wife.

After marriage, the husband and wife respect each other like guests, raise their eyebrows, he respects his wife, and Tong also dedicates himself to giving birth to children. With the death of Concubine Chen, the world has gradually forgotten this past, until he witnessed Yuwen Haotian's face trying his best to restrain the anger that he could reduce, and then he suddenly cared about the old incident of the emperor forcing him to marry the Tong family.

No matter how stupid the Duchess Cheng'en was, she had already realized that something was wrong, and hurriedly confessed: "The courtier Liu Shi has made a mistake in her words, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive her sins." ”

"It doesn't matter." Yuwen Haotian pulled the corners of his mouth indifferently.

He never blamed anyone in the Tong family in his heart, and the order to force him to marry the Tong family as a concubine was done by the former emperor, and the Tong family must not disobey. Therefore, over the years, he has treated his wives with kindness and righteousness, with great respect, and devoted himself to cultivating and teaching their princes. But he will never allow anyone to talk about the marriage of the former emperor, and he cannot tolerate the family members talking about their wives and concubines.

Duchess Cheng'en took a sneer and sat down with a smile after thanking her. Yu Wenye on the other side couldn't help but stare at him, and soon he returned to normal, calmly got up and toasted: "Erchen congratulates my father and emperor for thousands of generations, wishes the queen mother a long life, and wishes the Tianxi Dynasty peace in all directions, and the people at the border will no longer be displaced, and there will be no more war in the four seas." ”

He spoke impassionedly, but sighed secretly in his heart. Nowadays, the only place that is not peaceful is Mobei, but as long as the monarchs and ministers of the Beiling Kingdom are immortal and ambitious, it is impossible for the Tianxi Dynasty to completely have a peaceful and prosperous era.

"Yes, what the prince said is exactly what I hope for." In an instant, Yuwen Haotian's expression became more and more complicated, with the satisfaction of the prince and his father and son, the abruptness of the border war, and the vision of a peaceful and prosperous world.

When the third prince Yu Wenjing heard this, he left the table, and his face was full of energy: "Xijing has been too peaceful and stable in recent years. Although Mobei has been playing against Beiling Kingdom for many years, there is General Bai, the god of war, who is sitting at the border pass, and the enemy country has never been favored in these years. According to the views of the sons, Mobei will be peaceful sooner or later, and the father can feel at ease in the capital. ”

Yuwen Haotian nodded and motioned for the two to sit down, and then sighed softly: "I hope what you say can be realized, so that I can really be down-to-earth and sit back and relax." ”

As a light and beautiful girl's voice broke through the silence, Bai Muguan, who was brightly dressed in red, suddenly left the table and walked to the center of the main hall. ”

In front of everyone's eyes, everyone here is a relative of the emperor and the country, and no matter how old or young, they dare not act so boldly. You must know that tonight's Chinese New Year's Eve is the empress's family banquet, and she has never talked about national affairs, not to mention that the person who is ready to advise is actually a young girl.

Under the surprised gaze of everyone, she straightened her waist and smiled. Only Yu Wenye, who knew the inside story early, had a smile in his eyes and stared at her intently.

Yuwen Haotian's eyebrows moved, and he became interested: "Let's hear it." ”

Bai Muguan did not get straight to the point, but first knelt down and explained: "Your Majesty's sage Longen thanked his father for leading the army in a bloody battle for many years, and made an exception for the royal pen to personally entitle the daughter of the fourth product, but the courtier daughter knew that she was a female and could not enter the court every day to listen to the government, and she was usually not summoned to the palace, so she could only dare to take the opportunity of the Chinese New Year's Eve banquet to speak to Your Majesty, and hoped that Your Majesty would be considerate and forgive her sins." ”

As everyone whispered during the banquet, the emperor smiled unmindingly: "It's okay, as an official of the four-rank imperial court, you naturally have the right to admonish." ”

Bai Muguan got up and thanked him, and after sorting out his thoughts, he opened his mouth in an orderly manner: "Before the courtiers returned to Beijing, they lived in Mobei with their parents for a long time, and they got along with the generals and soldiers of the army day and night. The courtiers found that there was no shortage of soldiers in the army who killed the enemy bravely, and they were invincible in life and death on the frontline battlefield. Some people are shrouded in horse leather, and some people have made great achievements but have not been rewarded as they deserve. Your Majesty, the children of the family of military generals in our dynasty have been sealed in the past dynasties, but the soldiers who really work hard for Your Majesty, the court and the people, and have made great contributions are often from poor backgrounds, and they have no chance to enter the prime minister in their lives. The courtiers dare to be angry for them! ”

Bai Muwan said that at this point, there were already many people at the banquet who sweated for her. Although she is not unreasonable, everyone is destined to have different fates, some people will be reincarnated as phoenixes and dragon grandchildren, such as everyone here, and some people have bad fate. Her words don't mean much, on the contrary, she will offend many powerful people.

The girl's apricot eyes flowed, she was very calm, ignoring the disdain, contempt, and pity of the people around her...... Then he calmly continued: "The courtiers implore Your Majesty to be sympathetic to the officers and soldiers in the army, and truly reward the heroes regardless of their origins. If there are brave and good soldiers who have made meritorious achievements, they will be rewarded like officials, and even let them be crowned wives and sons. At the same time, the martial arts system should also be reformed every year in the future, and the examiner should not put his family background in the first place, but talk about the real kung fu and real skills, treat the children of the poor family equally, and recruit capable people to kill the enemy for His Majesty. In this way, we can inspire the soldiers at the border pass and calm the life of the war-torn people in Mobei as soon as possible. ”

As she spoke, the hall suddenly returned to silence, and it was surprisingly quiet. Except for Yu Wenye and Yu Wenjing who cast approving glances at her, everyone else broke out in a cold sweat for her. The woman's blatant discussion of politics was shocking, and Bai Muguan's words clearly criticized and accused the emperor of not treating everyone equally, and did not take into account the negligence of the poor soldiers.

Who would have expected that Yuwen Haotian was not only not annoyed, but instead showed a smile of appreciation on his lips, and said with a slight smile: "Your father is not only the god of war of the Tianxi Dynasty and the pillar of the country, but he is also a good goddaughter. Although the Bai family has no children, you are not inferior to any man! You are very relieved that you may not have allowed you to enter the court to listen to politics in the past. After that, when I am approaching the court after the year, you must not be absent. ”

As soon as the emperor said this, he inevitably shocked everyone present, and even the Empress Tong who was sitting on the golden luan phoenix chair changed her face slightly, and her heart was unwilling. No one knows better than her that the reason why Yuwen Haotian appreciates Bai Muguan so much is especially because of the confidence she exudes in her speech and demeanor, and she looks like the deceased Concubine Chen. They are also happy to wear red clothes, they are also good at talking, they can also fight the enemy in disregard of secular etiquette, and they are also determined to disdain the boudoir.

It's ridiculous that she is the queen, although she has always been praised as a virtuous queen, just like the love of the emperor and queen husband and wife in the eyes of the world, and she is a model for all couples in the world. No one knows that after so many years, I dreamed of her alone on the cold phoenix couch at midnight, and my heart ached. Yuwen Haotian respects her and respects her, but he doesn't love her. Even if Fang Rou has passed away now, he is still Fang Rou in his heart, and no one can replace him. As a woman, if she can't get the love of her husband, what if she is a queen? It's still unfortunate......

At this moment, Bai Muguan did not hide his joy, kowtowed and bowed his hand to make a national salute: "Courtiers, thank you for your grace, long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!" ”

"Flatten."

Seeing that she spoke without recklessness and acted in a thorough manner, Yuwen Haotian was quite satisfied in his heart. Seeing Bai Muguan standing in the center of the main hall, his red clothes were flying, like a bright pearl, and he couldn't help but recall the graceful appearance of Concubine Chen when she was young. It is clear that this girl is worthy of the prince! He even regretted that he should not have promised the queen at that time to let the prince marry the daughter of the prince. Thinking of this, Yu Wenhao Tianlongmu squinted at the elegant and gentle princess Ye Shiying, and looked at the radiant Bai Muguan, and secretly sighed that the princess was as beautiful as a fairy, but unfortunately lacked the courage of Fengyi in the world in the future.

"You and your father are like each other." Yuwen Haotian's eyes showed a loving smile, and he was approachable like an ordinary elder, "When I saw you today, I couldn't help but think of your father's time. At that time, he was not weak at that time, and the great enemy pressed the country, and only Bai Zhanyi, who had not yet become famous all over the world, took the initiative to ask me for help. On the Jinluan Palace, he is heroic and sharp, and I still remember it vividly these years. In the blink of an eye, Bai Zhanyi's daughters have grown so big! ”

In the year when Bai Zhanyi was not weak, Yuwen Haotian had just succeeded to the throne, and the world was full of wolves, and the young son of heaven cherished his fate. Now that time flies, Bai Zhanyi gave birth to a daughter, Xiao's father, even if he has no children under his knees, he will not regret it.

Hearing this, Bai Muguan respectfully answered: "My father can serve the country and kill the enemy for His Majesty's country, he is a hero in the hearts of his courtiers." Your Majesty, my father is not from a famous nobleman, if it weren't for the appreciation and support of General Ling back then, I'm afraid he would not have a bright future. ”

This wise girl quietly led the topic back to what Fang had just said. Bai Muguan knew that the emperor treated his father with admiration, and said that Bai Zhanyi had guarded Mobei for more than ten years for Tianxi Chaobian Taiping Town, and this hard work was enough to exchange for the emperor's other eyes.

Sure enough, Yuwen Haotian narrowed his eyes, secretly laughed and sighed at her intelligence, and deliberately asked tentatively: "Prince, what do you think of what General Xiaobai said?" ”

Yu Wenye pursed his lips and was silent for a while, and replied with a straight face: "Back to my father, my son thinks she is reasonable." The children of the Han family are also the children of your father, and they are willing to be born and die for their father, and if they deserve to be rewarded for their military exploits, it is understandable to pay homage to the marquis. ”

The truth is still the same, and the weight of what comes out of his mouth is different.

"After the New Year's Festival, I will issue a decree, from now on, those who have made war exploits during their military service will be played by the main general according to the size of their merits, and I will no longer be regarded as high or low in the family, and the rewards and punishments will be clear without discrimination." Yuwen Haotian lowered his eyes and stroked his palm, stretching his thick eyebrows, "As for the reform of the martial arts system, it will be led by the prince, and the military department will assist." ”

Yu Wenye and Bai Muguan couldn't help but smile at each other, and obeyed the order together.

The Son of Heaven said that the horse is difficult to chase. No matter how angry and unwilling the royal relatives and nobles here are, this matter is finally settled. The fighting spirit of the border soldiers needs to be stimulated, this move is beneficial to the country and the people, and the Son of Heaven does not want to see the children of the gentlemen in vain.

At this time, Prince Sheng, who had not participated in politics for several years, said unhurriedly: "Brother Qi, the younger brother thinks that it is not easy for Bai Muguan to have such foresight and wisdom at a young age. Since ancient times, her mother Li should also be commended. ”

Everyone was secretly surprised, it seemed that even Prince Sheng appreciated Bai Muguan very much, and even asked for grace for her mother. For a moment, the room gradually evolved from whispering to a slightly noisy conversation.

"What the imperial brother said is extremely true." Yuwen Haotian pondered before he spoke, and the following suddenly returned to quiet, just waiting for the emperor on the high seat to speak, "I will crown your mother Li as the lady of the first grade, and then add your father Bai Zhanyi as the Marquis of Yongyi." ”

Bai Muguan was dumbfounded, and while thanking her parents, this sudden grace really caught her off guard. After thinking about it, she suddenly understood that although her father Bai Zhanyi was a generation of God of War with outstanding achievements, his qualifications were still shallow, and the Bai family was only an upstart in the eyes of the world at most. The emperor will play her words today, so he naturally wants to set a precedent for her father, so as to show his determination to reward the soldiers of the Han Sect in the future, and at the same time to deter the imperial family present.

It seems that she made the right move.

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