"Minister, thank you, Lord Longen!"

Shen Yichen thanked Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen for his reward, and the joy on his face finally couldn't be hidden.

You must know that with Shen Yichen's current official position and identity, it is not easy to ask Shen for his biological mother.

According to the provisions of the "Daming Huidian" concerning the gift of wives and concubines: "Great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, who have committed the crimes of ten heinous rapes, theft, removal of names, etc., and the wife who is not married to the main house by ceremony, or is a concubine who is a prostitute, is not allowed to apply." ”

Although the mother Shen was born as a maidservant, her family background was innocent and did not violate the above provisions.

What really became an obstacle was that there was a supplementary regulation in the "Daming Huidian", that is, "Although the children born to the women and maids of Zai Jiao are expensive, the mother shall not be sealed!" ”

The translated meaning of this sentence is that the son born to a second-married woman and a maidservant, even if he has a noble status, cannot be ordained.

In later generations, many people confused the birth of a son with a concubine, and they were indeed in the identity of a son, as long as the father admitted to the genealogy, they were all concubines regardless of whether they were high or low.

But in the identity of the mother, the maid is not equal to the concubine, and the identity of the concubine can be sealed, but the maid cannot!

In addition, in practice, there are some unspoken rules. That is, the title of the concubine, theoretically cannot exceed the wife. Even if the son is in a high position, it is difficult for the biological mother to be crowned with a grade that surpasses that of the mother-in-law.

However, there is nothing definite in the world, even in the environment of the Qing Dynasty's extremely strict etiquette, Yin Jishan, a university scholar, still managed to ask his biological mother to be crowned a wife, which overwhelmed his mother's title.

Therefore, it cannot be done, it only means that the son's status is not "expensive" enough, not enough for the emperor to make concessions and compromises.

When you are powerful and highly valued by the emperor, not to mention such a trivial matter as asking for a decree, even if you revise the "Ming Huidian", it is not a dream!

Although the truth is like this, Shen Yichen asked Zhu Qizhen for his biological mother today, and he really didn't have anything obvious to exceed the etiquette.

The reason is that Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, has promised to give his mother Shen a concubine, which is not considered to be a maid. In addition, the Duchess Lin is currently a first-class lady, and the Shen family is only five pleasant in terms of grade, which is also in line with etiquette.

It can be said that Shen Yichen was on the edge of the Ming Dynasty's etiquette, playing with repeated horizontal card bugs, which didn't seem to be in line with the rules, but he couldn't find a clear violation in the provisions of the law.

The law does not prohibit it!

The smile on Shen Yichen's face, happy for his mother, in the eyes of other officials, became evidence of his strategy.

What a trick to retreat into advance!

I thought that this sub-talent was all in the imperial examination, but I didn't expect that the officialdom could be like a fish in water.

Sometimes I really have to admit that there is no comparison between people, and the wisdom of this son is almost like a demon!

Shen Yichen didn't know what others thought, if he knew, it was estimated that his thickened face would not be able to bear such a "compliment".

"To retreat" this step did think, "for the advance" is purely an accident, who knows that the emperor can be moved by his filial piety, gave an additional study reward into the East Pavilion.

If you really have this strategy to control the overall situation, you won't have to worry about becoming a "public enemy of Confucianism", and you need to consider taking a step back and opening up the sky......

The royal driver continued to move in the direction of the Forbidden City, probably because of his good mood and the fact that he was the same age as Shen Yichen. The follow-up conversation of Zhu Qizhen is no longer about family and country affairs, but more about asking some parents outside the palace.

To be honest, looking at Zhu Qizhen like a curious baby, asking some folk anecdotes. For some reason, Shen Yichen suddenly felt that the emperor was quite pathetic in some aspects.

For Zhu Qizhen, the Forbidden City is like a giant cage, and the life trajectory from childhood to adulthood is in the planning of the Empress Dowager and Sanyang, like a statue and a puppet.

Perhaps this is why after the pro-government takes power, he will become more and more rebellious, becoming self-righteous and obstinate.

The causes planted when you are young will inevitably bear fruit when you grow up.

Wang Zhen was on the other side of the royal car, looking at Zhu Qizhen like a teenager, talking happily with Shen Yichen, and a "old father" smile subconsciously appeared on his face.

In other words, when the ministers such as "Sanyang" saw this scene, I am afraid that Zhu Qizhen would have stopped this behavior a long time ago.

In the eyes of traditional civil officials and Confucian ministers, the most competent king should be like an administrative machine, discarding all personal emotional preferences and reaching the standard of an inner saint and an outer king.

It is obvious that Zhu Qizhen's concern about "strange tricks and tricks" does not meet the standards of the sages and kings of the ancient period, and he should be stopped!

But in Wang Zhen's eyes, in addition to the eunuchs, there are very few officials of the same age as the emperor in the palace, let alone being able to speak like Shen Yichen.

Others don't know, but Wang Zhen understands that Zhu Qizhen is lonely many times, and it is good to have such a young man appear, so that he can forget his identity as an emperor for a while, and chat happily and relaxed.

It is indeed not easy for the family and the country to be pressed on an eighteen-year-old boy.

When the royal car drove to the palace gate, Shen Yichen also made a request to the emperor. That is, not to issue the decree for the time being, and postpone it until a special point in time after the mother, Shen, came to Beijing, so that she could receive the decree in person.

For this kind of small thing, Zhu Qizhen, who was in a good mood, naturally would not refuse, and agreed casually.

Emperor Luan drove into the palace, Shen Yichen stood in front of the palace gate to send off, and saw Zhu Qizhen turn his head from a distance, with an unfinished expression on his face, and finally disappeared from view.

Due to the postponement of the decree, and the fact that only a few important ministers and high-ranking officials next to the imperial driver heard the content of the conversation at that time, the news that Shen Yichen went to the East Pavilion to study did not spread too widely.

However, his lecture on the founding of the sect in Guozijian has become a must-talk topic among the literati of Beijing in just a few days, and even the Hanlin Academy is also inextricably debated.

Of course, this controversy does not mean that there are pros and cons of the two factions, and on the point of attacking Shen Yichen's heresy, all Hanlin have the same opinion.

The point of contention is whether he should come forward to publicly accuse Shen Yichen of bewitching the public, or choose to forbear it for the time being. Or wait until the period of the court meeting to impeach Shen Yichen!

I have to say that on the first day of joining the office, Shen Yichen used "official" to suppress people's prestige. Although in a sense, he offended Zhonghanlin and made himself a public enemy, but he also avoided a lot of trouble.

Otherwise, there is no need to argue now, it is estimated that everyone came directly to the door and asked Shen Yichen to apologize for his doctrine and admit his mistake.

"Champion Gong, the Yutang officials outside are all noisy, you can still calm down here and repair the book, the little one is really admired."

In the book hall, Cao Xuan, the clerk, saw that Shen Yichen was in the center of the storm, and he could still compile the "Universal Tongzhi" calmly, and couldn't help but say a word, and admired it in his heart.

He has also served as a clerk in the Hanlin Academy for nearly ten years, and has welcomed three new Hanlin into the museum, but he has never seen such a maverick new champion as Shen Yichen.

On the first day of employment, he coerced his colleagues, and judging from his actions, he should be an arrogant person and not easy to get along with.

As a result, I didn't expect that after getting along for half a month, Shen Yichen was modest and polite, and he had never commanded himself, an unpopular little official, and had an elegant temperament that emanated from his bones, far surpassing the previous Hanlin!

Because politeness and respect are two completely different concepts, Cao Xuan has met many courteous Hanlin officials, but only in Shen Yichen's body, he feels a kind of respect for the officials.

In Shen Yichen's words: "There is only good and bad people, and there is no difference between superior and inferior, who is more noble than whom?" ”

At that time, Cao Xuan felt incredible, and it turned out that the champion was practicing his words with deeds!

Now it seems that in addition to Shen Yichen's elegant and humble gentlemanly demeanor, he has also reached a very high level in terms of mental attainments, which can be said to be the collapse of Mount Tai and the color remains unchanged.

"Otherwise, go and debate with them?"

Shen Yichen replied indifferently while writing.

This situation is not surprising, Hanlin is a leader in Confucian science, and if they do not object to their own criticism of science, then they are ghosts.

One or two refuted that they can still debate the scriptures, and now it can be said that the entire literati subgroup cannot accept the view of "applying the truth through the world and seeking truth through dialectic", can they still debate each one?

In comparison, the Hanlin Academy is quite good, at least for now, the group of troublesome officials of the Kedao Yan have already impeached themselves for their fallacies and confusing the public.

However, most of these impeachment chapters were blocked by Wang Zhen in the palace, and then a few innocuous ones were picked out for the emperor to review, which was naturally not taken seriously.

Even Wang Zhen sent a little eunuch to inform him and asked Shen Yichen to return his favor.

So now Shen Yichen is not afraid of itching when he has more lice, so he likes to beep and continue. When you say that you are tired, then brother and I will come to shock the world again, one day this group of physicists and guardians, listening to it, will slowly get used to it.

"Champion Yuangong, aren't you worried that this remark will affect your career?"

Cao Xuan asked again, he really hoped that people like Shen Yichen would be able to prosper and be in a high position.

"The career is smooth, what is the purpose of becoming a high-ranking official?"

Shen Yichen put down his pen and asked Cao Xuan with interest.

"For ......"

Cao Xuan subconsciously wanted to talk about Qian Quan, but when the words came to his lips, he felt that it was not good to be so explicit.

So Wei Guangzheng replied: "Of course, it is to govern the country and level the world!" ”

"What I am doing now is what I will do after becoming a high-ranking official, since it will be like this sooner or later, why care about the impact?"

Cao Xuan didn't understand the meaning of Shen Yichen's words, and it might take many years before he could understand the meaning behind this conversation.

However, Shen Yichen didn't give him time to think, but got up and said, "Today's book revision is here for the time being, I still have important things to do, so I'll leave first." ”

"Yes, Champion Gong go slowly!"

Cao Xuan also hurriedly got up and sent Shen Yichen away.

However, when he walked to the door of the book hall, Shen Yichen stopped, turned around and said, "The sixteenth of next month is the day of my wedding, don't forget to participate when the Cao officials arrive." ”

With that, he strode towards the outside of the courtyard.

Hearing this, Cao Xuan stood in place. In his more than 30 years of serving as an official for ten years, he has never had a Hanlin official entertain himself at a happy event, let alone a noble status like Shen Yichen.

I was moved in my heart, but I couldn't help but feel sour.

After Shen Yichen left the Hanlin Academy, he called Canghuotou and Ah Niu, rented a few carriages and rushed to the Yingtian Hall.

Yesterday, he received news that Wang Neng and a group of miners had escorted his mother Shen to Jingshi. However, due to the late arrival time and the exhaustion of the journey, I went to the Yingtian Hall to repair it first.

Today, Shen Yichen hurriedly left the Hanlin Academy, just to prepare to meet his mother Shen.

In addition, Shen Yichen was too busy after joining the office, and he hadn't seen his teacher Li Tingxiu for more than half a month.

When I came to the lobby of Yingtian Hall, after the end of the triennial Spring Festival, this place was much deserted. The front desk clerk may be dozing off with his chin pestled because there are no guests.

Seeing this scene, Shen Yichen tapped on the front desk table, and the other party immediately woke up and said, "Guest officer, eat or stay in the hotel?" ”

After finishing speaking, looking at Shen Yichen's familiar face, the shopkeeper Wang immediately felt completely sleepy in surprise, and hurriedly arched his hand and said: "The little one doesn't know that the champion is coming, and he is not welcome!" ”

"Shopkeeper Wang doesn't need to be polite, did a group of guests stay last night, and what room were they in?"

In the face of Shen Yichen's inquiry, Shopkeeper Wang didn't dare not answer, and immediately replied: "The guests who stayed last night chartered six rooms with the number of heavens and the number of places, which are on the east side of the second floor. ”

"Thank you."

Shen Yichen didn't say much, turned around and prepared to go upstairs.

But at this time, the shopkeeper behind him stopped him and said: "Champion Gong, the little one has something to tell you!" ”

"What?"

I saw that the shopkeeper Wang took out a letter from under the counter, handed it to Shen Yichen and said, "Zhuangyuangong, this is the letter that Mr. Li entrusted me to give you, he had already checked out and left ten days ago. ”

"What?"

Hearing this, Shen Yichen's face was full of shock, he originally thought that he would pick up the teacher and his mother this time and live in his newly bought mansion together.

Anyway, the yard is big enough, and it is better to be able to take care of my husband by myself than to live in a guild hall.

As a result, I never expected that Mr. Li Tingxiu had already left!

Just when Shen Yichen was subconsciously about to open the letter and see what Mr. had written, Wang Neng appeared in the corridor above.

"Shen Gongzi, you're here!"

Seeing Wang Neng, Shen Yichen couldn't bother to open the letter, and hurriedly asked him, "Wang Neng, where is my mother?" ”

"Chen'er, my mother is here."

Behind Wang Neng, a familiar face appeared, and Shen Shizheng's eyes were full of tears.

In addition, behind the Shen family, there were more than a dozen sturdy and burly men in strong suits. They are the miners specially selected by Ye Zongliu to help Shen Yichen in Jingshi.

"Mother......

Shen Yichen felt that he had been trained in officialdom, and his heart was much more stable. But after seeing his mother Shen, he was still choked up and speechless for a while.

Suppressing the surging emotions in his heart, Shen Yichen knelt down and saluted: "The child has lived up to his mother's expectations, and now he has reached the top of the three yuan, and he is a great man in the world!" ”

"Good, good ......"

Shen looked at his son, who had matured and emaciated a lot, and became the champion of Sanyuan and the first, and tears fell like rain in an instant.

She raised Shen Yichen with hard work all her life, and she looked forward to her son being able to make a living, get the recognition of Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, and return to the mansion.

In this way, the son will no longer be looked down upon and ridiculed by the world, thinking that he is a servant son who has been abandoned by his father!

Now Shen Yichen's achievements have far exceeded Shen's original expectations, and emotions such as excitement, happiness, and relief have impacted, making her speechless and choking for a while.

"Mother, don't be too excited, it's just the beginning, and the better days are still ahead."

"Well, Chen'er has a future, my mother believes in you!"

Shen wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and a smile of joy appeared on his face.

The hardest days are over, and she believes that her son will get better and better!

After comforting his mother for a few words, Shen Yichen asked Ah Niu to go to the Chengguo Mansion first to inform him, and he led his mother to arrive. As for Wang Neng and the other miners, they went to the newly bought mansion under the leadership of Canghuotou, otherwise their group would be too conspicuous.

In order to protect her own safety, her mother left the Chengguo Mansion overnight and did not dare to step into it again, and today she wants to take her mother and return back with dignity!

Inside the carriage, as the Chengguo Mansion got closer and closer, Shen's emotions became more and more nervous, and he subconsciously grabbed his son Shen Yichen's arm.

"Mother, relax, the child is no longer the child who couldn't protect himself, and he can stand in front of his grandfather with dignity."

"Hmm."

Hearing this, Shen nodded heavily, full of pride.

However, as soon as she thought of the Lin family, the haze in her heart lingered, and she said: "Chen'er, the Lin family is now a duchess, and she will definitely not forget the events of the past." ”

"Mother's wish has come true now, there is nothing to be afraid of. What's the good if you're just worried that she'll do something to you? ”

Shen now sees that Shen Yichen has become a talent and is about to get married soon, and she feels that her life has been completed. The only thing that I can't worry about is that I am afraid that the Lin family will retaliate against Shen Yichen in order to cover up the secret of the year.

After all, the other party is a high-ranking duchess, and it is difficult for the son to compete with it.

Hearing this, Shen Yichen smiled lightly: "Mother, don't worry, you will understand later." ”

The current situation in the public mansion is no longer that the Lin family is thinking about how to attack Shen Yichen, but that Shen Yichen is looking for Zhu Ji's handle, thinking about counterattacking their mother and son.

Even in extreme cases, Shen Yichen will consider joining forces with Zhu Yi, believing that this eldest prince of the Chengguo Mansion will be happy to see this scene.

"Hmm."

Shen nodded suspiciously, her thinking and concepts stayed more in the time of Yingtian.

The carriage slowly stopped in front of the Chengguo Mansion, and with Ah Niu's advance notice, Steward Wu had already led a group of people from the Mansion, standing on both sides of the front of the Mansion to welcome the Shen family into the mansion.

Lifting the curtain of the carriage door, Shen saw this grand scene, and looked at his son Shen Yichen in disbelief.

Because according to her previous identity, she was not worthy of the people in the house to go out to greet her, let alone Steward Wu's turn to greet her personally.

Facing his mother Shen's surprised eyes, Shen Yichen just smiled and didn't speak. He jumped out of the carriage first, and then helped his mother down.

"Little greetings to Aunt Shen!"

The people in the mansion saluted the Shen family in unison, which made her even more shocked.

Aunt?

You must know the title of aunt, only concubines are available in the courtyard of the mansion, and there are no slaves and maids. The younger ones call them girls, and the older ones call them by their first names, why do these people call themselves aunts?

Could it be?

Thinking of this, even the Shen family himself felt that it was impossible, the grandfather had not paid attention to it for so many years, why would he help him raise a concubine?

"Aunt Shen, please come here."

Steward Wu came to Shen's side and invited her into the mansion.

The Shen family bowed, she knew that Steward Wu had been in the mansion for many years, and his status was not low. Today's polite gesture of the other party can be described as full of courtesy.

However, just as the Shen clan was about to step into the mansion, Shen Yichen reached out to stop her, and then shook his head slightly.

"Steward Wu, still look forward to opening the middle door!"

As soon as Shen Yichen said this, the servants of the public mansion, including Steward Wu, looked at him in surprise.

The Chengguo Mansion will only be open when distinguished guests such as honorable relatives and important ministers arrive. In addition, except for the main wife, the concubine room is not qualified to go through the main door, and can only go through the side door.

"Shen Gongzi, this is inconsistent with etiquette, and the old servant can't open the middle door."

Hearing Steward Wu's objection, Shen was also full of surprise, and he didn't know why his son would say such words.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to persuade, Shen Yichen continued: "Steward Wu, my mother has been crowned by His Majesty as the Lady of the Command, please open the middle door!" ”

In ancient times, once a concubine was named a lady, she nominally belonged to the officials registered in the imperial court, and was no longer just a concubine with a low status. is qualified to go through the main gate of life and death, and be buried in the ancestral grave, and even be able to sit on an equal footing with his wife in special circumstances.

So when Shen Yichen's words came out, the expressions on the faces of everyone present were extremely shocked, the concubine was sealed by the emperor, how did this happen?

But the problem also came out, Steward Wu didn't know about it at all, and there was no holy decree, who dared to guarantee that it was true?

But again, they can't believe it's fake.

You must know that falsely transmitting the holy oracle is a capital crime, no matter how impulsive Shen Yichen is, he won't talk nonsense about this matter, right?

"Shen Gongzi, old servant, this ......"

Steward Wu has served in the Chengguo Mansion for decades, and his vision is not low. But he had never even heard of such a thing, let alone how to do it.

In addition, even if the Shen family seals the decree, this is not a holy decree to receive the decree, it cannot reach the level of a first-class lady of the decree, and it is not worthy of opening the door of the Duke Mansion.

"Ah Niu, open the middle door!"

Shen Yichen didn't bother to say more, with the identity of Mrs. Commandment, going through the middle door is no longer a violation of etiquette, it is nothing more than a matter of status and rank.

If the dignitaries and nobles can go, will their mothers not be able to go once in their lives?

Shen Yichen had secretly sworn in Yingtian that he would never let his mother Shen suffer humiliation and contempt from the outside world again.

When I returned to the house today, I had to enter through the middle gate in a dignified manner. If Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, is to be investigated in the future, he will bear it himself!

I don't even have the courage to break the dignity and humility for my mother, how can I change the thinking of this world?

"Yes, Brother Chen!"

Ah Niu didn't have so much nonsense, he rushed over directly, hugged the latch of the middle door, and then pushed open the two red beast head gates!

"Mother, please!"

Shen Yichen hunched over and made a gesture of invitation, signaling his mother Shen to enter the middle door.

But Shen didn't know what to do for a while, and she was completely stunned after being hit too much in a short period of time.

I never dreamed that one day, my son would let himself enter the Chengguo Mansion from the middle gate.

"Let's go, mother."

Shen Yichen understood that Shen couldn't digest it at once, so he grabbed his mother's arm, led him step by step to the middle gate, and then crossed this once unattainable threshold!