There was a poem: "Fireworks go down to Yangzhou in March." Although it is now November, the city of Yangzhou in late autumn is still not depressed, a few house sparrows stand on the bridge, the scholars and ladies who swim in the lake laugh in pairs, let the cool breeze blow softly, and the ginkgo trees on the shore have turned from green to yellow, and the beauty of the gradual change reflects the peach blossoms on the human face, which is poetic and picturesque. It is no wonder that Du Mu issued a sigh of "the green mountains are hidden in the water, and the grass in the south of the Yangtze River has not withered in autumn"!

Today's Eastern Capital Stay-at-Home Mansion, the whole government has been busy shuttling since the morning. Some of the indifferent maids couldn't help but ask the steward a few words curiously, then blushed, and then trotted to the back hall to wait. The new aunt came to the door, bringing rare joy and vitality to this originally gloomy left-behind mansion.

Fang just received news from the city gate officials that Zhou Zong had changed into a brand-new purple round-necked robe, and his waist was specially tied with a gold-inlaid jade jue given by the ancestor Li Yu, and his carefully trimmed long hair swayed gently in the breeze, so that others could know that this old man's identity was valuable at a glance. At this time, he had led his attendants to stand outside the door to greet him.

"Xiangye, it should be Li Yuhou who is here!" The steward beside Zhou Zong is nearly fifty years old, and he has been following Zhou Zong since he was appointed as a servant by the first emperor, and now he is one of the few henchmen of Zhou Zong.

Everyone looked up, only to see that the long carriage and horses not far away had slowly crossed the arch bridge and were heading towards the left-behind mansion. And the leader is three young men riding tall horses, the person who is protected in the middle, with a face like a crown of jade, wearing a purple robe, the most conspicuous, it is the young man of the Tang Kingdom who is now in the limelight. Naturally, there are two brothers, Liu Jiangsheng and Luo Erhu.

"Father-in-law!" Li Yuanwang saw Zhou Zong personally greet him, and hurriedly patted his horse forward, and walked about thirty steps before dismounting to greet him: "Father-in-law went out of the house to greet him, how can this be done?" Son-in-law to meet father-in-law! ”

Zhou Zong's old face seemed to have been squeezed into deep folds by a smile: "Why not?" It's good that the virtuous son-in-law returns safely! ”

The following groups of cars and horses also arrived one after another, but the queue was a little long, which attracted curious pedestrians to stop and watch. Seeing this, Zhou Zong frowned slightly, and said to Li Yuan in a low voice: "It is not good for the virtuous son-in-law's palace army to enter the city, so as not to be criticized......

Li Yuan naturally knew that Zhou Zong had good intentions, although he had already taken leave from the emperor on this trip, and the battalion of forbidden troops accompanying the escort also had the permission of the guards and military divisions, but according to the military law, passing through the state capital could only be allowed to stay in the post station, and without special circumstances, it was absolutely impossible to enter the city without authorization, otherwise the imperial history platform would write a seal and sparsely, and the charge of rebellion and rebellion might be detained.

"Father-in-law, rest assured, since the son-in-law is already in charge of the army, he should obey the laws of the imperial court, and these brothers are all helping me escort the dowry! After a while, the son-in-law ordered them to camp outside the city. Li Yuan smiled unhurriedly.

Seeing that Zhou Zong was still frowning, Li Yuan added: "The son-in-law of this matter also obtained the permission of Yang Du's envoy from Yangzhou's camp, it is estimated that the matter was in a hurry, and Yang Du's envoy has not yet reported to his father-in-law, this time it is the son-in-law who is abrupt!" ”

Zhou Zong immediately smiled and shook his head helplessly: "You guys can do things!" "As the guards of the Eastern Capital, they naturally know what their subordinates are thinking, how dare they stop Li Yuan's men and horses from this Zhou Mansion's uncle, I am afraid that they will rush to open the city gate!

With the support of Liu Jiangsheng and Luo Erhu, Liu also staggered off the carriage, and then Zhou Zong showed complete enthusiasm, one by one, and at the same time there was no lack of praise for her son Li Yuan, after several intimate acquaintances, the steward of the Zhou Mansion immediately ordered a group of servants to open the doors of the various mansions, and invited the hot drum Gong Hou to also roll up his elbows and cooperate hard, and the crowd was bustling into the house, so lively!

"Ah, sister, this house is really magnificent! Li Yuhou's father-in-law, is it more generous than the assassination history of our Chuzhou? Wang Jingguo, the little brother of the Wang family who followed Li Yuan and his entourage into the house, has not closed his mouth since he got off the carriage because of shock, and at this time he was pulling Wang Jingyao, who was also timid, and kept sighing.

And Wang Jingyao's mind is not here, this way, since entering the prosperous eastern capital of the Tang Kingdom, she is also like those girls who stay at home, nervous, curiously looking around. It wasn't until she stepped into this huge left-behind mansion that she saw with her own eyes the pavilions with carved walls and eaves against the sky, and passed by the gardens of gooseneck stone roads and strange rockeries everywhere, her heart was inexplicably calmer, and even some of the original fantasies that should not have disappeared.

Is this the family who wants to marry Brother Yuan? is really a bright future, and only such a good woman can be worthy of Brother Yuan...... Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly, and whispered: "Wang Jingyao, since you have met such a beloved, you should have self-knowledge......

"Sister, what do you want? Hurry up, Brother Liu told us to go in! ”

Seeing that Wang Jingguo in front of him was dressed in new clothes, and his ruddy face had also regained the vitality that a young man should have, Wang Jingyao quietly quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and hurriedly responded with a smile: "Hmm! ”

......

When the steward registered the dowry brought by Li Yuan into the mansion and reported it to Zhou Zongyu, it was already after the luncheon. Zhou Zong listened quietly to the whispers of the steward, and the light in his eyes couldn't stop flashing.

After a while, he looked at Li Yuan, who was chatting with the Liu family, and smiled kindly: "Marriage, three books and six ceremonies." Although my Zhou Mansion is not as good as the emperor's relatives, it can be regarded as a high-ranking mansion. The virtuous son-in-law passed the Eastern Capital this time, and sent the letter of appointment together, so eager, but the old man was caught off guard. ”

"Father-in-law, Emperor E is in the heart of the son-in-law, like the Nine Heavens Xuannu, no one can compare! Wedding events, naturally, must be done one by one in accordance with the ancient rites! It's just that my mother said that even if my son-in-law is lucky enough to get an official position, he must always remember that my family comes from a humble background, and he is a village family in the end. My father-in-law, Gao Yi, promised me to love my daughter, but I also wronged Emperor E. Therefore, this time the dowry is also used to express the sincerity of the son-in-law. ”

Zhou Zong looked at Li Yuan's full sincerity expression, shook his head and said with a smile: "Virtuous son-in-law, you are now a person valued by His Majesty, you must not be too self-deprecating, don't you hear that heroes are born in recklessness?" If the old man hadn't been promoted by the first emperor, he would still be a small official in Huainan. ”

"That's it! Since the dowry has been given, it will be in the order after the two books, and after the ancestral temple has set a date to welcome relatives, the old man will return to Beijing to inform you. ”

"Thank you, father-in-law." Li Yuan's heart was also overjoyed. Since he had plans to get married, he was excited but also remembered more than one night how cumbersome the marriage customs of this era were, but no matter how impatient he was, he had to follow the rules honestly, otherwise he would not only offend the Zhou family, but also be sorry for Emperor Zhou E. Fortunately, Zhou Zong was enlightened and did not resist Li Yuan's self-made proposal to give a dowry first, which saved some energy.

Taking advantage of Zhou Zong's joy, Li Yuan began to get nervous, he had seriously discussed with the Liu family last night, and decided to truthfully explain an important matter to Zhou Zong today.

Li Yuan took a deep breath, got up and walked to Zhou Zong in front of everyone, bowed solemnly and said, "Father-in-law, the son-in-law has something to discuss with his father-in-law, if there is anything wrong, please don't be angry!" ”

Zhou Zong was stunned for a while, and then secretly said in his heart, this Li Yuan said so seriously, could it be that it is the same as the last time, what kind of trouble happened? But out of the idea that Li Yuan was already regarded as the same family, Zhou Zong still kept smiling: "Virtuous son-in-law, but it can be said that the old man listens attentively." ”

Li Yuan raised his eyes and looked at Liu, who was also restless, and then said in a straight voice: "Father-in-law, I want to take a concubine." ”

The laughter in the hall suddenly stopped, except for the Liu family who knew the truth earlier, Liu Jiangsheng, Luo Erhu and Xu Kuangheng all cast shocked glances at Li Yuan. The steward of the Zhou Mansion and the maidservant squires even tightened their knuckles, and even showed a look of disdain.

"Bang!" After a moment of silence, Zhou Zong seemed to be unable to hold back, and swept the teacup beside him down, followed by an eager panting, and a white beard trembled violently: "You, you haven't married a wife yet, how dare you take a concubine!" In vain, my Zhou family values you Li Yuan in every way, and you have been humiliated like this! You're self-destructing! ”

Li Yuan always kept his head down, letting Zhou Zong scold, he knew the consequences before he said this.

Although concubines were common in ancient times, they were not something they could accept if they wanted to! They all marry wives first and then take concubines. And it is generally only when the wife has nothing to do within a year that the concubine will be introduced. If you take a concubine before marrying a wife, it will definitely affect the reputation of the two families, and it is likely to affect your career in the future. The more dignitaries and dignitaries, but pay attention to the rules.

Zhou Zong is the founding minister, after controlling the salt and iron power of the Southern Tang Dynasty for decades, his family background is one of the richest, this kind of illustrious family, Emperor Zhou E has not passed the door, let alone the fault of having no children, how can Li Yuan be allowed to rashly take a concubine?

Li Yuan is naturally not stupid, if he really wants to take a concubine, of course he will not choose to marry a wife, otherwise he will die.

It's just that Emperor Zhou E, as the future housewife, must obtain her consent to take a concubine in the future, otherwise the family will definitely be uneasy. And Li Yuan didn't know her temperament, so after discussing with the Liu family last night, he decided to test Zhou Zong first, after all, he was the head of the Zhou family. Although it was indeed a bit presumptuous, Li Yuan did it anyway, whether out of respect or out of conscience.

"Father-in-law, you have misunderstood your son-in-law! Don't be angry! The son-in-law knows how to be proportionate, and he is not a womanizer, and he will not shame the two families, so he will never take a concubine before Emperor E enters the door. Even if you want to take a concubine, you naturally have to ask for the permission of Emperor E. ”

When Zhou Zong heard this, he seemed to be breathing a little smoother, and then asked coldly: "Since you know the measure, what do you mean?" ”

Li Yuan held his breath and said earnestly: "Father-in-law, can you listen to me?" The concubine who the son-in-law wants to accept also entered the house today, called Wang Jingyao, and the son-in-law met her when he was a child in Wangjiazhuang......"

Then Li Yuan told Zhou Zong how he met Wang Jingyao when he was a child, and the stories that happened after that, including his previous experiences in Chuzhou. The story is a bit tortuous and lengthy, but everyone is not ruthless, and when they heard the end, they already had a little empathy for the fate of the woman in Li Yuan's mouth, but they understood the reason for Li Yuan's concubine a little.

“...... That's it. People are not plants and trees, who can be ruthless? Wang Jingyao and her younger brother are now adrift, and the son-in-law has known her for a long time, and how can they abandon her when they meet again today? But the son-in-law already has a marriage contract, and he can't live up to the wishes of his father-in-law and the emperor, so after discussing with his mother, he rashly made a temptation today, everything is the sins of the son-in-law, if the father-in-law has a grudge, he will come to me! ”

The air was filled with anxiety for a long time, and Zhou Zong's heart was very struggling. He was originally an extremely conservative person, and he often criticized some ministers in the court for arbitrarily taking concubines, and he even spurned this kind of behavior, so when Li Yuan said his request for a concubine, his good impression of Li Yuan plummeted, and he even regretted his choice.

But what Li Yuan said afterwards was sincere and reasonable, and even he had deep sympathy for that Wang Jingyao. Looking at the Liu family on the side, he was also speechless, and he knew that what Li Yuan said was true. Then Li Yuan is not the ungrateful and womanizer he imagined, but he has become a trustworthy and affectionate person.

At this point, Zhou Zong smiled quite awkwardly, then leaned back weakly, let out a long sigh, and finally spoke: "Alas! A virtuous son-in-law can be truthful, but he is above board! That's it! That's it! If you have affection, you can't give it up. Your Li Yuan's concubine is a matter for your own house, and it is inconvenient for the old man to call the shots. It's just that you need to remember that Emperor E must not take a concubine before passing through the door, and if you want to take a concubine, you must also ask her, don't ruin the reputation of our two families! Missed a great future! ”

"Thank you father-in-law for making it perfect! The father-in-law is open-minded, which is a blessing for both families! Please also rest assured that the son-in-law will not disappoint Emperor E in this life! Li Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, although he knew that Zhou Zong's heart was still very twisted, but no matter what, since he had truthfully explained everything in advance, he must have mentioned this matter to Emperor Zhou E in the future, at least her reaction would not be so fierce.

Zhou Zong closed his eyes tightly, and under the seemingly calm surface, there was a turbulent churn in his heart, crying bitterly!

Knowing this, why did the old man bother to invite so many colleagues and former subordinates, and even moved out of His Royal Highness King Yan to help you solve the incident in Chuzhou?!

Who would have expected a case of illegal salt, but it turned out to be a marriage! In this way, it was actually the old man who made it by himself! Emperor E, Daddy can't stand you......