79Chapter 79: Conferred the Title of Marquis

"The Emperor of Heaven has summoned Mu Hanzhang, the royal concubine of the new crown prince, who is rich in knowledge and intelligence. She has repeatedly performed extraordinary feats on the battlefield and is worthy of great use. As a heir of the royal family, she is granted a waiting title and is named Wenyuan, among the military generals. Ban, I will perform my duties as a civil servant. I will hold the ceremony of ennobling you in seven days. I appreciate this!" The voice of the eunuch who announced the decree was high-pitched, but sonorous and powerful, and every word was very powerful.

"My minister Mu Hanzhang accepts the decree, long live my emperor!" Mu Hanzhang kowtowed and accepted the decree with both hands.

The eunuch who announced the decree softened his expression and said, "Congratulations, Lord Marquis."

Jing Shao jumped up first and pulled his princess. Mu Hanzhang took the imperial edict and the bright yellow scroll in his hand, and then he realized that he was really going to be made a marquis. He turned to look at Jing Shao, who gave him a reassuring smile in return.

Duofu had already brought the gold and silver for reward. Jing Shao raised his chin and handed it directly to the eunuch who announced the decree.

The old eunuch and a group of young eunuchs behind him immediately beamed with joy. Mu Hanzhang came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, father-in-law."

"Thank you for the reward, Lord Marquis, let's also be a little happy!" Several eunuchs shared the reward money, and they were all overjoyed. Now is the year of peace, and there are basically no marquises, so they usually declare decrees. Even the prime minister can't get such a generous reward. reward.

"Eunuch Yuan, I saw that the second emperor brother only went to the imperial study room after going to court. Why did the imperial edict come down so quickly?" Jing Shao invited a few eunuchs in for a cup of tea, but they hurried back to the palace and stopped by on their way out. asked.

"Hey, aren't those two ladies making a fuss?" Eunuch Yuan was the eunuch serving in the Imperial Study Room, so he naturally knew more. He looked around and whispered, "The Queen Mother was so noisy that she couldn't help but urged the Emperor to put this aside quickly." The matter is done, so that no one will cause trouble again. His Highness Prince Rui just decided on the title with the emperor, so he issued the decree directly. "

Jing Shao curled his lips when he heard this and gave him a small golden Buddha.

Mu Hanzhang looked at the words on the imperial edict and couldn't help but feel a little emotional. He never expected that the title would be "Wenyuan". This was the title he got at the poetry meeting in the capital. Now that he had lost it and found it again, it seemed like the title he had in his youth. The high spirits have never been lost.

Jing Shao saw that he was looking attentively, so he didn't say anything to disturb him. He just gently pulled the person into his arms from behind. The person in his arms turned to look at him: "You are not going to the Ministry of War today?"

"Let's go in the afternoon." Jing Shao stretched out his hand to hold the imperial edict for him, and took his left hand to look at the blisters on it. "My princess has been granted the title of Marquis, so I will have lunch with the Marquis at home."

Mu Hanzhang glared at him and used him as an excuse for being lazy: "You have become even more lazy since you came back. Be careful if someone takes the credit for you."

Jing Shao disapproved and staggered into the house holding the person in his arms: "If I suddenly become diligent, someone will have ulterior motives for me."

Mu Hanzhang thought about it, the king's heart is unpredictable, and it is not advisable to be too active or too lazy. It is better to stick to the way before, three days of fishing and two days of surfing the Internet. Without further words, he dragged the guy hanging on his back back to Dongyuan.

Although Jingchen advocated simplicity in the Marquis Ceremony, the necessary etiquette was still cumbersome.

In the next seven days, people kept coming to congratulate him, and officials from the Ministry of Rites often came to inquire. Even Jingchen came twice in person.

"I'm going to transfer Song An to the southwest." Jingchen took a sip of tea and said calmly.

Jing Shao nodded. During this time, they found excuses for Song An, which was enough to demote him three levels in a row and send him to a remote place as a minor official. After all, Song An had done a lot for them in the past few years, so he couldn't do too much in everything.

"Song An gave me these," Jingchen put a stack of letters on the table, "I just want him to take his daughter away."

Mu Hanzhang took the letters and looked at them, frowning slightly. There were many incriminating evidences of officials in them, and they could bring down many people if they were taken out. He sighed: "Song An really has nothing to say about his daughter."

Jing Shao heard him sigh and knew that he was thinking of all the things Bei Weihou had done, so he stretched out his hand to hold his hand: "It's because I pampered him too much that I got like that."

Mu Hanzhang knew that he was comforting him and nodded.

"Has the Marquis of Beiwei been here in the past two days?" Jingchen lowered his head and looked at the tiger skin blanket that appeared at Mu Hanzhang's feet.

"Father has never been here." Mu Hanzhang replied. When he saw Jingchen looking at his feet, he lowered his head and found that Xiao Huang had been lying at his feet at some point, sleeping soundly with his shoes on. He couldn't help but curl his lips slightly. rising.

"Is this the tiger you raised?" Jingchen looked at it carefully, "It's quite strong."

"You eat more than me, aren't you strong?" Jing Shao raised his hand and pulled the little tiger up. This guy has grown quite long. When he stands, he is about the same height as a sitting person. He can no longer carry it casually.

"Wow!" Xiao Huang was very dissatisfied at being disturbed, and waved his thick fur paw at Jing Shao.

Mu Hanzhang saw that Jingchen's eyes seemed to be full of affection, but he remained polite and sat still, so he handed him a piece of dried meat, but Jingchen didn't understand. But he soon understood. The fat ball of hair rushed over quickly, pressed its two paws on his legs, and looked at the dried meat in Jingchen's hand eagerly.

Jingchen was stunned for a moment, then handed over the rub in his hand. The little tiger quickly bit it and swallowed it in one gulp. But she still scratched his knees, wanting to see if he had any other flesh hidden inside.

"Brother, touch it and see." Jing Shao looked at his brother's stiff body and wanted to laugh, and hurriedly urged him to try it out.

Jingchen slowly raised his hand and touched the little tiger's head. He rarely did this kind of action, just like the last time he touched Jing Shao's head, the action was very unfamiliar.

Mu Hanzhang also smiled, and said at the right time: "This time, thanks to my brother's running back and forth, I don't know how to thank him."

"You can take good care of Jing Shao, which is the best thank you." Jing Chen pinched the soft fur ears and said in a deep voice, "Although this marquisate is not hereditary, it is the same rank as the Marquis of Beiwei. After the marquisate ceremony, you can go to court. It happens that I will not be in the capital in March. You should give more advice to Jing Shao in the court."

Jing Shao: "..." Why does my brother's tone sound like asking someone to look after a child.

"There is a lion about the size of a little tiger in Sheshui Garden. If you go to Jiangnan, you can go to Pingjiang to see the lion." Knowing that Jing Chen was going to see the King of Huainan, Mu Hanzhang reminded him to go to Sheshui Garden to find it.

Jing Chen nodded slightly. The Spring Examination will begin on the ninth day of February, and the Ministry of Rites is too busy. Besides, he also wants to discover talents among the new Jinshi, so he asked for an assignment to go to Jiangnan in March.

The ceremony of conferring the title of Marquis was held as scheduled, and Jing Shao personally put on a new dress for his own princess. All those above the third rank wore purple robes, but the princess was of the first rank, and the marquis was of the super rank, so the cranes embroidered on them were all changed to complex and gorgeous cloud patterns.

Beiwei Hou also went to watch the ceremony, watching Mu Hanzhang kneeling on the stage, watching Emperor Hongzheng personally put on the marquis's crown on him, the bells and drums playing, and the officials congratulating him. He felt that if the position of Beiwei Hou was given to him, the Mu family might become the most prosperous family in the Chen Dynasty. But now, it's too late to say anything. There are few talented people in the Mu family now. If this continues, it will decline within three generations.

Jing Shao didn't care how sad Beiwei Hou was, his eyes never left the person on the stage. Now Mu Hanzhang has truly washed away the depression and sorrow in the inner house. The sword is out of the sheath, shining brightly. Even so many hardships have never eroded his edge. Now he is fully displayed in the world, and no one dares to bully him anymore.

After the ceremony, Mu Hanzhang could attend the court.

He had studied hard for ten years but could not get the court now. When he really stood there, he did not feel as excited as he had expected. The Golden Palace was not a place for fun after all. He did not think that he could make decisions about the court based on the judgments he had learned from books, so he rarely spoke and stood quietly beside Beiwei Hou. He occasionally exchanged glances with Jing Shao, and nothing else.

The ministers in the court were originally on guard against Wenyuan Hou who appeared out of nowhere. After all, the emperor meant that although he was a marquis, he was a civil official. In fact, he was higher than the officials who passed the imperial examinations and entered the officialdom, and they were afraid that he would make decisions. But seeing that Mu Hanzhang rarely spoke, and was kind and polite, and never acted like a marquis, they gradually became less resistant.

In the blink of an eye, it was February, and Qiu's pregnancy could no longer be concealed. Mu Hanzhang asked Doctor Jiang to take her pulse every seven days and send Ge Ruoyi to her mother temporarily.

Since Mu Hanzhang was conferred the title of Marquis, Qiu's status in the mansion has also risen. Even in the eyes of many servants, the status of the concubine is actually higher than that of the wife. After all, Mu Lingbao is only the prince, and Mu Hanzhang is already the Marquis. Although the wife of Beiwei Marquis was angry, she couldn't say anything. After all, the maid sent by the Marquis could not be sent back.

In addition, Beiwei Marquis had repeatedly warned, and the people in Beiwei Marquis's mansion did not dare to do anything for the time being. However, Qiu's successive incidents made her feel very upset.

On the seventh day of February, the capital was already full of candidates who came to participate in the imperial examination. Teahouses and wine shops were full of literati and poets. Of course, among these literati and poets, there were also dandy boys who had been entertaining in such places for many years, such as Cheng Wang Jingshao, who was not doing his job properly.

"One day of being crowned a marquis is worth ten years of studying hard." In Huiwei Building, several candidates gathered at a table and were talking loudly.

"According to you, there is no point in taking the imperial examination. It is better to marry a royal relative." Someone at the same table echoed.

"Humph, if you want to marry, you have to be favored by others," the one who spoke at first seemed more excited, "I arrived in Beijing after the New Year, just in time for the ceremony of Marquis Wenyuan's being crowned a marquis."

"What does Marquis Wenyuan look like?" A young man with a slightly wretched appearance couldn't help asking.

The man took a breath, glanced around, and then slowly said, "I didn't see it clearly." He immediately won a sigh.

"If I say, he must look like..." The man suddenly lowered his voice, and it was hard to hear what he said. A moment later, a burst of laughter came from the table.

"Damn it!" Jing Shao slammed the table hard, shaking a wine cup on the edge of the table to the ground, and it broke into pieces with a crisp sound. Arriving late, there were no private rooms, so he sat in the lobby and heard these daring people openly discussing his princess, with many disrespectful words, damn it!

The candidates turned around and saw a tall man in luxurious clothes glaring at them. Then they realized, "Brother, why are you cursing for no reason?"