Chapter 16 Gathering at Sheng's House
When the emperor saw this scene, he felt exhausted.

"Retreat, retreat!"

He mustered all the strength to turn around, and saw the purple-robed civil servant rushing over, grabbing the cuffs of the emperor's dragon robe tightly with both hands, and refusing to let go even when the eunuch next to him tried to pull him.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

This man looked at the emperor with a sharp gaze and said, "If you can decide to adopt a royal family member, I will be willing to be beaten twenty times!"

Sheng Hong, who was standing by, finally found an opportunity and quickly grabbed his wooden scepter.

Even when the eunuchs surrounded him, the man refused to let go and kept staring at the emperor.

The emperor was helpless and said:
"Okay, okay, okay! I will listen to you about the adoption. I will make him the heir, okay?"

The man threw off the eunuchs' shackles with both hands, held his ivory imperial scepter with both hands, and bowed respectfully, "Your Majesty,"

Then he threw away his imperial tablet, took off his official hat, and revealed his gray hair.

"Your Majesty, do you suspect that the old minister is seeking favors from the crown prince?

Your Majesty, look at my old bones, my hair, my beard. I am already over seventy years old and I don’t have a child at home. What selfish thoughts can I have? "

"The safety of the world depends on the succession of the emperor. In the past, many disasters and chaos were caused by the failure to make a plan early or to make a decision without making a decision, Your Majesty!"

He spoke and acted at the top of his lungs, and his sincere desire to serve the country was obvious to everyone.

The emperor only felt a wave of fatigue and a feeling of despair rose in his heart. He turned around and slowly paced back.

"You said to establish an heir, then do it. If you want to adopt someone, then adopt him. Whether you choose or not, someone has to be the emperor, but my son is gone."

"Who?"

"Can anyone give me my son?"

"Who can give me my son, who?"

……

The meeting is over.

The whole incident immediately spread throughout the circle of nobles in Bian Jing.

Yang Wenyuan, who was practicing horseback shooting in the martial arts field, also received the news.

"Is the attempt to force the emperor to abdicate in public still happening?" Yang Wenyuan was shocked.

Although he had known that there would be such a day when all the civil and military officials in the court would force the emperor to appoint an heir in public, when it actually happened, Yang Wenyuan could not help but be surprised.

Ordinary people would be extremely sad if they had a child in their old age and then had the young child suddenly die.

What’s more, he is an emperor who lost his only heir.

I can only say that those civil officials were really brave!

Knowing that the emperor had not yet recovered from the death of his young son, he still dared to force the emperor to abdicate in public.

Fortunately, the Great Zhou Dynasty valued culture over military affairs.

The national policy of "the emperor and the literati governing the world together" and Taizu's words "the literati and those who write letters to express their opinions should not be killed" dared to allow the civil officials in the court to be so radical.

He also relies on the kindness of the current official. He is already old, and has a sense of "the children in the south village bully me because I am old and weak."

But this is none of Yang Wenyuan’s business and does not diminish Yang Wenyuan’s enthusiasm today at all.

Today is the day he is going to visit the Sheng family!
Jiying Lane.

Sheng family.

Although today is only the second day since the Sheng family arrived in Bian Jing, they have already gained some fame in Bian Jing.

One is the old lady of the Sheng family.

As the only daughter of the Yongyi Marquis's mansion, she was raised in the palace since she was a child. Such a noble lady was so precious that she stubbornly married a newly-appointed scholar. She then took away most of the mansion's savings as a dowry and left for Bianjing. In the end, she had a very unhappy relationship with the Yongyi Marquis's mansion. The rumors about this incident have been circulating in Bianjing for a long time. Although the Yongyi Marquis's mansion has retreated to Nanjing, now another person involved has come, causing this incident to be discussed again in the backyards of the noble ladies in Bianjing.

The second is the young master of Duke Qi’s Mansion, Qi Heng, who is going to study at the Sheng family.

As one of the few dukes in the Great Zhou, the Duke of Qi's Mansion is one of the most top nobles in the Great Zhou.

Although it has become increasingly decadent in recent years, the eldest lady of the Duke's Mansion, Princess Pingning, is actually the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Xiangyang's Mansion.

The Marquis of Xiangyang broke his leg while protecting the emperor. After that, he was favored by the emperor, who ordered his daughter to be raised in the palace, recognize the queen as her mother, and was named Princess Pingning.

The Duke of Qi also relied on his connections to get a job in the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office.

The Marquis of Xiangyang was also a powerful and noble man.

Therefore, the Duke of Qi's Mansion is still the top noble family in the city of Bianliang.

However, as the Marquis of Xiangyang grew older and the emperor's family grew older, the Duke of Qi's Mansion began to have hidden worries.

Once the emperor passes away, the Duke of Qi's Mansion will no longer be special.

After the new emperor came to power, it was still unclear whether he could keep his position as the Salt Transport Commissioner.

Marquis of Xiangyang has only one daughter, Princess Pingning, and naturally dotes on her now. But once he dies, his adopted son will inherit the title, and there will be more than one layer of separation between them. By then, the Marquis of Xiangyang will no longer be able to rely on his mansion.

Therefore, upon learning that the great scholar Zhuang Xuejiu was coming to the Sheng family to teach, Princess Pingning did not care about the difference in social status. Even though she despised the Sheng family's small status, she still sent her only son Qi Heng to prepare for a rainy day.

After Qi Heng passes the imperial examination and becomes a Jinshi, he can make full use of his current relationships in the limited time and find him a good job.

Yang Wenyuan also had this plan.

Today he not only wanted to visit the Sheng family, but also wanted to study in their private school.

As long as I can pass the provincial examination, I can give myself the clothing of a scholar.

In this way, even if you fail to pass the imperial examination in the future, you will have more choices when it comes to seeking an official position.

Haven’t you seen that many years ago there was a military general with great military achievements who was about to be promoted by the emperor to be the governor, but the censors made the above request to revoke the order.

"A military man is rude and cannot serve as a prefect."

Later, the emperor wanted to promote him to the Privy Council and make him the deputy envoy of the Privy Council.

The Privy Council of the Great Zhou was equivalent to a second Ministry of War, and the Privy Envoy was equivalent to an additional Minister of War.

In theory, this matter was an internal transfer of military officers and had nothing to do with the civil servants.

But the censors jumped out again, saying that it was against the rules and that they could not exist in the court with a vulgar and military man.

From this we can see how important it was to be a scholar in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Although the Sheng family would not refuse Yang Wenyuan, the "future son-in-law", to study at home, someone needed to inform him.

However, Yang Wenyuan's uncle had already moved out of the mansion to avoid suspicion, and he was a military officer who was often needed to serve, so he could not be found in a hurry.

Sending a servant would seem disrespectful, after all, he is my future in-laws.

Zuo Silai wanted to go again, and Yang Wenyuan thought it would be better for him to do it himself.

Jiying Lane.

Sheng family.

This old house has not been occupied for a long time, so we are still cleaning the yard today.

Before returning to Bian Jing, Sheng Hong asked Lin Qinshuang to hand over the housekeeper power to Wang Ruofu. Although it was not as satisfying as if she had taken it herself, Wang Ruofu still felt relieved when she saw Lin Qinshuang's haggard look.

No matter how many schemes you make, you are still just a concubine. How can you compare to the daughter of my Wang family, the eldest lady of the Sheng family.

My father deserves to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!
(End of this chapter)