Chapter 34 Return of Liu Sanshi
“This is a good thing, why should we discourage it?” Concubine Zhu asked doubtfully.
"Mother, my uncle, he was corrupt and perverted the law in the local area. Many people gave him gifts because of his sons and ministers, but he accepted them all. He caused trouble to his father and he could still pretend not to know about it. When he arrived in Bian If Jing does this, the ministers in the court will not care about his son and turn a blind eye." Zhao Xing said.
The Song Dynasty punished civil servants lightly. Although it caused many disadvantages, it was not completely without benefits.
Every dynasty and generation has no shortage of officials who dare to confront the emperor when their tempers rise.
But although more people are upright, they have concerns and are not so bold.
However, the penalties for civil officials in the Song Dynasty were very low, which completely dispelled these people's concerns.
If Zhao Xing's uncle comes to Bianjing and doesn't know how to restrain himself, those people will write a letter of impeachment regardless of whether he is Zhao Xing's uncle or not.
When the time comes, my father will be in a dilemma, and he will really punish his uncle, and Concubine Zhu will be sad.
Although he has no feelings for this uncle, Zhao Xing knows that his mother has great feelings for this brother.
I don't want my mother to be sad because of this.
“Huh?”
Concubine Zhu was a little disbelieving when she heard this and said, “How could your uncle do such a thing?”
Although she was in the palace, Not isolated from the world, but the news from outside is also very limited.
When her brother wrote a letter home, he wouldn't mention these things. Naturally, she didn't know what her brother was doing outside.
"Mother and concubine, would I lie to you about something like this? If my uncle comes to Bianjing, just like in the local area, not only will my father be in trouble, but my reputation will also be affected because of my uncle." Zhao Xing said .
"Then when your uncle comes to Bianjing, I will advise him then." Zhu Guifei said.
Seeing that his mother still wanted his uncle to come to Bianjing, Zhao Xing hesitated and said nothing.
Forget it, it is human nature for a mother to want her relatives to be closer and see them occasionally.
The worst thing to do is to wait for others to come and think of a way to beat it.
...
Early the next morning, before dawn, Zhao Xing got up.
After getting up, he did not practice martial arts as usual. Today is New Year's Eve, and he needs to go to the Ancestral Temple to worship with his father.
This kind of thing has happened every year since Zhao Xing was more than two years old.
New Year's Eve is the last day of the year. People worship the Ancestral Temple and tell the ancestors about their merits and demerits this year.
Zhao Xing, served by the palace maid, put on the royal uniform.
This kind of clothes is very gorgeous and has wide sleeves, which is very inconvenient.
It will only be worn on important occasions such as worshiping heaven and worshiping ancestral temples.
Because Zhao Xing was still underage, he did not bring the crown to the prince.
After packing up, we went to meet up with our father, the Queen and our Queen, and the three of them walked to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
In ancient times, when worshiping ancestors, only men could enter the ancestral temple to worship, while women could only wait outside the ancestral temple.
The royal family is even more strict. Only the emperor and the prince can enter the main hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple to worship. Zhao Xing is still a prince and cannot enter, let alone Queen Cao.
When they arrived at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Si Tianjian was already ready. The officials entered the main hall to worship the emperors of all dynasties, while Zhao Xing and Empress Cao knelt down and waited outside the hall.
When the officials came out after the worship, the two of them got up and went to the east side hall to worship the queens and clan members of the past dynasties together, and then went to the west side hall to worship the heroes of the past generations.
At first, the Imperial Ancestral Temple only worshiped the tombs of emperors of the past dynasties. Later, fifteen auxiliary halls were built on the east and west sides of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The east side was used to worship the queens and clan members of the past dynasties, while the west side was dedicated to the heroes of the past dynasties, which is commonly known as Worthy of enjoying the Ancestral Temple.
After paying homage, it was almost noon, so I returned to Renming Hall, changed into my regular clothes, and went to Zichen Hall to attend the family banquet.
On this day, members of the clan who are of similar blood to the official family will enter the palace to attend the family banquet.
Although the official family only has one son, Zhao Xing, they also have two daughters. In addition, they have seven or eight nephews, all of whom are now county kings.
Among them were King Yong and King Yan. Zhao Xing did not pay attention to these two idiots at all.
Even if Zhao Zongquan became the emperor in the future, Zhao Xing didn't care.
Unless he dies, these people have no chance at all.
Everyone knows that the Song Dynasty valued culture over military affairs, but few people have noticed that the Song Dynasty took stricter precautions against the clan. If we say that emphasizing civility over military affairs is because we have learned the lessons of the Tang Dynasty when the feudal towns supported their own troops, then guarding against the clan is also based on the lessons of the Tang Dynasty.
The succession of thrones in the Tang Dynasty was almost always bloody.
Therefore, in the end of the Song Dynasty, there were no generals to support their troops, and there was no clan rebellion.
As for King Yan's rebellion in the play, he was more forced to do so.
He and King Yong failed to compete for the position of crown prince. If he waited for King Yong to succeed to the throne, he would definitely not let him go, so he would naturally give him a try.
Now because of his existence, these people are not a threat, so there is nothing to worry about.
On the day after New Year's Eve, hundreds of civil and military officials entered the palace to attend the court meeting to pay New Year's greetings to the officials and their families, and noble ladies in Bianjing who were under royal orders would also enter the palace to pay New Year's greetings to the Queen.
Lords and civil servants of third rank or above can bring their children into the palace with them.
This is not only to show the emperor's grace, but also to examine the abilities and character of the officials' children.
When Gu Tingye attended the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet with his father a few years ago, he showed off his martial arts skills at the request of the officials, asked for rewards from the officials, and received the red tassel spear as a reward from the officials.
At noon, the officials and their heirs were given a banquet by the official family in the Jiying Hall of the Central Palace, while the female family members were entertained by the empress in the Renming Hall.
In previous years, Zhao Xing stayed in the harem with Empress Cao. This year, because the canonization was not far away, the official family took him with them.
During the banquet, the officials also selected some descendants of military generals to offer military service, and descendants of civil servants to offer poems.
Those who are chosen will be rewarded regardless of their performance.
On the contrary, the monarch and his subjects are harmonious and very harmonious.
……
On the seventh day of the lunar new year, various agencies of the imperial court resumed work.
It is naturally impossible for the various yamen of the imperial court to rest until the Lantern Festival, like local officials did.
These have nothing to do with Zhao Xing. During the Chinese New Year, he asked his father to leave the palace twice and walked around Bianjing City.
There were no accidents these two times, allowing him to fully appreciate the prosperity of Bianjing.
As the most prosperous city in the world, Bianjing's permanent population has exceeded one million. Including the floating population, it has remained at more than 1.5 million for a long time.
This number is not a big deal in later generations, but in ancient times when there were no high-rise buildings, it was already terrifying.
With two days left before the Lantern Festival, Liu Sanshi took Sheng Changbai to Bianjing.
The Sheng family has a house in Bianjing, so Liu Sanshi doesn't need to settle there.
When they arrived in Bianjing, Liu Sanshi told Sheng Changbai not to go out and wait for summons in the past few days, and then returned to the palace to resume his duties.
After Liu Sanshi returned to the palace, he first went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to deliver an errand, then went to see Eunuch Liu, presented the specialties brought from Yangzhou, and told the story of his trip to Yangzhou.
Then he went to see Zhao Xing again.
Zhao Xing learned that Liu Sanshi was back, so he was brought in and sent away.
"How did you go about what I asked you to do?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Back to Your Highness, I have already mentioned it to Sheng Tongxuan according to Your Highness's instructions. Afterwards, I ordered people to pay close attention to the activities of the Sheng family." Liu Sanshi was a little nervous when he said this.
Zhao Xing only asked him to beat Sheng Hong, but did not ask him to monitor the situation of the Sheng family.
But he felt that Zhao Xing must have some motive for doing this, so he took it upon himself to monitor the situation at the Sheng family.
"Oh?" Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Is there any news over there at the Sheng family?"
"After Sheng Tongpan was beaten by the slave, the next day he asked his wife to remove many of the servants who were serving the concubine." Liu Sanshi said.
"What else?" Zhao Xing asked.
Liu Sanshi was overjoyed when he heard this. Since Zhao Xing asked, it means that Zhao Xing is indeed interested in these things, and he made the right bet.
Liu Sanshi suppressed his excitement and told everything he knew.
Thanks to Emperor Liang for the reward.
Thanks to Book Friends 2021…0328, Book Friends 2022…8487, Lu Bu and Jie Tan for their monthly support.
(End of this chapter)