When Zhang Xuan saw that all the ministers had reported the state affairs, he looked at Guo Ziyi and Qinghe County Prince Zhang Jiuming with a smile.
It was only recently that he came up with the idea of ????proposing a marriage to Zhang Jiuming's youngest daughter, Zhang Mei, just to calm the mood of Zhang Jiuming, the emperor's uncle. [com]
A few days ago, because of Zhang Changguo's affairs, Zhang Xuan acted selflessly, and the face and prestige of the Qinghe County Prince's Palace were suppressed to a certain extent. However, this kind of suppression is something Zhang Xuan is happy to see. He didn't want his family to be as arrogant and domineering as the Li Tang royal family, and he didn't want to see a dandy among the clan's children who would ruin his reputation.
Zhang Jiuming went to the palace to find Empress Dowager Liu, but she did not ask for mercy. Zhang Changguo was punished by the staff and fled. Although his life was not in danger, he was far away from the south of the Yangtze River. The whole family of Qinghe County was very depressed because of this.
Zhang Xuan considered for a long time before choosing Guo Yao, Guo Ziyi¡¯s eldest son. Although Guo Yao is over Naisui, he has never been married. Because his fianc¨¦e died of illness last year, and Guo Ziyi went on an expedition with Zhang Xuan, it was delayed.
Guo Yao is a young and strong official in the court that Zhang Xuan admires. He is loyal, straightforward and outspoken, and has quite a character. Zhang Jiuming's daughter Zhang Mei is also Zhang Xuan's favorite cousin. She is gentle, dignified and virtuous. In Zhang Xuan's opinion, she and Guo Yao are a perfect match.
Of course, his marriage arrangement also had political considerations.
The marriage between ministers and the royal family has been common practice since ancient times. The ministers relied on this afternoon to gain power and status, and the emperor relied on this to win over his ministers.
Zhang Xuan has now begun to make arrangements for the court many years later.
Chen Xilie is old and will retire sooner or later. As soon as Chen Xilie left, Zhang Xuan still hoped that Guo Ziyi and Zhang Xun could stand up and suppress Yang Guozhong and others.
But to be honest, although Guo Ziyi and Zhang Xun are the founding fathers of Zhang Xuan and are famous military generals, their qualifications and background are slightly less than those of ministers such as Yang Guozhong, Pei Mian, Gongsun Liang, and Yang Qi. And the family's heritage is even more incomparable. People like Yang Guozhong have been at the pinnacle of power in the DPRK for many years and their forces are intertwined. Guo Ziyi's family power is very weak and cannot be compared.
If Zhang Xuan doesn¡¯t do his best to cultivate and support Guo Ziyi, it will be difficult to control the situation in the future.
This is the key to Zhang Xuan¡¯s preparation for the marriage between the Guo family and the Prince of Qinghe County.
But after all, Zhang Xuan is a time traveler from modern society. He will not forcefully use the emperor's authority to grant a marriage but wants to first seek the wishes of both families. At the same time, we also need to look at what Guo Yao and Zhang Mei mean.
"Ziyi." Zhang Xuan suddenly said loudly.
Guo Ziyi was taken aback and immediately went out to pay homage, "Your Majesty, I am here!"
"Zi Yi, I heard that your eldest son Guo Yao is not married yet?" Zhang Xuan said with a smile.
Guo Ziyi was startled, then nodded and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Ziyi, I want to be a matchmaker for Guo Yao, what do you think?" Zhang Xuan smiled, raised her finger and pointed at Qinghe County Prince Zhang Jiuming and said, "The little princess of my imperial uncle's family, Zhang Mei, is gentle and gentle, and she is worthy of being a good matchmaker." A good match, I intend to be a matchmaker for you two, what do you think?"
Guo Ziyi was very surprised, and then a little happy. It is naturally good to be married to a royal family, and the other party is also the emperor's cousin. If the daughter becomes a concubine and the son marries the emperor's uncle's daughter, the Guo family's power and position will definitely become more stable.
Zhang Jiuming was equally happy. Guo Ziyi was a new nobleman in the court, favored by the emperor, and would definitely succeed Chen Xilie in the future. His daughter Zhang Mei could marry Guo Ziyi's son, which was considered an excellent match.
But for this kind of thing, the man still needs to take a stand first. Zhang Jiuming was reserved and silent.
Guo Ziyi glanced at Zhang Jiuming and bowed down, "I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness. The little princess has such a noble status. It is really frightening that a dog can marry the princess!"
"So, you agree? Uncle Huang, what do you think?" Zhang Xuan looked at Zhang Jiuming with a smile.
"But with your majesty's gift of marriage, I am very happy." Zhang Jiuming nodded in agreement.
Zhang Xuan laughed and said, "Okay, this matter is settled. However, the marriage of a man and a woman requires the consent of both parties, and even I can't force it. Let's do this. After the court is over, I will hold a banquet in the palace and invite Guo Yao and Zhang See you last time."
Zhang Xuan held a banquet in the palace. There were not many people attending the banquet, including Guo Ziyi, Zhang Jiuming, Zhang Jiuming's daughter Zhang Mei and Guo Ziyi's son Guo Yao. Zhang Xuan brought Guo Fu to attend. This was considered a blind date banquet arranged by the emperor himself.
While the banquet was in progress, a well-dressed young man came to the cleansing room of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Nanchang Street in the Imperial City. The eunuch supervisor of the cleansing house?The relevant petty officials were surprised when they discovered that the person accompanying the man was actually a fifth-rank chief clerk of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The people who come to the purification workshop are all people who want to join the palace and become eunuchs, and no one comes to this place usually. Who, after they are full and have nothing to do, would go to a place where eunuchs are castrated?
But it seems that this kind of person who wants to be a eunuch is accompanied by officials, and he seems to have a different status.
Li Er, the eunuch in charge, quickly came over and said with a smile, "Xue Yueren, this is"
Xue An, the chief secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, looked back at the young man beside him with complex eyes, clasped his fists and smiled bitterly, "Manager Zhang, have you thought about it? Please forgive me for speaking frankly, if this"
Xue An started to speak but stopped.
Although the man next to him is a servant, he is Zhang Li, the chief steward of the emperor's former palace. The people around the emperor, even if they were servants, had no lower status than lower-level officials.
Zhang Zhang smiled calmly, gritted his teeth and said, "Master Xue, Zhang is determined. Please help Zhang be accommodating."
Xue An sighed. He couldn't understand why Zhang Zhang was willing to join the palace as a eunuch despite having a good life. The emperor had given him a house. Apart from his status as a slave, he was now a moderately wealthy man in the capital, and ordinary officials would not dare to offend him. But he was determined to enter the palace. Although he was the emperor's former confidant, if he wanted to enter the palace to serve the emperor, he had to be castrated and become a eunuch, otherwise he would not be able to enter the palace.
This is an ironclad rule. The men in the palace must be eunuchs, otherwise the inner court will be in chaos.
People who want to be eunuchs are poor and helpless. People like Zhang Li, who can only live a good life and enter the palace, are really rare in thousands of years.
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Li Er was shocked and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
"Yes, our family will make arrangements right away."
The afternoon of the second day.
Zhang Li came to the Bedroom again. Li Er, the eunuch in charge, accompanied him into the palace. The knifemaker in charge of the execution had already been instructed to carefully perform the "operation" on Zhang Li because of his unusual status. And people like him, once they enter the palace, will definitely be popular around the emperor, and they can't afford to offend him.
Entering this airtight silkworm room, two fierce craftsmen stood on one side holding sterilized sharp daggers. The light was bright and swaying, conveying a dark and cold atmosphere. Zhang Li's heart sank, but he suddenly gritted his teeth and said decisively, "Let's start!"
"Please, everyone." Zhang Li lay down and let the eunuch in charge tie him up tightly.
Li Er, the eunuch in charge, looked at Zhang Li and sighed and said, "Mr. Zhang, let me ask you again, do you really want to commit suicide? This castration is no different from others. If you really have to go under the knife, it will be too late to regret it. Moreover, the pain during this, Manager Zhang also needs to be prepared."
Zhang Zhang slowly closed his eyes and said decisively, "I've made up my mind, sorry to trouble you all!"
Li Er doesn¡¯t hesitate anymore. He has done this kind of thing many times, so he will naturally not be merciful.
Li Er waved his hand, and the two knifemakers began to lean down and make the final preparations before the execution. And as the knife maker shouted violently, the sword flashed, blood flowed out, and Zhang Zhang let out heart-breaking screams that shook the world!
The first person to get the news about Zhang Li's palace was Xiao Shisanlang. Xiao Shisanlang was greatly shocked and immediately informed Cui Huan's wife, the first princess Zhang Xiuxiu, through his wife. Zhang Xiuxiu was also very surprised, because Zhang Li was a loyal servant of the Zhang family and the former chief manager of the Yongning Palace, and they were all familiar with it.
Zhang Xiuxiu immediately went to the palace and told Queen Cui Ying. Cui Ying got the news and asked Ruyu to go straight to Zhang Xuan's imperial study.
Zhang Xuan was reading the memorial when he suddenly saw Cui Ying coming in a hurry. She couldn't help but smile and said, "Ruyu, how come you have time to come to my place?"
Ruyu's face was extremely complicated. She bowed down and said quietly, "Your Majesty, Zhang Zhang went to the palace to purify himself ten days ago and has been registered to enter the palace."
Zhang Xuan's hand trembled, and the ink pen fell on the desk. He suddenly raised his head and said in a deep voice, "Is this true?!"
Ruyu nodded silently.
Zhang Xuan suddenly slapped the table and let out a long sigh.
He stood up suddenly, ran out of the imperial study, got up and rushed to the purification workshop in the imperial city. Generally speaking, eunuchs who are ready to enter the palace after purification must first be registered with the relevant government offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and then the Ministry of Internal Affairs will uniformly deploy them according to the needs of the inner court. Because of Zhang Li's status, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Yan Zhenqing, had already given instructions to place Zhang Li under the emperor's care.side.
Zhang Zhang has just survived the hellish torture. This kind of inhumane operation cannot be described in words.
Zhang Xuan stood outside the cleansing room, and two young eunuchs supported Zhang Li and walked slowly over.
Zhang Zhangqiang forced himself to kneel down and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, little Zhang Zhang is here to pay homage to Your Majesty."
Zhang Xuan stretched out his hand and then pulled it back feebly. He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Zhang Zhang, why are you doing this?"
"I want to serve at Your Majesty's side. I have been His Majesty's servant since I was a child. Your Majesty has been as kind to me as a mountain. I can't repay you, so I can only go to the palace to serve His Majesty."
" Zhang Li burst into tears and said, "Please give me your Majesty's permission! "