Chapter 85
The Hou Mansion was decorated with lanterns and lanterns, ready to welcome the New Year's Eve. Yang Feng handed over all major affairs and small affairs to the mansion and accountant He Yi, and hid in the room to meditate.
There are many things to think about. There is a past and a future. Yang Feng is more willing to think about the future.
The knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, "Come in." Yang Feng said that he was a little thankful for the interference, and he was afraid that he would not be able to bear it any longer.
A maid in the backyard entered the house. Yang Feng recognized her as one of the palace maids who voluntarily left the palace, but could not remember her name.
The maid stopped at the door and saluted, "The madam asked Mr. Yang if he was free. The madam would like to see Mr. Yang."
Yang Feng was very surprised and couldn't think of a reason for refusing, "Uh... If you are free, please wait a moment, Madam, I will go over right away..."
"The madam is right outside the door."
Yang Feng hurriedly got up and came to the door, and sure enough he saw Mrs. Juan Hou standing outside the door.
"The madam sends a maid to pass me on, so why come here in person?"
Cui Xiaojun smiled, "I also want to go out for a walk. The Hou Mansion is so big, and there are still many places I haven't been to."
Of course, the Marquis Mansion does not have as much land as the Cui House, but she is a young lady in the Cui Family, and she only occupies a small area of living. In the Marquis Mansion, she is the hostess and owns every piece of land here.
Yang Feng invited his wife in with a slightly embarrassed expression. Marquis Juan was not very old, and his wife was even younger, so the sophisticated Yang Feng did not know how to receive him.
"Wanhou went out again?" Cui Xiaojun asked.
"Wanhou went out to buy New Year's goods." Yang Feng replied.
"He has been going out a lot recently, and he always buys a lot of things when he comes back. Sometimes I just say it casually, and he has to look all over the city." Cui Xiaojun glanced at the room, "Wan Hou is really confused, everything he buys is given away. After entering the back house, I don't think about other people. Guilan, go and get a share of the tea, fruit, cloth, etc. that Hou Juan bought."
Without waiting for Yang Feng to resign, the maid had already led the order to leave.
Yang Feng's room was not big and the furnishings were very simple. Cui Xiaojun walked around half a circle at will, then turned around and asked, "I heard that Director Yang is leaving the Hou residence?"
The news had spread long ago, and Yang Feng had nothing to hide, "Yes, I will go to the Northern Army after the end of the first month."
"Congratulations to Director Yang, although the Northern Army Commander Shi is not a prominent position, he has a bright future in the future."
"I am a eunuch, and it is an exception to join the army as an official, and I will not have a better future."
"Then why did Director Yang abandon Marquis Juan?" In an instant, Cui Xiaojun revealed his true form. He was no longer the elegant Madam Marquis, but a disaffected little girl.
The embarrassing feeling in Yang Feng's heart finally disappeared, and he smiled: "Because I have nothing to do here."
Cui Xiaojun noticed his gaffe, but he couldn't do it if he wanted to pretend to be the way he was just now. His cheeks couldn't help turning red, and he lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Marquis Tire admires Duke Yang very much, and regards Duke Yang as his master... Are you? Did you leave him because of disappointment?"
"Disappointed? Why did Madam say this?"
"Marquis Juan did nothing after leaving the palace, just practiced martial arts, often went out for a walk, and bought back some useless things, but that's not his fault, it's all me..."
Yang Feng bowed to his wife, "Madam has been worrying too much. I went to serve in the Northern Army because I hope to bring more help to Marquis Tien. The Chief Shi of the Northern Army is always more helpful than the head of the Hou residence."
"It turns out that it's all my fault, please don't mind Mr. Yang."
"Madam is tired, I can only be happy, how can I mind?"
Cui Xiaojun blushed even more, bit his lip and thought for a while, then raised his head and asked, "What can I do to help Juan Hou?"
"Well... I'm interested in the art of housekeeping..."
"No no, not housekeeping, but real help."
"I don't understand what Madam means." Yang Feng actually understood, but he didn't want to admit it.
"Marquis Tien... he should be the emperor, and Da Chu also needs such an emperor, doesn't he?" Cui Xiaojun said with courage.
"Does Madam know that such a statement is outrageous?"
"Even if she is beheaded, I have to say this. I know the queen mother, she doesn't want to choose a qualified emperor at all, she just wants an obedient puppet, but her wish comes true, and the big Chu is finished. Ministers I just want to keep the power I already have in hand, but I don't really care who the emperor is in the palace, the only enemy of Marquis Juan is the queen mother..."
Yang Feng walked to the door and glanced out. His room was relatively remote, and there was no one outside. He turned around and said, "Does Madam want to be a queen again?"
Cui Xiaojun was taken aback, "I don't care if I'm not the queen, I just..."
"Then please don't say this kind of words again, as far as I know, Juan Hou is satisfied with his current life, which is why I leave with confidence. In the future, I will help Juan Hou, and also to help him not to be bullied, not to help him. regain the throne."
Yang Feng is very good at lying, even in the face of a little girl who is only thirteen years old after the new year, he speaks calmly and calmly, "To be honest, Marquis Juan does not have the strength to become an emperor, it is better to help him than to help the Great Sima of the Northern Army. Han Shi, he is the orphan of the Crown Prince, he is the most qualified to succeed him among the children of the Han family, he can govern the army, and he has the support of a large number of civil servants.
Cui Xiaojun stood blankly for a while, then bowed his head and said: "Han Shi is not bad luck, but too good, although his parents are dead, his uncle is still there, and the wife he married is also the daughter of a minister. On the contrary, the current prince who is about to become emperor has no roots in the capital, and his mother family is in the southern county, which is in line with the queen mother's wishes. Even the ministers are happy. , the Queen Mother's elder brother Shangguan Xu has never been granted a real post, and it is also the Queen Mother's move to please the minister."
Yang Feng was very surprised. Although all these things came from public information, no one dared to talk about it publicly. It was unusual for Mrs. Juanhou to have such insight living in a deep house.
But he still shook his head, it was enough to tell the truth to one person, even Han Ruzi could keep the secret in his heart to his wife, and he would not reveal it, "These are meaningless to Marquis Juan, he is far away from the battle for the throne, his wife is Do you want him to fight to the death, or do you want to live a peaceful life?"
"I... Of course I hope to be safe, but... I know Hou Juan has something on his mind, a big one."
Sure enough, it was the most difficult to hide the bedmate. Even though Han Ruzi was tight-lipped, he still revealed a little flaw. Yang Feng smiled and said, "Then find a way to resolve the worries of Hou Juan, and let him forget the life in the palace. You are still young, and you have to live for a long time. day."
"Can he really forget?" Cui Xiaojun showed a childish side again.
Yang Feng couldn't even bear to deceive her, but he nodded, "He will."
These three words are not completely deceitful, and Yang Feng himself has a slight suspicion: Juan Hou is too young, when he is used to the current leisurely life, is he willing to invest in the struggle for the throne step by step?
Yang Feng has never been willing to help incompetent people. He went to the Northern Army to see how long Hou Juan's ambitions could last.
Cui Xiaojun smiled sweetly, "If he doesn't want to be the emperor, I'll accompany him in the House of Marquis Tien until he grows old. I'm afraid the court... Duke Yang will really protect him in the future, right?"
"From the moment I picked up Hou Juan from home, it was my duty to protect his safety." Yang Feng was very happy to be able to tell the truth to his wife.
Cui Xiaojun said goodbye, and after a while, Yang Fengdu left behind the large and small bags brought by the maid.
Han Ruzi returned to the house from the outside, brought more food and play things, and went to the back house to see his wife with great interest. In the evening, he came to see Yang Feng and wanted to say goodbye to him over a drink.
Zhang Youcai brought the wine and food, and did not forget to introduce: "The sauced pork from Dachengju, the roast chicken from Xing'an Building, the pickled goosefoot from the Hutong of the hometown... tsk tsk." Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Youcai's saliva was about to flow out.
"Go to the kitchen and steal some food." Han Ruzi threw Zhang Youcai away with a smile and poured wine for Yang Feng himself.
Yang Feng was not polite, he picked up the wine glass and drank it, Han Ruzi only took a sip, and then filled it up for Yang Feng.
"Madame asked you to come?" Yang Feng asked after drinking for three times.
"Well, she said that after the first month of the year, there are so many things, it's hard to find time to see you off."
"You are very obedient."
Han Ruzi scratched his head, "She said very well, the new emperor will be enthroned on the first day of the first month of the first month, and then he will go to the Taimiao and various ancestral tombs to worship, and also worship the heaven, earth, sun and moon, and the clan... I'm going to rest."
"This is a good thing. Participating in these ceremonies can show everyone that the Queen Mother has no intention of killing you, and you can be safer. But you still have to be careful. The Queen Mother only temporarily stabilized the situation, and the forces in the DPRK are more complicated than before. The empress dowager and the Cui family are too tense, and they are walking carefully on the Dubu Bridge, and no one wants to arouse suspicion at this time, so you are very safe, once someone wants to break the balance..."
"Killing the deposed emperor is the easiest and most effective way to pick things up." Han Ruzi understood this, and now he takes Du Chuanyun with him when he goes out, "Be careful too, since you are in the military, everything is done according to military law, Da Sima. If you want to kill you, it's easy."
Yang Feng sneered, "Han Shiqiang pretends to be sophisticated, but he is just a teenager who doesn't know the world. He is very scared, even more scared than when you entered the palace. He doesn't know who to trust, but he is eager to get help. For me , this is just an opportunity, not a danger."
Han Shi's appearance doesn't show any flaws, but Han Ruzi can understand the situation of the prince's orphan: the queen mother's mind is unpredictable, the minister's appearance is different, the Cui clan's eyes are on the outside, and the clan fights inwardly... He is indeed justifiably afraid, nervous.
"You always have to assist the emperor."
"Because only the emperor can compete with that secret gang." Yang Feng looked at Han Ruzi and understood the young man's mind, "Please understand, if the Great Sima of the Northern Army is really a malleable person, I will follow the trend and help him. With a helping hand, when the time comes, Hou Juan will also follow the trend and live in peace in the mansion."
Han Ruzi drank the leftover wine in his cup. It was hard to imagine that just over half a year ago, he was still the darling of bedridden. His short life as an emperor changed everything. Although he had never tasted the true taste of power, he was close to Smell the aroma.
"He is not a plastic person." Han Ruzi affirmed, "His desire for the throne is not even as good as that of the King of the East Sea. The reason why the courtiers did not fully support him must be the same reason. Hesitating is worse than having few desires."
Yang Feng fills a glass for Hou Juan, who is young and lacks the necessary experience and skills, but there is one thing Yang Feng appreciates: he can always guess the simplest and most essential answer.
"Let me leave another question for Hou Juan: Who will make the first move between the empress dowager and Cui Hong? What move?"
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