Women Wearing Men: The Growth Path of the Bastards of the Aristocratic Family

When he was on duty that day, Gu Yuanhui deliberately went around to the yamen where the Imperial Academy worked, and stopped Gu Yunji before he left: "I heard that you were there when Jia Daoheng was punished at the Sutra Banquet today?"

Gu Yunji raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Master Jia was punished in the morning, and it has only been more than half a day now. Uncle Tang, you found out so quickly?"

Gu Yuanhui waved his hand indifferently: "What is this? Don't say it's me now. I'm afraid that half of the people in the court will know. Jia Daoheng's blunt admonition offended the Holy One, which aroused His Majesty's anger and was punished. There was a lot of uproar, but I don’t know the specific circumstances, I heard that you were there at the time, so I came to ask you.”

"That's right, Jia Daoheng is the lecturer at today's Jingyan, and Cheng Yan and I are the examiners. We did watch the whole process." After speaking, Gu Yunji told Gu Yuanhui the whole process of Jia Daoheng's punishment.

After listening to the whole story, Gu Yuanhui sighed: "Jia Daoheng, the No. [-] man in the Enke Palace Examination in the first year of Jingfeng, I only heard that he was talented and learned, but I didn't expect him to have such courage and arrogance. He was unwilling to give up after repeated persuasion failures. , In the end, he actually put his idea on the sutra banquet, and would rather take a ban to speak out to His Majesty, he is quite a character."

Gu Yunji was a little surprised when he heard the words: "From what you mean, Mr. Jia tried to persuade His Majesty to appoint the eldest son of the emperor as the heir, but it failed?"

Gu Yuanhui said: "Isn't it? Ever since the eldest son of the emperor reached the age of studying, Jia Daoheng has frequently asked his majesty to let the eldest son of the emperor go to the cabinet to study. At first, his majesty was willing to perfunctory and find various reasons to prevaricate, but later the number of times increased. , Your Majesty is so annoying that he doesn't want to talk to him at all, and the papers handed over are often returned to him without even reading them."

"However, Jia Daoheng was not discouraged by this. He still wrote a book every once in a while, and it was unshakable. The Hanlin scholar guessed that he might use the opportunity of giving lectures to speak to His Majesty, and was worried that he would mess up, so he kept telling him what he was worth. Go to the back row, until all the Hanlin officials who can serve as lecturers have been rotated, and then he has to be allowed to give lectures."

While Gu Yuanhui was speaking, he and Gu Yunji walked out slowly: "It is said that before today's lecture, the Hanlin scholar specially asked Jia Daoheng several times to finish the lecture in peace and order, and not to make any troubles. I didn't expect him to make a good promise on the surface. , actually didn’t listen to a single word, and came directly to this.”

Gu Yunji never thought that there was such a story behind it, so he couldn't help but ask: "Master Jia is so persistent on this matter, why? Although he succeeded in admonishing His Majesty face to face today, he also angered His Majesty because of this. Don't say anything, and you haven't seen His Majesty adopt his advice? What's the point of this?"

"What's the point? Just ask for a clear name. The Jia family made their fortune through the imperial examinations. Up to Jia Daoheng's generation, four consecutive generations have entered the Imperial Academy. The family style is clean and upright, and most of the children in the family are promising, everyone takes the imperial examination to serve the country as their own responsibility, they don't seek power and wealth, the only thing they care about is the reputation of being honest and honest."

"So the Jia family has been officials for so many generations. If you want to say how powerful it is, it's not enough. But almost every generation has people who have become famous in the court, or they have spoken out and advised Tian Yan, or they have stuck to the rules. They refuse to be flexible, they always have to fight against His Majesty anyway, no matter what happens, as long as they can leave a reputation of "uprightness" in the history books, they will be satisfied."

"For people like them, as long as they can gain a good reputation, what's the point of receiving dozens of imperial scepters? As the saying goes, 'it doesn't matter if you are killed', 'the name left in history' is the most important thing." He said, Gu Yuanhui curled his lips, obviously disapproving of this, "But Jia Daoheng got his wish this time, but it almost caused you to be implicated as well."

Gu Yunji comforted: "Actually, it's okay. His Majesty didn't anger us. The main reason is that he was a little scared. Even if Master Jia's words were so offensive, His Majesty only fined him with the imperial staff, and he was neither imprisoned nor demoted. It can be seen that His Majesty Qi returns to Qi, and there is still a measure in my heart."

Gu Yuanhui said: "Although Jia Daoheng's move is a little aggressive, but in this way, it just puts the matter of the prince's study in the pavilion on the table, so that His Majesty can avoid the inevitable procrastination. When the time comes, there will be more courtiers who will write the letter. Your Majesty should resist it." It won't be long before the eldest son of the emperor will be sent out to study in the pavilion."

In Gu Yunji's impression, Emperor Jingfeng was courageous and resourceful, and he was also a sensible person. It was hard to imagine that he would do things that violated the foundation of the country, such as abolishing the elders and establishing the younger ones, just because he favored the second son of the emperor. .

Gu Yunji really couldn't figure it out, so he asked: "Generally speaking, a boy can start studying when he is five or six years old, but now the eldest prince will be eight years old in a few months, and he has been dragged for two or three years and has not yet left the court." Reading, is it possible... His Majesty is really determined to abolish the elders and establish the younger ones?"

Gu Yuanhui shook his head and sighed: "If you say that His Majesty has made up his mind, it's not entirely true. It's more like he can't make up his mind, so he keeps procrastinating like this. After all, the current princes are still young, and there is no difference in talent and ability." The main reason is that His Majesty dotes on Concubine Liu Gui and loves the house for a while, so he prefers the second prince more."

"The eldest prince's biological mother was a lowly maidservant who died in childbirth when she gave birth to the eldest prince. The eldest prince did not have a biological mother to support him, nor did he have any support from his mother's family after him. He was often excluded in the palace. A quiet and forbearing temperament."

"As for Your Majesty, on the one hand, he dislikes the eldest prince's background, and on the other hand, he is inevitably affected by the succession system, subconsciously placing higher expectations on the eldest prince, and feels that his character is not dignified enough to embarrass the crown prince. However, he couldn’t make up his mind to give up on him. With such contradictions, His Majesty himself didn’t know who to choose, so he had to procrastinate day after day.”

"However, establishing a crown prince is a major national event, how can it be delayed like this?" Gu Yuanhui frowned slightly, with a trace of worry in his eyes, "The Liu family of the second prince's mother's family is not peaceful. The more domineering and domineering, they caused a lot of disasters, and every time they need to cover up for them. If they continue like this, their ambitions will grow and expand, will they be able to pay back in the future?"

When he said this, Gu Yunji was also a little worried: "At present, the courtiers can still support the eldest son together, but if the crown prince is not established for a long time, and the princes have different opinions, it is hard to guarantee that they will not want to fight for the heir. At that time, the situation in the court will change. Most of the ministers will also stand in line to win over, fight for the prince they support, and fight each other endlessly."

Seeing Gu Yunji's distressed look, Gu Yuanhui patted him on the shoulder, pretending to be relaxed and said: "You are still young, and you have just entered the imperial court. Old people like us are going to take care of big things, so we can't take your turn. You, what are you worried about?"

"What's more, with the opening made by Jia Daoheng, some prestigious ministers in the court should soon follow and put pressure on His Majesty. Maybe on the day of the Wangri court meeting, they will collectively speak to His Majesty. Don't worry about the prince leaving the pavilion to study."

Walking outside the Donghua Gate, Gu Yuanhui glanced at the sky and said: "It's not early, I've been dragging you for a long time today, I think your wife must be waiting at home, go back quickly, and we'll talk later when you have time. "

Gu Yunji didn't say any more after hearing the words, and after saying goodbye to Gu Yuanhui, he walked home.