Shengshichun

Chapter 385 You Are a Wife Slave
The news of the victory in the northwest was quickly spread to the capital, and people inside and outside the capital rushed to tell each other, and they were overjoyed. The Dayue Dynasty headed by Duan Ruo was the biggest threat to the Great Zhou Dynasty. A year ago, they flattened their imperial court and overthrew their dynasty. This time, Pei Zhan led people to completely eradicate the root of the trouble. Everyone was excited and worried, and repeatedly confirmed whether the world would really be at peace from now on.

"From now on, the world will be at peace."

The next day was the Double Ninth Festival. The emperor climbed up the city wall and addressed the people surrounded by officials.

On that day, the whole city was cheering and their joy was beyond words.

After the border is stabilized, what remains is "domestic stability".

The day after the Double Ninth Festival, heavy rain suddenly fell in the northwest, which has always been dry and rainless.

The northwest is only seven or eight days' walk from the capital. I was anxious when I came here, and I was eager to go back home.

Everyone was silent all the way and just hurried on their journey. They encountered rain halfway and had to rest in the inn early.

After nightfall, Pei Zhan arranged for a small room to be set up in the kitchen of the inn, so that everyone could sit down and have a good meal, and then rest.

Since we set out for the northwest, we have been on the road for seven or eight days, stayed at the border for more than half a month, and spent another few days on the way back to Beijing. During this nearly one month, everyone has been rushing around and has not had a good rest at all. We can only take advantage of the heavy rain tonight.

Yang Yi was worried about the prison van in the backyard, so he took some people to check it out in the afternoon, and then arranged for Chen Song and everyone else to take turns guarding it. After getting caught in the rain, he went back to his room to take a shower, and when he came out, he was later than everyone else.

When I went downstairs, the hall was already packed with people. The rain had trapped all the people coming and going from the north and south into the inn.

"…This news has caused the entire capital to explode. Now, people from all walks of life are discussing this matter. Some people have long been looking for relatives who are close to the emperor's ancestral home, but now they can't find them at all, let alone close relatives, even those within seven or eight generations can't be found.

"Think about it, before the Great Zhou Dynasty was established, the Central Plains had been in chaos for so many years, there were so many wars, and so many people left their homes. So many years have passed, and those who could be found have already been found.

"Can we find the people who couldn't be found when the country was founded now?"

The sound of loud conversation in the store was clearly heard by everyone passing by. Yang Yi heard the content of the conversation clearly and couldn't help but stop.

At this time, the person sitting at the same table as the one who was talking just now also continued the conversation: "That's right, the Prince Rong in the court was the only prince in the royal family, and he was just the emperor's cousin. If there really was someone else, it would be impossible to only confer the title on Prince Rong.

"So it seems that the Great Zhou really has no successor, and its future is worrying!"

The post station is only about two hundred miles away from the capital, so not only are there a lot of people coming and going here, but there are also a lot of people coming out of the capital.

The people in this conversation were obviously coming from the capital and heading north.

Yang Yi found this very strange and asked He Zhao, "What are they discussing?"

He Zhao had been following him and obviously had no idea what was going on.

He raised his foot to walk over to ask, but Yang Yi was already ahead of him.

"Brothers, from your accent, you seem to be from the capital? May I ask what important things have happened in the capital recently?"

Yang Yi bowed and greeted him in a friendly manner.

Although he was tall and mighty, he was dressed in cloth and had always been kind to others. His every move and gesture was no different from that of ordinary people, so the greeting was not considered abrupt.

The four people who were talking around the table just now stopped talking, looked at him and stood up: "We are merchants from the capital, is this brother also out for business?"

"No, I live in the capital, but I left the capital for some time ago and am preparing to return. I just heard what you were talking about and I am very curious. I wonder what happened in the court?"

After hearing his background, everyone felt relieved to know that he was not an official. The first person to speak was a man in blue clothes.

"Brother, you may not know that a big event happened in the capital about half a month ago. The Prince of Yan in the palace who was originally preparing to move into the East Palace was not a real prince!

"He is just the orphan of a border garrison commander adopted by the Emperor and the Empress!"

Yang Yi's face froze when he heard this: "How did this news get out?"

"The source of the news is unknown. But the news has spread all over the capital, and the palace and the court have not issued any notice to stop the rumors.

"Then this news is at least 80% true."

After the blue-clothed man finished speaking, the green-clothed man next to him continued, "The Prince of Yan is not a prince, and his surname is not Yang, so of course he cannot be the crown prince.

“In the beginning, so many meritorious officials followed King Zhou in his conquests and finally submitted to him and supported him in ascending the throne. This was because it was the Yang family’s right to rule the country.

"If the palace abdicates the throne to a general's orphan who has no blood relationship with him because there is no prince, what will the meritorious officials and generals in the court think?
"Even if he wants to abdicate, it is far from the turn of an unknown general's son to take over!

"So, the court has had both joy and sorrow recently. The joy is that General Pei led the generals to successfully capture the remnants of Dayue, but the sorrow is that while the external worries have been resolved, internal troubles have arisen again.

"The Yang family has no prince or grandson to inherit the throne, so what should we do with this vast country? Even if we want to abdicate to a meritorious official in the court, who would be the most suitable family to abdicate to?"

"Exactly! Not to mention other generals or civil officials, among the nobles alone, there are the five great generals' houses with outstanding military achievements.

"Who among these five families doesn't have a series of merits? Who is inferior to the other? Just choosing one of them to succeed the throne is already as difficult as ascending to heaven!"

Four people at the table took turns discussing the topic. Yang Yi, who was sitting nearby, was stunned. He and He Zhao exchanged looks, and both saw shock in each other's eyes.

Yang Yi asked the man in blue, "Brother, are all of what you said true? Did the court really not respond to this?"

"Of course it's true!" The man in blue tapped the table with his fingers, emphasizing his tone, "Are you saying there was no response at all? That's not the case.

“In the first few days, several generals in the court and several censors in the Censorate came out to rebuke those who were discussing the issue on the streets.

“But they couldn’t come up with any real evidence to refute the rumor, and they just criticized it privately, without the court issuing a public document to ban discussion, so it didn’t have much effect.

"The key is that both the court officials and the common people are very concerned about this matter, and the crew can't suppress it at all!"

Yang Yi took a deep breath: "Then the court will just ignore it?"

"Of course not." The man in blue waved his hand and said, "Didn't the Northwest capture the remnants a few days ago? I heard that the court is waiting until the Northwest is pacified and General Pei and his men have captured all the criminals before dealing with this matter.

“But as ordinary people, we have no way of knowing or controlling what they are going to do!
"I just hope that these officials will be more compassionate to the common people and not start any more disputes. Over the past few decades, I don't know how many people have been injured and killed in the war, and how many people have starved to death because of the war and famine. If there is another wave of unrest, the people will suffer too much!"

The man in blue couldn't stop sighing when he talked about this. His companions at the same table also talked about their sufferings in the past few years.

Yang Yi remained silent for a long time. The cup of tea handed to him by the man in blue clothes had unknowingly grown cold in his hands.

……

In the small room in the backyard, the food and wine have been served. The conditions during the trip are definitely not as good as those in the capital, but there is fish and meat, and the shochu is freshly brewed, which is already very good.

Everyone was waiting for Yang Yi, so they didn't pick up their chopsticks and just chatted about random things.

At this time, Jiang Lin walked in and said, "Everyone in the palace is talking about the capital. I just passed by and heard it."

Everyone at the table stopped talking, looked at each other, and then looked at Pei Zhan.

Before Pei Zhan could say anything, the person guarding the door announced, "Mr. Yang is here."

Then the door curtain was lifted, and Yang Yi walked in, bending over.

As soon as he entered the room, he turned his gaze to Pei Zhan: "Something happened in the capital, and the background of the Prince of Yan was exposed. You all know about this, right?"

Everyone was even more silent.

Pei Zhan stood up and nodded, saying, "Ah Zhen's letter indeed mentioned this matter. So I am very anxious to return to Beijing as soon as possible, because I really don't know what kind of trouble will happen.

"Since the founding of the Great Zhou, the monarch and his subjects have been of one mind, and the court has been relatively stable over the years. Infighting among the subjects is rare, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist at all.

“In the past, people did not act recklessly because the emperor was wise and the queen was virtuous, so no one dared to act recklessly.

"It's hard to say what will happen in the future. Everyone knows the emperor's health condition. If the successor is clear, people with bad intentions will know that the meritorious officials and generals in the court will assist the new emperor, so they will not dare to act recklessly.

“But now everyone in the world knows that the Prince of Yan is not of royal blood, so it will be difficult to convince the public to give him the throne.

"Those who dare not think will definitely wait for an opportunity to act."

Yang Yi frowned and looked at him for a long time before he slowly sat down.

Then everyone sat down.

Liang Zhi called the guards in to pour wine, and then said, "Even before the worry about the royal heir arose, Xu Yin had already teamed up with the He family to cause trouble.

“Once this news gets out, I really don’t know how many demons and monsters will be aroused.

“However, we, the nobles who have followed the emperor in conquering the world, will support the emperor no matter what. Even if it means sacrificing a few more lives, we must protect the destiny of our Great Zhou.

"Mr. Yang, you have worked hard on this journey. Don't worry about the things in the palace for now. Come, let's have a couple of drinks first."

When Yang Yi heard this, he glanced at him.

He Zhao behind him also glanced at Liang Zhi.

The affairs of the palace were the affairs of their master's parents. Even if he had no intention of returning to inherit the throne, nor did he intend to recognize that father, he was still a man who cared about the people. How could he not worry after hearing such news? How could he still drink?

But everyone seemed to have the same understanding. After Liang Zhi picked up the wine glass, everyone picked up their wine and started drinking.

"Mr. Yang, you are so mighty on the battlefield. We toast to you!" Cheng Chili brought the wine glass to Yang Yi. "Since you have such ability, why don't you come to the Jingji camp and serve as a commander? Anyway, you have no plan to return to the palace! Why not join us in protecting our country!"

Yang Yi felt like he was choking.

He looked up at the burly guy in front of him and drank the wine in one gulp. Then he looked at the roast duck closest to him, tore off a duck leg, and started eating in silence.

Everyone at the table: Liang Zhi, Cheng Chili, Pei Zhan, and two generals under the Pei family, all stared at him.

Yang Yi pointed at the table full of food with the duck leg: "Aren't you hungry?"

Everyone then withdrew their gazes, coughed to each other twice, and picked up their chopsticks one after another.

After Yang Yi finished the duck legs, he drank three cups of wine with Pei Zhan, and then ate two bowls of rice with the dishes.

Along the way, no one could tell anything was wrong with him. Even the solemn look on his face when he entered the room disappeared afterwards.

Before the banquet ended, everyone talked about the next itinerary. After the banquet, Liang Zhi waited for Yang Yi to leave first, and then secretly dragged Pei Zhan into the room.

"Do you think His Highness will compromise?"

Pei Zhan glanced at him: "Why do you want to 'compromise'? Why do you want to force others to do something?"

Liang Zhi was anxious: "Because the Great Zhou needs a king! And he is powerful, brave, and smart.

"I didn't take the ten-year-old eldest prince seriously before, but after seeing him fight with my own eyes, I dare say that even if the deposed prince was still alive, even if he had a decent mind, he couldn't compare to this one!

"Just based on his concern for the people of the world and his love for the Great Zhou, it shows that he also cherishes the hard work of the countless soldiers who sacrificed their lives to establish the Great Zhou!

"Based on this alone, it is most appropriate for him to be the new ruler of the Great Zhou! And now only he can calm down the current chaos!"

Pei Zhan's face was filled with worry after hearing these words: "We don't know what's going on in the court right now! And we can't force someone to ascend the throne, right? Everyone has their own choice, why force it?"

Doesn’t Pei Zhan think the same as they do?
But if he really kidnapped someone to get to the top as Liang Zhi thought, Fu Zhen would not agree, right?
Although she had promised him that she would not leave, they had not yet consummated their marriage and were not yet a real couple. He did not want to go against her before even meeting and discussing it with her.

"You! You are just a wife slave! You forget everything after you have a wife. I guess I misjudged you!"

Liang Zhi suddenly glared at him unhappily, then pushed him out of his doorstep and slammed it shut.

Pei Zhan looked at Jiang Lin behind him in confusion.

Jiang Lin coughed uncomfortably: "You just said it. You said you were afraid that you would be beaten after the young lady knew that you had set a trap for Mr. Yang..."

Pei Zhan: ...