Do you know: I am Qi Heng

"What nonsense is this child spouting?"

Princess Pingning quickly interrupted Qi Heng and sent the servants out of the room.

It's fine to say such things in private, but there are servants in the main hall.

If the servants aren't discreet and accidentally leak the information, it will be troublesome.

"Your dad said you've become more composed, so how come you dare to say anything?"

"Mother, I didn't think that much about it at the time."

Qi Heng hadn't thought that much about it when he started speaking.

"You'll have to be more careful next time!"

Princess Pingning gave a few words of advice, saying, "You just said that marriage alliances with high-ranking officials in the court are unacceptable, but why is marriage to Xun Gui also forbidden?"

"Mother, every dynasty has learned from the lessons of the previous dynasty, but do you know of a mistake that every dynasty has made?" Qi Heng asked.

"What mistake?" Princess Pingning asked curiously.

"Make good use of eunuchs!"

Qi Heng said, "There are examples of dynasties that have heavily relied on eunuchs. Even if the founding emperor set a rule against heavily relying on eunuchs, later emperors would still rely on them."

In this respect, no dynasty was an exception!

The most common example of power imbalance is between the emperor's relatives and eunuchs.

Later dynasties tended to learn from the problems of previous dynasties in order to avoid similar situations from occurring.

The fact that every dynasty heavily relied on eunuchs is unique.

It's just that some dynasties didn't have eunuchs who were also famous and could wield great power.

"Because all the power of the eunuchs came from the emperor, they were naturally at odds with the imperial family, relatives of the emperor, and even the civil and military officials in the court."

They were also clear about the source of their power. They might deceive the emperor, but they would not easily betray him, much less plot to usurp the throne.

No one can compare to this, and there's no way anyone can compare.

Throughout history, there have been countless examples of eunuchs wielding power, and the number of important eunuchs is equally countless.

It wasn't about the emperors or anything like that, but rather that in their eyes, eunuchs were more trustworthy than others.

Eunuchs were often disabled, and unless they married and had children before entering the palace, they were often alone.

He can't compare to others, but he can be a loyal minister, and the effect is about the same.

This is what Qi Heng wanted to express. Of course, he couldn't really be a completely isolated official, but given the relationship between the Qi family and the royal family, not marrying into a family of equal social standing was indeed more beneficial than harmful.

"My wife, I think Heng'er makes a good point."

Qi Xuan said, "Even if our family were to marry into a family of equal social standing, it wouldn't be of much help. It's better to choose a virtuous and capable woman!"

Princess Pingning frowned slightly upon hearing this. She was indeed somewhat persuaded, but she looked down on families of lower social standing.

Seeing Princess Pingning's hesitation, Qi Heng calmly suggested, "Why don't we find an opportunity to mention it to the Empress Dowager and ask the Emperor to grant us a marriage?"

"Um?"

Princess Pingning's eyes lit up upon hearing this. If she could ask the Emperor to grant her a marriage, then social status wouldn't seem so important.

This is an honor that cannot be compared to differences in social status.

Seeing that his mother was interested, Qi Heng said, "Mother, after a few days of rest, I will accompany you to the palace."

If his mother were to propose it, the Emperor would never grant him a marriage to a concubine's daughter.

We still need to work on Zhao Shou.

To prevent his mother from entering the palace prematurely, he had to give her some psychological cues.

"Um."

Princess Pingning nodded slightly and said, "His Highness loves playing with you the most. You must come to the palace during your leave, otherwise His Highness will make a fuss."

Although Qi Heng didn't say he would bring it up when he brought him into the palace, Princess Pingning realized this point after hearing Qi Heng say that.

When Qi Heng enters the palace to play with the young prince, the conversation will naturally turn to Qi Heng, and she can then smoothly steer the conversation upwards.

.........

Bailudong Academy is located on the southeastern foot of Mount Lu and the northwest bank of Poyang Lake, in a quiet and secluded environment, free from the hustle and bustle of the city.

A few miles away from the academy, there is a town whose original name has long been forgotten. Since the Bailudong Academy was renamed, the town has been renamed Bailu Town.

Although it was just a small town, Bailu Town was the most frequent market for the students of Bailudong Academy because it was nearly 20 miles away from the nearest county, Xingzi.

The town is lined with brothels and restaurants, and the women in the brothels are of higher quality than those in Xingzi County. Many people from the city come here specifically to visit the brothels for entertainment.

In a back alley on the west side of the town, a slightly overweight man stealthily approached the back door of a house, looked around, and gently knocked on the door.

A moment later, the courtyard gate opened, and the slightly overweight man hurriedly entered before the gate was closed again.

Manniang led her brother Zhu Wei to a room, frowning as she said, "I left you a letter about ten days ago, why are you only coming now?"

These past few days, she has been keeping an eye out for any activity near the back door around the agreed time each day.

Zhu Wei was late in arriving, which worried her greatly.

"I haven't been in town these past few days; I went to the county seat," Zhu Wei explained with a smile.

"Going gambling again?" Man Niang frowned.

"Just for fun."

Zhu Wei said, "Gu Tingye often drinks tea and wine with some of his classmates from the academy. If I stay in town, I'm bound to run into him."

Manniang was too lazy to bother with his trivial matters and said, "Erlang told me a few days ago that he plans to set off for the capital in the fall."

"Just go back to the capital. He needs to take the imperial examination. There will be a metropolitan examination next year, so he naturally needs to go back in advance."

Zhu Wei said nonchalantly, "You already have two kids, are you afraid the Gu family won't let you in?"

"But I don't want to be a concubine!" A hint of ambition and madness flashed in Man Niang's eyes.

"Are you crazy?"

Zhu Wei said anxiously, "What are our identities? The Gu family is a noble family. Gu Tingye is not only the eldest son, but his elder brother is also sickly and has no children."

"That title will definitely be his in the future, how could he possibly marry you as his principal wife?"

Zhu Wei felt that his sister had gone mad; with their status, they weren't even qualified to be Gu Tingye's concubine.

Their original plan was to have Manniang stay by Gu Tingye's side as a maid under the guise of repaying a debt of gratitude.

Find an opportunity to have a relationship with Gu Tingye, and then have a child.

Having a child means she can become a concubine in the Gu family in the future.

At that time, Man Niang will become a favored concubine, and she will be blessed with wealth and honor.

Even a tiny leak would make him live a very comfortable life.

How will you know if you don't try?

Manniang said, "I asked Erlang, and he said that after returning to the capital, he would first find a place to settle me down, and after he passed the imperial examination, he would explain the situation to his family and take me into the family."

Since that's the case, why not wait until he passes the imperial examination with flying colors, and then try to force the Gu family to agree to let me marry them?

If, after he achieves top honors in the imperial examinations, rumors spread that he has a mistress and two children, not only his reputation but also the reputation of the Gu family will be affected.

For the sake of his future and the Gu family's reputation, the Gu family might very well agree.

There is no comparison between a concubine and a wife. If I am just a concubine, how much money can I get for you when the wife is watching over me?

"Things will be different once you become the principal wife. Your second son might even arrange an official position for you."

Zhu Wei's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but he quickly frowned and said, "But Gu Tingye has always believed that I ran away. If I suddenly reappear, will he acknowledge me as his brother-in-law?"