The world of film and television begins from childhood

"The Sheng Mansion is what it is today thanks to my planning and hard work. With Bai'er's help, the Sheng Mansion will surely be even more glorious in the future."

In front of his beloved woman, Sheng Hong seemed to be drunk, and he spoke big words without thinking twice.

"With Hong Lang here, Sheng Mansion will surely become more and more prosperous."

Lin Qinshuang complimented with a smile, but deep in her eyes, there was a deep chill.

Her relationship with Sheng Hong was just a casual one. It was for herself before, and now it is for herself and her two children.

After the "illness" the year before and the incident of being driven to a farm outside the city, the little affection she had for Sheng Hong was gone. She tried hard to return to the Sheng Mansion, just for her own children and revenge.

That's right, she wanted revenge, revenge for the suffering she and her daughter had endured in the village outside the city for more than a year.

"Honglang, the fifth and sixth girls are getting married, but Mo'er is older than them and still hasn't gotten married. You have to think more about Mo'er."

She was extremely jealous of Minglan's ability to marry into the Duke of Qi's Mansion. In her opinion, her daughter deserved to marry into the Duke of Qi's Mansion more than Minglan.

If they had not been framed and driven to a farm outside the city, how could Minglan have taken advantage of them.

Sheng Hong nodded and said, "Of course, after we have arranged Ru'er and Ming'er's marriage, we should consider Mo'er's marriage next. Don't worry, I will definitely pay attention to it and find a good marriage for Mo'er."

He was not worried about this at all. With the current Sheng family, would he have to worry about not finding a good marriage?

Lin Qinshuang's eyes flickered, and she whispered, "Honglang, the Sixth Miss has married into the Duke's Mansion. Our Mo'er is prettier and more talented than the Sixth Miss, so she shouldn't marry someone worse than her."

When Sheng Hong heard this, he was startled.

"What did you say?"

"I think Mo'er is no worse than Sixth Miss. If Sixth Miss can marry into the Duke's Mansion, then there will be no problem for our Mo'er too."

Sheng Hong exclaimed, "Oh my God, you really dare to think that you want to marry into the Duke's Mansion. What are you thinking? Ming Er can marry into the Duke's Mansion, it's God's blessing, and you still want Mo Er to marry into the Duke's Mansion. Do you think the Duke's Mansion belongs to our family and you can marry there whenever you want?"

Although he could brag in front of Lin Qinshuang, he actually knew in his heart that the reason why the Duke of Qi came to propose to Minglan was not because of his face, and he still had this little bit of respect.

If he really had such great ability and status, why would he let his legitimate daughter marry a second-class Jinshi? He would definitely find a noble lord's mansion for Rulan.

As for Molan's marriage, he thought that it would be enough to find a man like a Jinshi, and he didn't even dare to think about the Lord's Mansion.

After all, Molan's situation is different. She is registered under Lin Qinshuang's name and is a real concubine's daughter.

Although Minglan was also a concubine's daughter, she had been living under the name of the eldest lady Wang Ruofu many years ago. In name, Minglan was also the legitimate daughter of the Sheng family.

He really likes his daughter Molan, but that doesn't mean he will do anything reckless for Molan. In his heart, the Sheng family and his own face are more important.

Lin Qinshuang said coquettishly: "Honglang, how do you know it won't work if you haven't tried it? With our Mo'er's character and talent, who wouldn't praise her if she were told about it? She definitely deserves better."

Sheng Hong said impatiently: "Okay, I get it, I'll find a way, take a rest."

Seeing Sheng Hong lying down to sleep, Lin Qinshuang's face became gloomy. She knew Sheng Hong best, so how could she not hear that she was being perfunctory.

…………

At the turn of spring and summer, Shulan finally reached the day of delivery.

On this day, Zhou Chen and Hua Lan were both waiting outside the door for Shu Lan to give birth. Because Shu Lan was pregnant with twins, the delivery process would definitely be more difficult than for a woman carrying a single baby.

In total, it took about five or six hours before the two babies were finally born safely.

"Congratulations, Duke. Congratulations, Duke. Mother and child are safe. They are twins, a boy and a girl. They are twins, a boy and a girl."

Zhou Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief when the midwife and the maid came out to congratulate him. In ancient times, giving birth was already difficult for women, let alone giving birth to twins.

Fortunately, Shulan had good physical condition and was mentally prepared in advance, so she was able to give birth to twins safely.

"Reward, reward!"

Zhou Chen and Hua Lan walked in together to see Shu Lan and the child.

Sheng Changwu and his wife outside were also overjoyed. It was only thanks to Duke Jingguo that they could live a comfortable life in Bianjing City.

Their confidence comes from their elder sister Sheng Shulan, who is Zhou Chen's concubine. Now that her sister has given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, for Duke Jingguo, her status in the Duke's Mansion must be even higher. The more stable her sister Shulan's status is, the easier their lives will be.

Although they were from a merchant family, both of them were smart people and knew that they could live a good life by relying on their sister, so they often came back to the Duke's Mansion to see Shulan, giving her this today and that tomorrow. For them, it meant holding on to their sister's thighs, and wealth and glory would be inevitable.

When Zhou Xu learned that Shulan had given birth to a pair of children, she was very happy and went to Shulan's yard in person to visit her and her grandchildren.

Although she liked Hualan and her two grandchildren more, she also had a good impression of Sheng Shulan, just not as good as Hualan. However, she still liked this pair of grandchildren very much and specially took out a lot of things to give to them.

The news of Sheng Shulan giving birth was also passed back to Youyang by Sheng Changwu. It was said that Sheng Wei and his wife were already preparing to come to Bianjing City to see their daughter and grandson.

The Sheng family has also had some happy events recently. First, the fifth girl, Rulan, got married, and then Minglan married into the Duke of Qi's mansion.

Although the plot has changed a lot, Rulan's marriage is still the same as in the plot. This is actually somewhat beyond Zhou Chen's expectations. It can only be said that this is God's will.

But Zhou Chen was surprised that Minglan and Qi Heng, a pair of men and women with tragic fates in the plot, could actually get together. The wind fanned by him, the butterfly, did change a lot of things after all.

In fact, he still admired Minglan very much. If he had not traveled through time too early, Hualan would have been really good and very suitable for him. If he had traveled through time a few years later, he might have chosen Minglan.

All we can say is that there is no fate between them, and Minglan and Gu Tingye are also destined to be together.

He Hongwen, who plays a very important role in the plot, did not appear either, otherwise Minglan might have lived a more comfortable life marrying He Hongwen than marrying Qi Heng.

On the day that Rulan and Minglan got married, Zhou Chen also went to Sheng Mansion with Hualan.

He was quite surprised that Lin Qinshuang and her daughter had not caused any trouble since they came back for many days. However, he did not think that Lin Qinshuang and her daughter would become better. He estimated that the mother and daughter must be discussing something, and it was only a matter of time before they caused trouble.

Ever since Shulan gave birth to a pair of children, Zhou Chen would go to Shulan's yard after finishing his shift every day to see his children and spend some time with Shulan.

Shulan is very satisfied with her current life. Although she is only a concubine, she is a concubine of the Duke's Mansion, which makes her more respectable than many other ladies out there.

The most important thing is that Zhou Chen treats her very well and is also very good to his children. She likes Zhou Chen very much, and she also likes this kind of life. She hopes that she can live like this forever.

When Zhou Chen stayed in Shulan's room, Shulan would sometimes arrange for her maid to serve Zhou Chen when it was inconvenient for her. She was very open-minded about this.

There is another reason, the same as Hualan's, which is that it is difficult for her to satisfy Zhou Chen alone, so naturally she needs someone to help share the burden with her.

With the arrival of summer, the rivalry between the emperor and the empress dowager has begun. One incident brought the relationship between the empress dowager and the emperor to a freezing point.

The cause of the incident was that after Zhao Zongquan secured his throne, he began to have other ideas and wanted to make his long-deceased father, King Shu, the emperor.

"Huang Kao" is the title given by the reigning emperor to the previous emperor, but in order to succeed to the throne legitimately, Zhao Zongquan had already been adopted by the previous emperor Renzong. Strictly speaking, his father was the previous emperor, not King Shu.

If Prince Shu were made the Emperor's father, where would the late Emperor be placed?

As the empress of the previous emperor, Empress Dowager Cao would naturally not agree to the emperor's proposal, and she rejected it mercilessly and at the top of her voice, leaving no room for maneuver.

Even among the civil and military officials, except for a few, the rest were firmly opposed.

How can there be two fathers in the world? Especially in the royal family.

But the emperor seemed to have made up his mind about this matter. He would mention it every morning at the court, as if to say, "If you don't agree, I will resist to the end." For this matter, he even ignored many government affairs.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that his desire to honor his late father as the Emperor was actually an attempt to seize power and to force the officials and the Queen Mother.

Every morning court session would be filled with heated arguments over this issue, but it is undeniable that as time went by, more and more officials began to support this matter.

The reason is very simple. Now that the emperor has firmly established himself on the throne, and the empress dowager is still clinging to power, this naturally makes some people dissatisfied. Some people want to achieve their own goals by supporting the emperor.

In a word, in the matter of honoring the late emperor, the emperor had his own purposes and interests, the officials who supported or opposed it also did so for their own interests, and the empress dowager was also protecting her own interests as well as the reputation and interests of the late emperor.

Every time Zhou Chen went to court, he adhered to one principle: not support, not oppose, and not speak.

Sheng Hong and Sheng Changbai were also very calm. They just followed the crowd on this matter and did not express any opinions.

However, Qi Heng, who was an official for the first time and lacked experience, wanted to show himself and actually publicly supported the emperor.

Every time Zhou Chen saw this scene, he felt speechless, his little brother-in-law.

In the plot, this guy was used as a gun by the empress dowager, and now he is being used as a gun by the emperor. How come he has not made any progress at all?

It seems that even though he married Minglan, who was like a virtuous wife, Qi Heng could not change his temperament. He could not see the situation clearly and just did things with full enthusiasm.

Because of this matter, the Queen Mother even called Princess Pingning to her presence and scolded her severely, accusing her of being a bad parent and ungrateful.

Princess Pingning was also helpless. She grew up with the late emperor and the empress dowager, so she was naturally closer to the empress dowager emotionally. But the problem was that her son didn't listen to her much now, and she and her husband, the Duke of Qi, didn't think there was anything wrong with her son's behavior.

Her son supports the emperor, and she has a good relationship with the empress dowager. Even if the emperor and the empress dowager decide the winner in the future, she feels that her family will have a way out.

In Zhou Chen's opinion, there was nothing wrong with the emperor competing for power with the empress dowager, but he was really ungrateful for using the issue of honoring the emperor.

In the plot, Zhao Zongquan at least saved the emperor, but now, his throne is entirely a gift from the late emperor. If it were not for the late emperor, he would not be qualified to be emperor at all.

As a result, less than a year after the death of the previous emperor, he wanted to honor his father as the Emperor Father. No matter how you look at it, he was ungrateful and greedy.

Of course, this may be a common problem for most emperors. Once they sit on this supreme position, many things will be abandoned, but power must be firmly held in their hands.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 1159 Aunt Kang Comes Again

Today's morning court ended in disharmony again. After discussing state affairs for a while, someone brought up the inappropriate idea of ​​making Prince Shu the Emperor's father. This caused the Empress Dowager Cao, who was ruling the country from behind the curtain, to loudly rebuke her. This also caused disagreements among the civil and military officials in the palace, who started arguing with each other.

Just like before, after arguing for a long time without any result, the official simply walked away, hastily ending today's morning court session.

There was nothing important today, so Zhou Chen went straight back after the morning court session.

Although he is the commander-in-chief of the Palace Front Department, he does not have to stay in the office every day. The current uncle of the king stays in the Palace Front Department all day long, winning over people everywhere in order to gain greater say.

Zhou Chen was too lazy to compete with him. If he liked to show off, let him do it. If he liked to win people over, let him do it.

He has been rooted in Bianjing City for many years, and his ancestors were the first batch of noble marquises. His prestige in the army cannot be compared with that of an uncle of the emperor who has no achievements.

Not to mention that the Palace Front Division is the emperor's personal army. Historically, most of its commanders have been of noble birth. As the head of the nobles, Duke Jingguo, he dare not say that the commanders under him are more loyal to him than to the emperor, but they are definitely much more loyal than Shen Congxing.

Therefore, he was not worried at all that Shen Congxing would be able to win over all the people in the Palace Front Department. A department like the Palace Front Department could not be fully controlled even if the current emperor came forward in person, let alone Shen Congxing.

In the military, if you want people to respect and be loyal to you, relationships are only part of the reason; strength and reputation are equally important.

Zhou Chen possesses all three of these, while in the eyes of the Palace Guards, Shen Congxing has connections but no fame or strength at all.

In short, he was a nouveau riche from a small place. Suddenly, his brother-in-law became the emperor and he gained power all of a sudden. However, he didn't even know the situation in the city of Bianjing. How could he possibly maneuver among the imperial guards of the Palace Guards?

Even in the imperial court, factional struggles were very serious. For example, the military officers from the Yuzhou faction brought by the emperor were all rejected by the civil and military officials of the Bianjing City. No one wanted to see the officials from the Yuzhou faction dominate the court.

Although everyone had fought fiercely among themselves before, now that you, a member of the outside faction, have come in, everyone has tacitly united to face the outside world.

When Zhou Chen returned to the mansion, he was surprised to find that Minglan had come and was talking to Hualan.

"When did the sixth sister come?"

"Eldest brother-in-law."

Minglan stood up and bowed gracefully. Although she married into the Duke of Qi's mansion, she respected and revered Zhou Chen from the bottom of her heart.

Hua Lan smiled and said, "Sixth sister has just arrived. It's a good opportunity for you to come back. Let's have lunch together later."

Minglan did not refuse and replied with a smile: "Thank you, big sister. I won't be polite then."

"We are sisters, why should we be polite?"

Hualan smiled and pulled Minglan. She was a kind-hearted person who loved her younger siblings. Minglan spoke nicely and was good at dealing with people, so she still liked Minglan very much.

Zhou Chen sat down and asked casually, "How is Sixth Sister doing lately? Has that kid Yuan Ruo bullied you?"

Before Minglan could say anything, Hualan glared at Zhou Chen in dissatisfaction.

"What are you talking about? Sixth brother-in-law loves you so much, Sixth sister, don't pay attention to what he says. He is just like that. He has no manners at all in his own home."

Minglan showed her signature smile, which was a habit she had developed over the years. Whenever it was difficult to talk, she would show this smile.

She has known Zhou Chen for a long time, so naturally she understands some of Zhou Chen's temperament. Although he usually looks dignified and solemn, he can sometimes be very sinister.

Lunch was ready quickly. Zhou Chen, Hualan and his wife, as well as Minglan, ate together. Hualan originally wanted to call Shulan. Although Shulan was Zhou Chen's concubine, they were also sisters and had a very good relationship.

However, Shulan's two children were too clingy, and she didn't want to leave them, so she didn't come to eat with them.

Minglan had just visited Shulan and her two children. She brought a lot of gifts, all of which she gave to Shulan. She was especially fond of Shulan's children.

At the dinner table, Minglan said to Hualan, "Big sister, don't forget the polo match tomorrow. I will come to the Duke's Mansion and go with you."

Hua Lan nodded and replied: "Okay, I won't be bored if you accompany me to talk on the road."

Zhou Chen was very surprised: "Polo Club? What Polo Club?"

Minglan explained, "It was a polo match hosted by the Empress, at the venue beside Jinming Lake. I heard that the Empress invited many officials and nobles from the mansions in Bianjing City, and also invited me and my elder sister."

"Is this the polo match hosted by Her Majesty the Queen?"

Zhou Chen really hadn't heard the news, but the queen was a member of the harem, so it was normal for him, a person from the front court, not to know about it.

However, he immediately understood the Queen's intention. She wanted to win people's hearts through the polo club.

When watching the TV series "The Story of Minglan", from the plot point of view, this queen is a dignified, sensible, graceful and elegant mother of a country. At least her performance in the play is much better than the current emperor.

But Zhou Chen knew very well that a person who could become the queen would not be a simple person, not to mention that she had been the queen for a year.