Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

"The pursuit of a great man is nothing more than to be ennobled and appointed as a high-ranking official, to have his name recorded in history, and to be praised for ten thousand generations."

Gu Tingye said frankly and openly, "To have my name recorded in history is of the greatest joy."

This is something that will go down in history; if you're not happy about it, then you're being a bit hypocritical.

If he were talking to other people, he would naturally be humble, but Jiang Zhao was his mentor, so there was no need to hide anything.

Jiang Zhao nodded.

"Did you call me back specifically because of something?" Jiang Zhao asked.

At this moment, the officials dispersed, almost all of them going to their government offices to perform their duties.

Generally speaking, if it's a drinking party or a small gathering, Gu Tingye would simply send an invitation to the Jiang residence; there's no need to specifically call him back.

Since Gu Tingye specifically called him over, there must be something he wanted to say to him in person.

"As far as I know, Young Master Qi has married the eldest granddaughter of Grand Secretary Shen?" Gu Tingye asked in surprise.

Jiang Zhao was startled.

"Is that so?"

Busy with official duties, Jiang Zhao had no time to pay attention to the affairs of Young Master Qi.

After all, in terms of status alone, the Duke of Qi's mansion was already a name without substance, and even his father, the Duke of Qi, could hardly compare to him.

When it came to important banquets, the Duke of Qi would at most step forward to offer a cup of wine and announce his name.

Even Gu Tingye, in terms of status, could easily defeat the Duke of Qi.

If even the Duke of Qi was like this, one can imagine what Qi Heng was like.

Qi Heng was merely the only son of the Duke and a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations.

Their statuses are worlds apart.

For him, the influence of the Duke of Qi's mansion was not as great as that of some prosperous earldoms.

The Duke of Qi's status was lower than that of most fourth- or fifth-rank officials.

The role of Young Master Qi was not as significant as that of the offspring of some accomplished fifth-rank officials.

As the head of the Ministry of Personnel, one of the six ministries, responsible for instructing the next emperor, Jiang Zhao had no time to pay attention to a mere minor duke.

"Grand Secretary Shen?"

Jiang Zhao raised an eyebrow: "Young Master Qi is truly blessed."

Grand Secretary Shen's eldest granddaughter, also known as Lady Shen.

In the original storyline, Qi Heng's first wife was the daughter of the Prince of Yong, the Princess of Jiacheng County.

At the Jinmingchi Polo Club, Qi Heng made quite a splash, earning the admiration of both the Princess of Jiacheng and Rong Feiyan.

The two women became rivals. Prince Yong, who indulged his daughter, simply had Rong Feiyan kidnapped, humiliated, and thrown into the street.

This incident led Rong Feiyan to commit suicide by hanging, and indirectly caused Consort Rong to harbor resentment and join forces with Prince Yan to rebel.

Rong Feiyan ruined her reputation, so the Prince of Yong had the Duke of Qi forcibly abducted and used Sheng Minglan as a threat to force Qi Heng to marry the Princess of Jiacheng.

Ultimately, the Prince of Yan rebelled, and the Princess of Jiacheng was humiliated and died.

Lady Shen was Qi Heng's second wife.

Now, because of Jiang Zhao, five members of the imperial clan are competing together, and the Prince of Yong's chances of winning are not particularly high, so he dares not be domineering.

Qi Heng, naturally, did not marry the Princess of Jiacheng County.

Thus, Ms. Shen became his first wife.

However, the young master is marrying the eldest granddaughter of the Grand Secretary?

"Tsk~!"

Jiang Zhao shook his head.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, the young master's is not very cost-effective.

At the very least, they are not as capable as the legitimate sons of some prominent local families.

If he is the eldest son who is capable and accomplished, then he will far surpass the young master.

After all, all else being equal, families of scholars and intellectuals would certainly be the first choice.

Of course, if you consider appearance, the young master is much better value for money.

"Why are you mentioning the young master?" Jiang Zhao raised an eyebrow, vaguely guessing what was going on.

"Ahem!" Gu Tingye coughed strategically, leaned closer and whispered, "I remember your sixth sister-in-law had a falling out with Young Master Qi, but they didn't get married?"

"Sixth sister-in-law?"

Jiang Zhao nodded: "It is said that there was some turmoil. However, the two did not overstep their boundaries."

Gu Tingye put his hands behind his back and nodded.

As the only son of a duke, Qi Heng was handsome, eloquent, and gentle. To most women who were still innocent of love, he was simply their dream lover.

"What I mean is, how about I marry Minglan?" Gu Tingye said slowly.

Jiang Zhao understood and joked, "Then this is definitely a huge leap of faith for them!"

The illegitimate daughter of a fifth-rank official is married to the legitimate son of a marquis who has made great contributions to the expansion of territory, and is about to become a powerful marquis.

That's quite a leap!

"Getting a wife!"

"As long as the couple lives harmoniously and has a good life, that's all that matters," Gu Tingye said nonchalantly.

During the suppression of the rebellion in Guangnan, he saved Sheng Minglan's life. Both of them had lost their mothers at an early age and had fathers who favored them, so they had similar experiences and talked about many things together.

He was quite interested in Sheng Minglan.

“Since you don’t mind that Minglan is marrying above her station, it’s a good thing that they can become a couple,” Jiang Zhao nodded.

Gu Tingye called him over specifically to ask him if he minded that his brother-in-law was a military officer.

“In that case, I will go and propose marriage.” Gu Tingye was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly.

After saying this, he strode out of the palace.

Jiang Zhao put his hands behind his back.

To be fair, without the stain of "causing his father to die of anger," Gu Tingye is indeed a rare young talent.

It won't be difficult for this marriage to go through!

The sun is setting in the west, and the weary clouds are drifting and rolling.

Jiang Mansion.

Jiang Zhao stretched out his arms and put on the brocade robe.

Slowly and carefully fastening her husband's robes, Sheng Hualan gracefully picked up a letter.

“A letter from my mother-in-law,” Sheng Hualan said softly.

To avoid her letters involving politics, Sheng Hualan almost never opened or read her husband's letters without his permission.

In this respect, the wealthier the family, the more important it is.

"Tear it open."

Jiang Zhao straightened his sleeves and said slowly.

Sheng Hualan nodded slightly, carefully opened the letter, and presented it to her.

Jiang Zhao took a look, and his expression suddenly changed drastically.

"What's wrong?" Sheng Hualan asked in surprise.

Logically speaking, a mother-in-law's letters are unlikely to involve political matters, right?

Jiang Zhao raised his head, closed his eyes slightly, and slowly said:

"Grandfather, he is seriously ill!"

Chapter 153 Crown Prince Zhao Ceying!

A 75-year-old man is seriously ill!

In this era, when an elderly person falls seriously ill, it almost always means that there is no cure.

Jiang Zhao let out a long sigh.

Given the background of the Jiang family in Huaizuo, they certainly wouldn't lack some highly skilled doctors for treatment.

The reason he sent such an urgent letter is simply that his grandfather is terminally ill and he needs to go to Huaizuo to care for him.

Firstly, going down to the left bank of the Huai River could avoid being labeled as "unfilial".

If the grandfather is seriously ill, the grandson must rush back to take care of him; otherwise, he would be considered unfilial.

If political enemies seize on this, they might face impeachment.

Secondly, my grandfather was nearing the end of his life, and I wanted to see him one last time before he passed away, to avoid any regrets.

"Ugh!"

Jiang Zhao shook his head, a kind of unspeakable worry in his heart.

However, he was not particularly grieving.

Since retiring from his official post, my grandfather has enjoyed nearly ten years of family bliss.

Seventy-five years old is a very long life in this era.

The long-lived man was already somewhat prepared for his passing, so it wasn't particularly unexpected.

At seventy-five years old, even if he passed away, it could be considered a peaceful death.

"Put on your official robes," Jiang Zhao sighed.

Sheng Hualan nodded silently.

As night fell, the palace lanterns floated in the mist.

Royal study room.

In the main seat, Emperor Zhao Zhen held a vermilion brush, annotating memorials, coughing occasionally, which made his face turn red.

Besides Zhao Zhen, there was another person, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, holding a well-written memorial, reading it with a furrowed brow.

This was Zhao Ceying, who was serving the medicine.

Recently, several younger members of the imperial family who entered the palace to study have been assigned to various tasks by Emperor Zhao Zhen.

Some people know about the Imperial Clan Court, while others study history books diligently and occasionally tell history to the emperor.

One of Zhao Ceying's tasks was to enter the palace and serve medicine.

Just then, an official holding a whisk entered and announced, "Your Majesty, Minister Jiang, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, requests an audience."

"Jiang Qing?"

Zhao Zhen looked up, somewhat surprised.

Are we going to the palace to pay our respects now?

"Go."

Zhao Zhen did not rush to summon him, but instead looked at his "good grandson" who was holding a memorial.

Several eunuchs who were standing by pushed open the door of a side room. Zhao Ceying bowed silently and quietly withdrew.

The side room of the Imperial Study can be regarded as a "side hall".

However, compared to the side hall, the side rooms are much smaller and are often used for temporary rest, temporary office work, or storage of books, calligraphy and paintings, and the Four Treasures of the Study.

The door to the side room closed, and Zhao Zhen waved his hand: "Let him in."

Less than ten breaths later, Jiang Zhao entered.

"Your humble servant Jiang Zhao greets Your Majesty."