blogombal Chapter 49 The Crown Prince's Favor
Chapter 49 The Crown Prince's Favor
While Pei Rujing and Princess Hejing were bickering, Wen Zongji met the Crown Prince, the heir apparent of the Great Chu Kingdom.
The Crown Prince was fourteen years old, two years younger than Pei Rujing, but he was tall and slender with a calm demeanor. If it weren't for his still somewhat youthful appearance, he would already be an adult.
Entering the palace with the Crown Prince was the Second Prince, born to Consort An. He was twelve years old this year. Compared to the Crown Prince, the Second Prince was still a teenager, lively and active, and had an excellent relationship with the Duke of Anguo's mansion.
As soon as he entered, he came over to greet everyone from the Duke of Anguo's mansion.
The crown prince came with him, but his gaze fell on Wen Zongji.
The people nearby all rose to their feet and greeted the Crown Prince and the Second Prince: "Your subjects pay their respects to the Crown Prince and the Second Prince."
The Crown Prince walked up to Wen Zongji and asked, "Should I call you brother-in-law?"
Wen Zongji cupped his hands in apology: "This humble subject dares not!"
The term "brother-in-law" isn't a question of whether it should be used, but rather whether the Crown Prince is willing to use it.
Just like Duke Pei, before his affair was exposed, Emperor Shun'an always called him brother-in-law and was very close to him. But ever since Duke Pei and the eldest princess broke up, he could only see Emperor Shun'an a few times a year, and when they did meet, he would coldly address him as Duke Pei.
The Crown Prince glanced at him indifferently, said nothing more, and then walked to Wen Chuanhong to speak: "The Marquis of Zhongyong is very diligent in the Ministry of Rites. I have heard my father praise the Marquis of Zhongyong many times."
Wen Chuanhong calmly replied, "To receive the emperor's bounty and share his burdens is the duty of a subject."
The Crown Prince exclaimed, "If all the court officials were as loyal and diligent as Marquis Zhongyong, Father Emperor would certainly have an easier time."
Wen Chuanhong: "Your Highness is too kind. I am unworthy of such praise."
The people nearby listened to the Crown Prince praising Wen Chuanhong, and their eyes were full of satisfaction.
Their eyes were all on Wen Zongji.
Not a single person there was stupid!
The Crown Prince's sudden high regard for Wen Chuanhong can only be due to Wen Zongji.
This was the son of a concubine from the Marquis's household who married the Princess of Anhe County.
This made everyone sigh with admiration; this was truly the good fortune of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion.
Before this, who could have imagined that Princess Anhe would marry a mere illegitimate son of a marquis?
Then I thought of the Zhong family, whose reputation was ruined.
What a kind person!
The entire family worked for the benefit of others.
After the Crown Prince left, the surrounding dukes, marquises, and high-ranking officials all came up to exchange pleasantries with Wen Chuanhong.
Meanwhile, the sons of powerful and wealthy families exchanged pleasantries with Wen Zongren.
As for Wen Zongji, the protagonist who caused the change in the status of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion, few people paid attention to him.
In most people's eyes, his role was simply to bring the marriage of Princess Anhe to the Marquis of Zhongyong's family.
What he needed to do was to appease Princess Anhe and prevent any rift between her and the Marquis of Zhongyong's household.
As for his official career, no one was optimistic about Wen Zongji.
After all, he was only a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination), and it was still uncertain whether he would pass the metropolitan examination next year.
Didn't you see how cold the Crown Prince was to Wen Zongji just now?
An Guanglu looked at Wen Zongji, whose expression remained calm, and asked, "Brother Wen, don't you feel this is unfair?"
Wen Zongji looked at him.
An Guanglu looked at Wen Chuanhong and his son, who were surrounded by people exchanging pleasantries, and said quietly, "All of this is because of you, yet no one cares about you here."
Wen Zongji shook his head: "Brother An is wrong, this is not because of me."
The Crown Prince praised Wen Chuanhong in front of everyone because of Pei Rujing.
Wen Zongji was well aware of this, and it was normal that no one cared about him, since he didn't have anything worth paying attention to.
In the eyes of the powerful and influential in the capital, he is now merely the husband of Princess Anhe. Even if you were to add an adjective, it would only be "good luck".
An Guanglu paused for a moment, then raised his cup to Wen Zongji: "Brother Wen, I am not as good as you."
Wen Zongji clinked glasses with him, but said nothing.
The pleasantries didn't last long. As Emperor Shun'an walked in, everyone returned to their seats.
Wen Zongji and the others rose to pay their respects: "Your Majesty, we, your subjects, greet you!"
Emperor Shun'an, seated on his high throne, raised his hand and said, "My ministers, you may rise. Today is a palace banquet, a day for the emperor and his subjects to enjoy themselves together. Let us not discuss official business, but only talk about romance and nature."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Everyone took their seats.
Then a dozen or so songstresses entered, and beautiful music filled the hall. The songstresses danced in response, leaping and bounding to the music, their movements captivating.
The atmosphere inside the hall suddenly became lively.
Emperor Shun'an's gaze swept across everyone's faces before finally settling on Wen Zongji.
Judging from appearance alone, Wen Zongji could be described as handsome and refined.
He certainly has a handsome face!
Emperor Shun'an turned to look at the Crown Prince: "How is it?"
The Crown Prince shook his head: "There's no point in saying more now. Let's wait and see after the provincial examination."
He knew that his cousin had lost her father's love right after she was born because her aunt had broken ties with the Duke of Pei. His father, out of love for his cousin, always showed her extra favor.
This favor will naturally extend to her husband.
But the premise is that Wen Zongji is capable of being of great use.
Emperor Shun'an nodded, agreeing with the Crown Prince's words, and paid no more attention to Wen Zongji.
This was the first time Wen Zongji had met Emperor Shun'an, and at that moment, he truly felt the majesty of the emperor.
Emperor Shun'an had a calm expression and a gentle tone, yet he still exuded immense pressure.
This won't change just because Emperor Shun'an has a good temper; this pressure comes from Emperor Shun'an's status.
Just like the Crown Prince is only fourteen years old and still a boy, all the civil and military officials, even the chief minister, have to be careful when answering him.
Because this is the crown prince of the Great Chu, the future supreme ruler.
While Wen Zongji was lost in thought, someone across from him raised a glass to him.
Wen Zongji looked closely and realized it was Wu Fengyuan, the youngest son of Grand Secretary Wu Yangeng.
Wen Zongji raised his glass in response.
Out of the corner of his eye, he subconsciously looked at Wu Yangeng.
Wu Yangeng sat there, quietly enjoying the song and dance, like an ordinary fifty-year-old man, without any of the airs of a prime minister.
No one present dared to underestimate him.
This official, who also held the position of Minister of Personnel, controlled the promotion, demotion, and transfer of all civil officials in the country, and no one could ignore him.
Wen Zongji was surrounded by important officials of the court and nobles, and just recognizing them was a headache, but in the end he simply stopped paying attention.
Palace banquets are meant to be relaxing; putting too much pressure on yourself is not a good thing.
Relaxed, Wen Zongji leisurely enjoyed the song and dance performance.
He was an ordinary man and couldn't understand the story the song and dance were telling. On the contrary, he found it quite beautiful. The singers were graceful and their dances were beautiful and pleasing to the eye, which was enough for him.
Seeing that he was engrossed in the performance, An Guanglu revealed a look of kinship: "Brother Wen likes singing and dancing? How about I take you to see some interesting performances another day?"
Seeing his unserious demeanor, Wen Zongji knew that this "unique flavor" was even more unserious: "I have to prepare for the provincial examination, I don't have time to play."
An Guanglu laughed and said, "I wouldn't dare disturb Brother Wen's studies. I'll go after the imperial examination."
Wen Zongji replied dismissively, "We'll talk about it later."
An Guanglu chuckled, thinking that Wen Zongji was just thin-skinned. He figured that once he experienced the wonderful sensations, he would become thick-skinned.