Chapter 61 I am a loyal minister! (Please read on^^)

The mahjong game lasted until almost noon, and the emperor finally announced the end with a look of reluctance.

I don’t know whether the emperor was lucky or others were deliberately letting him win, but after a game of mahjong, the emperor won the most.

As the biggest winner of this game, the emperor was in high spirits at this time.

He was so happy that he added a lot more in addition to the rewards he had prepared.

When it came to Yang Wenyuan, the emperor smiled meaningfully and patted Yang Wenyuan on the shoulder affectionately.

"I will make other plans for your reward in the future."

Yang Wenyuan didn't dare to ask and nodded quickly.

"You performed well today. I heard that you are studying in a private school recently? If you are studying, you should stop doing these acrobatics and focus on studying wholeheartedly."

After leaving the palace, Yang Wenyuan seemed to be lost in thought along the way.

The words spoken at the Emperor's poker table are worth pondering.

At the same time, the selection of candidates is also worth considering.

Emperor, Princess Yong, Princess Yan.

If Princess Pingning who came as a substitute is not counted, the fourth person should be the Lady of the Duke of Yingguo.

As for why the British Duchess could not shirk her responsibility, the reason is also worth pondering.

Did he see something, or does he really not know how to play mahjong?
If we really go by the emperor's choice, then the four people at the table basically represent the four most powerful forces in the court today.

Needless to say, the emperor is the biggest dealer.

The Duke of Yingguo’s Mansion is the top family among the military officers and nobles of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and is a true military boss.

Prince Yong's Palace, Prince Yan's Palace.

One is the popular heir to the throne, and the other is ambitious and also has many supporters. Both have different civil service factions behind them.

Thinking about it this way, the Duchess of England's insistence on not sitting at the table seemed a bit like a bystander.

Yang Wenyuan then thought about the fact that the emperor knew how to play cards, so why did he ask him to teach him? In the end, he asked him to move a stool to sit on, but didn't tell him where to sit...

And the emperor's unique favor to the Yang family - no matter how much the emperor favored and sympathized with the Yang family, he would not allow Yang Yuqing to jump several ranks in just three years and be promoted to the second-rank commander of the Western Wing, becoming one of the bigwigs in the imperial guards.

All signs indicate that the emperor intends to promote the Yang family and make them stand on his side in this court turmoil of "struggle for succession".

The current official is completely kind, but he is old after all.

It is probably impossible to give birth to another crown prince now, so the heir to the throne can only be chosen from the close relatives of the royal family, and the most popular candidates are none other than Prince Yong and Prince Yan.

But these two princes are not biological sons!

The crown prince born to the emperor would consciously or unconsciously compete with the emperor for power, let alone when the emperor grows old and makes a member of the royal family who is not his biological son the crown prince.

That was why, after the death of his youngest son, the emperor was reluctant to appoint a crown prince, even though he had a huge conflict with all the civil and military officials in the court.

At the same time, Prince Yong and Prince Yan were already considered by everyone as candidates for the crown prince and had already gained enormous power.

No matter which one of them is chosen as the crown prince, he can quickly form a powerful "Prince's Party".

Once the court officials take advantage of the situation to curry favor with the prince and please the future new monarch, the old emperor's power will be greatly challenged.

Once the candidate for the crown prince is determined.

The emperor is no longer a person whose words are law, but an ambitious competitor is always around him.

Once the crown prince is appointed, the power will soon fall into the hands of others.

This was a result that no emperor could accept.

No matter how benevolent the current emperor is, that is only possible when he is not threatened.

How can I allow others to snore under my bed?

Therefore, the emperor needs to unite other forces to jointly maintain his decision not to appoint a crown prince.

And the Yang family of Pingyang Marquis Mansion appeared at just the right time!

Under normal circumstances, the Yang family would definitely stay out of the matter like the Duke of Ying, and not get involved easily. But the situation is different now.

The old Marquis of Pingyang passed away, and Yang Wenyuan had not yet been crowned and inherited the title. If the emperor had not promoted Yang Yuqing, the Yang family would have been doomed to decline for a while, and it would have been unclear whether they could regain their place among the top powerful families in the future.

The Guan family needed more power on their side, and after the death of the old Marquis Pingyang, the Yang family needed the emperor's care to survive this period of power vacuum.

Take what you need.

Besides, no matter what Yang Wenyuan plans to do in the future, it is definitely right to stand on the emperor's side now.

As long as the old emperor lives, I, Yang Wenyuan, will be a loyal and steadfast minister of the Great Zhou!

……

Jiying Lane.

Shengjia, Shouantang.

Today is the first day of the new year.

Old Lady Sheng sat at the head of Shou'an Hall, accepting the kneeling greetings from her children and grandchildren.

Hearing the greetings of "Happy New Year, Grandma", even though Mrs. Sheng was so sophisticated, she couldn't help but smile from ear to ear, with a look of relief and satisfaction on her face.

At Mrs. Sheng's age, nothing could be more pleasing than this scene.

Looking at the obedient grandchildren in the hall, Old Mrs. Sheng nodded and kept saying good things.

He took the mahogany lacquer tray from Fang's mother's hand and gave each of his children and grandchildren a brocade bag containing New Year's money.

Finally it was Changrong’s turn.

Changrong is only one year old and is currently being held by Wei Shuyi himself.

Upon seeing this, Old Lady Sheng stood up and pointed at Chang Rong's delicate little face with her index finger, her face full of smiles.

"You were injured before, and it's hard for you to take such good care of Changrong."

As he spoke, he stuffed the brocade bag in his hand next to Changrong's swaddling clothes and closed it tightly with his hands.

Wei Shuyi bowed slightly and said, "I didn't do anything. Changrong took care of the baby herself."

"Good for giving birth..."

When Mrs. Sheng heard this, she muttered this sentence softly, and then she remembered something and her face darkened slightly.

Wei Shuyi was also quite capable of observing people's expressions and knew that what he might say might have brought up Old Madam Sheng's sad memories. He pondered in his heart and immediately pushed the banyan tree in his hand towards Old Madam Sheng.

"Why don't you come and see for yourself, mother?"

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Sheng paused and looked at Wei Shuyi deeply, but still took Chang Rong in her hands.

Looking at Chang Rong's big eyes that were wide open and full of curiosity, Old Lady Sheng couldn't help but laugh heartily. She held Chang Rong gently in her arms, rocking him gently, her eyes full of love.

"Changrong, Changrong, call me grandma."

Chang Rong is naturally unable to speak at his age.

But being teased by Old Lady Sheng, he still babbled some meaningless words.

This made Old Madam Sheng even happier.

Seeing how Mrs. Sheng doted on Chang Rong, Wei Shuyi even had the urge to send Chang Rong to Shou'an Hall.

But this is just thought, it is not feasible in reality.

In this matter, the difference between men and women is a chasm.

Wang Ruofu also felt jealous watching from the side, as if she was remembering the time when her three children were young.

But then she changed her mind and looked at Hua Lan, who was smiling beside Old Lady Sheng, and muttered to herself: Maybe I could become a mother-in-law in a year or two.

Hualan caught a glimpse of her mother looking at her with a loving face and couldn't help feeling strange.

I'm not a lovable child, why is he looking at me instead of Changrong?
(End of this chapter)