"Thank you very much for your love. I am very honored to be favored by your Majesty and betroth the princess to me. But I dare not hide something: when I was ten years old, my mother went to the temple to have her fortune told. The eminent monk of the Zhusheng Temple once said that I

You cannot marry before the age of twenty-two, otherwise your life will be at risk and your wife will be killed."

Xiao Ruoyu was not happy with this marriage in the first place. When he heard this, he immediately tugged on Concubine Jin's sleeves through the curtain.

Concubine Jin took out her sleeves from her daughter's hand, stared at the people outside the curtain, and said no more.

The hall fell into silence.

The eunuchs and maids held their breath, lowering their sense of presence, for fear of being angered and losing their lives.

Duan Chen's refusal was a refusal, but at this time, he was naturally nervous, and his forehead was covered with sweat. But he did not dare to reach out and wipe it, and let the sweat beads flow down his face.

Seeing this, Concubine Jin narrowed her eyes and said softly: "In that case, just pretend that I didn't say anything. Little Li, send him out."

"Yes, your Majesty." The eunuch who led Duan Chen in agreed and motioned towards Duan Chen to go out.

After Duan Chen went out, Concubine Jin asked someone to verify the matter, and then ordered another eunuch: "Go and bring Lu Shanchu."

Xiao Ruoyu suddenly became anxious and shouted at Concubine Jin: "Concubine!"

When Concubine Jin saw the eunuch leaving, she turned around and said to Xiao Ruoyu: "This matter is not negotiable. If you don't marry a new Jinshi, who else do you want to marry? Otherwise, I will find a farmer for you and you go farming.

go?"

Xiao Ruoyu's face turned pale, she bit her lip and stopped talking.

Concubine Jin was impatient with this daughter who had a bad temper and was not very smart.

The emperor once again became cold-hearted towards her, and it was more than twice as difficult to coax her back. Because of this, her son complained a lot about her, feeling that she didn't take care of Xiao Ruoyu well. His current situation was already worse.

In the past, if he disappointed the emperor again, it would be very difficult for him to get into that position.

If the son cannot ascend to the throne, and once the emperor dies, life will be difficult for their wives.

Thinking of this, Concubine Jin made up her mind.

She said: "As long as the people from Lushan who are coming to Lushan are good and bad, you will get married. You are not allowed to pick and choose."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ruoyu became anxious and shouted: "The guy named Duan just now is obviously making up lies. The guy named Lu is not as good as the guy named Duan. At least he is the second choice."

Not only was he ranked second in the rankings, Duan Chen's appearance and conversation were pretty good. He just fell in love with Zhao Ruxi and wanted to reject her, so she would have to marry him, which would make both of them uncomfortable.

"Whether it's a lie or not, he has shown that he is unwilling. Do you still want your father to know that we can't force the master of the second place? How difficult is it for you to get married? Are all the men in the world dead?" Concubine Jin rushed.

Xiao Ruoyu got angry.

Xiao Ruoyu suddenly didn't dare to speak.

Lu Shanchu never expected that such a good thing would happen to him.

While sighing with emotion at Duan Chen's boldness, he happily agreed.

Concubine Jin was very satisfied with Lu Shanchu's attitude.

This is the true elevation of consciousness.

She said: "If you are willing, I will go to the emperor to ask for a decree, and a marriage will be granted soon." She then asked Lu Shanchu's address.

Knowing that he lived in a small courtyard, he added: "You can rent a decent house. You don't need to buy it. After you get married, you can live directly in the princess's mansion."

After hearing this, Lu Shanchu became even more happy.

Houses in the capital were expensive and expensive. With his family's financial resources, he could only go to the west or north of the city to buy a small courtyard with one entrance. If he married a girl from an official family, in addition to buying a house, he would get everything as a betrothal gift.

.This is very stressful for him.

If you marry a princess now, not only will your future be bright, but you won't have to take care of the house, and there will be no need for a betrothal gift. You can just get married when the time comes. But the princess's dowry is richer than anyone else's.

When the time comes, he makes the princess happy, buys a house in the capital, and brings his parents from his hometown to the capital. This life will be considered complete.

"Yes. Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely rent a good house so that I will not disgrace Your Majesty and Your Highness the Princess." He said with a well-behaved look on his face.

Concubine Jin became more and more satisfied.

Xiao Ruoyu, who was behind the curtain, felt that Lu Shan was displeased no matter how he looked at her, and silently muttered: "Flattery, country bumpkin."

…

Duan Chen left the palace and went directly to his uncle's house.

It was lunch break time, and his uncle Duan Boheng happened to be at home. Seeing him coming, he said regretfully: "It's a pity that the emperor favors Zhao Zhiwei, otherwise you would have been the number one scholar."

Although they are all first-class scholars and common people, the second place in the ranking is still not as good as the number one scholar. Not to mention that people will only remember the name of the number one scholar. It is just that once the number one scholar enters the officialdom, he starts from the sixth rank, so he is naturally higher than the number two scholar.

After reaching half a rank, he was taken more seriously in the Hanlin Academy. This is a real benefit.

Duan Chen was not in the mood to talk about this. He took his uncle to the study room, dismissed everyone, and told him that Concubine Jin wanted to recruit him as her consort, but he made excuses to refuse.

Duan Boheng was startled and said anxiously: "Tell me in detail, don't miss anything, tell me all the details."

Duan Chen ranked first in the national examination at the age of seventeen, and his memory rivaled that of Zhao Ruxi.

He then recounted his conversation with Concubine Jin.

Duan Boheng stroked his beard and frowned, pondered for a while and said: "It should be okay. You made a good excuse. Concubine Jin or Prince Ming will send someone to check, but you didn't say where the eminent monk is, so they have no idea.

Check it out. Besides, it's so far away that they won't be able to send anyone there for a while."

He stood up and said, "I'll ask people to go back to Jiangnan to make arrangements and fix the loopholes." After saying that, he walked out.

This reaction is wrong. Shouldn't I scold him?

Duan Chen was a little confused.

He sat there blankly, and when Duan Boheng returned to the study, he asked eagerly: "Uncle, you... won't you scold me for rejecting the Lord?"

Duan Boheng sat down, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile: "I will scold you only if you agree to the Lord."

Seeing that Duan Chen was gone, he shook his head and said: "The Mingwang faction is no longer as prosperous as before. Concubine Jin is no longer favored, and Mingwang has been repeatedly reprimanded by the emperor. Our roots are not in Jiangnan, so there is no need to get involved with them. There are not many benefits.

But it made me a mess."

"Besides..." He looked at his nephew, his eyes full of joy, "You are young and talented, have a high starting point, and have a bright future. You are the most promising person in our Duan family. Why should you go to the master?"

"Your Majesty seems to enjoy glory and wealth, but in front of the princess, you are naturally shorter. In addition to living a life based on people's faces, your future will also be affected. The current emperor is no more taboo than the previous emperor. You are very taboo about these things.
Chapter completed!