When the banquet was about to end, Cao Rui stood up and walked to the hall, standing in front of Maopin's desk: "You will follow me back to the bedroom later."
Amid the envious or jealous looks of the other women, Mao Yan slowly stood up and bowed, then softly replied, "I understand."
Cao Rui nodded, and then walked to Sun Zhaoyi's desk: "You also come with me!"
Sun Luban responded instinctively at first, but then suddenly realized something was wrong and almost cried out softly, and her cheeks flushed almost visibly.
This is a bit absurd! There has never been such a thing in the palace before. How can it be reasonable to summon two concubines back to the palace at the same time?
The emperor had already walked out of the palace. Sun Luban was both embarrassed and frightened, and looked up at Mao Yan.
She just glanced at Sun Luban out of the corner of her eye, and that look with a slight warning and admonition made Sun Luban calm down instantly.
I must have been overthinking it.
Today, Your Majesty has conferred the title of king on both of your sons, so he must be talking about the matter of conferring the title of king. How could he involve anything else?
Even though I was thinking this in my head, my chest was beating non-stop.
In the bedroom at night, Cao Rui was leaning on a recliner, Mao Yan was on his left, and Sun Luban was on his right, and they both sat on smaller soft chairs nearby.
The candlelight flickered in the hall, but the emperor had no intention of discussing romance with the two girls. Instead, he started talking about reading.
Cao Rui held Mao Yan's hand with his left hand and Sun Luban's with his right hand, and said softly, "Last year, I gave each of you a copy of the Historical Records copied by my secretary. Have you read them all?"
Mao Yan was a little surprised and said, "Why is your majesty asking about this today? That happened a year ago. There was nothing going on in the harem, and I have already read it several times."
Cao Rui nodded slightly, then looked at Sun Luban: "Da Hu, what about you?"
Sun Luban was quite surprised when the emperor asked about this. She hadn't finished reading and didn't dare to lie to his face. She lowered her head and explained softly: "Your Majesty, Yan'er is just over one year old. I have spent a lot of time taking care of him and haven't read much."
Cao Rui did not blame him, but sighed softly: "Da Hu, if you are content to be a concubine by my side, it does not matter whether you read history or not."
"But now you are the mother of Prince Changle. How can you not learn from the past and know the difference between good and bad fortune? I folded a corner of a page in your book, but you didn't notice it, did you?"
Sun Luban lowered her head even lower: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I know I was wrong."
Cao Rui said: "It's not a matter of right or wrong, go back and read it carefully a few times. You also studied in Jiangdong in your early years, so read it carefully yourself."
"Yes, I know it."
"Yan'er, what about you?" Cao Rui looked at Concubine Mao on his left.
Mao Yan looked at the emperor and replied softly, "Your Majesty, I can almost recite the page you folded."
"Your Majesty, how about I tell Da Hu about it?"
Cao Rui was almost half drunk at this time, but he didn't refuse: "Well, you tell me!"
Mao Yan nodded, looked at Sun Luban and said, "Da Hu, the book that His Majesty gave us is the Chronicle of Empress Dowager Lu."
Sun Luban seemed to remember something and whispered, "Is it Empress Lü of Emperor Gao of the Han Dynasty?"
Mao Yan nodded: "That's right. In addition to Empress Lü, Emperor Gaozu of Han also had Lady Qi, Concubine Bo, etc."
"Empress Lü monopolized power as a relative of the emperor, and after her death, her entire clan was wiped out."
"Madam Qi was favored because of her singing and dancing skills, but she was never able to protect herself. Her hands and feet were cut off and she was imprisoned in a pigsty, and was called a human pig."
Sun Luban had studied the classics and heard some history, but this was the first time she had heard the story of Empress Lü and Lady Qi. As she listened, she actually showed a hint of fear in her eyes.
Mao Yan did not stop and continued: "Bo Ji was not favored, but she gave birth to a good son, who was the future Emperor Wen of Han, and she was able to live out her life as the empress dowager."
"Your Majesty, I wonder if what I said is right or not?"
Cao Rui nodded and patted the backs of the two girls' hands.
Cao Rui said: "I have heard this saying before: If a person says everything without violating any taboo, then he must have known all the ways in which he can offend others."
"If you two were like most women in this world, taking care of your husbands and raising children every day, you wouldn't have so many things to pay attention to."
"But both of you have been to school, and both of you have been by my side and given birth to my children. There are some things I have to say."
As he spoke, Cao Rui laughed and said, "Let me make it clear first, I don't mean to scare you."
Sun Luban held Cao Rui's right hand with both of her hands and said softly, "I understand. Your Majesty, please speak."
Seeing what Sun Luban did, Mao Yan also placed Cao Rui's left hand flat on her thigh, and gently raised her fingers, shaking them in circles one by one.
Cao Rui ignored the two girls' little movements and continued, "You are very close to me, and very close to my power. But your proximity to power does not mean that you also possess power."
"This is also the reason why the late emperor, with his foresight, ordered the harem not to interfere in government affairs. I also agree with the late emperor's intention. This is for your good and to protect you."
"No matter how prominent Empress Lü was during her lifetime, her clan still suffered after her death. Isn't this the fate of good and bad?"
Mao Yan and Sun Luban agreed at the same time, saying that they knew about it.
Cao Rui added: "As the mothers of the princes, you two are also my family members and the mothers of my sons."
"I have full trust with my ministers in the outer court, and the same is true with you in the palace. Today, I have made a clear promise to you two. If you do not do anything that harms the Wei Dynasty, I will never let you down in this life."
Mao Yan didn't know why, but after hearing Cao Rui's promise, she felt sad, her nose felt sore, and she started to sob softly. Sun Luban on the opposite side thought that Mao Yan was just pretending, but Cao Rui didn't think so.
The embarrassing things that happened in history will never happen again.
Cao Rui sighed softly, raised his left hand and gently patted Mao Yan's shoulder: "Don't cry, don't cry. I know your feelings, and you know mine, this is a mutual understanding."
Mao Yan hummed and leaned on Cao Rui's shoulder.
Sun Luban on the opposite side was still somewhat dissatisfied, but did not dare to say it out loud.
After finishing his warning, Cao Rui talked about other things: "By the way, I haven't told you yet."
"At the beginning of next year, I will lead all the central army to stay in Xuchang. Not only the central army, but also the West Pavilion, East Pavilion, Privy Council, and Shangshutai will also go to Xuchang with me."
Mao Yan looked at Cao Rui with tearful almond eyes: "Is there another war somewhere? Your Majesty just came back from Guanxi last year, why are you leaving again?"
Sun Luban stopped talking.
Taking the entire central army to Xuchang, it is obvious that they are definitely going to deal with the Eastern Wu.
My husband is going to bully my father again...
Sun Luban didn't dare to say a word. After all, the emperor had promised her before, so she could only pray that her father would not lose, or if he did, he would be more sensible.
After all, she is married.
My father's inheritance was left to my elder brother. What does it have to do with me, a married girl from the Sun family?
I have been a member of the Cao family for a long time.
Cao Rui had no intention of hiding it: "The Grand Marshal has passed away. The southeastern defense line is long and there is no invisible victory place to serve as a basis. This is a big worry in my heart."
"I have discussed with the court officials and want to take over all the land north of the Yangtze River in Yangzhou. If so, the court can divide Yangzhou into different areas, and the defense along the river will be more relaxed and well-founded."
Mao Yan didn't understand this, so she just asked, "When will Your Majesty return to Luoyang?"
Cao Rui sighed: "This is why I called you here."
"I will move to Xuchang Palace and choose someone from the harem to go with me. However, you two each have a prince and have been crowned kings, so I want you to stay in Luoyang in case of emergency."
"Can you understand what I mean?"
Mao Pin bit her lip and was about to admit it magnanimously, but Sun Luban opposite her also started crying.
"I don't want Your Majesty to leave. I will leave Yan'er in Luoyang. Can I go with Your Majesty?"
Cao Rui coughed lightly and deliberately put on a stern face: "I didn't say when I would be back. Maybe I could be back in two or three months."
"Be obedient, stay in Luoyang as before, and raise the prince well. I have already made your son a king, so what else is there to worry about?"
Even though Sun Luban was unwilling, she had to accept it.
I just don’t know which concubines Your Majesty will choose to go to Xuchang together.
Guo Yao! Your Majesty must take Guo Yao with you!
Sun Luban felt a little sour in his heart.
Mao Yan sat obediently opposite, and her heart was actually not much different from Sun Luban.
It's just a matter of saying or not saying.
……
Three days later, Cao Rui was reviewing memorials in his study when Du Shu came in slowly and said, "Your Majesty, the former governor of Xuzhou, Lü Qian, has arrived and is waiting outside the study."
"Call." Cao Rui looked at Du Shu and said, "Call the two people from Dongge as well."
"As you wish, I'll go and pass it on right away." Du Shu left, and soon he came with Lu Qian, Sima Yi, and Wei Zhen.
Lü Qian, who was nearly 70 years old, walked slowly into the study and bowed directly: "Your Majesty, I, Lü Qian, greet you!"
Cao Rui stood up and helped Lü Qian up. Looking at Lü Qian's thin and old face, he could not help but be moved: "I thought you were lazy and entrusted all the political affairs of Xuzhou to Wang Xiang, and you were also responsible for negligence, so I recalled you to Luoyang."
"I didn't expect that your health has become so bad."
After Lu Qian stood still, he sighed deeply and said, "I did make mistakes. Your Majesty, please punish me. Wang Xiang has a good reputation. I am old and sick, and I need his help in governing the prefectures and counties, so I indulged him a lot."
"But Wang Xiang is indeed a capable person."
Cao Rui said: "Wang Xiang is indeed capable, but he is also just a vain and ostentatious person. I am not going to use him anymore."
"After much thought, I think there is something wrong with the system of Wei."
Wei Zhen and Sima Yi on the side looked over with some confusion in their eyes. How could it be an institutional problem again?
Cao Rui said: "When the Wei Dynasty was first established, there were few regulations on the appointment of officials. Wen Pin was in Jiangxia for decades, Du Ji was in Hedong for more than ten years, and you were in Qingxu for more than twenty years."
"It's time for the Wei Dynasty to change this situation." (End of this chapter)
