bookrandom Chapter 323 Thoughts
Chapter 323 Thoughts
After finishing the reunion dinner, Shen Tang and Xie Guimo stayed for another quarter of an hour before returning to Prince Jingyang's Mansion.
I went back on horseback.
It was a coincidence that when they arrived, the princess had just returned from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
When the princess got off the carriage, she was all smiles. Shen Tang asked, "Mother is so happy, but I'm sure that Madam Huo is pregnant?"
The princess smiled and said, "Your words really work. You are pregnant. Fortunately, nothing bad happened."
After being married for several years, she finally got pregnant with this child, and it happened to coincide with her return to Beijing. It was really scary.
The Huo family has a house in Kyoto. Young Master Huo originally planned to take Miss Huo to pay respects to Madam An, and then return to the Huo family. However, Miss Huo fainted all the way to Beijing, and vomited when she arrived at the gate of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. She quickly called a royal physician.
When the princess arrived at the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, the imperial physician had just arrived. He took Mrs. Huo's pulse and found that she was already one and a half months pregnant, which was the time when she would suffer from morning sickness.
This news made Mrs. An and Young Master Huo very happy. After all, An Nuan had been married for three or four years, and there had been no good news so far. How could they not be anxious?
Young Master Huo and Young Madam Huo had no experience in this area. In addition, the Huo Mansion was quite far from the Duke Zhenguo Mansion, and it was inconvenient for her to travel while she was pregnant. She could not often go to the Duke Zhenguo Mansion to talk to Madam An. Young Madam Huo wanted to stay in the Duke Zhenguo Mansion to take care of her pregnancy, and Young Master Huo would definitely agree to her request.
Young Master Huo is about to move to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
Hearing this, Xie Guimo smiled and said, "You don't have to be beaten."
Shen Tang knew what Xie Guimo was talking about as soon as he heard this. The princess was confused. "Who wants to spank you?"
Xie Guimo didn't say much, and the princess didn't ask much either. After entering the mansion, the princess asked, "Is the prince in the mansion?"
The servant replied, "The prince is in the study."
Xie Guimo asked, "Does mother have something to ask father?"
The princess nodded and said, "Mother needs your father's help with something."
Xie Guimo was really curious about what his mother needed his father's help with. Worried, he took Shen Tang's hand and followed.
In the study room.
The prince is processing official documents.
The servant knocked on the door and said, "My Lord, the princess is here."
Why is the princess here?
The princess seldom comes to the study, and when she does, it always has something to do.
The servant only informed the prince, not asked for his consent. The princess can enter and leave the prince's study freely without the prince's permission, but the princess will not come unless it is necessary.
Seeing the princess come in, the prince put down the pen in his hand and asked, "What do you want to see me for?"
The princess said, "Nuan'er has returned to the capital. The imperial physician just confirmed that she is pregnant. Before Old Prince Ning adopted Young Master Shen, I had this idea. The Duke of Zhenguo Mansion only has Nuan'er's bloodline. I wonder if Nuan'er's child can be adopted by the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion and inherit the title..."
It's normal for the princess to have such thoughts.
The Duke of Zhenguo Mansion is her mother's family. Now only Madam An is struggling to support it. If there is no heir, once Madam An is gone, the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion will no longer exist.
The prince said, "To adopt a son, the emperor's consent is not needed, but to inherit the title, the emperor's consent is required."
The princess said, "I know."
It was because she had the emperor's consent that she came to the prince for help.
The prince said, "I will raise this matter with the emperor at court tomorrow morning."
Shen Tang and Xie Guimo walked outside the study and heard this, so they didn't go in.
Shen Tang looked at Xie Guimo, "Will the Emperor agree to this?"
Xie Guimo said, "The emperor may not agree, but the officials will definitely oppose it."
Even when Prince Ning wanted to adopt Princess Roujia so that Xiao Huan could marry into the family, many ministers stood up to oppose it. Prince Ning took a tough stance and was able to suppress the matter.
Prince Ning is the emperor's biological uncle. It is so difficult for him to handle this matter. I miss the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
The next morning, the emperor and his officials discussed matters. After the important matters were discussed, it was almost time to dismiss the court. The prince stepped out and said, "I have something to report to the emperor."
The emperor and all the officials looked at the prince.
The prince said, "The father and son of the Zhenguo Duke died on the battlefield, and their remaining offspring died young due to poor care, leaving no one to inherit the title. However, the Zhenguo Duke made great contributions to the court, and his death should not be left without a successor. I humbly ask the emperor to allow the Zhenguo Duke's mansion to adopt the son of Madam Huo to inherit the family line."
As soon as these words were spoken, the quiet court suddenly became noisy.
A minister stood up to object, "Ms. An is already married and is the eldest young lady of the Huo family. If we adopt her child, wouldn't that mean the Huo family will inherit the title of Duke of Zhenguo?"
Someone agreed and said, "If you adopt someone, you naturally have to change your surname."
"You can change your surname, but you can't change the blood you shed!"
Marquis Changping also stepped forward and said, "When Prince Ning wanted to adopt Princess Roujia and have the eldest son of Marquis Pingyuan marry into the family, I opposed it. As expected, once this precedent was set, many people became interested."
"This precedent must never be repeated. Due to the dispute over the title, the two sons of Pingyuan Marquis were exiled. If his daughter could also inherit the title, would the Crown Princess of Jingyang be still alive today?"
This is the truth.
If Shen Tang had the possibility of inheriting the title, even if she didn't, she could still marry into the family and let her children inherit the title. The Second Master and the Second Mistress would never let her grow up alive.
An imperial censor came forward to echo the Marquis of Changping, saying, "The Duke of Zhenguo rendered great service to the court, and it is indeed regrettable that no one inherited his title after his death. However, adoption has always been within the clan, and adoptions are made between people with the same surname. Daughters have never been adopted as sons. This precedent must not be set again, otherwise it will cause endless disasters."
Another minister said, "If Miss An hadn't married yet and was seeking a son-in-law, the Emperor might have shown some mercy for the sake of the late Duke Zhenguo and allowed her son to inherit the title. But she's already married into the Huo family, so adopting a son-in-law wouldn't be appropriate."
Most of the ministers in the court stood up to oppose it.
It is because all men in the world are in collusion with each other that women can only depend on men to survive.
Marquis Changping said, "If the Zhenguo Mansion only wants to adopt a son and continue the family line, that's just a family matter for the Zhenguo Mansion, but inheriting the title is absolutely not allowed."
Except for Prince Jingyang and a few ministers who agreed, the other ministers either opposed or simply kept silent.
The emperor also disagreed, "It's just about continuing the incense. The Duke of Zhenguo can make the decision."
That is to say, I disagree with inheriting the title.
But if he cannot inherit the title, would General Huo agree to let his grandson change his surname to An?
What's more, Mrs. Huo has been married for several years and has only gotten pregnant once. Giving birth for a woman is like walking through the gates of hell. It is not certain whether the baby in her belly can be born safely. It is too early to think about adoption now.
The prince also knew that there was little hope for this matter, but the princess asked him for help and he could not refuse.
Furthermore, the prince really couldn't bear to see the title that the Duke of Zhenguo had fought for with his blood and lives taken away because there was no one to inherit it.
But all the officials opposed it, the emperor disagreed, and the prince was powerless to help.