Shipin Dalizheng

Chapter 325: Dual Earls

This was a far-fetched matter. Legally speaking, only the Empress's nephew could claim to be the Emperor's nephew. For other concubines, that would be a bit over the line. However, given how highly regarded Rong Tang was by the Emperor, no one dared to ask him if he was his nephew!

The county magistrate misunderstood, and the shopkeeper did not dare to question it. At this moment, it seemed meaningless to investigate whether Rong Tang did it on purpose.

Mr. Cui spoke on behalf of the Cui family, saying, "Regarding the grain issue, it's an equal exchange; there's no point in making a profit or loss. As for some of the shops in Jiangnan, some had IOUs written by the Earl of Annan, while others didn't. The owners of all of them said forget it, and just consider it a donation to the imperial court for disaster relief."

Mr. Cui's words are very clear. Don't think that we don't know what you did secretly. We are generous in not pursuing the matter. We also hope that you will not go too far and continue to take advantage of the Cui family.

Rong Tang saluted and said, "Master Cui is righteous. Rong Tang will report this to His Majesty and reward the Cui family."

When the Wang family's chief steward saw that the matter had been settled, he also took the opportunity to tell Wang Xiang what he meant, that it was all a misunderstanding and not worth taking to heart.

Rong Tang asked tentatively, "I heard that Wang Xiang has a distant relative..."

Before he could finish, the chief steward shook his hands like a rattle and said, "That's not true. It's been so many generations, and our prime minister doesn't even know him. He just has the same surname as us. Our prime minister has already written a letter to reprimand him, asking him not to talk nonsense and implicate the young master."

The meeting ended happily, and the three parties reached a friendly consensus, that is, to work together to contribute to the great cause of Dai Viet for thousands of years, until their death.

After the official remarks were made, the stewards of the two families escorted Rong Tang out with great respect. After he emerged, Rong Tang heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that the Cui and Wang families weren't so foolish as to realize that family reputation was more important than tens of thousands of taels of silver.

The eldest son of the Cui family died as a result of retribution.

The magistrate of a poor county in a distant branch of the Wang family plundered the wealth of hundreds of thousands of people.

These are not things they want the world to know.

This is how the world is. Many families that appear bright and beautiful on the outside, even if they are rotten inside, as long as they have not been seen by outsiders, they will still be bright and beautiful and enviable.

Rong Tang seized the weaknesses of these family heads and walked on a tightrope, maintaining a precarious balance.

He said to Steward Tao, "Prepare two generous gifts and send them to the Cui and Wang families."

This was the first time he took the initiative to give gifts to other families since he came to Beijing.

Not long after Butler Tao delivered the gift, the two families returned the favor with gifts that were three times more generous than what he had given, which was meant to keep his mouth shut.

But other officials in the government didn't think so. They all thought that the Earl of Jian'an had already made good friends with the Cui family and the Prime Minister Wang. This was a sign of him being completely integrated into the top ranks of the capital. For a time, many officials followed suit.

When Emperor Xuan Ning in the palace learned about this, he smacked his lips and said, "This kid is quite capable. He handled this matter himself."

He thought that the Wang family would not give up and the Cui family would not let Rong Tang go and would definitely kill this kid.

He Daban said softly, "So, these noble families want to be both the emperor and the successor. The Earl of Jian'an took the lead in erecting a memorial archway for them. They are embarrassed to be the emperor in front of everyone."

Emperor Xuanning laughed and scolded, "Who told you that? It's the perfect description of these noble families. What position should I assign to the Earl of Jian'an next year? He reported all the merits of his subordinates, even Li Dequan was promoted, but he didn't report his own. I can't even raise his rank if I want to."

With Rong Tang's merits, it would not be a problem for him to be promoted to a marquis. However, he was still young and was afraid that the officials would not accept his promotion on his own.

These officials are ridiculous. Even if a child is only three years old, it is no problem for him to inherit the title of king or marquis, but they are particularly afraid that some young people will be promoted on their own ability, as if it would make them seem useless.

He Daban also knew what Emperor Xuanning was thinking. There were young marquises and even young dukes in the court, but they were all inheriting the power of their ancestors and just waiting to die.

Like the Earl of Jian'an, who was promoted from the Earl's son to the Earl's Lord in just half a year, and then to the Marquis, and was deeply favored by the emperor, he will surely be very popular in the future and will be feared by all officials.

"Uh... Your Majesty, I have heard some interesting things. Would you like to listen to them?"

"What are you talking about?"

"It's about the title of Earl of Jian'an. Some officials who came from the south still only recognize him as Earl of Annan. This title makes some officials in the capital feel uncomfortable and complain. I'm afraid it will cause misunderstandings. Your Majesty, please consider abolishing the title of Earl of Annan and only calling him Earl of Jian'an from now on."

Emperor Xuanning stroked his chin and asked, "How did he get the title of Earl of Annan?"

"It was obtained by offering up several large mines as a gift from our ancestors."

"Is the ancestral property still there?"

"Of course it's still there. The mine can't be moved. Once Your Majesty conquers Southern Xinjiang, return the mine to Earl Jian'an..."

"Wait a moment."

Emperor Xuanning touched his heart and said, "I feel a little reluctant to give this place up. Why can't he give it to me if he can give it to that person?"

"Well... theoretically, the Earl of Jian'an donated the ancestral property to His Majesty of Dai Viet, so it doesn't matter who becomes emperor. If His Majesty is reluctant to return the mine, then... well..."

Emperor Xuanning laughed, "You old fool, ask for a reward on behalf of Earl Jian'an."

He Daban complained, "This old servant has only ever cared about Your Majesty. The Earl of Jian'an has made great contributions, but Your Majesty doesn't know how to reward him and convince the officials. The title of the Earl of Annan was originally earned by exchanging ancestral property. If it is abolished, shouldn't the ancestral property be returned to him? In fact, if you calculate it all, Your Majesty has not rewarded him at all."

Emperor Xuan Ning couldn't help but smile. How wonderful! Even without paying anything, it was still a reward.

But, I still feel bad about it.

"His wife was frightened the day before yesterday, but she kept quiet for the sake of the royal family's reputation. Ultimately, she owes him an explanation. Draft an edict: I adopt Tang Tiantian as my adopted daughter, confer the title Princess Changping, and grant her the marriage to the Earl of Jian'an. I also draft an edict: Rong Tang's title of Earl of Annan will remain valid. If she has two sons in the future, they can inherit the title separately."

He Daban immediately obeyed the order. When the order came to the Sima family, the whole family was stunned, and then they were ecstatic.

After that night, the whole family was extremely worried, especially Mrs. Tang, whose eyes were almost swollen from crying.

Although Tang Tiantian shyly told her later that she and Rong Tang did not consummate their marriage, it was just that Doctor Mo gave her acupuncture to detoxify her, and Rong Zhan helped to restrain her movements.

But so what?

A whole night of cuddling was a good thing. The only person who could make Mrs. Tang feel a little better was none other than her sweet fiancé, who would never treat her lightly in the future.

She had been waiting for Rong Tang to come and talk about this. Now that things had come to this, getting married early was inevitable. Otherwise, if time went on for a long time and the news got out, Tiantian would be gossiped about again.

First and second class, Rong Tang didn't come, but I received the imperial edict, which is still a great honor.

She asked Li Dequan, who had come to deliver the imperial edict, "Eunuch Li, was this order personally requested by Jianan?"

Li Dequan didn't know whether it was Rong Tang who asked for it, but that didn't stop him from speaking well of Rong Tang.

"Madam, don't you think about why His Majesty adopted Miss Tang as his adopted daughter and gave her the title of Princess? Is it because the Princess has some extraordinary ability that His Majesty values ​​her so highly?"

"This...no."

"That's it. Your Majesty must be doing this for the sake of Earl Jian'an!"

The imperial edict was passed to the Jian'an Earl's Mansion. Rong Tang did not react much to the double earl title, but Tang Tiantian's title revealed a lot of information.

Dai Viet still attaches great importance to the etiquette of saints. Emperor Xuanning took this opportunity to tell him that I treat Tang Tiantian as an elder to a younger person and never have that kind of thoughts. We men should not be alienated because of this.