Chapter 287
"Since Murong Qian is her husband, then Emperor Shizong of Liang couldn't be her son, right?"
[Master, this matter is a bit complicated. It's a long story.]
"It's fine, we have plenty of time. Take your time and tell it slowly, I'll just treat it as listening to a story."
The few people sitting behind Yue Fuguang were nodding madly in their hearts. The Junior Preceptor was right, the Divine Artifact must absolutely not make a long story short.
Tell it slowly, they also loved listening to stories!
[Let's address the first question. The reason Hong Yueling wanted to marry the Crown Prince wasn't because she wanted to cling to the powerful and enjoy wealth and glory.
It was entirely because her mother, Madam Fang, had only given birth to her, a single daughter. Without a son, she was constantly looked down upon by her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law in her husband's family.
Even her husband, Hong Yueling's father, Hanlin Academy Reader-in-Waiting Hong Feng, lost respect for Madam Fang due to her lack of a male heir to carry on the family line.
Hong Yueling wanted to marry well just to win some face for her mother in the Hong family. Even after she married, she would be able to protect the only person who truly loved her.]
"This Hong Feng, as a Hanlin Reader-in-Waiting, although his status isn't high, is at least considered a courtier relatively close to the Emperor.
Disrespecting his legitimate wife... he couldn't be favoring a concubine and destroying his wife, could he?"
Thud!
As Yue Fuguang's words fell, in front of the Hongwen Pavilion, among the officials who were intending to welcome the Emperor and his entourage, a person suddenly dropped to his knees with a thud right in front of Emperor Mingxi's golden boots.
Ever since Yue Fuguang started giving lessons, much of the teaching at the Hanlin Academy had been taken over by various well-connected lords, but the daily work and the lessons for the princes next door were still primarily taught by them.
Therefore, Reader-in-Waiting Hong was exceptionally lucky to be present today, and just so happened to hear the gossip about his own family along with everyone else!
With the Junior Preceptor pinning the label of 'favoring a concubine and destroying a wife' on him, regardless of whether it was true or not, he had to kneel first.
[In Hong Feng's backyard, there is one wife and four concubines. Aside from the legitimate wife Madam Fang, the other concubines all have sons and daughters. It is hard to tell which concubine he favors most.
However, he truly favors the eldest concubine-born son and the third concubine-born daughter born to Concubine Mu. He treats her better than all the other wives and concubines, including the legitimate wife Madam Fang, and her pillow talk is the most effective.
Even Hong Yueling's marriage to Murong Qian was orchestrated by Concubine Mu, who hails from a branch family of the Mu clan in Xinzhou!]
"Are you saying Hong Feng let a concubine interfere with the marriage of his legitimate daughter? This legitimate daughter's birth mother is still alive, and the girl was neither born nor raised by the concubine. Is it any of her business?
Does this not count as favoring a concubine and destroying a wife?"
Thump thump thump!
Along with Yue Fuguang's words, the sound of Hong Feng kowtowing became the perfect background music.
A few days ago, Concubine Mu had indeed mentioned his eldest daughter's marriage to him, saying there was a fine young man on her maiden family's side who was very suitable for Yueling.
At first, when he heard it was a family of military generals, he had refused.
But Concubine Mu said that a great scholar had emerged from a branch of the Murong family. If the marriage between the two families was successful, perhaps their eldest son, Hong Yulin, could become a disciple under that great scholar.
Hong Feng admitted he was tempted. He had even planned to bring the matter up with Madam Fang in a few days.
As if thinking of something, Yue Fuguang continued to ask, "How old is Hong Feng's third concubine-born daughter this year?"
[Hong Yufei is fifteen, two years younger than Hong Yueling.]
"Why didn't Concubine Mu betroth her own daughter to Murong Qian? Is there something wrong with him, or is there another reason?"
[Master has seen Hong Yueling's portrait; in the eyes of mortals, she is a rare beauty. This Murong Qian is someone who values a woman's looks.
When Concubine Mu wanted her son to take Murong Wen as his teacher and was rejected, she heard that the Murong family in Lancheng was looking for a wife for their youngest son, so she thought of the beautiful Hong Yueling.]
"So this Hong Feng wants to sell his daughter to seek glory for his son? What a calculating move!"
Hong Feng had kowtowed until he was almost dizzy, praying madly in his heart: Oh ancestors, please stop talking, he truly knew he was wrong!
Hong Feng really couldn't figure out how he had offended these two ancestors. As things stood, everything seemed to have been done by Concubine Mu.
Why was every word from the Junior Preceptor targeted at him?
Yue Fuguang: Because the root of the problem is you! No matter how high Concubine Mu jumps, without your nod of approval, all her schemes are just empty talk.
At this moment, Hong Feng blamed heaven and earth, but he did not dare harbor the slightest resentment toward those two ancestors.
He knew clearly that since he could hear the inner voices now, as long as he had a good attitude in admitting his mistakes, he could still be saved. If he ever harbored resentment toward those two, he might end up like a certain unlucky fool, losing the light and returning to darkness, unable to hear the inner voices anymore—then he'd truly be finished!
"Little Zhu, what kind of person is Murong Qian, and how was Hong Yueling's life after marrying him?"
[Master, Murong Qian is the exact opposite of his name. He is arrogant, conceited, and obstinate. He clearly only has half a bucket of knowledge, yet he is haughty and considers himself extraordinary.
He compares himself to talented scholars and banished immortals, yet he lives a dissolute life, sleeping among flowers and willows. In the border city of Lancheng, he is a notorious playboy. Compared to him, Wei Yan and Cai Bing could be considered good boys.
When it came to finding him a wife, the families the Murong family took a fancy to were unwilling to marry their daughters to him. As for those who wanted to cling to them, either the Murong family disdained their low status, or Murong Qian thought the girls weren't pretty enough.
The Mu family wanted to cling to the Murong family. When Concubine Mu learned of this news, it led to the ill-fated karma between Murong Qian and Hong Yueling.]
"Ill-fated karma? Did they not have a good life after getting married?"
[Hong Yueling was forced to marry for the sake of her birth mother, Madam Fang. For the first two years of their marriage, because Murong Qian was captivated by Hong Yueling's fresh beauty, he restrained himself somewhat. Although he still went out to fool around and live a dissolute life, at least he didn't bring his messes in front of Hong Yueling, so she just pretended not to know.
However, as she gradually became more familiar with the Murong family, she slowly discovered Murong Liang's secret, which could also be called the history of his rise to power.
The secret of how he climbed from a low-level military officer to one of the five great defending generals of the border army without relying on his family.]
Outside the courtyard, Emperor Mingxi signaled the imperial guards to drag Hong Feng to the side, deciding to deal with him later.
Stroking his beard, he fell into deep thought. Since Murong Liang was one of the five great defending generals stationed at the southernmost border of Great Yan, he was naturally very familiar with his life history.
Murong Liang was forty-three years old. Before the age of thirty, he was merely a low-ranking officer leading only a few hundred men.
From the age of thirty onward, relying on his personal bravery and multiple successes in repelling bandits outside the borders, he climbed step by step to his current position.
Could there be a problem with his promotions? Did he falsely report his battle results or falsely claim the achievements of others?
Emperor Mingxi couldn't help but think of Zheng Feng, who was still in the Right Martial Guard's new recruit camp. Wasn't his experience exactly that of having his military merits falsely claimed by a superior!
"What secret? Little Zhu, don't keep me in suspense, make a long story short."
[Master, to make a long story short, Hong Yueling discovered that Murong Liang was raising bandits to elevate his own importance, killing innocent civilians to claim military merit, and even raising mountain bandits to plunder passing merchants.
The initial funds for the Murong family's rise were accumulated bit by bit starting from that time.]
"Raising bandits to elevate his own importance! Killing civilians for merit? If Hong Yueling could discover this, did the rest of the Murong family know? What happened to Hong Yueling later?"
[When Hong Yueling discovered this, she had already been married to Murong Qian for over two years. Because Murong Qian had indulged in matters of men and women too early,
he had ruined his body. As a result, the two of them didn't have a child even after over two years of marriage. As time passed, Murong Qian's feelings for her faded, and he often did not return home.
Using this as an excuse, Hong Yueling wanted to take the opportunity of returning to the capital for medical treatment to report this matter to the imperial court.]