Wei Du from the south of the city went to Tian Chi Wu.
The ancestor of House Wei, Wei Xuancheng, had been a high official since Emperor Yuan of Han. It had been hundreds of years since the Tang Dynasty. House Wei had always been prosperous.
The Wei Mansion of Chang 'an City was a first-class mansion, occupying a large area. The attics and courtyards in the courtyard were exquisite and magnificent. In the living room of the Wei Mansion, Wei Sian was pacing back and forth anxiously, looking restless.
"Steady!" House Master Wei saw his son's disappointing appearance and couldn't help but shout angrily.
Only then did Wei Sian angrily sit down, but the anxiety on his face was getting stronger and stronger.
"Father, why hasn't there been any news from the palace? Could it be that Imperial Concubine didn't mention it to the Empress? This is the best opportunity!" Wei Sian couldn't help but say.
According to his plan, he first smeared Mo Jiazi's reputation, and then spread the news that Mo Jiazi had a sweetheart all over the city. As long as Princess Changle heard about it, she would naturally be disgusted with Mo Jiazi. At this moment, he took advantage of the situation and proposed marriage to Princess Changle. It was an excellent opportunity, and he would definitely succeed in one fell swoop.
After House Master Wei heard his son's plan, he was also greatly moved. Although Mo Jiazi had used a series of strange moves to break the stigma, now the whole city knew that Mo Jiazi had a sweetheart.
If the Wei clan's plan succeeded and Wei Sian was able to marry the Eldest Princess of the Great Tang, then the Wei clan's future would soar. Under the temptation of such enormous benefits, the head of the Wei clan did not hesitate to agree to his son's plan and asked Imperial Concubine Wei to propose marriage.
"Don't worry, Imperial Concubine Wei has already agreed, so it will naturally be done. We just need to wait for the news." House Master Wei suppressed the impetuousness in his heart and said.
At this time, there was a sudden noise outside House Wei. Wei Sian's second brother, Wei Sizheng, ran in breathlessly. House Wei naturally didn't dare to let the servants do such an important thing, but let Wei Sizheng wait at the palace gate in person.
"Second brother, how is it? Is it done? "Wei Sian saw his second brother and couldn't wait to ask.
Wei Sizheng panted and looked at his younger brother with an inexplicable gaze. He said, "Imperial Concubine Niangniang has already proposed marriage to the Empress, but the Empress has not agreed."
Wei Sian's face suddenly stiffened, while Patriarch Wei suddenly stopped and looked at Erzi in disbelief.
"How is that possible? It shouldn't be!" Wei Sian could not accept this. Based on House Wei's reputation and status, plus the fact that they had eliminated their biggest rival in love, Mo Jiazi, this matter should have been in the bag.
"What's going on? Tell me everything in detail. "Patriarch Wei said in a deep voice.
Wei Sizheng said, "Originally, when Imperial Consort Gui proposed marriage to Her Imperial Highness, Her Imperial Highness was also rather moved. However, she did not immediately agree. Instead, she personally went to Changle Palace to seek Princess Changle's opinion. Who would have thought that Princess Changle would not agree to this marriage and directly refused."
Wei Sian immediately said angrily, "A marriage contract only needs the order of the parents and the words of the matchmaker. Why would Her Imperial Highness consult Princess Changle's opinion?"
Patriarch Wei said helplessly, "Since that incident, I'm afraid Her Imperial Highness has always felt guilty towards Changle. That's why she prioritized Princess Changle's opinion."
Wei Sian and his brother suddenly fell silent. They naturally knew that the incident was the annulment of the engagement between Zhangsun Chong and Princess Changle. The marriage between the two was facilitated by Her Imperial Highness. Who would have thought that Mo Jiazi and the School of Medicine would intervene and directly ruin the marriage.
"Then, did Princess Changle explain why she did not agree?" Wei Sian still wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Wei Sizheng paused and looked at Wei Sian. He wanted to say something but hesitated.
"If there's anything, just say it." Patriarch Wei frowned.
Wei Sizheng gritted his teeth and said, "Princess Changle said bluntly that Third Brother accompanied a woman last night and slandered Mo Jiazi. His conduct was improper and his character was not good. Therefore, he rejected Imperial Consort Gui."
"Improper conduct and his character was not good!" Patriarch Wei suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air and staggered back a few steps.
Just based on these few words, once spread, his third son's future would be ruined.
Wei Sian's face was full of shock and anger. He never thought that he would end up like this after putting in so much effort.
"Unfilial son, House Wei's thousand years of reputation has been ruined by you." Patriarch Wei pointed at Wei Sian and said in a trembling voice. Once these words spread, not only would Wei Sian suffer, even House Wei in the South of the city would be implicated.
Wei Sian's face immediately turned ashen.
Suddenly, Wei Sijing, the eldest son of House Wei, hurried in and whispered a few words into Patriarch Wei's ear. Patriarch Wei's face suddenly changed. He turned to Wei Sian and shouted, "Unfilial son, the imperial censor has written a report to impeach Mo Jiazi for violating etiquette. He has no engagement and met a woman in private. Is this your doing?"
"What censor impeaching Mo Jiazi?" Wei Sian immediately said, "Father, you've wronged me! I admit that I spread the rumors about Mo Jiazi's homosexuality and encouraged the women to impersonate Huang Jinlu. But how could I have the ability to invite the censor? "
"But why would the censor help Third Brother to deal with Mo Jiazi?" Wei Sizheng was puzzled.
Patriarch Wei shook his head and smiled bitterly. "I'm afraid it's not to help this unfilial son, but to fight between Confucianism and Mo!"
He believed that Wei Sian did not have the ability to invite the censor, and the fuse of this matter was started by this unfilial son. Not only did it not succeed, but it also caused House Wei to fall into the whirlpool of the struggle between Confucianism and Mo.
"The struggle between Confucianism and Mo!"
The three brothers of House Wei looked at each other in dismay. Only now did they realize how sensitive Mo Jiazi's identity was. Although House Wei was a large family with many businesses, if they were to fall into the whirlpool of the struggle between Confucianism and Mo, they might not be able to withstand it!
Now, Meton had just revealed a slight flaw, and a Confucian scholar had already rushed forward to attack him without any regard for his own safety.
"House Mo is currently weak. All that's left is House Mo, and Mo Jiazi is only a seventh-rank official. How can he do anything to House Wei of the Southern City?" Wei Sian snorted angrily.
Wei Sian's words calmed everyone down a little. House Wei of the Southern City had weathered countless storms over the years. How could they be afraid of a single Mo Jiazi?
"Master, something bad has happened!" The steward of House Wei hurried in with a panicked expression.
Patriarch Wei forced himself to remain calm. "What's wrong?"
Steward Wei was in charge of House Wei's huge business. Something big must have happened for him to be so panicked.
"Taoist Changsheng of the Xuandu Temple has announced that he is selling his ancestral secret dyeing techniques. Now, all the cloth merchants in Chang 'an City are going crazy." Steward Wei said with a panicked expression.
Taoist Changsheng was unparalleled in the art of dyeing. He was originally a cloth merchant, but in order to cheat others, he had researched the secret hair-dyeing technique. So far, among all the dyeing techniques, Taoist Changsheng's hair-dyeing technique was the only one that didn't lose color.
Not losing color was rare and common in the later generations, but in the Tang dynasty, it was probably the most advanced technique!
Although Taoist Changsheng was only selling his ancestral secret dyeing technique, and not the secret hair-dyeing technique, it was enough to make the cloth merchants scramble like ducks.
Patriarch Wei's face suddenly turned pale. He was even more heartbroken than when he heard that Wei Sian's future was ruined. To support a huge aristocratic family, the income from land alone was not enough to make ends meet.
House Wei was not only the largest grain merchant in Chang 'an City, but also the largest cloth merchant in Chang' an City. The ancestors of House Wei had a unique vision and firmly controlled the necessities of food and clothing, earning House Wei endless wealth. House Wei relied on the dyeing technique that had been passed down for hundreds of years around Chang 'an City. The quality of the fabrics they dyed was the best, and they firmly held the top position among the cloth merchants in Chang' an City.
Now, if Taoist Changsheng's secret dyeing technique was spread out and obtained by House Wei's competitors, House Wei's advantage would be gone. Now that the Mo Family Village was rising, they had stockpiled a large amount of grain in the south of the city, the brick road had been built, and a large amount of grain had poured in from Luoyang. The profits of the grain merchants were already very low. If House Wei lost its advantage as a cloth merchant, it would probably suffer a great loss. Without a source of income, House Wei's decline would not be far away.
"Why would Taoist Changsheng suddenly sell the secret dyeing technique out of the blue?" Wei Sijing asked in horror.
Suddenly, everyone's heart skipped a beat. They gritted their teeth and said, "Mo Jiazi!"
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