Every Spring Festival, there would be a joyous gathering in the palace, surrounded by children. This year's banquet in the palace was particularly lively. In addition, several princesses had just married this year, and the return of the new prince consort made the palace even livelier.
However, when Meton and Princess Changle arrived together, everyone's eyes focused on them in an instant. In terms of status, those princesses and prince consort couldn't compare with them.
"Paying respects to Imperial Father and Imperial Mother!" Rising, Princess Changle stepped forward and bowed.
"Don't be so polite. You are pregnant and shouldn't move too much." Empress Zhangsun said with pity.
Meton explained, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Director Zhang has already diagnosed Changle. The fetus is developing very well, and normal activities are beneficial."
Empress Zhangsun looked at Modun with satisfaction and said, "You did well in the matter of the women's and children's hospital!"
Empress Zhangsun had experienced the pain of childbirth. At the same time, she had also experienced the deaths of many concubines in the harem due to dystocia. Taking Princess Gao Yang's mother for example, she had died due to dystocia, leaving behind the newborn Princess Gao Yang. Fortunately, Empress Zhangsun had taken care of her, allowing her to grow up safely.
Now the hospital had already been famous in Chang 'an City. The survival rate of the babies was very high for pregnant women who gave birth in the hospital. Although it was inevitable that the babies would die young, the compensation of 10,000 yuan made the hospital more aware of its conscience.
Therefore, most of the pregnant women in Chang 'an City who were rich chose to go to the hospital to wait for delivery. Those midwives who didn't want to join the hospital before were regretful now. Rich families all went to the hospital to give birth, but their business plummeted and could no longer be as prosperous as before. Midwife Zhao, who took the initiative to join the hospital, became the head midwife of the hospital because of her excellent performance. Her reputation was even more famous in Chang' an City. She gained both fame and fortune.
"Mother, there is something you don't know. Brother-in-law is not only good to my sister in this way. Even though she is pregnant now, he still doesn't want to take concubines. He even let his personal maid leave the Mo Family and let everyone in the Mo Family Village follow suit. My sister and brother-in-law's lifelong love is really enviable." Gao Yang said obediently. Her face was full of envy, and her jealousy in the past was not visible at all.
In an instant, all the princesses looked at Princess Changle with envy. In terms of status, Changle was the eldest princess of the Tang dynasty. In terms of reputation, Changle was in charge of the Red Cross, whose reputation was well-known in the Tang dynasty. In terms of marriage, no one could find a husband as Mo Jiazi in the world as Mo Jiazi...
The status of the Prince Consort in the Tang dynasty was not low. Some of the palace maids who were part of the dowry even took the initiative to serve the princess during her pregnancy. Some princesses could not even stop the Prince Consort. Even the wise and powerful Princess Pingyang could not stop Chai Shao from taking concubines. In the end, she could only die of depression. Meton's Prince Consort who took the initiative to insist on monogamy and never take concubines was simply one of a kind.
Empress Zhangsun was in a good mood. It was naturally her wish that her daughter had such a husband.
"Sister Gao Yang, don't worry. Young Master Zhangsun is a famous talent in Chang 'an City. He is already a fifth-grade official at such a young age. When sister marries into the Zhangsun Family in the future, I don't know how many people will envy you?" Princess Yuzhang, who had just become a bride this year, said with a smile. She was married this year to Tang Shanshi, the son of Tang Jian, who was also from a prestigious family. However, there was still a gap between them and the Zhangsun Family.
Princess Gao Yang curled her lips and said, "What's the use of having a good family background? I heard that Zhangsun Chong has already given birth to concubines. Compared to sister Changle, sister's life is really hard!"
Empress Zhangsun's face stiffened. Previously, because of the marriage between relatives, the marriage between Princess Changle and Zhangsun Chong was canceled. Li Shimin then betrothed Princess Gao Yang to Zhangsun Chong as compensation. Speaking of which, she felt that she owed Princess Gao Yang.
Moreover, Empress Zhangsun was Zhangsun Chong's aunt. When Princess Gao Yang married, their relationship went further. In the Tang dynasty, it was common for rich families to take concubines before marrying the wife. Take Li Chengqian for example. Before he married the wife, his eldest son, Li Xiang, was already born. If it were not for the incident in the Village of Mojia, it would not be a big deal in Chang 'an City for Zhangsun Chong's concubine to give birth to a child.
However, with Meton in front of them, Zhangsun Chong's behavior instantly became so unbearable. Although they were both princes, the gap was too big.
"Don't worry, Gao Yang. Mother will definitely avenge you." Empress Zhangsun also felt a little embarrassed. After all, Gao Yang was a princess. It was a condescending thing for a princess to marry someone of a lower status. However, Zhangsun Chong was promiscuous every night and even had a child. This made the royal family feel a little embarrassed.
"Mother, thank you for standing up for me." Princess Gao Yang achieved her purpose of beating Zhangsun Chong with a few words and then left obediently. Of course, she also knew that this child was the son of the Zhangsun Family and would not be harmed. However, the child's mother was not so lucky.
This small disturbance quickly subsided. Li Shimin at the side did not seem to care about these trivial matters at all and happily teased Princess Jinyang at the side.
Princess Jinyang was amused by Li Shimin and could not stop laughing. She quickly broke free from Li Shimin's embrace and ran to Princess Changle's side and acted coquettishly. "Sister, sister, let me show you something good."
Princess Changle smiled and hugged Princess Jinyang, saying, "Oh, Princess Changle, what good thing do you want to show me?"
Princess Jinyang said proudly, "Naturally, it's the greenhouse in winter that Brother-in-law mentioned last year. Now, Princess Changle has done it. Even in winter, the greenhouse is still full of flowers."
"Oh, Princess Changle is really amazing." Princess Changle praised with a smile.
Empress Zhangsun stood up and said, "Usually, Jinyang treasures the greenhouse very much. Now, he is finally willing to open it. Since we are all gathered here today, we can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the flowers in winter."
"Imperial Mother is right." The princesses cheerfully said.
Meton was just about to stand up when he heard Li Shimin at the side cough lightly and say, "Meton, stay behind. We have something to tell him."
Immediately, the other princes looked at Meton with envious eyes. Mo Jiazi was indeed worthy of marrying the Eldest Princess. Just by the way His Majesty treated him, it was clear that he was in His Majesty's heart.
However, they did not know that Meton was smiling bitterly in his heart. Li Shimin had asked him to stay behind alone. It was definitely not a good thing.
Princess Changle stood up and glanced at Meton. She smiled slyly and turned to leave. Her husband and father were the people she trusted the most. With the two of them together, they would definitely not do anything that would make Changle sad. Princess Changle had nothing to worry about.
"Do you know how big of a mess you've made?" Li Shimin roared. "It's New Year, and the memorials to impeach you have already piled up on Zhen's desk. You're really trying to make Zhen's New Year bad, aren't you?"
The ninth year of Zhenguan could be said to be Li Shimin's most pleasant year. He had originally thought that Zhenguan would continue his good luck for ten years. He did not expect that Meton would ruin his mood on the first day of the New Year.
"The Minister did not do anything!" Meton said, scratching his head.
"Did nothing?" Li Shimin was so angry that he laughed and said, "The prenuptial agreement you came up with directly ruined more than half of the marriage in Chang 'an. Every family in Chang' an is restless. You haven't done anything yet?"
Of course, what Li Shimin did not say was that even he had been rejected by the concubines last night. Naturally, this account would be blamed on Meton.
Meton was stunned. He did not expect that it would cause such a serious chain reaction and cause such a big consequence.
"The Minister only implemented it in the Mo Family Village …" Meton said with a little guilty conscience.
"Once the prenuptial agreement came out, all the women in Chang 'an City followed. They would rather tear down ten temples than tear down a marriage. You, on the other hand, not only tear down the temple but also the marriage." Li Shimin said angrily. When the Mo Family and the Buddhist Family fought, many temples were destroyed. As for tearing down marriages, Li Shimin did not want to say more. When it was exposed that marriages between close relatives were teared down in Chang 'an City, another batch was torn down. Now, with the absolute monogamy and the prenuptial agreement, another batch was torn down in Chang' an City.
What was even more pitiful was that there was a man from Chang 'an who was even more unlucky. His three consecutive engagements were broken up by Modun. It was simply too tragic to look at. The censor directly exposed this matter and brought it to Li Shimin.
"But did the Minister do something wrong?" Meton frowned and asked.
Li Shimin suddenly choked. Yes, this prenuptial agreement seemed ridiculous, but who could say that defending a faithful love was wrong? Not to mention that Meton was defending the love between him and his daughter. If he denied Meton, wouldn't he be condoning Meton to take concubines and make his daughter cry?
But if he agreed with Modun, then wouldn't his practice of having seventy-two concubines in three palaces and six courtyards be even worse? Li Shimin was caught in a dilemma.
After a long time, Li Shimin said seriously, "Sometimes we think that right and wrong are not important. Three people make a tiger. Sometimes the power of the secular world is ignorant and powerful."
"No matter what, the Mo Family will insist on the best quality in the world, even if it means destruction." Meton said proudly.
Li Shimin was silent. He looked at Meton's determined expression and couldn't help but think of his hesitation before the Xuanwu Gate incident. In the eyes of the world, killing one's brother and imprisoning one's father was also disgraceful and intolerable. Even if he had ascended the throne for several years and created great achievements, he still couldn't change the impression in the hearts of the people. The root of all this was the inheritance system of the eldest son of the first wife and concubines.
"Then I will wait and see. In the first court assembly in ten years, I hope you can withstand the criticism of the civil and military officials." Li Shimin snorted coldly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Meton bowed and thanked him. If it weren't for Li Shimin's guidance, he would have been criticized by the court officials in a hurry and made mistakes. With these few days of preparation, he could certainly deal with it calmly.
"Go! The greenhouse in Jinyang Palace has been carefully prepared by her for a long time. Don't disappoint her. "Li Shimin took the lead with a dark face.
In front of Jinyang Palace, a large glass greenhouse rose from the ground. Even though it was winter outside and snow covered the ground, the greenhouse was as warm as spring. Outside, the leaves had all fallen and everything was yellow and withered, but the greenhouse was lush and green, with hundreds of flowers blooming.
But even more beautiful than the flowers were the faces of the princesses. Amidst the flowers, Princess Changle raised her head and saw Li Shimin walking in front with a dark face. Meton followed behind, playfully winking at her. She couldn't help but laugh. Perhaps this was the unique way the father-son-in-law got along with each other!
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