King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 379 The Sixth Couple

When Baochai rushed to the East Palace, Xiangyun was sitting on the corridor basking in the sun in Kunning Palace.

"Okay, you can take some time here by yourself and leave all the errands of accompanying students to us!"

After entering the palace, Daiyu adapted quickly, and because of her intelligence and alertness, she is now very popular with the queen.

"Sister Lin, the princess likes to play with you, wouldn't it be inconvenient for us to stay aside?"

"Besides, you two are both bachelors. How can we ordinary people understand your eloquent talk? It's better to get away as soon as possible!"

Walking closer to Xiangyun, Daiyu feigned anger and said, "I only said one thing, but you replied with so many words. It's so disrespectful to my sister!"

Hearing this, Xiangyun immediately stood up, then slightly bent his knees and said: "How dare I disrespect Sister Lin? My little sister, I want to say hello to Sister Lin!"

Daiyu covered her mouth and smiled, stood up straight and said solemnly: "This is your first offense, so I will spare you today!"

Walking to the side of the pillar and looking at the bonsai outside the railing, Xiangyun said with a crying face: "These days are really boring!"

"You've been in the palace for how many months, and you feel bored these days?"

Speaking of this, Daiyu said with a bad smile: "Could it be that she is like some people, thinking about someone... she tossed and turned and couldn't sleep!"

The person Daiyu was talking about was actually Zhen Qin. This girl kept thinking about Zhu Jinghong in her dreams at night, which really shocked Daiyu.

When Daiyu made such a joke, Xiangyun immediately turned around and said with a straight face: "Humph... You are still a sister, so you disrespect your sister like this?"

"Good sister, don't be angry...especially..."

Seeing that Daiyu only spoke half of the words, Xiangyun asked subconsciously: "What's wrong with you?"

"Especially don't complain to Master Thirteen!"

"you……"

She and Baochai had joked like this many times, and Daiyu had accumulated a lot of experience for this. After saying this, she subconsciously avoided it, and Xiangyun jumped into the air and stamped her feet.

The two girls chased and fought in Kunning Palace, which added color to this majestic and solemn palace. Queen Yang Qingyin never intervened in this.

The two of them were chasing each other here, and at the other end of the Shanglin Garden, Zhu Jinghong came to the Yulin Right Guards to observe their latest training results.

On the watchtower, Zhu Jinghong retracted his telescope and looked at the generals behind him.

"You all saw it?"

Zhu Jinghong's face was not very good-looking, and everyone felt sad. The conductor Liu Yudong responded under pressure: "I saw it!"

"I saw it...there are teams that haven't formed enough yet, and you've seen them too?"

"Look...I saw it!" Liu Yudong was sweating on his forehead.

To be honest, even though Zhu Jinghong was young, he really showed a "supervisory" attitude, which still put him under great pressure.

Ignoring Liu Yudong, Zhu Jinghong glanced at the others, who all bent down and did not dare to look at him.

Slowly walking to the middle of the generals, the others also adjusted their direction to always face him.

"Okay, don't be too nervous. What I'm worried about...is that I'm afraid that this matter will be known to the Holy Spirit, and I'll blame you for your inability to rectify the situation!"

Zhu Jinghong was very good at deflecting conflicts, and although he was not very clever, the effect was very good.

In fact, many times, the means of control are as simple as carrots and sticks.

"We still need to strictly supervise it. It's been almost a month, and a hundred people are not walking in an orderly manner. It really doesn't work!"

Although this is said, objectively speaking, the training results are already very good, mainly because Zhu Jinghong's requirements are too high.

But in fact, the requirements are high, the purpose is to train obedience, and the purpose itself is to train people into killing machines.

"Let's go and see where they live!"

"Yes!"

The training plan listed by Zhu Jinghong is very detailed, almost including food, drink, and diarrhea. Each item has complex and comprehensive regulations.

From the perspective of this era, these fancy things are useless.

The generals of the North Fourth Guard originally had this idea, but after more than twenty days of training, they felt the changes in the army from the inside out, and their ideas gradually changed.

Maybe it's actually useful...at least it looks more formal now than before.

Zhu Jinghong only required that the soldiers' dormitories be neatly arranged and did not formulate extremely strict rules.

After some inspection, except for a few items that were not packed away, everyone else had basically arranged their items neatly and the house was very clean.

There is no doubt that those few people will be severely punished, but this is no longer Zhu Jinghong's concern.

After they left the dormitory area, when Zhu Jinghong was planning to go to the next place, he encountered an uninvited guest at the gate of the military camp.

"See Mr. Six!"

The one called Liu Ye by the generals was naturally Prince Rui Zhu Jingyuan.

"No courtesy, no courtesy..."

Walking to the center of the crowd, Zhu Jingyuan said with a smile: "I've heard that you guys are training, and I've always wanted to come and take a look. Today I finally got the chance and met you all here!"

Everyone may say this, but if you fail to demonstrate sufficient leadership, it will really become a conversation among colleagues.

Obviously Zhu Jingyuan was not among them. At this moment, he naturally became the focus of the crowd, and everyone respected him.

"Our place is dirty and noisy, so I'm afraid it will dirty Master Liu's ears!"

Hearing Liu Yudong's compliment, Zhu Jingyuan turned around and said with a smile: "My thirteenth brother and I share the same mother and father. He can come but I can't?"

"Okay, Sixth Brother, don't make things difficult for them. You are the Wenquxing in the sky... I'm afraid you won't be able to stand with rough guys like us!"

This sentence is for Liu Yudong and others to explain. Zhu Jinghong also separates you and me. In this context, Zhu Jingyuan is an outsider.

As smart as King Rui, he could naturally understand the meaning, but looking at Zhu Jinghong laughing, he felt that this guy might not be that thoughtful.

"We are all ministers of the Ming Dynasty, so there is no need to distinguish between you and me. I am here to come... Could it be that my thirteenth brother doesn't want to show me?"

"I wish you all the best, Brother Six, please!"

Zhu Jinghong was really leading the way, and at the same time he was bragging endlessly, talking about the results of the current training.

There were introductions, observations, and Zhu Jinghong being dragged to practice riding and shooting. An hour passed after all the tossing, and Zhu Jingyuan was already exhausted.

"Brother Six, it's spring now, let's go outside and shoot deer!"

Shanglinyuan is a large area. In addition to many military camps and schools, it is also a place where birds and animals are tamed for royal riding and shooting.

"Forget it, forget it, I should go back!" Zhu Jingyuan put down his bow and arrows, not afraid of being seen in embarrassment by outsiders.

At this moment, there were only two brothers in the school, and Liu Yudong and others had been driven back by Zhu Jinghong.

"It's not easy for you to come here and go back without having a good time. This would be too..."

Zhu Jingyuan waved his hand, and then said: "In a few months, you will have time to play!"

"Why?"

Sitting on a chair nearby, Zhu Jingyuan took the tea from the eunuch and said: "In a few months, the leaders and chieftains of the northwest tribes and alliances will be ordered to come to the capital to meet... I'm afraid they will inevitably come to Shanglin Garden for hunting! "

Calling together the bosses of vassal states to hunt was nothing new in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Jinghong remembered that it had been done once in the eighth year of Zhengtong.

"Only the territorial divisions from the northwest are called this time? Didn't they get both the southeast and northwest in the past?"

Zhu Jinghong probably guessed the reason, but he still asked to satisfy Zhu Jingyuan's habit of being a teacher.

After taking a sip of tea, Zhu Jingyuan said in a deep voice: "Of course it is specially designed for the situation in the northwest. I think the old man is really planning to take action!"

"Do it? You mean with the Junggar people?" Zhu Jinghong looked confused.

The Junggar people are dissatisfied with the Ming Dynasty and are jumping up and down in a manner that disrupts the northwest. Now the Zhasak people are also confused about their attitude. The Ming Dynasty must interfere.

This time, the leaders of the northwest tribes and alliances, as well as the chieftains from Tibet, were called here, firstly to test their intentions, and at the same time to discuss sending troops to fight.

"Just for them!" Zhu Jingyuan replied.After drinking a bowl of tea at this moment, he felt much more comfortable. Then he looked at Zhu Jinghong and said: "Down below, there are some rare game in the village. Thirteenth brother... come to my brother's house to eat it today!"

"This……"

It seems that every sentence spoken by Zhu Jingyuan has a different purpose, which makes Zhu Jinghong have to think more.

But after thinking about it, the greater possibility is to win over himself, and Zhu Jinghong is not afraid of this at all.

It doesn't matter to him whether he is a princeling or a Prince Rui Party member, as long as he doesn't make people think that there is a Prince Xiang Party member.

"What's so strange about wild game!" Zhu Jinghong said disapprovingly.

Seeing that he really only cared about game, Zhu Jingyuan felt a little more at ease, and then said: "This time is really rare, there are small fish over a foot long, and there are also ones with four wings..."

"What more can you say? Let's go quickly!" Zhu Jinghong said excitedly.

Immediately, the two brothers left Shanglin Garden and drove slowly to Prince Rui's Mansion in a carriage.

While the two brothers were chatting happily, Baochai walked out of the East Palace with a solemn look.

She explained everything to Yuan Chun. Although Yuan Chun said he wouldn't care, Baochai felt alive.

Obviously Yuanchun himself had doubts about the words she answered.

Although this result was not good, Baochai also knew that it was inevitable, and Chen Zhi's move was a conspiracy.

But Baochai didn't know that King Rui and his wife recommended her to be the princess mainly to see Zhu Jinghong's jokes, but not to affect his relationship with Yuan Chun.

Thinking about the next thing, Baochai happened to meet Princess Rui's guard of honor before he took a few steps out.

She ran into Chen Zhi just after coming out of the East Palace. This was indeed a bit of a coincidence, and it also meant that it was probably an intentional arrangement.

Therefore, Baochai bowed his head and saluted, trying to hide his behavior was doomed to be in vain.

"Baochai?"

After everyone was called by Chen Zhi, Baochai could only raise her head and said softly: "Greetings to the empress!"

"Come on, come on, I have something to do with you, come here quickly!"

Chen Zhi's sedan was carried by eight people, and it would be no problem for Baochai to sit on it.

"This……"

Baochai was really scared this time. She was outside the East Palace right now. If she got on Princess Rui's sedan, it would be impossible to explain anything.

"You girl, you said you admired my love a few days ago, but now you're like this?" Chen Zhi said half-jokingly.

If looking for reasons, Baochai can think of many reasons to refuse, but the problem now is that Chen Zhiqiang wants to keep her, and wisdom is powerless in the face of power.

She had no choice but to break up on the spot.

The consequence of breaking her skin is that Chen Zhi will definitely find a way to prevent her from being elected, and even cheat her out of the chance to run.

"How dare you, little girl? I'm just afraid of dirtying the princess's car!"

"What are you talking about? Come up here quickly. I have something to tell you!" Chen Zhi waved.

Baochai had no choice but to bypass the guard of honor and get into the sedan with the help of the maid.

And this scene happened to be seen by Donggong, and someone who was interested would spread the news to Yuanchun's ears.

"She got on Chen Zhi's sedan?" Yuan Chun was surprised.

"Exactly!"

At this moment, Yuanchun was very angry, or extremely angry, to the point where she would lose control of her emotions.

"Empress, this precious girl is really..." Baoqin couldn't help but complain about his master.

Fortunately, Yuanchun was not an ordinary woman. Even though she was furious at the moment, she still held back her anger.

It is said that when something goes wrong, there must be a monster. What happened today was so outrageous that it is easy for people to think that there is a conspiracy.

Being able to control one's emotions is a basic requirement for a qualified political figure, and Yuanchun is obviously more qualified.

Reminiscent of Baochai's explanation just now, she believed that Baochai did have some last resort and was now manipulated by Chen Zhi.

Even if it is a last resort, now that Baochai is involved with Chen Zhi, has her position shifted?

At this moment, Yuanchun believed in Baochai but also doubted her. This complicated mood was absurd but objective.

At this time, someone outside sent a message: "Empress, Your Highness, please come over!"

"Understood, I'll go there right away!"

Chen Zhi had an spy in the East Palace, and Prince Rui's Mansion naturally also had an spy in the East Palace. Yuanchun could only wait for the news to come back from there.

Now that the prince was summoned, she just went over to talk about the situation.

After recovering from illness in the past two days, Prince Zhu Jingyuan went to the study room, reading memorials and discussing government affairs with the bachelors as usual.

This is the only task of the prince. There is no actual government affairs for him to interfere with. All he needs is to study quietly.

When Yuanchun arrived, the prince was the only one left in the study, and everyone else had been dismissed.

"Meet Your Highness!"

"My beloved concubine...there is no need to be polite!"

Upon hearing the title "Beloved Concubine", Yuanchun thought she had heard it wrong, and then she was surrounded by intense joy.

This lifelong title means that she is not only a crown princess named by the imperial court, but also Zhu Jingyuan's wife.

"Your Highness..." Yuanchun didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Thank you for your hard work these days!"

People's hearts are made of flesh. Zhu Jingyuan has seen Tian Yuanchun's constant care day and night. It would be a lie to say he is not touched.

In Yuanchun, he saw the figure of his married wife. He had not experienced the feeling of husband and wife being together for a long time.

"These are what I should do!" Yuanchun suppressed the urge to cry.

Although she could control her emotions, she had no idea at the moment because she was too excited.

Standing up from the desk, Zhu Jingyuan slowly walked to Yuan Chun and personally wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"I suddenly want to try the hibiscus soup you made before!" Zhu Jingyuan said with a smile.

Originally, he wanted to talk about the affairs of Prince Rui's Mansion, but now that Zhu Jingyuan had given instructions, Yuan Chun had to complete this matter first no matter what.

"Yes... I will do it now!"

"I am waiting for you!"

Watching Yuan Chun leave, the smile on Zhu Jingyuan's face gradually disappeared, and then he walked behind the bookshelf, where the portrait of Yuan Chun's wife, Lu, hung.

"My beloved concubine, you won't blame me, will you?" Zhu Jingyuan asked sadly.

He was afraid that his wife would blame him for falling in love with someone else, but he was fed up with being alone. Now that Yuanchun had made him feel the rare warmth, how could he give it up?

Closing his eyes and waiting for tears to fall, Zhu Jingyuan reached out and took down the hanging painting, then slowly rolled it up.

He has decided to put the portrait at the bottom of the box for collection, and then bring it into the coffin together a hundred years later.

Normally, as a lady, she would not enter the kitchen, but in order to win the favor of the prince when she was elected to the East Palace, Yuanchun learned how to cook and make soup.

But it was not favored by the prince before, and it was never done again later.

Now that Zhu Jingyuan personally asked for it, how could she not try her best to make that bowl of "hibiscus soup" and completely consolidate the bond between husband and wife.

While Yuanchun was cooking with all her heart, Chen Zhi and her party were about to arrive at Prince Rui's Mansion, but at this moment she opened the curtain on one side.

"Look, this is Lao Shisan's palace!" Chen Zhi said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)