King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 465 Departure
  A few more days passed, inside Qianqing Palace.

Wang Pei'an stood in front of the emperor and was listening carefully to the emperor's instructions.

Normally, it is basically impossible for an official of Wang Pei'an's level to meet the emperor, simply because he is the chief historian of Prince Xiang's palace.

In order to choose a chief historian for Zhu Jinghong, Zhu Xianming also spent a lot of effort to find a direct minister like Wang Pei'an.

Real direct ministers are hard to find. As long as they are used in the right place, the effect will be very good. For example, if they are placed in the household department, bad debts can be checked, if they are placed in the local area, they can punish corruption, and if they govern a place alone, they can achieve political achievements...

If it weren't for Zhu Jinghong being too "incompetent", Zhu Xianming would definitely send him to a more suitable position, such as Jinling Qingzhang, which will start in a few months.

"When you go to the northwest, in addition to keeping an eye on Lao Shisan, you also need to visit the military and civilians to find out the real situation. In particular, Qinghai and Anxi Xingdusi need to check more and ask more questions!"

The rebellion of the Zhasak Khanate and the untamed Junggars, as well as whether Qinghai and Anxi were at fault, are all matters that need to be carefully investigated.

With the emperor's words, Wang Pei'an suddenly felt very motivated, and his errand to the northwest was at least not so boring.

"Your Majesty's decree, I shall do my best to carry it out!"

"Okay... you go down!"

This interview lasted no more than a quarter of an hour, but Wang Pei'an was very encouraged because it represented the emperor's recognition and appreciation of him.

You treat me as a countryman, and I will repay you as a countryman... When he stepped out of the Qianqing Gate, Wang Peian firmed up his thoughts.

The next person to be interviewed was Zhu Jinghong. At this moment, he happened to arrive at Qianqingmen and met Wang Pei'an and said a few words.

Arriving outside Qianqing Palace, Zhu Jinghong was a little confused. Generally speaking, he went to greet the emperor and rarely summoned him on his own initiative.

After entering the palace to greet the emperor, Zhu Jinghong was about to ask what was going on, but Zhu Xianming asked first.

"Are you really determined to go to the northwest?"

Faced with this question, Zhu Jinghong replied righteously: "Dad, my son must see and see whether the innovations of the North Four Guards can be used!"

Zhu Xianming was noncommittal and said slowly: "Do you know... From the time you started making trouble to today, many officials below have impeached you, with more than [-] bullets?"

Zhu Jinghong really didn't know about this. This was all because Zhu Xianming was so good at keeping all these bullets in the target.

To be honest, the scale of more than a hundred impeachment memorials would definitely be an uproar if it were put out in the open, and it is not much different than what Lao Liu is currently challenging.

It can also be seen from this that Zhu Xianming's control over the court is such that he can't stir up any trouble at all if he wants to suppress it.

"Dad, don't let them fool you, these people are short-sighted..."

"Okay, everything I said makes sense, so don't throw dirty water on me!"

"Since you really want to go, I won't stop you, but you have to agree to three conditions!"

"Dad, please give me your orders, let alone three conditions, just..."

Ignoring Zhu Jinghong's poor words, Zhu Xianming said in a deep voice: "First, you must never attend the battle in person!"

"Yes!" Zhu Jinghong answered quickly.

"Second, never interfere with the command!"

"Yes!"

"Third, never go deep into the enemy's territory!"

"Yes!"

Although Zhu Jinghong answered quickly, he felt in his heart that these three sentences were like guiding lights, making his next path clearer.

"Boy, don't promise me so readily. You have to obey the rules and get out of here as soon as possible!"

"Dad, don't worry..."

Zhu Xianming continued: "Ning Huanxiang will leave the day after tomorrow, you can follow him!"

Originally, Zhu Jinghong wanted to leave by himself, but after hearing the old man's arrangement, he knew he couldn't refuse.

"Yes!"

Next, the emperor told him many things, and Zhu Jinghong obeyed them all, and then he went to Kunning Palace.

After the queen informed him of the situation, he thought that the queen would persuade him to stay, but his old mother just repeatedly told him to take care of himself when he went to the northwest.

After being delayed in Kunning Palace for a while, Zhu Jinghong returned to the palace. He wanted to inform Baochai of the news.

When he returned to his mansion, he learned that Baochai and others were admiring flowers in the back garden, so he went to find them.

The garden of Prince Xiang's Mansion is very large, and many places in it are decorated by Baochai. Zhu Jinghong can roughly guess where Baochai is.

When he arrived somewhere in the back garden, he found that Baochai was indeed there, and he was having a great time alone.

I saw Baochai holding a round fan and walking among the flowers. In front of her was a pair of jade-colored butterflies, fluttering up and down in the wind.

Baochai wanted to pounce on it, but the pair of butterflies rose and fell suddenly, causing her to pounce several times but in vain.

And this beautiful scene caught Zhu Jinghong's eyes, so much so that when the eunuch next to him tried to say hello, he glared back.

Although Baochai was a serious beauty, it would be hard for Zhu Jinghong to be amazed after getting married for a long time, but today he had to admit that his wife made his heart flutter.

He originally planned to communicate with Zhen Qin tonight, but now he temporarily changed his mind and planned to discuss life with Baochai.

Let's talk about Baochai's side. She failed to achieve success by fluttering the butterfly many times, but she was so tired that she was dripping with sweat. In the end, she could only watch the butterfly fly away.

Just as she was wiping her sweat with a handkerchief, she heard applause from behind, which made Baochai suddenly feel nervous.

She retreated to the left and right and found a deserted place to release her natural instincts. Unexpectedly, someone else was present just now.

If the situation just now was seen by outsiders, her majesty as a princess would be lost!

Baochai breathed a sigh of relief after seeing who it was through the gaps between trees and flowers.

Then she walked out waving her round fan, and Zhu Jinghong greeted her with a smile.

When he came to Baochai, he took the handkerchief from her hand. Zhu Jinghong wiped her sweat while arranging her fine hair on the temples, with a look of doting on his face.

"The princess is so innocent and innocent, which is rare and makes people fall in love with her at first sight!"

Baochai hid her handkerchief, walked around Zhu Jinghong and took two steps forward. Then she turned back and said, "The prince didn't say a word when he came. He just wanted to see my joke, and now he is still teasing me with these words!"

"You talk about love at first sight? Could it be that before you met me just now, the prince had already moved his heart elsewhere?"

"You...sigh...I can't tell you clearly!" Zhu Jinghong had no choice but to respond.

But Baochai came into the pavilion and sat down. Refreshments and fruits had been placed here, and Zhu Jinghong also sat in.

After personally pouring a cup of tea for Zhu Jinghong and handing it to him, Baochai said, "Why did my father call you to the palace?"

At this moment, Zhu Jinghong was still staring at Baochai, thinking about his posture tonight.

Maybe there’s no need to wait until night…

"Hey... I'm asking you a question!" Baochai looked dissatisfied, although she was quite proud of it in her heart.

"Why did my father ask you to enter the palace?"

"Oh... you just warned me not to mess around when I go to the northwest!"

"that's it?"

"Oh... and we'll leave the day after tomorrow!" Zhu Jinghong replied calmly.

Although she knew he was destined to go, when the day actually came, Baochai still felt extremely uncomfortable, so much so that she felt a little lost.

Of course, she knew that she was the princess and Zhu Jinghong's wife. At this time, she had to be strong and not let Zhu Jinghong have any worries.

"That's it... well, this matter is finally settled!" Baochai said pretending to be relaxed.

Sitting next to Baochai, Zhu Jinghong took her into his arms and said softly: "Everything in the palace will depend on you!"

"Ok!"

The couple held hands tightly, as if they were one person.

After a few breaths of silence, Zhu Jinghong suddenly spoke: "Baochai... I want to discuss something with you!"    "What's the matter?"

"It's not convenient to talk here. Come with me to the palace!"

After saying this, Zhu Jinghong picked up Baochai around his waist, no matter how hard the latter struggled, it was to no avail.

…………

April [-], the twelfth year of Orthodoxy.

The almanac said today was a good day, so Ning Huanxiang chose this day to set off, and Zhu Jinghong would also leave with him today.

Zhu Jinghong got up early in the morning, and the whole family gathered together to have breakfast.

He now has a large family, including Princess Baochai, concubine Yang Jingting, selected attendant Zhenqin, and concubines Keqing and Yinglian.

At the dinner table, everyone was surrounded by feelings of farewell, and each of them could only be described as forcing a smile.

Only Keqing was in a better mood at the scene, because she would go to the northwest with Zhu Jinghong to take care of his food and daily life.

Of course, Keqing is not really asked to do the laundry and cooking, he is just asking her to be the manager, and the accompanying maids and eunuchs will do the work.

Several women, including Yang Jingting, were very jealous of her errand, so Baochai specially arranged for Ke Qing to go.

Thanks to Keqing's usually low-key personality, Baochai knew that she didn't have any messy thoughts, so she entrusted her with such an important task.

Soon everyone had finished their meal, and it was time for Zhu Jinghong to leave. He had to go to the palace to say goodbye to the emperor and empress.

When he entered the palace this time, Baochai naturally wanted to accompany him, so they got into one carriage, while Ke Qing got into another.

By the time Zhu Jinghong entered the palace, Ning Huanxiang had already paid homage to the emperor and was waiting for him outside Duanmen.

Zhu Jinghong was planning to go to Qianqing Palace first, but a eunuch told him to go directly to Kunning Palace.

When he arrived at Kunning Palace, he discovered that not only the emperor and empress were there, but also the prince, Prince Rui and his wife, and their grandchildren, and Zhu Yunsheng also appeared in the palace with Xiangyun and Daiyu.

In other words, the "big family" with the queen as the center all came to Kunning Palace to see Zhu Jinghong off.

The empress was the most reluctant to part with Zhu Jinghong, followed by Zhu Yunsheng who kept crying, and then the emperor who didn't talk much.

As for the prince and Prince Rui, the former is somewhat reluctant to part with them, but the latter hopes that Zhu Jinghong will get out of here quickly, so as not to ruin his good deeds again.

Of course, at this moment, both the prince and Prince Rui were somewhat afraid of Zhu Jinghong.

This has nothing to do with Zhu Jinghong's attitude and thoughts, it's just because he is now in the holy family, and there are signs of getting involved in military power.

Even if the prince and Prince Rui think the problem is not big, those under them will take it into consideration and keep warning and reminding them in their ears.

The emperor mentioned a few days ago that Zhu Jinghong had been impeached hundreds of times, including the actions of the prince and Prince Rui's men.

Unfortunately, the emperor trusted Zhu Jinghong too much and left all the memorials unpublished, leaving these people helpless.

Let's talk about Zhu Jinghong staying in Kunning Palace for half an hour. He listened to many warnings and did a lot of things, and also made various guarantees.

After bidding farewell to the emperor and empress, Zhu Jinghong finally walked out of Kunning Palace, leaving the palace gate without looking back.

When he strode away, someone was watching him in the attic of the east hall, and she shed tears looking at his back.

Zhu Jinghong didn't know all this. After he left the palace gate and met Ning Huanxiang, Liang Qian, the censor of the supervisory army, and Huang Qing, the eunuch of the supervisory army, also arrived.

A few people chatted and laughed and walked out of the imperial city together.

Outside the imperial city, there was a large group of people waiting. Zhu Jinghong and several others got into the car and officially embarked on the westward journey.

In addition to Zhu Jinghong's [-] guards, Ning Huanxiang also has a guard of [-] people. There is also an accompanying Beijing camp army outside the city. Their team will number about [-] people.

When they left the city, in the Kunning Palace on the other side, the emperor also said goodbye to the queen and returned to the Qianqing Palace to criticize the children.

As soon as the old man left, the prince and Prince Rui couldn't sit still. They didn't stay for a while before finding their own way to leave.

Although they get along harmoniously on the surface, the queen knows that once they step out of Kunning Gate, the two brothers will become unrelenting enemies.

She also knew that Zhu Jinghong had been involved in fights recently and might have been taken advantage of by the prince.

In Yang Qingyin's view, Zhu Jinghong's behavior of saving Li Hui was most likely taken advantage of by the prince.

This also shows that although she supports Lao Si as the crown prince, Yang Qingyin still cannot trust Lao Si's character.

Zhu Jinghong and Zhu Yunsheng are the only two people who can be completely lavished with maternal love and trust by her.

In this way, it may not be a bad thing for Old Thirteen to hide away... Yang Qingyin comforted herself in this way.

Just as he was thinking about such a thing, Yuan Chun and Chen Zhi started talking strangely, which made Yang Qingyin's mood even worse.

Just listen to Yang Qingyin's lesson: "You two, go back if you have nothing to do... You are also very busy, so don't delay here!"

"Mother..."

"Let's go back!"

The queen's attitude was firm, and Yuanchun and his wife no longer dared to stay, and then they left consciously.

Besides, in the attic of the east hall, looking at the heartbroken Daiyu, Zijuan felt very uncomfortable.

"Girl, if you want to cry, just cry!" Zijuan could only persuade her like this.

She knew that as long as Daiyu cried, she would feel a little better.

However, Daiyu only shed tears and showed no sign of crying.

Handing out the handkerchief again, Zijuan continued: "I think the Thirteenth Master also has feelings for the girl, so the girl doesn't need to be too sad. When the Thirteenth Master returns to Beijing in the future..."

"Stop talking!" Daiyu felt more and more sad the more she heard these words.

The two were silent for a while, then they heard movement from the attic, but it was Baochai Xiangyun and Zhu Yunsheng who were back.

Daiyu was the only one left in the palace. Baochai didn't see her when she entered the palace, so she asked the maid on duty.

After asking, he found out that Daiyu was upstairs, so Baochai went up to the attic to look for her, while Zhu Yunsheng went to finish his homework.

When Baochai went up to the attic, Daiyu managed to regain her composure, but her eyes still looked a little red, which made it obvious that she had cried.

"What's going on? Who bullied you again?" Baochai stepped forward and asked with concern.

"princess……"

Zijuan was about to answer, but Daiyu was afraid that her words would be inappropriate, so she immediately answered: "Now that your majesty, the queen, and the prince are reunited, sharing a happy family... let me..."

"Could it be that I miss your father?" Baochai asked with concern.

"That's right!" Daiyu nodded, tears falling from her eyes again, it looked like that was indeed the case.

Baochai lost her father at a young age, so she sympathized with Daiyu's feelings, so she pulled Daiyu and said: "If you really miss home... I can report to your mother on your behalf and allow you to go home and serve your father!"

ah? Am I overacting? If I leave the palace, can I see him again?
  Daiyu was a little panicked for a moment, but another plan came up in her, so she replied: "Although I miss my father, the princess and I are like sisters. If I leave, won't she be even more lonely!"

Daiyu really wanted to get rid of the label of "loving sisters", but now she had to use it, which really made her feel pain and happiness.

Looking at Daiyu's frail body, Baochai couldn't help but sigh: "Oh... you just think too much and don't care about yourself at all. How can you do this!"

Sister Bao, you are too kind to me, what will happen to you in the future... Daiyu screamed in her heart.

Pulling Daiyu down to the attic, Baochai said slowly: "Okay, when Yun Yatou comes back, you can also find time to take a leave. It's also good to go back and accompany your father!"

"Yeah!" Daiyu responded.

"By the way, you can come to the palace to talk to me when you have time. I am alone now!" Baochai forced a smile.

"Ok!"

The two of them went down to the attic together and heard Zhu Yunsheng losing his temper. It turned out that the female official came again to tell the queen that she would embroider a pair of peonies today.

The queen was both doting and strict with her daughter who was about to get married, so among her three sons and one daughter, Zhu Jinghong had the best life.

　The little easter egg at the end of the chapter, the princess flutters at the butterfly!
  　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)