King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 529 Thirteen Years of Orthodoxy

Besides, in the palace, after Zhu Xianming's repeated persuasion, the queen finally agreed to the plan.

Obviously, in the queen's view, this arrangement was conducive to the harmony of her sons, so she had to agree even if she was reluctant to part with it.

Of course, the so-called reluctance was more because of Zhu Jinghong. As for Lao Liu, she didn't think it mattered.

Only a few days later, news about Zhu Jingyuan taking charge of the Shibo Department began to spread inside and outside the court. This was of course Zhu Xianming's intention.

After hearing the news, Prince Zhu Jingyuan was very happy and immediately summoned a group of bachelors to discuss the matter.

However, most of the bachelors present were not so happy and expressed that they must be careful.

"Isn't it a good thing that Lao Liu was kicked out of Beijing?" Zhu Jingyuan couldn't help but ask.

A bachelor below said: "Your Highness, although this is a good thing... but now that Prince Rui has real power, I'm afraid he will stir up more trouble!"

This person summarized it well. In the past, Zhu Jingyuan presided over the revision of books in Jixian Hall, and he could only use this to attract officials to indirectly intervene in affairs.

As in previous years, the Royal New Year is still very busy, with various ceremonies, sacrifices, and greetings...

His base is the broadest class of scholar-bureaucrats. Without the support of these people, he would have been deposed long ago, so even if he is not ashamed of these people, he still has to safeguard the interests of these people.

Zhu Jingyuan on the side was also frightened when he heard what Miaoyu said, but he also agreed with this point of view.

On the contrary, the emperor took some time off. Except for the most important matter of paying homage to the ancestor's mausoleum, all other ceremonies, including offering sacrifices to heaven, were delegated to the prince.

"Congratulations, Your Highness!"

After the meeting ended, he came to the inner house and wanted to talk to Yuanchun.

However, it is a pity that Miaoyu was exposed from the beginning. Even if she is doing very well now, she will only be used as a tool.

Only by putting such a prince on the throne and implementing benevolent governance can the people of the world live a good life... Miaoyu shouted in her heart.

"Ok!"

Time flies by, the last few days of the twelfth lunar month pass by in an instant, and Ming Dynasty enters its thirteenth year of orthodoxy.

Watching the prince go away, Miaoyu became more determined and vowed to use the power of the whole religion to push the prince to the throne of God.

"Yes!"

After the screen retreated, Zhu Jingyuan walked to Yuanchun's palace alone. When he was about to arrive, he found that his son was asking questions in the east corridor.

"Your Highness, we should have made plans early!" Xu Xinan finally spoke.

“It’s not just bad food, many people don’t have enough to eat, and people starve to death every day!”

Could it be that these noble bachelors in my East Palace are not clean behind their backs?

"Do they still dare to deceive the emperor?" Zhu Muchun asked in great surprise.

"A wise man will make mistakes after all his considerations. Even though Your Majesty is a saint, you will inevitably be deceived by others!"

After many trade-offs and comparisons, the White Lotus Sect took Zhu Jingyuan as its target, and then sent Miaoyu.

"Yes, yes... If Prince Rui is allowed to make up charges at will, I'm afraid a catastrophe is about to happen..."

After hundreds of years of practice, the former one has basically proved to be unworkable, so this second point of view was born.

But it is different now. If he takes charge of the Shipping Department, he can take action openly and eradicate dissidents in the name of cracking down on smuggling.

The bachelors discussed together for more than an hour. Although Zhu Jingyuan was irritated, he still endured it patiently.

Leading his son to Miaoyu, Zhu Jingyuan said with a smile on his face: "The suffering of the people cannot be known without personal experience. If you have time in the future... explain it to Chun'er more!"

Following the direction in which Zhu Muchun ran away, Miaoyu saw the prince standing in the distance with his hands behind his back, so she immediately stood up and saluted.

This is the most reasonable explanation that Zhu Jingyuan came up with, and it just gets to the truth of the matter.

Zhu Jingyuan nodded, but this behavior went against his true intentions, so he didn't say anything more.

"So ordinary people really can't eat well every day?"

The so-called "support" refers to supporting a truly benevolent king and exerting influence on him to benefit the world.

The descendants of the royal family were born in a deep palace and grew up in the hands of women. How could they know the sufferings of the people, and how could they understand what the world is like.

"father……"

After a long period of contact, Miaoyu has completely confirmed that this prince is a completely good person, so she respects him very much at this time.

There are two views within the White Lotus Sect, one is the well-known rebellion, and the other is the new "support".

The relationship between the gentry and government and businessmen on the southeastern coast is complicated. Most smuggling matters are done frequently. What is checked and what is not... is completely decided by Zhu Jingyuan.

"You continue, I won't interrupt you!"

Zhu Jinghong basically participated in all these processes, and it made him uncomfortable before and after.

And Miaoyu didn't know all this.

Hearing the discussions among the people below, Zhu Jingyuan still didn't understand why Zhu Jingyuan would be in great trouble if he just found out the crime.

Zhu Jingyuan was also very impressive this year. Although his health was still not very good, he persisted in the ceremony for more than ten days in a row.

"Does what the officials say must be true?" Miaoyu asked.

"But everyone in the imperial court said that today is a prosperous time that has never been seen in the past. How can someone starve to death in such a prosperous time?"

The old man is really going to pave the way for the prince... This is the common speculation of Zhu Jinghong and Zhu Jingyuan, and the result makes them both feel urgent.

On the sixteenth day of the first month of the thirteenth year of Zhengtong, which was the first day after the Shangyuan Festival, the emperor officially issued an edict, confirming the scope of power and responsibilities of the two brothers Zhu Jinghong, and ordered them to leave for Jinling at the end of the month.

Zhu Jingyuan obeyed the order on the spot. He really wanted to get to Jinling as soon as possible and take charge of things as soon as possible to "benefit himself at the expense of others".

Let's say that in Prince Xiang's Mansion, Zhu Jinghong, who had received the imperial edict, was sitting in the study on the east side of the Yin'an main hall.

There was a bright yellow scroll on the desk in front of him. This was the imperial edict he had just received.

At this moment, Zhu Jinghong's eyes were fixed on the imperial edict, his expression gloomy and his eyes extremely evil.

Fortunately, the eunuchs and maids on duty in the palace had been dismissed at this time, otherwise Zhu Jinghong's appearance would definitely scare people to death.

Others may not dare to enter the Yin'an Palace, but Princess Xue Baochai is not one of them. For example, at this time, she entered the study alone and slowly sat down on the side.

Baochai understood Zhu Jinghong's mood very well. She knew that her man did not want to be manipulated by others, and he did not want to go to a place where it was difficult to make achievements.

But it’s hard to disobey the emperor’s order. Now that the imperial edict has been issued, even if you don’t want to, you can only endure it...

Just as Baochai was thinking about how Zhu Jinghong should accept the reality, the latter suddenly said: "You were right before. If the situation in the northwest changes, I may be able to delay it!"

If the emperor is determined not to use him, even delaying it will be useless... Zhu Jinghong knows this.

But even so, he still wanted to delay it, because there was no other way.

"How to delay?" Baochai asked, thinking at the same time.

"Are you sick? Or maybe something happened in the house and you can't leave for a while?"

After hearing Zhu Jinghong's thoughts, Baochai shook his head slightly, and then said, "I have an idea..."

"Say it……"

"The Ministry of Rites has decided that February 26th and March 6th this year are auspicious days for the fourteenth and fifteenth to get married respectively!" "They are your brothers. You stay to congratulate them in person to delay time or More appropriate!"

Hearing Baochai's words, Zhu Jinghong frowned and said: "Congratulations to the two of them, compared to the emperor... I'm afraid it's not that important!"

What Zhu Jinghong meant was that the marriage of Zhu Jingchun alone was not enough to delay time.

Baochai shook his head and replied: "You can't say that. As an elder brother, it is natural for you to love and protect your younger brother. Since you are a straightforward person, it is only appropriate to insist on doing so!"

After hearing what she said, Zhu Jinghong thought about it carefully and felt that it made sense.

"Then I'll do as you say, and I'll go to the palace tomorrow!"

Unexpectedly, Baochai shook his head again and said, "It's best to go today. That's what it means to strike while the iron is hot. Going tomorrow seems like you have some agenda!"

After nodding slightly, Zhu Jinghong sighed: "If the old man suspects that I am suspicious, I'm afraid that no matter what I do... he will think that I have an agenda!"

This is a very heavy topic. At this time, Baochai was not in a hurry to answer. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Whether I believe you or not, we won't be able to tell in a short time. We can only take a look slowly!"

He stood up and walked to Zhu Jinghong, slowly put a hat on his head, and Baochai said slowly: "Don't delay, come into the palace quickly!"

"Alright!"

After parting with Baochai, Zhu Jinghong drove to the palace alone.

At this time, Zhu Xianming was summoning ministers in the Qianqing Palace, and the person summoned was Lin Ruhai, the censor of Qiandu, the Inspectorate.

"You have been in Jinling for many years and are very aware of the situation of the local gentry. I intend to send you to Jinling to supervise King Rui and King Xiang full-time!"

After answering a series of questions, Lin Ruhai never expected that the emperor would arrange it like this.

He was not afraid of returning to Jinling, but he could supervise the errands of the two princes. Just hearing about it made him feel dizzy.

How could he, Lin Ruhai, restrain these two masters?

"Your Majesty, I am lacking in talent and I am afraid that I will not be able to take on this important task. Please..."

"Hey... don't refuse, my dear, since I trust you, you just need to do your best to complete the errand!"

Here, Zhu Xianming has called himself "I", which is obviously his decision.

Lin Ruhai understood this and knew that it would be useless to talk too much, so he replied: "I accept the order!"

"I give you a secret decree. If these two kings violate the rules, you can directly remove them from office!"

While Zhu Xianming was speaking, Cheng Ying had already brought out a scroll, which was the so-called secret decree.

Although there was strong support from the emperor, Lin Ruhai still wanted to cry without tears when looking at the secret decree in front of him.

If the two princes are really removed, even if the emperor defends them, it will be difficult for them to end well in the future... Lin Ruhai knows this very well.

Offending these two masters would be courting death...

After receiving the imperial decree tremblingly, Lin Ruhai had no choice but to kowtow and thank him again, secretly saying that the Zhu family's kindness was so profitable that he had been involved in it for the rest of his life.

While Zhu Xianming was telling the details of the errand, a young eunuch came to Cheng Ying and whispered something, and then Cheng Ying reported the situation to the emperor.

When he learned that it was Zhu Jinghong who was asking for a meeting, Zhu Xianming was not anxious at all, but talked to Lin Ruhai in detail.

"Lin Qing, your girl is almost fifteen, isn't she?"

The emperor's sudden question made Lin Ruhai very surprised and alert at the same time.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I will be fifteen this year!"

"Can you find a good match?"

"Because he serves the princess, he has not considered marriage yet!"

Nodding, Zhu Xianming said calmly: "She is a good girl, so marriage cannot be careless. You have to choose carefully!"

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!" Lin Ruhai bowed down again.

Fading his smile, Zhu Xianming said: "It's nothing, just go back and prepare. We will set off with Lao Liu at the end of the month!"

"Yes!"

With anxiety in mind, Lin Ruhai walked out of Qianqing Palace, but met Zhu Jinghong outside, who was chatting with the guards at the moment.

"Censor Lin, long time no see!"

"Greetings to Your Highness!"

"No gifts, no gifts!"

"After recuperating for more than a year, Yushi Lin is indeed much healthier. This way, I can take care of His Majesty again!"

Zhu Jinghong's casual words almost broke Lin Ruhai's guard.

I have worked hard to maintain my health, and I originally planned to stop being an official and live a good life, but now I am caught in the storm again.

Of course, Lin Ruhai could only think these words in her heart and did not dare to express them at all.

"Your Majesty has shown you such kindness in this calamity, and I should keep it in mind!" Lin Ruhai said solemnly.

After all, Zhu Jinghong was thinking about his daughter, so he thought about saying a few words to get closer, but at this moment Cheng Ying came out of the hall.

"Thirteenth Master, the Lord has summoned you to see you!"

With Cheng Ying's words, Zhu Jinghong had no choice but to go to the audience first, so he said goodbye to Lin Ruhai.

When Zhu Jinghong entered the palace, he saw the emperor reviewing memorials, so he shouted at the top of his lungs as before: "Dad, my son has something to ask for!"

Even if Zhu Xianming didn't want to pay attention, he couldn't raise his head when he heard such a loud sound.

"What's the matter?"

"My son wants to wait a few days before leaving Beijing!" Zhu Jinghong said very calmly.

In an instant, Zhu Xianming suspected that this guy might have an agenda, but he still asked: "Why?"

"In a few days, the fourteenth brother and the others will get married, and their son will grow up with them. They have a very close relationship and are as close as brothers, so I want to congratulate them in person before setting off!"

"As close as brothers? Aren't you brothers?"

He gave Zhu Jinghong a lesson with a straight face, but when he met Zhu Jinghong's sincere eyes, Zhu Xianming believed that he had no agenda.

There is little family affection in the royal family. Since Zhu Jinghong is so interested, it is difficult for Zhu Xianming to object.

Building the navy is not a day's work, and now that the shipbuilding task has begun, it will not matter if it is delayed for several months... Zhu Xianming thought this way.

After a few breaths of silence, he finally said: "Then you should wait for a month!"

He thought it would take some trouble, but he didn't expect to achieve his goal so easily. While Zhu Jinghong felt comfortable, he also guessed that the emperor might not doubt him.

Perhaps he was sent to Aurous Hill simply because he wanted to balance the situation.

"Yes!"

Zhu Xianming picked up his pen and continued writing. When Zhu Jinghong was about to thank him and leave, he suddenly said: "Are you interested in the girl from the Lin family?"

"what?"

(End of this chapter)