King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 613 Changes in Relationships
The so-called family scandal should not be publicized, let alone the royal family.

Now that he knew that the queen was fine, Zhu Xianming didn't want to cause too much trouble. After all, there would be prisoners presented to the Imperial Ancestral Temple later, and it was also the New Year's Eve.

"Sheng'er, go and call the three of them in!" Zhu Xianming said in a deep voice.

"Yes!"

Zhu Yunsheng walked out of Kunning Palace and saw his three brothers kneeling at the foot of the steps. It happened to be snowing in the sky at this time, so their crowns and hats were covered with snowflakes.

"Fourth brother, dad wants you to come in!" Zhu Yunsheng walked down the steps.

The prince was really frightened after being whipped twice by his father, so much so that he is still unconscious.

Zhu Jingyuan was not much better. He was still uneasy at this time, but the difference between him and the prince was that he was worried that his mother would be angry with him and cause problems, which would lead to him completely losing the holy family.

Zhu Jinghong was the first to get up. Unlike his two brothers, he didn't have too many thoughts and was only worried about his old mother's health.

Although he was a time traveler, he truly felt the queen's unreserved maternal love, and he had long regarded her as his own mother in his heart, not to mention that she was the mother of this body.

"Since today is a family banquet, let's not mention these unhappy things. You all can sit down and take your seats!"

The meals were already prepared. At this time, the emperor spoke and the eunuchs started moving, and soon the meals were put out.

"My son doesn't dare!" Zhu Jinghong stood up quickly.

With such a conversation, the atmosphere at the scene became truly relaxed, and then the prince and Prince Rui both started chatting.

"Really? I like it so much... How about I let the chef go with you?"

Hearing this, Zhu Xianming smiled unconsciously. He realized that this boy was really shameless.

Kneeling in front of the queen's knees, Zhu Jinghong said these words with deep emotion. He was definitely not acting at this moment.

Zhu Jinghong had just finished answering when he heard the emperor say: "Old Thirteen... what are you muttering about?"

The Queen's words were a breath of fresh air for the Crown Prince and Prince Rui, making them feel much better. Otherwise, they would have found it difficult to even breathe.

The emperor smiled, which really improved the atmosphere in the hall and made everyone present, including the eunuchs and maids, breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's not necessary!" Zhu Jinghong said with a smile.

From Jinling to Liaodong, then from the court to the northwest, and finally back to Zhu Yunsheng's marriage, the family of nine seemed very harmonious.

Not wanting to make the queen angry again, Zhu Xianming directly ordered: "Pass the meal around!"

Zhu Xianming was drinking at this time, and he almost burst out when he heard these words, so he put down the glass with a "pop".

In the afternoon, there was a ceremony to offer prisoners at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The queen stayed until half an hour before the ceremony, and then the emperor led the three princes away.

"Given by the elders, I dare not refuse...it's just..."

"It's just that my son thinks this braised food is pretty good, so..."

Zhu Jingyuan's reaction was indeed very fast. He followed the Queen's words and started talking naturally, as if nothing had happened just now.

"It only took seven blows, it's okay!"

The queen smiled slightly, looked around at the three brothers in front of her, and said comfortingly: "You don't have to blame yourself, I'm fine, I just accidentally bit my tongue. It seems I was too hasty just now!"

At this time, the queen also smiled and said: "Since you like these two dishes, just ask the imperial chef to go with you later!"

While they were talking endlessly, Baochai, who was sitting next to Zhu Jinghong, asked in a low voice: "Are you okay?"

"I'll go in and take a look!"

"Oh... my son said that this steamed mutton tastes so good. When I return home, I have to ask the kitchen to bargain with the royal chef!"

For the sake of the royal family's face, Zhu Xianming also calmed down at this moment. Seeing that everyone was still, he said coldly: "Didn't you hear what the queen said?"

"Why don't you just move the imperial dining room to the imperial dining room too? Wouldn't it be easier?"

"Mom, of course there are interesting things, and there are a lot of them!"

When Prince Rui and Prince Rui entered the palace in fear, Zhu Jinghong had already walked towards the queen with his head held high.

Yang Qingyin immediately waved her hand, motioning Zhu Jinghong to sit down and said: "You are right, just think of it as...the compensation your father gave you!"

"Mom, my son is wrong. Don't be angry. You'll be so angry... My son will never be forgiven until he dies!"

Everyone immediately followed the clock and sat down in order according to the rules, and everyone's wives also took their seats.

"Just what?"

"Boy, kick your nose in the face, right?"

Zhu Jinghong continued: "Mother, my father spanked his son seven times just now. He didn't suffer any loss!"

At this time, Prince Rui only felt envious, envious that Zhu Jinghong had the ability to use such tricky methods to make the emperor laugh in this situation.

"Lao Shisan came back from Liaodong and told me all the strange sights and strange things he encountered. He didn't stop for more than an hour. Isn't there nothing interesting about your trip?"

Zhu Yunsheng was not happy at the moment and replied coldly: "I don't know..."

"Third sister, is your mother feeling better?" Zhu Jinghong spared his two brothers and asked with great concern.

"On the first day I left Beijing, I didn't even go fifty miles out of the city when I ran into..."

As a result, Zhu Jinghong became the first person to enter the hall, and then his two brothers stood up and followed him into the hall.

Even though the atmosphere was better now than before, it was actually still quite heavy. Zhu Jinghong and the others just took care of themselves and started eating.

Baochai and the other three people, as well as Zhu Yunsheng, stayed behind to accompany the queen and continue talking to relieve her boredom.

As for the prisoner presentation ceremony, the Ministry of Rites and the Inner Court have been preparing for it for more than ten days, and now everything is ready.

This kind of ceremony has detailed regulations, and it is now being carried out very smoothly. North Korea's Li Shuo and his son were shackled in front, and a large group of rebellious ministers were publicly sacrificed and captured.

The ceremony was grand, with all civil and military officials from the fifth rank and above in Beijing present, and the atmosphere of a great victory was felt at the scene.

Zhu Xianming cares about achievements, and the pacification of Liaodong was his achievement, so he was in a good mood at this time.

If the emperor is the protagonist of this ceremony, then Zhu Jinghong should be the first supporting role. After all, he presided over the Korean War.

But in order to avoid the limelight, he huddled behind the Crown Prince and Prince Rui, trying his best to reduce his presence as much as possible.

The prisoner presentation ceremony took nearly an hour, and the sun had already set by the time the emperor was sent back to the palace.

Prince Rui always wanted to report to the emperor alone, so he did not leave with Zhu Jinghong and the prince.

"Thirteenth brother, what do you mean by saying that the sixth brother stayed?"

"I don't know, maybe it's something about the Shibo Department!"

"When you return to Beijing this time, I haven't taken care of you yet. How about you come to my house tomorrow?"

The fourth child wants to treat himself to a banquet. What does he mean?
No matter what he meant, Zhu Jinghong didn't want to go, and he didn't want to bother at all during this period.

"Ah... Fourth brother, please give me a break for a couple of days. I'll have a lot of things to do in my house after being away for a year!"

"Okay... we can talk about it in a few days!" Zhu Jingyuan replied.

The two of them continued walking outside the palace, and after a while of silence, they heard Zhu Jingyuan say: "Recently, I received news that someone in the court wants to impeach you again!"

"You said that when you were in North Korea, you indulged the soldiers in lewdness and robbery, and that you also participated in it and defiled the North Korean palace!"

Zhu Jinghong replied angrily: "Fourth brother, these people are always talking nonsense. I can stand upright and I am not afraid of them biting people!"

As he said this, Zhu Jinghong was still thinking about why the fourth child was telling him this.

"You don't have to worry too much. I've already ordered someone to defend you and clarify the misunderstanding!"

Fourth child is helping me, is this... trying to win me over?
The wooing of the fourth child was very obvious in the first two years, but since Zhu Jinghong came back from the northwest, it has almost never happened again.

North Korea made a mistake this year. This guy's disciples also participated in the impeachment, but he himself had to come forward to suppress it due to the emperor's decree.

Could it be that he felt threatened by Lao Liu and wanted me to take care of him? Zhu Jinghong guessed.

"Thank you so much, fourth brother!" Zhu Jingyuan stopped and said solemnly: "Brothers like you and me, why bother saying thank you? We're out of town!"

Zhu Jinghong can be sure that this fourth brother is very afraid of him. Even so, he still compromises, which shows that he has indeed improved a lot than before.
After this conversation, in the subsequent conversation between the two of them, the fourth child's good intentions became more obvious, making it easy for Zhu Jinghong to understand.

For the prince, he would not suffer any loss by provoking Zhu Jinghong to fight with Lao Liu, so he had every reason to do so.

The two talked some useless nonsense and finally walked out of Donghua Gate.

Because the queen was tired, Baochai and others had already left, so after leaving Donghua Gate, Zhu Jinghong did not rush to get on the sedan, but followed the prince all the way to the East Palace.

Of course he did it for outsiders to see, firstly to show brotherly respect, and secondly to show goodwill to the prince.

For Zhu Jinghong, although the prince wanted to take advantage of him, at least he could have one less enemy instead of dealing with two brothers at the same time.

As for being used, as long as he is cunning enough, there is no telling who is using whom.

After watching the prince return to the palace, Zhu Jinghong got into the sedan chair and was carried out of the palace towards the palace.

When he returned home, it was almost dark. When he returned to the dormitory, he found Baochai waiting for him.

"Have you eaten?"

"The old man doesn't care about dinner!"

Baochai smiled and said, "Then let the two royal chefs cook something for you?"

The people waiting in the hall had been turned away, so when Zhu Jinghong approached, Baochai personally poured him tea and handed it to him.

"Did you really bring that person back?" Zhu Jinghong sat next to Baochai.

"Father, Queen and Queen, you can never tell lies!"

Zhu Jinghong smiled and replied: "Then let them do it!"

So Baochai shouted outside: "Pass the meal around!"

She had arranged all this, and the banquet could begin only when Zhu Jinghong came back.

"When I came out of Qianqing Palace today, the fourth child said a lot to me. I think he wanted to win me over..."

After getting up and walking behind Zhu Jinghong, Baochai carefully took off his crown and hat and asked at the same time: "What did you say?"

"He said someone wanted to impeach me, and he was willing to help me resolve the crisis!"

Having said this, Zhu Jinghong turned around and asked: "I guess... he wants to win me over to deal with Lao Liu, but why do you think he suddenly changed his attitude?"

“Now that King Rui is so powerful, it’s normal for him to adjust his strategy!”

King Rui is powerful, and it is not just a matter of four words. This guy's trip to Jinling can be said to have greatly increased his popularity in the south.

It was nothing to Zhu Jinghong, but the ups and downs had a great impact on the prince.

"Today you entered Kunning Palace and threw a stool in front of Prince Rui. He thought that you and Prince Rui were even more at odds with each other, so it was normal for him to want to take advantage of you!"

"Ok!"

"By the way, the prisoner presentation ceremony has passed. When do you plan to inform your father about the candidate for the king of North Korea?"

Zhu Jinghong sighed: "It's better to take it slow. The old man didn't even discuss this matter in court. I'm afraid it wouldn't be good for me to take the initiative to raise it!"

"That's the truth!"

"So it's on hold for now?"

Putting down the teacup in his hand, Zhu Jinghong said slowly: "Do you think it's possible... that the old man doesn't want to be canonized as the King of Joseon?"

"What do you mean?"

Zhu Jinghong replied: "How could he not want such achievements as opening up new territories and renovating the land?"

This matter is indeed very strange. The King of Korea has been vacant for three months. It should be discussed anyway, but there is no movement at the moment.

Baochai smiled and said: "If this is really the case, your plan will be ruined!"

Zhu Jinghong smiled but didn't say much.

"The prince said that he will go to the East Palace for a banquet in a few days, and he wants to take care of me!"

"Then go...otherwise you'll offend someone!"

The two chatted like this, and finally dinner was served, and they chatted about trivial matters in the house.

Finally, we talked about Lin Hongyu and Baochai's arrangement with Jia Yun.

Lin Hongyu has already recognized her godmother, and now her status has changed drastically. There is no problem in marrying Jia Yun.

"Jia Yun is supervising shipbuilding in Jinling. Since they are in love, if he returns to Beijing this year, he will let them get married!"

"That's my plan too!" Baochai responded.

The two were silent for a while, and Baochai couldn't help but ask again: "Are you really okay after those few whippings?"

Zhu Jinghong smiled and said: "With my physique, what can happen to me? I'm afraid that the prince and the sixth child will not be happy!"

Baochai muttered: "They didn't get hit many times!"

Zhu Jinghong laughed and said, "Thank you, Princess, for your care!"

"We have all gone back home today. If you have nothing to do tomorrow, how about we hold a banquet in the back garden to welcome you and wash away your dust?"

"Let the princess do whatever she wants!"

The couple chatted intimately, and at the other end of Prince Rui's palace, Zhu Jingyuan was also talking to Chen Zhi.

At this time, Zhu Jingyuan was lying on the bed, and Chen Zhizheng was personally applying medicine to his back.

Holding back the pain, Zhu Jingyuan said: "Do you think the fourth child has lost his mind? The thirteenth child is already so powerful, and he still wants to win over others!"

"Who does he think he is? Why can he control Lao Shisan?"

Chen Zhi replied: "Maybe the fourth child has gone crazy and only wants to bring us down. He doesn't care about anything else!"

"If you ask me, the old man is also indecisive. Why do you keep someone like the fourth child here? Wouldn't it be better to just abolish him and make room for him?"

Chen Zhi asked back: "Then I put you in the ring and play tricks with him in the ring?"

Zhu Jingyuan said with a smile: "I will definitely not have any dissatisfaction by then and will wait for my succession!"

"I don't even believe what you say!" Chen Zhi laughed and scolded.

The two were silent for a while, and Chen Zhi suddenly said: "In a few days, Uncle Yongtai will come to Beijing, and I have an idea!"

"you say!"

Chen Zhi said: "We try to fish out Ting Yatou, what do you think?"

"Why bother doing such a thankless thing!"

"This is not a thankless task. One thing can make Yongtaibo favor us and say more good things about us!"

"Second, Tingting girl is the concubine of Prince Xiang. If we let her fight with the girl of the Xue family again, it will disturb the peace of Prince Xiang's palace, which will be a good thing for us!"

"I'm afraid the queen mother won't agree!" Zhu Jingyuan said hesitantly.

Chen Zhi said: "That is her biological niece after all. She has been locked up for more than a year, and her anger has long gone away!"

"It's up to you, I won't get involved in this matter!" Zhu Jingyuan replied.

After the matter was settled, Chen Zhi asked again: "Will you still push for the next impeachment?"

Zhu Jingyuan replied: "You can take it slow and collect more evidence. Even if the old man really wants to protect him, he still has to let Old Thirteen show off!"

(End of this chapter)