King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 621 I will treat him personally
When Yang Jingting returned to Yihe Garden, the place had been basically cleaned up and was almost the same as when she left.

At this moment, she stood in the study, looking at everything familiar around her, picked up a pen, turned her nose and whispered, "Can it really be the same as before?"

While she was feeling sad, Zhu Jinghong had returned from the palace.

He already knew that Yang Jingting had returned home, but he had no intention of going to Yiheyuan to take a look. Instead, he went straight back to his own bedroom, Yin'an Palace.

I had just taken a sip of tea when Baochai came over.

"I thought you were going to go see Ting Yatou!"

"He is not a stranger, why be so distant?" Zhu Jinghong said calmly.

Sitting next to Zhu Jinghong, Baochai asked, "What do you think about Sheng'er?"

"She kept chattering all the way. I sent her to Kunning Palace and left, so as to avoid being caught and punished by the Queen Mother!"

"You don't take any responsibility at all... I will go to the palace to pay my respects tomorrow, and I will be punished again!"

Putting down the teacup in his hand, Zhu Jinghong said with a smile: "Princess, what you said... is too polite!"

Taking the hand warmer handed over by the maid, Baochai said, "I say...you should go to Ting's room tonight!"

"Ok?"

"If you treat her too coldly on her first day back, firstly, she will lose face, and secondly, the Queen Mother will not be happy either!"

Baochai's words showed her magnanimity, but Zhu Jinghong did not respond because he did not care about the two points Baochai made.

"There is another one. She has realized her mistake now. You can give her a chance!"

"Do you know you're wrong?" Zhu Jinghong finally spoke.

"She talked to me today, and before she left, she stayed alone and told me some of her inner thoughts. She said that she was ignorant in the past and was taken advantage of by others and made a big mistake!"

"Today, she honestly admitted her mistake in front of me, saying that she would just live a good life from now on and would never collude with outsiders again!"

After saying this, Baochai looked at Zhu Jinghong again, only to find that he had already lay down on the stepping stone.

"Hey hey...say something!"

"Just follow your arrangements. Everyone in this mansion has to listen to you!" Zhu Jinghong said with narrowed eyes.

Hearing this, Baochai stood up and kicked the guy in front of her.

"You think I'm willing to make the arrangements? There's a lot of things going on in this mansion, including weddings, funerals, festivals and birthdays, and preparing all kinds of supplies for welcoming and seeing off guests..."

"I have to supervise the servants, take care of the various imperial estates and shops, and also..."

The position of a princess is indeed very complicated. Baochai talked incessantly, but after a while Zhu Jinghong turned over and lay on his side with his back to her.

"I'm just following your orders, why are you telling me all this?" Zhu Jinghong said helplessly.

"Forget it, forget it. You only care about outsiders. As for us old friends... naturally you won't take us to heart!"

"What do you mean?" Zhu Jinghong turned around and asked.

"What do you mean? Other people's daughters are better and more worthy of your love and care!"

Zhu Jinghong sat up directly from the couch. He thought Baochai knew something, such as what happened between him and Yingchun a few days ago.

Who knew that the next moment, Baochai laughed and said, "Looking at your reaction, I guess what I said must have come true!"

Knowing that he had been tricked by her, Zhu Jinghong jumped up from the couch and picked up Baochai horizontally.

"Ah...what are you doing..."

While the two were making a fuss, Yu Hai appeared outside the hall, lowered his head and reported: "Your Majesty, Empress Yang is outside asking to see you!"

"Put me down quickly!" Baochai said hurriedly.

After spending some time with Baochai, Zhu Jinghong told Yu Hai, "Let her in!"

"Yes!"

It was only after Yu Hai left that Zhu Jinghong put Baochai down. The latter hurriedly tidied up her clothes and accessories on her head, and ordered the maids on both sides to help.

As for Zhu Jinghong, he sat back on the couch and started to sip his tea.

When Yang Jingting entered the hall, Baochai had already tidied everything, and then went out to greet her as if nothing had happened.

"Girl Ting, the prince just said he was going to see you, but you're here!"

She first bowed to Baochai, and then came to Zhu Jinghong. At this time, she was extremely excited.

Regardless of whether Zhu Jinghong treated her coldly or not, Yang Jingting always loved her cousin deeply. How could she not be excited to meet him again after such a long separation?

"Your Highness... I pay my respects to you, Your Highness!"

Yang Jingting knelt on the ground, with Zhu Jinghong's shoe sole in front of her. She kowtowed and didn't get up.

Zhu Jinghong did not ask her to get up. He just slowly put down the teacup, then lowered his head to look at the woman in front of him and asked, "You have been in the Jade Emperor Temple for a year. Have you gained anything?"

"I have gained a lot. Now I know I was wrong. I did all these absurd things before... Now I think about it and feel ashamed. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"

"It is said that knowing one's mistakes is the best way to improve. If you really know your mistakes and correct them, I can certainly forgive you!"

"You should remember to live a peaceful life from now on, and don't have any unreasonable thoughts, otherwise we will end our friendship!"

Zhu Jinghong's words are much more straightforward than Baochai's.

The so-called "forbidden to have any more improper thoughts" is just short of telling her directly not to covet the position of princess anymore, and if she does it again she will be sent back to where she came from.

"I will definitely keep it in mind!" Yang Jingting replied solemnly.

Seeing that the atmosphere was almost right, Baochai walked forward with a smile, bent down and helped Yang Jingting up.

"We are all family, why should we be so distant...hurry up!"

Pulling Yang Jingting to sit on the couch, Baochai then sat beside her, holding her hand and saying, "We're going to have dinner soon. We'll be together in Yin'an Hall in a while. It's a good time for us to talk slowly!"

After saying this, Baochai looked at Zhu Jinghong again and asked, "What do you think, Your Majesty?"

"Okay!" Zhu Jinghong replied.

In order to avoid a dull silence, Baochai started chattering again, and Yang Jingting slowly began to integrate into the palace.

The next few days were uneventful in Prince Xiang's mansion, except that more gifts were received as the year drew to a close.

In addition to the great nobles in the capital, some local officials with close relations would also send gifts to Zhu Jinghong.

For example, Zheng Xianlin, the governor of Jinling, He Gujin, the governor of Jinling, Jia Yucun, the deputy governor of Jinling, Ning Wanfu, the commander of Yanshan, the imperial guards...

As far as Zhu Jinghong knows, the positions of the four people mentioned above will be adjusted after the new year.

For example, Zheng Xianlin would be transferred to become the governor of Jiangnan, He Gujin would be given the title of assistant minister of the Ministry of War and become the governor of Jiangbei, and Jia Yucun would be promoted to the governor of Nanjing.

As for Ning Wanfu, he failed to get the job in Beijing and was transferred to the Southern Pacification Office and became a captain of the Korean army.

Korea is very important nowadays, and Ning Wanfu's appointment as a thousand households of Korea is a manifestation of the emperor's trust.

After talking about these people, Chen Yuntai has been promoted because of his great contributions. He was transferred from the captain of the South City Thousand Households Office to the deputy captain of the North City.

In other words, the Northern Pacification Office now has four thousand-household offices in Beijing. Zhu Jinghong in the South City has a deputy thousand-household office Li Wenzhao, and the North City also has a deputy thousand-household office Chen Yuntai.

The end of the year is approaching as planned, and the capital city is becoming more and more lively. As in previous years, envoys from various countries are gathering in the capital to send New Year greetings to His Majesty the Emperor.

On New Year's Eve, the royal family held a grand family banquet. The princes, princesses, county lords and generals of the royal family were all invited to gather in Chonghua Hall. But unlike in the past, the emperor was unable to attend due to health reasons, but this did not affect the joy of this banquet.

On the first day of the first lunar month, a grand court meeting was held as usual. Officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital, as well as envoys from vassal states, tribes, chieftains, and khanates paid the highest respects to the emperor outside the Fengtian Hall.

Although the war in the northwest has not yet ended, Zhu Jinghong's rapid pacification of Korea in the northeast has greatly boosted the national prestige and military power, making the visiting envoys dare not underestimate it.

What’s more funny is that Li Shuo and his son and the Japanese generals were brought out by Zhu Xianming again and were watched by envoys from various countries.

Among them, the most embarrassed were the North Korean envoys, who could only lower their heads and act like ostriches.

As for the Japanese envoys, they landed in Dengzhou Prefecture a month ago, but were captured by the Jinyiwei on orders before they reached Laizhou, and then all driven back into the sea.

After a grand court meeting on the first day of the first lunar month, various sacrificial ceremonies were performed according to the old custom. Except for the sacrifice to the Suling Mausoleum where Emperor Taizu was buried, the emperor pushed everything to the crown prince.

The prince was not in good health this winter. He fell ill from exhaustion after completing the sacrifices to heaven and earth. The emperor handed over subsequent matters to Prince Rui.

This was the first time that Zhu Jingyuan was in charge of this matter. He exercised the power to worship gods and ancestors on behalf of the emperor, which made him as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

Zhu Jingyuan's reputation was already high, and this arrangement made people even more excited, further boosting his prestige.

As for Zhu Jinghong, ever since he bared his chest and asked for forgiveness, he has been living a very humble and low-key life. Except when necessary, he basically disappears.

So during this period of time, he was extremely relaxed. Every day he was either talking about love or listening to music and watching plays. When he was in a good mood, he would go hunting in Shanglinyuan.

Of course, when Zhu Jingchun and his team recruited polo teams, he would also go out to watch or even participate in the games.

During this process, Zhu Jinghong also closely observed Liang Yi, the young man that Zhu Yunsheng had a crush on.

Although it was a brief contact, Zhu Jinghong could still feel that this person had a fighting spirit beyond ordinary people, and his performance was particularly outstanding on the court.

In the blink of an eye, it was the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, a special day because the emperor would hold a banquet in the Wuying Hall, mainly to entertain foreign envoys who came to Beijing.

In the back garden of Prince Xiang's mansion, Zhu Jinghong, dressed in casual clothes, was sitting in the attic listening to music, while Zhang Xiaoyue was plucking the strings of the zither and singing.

With his eyes closed, Zhu Jinghong shook his head slowly, and it was obvious that he was listening very attentively.

Just then, footsteps were heard downstairs, and then the singing stopped abruptly. Zhu Jinghong opened his eyes and found that it was Baochai who came.

Motioning Zhang Xiaoyue to leave, Baochai came to sit next to Zhu Jinghong and said, "Today's banquet in Wuying Palace will start in an hour. You should also change your clothes and go to the palace!"

"I have just ordered someone to ask for leave from His Majesty!"

Knowing that Zhu Jinghong did not want to be in the limelight, Baochai said, "Taking leave? There must be a reason!"

Zhu Jinghong rolled up his sleeves, picked up a piece of cake, and said as he ate, "I just caught a cold, and I'm not feeling well!"

"Hehe...your reason is too far-fetched!"

"At least there's a reason not to!"

"Forget it... whatever you want!"

"If there's nothing else, just go back!"

"One more thing!"

"What's the matter?"

"Didn't you say you were troubled by nightmares? Someone will come to treat you in two days!"

"Oh?"

"Stop pretending, haven't you been looking forward to it for a long time?" Baochai laughed.

"I mentioned it before, and I thought the prince and his family had forgotten it!"

"Now that the Sixth Family is so powerful, how could they forget it!"

"That's true!"

While the two of them were chatting, the news that Zhu Jinghong had asked for leave had already reached the Qianqing Palace.

"Caught a cold? Feeling weak?"

Seeing the emperor's doubts, Cheng Ying said from inside the room, "That's what the people in Prince Xiang's mansion said!"

"Bullshit, we were playing polo yesterday!" Zhu Xianming slammed the table.

"This little bastard actually dares to bully the emperor..."

After scolding him, Zhu Xianming said to Cheng Ying, "Send someone to...call him into the palace and tell him that I will treat him personally!"

"According to the order!"

Soon half an hour passed, and the Crown Prince and Prince Rui arrived at the Qianqing Palace one after another. They would both attend the lunch banquet.

"Is the prince better?"

Zhu Jingyuan replied: "Reporting to the emperor, after a few days of rest and proper treatment by the imperial physician, I am now well!"

"Ok!"

At this time, Zhu Jingyuan interrupted and said, "Fourth brother, you still need to rest more. I will help you with everything, so you can rest assured!"

Zhu Jingyuan replied: "My father has made me the crown prince, how dare I seek comfort!"

"Alright, you can go to Wuying Palace first to greet them. Don't let the foreign envoys say that the Celestial Empire has neglected them!"

"Yes!"

So the two of them said goodbye and left, while Zhu Xianming continued to look at the memorial.

Just as Zhu Jinghong guessed, Zhu Xianming really wanted to change the system of aboriginals into Han people in Korea, so he shelved the issue of establishing his king.

However, most of the envoys who have visited recently have shown great concern about this matter and have implicitly expressed their desire to discuss it.

Obviously, for those independent vassal states, facilitating the continuation of Korea's inheritance is a matter of vital interest.

There is war going on in the northwest right now. If Zhu Xianming forcibly implements the system of native rulers in Korea, it will cause the Tibetans and the northwestern tribes to become alienated. This is a problem that Zhu Xianming must face.

While he was thinking, another half hour passed and Cheng Ying came to remind the emperor that it was time to appear.

The emperor seldom personally attended banquets for envoys from foreign vassal states who came to Beijing, so this year's banquet was particularly special, expressing his importance to these people.

"Old Thirteen hasn't arrived yet?" Zhu Xianming asked in a deep voice.

"I think it's on the way!" Cheng Ying replied.

"Send someone more to urge them!"

"Yes!"

After giving the order, Zhu Xianming set off for Wuying Palace, which was already bustling with activity.

Various costumes are displayed here and various languages ​​are communicated here, fully demonstrating the prosperity of the empire.

The Zhu Jingyuan brothers were in two different directions at this time, each surrounded by envoys and talking in the middle. Both of them tried their best to show their kingly demeanor.

The banquet was held in the Wuying Palace Square. At that time, the emperor's throne had been set up outside the gate of Wuying Palace, but the emperor had to go inside the Wuying Palace before taking the seat.

At this time, Zhu Xianming came to the second floor of Wuying Palace and observed the situation outside through the window, mainly watching the Crown Prince and Prince Rui.

Although these two people behaved decently enough, Zhu Xianming always felt that something was missing, until a figure appeared at Wuying Gate.

(End of this chapter)