King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 628: The King is here to catch me!

Soon, hundreds of guards gathered around Zhu Xianming. They were all equipped with shields and spears, forming a very tight military formation.

Zhu Xianming remained calm and didn't even take the matter of the lion to heart. Instead, he was thinking about North Korea.

He waited for half a minute, during which time he heard a few more roars, and then Zhu Jinghong rode back.

Zhu Jinghong jumped off his horse and entered the army formation, then took out a few oranges from his arms.

"Dad, I brought you some oranges to quench your thirst!"

Seeing Zhu Jinghong peeling oranges, Zhu Xianming was stunned for a moment, then asked: "You just went to get a few oranges?"

"I also killed a lion on the way. This time I shot the lion's right eye. The entire lion's skin is intact. You can take it back and make a robe!"

If someone else said this, scholars would think it was bragging, but Zhu Jinghong said it differently.

He took the orange from Zhu Jinghong, ate one slice and suddenly felt his mouth watering, so he let Zhu Xianming eat a few more slices.

Just at this time, several guards rushed back and carried the lion back with several soldiers, attracting the attention of the father and son who were eating oranges.

This scene was seen by all the painters, who all froze the scene in their minds.

The emperor sitting on the tiger's head, the father and son eating oranges, the lion being carried in the distance, the loyal guards with smiles on their faces...

In one painting, the emperor's bravery, the prince's filial piety, and the guards' loyalty are displayed...

This is a painting that is created naturally. The painters became excited just thinking about the completion of the painting.

They had expected that the second painting, the one showing the emperor hunting, would be the most important, but now they had all changed their minds.

While these people were discussing the composition, the lion had been brought before the emperor. As expected, there were no wounds on its body, only an iron arrow stuck in its right eye.

Only a palm-length of the arrow's tail was exposed, and you couldn't even see the arrow.

From all these, we can see how skilled Zhu Jinghong was in martial arts, which amazed Zhu Xianming.

Zhu Jinghong reached out and pulled out the arrow, but the blood splashed onto Zhu Xianming's armor. The scene was extremely embarrassing.

"Dad...what do you think of my son's trick?" Zhu Jinghong pretended nothing had happened.

"Hehe... you can only do some rough work!"

After glancing at the lion, Zhu Xianming ate the last slice of orange in his hand, then turned around and rode on the horse.

Putting down the arrow in his hand, Zhu Jinghong immediately followed and said flatteringly: "Dad... you haven't had enough fun today, let's go hunt some elk or something!"

Not having a good time can be understood as the emperor's cooking skills are not good enough, but ordinary ministers would not dare to say so.

"Yeah...I can't compare to you!" Zhu Xianming said sarcastically.

Although he said that, he was actually very proud in his heart, after all, this was his own son.

So next, the father and son changed places and went into the woods to hunt elk and goats.

In the blink of an eye, another half hour passed and the emperor returned with a full load.

A tiger, three sheep and two deer, this record can be regarded as the best in this hunting trip.

In order not to steal the emperor's limelight, Zhu Jinghong slipped away first, which Zhu Xianming certainly wanted.

Back in Kunning Palace, Yuanchun and Baochai were both there at this time.

"That Miaoyu, is she still in your house?"

"Um...that's right!" Baochai answered, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"As far as I know, it has been seven or eight days, and the person is still in your house?" Yang Qingyin asked in surprise.

"Um... yes... still at my wife's house!"

"Can Old Thirteen really calm down and study Buddhism?" Yang Qingyin looked doubtful.

She had wanted to ask about this matter for a long time, but she thought that Zhu Jinghong might just be asking on a whim, so she didn't pay much attention to it.

Now that she knew the person was still in Prince Xiang's Mansion, Yang Qingyin couldn't help but ask.

"He...he said he...he often has nightmares. He said that he was heartbroken on the battlefield and needs Buddhist scriptures to liberate his soul!" Baochai tried her best to explain.

“Is it effective?”

"This... I think it may be of some use!" Baochai answered uncertainly.

"He won't bully others, will he?"

Yuanchun was also very worried about this issue, so she was listening with great anticipation.

"How is it possible... Mother, he is not that kind of person!" Baochai hurried to cover up.

This matter certainly cannot be concealed, but it must not be exposed in this situation, so Baochai must lie.

But the queen really believed it. After all, in her mother's heart, although her youngest son was absurd, he had a bottom line. How could he have any bad thoughts about Miaoyu, a monk?

But what is more contradictory is that deep down in Yang Qingyin's heart, she still believes that it is not safe to leave Miaoyu in Prince Xiang's Mansion, so it is better to release her as soon as possible.

"This kid is always making trouble. Miaoyu lives in the East Palace. How can she stay in your house for a long time?"

At this point, Yang Qingyin picked up the teacup and said, "Send the man back in these two days. Your sister-in-law is chanting sutras to pray for the prince every day. Don't delay her work!"

The Queen said this, Baochai quickly stood up and said, "I obey your order, I will send the person to my sister-in-law when I get back!"

"Mother, it's not a big deal. If Master Miaoyu can help my thirteenth brother, it won't hurt to stay in their house for a few more days!"

"What does Old Thirteen know about Buddhism? Don't indulge him!"

At this point, Yang Qingyin remembered something else, then looked at Baochai and said, "I've told you many times to keep him under control..."

"He came back from Korea a few years ago and I heard he brought more than a dozen women back home. Did you, Princess, let him do this?"

In her heart, Baochai didn't quite agree with this accusation. After all, even the emperor and the empress couldn't control Zhu Jinghong, so how could a mere princess like her do that?

Of course, at this time Baochai could only admit her mistake, so she knelt down quickly to apologize.

"My mother taught me that my daughter-in-law was wrong!"

At this moment, a report came from outside that King Xiang wanted to see him.

Before Yang Qingyin could reply, Zhu Jinghong came in from outside the hall.

"Mom... Today, your son followed you to protect you and helped you hunt a lion and a tiger!"

As soon as he finished saying this, Zhu Jinghong saw Baochai kneeling on the ground.

"What...what's going on?"

"Mother, what did Baochai do wrong? Tell me... I'll teach her a lesson when I get back!"

Hearing this, Baochai immediately cast a resentful look at him. After all, she was suffering for Zhu Jinghong.

However, before the Queen could speak, Zhu Jinghong came to Baochai's side and lifted her up.

"Don't kneel here and get in the way. Mother will be angry if she sees you!"

After Baochai stood up, Zhu Jinghong pushed her behind him, so that she no longer had to face the Queen's questioning directly.

"Mother...if you have anything to say, just tell your son!"

Yang Qingyin ignored him and asked, "You were not at the hunting ground, why are you here again?"

"What's the point of hunting? Anyway, my father doesn't like me. I was just a little late, but he scolded me from beginning to end..."

Zhu Jinghong began to talk incessantly, describing the events at the hunting ground in vivid detail. Yang Qingyin was delighted to hear the twists and turns in the plot.

I have to say that Zhu Jinghong is a great storyteller and even better at making his mother happy.

About half an hour later, Zhu Jinghong and his wife had dinner in Kunning Palace and then left the palace together.

"Sheng'er has become much quieter. I'm not quite used to it!"

Zhu Jinghong muttered to himself as the two men walked inside the palace wall. A dozen eunuchs from the palace followed behind them.

"My mother said that Miaoyu must be sent back in the next two days!"

"Then... send her off!" Zhu Jinghong was reluctant to let her go. "You really can't bear to let her go? After all, she is a monk. You tortured her the other day. You are really capable of that!"

"My mother told me to keep an eye on you. You blamed me for all the ridiculous things you did recently... and you just said it was my fault!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Princess. How about I treat you well tonight?"

Although Zhu Jinghong's voice was not loud, Baochai could still hear it and felt embarrassed and annoyed. She looked around with a guilty conscience.

"I'm going to die... How can you say these words without thinking!"

The two chatted for a while, and Baochai finally asked, "Aren't you going to Shanglin Garden?"

"Miaoyu is about to leave, I have to go back and see her off!"

Baochai sneered, "You are so deeply in love!"

…………

In a blink of an eye, another two days passed and the spring hunting in Shanglinyuan finally ended. Zhu Jinghong was absent most of the time and only showed up at the final closing ceremony.

After the spring hunt in Sanglin Garden ended, the emperor issued an edict the next day, ordering the Ministry of Rites to discuss the affairs of Korea, mainly regarding the selection of its successor monarch.

Procedurally speaking, the Ministry of Rites would propose candidates for the succession, and then the emperor would make the final choice.

Zhu Jinghong had already taken action on this matter, so he just paid attention but did not intervene.

In fact, there was another important thing for him, which was the negotiation with the Dzungars.

After being snubbed by the Ming Dynasty for a long time, the Dzungars finally couldn't bear it anymore and took the initiative to propose peace talks.

The result of the cabinet's discussion at this time was to let the Ministry of Rites be responsible for the negotiations, but this plan was directly rejected by the emperor.

The final result was that the negotiation time was postponed for ten days. It was obvious that Zhu Xianming wanted to leave these people alone for a few more days.

The back garden of Prince Xiang's mansion was now bustling with activity.

Since the beginning of spring, many flowers have bloomed, making this carefully arranged garden beautiful.

However, at this time, Zhu Jinghong was blindfolded and could not see these beautiful scenery and beauties.

Yes, there are beauties, and there are quite a few of them.

The women he brought back from Korea were now wearing brightly colored clothes, some holding round fans or flower branches, and trotting around Zhu Jinghong, laughing.

"My Lord... come and catch me..."

"My king...I'm here!"

"Here, here..."

"Your Majesty... I am here..."

The girls' bell-like voices made Zhu Jinghong flutter around, with a smile on his face that was harder to suppress than AK's.

"Haha... I caught you!" Zhu Jinghong hugged a woman.

"Let me guess... it's Minghui!"

After saying this, Zhu Jinghong pulled away the silk strip covering his eyes and found that the person he was holding in his arms was not "Minghui". As for her name, he couldn't remember it for a moment.

At this time, Minghui came trotting over with a glass of wine in her hand.

"Your Majesty, you guessed wrong... drink a glass of wine as punishment!"

"Okay... bring it here!" Zhu Jinghong said readily.

While he was drinking, Park Jin-young walked away quietly, and she was the one who was caught just now.

She actually didn't like this game, but it was Zhu Jinghong who suggested playing it today, so she had no right to refuse.

In this spring when everything is blooming, she thought of her family again.

While Pu Zhenying was thinking, Li Huizhen came over and complained, "Why did you leave without saying a few words to the prince? It's a waste of money for them!"

Li Huizhen wanted to say a few more words, but she saw that Zhu Jinghong had covered his eyes again, so she immediately went over to him.

For a moment, laughter and joy rang out again, and Park Jin-young had no choice but to join in.

At this time, outside Prince Xiang's mansion, a carriage was inspected and was allowed to enter the mansion through the corner gate.

There were two people sitting in the carriage, namely Sun Shaozu and Xia Jingui, the latter's eyes were still red at this time.

That’s right, Xia Jingui was beaten today, and the worst thing was that Sun Shaozu didn’t return to Beijing until noon.

The reason why she was beaten was very simple. Sun Shaozu asked her how many times she had come to Prince Xiang's Mansion in the first month of the year. When he found out that she had only come twice, he slapped her twice.

According to Sun Shaozu, even if the Prince Xiang's palace could not pay respects every day, they should at least come every few days.

Coming twice a month, especially during the Chinese New Year, seemed too little to him.

"Wipe your tears. If the princess finds out something is wrong, I will have to punish you when I get back..."

"Did you hear that clearly?" Sun Shaozu's tone became increasingly stern.

"Listen...I heard it clearly!" Xia Jingui said with a pale face.

"get off!"

So the couple got off the car, and then they were led by the eunuch to the tea room and sat down to wait.

After a while, Xia Jingui was taken away by a maid.

Today Baochai is meeting with ladies of noble birth, and Xia Jingui is one of them, so she can meet her as well.

As for Sun Shaozu, he had to wait for a long time.

On the other side, the young eunuch who reported for him was guarding outside the garden and did not dare to go in, because Zhu Jinghong was having so much fun.

In the end, he reported the matter to Yu Hai and took the blame.

Yu Hai was a little surprised to learn that it was Sun Shaozu who came, but he did not go up to pass on the message immediately.

It was not until Zhu Jinghong captured another person that Yu Hai took advantage of the opportunity to go up to him.

This time it was Li Huizhen who was caught. The woman nestled in Zhu Jinghong's arms, acting coquettishly and twisting her body, causing Zhu Jinghong to raise his head.

"Girl Huizhen, you smell so good!"

"My Lord, what are you doing..."

Zhu Jinghong's hands were moving around, and Li Huizhen seemed to be dodging, but in fact she was responding in a more skillful way, which allowed Zhu Jinghong to have more fun.

After having his fun, he let Li Huizhen go. When he was about to cover her eyes again, Yu Hai arrived in time.

"Your Highness, Sun Shaozu, the deputy commander of the Anxi Xingdusi, is here to pay his respects to you. He is waiting in the tea room outside Chengyun Hall!"

Taking off the blindfold, Zhu Jinghong asked, "Why is he here? When did he return to Beijing?"

"He said he arrived in Beijing today, and when he got home he brought his wife to visit us, and he also brought two large carts of gifts!"

"Ok!"

After answering, Zhu Jinghong still covered himself with the scarf and said, "Tell him I have something else to do and ask him to wait a moment!"

"Yes!"

Zhu Jinghong saw through people like Sun Shaozu very clearly. He knew that this person feared power but did not cherish virtue. To make good use of him, he needed to use both kindness and power.

Let him wait for a while, and then give him benefits after he has established his authority, so that the maximum utilization rate can be achieved.

Yu Hai left, and after Zhu Jinghong covered himself with a scarf, he laughed again and said, "Girls... I'm here to catch you again!"

"The King... is over here!"

"Over here... Ouch, I sprained my ankle!"

"My king... come here..."

The young girls are playing and frolicking, with graceful movements, which are extremely beautiful.

(End of this chapter)