King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 656 The Princess Gets Married
Sitting behind the desk, Zhu Jinghong looked at the two people kneeling in front of him and said, "Get up!"

So the two men stood up one after another and stood in their places respectfully.

"This job was done well. Thank you all for your hard work!" Zhu Jinghong said slowly.

"This is all thanks to your highness's great fortune. The two of us are just going along with it. How dare we take credit for it!"

Pushing the credit forward is the most basic operation, and Li Wenzhao has mastered it to perfection. At this moment, he seems to be speaking from his heart.

"Don't say these empty words. I know you are sincere in your work. If you have done a good deed, then you have done a good deed!"

It was precisely because he knew that Zhu Jinghong would not take the credit that Li Wenzhao boldly pushed the credit to others.

"You have been in the position of deputy captain for... three years, right?" Zhu Jinghong suddenly asked.

Li Wenzhao was immediately delighted to be promoted to a higher position so quickly. He knew that his chance to make further progress had come.

"Reporting to Your Highness, since the autumn of the tenth year of Zhengtong, I have been promoted to the position of a thousand households in Beijing with Your Highness's support. It has been more than three years and four months..."

Zhu Jinghong laughed when he heard this. This guy explained it so clearly, it was obvious that he remembered these things every day.

"I heard that a captain named Zhang from the Southern Pacification Office retired two months ago, and the position is still vacant... I think you're a good fit!"

Li Wenzhao is now a deputy captain. He actually wants to be promoted to a captain in the Northern Division, but now all positions are full, so it is not impossible for him to go to the Southern Division.

At least his official rank has been raised. If he follows Zhu Jinghong in the future, he may be appointed as the assistant commander of the Northern Division, or even go further to the position of co-magistrate.

In other words, as long as you can get promoted, there is not much difference between the Southern and Northern Departments.

While feeling happy, Li Wenzhao said more humbly: "I am afraid that I am not talented enough and have failed your highness' kindness!"

Zhu Jinghong smiled and replied: "Hey...if you are not talented enough, I am afraid there are not many talented people in Jinyiwei!"

In fact, promoting Li Wenzhao was not only to repay his loyalty, but also a test of the emperor's inner heart by Zhu Jinghong himself after a month of silence.

If this succeeds, it means that the previous "unpleasantness" is over. If it fails, he will have to continue to develop in a low-key and wretched manner.

After chatting with Li Wenzhao for a few more words, Zhu Jinghong looked at Ren Fucai.

"I heard that when Zhu Jingrun broke into the prison, you managed to stop him, and you were the first to subdue him when he started to attack..."

"He was the prince back then, weren't you afraid?"

Ren Fucai was certainly afraid, but he knew at the time that if he didn't make the case a solid one, he would be the one who would suffer in the end.

In other words, Ren Fucai had no way to retreat that day and could only risk his life and fight Zhu Jingrun.

Of course, you can't say that.

"This case was ordered by the prince. I am honored to be able to serve the prince. I will go through fire and water for him!"

Zhu Jinghong knew how much of this was true and how much of it was false, but he saw through it without saying it out loud.

In fact, people like Ren Fucai, who are talented and smart, are the ones Zhu Jinghong is willing to use.

"Okay...Okay, I'm very pleased that you have this intention!"

Next, Zhu Jinghong praised Ren Fucai a few more times, which made him even more excited and his heart was pounding.

In fact, winning over people at the centurion level was very useful to Zhu Jinghong, because he could give them direct orders on many things.

On the contrary, people like Li Wenzhao and Chen Yuntai have now reached the level of a thousand households, so it is not advisable to have too much contact with them to avoid suspicion.

After a conversation, the two men left Prince Xiang's Mansion. They both felt that they had gained a lot, so their faces were filled with smiles.

Soon another two days passed and it was April 28th, the day before Zhu Yunsheng's wedding.

As a biological brother, Zhu Jinghong had to attend the ceremony even though he was still under house arrest.

When he brought Baochai into the palace, his two good brothers had already arrived.

As for the other half brothers and half sisters, they went directly to Fengxian Hall because the ceremony would be held there later.

In the East Hall of Kunning Palace, the Crown Prince and Prince Rui were both there. At this moment, the two brothers were sitting in the outer hall, while Yuanchun and Chen Zhi were in the inner hall.

In front of the mirror, Zhu Yunsheng had been roughly dressed up. She wore a princess's dress, and her noble temperament made people dare not look directly at her.

Behind her, Xiangyun was arranging the phoenix crown for her. She really fulfilled her promise to stay with Zhu Yunsheng until the end.

"I'm late... Third sister!"

Baochai entered the store. For such a formal occasion today, she was also wearing a princess's dress.

"Sister-in-law Thirteen, you are finally here!"

Then she asked again: "Is Brother Thirteen here?"

"Here he is, sitting in the outer hall, talking to the fourth and sixth brothers!"

Zhu Yunsheng smiled, his eyes red as he said, "I thought he was under house arrest and would not come today!"

"He has already calculated the date. A few days ago, he even said... Even if His Majesty is unhappy, he will still come to see his sister off to get married!"

Hearing this, Zhu Yunsheng became even happier, to the point that tears rolled down her cheeks, ruining the two girls' freshly-applied makeup.

Fortunately, there were several female officials waiting on her side, and they hurried forward to touch up her makeup.

Outside, the three Zhu Jinghong brothers were chatting, but the topic had nothing to do with Zhu Yunsheng's marriage, but was about Zhu Jingrun.

When this matter was brought up, the three brothers easily reached a consensus and began to scold and criticize Zhu Jingrun.

"These days, the clan affairs office has discovered many illegal things during its investigation. I plan to have someone expose them to him..."

Looking at the prince, Zhu Jingyuan said sarcastically: "Fourth brother, when the time comes, don't be a good person blindly and beg for mercy for him..."

The prince looked unhappy and replied, "What are you talking about? Such a man with evil ambitions should be severely punished as a warning to others. How could I hinder you?"

At this time, Zhu Jinghong interrupted and said, "Fourth brother, not only should you not hinder us, you should also help Sixth brother this time. Think about it... If anything happens to any of us, our mother will be heartbroken!"

"Yes!" Zhu Jingyuan nodded seriously.

After deciding on this matter, the three of them started talking about Zhu Yunsheng's marriage, and they all felt a little dazed.

My sister, who was still a child in my memory, is getting married now...

As the three of them were sighing, an eunuch appeared outside and reminded them, "Your Highnesses, the Lord and the Queen have all gone to Fengxian Hall. You three..."

Zhu Yunsheng is getting married today, and the three of them are here to watch the ceremony. However, they have to be mindful of the differences between men and women, so they will not meet Zhu Yunsheng directly.

So the three of them went directly to Fengxian Hall.

Ten minutes later, the three of them entered the hall one after another.

The prince was in front, Zhu Jingyuan was in the middle, and Zhu Jinghong was at the end.

This scene made the queen on the main throne very pleased, while the emperor paid more attention to Zhu Jinghong.

Inside the main hall, all of Zhu Xianming's children, except Zhu Jingrun, were present. At the same time, all the close relatives of the royal family were also present, standing in order of rank on the left and right.

As for Zhu Jinghong and the other two, they stood on the left and right of the throne, an honor that no one else could have.

The eyes of everyone in the hall were now focused on the three brothers, or more precisely, on the Crown Prince and Prince Rui.

Because most people believe that the next emperor of the Ming Dynasty will be one of these two.

Only a few people, such as Prince Zhongshun, looked at Zhu Jinghong carefully and had unusual guesses in their minds.

"Greetings to our father, the emperor, and our mother!" The three brothers bowed together.

The emperor just uttered "hmm", and the queen beside him asked his sons to stand up and greeted them one by one with concern.

After a brief question and answer session, Zhu Jinghong and the other two took their seats, and the hall fell into dead silence again.

About ten minutes later, when the musicians in the hall began to play, Zhu Jinghong knew that the wedding was about to begin.

After a while, an eunuch came outside to announce that "the princess is here to see the emperor." A few moments later, led by the Crown Princess, supported by the two princesses, and accompanied by several married princesses, Zhu Yunsheng walked into the Fengxian Hall.

It is no exaggeration to say that the configuration in which she appeared was the best in the world, which shows how favored she, the legitimate princess, was.

On the throne, even the usually serious emperor smiled when he saw his precious daughter appear.

But when he thought about his beloved daughter leaving soon, Zhu Xianming's smile disappeared, and only reluctance and sadness remained on his face.

The queen felt even more upset seeing her old father like this, but she thought that today was her daughter's wedding day, so she kept a smile on her face.

When Zhu Yunsheng entered the hall, he saluted the emperor and the empress under the guidance of the female officials, and the whole process was very strict and formal.

Although it was tedious, Zhu Yunsheng performed perfectly and proved to her parents with practical actions that she had indeed grown up.

After the kowtow, the emperor and empress began to admonish the princess.

The core content of the admonition is to warn children that after marriage, they should take good care of the household chores, take good care of their parents-in-law, treat their husbands sincerely, and raise their children with all their heart...

Zhu Yunsheng naturally agreed to all of their requests, and then, according to etiquette, he bowed four times to the emperor and empress.

At this point, the ceremony in the palace was basically over, and now it was time for Zhu Yunsheng to leave.

It was still the Crown Princess who led the way, with Baochai and Chen Zhi supporting them on both sides, as they led Zhu Yunsheng out of the Fengxian Hall.

But unlike when he came here, this time all the high-ranking ladies of the royal family have joined the farewell team, and they will accompany Zhu Yunsheng all the way to Donghua Gate.

There, Zhu Yunsheng was carried in a sedan chair to Dong'an Gate, and then his husband welcomed him into the wedding sedan chair and finally took him back to his home to get married.

The whole process was extremely complicated with etiquette, and Zhu Yunsheng was destined to be exhausted today.

Back in Fengxian Hall, after the main ceremony, there were other ceremonies to follow, but the emperor simply asked the crown prince to do them.

He accompanied the queen all the way to Kunning Palace, and Zhu Jinghong and Zhu Jingyuan also followed.

After entering Kunning Palace, the queen finally couldn't hold back her tears. She was very sad that her daughter left her.

She has three sons and one daughter, but the only one who can be said to have grown up by her side is Zhu Yunsheng.

Even Zhu Jinghong grew up in the palace, but did not always live in Kunning Palace.

Hearing the Queen bringing up old things, even Zhu Xianming felt a little sour in his heart. At this moment, he was no longer an emperor but an old father.

The two brothers, who originally had their own thoughts, could not help but reveal their true feelings and tried to persuade the Emperor and the Empress.

Perhaps because he felt that the two of them were in the way, the emperor asked them to leave first as he wanted to talk to the queen alone.

So Zhu Jinghong and the other man left the main hall. Zhu Jingyuan went straight out of the Kunning Gate. Zhu Jinghong did not leave in a hurry but went to the East Hall.

More than a dozen palace maids were busy inside, packaging all the things used by Zhu Yunsheng and then sending them to her in-laws' home.

When everyone saw Zhu Jinghong coming in, they all bowed and Zhu Jinghong told them to go about their business.

Among them, Zhu Jinghong saw Xiangyun. At this moment, the girl was standing by the window, looking up at the sky, wondering what she was thinking.

Seeing her melancholy look, Zhu Jinghong suddenly realized that this girl had grown up and become a real beauty.

"Girl Yun, you are standing here in a daze...what are you thinking about?"

Zhu Jinghong's sudden appearance woke Xiangyun up from her thoughts, making her look very flustered for a moment.

In fact, she was really panicked at the moment, or rather, very confused.

Zhu Yunsheng got married, and her career as a tutor had come to an end. She didn't know what to do next.

Go home? And be arranged a marriage? This is almost a foregone conclusion...

It's a pity that she had no interest in this and even felt a little repulsed.

"I...I'm missing the princess!"

After sitting at the desk, Zhu Jinghong asked, "We've only been apart for less than an hour, and you're already missing her?"

At this time, a palace maid brought tea. Zhu Jinghong took it and was about to drink it. Seeing Xiangyun was unhappy, he asked, "Are you thirsty?"

"A little bit!" Xiangyun told the truth.

"Then drink it!"

Hearing this, Xiangyun was really informal and took the teacup directly from Zhu Jinghong.
Looking at Xiangyun drinking tea, Zhu Jinghong asked, "Yun girl, what are your plans next?"

"I don't know!" Xiangyun answered simply.

"I'm short of a maid to serve tea, why don't you come to my house?" Zhu Jinghong said half-jokingly.

In fact, he was the only one who could make such a joke. After all, there were two incumbent marquises in Xiangyun's family, who were the top nobles in the Ming Dynasty.

Xiangyun knew he was joking, so she put down her teacup and said, "I am clumsy and I am afraid I will not be able to serve tea and water well. If I anger Master Thirteen, I will be asking for trouble!"

Zhu Jinghong smiled even more and continued, "Don't be afraid of being clumsy, you can learn everything slowly!"

Xiangyun walked a few steps away, then said, "Forget it. The princess told me to stay away from you before we parted."

"She's gone, are you still afraid of her?"

Xiangyun said solemnly: "The princess and I are the best of sisters, how could I let her down!"

However, Zhu Jinghong only found her serious look cute.

"Okay...you two sisters have a deep bond, so I'm just an outsider, okay?"

This guy speaks so strangely, he is an outsider after all... Xiangyun muttered to herself.

At this time, Zhu Jinghong said again: "By the way, Qin girl has always been thinking about you. Now it is inconvenient for her to leave the house. Can you go and see her?"

In a word, he wanted to find a way to "trick" Xiangyun into his palace.

After a while, you become familiar with each other and some things will come naturally.

"Oh!"

Xiangyun responded but did not give a direct answer.

She was a very smart girl and roughly guessed what Zhu Jinghong was thinking. This made her feel embarrassed, but also a little bit of expectation in her heart.

But when she thought of the princess's warning, in order to prevent Zhu Yunsheng from becoming a "joke", she was somewhat reluctant to get close to Zhu Jinghong.

So right now, Xiangyun's mood is very complicated, even very anxious.

The two of them chatted awkwardly like this until the palace maids packed up their things and it was time for Xiangyun to leave the palace.

The princess has already married, so there is no need for her to stay in the palace anymore.

Zhu Jinghong originally wanted to accompany her out of the palace, but Xiangyun declined because it would have a bad impact on the outside world.

"Hey, they've all gone far away, what are you still looking at?"

Baochai's sudden voice surprised Zhu Jinghong.

"Are you scared? Look at you, you didn't even know when I arrived. I don't know how fascinated you are!"

"Could it be that you also have feelings for Yun girl?" With no one around, Baochai spoke frankly.

Zhu Jinghong never hid anything about Baochai, so he replied: "A beautiful lady is a good match for a gentleman!"

Hearing this, Baochai joked, "Oh~~~ Mr. Wang taught you the Book of Songs so that you can use it like this!"

"I am a lady, but I don't know if you can be called a gentleman!"

Turning around and looking at his wife, Zhu Jinghong said with a smile: "Baochai, if you feel itchy, I can help you relax your muscles!"

(End of this chapter)