King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 697: The Head of Zhu's Younger Sister

"What's so strange?" Zhu Xianming asked.

"The rebellion started in Chenzhou Prefecture. The area is mountainous and difficult to march. How could a few hundred rebels occupy three counties in just a few days?"

Zhu Xianming also understood this, so he wondered in his heart whether someone was playing tricks behind the scenes.

So next, he would ask the East Factory to send people to conduct a thorough investigation, with the main target being local gentry and officials.

He even thought that this matter involved struggles within the court and struggles among his sons.

However, these cannot be said in the court.

After listening to Zhu Jinghong's analysis, Zhu Xianming told Cheng Ying and the others not to follow him, and then he walked forward.

After Zhu Jinghong finished speaking, Zhu Xianming said, "I will send people to investigate those who need to be investigated!"

Zhu Jinghong then said: "Now the bandits have occupied the three counties of Mayang, Luxi and Chenxi. The mountain roads in this area are rugged and the march is slow. There are also many small roads at the junction of the three provinces. The bandits can flee in all directions..."

"So my son thinks that we should mobilize troops from Guizhou, Hunan, and Hubei provinces to surround them from all sides and wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop!"

Although the thieves' activities are mainly within Hunan, they are indeed at the junction of three provinces.

If we only send troops from Hunan, it would be difficult to encircle the enemy, especially since the deadline given by the emperor is so short.

Zhu Xianming was suspicious of Zhu Jinghong's words. After a few breaths, he said, "Is it too much of an exaggeration to mobilize the troops of three provinces for a group of thieves?"

Making a fuss out of nothing is the least of the problems. If the other two provinces were allowed to use troops, the imperial court would have to allocate more money and grain, which would be very painful for Zhu Xianming given the current financial constraints.

Zhu Jinghong replied: "Father, if we don't put it out quickly, the rebels will spread all over the country, and the court will be in a more passive position!"

Although there is some truth in this, Zhu Xianming still feels that it is making a fuss over nothing and is completely overkill.

It was a small county town in the mountains, with low and even dilapidated city walls and extremely low defense levels. It wasn't too difficult to take it down if one was prepared.

Therefore, even if the rebel army captured three cities, it could not prove how powerful they were.

Moreover, the report also said that there were only four or five hundred bandit soldiers, plus tens of thousands of rioters who were dragged along.

"Let me think about this matter again!"

Seeing that the emperor was not convinced, Zhu Jinghong could only say: "Dad, we must not be careless about this matter. I always feel that if something goes wrong, something big will happen... I have never had such an idea!"

If our own beggar Taizu could become emperor, then the rioters in the mountains might be able to become kings... This was Zhu Jinghong's strange idea.

Seeing that Zhu Jinghong was still so persistent, Zhu Xianming had to adjust his mindset and re-examine the matter.

"Let's discuss this matter in court tomorrow!"

Mobilizing the troops of the three provinces would mean spending a huge amount of money and grain, and without holding a court meeting to come up with a charter, the plan could not be implemented.

"Yes!"

"It's really rare that a few thieves would worry about you so much!"

Zhu Jinghong smiled and replied, "I don't know why, my son has become more courageous as he gets older!"

At this time, the two of them had already walked to the Qianqing Gate. Standing on the steps and looking outside the palace gate, they could see the Chongzheng Hall standing in front of them.

"It's good to be timid..."

Turning back to look at his obedient son, Zhu Xianming said with a smile: "Better safe than sorry!"

"Dad, you are right!" Zhu Jinghong replied.

Nodding, Zhu Xianming said calmly: "If you are fine, go back!"

"Dad... don't work too hard. There is always work to be done!" Zhu Jinghong replied.

After a pause, Zhu Xianming smiled and said, "It's not your turn to teach me a lesson... Go away!"

"Son, resign!"

Watching Zhu Jinghong go away, Zhu Xianming smiled even more brightly.

Then, he turned and walked towards the palace gate. When Cheng Ying and Dai Quan came to meet him, he told Zhu Xianming to: "Find all the recent reports from the Northern Pacification Office regarding the Chenyang Prefecture in Hunan from the Northern Pacification Office's library!"

"besides……"

Zhu Xianming gave instructions for a lot of things, which meant that he would be very busy and tired at least this afternoon.

As for Zhu Jinghong, when he came out of the Qianqing Palace, he saw Deng An waiting for him.

"Your Majesty, the Queen is waiting outside the Donghua Gate!"

Their carriage was outside the palace. After Baochai left Kunning Palace, she chose to wait in the carriage.

"Yes!" Zhu Jinghong responded and walked out of the palace.

But as soon as he arrived at Donghuamen, he was found by Lu Yuxin, Zhang Lin and others, who were accompanied by dozens of other people.

These people were basically military officers, most of them were at the level of captain or captain, among whom there were only two captains and three deputy captains.

The officers of the Dragon Guards are equivalent to officers among officers, and these people are of high rank.

After being greeted and saluted by everyone and then surrounded in the center, Zhu Jinghong chatted briefly and was about to leave, but Lu Yuxin and Zhang Lin tried to keep him.

"Your Highness, everyone here admires your reputation. Today, the two teams are competing. If you could come and watch... we would be honored!" Zhang Lin said excitedly.

The Dragon Guards are selected from the best of the best, and in order to ensure their bravery, polo, archery and other competitions are organized from time to time.

The content of today's competition is horse riding and archery. Three teams from the left and right guards of Longjin will compete in Shanglin Garden to determine the winner. The loser will stand guard for the winner for a day.

Although the prize is not big, it is of great significance. After all, these children of nobles are not short of a few dozen or a few hundred taels of silver.

"Master Thirteen, if you can go... none of the brothers would dare not fight to the death!"

"Yes, you can go... The brothers are all looking forward to your going!"

Everyone spoke earnestly, and Zhu Jinghong wanted to not let them down, so he pretended to be helpless and said, "Forget it... If I don't go, I'm afraid you will stop me from entering the palace next time!"

This was of course a joke, but it also revealed a fact: the more than 1,000 people of the Left and Right Dragon Guards had the ability to directly blockade the imperial palace.

Therefore, it is crucial for Zhu Jinghong to make friends with the Dragon Guards.

"Deng An, send someone to tell the princess that I will be back later!"

"Yes!" Deng An replied.

Then, Zhu Jinghong left with the guards, while Deng An went out of Donghua Gate.

After she finished her report, Baochai sighed and went out of the palace.

When he returned to the palace, he found out that Zhu Yunsheng had arrived.

"Sister-in-law, you are finally back!"

Zhu Yunsheng came to greet him outside Yin'an Gate. As for Liang Yi, he did not come to pay a visit to avoid suspicion as Zhu Jinghong was not there.

Leaning his head to look behind Baochai, Zhu Yunsheng asked, "Sister-in-law, Thirteenth Brother hasn't come back yet?"

Baochai smiled and replied, "He is stuck with something, so let's not talk about him!"

Going forward and holding Baochai's arm, Zhu Yunsheng said, "I don't know what's going on... Last time I was not feeling well, Thirteenth Brother was at home and couldn't come to see me, and now that I'm here, Thirteenth Brother isn't here anymore!"

"Could it be that even God is playing tricks on me and wants to separate me from my Thirteenth Brother?"

Baochai looked ahead and said as she walked: "Don't talk nonsense, or you may upset the heavens and punish you by sending down something!"

Zhu Yunsheng replied: "As long as my sister-in-law is willing to protect me, no one in this world can bully me!" Baochai really enjoyed hearing this, so she turned and looked at Zhu Yunsheng.

"You little girl, now that you're married, you still talk so erratically!"

Zhu Yunsheng smiled and replied, "Even if she gets married, she is still Thirteenth Brother's biological sister!"

As they were talking, the two of them had bypassed the Yin'an Palace and arrived at the Tongxin Palace behind it.

Baoqin was also in Tongxin Hall. She had just been playing with Zhu Yunsheng and was tidying up the study that had been messed up by the two of them, so she did not go out to greet Baochai.

Of course, she is Baochai's cousin, and they are close relatives, so it doesn't matter if she doesn't go to greet her.

As for Zhu Yunsheng, she didn't want Baoqin to go, lest she steal her limelight, so she didn't invite her to go out and meet her.

After returning to Tongxin Hall, Baochai took off her dress and decorations and changed into more comfortable casual clothes, then went to the study with Zhu Yunsheng.

"Sister!" Baoqin stepped forward and saluted.

Sitting casually on the guest chair, Baochai asked with a smile: "What are you doing here?"

“Playing chess, writing calligraphy, composing poetry…we played it all!”

Taking the opportunity to sit next to Baochai, Zhu Yunsheng praised: "Don't mention it... Sister-in-law, your sister is really well-educated!"

"She has only read a few books and can recognize a few words!"

Hearing this, Zhu Yunsheng laughed and said, "Daiyu also said this before, but now I absolutely don't believe it!"

Baochai also laughed, and then said, "She will come to see me in a few days, and may stay for a while. If you want to see her... come to the mansion more often!"

Zhu Yunsheng asked casually, "Can't we let her go to my house? Could it be that Thirteenth Brother can't bear to let her go for even a moment?"

But as soon as she said it, she regretted it a little, for she was worried that Baochai would be jealous.

To be honest, there are really few people in this world who can make Zhu Yunsheng worry about his feelings.

Taking the tea handed to her by Ying'er, Baochai replied, "But you are right. If I let him go, your Thirteenth Brother will beat me to death!"

"Sister-in-law, your words are too serious. Thirteenth Brother respects and loves you very much. In order to welcome you as the princess, he even..."

Zhu Yunsheng talked about old times and praised Baochai highly.

Baoqin did not interrupt the whole process because her status was not high enough, so she was particularly cautious at this time.

After the two chatted for a while, Zhu Yunsheng changed the topic and started talking about the war situation in the northwest.

"Your Thirteenth Brother feels that he is not capable enough and will not go to the northwest to lead troops to fight!" Baochai expressed her attitude directly.

"The Prince Consort wants to take up an assignment. This is against the imperial system. It's useless for you to tell your Thirteenth Brother. I've already told you about this!"

She really couldn't understand why the Prince Consort Duwei, who was already a top-rank official and had a status that others could hardly achieve in their lifetime, had to go to the front line to make achievements.

She was even dissatisfied with Zhu Yunsheng about this matter. She always used this kind of thing to plead for mercy and wanted to put her own man on the spot!
Sensing Baochai's dissatisfaction, Zhu Yunsheng begged for mercy: "Sister-in-law... please don't be angry, I'm just asking casually!"

"The prince consort likes martial arts, and I can't do anything about him, so I can only beg for mercy everywhere!"

Baochai's expression eased a little, and then she said, "You are a princess, not just his wife. You must take care of what you should do. You can't let him do whatever he wants!"

The princesses of the Ming Dynasty today are very different from those in the original history, and are somewhat similar to the situation of the Li Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, when Baochai asked Zhu Yunsheng to restrain Liang Yi, it was not just a casual remark made in anger, but an "unspoken rule" with a lot of precedents.

"Yes!" Zhu Yunsheng replied.

To be honest, she, the legitimate princess, was already afraid of Baochai, a fact she had only just discovered.

Zhu Yunsheng soon found the answer to the question. It was because of her own judgment that this person would become the future queen.

As if she realized that her words were a bit harsh, Baochai continued, "You also know that your Thirteenth Brother has been repeatedly criticized by court officials. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is walking on thin ice. It's not that he doesn't want to help, but he really can't help!"

"My sister-in-law is right. It was my fault that I was ignorant!" Zhu Yunsheng apologized quickly.

Then, Baochai changed the topic and the two talked about other things.

During this period, Baochai ordered a banquet to be held in the mansion to entertain Zhu Yunsheng and his wife.

No matter what, a legitimate princess and her husband's visit is a big deal, so they should be received formally.

For this reason, Baochai sent someone to urge Zhu Jinghong to return home as soon as possible.

Normally, people should have lunch at noon, but Zhu Jinghong took until 1:00 p.m. to return home. He changed his clothes in a hurry before coming to Yin'an Hall.

Since it was a formal banquet, dancing and music were indispensable, so the venue was set up in the back garden of the palace, which was spacious and had a corresponding stage.

In the palace, Keqing declined the invitation to the banquet as she was looking after her children. Only two selected concubines, Yinglian and Zhen Qin, appeared. Nuominqiqige did not appear because of her low status.

As for Yingchun, since she doesn't have an official identity now, it is even more impossible for her to show up.

At this time, Yinglian and Zhen Qin were waiting in Tongxin Hall, waiting for Zhu Jinghong to change his clothes and come out.

In the back garden at the other end, the banquet hall had been set up, waiting for Zhu Jinghong to appear and begin.

At this time, Liang Yi followed behind Zhu Yunsheng. As distinguished guests, they should have been waiting at their seats, but now they appeared at the door of the venue waiting.

The two of them stood there for about ten minutes, and finally heard footsteps outside. Zhu Yunsheng's face was instantly filled with a smile.

When Zhu Jinghong appeared around the corner, Zhu Yunsheng immediately trotted over to meet him.

Baochai followed on Zhu Jinghong's left side, and Zhu Yunsheng came to his right side, holding his brother's sleeve as he did when he was young, and then said, "Thirteenth brother, you made me wait for so long!"

"You are so powerful and so busy that even my sister can hardly see you now!"

Hearing this, Zhu Jinghong smiled heartily and replied: "Girl, you say these words...Are you trying to humiliate me?"

"I am overwhelmed by the world and busy with all kinds of affairs... I can't bear these words!"

"That's right!" Zhu Yunsheng said in a delicate voice.

Her smile is not only brilliant, but also faintly flattering. Even actors with superb acting skills would find it difficult to reproduce even 10% of this meaning.

If the ladies whom Zhu Yunsheng ignored and neglected today saw this expression on her face, they would definitely find it very interesting and satisfying.

It turns out that Her Royal Highness the Princess's proud head can not only bend down, but also reveal such a flattering expression.

Unlike Zhu Yunsheng, Liang Yi was obviously much more respectful. He followed behind Zhu Yunsheng and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

"Ok!"

Zhu Jinghong responded, nodded to Liang Yi, and walked past him to the main seat.

Liang Yi is very nervous!
To be more precise, with Zhu Jinghong's current reputation, very few young people would not be nervous when meeting him, even if the latter are only in their twenties.

"Liang Yi..."

When Liang Yi was daydreaming, he heard Zhu Jinghong calling his name, and immediately turned around and followed him.

"Your Highness, please give me your instructions!"

"Hey... there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Thirteenth Brother like Sheng'er does!"

"It's...Tenth...Thirteenth Brother!"

Honestly speaking, calling out the three words "Brother Thirteen" made Liang Yi feel very embarrassed because he felt that he was not worthy of it.

In Liang Yi's heart, Zhu Jinghong is like the scorching sun, and not everyone is qualified to approach him.

(End of this chapter)