King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 709 Lin Yatou is a concubine

Chapter 709 Lin Yatou is a concubine
Back in the inner courtyard, a group of women gathered in the house, talking and laughing, it was very lively.

Although Baochai speaks little, once she opens her mouth, she becomes the focus of the whole audience.

"So, his family really divorced the original wife and planned to find a new one?"

Princess Yu of Le'an replied: "What can we do? We can only choose the lesser of two evils!"

Baochai's smile widened, so she looked around and asked, "What do you think...if he marries again, will she be considered his first wife or his second wife?"

Everyone started laughing. Other people's troubles had now become a subject of jokes and entertainment.

"In my opinion, the Chen family shouldn't..."

Next, everyone expressed their opinions, and Baochai looked into the distance and found Daiyu and Baoqin playing chess.

"Third sister, why don't you see Yun?" Baochai asked softly.

Zhu Yunsheng returned to the room and had been there for more than twenty minutes. Although he had just been chatting with everyone, he was always ready to reply to Baochai's words.

"Xiangyun...was called by Thirteenth Brother to play basketball!"

"Ask her to play ball?" Baochai was surprised.

But after thinking about it for a moment, she knew what was going on, so she didn't ask any more questions.

Seeing that Baochai looked normal, Zhu Yunsheng, who had been feeling guilty, felt a little relieved. Now she was becoming more and more afraid of her young sister-in-law.

But then she thought again, there were so many sisters-in-law present, some of whom were Baochai's sisters-in-law, and they were all respectful to her.

We are all the same... Zhu Yunsheng quickly calmed down.

But just a few minutes later, a maid came outside and said a few words to Wen Xing who was guarding the door.

Soon Wen Xing came into the room and whispered a few words to Baochai.

"I know!" Baochai remained calm.

Although she didn't hear the content of the whisper, Zhu Yunsheng could roughly guess it, which made her feel a little uneasy.

It can be seen that Baochai is emotionally stable, which makes her feel at ease.

She hasn't even sat on the chair yet, why am I so scared... Zhu Yunsheng felt very unbalanced when he thought about how disappointing he was.

The conversation here was still lively, but over at the polo field, Zhu Jinghong had finished his work and was now lying on the bed with his arms around Xiangyun.

Although Xiangyun closed her eyes at this time, she was actually awake. She just didn't know how to face it, so she could only use the tactic of "delaying".

Everything happened too suddenly and she was totally unprepared, so she felt a little aggrieved.

Although she was willing to follow Zhu Jinghong, she still wanted a more formal handover rather than the unclear one it was at the moment.

Xiangyun had her eyes closed, but Zhu Jinghong had his eyes open and was staring at her.

In fact, he was quite regretful, thinking that he shouldn't have been so impatient and actually bullied the girl.

Although he knew that the other person liked him, this was indeed too mean, and Zhu Jinghong felt somewhat ashamed.

Seeing tears rolling down Xiangyun's eyes, Zhu Jinghong became even more panicked. He was really afraid that he would hurt Xiangyun.

"Girl Yun, I... I'm sorry!" Zhu Jinghong said bluntly.

It would have been better if he didn't say anything. His words made Xiangyun feel even more aggrieved, so she turned her head to the other side.

"Don't worry... I will handle today's matter thoroughly and will never put you in any difficult position!"

If Zhu Jinghong expressed his intention to take Xiangyun in, Shi Jia would definitely not refuse, and he was very sure of this.

So Zhu Jinghong calmed Xiangyun down for a while before she was able to control her emotions.

Then he helped Xiangyun put on her clothes and supported her out of the room.

Outside the door, Yu Hai had led a dozen eunuchs from the palace to completely block off the surrounding area, and the entire polo field was empty.

"Listen to me, go back first... there will be an imperial decree in the next two days!"

"Hmm!" Xiangyun's voice was as soft as a mosquito.

Zhu Jinghong then looked at Yu Hai and ordered, "Send someone to send Miss Xiangyun back. She fell off the horse. Be careful!"

"I obey your command!" Yu Hai is a smart man, he knows exactly what to do at this moment.

"Master Thirteen, I..."

Xiangyun felt wronged just now, and now she was going to be sent back home, and she felt reluctant to leave.

She was afraid that she would never see Zhu Jinghong again after this trip. This was how she worried about gains and losses.

"Go back first, there will be news soon!" Zhu Jinghong said with a smile.

Xiangyun still didn't let go, and grabbed Zhu Jinghong's sleeve and said, "Don't leave me!"

Her parents died, so she lacks a sense of security. It is not surprising that she is worried now."

"Don't worry, I won't let you down!"

To be honest, Zhu Jinghong's behavior of sending people away seems really irresponsible.

Of course, the reason why Xiangyun was sent away was to protect her reputation, for fear that others would find out what was happening here.

After Zhu Jinghong's repeated comfort, Xiangyun finally calmed down and was helped away by the maids.

Watching her disappear into the distance, Zhu Jinghong tightened his collar and then asked, "Does the princess know?"

Yu Hai leaned forward and replied, "I think I know. This is my fault!"

Zhu Jinghong ignored him and asked, "No one else knows about this?"

"Except the maids around the princess, no one else knows!" Yu Hai answered confidently.

"Ok!"

After responding, Zhu Jinghong walked out of the polo field. At this moment, he looked a little solemn.

The matter of Daiyu had been delayed again and again, and he had been thinking about asking the Queen for permission, but now that Xiangyun had appeared, he had to rethink the matter.

Should they be reported together or separately...his thoughts on this matter.

But he had made up his mind before he even left the polo field.

He was a prince and a great contributor to the Ming Dynasty. What was the big deal about having two women? Why was he so cautious?

So his decision was to go to the palace when he returned to Beijing tomorrow and express his feelings directly to the Queen.

Having made up his mind, he felt visibly more relaxed and even quickened his pace.

When he returned to the villa, no one noticed anything unusual, or maybe they noticed but pretended not to know. Anyway, they were chatting happily together.

The afternoon show was just as exciting, with endless singing and dancing performances, and everyone had a great time.

At nightfall, Zhu Jinghong returned to the courtyard where he was staying and happened to meet Daiyu as he entered the door.

"Oh... Master Thirteen still remembers to come back!" Daiyu turned her head and teased.

"Why...you missed me?" Zhu Jinghong asked back.

"Master Thirteen, please don't talk nonsense. If Sister Bao knew about this, she would be even angrier!"

"Why is she angry?" Zhu Jinghong asked.

Daiyu walked around Zhu Jinghong and answered, "Then you have to ask the Thirteenth Master!"

"Please explain yourself clearly..."

When Zhu Jinghong turned around, Daiyu had already walked away, leaving only the words "Who cares about you?"

"This girl is becoming more and more unruly!"

After saying this, he turned around and saw Baochai already standing at the door of the main room.

"I heard from Miss Lin that I made you angry?" Zhu Jinghong asked with a smile.

Baochai replied calmly, "How dare I get angry with you... You are the pillar of the palace and a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, you can do whatever you want. Who dares to control you?"

"It's cold outside... Let's go inside and talk!" After walking up the stairs, Zhu Jinghong pulled Baochai into the house without caring whether she was willing or not.

When he entered, he found that all the maids were gone, obviously they had been cleared out in advance.

Helping Baochai sit down, Zhu Jinghong picked up the teapot, poured tea and handed it to her, saying, "Princess, please have some tea!"

Glancing at Zhu Jinghong, Baochai said, "I didn't want to say anything to you, but what you did today was really too much!"

"I thought you'd have some dignity as a prince after all the things you've been through. Bullying a weak woman..."

Baochai talked incessantly, and Zhu Jinghong sat aside, pretending to listen attentively.

After talking for a while, Baochai also felt tired. After taking a sip of tea, she said, "If I had known you were such a person, a few years ago... I would have been blind to choose this useless princess!"

After hearing the last sentence, Zhu Jinghong couldn't help laughing.

Seeing Baochai's color change, Zhu Jinghong quickly stopped laughing and said, "My fault... I really couldn't help it!"

"You..." Baochai was so angry, but there was nothing she could do. She could only turn her head away and sulk.

She said a lot just now, mainly expressing two meanings.

First, as a prince, Zhu Jinghong should behave himself at this critical juncture and should not make trivial mistakes.

Second, Xiangyun is a lady from a noble family, and she should be taken into the family in a fair and open manner, and her reputation should not be damaged.

If this matter were to get out, others would only think that Xiangyun was not serious, which would undoubtedly drive her to death.

At this time, Zhu Jinghong was in the wrong, and seeing that Baochai was already angry, he went forward to persuade her.

Zhu Jinghong had great respect for his wife who was not afraid of power and corrected his mistakes.

After Zhu Jinghong persuaded her for a few more words, Baochai asked, "How do you plan to deal with this matter? Will it be the same as Yingchun's?"

"Of course not!" Zhu Jinghong denied it immediately.

Seeing Baochai staring at him, as if waiting for him to continue, Zhu Jinghong replied, "When I return to Beijing tomorrow, I will report to my mother and take Lin and Xiangyun into the palace!"

Even Baochai was shocked to ask for two at once, but she quickly recovered.

After a moment of silence, Baochai asked, "How do you plan to deal with these two?"

This problem shouldn't have occurred originally, but now that Xiangyun has joined in, the situation is a little different.

Daiyu and Xiangyun, one is the daughter of a scholar who has won the third place in the imperial examination, and the other is from a top-ranking family, and there is still one position left for a concubine.

"Girl Lin is the concubine!" Zhu Jinghong didn't even think about it.

Although she knew Zhu Jinghong's choice, Baochai still reminded him, "Yun's uncle Shi Ding is currently the commander-in-chief of the Five Cities Army, responsible for the defense of the capital!"

Zhu Jinghong knew what Baochai meant, so he said, "I'll tell you, too. There are eight chief and deputy commanders in the Wucheng Military Department who I know well, and five of them have fought with me!"

Generals at the Qianhu level are very important. They are the highest-ranking officers who actually command the army. Officials such as commanders above them basically have no communication with the soldiers below.

In other words, the grassroots soldiers and military officers may not necessarily recognize the commander-in-chief, but they will definitely recognize their centurions and thousand-householders.

In short, Zhu Jinghong was not without any foundation in the Wucheng Bingmasi.

Therefore, using Xiangyun's position to befriend Shi Ding did not mean much to him.

Of course, more importantly, it was not convenient for him to make friends with historians openly.

The Five Cities Army, the Imperial City Guards, the Dragon Guards... These military forces close to the emperor, their senior generals are all the emperor's confidants, and anyone who gets involved will arouse suspicion.

Zhu Jinghong's marriage with the Shi family was already very unusual, and to be honest, the price he chose for his concubines was too high.

Of course, if she were given the position of a concubine, it would easily offend the historians, and more importantly, it would hurt Xiangyun's heart, so she could only be given the position of a selected concubine.

No matter what, the selected concubines were women canonized by the imperial court, and historians had no right to say anything.

After Zhu Jinghong explained for a while, he said: "The degree of it, the multiple causes and effects... all need to be taken into consideration!"

Baochai was convinced, but still sneered: "Your analysis of the problem is very logical. If you control yourself and don't cause trouble, you won't have these troubles!"

"Control yourself? It's not easy for me to control my head!" Zhu Jinghong said, pointing to his head.

"You... dirty!"

Baochai couldn't help but punch Zhu Jinghong, but the latter grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms.

"To die under the princess' skirt, even as a ghost, he is still romantic!"

After saying this, Zhu Jinghong picked up Baochai horizontally and walked straight to the embroidered bed.

"Don't..."

"You... go wash up first!"

Baochai struggled to get down, and could not help pinching Zhu Jinghong, and then scolded him: "It's like you haven't eaten it before. Are you born in the year of the dog?"

Zhu Jinghong was not annoyed, and replied with a smile: "I still want a legitimate son, is this wrong?"

These words...Baochai couldn't refute them!

She also wanted to have another child. After all, the more sons she had, the more stable her status would be. This was an indisputable fact.

Baochai immediately rushed outside and ordered, "Ying'er, quickly get some hot water. The prince wants to take a bath!"

"Yes!"

After bathing, the spring breeze is everywhere, so there is no need to say more.

Soon the next day arrived. After breakfast, Zhu Jinghong and his party set off and headed towards the capital.

He rode a horse and walked in front with a group of brothers.

They are all princes, so their travel safety is extremely important. In addition to the guards in their own palaces, the Five Cities Military Department also dispatched additional people to escort them. Together, there are nearly 1,500 people on both sides.

"Deputy Captain Zhou, why don't you lead the way in front of us? Why are you coming here?"

This deputy captain was named Zhou Shoujun. He was originally the deputy captain of the Imperial Guard. Because he insulted the censor Zhang Rulin in court, he was demoted and transferred to the Wucheng Bingmasi.

Although he is still a deputy captain, compared with the deputy captain of the imperial guards, the Five Cities Military Department is much inferior.

Of course, Zhou Shoujun was not discouraged, because he was Zhu Jinghong's confidant, and they swore an oath outside the city of Nanjing that year that they would never let each other down.

The most crucial thing is that people like Zhou Shoujun were persecuted because of Zhu Jinghong’s involvement.

Therefore, Zhou Shoujun was certain that they would be reused if Zhu Jinghong came to power.

Along with Zhou Shoujun, there were dozens of generals who were punished that time. Although they were demoted and transferred, almost all of them were in the Beijing Camp, the Imperial Guards, and the Five Cities Military Department. They were all loyal to Zhu Jinghong.

Zhou Shoujun replied, "Don't worry, my lord. The surroundings have been blown several times. If anyone disturbed you, I am willing to commit suicide to apologize!"

"I'll believe you for once!" Zhu Jinghong replied with a smile.

At this time, several princes interrupted and they chatted even more happily in the front.

The female members of the family were all sitting in the carriage, and in Baochai's carriage at this moment, only Daiyu was accompanying her.

"I am returning to Beijing today because of an important matter!" Baochai said calmly.

"What about Xiangyun?" Daiyu asked back.

Baochai smiled and said, "That's right and wrong!"

Daiyu was really smart, and then she asked, "Could it be related to me?"

"That's right!" Baochai smiled even more.

"How did he say?"

Baochai replied: "He wants you to be his concubine and Yun to be his concubine!"

Daiyu thought for a moment and said, "This... may not be appropriate!"

She didn't care about her position; she said this very naturally, without any regret or lingering feelings.