King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 710 The prince is often ill, you should encourage him!

Given Zhu Jinghong's current situation, Daiyu was still somewhat touched that he insisted on doing so for her.

Seeing Daiyu's eyes moist, Baochai held her hand and said, "You... haven't changed your habit of crying. Now you have to start your own business!"

As she spoke, Baochai took out her handkerchief and wiped the corners of Daiyu's eyes.

They were so intimate and considerate that even Baoqin didn't receive such treatment, making it seem like they were real sisters.

In fact, even Baochai didn't understand why she felt such a natural affinity towards Daiyu, as if they were the same person.

"It's funny to say that he said he would report this to the Queen in person last night, but he denied it when he woke up this morning... Let me go and tell her for him!"

"What are you talking about? He is the last card between us. I think he is just afraid of being rejected by the Queen!"

Seeing that Daiyu was listening attentively, Baochai stared at her and asked, "I wonder if Sister Lin is afraid that this matter will not be accomplished?"

Daiyu replied very calmly: "This matter... is indeed against the rules. I'm afraid the Queen will not agree to it!"

Although Daiyu did not seem anxious, Baochai could still sense her worry and joked, "If it doesn't work, I'm afraid you'll cry to death!"

"Who's crying? Who cares about a mere Prince Xiang's Mansion..." Daiyu showed no sign of weakness.

"Yes, yes, yes... I don't care. How about this... Today I will only talk about Yun girl's matter. This will also fulfill your wish and will not make you commit yourself to this small palace!"

"what do you think?"

Facing the "threat", Daiyu said nonchalantly: "It's fine with me, but I'm afraid that Sister Bao will not be able to explain to your husband if she behaves like this!"

"I can't explain it, but I am his princess after all. He can't beat me to death, right?" Baochai smiled even more.

"Hmph... whatever Sister Bao says is fine. Someone will take care of you when the time comes!"

Pulling Daiyu into her arms, Baochai teased her, "You haven't even married yet, and you already know how to complain. This is not a good habit!"

"This is all your fault. If I don't find someone to rely on, I don't know how you will bully me in the future!"

Hearing Daiyu say this, Baochai smiled even more brightly and then hugged her tighter.

After entering the capital, everyone returned to their own residences. Zhu Jinghong did not rush into the palace, but went back to his residence first.

Many people go to the palace to pay homage to the queen in the morning, so it would undoubtedly be more appropriate to go in the afternoon. After all, it is better to keep a low profile on such matters.

"You're not going?"

"I... don't have to go!" Zhu Jinghong hesitated.

"I think you'd better go. If the Queen Mother really doesn't agree, you should come out and explain yourself!"

"This kind of thing can't be delayed. If it's delayed for too long, it will be more difficult to succeed!"

After thinking for a while, Zhu Jinghong replied: "Okay... I will follow you into the palace!"

"Follow me into the palace? You make it sound as if it's my own business!" Baochai said unhappily and sat directly on the chair.

Zhu Jinghong should have been anxious at this moment. He stepped forward and said with an apologetic smile, "Princess, if you give up, this thing will never be accomplished!"

"Be good, listen to me and help me this time!"

As he spoke, Zhu Jinghong took Baochai's hand and walked out of the house.

The two of them took a car and went to the palace. In less than half an hour, they entered the palace and went directly to Kunning Palace.

The two of them also made a plan on the way. Baochai would go to Kunning Palace first, while Zhu Jinghong would act according to the situation.

Outside Chongzheng Gate, the two of them separated. Baochai took the maid and walked deep into the palace, while Zhu Jinghong wandered around aimlessly.

But he didn't dare to go too far, otherwise he wouldn't be able to find anyone to pass on the message, so he chose to hang around the Chongzheng Hall.

When Baochai entered Kunning Palace, she found out that the queen was in the Buddhist hall, so she could only wait.

The wait lasted for more than ten minutes before the Queen came out of the Buddhist hall early. This was obviously a privilege only given to Baochai.

After Baochai greeted her, Yang Qingyin asked with a smile, "Weren't you guys playing outside the city? Why are you back so soon?"

"I went there yesterday. It was busy all day. I just came back today!"

"It's good to be young, you can do whatever you want!"

Baochai half-jokingly said, "If it weren't for the fact that the Queen Mother likes quietness, your wife would have invited you to go with her!"

Yang Qingyin smiled and said, "Then remember... take me with you next time!"

"My wife is willing to accept the order, but I'm afraid that my father will..." Baochai pretended to be embarrassed.

Yang Qingyin laughed, then waved her hands and said, "Forget it, forget it... I won't embarrass you!"

So the two of them chatted a lot following this topic, and Yang Qingyin was in a very good mood throughout the whole process.

It is not difficult to please others, but what is difficult is to make others happy all the time. This shows how well Baochai knows how to measure things.

"If you want to talk about difficulties, my wife really has a difficult thing!"

"Oh? What's the trouble?" Yang Qingyin asked.

"The prince has given me an errand!"

"What did he ask you to do?"

"Let the daughter-in-law ask for mercy from the Queen Mother!"

"Why doesn't he come himself?"

"Maybe... I'm embarrassed!" Baochai laughed.

"Just playing tricks..." Yang Qingyin complained, and then asked: "Tell me...what kind of grace does he want to ask for?"

"He said... he wanted to take Daiyu as his concubine and Xiangyun as his concubine!"

The queen was drinking tea and almost choked when she heard this. She coughed twice before asking, "Is this the grace he wants?"

"That's right!" Baochai blushed a little and felt embarrassed.

"He really wants to keep Sheng'er as his tutor. No wonder he was so concerned about selecting a tutor back then. It turns out... he wanted to choose someone for his own palace!"

There were two female officials in the room at the moment, and they agreed deeply with what he said.

"Mother... this matter..."

"Forget it, I can't control him, just let him do what he wants!"

Baochai was about to explain, but was stunned when she heard this. She really didn't expect the Queen to be so straightforward.

In fact, if it had happened two years ago, the Queen would certainly not have allowed Zhu Jinghong to act so recklessly, but the situation is different now.

The youngest son is going to be the emperor in the future and has been coveting these two girls for several years. If we stop him now, there is no guarantee that something bad will not happen in the future.

So the queen simply agreed, so that the matter could be completely resolved. After all, they were just two maids.

What made Yang Qingyin curious was why her son always liked poor children and the women he chose were all those without fathers or mothers.

Thinking of this, Yang Qingyin looked at Baochai and recalled the situation when the princess was selected.

Facing the pressure of the emperor's wrath and risking the world's disapproval, Yang Qingyin had to choose the girl from the Xue family. Now, when she thinks about it, she finds it strange.

But the facts also proved that Baochai was indeed a good woman. Yang Qingyin had no prejudice against her and even regarded her as the best daughter-in-law.

"Mother...are you serious?" Among all the daughters-in-law, only Baochai could ask such a question, which shows how close she is to the Queen.

"How can this be false!"

"There is just one thing. We have to do this in a staggered manner, so that he won't be laughed at by others. Let Miss Lin enter the mansion first, and Miss Yun... we can talk about it in a few days!"

Hearing the Queen's instructions, Baochai nodded repeatedly in agreement, which she thought was more appropriate.

"Mother dotes on him too much..." Baochai acted jealous.

Baochai had already finished her work here, while Zhu Jinghong on the other side was called into the Qianqing Palace.

The Chongzheng Hall is in front of the Qianqing Palace. He was wandering around here in circles, and the eunuchs reported it to the emperor, which is how he suffered this experience.

At this time in the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Xianming was organizing a military meeting, mainly discussing the situation in the northwest.

It can be seen that Zhu Xianming is in a good mood because the financial crisis has been alleviated.

On the one hand, the autumn grain and tax silver were collected, and on the other hand, the commercial taxes of various maritime offices also increased. Of course, the two million silver taels extorted from Japan had to be added, so the total amounted to 17 million taels.

The Ministry of Revenue received 10 million taels of silver, and Zhu Xianming's treasury received 7 million taels of silver. Everyone was happy.

If we only fight this battle in the northwest and no other trouble occurs, the financial situation will gradually improve.

Everyone was talking at once, but Zhu Jinghong remained silent. Strangely, the emperor did not call on him.

Half an hour had passed since they waited. Zhu Jinghong felt his ears were callused from listening to these people talking for so long.

Of course, after the whole process, some substantial results were achieved, which was worth everyone's talk.

Afterwards, the emperor finished the meeting and Zhu Jinghong wanted to follow him but was stopped.

Walking slowly out of the hall, Zhu Xianming said calmly: "Why didn't you say anything just now?"

Zhu Jinghong replied: "My son is stupid and has no good ideas, so I dare not speak without authorization!"

He had blindly refused before, and although he has changed his mind now, he still needs to process and adjust his attitude instead of showing enthusiasm right away, which will only make people suspect that he has ulterior motives.

"You...you don't tell the truth anymore!" Zhu Xianming sighed.

After saying this, Zhu Xianming walked out of the hall and headed towards the Qianqing Gate.

Looking at the situation, Zhu Jinghong knew that the old man wanted to take a walk, but he had to stay here to accompany him.

"Don't follow me!"

After leaving the Qianqing Gate, the emperor gave this order, and the eunuchs accompanying him all retreated and followed him at a distance of ten feet.

"I saw them just now. They were chattering about something!"

"No one can convince anyone else, and no one can come up with a feasible strategy. This matter has been delayed again and again!"

"You should know that this battle will begin in February or March next year. Delaying it like this... is not a good thing!"

In the northwest, the two governors were worried and repeatedly petitioned the emperor to be cautious, which clearly showed that they were unsure.

The main generals had no confidence in victory, which made Zhu Xianming even more worried, so he could only think of using Zhu Jinghong.

"Since you have the ability to lead troops, you should share your father's worries. Why do you want to stay out of it...stand still like a mountain!" Zhu Xianming stopped and looked at Zhu Jinghong seriously.

If a court official was questioned like this by the emperor, it would be tantamount to being labeled as disloyal. At this moment, he should at least kneel down in fear, kowtow to admit his guilt and show his loyalty.

Zhu Jinghong looked calm and replied, "Dad, it's not that I don't want to share your worries, but I'm not sure of winning!"

Zhu Jinghong had been saying that he was not sure of winning, but the emperor had not listened to him before. He changed his mind after talking with the queen.

I know that maybe Zhu Jinghong kept postponing going to the Northwest because he was really unsure, not because he had any other concerns.

"How confident are you of winning?" Zhu Xianming asked in a serious tone.

"At most... 70%!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xianming was petrified on the spot. Although he felt like crying for joy at this moment, he still couldn't help but think of slapping the little bastard in front of him.

He thought the chance of his certainty was less than 50%, but he never expected that Zhu Jinghong thought it was 70%. The bastard's lower limit was higher than his upper limit.

In general, Zhu Xianming was very happy, so he smiled and tried to control his tone to be calmer, saying: "Old Thirteen, even if you only have 70% chance, Dad is willing to let you fight!"

At this time, Zhu Xianming certainly would not praise him, but would try his best to squeeze Zhu Jinghong's potential and push the winning rate to more than 70%.

"Although 70% is not high, as long as you plan well, it shouldn't be too difficult to win, or at least you won't lose too badly!"

Seeing the old man's perfect acting skills, Zhu Jinghong still hesitated and said, "Dad, if we lose, my honor and disgrace will be a small matter, but if I delay the important affairs of the court, I will be blamed for my death!"

Baochai summed it up very well. Zhu Jinghong just wanted to act out the "three refusals and three declines" in full so that he could feel at ease when he left.

Now that he knew Zhu Jinghong was sure of his victory, Zhu Xianming had no more strength to spare, so he said, "Old Thirteen, Dad won't blame you if you lose, you just need to do your best!"

From ancient times to the present, it is rare to be so tolerant, let alone an emperor towards his subjects, even a father towards his son.

Zhu Xianming would be no exception, so if Zhu Jinghong really lost, he would definitely give him appropriate punishment.

As for today's promise, there is no one around anyway, so who can prove that he said these things? No one will believe such a thing if it is told to others.

"Dad, but..."

"Thirteen, Dad has more than a dozen sons, but when it comes to leading troops in battle, which one can compare to you?"

"Who can share my worries like you do?"

At this moment, Zhu Jinghong almost believed that the emperor was expressing his true feelings.

Who would have thought that the next moment, Zhu Xianming continued, "The prince is ill, you should encourage him!"

My goodness, these words shocked Zhu Jinghong so much that one could even say that he was frightened by the emperor.

The prince is often ill, you should encourage him, the pie you have drawn is quite big.

From this point of view, Zhu Jinghong also saw the emperor's determination and knew that he had to go this time.

At the same time, he also knew that this was the end of the excuse, after all, the emperor no longer had any more bargaining chips.

If he keeps shirking his responsibilities, it will be difficult to resolve and both the father and the son will be embarrassed.

"Dad, in this life... you have never praised your son like this before. Your son is really... really..."

This time, Zhu Jinghong successfully challenged himself and performed a choking effect, and it seemed that he was really moved.

Of course, at the end, he still said: "Son is willing to share your worries, but I don't want to cause you any trouble..."

Zhu Jinghong made a feint, and after stirring his father's mood, he said: "But since you said so, your son is willing to share your worries!"

At this point, Zhu Jinghong knelt on the ground and said solemnly: "Don't worry, Dad. I will defeat the enemy for you and kill as many of them as possible!"

Although this statement did not cite any classic references, it sounded particularly encouraging.

Zhu Xianming laughed happily, personally stepped forward to help Zhu Jinghong up, and then said: "After you go back, submit a petition for war, and I will review it for you immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jinghong almost sprained his waist. His petition for war was equivalent to telling the outside world that he was begging to go to the northwest to fight.

It was clearly the old man who advised me to lead the troops, but he did this to me just to save his face. He is really shameless... Zhu Jinghong complained in his heart.

Seeing that the emperor was calm, Zhu Jinghong pretended not to understand and replied immediately: "My son will write it when he gets home. As a subject, it is only natural for me to share the worries of my king and father!"

(End of this chapter)