King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 732: Prince Xiang Returns to the Capital
"The people below, search the Guo family and the surrounding area carefully, and find a piece of Yunjin paper!"

"Yunjin paper?" Zhu Xianming was a little surprised. He had never heard of such a thing.

Although it sounds complicated, there are so many good things in the royal family that it is normal that he can't remember them all.

Dai Quan replied: "Yunjin paper is made in the palace and is specially used for wrapping snacks!"

Zhu Xianming didn't say anything and waited for Dai Quan to continue.

"As for the brocade paper this time, after careful inspection, the people below discovered that it was originally used to wrap jade pastry. There weren't many made in the palace today... We only sent some to the East Palace, the Rui Wang Mansion, the Xiang Wang Mansion, and Princess Jing'an!"

Zhu Xianming's thoughts raced. After excluding the people who had no vested interests, such as the fourth and sixth brothers and Zhu Yunsheng, the clues pointed to Prince Xiang's Mansion.

Jade wrapped pastry... Would someone who was going to kill someone want to eat this? Would they leave such obvious evidence behind?

At this moment, Dai Quan was still analyzing in a roundabout way, but Zhu Xianming's expression was already very ugly.

"How did you find these clues? Did you find them or where did they come from? How could such a coincidence happen in the world?" Zhu Xianming said in a cold tone.

In fact, it doesn’t matter how they found out. What matters is that Dai Quan had been in office for decades and had forgotten the most crucial sense of propriety.

He had a good grasp of what should be checked and what should not be checked, and he could handle things just right.

But this time, when the emperor had hinted that there was no need to investigate further, he continued to dig deeper like a madman, which made Zhu Xianming think deeply about his motives.

Dai Quan was speaking excitedly when the emperor suddenly said these words, which scared him half to death.

"Your Majesty... these are all reports from the subordinates. This matter is of great importance and I dare not neglect it, so I came here to report it immediately!"

It has become Dai Quan's instinct to shirk responsibility when encountering trouble, and at this moment he also found himself getting impatient.

After thinking more about it, he suddenly realized that he was not impatient, but his behavior in the past two days was foolish.

The emperor clearly didn't want to investigate anymore, but he didn't take it seriously and continued to investigate. As a servant, he was unable to understand the emperor's intentions. This was simply a rhythm to seek death.

In addition, he felt even more uneasy when he thought about the fact that he had taken the initiative to do this task in order to help the Eastern Palace.

"The people below are investigating so carefully. Is it your idea, Master Dai, or theirs?"

Dai Quan already felt the murderous intent at this moment. He had experienced such situations many times, but he was still terrified every time he encountered them.

Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger, and Zhu Xianming is more terrifying than a tiger.

Kneeling on the ground, Dai Quan replied tremblingly: "Your Majesty's holy will, I have passed it on, the people below..."

Before he could finish his words, Zhu Xianming interrupted him: "As the saying goes, a good wife should keep secrets from both sides..."

Looking outside the hall, Zhu Xianming recalled the questioning a few days ago and said slowly, "Ms. Xue from Prince Xiang's Mansion is the daughter-in-law of my Zhu family. It's fine if she wants to hide it from me..."

Looking back at Dai Quan, Zhu Xianming asked coldly, "Do you also want to be the daughter-in-law of my Zhu family?"

Dai Quan was so scared that his soul flew to the sky when he heard this. He knew that this time he was in real danger. The crime of deceiving the emperor was no joke.

"Your servant... Your servant is guilty and has failed in his duty. Your Majesty, please punish me severely!"

Looking at Dai Quan who was kowtowing like crazy, Zhu Xianming doubted his loyalty for the first time.

Dai Quan had followed him since he was in his private residence, and had served him diligently over the years. Although there were some things he did not do well, Zhu Xianming simply thought that he was incompetent.

Everyone says that the emperor is wise, but in fact the emperor is also a human being and cannot know everything, not to mention that Dai Quan is also in charge of the East Factory.

"Don't worry about the East Factory anymore, just supervise the Silijian's affairs!"

With just one sentence, Dai Quan's authority to supervise the Eastern Depot was deprived, which shocked the eunuchs serving in the palace.

Many of the senior eunuchs in the twenty-four offices of the inner court were eyeing Dai Quan's position.

The young eunuchs on duty in the palace knew that something interesting was about to happen.

"Your Majesty, your servant..."

Not intending to listen to Dai Quan's explanation, Zhu Xianming angrily asked, "Why... do you want to disobey my order?"

Dai Quan certainly didn't dare to disobey the order. At this moment he could only kowtow and then left the hall in a daze.

After losing his job as the governor of the Eastern Depot, he was no longer the chief clerk of the Imperial Household Department. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a commander without any troops.

The eunuchs have always hated the powerful and bullied the weak. Now that he has lost his power, many people will attack him behind his back.

So it will be difficult for Dai Quan next.

It’s all his fault that he got too involved with the Eastern Palace and plotted to take the position of the Chief of the Imperial Household Department... Dai Quan regretted it secretly.

When he was young, he was moving jars in the wine, vinegar and noodle bureau, and was rescued by the old Duke of Rongguo Mansion from being beaten to death by his companions. It is true that he wanted to repay his gratitude for this, but what supported him to join the Eastern Palace was basically to seek excessive benefits.

As a eunuch, there are not many things he can pursue in his life, either power or wealth.

He did not attach much importance to money. His biggest and final goal in life was to take the position of the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department.

But now, everything has become a dream!

Dai Quan's sudden loss of power was a heavy blow to Zhu Jingyuan.

It was because of the convenience provided by this person that he was able to place his own people in the palace, but now this convenience is gone.

Zhu Jingyuan was waiting for the right opportunity to take action. While waiting, he could continue to place people in the palace and continuously increase his strength.

Without Dai Quan, it would be difficult to recruit new personnel, which made Zhu Jingyuan feel much more anxious.

Under Zhu Xianming's strong pressure, the turmoil was finally handled in a low-key manner, and peace was soon restored in the court and the country.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed. The queen's illness recurred again and again, worrying the royal family and the court.

As time went by, the officials and nobles in the court became numb, and in the end no one talked about it anymore.

But everyone knew that the Queen's death was not far away.

Some days later, the news that Zhu Jinghong was leaving for Beijing spread, which caused a lot of discussion and rumors in the capital, and of course, there were also songs and the like.

"King Xiang swept across the world, looking so majestic..."

In Prince Xiang's mansion, Daiyu couldn't help but frown after listening to Deng An's report.

Opposite her, Yang Jingting said bitterly, "He really has evil intentions and is trying to bring up the old matter of the King of Qin!"

Throughout history, there have been two famous Qin kings. Li Bai wrote about Ying Zheng, but nowadays the folk songs in the capital are alluding to a certain "General Tiance".

Baochai didn't take the discussion of the two people in front of her to heart at all, because she had experienced this situation many times.

Looking out the window, Baochai said, "Today is March 18th. I'm afraid the prince... has already reached the border of Gansu and Shaanxi!"

After thinking for a while, Daiyu replied, "He left in late February, and it's been less than a month now. I'm afraid it can't be that fast!"

Standing up and walking towards a bookshelf, Baochai said, "He will try his best to come back!"

"My aunt is seriously ill. One day, she might ..."

Only Yang Jingting dared to say these words, after all, she was the queen's niece.

"Your Majesty is a filial son. If you don't want to regret your life, you must return day and night!"

Baochai and Daiyu certainly knew the above principles, so they didn't say much.

But they would never have imagined that their beloved husband had already arrived at the west gate of the capital.

It would be an exaggeration to say that he traveled day and night, but Zhu Jinghong was indeed working very hard on the road for nearly a month, spending most of his time on horseback.

There were originally more than 500 guards who returned with him, but after entering the pass, there were only more than 200 left, and the others were either sick or injured and stayed in the military camps along the way. After entering the pass, there were still many non-combat casualties, and now the number of guards who followed him from Yili is less than 100.

Of course, in order to ensure his absolute safety, the various military commanders along the way coordinated their forces to escort him all the way back to the capital.

At this moment, the area outside the west gate had been cleared by the guards, and Zhu Jinghong rode his horse into the city.

After one year in the northwest, he has indeed changed a lot. Now he is more mature and restrained, but also more majestic...

The above was Sun Shaozu’s first impression when he met Zhu Jinghong.

He was the commander of the West City Defense, and his subordinates were responsible for defending several city gates and walls on the west side of the capital.

"Your Highness, would you like to return to the palace first, or..."

"Enter the palace!" Zhu Jinghong said in a deep voice.

Sun Shaozu immediately said: "I will bring people to escort you into the palace!"

Because he was always on the road, Zhu Jinghong's channel for receiving information was cut off, so he didn't know about Sun Shaozu's situation.

After expressing his loyalty, Sun Shaozu personally selected several hundred soldiers and accompanied the guards to escort Zhu Jinghong to the palace.

Their action made a huge noise. Although there were people clearing the way in front, some people with sharp eyes recognized Zhu Jinghong, and then several nearby streets were instantly in an uproar.

Zhu Jinghong was a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty. He defeated the strongest enemy and was regarded as a living god of war in the eyes of the world.

So once the news spread, more people wanted to come up and admire the elegance of His Royal Highness Prince Xiang.

As a result, Zhu Jinghong's way forward became congested. After the Wucheng Bingmasi discovered the situation, they had to send more soldiers to maintain order.

It can be said that wherever Zhu Jinghong goes, that place will become the focus of the nearby streets, and cheers will be heard again and again.

Most people would be happy to see such a grand occasion, but Zhu Jinghong was not very happy.

He has always been very low-key. When reporting his achievements, he was very detailed and gave all the credit to others, without taking any credit himself.

But he did make contributions after all, so after receiving the report, the emperor rewarded him.

He was already a prince, and his title could not be promoted any further. It was not easy to give him the title of "General So-and-so", so the only thing he could do was to increase his salary.

Nowadays, Zhu Jinghong has the highest salary in the Ming Dynasty, tens of thousands of taels higher than the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace.

It can truly be said that the honor of a minister has reached its peak!
Because the journey was slow, the news had already reached Prince Xiang's Mansion before Zhu Jinghong arrived at the palace, and of course it also spread to other places.

"Are you back?" Baochai was surprised.

Ying'er replied, "That's right... We entered the city from Guangning Gate and have now passed Xuanwu Gate. I'm afraid it won't be long... before we reach the palace!"

"No...he will go to the palace first!"

After making this judgment, Baochai immediately ordered someone to change her clothes, and of course she also had to go to the palace as soon as possible.

Zhu Jinghong's early return to Beijing was indeed beyond everyone's expectations. After receiving the news, the Crown Prince and Prince Rui immediately set off for the palace.

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Xianming felt relieved when he heard the news.

Before this, he was really worried that the queen would not live long enough to see her son return to Beijing, and would leave this world with regrets.

This is his side as a father, but he is also an emperor.

When he learned that Zhu Jinghong had returned to Beijing and the streets were deserted, some of his worries resurfaced.

There was no way. This was the instinct of an emperor. Zhu Xianming was able to suppress his suspicion and allow Zhu Jinghong to grow to his current level. He was already being extremely tolerant towards his youngest son.

Thinking about his advanced age and the fact that the fourth and sixth brothers were unreliable, Zhu Xianming quickly calmed down.

Just as the Queen said, he can no longer afford to make trouble and cannot play with Zhu Jinghong any more.

Putting down the memorial and glancing at the pile of memorials on the table, Zhu Xianming slowly stood up and walked around the desk. He wanted to go and report the good news to the Queen first.

The queen has been bedridden, but she looks pretty good today and is listening to Zhu Yunsheng talking about trivial matters at home.

"Qingyin..."

The Queen did not allow anyone to disturb her, so the news of Zhu Jinghong's return had not yet reached Kunning Palace.

When they entered the bedroom, the queen had turned around and was looking at the emperor with a smile on his face.

After Zhu Yunsheng bowed, he took the initiative to step aside and gave his seat to his father.

"what happened?"

"There's good news!" Zhu Xianming said with a smile.

The Queen spoke in a weak voice, "What good news is it? It's worthy of you... to be so happy!"

"Old Thirteen has returned to Beijing!"

Hearing this, Yang Qingyin was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on her face. She tried to struggle to get up but fell down again.

"Qingyin..."

This scene frightened Zhu Xianming greatly. Zhu Yunsheng, who was standing by, stepped forward quickly and adjusted his mother's lying position while calming her down.

She has been taking care of the Queen for a long time and is very experienced.

The exclamations from inside attracted the female official on duty outside, and soon several imperial doctors on duty also arrived.

Fortunately, the queen woke up in time, which made everyone feel relieved.

After sending everyone away, the first thing Yang Qingyin said was to ask whether her youngest son had really returned.

After getting a positive answer, she was so excited that she burst into tears, which made Zhu Xianming sweat, fearing that the queen would faint again.

While chatting with the Queen and waiting for Zhu Jinghong to come to the palace to pay her respects, the fourth and sixth sons' families arrived first, making the Queen happy twice in vain.

Outside Dong'an Gate, Zhu Jinghong entered the imperial city as usual. Here he chose to take a sedan chair.

When he arrived outside Donghua Gate, he had to walk after entering the palace, so he got out of the sedan chair and stood on the ground again.

Outside the Donghua Gate, the soldiers on guard of the Imperial City Guard were all shocked when they saw Zhu Jinghong appear.

Then subconsciously, everyone bowed and paid homage, their eyes full of reverence.

At this time, Zhu Jinghong was wearing casual clothes and even looked embarrassed because of his hurried journey, but he still received excessive respect.

Entering the Donghua Gate, there is the jurisdiction of the Dragon Guard. When these guards saw that it was Zhu Jinghong who came, they were also surprised, and then they all knelt on one knee to salute him.

Normally, the guards on duty were responsible for their duties. Except for the two supreme officials, the emperor and the empress, who had to kneel down, other people, even the prince, did not need to kneel down.
Therefore, they paid great tribute to Zhu Jinghong out of pure respect.

Zhu Jinghong did not indulge in complacency. On the contrary, he tried his best to avoid it, so he quickened his pace and went deeper into the palace.

After entering the Donghua Gate, although there were guards standing guard inside, they were relatively dispersed, so there was no group effect.

When people behind him met him, they would just bow and greet him, so it wouldn't be so taboo.

Soon, Zhu Jinghong, exhausted from the journey, arrived outside Kunning Gate.

Seeing him coming, the eunuch guarding the door immediately turned around and ran quickly into the hall to deliver the message.

Zhu Jinghong did not hesitate, walked through the palace gate and entered the Kunning Palace, then rushed towards the main hall in a hurry.

(End of this chapter)