King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 742 Royal Feast
In the outer corridor of the palace, Zhu Jinghong sat on a chair, listening to Deng An's report beside him.

"So... the person is dead!"

Deng An leaned forward and replied, "That's right!"

"Have you seen the bodies?"

"This……"

After hesitating for a moment, Deng An reorganized his words and said, "Yao Chun's body was taken away by Zhang Wan'an, and Fan Rong fell into the river with serious injuries. I don't know where his body was washed away!"

"Falling into the river doesn't necessarily mean you'll die!"

Hearing Zhu Jinghong's words, Deng An quickly replied, "Then should I order them to search secretly?"

The "they" Deng An mentioned refers to the Jinyiwei and the Wucheng Bingmasi.

Straightening his sleeves, Zhu Jinghong stood up and said, "Forget it, there's no need to make a big fuss. It doesn't matter whether we live or die!"

"After entering the city, tell Sun Shaozu, Xu Guangfu, Lu Yuxin, and Zhang Lin that I will leave at noon today and arrive at the palace around 12 p.m. Let them take their own time and meet me along the way!"

"Yes!" Deng An replied.

Concerning the fact that there will be a big change tonight, very few people in Prince Xiang's Mansion are vaguely aware of it. Currently, only Zhu Jinghong and his wife, Deng An, Chen Yuntai and Ni Er know the whole situation.

This is a necessary measure to maintain confidentiality. Zhu Jinghong believes that the Rui Wang Mansion should be similar, but he thinks that what needs to be said will be explained today.

The so-called meeting him along the way means that there is no need to gather together, and we can meet at whatever position we are at, and the purpose is still to maintain confidentiality.

"Have the messengers for tonight been chosen?"

"According to the prince's instructions, the selection was completed half a month ago, and the princess has already sent the message to each palace!"

In other words, these selected people will go to various prefectures and camps tonight to convey his orders when necessary.

"Have you decided on the backup personnel?"

"They are all ready. I took the initiative to prepare one more person for each position!"

"Yeah!" Zhu Jinghong nodded.

Zhu Jinghong then asked: "How loyal are these people?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, we are all absolutely loyal!"

"Ok!"

"Let them come see me later!"

"Yes!"

After giving the instructions, Deng An went to work. After a while, people were summoned and Zhu Jinghong personally gave instructions to them.

These eunuchs and guards can be regarded as the most trusted people in Prince Xiang's Palace. If today's event is accomplished, they will all rise to high positions. The parties involved naturally know this.

Therefore, those who were selected just felt that they were extremely lucky. After all, such an opportunity was really rare.

But in fact, they don’t know that the final result of such opportunities is often to be silenced. After all, such things are not very glorious.

The morning time passed quickly. Since we were entering the palace at noon, we naturally had to eat lunch first.

This meal was completely different from the morning one, as the only people present were Baochai and Daiyu.

"Sister Lin, there may be a big change tonight, or a villain may commit a crime. Your Thirteenth Master and I are going to the palace. It's up to you to deal with the situation!"

"Wait a moment, I will hand over the seal to you, and all the eunuchs and guards in the palace will be at your disposal!"

Zhu Jinghong didn't say anything. Baochai explained the situation to him, and her expression was very serious.

After listening to the long explanation, Daiyu nodded solemnly at first, then after a moment of silence, she asked, "Tonight... Sister Bao, please don't..."

Baochai reached out her hand and held Daiyu tightly to comfort her, then said, "Don't worry, we have already made plans, nothing will happen!"

Daiyu did not smile, but asked: "How confident are you that you can keep safe?"

"Don't worry about this, it's at least 80% to 90%!"

When Baochai replied, Daiyu didn't look at him, but stared at Zhu Jinghong.

At this time, Zhu Jinghong raised his head and said slowly: "We may stay up late tonight, and come back tomorrow...it's better to eat something light!"

“Is it true?”

Baochai nodded and replied, "I think it's okay!"

Hearing Zhu Jinghong say this, Daiyu felt relieved and replied, "Would you like some wine?"

Zhu Jinghong looked at Baochai and asked, "Would you like to drink something?"

"Just drink it!" Baochai replied.

At this time, Daiyu asked again: "Will the important matter be settled tonight? Will we no longer have to worry about it?"

Baochai smiled and replied, "I think so!"

Daiyu said, "We should celebrate. Tomorrow morning I will send someone to the city to get the oldest wine in the cellar."

Hearing this, Baochai and Zhu Jinghong both laughed.

While they were talking happily, Yu Hai came into the hall to report.

"Your Highness, the brave lieutenant general Zhou Shoujun sent someone to report that he has prepared a patrol (one hundred men) to set off. They will leave for the imperial mausoleum in an hour to protect..."

Before Yu Hai could finish his words, Zhu Jinghong interrupted him and said, "We told Zhou Shoujun to come on time, but who told him to send someone here in advance?"

"Send someone to tell him to be punctual. Just ask him to be ready by then and come to reinforce the guards according to the situation. Who told him to send someone here?"

"Also send an order to Shen Jinxun and Luo Zhen, telling them not to be paranoid and just prepare for a rainy day!"

"Yes!" Yu Hai responded.

After Yu Hai left, Baochai couldn't help but say, "He is also very loyal!"

"If you don't suppress their loyalty, you will be crowned emperor!" Zhu Jinghong said unhappily.

He was telling the truth. Under the manipulation of the Crown Prince and Prince Rui, many people in the army wanted to achieve the feat of supporting the emperor.

The Crown Prince and Prince Rui both have the upper hand in the field of public opinion, but this can only be regarded as soft power, and it is always the gun that plays a decisive role.

It’s just that most of the time, it doesn’t matter to the army who is the emperor, so it seems insignificant on the surface.

After lunch and a simple tidying up, Zhu Jinghong and his companion said goodbye to everyone in the mansion.

Baochai gave a few more instructions, mainly to establish Daiyu's rights as the housekeeper. Zhu Jinghong left the house first, as he felt annoyed by the women's chattering.

After sitting alone in the carriage for a while, Zhu Jinghong thought about the matter again. At this time, Baochai also came over.

After getting on the carriage, Baochai said unhappily, "I say...why are you in such a hurry without even saying a few more words?"

"I've never seen you drag your feet like this before. It's not the last time we'll see each other, so why do you have to explain so much!"

"What could possibly happen if we live in the Imperial Mausoleum?"

Sitting next to Zhu Jinghong, Baochai said, "Okay, okay... You are right, I am ignorant, are you satisfied with this?"

"Yu Hai, hurry up and set off. If you wait any longer... someone will get angry!" Baochai shouted outside.

So the carriage started moving, and Zhu Jinghong and his entourage, escorted by a large number of guards and soldiers, headed towards the capital.

Half an hour later, they entered the city from the west. Sun Shaozu, the gatekeeper, came to greet them personally, and Zhu Jinghong gave him some instructions. Dozens of minutes later, Zhu Jinghong and his party entered Donghua Gate, and on the way, he gave Xu Guangfu some instructions.

When they arrived at Donghuamen, he was going to get off the bus.

He looked up at the tall city wall, on which was a stone plaque with the words "Donghuamen". Then, at Baochai's urging, Zhu Jinghong stepped into the palace gate.

The palace gate is about ten meters deep. Although it is broad daylight, it is still a little dark inside.

Walking slowly inside, Zhu Jinghong kept a calm mind. He even had the leisure time to play a certain Emperor BGM in his mind.

Soon, Zhu Jinghong passed through the palace gate, where Zhang Lin and Lu Yuxin were already waiting.

"See Thirteenth Master!"

After signaling the two to stand up, Zhu Jinghong ordered: "Something big may happen tonight. My life and death...I entrust it to you!"

Zhu Jinghong had already said similar words to Sun Shaozu and Xu Guangfu, and now he conveyed them to Zhang Lin and Lu Yuxin.

Zhu Jinghong did not explain too much, but directly made a request: "Just let the two of you know about this matter, and don't act rashly from now on. You must wait for my instructions at every step!"

After hearing these words, Zhang Lin and Lu Yuxin were of course shocked. They had never imagined that such a big thing would happen at tonight's banquet.

After a few breaths, the two digested the information, and then heard Lu Yuxin ask: "Your Highness, His Majesty... does... does he know about this matter?"

Asking such a question at this time put Zhu Jinghong in a dilemma. After all, the emperor didn't know whether he should tell him now. If he told him, the good show tonight would not be able to go on. If he didn't tell him, Zhu Jinghong would be considered unfilial.

That's why Lu Yuxin asked this question. Then he thought about it and felt extremely regretful.

At this time, Zhang Lin tried to smooth things over by saying, "Didn't the Thirteenth Master say that this matter is just speculation? Let us be more careful!"

"I have spoken out of turn. Please punish me, Your Highness!" Lu Yuxin bowed down directly.

No matter how good the relationship is on normal days, if it fails at the most important moment, it will be a big problem indeed.

So Lu Yuxin knew that this matter must be discussed today, otherwise it would become a big problem in the future.

Zhu Jinghong still trusted Lu Yuxin very much, and knew that it was an unintentional mistake, so he had no intention of blaming him.

Seeing him so frightened, the grudge in her heart completely disappeared, so she said, "Get up..."

"I left you two in the Dragon Guards specifically so that you would have someone to rely on in the Forbidden City. Be more careful in the future... I have entrusted my life to you two!"

"Yes!" Zhang Lu and the others replied.

As Zhu Jinghong's confidants, Hou Jing, Wang Jie, Zhou Shoujun and others led troops and made great contributions, but Zhang Lin and the other two were kept in the palace. To be honest, they had some resentment in their hearts.

But when they heard Zhu Jinghong say this today, all the resentment in their hearts disappeared.

Because only the most trusted people would be kept in the palace by Zhu Jinghong and only then would he be allowed to utter words that would entrust his life to them.

After exchanging a few brief words with Zhang and Lu, Zhu Jinghong went into the palace with Baochai. They had to go to the Qianqing Palace first.

At this moment, at the Qianqing Palace, the Crown Prince and his wife, and Prince Rui and his wife had all arrived, as well as other princes and their princesses, and even Prince Zhongshun Zhu Xiantan had come.

The Qianqing Palace was very lively. All the emperor's sons were staying in the hall at this moment, saying some auspicious words together.

Except for Zhu Jinghong and his three brothers, the emperor's other sons have very low presence, and this is exactly where they are smart.

At this time they were equally smart. While complimenting their father, they did not forget to praise the Crown Prince and Prince Rui as well, so there was a lot of laughter and joy in the hall.

Zhu Jinghong was scheduled to set off in the afternoon. It was inevitable that he would be late since he was outside the city, but everyone was used to it.

In addition to his sons, many of the emperor's grandchildren also came today, which took up too much of Zhu Xianming's attention, so he didn't care about Zhu Jinghong's late arrival.

It has been more than two months since the Queen passed away, and Zhu Xianming has been in a bad mood. Today's lively scene gave him some comfort, so he smiled rarely.

"Your Majesty, Prince Xiang is here!"

Zhu Xianming was sorting clothes with his granddaughter. Hearing this, he said slowly, "Come if he comes. Do you still want me to pick him up?"

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince and Prince Rui both breathed a sigh of relief. They were both worried that Zhu Jinghong would not come, after all, he was the protagonist tonight.

The next moment, Zhu Jinghong stepped into the hall and walked straight towards his father.

"Dad, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and most of the people in the capital are going to the city to celebrate. There is a traffic jam in the city...so I am late!"

Zhu Xianming didn't even look at him. He lowered his head and continued to tidy up his grandson's clothes. At the same time, he said, "Okay, it's too late. Why are you saying this? You have always been like this!"

"Even if I let you live in the Imperial City, I'm afraid you will still be dragged to the scene!"

Although this was just a joke, the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince felt uncomfortable after hearing it.

Among the adult princes living in the imperial city, the only one is the Crown Prince.

"My son is used to being lazy, so this..."

Zhu Xianming looked up and asked, "Do you have anything else to do?"

"No...no more!"

"Then get out of here!"

"Yes!"

After Zhu Jinghong retreated, he first greeted the prince and the sixth brother, and then retreated to a corner.

"Thirteenth brother, I've been waiting for you. I just calculated that you are half an hour late today, which is longer than usual!" Qingyang King Zhu Jingchun stepped forward to answer.

Jinghai Prince Zhu Jinghao replied, "We thought you weren't coming!"

"Because of the death of our mother, I have done nothing for the past two months. I can finally have some fun tonight. Thirteenth brother has returned triumphantly... We haven't even congratulated you yet!"

While Zhu Jinghong was chatting with his two younger brothers, Baochai had already entered the Yiku Palace, which was the bedroom of Concubine Jia.

As the name suggests, Yikun Palace is for assisting the Queen. Now that Concubine Jia is acting as the Six Palaces, she can be said to have the real title of "Yikun".

All the concubines in the harem, the princesses of the princes and dukes, and even the Crown Princess Yuanchun are now in the Yikun Palace.

When Baochai arrived here, she saw that the place was very lively and she couldn't help feeling touched.

As the saying goes, when a person leaves, the tea gets cold. Although the empress was respected, it has only been two months since she left, but now Kunning Palace has become deserted.

There were many emperor concubines in the Yikun Palace, and all of them were considered Baochai's elders, so he bowed to them one by one after entering the hall.

But these concubines knew their limits. Those of lower rank basically stepped aside and refused to accept the greetings, while those of higher rank also hurriedly returned the greetings. Only a few imperial concubines and Imperial Concubine Jia accepted them calmly.

After some polite exchanges, Baochai finally integrated into the group and started chatting with everyone in a tactful manner.

Of course, there were not many people who could talk to her, only Yuanchun, Chen Zhi and Concubine Jia. Most of the others just listened or agreed from time to time.

After chatting for more than an hour, it was 17: and everyone set off for the Qianqing Palace.

The banquet started at 19:, and people went from the harem to the Qianqing Palace, and then from the Qianqing Palace to the Western Garden. Once everyone was seated, the banquet would begin.

The two hours in between are not very relaxed.

Half an hour later, everyone rushed to Xiyuan. Zhu Jinghong asked in the convoy: "Why... didn't I see the third sister?"

Baochai replied: "In Kunning Palace, she said she would come later!"

"Ok!"

Soon, everyone arrived at the West Garden and got off the car to accompany the emperor towards the Guanghan Palace.

The royal feast is ready.

(End of this chapter)