King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 762: Walking Within
In fact, the petition that Baochai mentioned was something that Korea had been trying to do since the 15th year of Zhengtong, but it was always ignored.

After that, he sent envoys more than a dozen times, but the best result was that he only met a deputy minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and nothing useful was achieved.

At this moment, Baochai's words had already meant a polite refusal. Logically, Cui Xiuqing should have stopped talking. If she continued talking, it would have become embarrassing and she would have been the one who would have been embarrassed.

But the problem now is that if food and fodder cannot be reduced this year, North Korea may collapse.

In fact, the rebellion that broke out last year was the result of excessive taxation.

"Your Majesty, taxes in Korea have been increased until the 28th year of Zhengtong, but the people are already extremely poor!"

That is to say, after North Korea has received taxes for ten years, this is indeed an outrageous thing.

"Don't be afraid of your majesty laughing at me. Even the Korean royal family has cut down on expenses many times. My daily expenses are only two taels of silver now!"

"Even the jewelry I wore on this trip was borrowed from various places in the palace. The royal family is still in such a difficult situation. It can be seen that..."

Before Cui Xiuqing finished speaking, Baochai spoke up, "Well, Korea is a vassal of the Ming Dynasty. I have also heard about what you said!"

"Who doesn't have a hard time in this world now? The northwest has just been settled and heavy troops are stationed there. There are constant conflicts in the southwest and the court needs to mobilize troops. The land reclamation has caused constant unrest. The Western barbarians are eyeing us at sea, so we have to expand our navy!"

Seeing Baochai say this, Cui Xiuqing continued to speak under pressure: "These court ladies also know, but if the additional taxation causes unrest, it will cost the court more money and grain. Please think twice, Your Majesty!"

"If there is unrest in North Korea again..."

Seeing Cui Xiuqing so unsure of what to do, Baochai's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness: "My Great Ming has 23 provincial governments, 27 vassal states, 43 Mongolian tribes that have submitted to the Khanate, and 81 local chieftains. Each place has its own difficulties!"

Having said this, Baochai put down the teacup in her hand, but she used a little too much force, and the bottom of the cup hit the coffee table with a crisp sound.

Seeing this, Cui Xiuqing knelt down hurriedly, but did not dare to say another word.

"Isn't it absurd to use the small account of a vassal state to settle the big account of the imperial court?"

Baochai's voice was still calm, but it sounded like thunder to Cui Xiuqing's ears, scaring the latter so much that he trembled and breathed in shortness of breath.

This is the consequence of too great a status gap and too much majesty.

But after all, she has an old relationship with Cui Xiuqing, so Baochai doesn't want to make things too embarrassing. She also doesn't want to be like Zhu Jinghong, with only half of her humanity left in the end.

So she slowed down her tone and said, "The court has a rule that the harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. You are just wasting your energy talking to me!"

Things have come to this point, and Cui Xiuqing knows that she has to quit while she is ahead, otherwise they will never meet again in the future.

"I was overly worried and spoke inappropriately... I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!" Cui Xiuqing took the initiative to apologize.

"Forget it. You have your own difficulties, and the court has its own difficulties. Today's words are presumptuous, so just you and I know it!"

"Yes... Thank you for your forgiveness, my lady!"

"Get up, get up...don't kneel down all the time. Why should we be like this?" Baochai said with a smile.

But after hearing these words, Cui Xiuqing felt a chill all over his body, and looking at Baochai made him even more frightened.

So much so that at this moment, she actually had the idea of ​​escaping from this place.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Cui Xiuqing kowtowed again.

"By the way, have you been living happily in North Korea these years?"

Isn’t it obvious whether things are going well or not... Cui Xiuqing complained secretly.

With this false courtesy, the two chatted for about ten minutes, and then Cui Xiuqing's audience ended.

It took a total of three months to cross a vast area of ​​rivers and mountains, and it took less than thirty minutes to see Baochai. When Cui Xiuqing left, she felt sad just thinking about it.

The most crucial problem is that her trip this time was fruitless and she did not achieve the expected goal at all.

But what could she do? As a subject, she had no ability to resist, and she didn't even dare to argue, so she could only swallow her anger.

Because she knew very well that North Korea would not be able to survive without them, and the uncles and brothers in the royal family were all eyeing their positions.

During last year's rebellion, there were voices saying that it was Li Hui's misconduct that led to the disaster caused by God. Some even created a "Book of All People" to petition the court to hold Li Hui accountable.

Fortunately, this matter was suppressed and did not cause any bigger disturbance.

Cui Xiuqing came out of Tongxin Hall and happened to meet Ye He Mingen's wife Hai Lan.

Only then did Cui Xiuqing realize that she had joined Hailan's team and was able to meet Baochai earlier.

She had only met Hai Lan twice, but she was deeply impressed by this person because both meetings were unpleasant, or even very unpleasant.

Fortunately, the two of them did not speak the same language, so they did not talk at this moment. They only communicated with each other's eyes, and each of them had a hint of coldness.

After the two of them met, Cui Xiuqing went out of the palace, while Hai Lan went into the palace.

Mrs. Hailan is nearly forty years old. Having lived in a cold and harsh place for many years, she looks ten years older than her actual age.

This time she came to Daming with exactly the same goal as Cui Xiuqing, and this guy was also crying poor and pitiful.

Hai Lan talked about how the Jurchens had shed sweat and blood for the Ming Dynasty, and how their lives were now extremely difficult, with the families of the conscripted soldiers barely able to make ends meet.

After saying all this, he finally came to the point that he hoped the court would reduce the number of male conscriptions, cut the number of tribute war horses and oxen, and at the same time, he hoped that the court would allocate more relief grain.

Like Cui Xiuqing, Hai Lan also spoke with tears in her eyes, as if the court did not lend a helping hand, the Yehe tribe would be on the verge of collapse.

However, Hai Lan did not achieve her goal in the end. After Baochai's repeated warnings, she had no choice but to leave with regret.

But the Yehe tribe cried miserably because they actually wanted more benefits. In the past few years, they followed the Ming Dynasty in its wars and actually got a lot of benefits.

Especially in North Korea, they were fleeced by this group of people and they are also responsible for the rebellion.

Besides, when Cui Xiuqing left the "Prince's Chamber", he did not call for everyone to leave. Instead, he arranged for the eunuchs on duty outside and invited Li Huizhen's maid to come out.

Of course, there has to be a reasonable reason to invite people out. The reason Cui Xiuqing gave was that he brought gifts from Li Huizhen and others' hometown.

There were several large boxes of stuff. Li Huizhen arranged for people to move them, and Cui Xiuqing sent a trusted female official to accompany and deliver them.

Looking at the things in the box, Li Huizhen smiled and said, "Thank the princess for me!"

The female official smiled and replied, "You are too polite, my queen. Our princess said that in order to repay the imperial court's great favor, we sent you and your family to the Ming Dynasty, thousands of miles away from your parents and brothers. Korea is grateful for your efforts!"

Li Huizhen nodded, and then said: "It is our honor to serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Your Highness is now on a meteoric rise, and the princess also said that you are very lucky and will definitely bring blessings to your hometown in the future!"

It’s true that Li Huizhen really enjoyed the compliments from the Korean princess. After all, she was someone she looked up to in the past.

"Princess, you are too kind. I only have a title now, but I can't say I have risen to the top!"

"Your Majesty is too modest. The Crown Prince will be the future Emperor. You have been chosen by the Emperor to serve him, but this cannot be considered a meteoric rise!"

Li Huizhen smiled and felt extremely relieved.

"By the way, how are my father and brothers?"

Just when she was worried about not being able to find a point to insert, the female official had an idea after hearing this. She then stammered, "This... is... still... okay!"

"What do you mean by acceptable?" Li Huizhen frowned.

Her family was a Korean noble family, they lived a wealthy and prominent life, so it was impossible for them to live too poorly. "Your Majesty, I don't know, in the past two years..."

After speaking out all the prepared remarks, the female official sighed a few minutes later: "Nowadays... not only the queen's family, but even the royal family is in great trouble!"

"The imperial court has increased taxes to such an extent!" Li Huizhen was extremely shocked.

But in fact, the female official deceived her. The life of the Korean nobles was indeed not easy, but Li Huizhen's family was treated well, and their life was almost the same as before or even better.

However, the female official's words "family members only report good news, not bad news" overturned what Li Huizhen's family had said in the previous letter.

"Your Majesty, the princess... has an unwelcome request. I hope Your Majesty can help her a little!"

"What's the matter?"

Then, the female official begged Li Huizhen to help persuade her in the name of the royal family and the Li family, and promised that the royal family would reward her handsomely after the matter was accomplished.

Of course, during the narration, the female official praised Li Huizhen a lot and gave her some "love potion".

After being praised by others, Li Huizhen actually agreed to do this. After all, it was just a few suggestions.

On this side, Li Huizhen met her "fellow villager", and on the other side, Baochai met two more people. She felt tired and let the others go.

In other words, I didn't get to meet those ladies and waited for several hours in vain.

After taking a look at the sky, Baochai asked, "Has Your Highness returned home yet?"

"Not back yet!" Ying'er replied.

Zhu Jinghong went out yesterday. He should have returned home this afternoon, but there is still no news.

After a whole day of scheming with others, Baochai was indeed very tired, but she was not resting yet. Instead, she was sorting out what had happened in the past two days. She would have to report to Zhu Jinghong when he returned home.

It is true that she is the Crown Princess and has a noble status, and it is also true that she can make many decisions on her own, but for some relatively important decisions, she still has to ask Zhu Jinghong for his opinion.

After all, the power of the Crown Princess is also dependent on Crown Prince Zhu Jinghong.

Coming to the other end of the room and sitting behind the desk, Baochai picked up a pen and wrote down the key words, which helped her organize her thoughts.

While she was thinking, another half hour passed in the blink of an eye. Finally, a maid came to report that the prince had returned home.

Baochai then set off and headed for Yin'an Palace in front. However, as soon as she walked out of the gate of Tongxin Palace, she received news that Zhu Jinghong had gone to Hanxiang Courtyard.

There is only one person living in Hanxiangyuan now, and that is the concubine Lin Daiyu.

"Wait until he returns to the bedroom and report to me!"

After saying this, Baochai turned around and went back into the hall, then went into the study to think again.

When she was thinking, she usually dismissed the maids and left only Ying'er to serve her.

"Your Majesty, there are some things...I don't know whether I should say them or not!" Ying'er hesitated.

When Baochai was thinking, she did not allow others to disturb her. Ying'er had served her for many years and of course knew these rules.

When she spoke at this time, Baochai knew that what she wanted to say was unusual.

"What's the matter?"

"There have been some rumors recently!"

This aroused Baochai's interest, and she immediately asked, "What rumor?"

"After Madam Lin gave birth to a child, Your Highness visited her court frequently and doted on her... There are rumors that the Fifth Master was born on the day Your Highness was enthroned, which was a good omen for Your Highness to transform into a dragon and soar into the sky!"

The Little Fifth Master whom Ying'er calls is the son born to Daiyu. His name is Zhu Muqi and he is the fifth son of Zhu Jinghong.

"So His Highness loves Little Fifth Master even more than Little First Master and Little Fourth Master!"

The eldest master was Zhu Muzhen, who was over five years old, and the fourth master was Zhu Muzhen, who was only half a year old. Both were sons of Baochai.

Hearing these words, Baochai was somewhat touched, but these thoughts disappeared in an instant.

There is nothing to worry about in the world, only mediocre people make trouble for themselves. In her opinion, the gossip of people below is the main cause of the problem.

So she ordered, "Spread the word. If anyone dares to make irresponsible remarks, they will be killed immediately after being discovered!"

"Yes!"

Ying'er responded, then gritted her teeth and said bravely: "My lady, there is no smoke without fire. I think..."

Before Ying'er could finish her words, Baochai had already turned her head away. Her cold gaze made her feel uneasy, so she held back the rest of her words.

Then Baochai turned her head as if nothing had happened.

About half an hour later, Baochai learned that Zhu Jinghong had returned to Yin'an Hall, so she got up and went to Yin'an Hall.

When she entered the hall, she was led by Park Jin-young to the room in the northwest corner of Yin'an Hall, where Zhu Jinghong was lying on the couch.

Walking to the couch, Baochai sat down on her own, then waved away Park Jin-young and the others.

"Your Highness, you are finally back!"

When Baochai entered the room, Zhu Jinghong opened his eyes, but his body did not move.

"I'm so tired these two days!" Zhu Jinghong replied.

Baochai laughed and said, "You have a body made of iron, yet you can actually say you're tired!"

"All kinds of rituals are complicated and tedious. I am exhausted!"

At this point, Zhu Jinghong sighed, "Since I took the throne of the crown prince, I feel much more tired than before. Various reports and memorials are like rivers and streams, and the political and military affairs of various places are carefully selected. My head is about to explode when I read all these!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, it seems you regret sitting on this position!" Baochai had a look of pity.

"Somewhat. Now that I'm the crown prince, my worries have increased. Tell me, am I asking for trouble?"

"That's true. If it were you, I'd say... Your Highness should just cut off all the troubles on your head!"

Seeing Zhu Jinghong's puzzled expression, Baochai continued, "If you become a monk and chant Buddhist scriptures every day, your ears will be clean and you won't be bothered anymore!"

"This... let's just forget it!" Zhu Jinghong laughed.

Baochai said seriously: "This can be considered as living the life of our ancestors again. Do you still despise it?"

"Baochai, you tease Grandpa like this, aren't you afraid that he will come to you in your dreams?"

Opening Zhu Jinghong's outstretched hand, Baochai said with a smile: "If the great grandfather saw this, his descendants would be afraid of heavy punishments and would probably punish you, the prince, first. Then I would have to plead for you!"

Zhu Jinghong took Baochai into his arms, pulled her face in front of him, and then stared at her and said, "It seems that today... I have to teach you what the rules are!"

Although they were an old couple, they were only twenty-three or twenty-four years old. They were young and energetic and at the moment they were so close to each other, and Baochai had a pretty face and affectionate eyes, so the atmosphere on the couch suddenly heated up.

"Your Highness, how do you plan to teach me the rules?"

"Naturally..."

(End of this chapter)