Ming Dynasty: At the beginning, the house was ransacked and the ancestral temple was burned down.

Chapter 156 The Shangyuan Festival was kidnapped! Zhang Chonghui is possessed by a living Bodhisattva!

After listening to His Majesty the Emperor's instructions, Chen Ju was also shocked. He did not expect that His Majesty the Emperor would actually...

To think that he would come up with such a "dirty" method...

"Your Majesty, on such a grand festival as the Lantern Festival, do you really not plan to watch the sky lanterns in the palace?" Chen Ju still asked.

"Look at the sky lanterns, they are the same every year." Zhu Yijun waved his hand in disgust and said angrily:
"The war has just ended, and the previous government is clamoring that the treasury has no money. At this time, it is better to avoid causing trouble."

Now, Chen Ju finally understood why His Majesty the Emperor did not want to hold the Lantern Festival in the palace this year.

Co-author: It’s not that His Majesty the Emperor doesn’t want to hold a lantern festival, but he is afraid of extravagance and waste of money, and he is even more afraid that the ministers in the DPRK will use this matter to talk too much about it and impeach him...

Facts have proved that Chen Ju's guess was right.

Zhu Yijun is also in a dilemma. The Ming Dynasty has been fighting "two" big battles in succession, and has directly wiped out more than half of the national treasury!
Not to mention the clamor of the ministers of the previous dynasty, the emperor Zhu Yijun really cared about money.

And in the long run, except for the natural disasters that are 'inevitable' every year and require the court to issue disaster relief funds.

"It looks so painful... But he deserves it. He sold his daughter for gambling. Husband, let's leave quickly. I don't want to see dead people."

"My benefactor! Save me! As long as you save me! I will never gamble again! I can still work as a horse for you!"

"Husband, what's wrong with you?" Zhao Lanying stretched out her slender white hand and waved it in front of Zhang Chonghui, her watery eyes full of curiosity.

After all, His Majesty the Emperor, who is above the throne, actually has to say hello to the Ministry of War in advance when sending troops.

If only I could still live! He, Lao Wei, promised to change his ways! Never gamble again!

Li Jinzhong could tell that this man was gorgeously dressed and had a beautiful young lady with him. He must be a rich young man!
Although the money he owes may be a bit too much... and he doesn't seem to have anything worthy of the other party's attention...

"I have no money! You won't have any money even if you beat me to death!"

Through his swollen eyelids with only a line left, Li Jinzhong saw that the speaker was a tall and handsome young man, and there was a pretty and pretty young lady standing next to him.

If he had known earlier, he would not have sold his daughter. If he had not sold his daughter, his wife would not have run away. If his wife had not run away, someone would have collected his body...

"Then Your Majesty." Chen Ju asked again: "What do the harem and the royal family say? Especially the Queen Mother, she likes to watch the lantern festival the most. I heard that she has been looking forward to this event since the end of last year. It’s the Lantern Festival.”

At the same time, Zhang Chonghui, who was shopping with his young lady, stopped in front of a gambling house.

"That's right." Although he was a little impatient, Zhu Yijun finally added specifically: "Send more people to protect the Queen Mother, and we must not make any mistakes!"

"No money? Then we have no choice but to beat you to death! I heard that you sold your daughter and your wife ran away for gambling! It seems that no one will collect your body after you die!"

"How much does he owe you?"

The overwhelming punches and kicks, accompanied by severe pain, hit his body, and Li Jinzhong felt that he was about to be beaten to death.

Before the thugs could tell how much money they owed, Li Jinzhong hurriedly seized this only chance, quickly climbed forward and hugged the man's thigh tightly!

As the emperor, Zhu Yijun and many other princes and princesses will hold 'grand' wedding banquets in the future!
Royal marriage is extremely expensive, and Zhu Yijun has already decided that in the future, all the money for the marriage of his precious son Zhu Changxun and other royal children will have to be allocated from the treasury!
How can this be called "treating the national treasury as private property"? This Ming Dynasty belongs to his Lao Zhu family! In Zhu Yijun's opinion, this is his money!

Oh, it would be great if I could still live...

The thug from the gambling house spat on him and cursed: "What a bastard! I owe so much money and haven't paid it back! I still want to get some! It's your mother's dream! Pay it back quickly!"

"I just suddenly wanted to do something good."

but! Li Jinzhong thinks that as long as he pesters the other party! Maybe the other party will really repay the money for him! Save his life!
"Fifty taels! We don't accept treasure money! We only accept tickets and cash!" The gangsters in the gambling house replied directly. They only had money in their eyes. As for the purpose of the young man in front of them, they didn't bother to ask.

A clear male voice sounded above the sound of fists and kicks. As the sound fell, the beating paused.

Seeing this "passionate beating" scene, Zhao Lanying was so frightened that she shrank into Zhang Chonghui's arms and whispered:

……

Li Jinzhong felt desperate when he thought that after his death he would be exposed in the wilderness without anyone to collect his body.

Chen Ju felt a little sad after hearing this order.

Zhao Lanying just wanted to leave this place of right and wrong quickly. If she saw a person being beaten to death, she would have nightmares.

Just when Chen Ju agreed and was about to send someone to spread the news, he heard His Majesty the Emperor say:
"Forget it, say hello to the Ministry of War and send the imperial army directly to protect the Queen Mother to avoid trouble."

However, even after being beaten like this, the man still shouted without giving up:

A young man in his twenties was lying on the ground with his head in his hands, being violently beaten by a group of gambling men.

……

"Ah! Stop! You can't beat me to death! Ah! It hurts!"

"Please believe me! Let me give you one more hand! Just one! I can definitely win it back!"

"Tsk..." Zhu Yijun was already upset. When he heard that he had to deal with his mother, he simply waved his hand and said:

There is no other way. After the 'Battle of Tumu Fort', most of the 'Twenty-six Guards of the Pro-Army' who were the imperial guards of the Ming Dynasty have been changed to the management of the Ministry of War.

"My benefactor! Save me!"

"If the Queen Mother wants to see the lantern festival, let her go out of the palace to watch it. Anyway, the lantern festival outside the palace is more lively and colorful than the one inside the palace."

'They' are no longer the Imperial Guards that the Ming emperors can 'personally' command.

"Stop fighting, stop fighting! Please, stop fighting!"

"It's nothing." Zhang Chonghui gently grabbed his wife's shaky little hand, and while carefully rubbing the tender palm, he said with a deep smile:

However, Zhao Lanying found that her young husband didn't seem to want to leave very much. He just stared at the beaten man, as if he was planning something.

"You fart! It's obviously thirty-six taels! Why is it only fifty taels!" Li Jinzhong hurriedly came out and shouted.

The gangster from the gambling house smiled: "Don't you know what compound interest is?"

At this time, Li Jinzhong also understood that he wanted to take this opportunity to blackmail this black-hearted gambling house, this young man who looked very rich!

"My benefactor! Save the villain! Please! I'm willing to do my best for you! I will repay you like a bull in this life and the next!"

Li Jinzhong hugged the young master's thigh tightly, for fear that if he loosened it a little, this 'taken advantage of' would escape!
"But, fifty taels, this is not a small amount of money."

The handsome young man in front of him seemed to be hesitant.

At this time, Li Jinzhong was even more panicked. He was busy saying all kinds of 'good things', including "I accept you as my godfather"!
Facts have proved that sometimes being shameless is useful. Li Jinzhong found that Young Master seems to be a very easy to be 'soft-hearted' person. He just said some shameless and obedient words, but the other party actually generously paid him back the money!

And... I still borrowed money to pay him back...

"I don't have so much money with me, so let's ask your shopkeeper to send someone to go back with my servant to get it."

After Zhang Chonghui finished speaking to the gangsters in the gambling house, he casually summoned a servant of the Zhao family who was following behind him and said:
"Take him to Shen Shangshu's house and tell him to count the money I borrowed from him."

The servant was embarrassed: "What if Shen Shangshu doesn't borrow it?"

"He doesn't dare." Zhang Chonghui only said three words.

……

The servants of the Zhao family took people from the gambling shop to Shen Yiguan's house to 'borrow money'. Li Jinzhong finally didn't have to be beaten and was busy kowtowing to his savior Zhang Chonghui!
"Okay, okay, stop knocking, does it hurt?" Zhang Chonghui asked very 'gently'.

Li Jinzhong didn't expect that this young master would be so gentle. Not only did he not look down on his humble status as a gambler, but he even cared about whether he felt any pain!
If he hadn't been aware of his good looks, Li Jinzhong would have even suspected that this young master had taken a liking to him...

"Godfather! From now on, you will be my godfather! If you ask your son to go east, he will never go west! Your son will repay you like a cow or a horse!"

Li Jinzhong just called "Dad" and acted like a bull.

After all, that’s fifty taels! How could his miserable life be worth so much money!
Just when Li Jinzhong was thinking that he had been bought by the 'godfather' in front of him, and that he would be his 'godfather' from now on, the godfather actually wanted to let him go!
Let him go...

"Don't call me godfather, and I don't want you to be like a cow or a horse." Zhang Chonghui looked like he was possessed by the Holy Mother and took out five taels of broken silver and handed it to Li Jinzhong's hand, and said softly:
"These are enough for you to eat and drink for a long time. You should find a decent businessman and live a good life in the future. Don't gamble anymore."

Li Jinzhong was stunned. He couldn't believe the scene in front of him. He even doubted whether he had been beaten to death. This was when he saw the Bodhisattva after death!

After spending fifty-five taels in vain, you actually let him go free?

What else can this godfather be if he is not a 'living Bodhisattva'? !

"Godfather! Don't do it!" Li Jinzhong hugged Zhang Chonghui's thigh tightly again and cried loudly: "I will follow you from now on! Don't let me go!"

joke! Who wouldn’t love such a gentle living Bodhisattva godfather? Follow this kind of person! I won’t have to worry about food and drink in the future!
The important thing is that Li Jinzhong heard clearly just now that this young godfather not only knew the minister of the dynasty, but also threatened that the minister "didn't dare" not to lend him money!
Li Jinzhong has decided that he must rely on this 'godfather'!

However, in the end, Li Jinzhong still failed to become godfather Zhang Chonghui...

Because Li Jinzhong's "godmother" seemed to dislike his godson, a gambler, and his godfather seemed to be a very henpecked person. He was teased by his young wife for a long time, but he didn't even dare to reply.

At this moment, Li Jinzhong had no choice but to hold on to the five taels of silver tightly. Amid his godmother's scolding, he turned around and looked at his kind and henpecked godfather.

...Looking at Li Jinzhong’s disappearing back, Zhao Lanying lowered her hands on her hips and asked hurriedly: “Husband, how are you? Is the shrew I just played enough?”

"Well, that's enough." Zhang Chonghui nodded in approval.

Zhao Lanying was very happy, although she didn't know what to be happy about. She asked again: "Why did you save this gambler? Do you really feel sorry for him?"

"Haha." Zhang Chonghui laughed twice: "What is there to pity a gambler? Believe it or not, he will take the five taels of silver and continue gambling."

"Then why do you still want to save him?" Zhao Lanying asked puzzledly.

Zhang Chonghui did not answer, but asked: "What do you think will happen after saving such a person?"

Although Zhao Lanying's reaction was a little slow, she was not stupid. She replied directly: "If you save such a shameless gambler, of course you will be relied upon by him!"

Zhang Chonghui raised his hand and scraped his wife's nose, and said with a smile: "Yes, it seems that my wife has become smarter."

Zhao Lanying was a little unconvinced, puffed her mouth and hummed: "Humph, I am very smart to begin with!"

"Yeah, yes, I'm very smart to begin with." Zhang Chonghui followed his wife's words and said, "You're not as stupid as me. I'm so stupid that I will be relied on by a gambler in the future."

Zhao Lanying, this silly girl, really thought that she had been praised, and she was very happy in her heart, but soon she said in a fierce and aggressive manner: "It's all your fault for being stupid, now it's better, you were taken advantage of by a gambler. What can we do next?”

Seeing his little wife's cute little tiger look, Zhang Chonghui couldn't help but pinch his wife's tender little face.

I was taken in by a gambler, what should I do next?
It’s not certain who relies on whom!

……

It's night.

Zhang Chonghui clearly felt that the number of people following and monitoring him suddenly increased.

If there were only one or two people following and monitoring him before, now there are at least ten or more!
Obviously when I was shopping outside in the afternoon, there weren't that many people following and monitoring me. I don't know why. But once night fell, there were suddenly more people.

Zhang Chonghui always felt that something was wrong. If nothing else happened, Emperor Wanli would definitely want to do something to him!
"Husband, tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. I heard that this year's Aoshan lanterns are much larger than those in previous years."

"That's good."

"Tomorrow night, let's take dad and go see it together?"

"it is good."

"It's getting late, it's time to rest."

"Oh."

"Disgusting~"

"..."

……

Wanli twenty-two years, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

On Yuan Dynasty night, the lanterns were turned on, and the whole Shuntian Mansion was brightly lit.

On both sides of the street, colorful lanterns were hung high, reflecting the bustling crowds. Children held interesting lanterns, laughing and playing, and the laughter echoed in the bright Shangyuan night.

In the bustling market, various food stalls were set up and a variety of juggling performances were performed. The people of the Ming Dynasty were immersed in this joyful atmosphere, and they felt like they were having a last carnival.

In fact, since the tenth day of the first lunar month, the Ming Dynasty has not set a curfew. But in the eyes of the people, only the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the real beginning of the Lantern Festival Lantern Festival!
"Get out of the way! The officers and soldiers are coming!"

Suddenly, the already crowded crowd retreated to both sides of the street as if they were 'pushed' by something!
Not far away, I saw a large group of guards wearing armor and holding guns, guarding several magnificent palanquins like they were surrounded by iron barrels!

It must be said that the people of the capital have seen some of the world after all, so they were not panicked when they saw this situation, and they still stuck their heads to watch the excitement.

Everyone was wondering, with such a big battle, could it be that the emperor left the palace?

"What's going on? The saint left the palace? Come to celebrate the festival with us?"

"It seems like the last time the emperor left the palace was ten years ago, right? That year when the emperor and all the civil and military officials walked to the Temple of Heaven to pray for rain! I even saw the emperor's dragon face with my own eyes!"

"Ah, I saw it ten years ago! It's just that I was only six years old at that time, and I had already forgotten what the emperor looked like. What a pity!"

"By the way, shouldn't it be more lively in the palace? Why is the emperor out to celebrate the festival?"

"You know nothing! This is called having fun with the people!"

"I said, can you fucking stop spreading rumors! Where is the emperor here! This is the empress dowager! And the prince! The concubine!"

"How do you know? You're the one who spread the rumors, right?"

"There's someone above me!"

"Ok."

"..."

As soon as the sound of "The Empress Dowager left the palace to celebrate the festival" came out, the chatter in the crowd became more and more loud.

It is no exaggeration to say that the discussion was so loud that Queen Mother Li in the sedan chair could hear it...

Empress Dowager Li now only feels a headache. She originally just wanted to calm down and come out to join in the fun and watch the Aoshan lanterns. Unexpectedly, her emperor's son was so 'filial' that she directly asked the Ministry of War to send the Imperial Guard to escort him.

Such a big fight was so eye-catching that Queen Mother Li really didn't know whether to laugh or 'just' laugh...

I have a headache...

When she was bored, Queen Mother Li raised the curtains of Luan Jia, wanting to take a look at the scenery outside.

I don't know if it was fate, but Empress Dowager Li almost saw the tall and familiar figure in the crowd at the first sight.

Looking at this 'familiar' handsome figure, Queen Mother Li was just surprised, but...

The next moment she saw...

……

the other side.

Zhang Chonghui in the crowd was asking his father-in-law Zhao Shizhen: "My father-in-law, is it really the Queen Mother who has left the palace? Are you sure she is not the Emperor?"

At this time, Zhao Shizhen was staring at his daughter Zhao Lanying almost like an old hen protecting her cubs. He was not in the mood to see the Emperor or the Queen Mother, so he only replied hastily:

"I only heard that due to the continuous wars, the treasury has been drained a lot. In order to set an example, the emperor has ordered the cancellation of this year's Lantern Festival in the palace.

As for who came out of the palace, I don't know. I'm sure both the emperor and the queen mother came out. "

"That's it."

Zhang Chonghui was thinking about something and raised his eyes to look at the sedan chair. He always had a very good look in his eyes, and he happened to meet the precise and surprised look of Empress Dowager Li.

At the same time, Zhang Chonghui also noticed that several 'passers-by' were approaching him!

"How about we go back quickly?" Zhao Shizhen made this suggestion again.

Ever since he left home, Zhao Shizhen has been talking about going back quickly. After all, the security of the capital has been very chaotic in the past few years, especially on this Yuan Ye night when there are so many people.

Therefore, since he left home, Zhao Shizhen has been keeping an eye on his daughter like an old hen guarding its chicks, fearing that his precious daughter would be abducted by traffickers.

"Dad, the Da'ao Mountain lantern is coming soon, just wait a little longer!"

As soon as Zhao Lanying finished speaking, she saw Dayao Mountain not far away, which she had been thinking about day and night!
With the emergence of Aoshan lanterns! Everyone was excited and excited! In the roar of firecrackers and fireworks! From time to time, someone in the crowd made sharp explosions!
Anyway, it’s very noisy! Very noisy!

Zhao Lanying was also jumping up and down with excitement, and shouted excitedly to the side: "Wow! It's coming, it's coming! Look! Husband, look! That's... eh?"

Zhao Lanying was dumbfounded...

"Where is my husband?"

"Dad! Where is my husband?"

"Ah? What did you say? Louder!" Because the crowd was so noisy, Zhao Shizhen couldn't hear what his daughter was saying for a while.

When Zhao Shizhen finally understood what his daughter said, he was dumbfounded...

"My lord! Where is my virtuous son-in-law?"

"Didn't you just talk here calmly? Why did you disappear in the blink of an eye?"

Zhao Shizhen was stunned! Beware of everything! I prevented my daughter from being abducted! But the son-in-law was kidnapped?
"Robbing civilian women in broad daylight! No! Raping civilian men! Is there any royal law for this? Is there any heavenly justice for this!"

(End of this chapter)