golden scales

Perhaps because of the military power in his hands, Zhu Cihong finally did not feel that the huge Forbidden City was a prison for him.

It was rare for him to look at this palace complex full of red with admiring eyes.Emperor Ming regards Zhu as his true color, and in the palace, no matter the walls or robes, it is a festive bright red to every eye.However, for a person who seems to be walking into the execution ground every day, this festive tone becomes torture.

Now that the torture was finally gone, Zhu Cihong didn't find the red python robes of the chief eunuchs dazzling anymore.

This slightly cheerful mind made it easy for those who really cared for the prince to feel it.Queen Zhou's eyes were swollen from crying a long time ago, and she thought she was dazzled in a trance.

The younger siblings who hadn't seen each other for several months also appeared in Kunning Palace, but their father, Emperor Chongzhen, was nowhere to be seen.

Zhu Cihong went forward to salute his mother, and after taking his seat, he accepted the salutes from his younger brothers and sisters, and bowed back one by one.

Zhou Hou couldn't hold back his longing for a long time, and asked about everything from food to clothing.

Zhu Cihong seemed to have returned to the state when he faced the board of directors' questions in his previous life, energetically and tirelessly talking about his life outside the palace.Zhou Hou also lived outside the palace in her early years, and there were even rumors that she traveled privately with Chongzhen in microservices when she was the concubine of Xin in her hidden residence.

The two princes and one princess, who could only listen from the sidelines, stared wide-eyed, full of curiosity and fear about the world completely different from the palace.

"Now the market has become popular again, but I'm afraid it can't be compared with the Tianqi years." Zhu Cihong said unintentionally.

During the Tianqi period, Zhou Hou still believed in the princess, and she didn't know what to think of for a while, so she remained silent.Zhu Cihong also realized that it was inappropriate to say so, wouldn't it show that his father's level of governance was poor?Even the standard of living in the First Good District has dropped that much.

"But there's nothing we can do about it." Zhu Ciwang looked at his two younger brothers, and taught by the way: "During the Jisi change, the population of the capital was slaughtered, almost everyone in the capital wore mourning, and every family lived in mourning. Last year, Linqing was captured Tu, the canal is blocked. The plague broke out again in the capital this year, and the death toll was very heavy, so the situation is indeed not as good as it was during the Tianqi period, let alone the Wanli period of peace."

Ding Wang Cijiong is now 13 years old, and has reached a slightly sensible age. Hearing what his brother said, there was a little sadness on his face.Yong Wang Cizhao was added last year and is only 11 years old now. Although they are two years apart, they still can't understand "life and death" and still look confused.

But the elder sister, Princess Kunxing, turned pale when she heard this, and said: "After listening to the elder brother of the emperor, I know that the empress father and empress are grateful for the people's livelihood and eating the long fast."

Zhu Ciwang looked at his younger sister, Aimee Zhu, and saw that her younger sister had beautiful features. Although she was not a natural beauty, she had inherited the advantages of her father Chongzhen in her facial features. She would not be disabled in the future, and she would never disappoint future generations. People have invited a fairy sister like Zhao Yazhi to come play her.

Zhu Cihong didn't have much contact with this princess Kunxing who was more famous than herself, also known as "Princess Changping" in the Qing Dynasty.Although she is a compatriot, Zhu Cihong's life in the palace is mainly to stay in the study, write and read, to prepare for leaving the palace in the future, and it is impossible to run to Kunning Palace all day long.

"You and I were born in a heavenly family, so we should understand these things better." Zhu Cihong looked mature.He has two lives, looking at this 14-year-old girl, she is more like a daughter than a sister.

Zhou Hou was amused by his son's sophistication, and said with a smile: "You go out of the palace, and you will become more and more dignified."

"My son is just pretending to be a tiger." Zhu Cihong said with a smile.

The atmosphere was harmonious for a while, but soon a female official walked in and whispered a few words in Queen Zhou's ear.The smile on Empress Zhou's face froze quickly, and she said: "Understood, you go down." Seeing that his mother's face was not looking good, Zhu Cihong quickly asked: "My queen, what happened?"

"Your father is still discussing matters with the ministers, so you can't leave." Empress Zhou said regretfully.

From the bottom of his heart, Zhu Cihong hoped to see Chongzhen more, and immediately got up and said: "My son only thinks about the unity of his parents. It is not at fault to come to see his mother first. But he ignored that now his son is in charge of epidemic prevention, and his word is the first. Go to see His Majesty the Father first."

Hearing the words after Zhou Hou, his face turned pale, and he said: "After seeing your father, I will come back again. I have something to tell you. Can I live in the palace tonight?"

"If His Majesty the Father has no other errands, I will report back to you about the epidemic prevention." Zhu Cihong didn't say anything dead.

After Zhou Hou heard this, she was very happy, and said: "Go and come back quickly, I will send someone to clean up the bedroom for you." Even if the prince is not in the palace, Duanben Palace is cleaned every day, so I dare not neglect it.The so-called tidying up is nothing more than laying out new bedding, burning incense and fuming the room to drive away insects and ants.

After Zhu Cihong bid farewell to her mother, her two younger brothers and elder sister sent her to the gate of the palace, and then went to the Wenhua Palace with the guard of honor in the East Palace.This was a great worry for the family. From Kunning Palace to Wenhua Palace, it was at least one and a half miles. Although Zhu Cihong didn't need to walk by himself, being carried by someone made her feel even more anxious, and she wished she could run down by herself.

Even if you run there now, the distance is only a few minutes, and you won't be out of breath.It has to be said that since leaving the palace, she has been able to open up to exercise, and Zhu Cihong's physique has obviously improved, and even faint muscle lines can be seen.

Zhu Cihong was very envious of those time travelers who could exercise in the deep palace. Leaving aside the safety issue, just discipline the mother-in-law to put on the label of "immorality", even if you are a prince, you have to kneel obediently and be punished.Especially let alone running, even if you walk fast, you will be criticized.The courtesy is not inferior to the common people. From this point of view, the children of the common people are happier.

Zhu Cihong thought of his younger siblings again.Except that Prince Yong Cizhao was born of Concubine Tian Gui, the two princesses Ding Wang Cijiong, Kun Xing, and Zhao Ren are all children of Empress Zhou, and they are true relatives of him.These children are not very old now, if they stay by my side in the future, they will be able to give them a healthy growth environment.

It's even more dangerous.

Because he didn't consider too heavy a problem, Zhu Cihong felt that the journey was much closer, and he could see the Wenhua Gate in a blink of an eye.

Wang Zhixin got the first step news and was already waiting in front of Wenhua's gate.He is the eunuch in charge of the chief inspector of ceremonies, the real inner minister, and with his status, he does not need to come out to meet the prince himself.However, the prince is not an ordinary person now. There are rumors that the guards of the Eastern Palace not only dare to kill the minor officials, but even the Duke of the State.

Just when Wang Zhixin vaguely saw the guard of honor of the East Palace about to go up to meet him, he suddenly heard someone coming out from behind him, and when he looked back, it was Wang Chengen, the eunuch who held the pen and was the admiral of the East Factory.

"My lord," Wang Cheng'en said flatteringly with a smile, "but you are going to welcome the East Palace? Just go together, go together."

Wang Zhixin also said with a smile on his face: "What a coincidence, I thought of going to the same place with Wang Gonggong, how can we not go together?"

The two middle officials, Da Dang, were so enthusiastic as if they were close friends, they stepped forward hand in hand, waiting for the guard of honor from the Eastern Palace to come over.

A restrained expression and a flicker of clothes, it's the same as meeting the emperor.

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