Ming Empire

Chapter 25
"Hey, Yun'er, hurry up, we won't be able to get out again in a while!"

"Princess, don't worry, we have to dress up before going out, otherwise we will be in trouble if we are recognized!"

"That's fine, but Yun'er, hurry up, we won't be able to go out when the mother comes back later!"

"Princess, the servant will be ready soon!"

In the side hall of Kunning Palace, Princess Kunxing Zhu Yu is urging her maid Yun'er to quickly dress her up.

Today, she is going to sneak out of the palace with her younger brother Zhu Citong to play.

Last night, Auntie Zhu heard from her own Zhu Cijiong that Cao Yue, the great hero who led the army to break through Shengjing, the capital of slavery, will return to Beijing triumphantly. The government may organize the people to cheer on the streets to boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians of the Ming Dynasty.The street must be very lively. Today their mother, Empress Zhou, has something to go to court, and no one in the harem cares about them.The emperor's father was busy and the queen mother was not there, so they were very free. They also heard that the eunuch Wang Cheng'en, the supervisor of ceremonies and Bingbi, was going to take people to meet Cao Yue.

As long as they make an agreement with Wang Chengen, no one dares to stop them.

Wang Chengen was a popular person in front of Emperor Chongzhen, he was very familiar with Zhu Yu and Zhu Cijiong, and he loved and took care of them. After being tortured by them, he had no choice but to agree, but he asked them to take some people out and go back with him. palace.

Zhu Yuxi and Zhu Cijiong naturally agreed.

Aimee Zhu is the famous Princess Changping, the second daughter of Emperor Chongzhen, but her sister, Princess Kunyi, died young. Although she is the second daughter, she is actually the eldest daughter, and she was born to Empress Zhou, so she is very much loved by Emperor Chongzhen.Aimee Zhu was conferred the title of Princess Kunxing at the beginning, and was conferred the title of Princess Changping after the Manchus entered the customs.Princess Changping is more famous than Princess Kunxing in history, and some novelists have written her as the protagonist in many stories.

The one-armed Ah Jiu in "Jade Blood Sword" is Princess Changping. One of her arms was cut off by her father Chongzhen.When Li Zicheng invaded Beijing, Chongzhen did not want his wife and daughter to be humiliated, so he forced Queen Zhou, Concubine Yuan Guifei and other concubines to commit suicide, and personally killed Princess Zhaoren who was only six years old. After seeing her daughter in a pool of blood, she couldn't bear to strike any longer, so she abandoned her sword and left.

Of course this is a matter of aftermath.

Zhu Cijiong was Chongzhen's third son and was born to Empress Zhou.Because they were born to the same mother, Zhu Cijiong and Zhu Yuyu had the best relationship. Although the prince Zhu Cihong was also born to the same mother, he was a bit older, and because he was a prince, he had many missions on his shoulders, so it was impossible to be with them all day long. Play with.Zhu Cijiong, who likes to play with Aimee Zhu, has repeatedly tricked his sister today to go out of the palace to have fun and see the excitement.

In the past few days, Zhu Wei and Zhu Cijiong have heard their father and mother often talk about Cao Yue's heroic deeds. They know that Cao Yue led a lone army to break through Shengjing, snatched back the Jade Seal of Chuanguo, and captured the prince of Jiannuli Daishan. thing.

Little boys have heroic emotions, and Zhu Cijiong, who is only ten years old, really wants to see what kind of character Cao Yue is.As for Auntie Zhu, who just fell in love, she often heard about Cao Yue from her father and mother, and she also became curious about this hero who had just reached the weak crown.Today Cao Yue led the army back to Beijing, and the officials organized the common people to welcome him. She wanted to join in the fun and secretly see what kind of character this young man would be.

Of course, they wanted to take the opportunity to sneak out of the palace to have fun, watch the excitement, and buy some delicious and fun things to come back.

However, Wang Chengen set off early and did not have time to bring Aimee Zhu and Aimee Zhu with him, and Aimee Zhu still had to dress up and go out disguised as a man.Wang Chengen asked someone to send a message to their siblings, if they want to go out of the palace, take some people out, come back early, and don't cause trouble.

The siblings naturally agreed, and of course they cherished this rare opportunity to wander around the palace.

When Aimee Zhu was washing and dressing up, Zhu Cijiong was already urging her there again and again. Being urged by her younger brother, Aimee Zhu was also very anxious, urging her maid again and again.After finally getting dressed, the siblings hurried out of the palace.

Both of them were dressed in men's clothes, and the two handsome young men were very eye-catching when they walked on the street.The two of them don't go out of the palace very often, and the occasional chance to go out of the palace is to sneak out like today, and everything is curious.The guards around them were very nervous, there were a lot of people on the street today, and the siblings liked to squeeze into crowded places, so they had to guard back and forth, being extremely careful.

The timing for the siblings to go out of the palace was pretty good. When they rushed to a crossroad not far from the palace and squeezed into the crowd to watch the excitement, Cao Yue, who was riding a horse with Wang Chengen, escorted the generation Shan just walked in front of them.

While the onlookers were throwing eggs and rotten vegetable roots at the prison car to vent their madness, many people also pointed at Cao Yue who was riding a horse with an energetic expression on his face.

"Wow, the person who led the army to break through the slave capital is actually such a young boy, it's really ambitious beyond his age!"

"I heard that this son is General Cao Wenzhao, the son of General Cao. It seems that his father's true biography has been passed down. It's amazing, it's amazing!"

"Young General Cao is high-spirited, and I see his seal is shining brightly. This time he enters Beijing, he will definitely be promoted to a noble!"

"Since ancient times, heroes have been born as teenagers. So many generals have lost battles and left the army to flee. A young man dared to lead more than a thousand people to surprise Sheng Sheng and succeeded. It seems that God still favors me, Daming. I have exhausted my strength to become a slave! "

"Brother, let me tell you, Jiannu will definitely stop for a while, and the war will not be fought for the time being. We can live in peace, thanks to Brother Cao!"

"Yes, we can worry less, thanks to Brother Cao..."

Amidst the laughter and chatter of the people around them, Aimee Zhu and Zhu Cijiong struggled to get ahead of the crowd under the protection of the guards.

Coincidentally, when the siblings were panting and crowded in front of the crowd, Cao Yue, who was riding side by side with Wang Chengen, happened to walk up to their position.For some unknown reason, Cao Yue's eyes just happened to look at them.

The tall, handsome, and very eye-catching Auntie Zhu immediately attracted Cao Yue's attention.

"What a handsome young man, he looks so beautiful," Cao Yue couldn't help but marvel after seeing Aimi Zhu's appearance clearly, but this young man looked too delicate and less masculine.If "a man disguises himself as a woman", it will definitely be able to hide the eyes of many people.

Poor Cao Yue didn't expect Aimee Zhu to be a woman.Her Royal Highness, who is only 14 years old, has not yet developed her body, her chest is almost as flat as a man's, and she has been carefully dressed. There is also a little distance between the two, how could he recognize it?
When Cao Yue looked at her, Aunt Zhu's eyes also fell on Cao Yue.The eyes of the two met in the air, and after seeing Cao Yue's appearance clearly, Auntie Zhu felt as if she had been stabbed by something, and couldn't help but shiver.

Why does this young hero named Cao Yue look familiar?It’s as if I’ve seen it before, um, it’s very familiar! Also, he is very handsome, his eyes are proud and calm, and his expression is naturally unaffected, as if he doesn’t take everything seriously. This man seems to be magnetic. It attracted her so strongly that she couldn't help but blush slightly, her heart beat faster, and a feeling that she had never felt before surged up.

But Auntie Zhu was in a daze, Cao Yue had already walked in front of her, and the eyes that fell on her naturally drifted away, which made Auntie Zhu quite disappointed, she stretched her neck involuntarily, and stared blankly at the back of Cao Yue leaving .

At this moment, Cao Yue turned his head unexpectedly, looked in her direction again, and smiled at Aimee Zhu who was stunned.

Cao Yue's bright smile made Auntie Zhu's heart beat faster again, and her body was stunned as if she had been shocked by an electric shock, with a confused look on her face.

"Sister Huang, Cao Yue is very handsome, I like it very much," at this time, Zhu Cijiong on the side came up and said a witty thing in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Hee hee, sister Huang, how about Please ask your father to let him be your son-in-law!"

After being teased by her younger brother, Auntie Zhu came back to her senses, her face was flushed red, she couldn't help reaching out to pinch Zhu Cijiong's arm, Zhu Cijiong hurriedly ran away with a smile, Auntie Zhu chased after him resolutely, and the guards around her were afraid of accidents, but also Hurry up and follow.

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Cao Yue followed Wang Chengen to the Forbidden City, ordered the accompanying servants to wait outside the palace, and entered the palace with Wang Chengen.

Cao Yue personally carried the incomparably precious Jade Seal of Chuanguo, and Dai Shan, who was packed in a prison cart, was pushed into the palace by the palace guards.

The Forbidden City looks similar to what it looked like in later generations, except that the names on the high-hanging plaques are different, and there is no Manchu.

During the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court was set up at Huangji Gate (formerly Fengtian Gate, which was changed to Taihe Gate in Qing Dynasty). Today, Emperor Chongzhen received Cao Yue at Huangji Gate.Pass through Zhengyang Gate, Chengtian Gate, Meridian Gate, and Jinshui Bridge, and you will come to Huangji Gate.

After entering the Huangji Gate, Cao Yue was taken aback. There were not only the emperor, but also two rows of ministers standing in the hall.

"Isn't it the etiquette to welcome me? This is too grand!" Before he had time to think about it, Cao Yue followed the etiquette ordered by Wang Chengen, strode into the back of the palace to salute and shouted: "Cao Yue, deputy general of Cao Zongbing of the East Association , Kowtow to my emperor, long live long live long live..."

"Cao Aiqing," Emperor Chongzhen, who was sitting comfortably on the dragon chair, actually got up from his seat, went directly to the bottom of the imperial steps, and personally helped him up: "Quickly flatten your body."

This move of Emperor Chongzhen once again surprised Cao Yue, and he could only stand up following Emperor Chongzhen's gesture: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Chongzhen stared at Cao Yue, and all civil and military officials also focused on him, making Cao Yue feel a heavy pressure.

"It's so young," Emperor Chongzhen looked at Cao Yue carefully, and then praised with a smile on his face: "Cao Aiqing, you led a lone army deep into Liaodong, destroyed the nest of slaves in one fell swoop, and pissed the slave chief Huang Taiji to death. Haha! I am very gratified, I am very gratified! Aiqing really has great military exploits, and she is inferior to Naifu in the slightest. It is really a tiger father without dogs, I am very gratified, and I also have a great reward!"

"Your Majesty, I am a general, and it is my duty to kill the enemy and defend the country. Fortunately, I did not disgrace my mission, broke through Shengjing, destroyed Jiannu's so-called capital, and brought his prince Li to the capital. Jiannu died without a fight. Retreat, the siege of Songshan and Jinzhou has been resolved, and I am very happy to have such a result. Today, I have a treasure to present to Your Majesty," Cao Yue said, and took out a treasure wrapped in yellow silk from his arms. He held it high above his head: "Your Majesty, this is the imperial jade seal that has been missing for more than two hundred years. I was fortunate enough to find it in Jiannu's palace and bring it back to Daming."

"The Imperial Jade Seal?" Although Chongzhen had mentioned the issue of the Imperial Jade Seal at the court meeting, Cao Yue really brought it back today, which still aroused the exclamation of everyone in the palace, including Emperor Chongzhen and other ministers.

Everyone stretched their heads to look at the thing in Cao Yue's hands!
(End of this chapter)