Chapter 254: Encountering a scam as soon as you enter the palace
At the end of the hour, the Forbidden City and the Qianqing Palace.
The fourteenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Changluo, after the early dynasty, asked his old master Dong Qichang, who was now awarded the title of Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, to stay. He also ordered the internal officials to pass on the eldest son Zhu Youxiao and the emperor's fifth son Zhu Youjian. temple.
Yesterday was the first day for the two princes to leave the cabinet and go to the Wenhua Hall to study. Sun Chengzong, the lecturer, was the author who drafted Emperor Wanli’s edict not long ago. Although he did not blindly support the sanction of Zheng Guifei’s gang members in Zhengguoben, it was Zhu Changluo who A trusted civil servant.
"What did you two gain after listening to Master Sun's teaching yesterday?" Zhu Changluo asked calmly.
Zhu Youxiao, who was already fifteen or sixteen years old, had been taught by Li Xuanshi that "I don't like you" since he was a child. Whenever he came to Zhu Changluo to reply, he always looked nervous and shivering.
"Replying to Your Majesty, Master Sun taught "The Great Learning" and asked the ministers to recite it. Everything has its beginning and end, and everything has its end. If you know the order of things, you will get the shortest way."
"I'm asking you what you think, not asking for your endorsement!" Zhu Changluo's voice was a little more solemn.
Zhu Youxiao was stunned and subconsciously looked at his brother Zhu Youjian, who was several years younger than him.
Zhu Changluo also glanced over: "I'm asking about you two, Xiao Wu, please tell me."
Zhu Youjian said: "Yesterday, Master Sun gave a lecture on "The Great Learning". He said that those who are virtuous in the world should have rules and regulations. To govern the country, one must first cultivate one's family and cultivate one's moral character. To regulate one's family and cultivate one's morality, one must first correct one's heart, be sincere in one's intentions, and be sincere. We must first study things to gain knowledge. I then thought that gaining knowledge is not only the knowledge that leads to benevolence and kindness, but also the way to all things, so I am looking forward to Master Xu and other gentlemen teaching about farming and firearms today."
After hearing Zhu Youjian's words, Dong Qichang, who was standing in the hall, felt a few rays of surprise in his heart.
This fifth son of the emperor, who is only in his early ten years, should not be underestimated.
In other words, Dong Li, who is responsible for raising him, and the accompanying eunuch should not be underestimated.
They had probably already inquired about the reasons for the selection of the prince's lecturers, and knew that this had set a precedent. The addition of a firearms class must have been specially added by the emperor. It showed that the emperor had a good impression of the Western French sect, so he also asked the fifth prince to pick it up today. To put it nicely, go to the emperor's father's appetite.
Sure enough, Zhu Changluo's face brightened a little. He took a sip of the ginseng soup served inside and told his two sons: "Master Xu is already in his sixties, and his temper is much gentler than that of Master Sun. If you two deceive him into being docile, there will be consequences." If you are naughty and playful and offend Master Xu, I will definitely punish you severely."
The two brothers hurriedly said yes.
Zhu Youxiao is nothing but Zhu Youjian is really young and mature. The atmosphere of these two days has confirmed what his adoptive mother "Dong Li" said. His father Zhu Changluo did not dare to mention to the late emperor that his eldest son would leave the pavilion to study. Because she was afraid that Concubine Zheng would think that the prince was colluding with foreign ministers, she used this method to force Wanli to appoint the emperor's grandson. Once the emperor's grandson was established, the prince's status would be stable, and there would be no problem for Prince Fu.
Now that my father finally sat on the throne, the first thing he did was to read the advice of Donglin officials and ask the princes to leave the palace and go to the Wenhua Hall to listen to the lectures. He was also very concerned about his sons' academic attitude.
At this moment, Zhu Changluo, who drank several mouthfuls of warm ginseng soup, felt more energetic.
The new emperor glanced at Dong Qichang and said to his sons: "There was also a female master named Zheng who was attending the lecture with Master Xu. Yesterday, at the apprenticeship ceremony of the Ministry of Rites, she had no official status although she had an imperial order. She is also a female class and has not entered the Wenhua Hall to receive the ceremony. However, Master Dong and Master Xu both told me that she is a rare and virtuous teacher. I also know that she, like Master Sun Chengzong, went to the frontier fortress. He is a man who has made great contributions to the country, and you two must also respect him."
"I sincerely obey your Majesty's teachings."
"Well, let's go to Wenhua Hall." Zhu Changluo said in a deep voice.
The two brothers came out of Qianqing Palace and went down the jade steps, and were greeted by their respective eunuchs.
When the group of people walked near the three main halls that were to be repaired, Zhu Youxiao's wet nurse guest Yinyue came from the direction of Ciqing Palace.
"Brother, I will take you to the Wenhua Palace," Ke Yinyue said with a smile, "These days go by so fast, our brother left the palace in the blink of an eye. Yesterday, the slave was staring at the sweet-scented osmanthus cake in the imperial kitchen and didn't have time to see it. I can’t miss the appearance of my brother entering school now.”
Zhu Youxiao looked as happy as a child: "Okay, mama, let's go together."
Zhu Youjian frowned, with a hint of frost in his tone: "Wenhua Hall is almost considered a foreign court. It's not appropriate for me to go there."
Ke Yinyue pretended to be stunned, and then quickly smiled and said: "Isn't the Wenhua Palace the same area as the Imperial Pharmacy? When Dong Li was selected to serve Yuan Xia, I met the girls from your palace in the Imperial Pharmacy."
Zhu Youjian has been fed up with his brother as a wet nurse since two years ago. He always feels that she treats Zhu Youxiao in two different ways: kind in front of others and kind in the back, just like Dong Li scolding a palace maid. Words: frivolous.
At this moment, Zhu Youjian listened to Ke Yinyue talking about his respected adoptive mother, and immediately put down his face: "Mother Ke, if the Royal Pharmacy and the Wenhua Palace are the same thing, then why do you still need to use the palace wall and the Chang'an Palace? Separated by the corridor?”
Ke Yinyue put away her flattering attitude, her eyes stayed on Zhu Youjian's face for a moment, and sighed.
"Your Highness taught me a lesson right," she said, showing her helplessness and grievance. "Mammy just heard that there was a female teacher teaching my brother today, so she thought it was no big inconvenience."
Zhu Youxiao couldn't bear it and glanced at his younger brother: "That's right, isn't that Master Zheng a woman just like grandma? What's inappropriate?"
Then he took the book box from the eunuch's hand and handed it to the guest Yinyue: "Grandma, let's go."
…
At a quarter past three o'clock, Zheng Haizhu and Lu Xiangsheng were waiting outside Donghua Gate.
After being awarded the title of prince, Li Xuanshi's mother-in-law could no longer embarrass Zheng Haizhu, so she moved out of Zuo Guangdou's mansion and lived in the backyard of Qin Fang's shop. Lu Xiangsheng and Zhang Mingshi lived next door. In their own private house, they look after each other.
Today, Zheng and Lu deliberately arrived outside the palace very early. Since they were not allowed to attend the ceremony of the Ministry of Etiquette yesterday, they wanted to greet Xu Guangqi and ask a few more questions about the etiquette details.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Unexpectedly, when it was about to turn around, the steward of the Xu Mansion hurried over and said that Xu Guangqi had diarrhea last night. He had been restless all night and there was no sky in the mansion. Liang went to ask the doctor, and he would definitely not be able to come to today's lecture.
"Is there anything else going on?" Zheng Haizhu asked the steward of the Xu Mansion, "Did it start before dinner?"
The steward nodded.
"Then, could it be the food box from Wenhua Palace..."
"Madam, please be careful," the steward said in a low voice, "our master probably thinks the food is not too fresh, but he is a kind-hearted man. He said it would be fine just to take a few doses of medicine. Don't come to the palace to worry about it."
There are palace servants in the imperial kitchen who are being punished."
While he was talking, a waiter in his twenties came out of the Donghua Gate. After looking around for a moment, he walked over.
"But Master Zheng and a young master named Lu?"
Zheng Haizhu hurriedly returned the gift to Lu Xiangsheng.
"Hey, where is Xu Hanlin?"
The housekeeper of the Xu Mansion came forward to express his feelings, and the chamberlain said "Oh", thought for a moment, and said: "Then our family will go back and report to Sun Hanlin. Master Zheng and Mr. Lu, please hurry into the palace with our family first, and you still have to talk to the officials."
Change your clothes first."
The prince and the emperor's grandson's lecturers must put on red robes before entering the Wenhua Hall. Zheng Haizhu learned about this rule when he met with Xu Guangqi the day before yesterday to discuss the division of lectures.
After the guards checked the sign, the three of them entered the Donghua Gate.
"What's your surname, father-in-law?" Zheng Haizhu asked.
"Hey, you're welcome, please forgive me for being expensive. My surname is Xue."
"My father-in-law is in the ceremonial department?"
"Um."
"I'd like my father-in-law to lead us on a trip. We don't have any local rituals in the south. We can still meet people with some silk handkerchiefs. Father-in-law, please try our Songjiang silk and cotton blended loop velvet sweat towel. It's very comfortable."
Eunuch Xue took the handkerchief from Zheng Haizhu and took out something hard wrapped inside. When he put it into his sleeve, he took a look and saw that it was gold.
"Young lady, there will be trouble in the scene," Eunuch Xue muttered to himself, "But you have offended a big shot, and I can't be soft-hearted and let you escape today's disaster."
At this time, it was actually not even eight o'clock, and the autumn sun was still hanging in the east. Zheng Haizhu looked far into the distance in the light, and saw only numerous palaces and pavilions, stretching up and down.
But from the northwest view, the roof of the main hall exposed from the far palace wall seems to be incomplete.
Zheng Haizhu understood that there should be the three main hall buildings that were burned by fire.
Because Emperor Wanli was not in court, after the three main halls including the Huangji Hall were burned down, he was too lazy to repair them at first. Later, when he was annoyed by the officials, he ordered the eunuchs to supervise the matter. The eunuchs were perfunctory and enriched themselves, so the project stalled indefinitely.
, until Wanli passed away, the three main halls were still like this.
A few people crossed the small bridge over the river and saw a patch of shady green trees in front of them, with golden glazed tiles emerging from behind the tree crowns. This was probably the Wenhua Palace.
Eunuch Xue said to Lu Xiangsheng: "Young master, please stay here while our family takes Master Zheng to change clothes."
Lu Xiangsheng knew that he was only Zheng Haizhu's assistant and did not have a red robe to wear, so he nodded to Eunuch Xue and stood in a conspicuous place at the head of the bridge with his sleeves on his back.
Zheng Haizhu followed Eunuch Xue in the tiny light and shadow. Along the way, he met young men who were sweeping the house. When he saw them, they all immediately bowed respectfully to Eunuch Xue. He thought that although this person was not considered a high-ranking official in the ceremonial department, he was in the palace.
But his status is no longer low.
Zheng Haizhu was thinking about chatting with him for a few words, but suddenly realized something was wrong.
At the end of the corridor that passed through, the row of houses no longer looked like the buildings in Wenhua Hall. They were much shorter, and there was still smoke rising.
"Eunuch Xue, is this...?" Zheng Haizhu asked immediately.
"Oh, Imperial Pharmacy." Eunuch Xue turned around and pointed, answering the question in a friendly manner.
wrong!
Suspicion arose in Zheng Haizhu's heart.
As a descendant, she has a general idea of the Forbidden City she has visited.
Although it was already the Qing Dynasty version of the Forbidden City, the location of the Wenhua Palace had not changed. Even if the names of the three main halls were changed by the Manchus, their locations had not changed. The direction Eunuch Xue was taking him at this moment was clearly to the northwest, which was
Far away from the Wenhua Hall and closer to the Three Main Halls.
From the corner of his eye, Eunuch Xue saw Zheng Haizhu turning his head and looking around. He slowed down slightly, coughed slightly, and said solemnly: "Master Zheng, even though it is his first time entering the palace, he must not lose his etiquette."
Zheng Haizhu made a pious expression: "Thank you for reminding me, father-in-law. Well, I would like to ask my father-in-law, why does the dressing area of Wenhua Palace have to go through the Imperial Pharmacy?"
Eunuch Xue came closer and said in a low voice: "Master Zheng was so polite in your greeting just now. We thought that it was still early, so we specially took you around from the north. If you go from the south, it will be
My son, I happened to meet the officials from the cabinet and the imperial second room opposite."
After Eunuch Xue finished speaking, he stepped forward again.
Zheng Haizhu's suspicion became even more intense, so he went up to him and asked: "Father, when we come to speak as officials, are there any rules for avoiding the cabinet?"
Eunuch Xue had an expression of "Why are you so ignorant": "Master Zheng, if you say this clearly, it would feel bad, wouldn't it? In all the Ming dynasties, Zunjia is the first female master of Wenhua Palace.
, although our family is also a low-ranking servant of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, we have heard rumors that the senior officials on the south side are quite critical of this. Please don't show off when you enter the Wenhua Hall on your first day."
Hearing this, Zheng Haizhu was immediately filled with suspicion and embarrassment.
What does "Don't show off" mean?
The list set by the Ministry of Rites was not only approved by the Cabinet and your Chief of Rites, but also approved by the new emperor Zhu Changluo. What qualifications do the civil servants inside and outside the Forbidden City have to criticize?
Besides, even if they talk nonsense, what do you, Eunuch Xue, do for me?
Zheng Haizhu frowned and thought carefully, always feeling that there was a loophole in what Xue said.
Just when I was thinking of finding a way to stop, my left hand side suddenly became bright.
It turned out that the palace wall was at its end. Although most of it was destroyed by fire, the still majestic Huangji Palace stood before our eyes.
In Zheng Haizhu's heart, the sense of uncertainty became more and more vivid. She refused to move forward even half a step, and said rudely to Eunuch Xue: "Eunuch, you are leading the wrong way!"
After she finished speaking, she turned around and retreated towards the long corridor leading to the Imperial Pharmacy.
Eunuch Xue's eyes flashed with ferocity, he came up and pinched Zheng Haizhu's arm, and suddenly shouted in a loud voice: "Master Zheng, please don't have any evil thoughts!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! What are you thinking?
What kind of drama will you sing and what lines will you read?
Zheng Haizhu became more and more frightened, threw Eunuch Xue away suddenly, and ran as fast as he could.
Behind me, following Eunuch Xue's "Don't think anything wrong" several times, another much thicker male voice shouted: "Stop!"
Zheng Haizhu thought it was a palace guard, so she turned around and saw a civil servant in green robe, coming from not too far away.
She turned her head and looked back. Before she could stop, she bumped into someone in front of her.
"Master, be careful!"
The man shouted while holding Zheng Haizhu steady.
His hands are strong, but his voice is soft and sweet.
It's actually a woman.
Zheng Haizhu saw clearly that the other party was dressed as a Taoist nun. When he was stunned, Eunuch Xue and the green-robed civil servant behind him had already arrived in front of them.
Eunuch Xue was stunned when he saw the young Taoist nun. Immediately, his face showed some respect: "Taoist Master Jingzhao."
The green-robed civil servant next to him stared at the Taoist nun coldly.
Eunuch Xue's expression became subtle, and he hurriedly introduced: "This is Ding Gaijian from Hu Ke. Master Ding, Taoist Priest Jingzhao, is a distinguished guest of Yikun Palace."
Zheng Haizhu calmed down and quickly absorbed the amount of information in Eunuch Xue's words.
This green-robed civil servant should be a member of the Huke Department, and like Yang Lian, a member of the Military Department, he belongs to the Yanguan system.
That's right, isn't the Liuke Corridor just outside the nearby Huangji Gate?
As for "Yikun Palace", it is Concubine Zheng's bedroom. So, the female Taoist priest in front of her is a guest of Concubine Zheng?
But when Yan Guan named Ding heard the words "Yikun Palace", the arrogance on his face seemed to fade a little, but soon his face turned cold again, and he calmly said to the female Taoist Priest.
He nodded, said "I am Ding Yun," and stared back at Zheng Haizhu.
"Master? Are you the Zheng who is going to give a lecture to the emperor's eldest son? Why are you here near Huangji Palace?"
Zheng Haizhu responded with an unflinching look: "I should have been at the Wenhua Hall at this time. This father-in-law tricked me here. What's his plan?"
Eunuch Xue glared: "What's my plan? Master Zheng, it's obvious that you have evil thoughts. Hey, the long live Lord is here, the long live Lord is here."
When the eunuch said the last sentence, his eyes had already been cast to the north.
It was Zhu Changluo's carriage that stopped in front of Huangji Hall.