Wang Baoren is now at an age where he knows his destiny. He was once Zhou Shangjing's main rival in the temple, but after losing to Zhou Shangjing, he was exiled to Nanjing and became the Minister of Civil Affairs in Nanjing.
After these wasted years, although Wang Baoren's actual age is about ten years younger than Zhou Shangjing, his appearance is already as old as Zhou Shangjing's. His skinny old face is covered with wrinkles, and his eyebrows are also mottled with white.
A pair of leopard-ringed eyes are still piercing, and coupled with his meticulous and serious expression, he has a sense of calmness and authority.
He rushed all the way from Nanjing to the capital, and encountered a fire on the way. All this made Wang Baoren quite tired, but after seeing the city walls of the capital from a distance, Wang Baoren's expression was unprecedentedly exciting!
In fact, after arriving in Tongzhou by boat, Wang Baoren could have taken a carriage or sedan to come to the capital to take up his post. In order to welcome Wang Baoren, the Tongzhou government did prepare the best carriages and sedans for him, but Wang Baoren ultimately refused.
Instead, he chose a steed, completely ignoring his aging and fatigue, and rode directly to the capital.
Wang Baoren wants to show the world that he is not old yet, is still energetic, and can still accomplish a lot!
Power is a stimulant for men, and this has been true in ancient and modern times.
"Eleven years..." Wang Baoren was riding on his horse, staring at the walls of the capital from a distance, full of ups and downs in his heart, thinking: "Since I lost to Zhou Shangjing in the party struggle, I was exiled to Nanjing for retirement. It has been so long
It’s been eleven years! Haha, as a minister of the imperial court, these ten years should be the most glorious ten years, but I wasted years trapped in Yingtian Mansion and wasted a great time... However, I am finally back now
!And, now that I’ve returned to the capital, I don’t plan to leave again!”
While he was thinking deeply, Wang Baoren's eyes couldn't help but flicker, and his old face actually looked younger.
While Wang Baoren was staring at the capital, a team came out of the east gate of the capital and quickly greeted Wang Baoren.
After seeing this team, Wang Baoren even had a smile on his face.
As mentioned before, although the Nanjing Sixth Department was only a place of retirement and exile for officials, it still had great power. Wang Baoren, as the leader of the Nanjing Sixth Department, was also very important. Even in the center of the capital, he also had some disciples and former officials.
Now, this team was obviously his disciples and former officials who came to greet him.
Wang Baoren currently only has the fictitious position of Prince and Grand Master and does not yet have real power. If he wants to make a difference in the center of the capital in the future, he naturally needs to win over people's hearts. Therefore, when Wang Baoren saw his disciples and former officials coming to greet him, he did not show any
Any arrogant attitude, on the contrary, the horse took the initiative to meet him.
When the team behind Wang Baoren saw Wang Baoren's behavior, they quickly followed.
Soon, the two teams met.
Then, after seeing the other party's situation, both parties were surprised.
Everyone who greeted Wang Baoren had no idea that Wang Baoren arrived in the capital on horseback and led the team at the head. Considering Wang Baoren's advanced age, this performance was really admirable.
When Wang Baoren saw the team that greeted him, he was also stunned.
There were about a hundred people in the team to welcome Wang Baoren, one-third of whom were court officials and former disciples of Wang Baoren, and the rest were also their long-term servants.
Wang Baoren knew almost all of these officials, and could even clearly state their names, hometowns, positions, and general experiences. Although most of these people were of low rank, they would be Wang Baoren's foundational strength in the capital in the future.
Wang Baoren naturally took it very seriously, and he even did some homework on the way to the capital.
However, what made Wang Baoren feel strange was that the leader of this team was a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. This young man was dressed luxuriously, had a handsome appearance, a warm expression, and a gentle temperament.
There is an air of nobility between his feet that cannot be ignored, and Wang Baoren's disciples and former officials also treat this young man with unusual respect. It is obvious that this young man's status is extremely noble.
But unfortunately, Wang Baoren did not recognize the young man in front of him at all.
Just when Wang Baoren was confused, this young man had already driven his horse to Wang Baoren, raised his hands to Wang Baoren and said: "Junior Zhu Hejian, on behalf of my father and the prince, came to welcome the prince and grand master to Beijing for his appointment. Senior Wang.
You are lucky to have traveled all the way."
Having said this, the young man glanced at Wang Baoren's horse, and then smiled and said: "I didn't expect that Senior Wang would come directly on horseback. It can be seen that Senior Wang's body is still strong. It is obvious that he has been working hard for many years, but he has traveled thousands of miles.
Your ambition is still strong, and I am deeply admired by the younger generation!"
After hearing this young man's self-introduction, Wang Baoren couldn't help but be surprised again. He didn't expect that the young man in front of him turned out to be the seventh prince Zhu Hejian!
In Wang Baoren's memory, the seventh prince had always been frail and sick, and would get sick from time to time. But now he looked rosy and full of complexion, but he didn't look like the legendary sick man at all.
In addition to being surprised, Wang Baoren was overjoyed when he heard Zhu Hejian's comments, especially the sentence "I have been struggling for many years, but my ambition of thousands of miles is still strong" which made him very fond of Zhu Hejian, and he felt a little more kind to Zhu Hejian in his heart.
Then, Wang Baoren quickly dismounted and saluted Zhu Hejian: "It turns out to be His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince. Unexpectedly, His Majesty actually asked the Seventh Prince to greet the old minister in person. The old minister was really flattered and moved to tears with gratitude."
Seeing Wang Baoren's performance, a trace of shame flashed across Zhu Hejian's face, and he said: "Although I come from the royal family, I am just a powerless prince. I should not have been able to sit in the saddle and accept Senior Wang's advice."
Instead of saluting, you should take the initiative to salute. However, today I am here to greet Senior Wang on behalf of my father. There are many things that I cannot do as I wish. I hope Senior Wang will forgive me."
Seeing that Zhu Hejian was a royal nobleman, but still so humble and courteous, respecting the virtuous and elders, Wang Baoren suddenly felt more favorable to Zhu Hejian. He waved his hands and said: "No, no, the seventh prince is the future vassal king, so he should be."
Let me salute you."
Zhu Hejian smiled softly and did not explain anything. He just turned to the eunuch Jia Lun behind him and said: "Senior Wang is not young after all. Although he can still ride a horse, I'm afraid there will be some inconvenience when getting on and off the horse. It's not too fast."
Go and help Senior Wang mount his horse?"
Then, Zhu Hejian turned to Wang Baoren and smiled: "Senior Wang, let's not be polite to each other here. I know that you arrived in the capital today, and my father is waiting for you in the imperial study. Maybe you will accompany him to use it."
It’s lunch, so let’s not delay and go to Beijing as soon as possible to meet the Holy Spirit.”
However, after hearing Zhu Hejian's instructions, the eunuch Jia Lun was about to dismount from his horse to help Wang Baoren, but an official in the welcoming team had already dismounted first, walked quickly to Wang Baoren's side, and said respectfully: "Teacher,
Let me help you mount your horse."
This person's name is Wang Youlun, he is the right deputy censor of the capital procuratorate, and he is also the highest ranking among Wang Baoren's disciples and former officials in the capital. When he was named in the april list, Wang Baoren happened to be the examiner, so he
He always calls Wang Baoren teacher.
Over the years, most of Wang Baoren's loyal cronies in the capital were deliberately suppressed by Zhou Shangjing. They were either kept in cold storage, demoted, or transferred. However, Wang Youlun was the only one who not only was not demoted and transferred, but was promoted to the third rank.
The deputy censor of the capital never let Zhou Shangjing find any clue. This shows how clever this person's methods are.
In fact, Wang Baoren has always regarded Wang Youlun as his favorite disciple. Because the two of them have the same surname Wang, Wang Baoren even had the idea of adopting Wang Youlun as his adopted son. Now when Wang Baoren returns to the capital, he values the most
This Wang Youlun.
Now, seeing Wang Youlun's attentive performance, Wang Baoren's eyes flashed with relief, but he did not refuse too much and just allowed Wang Youlun to help him mount his horse.
However, while riding the horse, Wang Youlun took the opportunity to get close to each other and whispered in Wang Baoren's ear: "Teacher, you must pay attention to this seventh prince. There are rumors that your majesty has already thought of deposing the prince."
, this seventh prince is very likely to be the next crown prince."
After finishing speaking, Wang Youlun helped Wang Baoren onto the horse, and then returned to the welcoming team in a low-key manner, as if nothing had happened.
But after hearing Wang Youlun's secret reminder, Wang Baoren's expression changed slightly.
The next moment, when Wang Baoren looked at the seventh prince Zhu Hejian again, his eyes were already very different.
Wang Baoren was a little surprised at first. The seventh prince seemed to have recovered physically. Logically speaking, he should have immediately sealed off the vassal and left the capital. Why did he still stay in the capital and come to greet him as His Majesty's special envoy?
But after hearing Wang Youlun's reminder, Wang Baoren quickly understood the reason.
Wang Baoren went to Beijing to take up the position of the crown prince's grand master this time, originally to assist the prince. Before that, Wang Baoren was a little worried, because he heard that the prince Zhu He's character was quite stubborn and reckless, and he was not very helpful, but he did not expect that he
After coming to Beijing, the situation has changed subtly. The humble and polite seventh prince in front of him may become the new crown prince.
Wang Baoren had a very good impression of Zhu Hejian. After receiving the news, although he was a little surprised, he was more happy than ever.
Therefore, while riding side by side with the seventh prince Zhu Hejian on the way to the capital, Wang Baoren also deliberately wanted to get closer to Zhu Hejian. In addition, Zhu Hejian obviously had the same idea. For a while, the two of them got along quite happily, as if they had been friends for years.
