At this moment, what appeared in front of the Ming Dynasty's Empress Dowager, Empress, Grand Master, cabinet ministers, and six ministers was a mess.
On a piece of messy grass, muskets and powder pots were placed casually next to the ammunition boxes, and even the match rope on the gun had not been extinguished.
This scene made Zhang Juzheng take a deep breath.
"Ouch!"
A military official who knew how to use muskets was shocked. He quickly ran over and carefully took down the lit match, and then put out the flame.
The adults were already sweating from shock, and they all gathered together and muttered...
"Who did this?"
In chaos.
Zhang Juzheng, who was the chief assistant and grand master of the Ming Dynasty, tried his best to calm down his excitement. The cabinet bachelors beside him were also speechless.
But who dares to speak?
Only Queen Mother Li was still not sure. Looking at the empty grass, a look of doubt appeared on her elegant face.
The Queen Mother was a little unsure, so she asked slowly: "Is it Jun'er who ran away?"
There was another moment of solemnity all around.
Then all the important officials in the imperial court heard the calm voice of the Grand Master: "No."
The important ministers were slightly shocked and quickly agreed with understanding.
"Definitely not!"
How could that person be the emperor?
The sun and moon are shining brightly, and the universe is bright and clear. It is impossible for the emperor to go to Xiyuan to play with muskets in broad daylight, disturb the people, and make the chickens and dogs in the Forbidden City restless.
It is even more impossible for the emperor to escape through the bushes!
Empress Dowager Li's charming face seemed to be a little surprised, and then she nodded slowly: "Oh... there is such a mess in the Forbidden City, you have to find out later."
The important ministers understood the idea and hurriedly responded loudly: "The Queen Mother is wise!"
At this time, we can only understand but not express it. Anyway, everyone should think clearly about whether the emperor did this or not!
After a while of compliments.
Zhang Juzheng waved his hand and said softly: "It's time to leave."
The important ministers of the Ming Dynasty hurriedly bowed to the Queen Mother, the Empress, and the Grand Master, then turned around and slipped away without saying a word.
A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.
As the ministers retired, the Xiyuan shooting range became quiet, with only a few royal nobles from the Ming Empire standing silently surrounded by guards.
Zhang Juzheng lowered his head and said nothing, while Queen Wang was frightened.
Empress Dowager Li looked at the patch of grass where the emperor's son disappeared, with a bit of worry on her fair and graceful face, and her white and tender hands could not help but tighten her sleeves.
After all, mother and son are connected.
The silence lasted for a long time, and finally Empress Dowager Li opened her lips slightly and whispered to Zhang Juzheng: "Grand Master."
Zhang Juzheng woke up with a start and said hurriedly and respectfully: "I am here, please give me instructions from the Queen Mother."
Empress Dowager Li pondered again and again, then gritted her teeth and said softly: "In my opinion, Jun'er is getting older. Even if you are concerned about the dignity of the court, Master... you must not punish him at will anymore."
Finished speaking.
The expression on Zhang Juzheng's elegant face froze, as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt. He raised his head in disbelief and looked at the graceful and beautiful face of the Queen Mother.
a long time.
Zhang Juzheng bowed respectfully, lowered his head, and said softly: "My lord, I sincerely obey the Queen Mother's decree."
Empress Dowager Li stopped talking and nodded. Surrounded by Empress Wang and a group of maids and eunuchs, she got into the bright yellow sedan with eight lifts.
"Get up the sedan!"
As the Queen Mother's sedan disappeared, Zhang Juzheng shivered suddenly, as if he had woken up from a deep dream.
The powerful chief minister of the Ming Dynasty, with cronies all over the government and the public, only then discovered that his good partner Feng Bao had not shown up from beginning to end.
As a breeze blew by, Zhang Juzheng froze in the Xiyuan. This scene made him look a little lonely.
After a while.
In the abandoned garden deep in the Xiyuan, with a soft rustling of grass, Shen Lie and several guards first emerged from the weeds more than one meter high.
Several people looked around for a moment.
Shen Liecai turned around and shouted softly: "Your Majesty, come out."
Then Zhu Yijun, surrounded by other guards, emerged from the grass and casually picked off a few dead grass hanging on his uniform.
Looking around, I saw another abandoned yard directly ahead. A row of green brick and tile houses were covered with ivy. I don’t know how long it had been abandoned.
At this time, a scorching sun was hanging high in the sky. Several people were sweating from the heat. They had been hiding in the grass for a long time, and their whole bodies were a little scratchy.
But luckily I escaped.
A false alarm.
Shen Lie also wiped his sweat, looked at another deserted yard in the royal garden in front of him, and said softly: "Let's go in and hide for a while!"
Several Dongchang stalls, Fanzi instinctively obeyed Shen Lie's command, strode over, pulled out the Yanling knife from his waist, and chopped off the rotten lock on the old courtyard door.
The group of people escorted the emperor into the courtyard.
Standing in the quiet yard, looking at the open door, it was too old and had already rotted under the wind and sun.
As everyone moved around, several wild cats suddenly emerged from the house. Shen Lie was so frightened that he trembled and kicked the wild cats away.
A harsh cat meow made everyone's hair stand on end.
After scaring away the wild cats, a few people breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the relatively clean steps in the yard. They untied a few sleeves to fan themselves.
too hot!
Shen Lie also breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to look at the emperor. He saw that the emperor was a little embarrassed at this time, his turban was crooked, and there were a bunch of cockleburs hanging on his uniform.
Several guards hurriedly stretched out their hands to help the emperor pick off the cockleburs one by one. However, there were too many cockleburs and they could not be picked cleanly.
Zhu Yijun simply waved his hand and said carelessly: "Don't bother."
After this fuss, Shen Lie and Zhu Yijun stared at each other for a while, then suddenly couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
The two of them looked at each other's embarrassment, and thought of the stunned expressions of the Grand Master, the Queen Mother, and the officials of the Ming Dynasty at this moment, so they laughed louder and happier.
In particular, there is a feeling of luck that one has done bad things but escaped punishment.
The dozen or so guards around him also laughed apologetically.
It took a long time for the laughter to subside. Shen Lie stood up again, stretched his neck and looked around, wondering: "What is this for? It looks like a warehouse."
How big is Xiyuan? There are abandoned houses everywhere. Emperor Wuzong must have put a lot of thought into building this place.
Zhu Yijun also stood up, walked around the courtyard covered with weeds, and said softly: "It does look like a warehouse."
During the conversation.
The two of them walked along the steps to the house in the center, looked inside through the collapsed door, and saw all kinds of things about each other in the warehouse.
Knives, swords, crossbows, shields...
Because it has become rusty over time.
The two looked at each other, and a tacit understanding emerged in their hearts at the same time. This must be the weapons arsenal that Emperor Wuzong built back then.
Zhu Yijun counted with his fingers and murmured to himself: "No one has been to this place for sixty years since the Wu Zong Dynasty."
Shen Lie nodded.
Why did Wu Zong store these weapons in Xiyuan? It was just to train his troops. Why he wanted to train his troops? It was naturally to open up the territory for the Ming Dynasty.
Looking at the rotten weapons scattered everywhere.
Shen Lie and Zhu Yijun actually let out a sigh at the same time: "What a pity..."