Zhang Yanling hurriedly stood up and looked at the door. He heard footsteps, someone lifted the door curtain, and Zhu Houzhao walked in from the outside wearing a big cloak.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Yanling, bows to the Emperor!" Zhang Yanling saluted quickly.
"Uncle, you don't have to pay a big courtesy. Just don't do it." Zhu Houzhao said with a smile.
Zhang Yanling thanked her and stood up. Zhu Houzhao took off his outer cloak and handed it to Liu Jin who was following him. He stepped forward to salute the Empress Dowager Zhang.
"Mother, you must be waiting impatiently. I drank some wine at noon and my head was groggy. I fell asleep until now. It's all my fault that Liu Jin didn't wake me up earlier. I made my mother and uncle wait for a long time." Zhu Houzhao said.
Liu Jin laughed at the side and said: "Yes, it's all my fault. When I saw that the emperor was sleeping soundly, I didn't have the heart to wake up the emperor. It's my fault, please don't blame the Queen Mother."
Empress Dowager Zhang smiled and said: "That's nothing. It's just what did the emperor drink at noon? Wouldn't it be a mistake to drink so much that he was groggy? When your father was alive, he never drank at noon. He was afraid of missing something."
Zhu Houzhao looked a little embarrassed. Liu Jin hurriedly smiled and said: "Back to the Queen Mother, this is your fault. Seeing that the emperor has worked very hard during this period, the slave is a little tired. It happened to be the New Year, so she asked the emperor to drink a few drinks to relieve his fatigue.
.It’s my slave’s fault.”
Empress Dowager Zhang nodded and said: "I see, that's fine. It doesn't hurt to have a few drinks during the Chinese New Year. Your Majesty, when he is in charge of state affairs, you should pay attention to your health and don't work too hard."
Zhu Houzhao said: "My son knows this, please ask your mother to worry about it."
Zhu Houzhao glanced at Liu Jin and cast an approving look. He was not drinking to relieve his fatigue after hard work. During the lunch, he saw the two little palace ladies serving him were cute, so he visited them on a whim, and then he fell asleep due to fatigue.
Not awake. If it weren't for the fact that he was coming to see his mother, he would have wanted to sleep a little longer.
"Sit down, the food is cold," said Empress Dowager Zhang.
Zhu Houzhao nodded, walked to the table and sat down. Looking at the food and wine on the table, he frowned and said, "Is this the kind of meal that's going to be served at today's New Year's Eve dinner?"
Empress Dowager Zhang asked: "What? Does the emperor think the food is not good?"
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said: "What's so good about this? The simple meals, ordinary dishes, and meat dishes are all the same. This is still cold."
Only then did Zhang Yanling notice that the dishes on the table were indeed not rich, they were all ordinary dishes, and they were indeed very simple. But he had not noticed this before.
Empress Dowager Zhang said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, don't you dislike this dish? If your father were still alive, he would definitely say that this dish is too extravagant. The Ai family specially added two meat dishes for you tonight."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said nothing. Zhang Yanling hurriedly smiled and said: "Just tell the kitchen to cook some more dishes. Today's New Year's Eve dinner should be sumptuous. The sumptuous meal tonight indicates that the life of our people in the Ming Dynasty will be better next year."
good."
Liu Jin said with a smile: "What the Marquis said is true, so I went to ask the kitchen to add some dishes. Add some of the emperor's favorite foods. Let's have foie gras, stir-fried bamboo shoots, roasted venison, quail cooked in oil, and roasted duck.
how?"
Zhu Houzhao nodded and smiled: "Okay. Go and tell them to do it."
Liu Jin nodded with a smile and went to give instructions. Empress Dowager Zhang said in a deep voice: "You are not allowed to go!"
Everyone was stunned. Empress Dowager Zhang said: "Your Majesty, you can eat whatever you like, but not tonight. The banquet cannot be sumptuous and extravagant tonight, because your father is at the banquet tonight. I don't want to make your father angry.
."
Everyone was stunned. Zhu Houzhao frowned and said, "What does the queen mean by this? My father... has already gone."
Empress Dowager Zhang pointed to an empty chair next to her and said, "No, tonight is the reunion dinner. Your father is here. He will have the reunion dinner with us tonight."
Everyone's spines trembled with coldness, and their eyes were shocked and angry. Only then did Zhang Yanling realize that there was an ordinary robe hanging on the back of the chair, which should have been the clothes Zhu Youtang wore during his lifetime. On the table in front of the chair, there was a
The bowls, chopsticks and empty wine glasses should have been prepared for Zhu Youtang. Empress Dowager Zhang used this method to satisfy her desire for reunion and express her grief for her husband.
Needless to say, the atmosphere of this meal was cold. The food was cold, the food was cold, the room was very cold, and Zhu Youtang's empty seat was very conspicuous. It was really awkward and weird.
Not only did Empress Dowager Zhang ask everyone to toast to Zhu Youtang, who was not on the empty chair, but she also talked about old things about Zhu Youtang.
"...I remember last year, we also had the reunion dinner in this room. Your father was still chatting and laughing and in good health. During the dinner, he also told us that our family would be together forever. But
Who would have thought that he would be gone in just one year, leaving the Ai family alone, and leaving the emperor alone, you have to take on a big responsibility at a young age. It is really a trick of fate, it is hard to accept..."
"Your Majesty, do you know? I have been dreaming about your father every day for more than a month. I dreamed that he was still alive. But when I woke up, I realized that it was just a dream. Your father has passed away forever. You will never be here again.
My father is dead. When your father was here, he held up the sky for you when it fell. What will you do now? You are only fifteen years old after tonight, how can you take on such a big responsibility?"
"Your Majesty, you must work hard and be the emperor just like your father. Your father has worked hard all his life so that our Ming Dynasty can be where we are today. In your hands, you can't let it happen.
Your father's hard work has been in vain."
"...Your Majesty, you have such a rash temper. The Ai family is really worried that you will not be able to inherit your father's last wishes and that you will not be able to do good things. If that happens, your father will not be able to rest in peace even under the spring. Your Majesty, you
I can't teach your father to be disappointed..."
Empress Dowager Zhang kept talking, sometimes sighing, sometimes shedding tears, and sometimes giving Zhu Houzhao nagging instructions. At first, Zhu Houzhao reluctantly responded with a few words and nodded. But in the end, he not only did not speak, but even
He also put down his chopsticks, his face extremely gloomy.
Zhang Yanling felt that she was about to get worse, and when she was about to finish her sentence, Zhu Houzhao suddenly stood up and said loudly: "Mother, are you going to let people eat tonight? My father is already dead, what's the use of saying this every day?"
Queen Mother Zhang looked at Zhu Houzhao in shock and found that he was staring at her with a red face.
"I am already fifteen years old. I am now the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. I should know how to be an emperor myself. I don't need my mother to teach me this. From now on, my mother no longer has to take care of my affairs. Mother, stay well.
Just wait, your son will take good care of you. This Queen Mother of Kunning Palace will not
It’s time to live. There are too many traces and memories of my father here, which is not good for the mother. Liu Jin, after the New Year, you go and tell Wang Yue and the others that the mother will move to another palace. The mother will choose a palace.
Ask them to tidy up the place where they live, and they will move there after the first month."
Liu Jin stood in the corner and agreed quietly.
Empress Dowager Zhang looked at Zhu Houzhao angrily and shouted in shock: "Your Majesty, what are you...what are you doing? The Ai family just said a few words..."
Zhu Houzhao said loudly: "Mother, what have you said about me since you were a child? I am your son, have you ever given me good words? In your eyes, in addition to your father, you are your Zhang family brothers. To me, You just lecture me with a straight face. I even grew up on the milk of a wet nurse. Have you ever loved me? We were supposed to have a happy reunion tonight, but you kept talking about things like sesame seeds and millet, over and over again. Teach me a lesson. My father is dead, mother. What are you doing with this empty chair? Do you still want to use your father’s majesty to suppress me? Huh! From today on, mother should stop talking about these things. My son doesn’t like to listen to you. These sermons will make it impossible to do things according to your ideas. Your son will never imitate his father, so don't waste your words."
Empress Dowager Zhang shouted: "Your Majesty, how can you speak like this?"
Zhu Houzhao said loudly: "Mother, I always talk like this. If you don't want to hear it, I'll just leave. Liu Jin, get up and go back to the palace!"
Liu Jin hurriedly said: "I obey my command! Your Majesty, please drive back to the palace!"