On the morning of August 17, Zhang Yanling went to the palace to fulfill his promise to Zhu Houzhao.
The Chunhe Hall inside the Donghua Gate of the Imperial Palace is the residence of Prince Zhu Houzhao, and the legendary East Palace is located here.
Chunhe Hall is an independent palace, surrounded by flowers and trees, with towering walls. It has its own entrance and exit, Chunhe Gate, which is extraordinary. There are various institutions in the East Palace, and they also have their own subordinates, whether it is hardware or software.
The configuration can be said to be a miniature version of a small imperial court.
I have the impression that Zhang Yanling has not been here before. It should be because Zhang Yanling did not consider the importance of establishing a good relationship with the prince before, so he never even stepped through the door of the East Palace.
The guards of the East Palace stopped Zhang Yanling. They did not know Zhang Yanling. Zhang Yanling had to take a name card and invite them in to report. Soon after, several guards of the East Palace came quickly to welcome Chunhe in front of the door.
"Oh, Lord Marquis is here. Are you people blind? Lord Marquis, please be polite." The leading servant shouted from a distance.
Zhang Yanling recognized him. He was Liu Jin. After visiting her residence with the prince that day, Zhang Yanling firmly remembered this short, fat man in his forties. This man would be a powerful figure in the future, and even more so now.
He was a close person to the prince, so Zhang Yanling did not dare to neglect him.
"Eunuch Liu, you are polite. Don't blame the guards. They don't know me, but they are still performing their duties. There is nothing wrong with it." Zhang Yanling smiled and saluted.
"Look, uncle Guo is still generous." Liu Jin chuckled.
The two chamberlains dressed as eunuchs who accompanied him also smiled and stepped forward to salute.
"Zhang Yong has met Mr. Hou."
"Gu Dayong has met Mr. Hou."
When the names of these two people were announced, they couldn't be said to be thunderous, but they also made Zhang Yanling feel awe-inspiring. The Eight Tigers of the East Palace were headed by Liu Jin, and the others included Zhang Yong, Ma Yongcheng, Gu Dayong, Gao Feng, Qiu Ju, Wei Bin, and Luo Xiang
and others. They are all the chamberlains around the crown prince Zhu Houzhao in the East Palace. Don’t look at them now. They seem to be nameless and powerless. But after Zhu Houzhao ascends the throne, these eight people will each hold important positions and call the shots and become the inner court.
A powerful force. Zhang Yanling will naturally not offend them at this moment. Not only will he not be offended, but he will also be polite to them from now on.
"Eunuch Zhang is polite. Eunuch Gu is polite. How dare you labor the three father-in-laws to come and greet you in person? I really don't dare." Zhang Yanling returned the courtesy.
"His Royal Highness the Prince has been asking the Marquis for the past two days. The Marquis is here, how dare we not come to greet him. Lord Marquis, please come in." Liu Jin said with a smile.
Zhang Yanling nodded and smiled, took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeves, and said with a smile: "My father-in-laws came in a hurry and didn't have time to buy gifts. These five hundred taels of silver should be treated as a small gift. These father-in-laws took it."
Let’s have a drink.”
"Oh, how dare you do this? We brothers should be filial to the Marquis. How dare we let the Marquis spend money? Isn't this a disgrace to us? We can't accept this." Liu Jin waved his hands hurriedly.
Zhang Yong and Gu Dayong didn't even dare to say anything.
Zhang Yanling waved her hands and said, "How do you say this? Do you look down on me, the Marquis of Jianchang? Or do you think you have too little money?"
"Don't dare, don't dare. We have no merit and no reward, how dare we ask for the Marquis's money." Liu Jin said with a smile.
"You want to say that, but it's wrong. You guys serve the prince in the East Palace, and you work hard without complaint. Others don't know it, but I don't know it either. I often go to the Queen's place. Although I don't often come to Chunhe Palace, but
The Queen has told me a lot, so I know something about it. The Queen commends you very much. This is merit. Serving the prince well is a great achievement. What do these few hundred taels of silver count? I'll pay for it later.
The Queen and the Emperor should reward you well. If you don’t want me, you just look down on me, Zhang Yanling.” Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
After hearing these words, Liu Jin, Zhang Yong and others showed excited expressions on their faces. The words of Marquis Jianchang were really heart-warming. The eunuchs who served the prince actually had a very low status in the palace. Si Li
In front of the father-in-laws who supervise the horse supervisor, Liu Jin and others are grandsons. However, the job of serving the prince is extremely important. Therefore, it is completely a thankless job.
In the past few years, the prince has gradually grown up. In order to make the prince happy, everyone racked their brains and tried every means. When the prince was happy, people outside said that the people they served allowed the prince to waste time and play. But when the prince was unhappy, they and others wanted to
Unlucky enough to be beaten. He is like a rat in a bellows, suffering from both ends.
The words of the Marquis of Jianchang today are really touching. These are the words of a close friend. Finally, someone has said something fair. No matter how true what he said is, after all, this is the last thing Liu Jin and others have heard.
If you are comfortable, you may still be unhappy.
"With these few words from the Marquis, it's worth it for the slaves to die from exhaustion. I won't say anything anymore. The Marquis is kind and righteous, and the slaves are not pretentious. Brothers, accept the reward from the Marquis." Liu Jin bowed and said.
"Thank you, Lord Marquis. If you have anything to do in the future, please just talk," Zhang Yong said.
Gu Dayong also said: "Thank you so much, Mr. Hou, your words can be regarded as clearing up the names of our brothers. The slaves and maids have worked so hard that it will be in vain."
Zhang Yanling chuckled and said, "Stop talking, stop talking. If you keep talking, I will be embarrassed. Let's stop standing and let's go. I still have to see the prince to talk."
Several people came to the front hall of Chunhe Hall chatting and laughing. Liu Jin said with a smile: "Master Marquis, sit down for a while. His Royal Highness is reading. After a while, he will report to the prince. I will bring you some snacks and make a pot of good tea. Please wait."
Drink slowly."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Is His Royal Highness studying? He is so diligent. He studies very early in the morning."
"Isn't that right? Yang Tinghe came here early in the morning. The prince didn't finish the article yesterday. He woke him up from under the quilt early in the morning, saying that he had to finish the article today. That's a long article. Oops.
The densely packed words made me feel dizzy. But there was no other way, so the prince had no choice but to learn it hard. I guess he is feeling uncomfortable now." Liu Jin laughed in a low voice.
"Yes, this Yang Tinghe is really stubborn. He drives His Highness the Crown Prince crazy. This guy is like the stone in the pit, smelly and hard. He doesn't even listen to advice. His Highness the Crown Prince has worked hard enough, but he still works hard every day.
He kept nagging. He said that if he didn't learn the principles of economics and governance, he would let down the people of the country in the future. It was really annoying to be so long-winded. If he hadn't been a bachelor appointed by the emperor, we would have given him no face.
"Gu Dayong said from the side.
Liu Jin reprimanded: "Eunuch Gu, please don't talk nonsense. Bachelor Yang was recommended by the Cabinet Master Li and is full of knowledge. There is nothing wrong with letting His Highness the Crown Prince learn some principles of governing the country. If your words spread, I'm afraid you will be cut off."
tongue."
Gu Dayong was so frightened that he stuck out his tongue and quickly retracted it.
Zhang Yanling laughed and said: "Who will spread the word here? Isn't it just a joke? It's just a joke. Oh, it's really hard to study every day. I know about reading. I studied when I was a child.
I dozed off every day, and several of the gentlemen I invited ran away because of my anger. Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is quite patient. Let’s go and take a look.”
Liu Jin was surprised and said: "Go now? I'm afraid Xueshi Yang is not happy. He said that no one is allowed to disturb him when he is giving lectures. We don't dare to disturb him, otherwise if he reports to the emperor, we will all have to be punished by the imperial cane.
.”
Zhang Yanling said: "I'm going, not you. Can he hit my imperial staff? Just take me with you. I'll go and rescue the prince."
Liu Jin said with a smile: "That's true. If the Marquis goes, will Yang Tinghe still dare to touch the Marquis? The Marquis is not one of us. Let's go, I will take the Marquis. Let's see how the Marquis deals with Yang Tinghe."
Zhang Yanling smiled bitterly and said: "I didn't say I wanted to deal with him."
Zhang Yong laughed and said: "Master Hou is going to cause trouble. If you don't deal with him, he will deal with you."
Zhang Yanling was stunned and said with a smile: "Then there is nothing I can do. If he wants to find trouble with me, I won't be polite."
Liu Jin and others winked at each other and thought to themselves: "It's exciting to watch. Let's see who wins and who loses between Yang Tinghe and Jianchang Hou."
Liu Jin led the way, and everyone went straight to the apse along the corridor. After passing the apse garden, Liu Jin pointed to a small pavilion with a long window in front and whispered: "That is Jingming Pavilion, His Highness is studying there."
Zhang Yanling nodded and walked over. When he arrived at Jingming Pavilion, he heard a clear man's voice coming from inside, reading to himself.