When the Queen Mother returned to Qingning Palace, she learned that the emperor had been sitting in Ciqing Palace for most of the day, and that the prince lingered for a long time after returning to the palace. Finally, the prince was taken directly back to Qianqing Palace. As for the details, Because Chu Kuan had to leave temporarily due to something, and the third prince was unwilling to use anyone else, the attendants did all the chores on weekdays, so there was no way to find out.
After all, it is said that when the little prince returned to the palace, the other attendants were dismissed by the emperor early, leaving only Zhang Shou and Lu Sanlang. Now that they have left the palace, they cannot be summoned to ask. Chen Yongshou I do know, but I work for the Qing Palace.
Of course, the Queen Mother would not summon two foreign ministers for this matter with great fanfare. After learning from the female officer who stayed behind, she went to bathe and change clothes for the time being, and actually postponed dinner for this reason. However, when she came out of the bathroom, she stayed at the When Yuquan at the door changed her into the palace clothes, he whispered: "The Queen Mother, your Royal Highness is here."
"There is only Sanlang?" The Queen Mother raised her brows in surprise. Seeing Yuquan nod slightly, she couldn't help but laugh, "When I was the emperor, I would definitely come to punish him. Now it seems that he is very calm this time. Don't be angry...but that's not necessarily the case. If you don't get angry, it might be a little worse than coming to argue with me in person."
Faced with the Queen Mother's self-deprecation, Yuquan didn't know what to say and could only follow behind silently. When she arrived at the East Nuan Pavilion of Qingning Palace, she saw that the third prince's eyes were slightly red and swollen, as if he had cried just now, but his expression was relaxed. , it didn’t look like she had been scolded by the emperor at all. After coming forward to salute, he actually supported the Queen Mother’s arm very smoothly.
And if Yuquan could see it, how could the Queen Mother not see it? She smiled and patted the third prince's hand: "Why, looking at you like this, could it be that you hugged and cried with your father? ?”
The third prince's eyes suddenly widened: "Grandma, how do you know?"
The Queen Mother was just joking casually. When she heard such a completely unexpected answer, she was stunned and her feet stopped unconsciously. She looked sideways at the Third Prince and said with disbelief: "You really hugged your father and cried for a while? You are not the kind of child who loves to cry, but you are very considerate."
"The teacher taught me." The third prince rubbed his eyes in embarrassment, and then whispered what Zhang Shoulin said when he left and the emperor's reaction. Seeing the angry and funny look on the Queen Mother's face, he felt a little confused He said embarrassingly, "I hugged my father and cried for a while, and he became soft-hearted because of my crying. Later, he confessed that he was not sensible when he was young..."
The Queen Mother never expected that the Emperor would reflect on his youth and frivolity at that time, so when the third prince said that the Emperor actually admitted that he was young and ignorant at that time, she couldn't help laughing: "Are you sure you didn't distort your father's meaning?"
"Of course not!" the third prince promised emphatically, but then whispered, "Actually, my father originally planned to come with me, but because he was too embarrassed to see you, he entrusted me to come and apologize to my grandmother..."
After hearing the third prince's many apologies, even if she knew that there might not be a single one of them that was actually the emperor's true words, she was at least convinced that this was indeed what her son meant. Although mother and son have had heart-to-heart discussions for many years, , but more often than not, the two of them are stubborn in their opinions and often fall out, and then they can't save face for a long time, and they are indifferent when they meet.
Thinking about it now, is it because she and the emperor lack a caring person to reconcile? Although Zhu Ying is good, she is not a real princess after all. It is impossible to treat the palace as a home every day, let alone
Now she is married?
Therefore, the Queen Mother smiled and joked to the third prince: "Your father has a temperament that will never admit his mistakes for a hundred years. If it weren't for you, I don't know how many years it would take to wait for his apology... In the future, my grandmother will have to
rely on you."
Speaking of this, the Queen Mother suddenly realized that the third prince had always used the word "grandmother" to call her, which was different from the rigid and respectful royal grandmother in the past. Moreover, it was not just the title, it was like Zhu Ying was able to call others "grandmother".
The word Queen Mother was called that way, and the words "Grandmother" were obviously more sincere and close to the Third Prince.
The third prince didn't notice the change in the Queen Mother's expression. Hearing what the Queen Mother said, he immediately pursed his lips and smiled, but his still slightly red and swollen eyes made his smile look a bit aggrieved. However, the Queen Mother certainly wouldn't do it because of that.
His expression meant that he misunderstood what he said.
"Grandma, my father said that from now on, I will live on both sides of Qingning Palace and Zhaoren Palace of Qianqing Palace. Don't bother me!"
This was another request that she had not expected before. The Queen Mother knew before that she could not keep the third prince by her side all the time, and the emperor's patience should have reached its limit. However, now the emperor is willing to let the third prince come to accompany her.
Her brows suddenly relaxed, and as she looked forward, she showed the charming charm of her youth again.
"Did your father agree or did you ask for it? Also, don't you care about your mother and concubine? The number of times she sees your son is limited now. You only care about me and your father, so you are not afraid of neglecting me.
She? You can't just throw her aside just because she will never say you are unfilial."
Facing the Queen Mother's reproach, the third prince couldn't help but feel guilty, and then whispered: "I made a request to my father. I will take one day off every ten days. On this day, I will spend more time with my mother and concubine. However, my mother and concubine have always been calm.
I stay in the palace all the year round and don't go out. Grandma, didn't you promise sister Yingying to visit the girls' school often? Can you take her with you then? It's just a way to relax."
If someone else had made such a request, the Queen Mother would definitely think it was a conspiracy. However, when she saw the third prince saying this, his brows and eyes were full of expectations and requests, the Queen Mother suddenly softened her heart.
After all, today's third prince doesn't have to worry about his status at all, and the same goes for the former concubines - one is already the prince and the other is the imperial concubine. Even concubine Yu is already a concubine now and is still pregnant with the fetus, but not yet
No matter whether it is a man or a woman, it will not shake the East Palace for at least ten years.
Thinking of this, she readily agreed: "If I don't promise you, wouldn't you go to your father's place to hold him and cry? I promise you for such a small thing."
The third prince immediately beamed with joy. After all, his biological mother and concubine were such cautious people. Even though they were now called imperial concubines, they still did not change their old temper. In order to avoid causing him any trouble, most of the time they would even leave their own palaces alone.
He didn't even go out, and he only interacted with Concubine Yu and Concubine Jiang on weekdays.
Therefore, very unreliable rumors that the imperial concubine was arrogant and domineering were spread everywhere inside and outside the palace.
At this time, such a problem was really solved, and the third prince was overjoyed. Next, just like when he communicated with his father before, he told in detail how he went to Baijia Village to meet the fourth prince, and how he
In his imagination about the future, he even did not miss things like rail carriages and steam iron ships that he heard from Zhang Shou...
The once shy child talked about the future from his own take-for-granted perspective with gusto, without being cautious, without a mask of gentleness, and without pretending to be mature... But with this attitude, the Queen Mother found it very interesting.
The emperor also had such a true temperament back then, but his true temperament was domineering and domineering, so whenever he argued with her, sparks would fly out and they would end unhappy. In contrast, Prince Lu was very good at pleasing her, and everything went smoothly.
Looking at her, even when making requests, he seemed to have guessed her preferences and bottom line in advance.
And she was happy to be nice to the other son left by the late emperor, not to mention that the emperor was very partial to this brother, so if she was more generous, the court and the palace would also save some trouble. But this did not mean that she would just look at him.
It doesn't mean that the well-behaved child is arrogant and vicious behind the scenes, nor does it mean that she doesn't know that people are always pretending to be a good son in front of her.
Because of this, after the Ye Wang Rebellion, she took the initiative and killed King Lu, even though the emperor was unwilling to say a word to her for several months.
However, she will always remember King Lu's crazy shouting when facing that glass of poisonous wine: "I have always been trying to please you and please the emperor brother, but you are not the same, you have always pretended to favor me,
Pretending to like me, a bastard! How could my mother die so early? Wasn't it your fault?"
"I just want to overthrow you. I just overestimate my capabilities and am greedy! Chen Sheng, a mud-legged person, knows princes, generals, and ministers. I would rather have the guts. I am a serious prince, grandson, nobleman, why should I not think about it!"
At that time, facing the King of Lu who was crying and laughing like a lunatic, she didn't say a word. She just quietly watched the man being drunk with poisonous wine and died, then quietly turned around and left.
Unlike the emperor, she made a mistake in showing her sincerity, so she felt sorry for herself and couldn't let it go for a long time. She never showed her true feelings, so she didn't care much about betrayal.
That was not the son she gave birth to. She chose the best teacher for him, gave him the best luxurious house, food and clothing, and even the prince was begged by her personally. She behaved like this in front of others on weekdays.
What more would she want from her than her biological son?
Just like your biological son, are you sad or happy for his every move?
Thinking about these old things, the Queen Mother couldn't help but feel a little dazed. It wasn't until the third prince couldn't help calling her several times that she suddenly came back to her senses, but she looked down at her direct grandson and said with a smile: "You
He is a good boy. Your father is extremely lucky to have such a good son like you, and your fourth brother is also extremely lucky to have such a good brother like you."
"That's why my father and fourth brother have always been kind to me."
The third prince shook his head, and then said with shining eyes: "Grandma, I'm really curious about what those small foreign countries are like... However, I may not even be able to leave the capital, so I can only place my hope.
My fourth brother."
"When the emperor travels, the earth trembles and the mountains shake. Therefore, in all dynasties, except for the founding emperor, subsequent generations of emperors are often trapped in the deep palaces and cannot get out of the capital. Therefore, they can no longer see the real people, let alone the real people.
That spark that gradually starts a prairie fire."
When the Queen Mother said this, she couldn't help but feel deeply, and immediately smiled and said: "This is what Emperor Taizu said. People in the past often thought that he was talking about the chaos in the world at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, but later I found out that he said more than
It is applicable to troubled times, and it is also applicable to governing the world. When a dynasty is founded, it is often a storm, with heroes filling the dynasty, and all kinds of wastes prospering. It is easy to implement any government decree, but the further you go..."
"The easier it is to suffer from chronic illnesses and ill health, because the old patriarchs have become aristocratic families, and the officials have become local gentry and wealthy families. If they want to change anything, their interests will be affected. Even if your fourth brother comes back after broadening his knowledge in a foreign country.
, do you think those beneficial things can be promoted? How tough your father is, now you can only be patient and take things slowly."
As she spoke, she looked at the third prince with a smile: "Do you think so?"
"Grandma, what my father can't do, I know it will be harder for me to do it in the future. After all, I don't have as strong a hand as my father. However," he took a gentle breath and then whispered, "Ancient and Modern Collection"
There are many manuscripts written by Emperor Taizu in the library. No one can understand them, but some people can. For example..."
"For example, Emperor Taizu believed that by sailing to the east, past Goryeo and Japan, he would be able to reach a fertile land with vast territory and fertile land, which was very suitable for farming. All dynasties were often able to
Land was granted to each household, but as time went by and the population increased, there was gradually not enough land, so land annexation became more and more intense, and many people lost their land."
"Although these people can work, the manpower required for work is also limited. So what should we do if the remaining people are landless and jobless? If there is land to accommodate these people, will the so-called chronic illness be alleviated a little?
"
The Queen Mother listened quietly to the third prince's words, which were clearly carefully considered, and suddenly interrupted: "I remember you said before that you wanted your fourth brother to visit those small countries in the west. Why did it turn out to be the one in the east that ruined Emperor Taizu?
Continent?"
The third prince was immersed in his words at this time, and did not notice that the queen mother's tone suddenly became cold, but she said without thinking: "Those countries in the west are also said to be fertile. The teacher said that the rivers in many places even have real names such as
There is milk and honey flowing. I want my fourth brother to go and see what the customs are like there..."
"If the people there are living a hard life and are being squeezed by princes and churches, and people who have read books have no use, then... can they be recruited? They don't understand etiquette, law, classics and history, but they
Maybe technical and mechanical?"
The queen mother thought that the third prince would say that if the small people in the West were not living in poverty, then the Ming Dynasty, as a sovereign state, could use this opportunity to send troops to expand its territory. However, when the third prince smiled shyly, he then said something about recruiting talents.
, she couldn't help but laugh.
This is a prince, not an emperor, not a madman who always wants to use strong tactics! Thinking of this, she joked: "So, you want your fourth brother to learn many idioms for the convenience of communicating with others.
, can we recruit more talents by then?”
"Yes, yes, grandma, you are really perceptive!" The third prince smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed, "If the fourth brother is knowledgeable and fluent in conversation, coupled with his status, he will not be invincible when he goes out? Then, that is.