While Ming Chengzu stretched his neck and stared outside the court with a smile, other officials below were also communicating in low voices.
"The prince's safe return is the most important thing for my Ming Dynasty right now. After the next court, shall we go to the East Palace together to express our welcome to His Highness the prince?"
"Of course I want to go. His Highness must have suffered a lot after being kidnapped by gangsters for more than ten days. How could we, the ministers, not go to express our condolences to His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"While the emperor was on his own expedition, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had been ordered to supervise the country. He was the only heir to the Ming Dynasty. Someone actually dared to kidnap the prince in the capital of the Ming Dynasty. This matter must be investigated strictly and the forces behind it must be thoroughly dug out.
.”
"In my opinion, if this force can do such things in the capital, there must be a lot of forces in the capital to protect them. This force is likely to have the protection of high-ranking officials in the DPRK. We will definitely
We need to report to the Emperor Ming and ask all officials to reflect on themselves, starting from the self-examination in the court hall."
"Yes, this matter must not be tolerated. Although the prince has returned safely, this force must be eliminated."
While everyone was talking in low voices, Zhao Wang Zhu Gaosui, who was standing at the back, seemed to have been forgotten by everyone, and no one paid attention to him.
Zhu Gaosui didn't seem to care about everyone's attitude. He straightened his body and stood quietly with no expression on his face.
But out of the corner of his eyes, he was looking at the official road with a big red carpet outside the court, intentionally or unintentionally.
Half an hour later, as everyone was waiting eagerly, the old eunuch at the entrance of the court hall shouted, which cheered everyone up.
"His Royal Highness is here!"
Ming Chengzu, who was sitting on the dragon chair, stood up slowly with his hands on the table.
With a face full of expectation, he looked eagerly towards the steps outside the court hall.
On the steps, first a high bun appeared, and then, under the bun, was a familiar but thin face. Then, it was a face dressed in commoner clothes.
Who is this person?
This idea came to the minds of all the officials at the same time.
The outline of this face is clearly that of His Highness the Crown Prince, but the figure and the wind-like walking style are so different from the previous Crown Prince that no one dares to recognize him.
Crossing the threshold of the hall, Zhu Gaochi took three quick steps and then slowly stopped.
He cupped his fists, bowed to Ming Chengzu, and bent deeply: "My son, please see your father!"
"Chi'er, why are you so thin?" Ming Chengzu was trembling all over as he crossed the desk and walked down the steps where the dragon chair was placed.
Wang Xiaosi hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed Ming Chengzu's arm, supported him, carefully walked down the steps, and walked towards Zhu Gaochi in the center of the hall.
Seeing Ming Chengzu caring about him, Zhu Gaochi, holding his fists, couldn't help but shed a few tears.
"Chi'er, is it really you? Is it really you who's back?" Standing opposite Zhu Gaochi, Ming Chengzu couldn't help but choke up in his voice.
He looked at the other person up and down, as if he was afraid that his son would be missing a hair.
"Father, it's me, Chi'er is back." Putting down his fists, Zhu Gaochi looked at Ming Chengzu, held his mouth, and nodded vigorously.
"It's good to come back, it's good to come back. I know how could the sky be blind and leave my Ming Dynasty without a successor." Raising his hands, Ming Chengzu patted the dust off Zhu Gaochi's body.
Listening to Ming Chengzu's words, the officials around him also raised their sleeves one by one and wiped their eyes.
It seemed that he was also moved to tears by the return of the prince.
Zhu Gaosui, standing at the end of the crowd, narrowed his eyes slightly, with an indescribable indifference on his face.
As if he had just come to his senses, Ming Chengzu frowned slightly: "Today, my father led hundreds of officials to wait for your return in this court hall. How can you dress up in common clothes?"
"Father." Zhu Gaochi raised his fists again, "My son made a mistake and was imprisoned in Dongchang Prison by my father to teach him a lesson. He should have been wearing the prison uniform of Dongchang Prison. But today we are facing hundreds of officials from the DPRK.
Wearing prison uniform is disrespectful to the officials. In desperation, the son-in-law had no choice but to wear civilian clothes to visit his father and meet the officials to show his acceptance of his father's teachings and punishments and his respect for the officials.
"
Standing straight, Zhu Gaochi looked even more majestic and majestic as he spoke, even though he was wearing cloth.
"Okay, okay." Ming Chengzu said with a smile on his face, "Respect your father and respect all the officials. You are worthy of being the superintendent of the Ming Dynasty."
"My father's teachings are always in my heart and I dare not forget them. My father is the Son of Heaven, and any decision I make must be obeyed by my children. Officials are the pillars of the imperial court, and my children must respect them at all times." Standing at Ming Ming
Opposite Chengzu, Zhu Gaochi said in a neither humble nor arrogant tone.
"You have returned from a long journey today, and it has been a tiring journey. Let's rest for a few days and choose an auspicious day. My father will allow you to re-enter the East Palace." Ming Chengzu smiled, turned around slowly, and walked towards his dragon chair.
Lin Shangli, who was standing bowed behind the dragon chair, frowned slightly and said to himself: "I just hope that this auspicious day will not wait too long."
With Wang Xiaosi's support, Ming Chengzu slowly sat on the dragon chair. After taking a long breath, Fang raised his head again and looked at Zhu Gaochi who was standing below.
"Did these thieves mistreat you? In just ten days, you have lost weight and become like this?"
"Back to my father, it is true that the thieves abused me, but my current figure is his own intention." Zhu Gaochi said.
"Intentional?" Ming Chengzu was startled, "Father, I remember that in the past, apart from studying, you also did eating. If you want to have such a figure, can you avoid eating big fish and meat?"
"My father didn't know that this time, my father imprisoned my son in Dongchang Prison to teach him a lesson, but it actually made my son completely reborn. The purple-clad captain of Dongchang not only persuaded my son to go on a diet and reshape his body, but also to
It was the doctor who cured my son's leg disease." Zhu Gaochi said seriously, holding his fists.
"After curing your leg disease for many years, the captain in purple clothes will still see a doctor?" Ming Chengzu shook his head, "Many doctors in the palace have treated your leg disease, and there is no way to do it. Unexpectedly, Dongchang is responsible for it.
The doctor in purple who investigated the case has been cured. Has Xiao Chen come back with you?"
"Back to my father, Xiao Chen, the purple-clad captain, has been escorting me all the way. He is outside the palace right now."
"Let Xiao Chen come in." Ming Chengzu raised his head and looked at the old eunuch who was delivering the message at the palace door.
"The emperor has a decree. Xiao Chen, the purple-clad captain of Dongchang, is here to see you." The old eunuch raised his voice and shouted towards the outside of the hall.
Outside the main hall, Xiao Chen, Duan Tianming, and Liu Rufeng were leaning on the base of the huge white jade lion, lazily basking in the sun.
"Tell me, if the emperor sees the prince's current appearance, will he be happy to let the prince take over the East Palace?" Duan Tianming clasped his hands on his chest and looked at Xiao Chen.
"I have never guessed the emperor's thoughts. But I feel that there is not much hope of directly entering the East Palace." Xiao Chen turned around and lay on the stone base, letting the warm sun bask in his face.
back.
"Why?" Duan Tianming asked next.
Since the emperor likes the prince who is capable of both literary and military skills, this image should meet the emperor's requirements. What else is he thinking about not letting the prince directly enter the East Palace?
Could it be said that the reason why the emperor wanted to change the prince was not an image issue?
"Although the prince is back, his current identity is still a prisoner in Dongchang. If he wants to take over the East Palace, the emperor needs to explain to the officials that imprisoning the prince in Dongchang is just a lesson to him. Even if he doesn't care
Among other complicated etiquette in the palace, this procedure is absolutely indispensable." Xiao Chen said.
"First clear the crown prince's name, and then talk about taking over the East Palace?" Liu Rufeng on the side interjected.
"Yes, otherwise, if a criminal from the East Factory were to directly enter the East Palace, the Emperor would be afraid of others making irresponsible remarks behind his back." Xiao put his head on his arms folded together, feeling the warmth on his back.
Chen said lazily.
"I thought that if the prince was sent back, everything would be fine. I didn't expect that there would be so many things about my mother-in-law and my mother-in-law." Duan Tianming muttered dissatisfied.
"This is the royal family, not an ordinary people's home." Xiao Chen raised his head and glared at him.
"The emperor has a decree, Xiao Chen, the purple-clad captain of Dongchang, comes to see you." The old eunuch's voice reached the ears of the three of them.
"Stop basking in the sun, the emperor has asked you to come in." Duan Tianming poked Xiao Chen.
"If you ask me to come in at this time, it might not be good." Frowning, Xiao Chen adjusted his Dongchang school uniform and walked towards the main hall.
