Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 537 Red Leaves
Without the third and fourth princes, the troublesome light bulbs, the guards also left. When Ah Liu and Zhu Ying's discussion finally came to an end, when Zhang Shou learned from Ah Liu that there were only three of them left on the huge Wansui Mountain, he couldn't help but be a little surprised. But then he thought again, could the emperor be afraid that they would cause trouble in this forbidden mountain in the palace?
They had already swung on the swing, and although no one was disturbing them, Zhu Ying had no interest in going again. Instead, she urged Ah Liu to climb the tree to pick red leaves. Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh at Ah Liu, who was jumping up and down to look for beautiful red leaves.
He had long passed the age of being a mischievous boy climbing trees and robbing bird nests, and he lacked a sense of identity with the so-called romantic red leaves. He even doubted the legend in ancient books that red leaves could convey love. However, when he saw Ah Liu getting down from the tree, Zhu Ying picking up a handful of red leaves, and then smilingly saying something, he was still dumbfounded.
"The red leaves of Wansui Mountain are very famous. If I sell a bunch of them like this, they will be worth a lot of money!"
Seeing Zhang Shou's unprecedented stupid look, Zhu Ying couldn't help but burst out laughing: "In the past, grandfathers Yingzong and Ruizong used to pick red leaves from Wansui Mountain, dry them and then write words on them to reward people. The emperor thought it was troublesome, so he would pick the red leaves from Wansui Mountain and stamp them with his personal seal to reward people as bookmarks. I have a lot of them at home. Ah Liu picked a bunch of them, I'll go find the emperor to stamp them later."
Zhang Shou couldn't help but wipe his forehead and said, "Yingying, after stamping it with the emperor's seal, you won't really sell it, right?"
"Of course I'm not selling, I'm exchanging." Zhu Ying's stunning face showed a sly smile, "This bookmark can't be kept for too long, especially once the seal fades or the appearance is damaged, then even if it is a gift from the emperor, it can only be stored in a box. So only those who receive this reward every year can afford to show off to others."
"There are a lot of things to do this year. The emperor seemed to have forgotten about this. I went to ask for favors from each family and sent them to each family. Shouldn't they give me some money for running errands?" Zhu Ying said confidently, with a bright and brilliant smile. "A promise from these people is very valuable. And most of them are the elders of the guys I wanted to recruit before."
"Otherwise, if those guys work well for me in the future and the elders in my family come to take advantage of me, wouldn't I be at a disadvantage?"
Zhang Shou finally gave Zhu Ying a thumbs up in admiration. Seeing that the young lady was immediately proud and boasted that she was very capable and that others had only been ignorant before, he praised her a few more times. Soon, he realized that Ah Liu had disappeared without a trace, so he looked around for the boy, but suddenly heard a voice from behind.
"Miss, are these red leaves enough?"
Zhang Shou turned around suddenly and saw Ah Liu lifting the hem of his clothes with both hands, and inside was a bag full of red leaves of all kinds. Seeing this scene, he saw Zhu Ying was also stunned for a moment, and couldn't help laughing: "I've only heard of plucking wool, but this is the first time I've seen plucking red leaves... Ah Liu, you won't become bald after plucking a tree, right?"
This was the first time that Ah Liu had heard of the phrase "plucking red leaves", but he understood the joking meaning in Zhang Shou's words, and said to Zhu Ying in all seriousness, "I only picked a dozen leaves from each tree. The leaves will all fall off in the future anyway, so it would be a pity to waste them. I think, without the emperor's seal, why don't the young master and the young lady send these red leaves to the public school as bookmarks?"
Zhang Shou looked at Ah Liu in surprise. "You mean to announce to the public that the emperor collected red leaves from Wansui Mountain to encourage the students in the public school to study hard, and gave them to everyone as bookmarks to encourage them to study hard?"
This time it was Ah Liu who was stunned: "I just think these red leaves are beautiful. It's a pity that they fell to the ground and turned into mud."
Zhu Ying was immediately amused by the master and servant's incoherent talk and started laughing: "A Liu doesn't want to waste good things, but A Shou hopes that the emperor will bless the public school. In fact, it's good to kill two birds with one stone. But if that's the case, this bag of red leaves won't be enough, right?"
Seeing Ah Liu immediately turn his head and stare at the red leaves on the mountain, Zhang Shou quickly grabbed him, fearing that this sometimes sinister and sometimes stubborn guy would really pluck all the red leaves from Wansui Mountain. For this reason, he quickly came up with an excuse: "Good things are not suitable for everyone to have one. After all, if too many are given away, it will be meaningless. Others will not think that the emperor has good intentions, but will only think that this thing is worthless."
At this point, he asked Zhu Ying thoughtfully: "When the emperor rewarded his civil and military ministers with red leaves, did he really just stamp them with his personal seal without writing a single word?" Isn't this too perfunctory?
"I heard that Grandpa Ruizong always wrote the word 'good luck', and his writing of 'good luck' was very good. The emperor is too lazy to write all of them. My father or Duke Chu had words on their names, as did Grandpa Ge. The cabinet elders sometimes had words on their names, sometimes not, and the ministers and other nobles did the same. The rest of the civil and military officials depended on the emperor's mood. When he was happy, he wrote 'peace and good fortune', and when he was unhappy, he didn't write a single word."
Well, it can be seen that Ruizong is very good at winning people's hearts, and the emperor... is very willful!
Zhang Shou complained in his heart, but when Zhu Ying invited him and Ah Liu to go down the mountain together and excitedly go to the palace to see the emperor, he couldn't help but look at Ah Liu's pocket full of at least hundreds of red leaves, wondering what expression the people down the mountain would have if they saw it. However, he soon found that he was overthinking.
Because when the three of them arrived at Xuanwu Gate, even though Zhu Ying was holding a handful of leaves and Ah Liu was holding a large bag of brightly colored leaves, the guards pretended not to see them and let them into the palace. However, when they passed Qin'an Hall from Shunzhen Gate, they ran into the group of people coming from the opposite direction.
Recognizing Chu Kuan, Zhang Shou naturally greeted him with a smile, and Zhu Ying even more carelessly called out: "Eunuch Chu, are you coming from the Qianqing Palace? Is the emperor free now? Ah Shou and I are about to go see him. If he is not free, we will go to the Qingning Palace first."
Chu Kuan returned the greeting with a smile: "I came from the Qianqing Palace, but the emperor is not here at the moment. I heard that he went to the Qingning Palace to see the Empress Dowager. Anyway, it's not important for me, so I will go back to the Silijian first."
Seeing Zhu Ying shouting that this would save a lot of trouble, they could just go to Qingning Palace, she immediately dragged Zhang Shou away. When Zhang Shou passed by him, he even nodded and smiled to say hello, while Ah Liu followed closely with a bag of red leaves in his pocket. Chu Kuan looked at this seemingly very harmonious family and his eyes couldn't help but twinkle.
To be fair, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying were indeed a perfect match, and their appearance and demeanor couldn't be more perfect. He also had high hopes for Zhang Shou's mathematical ability, hoping that he could decipher the manuscripts left by Taizu. Now it seems that his judgment may be correct, but even if Zhang Shou's origin is not a problem, his teacher is most likely problematic.
In addition, Zhang Shou had no response to his repeated hints, so he naturally couldn't put all his bets on one person.
The Ming Dynasty could no longer easily have a vassal rebellion like before, and the succession of imperial power must be smooth. Yingzong and Ruizong were lucky that there was no chaos in the world when they seized the throne. Although the current emperor is still young, he must also prepare for a rainy day. Therefore, the eldest and second princes, who were raised wrongly since childhood and have a stupid mother, must be excluded from the candidates for the Eastern Palace.
And that stupid woman can no longer occupy the throne, she must deposed! Only in this way can the succession of the throne be smooth and orderly in the future.
If Zhang Shou knew Chu Kuan's thoughts, he would definitely murmur that it was the eunuch who was anxious while the emperor was not. At this time, walking on the road, he thought of the several times he had dealt with Chu Kuan, and couldn't help but whisper to Zhu Ying about Chu Kuan's origins. As a result, Zhu Ying frowned and thought about it, and then whispered an answer that shocked Zhang Shou.
"Eunuch Chu seems to be a natural eunuch. He was found at the temple gate by the pregnant Queen Mother when she went to pray for the unborn Emperor. She took him home out of pity. He grew up in the Prince Rui's Mansion. When Grandpa Ruizong was around, he was treated differently. There are usually only four or five eunuchs in the palace, so he, who is only five years older than the Emperor, has been with the Emperor since he was a child. He can be said to have grown up watching the Emperor."
"Don't look at him like this. He has learned literature and martial arts since he was a child. He is very good at martial arts. When he was only eight or nine years old, he stood up to protect the Empress Dowager at a critical moment and almost lost his life. So Grandpa Ruizong trusts him very much, and the Empress Dowager and the Emperor also trust him very much. Although he is very powerful and has a group of people under him, he always considers the Emperor's interests in everything. The person who admires Grandpa Taizu the most is not the Emperor, but him."
Zhang Shou couldn't help but look extremely strange. Is this considered a... loyal, filial, chaste and righteous eunuch? From the Han, Tang and Song dynasties to the present, there have been as many so-called treacherous eunuchs as there are such righteous eunuchs. Fortunately, he was afraid that this guy would be omnipresent, so he never asked anyone about Chu Kuan.
But it was not too late to inquire now, so he heard from Zhu Ying a story about the growth of an eunuch who was hardworking and optimistic. Of course, because of the favoritism of two generations of emperors and the empress dowager, as Ruizong took the throne, Chu Kuan had never served as a low-level eunuch after entering the palace, and started directly as a eunuch in the Silijian.
It only took ten years for Chu Kuan, who was only 27 years old, to become the youngest Secretary of the Imperial Household Department since the founding of the country. If it weren't for the Ming Dynasty at that time, the number of eunuchs in the entire palace would probably not exceed 300, so the Imperial Household Department would not have too many people to use, and the Secretary would not be able to compete with the Foreign Minister. His promotion would probably cause an uproar in the outer court.
"But Eunuch Chu has been the official for more than ten years, and he has never had a quarrel with the previous official. In addition, he is very dignified, and because of his relationship with the former Prince Rui's Mansion, he has good relations with many nobles. Therefore, he has a good reputation both inside and outside the palace."
Hearing Zhu Ying say this, Zhang Shou couldn't help but exclaimed: "This is really a legendary person."
Zhu Ying suddenly remembered something and quickly lowered her voice and said, "Oh, by the way, I heard from Uncle Hua that Eunuch Chu said good things about you many times in front of the emperor and praised you many times."
Zhang Shou was not happy about Chu Kuan's kindness, and could only laugh and say, "It is really an honor for me. I remember the first time I was in Yuehua Tower, he came out to help me out, and later he told me a lot of strange stories."
He still remembered that the central meaning of Chu Kuan's words was only one, that the torch would be passed on by the eunuch party. At that time, he thought it was just a show-off, but looking at Chu Kuan's growth trajectory, if he was not some hostile force that dropped him at the gate of the temple where the Queen Mother used to worship, and then let the Queen Mother pick him up and plant a nail in the Rui Wang Mansion, then he was indeed a legitimate old member of the Rui Wang Mansion.
With Ah Liu by their side, Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying naturally talked about Chu Kuan's gossip as they walked, and before they knew it, they had arrived at Qingning Gate. Zhu Ying often came here, and Zhang Shou had been here several times before. The person who reported in flew in and out again, but said with a smile on his face, "The Queen Mother invites Dr. Zhang and Miss Zhu in."
Although Ah Liu was not mentioned, when Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying entered, Ah Liu was let in together. But he suddenly took two quick steps to shorten the distance between himself and Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying, and then whispered in Zhang Shou's ear: "Why did the Queen Mother invite the young master and the eldest lady in, but didn't mention the Emperor?"
Zhang Shou stopped walking immediately after hearing this. Seeing Zhu Ying continue to walk in excitedly without noticing anything, he couldn't help but frown. In the Empress Dowager's Qingning Palace, it was normal for the Empress Dowager to give instructions in person. But he thought again, since the Emperor was here, then according to the custom of the Empress Dowager to do everything according to the Emperor's wishes after returning to power, the Emperor should give another order.
So, he quickly continued to walk in, but without turning his head, he asked: "Why, Ah Liu, do you think there is a problem?"
Ah Liu, holding the bag of red leaves as if no one was around, said bluntly, "I think the emperor may not want to see you and the eldest lady."
The emperor doesn't want to see them? Not really?
Zhang Shou originally thought that Ah Liu's answer seemed a little unlikely. However, when he really entered Qingning Palace, he saw that the empress dowager on the main seat was still smiling as usual, but the emperor next to the empress dowager was full of anger. When he saw him and Zhu Ying come in, he even turned his head away and ignored them. He couldn't help but sigh at Ah Liu's sharpness.
As expected, when he bowed, he heard the emperor ask in a stern voice, "What are you doing here?"
This time, even Zhu Ying noticed that the emperor's attitude was not right. She turned around and looked at the emperor curiously, until the emperor snorted in obvious displeasure. Then she quickly walked to the empress dowager and asked in a low voice: "Empress Dowager, is the emperor angry?"
The Queen Mother glanced at the Emperor who continued to give her the cold shoulder in front of the younger generation, and couldn't help wondering what sin she had committed to indulge such a bad-tempered son. But even so, she had to pretend nothing had happened in front of Zhu Ying and Zhang Shou, and laughed, "Don't mention it, he is like this, he gets angry with me if he doesn't agree with me."
After very skillfully avoiding the main point, she immediately changed the subject and asked, "Why did you pick so many red leaves?"
Zhu Ying chattered about Ah Liu's opinion and Zhang Shou's idea, and the Queen Mother immediately made a decisive decision, saying, "This is a good idea, and it can also motivate students. But we can't favor one over the other. In addition to the public school, it's better to enjoy some at the Imperial College. Anyway, there are plenty of red leaves on Wansui Mountain, and it doesn't matter if we pick them all. It just means one less scenery."
She glanced at the emperor sternly, shutting up his complaints about others' generosity, and then praised Zhang Shou affectionately. Even Ah Liu, who was still carrying a pile of red leaves after entering the house, won a few compliments from her. But after these words of affirmation, she suddenly said, "Zhang Shou, where is the old salted fish you mentioned before who brought back cotton seeds and cinchona seeds from overseas?"
