Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 638: A Strange Idea
The enthronement of the crown prince, the visit to the temple, the family banquet in the palace, the ceremony of capping... everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.
As for the court officials, the empress who had ruled the country for more than ten years had been deposed, and the eldest and second princes who were once regarded as the strongest competitors for the Eastern Palace were expelled from the capital. The Eastern Palace, which had been ownerless for many years, suddenly had a master. What else could they say? Supporting the eldest prince just to support the eldest son? They had nothing better to do, right?
If there were such diligent and loyal people, someone would have gone to the palace to petition for justice when the emperor deposed the empress and expelled his son. Why would they wait until now to jump out?
As a result, the common people enjoyed the food, clothing, and wine that the emperor gave to the elderly over 70 years old in exchange for the crown prince's appointment, as well as the job opportunities that the court specially provided for the poor. As for the officialdom, although there was no rule of rewarding officials and promoting everyone after the crown prince was appointed, there were still corresponding awards, especially for the officials of the crown prince, who were rewarded with imperial wine, clothing, and food.
The Empress Dowager awarded rewards to the concubines and princesses, and Concubine Yu and Concubine He presided over the awarding of rewards to the eunuchs and palace maids, which was considered to be a heavy skinning from the emperor's inner treasury, without any intention of saving money for the emperor. In this regard, the wealthy emperor waved his sleeves and didn't care at all. On the contrary, he was happy in his heart and immediately made compensation after hearing about the situation in Qingning Palace.
At this moment, Zhu Ying once again stood in the inner storehouse, which was surrounded by tall cabinets and occupied a large area of the outer imperial city, just like she was often brought here before. However, the person who usually accompanied her in was Chu Kuan, but today it was replaced by Lu Chan.
Lu Chan had only heard Chu Kuan mention the emperor's special treatment of Zhu Ying before, but today he was there in person, and he couldn't help but secretly smack his lips. He was envious and amazed. Seeing Zhu Ying looking around calmly, he said carefully: "The emperor said that if the young lady likes something and can take it out at once, she can take it. Or you can take a look at the book first?"
"I haven't been here for a long time. Let me take a look first."
Zhu Ying walked unceremoniously to a cabinet against the wall and opened a drawer in the middle. She saw that the interior was divided into wooden grids with soft silk underneath. There were ornaments made of jade pieces. The small one was just a jade pendant, while the big one was as big as a fist. They were all kinds of small toys and ornaments.
At first glance, all the boxes were full, but she remembered that when she came here in the past, the jade ornaments in this drawer had obviously been replaced, and some large pieces were gone. She didn't remember the emperor generously giving these things to reward anyone, so just like in the past, some tributes that had been too old had been disposed of.
Of course, the so-called disposal does not mean throwing it away. Even if the emperor wanted to be so wasteful as to give things away randomly to save space in the treasury, he would be scolded to death by the empress dowager. I am afraid that the things would be shipped across the ocean or through other channels, and turned from luxury items that cannot be eaten, worn or used into money, or into something else.
When she was still very young, the emperor said those words when he brought her in. Although the emperor thought she had forgotten them, she actually remembered them all the time: "Whether the emperor is rich and the country is poor, or the emperor is rich and the people are poor, or the emperor is poor and the country is rich, or the emperor is poor and the people are rich, they are all the source of disasters! Only when the emperor is rich and the country is rich, and the country is rich and the people are rich, this is the foundation for long-term peace and stability in the world."
"So, Xiao Yingying, you have to remember that this room full of gold, silver, jewelry, silk and satin is all just for show, but actually has no actual value! It's like a wealthy family exchanging their money for gold and silver, or even stringing up copper coins and putting them in the cellar. That's what only the most short-sighted people would do! Wealth is like running water. Only when it is allowed to flow, it will have corresponding value!"
She opened the drawers one by one like a cursory visit, looking at jade ornaments, appreciating pearls, playing with agates... Zhu Ying did whatever she wanted as if she was at home. Lu Chan, who followed behind her, initially thought that Zhu Ying just liked fancy clothes and ornaments as rumored, so he was planning to take away more things, but gradually he felt something was wrong.
Because Zhu Ying was like she was taking inventory of her own warehouse, opening and closing things but not taking anything away.
After strolling for nearly two quarters of an hour, he finally saw Zhu Ying casually take out a string of beads from a drawer and put it on her wrist. He glanced at it calmly and saw that it was a string of agate Buddhist beads. Then he heard Zhu Ying muttering to herself: "Although my mother is not in the Buddhist temple now, she is used to chanting sutras every day. It's just right for her."
Zhu Ying picked a piece of warm jade for the lady, three small items that could be worn by Zhu Jing, Zhu Tingfang and Zhu Er, a bracelet for herself and a fan pendant for Zhang Shou. Zhu Ying then left the inner storehouse with satisfaction. Lü Chan, who was following behind, urgently estimated the value of these things and finally came to a conclusion.
Although it is worth a lot, the emperor will definitely feel it is not enough!
Sure enough, when Zhu Ying returned to the East Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace and showed off her gifts and thanked the emperor, the emperor joked, "You refused to wear the crown and clothes, and you were so reserved when I gave you the gifts. Yingying, are you deliberately trying to distance yourself from me?"
"I am just taking it slow and steady. This way, the emperor will think of me first when he has something good in the future."
Zhu Ying smiled openly, and then said in a matter-of-fact tone: "I spoke for the emperor in Qingning Palace before, not because I was protecting him, but because I really thought so. And I used to be disrespectful in front of the emperor and the empress dowager because the emperor and the empress dowager are the same as my grandmother and parents to me. If that's the case, why should the emperor be so distant with me?"
"Your Majesty is the one and only Emperor, and I am the one and only Zhu Ying."
Lü Chan, who had personally escorted Zhu Ying back from the inner storehouse, was standing by the door. When he heard the conversation inside, he recalled Chu Kuan's judgment of the emperor and Zhu Ying, and he could not help but be mesmerized. Chu Kuan said that the emperor who was independent liked independent people.
Therefore, people like Liu Zhiyuan who are strong, Wang Jie who is responsible, Wu Ge Lao who is good at understanding the emperor's intentions and insists on being a yes-man, Concubine Yu who is unique and independent, Zhu Jing who dares to bet himself and his son, Zhu Tingfang who can rely on his family background but insists on relying on his ability, Zhang Shou who is dedicated to promoting mathematics... All these people, like Zhu Ying who is prouder than a peacock, are highly appreciated by the emperor.
Sure enough, not long after, he heard the emperor's voice from inside: "Well, I can't argue with you! I originally wanted to make you a princess and let you marry in style, but now it seems that you don't need it, Yingying?"
"I certainly don't need the empty title of princess. But if Your Majesty can do me a favor, I will be very grateful." Before the emperor could fully agree, Zhu Ying immediately added, "I have snatched the list of concubines from the Imperial Household Department. I beg Your Majesty to allow these girls to marry into good families."
This time, the emperor was slightly stunned, and then his face darkened and he said: "You mean..."
"Whether it's the selection of beauties in the palace or the selection of concubines by the prince, the list of candidates submitted through the audition has always attracted much attention, but only those girls who were eliminated after the re-selection. However, those who made it all the way to the final selection and caught the eyes of the nobles in the palace, but were ultimately eliminated for various reasons, often have to live alone for the rest of their lives."
"Some people say that they are raising their status, or that they have seen the wealth in the palace, so they are unwilling to marry ordinary people. But if you ask me, it is better to say that their families are worried that they will be blamed by the nobles in the palace after they get married, so they force them to live out their lives in loneliness!"
"This unwritten custom has finally been put to rest over the years because the late Emperor Ruizong never bothered to select concubines, and neither did you, Your Majesty. But this time the selection of concubines has come to an abrupt halt, so it's inevitable that someone will speculate on the emperor's intentions!"
Only Miss Zhu would dare to say such words!
Lu Chan took another breath and found that the room had temporarily fallen into an unspeakable silence. He thought that the emperor had not even allowed the eldest and second princes to get married before sending them out of the capital. He was suddenly unsure of the emperor's true attitude. He didn't know how long it had been before he finally heard the emperor's voice.
"You mean, you want me to pick a good family for these girls?"
"If the emperor has chosen someone to keep for the crown prince and the fourth prince, that's another matter. I will go and meet the others one by one. If you really don't want to get married, but you are a girl with good morals and a refined temperament, then I will recruit you on behalf of Yongping, the head of the women's school. And if you don't want to get married, then it's very simple."
"If there is a unique and stunning beauty among them, let her and Zhang Chen meet each other, and then let Zhang Chen go to propose marriage! As long as this is done, considering that the eldest son of Duke Qin dares to propose marriage, the homes of other girls will probably be crowded with people proposing marriage to them!"
The emperor had always known that Zhu Ying's thinking was different from most people's, and after witnessing this again, what else could he say? So, applauding became the emperor's action at this moment!
Why didn't he choose one of those girls of humble origins for the eldest and second princes, and then have someone accompany his two sons on the journey out of the capital?
Because he felt that if he chose a gentle and virtuous princess, she might be willing to silently endure the treatment of being driven out of the capital by her father-in-law as soon as she got married. Because the Imperial Household Department was very confident that it could choose a girl who had been taught by her parents to abide by the rules of being a woman since childhood. However, he knew very well what kind of people his two sons were.
The two brothers who only care about their birth and power will never cherish such a wife, let alone respect her! In this case, rather than causing resentment between the couple or even a tragedy, he might as well let it go!
"Very good, that's it, Yingying, just go ahead and do it, I approve of this!" After three years, if the two of them repented a little bit, it wouldn't be too late to get married again! He could choose carefully in three years to see if there is a girl with a strong personality, more domineering than Zhu Ying... Wait, it seems there is!
The emperor not only nodded, but also suddenly said thoughtfully, "Speaking of stunning beauties, I do remember that Ye, the granddaughter of the late Honglu Shaoqing Ye Cheng'an of Tongzhou, was born with extraordinary beauty but was weak in childhood, so the elders invited a well-known female escort from the Cangzhou Escort Agency to teach her martial arts based on the doctor's advice."
"As a result, the girl recovered physically, but her martial arts skills were also extraordinary. When I saw the background information submitted by the Imperial Household Department, I once planned to summon her to the palace so that you could have a try with her. However, she only made it to the second round of selection when something happened. A lustful young man passing by saw her carriage passing by and was seduced by her beauty. He led a group of slaves to hijack her carriage and plotted something bad."
"In the end, the guards were entangled by the slaves, and the girl went out with a sword, killing three people on the spot, cutting off both ears of the evil young man, and then had him taken to Shuntian Prefecture. Chu Kuan originally thought that she was quite suitable, but after this incident, he hurriedly reported to me, saying that she must not be chosen in the final selection. If a girl like this marries into the palace, she will go in with a white knife and come out with a red knife if she is not careful."
"How come I didn't know about such an explosive thing!" Zhu Ying was shocked! This was a big event that could shake the entire capital, how could there not be even a splash?
The emperor saw that Zhu Ying's focus was so off the track that he couldn't help but laugh and cry: "A girl on the re-election list, and she has the best family background, but she was hijacked by a gangster in the street, and then this powerful girl killed the gangster. Isn't this going to be a big deal? Zhang Chuan was already having a headache, and Chu Kuan personally went to tell him not to make it public, so of course he suppressed it."
"Of course, the Ye family doesn't want to make it public. Although their daughter is amazing, is this really a glorious thing?"
Zhu Ying finally understood and became even more curious about the emperor's recommendation, but she couldn't help but said angrily, "Your Majesty, too. Why didn't you tell me about this interesting girl earlier? If you had told me earlier, I would have gone to her house a long time ago!"
You said this... as if you were a man who was so excited that he wanted to marry her! The amused emperor immediately said with a straight face: "Such a good girl, can't I keep her for myself?"
However, his sullen face was doomed to fail in front of Zhu Ying, because Zhu Ying raised her eyebrows and said in a very matter-of-fact tone: "There are people in the harem who are good at martial arts, isn't Concubine Yu one of them? It's not good to be greedy for more!"
It is human nature to want more after getting something, right? Thinking that the person in front of him might be his own daughter, the emperor could only swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue, and then gestured to chase her away with extreme disgust: "You dead girl, I really love you in vain, your elbows are always turning outward! Go away, go away, you robbed my inner treasury, and now you want to rob the person I like, I really lost both my wife and my army! Go away, go away!"
Anyway, it wasn't the first time that she was chased away by the emperor, so Zhu Ying wasn't angry at all. She knelt down and saluted without saying anything, then turned around and walked away lightly. When she reached the door, she turned around and smiled again, "I knew that the emperor always treats me the best!"
Listening to the footsteps of people and the clear laughter gradually fading away, the emperor stroked his mustache and couldn't help but sigh softly. If everyone in the world was like Zhu Ying, who could not hide his emotions and expressed his true feelings, how simple would the world be? Too often, the emperor had to be a lonely man because he didn't dare to have a confidant!
