Zhu Hao was taken to another restaurant.
There is only one floor here, and it is completely occupied by someone.
After Zhu Hao entered the room, Zhang Zuo and Lu Song wanted to follow him in, but Zhang Zhong stopped them with his hand: "There is nothing for you to do. Wait outside."
This meant that Zhang Zuo and Lu Song were not qualified to sit at the table. Captain Lin then called on several Jinyiwei to block the way of everyone in the palace and ordered them to stay at the door.
Zhang Zuo frowned and glanced at Zhu Hao. After all, Zhu Hao was a fake and he didn't care much about losing his life, so he left as he was told.
Then Zhu Hao was taken to the cubicle.
There was only an octagonal table inside, with more than a dozen dishes including chicken, duck, fish and meat placed on the table. The banquet was very well equipped. There was no alcohol, but there were teapots and tea bowls.
Zhang Zhong said: "We are here by imperial decree to meet the descendants of the lords of various fiefdoms. During the banquet, we routinely ask about their studies, cultivation, and strategies for assisting the country and maintaining peace. I did not mean to offend you. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
"You are too polite, Eunuch Zhang. You have come from far away, but the palace has not held a welcoming banquet for you. I am really sorry that you have to spend money on it." After saying that, Zhu Hao sat down in the main seat without being polite to Zhang Zhong at all.
After all, in terms of status, Zhu Hao is the master and Zhang Zhong is the servant, although the servant himself does not serve the Xingwang family.
Zhang Zhong showed a slight sneer on his face.
He originally thought that the Prince of Xing was too young and would definitely panic if there was no one familiar around.
But I didn't expect the other party to be so calm.
This kind of scene was nothing to Zhu Hao.
Isn't it just an inspection ordered by the emperor to see which of the princes of the close relatives is more outstanding? It's not an inspection of me, I'm just pretending to be the prince of Xingwang...
If my performance was important, Prince Xing's Mansion wouldn't trust me to come. Since you all don't care, can't I just improvise?
Zhang Zhong sat down next to him and waved his hand. Captain Lin came in from a distance. He kept his eyes on Zhu Hao, but looked at the compartment next to him intentionally or unintentionally.
Although Zhu Hao didn't know what was next door, he vaguely sensed a swaying figure.
This means that Zhang Zhong is not the only one who wants to see him.
"Prince, please have your meal."
Zhang Zhong raised his hand to signal, then glanced at Captain Lin, "Why don't you serve tea to the prince?"
Captain Lin picked up the teapot and poured tea for Zhu Hao.
Even though Captain Lin did not show his emotions on his face, Zhu Hao judged that he was probably cursing in his heart at this moment. It was so embarrassing that a captain of the Jinyiwei actually poured tea for a child of the Zhu family.
If you are unwilling...
You can report me! If you have the guts, it will be a big deal. The palace deliberately sent a fake person to meet the imperial envoy, and you exposed it...
On the surface, it seems like you have accomplished a great deed, but in fact, it is just a lack of awareness of the current situation, do you know?
Captain Lin really had no intention of exposing Zhu Hao. He poured the tea calmly and then respectfully retreated behind Zhang Zhong.
Of course Zhu Hao would not eat the food in front of him.
As for poisoning... I don't think so. What good would it do to Zhang Zhong if he were the prince of Xing? If the prince of Xing was eliminated, the emperor would have no heirs. The root of the problem would not be fundamentally solved. Do you want to kill all the princes and vassals in turn?
But Zhu Hao still had to be careful and vigilant, because he knew very well that Zhang Zhong was very close to Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao, and that he had been to Nanchang, Jiangxi before coming to Huguang, and must have met with Ning Wang. The court might not want to kill the Prince of Xing, but the ambitious Zhu Chenhao was not so merciful.
Kill potential competitors and put the blame on the foolish emperor ...cause internal strife in the royal family, and then you can sit back and watch the fight.
Zhu Hao didn't move his chopsticks. He just picked up the teacup, put it to his lips, took a sip, and then put it down.
If you eat food but don't swallow it, it will be easily noticed when you spit it out. But if you drink tea and spit it out secretly, it will not be so easy to be noticed.
Zhang Zhong did not force Zhu Hao to eat or drink, and took a businesslike attitude: "How far have you progressed in your studies, my prince?"
"The Four Books and Their Commentaries."
Zhu Hao answered calmly.
"Then what is your opinion on assisting the country and maintaining national security?" Zhang Zhong continued to ask.
Zhu Hao said calmly: "The people are the most important, the country is second, and the king is the least important. The king is the boat, and the people are the water. The water can carry the boat, but it can also overturn it."
Zhang Zhong's face immediately changed when he heard this, and he shouted, "Your Highness, such remarks are extremely disrespectful."
Zhu Hao said: "How can I be disrespectful to the words of a saint?"
Zhang Zhong's expression became even colder.
He originally wanted to test Zhu Hao's knowledge and threaten him at the same time, but Zhu Hao didn't buy it at all and responded tit for tat, not taking him seriously at all. Thinking of the fact that he had been praised by many people when he passed through various vassal states before, but was humiliated in front of the prince of Xing Wang, Zhang Zhong felt very unhappy.
But there was nothing he could do even if he was unhappy. He had not had much intersection with the Prince Xing's Palace. No matter how high his status in the court was, Prince Xing was an independent vassal state, and the prince of Prince Xing would have the opportunity to become emperor in the future. After all, Zhang Zhong was a subject and a family slave and had no right to challenge them.
Zhu Hao answered calmly. Captain Lin on the side was secretly annoyed after hearing this. He said, "It's understandable that you pretend to be the prince of Xingwang, but you are disrespectful to Eunuch Zhang of the Imperial Stables. You are clearly trying to put me on the fire!"
"Eunuch Zhang, my father asked me to come here for a routine meeting. The specific reception matters should be arranged by the local government and the chief officials of the royal palace. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave first."
Zhu Hao looked arrogant and took the initiative to resign.
Zhang Zhong said: "No hurry, no hurry, let's talk about it after we have our vegetarian meal."
Zhu Hao shook his head: "If it is not clean, how can it be a vegetarian meal? If Eunuch Zhang is willing to have a banquet, the palace will entertain him. Eunuch Zhang, goodbye!"
Zhang Zhong's face froze, and he was puzzled. Prince Xing was so young, but not only was his manners and etiquette graceful, he was also interested in Buddhist and Taoist matters?
The academic teachings given to the prince in Prince Xing's Palace are very diverse.
Zhu Hao didn't care about Zhang Zhong's surprised expression, he stood up and walked out.
Captain Lin wanted to stop him, but was stopped by a look from Zhang Zhong.
The two watched Zhu Hao leave, and Zhang Zuo came in to make a farewell announcement: "The palace has prepared a residence, as well as fine wine and food. Local gentry also want to see your face. Please do me a favor, Eunuch Zhang."
Zhang Zhong said, "We are on a mission under the emperor's order. We have already arranged everything for our busy schedule. There is no need for Prince Xing to worry about it... Please send the guests away!"
Zhang Zhong seemed to have completed his mission and drove the people away.
Zhang Zuo was more than happy to accept this. After a brief greeting, he went out and took people to escort Zhu Hao back to the palace.
…
…
"Eunuch Zhang..."
After Zhang Zuo, Zhu Hao and others left, Captain Lin couldn't help but want to remind them.
But at this moment, a foreign monk walked out from the next cubicle. He was dressed in a monk's robe, his face was greasy, and he looked like a high monk who was indifferent to worldly affairs.
Zhu Houzhao was well-informed about both Buddhism and Taoism. He kept a large number of monks in the Leopard House. Especially those monks from the southwestern plateau were trusted by the emperor and often practiced some Zen techniques with them.
"Your Majesty, you saw the prince earlier. I wonder if he has...an imperial aura?"
When Zhang Zhong saw the monk, he walked up to him and asked questions eagerly.
Although Captain Lin knew that there was a monk following Zhang Zhong, he did not expect him to be a "Dharma King". He suddenly understood why Zhang Zhong had suddenly mentioned the word "vegetarian meal" without any reason. He thought that it was because he had eaten with this "Dharma King" on a regular basis and had said something fishy.
What Zhang Zhong was asking now was whether the Prince of Xing had the aura of an emperor?
Doesn't that mean that the emperor wants to know whether the princes of the feudal lords in various places are a threat to the survival of the imperial family? Is he preparing to kill them in advance?
The monk said with a serious expression: "This boy has the aura of a purple dragon, which can be seen from afar."
After hearing this, Captain Lin almost choked and vomited blood on the spot.
Ziwei dragon energy?
What nonsense are you talking about?
He is just a kid from the Jinyiwei Zhu family! Did they assume that he is the prince of Xing Wang and think that he might be the crown prince from the perspective of royal succession, so they are deliberately making things mysterious?
Zhang Zhong gritted his teeth when he heard this: "Then we shouldn't have let him go before."
Captain Lin hurriedly said: "Eunuch Zhang, actually..."
"You have something to say?"
Zhang Zhong had long disliked Captain Lin. As a eunuch with such great power, he hated people who were of lower status than himself and who behaved and said things that were inconsistent with their status regardless of the occasion.
Don’t you have any idea about your own positioning?
Is this the place for a Jinyiwei captain like you to speak?
Captain Lin originally wanted to reveal Zhu Hao's true identity. Although he knew that revealing the secret would have a great impact on him, he was afraid that Zhang Zhong would find out and he would not be able to cover it up, so he wanted to reveal it in advance... But after hearing the words of the monk and Zhang Zhong's cold and sarcastic attitude, Captain Lin shut up in time.
If Zhu Hao's identity is revealed, the "King of Dharma" will immediately lose face and cause unpredictable consequences.
Zhang Zhong said, "When I heard what he said before, I felt that he was being arrogant, but after careful consideration, he is so young and yet he is so ambitious... Does he really think of himself as the crown prince of Ming Dynasty? I will report this to the court when I get home, and the court should be on guard against him."
Captain Lin was originally worried, but after hearing these words, he was secretly happy.
This is considered...
Accidentally hit it?
Zhu Hao's arrogant attitude hit Zhang Zhong's soft spot and made Zhang Zhong resentful of the "Prince of Xingwang". With Zhang Zhong's penny-pinching character, he will definitely report it to the court and use the court's power to suppress Xingwang Mansion. Captain Lin, as the person in charge of monitoring Xingwang Mansion, will also be valued by the court.
This is exactly the result I wanted.
From this point of view, Zhu Hao's disrespect for Zhang Zhong is very much in line with his own interests and the interests of the Zhu family. Zhu Hao is not acting without purpose, but is acting according to the circumstances.
Captain Lin thought, "The Zhu kid pretending to be the prince of Prince Xing is definitely not something that a child can decide. It must be the intention of Prince Xing's Mansion. The Zhu kid saw the wind direction clearly and deliberately offended Eunuch Zhang to trick Prince Xing's Mansion... Hey, this kid is quite good at handling things."
He originally didn't dare to reveal Zhu Hao's identity, and thinking of this, he decided not to say anything.
Zhang Zhong's anger and the monk's instigation are in the interests of all parties.
It doesn’t matter whether Zhu Hao is the prince of Xing Wang or not. The most important thing is that the feud has been formed, and the court will continue to take ruthless actions against Xing Wang’s Mansion... Captain Lin and the Zhu family can just sit back and reap the benefits.