Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 189: Peaceful Story
The emperor knew his biological mother's character very well. When he heard the last sentence, how could a princess marry so easily, he couldn't help but laugh. His anger just now disappeared without a trace. After entering Qingning Palace, he went straight to the West Warm Pavilion. Seeing that the empress dowager was reclining on the couch in a trance, he walked forward with a relaxed step.
"In fact, it's not that the princess of the royal family cannot marry a lower class. If the families who want to marry are willing to let me choose all the boys of the right age, and then I will pick out the best ones and send someone to teach them for seven or eight years, I can still accept such a child son-in-law."
The Queen Mother had been resting her eyes, but when she heard such nonsense, she immediately opened her eyes angrily and cursed: "Do you all want to piss me off to death?"
"I am serious." The emperor said seriously, "Zhu Jing was too Confucian before and was unwilling to keep Zhang Shou, the future son-in-law, at home. Otherwise, Yingying would have seen him every day and would not have been causing trouble outside since she was a child. And with Zhang Shou's talent and learning, he would have caught my eye earlier, and Teacher Ge would have been more proud to show off his student everywhere."
The Queen Mother finally couldn't stand this nonsense anymore and sat up straight: "What do you want to say?"
"I know the Queen's temper very well. She will not give up until she achieves her goal. She is also the master of the six palaces, and all the concubines and princesses must obey her orders. Since she has proposed such a thing, I think there will always be someone in the court who will propose a corresponding proposal. Therefore, if the Queen Mother hopes that Qingning Palace will be quieter in the near future, and the court will be quieter, then please order the Queen to stay in the palace for a month to reflect on her mistakes."
Seeing the Queen Mother's disapproving expression, the Emperor said calmly: "Of course, as a father, I will also take responsibility. After all, the son is not only hers, but also mine. As long as she thinks in Kunning Palace, I will think in Qianqing Palace. Except for court meetings and necessary summons to ministers, I will not visit any concubines. This way, it is fair."
When these words came out, the Queen Mother was furious at first, but she found that the Emperor's expression was quite serious, and he was actually serious. She was stunned unconsciously. After a long while, she sighed and said, "Okay, as you say."
Zhang Shou could easily control the students of Banshan Hall who were born in noble families and had delicate minds, and the students of Jiuzhang Hall who were born in the market and had a lot of experience were no exception. They were delighted that they received generous rewards from the emperor not long after entering school, and everyone got a share. Whenever Zhang Shou said something, everyone took it as an imperial decree.
As for Zhang Shou and Lu Sanlang, who had been in the limelight in Fengtian Hall during the day, they were personally dragged to Ge's residence by Ge Yong at night and reprimanded for half an hour. Chu Ying, who happened to be in Ge's residence, immediately spread the news. However, the news that Zhang Shou had written a letter to return the manuscript of Taizu to the emperor and asked several students to copy it and prepare to present it to Ge Yong and other seniors also spread like wildfire.
As a result, the few imperial censors who had originally prepared to impeach Zhang Shou for his arrogance naturally had to give up.
In contrast, when the news that the second prince was blamed and the eldest prince was also blamed leaked out from the palace, it was a real uproar. However, when the new rules for the prince's selection of concubines were leaked, the most common reaction among the ministers was - so that's it!
Except for a very small number of diehards who adhered to the ancestral system and stood out to oppose, most officials did not express any opinions. They all acquiesced in the emperor's change of the criteria for selecting princes' concubines, and unconditionally supported the teaching of the princes' concubines for two to four years.
It is rare that during the thirty years since Emperor Ruizong came to power, the Ming Dynasty has enjoyed a rare period of peace. No one wants to see concubines supporting their own princes in a fight for the throne in the future. What kind of support can ordinary minor officials or even princesses from poor families bring to their husbands? In this way, as long as the emperor cuts off the princes' hands from making friends with ministers, the world will be peaceful.
Even though the eldest prince is a little self-righteous, as long as the eldest legitimate son is guaranteed to succeed to the throne, there will at least be long-term peace and stability for a period of time!
But then, the ministers were dumbfounded.
First, it was said that the Empress in the palace was dissatisfied with the change in the criteria for the selection of concubines for the princes, so she went to the Qingning Palace and made a scene, even threatening that if the princes could only choose girls from ordinary families, then the princess should be demoted to the common people. As a result, she was reprimanded by the Empress Dowager, who accused the Empress of not raising her children properly and ordered her to reflect on her mistakes in the palace. The Emperor was also reprimanded for not raising his children properly and was also ordered to cultivate his character in the Qianqing Palace.
The dignified emperor and empress were actually scolded in front of the empress dowager like those noisy children in ordinary families?
When Zhang Shou learned the news, it was early in the morning on his rare day off. Seeing Zhu Ying, who had informed him of the news, looking angry, he couldn't help but jokingly asked, "Why, are you standing up for the emperor?"
"Yes, the Queen Mother is too partial. It is obviously the Queen who is not good at educating her children. What does it have to do with the Emperor?"
"Don't forget, they are not only the Queen's sons, but also the Emperor's sons."
"When have they ever listened to the emperor? He always says one thing in front of you and another behind your back. It's all the queen's teachings!"
"It would be too easy for all fathers in the world to blame their sons' bad behavior on their mothers' poor teaching." Although he had a good impression of the emperor, Zhang Shou couldn't help but refute. Seeing Zhu Ying glaring at him unhappily, he smiled and changed the subject, "It's a rare day off, so I asked Lu Sanlang to make an appointment with Weinan Bo, and Weinan Bo invited us to have tea at Tingyu Cottage."
"Tingyu Cottage?" Zhu Ying's eyes widened immediately. She didn't care that Zhang Shou went to such a seemingly elegant place, nor did she care about the strange idea of drinking tea. She looked up at the sky and said in disbelief, "It's broad daylight, let alone Twelve Rain, even those ordinary girls haven't gotten up yet, right?"
Miss, could you please not talk about this topic in the tone of someone who has experienced it?
Zhang Shou couldn't help but cover his forehead, then he sighed and said, "I'm going to discuss a new business, so I have to go to Tingyu Cottage. But Yingying, it's not appropriate for you to always go there, I plan to ask your second brother to accompany me, and then call Zhang Chen..."
"Don't others say that it's an elegant place for drinking tea and listening to music? Then why wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to go there?" Zhu Ying interrupted Zhang Shou without saying a word. Seeing that he didn't quite agree, she snorted and said, "Why not, call Zhang Chen, Zhang Wu, and Zhang Lu, and then I'll call Princess Deyang and the others to come along..."
Before he finished listening, Zhang Shou felt his scalp tingling and his body covered in cold sweat. My eldest lady, are you going to hold a blind date meeting in the brothel? He immediately interrupted without thinking: "Absolutely not!"
But as soon as he finished speaking, he was greeted with Zhu Ying's crisp laughter: "I'm kidding! No matter how daring I am, I wouldn't dare to do such an outrageous thing! I'm not going, I've already made an appointment to have tea, and I came here to tell you! It just so happens that the Yangzhou teahouse is on the only way to Tingyu Cottage. I'll be on the second floor chatting and gathering later, and I can see you from a high vantage point."
Unconsciously, she smiled so hard that her long teeth were exposed. "Of course, we can only see their appearance. If you have a way, it would be best to let them say something in the street so that everyone can make a distinction. Okay, I'll go back and ask my eldest brother to meet you in front of Tingyu Cottage. I guarantee he will be very happy."
Seeing Zhu Ying coming and going quickly, Zhang Shou could only smile bitterly. However, he had to admit that this method was more appropriate than the casual encounters on the street. Of course, compared to the tacit understanding between the Lu and Liu families, the marriage problems of Zhang Wu and other noble children who seemed to be from wealthy families but actually had low status and resources were not something that could be solved by the man being in love and the woman being willing.
It's not popular these days for the emperor and the empress dowager to grant marriages! Of course, except for those who are chosen to be the prince consort...
When Zhang Shou, Lu Sanlang, Zhang Chen, Zhang Wu, and Zhang Lu arrived at the gate of Tingyu Cottage, they saw Zhu Er had already arrived at the gate and greeted them with a big smile. They were all acquaintances, and Zhu Ying was not there, so he smiled even when facing Zhang Shou, which was much more natural.
"It's broad daylight, and Tingyu Cottage is usually closed. Do we have to knock on the door to get in?"
Lu Sanlang immediately puffed out his chest proudly: "Of course not! Look at me!"
He whistled and clapped his hands rhythmically a few times. The next moment, the tightly closed black lacquered courtyard door slowly opened . Then, he said proudly, "Weinanbo has done a favor to Wanyuanbao, the owner of Tingyu Cottage, so he has 30% of the shares in Tingyu Cottage." Although the actual situation is 50%, the poor richest man Wanyuanbao only has 10%.
Everyone looked at each other in shock, even Zhang Chen, who had come to drink tea twice before. However, they were even more confused as to why Zhang Shou brought them here. When they entered the courtyard gate, they saw Wan Yuanbao, who was even rounder than Lu Sanlang, coming out to greet them and then led them to the most elegant waterside pavilion in the center, and they became even more confused.
Weinan Earl Zhang Kang was also surprised to see Zhang Shou bring so many people. However, he was a man of great wisdom and did not show any unusual emotions. Instead, he nodded slightly and watched the younger generation being properly seated by Wan Yuanbao. He then smiled at Zhang Shou and said, "Lu Sanlang told me about Dr. Zhang's idea before, and I am indeed very curious."
Zhang Shou took out a scroll from his sleeve and said with a smile, "Master, please read this story."
Lu Sanlang stood up quickly and handed the scroll to Zhang Kang on behalf of Zhang Shou. But he didn't leave because he was very curious. Instead, he stood beside Zhang Kang. When he saw Zhang Kang open the scroll, he immediately leaned over. He read very quickly, and after reading ten lines at a glance, he immediately looked up at Zhang Shou.
"Young sir, this is actually... the story of a famous prostitute in a brothel?" This is totally inconsistent with Zhang Shou's usual style!
"That's right." Zhang Shou smiled slightly, took a sip of the tea poured by Wan Yuanbao himself, and said calmly, "This is the story of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai in the remote city of Nanjing at the end of a certain dynasty. This is the story of Li Xiangjun among them, and it is called "Peach Blossom Fan."
