Volume 2: The Capital, I’m Back Chapter 65: Cutting off my financial resources
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it's time to get up!"
Zhu Qizhen opened his sleepy eyes and asked, "What time is it...oh no, what time is it?"
Queen Qian lay on the pillow and whispered, "It's three quarters past three in the morning. Your Majesty should prepare for the morning court session."
“No, no, no!”
Zhu Qizhen turned over, closed his eyes and continued to sleep.
Empress Qian had no choice but to continue to persuade him: "If the emperor does not attend court for no reason, I am afraid those upright officials will impeach him again."
Zhu Qizhen muttered, "Prince Qing is here, I can leave those troublesome matters to him, I still have important things to do."
Queen Qian looked strange and thought to herself, now that you're back, why are you still letting Prince Qing be in charge?
This... is against the rules!
It was almost dawn, and the lights outside the Meridian Gate were brightly lit, and all the ministers had arrived.
Everyone came early today. After all, this was the emperor's first morning court session since returning to Beijing. They had to seize the opportunity to perform well and show that they had been working hard during this period.
Just as everyone was greeting each other, someone said, "Isn't that the sedan chair of His Royal Highness Prince Qing?"
Everyone looked sideways and found that it was indeed the sedan chair of Prince Qing.
At this moment, everyone was confused. What was going on?
Zhu Qiyu slowly got off the sedan chair, and everyone immediately reacted and came forward to pay their respects.
"Don't be so polite, everyone. Please stop being polite!"
The Meridian Gate in front was wide open. Zhu Qiyu clasped his fists to signal everyone, then took the lead and walked forward.
Everyone looked at each other, and followed him to the Fengtian Hall, but found a problem, where is the emperor?
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the eunuch Jin Ying stepped forward, cleared his throat, and said loudly: "Holy Parable!"
All the ministers knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor".
"I have just returned from Mobei and have been feeling unwell. From today on, Prince Qing will be the regent. I decree this!"
When these words were spoken, the ministers were in an uproar.
What's going on? Why do I feel unwell?
I was so energetic when I was hacking people and ransacking their houses yesterday!
"Ahem, ahem!"
Jin Ying coughed twice and signaled everyone to be quiet.
"Your Highness, Prince Qing, all the lords, did you hear clearly?"
The cabinet chief minister Cao Nai was the first to step forward and asked tentatively, "Eunuch Jin, may I ask how the emperor feels? Is he suffering from a cold or some other illness? Has the imperial hospital been notified?"
Jin Ying wore a professional smile on his face and said in a slow and gentle voice, "Don't worry, Lord Cao. The emperor is not sick, he is just tired. My lords, please stop discussing it. Let me tell you. The emperor has been fighting outside for many days. It's time for him to have a good rest after returning to the capital. Your Highness, Prince Qing , don't you think so?"
Zhu Qiyu was the only one who knew about this decision in advance, and he said immediately: "Eunuch Jin is right, we will obey the emperor's order!"
Cao Nai didn't know what to say, so he had to take out the prepared memorial.
"According to the note received by the cabinet, there are three main things to discuss today. First, how to formulate the rewards for the soldiers; second, regarding the construction of the Martyrs' Shrine, the Ministry of Works must come up with a rough plan as soon as possible; third, a large number of positions have been vacant recently, and we need to find suitable people to fill them as soon as possible..."
Zhu Qizhen slept until dawn, stretched comfortably, but found that the pillow was empty.
Maybe it was because he had just woken up, his mind was a little fuzzy and he was still recalling what happened last night.
It seems that I ordered the Imperial Supreme Set Meal...
No, I am the emperor!
Zhu Qizhen jumped up and saw Queen Qian standing by the bed looking at him.
"Your Majesty, are you awake?"
Queen Qian waved her hand, and two palace maids came over behind her, carrying basins of water and towels to wash the utensils.
Zhu Qizhen asked: "What time is it?"
"It's past noon, the morning court is over."
Zhu Qizhen secretly curled his lips in his heart. He had to get up at three in the morning and go to court at five o'clock . Whoever wanted to go could go, but I wouldn't go!
After washing up, Queen Qian served Zhu Qizhen to have breakfast.
The emperor's royal meal was also relatively simple, a bowl of white porridge, two flatbreads, and a few side dishes.
While they were eating, a young eunuch came forward and reported that Concubine Zhou wanted to see her.
This Concubine Zhou was the biological mother of Crown Prince Zhu Jianshen, and her status in the harem was second only to Empress Dowager Sun and Queen Qian.
"I greet the Emperor and the Empress!"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "My beloved concubine, have you eaten yet? Sit down and eat together."
"I thank the Emperor!"
Concubine Zhou sat on the right side of Zhu Qizhen, but she kept her head down and did not move.
Zhu Qizhen ignored him, took a mouthful of porridge, smacked his lips, and heard a sobbing sound next to his ear.
When I turned around, I saw that it was Zhou who was crying softly.
"My dear, what's wrong with you?"
Concubine Zhou wiped her tears with her clothes and said hurriedly, "I am fine. I just haven't seen the emperor for many days. I am very happy."
Zhu Qizhen secretly laughed in his heart, and was so happy that he cried?
This woman is trying to play hard to get with me. Haha, she is so scheming.
"I'm sorry to have worried my beloved concubine!" Zhu Qizhen finished his porridge, smiled and said, "Since there is nothing else, I still have to go to the imperial study, my beloved concubine, please do as you please!"
When Concubine Zhou heard this, she became anxious and said quickly, "Your Majesty, please make the decision!"
Zhu Qizhen put away the smile on his face and asked, "What happened?"
Concubine Zhou hesitated for a moment and said, "My father runs a cloth shop in the capital, but it was robbed last night..."
Zhu Qizhen was stunned. The shop was robbed. What kind of big deal was this?
"The store was stolen. Go to Shuntianfu to report it!"
Concubine Zhou said softly: "The thieves not only stole property, but also killed the shopkeeper and several employees. I personally think that it is possible to ask the Jinyiwei to help investigate..."
Zhu Qizhen was a little confused and pretended for a long time. It turned out that he just wanted to recover the lost money as soon as possible.
On second thought, he is my father-in-law after all, and he is involved in a murder case, so let the Royal Guards help investigate it!
"Wynn!"
Zhuan En hurried forward: "The servant is here!"
"Call Yuanbin to the imperial study!"
"I obey your command!"
Upon seeing this, Concubine Zhou hurriedly bowed to express her gratitude.
Queen Qian, who was standing by, frowned slightly, shook her head secretly, but said nothing.
After finishing his meal, Zhu Qizhen came to the imperial study and continued to think about how to carry out reforms. Huai En came to report and Yuan Bin asked for a meeting.
"Xuan!"
"Your humble servant Yuan Bin pays respect to His Majesty!"
Zhu Qizhen raised his head and said, "Last night, a cloth shop owned by Lord Qingyun was robbed. Send a few people to check it out."
Earl Qingyun was Concubine Zhou's father, Zhou Neng. Because of his daughter's status, he was conferred the title of earl in the 11th year of Zhengtong.
After hearing this, Yuan Bin looked doubtful and did not move.
Zhu Qizhen sensed that something was wrong and asked, "What's the problem?"
"emperor……"
Yuan Bin thought for a moment and said, "Yesterday at Dingxianglou, I followed those two profiteers..."
"What did you find?"
"One of them is called Wang Xu, a Shanxi merchant who runs a warehouse called Fanji in the capital, specializing in receiving and shipping goods. The other one is called Fang Jidong, the shopkeeper of Yunlai Cloth Shop, and the owner behind this Yunlai Cloth Shop is Lord Qingyun!"
Zhu Qizhen seemed to realize something and asked, "Was it Yunlai Cloth Shop that was robbed last night?"
"Your Majesty, it's not just Yunlai Cloth Shop that's in trouble, Fanji Freight Station has also had problems!"
"Oh?" Zhu Qizhen immediately felt that something was wrong and asked, "What's the situation at the scene? Have you been there?"
"I have personally investigated. The shopkeeper Fang Jidong and two of his employees had their necks broken. The method was clean and neat. It seems that it was done by an expert. The same thing happened at Fanji Freight Station. The method was exactly the same!"
"He killed people and robbed them, and he was an expert..." Zhu Qizhen thought for a moment and asked, "What do the people in Shuntian Prefecture say?"
"Shuntian Prefecture has taken over the case. However, Earl Qingyun seems to be very anxious. He sent people to the Northern Pacification Office early in the morning to seek help. I felt that there was something fishy about this matter, so I went to the scene myself."
"Anything else you found?"
"temporarily unavailable!"
Zhu Qizhen was secretly pondering , he had just set his sights on two big fish, but they were snatched away by someone. Who on earth was so bold as to kill people and rob in the capital?
Besides, you have taken away all the property, how can I confiscate the house?
The more I think about it, the more something seems wrong. No, this is clearly cutting off my source of income!
"Fan Zhong!"
When Fan Zhong heard the summons, he hurried inside and saluted, "Your Majesty, what are your plans for today?"
"Go find two sets of Jinyiwei official uniforms!"
Fan Zhong was somewhat puzzled and asked, "What does the emperor want the Jinyiwei official uniform for?"
"Leave the palace and investigate the case!"
