After Ming Jinghai finished his meal at his third brother's house and washed and changed his clothes, the carriage sent by the palace to pick him up had already stopped outside the gate of Minister Ming's mansion.
Passing by the Ministry of Rites, Ming Jinghai saw that the gate of the Ministry of Rites was painted red, and the stone lions on both sides of the gate were majestic. He asked the coachman: "When I left the capital eight months ago, the Ministry of Rites didn't look like this?"
"Sir, the Ministry of Rites is currently undergoing renovations." The groom explained, "The stone lions and floor in front of the gate are all new."
The wheels rolled over the stone road in front of the Ministry of Rites. Ming Jinghai glanced at the newly built wall and remained silent.
"Your Excellency is curious as to why the Ministry of Rites made such a big change?"
Ming Jinghai looked up at the groom sent by the royal family and asked with a smile: "I am indeed a little curious."
"Some time ago, His Royal Highness Prince Chen was sent to the Ministry of Rites by His Majesty. Seeing that the Ministry of Rites was in a dilapidated state, His Royal Highness could not bear to see the gentlemen on duty in such a bitter cold environment, so he petitioned His Majesty to repair the Ministry of Rites." The horseman gently tapped the horse's back with the whip in his hand: "Not long after, the Ministry of Rites has undergone earth-shaking changes."
"Thank you for telling me, young man." Ming Jinghai lowered the curtain and touched his shaved chin. There are three ways to enter the palace from my third brother's house. Only the farthest one goes around the main gate of the Ministry of Rites and finally enters the palace through the Suzaku Gate.
The groom intended to let him discover the differences in the Ministry of Rites. I wonder if he did it on his own initiative or if it was His Majesty's intention?
After meeting Emperor Longfeng, Ming Jinghai handed him the secret evaluation list of officials and told him what he had seen and heard along the way.
"Thank you for your hard work, my dear minister." Emperor Longfeng helped Ming Jinghai sit down and said, "It is because I have a loyal minister like you that I have not become a foolish king sitting on the dragon throne..."
"Your Majesty, what you said really humiliates me." Ming Jinghai's eyes were red. "As long as I can gain your Majesty's trust, I will not hesitate to die."
Emperor Longfeng patted Ming Jinghai on the shoulder with emotion: "Okay, okay, okay."
After saying three good words, Emperor Longfeng turned to talk about family matters, asking Ming Jinghai how he was doing and whether he had encountered any difficulties on the road: "I know that you and your wife have a deep love for each other, but your wife has passed away for a long time, and it is not good for your harem to be left alone. How about I choose a virtuous wife for you to take care of your daily life?"
"Your Majesty, I appreciate your kindness. I am now an old man who knows his own mistakes and is used to living alone. How can I delay the good girl from another family?" Ming Jinghai refused with a bow: "She is as beautiful as a flower. It is already a grievance for her to marry a fifty-year-old man like me who has two children. How can I let her manage my harem and take care of the whole family?"
"My dear, you are both talented in literature and martial arts. How can you underestimate yourself?"
"Your Majesty." Ming Jinghai smiled and shook his head: "I have known my wife since we were young. When I asked to marry her, I swore to be loyal to her forever. She passed away early, and I am still alive. If I break my promise again, how can I face her after a hundred years?"
Knowing that Ming Jinghai was not making excuses, Emperor Longfeng stopped trying to persuade him: "It has been so long since we last met, so tonight you and I will drink and chat happily by candlelight."
Ming Jinghai smiled and stood up, bowing: "I obey your command."
"Your Highness, His Majesty sent someone to say that he is having a candlelit conversation with Lord Ming Jinghai tonight and cannot come to see you. His Majesty also said that it is cold at night, Your Highness should not kick the quilt and go to bed early." Xiang Juan walked to Concubine Su and said, "What do you want to tell His Majesty?"
"Ming Jinghai?" Concubine Su glanced at him with her beautiful eyes: "He returned to Beijing?"
Xiang Juan nodded: "Eunuch Liu said that Lord Ming just returned to Beijing today."
"He is Jiuzhu's uncle, and also my son's uncle." Concubine Su thought for a moment and said, "Send a few freshly made cakes from the kitchen to Taiyang Palace and tell them... tell them to let His Majesty and Lord Ming have a taste."
Xiangjuan looked at Concubine Su in surprise. In the past, when His Majesty entertained ministers, the Empress never sent any food.
"The Ming family is different from others." Concubine Su smiled and said, "Just do as I say."
"Okay, madam." Xiang Juan went to the small kitchen to get some snacks and handed them to Liu Zhongbao: "Eunuch Liu, thank you very much."
"You're welcome, Auntie." Liu Zhongbao took the food box without even looking at what was inside. "I'll take my leave."
"Go slowly, eunuch." After seeing Liu Zhongbao off, Xiang Juan returned to the inner hall and saw the queen staring at the mirror in a daze. She stepped forward and gently massaged her shoulders: "Queen, are you thinking about Miss Ming?"
Concubine Su was amused by her: "Don't tease me anymore, I'm afraid the Ming family will suspect that I stole their daughter."
"Today's weather is very gloomy, and I remembered something that happened a long time ago." Concubine Su took off the phoenix hairpin on her temples and leaned gently on the soft couch: "Do you still remember eight years ago, I accompanied Du Qing on a pleasure boat to fish on the river in Lingzhou, and Du Qing rescued a little girl who was about nine years old?"
"Why did your Majesty think of this?" Xiang Juan put the phoenix hairpin into the jewelry box. The little palace maid brought an embroidered stool and she sat down next to the couch. "Didn't you tell Your Highness not to mention this to anyone?"
"I don't know what's going on. Lately, I keep thinking of the little girl I rescued who was crying silently without making a sound." Imperial Concubine Su laughed at herself: "Could it be that I'm getting old?"
"Your Highness is not old. Even if she is a young girl of 28, she is not half as good as you." Xiang Juan smiled: "In my opinion, Your Highness is soft-hearted and sympathizes with that little girl."
"I remember that day, I originally planned to take Du Qing to eat a famous local roast fish dish. Because I saved that little girl, I didn't get to eat the Lingzhou roast fish after all." Concubine Su closed her eyes and smiled: "However, it was a good deal to save the little girl's life with a roast fish."
"Good people will be rewarded. Your Majesty is kind-hearted and will be blessed." Xiangjuan saw that the Majesty was sleepy, so she took a brocade quilt to cover Concubine Su and sat quietly beside her.
Of course she remembered what happened that year. His Majesty had originally planned to take His Highness on a secret visit with the Empress to taste Lingzhou's famous grilled fish, but urgent news came from the capital and His Majesty had to stay on the dragon boat.
The Queen Mother could not bear to see His Highness disappointed, so she accompanied Him on a pleasure boat to enjoy the scenery and go fishing. However, His Highness did not catch any fish, but instead caught a little girl with her limbs tied up.
The little girl was not thin, her face was fair and her flesh was tender, as if she had been raised carefully by the adults at home. Perhaps because the little girl was wearing a thick cotton coat and her hands and feet were tied, she could not struggle, so she did not sink to the bottom of the river.
When she was fished out, her whole body was frozen and her mouth was blocked with rags so tightly that she couldn't make a sound. It was not until His Highness took the cloth out of her mouth and put his fox fur cloak on her that she began to shiver and cry.
After changing into clean clothes, His Highness fed the little girl some candies, and the girl slowly began to speak, but she was unwilling to tell anyone about her life story.
She could not remember clearly what the little girl said afterwards. She only remembered that the little girl performed a salute to the empress and the prince like a Taoist practitioner, and said that she would repay the empress and the prince in the future. When she said this, her eyes were surprisingly clear, as if she wanted to remember Her Majesty and His Highness in her heart.
Afterwards, the empress sent people to Lingzhou City to investigate secretly. She learned that a child trafficking case had occurred in Lingzhou. Local officers and soldiers were tracking the kidnappers. Along the way, they found several children who were abandoned by the kidnappers in desperation.
I guess that little girl was also abandoned by a kidnapper.
Little did the little girl know that the world was so big and the queen was not an ordinary noble lady. She was afraid that she would never have the chance to meet the queen again in her entire life.
"If I had known that the little girl was just taken away by kidnappers, I wouldn't have spoken to her so seriously." Before the queen left Lingzhou, she was still worried that the little girl would listen to her and really not tell anything to her family.
Thinking of these past events, Xiangjuan shook her head. The empress at that time had just experienced a few years of struggles between princes. She was frightened by all kinds of assassinations and conspiracies, and acted extremely cautiously.
If it were the queen today, she would definitely send people to conduct a thorough investigation on the spot, and also go to His Majesty to complain.
"Alas." She sighed, walked out and looked at the exquisite and magnificent palace. How many people in this palace were victims of the struggle for imperial power?
Your Majesty, Your Majesty, and other concubines in the harem seem to be the winners after the struggle, but the shadow left by that bloody struggle has never dissipated from this palace.
Maybe……
She withdrew her gaze and turned to look at the sleeping empress.
Maybe it will continue.
At dinner time, the palace servants set out the food, and Liu Zhongbao placed the snacks on the table: "Your Majesty, this is a new snack from the Imperial Concubine's palace. The Imperial Concubine asked me to bring it to you and Lord Ming to try."
"My beloved concubine is thoughtful." Emperor Longfeng was slightly surprised, then he returned to normal and said to Ming Jinghai: "My beloved, the snacks in Mingyue Palace are always delicious. Would you like to try some?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ming Jinghai had just picked up a piece of dessert when he heard the palace servant announce that His Royal Highness the Prince of Chen had arrived.
He glanced at Emperor Longfeng, put down his chopsticks and prepared to salute.
"Hey." Emperor Longfeng held him down and said, "This is a private dinner between you and me. There is no need to observe the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects."
Ming Jinghai noticed that His Majesty was holding his hand with 70% strength, and he knew that he was not joking, so he sat down with peace of mind.
"Father." Prince Chen walked into the inner hall, bowed to Emperor Longfeng, and gave Ming Jinghai a junior salute: "Lord Ming."
"Greetings, Your Highness." Ming Jinghai bowed in return.
"We are all family, please sit down and have a meal." Emperor Longfeng waved for Prince Chen to sit down, "Your uncle Ming has traveled all over the country, he is good at pacifying the people and commanding troops, you should learn from him."
Ming Jinghai looked at Emperor Longfeng silently. Seeing what His Majesty said, he had a nephew who was a prince just because of a disagreement. Even if His Majesty dared to say so, he would not dare to acknowledge him.
Prince Chen nodded and his chopsticks were already reaching for the food on the table.
"Father, how is this pigeon soup made? It seems to be particularly delicious." Prince Chen took two more bites and said, "Please ask the imperial chef to write down the recipe for me, and I will ask the chef in the palace to learn how to make it."
"I remember that you didn't like these soups before." Emperor Longfeng raised his eyebrows: "Has your taste changed recently?"
"Pigeon soup nourishes the brain." Prince Chen said confidently, "My son has been studying hard lately, so I want to give him some more nourishment."
By the way, I'd like to give Ming Xiaozhu some advice as well. He's a prince, and it's so embarrassing for him to eat food at his fiancée's house every day.
"Your Highness is very intelligent and does not need these external things." Seeing that the royal father and son did not follow the rule of not talking while eating, Ming Jinghai put down his chopsticks and said, "I have a few military books in my house. These military books are all things I figured out when I was bored. If Your Highness does not mind, you can pick a free time and take them back to read them."
Not long ago, Ming Jingzhou told him the same thing.
Prince Chen tried to smile: "Thank you, sir. I will go to your house tomorrow to borrow some books to read."
"It's just a clumsy work. Your Highness doesn't need to be so serious."
"It is my honor to borrow your calligraphy for your inspection." Prince Chen continued to smile: "With your talent, every word is the essence, how can it be a clumsy work?"
You are all Ming Xiaozhu’s elders. Ming Xiaozhu’s elders, please be polite, please be polite.
"It is my great fortune to be valued by Your Highness. Tomorrow morning, I will wait for Your Highness to arrive in my humble abode." Ming Jinghai smiled slightly and said to Emperor Longfeng, "Your Majesty, I have seen Your Highness's face. He is dignified and has an extraordinary demeanor. He looks a bit like Your Majesty when he was young."
When Emperor Longfeng heard this, he burst out laughing.
"I feel much more relieved to have your Ming family watching over this troublesome boy." Emperor Longfeng patted Ming Jinghai on the shoulder and said, "My dear, he will be the son-in-law of your Ming family in the future. Please take care of him."
Ming Jinghai stood up and bowed deeply: "Your Majesty, I understand your intention."
After standing up, he looked at Prince Chen and showed the kind smile that only an elder could show.
It was just that his thick eyebrows and big eyes, and the way he smiled, made Prince Chen's heart beat slower. The last time he had this feeling was when he gave silver to Ming Xiaozhu and was discovered by Ming Jingzhou.
The next morning, Ming Jinghai returned home, changed his clothes and practiced the Five Animal Exercises in the yard. Ming Cunfu woke up in the morning, yawning, and walked to the main courtyard in a daze. He was startled when he saw Ming Jinghai: "Father, why did you come back from the palace so early?"
"A day's plan begins in the morning." Ming Jinghai saw that he was dressed elegantly and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Son, my son is sending a collection of poems to Miss Zhou." Ming Cunfu blushed and lowered his head.
"Well, you know how to please your future wife, like a man." Ming Jinghai took out a banknote and gave it to him: "Go ahead, don't be stingy in front of a little girl."
Ming Cunfu took a look at the denomination, forty taels!
My father is so generous!
"Uncle, Brother Fuliu." Jiuzhu poked her head in from outside the courtyard gate and said, "Mother asked me to bring some snacks to Uncle."
The two brothers' courtyards were closely adjacent, separated only by a wall. Ming Cunfu glanced at the courtyards of the two families and asked, "Sister, did you climb over the wall again?"
No wonder he didn't hear the servant's report.
"We don't need empty formalities among family members." Jiuzhu smiled embarrassedly. The wall between the two houses was built so low, wasn't it just to make it easier for family members to climb?
"Zhuzhu, come in quickly." Ming Jinghai called Jiuzhu into the yard, washed his hands, and picked up a piece of snack to taste: "You like climbing walls too?"
Ming Cunfu: “…”
As an elder, isn’t it inappropriate to add the word “also” in this sentence?
The uncle and nephew walked to the stone table and sat down. Ming Jinghai invited Jiuzhu to have snacks with him: "When your father is at home, I don't like to take a detour through the main entrance."
"No wonder there are traces of people climbing over the wall for a long time. It turned out to be my great uncle." Jiuzhu had just finished breakfast and could barely accompany Ming Jinghai to eat two snacks: "This way we can save a lot of time."
"If I wasn't afraid of gossip from outsiders, I would have built a door directly on the wall." Ming Jinghai shook his head: "Unfortunately, people's words are scary. As ordinary people in the world, even if we are not afraid of rumors, we should still consider others."
"It doesn't matter whether there is a door or not. The wall is so short that we can just climb over it." Jiuzhu took two sips of tea and said, "Mother said that my great uncle has been to many interesting places. Is that true?"
"Of course." Elders who are older can't help but brag about their past shortcomings in front of their favorite younger generations. When Jiuzhu asked this, Uncle Ming immediately perked up.
Ming Cunfu saw the two men, one was talking excitedly, the other was listening intently, completely forgetting his existence, and sighed silently.
"Master, His Royal Highness Prince Chen is here to visit."
"Your Highness?" Jiuzhu, who was in high spirits, was stunned for a moment when she heard the words "Your Highness Prince Chen". Then she stood up and ran to the gate of the courtyard with her skirt lifted up: "Where is Your Highness?"
Seeing his niece like this, Ming Jinghai reached out and beckoned his son to his side, and asked quietly: "Zhuzhu likes Prince Chen very much?"
Ming Cunfu nodded: "Not only do I like him, I also hate it when others say bad things about the Prince of Chen."
Ming Jinghai thought for a moment, nodded and said, "With the appearance of the prince, he should be able to seduce women."
No, how can you say that?
When he stepped into the gate of Mingjinghai, Prince Chen felt heavy in his heart, but when he saw Jiuzhu on the steps of the gate, he quickly came to her.
"Ming Xiaozhu, why are you here?"
"I was listening to my uncle talking about the customs and practices outside, and I never thought I would wait for Your Highness. What a coincidence." Jiuzhu asked with a smile: "Are you here to see my uncle?"
Prince Chen nodded silently.
"I'll take you in. Uncle tells very interesting stories." Jiuzhu pulled Chen Wang's sleeve and walked into the yard. After they took two steps, Ming Jinghai and Ming Cunfu came to meet them.
"Your Highness, I am sorry for not coming to greet you from afar. Please forgive me."
"Ming Lord, you are too polite." Prince Chen extended his other hand to support Ming Jinghai: "I am sorry for disturbing you."
Ming Jinghai stood up and watched his niece grabbing Prince Chen's sleeve, and Prince Chen holding the sleeve in front of his niece. He then glanced at his son who blushed whenever he mentioned the girl from the Zhou family, and silently felt disgusted in his heart.
That's the difference.
Ming Cunfu was confused by the look on his face. What did his father mean?
"Your Highness, please sit down and talk." Ming Jinghai invited Prince Chen to sit down at the stone table. He saw Prince Chen sweep the stone bench with his wide sleeves twice and let his niece sit down.
His niece took a plate of snacks from the food box and placed it in front of Prince Chen.
Everything was fine, except that he seemed a little redundant.
"Uncle." Jiuzhu held her face in her hands and looked at him with burning eyes: "Tell me the story again."
Ming Jinghai and Prince Chen's eyes met in the air, looking a little awkward.
You know, men, when they tell stories, sometimes there will be a little bit of fictional and exaggerated elements in them. If the truth is revealed by Prince Chen, wouldn’t his lofty image in front of his niece be affected?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
