Outside the imperial city.
Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong and Prince Yong Zhu Cizhao stood solemnly.
They looked at the imperial city in front of them and the mighty soldiers on the city walls, and felt that things had changed a lot.
When they left the capital, Prince Ding Zhu Cixiong was twelve years old and Prince Yong Zhu Cizhao was eleven years old.
After six years, they have both grown from children to teenagers.
The physical and mental growth has made them understand many truths.
One sentence that is particularly touching is that the most ruthless people are the imperial families.
"Your Highnesses, please follow me closely!" Led by Li Ruolian, the two entered the imperial city.
As they were getting closer to the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Cixiong and Zhu Cizhao suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong with your two princes?" Li Ruolian asked hurriedly.
His mission was to secretly escort Prince Ding and Prince Yong from Nanjing back to the capital.
The starting point of the mission was the Nanjing Imperial City, and the end point was the Palace of Heavenly Purity in the Forbidden City of Beijing. Before he was sent to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, his mission was not completed.
Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong took a deep breath and asked Li Ruolian in a low voice: "Commander Li, father...is he not angry today?"
"I'm not sure, you have to ask Wang Chengen." Li Ruolian replied.
"Does Commander Li know where Eunuch Wang is?" Prince Yong Zhu Cizhao asked immediately.
"He should be in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, accompanying His Majesty."
Prince Ding and Prince Yong looked at each other and silently took half a step back.
They were the emperor's sons and were already afraid of Chongzhen.
In addition, the hardships they experienced during their youth led to a lack of deep feelings.
Later, we heard in Nanjing that Chongzhen was killing people without mercy.
Due to various factors, they became even more fearful.
While he was hesitating, two eunuchs and two palace maids came over from a distance.
The eunuch walking in front immediately bent down and ran over when he saw Li Ruolian.
Seeing this, the second eunuch followed.
The first eunuch bowed to Li Ruolian and asked, "Excuse me, are the people standing behind Commander Li Prince Ding and Prince Yong?"
"Yes." Li Ruo Lian replied.
The eunuch looked at the two of them for a moment and asked Zhu Cijiong, "Are you His Royal Highness Prince Ding?"
"Well," Zhu Cijiong nodded, "What can I do for you, sir?"
The eunuch knelt down hurriedly and said, "I don't deserve it! I am Qi An, the servant sent by the Queen to deliver something to Your Highness."
"Does my mother know that I have returned to Beijing?" Zhu Cijiong's eyes were moist as he spoke.
"Your Highness, the Queen has already known!" Qi An took a gift box from the maid behind him while speaking, opened it and handed it to Zhu Cijiong, saying, "This is a hundred-year-old mountain ginseng, a gift prepared by the Queen for Your Highness's visit."
Zhu Cijiong's body stiffened for a moment, and he took the gift with a red face.
He was in a hurry when he went to Beijing, and no one reminded him, so he forgot to prepare gifts.
Another eunuch was sent by Concubine Yuan, who prepared a piece of natural jade with the word "Ming" on it for Prince Yong, Zhu Ci Zhao.
After receiving the gifts, the two carefully examined them to see if there were any flaws. Then they held the gifts in their hands and walked timidly to the outside of the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Wang Chengen was drinking water outside the door.
Seeing Li Ruolian coming, he hurried to greet him.
"Eunuch Wang, this is His Royal Highness Prince Ding, and this is His Royal Highness Prince Yong!" Li Ruolian introduced.
Wang Chengen deliberately opened his mouth wide and acted surprised.
After a moment of surprise, he knelt down and saluted: "Old slave... Old slave greets His Royal Highness Prince Ding and His Royal Highness Prince Yong!"
"Eunuch Wang, please stand up quickly." Prince Ding Zhu Cixiong and Prince Yong Zhu Cizhao helped Wang Chengen up from the left and right.
Wang Chengen's eyes turned red as he said, "I haven't seen you for several years. Your Highnesses have grown so tall. From now on, I will have to look up when I talk to you."
"What are you talking about, Eunuch Wang!" Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong pulled out a silver note from his sleeve and handed it to Wang Chengen quietly: "We brothers have been away from Beijing for too long and have forgotten the rules of the palace. We need Eunuch Wang to remind us more in the future so as not to break the rules."
"Ahem..." Wang Chengen hesitated for a moment before taking the banknote and hiding it in his sleeve.
The movement was so fast that Li Ruolian couldn't even notice it.
"Eunuch Wang, His Majesty today..." Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong asked.
"His Majesty has been in a good mood recently, so your two princes can rest assured." Wang Chengen took the money to do the job and revealed this information, which was not a secret, to the two of them.
"Thank you, Eunuch Wang."
"Your Highnesses, please don't be polite. I don't deserve it!"
After a few more pleasantries, Wang Chengen opened the palace door, stepped in and shouted, "Your Majesty, Prince Ding and Prince Yong are outside the palace asking to see you!"
"Let them in."
"yes."
Wang Chengen came to the door and gestured, "Your Highnesses, please come in."
Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong and Prince Yong Zhu Cizhao swallowed their saliva at the same time, carefully raised their feet, and stepped into the Qianqing Palace.
Look up.
I saw a thin middle-aged man with sharp eyes sitting on the dragon throne in the middle of the hall.
Although his clothes are not fancy, his aura is very strong.
It was so strong that the two of them only took one look and dared not look again.
Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong took a few quick steps and knelt down, choking with sobs, "Your son Zhu Cijiong pays respects to your father. It has been several years since we last met, and your son misses you very much."
Yong Wang Zhu Ci Zhao also knelt down and shouted: "Your son Zhu Ci Zhao kowtows to your father..."
"Get up." Chongzhen stood up from the dragon throne and slowly walked to the two of them to look at them carefully.
Zhu Cixiong and Zhu Cizhao are both very tall.
The former has a stocky build, tanned skin, and an angular face, giving him a feeling of fortitude.
The latter is thin, with a straight nose, narrow eyes and sharp gaze. He is both friendly and dignified.
"Thank you for your hard work over the years." Chongzhen said while patting Zhu Cixiong's right shoulder with his left hand and Zhu Cizhao's left shoulder with his right hand.
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