When Zhu Ying returned to the yard, he saw Zhu Gaochi with a little girl.

Confused, he asked, "Who is this?"

Zhu Gaochi looked somewhat helpless and introduced: "This is my aunt, Xu Miaojin, who is here to play with him today."

"Brother Ying, you know I have nowhere else to go, so I came to your place."

Zhu Ying was initially familiar with the name Xu Miaojin, and after thinking about it carefully, he knew what it was.

In ancient society, especially in the Ming Dynasty, most women did not even have names.

As the saying goes, "marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog." The status of women in ancient times was relatively low.

After getting married, a woman will be given her husband's surname and her own surname as a name, such as Zhang Li, Sun Fang, etc.

There are not many women who were able to leave their names in history in the early Ming Dynasty, and each of them has a unique legendary story.

For example, Xu Miaojin, who stood in front of Zhu Ying, looked somewhat calm.

Later generations rumored that it was because of her beauty that Zhu Di wanted to make her the queen. As to whether this was true, Zhu Ying was not sure.

After all, Xu Miaojin was born in the 13th year of Hongwu and is still a 12-year-old girl.

As the third daughter of Xu Da, although Xu Da died of back carbuncle in the 18th year of Hongwu when Xu Miaojing was five years old, the reputation of the Xu family did not diminish.

Currently, Xu Da’s eldest son Xu Huizu has inherited the title of Duke of Wei, and the Xu family is still a wealthy aristocratic family, with no signs of decline.

Trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang, his influence in the army remains high.

"I'm Xu Miaojin, nice to meet you, Mr. Zhu." Xu Miaojin bowed slightly, made a round of salute, and said to Zhu Ying.

Zhu Ying returned the greeting and bowed, "My name is Zhu Ying, nice to meet Miss Xu."

After the ceremony, there was a brief moment of awkwardness.

Zhu Ying looked at Xu Miaojin for a moment and sighed in his heart.

There is no false reputation under a great name. Xu Miaojin, who is only twelve years old, has delicate features, eyes like stars, and skin like cream.

No wonder she was rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the early Ming Dynasty.

The current Xu Miaojin, in front of Zhu Ying, is not the same as when she was with Zhu Gaochi.

At this moment, she appears graceful, dignified and elegant, with the temperament of a lady from a noble family.

Apparently Xu Miaojin seldom went out. After the greetings, she subconsciously glanced at Zhu Ying secretly, and happened to meet Zhu Ying's gaze.

Xu Miaojin, who had never experienced such a thing, could not help but quickly move away, a blush appearing on her cheeks.

Zhu Ying didn't think much about it. After all, no matter how beautiful a twelve-year-old girl was, he had gone through nine years of compulsory education.

Naturally, there are no dirty thoughts in my mind.

A little girl, didn't think much about it.

"Uncle Zhang, take this box and put it in my study."

Zhu Ying, still holding the brocade box in his hand, gave instructions to Zhang Bo.

Uncle Zhang came over, took the box, and prepared to go directly to the study room as instructed by his boss.

"Brother Ying, where did you get this good stuff? Why are you hiding it and not showing it to us?"

Zhu Gaochi didn't think much about it. He looked at the extremely exquisite brocade box. There happened to be nothing in it to make his aunt happy, so he said jokingly.

Zhang Bo paused when he heard this and turned his gaze towards Zhu Ying.

It's not that he didn't obey his boss's orders, but Uncle Zhang didn't know much about the affairs of the brocade box. Since the eldest prince of the Prince of Yan's Mansion had spoken, Zhu Ying would generally give him some face.

Hearing this, Zhu Ying was stunned, and after a moment's hesitation, he explained: "It's not a big deal, just a few documents."

Zhu Gaochi was a little unhappy when he heard this: "Brother Ying, I took you to the Gunpowder Department before, but don't use these words to deceive me. It's meaningless to hide the good stuff."

"Besides, my aunt is coming today, so you have to let us see it today."

After saying that, Zhu Gaochi stood up and walked towards Zhang Bo, obviously intending to get it himself.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Bo turned his gaze to Zhu Ying.

Zhu Ying had no choice but to nod slightly. Zhang Bo did not avoid Zhu Gaochi and let him get it.

Xu Miaojin, who was standing next to him, stretched her neck slightly, obviously wanting to see what was in the exquisite brocade box.

Zhu Gaochi had a look of delight on his face, and guessed in his heart that it was most likely the cakes that Zhu Ying had mentioned before.

Something that can be packed in such an exquisite brocade box must be extraordinary.

As for documents and the like, who are they trying to fool? How could he possibly believe them?

Following Zhu Gaochi's expectant gaze, the brocade box slowly opened.

Zhu Gaochi was stunned when he saw the blank document and seal inside.

It really is these things.

"Brother Ying, you...can't you...do this?"

Zhu Gaochi quickly closed it, and then spoke to Zhu Ying in a vague tone.

"Don't think too much. This is what I just got from the Jinyiwei Yamen. There are some things that require the use of the post station. The seal is from the Vehicle Frame Department of the Ministry of War."

Zhu Ying explained that he knew Zhu Gaochi had the wrong idea.

Zhu Gaochi also had some knowledge of Zhu Ying's background when he was in Peiping.

He was afraid that Zhu Ying would be bold and presumptuous enough to privately carve seals and documents, which would be a capital crime.

When Zhu Gaochi heard this, he felt relieved, but at the same time he was a little confused.

The famous Empty Seal Case is well known in the Ming Dynasty today. How could Zhu Ying get the empty seal documents of the Vehicle Frame Department of the Ministry of War from the Jinyiwei Yamen?

No matter how you listen to it, it doesn't sound credible, unless...

Thinking of this, a trace of horror flashed in Zhu Gaochi's eyes.

Could it be that Brother Ying and Grandpa Huang have already...

While Zhu Gaochi was deep in thought, Xu Miaojin sat quietly beside him, occasionally glancing at Zhu Ying out of the corner of her eye.

Before coming, Zhu Gaochi praised Zhu Ying to the sky.

Apart from his slightly lower status, he feels like he knows everything and can do anything.

This gave Xu Miaojin great expectations in her heart.

The most important thing now is that after meeting Zhu Ying, Xu Miaojin's expectations were not disappointed at all. Instead, she felt that what Zhu Gaochi said was very consistent.

Looking at the past and present, especially the Ming Dynasty, in terms of aesthetics, it is actually not much different from later generations.

The importance of appearance was even greater in the Ming Dynasty than in later generations.

Zhu Ying inherited the facial features of Empress Ma, which made him look heroic. With the training methods of later generations, he did not have the rough feeling of other generals.

The scholarly temperament these days is extremely fatal to many ladies from wealthy families.

Which girl doesn’t have love in her heart?

Young girls in the Ming Dynasty, especially those from wealthy families, had very high expectations for their future husbands.

Zhu Ying's combination of fortitude and elegance is almost the ceiling for a young girl in love.

Xu Miaojin was already twelve years old. According to the Great Ming Law established by Zhu Yuanzhang in the third year of Hongwu, "all boys over the age of sixteen and girls over the age of fourteen are allowed to marry."

In other words, in two years, Xu Miaojin will be old enough to get married.

Although it wasn't love at first sight, Xu Miaojin's first impression of Zhu Ying was obviously very good.

"It's dinner time now. I'll ask the kitchen to prepare the dishes. Don't go hungry."

Zhu Ying said that it was probably around four o'clock in the afternoon, which was dinner time for Daming.

Zhu Ying was very clear that Zhu Gaochi came over at this time and it was obvious that he wanted to come over and have a free meal.

Zhu Ying's voice brought Zhu Gaochi back to his senses. There was a hint of shock in his eyes when he looked at Zhu Ying again.

The friendship between Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Ying was more of a personal one.

Although he guessed what his father was thinking, he didn't care too much. In his heart, Zhu Ying was a close friend, even though he looked like his uncle.

He also never thought that Zhu Ying was his elder brother.

Zhu Gaochi grew up in the imperial palace when he was young, and now he often goes in and out of the palace. He is very familiar with the system of Ming Dynasty government.

Not to mention the ministers in the court, even his father, the king, might not be qualified to get this seal and blank document, nor would he dare to ask for it.

But Zhu Ying got it so easily.

It can be seen that Zhu Ying has already been recognized and even doted on by the Emperor.

But Zhu Ying didn't say it, and Zhu Gaochi would not say it either, so he echoed, "Today we have to make the hot pot you made earlier. I missed it for a long time when we were in Peking last time."

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "It's June now, so it's not a good idea to eat mutton hotpot. It's easy to get angry."

"I recently made some mung bean and red bean cakes. You can try them later. I think they taste good."

Zhu Gaochi nodded when he heard this, then glanced at his aunt and said, "I'm bringing my aunt here today. After dinner, Ying Ge'er will take us on a night tour of Qinhuai."

When Xu Miaojin heard Zhu Gaochi's words, her eyes lit up. She had never seen the night view of Qinhuai in her life, and her eyes suddenly flashed with longing.

"Okay, no problem."

Zhu Ying smiled and said that he had been in the capital for a long time, and although he had gone out for a walk at night, he had never had a serious time.

There's nothing big going on right now, so it's nice to have some fun.

…

Jinyiwei Yamen, Jiang Li came here directly to handle matters after get off work.

Song Zhong hurried over to report on Zhu Ying and matters related to Huang Zicheng.

Jiang Li nodded and said, "As for Your Highness Changsun, His Majesty has not made any statement yet, and I cannot show up for the time being. The specific matters will be left to you to take charge of."

"You have to be careful. His Royal Highness Changsun is extremely important to us Jinyiwei right now."

"Although the position of the Crown Prince has been decided, he has not yet been canonized. His Royal Highness the Grandson is our chance. I'm sure you know what the Crown Prince thinks of us, the Jinyiwei."

"Your Majesty's thoughts now also lean towards His Royal Highness Chang Sun. If we can gain His Royal Highness Chang Sun's appreciation, we will have no worries about our future."

After hearing Jiang Li's explanation, Song Zhong clasped his fists, bowed his head and said in a deep voice, "I understand."

Jiang Li nodded. He was still very confident about Song Zhong.

Different from the Tongzhi and Qianshi of Jinyiwei, the Zhenfushi had more real power in a larger sense, and Song Zhong was able to sit in this position because he was Jiang Lin's confidant.

Some of the words were a bit blunt, so Jiang Li didn't have too much to worry about.

Seeing that Jiang Li only talked about Zhu Ying and did not mention how to deal with the people brought by Huang Zicheng, Song Zhong had no choice but to ask, "Sir, regarding the servants sent by Huang Hanlin to investigate your majesty, I don't know how to deal with them."

Jiang Li's mind had just been on Zhu Ying. It was only when he heard these words that he remembered the matter of Huang Zicheng.

After thinking for a while, Jiang Li said, "Don't move for now, just detain him. Let's see if Huang Zicheng dares to come to my Jinyiwei to redeem him."

"You don't need to interrogate them any further. These two servants can't cause much trouble for the Crown Prince."

"Besides, even if His Royal Highness Changsun ascends the throne, His Royal Highness Yunwen is probably a vassal king, and we, the Jinyiwei, cannot afford to offend him."

Song Zhong nodded when he heard this. It was true that Lord Jiang was able to sit in the position of the commander-in-chief, which was completely different from him.

Just assessing the situation is completely different.

In this case, Huang Zicheng might even lose his composure, which would affect the Eastern Palace.

And these have nothing to do with them, the Jinyiwei.