The young eunuch knelt on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly, and shouted: "Your Highness, please spare my life, Your Highness, please spare my life."
As a eunuch, especially one who served the emperor's grandson Zhu Yunwen, his status in the palace was actually not low.
Of course, this status is only relative to other eunuchs. As far as Zhu Yuanzhang is currently guarding the imperial palace, all eunuchs and female officials are considered supporting roles, with only the Silijian having a head.
The others have no status at all.
The young eunuch was smart to be able to get close to Zhu Yunwen. His words just now seemed to have slipped out unintentionally, but they were also a reminder to his master.
He knew His Highness and Huang Hanlin's personalities better, and the worst that could happen to them was a beating.
But if he really spoke it out, given the strict rules in the palace, he would definitely not see the sun tomorrow.
"Tell me the truth. You have been with me for several years. Do you still want to help others hide this from me?"
When Zhu Yunwen saw the young eunuch kowtowed repeatedly to admit his mistakes, making the ground bang, he began to soften his heart.
After all, he himself is not very old, and he usually gets along with these young eunuchs, so it is normal for him to cherish old friendships.
The young eunuch paused for a moment after hearing this, and after a little hesitation, he knelt on the ground and refused to speak.
Huang Zicheng frowned slightly. He was actually familiar with these young eunuchs and soon realized that something was different.
He had heard about some of the things that happened in the palace. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Did anything happen in the palace last night? Can you tell me?"
Hearing this, the young eunuch raised his head slightly, still bowing his head and tremblingly counting: "Your Majesty slept in Kunning Palace last night."
The young eunuch now dares to reveal so much information. If he names anyone, it will definitely be found out.
The circle in the palace is neither big nor small.
The most important thing is that for eunuchs, these days they never need any evidence. As long as they can guess that it was you who did it, that's enough.
The young eunuch spoke so ambiguously that he also left himself a way out. As for Your Highness, Huang Hanlin was just guessing. If he really guessed it, it would not have much to do with him.
When Zhu Yunwen heard this, he said directly: "Impossible, how could the emperor grandpa sleep in Kunning Palace? Kunning Palace is a taboo for the emperor grandpa."
The young eunuch just lay on the ground and refused to say a word no matter how the questions were asked. At this point, if he said any more words, it would be like he was not taking his life seriously.
Huang Zicheng heard this and turned to look at the Fengtian Gate, which had been closed again. There was no trace of the emperor's carriage there. Then he said to Zhu Yunwen, "Your Highness, unless he has returned to the palace."
When Zhu Yunwen heard this, his eyes suddenly widened and he looked at Huang Zicheng in disbelief, and then glanced towards the Fengtian Gate.
His lips slightly parted, wanting to say something but not knowing how to start.
Finally, after a moment of silence, he looked at the young eunuch kneeling on the ground and said, "Stand up. You are still loyal."
"Thank you, Your Highness." The little eunuch stood up from the ground, still bending over with his head slightly lowered.
"Sir." Zhu Yunwen called softly.
Huang Zicheng shook his head slightly and said, "The morning court session is about to begin. It would be bad to delay the time. Let's finish the morning court session first."
Zhu Yunwen nodded, and then they went to the Fengtian Hall together.
…
In Tianjie Temple, monks were surging, and even martial monks began to gather. Many pilgrims were told that they needed to make way for the distinguished guests, and even those who were already burning incense had to pause.
Tianjie Temple is the most prestigious temple in the Ming Dynasty. Those who can come here to burn incense and pray for blessings are at least wealthy families, and the majority are wives and daughters of officials.
In response to the instructions from the monks of Tianjie Temple, many pilgrims cooperated.
Living in the capital, vision is the most important thing. Even if you randomly pick a passerby, you might find that his or her family has some wealthy connections.
Before knowing the whole story, no normal person would say that it is reckless.
After all, this was the early Ming Dynasty. After the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, even the noble families were mainly farmers. In terms of lifestyle, those like Lan Yu were only a minority after all, and most of them were still acceptable.
“Here’s what happened.”
Zhao Xiangxi, who was dressed as a maid, couldn't help but ask the woman who pretended to be from Goryeo.
"I am Ye Yueqing. Please be careful to address me as Princess Yueqing in the future. After all, this is the Ming Tianjie Temple. Your reckless behavior will only bring disaster to yourself and even the Fengrang Zhao family."
Ye Yueqing said in a flat tone that she was the person who had been working as Zhao Xiangxi's maid on the road.
"You are not Korean." Zhao Xiangxi frowned and said when he heard it.
"When did I ever say that I was Korean?" Ye Yueqing said calmly, her tone was light but her aura was strong.
Ye Yueqing, dressed in her best attire, was no less impressive than Zhao Xiangxi even when standing next to her.
The beauty of these two people belongs to different levels.
Zhao Xiangxi is of the charming type, while Ye Yueqing, as her name suggests, is gentle like a Jiangnan girl, but because of other factors, she also has a hint of heroic spirit.
She is gentle yet a little bit bold, especially in recent days, after the etiquette training at Tianjie Temple, she has become more dignified.
Zhao Xiangxi asked: "You are committing the crime of deceiving the emperor."
Ye Yueqing smiled and said, "How is that possible? She is just a concubine. The key lies in the relationship between Ming Dynasty and Goryeo. No one will care about this."
"Besides, I have a household registration in Goryeo, so I can be considered a Goryeo citizen. I have all the documents and seals, so this cannot be false."
Zhao Xiangxi said disdainfully: "Even so, you have to live with my name for the rest of your life."
Ye Yueqing smiled softly: "You may not know yet, but the name on the list sent by the envoy to Tianjie Temple is not Zhao Xiangxi, but Ye Yueqing."
Zhao Xiangxi's face suddenly became gloomy. She had not expected that these people would be so bold. She wanted to make some sarcastic remarks, but in the end she kept silent.
At present, she has begun to adjust her attitude.
After all, she is Ye Yueqing's maid now. After entering the palace, she can only rely on Ye Yueqing for everything. If she really wants to live well in the Daming Palace, Ye Yueqing is her only support.
Thinking of this, although a little reluctant, Zhao Xiangxi could only learn how to be a good maid.
Fortunately, Zhao Xiangxi had received training in serving others when she was in the family.
The only difference is that the man is replaced by a woman.
This didn't bother her.
"There is a distinguished guest in Tianjie Temple. I think he is a top dignitary in Ming Dynasty, otherwise Tianjie Temple would not be so noisy. I will take you to have a look when I find a chance."
Seeing Zhao Xiangxi's submissive look, Ye Yueqing did not pursue her relentlessly. The most important thing was that Zhao Xiangxi would follow the boss by then, and the concept would be completely different.
Among the many tributary states of the Ming Dynasty, Goryeo was relatively important.
Therefore, when the Goryeo envoy proposed to the Cheonjie Temple that they could meet the distinguished guest together, they were not rejected.
At the gate of Tianjie Temple,
When Zhu Ying arrived in the dragon sedan chair, the place had already been cleared.
Zhu Ying originally thought that only the initial dozens of Jinyiwei would follow him, but after leaving Fengtian Gate, another guard of three hundred people followed him.
The bustling streets of Nanjing were strictly blocked by the Five Cities Military Division, and everyone was able to reach the Tianjie Temple unimpeded.
The monks had persuaded people to leave the busy entrance to Tianjie Temple, and dozens of Jinyiwei cavalrymen were already guarding the place.
If anyone dares to stay after the Jinyiwei arrives, he will be courting death.
No matter what kind of ministers and their families they are, direct execution is considered a light punishment.
"Meet your highness."
When Zhu Ying got down from the dragon sedan, many monks of high rank saluted him with their hands clasped together.
Zhu Ying nodded slightly and walked up when he arrived.
Of course he could choose a sedan chair, but for Zhu Ying at the moment, there was no need for it.
Zhu Ying had not expected that he had caused such a big fuss just because he wanted to come over and take a look. This showed how noble his status was.
The monks had no right to talk to Zhu Ying unless he wanted to communicate. They were led directly into the temple by the eunuch Guo Zhong, who was in charge of writing in the Imperial Household Department.
The Jinyiwei who came with them had already deployed defenses in front and strictly prohibited anyone from approaching.
At the same time, in the Ming Imperial Palace, inside the Fengtian Hall.
At the morning court session, Zhu Yuanzhang directly proposed the idea of separating the military and politics and asked the civil and military ministers to discuss it.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat high on the dragon throne, watching the ministers below whispering to each other and waiting patiently.
The current Ming Dynasty is no longer the world of civil officials like it was in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. As the founding emperor, whatever Zhu Yuanzhang says is the truth. Even if he expresses a different opinion, he has to be careful with his words.
Ministers who like to directly oppose cannot stay in the current court.
"Whether our method is feasible or not, you can speak frankly. We will not blame you. You can put forward any suggestions you have."
"With all this pushing and shoving, what do we need you ministers for here? You're just sitting there doing nothing!"
Seeing that no one stood up for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang became a little impatient and scolded all the ministers.
All the officials were terrified and started to pass the buck to each other. In the end, naturally, the five ministers took the lead.
The Minister of War Ru Heng looked at the ministers around him looking at him, and took a step forward helplessly.
After all, as the Minister of War, he has the most say on issues concerning military power.
"Your Majesty, I think this method is excellent. Many generals are not good at governing the local areas. This method of combining civil and military affairs is the most appropriate."
The reason why many civil officials did not want to answer was that in their view, after the separation of military and political affairs, civil officials could also interfere in the affairs of military officials. To a certain extent, this weakened the generals, so they were naturally happy to do so.
Zhu Yuanzhang said nothing upon hearing this and turned his gaze to the military officer.
The military officers who came to the court were headed by officials from the Five Military Governor's Office. However, because many generals had to be stationed in various places, the number of people in the Five Military Governor's Office was not large.
In the past morning court sessions, he was basically a dispensable role.
Each of the Five Military Commandery has a left and right commander, both of whom are of the first rank. The deputy commander is of the first rank. The deputy commander is of the second rank.
Currently, the person with the longest seniority in the morning court is Geng Bingwen.
Seeing His Majesty's gaze turned to him, Geng Bingwen had no choice but to step forward and say, "I think what Minister Ru said makes sense."
Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless.
In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, this matter might be of great importance. As for the military decision, in the court, it seemed as if it was a trivial matter of stealing, and no one had any objection.
The ministers looked at each other and thought to themselves: Your Majesty has rested for a while and is now preparing to start killing again.