"Of course!" Yongle snorted. "They can exchange so many treasures of our Great Chen for some useless things! And my imperial uncle likes to put on a show of wealth! He always gives them the best things, doesn't that make these people's minds corrupt?"
Speaking of this, Song Yaozhu recalled a story about a small country that traded a few peacocks for more than a dozen cartloads of tea and silk.
These peacocks are beautiful, but apart from being pretty, they are of no use to them. They have to be carefully raised, which is a waste of human and material resources.
She disagreed with the exchange at the time, but Yuwen Wuji insisted that only in this way could the nation's prestige be demonstrated. Unwilling to argue with him over such a trivial matter, she agreed.
It seems that Da Chen has given away quite a few good things over the past ten years. But that's not something she needs to feel bad about.
As the foreign envoys entered the teahouse, they ordered a pot of tea and some snacks, and gave the waiter a tip. Seeing their generosity, the waiter couldn't help but say a few more words.
"These foreign envoys are really coming in with a lot of force," Yongle remarked, looking at these foreigners who were openly asking for information.
“Yes.” Song Yaozhu rested her chin on her hand, looking at those people, her mind a little blank.
If the Great Chen Dynasty could unify the world, wouldn't we no longer have to worry about these ill-intentioned foreigners?
But unifying the world is not as simple as it sounds. Sigh, why does my mind keep wandering to these thoughts?
With Yuwen Wuji's birthday fast approaching, Consort Shu was extremely busy. She was single-mindedly focused on making the banquet a success, not only to showcase the power of the Great Chen Dynasty but also to demonstrate her own capabilities.
Then, we can find people to spread her virtuous reputation, and we won't have to worry about Yuwen Wuji not making her his empress!
Perhaps for this reason, she hasn't been paying much attention to the Fifth Prince lately. She sent the Fifth Prince to Yuwen Wuji to volunteer for a task, to entertain foreigners alongside the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial. This was her way of highlighting his own abilities.
This was a position the Crown Prince wanted, but the Fifth Prince snatched it away, which made him resentful.
"The fifth prince is increasingly disrespecting me as his elder brother!" the crown prince said angrily. "I'll teach him a lesson, or he'll trample on my head!"
His advisors gave him several suggestions, and after listening to them, the crown prince instructed, "Then go and do it, and be sure to leave no trace!"
The staff members acknowledged the order and withdrew.
The prince stroked the jade thumb ring on his hand, pondering what he could do about this visit by foreign dignitaries.
Although the Fifth Prince had taken over the task of receiving the envoys, many affairs of the court still required his attention. He could sense that Yuwen Wuji was slowly delegating power to him, but it was all too slow, far too slow!
The prince entered the inner room of the study, opened the mechanism inside, and entered the secret chamber.
The sealed room was dark, with only the flickering yellow candlelight casting a shadowy circle on the wall, sometimes bright and sometimes dim.
The prince closed the door to the secret chamber and cautiously entered. Further down the passageway was a small, enclosed room containing a bed and a chamber pot beside it. The entire chamber had no windows, and therefore smelled unpleasant.
There was a person lying on the bed. The person was thin and had shackles on their feet.
"Mother, your son has come to see you." The Crown Prince stood by the bedside, his voice filled with sorrow. He told Gao Ping about all the grievances he had suffered recently, but the woman on the bed remained motionless, like a statue.
But the faint rise and fall of her chest proved that she was still alive.
Gao Ping lay on the bed with her eyes closed, not wanting to hear a word her son had to say. She hated him, she hated everyone!
She took the Crown Prince's seal and summoned the last remaining secret guards of the Gao family to assassinate Yuwen Wuji, thinking that as long as he died, the Crown Prince could inherit the throne, and she would have someone to accompany her on her path to the throne.
The assassination attempt failed, Yuwen Wuji survived, and the Crown Prince was also caught in the crisis of plotting against his father, and was imprisoned in the Eastern Palace.
Gao Ping was prepared to die, but the Crown Prince's men faked her death, intercepted her, and brought her back to the capital, where they imprisoned her in this small place.
The crown prince hated her, hated that she almost ruined him. So why didn't she hate him?
She felt ridiculous that things had come to this point between mother and son.
"Mother, you can't die! Even for your son's sake, you must hold on!" The Crown Prince gripped her bony shoulders, his voice sharp. "You didn't kill the Empress. The real murderer is Father. You must tell the truth! Do you want your son to forever bear the stain of your infamy?"
"Don't you want to see your son sit in that position?!"
Yuwen Wuji's repeated questions did not shake Gao Ping in the slightest. She lay there motionless, like an empty shell whose soul had been ripped out.
After venting his emotions, the Crown Prince leaned on Gao Ping's shoulder and it took him a long time to get up.
"Mother, you must live no matter what."
After saying that, he composed himself and went out.
As the weather grew cooler, the people in the Prince Xiaoyao's mansion began to make autumn clothes. Xie Lu had already resigned from his job at the academy and was now staying home every day taking care of his children.
After calming one down, the other starts fussing; and after finally managing to calm both down, it's time to rest.
Although it's a hassle, at my age, this is all the hobbies I have left!
He has even started preparing books, planning everything from his two grandsons' early education to the books they will read at each stage.
"I can't take it! I can't take it!" Xie Mingyue rushed into the courtyard, fanning herself. "Uncle, when are you going back to the academy? You can't stay at home taking care of the kids at such a young age! You're only in your fifties, the age when you should be making your mark!"
Xie Lu glanced at him sideways, "What's the point of all this 'daring'? Rather than getting annoyed by those young punks every day, I'd rather stay home and enjoy my grandchildren!"
Xie Mingyue's lips twitched. He wanted to be like his uncle! But the clan chief wouldn't let him retire! He said his son wasn't even as tall as his waist, and he'd have nothing to do if he went home so early!
He even called his wife over and scolded her, asking if she hadn't managed the household affairs well, otherwise why would he, at such a young age, want to go home and retire? As a result, he was severely scolded by his wife and slept in the study for several days.
"Uncle, please, ever since you left, I've been handling all these classes. I'm so tired!" Being tired is one thing, but there are some students' questions he can't answer. He really has limited abilities!
"If you don't go back, what will happen to the important task of predicting exam questions in the future?"
"Go find Ah Li, he's the one being detained every year. I'm just supplementing his list."
"He's lucky if he can even keep himself safe now," Xie Mingyue complained.
"What? What happened?" Xie Lu was happily taking care of the child all day long and had no idea what was wrong with the couple.
"You don't know that Brother Li was forced to drink medicine by the dog emperor?" Xie Mingyue tentatively told him everything.
Xie Lu looked around.
What are you looking for?
"Find a knife! I'm going to kill that bastard!"
Xie Mingyue: !!!
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