Knowing that His Highness didn't want anyone else around at this time, Wang Chengen basically kept his men far away. Suddenly, he saw a young eunuch, and Wang Chengen's eyes widened.
Looking at the young eunuch who had been brought in, Wang Chengen glared at him. "Liu Fu, you've been serving me for quite some time now, how can you be so unruly? Don't you know it's His Highness's day off?"
Liu Fu, with a bitter face, could only beg for mercy, "Your Excellency, I just received a notice saying that the academy has some...
"Where's the post?" Wang Chengen gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely at Liu Fu, almost wanting to tear him to pieces. "Damn bastard, how dare you play tricks?"
It was obvious that Wang Chengen knew Liu Fu's ulterior motives. He knew Liu Fu must have received the invitation and that the academy must have made some remarkable discovery, so he was now trying to show off in front of the Crown Prince!
Although Liu Fu was unwilling, he had no choice but to obediently hand the invitation to Wang Chengen. Wang Chengen, of course, dared not open it, but only asked a few questions, to which Liu Fu could only obediently answer. His little scheme had now completely failed.
Upon receiving the news, Wang Chengen immediately composed himself and hurriedly cried out, "Your Highness, great joy! Great joy, Your Highness!"
Seeing Wang Chengen wailing, Zhu Xiong Ying was also startled. "What are you wailing about? What great joy is there?"
Wang Chengen rushed to Zhu Xiong Ying, knelt down, and held up the notice. "Your Highness, the academy has sent a notice! Some craftsmen have improved their techniques, and it seems that the power of firearms has greatly increased!"
Zhu Xiong Ying immediately snatched the invitation, glanced at it hastily, and burst into laughter, "Haha! Order the officials to come to the palace immediately for a meeting! Send a decree to summon Li Tiezhu to the palace at once!"
Everyone knows what they should do at this time.
Even Xu Miaoqing, who originally enjoyed spending her days off strolling in the garden with her husband and having intimate conversations, was well aware that her husband was not only her husband, but also His Highness the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty!
Zhu Xiong Ying did not dwell on matters of the heart, but turned and stopped. "Qing'er, go grind the ink for me. I don't trust anyone else."
Wang Chengen felt wronged, as he had always been the one grinding the ink. Moreover, imperial edicts were frequently sent from the Crown Prince's residence. At first, everyone thought it was an edict from His Majesty the Emperor that was sent to the Crown Prince's residence to show favor to him, but gradually everyone realized the truth.
Everyone just kept quiet about it; after all, it was an imperial edict, and no one saw anything wrong with it or worried about any problems arising. Refusing the edict would be a serious matter.
Xu Miaoqing was used to it and pretended not to know that Zhu Xiong Ying was drafting the imperial edict.
Wang Chengen naturally had no need to worry about falling out of favor, and carefully memorized the contents of the imperial edict. He needed to have it delivered to Yingtian Prefecture immediately by fast horse. Although the Crown Prince was capable of drafting imperial edicts—after all, he wouldn't do it casually—each time an edict was drafted, it signified a major event.
Zhu Xiong Ying thought carefully for a moment and said to Xu Miao Qing, "When the Emperor founded the country, he issued an edict to establish five ranks of nobility. Now, he has set rules that no nobility can be conferred without merit for the country and the military, and titles can only be granted by special decree. Li Tie Zhu has caught a good time."
Xu Miaoqing kept her head down and didn't say anything, just listened without offering any opinions.
Xu Miaoqing was naturally happy that the Crown Prince doted on and trusted her. However, she dared not take this favor for granted, otherwise, it would cause a big problem. She was newly married and did not want to lose favor because of these things.
Zhu Xiong Ying drafted the imperial edict and said to Wang Cheng En, "Immediately send it to Yingtian Prefecture so that Your Majesty can affix the imperial seal."
This action stunned Wang Chengen. It wasn't done this way before; previously, the Crown Prince would personally issue imperial edicts. This time, sending it to Yingtian Prefecture and then having His Majesty the Emperor affix his seal seemed redundant.
Whether others can understand it or not is their business, but what Zhu Xiong Ying needs is an attitude.
The focus shouldn't be on the emperor and crown prince's attitude, but rather on the attitude of the civil officials. This imperial edict is challenging the core support of some civil officials; it's a warning to them.
Having opened a crack, things won't be smooth sailing from now on, but at least there's more hope.
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