"Our dynasty and the Ming Dynasty share the same culture, language and ethnicity. How can we stand by and watch someone die without helping him?" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Since you have helped the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty should be grateful! If your Excellency has any needs, I will do my best to meet them!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty! When I came here, there was constant war in the country and I might not be able to go back. I request to live in the capital and find my elder brother and younger sister by the way!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Your brother came with you? Who will be the crown prince?" Chongzhen's concerns were indeed different. Without his eldest son, he wondered who would be the crown prince? With the country unstable, what would become of it? Zhao Xiaofei lied so he could have an excuse to leave the capital before Li Zicheng reached it.
"Your Majesty! Our country appoints the crown prince based on merit, not seniority! Before coming to the Ming Dynasty, my father had already appointed my fourth sister as crown prince." Zhao Xiaofei finished speaking, and the surrounding civil and military officials immediately began to discuss the matter. If Zhao Xiaofei's appearance and speaking habits were different from theirs, they would have been able to accept it. Because during the Yongle period, there were many small countries in the surrounding area where female rulers ruled the country.
But they heard that Zhao Xiaofei's Nan'ao Kingdom inherited the Song Dynasty system. How could they let a woman be the king? They just couldn't understand!
This aroused Chongzhen's interest, and he asked, "Since your country claims to be the remnant of the Song Dynasty, why don't you follow the Song Dynasty system and let a female ruler rule the country?"
"Your Majesty! Although most of the people in our dynasty are survivors of the Song Dynasty, when our people first came to Nan'ao, there were more women than men. We had no choice but to let women participate in battles and state affairs. Half of the civil and military officials in our dynasty are women! So it is natural for our dynasty to have a female ruler." Zhao Xiaofei made up a story.
Chongzhen nodded and said nothing more. Liu Chun, the Minister of Rites, glanced at Huang Shangshu and Qiu Yu, implying, "See! I guessed right, didn't I? I just didn't expect their country could pass the throne to a woman." Everyone was discussing what it was like for Nan'ao to have men and women serving in the same court.
After everyone quieted down, Chongzhen said: "Since your Excellency wishes to stay in the capital for a long time, I will grant you a house to live in!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhao Xiaofei kowtowed. He thought to himself, it's finally over! My legs are almost broken from kneeling.
After the court meeting, Wang Erxi took Zhao Xiaofei and Xiao Si to the house given by Chongzhen. It is true that the house given to him by Chongzhen was quite good.
The four-story courtyard, about 300 square meters, offered a view of Coal Hill. Zhao Xiaofei thought to himself, "What a rotten luck!" He had to pretend to be cheerful on the surface. It wasn't far from Doctor Hu's house, just two blocks away. Arriving at the last row of courtyards, he saw two girls dressed as palace maids cleaning a room.
Seeing Wang Erxi and a young man approaching, followed by a servant, the two girls knelt hurriedly on the ground and said in unison, "Greetings, Eunuch Xi!"
"Well! It's cleaned quite well! From now on, you two will serve this young master. This is the emperor's wish. He is a prince from a foreign country! You must serve him well! Got it?" Wang Erxi said.
"Yes! I understand!" the two palace maids answered in unison.
Wang Erxi turned to Zhao Xiaofei and said, "Little Prince! Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfied! Satisfied! Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Eunuch Wang! This is just a small gift, not a token of respect!" Zhao Xiaofei said as he took out some silver, about 20 taels.
"Okay, okay! If you need our money in the future, just ask! Don't give me any more gifts!" Wang Erxi smiled and left with the silver. Xiao Si accompanied Wang Erxi and sent him out.
Zhao Xiaofei thought to himself: Damn you, you dead eunuch! You've been taking a lot of money from me lately, and I'm using it all to buy you a coffin. If Li Zicheng and the Jianlu come, how many of them will survive? Especially those of you who were once close to the emperor, they'll basically be killed!
After Wang Erxi left, two palace maids came over to greet Zhao Xiaofei. One wore a red top and green skirt, the other a pink top and green skirt. Each wore a pointed gauze hat with brass ornaments on the sides.
Zhao Xiaofei pointed at the palace maid in the pink top and asked, "What's your name?"
"In reply to the young prince! My name is Cai Lian!" Cai Lian replied.
"What about you?" Zhao Xiaofei asked, pointing at the palace maid in the red shirt.
"In reply to the young prince! My name is Yuping!" Yuping replied.
"How old are you? Who are your family members?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"We are the same age, both 13!" Yuping replied.
Looking at the two young palace maids, Zhao Xiaofei sighed: "These two are still children. In my own place, they are still in the sixth grade of elementary school!" They use the lunar age as the lunar calendar, and the child is counted as one year old at birth. This means that these two children are only 12 years old and have to serve others.
"Since the emperor has assigned you to me, I will not treat you two unfairly. This is a gift! Take it!" Zhao Xiaofei said and gave each of the two little girls a glass.
The two girls didn't dare to take it. Zhao Xiaofei asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Why don't you want it?"
"We dare not! It's too expensive!" the two answered at the same time.
Zhao Xiaofei said, "Why should I be afraid? You serve me, so I have to show my appreciation! Take it! If anyone doesn't want it, I'll tell Eunuch Wang that you didn't serve me well and send you back to the palace."
Yuping looked at Cailian, and Cailian looked back at Yuping. They knew that they had been chosen by the emperor to serve this young prince, and there was no going back. If this young prince went to the eunuchs to complain about them, they would both be killed.
So he carefully took the glass. Zhao Xiaofei saw the two children take the cup and said, "That's right! This glass cup will be your dowry when you get married. Keep it well and don't lose it."
The two little girls were stunned when they heard their master's words. Could it be that the master didn't like them and had no intention of taking them in? Since the emperor had arranged for them to be with this young prince, they were his. Could it be that their looks didn't please the young prince?
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