Chapter 280: The Hongmen Banquet
"Miss Jiang was originally going to marry Xiaofei, but later her brother was found gambling, so her mother did not agree to them being together!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
"Oh! I see! I will meet my mother-in-law when I have the chance. I have not fulfilled my responsibilities as a daughter-in-law. I should be filial to her!" said Princess Kunxing.
"We'll talk about it when we have a chance! Let's go!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
Princess Kunxing nodded. Using the method she had learned from Zhao Xiaofei, she meditated quietly and instantly brought Zhao Xiaokun back to the Ming Dynasty. Besides Zhao Xiaokun, the goods in the warehouse also arrived in the Ming Dynasty.
The warehouse door was opened and Xiao Si came out to greet him.
"Princess! Master! Greetings to the Princess! Greetings to the Master!" Xiao Si hurriedly saluted. Master was the name given to Zhao Xiaokun in the palace.
"Xiao Si! Is there any news from the palace?" asked Princess Kunxing.
"The maid told me that you, Princess, were missing, but I didn't dare say anything. Even when Princess Zhaoren asked about it, I just said that I came to the manor!" Xiao Si said.
"Well done! We must continue to keep the news of the master's return secret! Go find a servant's clothes for the master to change into!" Princess Kunxing said.
"I understand!" Xiao Si immediately went to find a set of clothes for Zhao Xiaokun to change into.
Princess Kunxing and Zhao Xiaokun returned to the palace secretly. Princess Kunxing only called Liu Rushi and did not even call Princess Zhaoren.
Liu Rushi hadn't seen Zhao Xiaokun in recent months, but she missed her husband in her heart.
When he saw Zhao Xiaokun, his eyes lit up immediately, and he immediately became energetic. But with the princess beside him, he had to hold back what he wanted to say.
Zhao Xiaokun could see the longing in Liu Rushi's eyes. Princess Kunxing said, "Sister-in-law! You and your brother should change your clothes and leave Nanjing first and go to Jingzhou."
"Yes!" Liu Rushi agreed.
"Brother! I won't keep you here any longer. Let's go after dinner!" said Princess Kunxing.
"Okay!" Zhao Xiaokun agreed and returned to the Governor's Mansion with Liu Rushi.
When Princess Kunxing saw her elder brother leave, she called Xiao Si and Li Zichu.
Princess Kunxing asked Li Zichu, "I'm planning to leave Nanjing and go to Jingzhou. Is there any way?"
"It's not difficult to report to the princess. But now that we're gone, this profitable business will be gone. Moreover, it's impossible for us to move all the families of the old camp of the Kenan Army together. If the people in the old camp knew that even the princess had left, they would probably think that their families had no one to take care of them, and then the morale of the army would be unstable. Please think twice, princess!" Li Zichu said.
"It seems that I can't leave! Then, can you take Princess Zhaoren, Kou Baimen and others out?" Princess Kunxing asked.
"That's not difficult!" said Li Zichu.
"Okay! I will inform you when we will take action! You go down first!" Princess Kunxing said.
"Yes!" Li Zichu clasped his fists and left.
Princess Kunxing turned to Xiao Si and asked, "How much money is available in the mansion?"
"There are still 6 million taels! After deducting the expenses of the palace, manor and shops, there are less than 4 million taels that can be used!" Xiao Si said.
"Take 3 million taels and send it secretly to Jingzhou. By the way, send the families of Wanshan and the others as well!" Princess Kunxing said.
"I understand!" Xiao Si said.
"Okay! You go down too!" said Princess Kunxing.
Inside the Governor's Mansion, Liu Rushi lay on the bed, hugging Zhao Xiaokun and asking, "Where has my husband been lately? I'm extremely worried."
"I went out to do some business, but I ended up being defeated. I need to raise more money just in case." Zhao Xiaokun said.
"My husband, are you going to challenge the imperial court?" Liu Rushi asked.
"Compete with the court? I guess so! In fact, we have no intention of confronting the court at all. Even now we are just protecting ourselves!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
"Husband, don't you have any idea of taking it with you?" Liu Rushi said.
"No! As long as Princess Kunxing and Princess Zhaoren do not let our family down, my brother and I will not rebel!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
"Then does my husband have any plans?" Liu Rushi said.
"Prepare for war! See what the court does! If the court wants to annihilate us, it might have to purge the court! We will put the empress dowager under house arrest, invite the emperor out, and then let the princess and the emperor rule the country together! If the court chooses to recognize reality and temporarily put aside the dispute with me, we still have to march north first!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
"My husband is kind and righteous!" said Liu Rushi.
"Has Wu Sanmei caused you any trouble when I'm not here?" Zhao Xiaokun asked.
"Not really! It's just..." Liu Rushi hesitated to speak.
"Just what?" Zhao Xiaokun asked.
"She told others that I was a jinx and that whoever I met would be unlucky. She said I brought bad luck to you too!" Liu Rushi said.
"I got it! If this happens again, I'll show you how I'll deal with her!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
Just as Zhao Xiaokun was about to leave Nanjing, Queen Mother Zhou was preparing a Hongmen Banquet in the imperial palace in Nanjing.
Queen Mother Zhou changed into her formal gown and asked Wang Erxi, "How are the preparations going?"
"Reporting to the Queen Mother, the executioners are ready at any time!" said Wang Erxi.
"Okay! It depends on how these Donglin Party members and these businessmen respond! Those who obey me will prosper, and those who defy me will perish! I am doing this for the Ming Dynasty and for the Emperor!" said Empress Dowager Zhou.
Wang Erxi nodded in agreement, but a chill ran down his spine. He felt a chill running down his back.
A few days ago, Empress Dowager Zhou issued an order inviting some prominent merchants from Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Zhejiang to Nanjing. She said that the world was now at peace, and she intended to establish a new dynasty and rule the country together with scholars and merchants.
He also ordered them to bring their eldest unmarried daughter and granddaughter with them, and take advantage of this banquet to go to the palace to choose a queen and concubines!
The news shook Jiangnan. The wealthy merchants rushed to tell each other, wondering who wouldn't want more power, and who wouldn't want their daughter to become the empress or imperial concubine?
Therefore, this banquet was very popular, and since invitations were limited, many wealthy businessmen even paid for invitations. They just wanted to try their luck by bringing their daughters to the palace, just in case the Emperor or the Empress Dowager took a liking to their daughters!
Everyone can understand from this banquet that the imperial court simply uses this banquet to decentralize power and form marriages.
After a few days, as many as 310 merchant families were qualified to enter the palace and attend the banquet.
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, hundreds of people were whispering, each trying to figure out how to maximize their benefits from the redistribution of power. The women were all competing to see who was more educated, more refined, and more beautiful. But no one knew a catastrophe was about to strike.
As they were happily chatting, the eunuch called out, "The Queen Mother has arrived!"
Everyone immediately knelt down and shouted "Long live the emperor!"
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