Chapter 80: Crisis in the Capital
Kou Baimen held the koala in her arms, fantasizing about marrying into a wealthy family. Looking down at the stuffed animal, she recalled Zhao Xiaofei's demeanor and his treatment of his concubines. And his poetry. The line, "Flowers fade, flowers fly, filling the sky; their red fades, their fragrance dies, who will pity them?" seemed etched in her heart.
While she was dreaming, the madam, Madam Qin, came to her room and said, "My daughter! Master Zhu is deeply in love with you. You think he's a good person, don't you? I think you should just marry him."
"Mom, I have someone I love, and I will never marry Lord Zhu as a concubine. He has several beautiful concubines at home, and I don't think I can be favored in his home for long. Maybe in a few months, Lord Zhu will take in another one, so what can I do? Who knows, one day I will be sold by him again?" Kou Baimen said.
"But Lord Zhu gave you a lot of silver, 5,000 taels of silver, just to free you from your slavery." Mother Qin said, holding up five fingers.
"Mom, please go back to Lord Zhu! Someone will pay to redeem me in a few days!" said Kou Baimen.
"Who? Who dares to go against Lord Zhu? He is now the governor of the Jiangnan Grain Transport Commissioner and has tremendous power." Mother Qin said with some concern.
"You'll know when the time comes!" Kou Baimen said with a smile.
"Judging from your appearance, you seem to be a nobleman from some family, right? What do you look like? Is your official rank higher than that of Lord Zhu?" asked Mother Qin.
"Handsome, young, rich, talented in writing, and has a title!" Kou Baimen smiled happily.
"Oh! That's good. I'll send someone to get rid of the people from Zhu Mansion right away!" Mother Qin hummed a song happily and left Kou Baimen's room.
Zhu Mansion, "What? She refused? Why?" Zhu Guobi asked in surprise.
The person who responded was Wen Chao, the housekeeper of the Zhu Mansion. Wen Chao said, "The madam of Chu Honglou said that Kou Baimen has fallen in love with a young nobleman at first sight. Thank you, Master Zhu, for your kindness!"
"Young and with a title? Which of these Jinling nobles is still young and has a title?" Zhu Guobi pondered. He and Kou Baimen had been chatting very well, and they both had a good impression of each other. Zhu Guobi even wrote a few poems for Kou Baimen, which made Kou Baimen very happy. He was willing to pay money to free her from her status as a slave and then marry her as his wife, so there must be no problem. How did he get snatched away? Could it be the Cao Xueqin from last time? It must be him! Otherwise, with his talent, how could he lose to someone else?
Zhu Guobi thought about this and said to Wen Chao, "Take my letter and go to the Zhao family manor and ask if there is a person named Cao Zhan Cao Xueqin living there. Be polite and say that this is the manor of Princess Kunxing's husband."
"I understand!" Wen Chao replied.
Inside the Yangxin Palace in the capital, Zhao Xiaofei knelt on the ground as Imperial Physician Hu and several other doctors administered emergency treatment to Chongzhen. Urgent news arrived from the front: Hong Chengchou had been killed in action, and the battle at Songshan had been a crushing defeat. Chongzhen was heartbroken. Meanwhile, Wang Erxi arrived with news that Concubine Tian was nearing death.
Chongzhen sent for Zhao Xiaofei to enter the palace, but as soon as he entered the Yangxin Palace, Wang Erxi sent someone to inform the emperor that Concubine Tian had passed away. Zhao Xiaofei was so frightened that he knelt on the ground. He remembered that Concubine Tian died in July, which was still a month away! Will my father-in-law blame me for not curing her?
In fact, it was mainly because the state and family affairs were all rushed together, and Chongzhen was a little overwhelmed. He fainted temporarily, and was finally rescued by Doctor Hu and others.
Chongzhen, finally recovering from his shock, roared for everyone to leave. Zhao Xiaofei followed Doctor Hu out and asked, "Old Doctor Hu, is the Emperor suffering from a heart attack?"
"Who says it isn't? I heard that Liaodong was defeated again and suffered heavy losses. And the emperor's favorite concubine Tian also passed away suddenly. This blow is too great. It's normal to be angry for a while!" said Doctor Hu.
Holy crap! Hong Chengchou is defeated! Who else in the world can stand up to Li Zicheng? The Ming Dynasty's last remaining treasure has been emptied out. Liaodong is now empty, and the Jianlu will come to plunder again.
Upon returning to the palace, Zhao Xiaofei told the princess about the defeat at Songshan and the death of Concubine Tian. He asked the princess to quickly apply to visit the palace to see Concubine Tian for the last time and to comfort her father, Emperor Chongzhen.
"What? Concubine Tian is gone?" Kunxing's eyes widened in disbelief. After all, they had lived together for several years, and she had treated him well. Now that someone like that was gone, he had to go to the palace to take a look.
In reality, it was impossible to see it in the palace; it was just a revisit, a look. The body had already been removed. Princess Kunxing hurried to make preparations. Zhao Xiaofei had much to prepare, so he first issued instructions, having the escorts from the Zhenyuan Escort Agency in Gongji County, Tongzhou County, and Xian County pretend to deliver goods to the capital. Because of the defeat in Liaodong, the Jianlu were about to enter and plunder again. These places had never been defended in history, and these people were the capital for their future escape.
Second, hurry up and ship the goods to Nanjing. Call my eldest brother to prepare the supplies, and also have him prepare to mint silver dollars in the modern era. We're planning to open a bank in the Ming Dynasty. Zhao Xiaofei has been busy poaching talent lately, inviting several bankers to come and bring their families to Jiangnan to help him open a bank. The name has already been chosen: Sihai Money House, Sihai Money House, the world's most accessible bank.
Just as he was about to go to Yanyu Tower to travel through time, Zhou Shuai and Wan Shan found him. Zhou Shuai said, "Boss! There's another plague! Many people have died in the surrounding counties, and the rich are all fleeing to the capital!"
Zhao Xiaofei thought, "Nah! What's going on? It really is raining cats and dogs. This is how the Ming Dynasty fell!" "I'll go back and prepare the medicine! You two should prepare an emergency plan and practice it with the escorts, just in case!"
Wan Shan said, "You'd better be careful. I'm afraid the Emperor will ask you to go out to prevent the epidemic! Didn't they say that the Jianlu would come to plunder around the capital this year? When that happens, our small number of people won't be enough to defeat them!"
"Okay! I'll see what the situation is! Everyone, get ready first! Which county in the surrounding area is the most suitable for defense? Find the best plan." Zhao Xiaofei said.
Sure enough, within two days, Zhao Xiaofei was summoned to the palace by Chongzhen. In the Yangxin Palace, looking at the somewhat decadent Chongzhen, Zhao Xiaofei felt a little pity for the emperor.
"I'm asking you, do you have any medicine left?" Chongzhen said.
"Your Majesty! It has been used up, but I can make some more!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Okay! This time you will be responsible for the epidemic prevention around the capital! You will be in charge of the epidemic prevention in Tongzhou, Gongji, Changping, Gu'an, and Zhuozhou. All prefects and county magistrates will be under your command! I will also give you the imperial sword, and you can execute officials below the fourth rank first and report later!" Chongzhen said.
"Yes, Your Majesty! But can Doctor Hu go with me?" Zhao Xiaofei put forward a condition.
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