Chapter 21 The incident begins
Zhu Yuhuan stayed in the imperial manor for a few days and then returned to Beijing, just as a vacation to change his mood.
During this time, she also looked for several suitable candidates in the imperial manor and asked Han Guilan to note down their characteristics. Next time she came to Changping Imperial Manor, she could bring Xu Wangzhi with her so that she could examine their talents. This would also leave time for these young girls to learn to read and write and lay a foundation.
Zhou Yingying was extremely attentive to Zhu Yuhuan. She would get close to him whenever she had the chance. She even found a book for elementary education from somewhere, and looked like she was eager for Zhu Yuhuan's guidance. Sometimes she even brought her two younger brothers who were still ignorant, showing that she would come to ask for advice as soon as she had free time.
Even Han Guilan, who was watching from the side, was moved by Zhou Yingying's diligence and praised Zhou Yingying several times in private with Zhu Yuhuan.
Seeing Zhou Yingying's attentive look, Han Guilan couldn't help but recall the scene when she first came to Zhu Yuhuan, and she also had the same desperate spirit.
Zhu Yuhuan took a sip of tea and said, "I've heard from the stewards at the manor that this little girl has always been competitive and strives to be the best in everything she does. If I train her well by my side, she'll naturally be a capable assistant. However... if she were a few years older, it wouldn't be a problem. But now she's even younger than Your Majesty, so it's not suitable."
Han Guilan was slightly stunned, then she understood and said, "Your Highness is afraid of Old Lady Zhang?"
Zhu Yuhuan put down his teacup and said, "When my great-grandfather was choosing a concubine for the Emperor, my mother was five years younger than him, and Empress Dowager Sun was four years younger than him, but they were also going to enter the palace. If the Empress Dowager was choosing a concubine for Your Majesty, it would probably be the same. Little girl Zhou is too close to Your Majesty's age. If another childhood sweetheart incident comes up, how would I explain it to Her Majesty?"
Empress Dowager Zhang's requirements for her son's harem were that they should be virtuous and peaceful, and her grandson would be no exception. However, Zhou Yingying's personality clearly did not meet Empress Dowager Zhang's standards for a wife.
But such liveliness could easily attract the young Zhu Qizhen. If the two of them accidentally re-enacted the old story of Zhu Zhanji and Sun Mengqiu, Zhu Yuhuan, the eldest princess of Shunde, would not have to stay in the palace anymore and could just live in a Taoist temple.
Han Guilan understood what Zhu Yuhuan meant, and couldn't help but feel a little regretful. She said, "Your Highness is right. I didn't think much about it."
She had also heard the story of the late emperor and Empress Dowager Sun from Zhu Yuhuan, and thought it would be a pity if Zhou Yingying also followed Empress Dowager Sun's path and became the emperor's concubine. But if she didn't become the emperor's concubine, wouldn't that be even more pitiful...
"Later, have someone send Yingying a few elementary books and some cloth. This little girl loves beauty, and with some encouragement, she will definitely study hard."
"yes."
Zhou Yingying insisted on reporting to Zhu Yuhuan every day, but Zhu Yuhuan left for Beijing after staying there for a few days. Her friends, who had originally envied her for her shamelessness in trying to get close to the eldest princess, could not help but tease her. She rushed to stick close to the eldest princess, not only because she did not have to work, but also because she could often bring some food and drink home from the eldest princess.
But the eldest princess lives in the capital and will have to go back one day. Even if Zhou Yingying often tries to please her, it is impossible for her to go to the capital with her. Some people will inevitably laugh at her for daydreaming and wasting her time trying to please the eldest princess.
Not to mention outsiders, even the two younger brothers were quite dissatisfied with this. The older Zhou Yu couldn't help but say, "Sister, I don't know when the eldest princess will come next time. By then, she will probably have forgotten you."
Zhou Yingying snorted and said, "What do they know? I asked Sister Han, who is by the Princess's side. The Princess's residence is also short of staff. If I could go to the Princess's residence in the future, maybe I could even meet the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and the Emperor. It's better than staying in the Imperial Manor farming for the rest of my life, right?"
Hearing her say that, it seemed to make some sense. Zhou Yu couldn't help but say, "But everyone is laughing..."
"What are you laughing at?" Zhou Yingying said unhappily, "Wait until I become even more powerful, and then we'll see if they can still laugh."
As the three siblings were talking, Cheng Ming, who was beside the head steward, came in, followed by several people. He was holding cloth and books in his hands and said to Zhou Yingying with a smile, "Little girl Zhou, the princess left something for you before she left."
Zhou Yingying immediately noticed the pomegranate red color, which was obviously made from the same fabric as Zhu Yuhuan's pleated skirt. She couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Are these all given to me by the princess?"
"Yes, the eldest princess even specifically told you to study hard."
Zhou Yingying immediately became excited and proudly accepted the cloth, even more respectfully than if she had received an imperial edict. She immediately ran out with the cloth in her arms, her steps light and graceful, like a fluttering butterfly. She boasted to her neighbors, "I knew the princess would remember me. Maybe I could become a court lady in the future."
Seeing her like this, everyone stopped teasing her. One woman said with a smile, "Okay, Yingying, bring the cloth over here. I'll make you some new clothes. Finally, you don't have to wear your old clothes anymore."
Zhou Yingying handed the cloth to the other party and couldn't help but remind her, "Auntie, just make a skirt like the eldest princess's. I want to keep the remaining cloth..."
The woman was amused by her and asked, "Keep it? What for?"
"Of course I offer it."
It was late spring when Zhu Yuhuan returned to Beijing. He was still thinking about Huang Jinfeng's news, but he didn't expect to hear the news about Huang Jinfeng at Taiping Teahouse as soon as he returned to Beijing.
It turned out that Huang Jinfeng had just arrived in Ganzhou when he encountered Adai and Duoerzhibo invading from the south. The caravan was busy on the road for safety, and the messenger rushed back at full speed, and more than half a month had passed.
Judging from what was in Huang Jinfeng's letter, this was not the first time that Adai and Dorjibo had invaded. It was probably because they had been harassing and invading everywhere since Aluta was defeated by Liu Yongcheng, in order to recuperate.
Just running from the east to the west, it can be seen that in addition to the Ming army, Adai should have been chased all the way by the Uriankhai and Oirat.
Zhu Yuhuan put down the letter in his hand and looked at the owner of Taiping Teahouse. He asked with some doubt, "Have you heard people on the street talking about the military newspaper recently?"
The manager of Taiping Tea House shook his head and said, "There has never been such news."
Zhu Yuhuan was even more surprised and confirmed again, "Really?"
The news from his own caravan spread faster than military intelligence. He is really promising.
"No..." The steward thought the princess was worried about omissions in the teahouse records, and hurriedly added, "There is other news. His Majesty announced some time ago that he would repair the gates of the imperial city, and construction work has begun everywhere. The people are required to serve. It is said that many craftsmen are suffering and are fleeing, so the army is sent out to capture them..."
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but frown slightly and asked, "Are they asking the people and craftsmen to rush the work?" She asked this, but she was a little confused. The construction of the imperial city wasn't urgent enough to require rushing. She then asked, "Is it because the grain wasn't distributed in time? Is there a shortage of weight?"
Wunong Temple had been tinkering with various instruments for the past few years, and Zhu Yuhuan naturally hoped to allow these artisans to fully demonstrate their abilities and skills. In this era when artisans held low status, most of them only dreamed of having enough to eat with their families. Being treated as an equal was something they would have felt flattered.
The fact that these people were able to escape at the risk of being caught and beheaded shows that the actual situation was very bad.
The steward hurriedly shook his head, lowering his already low voice even further as he spoke, "While there are some reasons, this isn't the main reason... Previously, Eunuch Jin built a temple on the land awarded by Emperor Renzong. Eunuch Wang from the Imperial Household Department wasn't to be outdone and also hired people to build a temple to curry favor with the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. Not only did the craftsmen and civilians have to serve the court, they were also conscripted by Eunuch Wang to work for them..."
Now Zhu Yuhuan finally understood. Wang Zhen was reluctant to spend his own money and effort on building the temple, and used the name of the court to handle private matters as public affairs. Not to mention the craftsmen, the common people living in the city had no land and needed to go out to work to make a living. Serving in the military was hard enough, and these craftsmen and common people did two jobs for the same salary. It would be strange if they didn't complain.
Zhu Yuhuan thought for a moment and said, "I understand..."
Zhu Yuhuan invited Tuotuo Boluo and Zhang Zhong to the Xu Family Clinic, where they were surprised to see several sedan chairs parked outside the door.
The three of them entered the warehouse in the backyard of the clinic through the side door. They vaguely heard some noise in front of them, which was quite lively. Zhu Yuhuan then realized that it was probably the daughters of Beijing officials who came to learn medicine from Xu Wangzhi. He just didn't know whether they were willing to endure this hardship.
The three of them stood in front of the courtyard gate. Zhu Yuhuan suddenly thought of something and asked Zhang Zhong, "Why don't you ask your wife to come too?"
Zhang Zhong uttered an "ah," looking embarrassed and timid. He whispered, "I'm afraid she'll be scolded by Madam Xu."
Zhu Yuhuan: “…”
Thinking of Zhang Zhong, Shi Jing, and Tuotuo Boluo being scolded by Xu Wangzhi and being as frightened as quails, Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but hold his forehead and said, "Wangzhi is always gentle with women, so why would he be so mean to your wife? There aren't many sisters-in-law in the Duke Ying's family, so it's boring to stay at home all day. Why not study medicine with these young ladies? It will help kill time, and you can even help out at the charity hall later."
Zhang Zhong's wife, Liu Shuning, was born into a commoner family and had little interaction with the wives of officials who married into each other's families. These women only interacted with her because she was the daughter-in-law of Duke Ying. Despite this, there were few people with whom she truly confided, and they only maintained a superficial relationship.
The Duke of Ying's family was not openly close to Princess Shunde, so Zhang Zhong was often invited by Toghto Boluo on some pretext. Furthermore, married women and unmarried women socialized very differently, and Zhang Zhong, taking this into consideration, had not considered allowing his wife to befriend Xu Wangzhi.
"Your Highness is right. From now on, I will ask my wife to come to Madam Xu's place often."
The three were talking at the gate when they heard some movement inside. They all turned around and faced the wall to reflect on their mistakes. Xu Wangzhi saw this scene as soon as he entered the gate and couldn't help but say in disgust, "What are you three doing standing here like door gods?"
Zhu Yuhuan chuckled, took Xu Wangzhi's hand, and said, "I'm here to briefly report to Madam Xu about accepting me as a disciple."
Xu Wangzhi uttered an "oh" and looked at Zhang Zhong and Tuotuo Boluo beside him, saying, "Talking to me is fake, discussing things with them is real, right?"
Zhu Yuhuan explained tactfully, "It won't delay either."
Zhu Yuhuan first explained that he had found several clever maids in the imperial manor to serve as apprentices for Xu Wangzhi. Seeing that Xu Wangzhi agreed, he said, "For the time being, let them learn to read and write. Once they can read and write, they can come to you to formally study pharmacology. They are all daughters of tenant farmers in the imperial manor. They all want to go to the capital to see the world and bring some income back to their families."
Xu Wangzhi had recently received numerous young ladies from imperial families, simply because Empress Dowager Zhang admired her and she hoped to use her medical background to advance her career. But female doctors, like court ladies, ultimately served others, and which young lady wasn't pampered by their families? While she wasn't afraid of the hardships of studying, serving others, especially in a profession as fraught with controversy, would be a difficult prospect for anyone.
Xu Wangzhi met so many people, but in the end only a few of them were sure that he would come to study medicine, which made Xu Wangzhi inevitably a little discouraged.
After hearing the good news from Zhu Yuhuan, Xu Wangzhi actually breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Before, I was only thinking about passing on my grandmother's medical skills, and hadn't considered taking in a disciple. If the Empress Dowager hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten about taking in a disciple."
Tuotuo Boluo praised: "Mrs. Xu has such superb medical skills that she can even cure my father's illness. I'm sure her skills will be passed down."
Xu Wangzhi knew that the three of them probably still had something to talk about, so he got up to get some tea and snacks.
Zhu Yuhuan then spoke, "Adai has invaded Ganzhou several times in the south. Did you know that?"
Toghto Boluo was horrified and said, "He's still alive? Without my grandfather, Adai was able to escape the pursuit of the Oirat and Uriankhai. How could he have such a talent?"
Zhu Yuhuan continued, "Mrs. Huang has inquired about this. Besides Adai, there is also Dorjibo. He was previously persuaded to surrender by the imperial court, but this time he may be rebelling again."
"I see..." Tuotuoboluo suddenly realized and said, "If Adai had that ability, he wouldn't have been driven to Ganzhou. Duoerzhibo was originally a minister under my grandfather. Now that my grandfather is gone, my father and I have surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. It's his turn to take the position."
Zhu Yuhuan asked curiously, "What are his abilities?"
"He can be considered a fierce general, but he lacks the talent and ability to be a leader. Otherwise, he would have been promoted by my grandfather long ago."
Zhu Yuhuan nodded thoughtfully and said, "Is that so..."
Seeing her asking these questions, Tuotuo Boluo couldn't help but ask, "But Zhongge'er and I have never heard anyone mention it... When did Adai invade the Ming Dynasty?"
Zhu Yuhuan waved his hand and said, "You'll know after a while."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
