Chapter 28 Another Spring
By the end of the year, the gatehouses of the capital city had been completely renovated, creating a magnificent sight. The shops surrounding the gatehouses were also repaired, with no mistakes or omissions. The project also utilized all the excess materials from the original construction of the capital city, saving both time and money.
The inventory was not wasted, and a lot of manpower and material resources were saved compared to Cai Xin's calculation. Ruan An also helped to appease the escaped craftsmen and asked Zhu Qizhen for an order to pardon those craftsmen who were willing to come back voluntarily. Only then was the situation officially settled.
The dredging project originally managed by Ruan An was also going very smoothly, and Xu Yun, who took over from Ruan An, did a great job.
Zhu Qizhen was naturally very satisfied with this. Not only did he give Ruan An clothes, but he also commended and rewarded Xu Yun and others.
Not long after, Wang Ji, Jiang Gui and others led their troops to attack the Tatars and returned with a great victory. They captured many Tatar generals and also obtained a lot of supplies.
In addition, while Toghto Boluo bravely killed the enemy, he also persuaded many Tatar tribes to surrender as the grandson of Tatar Prime Minister Aluta, and made considerable contributions.
Zhu Qizhen thought that although this man was of Tatar origin, he was able to fight bravely for the court, which showed his loyalty to the court and his eagerness to make meritorious deeds.
Moreover, because of his status, Toghto Boluo had very little contact with officials in the court, which made him suitable for Zhu Qizhen to use.
Therefore, Zhu Qizhen took advantage of Wang Ji's request for merit to promote Toghto Boluo to the position of deputy commander, and allowed Datong to open a horse market and dispatched officials who were proficient in the Tatar language to take charge of this matter.
Toghto Boluo's father was already the Left General, and now Toghto Boluo had his own position based on his military achievements, which allowed the father and son to finally hold their heads high and establish themselves in the capital.
When Abji'an, who was still ill, heard the good news, he cooperated more with Xu Wangzhi's treatment and his health improved significantly.
Taking advantage of Zhu Qizhen's good mood, the three Yangs in the cabinet jointly petitioned the emperor to allow Ma Yu and Cao Nai to join the cabinet to participate in state affairs and jointly handle state affairs.
Ma Yu was Zhu Qizhen's lecturer, and the teacher and student had a close relationship. Cao Nai was the top scholar in the eighth year of Xuande, and had accumulated a lot of experience over the years. He had served as Zhu Qizhen's lecturer in the imperial lectures in the past two years, and Zhu Qizhen had even bestowed him with clothes, which showed that the relationship between the monarch and his minister was good.
The cabinet, which originally consisted of only the Three Yangs, suddenly became lively. Zhu Qizhen was finally able to see some new faces instead of just facing these three familiar faces that made him impatient.
Although Ma Yu and Cao Nai were nominally promoted to the cabinet by the Three Yangs, in terms of relationships, these two people would definitely prioritize the teacher-student relationship with the emperor. In this way, the cabinet was no longer controlled by the Three Yangs alone.
When Zhu Yuhuan heard the news, he realized that Yang Pu had listened to her words.
Rather than waiting for Zhu Qizhen to find out about Yang Ji and embarrass them, it would be better to take the initiative to avoid Zhu Qizhen's "retaliatory measures later." Zhu Qizhen was in high spirits when he was happy, so he didn't think much about the cooperation of the Three Yangs.
The two brothers attended class together. Even Zhu Qiyu could see that Zhu Qizhen was in a good mood. He couldn't help but whisper to Zhu Yuhuan, "Big sister, His Majesty has been in a very good mood recently. He no longer frowns when he mentions the elders..."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "The gate towers of the capital are in excellent condition. Minister Wang has won a victory and will be returning to the capital soon. The cabinet has two new ministers, who are also lecturers to His Majesty. Everyone praises His Majesty's wisdom, and even the Empress Dowager says that His Majesty has grown up. How can he not be happy?"
Empress Dowager Zhang had previously been less than optimistic about Zhu Qizhen's decisions, as she herself had generally adopted a policy of appeasement. However, Zhu Qizhen changed his style, becoming more decisive and swift in everything he did, even at the cost of life and death. This surprisingly worked, much to the delight of both grandfather and grandson.
Especially Empress Dowager Zhang, who had been mentally weak due to an old illness in recent years, how could she not be relieved to see that Zhu Qizhen was on the right track? Empress Dowager Zhang let Zhu Qizhen do his work and the frequency of her inquiries about government affairs also decreased.
Zhu Qizhen shot several arrows, all of which hit the target. He couldn't help humming a little tune. He walked back and saw Zhu Yuhuan and Zhu Qiyu talking. He asked, "What are you talking about, sister and brother Yu?"
Zhu Qiyu said honestly: "My elder sister said that everyone outside is praising Your Majesty for his wisdom."
Zhu Qizhen became even more proud after hearing this. He puffed out his chest and deliberately cleared his throat before saying, "The emperor has power over the entire world. He who can sit on the throne is naturally not a mediocre person!"
Zhu Yuhuan and Zhu Qiyu immediately applauded out of respect.
Zhu Qizhen said proudly: "Next, I will ask the Ministry of Works to repair the Fengtian Hall, Huagai Hall, Jinshen Hall, as well as the Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace."
Zhu Qiyu was a little confused and couldn't help asking, "But these palaces are not dilapidated. Why do you want to repair them, Your Majesty?"
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and patted Zhu Qiyu on the shoulder, teasing, "In a few years, Your Majesty will be old enough to marry, so of course the palace needs to be properly renovated." As she spoke, she seemed to think of something and smiled at Zhu Qiyu, "Your Majesty will choose a queen, and then it will be the Prince of Qing's turn to choose a concubine. It seems that my nephew will be born soon."
Zhu Qiyu was shy and blushed at her words. He felt a little embarrassed and said, "Second sister and third sister haven't started looking for a prince consort yet, so it's too early for me... Besides, didn't the Emperor and Mother's wedding take place after the Emperor's coronation?"
Zhu Yuhuan was amused by his shy look and said, "Grandma must be thinking about holding her great-grandson."
Empress Dowager Zhang knew her own health best and must have wanted Zhu Qizhen to get married as soon as possible before she left. It would be even better if he could have a child earlier.
"That will have to wait until my second and third sisters get married."
Zhu Qizhen became interested when he mentioned this. He said, "The other day, when I went to pay my respects to my mother, she urged me in every possible way to find a more prestigious marriage for my third sister. What kind of marriage would my second sister like?"
Zhu Yuhuan heard what Zhu Qizhen said and said, "Tongtong has always been accustomed to being free, so there is no need to rush. It still depends on her own feelings."
Compared to Zhu Yuhuan, Zhu Youtong and Zhu Hanjia faced greater pressure. After all, Zhu Yuhuan had the emperor's decree that she become a nun and pray for blessings, which could be considered legitimate. But Zhu Youtong and Zhu Hanjia were different. They had to face the pressure of marriage and childbirth. Moreover, they had a good relationship with Zhu Qizhen. In this era when marriage was considered "good", Zhu Qizhen had to marry them off for the sake of his own reputation.
Zhu Yuhuan was willing to fight for his sister. After all, neither she nor Zhu Youtong cared about their reputations. The worst that could happen was to create a cultural spectacle and let Princess Yongqing "enter the Tao" together. However, Zhu Hanjia's situation was more complicated. Her mother was still alive and had a "prejudice" against Zhu Yuhuan. Zhu Yuhuan didn't want to get into trouble for no reason.
Zhu Qizhen didn't know what Zhu Yuhuan was thinking. He just thought about his second sister's daily appearance. She was either clinging to Zhu Yuhuan or painting in the Renzhi Hall. It seemed that she had no consideration of getting married at all. He couldn't imagine what Zhu Youtong would be like as a "good wife and mother".
However, since Zhu Yuhuan has already set the precedent, not getting married is not a big deal. The royal family is not short of food anyway.
As for his third sister Zhu Hanjia, Zhu Qizhen didn't want to bother his own mother anymore. When he paid his respects to her alone on weekdays, Empress Dowager Sun had occasionally mentioned the matter of asking the Sun family to return to the capital from Zouping, which gave Zhu Qizhen a headache.
It's no wonder his father had the patience to write and paint; he must have been honing his skills over the years. Zhu Qizhen thought that if he were pestered like this every day, he would be so angry that he wouldn't even eat.
Zhu Yuhuan looked at Zhu Qizhen and asked with a smile, "Old Lady Sun is so sure, could it be that she has already chosen someone?"
When she asked about Zhu Hanjia's marriage, Zhu Qizhen was slightly stunned and muttered to himself: "A distinguished family..."
He hadn't considered the matter a big deal. After all, the Ministry of Rites was in charge of the princess's husband-hunt, and his trusted eunuchs would oversee it. He would also be there to check things out, so he wouldn't let the princess marry someone too badly. After all, when it came to nobility, the royal family was number one. Who else could compare to the princess? He'd choose someone with both good character and good looks, and preferably someone with some wealth, so he wouldn't lose his composure when he saw a little wealth.
But now when talking about this with his elder sister, Zhu Qizhen recalled what Empress Dowager Sun had said and immediately realized that something was wrong.
The Ming Dynasty prohibited the consorts of emperors from becoming officials, so those willing to become consorts were mostly those who could not go to school or pass the imperial examinations. Even if they were later granted the title of consort, it was mostly a sinecure or in charge of some internal royal affairs.
But the son-in-law's family background is usually from ordinary people. How can there be any noble among ordinary people? It is nothing more than that Concubine Sun has taken a fancy to the child of a military hero in the capital, so she wants to marry the princess to him.
Zhu Qizhen was a little unhappy. As the emperor, he didn't need to win over his ministers. Empress Dowager Sun was doing this because she either looked down on his authority as the emperor or because of her own selfish motives.
No matter which possibility it was, Zhu Qizhen didn't like it.
Seeing Zhu Qizhen looking thoughtful, Zhu Yuhuan said, "Marriage is a big deal after all. We should ask Jiajia's opinion first."
Speaking of this, Zhu Qizhen felt a little worried and said, "My third sister stays in her room reading books every day and rarely goes out. I've heard mother complain about her several times..."
After all, there are differences between men and women. In addition, Zhu Hanjia's personality became more and more withdrawn, and he was equally alienated from both Empress Dowager Sun and Zhu Qizhen, so Zhu Qizhen didn't dare to ask too many questions.
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but purse her lips and smile. "Do you want me to ask Jiajia what she thinks?" Seeing Zhu Qizhen nod slightly, she continued, "In this world, marriage is considered the best destiny for a woman, but the best may not be what she wants. If I ask, I certainly don't want Jiajia to go against her own wishes, but that may not be the result everyone wants to see. I'm afraid others will think I'm coercing her."
Zhu Qizhen now understood these conflicts of interest more and more, and was even more aware of the poor relationship between his biological mother and Zhu Yuhuan. He put his mind to it and said, "Then let's follow the normal process. As for the identity of the son-in-law..."
Zhu Yuhuan pretended not to notice Zhu Qizhen's concerns and said, "It's not a bad idea to choose a more noble one. A consort from a commoner family would have to study at the Imperial Academy, and it would take a long time for him to learn anything. If we choose a consort from the family of a military hero in the capital, he would have a noble status and would be more likely to share the same interests with the princess."
The position of military general is hereditary, and few people take the imperial examinations, especially now that the world is relatively peaceful and there are few opportunities to stand out and make merit. Although these sons of nobles have not completely degenerated, most of them have begun to become "elegant".
These words undoubtedly exposed Empress Dowager Sun's thoughts. Zhu Qizhen frowned, but still said, "Big sister is right. If mother has this plan, it is not a bad idea. I just don't know what third sister thinks."
Seeing the strong wind, Zhu Yuhuan and his two brothers took shelter in the tent. A servant from Qingning Palace hurried over and said, "This servant greets His Majesty, the Princess, and Prince Qing... Princess Jiaxing is seriously ill. Old Madam Zhang has ordered Madam Xu to go to the Princess's residence to treat her. Old Madam Hu has sent this servant to report that she has selected several medicinal herbs from the palace and is asking the Princess to leave the palace to visit her as soon as possible."
Zhu Qizhen hurriedly asked, "Did the Imperial Hospital send anyone?"
"I've already gone! But there's no news yet..."
Without delay, Zhu Yuhuan was about to leave when Zhu Qizhen immediately said to the eunuch beside him, "Send someone to the inner storehouse to get the best medicinal herbs and go to the Jiaxing Princess's residence with my elder sister. Then go to the Imperial Hospital to dispatch the imperial physician to the Jiaxing Princess's residence. The sooner the better."
"yes."
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