Chapter 35 Cute Thoughts
The next morning, Zhou Yingying followed Cheng Ming for a brief stroll in the capital, intending to buy some fresh things to bring back to Changping. When they were about to leave, a servant from the princess's mansion came to inform them that Zhu Yuhuan wanted to see Zhou Yingying.
Cheng Ming originally wanted to go with them, but Zhu Yuhuan only asked to see Zhou Yingying, so it was difficult for him to follow. He had to make an appointment with Zhou Yingying to wait for her to come back. The servants of the princess's mansion naturally agreed and then sent Zhou Yingying back to the caravan.
Zhou Yingying was sitting in the carriage of the princess's mansion, feeling extremely excited and thrilled.
She didn't get to say a word to the princess yesterday, and she didn't have the chance to learn medicine with Xu Wangzhi. She thought it was hopeless for her to get close to the princess, but now the princess took the initiative to send someone to pick her up, which undoubtedly gave Zhou Yingying new hope.
Perhaps the eldest princess changed her mind and was impressed by her intelligence, and was willing to keep Zhou Yingying in the capital even though she was still young.
Zhou Yingying was not unaware of her father's difficulties, nor did she not care about her two young brothers. Once she went to Beijing, only her father and two brothers would be left at home.
But in the end, her own future is more important. Besides, as long as she has a promising future and can produce more good things, her family will not have to worry about food and drink even if she doesn't stay at home.
With an uneasy heart, Zhou Yingying clenched her hands and looked at the scenery outside the carriage from time to time. She watched the originally simple and noisy streets gradually change, and the dirt roads turned into cobblestone roads. Her body relaxed a lot, but her heart became more and more excited.
She also wants to go to a better place than here and live a better life...
"Ms. Zhou, we're here."
Zhou Yingying turned around, quickly straightened her hair, and smoothed the wrinkled corner of her skirt before responding, "I'm coming."
She thought the scenery of the street outside was gorgeous and beautiful enough, but when she got off the carriage and looked around, Zhou Yingying finally understood what luxury meant.
Although it is winter now, the princess's mansion is not as bare as the imperial farm. The courtyard is full of lush pine and plum trees, and the scenery is so beautiful that it seems like something out of a painting.
Seeing Zhou Yingying was stunned, the servant reminded her, "Miss Zhou, please come with me."
Zhou Yingying came to her senses and hurriedly followed the other person's footsteps, but her eyes couldn't help but look back and forth at the scenery in the princess's mansion.
Although the servant said that he would take Zhou Yingying to see Zhu Yuhuan, his steps were relaxed and leisurely. He took Zhou Yingying for a walk around the garden of the princess's mansion. He was afraid that she would be tired, so he took Zhou Yingying to rest for a while.
About half an hour later, the servant brought Zhou Yingying to a small pavilion beside the rockery and lake in the garden. The pavilion was surrounded by bamboo curtains and silk, which tightly enclosed the pavilion that was supposed to be ventilated. Only a wisp of water vapor escaped from it occasionally, and soon disappeared in the cold air.
Zhou Yingying was slightly startled and subconsciously walked closer to the pavilion. The bamboo curtain was soon lifted a crack, and Han Guilan came out. She was wearing blue on top and yellow on the bottom, with a golden hairpin on her head. Seeing Zhou Yingying coming, she smiled and said, "It's cold outside. Miss Zhou, please come in quickly."
Zhou Yingying responded blankly and followed him inside. Inside, she saw a smoker, faintly scented with the aroma of pine and cypress. Zhu Yuhuan wore a sea-blue bodice, revealing two golden-red pipa sleeves that complemented his cocoon-yellow horse-faced skirt. The gold and silver jewelry in his hair sparkled, making Zhou Yingying unable to take her eyes away.
Zhu Yuhuan was originally making tea. Seeing Zhou Yingying coming, he waved at her and said with a smile, "Come here and try the tea I made."
Seeing her so graceful, like a fairy, Zhou Yingying felt her heart flutter and she walked over obediently.
Zhu Yuhuan asked Zhou Yingying to sit down first, then handed her the hot tea and asked in a gentle voice, "This is your first time in the Princess's Mansion. How was it? Was it fun?"
Zhou Yingying finally came back to her senses and nodded repeatedly, saying, "So beautiful!"
Zhu Yuhuan was amused by her little action and said, "I saw it when you came in earlier. The skirt you are wearing is made of fabric from the cloth shop, right? It's amazing that you specially wore such a skirt to see me."
Zhou Yingying hadn't expected that she would still remember this matter. She couldn't help but reveal a somewhat flattered expression, and said somewhat shyly, "Sister Princess actually still remembers me..."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled slightly and said, "You are a very smart little girl. Of course I remember it."
Zhou Yingying's cheeks flushed with such praise, and she was obviously a little embarrassed, but she still straightened her chest and said in a serious manner: "Thank you for the compliment, sister."
In just a few words, Zhu Yuhuan was brought closer to the relationship of an older sister.
Zhu Yuhuan understood what the little girl meant, but he didn't take it to heart. He just said, "The manager of the imperial farm told me that you concentrate on studying every day, so I wanted to see you alone."
Zhou Yingying didn't expect Zhu Yuhuan to still secretly care about her. She was even more surprised and subconsciously clutched her skirt tightly. She said, "Is... is there something important that you want to tell Yingying?"
Seeing her nervous expression, Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but laugh. Then she said, "If you say it's important, it is indeed so..." She looked at Zhou Yingying with a hint of smile in her eyes and said, "I've had someone sort out some books. You can take them back and read more this time."
Zhou Yingying couldn't help but let out a cry of disappointment, then realized that she was in front of Zhu Yuhuan, and quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth.
Zhu Yuhuan didn't care and asked, "Yingying, what do you think the most noble woman in the world is like?"
Zhou Yingying looked at Zhu Yuhuan eagerly, thinking seriously for a moment, and said, "She should be like the eldest princess, wearing gorgeous and beautiful dresses, looking very impressive..." She whispered shyly, "I heard that the eldest princess was raised by the Empress Dowager, and she is better than her master. I also want to be like her..."
When Zhu Yuhuan heard her say this, he understood that in the little girl's heart, Empress Dowager Zhang was the pinnacle of women of that era, and Zhou Yingying also had some yearning in her heart.
Zhu Yuhuan chuckled and said, "So, you should study harder. The Imperial Grandmother has read countless books, but the number of books you have read now is far behind."
After hearing what she said, Zhou Yingying lowered her head and said obediently, "I understand..."
Seeing her like this, Zhu Yuhuan continued, "There are quite a few palace maids in the palace. Although the female officials are not as powerful as before, they are still serious harem officials. Taking the exam is not something you can just cope with with a few books. Only by becoming a female official will you have the opportunity to move up."
Zhou Yingying was slightly stunned, then she understood what Zhu Yuhuan meant. Her heart was beating rapidly. She swallowed and said, "Should I...should I go into the palace?"
Zhu Yuhuan didn't beat around the bush and said, "Yes, if you don't enter the palace, how can you become someone like the Empress Dowager?"
When Zhou Yingying heard her affirmative answer, she couldn't contain her excitement and almost jumped up from the stool.
She wanted to get close to Zhu Yuhuan in order to gain some benefits, but she never expected that such a good thing would happen.
Zhu Yuhuan noticed her excitement and simply reminded her, "But there's one thing you have to think about. Once you enter the palace, you'll have no other options. There are no empresses in this dynasty who were born as palace maids or court ladies. Whether you can become someone like the Imperial Grandmother is not up to me. It all depends on your own hard work."
Zhou Yingying nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice and said, "I know!"
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly and asked, "Don't you want to reconsider it? You, your father, and your brothers are all in the imperial farm. If you regret it halfway, you can't fool me with just a few words."
Zhou Yingying was two years younger than Zhu Qizhen. Whether in ancient times or modern times, she was still a child. What Zhu Yuhuan said was not a trivial matter, but Zhou Yingying did not hesitate at all.
Zhou Yingying said firmly, "I will never regret it. I must make a name for myself and live up to the dream my mother had when she gave birth to me. I must become a star in the sky, for everyone to look up to."
Zhu Yuhuan stared at her for a long time, and couldn't help but curl his lips and smile. He said, "Okay, I'll have someone build a stable at the imperial farm to raise horses. I'll have someone teach you how to ride a horse later. When you're familiar with it, I'll teach you archery."
"good."
Zhu Yuhuan gave Zhou Yingying a few simple instructions, telling her not to reveal anything to anyone, and then asked someone to send Zhou Yingying back.
Han Guilan saw Zhu Yuhuan sitting there without saying anything and said, "This little girl from the Zhou family is so bold that it's truly jaw-dropping."
Even Han Guilan would have to think twice before facing such a situation. But Zhou Yingying, at such a young age, was willing to gamble her life on an outcome she didn't know if it would happen, which made her seem like a character from a storybook.
Zhu Yuhuan held his chin with one hand, looked at the scenery in the garden, and said, "This is how things are in this world. The brave will die of overeating, and the timid will die of starvation."
At the beginning of the new year, there was a thick and lively atmosphere in the capital, and the palace was no less lively. Hu Shanxiang organized a palace banquet and invited all the princes and princesses in Beijing to the palace for a great lively occasion.
Hu Shanxiang originally wanted Princess Jiaxing to have a good rest at home, but Princess Jiaxing herself said that she was much better and wanted to go to the palace to pay a visit to her mother.
When Empress Dowager Zhang saw that her daughter tried her best to dress herself up but still couldn't hide her haggard appearance, she knew that her daughter had come to the palace to see her for the last time because she was considering her end.
As expected, after the palace banquet, Princess Jiaxing fell seriously ill and passed away suddenly before the end of the first month of the year. She was only 32 years old.
Even though she had been mentally prepared, Empress Dowager Zhang was still inevitably heartbroken when she actually learned the news of her daughter's untimely death.
Emperor Renmiao died at the age of nearly 50, but his and Empress Dowager Zhang's children all died young. Even the King of Yue, who had previously built the temple with Jinying and offered it as a tribute, died last year. Only the only heir, Prince Miaoxiang Zhu Zhanji, was left. This made Empress Dowager Zhang's originally firm heart begin to waver.
Therefore, Empress Dowager Zhang first ordered people to perform rituals, then burned incense repeatedly, and finally personally copied Buddhist scriptures as an offering.
This made Zhu Qizhen quite confused. While practicing riding and archery, he specifically asked Zhu Yuhuan what was going on with Empress Dowager Zhang's sudden prayers to the gods.
Of course, Zhu Yuhuan could not say that Empress Dowager Zhang was still thinking about the prophecy of that year. He just said that Princess Jiaxing was the only daughter of the Empress Dowager, and it was normal for her to be heartbroken.
It’s impossible to say that Empress Dowager Zhang was still worried about Zhu Qizhen’s life, right?
"Mr. Wang told me that grandma hasn't been feeling well lately." Zhu Qizhen looked at Zhu Yuhuan and said, "I've asked the Imperial Hospital, and they've been hesitant, saying it's a chronic illness with no signs of improvement. How about summoning Xu Siyao to the palace to treat grandma? What do you think, sister?"
Zhu Yuhuan saw Zhu Qizhen's worried expression and said reassuringly, "After all, the imperial physicians have been treating grandma in the palace for many years and are well aware of grandma's illness. Xu Siyao teaches outside the palace and his understanding of grandma's condition is far inferior to that of the imperial physicians. If we rashly switch to Xu Siyao, I'm afraid it will only affect grandma's health."
What she said was reasonable, so Zhu Qizhen stopped forcing her.
Perhaps he had vaguely sensed that Empress Dowager Zhang couldn't hold on for much longer, so Zhu Qizhen felt a little depressed and couldn't help asking, "What if Grandma is gone? Wouldn't I be the only one left then..."
Zhu Yuhuan saw his uneasiness about the unknown and the faint excitement underneath. He smiled at him and said, "In a few years, Your Majesty will be old enough to rule the country personally. However, Your Majesty has already been involved in many government affairs, and the cabinet is well-staffed. Even if the ministers are pretending to obey, Your Majesty will definitely notice it. Why should you worry?"
The implication is that Zhu Qizhen should take power in a few years. If Empress Dowager Zhang is no longer around, even if the time for taking power will not be advanced, it would not be a bad thing for Zhu Qizhen himself to avoid the hurdle of Empress Dowager Zhang.
If everything goes well, he might be able to take power early.
Of Zhu Zhanji's many younger brothers, only a few were still alive, and all had already left the country to serve as fiefs. Furthermore, those who remained were either largely invisible or possessed strong personalities. Furthermore, no one dared to "regent" while the ruler was young. At best, there was no precedent for this in the dynasty, and at worst, one could easily be labeled a traitor.
Even among the ministers, no one dared to propose finding a vassal prince to temporarily replace Empress Dowager Zhang in front of Zhu Qizhen, and most chose to remain silent. Under such circumstances, the ministers who had been entrusted with the imperial duties either sought a new barrier to act as a buffer between themselves and the emperor, or found an excuse to avoid a direct confrontation with Zhu Qizhen. For example, Yang Rong, sensing the impending storm, petitioned to return home to visit the emperor's graves and had already departed.
In other words, once Empress Dowager Zhang's health could no longer support her, the complicated positions of the people would allow Zhu Qizhen to benefit from it.
Hearing her say this, Zhu Qizhen immediately put aside his slight worry about Empress Dowager Zhang and said with sudden enlightenment, "So that's how it is."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled somewhat helplessly and asked, "Why are you suddenly worried about grandma's health, Eunuch Wang?"
Zhu Qizhen was taken aback by her question, but he didn't hide anything and said frankly: "Grandma often calls Mr. Wang over to give her a lecture, and he saw it himself."
Zhu Yuhuan chuckled and said meaningfully, "I see."
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