Chapter 49 Arrival in Changping
After walking for nearly a day, everyone was inevitably a little sleepy, so Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and allowed everyone to have a meal.
After dinner, Zhu Yuhuan was reading to kill time when there were two long and one short knocks on the door. She nodded softly. Han Guilan pushed the door open and Xu Gong had already walked in. He greeted Zhu Yuhuan and said, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."
Zhu Yuhuan put down the scroll in his hand and said, "Get up, no need to be so polite."
In order to avoid suspicion, Zhu Yuhuan and Xu Gongming had less and less contact in public. As for privately, they naturally passed on information secretly through Taiping Teahouse and other places.
Zhu Yuhuan looked at Xu Gong, motioning him to sit down before asking, "I remember you told me that the Empress Dowager ordered you to place Li Chu under the supervision of the Embroidered Uniform Guards instead of imprisoning him in the Northern Pacification Office?"
Xu Gong nodded slightly and said, "Yes, but Li Chu was disheartened and would rather stay in the Northern Pacification Division's prison than endure the surveillance of the Jinyiwei. Therefore, I placed him in solitary confinement in another cell of the Northern Pacification Division, occasionally sending some things in. He is much better than before. If Li Chu hadn't been still thinking about Yang Ji causing his family to be destroyed, I'm afraid he wouldn't have been able to hold on until today." At this point, Xu Gong glanced at Zhu Yuhuan cautiously and said, "He is no longer as noisy and suicidal as he was when he first entered the cell. Now he can read and write, and he asked me to apologize to Your Highness."
Zhu Yuhuan simply sighed inwardly, then said, "After all, he was imprisoned without seeing the light of day, and he was severely tortured. It's not easy for him to be able to live to this day with a clear mind."
Although Yang Pu was imprisoned by Zhu Di, he was a scholar and had not committed any serious crime. Zhu Di simply restricted Yang Pu's activities. Li Chu's assassination attempt was enough to cost him his life. If he had not revealed Yang Ji's name, the Empress Dowager would not have spared his life.
"When Li Chu committed the crime, his parents had already passed away. Only a few villagers from the same village were left to testify against Yang Ji's evil deeds. The Empress Dowager ordered me to move these villagers to the Empress Dowager's imperial farm for protection to prevent any accidents. Now, they are all safe and sound at the farm, and no accidents have occurred."
After Li Chu's assassination, Zhu Yuhuan's first thing was naturally to protect the witnesses, but when she sent people to find them, there was no news of these people. At that time, she guessed that it might be Empress Dowager Zhang who took these people away. After all, apart from the royal family, no one else could "hide" a group of people so quietly.
After all, this matter involved court officials, so Zhu Yuhuan could not interfere casually. Since the witnesses had fallen into the hands of Empress Dowager Zhang, whether they lived or died depended on the decision of Empress Dowager Zhang. He only found out about the whereabouts of these people from Xu Gong, so he did not ask any more questions.
"Recently, Your Majesty has had a disagreement with the cabinet and ministers due to the military examination. Your Highness is serving as the regent, so the matter of Li Chu needs to be decided by Your Highness."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled slightly when he heard this and said, "Leave it to me to decide?"
Xu Gong met Zhu Yuhuan's gaze and said frankly, "I was initially under the care of Commander Saihazhi, which allowed me to meet Your Highness. I may not understand as much as the elders in the cabinet, but I know that a favor must be repaid. Moreover, I know Your Highness's character and talents very well. Li Chu is indeed pitiful, and only Your Highness is willing and able to make decisions for him. If Li Chu falls into Your Majesty's hands, I am afraid he will only become a tool to deal with Elder Yang. As for what happens to him personally, Your Majesty will not care the slightest bit."
The officials dared not complain to the emperor. Couldn't they deal with an ordinary citizen who caused them trouble? I'm afraid that once this matter is over, Li Chu's life will be in danger.
Zhu Yuhuan looked at him for a moment, then said helplessly, "You don't have to think of me as so noble. I have my own reasons for asking about him. You are putting such a high hat on me. If I don't make the decision for him, it would seem that I am too cold and heartless."
Xu Gong said sincerely, "Your Highness holds a high position, so naturally your thoughts and ideas differ from those of me. However, I witnessed Your Highness personally fetching Lady Huang, and I also witnessed Your Highness being assassinated by Li Chu, yet you did not pursue the matter. Your Highness's kindness is already rare and precious, so I am making this plea."
Zhu Yuhuan had sensed Xu Gong's sympathy for Li Chu when he had just heard him describe Li Chu's situation in prison. He wasn't surprised to hear Xu Gong's words. He simply said, "I can keep him safe, but not now. He'll probably have to wait a little longer."
Hearing Zhu Yuhuan's words, Xu Gong felt relieved and said, "He has already waited for five years, so what if he waits another five years?"
Zhu Yuhuan looked at him and said seriously, "Don't worry, it won't take five years."
If we wait another five years, Yang Shiqi might have already passed away. Revenge is best done in person.
"That's truly... perfect." Xu Gong bowed and said, "I thank Your Highness on behalf of Li Chu."
Seeing that he seemed to have put down a heavy stone in his heart, Zhu Yuhuan half-jokingly said: "This matter has nothing to do with you, why are you so concerned about Li Chu?"
Xu Gong's expression was sincere. He said, "I was once an ordinary citizen, just luckier than Li Chu. I was only bullied by a few relatives, but at least my family's lives were spared. Later, I encountered Commander Saihazhi... But I can't guarantee that I won't end up like Li Chu one day, and I don't want to target someone who was once like me."
Zhu Yuhuan looked at him and finally said, "While it's a good idea, I'm afraid you won't be able to hold on to your position as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Xu Gong, of course, understood this as well. He said, "In life, we should just do good things and not worry about the future." He gave another wry smile and said, "I heard from a colleague that some people are privately discussing that Wang Dayong of the Imperial Household Department is thinking of recruiting people into the Imperial Uniform Guard."
Zhu Yuhuan raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Hasn't the Jinyiwei always had a bad relationship with the eunuchs?" At this point, she laughed again and said, "I think that in addition to torturing some seriously ill prisoners to extract confessions, you've probably also investigated and obtained the results of other prisoners in the imperial prison. These officers can't use this opportunity to blackmail the prisoners' families and make money. I'm afraid they're only superficially submissive to you as the commander."
Zhu Yuhuan was right, and Xu Gong certainly didn't argue, but simply said, "It's my incompetence."
Zhu Yuhuan looked at him and said, "This is not called incompetence."
The environment tends to push capable people down, and if they don't, they will be driven away and killed. This shows that this has nothing to do with ability.
Xu Gong didn't say much, just bowed to Zhu Yuhuan and took his leave.
Han Guilan went inside after seeing Xu Gong leave, only to see Zhu Yuhuan sitting at the table, looking at the moonlight shining on the ground without saying a word.
Although Zhu Qizhen's excuse for going out was similar to Zhu Zhanji's reason for patrolling the border, such as observing agriculture and inquiring about people's livelihood, the fact that his destination was Changping Huangzhuang showed that Zhu Qizhen's purpose was not to go out for the sake of traveling.
After arriving at the imperial farm and taking a short rest for a day, Zhu Qizhen had people prepare bows and arrows and horses early the next morning, obviously planning to take a good ride around the imperial farm.
When the emperor was hunting, outsiders were naturally not allowed to appear at will. Therefore, Cheng Ming had someone release the prey that had been raised into Zhu Qizhen's hunting range early in the morning. After that, he asked the tenants to perform their duties and not to wander around the imperial farm.
That being said, the scope of the imperial farm was limited, and Zhu Qizhen's hunting place was not far from the tenants' residences.
Zhu Youtong and Zhu Qiyu had already discussed how to avoid hunting with Zhu Qizhen, so they pulled Zhu Hanjia to play chuiwan early. This sport is much simpler than Zhu Qizhen's hunting. It only requires a simple arrangement on the ground and a goal to play.
Now only the emperor, Zhu Yuhuan and Xue Huan were left to participate in the hunting. Zhu Qizhen didn't know that these prey were domesticated and turned wild. He was very excited to bring back some good stuff. He even thought about which wool to give to whom and what to make it into. Xue Huan continued his flattery career on the side.
As for Zhu Yuhuan, he discussed the safety of this group of people with Guo Xuan and Jing Yuan. Jing Yuan was responsible for the safety of two princesses and a vassal king, and was in charge of a relatively small number of people. Most of the remaining people followed Guo Xuan and Xu Gong so that they could protect the emperor anytime and anywhere.
After all, Zhu Qizhen left a glorious history in the horse racing field, which is well known to everyone. Although the emperor has grown up now and can ride a horse by himself, he cannot let his guard down!
"Your Highness will have to be there to counsel His Majesty promptly. Please make sure there are no mistakes."
Seeing Jing Yuan's nervous expression, Zhu Yuhuan comforted him, "Don't worry, uncle. Your Majesty practices archery and horseback riding every day and has already become very skilled in it. Nothing will go wrong."
Jing Yuan was also present when Zhu Qizhen made a fool of himself. He had long been aware of Zhu Qizhen's "bear" nature. Now that he was responsible for Zhu Qizhen's safety, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Even if no accidents happened in the imperial manor, Zhu Qizhen was the accident itself.
Although Zhu Yuhuan didn't know Jing Yuan's inner thoughts, he could guess that Zhu Qizhen probably didn't leave a good and calm impression in Jing Yuan's eyes, otherwise Jing Yuan wouldn't be so overly nervous.
She turned to look at Guo Xuan and said, "Marquis Wuding was a capable minister who accompanied the emperor on border patrols. With Marquis Wuding here, uncle can rest assured."
Guo Xuan, suddenly called out, choked. He met Zhu Yuhuan's gaze and said in a deep voice, "I will do my utmost to protect Your Majesty."
When Guo Xuan was patrolling the border, he had already witnessed the strength of Princess Shunde. Of course, he did not dare to show any hesitation in person and immediately agreed.
Princess Shunde is not someone to be trifled with, not to mention that this princess often accompanies His Majesty and serves as regent. If she were to say something carelessly in front of His Majesty, given His Majesty's temperament, all his hard work over the years would be wasted.
Zhu Yuhuan finally nodded in satisfaction and said, "Don't worry, the Imperial Manor has already been settled, and the Jinyiwei have already searched the area in advance. There will definitely be no danger. Just protect His Majesty while he hunts."
"yes."
On the other side, Zhu Qizhen was wearing a bright red robe, a pearl-brimmed hat on his head, ivory deerskin boots on his feet, and a pair of leather protective gear outside his clothes.
For hunting, this outfit can be considered as complete protection.
Seeing Zhu Yuhuan coming, Zhu Qizhen patted the protective gear on his body, his brows full of satisfaction, and said: "This protective gear is really good, big sister is really thoughtful."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and replied, "As long as your Majesty likes it, it's good. After all, hunting outdoors is definitely more dangerous than in the Western Garden. Your Majesty must be more cautious when hunting."
Zhu Qizhen sighed and interrupted Zhu Yuhuan, saying, "Big sister, you finally came out for a while, but you have become like a group of ministers."
Zhu Yuhuan saw that he was getting impatient and simply smiled, "When Your Majesty was practicing horseback archery, I was beside you. Naturally, I have great confidence in your skills. But it's different with Uncle Jiaxing and Marquis Wuding. Your Majesty, you should consider it as pity for their utter loyalty. You must be extremely careful and never let them worry."
Thinking of the two people's sad faces because of him, Zhu Qizhen couldn't help laughing, and then said: "I know, don't worry, big sister."
Xue Huan was standing right next to them. He watched as Zhu Yuhuan coaxed Zhu Qizhen into submission with just a few words, while Zhu Qizhen himself seemed to be completely unaware of this. He was secretly surprised.
Fortunately, Princess Shunde is a woman. If she were a man, I am afraid she would still be able to take the position of emperor just as easily, and those ministers would have been sold out by her and would have helped count the money.
Zhu Qizhen didn't know what Xue Huan was thinking, he just walked out first in a triumphant manner, looking very energetic.
Zhu Yuhuan, however, saw Xue Huan standing there in a daze, smiled at him, and said, "What are you doing here? Why don't you hurry up and follow His Majesty? His Majesty still needs your brother-in-law to stay by his side and protect him well. My third sister is also waiting for the prey your brother-in-law has brought back. Please don't let the three of us sisters look down on you."
Xue Huan met her phoenix eyes and saw a cold light in them. Even the smile on her face made his heart feel cold for no reason.
Xue Huan recalled his performance along the way and thought of what Zhu Yuhuan had just said. He just smiled awkwardly and replied, "That...that's natural..." After that, he hurriedly followed Zhu Qizhen's footsteps, as if he was afraid that if he was a step slower, he would be caught and beaten by Princess Shunde.
Zhu Yuhuan looked at his back, snorted and chuckled, then walked out slowly.
No wonder Tongtong looks down on this guy...
Zhu Qizhen was unaware of the conversation between the two. He just looked at the hunting ground in the distance, his heart full of anticipation.
He has been practicing riding and archery for so long, he will surely gain something today, and then he can let everyone know that he is the legitimate emperor who is proficient in both civil and military affairs, and is no less capable than his father!
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