Chapter 59 On the Princess
As winter gradually approached in the capital, Zhang Fu no longer had to enter the palace to teach the prince. In addition, he now held an honorary title, so he naturally had much more free time. He thought about getting together with the Three Yangs.
"How is it? Drinking while enjoying the snow is a unique experience, right?"
The four of them sat in the pavilion in the garden of the Duke of England's mansion. In order to keep warm, the pavilion was surrounded by bamboo curtains and gauze. The four of them also wore winter clothes, and they enjoyed the snow and drank wine without delay.
Yang Rong sighed and said, "Time flies by so fast. Now we are the only old guys left in the cabinet."
Yang Shiqi said helplessly: "The young people we value have not yet been tempered, and His Majesty does not seem to have any intention of summoning anyone to join the cabinet..."
Zhang Fu waved his hand and said, "Your Majesty will make the decision."
Although Zhang Fu was born a military officer, he liked reading, was elegant in his dealings with people, and had good relations with the civil officials. Even the Three Yangs often came to his house as guests, and they were considered close friends.
It’s a pity that the cabinet is now empty, official duties are busy, and the four of them are already old, so it’s hard to get together.
Yang Pu asked jokingly, "Sir, how does it feel to be in the palace teaching the Crown Prince how to ride and shoot?"
Speaking of the Crown Prince, Zhang Fu sat upright and said, "The Crown Prince is very diligent in riding and shooting..."
Seeing him like this, Yang Pu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Isn't that because Princess Shunde is watching right next to you?"
Zhang Fu was shocked to see that none of the three of them looked surprised. He asked, "How did you know?"
There was no mention of Princess Shunde in the imperial edict given to him by Zhu Zhanji, so why did the Three Yangs seem to have gone to the horse farm in person?
"We heard with our own ears that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince requested His Majesty to allow Princess Shunde to teach him riding and archery." Yang Shiqi said this with a hint of helplessness. "Even when she was young, the princess had already imitated His Majesty's style and was quite favored by Emperor Wen. But the Crown Prince... it's really strange."
They had all seen Princess Shunde when she was young. Although they did not know her very well, they all knew that Princess Shunde was very intelligent and was quite loved by Emperor Taizong Wen.
His Majesty is not an ordinary person. You can't please him just by being naughty and cute.
As Zhu Yuhuan's half-teacher, Yang Pu had the most say. He said, "The Crown Prince was raised by the Empress Dowager. What grandfather or grandmother doesn't enjoy the company of their grandchildren? Not to mention that he was officially crowned shortly after his birth and doted on. When the princess was born, His Majesty was still the Crown Prince. How could she compare to the Crown Prince? People often say, 'Children from poor families grow up early,' let alone in the Imperial Palace."
That wasn't wrong, Yang Rong waved his hand and said, "I think it's better to worry about His Majesty than the Crown Prince... Whether it's the Imperial Lecture or Cricket, who shouldn't be advised?"
Yang Pu quickly interrupted, "Don't talk nonsense! Have you forgotten Censor Chen? The whole family is still in prison. We must never speak carelessly about His Majesty... Forget about us. Look at the Empress. Since the Crown Prince was appointed, has she ever given His Majesty a single word of advice?"
After he said this, everyone was speechless.
Chen Zuo was doing his duty by giving advice, but he didn't expect that it would anger the emperor. Who among them would dare to step forward and bring bad luck upon himself?
Even if Chen Zuo is telling the truth, as long as Your Majesty doesn't want to listen, it will be the biggest mistake in the world.
Now even the Queen Mother, His Majesty's wife, has stopped giving advice and is trying to protect herself, so it is even harder for them, as foreign ministers, to say anything.
Finally, it was Yang Rong who spoke up, "In a few years, Your Majesty should allow the Crown Prince to go out to study. It is common sense for a ruler to lead by example. Those present are the Crown Prince's future teachers, and it is their duty to train him to become the great emperor of the Ming Dynasty."
That being said, who knows what the situation will be like by then?
Zhang Fu, in particular, couldn't help but sigh in his heart when he thought of the prince's naughty appearance and the scene where Princess Shunde trained the prince into obedience.
Fortunately, he is old and Your Majesty is in the prime of life. By the time the crown prince succeeds to the throne in the future, he himself will probably have been buried. Why think so much?
Seeing that Zhang Fu seemed reluctant to talk about something, Yang Shiqi changed the subject and said, "It's a rare occasion for us to get together today, so let's not talk about state affairs."
Zhang Fu called the maid over and brought some snacks. He saw a square pastry on one of the plates, shaped like a silver ingot, but it was a sandy red. He couldn't help but feel puzzled and asked, "This snack doesn't look like it was made by our own kitchen."
The maid smiled and said, "My lord, this pastry was sent over by your Madam at the Taiping Teahouse. I heard it's made from sorghum grown on the Crown Prince's farm. His Highness Shunde personally named it 'Zhuangyuan Cake.' It's been popular in the capital since the Spring Imperial Examination. Your Madam knew the three ministers were coming, so she specially sent some new ones over from the Taiping Teahouse."
"Taiping Teahouse?" Yang Shiqi had some impression of it. "I heard it's Princess Shunde's business. It's quite far from the Duke's Mansion, so why do the snacks here look so fresh?"
"Replying to the Lord, Taiping Tea House has opened a branch. We can deliver snacks to various mansions in East City without any running fees."
Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong looked at each other in surprise. A teahouse actually dared to use the prince and princess for publicity, and His Majesty did not stop it.
However, Zhang Fu and Yang Pu both knew that Princess Shunde was always creative and such small things were easy for her to do.
After the maid left, Yang Pu said, "The princess's calligraphy is excellent and has its own style. If you want to see the princess's writing, I will have someone show it to you later."
Yang Rong was even more surprised and asked, "Do you have the princess's article?"
Yang Pu took a sip of his wine and said, "Mianren, have you forgotten? The late Emperor once ordered me to be Princess Shunde's tutor and teach her. Unfortunately, ever since the princess went on a border patrol, His Majesty has also suspended her lessons. Now there's no time to learn from her."
Yang Rong then remembered that after all, the three of them were cabinet ministers and had to deal with a lot of official business every day. What's more, Yang Pu had never taught Princess Shunde in person and rarely mentioned Princess Shunde. He had long forgotten about it.
Yang Shiqi thought for a moment and said, "Dan'an, let me see it later."
Logically speaking, Zhu Yuhuan's homework should have been returned after he had read it, but Yang Pu kept it and praised it in front of them. He was really curious.
Yang Rong half-jokingly said, "Dan'an, you said yourself that you are Princess Shunde's teacher, and now you are praising the princess so much... Are you bragging here?"
Both Yang Rong and Yang Shiqi were not very familiar with Zhu Yuhuan. They had only met and greeted each other a few times when Zhu Yuhuan was a child. Especially after Zhu Yuhuan grew up, they had never even met again. Naturally, Yang Rong was skeptical about Yang Pu's words.
Zhang Fu coughed lightly and said, "Princess Shunde is not an ordinary woman, and she cannot be treated as a child."
The fact that Princess Shunde had the courage to go north alone for an inspection at such a young age was far beyond that of an ordinary person, not to mention her great perseverance and intelligence. She also indirectly established the Wunong Temple government office. It was a pity that there was no stage for her to step onto.
Yang Pu smiled and said, "I heard that the new site of Wunong Temple has been chosen to be Shanglin Garden, and it will be officially moved in the spring. His Majesty will bring Princess Shunde with him when the time comes. If you meet Princess Shunde now, you will know whether I am just bragging or not."
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