Chapter 74 The Storm is Coming
The issue of agricultural tools came to a temporary end in the court, but for Zhu Yuhuan himself and other craftsmen, this matter was just the beginning and needed to be followed up.
In addition, Zhu Yuhuan also had to pay attention to the situations of both the Wu family and Zhu Gaochi, and he could not neglect his studies. He was so tired every day that he could fall asleep immediately, but he also had to ask Huai En to repeat the news he heard from various palaces.
The Eastern Palace was not in the palace, so it was inconvenient for her to inquire about the news. If it were not for the female officials left behind by Zhu Yuhuan and Hu Shanwei, it would have been difficult for her to find out the news.
"Some time ago, Your Majesty went to Noble Concubine Guo's palace. The ladies-in-waiting of the Six Shangs heard the Noble Concubine repeatedly urging Your Majesty to take care of your health. The ladies-in-waiting of the Shang Shi said that the Noble Concubine had even prepared medicinal food for Your Majesty. In one day, the Noble Concubine reminded Your Majesty that 'your health is the most important thing.' Your Majesty, probably upset, left without even eating. Since then, he has frequently visited Empress Tan's palace."
Zhu Yuhuan was stunned for a moment, her hand that was originally writing a letter paused. She put the brush aside and asked with some confusion, "Did Concubine Guo tell the emperor to take care of his health?"
She was originally thinking about how to write a more obscure letter to convey the news to Wu Miaosu that Wu An had safely joined the army. When she suddenly heard this slightly abnormal news, Zhu Yuhuan could not hide her surprise.
Wynn nodded and asked tentatively, "Is there something wrong?"
It is the duty of a concubine to advise His Majesty to take care of his health. Not only does Empress Zhang do this, but all women in the harem should do the same.
"Saying it once or twice is actually normal... I just didn't expect the Imperial Concubine to say it so many times..." Zhu Yuhuan touched his chin and said, "The Imperial Concubine doesn't like to be advised. Grandpa Emperor probably doesn't hear the Imperial Concubine's advice often, otherwise she wouldn't be so favored."
Most men like gentle and considerate women because they are always submissive and even the slightest resistance is just for fun. However, this balance must be maintained. Otherwise, even in the case of childhood sweethearts like Zhu Zhanji and Sun Mengqiu, Zhu Zhanji would not accept a woman's "disobedience", even if Sun Mengqiu was just "jealous". This is exactly what is meant by "a virtuous wife and a beautiful concubine".
If Concubine Guo had also shouted "Take care of your health" in Zhu Gaochi's ear every day, Zhu Gaochi probably would not have doted on her so much.
Huai En understood Zhu Yuhuan's implication and was startled. He asked tentatively, "What does the princess mean..."
Zhu Yuhuan placed his hands on the edge of the table, thinking for a long time, and finally said: "Huai En, do you remember when the Imperial Concubine toasted to the Empress Dowager on her birthday?"
At the time, she thought that Concubine Guo was trying to make peace with Empress Zhang briefly. After all, from Zhu Yuhuan's perspective, Zhu Gaochi had only been dead for a few months, and Concubine Guo certainly wouldn't go against Empress Zhang, who was unanimously supported by the court and the people. But now she thought, how could Concubine Guo have known that Zhu Gaochi would die? If that was the case, why did she insist on making Empress Zhang drink that glass of wine?
More importantly, this glass of wine was finally drunk by Emperor Zhu Gaochi.
Huai En saw Zhu Yuhuan rubbing her arms, and hurriedly poured her a cup of hot water and asked, "Is the princess still cold?"
Zhu Yuhuan came back to his senses, put his hand on his forehead, stared at the dancing flame on the candlestick, and muttered to himself: "Huai En, do you know what I was thinking just now..."
Huai En did not hide anything and said bluntly: "The princess suspects that there is something wrong with the glass of wine that Concubine Guo presented to the Queen."
"That glass of wine was drunk by Grandpa Huang..."
"That's why the Imperial Concubine repeatedly advised the Emperor to take care of his health."
Zhu Yuhuan rubbed his arms and asked rhetorically, "If Grandma loses her power in the palace, will those palace servants just listen to the Imperial Concubine?"
Huai En was slightly stunned, and subconsciously wanted to express his affirmation, but then he realized that something was wrong.
Although Zhu Yuhuan did not hold any power in the palace, many of the female officials obeyed her orders...
Zhu Yuhuan thought about how Empress Zhang refused to eat or drink that day, and just sat there motionless. Could it be that she had already planted her own people in the Imperial Concubine's palace, and had heard about the poisoning, so she refused to eat or drink...
But logically speaking, if Empress Zhang really knew that Concubine Guo had poisoned the wine, she should have immediately stopped Zhu Gaochi from drinking in anger, or immediately summoned the imperial physician to see Zhu Gaochi. Thinking about this carefully, what was Empress Zhang's true inner thoughts... Zhu Yuhuan was indeed a little panicked.
Huai En noticed Zhu Yuhuan's uneasiness and spoke to comfort him, "These are just speculations. Princess, don't worry. How could the imperial concubine poison someone openly? Wouldn't everyone suspect her?"
Zhu Yuhuan certainly knew this. Everyone has minor illnesses and disasters, not to mention that Zhu Gaochi himself has average physical fitness. When she and her fifth uncle went to the Qianqing Palace together before, she could sense that the emperor was not in good health. It does not mean that Zhu Gaochi fell ill because he was poisoned.
There is no evidence to support this matter, so Zhu Yuhuan certainly won't say anything, otherwise it will all be her fault in the end.
Seeing that it was already late, Huai En advised: "Princess, you should also go to bed early. The Queen is here to take care of these things, so you can rest assured."
Zhu Yuhuan thought about it and it seemed to be true.
If such a thing really happened, Empress Zhang would have killed Concubine Guo long ago. Why did she wait until now? After all, regicide is a serious crime. Whether it was intentional or not, the punishment for such a serious crime is confiscation of property and beheading.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuhuan felt much more relieved. He yawned and prepared to go to bed.
But she still vaguely felt that this matter was not that simple.
The next morning, Zhu Yuhuan just got up and saw dark clouds outside, which seemed like it was going to rain.
The daily lectures would be suspended whenever it rained or snowed. Zhu Yuhuan asked his palace servants to go and tell the lecturers not to worry, and asked another person to tell the craftsmen not to enter the palace today so as not to be trapped by the rain. Then he went to find his mother leisurely.
Being used to being busy on weekdays, when encountering such a rainy day, even Zhu Yuhuan, who is used to being introverted, wants to take a day off.
The weather was a bit hot and humid. When Zhu Yuhuan entered, he saw Hu Shanxiang sitting there reading. Zhu Youtong was holding a hand-cranked music box and turning it. She said with a smile, "It looks like it's going to rain heavily, so I'm lazy today."
Zhu Youtong immediately put down the music box, ran over, hugged Zhu Yuhuan and cheered. Behind her, a little head popped out. It was Zhu Hanjia. She looked at Zhu Yuhuan curiously, then timidly called out "Sister", and quickly hid back into the house.
Seeing this, Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but criticize in his heart, is she that scary? Why did she run away after just saying hello?
Even though he was thinking this, Zhu Yuhuan still asked, "Han Jia is here today, why isn't the Second Concubine here?"
Zhu Youtong answered obediently: "The second concubine is ill, so Jiajia was sent to my mother's place for care."
Hu Shanxiang didn't respond. She continued flipping through the book in her hand and said with a smile, "It's rare for you to be lazy for once."
Zhu Yuhuan glanced at the title of the book in Hu Shanxiang's hand. It was clearly written "Tao Te Ching". She was slightly startled and asked, "Why did you think of reading this, mother?"
"Just to pass the time and comfort myself." Seeing her curiosity, Hu Shanxiang handed her the Tao Te Ching and said, "If you have nothing to do, take a look at it. I'm sure it will help you learn."
Zhu Yuhuan took the book, flipped through it, handed it to Huai En next to him, and said, "Huanhuan will study it carefully when you go back."
Hu Shanxiang noticed that her daughter seemed to be preoccupied, and took the initiative to ask, which was unusual for her, "Is the greenhouse still busy?"
Zhu Yuhuan nodded slightly and said seriously, "Yes, I thought that although this matter didn't have many supporters, it was not completely useless. It might have a glorious time in the future, so I went to the greenhouse as usual. Fortunately, the emperor has never stopped paying the greenhouse workers, so everyone is still willing to do it."
Seeing her determined expression, Hu Shanxiang knew that she was determined to do this thing. She knew that her daughter had her own insistence and was not completely involved in this power struggle, and she felt relieved.
Hu Shanxiang beckoned to the palace maid beside her, signaling her to bring a small box and place it on the table. Seeing Zhu Yuhuan's puzzlement, she smiled and said, "Your Majesty is busy with many affairs and has no time to take care of the farm tools. The people around you are bound to be fickle. If your salary is stopped, you can use these to temporarily fill the gap."
After saying that, Hu Shanxiang opened the box on the table, which was full of silver, leaving Zhu Yuhuan stunned.
No... How could her own mother have so much money... But she should at least be thankful that what was hidden in her own mother's box was not the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes. It seemed that the Zhu family was not so cruel as to give their own family the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, something that no one would pick up if it fell on the ground.
Zhu Yuhuan raised his hands and patted his cheeks, then asked, "Mother...where did you get so much silver?"
It's not that Zhu Yuhuan is obsessed with money, but she doesn't often see gold and silver so directly on a daily basis. After all, the princess has her own share of food, clothing and other expenses, so she doesn't need to buy them herself. Moreover, the Ming Baochao is the common currency. Naturally, Zhu Yuhuan has never seen so much silver.
"This was given by Emperor Taizong at our wedding. Your Majesty and the Empress also frequently give out gifts... Besides this, there's also a box of gold. As for jewelry and clothes, I've also kept them all. I just didn't think you'd need them right now, so I didn't have anyone bring them out." Hu Shanxiang picked up the teacup and spoke calmly, "There's really no use for them in the palace, so I saved them all. I do use them when I reward palace servants, but I can't keep up with the pace of saving."
Zhu Yuhuan felt his pupils shaking, and the look he gave his mother changed from shock to admiration.
At this moment, her mother was just a little hamster in the Ming Dynasty. She was usually very low-key, but at the critical moment, she could pull out so many things from her cheeks. It was not easy...
If you think about it carefully, Hu Shanxiang does have clothes for daily use, but she seldom takes the initiative to ask the Shangyi Bureau to make clothes like Sun Mengqiu did, which can indeed save a lot of money.
Zhu Youtong had no idea about gold and silver. She looked at the box of ordinary silver stones and asked in confusion, "Who are these stones for?"
Zhu Yuhuan sighed, patted the box and said, "Tongtong, this is a treasure that everyone talks about."
Zhu Youtong was even more puzzled and asked, "Isn't it just a stone with a special color? Could it be the precious paint that Daddy has locked away in his study to prevent his sister from ruining it?"
Zhu Yuhuan was silent for a moment, then reached out to close the box and said, "This is no ordinary ore... Tongtong, you'll understand when you grow up."
Zhu Youtong was even more confused now, but he nodded obediently and said, "Tongtong understands."
Hu Shanxiang smiled upon seeing this and warned Zhu Yuhuan, "Don't deduct their wages. Their families depend on this money for their livelihood."
"I know." Zhu Yuhuan finally couldn't help but ask curiously, "Mother, are you saving this money to send back home?"
"Although my father has retired, our family is not completely destitute. Furthermore, since the time of Emperor Taizu, there have been strict orders prohibiting the casual trading of gold and silver. We must use banknotes, and we cannot exchange banknotes for gold and silver... Even if we give them this gold and silver, they wouldn't dare spend it." Hu Shanxiang lowered her eyes and sighed softly. She reached out and pushed the box in front of Zhu Yuhuan, saying, "Why not exchange this silver for banknotes and give them to the craftsmen as wages?"
Zhu Yuhuan only knew that there was treasure paper in circulation in the Ming Dynasty and that it was rapidly depreciating. As for the specific situation, she was not clear.
Hearing what Hu Shanxiang said, Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but complain in his heart about the Zhu family. They rewarded their own family members with valuable gold, silver and jewelry, but only issued treasure notes to the people and didn't allow them to exchange them for gold and silver...
After muttering to herself, she was stunned for a moment and suddenly realized that something was wrong.
If Hu Shanxiang hadn't said this today, she wouldn't even know what treasure notes and gold and silver were.
Zhu Yuhuan thought carefully. The lecturers never seemed to explain how ordinary people survived, nor did they explain how the country was actually run. The little knowledge Zhu Yuhuan had about the operation of the imperial palace came from doing accounting with Empress Zhang. Even so, Empress Zhang never mentioned the issue of banknotes, gold and silver to her.
Zhu Yuhuan was even more stunned now.
It's over, it turns out that the minced meat brother is actually her...
Seeing his sister frozen in place, Zhu Youtong raised his hand and waved it in front of her, asking in confusion, "Sister, why did you turn into a stone sculpture? You're not moving at all..."
This time, Hu Shanxiang was also a little confused and tried to ask, "Huanhuan? What's wrong with you?"
Zhu Yuhuan came back to his senses, and then he forced a smile and said, "It's okay."
Seeing that she seemed to be preoccupied, Hu Shanxiang said, "Your father's letter arrived a few days ago, and he asked about your studies."
Zhu Yuhuan raised his hand to take the letter from home handed to him by the palace maid, but was slightly stunned when he saw that the neat handwriting on it looked a little unfamiliar.
Seeing her stunned, Hu Shanxiang said, "Miaosu must have written it for her."
Zhu Yuhuan was startled and changed the subject, asking, "Why is this paper so wrinkled..."
Hearing her question, Hu Shanxiang seemed a little helpless and said, "I saw that you were busy with your studies, so I asked the second concubine to come and study first."
Zhu Yuhuan understood that the letter was crumpled by Sun Mengqiu.
Hu Shanxiang noticed the hint of mockery in Zhu Yuhuan's subtle expression and said, "The prince must have done this on purpose. After she read the letter, she fell ill and that's why Hanjia was sent to my care."
Zhu Yuhuan immediately felt a chill and said, "Daddy, why do you have to do this?"
Is there really such logic in real life that "if you love her, you have to ignore her"?
"People are easily disillusioned with the old and love the new."
Zhu Yuhuan met his mother's calm eyes and immediately understood.
Regardless of whether there was real affection or not, Zhu Zhanji didn't like anyone disobeying him, not even his childhood sweetheart Sun Mengqiu. At this time, he really had to thank his own mother for her indifference. At least she didn't get sick from being irritated by Zhu Zhanji, and she could have lived a few more years.
Zhu Yuhuan felt a bit complicated. She glanced at the contents of the letter briefly before closing it and saying, "Huanhuan wants to write a letter to Daddy as well, and then send it together with the letters to Mom and the Second Concubine."
After all, Zhu Zhanji was personally in charge of the greenhouse affairs. Zhu Yuhuan wanted to report the recent achievements so that after Zhu Zhanji took office, it would be convenient for her to go to Zhu Zhanji to "solicit investment."
Hu Shanxiang just shook her head and said, "I have nothing to say. The Second Concubine is now closed to visitors, so I will just send yours."
Zhu Yuhuan nodded solemnly, looking at the letter in his hand without saying a word.
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