In the next two days, everything was calm between the government and the public, and there was not even the slightest disturbance.
Beijing, near the pier.
At this time, the sun has not yet come out, and it is the coolest time of the day.
The crowds near the dock have long been cleared away, and five warships of various sizes are moored on the dock.
The ship was full of soldiers, and these soldiers were responsible for escorting Zhao Zhenji, the new governor of Zhejiang and governor of Zhejiang, to his post safely!
Just one day ago, Zhao Zhenji took off the official uniform of the Inspectorate and handed over his seal and ribbon. From now on, the Inspectorate will no longer have the censor Zhao Zhenji!
Zhao Zhenji did not carry much luggage on this trip, except for some necessary items and books, there was nothing else.
In addition to luggage, Zhao Zhenji also brought several maids and a concubine with him on this trip to take care of his daily life.
As for the family members, wives, children, etc., they were all left in the capital by Zhao Zhenji.
After all, all feudal officials must leave their families, wives and children in the capital as hostages. This has been an unspoken rule between emperors and courtiers since ancient times!
Moreover, in Zhao Zhenji's view, the coming Zhejiang Province is no different than a dragon's pond and a tiger's den for him!
Rather than taking the risk of bringing the family members over, it is better to leave them in the capital. This way, their safety can be guaranteed to the greatest extent!
Immediately, Zhao Zhenji came back to his senses, looked at Hai Rui and several friends who came not far away to see him off, and said loudly.
"Everyone, let's say goodbye!"
Hai Rui, who was not far away, was quite sad when he heard Zhao Zhenji's words. He bowed his hands to Zhao Zhenji and said in a deep voice.
"Sir, take care of it!"
"Um."
Zhao Zhenji heard the words and responded in a subtle way, and then stepped onto the sampan under the escort of the guards.
Not long after, the ship Zhao Zhenji was on gradually moved away under the glow of morning glow.
Afterwards, Hai Rui exchanged a few words with several friends who came to see off Zhao Zhenji, and then left.
On the way back in the sedan chair, Hai Rui opened the curtain of the sedan chair and looked at the scenery on both sides of the road with a look of despair on his face, because from now on, he and Zhao Zhenji would not have many opportunities to meet each other!
"Sir, don't worry, I will definitely fulfill my promise and take good care of your family and relatives!"
After Hai Rui finished speaking, he looked at the scenery in the distance, wondering what he was thinking.
…
Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.
I saw Lu Fang walking quietly in front of Jiajing and reporting respectfully.
"Your Majesty, Zhao Zhenji left the capital by boat an hour ago and officially set off for Zhejiang to take up his post!"
"Hai Rui and several of Zhao Zhenji's old friends, after learning the news, went to the dock to see them off. In addition..."
After listening to Lu Fang's report, Jiajing nodded slightly, turned around, and said.
"Well, I know!"
Then, Jiajing changed the subject and asked again.
"By the way, Lu Fang, how is the situation with the imperial concubine now?"
"Your Majesty, I learned from the imperial physician that the imperial concubine is currently in good health, and the condition of the child in her belly is also normal!"
After Jiajing learned the news from Lu Fang, a smile appeared on his face unconsciously.
Then, Jiajing seemed to suddenly remember something. After pondering for a moment, he gave instructions: "Well, in that case, Lu Fang, send someone to De'an and bring a message to King Jing for me. Just say The imperial concubine is about to give birth, and I have given her permission to come to the capital!"
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
When Lu Fang heard Jiajing's words, she immediately looked stern and responded in a deep voice.
After that, Jiajing raised his eyebrows and asked when he saw that Lu Fang was hesitant to speak.
"Oh, Lu Fang, looking at you like this, do you have anything to say to me?"
When Lu Fang saw this situation, she immediately leaned down and organized the words in her mind before speaking cautiously.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, I have something to say, I don't know if I should say it or not!"
"Okay, if you have anything to say, just say it, don't talk in circles with me!"
When Jiajing heard this, his face was full of impatience, he waved his hands and ordered like this.
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
After receiving Jiajing's consent, Lu Fang immediately felt confident. Later, after considering his tone, he reported the truth truthfully.
"Your Majesty, not long ago, didn't you ask your servant to send people from Dongchang to De'an to deal with all the monks from Xuanguang Temple and everyone related to the whole matter?"
"Well, that's indeed what happened. What's wrong?"
When Jiajing heard this, the expression on his face did not change and he asked Lu Fang.
"After His Royal Highness King Jing learned about this, he fainted and fell to the ground in fright, and became seriously ill!"
When Lu Fang said this, she did not dare to look directly into Jiajing's eyes and just lowered her head silently.
After listening to Lu Fang's narration, Jiajing's face suddenly showed contempt, and he shook his head and commented like this.
"Hmph, this evil deed is really embarrassing to me. This little thing scared him!"
"That's it, you still want to seize the direct descendant?"
Then, Jiajing's face showed a look of loss, and he looked at Lu Fang, sighed helplessly, and said to himself.
"Oh, my two sons really make me worry. Lu Fang, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, I think this slave..."
When Lu Fang heard what Jiajing said, a look of fear suddenly appeared on her face. She hesitated for a long time without giving a definite answer.
Jiajing saw that Lu Fang had not responded for a long time. After glancing at him, he waved his hand and gave instructions casually.
"That's all, Lu Fang, without further ado, go and select the right candidate now and go to King Jing's fiefdom, De'an!"
"As you command, Your Majesty, I will go right away!"
When Lu Fang heard what Jiajing said, her face was full of relief. After bowing to Jiajing, she turned around and left Qianqing Palace.
…
On the same day, after getting off duty, Zhang Juzheng took a sedan and returned to his residence in the capital.
In the past few days, Zhang Juzheng has been thinking about Xu Jie's purpose, but even though Zhang Juzheng racked his brains, he could not draw a reliable conclusion.
After the sedan stopped, Zhang Juzheng was getting out of the sedan with the help of his servants.
Soon after Zhang Juzheng got off the sedan, the housekeeper came up to him and said respectfully.
"master!"
"Um."
Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng responded in a subtle way, and then walked in the direction of the study.
At this moment, the housekeeper mustered up the courage to follow Zhang Juzheng in three steps at a time, lowered his head, and reported respectfully.
"Old... Master, the eldest young master has been ill recently..."
"What did you say? What happened to Jingxiu?"
Zhang Juzheng suddenly stopped when he heard what the housekeeper said, turned around, and asked in a deep voice.
Zhang Juzheng's original wife was Gu, and the couple had a very good relationship. However, unfortunately, Gu passed away not long after they got married, and the couple left no children.
After that, Zhang Juzheng married Wang as his wife and had three sons, Zhang Jingxiu, Zhang Maoxiu, and Zhang Sixiu.
The housekeeper was a little frightened by Zhang Juzheng's gaze, so he had to lower his head and hesitate.
"Old...Master, the young master has been feeling cold recently. The family has already sent for a doctor. Currently, the wife is taking care of the young master..."
When Zhang Juzheng saw this situation, a look of anger suddenly appeared on his face. He looked away from the butler and continued to ask.
"Why didn't I know this?"
"Old... Master, to be honest, Madam asked us to hide it from you, because we couldn't miss your business!"
After Zhang Juzheng learned the ins and outs of the matter from the housekeeper, he sighed helplessly, his tone softened, and he followed up with instructions.
"Okay, take me there!"
"Yes, sir!"
When the housekeeper heard Zhang Juzheng's words, he breathed a sigh of relief and then led the way.
Later, Zhang Juzheng followed the housekeeper's footsteps and walked through a long corridor before arriving at Zhang Jingxiu's room.
Zhang Juzheng carefully opened the door and entered in order not to disturb his son's rest.
In the room, Zhang Juzheng's wife, Wang, was taking the decoction from the hand of the maid on the side, and thoughtfully feeding Zhang Jingxiu, who was lying on the hospital bed, the decoction in the bowl with a spoon.
At this time, Zhang Jingxiu was only eight or nine years old, and his face still looked childish. Perhaps because of the occasional cold, his face was a little pale.
"Mom, when do you think dad can come visit me?"
"Xiu'er, come on, drink the medicine obediently. Your father is now the cabinet minister and is busy with political affairs every day. How can he..."
Before Wang could finish her words, Zhang Jingxiu, who was lying on the bed, looked behind her excitedly, and then spoke.
"Dad, you are here to see the child!"
When Wang heard this, she couldn't help but have a look of surprise on her face, and the bowl of soup in her hand fell to the ground.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Juzheng hurriedly stepped forward and supported Wang. Seeing that Wang was fine, Zhang Juzheng looked at the maid aside and gave instructions.
"Go make another bowl of soup right away!"
"Yes, yes, sir!"
After the maid hurriedly responded, she immediately left the room.
At this time, Wang's face was full of shame. She did not dare to look directly into Zhang Juzheng's eyes, lowered her head, bit her lips tightly, and spoke in a voice as thin as a mosquito.
"Husband, do you blame me for hiding this from you?"
Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when he heard this. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of debt to his wife and children.
Yes, my wife didn’t even dare to tell herself that her son was sick, for fear of delaying her future, and she was even afraid that she would blame her for it!
Later, Zhang Juzheng came to his senses, took Wang into his arms, and comforted her softly.
"How could that be? I know, you also want to prevent me from being distracted!"
After hearing Zhang Juzheng's words, Mrs. Wang looked at Zhang Juzheng with increasingly tender eyes, with a little sparkle in her eyes. When her love reached the depths, she couldn't help but call her husband softly.
But Wang quickly realized that this was in her son's room, and then she saw him pushing Zhang Juzheng away with a look of shyness on his face.
Seeing this situation, Zhang Juzheng came to his senses and coughed twice to relieve the embarrassment.
Perhaps in order to ease the awkward atmosphere, Zhang Juzheng came to Zhang Jingxiu, leaned down and asked softly.
"Is there anything else that feels uncomfortable now?"
Zhang Jingxiu, who was lying on the bed, shook his head firmly when he heard Zhang Juzheng's words, and then responded.
"Father, according to the doctor who came here for consultation, the child only felt cold occasionally and only needs a few days of rest. Dad, you are now the cabinet minister, so you should focus on the affairs of the court!"
Zhang Juzheng looked at Zhang Jingxiu, who was pale and energetic at this moment, and couldn't help but feel nervous.
Then, he reached out his hand, touched Zhang Jingxiu's head, looked directly into Zhang Jingxiu's eyes, and said.
"Dad has nothing to do today, so I can stay with you!"
"Dad, is it true? Cough cough cough!"
When Zhang Jingxiu heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up. He sat up from the bed and confirmed to Zhang Juzheng excitedly. But he was so excited that he started coughing violently again.
Seeing this, Mrs. Wang on the side had a worried look on her face. She quickly stepped forward and gently patted Zhang Jingxiu's back.
After Zhang Juzheng heard this, he immediately turned his eyes to Zhang Jingxiu and gave his assurance.
"of course it's true!"
Not long after that, the maid who had left earlier walked in with a bowl of steaming soup.
Seeing this, Mrs. Wang took the bowl containing the soup from the maid's hand and used a spoon to feed Zhang Jing the soup in the bowl one by one.
After finishing taking the decoction, the pale color on Zhang Jingxiu's face also faded a lot.
Seeing this, Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. Later, the family gathered together for a rare dinner and had a sumptuous dinner.
After dinner, Zhang Jingxiu returned to his room and fell asleep, while Zhang Juzheng also came to the yard and started walking around the yard.
"For what purpose did Xu Jie want to make a fuss about this case?"
"Ma Ningyuan, Hu Zongxian, Gao Hanwen, Zheng Michang, He Maocai, Zhang Runde, Yan Shifan, Yan Song..."
Zhang Juzheng thought like this, and everything that had happened recently was flashing in his mind like a slide.
Soon, Zhang Juzheng had a flash of inspiration, a look of sudden realization appeared on his face, and he said in a deep voice.
"I understand, it's mulberry seedlings, mulberry seedlings that are about to mature in Zhejiang!"
"If Ma Ningyuan's case is revealed, the first person to be implicated will be Ma Ningyuan's teacher Hu Zongxian. As the governor of Zhejiang Province and the governor of Zhejiang Province, he has an unshirkable responsibility!"
"After that, Gao Hanwen, Zheng Michang, He Maocai, Zhang Runde and others could not escape their involvement. By then, Hu Zongxian had been transferred to the capital by His Majesty, and Zhao Zhenji, the newly appointed governor-general of Zhejiang Province and governor of Zhejiang Province, was still there On the way to take office!”
"The governor of a province has not officially arrived yet, and local officials such as the chief envoy and the inspector-general are all involved in this case again!"
"At that time, Zhejiang will be leaderless. Once this happens, won't those people be at the mercy of others?"
"In this way, we can not only take advantage of this opportunity to crack down on the strict party, but also purchase raw silk from the people at a low price. It really kills two birds with one stone!"
Zhang Juzheng suddenly felt shuddering when he thought of this, and even his spine felt a little chilly.
"No, I have to inform Zhao Zhenji of this news quickly so that he can take precautions. Otherwise, the people of Zhejiang will suffer!"
With Zhang Juzheng thinking, he quickly returned to his study, spread out his pen and paper, and wrote down his thoughts without any modification.
Afterwards, he saw Zhang Juzheng put it into an envelope quite solemnly, then called the housekeeper and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"Now, you immediately go to Zhao Zhenji's residence in the capital. You must hand the letter into his hands in person. No one else must pass through it. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing that Zhang Juzheng attached great importance to this matter, the housekeeper did not dare to show any signs of neglect. After receiving the envelope quite solemnly, he walked away.
Zhang Juzheng looked at the butler's leaving figure, a dark and unclear look flashed in his eyes, and said silently to himself.
"Oh, I hope it's not too late!"
As for when Zhao Zhenji would leave Beijing to take office, even Zhang Juzheng, the cabinet minister, only knew a rough time. In order to protect the safety of the officials who were going to take office, the court would keep such information strictly confidential!
Others have no way of knowing the exact departure time!
Time passed by slowly, the sky gradually got later, and Zhang Juzheng's mood gradually became anxious.
At this moment, he was in the study, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back.
At this moment, there was a "squeak" sound, the door of the room was pushed open, and the panting housekeeper walked in quickly and respectfully reported.
"Old... Master, something serious has happened. Zhao... Zhao Zhenji, at dawn today, had already boarded a boat at the pier and officially set off for Zhejiang to take up his post!"
"What did you say!"
After Zhang Juzheng learned the news from the butler, his face was full of disbelief. He looked in the direction of the butler and confirmed to him.
The housekeeper saw the expression on Zhang Juzheng's face. After taking a breath, he lowered his head and repeated his previous words.
"Master, it's absolutely true. After I arrived at Zhao Zhenji's mansion in the capital, I learned the news from his family!"
After the housekeeper finished speaking, his face was full of anxiety, and immediately he carefully observed Zhang Juzheng not far away.
After Zhang Juzheng learned the news, he fell back on his chair weakly, with a look of regret on his face, and murmured to himself.
"Alas, in the end, it was still a step too late!"
Just when the housekeeper was confused about this, Zhang Juzheng's voice sounded again.
"Okay, put the letter down and you can leave now!"
"Yes, sir, I will resign now!"
When the housekeeper heard Zhang Juzheng's words, he felt relieved. After bowing to him, he turned and left the study.
Shortly after the housekeeper left, Zhang Juzheng looked at the sky outside, clenched his fists, and said to himself.
"That's all, no matter what, let Sima be the live horse doctor!"
Then, Zhang Juzheng summoned his confidants and gave instructions in a deep voice.
"You should go to Zhejiang immediately and hand this letter into Zhao Zhenji's hands in person!"
"Yes, sir!"
…
One night passed in the blink of an eye, Zhejiang, the Chief Envoy Si Nei.
As soon as Zheng Michang arrived at the Chief Envoy's Office, he received a report from his subordinates, saying that most of the mulberry seedlings in Zhejiang were now mature, and people were already picking mulberry leaves, and even raw silk had begun to be produced in some places!
After learning the news, Zheng Michang was naturally very excited, because the change from rice to mulberry was about to bear fruit!
"Even if I don't have any merit, I still have to work hard. Maybe I can take this opportunity to get a promotion?"
Zheng Michang thought so, then entered the room, sat behind the desk, and methodically reviewed the official documents sent by his subordinates.
"Alas, the Governor is leaving Zhejiang soon. After working with him for so many years, I really can't bear to part with him!"
"I don't know if Zhao Zhenji, the newly appointed Governor-General of Zhejiang Province and Governor of Zhejiang Province, will be easy to get along with. After all, he was born in the Inspectorate and also served as an imperial envoy. If the time comes..."
Zheng Michang thought so and put aside the official document that had been processed in his hand.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door.
Hearing this, Zheng Michang slowly put the brush in his hand back to its original position and gave instructions.
"Come in!"
After the words fell, there was only a "squeak", the door of the room was pushed open, and a subordinate came in and said respectfully.
"Your Majesty the Chief Envoy, there are people from the Governor's Mansion waiting outside, saying they are under the orders of the Governor!"
"Well, I know, let him come in!"
When Zheng Michang heard this, he waved his hand quite casually and gave instructions.
"As you command, Lord Chief Envoy!"
After the subordinate responded, he quickly left. Not long after, an official from the Governor's Palace entered the room where Zheng Michang was.
The official from the Governor's Mansion, after entering the room where Zheng Michang was, immediately leaned down and said respectfully.
"I have met the Chief Envoy!"
"Tell me, why did the Governor call you here?"
Hearing this, Zheng Michang looked the official of the Governor's Mansion up and down and then asked.
"Your Majesty the Chief Envoy, Your Majesty the Governor has asked your subordinate to tell you that you will come to the Governor's Mansion later to discuss matters!"
"Well, I know, please let me know and I will be there as soon as possible!"
When Zheng Michang heard this, there was no look of surprise on his face. He only nodded slightly, turned his eyes away from the official of the Governor's Mansion, and gave the order.
"Yes, Lord Chief Envoy, I will definitely bring your words to you intact!"
When the official from the Governor's Mansion heard Zheng Michang's words, he immediately looked stern and responded in a deep voice.
Then, Zheng Michang pointed at the unfinished official documents on the desk, looked at the official of the Governor's Mansion, and spoke unhurriedly.
"Well, I still have some matters to deal with, so you can leave!"
"Yes, Lord Chief Envoy, I will resign immediately!" (End of Chapter)
