[Easter egg at the end of the chapter, Luoyang, the divine capital in the current world view! 】
In order to flatter the prince, the officials in Jiangbei racked their brains and thought of various ways to entertain the prince.
Even Zhu Jinghong was invited to participate in several of them. While holding back the wine for Zhu Jingyuan, he also saw how much fun the upper-class dignitaries had.
Although it sounds elegant on the surface, it is actually a romantic affair. The prince's involvement in it is not very good in Zhu Jinghong's opinion.
Logically speaking, Gao Shuyan should be admonished, but he didn't see any effect this time.
This was actually one-sided by Zhu Jinghong, because everyone in the Prince's Palace believed that this was a rare opportunity to make friends with foreign officials in an honest and fair manner.
Although it was taboo to make friends with foreign officials, how could everyone in the Prince's Palace not be anxious when they saw Prince Rui extending favors and establishing relationships everywhere.
So this time, there was an objective need to pay homage to the ancestral mausoleum, coupled with the warm hospitality of local officials, everyone in the Prince's Mansion half-heartedly accepted it, and the two were mixed together.
Actually speaking, Zhu Jinghong ran to the military camp from time to time and mingled with the Dragon Guards, which was more taboo than his two brothers who formed a clique.
They stayed in Fengyang for six full days before setting off on Zhu Jingyuan's order.
The officials in Jiangbei sent him hundreds of miles away before reluctantly watching him leave.
Setting off from Fengyang to the northwest, they arrived in Xuzhou five days later and another seven days in Kaifeng.
The team rested in Kaifeng for two days, then continued westward, and arrived at Hulao Pass in three days.
After passing Hulao Pass, we entered the so-called important land of Gyeonggi, which is the territory of Shuntian Mansion, the capital of the gods.
…………
Orthodox tenth year, August 28th.
The prince's team returning to the capital is less than twenty miles away from Luoyang, the sacred capital, and will definitely arrive before noon.
Perhaps due to the shyness of being close to home, Zhu Jingyuan was particularly uneasy at this moment, so he called Zhu Jinghong into the carriage.
"Thirteenth brother, how did your errands go when I went to Jinling this time?"
In the carriage, Zhu Jingyuan sat upright and asked this nonsense again.
"I mean, fourth brother, fourth master... things have come to this, what are you still worried about?"
Zhu Jinghong analyzed: "The Japanese are also suppressed, and no additional money or food is spent. No matter how harsh the old man is, I'm afraid he won't be able to find anything to say!"
"But something went wrong in the middle, and we almost failed!" Zhu Jingyuan became increasingly worried.
After a trip to Jinling, under the guidance of Zhu Jinghong, Zhu Jingyuan let himself go for a while, but now he feels a little uncomfortable returning to Beijing.
"The old man has never made any mistakes in his life? How do you say that... No one is a sage, how can he be without faults!"
"Having said that, I still feel a little uneasy!" Zhu Jingyuan looked worried.
"You... are making a fuss, it's okay!"
Unable to think of better words to comfort him, Zhu Jinghong could only say this.
Soon the team arrived at the outskirts of Luoyang, where officials from the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple were already waiting for them.
After a ceremony, the team set off north again. Not long after walking, the Luoyang City Wall appeared.
Zhu Jinghong, who had just reassured the prince, felt worried for some reason at this moment. This palpitating feeling came without any warning.
In the carriage, Yinglian was the first to notice something was wrong, so she asked, "Master Thirteen, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?"
"No...it's okay!"
After saying this, Zhu Jinghong picked up the tea cup again and drank it all in one breath.
Yinglian had to fill it up for him again, but she became more and more puzzled because Zhu Jinghong had already drank two pots of tea.
"At any rate, I will handle this Jinling job properly. Even if there is no merit, at least there will be no fault. The old man should not give me any trouble!"
Zhu Jinghong secretly persuaded himself. Intellectually, he felt that what he was thinking was right, but mentally he just couldn't adjust.
Soon the motorcade arrived at the car door. At this time, the Xue family sent someone to pay their respects. They first expressed their gratitude to Zhu Jinghong, and then told him that they were going their separate ways.
At this time, Zhu Jinghong was very flustered. Those who cared to pay attention to these matters would leave it to the Xue family to handle it themselves.
In Luoyang City, Yongdingtian Street, which leads directly to the Imperial City, has been put under martial law by the Wucheng Military and Horse Division.
On the broad road, there was no one else except the soldiers standing guard, so Zhu Jingyuan's motorcade could move forward unimpeded.
When they arrived in the capital, the guard mission of the capital camp was over. Yang Renzhong and Qiu Hong took their men and rushed to their respective stations.
When Zhu Jinghong and his party went to the imperial city, Jia Lian of Rongguo Mansion also took his family slaves to pick up the waiting Xue family.
In fact, Jia Lian came out yesterday. Unfortunately, the Xue family was in the camp, so he did not dare to approach at all, so he could only follow him all the way.
When the Xue family left the team, the cautious Jia Lian led people to meet them.
Outside Aunt Xue's carriage, Jia Lian saluted respectfully: "It's been too long, Mrs. Xue!"
"Please come and pick us up!"
"My aunt, you don't have to be polite. Our wife told me when we came here that when we meet my aunt, we should introduce her to the house as soon as possible so that we can talk about the reunion after a long separation!"
"Yeah... I haven't seen you in more than ten years!" Aunt Xue couldn't help but sigh.
"Auntie, let's set off now!" Jia Lian said with a smile.
"Now that the city is under martial law, it will be difficult to pass through!"
Jia Lian replied: "Madam, don't worry. Let's go east and enter through Zuo'anmen, then through Dongbianmen and into Dongzhimen. This route is feasible!"
Only the roads near Yongding Tianjie were cleared by the Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division, and other places can still be used normally.
"That's good!"
…………
When everyone in the Xue family took a detour and rushed to Rongguo Mansion, Zhu Jinghong and his party had already arrived at Zhengyang Gate.
Further inside is the inner city of the capital, where the princes and nobles live, and is extremely close to the imperial city.
"Thirteenth Master, it's hot today too... Why do you drink so much water? Why don't you ask the imperial doctor to come and take a look?" Yinglian couldn't help but speak.
"It's okay, I'm okay!"
While he was talking, Zhu Jinghong was sweating on his forehead, so he took off his Yishan crown and wanted to take off his robe to dissipate the heat.
This is too damn exaggerated. How afraid of his father was his predecessor... Zhu Jinghong cursed secretly.
After a while, I heard Deng An report from outside: "Master Thirteen, we are about to enter the Daming Gate!"
Entering Daming Gate means entering the boundary of the Imperial City, and the Imperial Palace is within easy reach.
Inside the carriage, Yinglian carefully lifted the curtain and looked at the most mysterious place in the world.
The red palace walls, golden glazed tiles, and the guards standing solemnly along the way all make people feel awe and make them feel as small as dust.
Continuing along the palace road, the sergeants of the Banner Guard have also withdrawn, leaving only the Dragon Guards to continue to protect them.
The defense between the outer city of the capital and the imperial city is under the responsibility of the commanders and envoys of the five cities' military and horse capitals. These soldiers are selected from the 72 guards of the Beijing camp, but they are not part of the Beijing camp establishment.
The area between the Imperial City and Forbidden City is under the responsibility of the Imperial City Yi Guard Command and Envoy Division. This army is drawn from the twenty guards from Shangzhi.
It can be said that from the outer city to the inner city to the imperial city, the defense arrangements are extremely detailed, and it is extremely difficult to cause problems.
Passing through Daming Gate is Chengtian Gate, then Duanmen and Meridian Gate. Entering Meridian Gate means you have truly entered the palace.
When they got here, the two brothers Zhu Jinghong had to get off the car and rush to the Qianqing Palace on foot to see him.
Inside the Meridian Gate and outside the Jinshui Bridge, Lu Tong, the chief minister of etiquette, was waiting with two men holding pens.
Zhu Jinghong got off the carriage first. The closer he got to the palace, the more nervous he became, but at least he was better than Zhu Jingyuan.
Together with Gao Shuyan, he helped Zhu Jingyuan out of the car. Zhu Jinghong said in a deep voice: "Fourth brother, I'm going to see my mother first, so I won't accompany you there!"
Zhu Jingyuan was stunned when he heard Lu Tong's voice not far away: "Thirteenth Master, the Lord has said that he wants you to come with him!"
(End of chapter)
