On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, thirty miles east of the divine capital, a group of people was heading towards the capital.
There was a guard of honor in front of the team, and there were hundreds of guards accompanying it. There were more than 20 carriages in front and behind.
Looking at its ceremonial level, it is definitely not something that ordinary officials can enjoy. Only first- and second-level officials in the court can qualify.
The identity of the team owner has been named on the ceremonial guard and flag, because they all have the word "Beijing" written on them.
In a carriage in the middle of the team, Wang Shuirong of Beijing was sitting upright, feeling like he was returning home.
It had been half a year since he had been sent north on this mission. He was far away in a bitter and cold place on errands, so he missed all the people and things in the divine capital.
Fortunately, this mission has been fulfilled, and several errands assigned by the emperor have been completed. After arriving in Beijing today to deliver the order, he can return home to reunite with his family.
Although he has inherited the title of county king, Shui Rong is only twenty years old now and still has some youthful nature that has not dissipated.
Just as he was looking forward to returning home to be reunited with his beautiful wives and concubines, and listening to his children calling him "Father," the voice of his followers came from outside.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Zhang from the East Palace is here!"
Shui Rong naturally knew who Eunuch Zhang was from the East Palace. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was the incarnation of the prince.
Although the other party was just a eunuch, Shui Rong did not dare to be negligent at the moment and immediately ordered a stop and got off the carriage.
Outside the carriage, Zhang Xin, the eunuch in charge of the East Palace, along with several eunuchs and a dozen guards, were already waiting on the side of the official road.
"Eunuch Zhang, why are you here? How is His Royal Highness always doing?" Shui Rong hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.
Zhang Xin smiled slightly, put his hands in front of him and replied very calmly: "Your Highness is doing well recently. When I heard that the prince was back, I specially ordered my servants to come to greet you!"
The crown prince of the prince's country ordered people to come out of the city to greet him, the little prince. Such courtesy was too much.
This made Shui Rong particularly fearful, fearing that he would be involved in the battle for the right to inherit the heir. The tragic experience of the previous generation made him really not want to get involved again.
"How dare Xiao Wang receive such courtesy from the prince? I'm really scared!" Shui Rong said something straightforward, which could be regarded as an indirect expression of his attitude.
"The Crown Prince said that the lineage of King Beijing is the pillar of the country, and now that he has successfully completed the imperial mission, he should be praised more!"
After hearing Zhang Xin's talk, Shui Rong had a smile on his face, but he was actually crying in his heart.
The Crown Prince and Prince Rui, no matter who got entangled with them, were huge troubles in his opinion, and they were the kind of trouble that he couldn't get rid of.
Shui Rong couldn't help but regret at this moment. He shouldn't have gone out and messed around. He should have just stayed in the palace and waited until death.
But this is just a thought. If he really wants to wait for death, his palace will be defeated, or he will have to be removed from the rank and become a people in a few generations.
Next, Shui Rong listened to Zhang Xin talk a lot of nonsense, and he himself had to add a few sentences from time to time to prevent the scene from becoming cold.
After about a few minutes, Zhang Xin finally got to the point.
"I heard that the prince went north this time and found a number of good horses among the various tribes and vassals in the north?"
This was indeed true. What made Shui Rong curious was why the prince paid attention to this matter, or whether the eunuch in front of him had other ideas.
"I bought some good horses. Is it possible that Eunuch Zhang needs a horse to ride on? I will give you one as a gift then!"
Of course, this was a test. If the eunuch Zhang Xin wanted a favor, Shui Rong would certainly not refuse it, but would just give him a horse at will.
Zhang Xin immediately explained: "It's not that the slave wants it, but the prince likes it, so I specially ordered the old slave to come... Please give me two horses!"
After promising to find good horses for Zhu Jinghong, Zhu Jingyuan specially asked people to discuss the matter. In the past two days, he learned that Shuirong had obtained a batch of good horses.
In order to prevent Lao Liu from attacking first, Zhu Jingyuan ordered people to come out of the city to meet him, just to get the horse.
But he didn't expect that Lao Liu had already taken action several days ago and even sent a gift to Princess Beijing.
But as luck would have it, although Princess Beijing agreed to the matter, she forgot to inform her husband, resulting in Shui Rong still being kept in the dark.
In other words, Shui Rong was determined to stay away from the fight for the heir, but he didn't know that he was being targeted by Prince Rui and became the core of the struggle between the two.
At this moment, Shui Rong did not realize the seriousness of the problem at all. Instead, he smiled and said to Zhang Xin: "This is a simple matter. Since His Highness the Crown Prince likes it, I will send it to you in a few days!"
The prince specially sent someone here, and even if Shui Rong loved these horses, he couldn't think of rejecting them.
Apparently Zhang Xin also felt that this should be the case, so he asked with confusion: "How many days from now?"
How many days do you have to wait to give the prince what he wants? What does this mean?
Afraid that Zhang Xin would misunderstand, Shui Rong quickly explained: "That batch of horses must be carefully taken care of. All the horses did not follow the group, so it will take two days to arrive!"
"oh……"
It could be heard that Zhang Xin was a little disappointed. He expected to take the horse back now.
"I'm really sorry. I hope Eunuch Zhang can explain it to the prince for me!"
Having said this, Shui Rong signaled to his entourage, who took out the banknote and gave it to the eunuch behind Zhang Xin.
"This..." Zhang Xin looked puzzled, obviously pretending to be confused.
No need for water to explain, his entourage replied: "My father-in-law worked hard all the way, and this little money can buy tea on the way!"
"Why are you so embarrassed?" Zhang Xin looked at Shui Rong.
"Eunuch Zhang, there is no need to refuse. You will have to worry about explaining things to the Crown Prince!"
"It's just a small thing...it's just a small thing!"
Zhang Xin agreed wholeheartedly, and after some chatting, he left with a group of his men.
After watching him leave, Shui Rong returned to the carriage with a sad look on his face.
It was not because of those horses, but because he was worried that he would be involved in the whirlpool, which would be a disaster.
"My lord, have you set off? If it's too late, you won't be able to enter the palace!"
Upon hearing the reminder from his entourage, Shui Rong let out a long sigh before ordering the team to move forward.
Everything can be delayed, but today's meeting with the emperor cannot be delayed. This is ten thousand times more important than returning home to reunite.
The team continued on their way and entered the city more than an hour later. Shui Rong only asked some of the guards to escort him into the palace, while the rest went directly back to the palace.
Shui Rong was originally high-spirited when he came back this time, but the fact that the prince sent someone to look for him made his high spirits disappear.
Therefore, after entering the palace, Shui Rong kept a low profile as much as possible and chose places with few people to walk, for fear of being encountered again.
Fortunately, the journey was uneventful and he was able to arrive outside the Qianqing Palace smoothly and entered the Qianqing Gate under the guidance of the eunuch.
Normally, the emperor was relatively free in the afternoon, so civil and military officials chose this time to visit him.
"I would like to ask my father-in-law, how many people are going to see you today? Can you inform the Holy Master in advance for me?"
When I entered the palace gate just now, there were more than a dozen people waiting outside. It was obvious that there were many people here today.
As long as he is not a cabinet minister, six ministers, or the governors of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, it will be easy for him to "jump in line".
After entering the palace gate, there were no such people waiting outside the hall, so Shui Rong asked.
"The dozen or so people outside are mostly officials who came to give advice. Your Majesty, you don't need to pay attention to them!"
It is normal for officials to impeach civil and military officials, but it is unusual to appear in the Qianqing family like this today.
Since the time of Emperor Shizu, from the founding of the country by Taizu to the present three hundred years, the officials of the Ming Dynasty have dealt heavy blows to their colleagues, but they have always been honest in front of the emperor.
"Are they so bold?"
Hearing Shui Rong's question, the eunuch who led the way couldn't help but smile and said: "They are admonishing me this time to ask the Lord to give me a title!"
(End of chapter)
