"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother, the Prince, the Princess, the Prince Consort, and all the princes are outside the palace seeking an audience."
A eunuch walked into the palace and lay on the ground and whispered.
Emperor Hongzhi wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said to Xiao Jing: "Xiao Banban, count the time, other people should be arriving one after another soon, you go outside to make arrangements!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Xiao Jing respectfully exited the hall and glanced at the eunuch who informed him. The eunuch immediately understood and followed Xiao Jing out.
After a while, Queen Zhang, Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Xiurong and Chen Ziyu filed in and walked into the hall.
"My grandson-in-law pays homage to my grandmother and wishes her longevity and longevity!"
As the mother of the country who is inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people, Empress Zhang naturally does not need to be too flattering. They are all members of her own family.
After Queen Zhang finished her salute, Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Xiurong and Chen Ziyu all saluted and congratulated her.
"Huzhao, Xiurong, come and sit next to the Ai family!" Empress Dowager Zhou waved to her great-grandson and great-granddaughter, whom she loved most, and pulled them to sit beside her with a smile. Then she turned to Chen Ziyu said: "Come here, give Ziyu a seat!"
"Thank you, the Empress Dowager!"
Chen Ziyu bowed and bowed respectfully to the Queen Mother Zhou. Emperor Hongzhi on the side saw this and nodded with satisfaction.
"Grandma, the other royal brothers are waiting outside, right?"
Emperor Hongzhi bowed slightly and asked Queen Mother Zhou softly.
Empress Dowager Zhou's kind eyes narrowed into slits with a smile, and she nodded: "Xuan, let them come in, the Ai family hasn't seen them for a long time!"
According to the rules, after Emperor Hongzhi and his family of four paid their respects, it was the turn of the princes to come on stage.
Different from other vassal princes, these princes are all direct descendants of Chenghua, and the blood of Queen Mother Zhou also flows in their bodies.
Therefore, Queen Mother Zhou would have more or less affection for her grandchildren.
Emperor Hongzhi glanced at the little eunuch on the side. The little eunuch immediately lowered his head and walked out of the palace. After a while, Xiao Jing led a large group of princes, dragons and grandchildren into the Longevity Palace!
The first person to bear the brunt was Xingwang Zhu Youqi. He was also the fourth son of Emperor Chenghua and second only to Emperor Hongzhi in age, so he was naturally the head of the princes.
After that, there are more than ten princes, including Qi Wang Zhu Youbo, Yi Wang Zhu Youbin, Heng Wang Zhu Youyi, Yong Wang Zhu Yousong, etc., plus the family members of these princes, a mighty team of nearly a hundred people.
When everyone came to the center of the palace, they stood in several rows and prostrated themselves on the ground. They congratulated the Queen Mother Zhou with filial looks on their faces.
Empress Dowager Zhou smiled and signaled everyone to get up.
After the kings stood up, they bowed respectfully to Emperor Hongzhi and Queen Zhang and his wife.
After all, Emperor Hongzhi and his wife are the heads of the family, so how can they not bow down to them?
Emperor Hongzhi's face was glowing red, and the twitching of the corners of his mouth could not hide the joy in his heart. As a good old man who longed for the past, he valued family ties very much.
These princes in front of him are his true brothers.
"My dear brothers, there is no need to be polite, please get up quickly!"
The vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty were not allowed to enter the capital for any reason, and could only stay in their vassal territory for the rest of their lives. Therefore, Emperor Hongzhi had not seen his brothers for a long time.
I saw Emperor Hongzhi walking up to Prince Xing Zhu Youqian, his eyes slightly red, and he said excitedly:
"Brother Xing Wang!"
Then his eyes turned to the other princes behind Zhu Youqi.
Zhu Youqi's mouth twitched excitedly, and he bowed movingly with tears in his eyes:
"See you, brother emperor!"
The others followed suit and shouted "See you, brother emperor" one by one!
"Come, Houcong! Come and pay homage to His Majesty!"
Zhu Youyi turned sideways, pulled the little Taoist priest behind him to the front, and then urged the little Taoist priest to bow.
"My nephew Houcong pays homage to Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!"
The little Taoist priest was only thirteen or fourteen years old at this time, but his immature appearance obviously did not match the calmness on his face.
"My nephew has not seen his great-grandmother, the emperor's uncle, and the queen's aunt for a long time. When he saw me today, my nephew was very happy! If I have been rude, please forgive me, the emperor's uncle!"
Chen Ziyu, who was sitting next to the Queen Mother, stared at the little Taoist priest without blinking.
He secretly thought in his heart that the future Emperor Jiajing was indeed different, and just having this energy was enough to prove how deep his scheming was.
First he met Emperor Hongzhi as a minister, and then he met his elders as a junior. No matter what happened, no one could fault him at all!
Thinking of this, Chen Ziyu turned around and glanced at Zhu Houzhao next to him.
Sure enough, at this time, Zhu Houzhao curled his lips with great disdain and looked at Zhu Houcong with disdain.
Emperor Hongzhi looked at the well-educated nephew in front of him, and then thought about Zhu Houzhao, who worried him so much, he suddenly felt why other people's sons were more reliable than the other!
It seems that among all the people in the world, his own prince is the most ridiculous!
"Okay, okay!" Emperor Hongzhi calmed down and praised Zhu Houcong happily.
At this time, the kind voice of Queen Mother Zhou also sounded, "Houcong, come to great-grandmother!"
Empress Dowager Zhou was extremely impressed by the little Taoist priest. On her birthdays in previous years, her great-grandson always came up with creative ways to wish her birthday.
"great grandmother!"
The little Taoist priest looked extremely well-behaved!
Empress Dowager Zhou took Zhu Houcong's hand and asked questions with a kind-hearted smile.
Not far away, Zhu Youqi looked at his son, feeling proud in his heart.
A remote place like Anlu is simply not suitable for a prince like him.
However, due to the fact that it was granted by Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Youqi could only endure the hardships these years. For Zhu Youqi, this visit to Beijing was, on the one hand, to celebrate the birthday of the Queen Mother Zhou.
On the other hand, he wanted to ask Emperor Hongzhi through Zhu Houcong to change his fiefdom, or to increase the number of households in the city. In short, he would no longer have to endure such hard work.
"Old Chen! Look! Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
I don't know when, Zhu Houzhao touched Chen Ziyu's side, poked his arm, and complained slightly sourly.
Only then did Chen Ziyu come to his senses and saw his great-grandchildren, headed by Zhu Houcong, leading a group of brothers and sisters to present gifts to the Queen Mother Zhou.
The princes gathered around Emperor Hongzhi, nodding and bowing to listen to what Emperor Hongzhi was talking about.
At this moment, an idea came to Chen Ziyu's mind, and he whispered to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Highness, are your uncles very rich?"
"Well! That's natural! I'm afraid it's more money than my father's internal money!" Zhu Houzhao nodded.
Chen Ziyu said thoughtfully: "In that case, we can kill them hard...oh no, sell them some specialties!"
Zhu Houzhao's eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly asked in a low voice: "What bad intentions do you have!?"
"Soap! Cod liver oil! I believe all the princes will be interested in these things!"
"Wow! Old Chen! I have a feeling that we are about to make a fuss!"
"Your Highness, keep a low profile!"
