Qianmen Street, the busiest part of the street, has a quiet little courtyard. A beautiful girl is sitting under the eaves and concentrating on embroidering. A maidservant rushes over: "Princess, Princess, Eunuch Chang won another battle. He killed the thief." Killed..."
This girl is naturally Zhu Zhi'e from the Jin Palace. She has been secretly in the capital for more than a month. During this period, she has already visited the capital, and then rarely goes out to do some female celebrity work at home or find out about that person.
In the capital, Dongchang and Jinyiwei are naturally the most well-informed about the news, but even so, there is very little news about the young eunuch. At most, they hear about the progress of the war, but every time they hear that the officers and soldiers have entered the city again, they are excited. Chang Yu won another battle.
But this time I heard that Bai Wang was dead, so... wouldn't he be back soon?
"I'm going to the temple to burn incense and make a wish for him." Zhu Zhi'e suddenly made a decision. In fact, she felt that Chang Yu was supervising Shao Bu's murder and helped him burn incense for peace of mind.
"Go to Guangji Temple?" the maid asked. Guangji Temple is located inside Fucheng Gate and is a relatively famous temple in the capital. Unexpectedly, Zhu Zhi'e tilted her head and thought: "Let's go to Xishan."
"Is the princess going to Xiangshan Temple?" the maid asked. Zhu Zhi'e shook her head: "Biyun Temple."
The maid was startled and then realized that Biyun Temple was originally called Biyun Temple. During the Zhengde period, the eunuch Yu Jing (the real authority in the palace) expanded and built Shenggui (he built his own tomb while alive) and renamed it Biyun Temple. Moreover, Wei Zhongxian also built Shengkuan there and rebuilt Biyun Temple.
Obviously, Zhu Zhi'e chose this temple with deep meaning, because this temple was renovated by two eunuchs, and Chang Yu was also an eunuch. In fact, there were quite a lot of eunuchs building temples in Xiangshan. For example, Hongguang Temple was of Korean origin. It was built by the eunuch Zheng Tong.
Ironically, both Yu Jing and Wei Zhongxian were unable to be buried in Biyun Temple due to their crimes.
But it seemed that Zhu Zhi'e didn't care about this. She was more excited than taking action. After thinking about it, she went back to her room and hurriedly packed her things. The maid over there quickly asked someone to prepare the carriage.
The person who prepared the carriage and the secret entourage was naturally from Dongchang, Huo Chao, Chunxiang's confidant. He and more than ten followers were responsible for protecting Zhu Zhi'e.
The carriage drove out from the side door and slowly headed west along Qianmen Street. Huo Chao drove the car himself and his men changed into casual clothes and followed behind. Zhu Zhi'e leaned against the car window and looked at the street scene outside with a smile on her face. The maid knew that What she was thinking in her heart also made her happy: "Princess, seeing that it's almost noon, do you want to buy some food to take with you? I heard from Guard Huo that it's very desolate there and there aren't many shops and there's no food in the temple. Is that right, Guard Huo?" ?".
"Yes, there is nothing but a temple over there," Huo Chao responded from the front.
Zhu Zhi'e thought for a while: "Then let's have dinner first and then go. Guard Huo, you are looking for a restaurant in front and I'll treat you all to lunch." Huo Chao happily agreed: "Thank you, my dearest lady, on behalf of my brothers." .
"Did you hear that? How many times have I told you to tell the eldest lady not to call the princess?" Zhu Zhi'e stretched out her finger and tapped the maid's forehead.
The folk customs of the Ming Dynasty were open, and it was nothing new for women to go shopping, go to restaurants, go to theaters to watch plays and listen to music. If there was a nightclub, they would be no worse than the girls in later generations. Of course, the women who could go to restaurants these days were either rich or noble.
There is no doubt that Zhu Zhi'e is fair and rich. She was born in a royal palace and was pampered and pampered since childhood. She is very particular about food, clothing, housing and transportation. Even if she secretly enters Beijing this time and needs to keep a low profile, she still has to maintain her proper style. After all, you let her do whatever she wants. It would be extremely difficult for her to adapt to a fly restaurant.
So Huo Chao found a big restaurant near Fuchengmen. The waiters in the restaurant were all discerning about prices and they could tell at a glance that the daughter of a wealthy family was out shopping. The group of seven or eight servants and two or three maids was by no means an ordinary wealthy family. He quickly welcomed everyone into the store: "Senior, are you going upstairs, or..."
"Just get a table of food and wine for the men, and find a private room by the window for our lady." Huo Chao said to the waiter. Although it is not new for women to go to restaurants these days, Zhu Zhi'e is still too eye-catching.
The waiter was immediately in trouble: "It's unlucky for you to come here. It's lunch time and the private room is full. Can I give you a place by the window in the lobby on the second floor?"
Huo Chao felt that he had been humiliated. Just as he was about to reveal his identity, Zhu Zhi'e grabbed him, then took out a piece of ten taels of silver and handed it to the waiter: "Excuse me."
The waiter's eyes lit up immediately and he took the money and said, "Two guests have just entered the private room and the food and wine have not been served yet. I will go and discuss it with you." He said and went upstairs.
"It's better to use money." Huo Chao smiled bitterly, and Zhu Zhi'e said softly: "Why bother with things that can be solved with money."
In a seat by the window on the second floor, a middle-aged man was chatting with a young man and sat down. The waiter gently opened the door and said, "You two want to discuss a matter. Can we move to the lobby? We will invite you to the Wanhui Building for dinner and drinks today." ”.
The middle-aged man frowned when he heard this: "What do you mean by this?"
"Ahem, cough, sorry, you two, I have a distinguished guest..."
With a bang, the middle-aged man struck the case angrily, grabbed the teapot on the table and smashed it: "You bastard, you bullied me, you blind thing knows what a distinguished guest is, did you know that this is the Ministry of Etiquette?" The son of Mr. Fang, the Minister of Finance."
The waiter's head was smashed and his head was bleeding. His face turned pale with fright and he hurriedly retreated: "You are blind, please forgive me..."
"Master Wu, why are you so angry with this young man?" The young man is Wu Sangui's best friend Fang Guangchen, and his father is the former Minister of Rites. As for this middle-aged man, he is Wu Mengming, the commander of the Jinyi Guards of the Ming Dynasty. One is Wu Sangui's best friend, and the other is Chang Yu's. It's thought-provoking how these two close friends got together.
"Let this bitch have a memory. There are four or nine families in the capital with more than a hundred nobles, thousands of courtiers, who is not an honored guest? He went blind just to get some reward money..." Wu Mengming was still cursing in anger, and Fang Guangchen hurriedly made tea for him again. Counseling.
"I'm so incompetent... I'd better give this money back to you." The waiter downstairs covered his head and apologized to Zhu Zhi'e and his party. Upon seeing this, the shopkeeper over there hurriedly came to ask what was going on. The waiter told the matter and the shopkeeper sighed. : "Hurry up and bandage it in the back." He said, cupping his hands to Zhu Zhi'e: "Miss, you see...either you sit in the hall, or you..."
"Why would you hurt someone if you don't change it?" Zhu Zhi'e was angry and winked at Huo Chao: "Let's see how powerful this official of the Ministry of Etiquette is."
To be honest, if Huo Chao was an ordinary rich man or something, he would have gone up and beat him up, but he was a second-generation official, so it would be a little bad for him to reveal his identity. He was not afraid but worried that Zhu Zhi'e would be exposed because of it. This is a huge secret.
But who would have expected that Zhu Zhi'e had a temperament that would yell when he saw injustice. When he saw the waiter in the shop being injured, he didn't care about anything else and wanted to seek justice for him. Huo Chao only hesitated for a moment before Zhu Zhi'e rushed upstairs and gritted his teeth as a last resort. He also went up. After all, it was not Fang Yizao himself. He just went up and said a few harsh words to help the princess relieve her anger.
When Huo Chao rushed upstairs with a few of his men, he found Zhu Zhi'e looking around. She didn't know which private room it was, but Huo Chao saw blood stains on the door of the private room near the stairs at a glance, so he walked over. Kicking the door open with his foot: "Who was that just now... Uh, Mr. Wu, how could it be you..."
The door of the room was suddenly kicked open. Wu Mengming and Fang Guangchen inside were startled. Then they saw several big men rushing in and yelling. Wu Mengming was furious and was about to get angry when he was recognized by the big man. He But he didn't know the other person, so he couldn't help but asked: "Who are you who dares to do this?"
"I work as an errand in the East Factory. I'm sorry for bumping into Mr. Wu. Misunderstanding, misunderstanding." Huo Chao said and quickly bowed to apologize, closed the door behind his back and left.
If someone else had bumped into Wu Mengming like this, he would have been in big trouble. But when he heard that it was from Dongchang, he had to endure it even though he was angry. He also mistakenly thought that the other party was performing a mission but found the wrong door. Seeing him apologize, He didn't want to pursue the case, but when Huo Chao closed the door, he saw a woman behind him.
This woman was extremely beautiful, but that wasn't important. The important thing was that he felt that this beauty looked very familiar. More importantly, the woman looked surprised when she saw him, and she obviously knew her.
Who is this woman... Wu Mengming's pupils suddenly dilated, and he opened the door suddenly, only to startle Huo Chao: "Master Wu, this is really a misunderstanding..." Wu Mengming pushed him away before he finished speaking. Kai walked directly to the woman. The woman quickly lowered her head and nervously played with her fingers, seemingly at a loss.
Ahem, Wu Mengming stamped his foot, turned around and said to Fang Guangchen: "Mr. Fang, I have official business to handle at this time. Let's meet again later. Ahem, Mr. Fang, please go back first."
Although Fang Guangchen didn't know what was happening in front of him, Wu Mengming was very nervous when he saw the people from Dongchang coming. He knew there must be trouble, so he said a few polite words, cupped his hands, and left in a hurry.
As soon as he went downstairs, Wu Mengming pulled Zhu Zhi'e into the box. Huo Chao moved forward to stop her, but Wu Mengming blocked her away: "I know her identity, you guys are waiting outside."
"Master Wu, we are old friends. I didn't expect to meet you here," Zhu Zhi'e said with mixed emotions and a bit of embarrassment. Wu Mengming lived in the Jin Palace when he followed Chang Yu to Taiyuan to supervise the war, and they even drank together. Of course, wine is no stranger to me. When we met at this time, we knew we couldn't hide it, so we had to say hello bravely.
But Wu Mengming was not at all overjoyed to meet him. He was more surprised than happy: "Your Highness, why are you in the capital..." As the leader of the Jin Yiwei, he didn't know when a princess secretly arrived in the capital. How could he do this? There were only people from Dongchang... Suddenly he thought of several Dongchang fans outside the door. Wu Mengming was startled. He quickly waved his hand to stop Zhu Zhi'e who was about to speak: "Your Highness, there is no need to tell me the reason for your visit. I don't want to know." , I have never seen the princess, so say goodbye, say goodbye." He stood up and left.
He really didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing.
"Master Wu," Zhu Zhi'e called him, "It's okay if we haven't seen each other before we leave this door. Now it's just you and me in this room. Isn't it possible that we can't just talk about old times, or meet old friends and have a meal?" ".
Wu Mengming was stunned, then shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I am too... well, your Highness the Princess has made a joke." Then he said to Huo Chao outside the door: "Let the store bring some food and wine, you can do whatever you want. This meal I’ve invited you to have dinner.”
