Zhu Gaojie raised his eyebrows: "You can sneak into the imperial study room, what else can you not dare to do?"
"To be precise, I am more familiar with this place than your Prince Qi's Mansion."
A Qi, wearing a ghost mask, black clothes, and a moon scimitar at his waist, walked out from behind the screen.
Su Wu held his breath, somewhat unsure of A Qi's identity.
Deep in the palace, wearing a mask and a sword, he doesn't look like a good person!
The corners of Zhu Gaojie's mouth rose: "Your old friends, did you just let you in like this?"
The Shadow Waiters are the most mysterious people in the palace. No one knows how many Shadow Waiters there are, nor the name of their leader. They are like guards in the shadow, everywhere, guarding the emperor at all times.
Apart from the emperor himself, the only people who knew about Shadow Attendant were probably Zhu Di's four princes.
When Zhu Gaojiu went south, the old man transferred Aqi to protect him. From that time on, Aqi's identity as a shadow attendant had been taken away and he became Zhu Gaojiu's shadow.
"No, they will most likely not let me in." A Qi said nonchalantly, "It's just that they are all in Jiming Temple now, not in the palace."
"You're looking for me, aren't you just trying to climb over the palace wall?" Zhu Gaojie said with a smile.
"I'm not as free as you think." A Qi took out a confidential letter and threw it to Zhu Gaojie, and said angrily, "This is what you want."
"Thanks for your hard work."
Zhu Gaojie received the secret letter and gave a perfunctory thank you, which made A Qi have a toothache.
Prince Qi is a bastard who smiles sweeter than anyone else when asking for help. Once you are of no value to him, he will immediately turn his back on you.
…
Zhu Gaojie opened the secret letter, looked at the scrawled fonts on the page, and frowned slightly.
After a long time, his brows relaxed and he smiled: "Is it getting more and more interesting?"
A Qi was a little curious: "Who are you trying to trick?"
"You have wronged me this time." Zhu Gaojie said innocently, "I didn't provoke anyone, he provoked me first."
A Qi's mind changed and he asked tentatively: "King of Han, or the prince?"
"I have no enmity with the prince, so why would I try to trick him?" Zhu Gaojie said with a chuckle, "Next, it depends on what the prince wants to do."
…
Jiming Temple
"Long live my lord, the prince wishes to see you." Tang Cheng held a fly whisk and said respectfully.
Zhu Di sat on the chair, his face stretched: "Xuan."
"No." Tang Cheng bowed his head slightly and walked out.
Zhu Di looked at Yao Guangxiao and found that the old monk was sitting on a futon and chanting sutras.
"Old monk, what do you think the prince will say when he comes?" Zhu Di asked lazily.
Yao Guangxiao paused for a moment: "They are just the more than 40 officials from the East Palace and Prince Qi's Palace who were sent to prison."
Zhu Di asked with interest: "What do you think he will say to me when he comes in?"
Yao Guangxiao thought: "I don't know."
"Is there anything in this world that you don't know about?" Zhu Di raised his eyebrows.
Yao Guangxiao said leisurely: "How can humans know everything and know everything if they are not gods?"
"Okay, don't let me talk nonsense. It's all nonsense." Zhu Di said with a smile, "You old monk, the more you live, the better you are at pretending. If I didn't know what kind of virtue you are, I wouldn't believe it if it was true. It’s your fault.”
Yao Guangxiao smiled and said nothing.
After a while, Zhu Pangpang, who was wearing a black gauze winged crown and a red round-collared dragon robe, came over panting, bowed to Zhu Di and saluted: "My son Zhu Gaochi, I wish you the best."
"I'm fine." Zhu Di waved his hand casually.
Then, the prince bowed his hands to Yao Guangxiao and saluted: "Young Master."
The monk in black nodded slightly: "Well, how are you doing, the prince?"
Prince Zhu Gaochi smiled shyly: "I have been relieved of the burden of supervising the country. I have much more leisure recently and my health is much better."
"Huh?" Zhu Di joked, "Why, before I asked you to supervise the country, could it be that I was trying to embarrass you?"
The prince wiped the sweat from his forehead and said angrily: "My father entrusted my son with the important task of supervising the country, and I dare not complain. But now that the fourth brother is supervising the country, the country is peaceful, and the court is peaceful. From the perspective of my son, the ability of the fourth brother can win." A hundred times a thousand times better than my sons and ministers, they can take on great responsibilities."
Zhu Di said contemptuously: "Why, you praise the fourth son so much, are you still thinking of giving up the crown prince's position to him?"
The prince knelt down and said calmly: "My son does not dare to speculate on the holy will, and all depends on the arrangement of the father. If the father does not allow me to be the prince, I will not do it. If the father allows the fourth brother to move to the East Palace, My sons and ministers tried their best to cooperate."
"Coward!" Zhu Di looked gloomy, "Why did I give birth to a coward like you? You don't want anything, you don't fight for anything, why do you think you are the prince?"
The prince smiled honestly and made no rebuttal.
His move is called retreating in order to advance.
Zhu Di has a bad temper, and the more stubborn he is, the more aggressive he will be, and he may do something irrational. But if you greet her with gentleness, the old man may not be pleasant, but in the end it won't cause any big trouble.
Don't look at the "waste prince", Zhu Di has been saying "waste prince" for so many years, but he has never seen the prince move out of the East Palace.
The harder the old man scolds, the more stable Zhu Pangpang's position as prince will be, and the thunder will be louder and the rain will be lighter.
But if one day the old man suddenly treats the prince very well, Zhu Pangpang will be really vigilant, like the calm before the storm.
"If you have anything to say, just say it and get out of here." Zhu Di said angrily.
The prince made a series first, and then said: "I heard that Lu Chaoyang, the governor of Jinyiwei North Town Fusi and in charge of South Town Fusi, was sent to prison. Is it true?"
Zhu Di said calmly: "So what, Lu Chaoyang conspired with Ji Gang to rebel, and now he should be sent to prison."
The prince seemed to suddenly realize it, and then said respectfully: "I think that Lu Chaoyang should not be jailed."
"Why?" Zhu Di asked.
"Lu Chaoyang has just made great achievements in Shandong. At this time, Lu Chaoyang was mostly praised in the court. His father ordered him to also be in charge of Nanzhen Fusi, which further recognized this intention." The prince said, "Now By putting Lu Chaoyang in jail, doesn't this mean that my father has mistakenly viewed Lu Chaoyang?"
Zhu Di snorted coldly and said: "So what if he has made meritorious service. I have always made clear rewards and punishments. I ordered him to also be in charge of Nanzhen Fusi and reward him. He colluded with Ji Gang to rebel. The evidence is conclusive and his crime is unforgivable!"
The prince looked innocent and said, "I dare to ask, can Lu Chaoyang be charged with conspiracy and rebellion with just one letter of unknown authenticity?"
"What do you mean?" Zhu Di looked at the prince with menacing eyes, "Are you questioning my judgment?"
The prince bowed his head and said, "My son, I don't dare."
"What don't you dare to do? You are the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Di said in a sinister tone, "What else do you dare not do, for fear that the people in the court who support you as emperor will do it?" There is more sand than Mobei."
The prince remained silent and refused to answer this hot topic.
The more Zhu Di thought about it, the angrier he became. He pointed at the prince and said angrily: "Get out!"
"My son, I take my leave." The prince stood up, saluted, and left silently.
After the prince left, the anger on Zhu Di's face suddenly subsided and turned into coldness.
"I, the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, really know how to use power and tactics." Zhu Di said coldly.
Yao Guangxiao said calmly: "The prince made it clear this time that he came for the officials who were imprisoned for discipline. However, after he came, he did not intercede for the people imprisoned in the East Palace, nor did he accuse Luo Xiu of the Hanwang Party for acting randomly. On the contrary, he Bring out Lu Chaoyang from Prince Qi’s Mansion.”
"Humph, the prince has a clear conscience. No matter whether he pleads for the people in prison in the East Palace or accuses Luo Xiu, it will not have any effect in the end." Zhu Di said coldly, "Lu Chaoyang is from Prince Qi's palace, and he has nothing to do with the East Palace. It has nothing to do with it. And the prince brought Lu Chaoyang out to talk about it, which can not only test my attitude, but also not implicate the East Palace. It is really a good method and a good calculation."
Yao Guangxiao smiled and said: "The prince is very resourceful. Isn't this your majesty's blessing?"
Zhu Di shook his head and said: "He is too close to the civil servants, and his style of doing things has been assimilated into the style of civil servants. I don't like it."
Yao Guangxiao didn't quite understand, and thought it was Zhu Di who valued martial arts over literature.
As everyone knows, Zhu Di not only values martial arts over literature, he also hates civil servants.
Emperor Xiaozong Hongzhi and Emperor Wuzong Zhengde, the emperors of the two dynasties were suppressed by civil servants and were like puppets.
During the Jiajing dynasty, the civil servants were manipulated by Emperor Jiajing. What was the result?
The Ming Dynasty was almost gone!
In the Jiajing dynasty, the civil servants found that they could not defeat Jiajing, and they could not kill Jiajing. In order to have the power in their hands, they could only try their best to please Jiajing. The generals still could not raise their heads, pushing Ming Dynasty into a precarious and dangerous situation.
It would be too paranoid to say that civil servants bring harm to the country and the people. A country cannot function without civil servants, but if civil servants are held in high esteem, it is also a recipe for national ruin.
The reason why the Jiajing Dynasty was so dim was partly due to the emperor and half to the civil servants.
This is also the reason why Zhu Di does not like the prince. Zhu Pangpang has been immersed in Confucianism since he was a child. The reason why he has received the support of a large number of civil servants in the government and the public is precisely because once the prince ascends the throne, the civil servants will have the opportunity to rise.
Zhu Di's eyes were sharp, and he didn't know what he was thinking about.
…
Imperial Prison, also known as Tianlao, is a prison where most of the criminals belong to high-ranking officials such as Jiuqing and County Sheriffs. Cases that require the emperor to personally issue an imperial edict to convict the prisoners. There were different names throughout the dynasties. For example, there was a Yeting in the harem of the Western Han Dynasty. Among them, the Yeting Prison, or the Yeting Secret Prison, imprisoned guilty concubines and clan members. At the end of the Han Dynasty, Liu Gong believed that his crimes were serious, so he was imprisoned.
For example, the Northern Military Prison in the Han Dynasty, the Neishi Prison in the Tang Dynasty, and Luoyang Temple were also imperial edict prisons.
By the Ming Dynasty, there was only one imperial prison, and that was the "Jinyi Prison" in Fusi, Beizhen. It was heavily guarded and heavily guarded inside and outside. Officials from thousands of households and hundreds of officials from Jinyi Guards patrolled here day and night.
In the deepest compartment of the prison, the man had disheveled hair and was wearing a dirty prison uniform. His hands and feet were shackled with iron chains as thick as a baby's arm, and his eyes were empty and silent.
His name is Ji Gang, and he was once the master of Jin Yiwei.
(End of chapter)
