When Zhao Junchen entered the Yangxin Hall, he looked up secretly and found that Emperor Deqing was holding a copy of "Dream of the West Lake" and reading it carefully, with an expression full of concentration and yearning. 【Read the latest chapter】
Zhao Junchen also knew about this book "Dream Seeking the West Lake". It was written by the Liuxiu layman of the previous dynasty. He had a keen eye for describing the scenic spots of the West Lake and made detailed descriptions of the famous landscapes, temples, shrines, etc. in Hangzhou. The descriptions are written in order of distance and distance, showing the ancient and modern life of Hangzhou in front of readers. Each article will select a number of poems by sages and people at that time, which will add splendor to the landscape and make readers fascinated.
Obviously, as the joint examination ended and the palace examination was about to begin, and the "Southern Tour Preparation Fraud Case" that Prince Zhu Heyu was responsible for examining was also coming to an end, Emperor Deqing could not wait for the next southern tour.
When he saw Zhao Junchen entering the imperial study, Emperor Deqing put "Dream of the West Lake" in his hand. Before Zhao Junchen could salute and say hello, he laughed and cursed: "You are finally willing to come to the palace to say hello to me? Since then, Since you had a dispute with Huang Yourong in the morning, it has been more than half a month since you came to the palace to pay your respects to me, right? In recent days, I can only see you in the morning. If you don't come again, I thought you were only thinking about things with Huang Yourong."
Emperor Deqing's words contained some hints of criticism, but looking at his expression and mood, it seemed that he was not really blaming Zhao Junchen.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen was not worried about Emperor Deqing's slight beating, but only after saluting and greeting him. Qiao Qiao said: "Your Majesty clearly knows that I never dare to forget Your Majesty's kindness, and I always think about entering the palace to accompany you. However, I didn't know the heights of heaven and earth in the past few days, and I actually offended Mr. Huang Ge. During this time, in order to deal with Mr. Huang Ge Your Majesty's counterattack is already quite hectic. If I meet with Your Majesty too much again, it will inevitably make people doubt the fairness of Your Majesty's decision-making in the future. Naturally, I dare not ruin Your Majesty's reputation for my own selfish reasons. .
What's more. Seeing that the southern tour is approaching, I will also accompany you when the time comes, so there are some matters in the Ministry of Revenue. Arrangements must be made in advance so that your majesty can cruise south with peace of mind. In my opinion, compared to being escorted to the palace, Your Majesty can enjoy your southern tour with peace of mind without any worries. That's what I really should do. So please forgive me, Your Majesty! "
After hearing Zhao Junchen's explanation. He hinted at his loyalty everywhere, as if he only thought about Emperor Deqing. Emperor Deqing laughed, but he was noncommittal and just hummed: "Oh? Are you a little confused now in the face of Huang Yourong's counterattack? Why do I Don’t you think so? Since the conflict between the two of you, I have only seen you pressuring Huang Yourong step by step. Huang Yourong’s only way to fight back was to send people to the household department to check the accounts. As a result, the reason has not been found out yet! Still! Let me see. The one who is in a hurry now is Huang Yourong, Mr. Huang Ge, right? Humph! This Huang Yourong is a lot older. The longer he lives, the more he goes back. Although I don’t like the emergence of party disputes in the court, but he is the elder of the cabinet, and even you This young man can’t compete, so what else can I expect from him!”
In fact, the party dispute between Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong was tacitly approved by Emperor Deqing.
Because in the future, during the southern tour, Prince Zhu Heyu will stay in Beijing to supervise the country, while the elder Huang Yourong will stay in Beijing to assist the government. Emperor Deqing naturally hopes that the party dispute between Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong can reduce some of Huang Yourong's power and influence. , Prince Zhu Heyu will be able to have less constraints, do more things, and take the opportunity to establish his prestige.
However, the situation that Emperor Deqing expected most was for both Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong to suffer losses. After all, Zhao Junchen's power and influence had grown too fast during this period, and it was somewhat beyond Emperor Deqing's expectation and control.
However, Emperor Deqing did not expect that Huang Yourong, as a dignified elder, would be so useless. During this period, he was only suppressed and beaten by Zhao Junchen, and he had no ability to fight back! As a result, although Huang Yourong's momentum was greatly damaged as expected, the influence of Zhao Junchen's faction in the court became even stronger.
Therefore, Emperor Deqing's words at this time had a somewhat "hateful" attitude toward Huang Yourong.
…………
On the other side, after hearing Emperor Deqing's comments, Zhao Junchen was about to explain something when he was interrupted by Emperor Deqing with a wave of his hand, saying: "Okay, you don't have to beg me for help. It’s not that easy to fool! Tell me, why did you want to see me today? But what happened? "
Zhao Junchen said with a smile: "To answer your Majesty's question, something happened, but it is a happy event."
"Oh? What happy event?" Hearing Zhao Junchen say it was a happy event, Emperor Deqing also showed some expectation on his face.
"Your Majesty, I have just received a summons from Xichang, saying that His Highness the Prince has finished handling the 'Southern Tour Preparation Fraud Cases' in various places, and is about to return to Beijing! This time, during the handling of the case, His Highness the Prince punished a large number of corrupt officials and The local bully has returned justice to more than ten thousand people, and everyone in the world praises him. Everyone laments His Highness the Crown Prince's selflessness and caring for the people. Now he has returned with a great reputation. This is naturally a great joy!"
After listening to Zhao Junchen's explanation, Emperor Deqing was slightly stunned, and then nodded with satisfaction, showing a look of relief: "Oh? It seems that the prince did a good job, and he finally lived up to my expectations for him. Expectations. Alas! In fact, the prince is still capable, but his experience is still insufficient and he lacks some experience. He was responsible for the preparations for the southern tour last time. He himself did nothing wrong. He only blamed the local officials for deceiving them. Now the prince can Putting things right out of the chaos finally puts an end to my worries."
Although Emperor Deqing and Prince Zhu Heyu had different ideas and personalities, and even Emperor Deqing was a little jealous of Zhu Heyu's reputation, the prince was still the prince and the son he valued most. Some time ago, Zhu and Yuban failed to prepare for the southern tour, which made Emperor Deqing look bad.
Nowadays, it is said that Zhu Heyu has successfully completed the "Southern Tour Preparation Fraud Case". This not only restored Zhu Heyu's political reputation, but Emperor Deqing himself also felt that his face was bright.
At the same time, I remembered that the reason why Prince Zhu Heyu was able to serve as the imperial envoy to handle the case was because of Zhao Junchen's suggestion and strong support. Emperor Deqing looked at Zhao Junchen with a more kind look.
Zhao Junchen continued: "In addition to this matter, my mansion collected a fine century-old purple zhizhi a few days ago. It is worth a hundred gold. I heard people say that this purple zhizhi is also called 'immortal grass' , is the top grade of medicinal materials. It protects the mind and replenishes essence, strengthens muscles and bones, and has good color. Taking it for a long time can lighten the body, prevent aging, and prolong life. It can be said to be a miraculous effect, but it is such a treasure. I feel that I am not blessed and dare not use it alone. I remember the last time I was in the palace. The seventh prince I saw was a little weak, and the effect of this purple zhi is just right. So I wanted to dedicate it to the seventh prince."
Speaking of which. Zhao Junchen cautiously raised his head and glanced at Emperor Deqing, and saw that Emperor Deqing's expression did not change - obviously he thought this was just a way for Zhao Junchen to flatter him - so he continued: "However, I am a foreign minister after all, so it's not good I have been acquainted with the seventh prince, so I wanted to give this purple zhi to your majesty, and then your majesty will give it to the seventh prince, which can be regarded as a token of my royal kindness."
On the other side, Emperor Deqing sighed after listening to Zhao Junchen's words: "Junchen, you are serious. Lao Qi has never been in good health, and I am often worried about it! In fact, according to his age. He should have sealed the king and left the capital a long time ago, but because of his health, neither I nor the prince were at ease, so we let him stay in the capital. Speaking of which, this has broken the ancestral rules. However, Lao Qi is my son after all, so let him stay in the capital. How could I bear it when he left the capital like this? The imperial concubine had just given birth to the prince and her vitality had not yet been replenished, but I did not consider it and allowed the imperial concubine to become pregnant with her second child. As a result, the seventh child was born with insufficient vitality, and even I almost died young, and I owe him a lot."
After a pause, Emperor Deqing continued: "Speaking of which, it's a pity that Lao Qi is sick. Although he is frail and sick, he is the first among my princes in terms of intelligence. He also understands etiquette, knows how to advance and retreat, and is also filial. , even though his health is not good, he cares about me and the prince's health all day long, worrying that we and the prince will work too much on state affairs... Speaking of which, among all the princes, I also like him the most, but God is not kind to me... Hey !”
After hearing what Emperor Deqing said, Zhao Junchen naturally sighed.
But at the same time, Zhao Junchen's purpose of testing Emperor Deqing has been achieved.
Originally, Zhao Junchen always half believed and half doubted what Emperor Deqing said. After all, the word "integrity" was never one of Emperor Deqing's good qualities, and Emperor Deqing never minded using lies to achieve his goals! The so-called "gold words" of the emperor are just bluffing.
However, Zhao Junchen could hear what Emperor Deqing said - he really loved and cared about the seventh prince Zhu Hejian.
According to the psychology of later generations, if a person is more concerned about something, he will subconsciously make more comments during the discussion. When Emperor Deqing talked about the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, he did not even need Zhao Junchen to answer the question. , you can talk non-stop, much more than usual, so this display of emotion is obviously true.
And this means that after the collapse of Zhu Heyu in the future, Emperor Deqing is likely to support Zhu Hejian to become the new crown prince!
After all, although Emperor Deqing was quite rational and wise, he was very fond of success by nature, but he often acted emotionally.
However, during Emperor Deqing's description, Zhao Junchen discovered some interesting news.
That is, when describing his concern for the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, Emperor Deqing repeatedly mentioned himself and the prince Zhu Heyu, but he did not mention the biological mother of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian - the imperial concubine Wanshi!
Considering Emperor Deqing's favor and protection of the imperial concubine Wan, as well as the noble status of the imperial concubine herself, Emperor Deqing should have mentioned it at this time.
However, Emperor Deqing missed the imperial concubine Wanshi.
Does this mean that Emperor Deqing subconsciously believed that the imperial concubine Wan's concern for the seventh prince Zhu Hejian was far less than that of him and the prince?
Does that also mean that for some reason, the relationship between the seventh prince Zhu Hejian and his biological mother, the imperial concubine Wan, is not harmonious?
So, what is the reason for the bad relationship between mother and son?
For a time, Zhao Junchen thought of a lot. (To be continued...)
