…
…
When Xu Shi was approaching, Zhao Junchen estimated that Emperor Deqing had returned to Suzhou Palace, so he broke up the banquet and came to Suzhou Palace to ask for an audience with Emperor Deqing. net
While asking to see Emperor Deqing, Zhao Junchen also held a banknote of one hundred thousand taels in his hand.
Among the 100,000 taels of silver, in addition to the 60,000 taels of silver "donated" by Hui Bao, there was also 40,000 taels of silver "donated" by Wang Longzhi.
After all, Emperor Deqing was going to stay in Suzhou for a long time, and there were so many famous gardens in Suzhou. If Emperor Deqing was allowed to live in only one garden, he would not be able to fully enjoy his stay.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Zhao Junchen finally expressed his attitude - Hui Bao, the highest bidder, and Wang Longzhi, the second highest bidder, both received the honor of Emperor Deqing living in his garden.
Of course, Huibao paid more money, so Emperor Deqing would live in Canglang Pavilion first, and then in the Humble Administrator's Garden. In addition, Emperor Deqing would live in Canglang Pavilion longer than in the Humble Administrator's Garden. The gardening time is longer.
In the eyes of those who don't know, Zhao Junchen's proposal is just to collect more money. As for Zhao Junchen's true thoughts, no one knows so far.
Hui Bao was naturally a little dissatisfied with Zhao Junchen's proposal, but he could not go against Zhao Junchen's attitude. Wang Longzhi felt unexpectedly happy, so the amount of money that sponsored Emperor Deqing's southern tour was temporarily increased by 10,000 yuan. Two, from the original thirty thousand taels to forty thousand taels.
However, although the moods of the two people were different, in order to avoid variables and prevent Zhao Junchen from coming up with any "best of both worlds", they prepared the money equally quickly. Not long after the banquet ended, they had one hundred thousand taels of silver. The ticket has been delivered to Zhao Junchen.
Then. Zhao Junchen also took one hundred thousand taels of silver notes and asked to see Emperor Deqing.
*
As Zhao Junchen had guessed, Emperor Deqing had returned to his palace in Suzhou at this time.
After Zhao Junchen expressed his intention to come. Soon he was summoned by Emperor Deqing.
Then, in the imperial study room in the palace. Zhao Junchen met Emperor Deqing.
However, after Emperor Deqing saw Zhao Junchen, he paid little attention to Zhao Junchen. He just turned over the book with a deep expression and did not even look at Zhao Junchen. After Zhao Junchen saluted, he did not let Zhao Junchen stand up and let Zhao Junchen stand up. Junchen knelt in the imperial study room.
Seeing Emperor Deqing's attitude. Zhao Junchen roughly guessed the reason, so he didn't say much, but just put on a pitiful and frightened expression.
After about a cup of tea, Emperor Deqing finally finished flipping through the book in his hand, then looked up at Zhao Junchen and asked slowly: "I heard from Hong Jin... did you go to Huqiu today with the second daughter of the Jingguo family?"
Zhao Junchen nodded and said, "That's exactly what I said to Your Majesty. Miss Chen made an appointment with Duke Jing to visit Tiger Hill today. I couldn't disgrace Duke Jing, so I agreed."
Emperor Deqing raised his eyebrows. Then he asked: "And then you discovered my whereabouts?"
Zhao Junchen nodded again and said: "After I arrived at Tiger Hill, I accidentally saw His Majesty. But I didn't dare to disturb His Majesty's interest, so I didn't dare to meet him."
Emperor Deqing suddenly glared and asked again: "So you are following me and spying on my whereabouts? Do you know what a serious crime it is to spy on the Holy Driver!?"
Zhao Junchen cried sadly and replied: "Your Majesty, I forgive you. I know I was wrong. I didn't dare to spy on the Holy Emperor. It's just that the guards who secretly guarded Your Majesty were too hidden. I couldn't find the trace and mistakenly thought that you were your Majesty." There are no guards to guard this private visit in disguise. That’s why I followed His Majesty to prevent any accidents from happening... Your Majesty, you also know that I am a human being. At most, I just want to take advantage of the opportunity to please you, and there is no way I dare to spy on you. Your Majesty must clearly understand your thoughts."
Speaking of the latter part, Zhao Junchen seemed to be about to cry.
Seeing Zhao Junchen's behavior, Emperor Deqing snorted lightly, his face still dark, and he didn't know whether he accepted Zhao Junchen's statement.
After a while, Emperor Deqing changed the subject and asked: "Tell me, why do you want to see me? Is it possible that you are here to apologize?"
Zhao Junchen bowed his head and said: "Approving is certainly one of the reasons. In addition, I also have something to report to Your Majesty. Some of the gentry in Suzhou couldn't help but be overjoyed when they heard that His Majesty had arrived in Suzhou. They also found out from me that Your Majesty is very kind. After appreciating the structural style of Jiangnan gardens, many people expressed their willingness to donate their gardens for Your Majesty to stay temporarily... Among them, Master Hui Bao of Canglang Pavilion and Wang Longzhi of Humble Administrator's Garden expressed their willingness Donate one hundred thousand taels of silver to finance your Majesty’s southern tour.”
While talking, Zhao Junchen took out a thick stack of silver notes from his sleeve and held it on his head.
This is one of the reasons why Zhao Junchen asked for "donations" from the Suzhou garden owners. Zhao Junchen knew that he was secretly spying on Emperor Deqing's whereabouts this time. Even if Emperor Deqing did not doubt his intentions, he would definitely be furious, so Zhao Junchen will use this money to calm Emperor Deqing's anger.
Speaking of which, Zhao Junchen can no longer remember how many times he sent money to Emperor Deqing. Each time, the reasons were high-sounding, but in the final analysis, they were bribing the emperor. Emperor Deqing had been plagued by a shortage of money in the past few years. , from a certain point of view, it is also a fear of poverty, so Zhao Junchen's move is also very useful, and he more or less achieves his goal every time.
This time is no exception.
After seeing the silver note in Zhao Junchen's hand, Emperor Deqing's expression softened slightly.
After all, Emperor Deqing's southern tour was met with many obstacles. Both Prince Zhu Heyu and Chief Assistant Zhou Shangjing initially disagreed with Emperor Deqing's southern tour plan, believing that Emperor Deqing's southern tour would only It wastes people and money. In the end, because of Zhao Junchen, Emperor Deqing successfully made the southern tour, but the budget for the southern tour was a bit tight. Now with these 100,000 taels of silver, Emperor Deqing can spend a lot of money during the southern tour. few.
In addition, the proposal to move to Suzhou gardens and live in it really made Emperor Deqing a little excited. In addition to wanting to experience the scenery of Jiangnan gardens, some special circumstances of Canglang Pavilion and Humble Administrator's Garden also helped Emperor Deqing implement his own plans. Plan for Zhou Shangjing.
Thinking about Zhao Junchen's ability to make money, which is rare in the world, he could not do without Zhao Junchen for the time being, so Emperor Deqing forgave Zhao Junchen for spying on the Holy Driver.
"Get up, this is not a formal occasion, and you don't have to kneel all the time." After saying that, after Zhao Junchen got up, Emperor Deqing asked again: "What do you think about my move to Suzhou Garden?"
Zhao Junchen bowed his head and replied: "Your Majesty, you believe in Buddhism, and Canglang Pavilion is not only a sacred place for Buddhism, but also the oldest garden in South Zhili. Master Huibao was also very sincere and donated 60,000 taels of silver... In addition, the Humble Administrator's Garden is the most famous garden in Suzhou. The owner of the Humble Administrator's Garden, Wang Longzhi, also donated 40,000 taels of silver... I believe that Your Majesty, your Majesty, has moved to Canglang Pavilion and the Humble Administrator's Garden for a few days. A feasible strategy is to experience the unique style of Suzhou gardens without neglecting the spirit of Suzhou gentry."
Zhao Junchen's proposal still coincided with some of Emperor Deqing's plans, so after Emperor Deqing pondered for a moment, he finally nodded and said: "In that case, let's do as you say."
…
…(To be continued.)
