"Brother Chu Ze, I found you are so powerful! Even more powerful than I thought."
After leaving the East Palace, Chu Ze led Lan Ruoyan and walked towards the Ministry of Rites again.
Nowadays, Zhu Xiongying and Zhu Bai are still recovering from illness, and the other students accompanying them have all been vaccinated with cowpox at once, thanks to their great-grandchildren.
The school has been put on hold for the time being, so Chu Ze is actually relatively free recently.
On the way to the Ministry of Rites, Lan Ruoyan held Chu Ze's somewhat heavy hand and looked at him with watery eyes.
His eyes were full of admiration and yearning for the strong.
"Am I very powerful? You thought before, how powerful I am!"
On the way to the Ministry of Rites, after Chu Ze heard Lan Ruoyan's words, he couldn't help but smile and look down at her.
After Lan Ruoyan said this, he was a little curious about what kind of person he was in his eyes at the beginning.
"I just used to think that Brother Chu Ze, you know everything and can do everything. Anyway, you give people a very knowledgeable and powerful feeling."
"But after I came to the palace with you today, I found that you are even more powerful than I thought!"
"When you were talking to His Majesty, I didn't feel that you were afraid of His Majesty at all!"
"Even my father can always clearly feel his restraint in front of His Majesty. But brother Chu Ze, I can't feel this with you."
"And when you talk to His Highness the Crown Prince, I don't think you have a monarch-minister relationship at all."
"I don't know how to say it, but I always feel that Brother Chuze, you are so special!"
…
After hearing Lan Ruoyan's evaluation of himself, Chu Ze smiled and stretched out his hand to rub her little head.
After messing up his long, silky hair, he took his hand away with satisfaction.
"You are still young now. You will know when you grow up. My specialness needs to be paid for."
"The price?"
After hearing Chu Ze's words, a trace of confusion flashed in Lan Ruoyan's eyes.
She didn't quite understand the meaning of Chu Ze's words.
Faced with Lan Ruoyan's confused look, Chu Ze didn't explain much.
He just smiled and led her to the courtyard of the Ministry of Rites.
Originally, Chu Ze thought that it would take a long time for the emptied Ministry of Rites to recover.
But the fact is that he underestimated Zhu Yuanzhang's execution ability after all.
After the Ministry of Rites was emptied, its staff expanded to seven or eight in less than two days.
At least the basic work needs can be met.
But when Chu Ze led Lan Ruoyan to the Ministry of Rites, he originally wanted to just punch in and leave, but he was blocked by someone.
"Brother Chu Ze, I have been waiting for you."
"Uh, you are, Huang Qiurang?"
"Yes, yes, I didn't expect you to remember the villain's name! It's really rare and such an honor!"
"What's the matter?"
Chu Ze looked at Huang Qiurang, who was blocking his way, and frowned slightly.
The position in the Ministry of Etiquette that Zhu Yuanzhang arranged for him was, to put it bluntly, just to give him some qualifications.
After all, he is now Zhu Biao's number one minister, and he is also Lan Yu's son-in-law.
You can't really just be a ninth-grade master book your whole life.
Not to mention that they are a good match, at least they are a bit difficult to deal with in terms of appearance.
Therefore, Chu Ze was now promoted from the ninth-grade chief clerk to the seventh-grade imperial minister.
This is just a process of gold-plating.
It is estimated that he will not be able to stay in the Ministry of Rites for long, and he will have to be promoted.
According to Chu Ze's estimation, Lao Zhu would have to promote him to a fourth-grade idle position.
Otherwise, it will be a bit embarrassing to lose face.
Since he was just going through the motions, logically speaking, nothing should happen to him.
The other party suddenly blocked his way. Was he trying to find trouble?
"Brother Chuze! I'm going to delay your time a little. Here is a handwritten letter from His Majesty himself. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you!"
"A letter from His Majesty? What's going on?"
When he heard that the order was from Zhu Yuanzhang, a trace of curiosity flashed in Chu Ze's eyes. Why did Zhu Yuanzhang need to give him an order in person?
Moreover, he deliberately went around in a big circle, released it to the hands of the Ministry of Rites, and then fell into his own hands?
"It's like this. A group of envoys from the Japanese country came. After hearing about this, His Majesty the Ming Dynasty specially issued a decree. This is to ask my brother by name to go there in person!"
"His Majesty's handwriting is here. Brother, please take a look at it."
Huang Qiurang is now serving as an official in the Ministry of Rites for the third time.
The record here...is the number of times officials from the Ministry of Rites were thoroughly investigated by His Majesty.
How could this guy who could serve in the Ministry of Etiquette and save his life for three consecutive rounds not see that Chu Ze was just here to go through the motions?
How could someone who needs His Highness the Crown Prince to come and greet him in person really be a small minister in a place like the Ministry of Rites?
For a man like him, if Zhu Yuanzhang had not explicitly ordered Chu Ze to meet these envoys from the Japanese country in person, even if he was given ten courages, he would not dare to make the decision without authorization and leave these matters to Chu Ze. ah!
So after briefly explaining the situation to Chu Ze, he quickly handed the manuscript from Zhu Yuanzhang to Chu Ze.
He is just a messenger. If possible, it is best not to offend both parties. That would be the best ending.
After Chu Ze heard his message, he reached out and took the handwritten letter from him.
After opening the folder in his hand, the contents on it made Chu Ze's mouth twitch slightly.
"Chu Ze, let us handle this matter."
The tone of his words really sounded like His Majesty's handwriting. Most people would never have such a flavor when writing such words.
"Okay, I get it! Where are these people now? When did they come? How long have you been waiting?"
After closing the folding bag in his hand, Chu Ze handed it directly to Lan Ruoyan who was holding her hand.
Then, he turned his attention to Huang Qiurang, who was still waiting in front of him.
Although the two were on the same level, Huang Qiurang immediately cheered up after Chu Ze raised the question.
After organizing his words slightly, he quickly reported the situation to Chu Ze.
"This group of envoys from the Japanese Kingdom arrived at Jinling City four days ago. They are currently waiting for our arrangements at Honglu Temple."
"This morning, I even sent someone over to urge me."
"Four days ago"
After Chu Ze heard Huang Qiurang's words, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Calculating the time, these people should have set off before Hu Weiyong's caravan went on business privately.
Then they should not have contracted smallpox.
"Okay, I also know about this matter. I will deal with it later. If there is nothing else, I will leave first."
"Hey, walk slowly, walk slowly!"
Under Huang Qiurang's gaze, Chu Ze leisurely took Lan Ruoyan and left the Ministry of Rites compound.
When he saw him walking away, Huang Qiurang breathed a sigh of relief.
"Huang man, who was that guy just now? You seemed very nervous."
Huang Qiurang had just breathed a sigh of relief when a sharp-looking young man came up next to him.
As soon as he opened his mouth, he directly asked about Chu Ze.
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."
Compared with how humble he was when he faced Chu Ze just now, Huang Qiurang at this time was full of momentum as an old-timer.
After scolding the other party sharply, he walked aside with a dark face.
These young people studied hard in the cold window. After high school, many of them have lost their original intention.
Even if he doesn't work honestly all day long, he just wants to get close and have a relationship.
This kind of person probably won't survive one round.
"Ruoyan, let me take you home first. I have to deal with some things here. It's not convenient to take you with me."
After taking Lan Ruoyan out of the palace gate, he looked at Lan Ruoyan who was following him. After a slight hesitation, he finally decided not to take her to Honglu Temple.
After all, what happens next may be a little bloody if things go wrong.
It seemed a bit inappropriate to take Lan Ruoyan with her.
"Brother Chu Ze, you still have to deal with business. Ruoyan shouldn't have gone with you in the first place! But are we going back to my house or ours?"
My home, our home?
This little girl knows her family quite clearly!
This word has already started to be used in our family.
"Don't you want to go back to your house? I remember you haven't been back for several days. Don't you want to go back to see your father-in-law?"
After hearing Chu Ze's words, it seemed that he wanted to send her home, Lan Ruoyan's pretty pink lips immediately started to murmur.
The little cheeks were so puffed up.
"I don't want to go back. As soon as I got home, my eldest mother asked me to learn embroidery, and my second mother now wants me to learn to play the guzheng. I just sit there all day long, and it's not fun at all."
"Brother Chu Ze, please don't send me back, okay?"
Looking at Lan Ruoyan, who was full of resistance when it came to going home, Chu Ze suddenly thought of the children who ran away from home for some reason.
Isn't this exactly the same thing?
After he reached out and pinched her face, he gently held her hand and stepped onto the carriage.
Before setting off, Chu Ze greeted a guard beside him.
"You can help me run over and call the King of Yan, Zhu Di, and the King of Qin, Zhu Xi. Tell them that there is a lot of excitement here."
"yes."
After watching his guards leave, Chu Ze asked the driver to drive home.
Of course, this home is 'our' home.
After Chu Ze's call, the efficiency of the two brothers Zhu Di and Zhu Xi could be said to be at full capacity.
Chu Ze had just arrived home, and the two of them came to the door one after another.
As soon as they entered the door, they heard an explosion echoing in the courtyard of Chu Ze's house.
This familiar voice was naturally familiar to both of them.
This kind of roaring sound is the sound made when the fire cannon is fired.
The two of them looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Lan Ruoyan, who had already put on a training uniform, had just fired a shot and was reloading ammunition skillfully.
In front of her were targets one after another.
When he saw this scene, Zhu Di was speechless and pulled the second brother beside him with his hand.
Then, he pointed at Lan Ruoyan who was loading ammunition.
"Last time, this guy Chu Ze said he was not allowed to test guns in his yard. Look, how much time has it taken! The shooting range has been built, and this guy just says one thing and does another, and does another thing behind his back. .”
"A person who forgets his friends when he sees sex is not worthy of a plan!"
In response to Zhu Di's complaint, Zhu Xi also glanced in the direction he pointed.
But then, he turned directly to look at Zhu Di.
His brows twitched twice provocatively.
"The person you're talking about is the lady standing over there. If she doesn't pamper her, how could she still pamper you?"
"This is not a matter of pampering or not! We only tried shooting once last time, and he talked about us for a long time. Now he turned around and built a shooting range at home. This is not a double label! It's more or less a little bit. You’re bullying someone!”
When Zhu Di was complaining to his second brother, Lan Ruoyan on the side seemed to be provoking him.
After loading the ammunition, he directly raised the flintlock gun in his hand and pulled the trigger directly at the moving target in the distance.
After a bang, the target in the distance was directly penetrated by flying bullets.
One shot hits the target, right on target.
"You two, why don't you come in and sit down when you're here? Why are you standing outside?"
When Zhu Di was still about to say something, Chu Ze's voice had already sounded in the front hall in front of them.
And Zhu Di looked at the target that was clearly unoperated but still moving.
He also felt a little interesting for a while.
This kind of moving target is much more interesting than those that don't move at all.
But, is there water nearby? How did the targets Lan Ruoyan hit move?
Although he was a little curious, at Chu Ze's call, Zhu Di followed Zhu Xi and walked towards the front hall of their home.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"Yes, didn't you tell us that there is excitement here? Where is the excitement?"
Seeing that Chu Ze, who had no intention of showing his brothers a seat, Zhu Xi and Zhu Di, who were already used to it, directly found a seat and sat down.
And he greeted the maids on the side unceremoniously and asked them to go to the kitchen to prepare for eating and drinking.
Although this is not their palace, they feel much more comfortable here in Chu Ze than at home.
"The excitement is not here with me. I plan to go to Honglu Temple in a while. What do you two say? Do you have time to go together?"
"I'm afraid I'll get tired after a while and no one will change hands!"
After hearing that Chu Ze was going to Honglu Temple, Zhu Di, who was about to pick up the pastries on the table and take a bite, immediately became interested.
"Going to fight at Honglu Temple? I have to join in the fun! I'll go, I'll go, I don't have anything to do all afternoon today!"
After hearing Zhu Di's somewhat coaxing words, Zhu Xi subconsciously adjusted his Feiyu suit.
Then he coughed very loudly.
"What's wrong with fighting? Let's go and let the Jin Yiwei handle the case. Can anyone stay out of the way?"
"Let me, the commander of the Imperial Guard, lead the team!"
(End of chapter)
