In an official hall in the inner courtyard of the Imperial Palace of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Dehua, the eunuch of the imperial eunuch, was sitting at the rosewood Eight Immortals table with a brocade curtain. He was looking down at a collection of authentic Northern Song Dynasty paintings. It was a work report by a man who came to Beijing to report on his work. The feudal official who had just given him a filial piety.
He caught a glimpse of Du Xun kneeling on the ground, then slowly raised his head, glanced at his face coldly, and whispered: "Stand up."
Du Xun kowtowed again and thanked him, then stood up slowly and stood respectfully aside with his hands down, like a child waiting to be scolded. He was afraid of the coldness and seriousness on Wang Dehua's face, but he couldn't figure it out.
Wang Dehua withdrew his eyes, glanced at the painting again casually, then closed the beautifully decorated album, looked at Du Xun and said lightly: "We have been keeping you in charge of this internal affair for half the time." It’s been a few months.”
Halfway through his words, he suddenly changed his tone and continued in a slightly cold voice: "Have you lived up to our family's praise? Have you ever served our family seriously and served the emperor loyally? Do you think our family doesn't know about it? "
Du Xun was shocked when he heard this. He hurriedly knelt down again, kowtowed as hard as he could and said, "To answer what the sect master said, it's not that my disciples don't work seriously. It's just because the people were recently selected and the horses have not been received. There are even fewer people teaching drills, and the drills have not yet reached the right level.”
Wang Dehua said coldly: "Don't talk nonsense, our family doesn't have the time to settle accounts with you. If our family hadn't covered up everything for you in front of the emperor today and tried to save you, huh, you would definitely be in front of the emperor tomorrow. It’s too much to walk around in!
Do you think the emperor won’t be angry? "
Du Xun knelt on the ground, his body was like chaff and his face was as pale as earth. He kept kowtowing and said: "I will always be grateful to the sect master for your protection! Does the emperor know that my disciples are not practicing well?"
Wang Dehua said lightly with a slightly gentle tone: "I don't know yet. But the emperor originally wanted to come to Guande Hall tomorrow morning to see how you are doing inside.
By that time, if the internal affairs are shameful and cannot be deceived by the emperor, won't everything you do be exposed?
You know in your heart that today’s emperor is not as easily fooled as Emperor Tianqi! "
Although Du Xun felt a little relieved after hearing this, he still felt his heart beating wildly. He asked timidly: "Does the Holy Master have to go to Guande Hall to watch the exercise in person tomorrow?"
Wang Dehua looked at Du Xun who was kneeling on the ground, and said in a gentle tone: "We have already hesitated for you. However, in three days, the Holy Master will come to Guande Hall to watch the exercises in person.
You only have three days, so be prepared. Don't let the emperor blame you, there is no place for our old faces! "
Only then did Du Xun feel relieved. He knelt down and crawled forward a few steps, and said with gratitude: "Please rest assured, Master. The Emperor will come to watch the exercise in three days. The disciples will definitely make the Sacred Heart happy. He will never It’s a disgrace to the sect master.”
Seeing that Wang Dehua had said everything, he said to him angrily: "Don't waste time here at our house. Go back quickly and prepare for the internal affairs."
Du Xun was not in a hurry to quit. He reached into his arms and took out a long red brocade box, opened the lid, and inside was an emerald-green Ruyi that was more than half a foot long.
He was seen lying on his knees, holding his hands in front of Wang Dehua, and said with a smile on his face: "This is a thing that my disciples worked hard to find. I keep it to honor the sect master. I hope the sect master can do everything well."
In the future, if the disciples encounter valuable calligraphy, paintings, antiques, or jades, they will buy a few more and give them to the sect leader as a filial piety. "
Gu Ming and Wang Dehua just glanced at it casually and said lightly: "You can take it back and play with it by yourself. Our mansion is not short of such things."
The expression on Du Xun's face did not change. He chuckled and stepped forward and said, "Sect Master, please be kind enough to stay, otherwise it will be a great loss for the filial piety of my disciples."
Wang Dehua said nothing. He re-opened the album on the desk and looked at it carefully, ignoring Du Xun who was lying on the ground.
Du Xun seemed to have been accustomed to this for a long time. He moved forward a few steps and carefully placed the brocade box and the emerald green Ruyi on the table. He stepped back and kowtowed before slowly exiting the official hall.
After Du Xun retired, Wang Dehua stopped admiring the famous painting of the Northern Song Dynasty. Instead, he picked up the emerald green Ruyi in the brocade box and looked at it carefully, feeling very happy.
He thought about the emperor's observation and said to himself: "In three days, Du Xun will probably satisfy the emperor."
…………
Three days passed in a blink of an eye.
Emperor Chongzhen summoned Du Xun to Qianqing Palace at Chenshi and personally inquired about the preparations for internal affairs.
Du Xun knelt in front of the palace and presented his speech in detail. Emperor Chongzhen was deeply satisfied after hearing this. He said to himself: "Du Xun is so loyal to his work, he will definitely be reused in times of emergency in the future!"
At three o'clock in the morning, Emperor Chongzhen's cavalry set off from Qianqing Palace. Today he specially wore a sword and rode a horse to show his martial spirit. He was riding the all-yellow royal horse "Jiliang Cheng" to bring good luck.
A group of eunuchs holding yellow umbrellas and more than a dozen kinds of golden melons, axes and other ceremonial guards walked in front to clear the way. Behind Kira Cheng were closely followed by twenty young eunuch guards in military uniforms and swords.
According to the divination results of the Lingtai provided by Wang Dehua, it was auspicious for the "Holy Driver" to leave the palace from the earthquake side. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen could not go straight through the Imperial Garden and out of the Xuanwu Gate to watch the exercises. Instead, he could only take a detour out of the Donghua Gate and along the Yuhe River. The east bank goes north, then turns west.
Not far from the northeastern corner of the Forbidden City, the holy driver turned north and dismounted from his horse when he reached the left gate of the mountain. Wang Dehua, Wang Chengen and other more prominent eunuchs in the palace, as well as the eunuch Du Xun who presided over internal affairs, were all there. Kneeling outside the door to welcome Emperor Chongzhen.
In front of the Guande Hall, there was a huge yellow umbrella with a crown under it. A throne had been set up under the umbrella. Emperor Chongzhen walked up and sat on it. There were two palm fans behind him. Wang Dehua, Wang Chengen and other eunuchs stood waiting. On both sides.
Emperor Chongzhen took a short rest and took another sip of tea. Du Xun came to kneel in front of him, kowtowed and asked softly: "Your Majesty, will you watch the drill now?"
Emperor Chongzhen nodded slightly, and then looked towards the northeast foot of Long Live Mountain. He saw nearly a thousand infantrymen in neat armor and waiting in line in the square over there.
Du Xun trotted all the way to the front of the military formation. He waved the small flag in his hand, and immediately the drums started to beat loudly. At the same time, nearly a thousand infantrymen knelt down to Emperor Chongzhen from a distance, shouting in unison: "Long live His Majesty the Emperor." !Long live! Long live!"
The sudden sound of drums and mountain calls caused the sika deer and other small animals in the woods of Long Live Mountain to run around in panic. A group of white cranes even took off from the branches, leaving a loud cry in the clear sky, heading towards Qionghua Island. Fly away.
