Chapter 400 – The Heart of the Emperor

Zhang Anshi turned his eyes and met Zhu Zhanji.

Zhu Zhanji stood in the corner, and today he had a silent look, like a quiet teenager.

Zhang Anshi also took a hasty look, then immediately bowed down and said, “Sister, it was His Majesty who forced me to do it.”

Crown Princess Zhang was obviously very angry and said angrily, “What did you say earlier? Earlier said, but wherever you want to go, you have to greet, you are already a husband, a father, you yourself do not put your own life in your eyes?”

Zhang Anshi hurriedly said, “I won’t dare to do so next time, even if there is an imperial decree coming down, I will still disobey it.”

Zhang was obviously even angrier, “Don’t pull the wool over Father’s eyes and implicate him.”

Zhang Anshi said, “Anyway, I won’t dare next time.”

Instead, Zhang’s eyes blinked, and the teardrops in her eyes fell one by one.

So while wiping tears while quietly said: “I would like you to idle some for the better, and is the Commanding Officer of the Brocade Guards, and is the Governor, we Ming, ten thousand people and the people, are you so a can do? This world, the lack of you will not be? Now hate you so many people, I am worried all day long, teach me a woman, this has been a woman, but also hang on to you this is not a brother, I …… might as well die, so that your intention, lest life see you desperate all day long.”

Zhang Anshi originally thought to admit his fault, so that his sister will not be upset on the line, at this time directly shocked, this can be heavier than the past ah.

He is clear about his own sister, his own this sister to speak, after all, is the crown princess, every sentence will be deliberated, every word used with intent, quite diplomatic rhetoric style.

Today this word, aggravated at least two points, he this time, afraid that it is not so easy to get away, but looking at his sister crying so sad, the heart does not have shame is false.

Zhang Anshi endeavored to wipe his eyes, rubbing them red, and his eyes were also tearful as he said, “Sister, I was wrong, I will be careful in the future and will never teach you to worry.”

Zhang ignored him and continued to cry and wail, only saying that she wanted to seek death.

Zhu Gaoqi stood aside, not daring to move a muscle.

Zhu Zhanji is this time rushed up, a hold Zhang said: “mother consort, mother consort …… you do not get angry again, A uncle although confused and muddle-headed, but not good life?”

Zhang Anshi face speechless color, then see Zhang pointed to the spirit of the seat said: “my father in the time, for the Beiping Wangfu service, life is lost, this is of course his loyalty, men should be loyal and filial piety. But the Zhang family heir is not prosperous, he is only your son, he is in heaven, know that you play with fire every day like this, can rest in peace? I’m a married daughter, I can’t inherit my father’s honor, I just hate that I’m a daughter.”

She spoke with more and more emotion, and as she cried, she actually slightly stroked her forehead.

Zhu Gaoqi was shocked, busy saying, “Oops, don’t be angry, come on people, come on people, quickly go and ask the imperial physician to come.”

Zhang Anshi also hurried forward and said, “Sister, let me take a look.”

Zhang said, “Go away.”

Zhang Anshi: “……”

Zhu Gaoqi busy is and eunuchs to help Zhang’s ready to go to bed store rest.

While Zhang was on his way out, he said, “Watch over him and make him kneel well before his father’s spirit seat to think about it.”

So not a moment, dozens of eunuchs, will be a smoke into the temple, three layers outside the three layers will be Zhang Anshi surrounded.

Zhang Anshi looked at the battle and had to honestly kneel on the cold ground.

Instead, it didn’t take long for Zhu Zhanji to return after visiting his mother’s consort.

He squatted down directly beside Zhang Anshi, his eyes unblinking as he looked at Zhang Anshi.

Zhang Anshi was not in a good mood at this time and glared at the little guy, “Go away.”

Zhu Zhanji exasperatedly said, “You’re the one who made mother consort angry.”

“What’s it to you.”

Zhu Zhanji said, “Hmph, I’m not like you, I heart Mother Consort.”

Zhang Anshi simply closed his eyes and ignored him.

Zhu Zhanji obviously did not intend to stop there, and continued to ramble on from the sidelines, “Mother Consort has worked her ass off for you, aren’t you ashamed?”

Zhang Anshi said, “Okay, okay, you’re right, well, I’m going to think about it.”

Zhu Zhanji said, “I am here on behalf of Mother Consort to keep an eye on A-Uncle, without me, A-Uncle must be quietly hiding somewhere to be lazy again.”

Zhang Anshi said, “You ……”

More than an hour later.

Zhu Zhanji actually served a bowl of rice with dishes piled high, he held up his chopsticks, squatted in front of Zhang Anshi, and lowered his head to pick at his food.

Zhang Anshi at this time hungry, held his breath and said: “You are like what kind of royal grandson like, stand without standing like, sit without sitting like.”

“Mother consort said la, I have to keep an eye on A-Uncle.” After Zhu Zhanji finished speaking, he took another hard bite of rice.

After kneeling for so long, Zhang Anshi could be described as tired and hungry at this time, and his temper couldn’t be raised, and with a few moments of pity, he said, “I’m also hungry.”

Zhu Zhanji shook his head, “A uncle, you endure, after a dozen or so hours, wait for mother consort to dissipate her anger. You don’t know, just now the imperial physician went to see the disease, said that mother consort has moved her liver fire, if it is like this for a long time, it will kill someone.”

Zhang Anshi then stopped saying anything and sighed glumly.

Zhu Zhanji said, “I know that A-Uncle wants to say that the Queen Mother is a woman and doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

“I didn’t say that.” Zhang Anshi gritted his teeth.

“That’s what A-Uncle said in his heart.” Zhu Zhanji continued to pick at his meal, saying vaguely on one side.

Zhang Anshi said, “You slandered me!”

Zhu Zhanji said, “Uncle, I want a lollipop after my meal, do you favor the green bean one or the grape one?”

Zhang Anshi was still quite worried about his own sister at this time, so he said distractedly, “Leave me alone.”

Zhu Zhanji then stood up and said to the eunuchs around him, “All go down, you don’t have to be on duty here, I’m here.”

The eunuchs didn’t dare to slow down, so they had to retreat silently.

Waiting for everyone to leave, Zhu Zhanji squatted back to Zhang Anshi’s side, cupping his face and said: “I’m also very troubled, if it is tightly focused on uncle, it is unrighteousness. But if it is perfunctory, it is unfilial, since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety are difficult to be both.”

Zhang Anshi directly closed his eyes and looked disgusted at the guy in front of him.

But after kneeling for so long, it’s not true that the leg doesn’t hurt, it’s as if the leg doesn’t belong to him anymore, it hurts so much.

Zhu Zhanji still nagged, “A-Uncle is usually so good to me, I can’t bear to see A-Uncle suffer.”

Only then did Zhang Anshi open his eyes and said, “But what?”

“How did Uncle know there was but?” Zhu Zhanji said in surprise.

Zhang Anshi: “……”

Zhu Zhanji said, “But I’m more heartbroken for mother consort, I can’t bear to make her angry again.”

Zhang Anshi: “……”

Zhu Zhanji lowered his voice and said, “Mother consort the other day, when she talked to Mrs. Pengchengbo about uncle, she could be happy, said that uncle has a good fortune, raised his eyebrows, even if not by the identity of a foreign relative, by virtue of uncle’s merits, it is also rare in the world, and also said, uncle is Wei Qing.”

Zhang Anshi said, “Okay, got it, got it.”

“Does Uncle still think I’m lying to you?”

Zhang Anshi remained silent.

Zhu Zhanji gave Zhang Anshi a deep look, “Uncle, you’re so confused!”

Zhang Anshi couldn’t help but say, “What exactly are you trying to say?”

“On weekdays, I see that A-Uncle is quite smart, but why is he so confused today. No, it seems that it may not be that A-Uncle is confused, but rather, under this sky, the person who understands Mother Consort the most is not A-Uncle, but me.” Zhu Zhanji said this, not without complacency.

“Mother Consort, as the Crown Princess, will not chastise you for going on an errand by order. No matter what, you are also following your duty, and you are escorting the emperor, how can you not pick any faults.”

“The lightness of this matter, the whole world there are not many people have mother consort see through, mother consort today this dry, in fact ……”

Zhang Anshi couldn’t help but say, “What actually is it?”

Zhu Zhanji smiled and said, “I can’t say this, if I say it, if I teach my mother consort to know, she will need to scold me.”

Zhang Anshi said, “Junji, you’ve changed, you’ve become A-uncle doesn’t recognize you, A-uncle always thought that you were a well-behaved child, how do I know that you’ve started to play with A-uncle’s heart now.”

Zhu Zhanji beamed, “Tomorrow A-Uncle will know.”

After saying that, Zhu Zhanji stood up and walked out quickly.

After a while, Zhu Zhanji came again holding a green bean lollipop and licked it pleasantly with relish.

In a trance, Zhang Anshi realized that this little guy, who couldn’t even walk properly in the beginning, had already grown up.

Unfortunately, Zhang Anshi did not feel relieved, but only tired.

See, grown-ups, once they’re adults, they’re not so cute. This guy is all over the place, he’s got a greasy vibe.

………………

Empress Seo’s body has always been weak.

After all, old age, coupled with the former old diseases, since Zhu Di’s bad news came, suffered some shock, the body will be more frail a few points.

Zhu Di simply ignore the external affairs of the dynasty for the time being, only in the inner company, people to old age, can not help but easy to recall many things in the past.

Talking about the old days in Beipingfu, about the three children, or, perhaps, about his own grandchildren.

In this way, the couple, inevitably, had mixed feelings.

They have never been an ordinary couple from the beginning, but human nature is connected, not because you are a prince, so the emotions will feel more reserved than ordinary people.

Perhaps because of the Great Ancestor, Emperor Gao, so that Zhu Di at a young age, was sent to Feng Yang Zhongdu to learn farming, body taste the suffering of the people.

Or, when the clan Beiping, by the emperor’s will, out of the Seychelles, years of military career, in the vast desert, even if it was a vassal king, is the noble family, but also still have to experience the human condition, and the kind of hard to hide the homesickness and loneliness.

Zhu Di sighs, he has experienced too many too many things in his life, precisely because of this far more than ordinary people’s experience, the years experienced in the Yu Yu I guile as well as sword fight, he is extraordinarily cherish Xu’s beside him, he sits with it and say some family matters.

This was the time when he was at his most relaxed, when he could let go of his defenses against all the darkness of human nature, and when he didn’t have to worry about the nervousness that comes from someone plotting against him.

Empress Xu smiled and said, “I don’t know how Lao Er and Lao San are doing out there, after seeing their zheng report, they are all fine.”

“They are still young, they can’t wait for people to be outside, no one to control them, and close the door to be little bullies.” Zhu Di laughed and said, “When they are also old, I’m afraid that they will miss Nanjing City, miss me and you.”

Xu nodded, “Then when they grow old, will His Majesty allow them to return?”

Zhu Di sighed: “Since the roots in the outside, on the outside well, this is the emperor’s family …… back to do what? I used to think, when my brother was in the time, the imperial examination why he was so fond of him, and the sons are so distant, divided outside, then almost no longer ask, but all the father’s love, all of them to the brother.”

Zhu Di said, gaze ghostly: “I was speculating, think it is not because of the sons are inferior to the imperial brother, or just because …… he is the eldest son. But now, I only really understand, it is because the imperial examination he just want to end the idea of the sons. He is afraid that showing favoritism will instead give the other brothers other expectations that they shouldn’t have.”

“I’m sure that when the Imperial Examiner was in Nanking, he must have been also thinking of me and King Ning in the Plateau every day, just like me and you today, as well as King Xiang and King Zhou. But he is the son of heaven, he is not only a human father, but also a human king. So ah …… the son of heaven is merciless, not because to be the emperor, have to be mean and unforgiving. Rather, it is precisely because of the love, only need to be ruthless, but also precisely because the original imperial examination love sons, this is only love the emperor brother, alienation sons, this is to prevent brotherly rivalry, flesh and blood.”

Empress Xu listened and fell silent.

Zhu Di eyes even slightly containing tears down, seems to be thinking about certain past events, or thought of the once that he had a hundred times performance, but always indifferent to the strict father, can not help it, he took a deep breath.

There were footsteps outside.

Zhu’s face turned cold, and his eyes, which were already vaguely misty, sharpened all of a sudden.

“Your Majesty.” Someone said as they bowed down outside the hall.

“What is it?” Zhu Di’s tone no longer seems to be as full of emotion as just now, more than a few points of indifference.

“The Crown Princess …… is sick …… at the Imperial Hospital, and has invited many imperial physicians to visit her.”

Zhu Di’s face sank as he listened.

Empress Xu also couldn’t help but say, “How did you fall ill for good reason? Your Majesty, could it be that two days ago, because Your Majesty and Zhang Qing ……”

Zhu Di said, “Come in and talk.”

The eunuch tiptoed in and bowed down again, “Back to the Empress Mother, I heard that it was …… Dudu Zhang who went to the East Palace, and the Crown Princess Mother got angry and said …… that… …”

Zhu Di said, “There’s no harm, tell me in detail.”

“Said Zhang Dudu always do dangerous things, teach her to worry, Zhang family only his son, when the Crown Princess mother’s father, died in the war, sister and brother two people rely on each other, but Zhang Dudu but everywhere to offend people, caused the world’s resentment, and always put themselves in danger …… also said Zhang Dudu nonsense is not bad, but also encourage his majesty, if his majesty if anything bad to come …… Zhang Dudu is really disloyal and unfilial. Dudu fooling around is fine, but also encourage his majesty, his majesty if there is a good or bad to …… Zhang Dudu is really unfaithful and unfilial ……”

Zhu Di heard, a moment of sighing, but could not speak.

It was Zhu’s idea to go to Jiangxi.

This is something that cannot be blamed on Zhang Anshi.

Zhang Anshi escorted the driver with merit, as for the world’s resentment, it is also because Zhang Anshi loyal to the emperor, unwavering. And through the danger, to say this, that is also Zhu Di led the way.

So theoretically, it’s not Zhang Anshi’s fault anyway.

But the Crown Princess was his daughter-in-law, so of course he could not be blamed for being the Emperor’s father-in-law, and because of his worry, he took his anger out on Zhang Anshi, but it was justifiable.

That would be the fear of any woman.

Zhu’s old face flushed as he looked up and said, “Has the imperial physician examined it?”

“It’s been diagnosed.”

“How?”

“It means that the liver is full of fire, coupled with accumulated worry, and needs to be properly recuperated.”

Zhu sighed, “It’s not easy for her to be a woman.”

Empress Xu said, “Her feelings, I know no better, when His Majesty went to war beyond the Seychelles, I was in the Beiping King’s residence, but also worried day and night, after that, His Majesty’s Jingdan, nine deaths, that is needless to say.”

The eunuch then added, “Therefore, Her Highness the Crown Princess even chastised Duke Zhang, making him kneel for a day to contemplate and not take in a drop of water.”

Zhu Di sighed: “This can’t be blamed on Zhang Anshi, he is loyal and filial, caught in the middle, it is also difficult.”

Empress Xu frowned, “I have heard that there are countless people outside who are resentful of Zhang Qing. This time in Jiangxi, some people dared to make a move against His Majesty, His Majesty is still like this, let alone Zhang Qing.”

Zhu Di said, “Or you and the Crown Princess have thought it through, I have not even thought of this.”

Empress Xu said, “He is the closest relative of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, and he is also the uncle of Zhu Zhanji, and there are so many ministers in the world who are capable, is Zhang Qing the only one who is lacking? How can His Majesty teach him to do anything dangerous and offensive?”

As Zhu listened, his heart also turned over, so his eyes closed and he seemed to be pondering as well.

“Can’t leave him now.” Not long, Zhu Di will violently open his eyes, decisively said: “Now in the most critical moment, away from him really can not. The world really has a lot of talented people, but how many people have him such a bearing? Everyone knows that this is not pleasing things, who do?”

“In addition, this new government, but also really not this kid can not, I am not without thought of this, just …… said, the world both understand the economic way, and can do their best to implement the new government, and can also be in charge of the jinyiwei person, and how many people?”

After a pause, Zhu Di continued: “The most important thing is that this kid he is really dare to do, smart people, I have seen a lot, but many people will only be smart to put aside in the head, the daily pondering, is the so-called handling of science, this kind of smart, to be of what use? Zhang Qing but dare to fight.”

Xu listened with regret.

Zhu Di, however, added: “But the Prince Consort’s concern also has its own reasons, I think about it, but I remembered something.”

“What is it?”

“I see ah, this matter is to the fire, before, I ordered to go to the feudal kings there to let them take a idea, but also teach people to check out some of the canonical books, just a moment still indecisive, always afraid of this and bad ancestors of the law. But now it seems, is imperative.”

Empress Xu is an extremely intelligent person, listening to Zhu Di this way, seems to be quite awakened: “Your Majesty’s meaning, I understand, just outside there will be gossip?”

Zhu Di’s eyes glared, as soon as he heard the word gossip, he was furious: “I suffer from gossip is not less? Into his mother’s, this world is the most lack of mouth is the good people!”

………………

Ask for a monthly ticket.