Chapter 16: Biegong Xingshuang, Soft on the Outside and Strong on the Inside

After explaining everything, Zhu Yijun sat quietly for a while before setting off to pay his respects to the two palaces.

I have been racking my brains and thinking all the time these two days. Although my body can handle it, it is really exhausting mentally.

This was still before he took up any state affairs, and because of the mourning period, he even cancelled the afternoon riding and archery.

But even so, it made him a little tired.

It’s no wonder that many people don’t want to go to court. Being a good ruler is not much easier than working 996.

It was a rare opportunity to relax and unwind for a while, so Zhu Yijun refused the sedan chair and only walked towards Empress Chen's bedroom with a few palace maids and eunuchs following behind him.

Empress Chen was the late emperor's second wife, but she had no children. On the grounds that she was "childless and sickly", the late emperor drove her to live in another palace. The place was so remote that it was almost worse than the cold palace, which made it easier for Zhu Yijun to leave.

Fortunately, he was not stopped outside the palace today.

"Your Highness, the Queen invites you in." The palace maid lowered her head and led the way.

Zhu Yijun nodded and followed behind him.

This Empress Chen was truly a pitiful person. She was born as the empress, but she was not favored.

The heir apparent is about to ascend the throne, but he is not his biological son.

The eunuchs and palace maids all went to flatter Concubine Li, and almost no one came to Queen Chen to ask for favors.

My previous life had not seen Queen Chen very often, and my impression of her was that she had a cold personality.

"Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will go in and report." The palace maid said as she stopped outside the door.

This is a separate palace with few halls and pavilions, and there are almost no decorations inside the halls.

Zhu Yijun looked around and responded casually.

After a while, the palace maid came out again and invited him in.

As soon as Zhu Yijun entered, he saw Empress Chen wearing the queen's ceremonial clothes and leaning against the table by the window.

Empress Chen looked to be no more than thirty years old. She was extremely beautiful, but her complexion was not very good. She was wearing a white robe with a grey collar and hem, which made her face look pale.

The front and back of the robe were woven with black and gold cloud and dragon patterns, giving it a touch of nobility and coolness.

Empress Chen saw Zhu Yijun coming in and looked over.

Zhu Yijun was the first to pay his respects: "Your Highness, may I ask how your mother is doing?"

Empress Chen's voice was as clear as a spring, and she said slowly, "Now that the late emperor has passed away, I have really become the "Ai Jia" mentioned in operas. No one has come to this palace for several days."

"I didn't sleep at the right time yesterday. I neglected my son."

Zhu Yijun could not help but feel compassion, and he replied: "It is my fault that the Queen Mother's palace is so lonely. From now on, I will come to greet you every day."

Empress Chen chuckled and said, "You are really filial. No wonder. Only a filial son would think of the late emperor in his dreams."

"I heard early in the morning that my sister was praising you to the ladies everywhere for your personality change. You became sensible overnight. Now it seems that you are indeed doing well. Not bad."

Although she was not his biological mother, the clan law was supreme and her binding force was very strong, so Zhu Yijun dared not be vague.

After receiving the compliment, he naturally had to be humble: "My Queen Mother has taught me that I have indeed been too lazy in the past. I hope you will teach me more in the future."

At this point, he simply hit the nail on the head: "Mother, I have been studying Shangshu in my daily class recently. When I was reviewing, I found that I still have some doubts. Can you please enlighten me?"

Empress Chen was different from Lady Li, as she came from a scholarly family.

His father was born into a military family and failed the imperial examinations many times. His mother was the granddaughter of Zhang Wenzhi, the Prince's Guardian and Minister of Rites.

Empress Chen had been familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood, so she naturally had a deep understanding of classical learning.

Of course, for Zhu Yijun, it doesn’t matter what he asks about; what matters is asking about this matter.

The people he helped might not necessarily be grateful.

On the contrary, most of the people who have helped him will have a good impression of him.

This is the golden rule he summed up in his previous life.

The so-called asking for advice is always effective and always wins the favor of leaders - of course, the qualification to ask for advice is the most rare.

Now Zhu Yijun followed suit and applied it on Empress Chen, and naturally it was also very effective.

Empress Chen nodded, and sat up straighter. "Well, at your age, the Shangshu is indeed a little obscure. Why not tell me about it?"

As he spoke, his eyes and brows were all smiling, and it was obvious that he was enjoying it very much.

Zhu Yijun quickly asked someone to bring him a book.

While flipping through the pages of the book, he looked puzzled and asked questions repeatedly.

Most people like to teach others, and Empress Chen is no exception. Moreover, it is rare for someone to talk to her, so she naturally enjoys giving advice.

As soon as Empress Chen gave some advice, Zhu Yijun immediately understood what she meant and was able to apply it to other situations.

With Zhu Yijun's deliberate support, every time Empress Chen's itch was tickled, she would unconsciously immerse herself in it.

An hour passed like this.

After Zhu Yijun left, Empress Chen, who was thirsty, was still thinking about it.

While she was drinking tea to moisten her throat, the chief eunuch walked in with small steps: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has gone to Concubine Li's place."

Queen Chen finally came to her senses and nodded.

She looked at the empty palace again, with a sad look on her face, and said, "Chen Suan, tell me, why don't I have a son?"

Eunuch Chen comforted her, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince is your son."

Empress Chen laughed at herself and said, "That's right, he's a good son, so good that I don't even know how my 'good' sister gave birth to him."

After saying that, she looked up again and looked out the window.

He seemed to be whispering, "Chen Hong should be more restrained. He secretly helped Zhang Siwei deliver the memorial without my knowledge, and only begged me when Feng Bao stopped him? Meng Chong just died yesterday. I can't bear to see you old men die earlier than me."

These two eunuchs with the surname Chen were originally servants of the Chen family. They followed her into Prince Yu’s Palace and their names were given by her mother.

Chen Suan lowered his head and said, "I will go and tell him right away."

Queen Chen nodded, looked at the sunrise outside the window, and said no more.

……

When Zhu Yijun arrived outside Concubine Li's bedroom, he happened to see Feng Bao coming out from afar.

As soon as I entered the bedroom, I saw that Concubine Li’s face was ashen.

He was puzzled, but still performed the formalities: "I wish my mother well."

After the ceremony, he did not hear Concubine Li's reply, so he moved closer to Li and said carefully: "Who made my mother angry? Tell me, I will go and cause trouble for him right away."

Concubine Li angrily threw a memorial and slammed it on the table: "Take a look!"

Zhu Yijun was puzzled but did not show it.

He gently picked up the memorial and flipped through it.

It turned out to be a memorial written by Gao Gong impeaching Feng Bao, which listed Feng Bao's crimes such as misusing public resources for personal gain, corruption and abuse of power, harming colleagues, and isolating the inside and outside world, with all sorts of solid evidence.

Feng Bao was so honest, but he actually presented it to Concubine Li? So she was angry with Feng Bao? That shouldn't be right?
Zhu Yijun tried to test her: "Mother, these are just trivial matters, not worth your anger."

Concubine Li suddenly lost her composure: "A small matter? Then what else is a big matter!"

"What on earth is Gao Gong trying to do?"

"Do you think he is just a civil official, which is why he always disagrees with Feng Dayong?" "Do you know what he said!?"

Concubine Li almost squeezed out a few words from her teeth, her tone cold: "He said, how can a ten-year-old emperor rule the world!"

Zhu Yijun looked at the disgraced Concubine Li and closed the memorial silently.

This is Feng Bao’s dirty trick.

The phrase "How to rule the world" and "How to rule the world" have completely different meanings.

It went directly from how to govern a country at the age of ten to how to be an emperor at the age of ten.

This had already touched Li's sore spot. Once these words were spoken, everything Gao Gong said to Concubine Li became nonsense.

People who are hated will not be viewed objectively.

As Feng Bao was Li Guifei's close associate, Gao Gong's impeachment immediately turned into a provocation to the inner court and the Li family.

The method is simple, but it works every time.

But Zhu Yijun had no choice. After all, Gao Gongzhen had said something similar.

He took a deep breath, and a look of solidarity appeared on his face: "How dare you bully me, an orphan and a widow, like this!?"

"Mother, when I ascend the throne in a few days, I will drive him out of the court!"

Concubine Li's expression finally eased a little, but she still felt unsatisfied and tore up Gao Gong's memorial: "This is such a treasonous act, and Feng Dayong still said that he can't be punished just based on this statement! How ridiculous!"

This is what it means to keep it in the middle school and not send it out - physically.

Zhu Yijun was very considerate and called the palace maids to burn all the shredded paper.

He did not just stand there and watch, but quickly stepped forward and patted Concubine Li on the back, comforting her: "Mother, don't get angry with this old man, otherwise you will only help him."

"Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, before he ascended the throne, was described by Prime Minister Zhang Dun as 'Prince Duan is frivolous and unfit to rule the world', which is no different from Gao Gong's treason."

"But after that, Emperor Huizong committed all kinds of evil, and the Jin people broke into the capital and took him captive. He died at the hands of others and became a laughing stock of the world, just as Zhang Dun said."

"I'm afraid Gao Gong now thinks he is Zhang Dun and is very proud of himself."

"Mother should not only not help him to gain fame and fortune, but should let Gao Gong see how great your son is and how he can rule the world."

"Then I will bring up the matter again and ask him to apologize to his mother."

After Zhu Yijun's words of comfort, Concubine Li's complexion finally looked better.

She said unhappily, "You haven't read a lot of books, but you're quoting from classics and stories from the past dynasties when you talk."

Zhu Yijun quickly took Concubine Li's arm and said, "It is because of your good discipline that I have learned some knowledge and principles."

Concubine Li glared at him and said, "Speaking of this, I haven't settled the score with you yet!"

Zhu Yijun blinked, puzzled.

Concubine Li knocked on his forehead and said, "The eunuch on duty at Wenhua Palace today said that you looked absent-minded during your lecture. Was that right?"

When Zhu Yijun heard this, he immediately knew what he was referring to and sighed in his heart.

There was really no end to the slander. At that time, I was thinking about Zhang Juzheng's report and was distracted for a moment, so someone could report it to Concubine Li.

It goes without saying that it was the eunuch on duty who passed the message to Feng Bao.

Fortunately, he is not his predecessor, otherwise he would have suffered a loss.

Zhu Yijun restrained his smile, stood up in front of Concubine Li, and then bowed deeply.

Li was puzzled.

Zhu Yijun did not explain anything, but knelt on the ground and began to recite the contents of the daily lecture word by word: "After Taijia was established, he was not well-known, so Yi Yin banished Zhu Tong. After three years, he returned to Bo..."

Although Concubine Li didn't quite understand, she knew what he was doing, so she just listened quietly and nodded frequently.

After a while, Zhu Yijun recited the entire paragraph.

But he did not stop and began to explain the meaning of the article.

Concubine Li was satisfied and acknowledged that her son had learned seriously today.

She said, "Okay, get up."

Zhu Yijun did not move.

Just when Concubine Li began to get impatient, Zhu Yijun finally finished reciting today's homework.

But he did not stand up, but lowered his head even lower: "Mother, yesterday I promised you in person that I would study hard and cultivate my virtue, and not be idle."

"Now, I work diligently and dare not be negligent in the slightest."

"But mother believed the slander of the villain and belittled the dignity of the heir. How is this different from Gao Gong?"

"I dare to ask you to trust me a little more in the future and to personally see if I have made any mistakes, so that I won't make any more slanderous remarks."

Zhu Yijun suddenly made such a scene that Concubine Li felt a little embarrassed and helped him up with a red face.

Turning his head away, he said, "My son has grown up and knows how to teach his mother a lesson."

Zhu Yijun refused to give in: "I am not trying to teach you a lesson, but you trusted outsiders more than me, your son. I feel wronged for accusing you without any reason."

Concubine Li coughed lightly: "Okay, okay, mother knows."

Seeing that Concubine Li's attitude had finally softened, Zhu Yijun's expression turned from cloudy to bright and he quickly began to rub her shoulders again.

This is how the perception changes little by little.

If you want people to feel that you are trustworthy, the best solution is to be gentle, but not to give up your bottom line, and to argue your case with a humble attitude.

This is especially true between mother and child. Otherwise, once the child becomes a mama's boy, all the growth in age will be in vain.

Concubine Li came back to her senses, still feeling a little embarrassed, and said, "It's not that mother doesn't believe you."

"Look, another censor has come forward and said that the eclipse of the sun by the heavenly dog ​​is a warning from heaven, and that it is mostly due to the immorality of the emperor. They want you to reflect on your own sins, copy Taoist and Buddhist scriptures, and offer sacrifices to heaven."

"Mother, this is also to help you find out the gaps and fill them in, so that you won't really offend God if you do something wrong."

After saying that, Concubine Li took out a few memorials and handed them over.

Zhu Yijun was speechless and too lazy to accept the memorial.

This kind of memorial has never been very meaningful, but it stands on the high ground of political correctness, making it impossible to refute.

As for who is so wicked...it is most likely Zhang Juzheng.

Once you start copying Buddhist and Taoist scriptures, you will have to work for at least half a month, which consumes your mind and energy.

Apart from the morning court and daily lectures, I'm afraid the rest of the time will have to be spent on this.

In the past, he always filled his leader's desk with cluttered and useless documents, but now he is being blamed.

It’s retribution.

Unfortunately, he really couldn't ignore this kind of memorial, which was also part of the current etiquette.

Just like praying for rain when there is a drought, or issuing a confession of guilt when there is a fire in the palace, there is no way to avoid it.

Moreover, Concubine Li's attitude when she took out these memorials was very clear. Copying Buddhist and Taoist scriptures was a good thing, so she copied them quickly.

Zhu Yijun could only agree: "I will copy it carefully when I get back."

Concubine Li nodded with satisfaction, and the matter was finally revealed.
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Note 1: Empress Xiao'an, surnamed Chen, was from Tongzhou. She was selected as the successor of Prince Yu in September of the th year of Jiajing. She was canonized as Empress in the first year of Longqing. She had no children and was often ill, so she lived in another palace. ——"Ming History·Biographies·Volume "

(End of this chapter)