Chapter 185 Yuanli Model, Ji Yan Leader
That night, the sky showed unusual phenomena and the stars changed drastically.

Everyone inside and outside the capital looked up and watched.

……

Li Chengen stood in the pavilion in the backyard with a stiff neck, the Purple Star reflected in his pupils appearing and disappearing from time to time.

"Mother, this celestial phenomenon..."

Princess Ning'an was wearing a fox fur coat and sitting on a stone bench. She looked up and stared, without responding to her son.

Seeing that his mother didn't move, Li Chengen coughed lightly.

Princess Ning An said without even turning her head: "Are you afraid that the warning from the stars will bring trouble to His Majesty, or are you worried that the unstable situation will affect our business?"

There were only mother and son in the pavilion.

Li Chengen did not try to hide it and simply replied, "It's the same thing."

"In the past two years, thanks to your Majesty's new policies and the shipping business, we have finally become more affluent."

"Once Your Majesty suffers a setback, let alone the promised overseas vassal states, I'm afraid that even the benefits in hand may not be kept."

As he spoke, Li Chengen could not help but complain: "It would be better if we could do more things like shipping and trade. Why do we have to do this blindly?"

Princess Ning'an listened quietly.

She is 41 years old this year. Although she has lost her charm, she has maintained a graceful demeanor.

She changed her sitting position and glanced at her son: "Did His Majesty summon you?"

Li Chengen was stunned, not understanding why: "No."

Princess Ning'an shook her head gently: "Since the emperor is not anxious, why are you anxious?"

Li Chengen was helpless. This was not a good thing to say.

If he had not been married for four years and there was no movement, he would have definitely pushed back by now.

Just as he was thinking about it, he saw his mother suddenly take off half of the jade ring tied around her waist and handed it to him.

Li Chengen subconsciously took it in his hand.

Princess Ning'an had a dull expression on her face: "This is a gift from His Majesty to me and my husband, and I'm passing it on to you today."

Li Chengen gave his mother a puzzled look.

Princess Ning'an was reminded of her husband who had died two years ago. She said with a little regret, "When Feng Bao's property was confiscated, my husband and I received some benefits from Sun Yizheng, so we kept some of them."

"Afterwards, His Majesty sent this half jade ring to the palace."

This is certainly not a real gift, but a naked warning.

Even though seven years have passed, she still feels scared when she recalls it now.

Li Chengen was only fourteen at that time, and he had never heard his family mention this matter.

Maybe it was a psychological effect, but when he suddenly heard it, he felt that the object in his hand was extremely cold.

Princess Ning'an continued, "Afterwards, the prince consort immediately entered the palace to plead guilty."

"Your Majesty was very enthusiastic. Not only did he not intend to pursue the matter, he even invited the Prince Consort to dine with him."

"During the banquet, he frequently ordered people to add more food to the prince consort's meal. But when he refused, he would advise him, saying, 'How can you last long if you have so little food to eat?'"

"It was not until the prince consort's fortune was replenished that he was released by the emperor."

Li Chengen stood aside in silence.

Because he suddenly understood why his father lay on the doorstep and vomited continuously after returning home one day in his memory.

Princess Ning'an slowly stood up and sighed, "I don't understand the political situation, but I have seen the emperor's cruelty."

"Now that he has settled down in Xiyuan, it is not your turn or mine to worry about him."

……

"Ah? Don't I have to share your worries?"

Zhu Heng was originally looking up at the comet. Upon hearing this, he turned around and stared at Yu Shenxing in confusion.

Yu Shenxing nodded heavily.

He had been Zhu Heng's aide for nearly ten years before he passed the imperial examination, so he naturally knew how to explain it.

Yu Shenxing thought for a moment: "Although the teacher is a young scholar, he has climbed the career ladder from being a county magistrate step by step. Even if he has a reputation, it is still a real name for 'selecting capable people to govern dramas'."

"Even though he offended many people, he was able to enter the central government in one fell swoop by relying on his achievements in governing Shandong and regulating the Yellow River."

“A teacher’s merit lies not in party affiliation, not in favors from superiors, but in actual performance.”

"It can be said that as long as the teacher does not interfere in matters outside of his job, no matter what the result is, his career and reputation after death will not be affected in the slightest."

After Yu Shenxing finished speaking, he looked up at the celestial phenomena in the night sky.

My teacher has a bad temper.

When he was a county magistrate in the 12th year of Jiajing, he offended the then Minister of Personnel, Wang Hong, because he was unwilling to vacate the county government office for the wedding of the young master of the Wang family.

In the 29th year of Jiajing, when he was the deputy envoy of Fujian Censorate, he punished Li Jiayanei who led the crowd to beat the scholar, which offended Li Mo, the then Minister of Personnel.

When Xia Yan was in power, he refused Xia Yan's recommendation; when Yan Song came to power, he gave Yan Song the cold shoulder; even now that Zhang Juzheng is assisting the country, there are still many unhappinesses between them.

If Zhu Heng had not had some abilities that could make Emperor Shizong "stare with delight" when he saw the palace he built, and make the dissatisfied Gao Gong admit after his hometown was flooded that "no court official can be better than Heng in controlling floods", I am afraid that his official career would have ended long ago.

Therefore, even though Yu Shenxing respected this stubborn Dong Weng and his teacher very much, he had to admit that it would be better for such a lame official to stay out of the court affairs.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Heng's face suddenly fell after hearing this: "How can it be something beyond my job duties? I am in a high position among the Nine Ministers. Isn't it my job to share the worries of Your Majesty?"

Seeing that the student wanted to say more, Zhu Heng waved his hand and said, "Don't say that. Xiao Laozi is a good king. I can't lose my conscience. You have to find another way to solve the problem."

Yu Shenxing secretly felt a familiar feeling.

This was the case during the Jiajing period. These aides gave advice and schemes, and came up with three methods, good, medium and bad, with red faces. In the end, Dong Weng ignored them all and rejected them at the root just because of his temper.

However, Yu Shenxing was not unhappy about being rejected. Instead, he felt relieved and said seriously: "In this case..."

"Zhang Juzheng must abide by the rules, and the new law must not be destroyed!"

He looked at Zhu Heng and said seriously: "Shen Shixing's prestige is insufficient. Among the court officials now, only the teacher and Wang Guoguang from the Ministry of Revenue can be the true guardians of Your Majesty!"

……

"Master, protect, protect. Now that the 'master' is old and sick, shouldn't the 'protector' come forward to support him?"

Xu Fuyuan closed the window to block out the strange star phenomenon.

Chen Younian picked up the teapot from the table and poured himself a cup, then asked casually, "Can Your Majesty give birth to a son?"

The two men were working overtime in the government office, and happened to see the stars, so they took the opportunity to chat about court affairs.

Xu Fuyuan smiled and said, "The nature of all dharmas is emptiness."

"Your Majesty is only seventeen years old, why are you in such a hurry? Didn't King Sejong take twelve years after his wedding to have an heir after ascending the throne and changing the system?"

Chen Younian shook his head: "So it was not changed after Emperor Shizong."

Xu Fuyuan glanced at his classmate in complaint: "Speak nicely, or there will be a Song scholar on the other side of the wall."

What happened to Song Ru at that time left a deep impression on him.

Chen Younian took a sip of tea and continued to speak nonchalantly, "If the weather today indicates, I'm afraid there will be another setback at the court tomorrow morning. I don't know what we should do."

Now that even the Jinshi scholars are involved, they, the officials in the Ministry of Personnel, probably have no room to stay out of it.

Xu Fuyuan shrugged: "It's fine to fight for it. It's rare to meet an emperor who is a decent person. I will follow him to the end anyway."

Chen Younian frowned upon hearing this and said unhappily, "Your Majesty is a holy monarch, but you and I must be loyal subjects. Abiding by the rules is a great virtue and cannot be taken lightly!"

Xu Fuyuan couldn't help but sneer: "What are the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues? Why don't I see woodcutters and old farmers observing the rules for three years?"

Chen Younian was speechless for a moment, and his face gradually turned red.

Xu Fuyuan worked under Shen Shixing of the Ministry of Personnel for several years and was well versed in the art of making messes.

Seeing his classmate's unhappy face, he immediately said to comfort him: "But then again..."

"The new Neo-Confucianism that Yuan Gong, one of the Seven Sages, absorbed your Majesty's teachings two years ago is very reasonable - we should look at things in two ways."

"Whether Deng Zhi disliked Zhang Juzheng or believed that the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues should not be disturbed, the new law was ultimately beneficial to the country and the people. They should not be confused, and they should not harm all."

"Last month, Yang'en Temple got instructions from someone unknown, secretly lobbying the two Empress Dowagers to abolish Dutian, but the Jinyiwei directly cut down the mountain and destroyed the temple."

"This month, the Imperial College marched to request that the father-in-law Li Wei, who had occupied land and kept slaves, be punished. The emperor gave Empress Dowager Li a nod and directly approved it."

"Everyone is using others as a weapon. You and I should be alert and not fall into the trap of others."

This was fair, and Chen Younian's expression finally relaxed after hearing it.

He nodded in approval and said, "This is the truth!"

"I will never lose the great cause."

Xu Fuyuan nodded with satisfaction.

Although this classmate has many bad habits, at least he can make sense. He is much better than old stubborn people like Shen Sixiao and Ai Mu.

He turned sideways and pushed the window open a crack. After making sure that the comet had left, he opened the window again to let in some fresh air.

"Huh? The palace is locked, how come someone is still going to the palace?"

Xu Fuyuan was a little surprised. The Thousand-Step Imperial Road outside the Ministry of Personnel led to nowhere other than the imperial palace.

When Chen Younian heard his classmate's voice, he also stood by the window. His eyesight was better, so he stretched his neck and looked for a while.

Then he said, "It seems to be Zhu Zaiyu, the director of the Imperial Observatory. Tonight, the unlucky star has offended Ziwei. It would be strange if he didn't submit a memorial to the palace."

Although people are not allowed to enter after the door is locked, it is still possible to pass notes through the crack of the door.

Xu Fuyuan said, "Oh, the Imperial Observatory, that's not surprising."

Then, he sighed again: "It's strange, when Your Majesty first ascended the throne, he personally invited the Prince of Zheng to the court to show his affection, but he was indifferent."

"I don't know what happened last year, but I suddenly came to Beijing on my own."

Chen Younian narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this. He looked in the direction where the figure disappeared and murmured, "It's better not to have any unnecessary thoughts."

Xu Fuyuan shook his head: "He is not qualified yet."

The two talked for a while.

Xu Fuyuan stretched lazily and said, "Shen Shixing has left all the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel to us insignificant officials. I don't know where he is doing it. He is really not a good son. Let's go. We can talk about the rest tomorrow."

After saying that, they packed up their things. The two turned off the lights and left the yamen, not noticing when the director of the Imperial Observatory returned.

……

The gate of the imperial palace is usually locked at You hour and opened at Yin hour.

But since the emperor moved to the Western Garden, except for the strict prohibitions in the Western Garden, the front hall of the Forbidden City was no longer as strictly controlled as before, and sometimes the assistant ministers worked overtime and the front halls of the Forbidden City were locked later.

Even if the emperor was ill, such as catching a cold or having a fever, the assistant ministers would be specially ordered to stay in the cabinet.

Entry and exit are through the sides of each gate.

That was the small door that Zhu Zaiyu followed Wei Chao into the palace at this moment.

However, the two did not go to Xiyuan, but went straight to the cabinet.

Zhu Zaiyu was a sullen person and Wei Chao was a cautious person, so the two of them rarely spoke to each other along the way.

And so it went all the way to the Cabinet.

The two men walked to the duty room where the light was still on and stood still one after another.

Wei Chao approached the door and whispered, "Your Majesty, I have brought the supervisor here."

Zhu Zaiyu lowered his head and said nothing.

After a while.

A clear voice came from inside the house: "Come in."

Upon hearing this, Wei Chao pushed the door open and invited in.

Zhu Zaiyu didn't say anything extra and walked straight in.

In early winter in October, with charcoal fire burning in the house and windows open, it was warm but not stuffy.

There was a pile of files and documents on the desk, which was a little messy.

Shen Shixing of the cabinet was working on a bill with a pen in his hand.

When he saw Zhu Zaiyu come in, he looked up and nodded, then bent down to his desk again, appearing to be very busy.

Zhu Zaiyu had no idea where this assistant, or the de facto prime minister, was.

But he didn't care.

Zhu Zaiyu turned his head and moved his gaze from Shen Shixing to the side.

A tall and straight figure stood by the window with his hands behind his back.

He wore a Haiqing Taoist robe, a rhinoceros horn belt around his waist, black shoes with rings and ornaments, and a jade hairpin in his hair.

The night wind blew, blowing the long hair around the waist and the hem of the robe fluttering together.

I caught a glimpse of his profile, and it was just as the saying goes, a young man is leaning gracefully in front of the window, facing the wind, and the moon is shining on his fair-faced beautiful young man.

Zhu Zaiyu retracted his gaze and bowed his head, "Your Majesty."

The figure finally stopped looking up at the sky and spying on the stars.

He turned slowly.

A seventeen-year-old face was revealed, handsome, clean, and bright.

Zhu Yijun leaned forward to help the royal family member who was saluting stand up, took the opportunity to grasp his hands, and smiled: "Now that the emperor's uncle is here, I feel at ease."

Zhu Zaiyu's hair stood on end. Even though it had been more than a year, he still couldn't stand his nephew's strange habit.

He tried to break free from the emperor's hand, but found that it didn't move at all.

Helpless, he had to get straight to the point: "Your Majesty, a comet suddenly appeared tonight, and the Imperial Astronomical Observatory has already prepared a divination hexagram."

As he spoke, he repeatedly gestured that he was going to reach out and take the documents from his arms.

Zhu Yijun heard this and didn't care at all: "Little Daoer, this is not the reason why I came to ask my uncle to come."

He glanced at Shen Shixing who had not yet finished his work, and couldn't get to the point.

Zhu Yijun had no choice but to ignore the emperor's uncle's slightly red face and held his hand to chat: "I heard that some court officials have been looking for trouble with the emperor's uncle recently?"

Actually, it’s the emperor’s fault.

Early childbearing is an emperor's professional virtue. Since he himself is lacking in this, it is natural that he will cause disputes in the workplace.

This trouble is not only on his brother.

Even the emperor's uncle who came to Beijing to do scientific research had to get punched when he passed by.

When Zhu Zaiyu heard the emperor's words, he suddenly recalled something and showed some anger on his face: "That's exactly what happened! The court officials are simply judging the emperor by their own standards!"

"Especially in the past two months!"

"The officials of the Ministry of Rites ignored their official duties and came to my house to scold me! They said that I chose to come to the capital last year and was suspected of spying on the sacred artifacts. They advised me to turn back as soon as possible."

If he hadn't seen that mathematics was booming in the capital, he wouldn't have come even if you asked him to!

Who knew it could be speculated in this way!

Zhu Zaiyu became more and more annoyed as he spoke: "Ni Guangjian, the Minister of Public Affairs, is a complete villain. He sent a visiting card to my house through someone else. When I opened it, I found that it was actually a curse letter, saying that I was getting involved in the disputes in the court and that I should be careful not to die."

"This is simply unreasonable!"

"Oh! That Gongbu Wan Gong is also like a bandit. Yesterday he even ordered his son to sneak into my house and beat me up. Fortunately, he was discovered."

Zhu Yijun felt embarrassed as he listened to his uncle listing all the details in an angry manner.

He wanted to curse his uncle out of solidarity, but then he thought that anyone who could do such a thing must be a loyal minister, so he couldn't bring himself to curse him.

Zhu Yijun thought for a while, and finally stammered and said vaguely: "It was my negligence that caused the emperor's uncle to be accidentally injured by the court officials."

Zhu Zaiyu looked at the emperor with a strange look.

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun coughed lightly and said soothingly, "It will be fine after a while. Please bear with me, uncle."

What else could Zhu Zaiyu say?

They had no choice but to bow in response and praise the emperor's great virtue.

Zhu Yijun didn't want to continue to argue, so he talked about business in a serious manner: "How is the progress of the revision of the calendar, uncle?"

The hereditary nature of the Imperial Observatory's official position was a law passed down from ancestors, and over the past two hundred years, it had become rigid.

It was already a great honor for him to hand over the post of Supervisor to Zhu Zaiyu.

If you want to convince those old stubborn people to revise the calendar, you need professional qualities.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zaiyu confidently replied, "Wait another two years, and I will be able to complete the "Rhythm of Calendars" and the "Saint's Longevity Calendar."

Zhu Yijun was a little surprised: "So fast?"

Zhu Zaiyu pondered for a moment and explained, "The Western translations and the work of scholar Liu have been very helpful to me."

Zhu Yijun suddenly realized.

I felt quite relieved.

He was about to say something else when he saw from the corner of his eye that Shen Shixing had put down his pen and was swinging his arms.

Zhu Yijun immediately dropped the topic and dragged Zhu Zaiyu to Shen Shixing's desk.

Shen Shixing quickly stood up and respectfully presented a document at hand.

Zhu Yijun took a look at this hardworking old ox and patted Xiao Shen on the shoulder with satisfaction.

He took the document from him and turned to look at Zhu Zaiyu: "This is the list of 130 people who passed the imperial examination. The Ministry of Personnel, the Censorate, and the Cabinet have all approved it. I still need to trouble you, uncle, to go through the process."

The matter of selecting civil servants is still in the process of being perfected since the introduction of the imperial examinations, and the process is often highly complex.

Of course, there is no way around the headquarters.

When Zhu Zaiyu heard this, he realized that the emperor called him into the palace in the middle of the night for such a trivial matter. He felt confused.

He was not familiar with government affairs and had no mood to take a closer look.

Under the emperor's concerned gaze, Zhu Zaiyu picked up the pen directly from the desk at Shen Shixing, rolled up his sleeves, signed his name, and drew a circle.

Zhu Yijun and Shen Shixing looked at each other and smiled at the same time.

Old ox Xiao Shen took the document back and said, "Thank you for your help."

Zhu Zaiyu was puzzled.

But it was obvious that neither the emperor nor his ministers had any intention of explaining.

Zhu Yijun smiled and chased him away: "Let's leave it at that for today. We will be busy tomorrow."

Shen Shixing smiled bitterly, rubbed his aching wrist, and bowed, saying, "I will take my leave first."

Zhu Zaiyu bowed in a daze and was taken out along with Shen Shixing.

After the two left, a long while passed.

Wei Chao walked in and stood beside the emperor.

Zhu Yijun stood up and stretched: "Wei Daban, the stars in the sky tonight are a warning, I must reflect on myself."

"Otomo, go tell the Ministry of Rites tomorrow morning that I will pray in the southern suburbs before the morning court session, and let the fifth-rank and above officials in the capital make preparations early."

Wei Chao was a little surprised. Hadn't the emperor always scoffed at such things as the connection between heaven and man?

Why do you take it seriously this time?

Without time to think, Wei Chao bowed and replied, "I'll remember that."

Zhu Yijun naturally did not explain anything to the eunuchs, and only asked casually: "Have the two palaces arranged to sleep with you tonight?"

Wei Chao blurted out: "In reply to your majesty, tonight is the Imperial Noble Consort Li."

Zhu Yijun was somewhat helpless: "I've heard that sleeping with two people is easy to catch a cold, why doesn't my mother believe it?"

Wei Chao smiled apologetically: "Your Majesty is both civil and military, and is in very good health, so how could you catch a cold so easily? Not to mention the two palaces, even I don't believe it."

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "Let's go."

Having said that, he was about to leave the cabinet when he suddenly remembered something.

He then personally removed the lampshades on both sides and blew out the candles in one breath.

He patted Wei Chao, who was a head shorter than him, and said in a serious tone: "The weather has been dry recently, and fires are likely to break out everywhere. Tell the inner court to be careful."

(End of this chapter)