admiration

"Your Highness..." Jiang Wan hesitated to speak.

"Master Jiang has something to say, it's okay," Zhu Qiming said.

"Your Highness doesn't know, this Wangxiang Terrace is far away from the capital, no matter how much money is allocated, there will be very little left at Wangxiang Terrace..." Jiang Wan said with a look of distress.

Zhu Qiming is in the officialdom, so how can he not know the reason, he helped him up, and sighed: "This king is not thinking carefully, how about this, I will give you some money first, but the locust plague does not depend on it alone." It can be solved with money, but the court still needs to send people to manage it."

"The minister thanked His Highness in advance. After understanding it, I will borrow 5000 taels from His Highness for the time being, and I will return it in double in the future." Jiang Wan didn't even blink her eyes, her words were terrifying.

"...how much?" Zhu Qiming was not sure.

"5000 taels." Jiang Wan said earnestly, "I originally wanted to borrow 1 taels, but His Highness is so incorruptible that I can't lend that much to my ministers for a while, so I only want 5000 taels."

Zhu Qiming's face flushed like a pig's liver. As the eldest prince, his annual salary is only three thousand, and he managed to save some in the past few years. This Jiang Wan lion opened his mouth and was about to leave more than half of it.

He showed a far-fetched smile: "Why does such a small place require so much money?"

Jiang Wan shook her head and sighed: "Your Highness does not know, Wangxiang Terrace is located in a remote place, and natural disasters often occur. The disasters of more than ten years have already emptied the village."

Wangxiangtai is so far away, Zhu Qiming can't send someone to test the truth, but also wants to keep Jiang Wan steady, so he pretends to be straightforward: "This king knows, you go back, the king will send someone to send the silver to you in two days. Go to the house."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Jiang Wan smiled and praised Zhu Qiming sincerely.

Zhu Qiming patted Jiang Wan's shoulder, unable to express his pain.

When Jiang Wan's goal was achieved, she stopped talking to Zhu Qiming, and after saying a few polite words, she asked Zhu Qiming to rest earlier, and left the First Prince's Mansion by herself.

The guards stood tall and straight outside the gate, guarding the safety of the mansion. Jiang Wan got into the carriage, stared at the finely carved plaque, smiled coldly, and told the coachman to ride away.

I don't know how much people's blood and sweat were used to build this Great Prince's Mansion, and now it's time for him to repay the people.

Mo Yichi was "seriously ill in bed" and couldn't go to court early, so Xiao Zhijin went to the court alone. On the way, he met Sun Mo, who hurried to catch up with Xiao Zhijin, and asked with concern: "Zhijin, how is the second prince's injury?"

The assassination of the second prince has not yet caught the culprit. For a while, people in the capital panic. Zhu Qiming, who should have been suspected the most, changed his normal behavior and sent a lot of supplements to the second prince's mansion to wash away his suspicion.

The officials couldn't help doubting Zhu Qiming, but he was the eldest son of the royal family, and no one would dare to speak without solid evidence.

Xiao Zhijin shook his head, and sighed: "The imperial doctor said that there were a few places where he almost hit a vital point. If it wasn't for the timely treatment, I'm afraid... I can only hope that His Highness recovers soon."

"Sigh, there are people under the Son of Heaven who dare to do this." Sun Mo said angrily.

Xiao Zhijin was also disappointed, "I thought Central Beijing should be the safest place, but I don't think it would be as safe as Wangxiangtai."

"I've let you down." Zhu Qiming who was passing by said coldly.

Before the two of them could react, Zhu Qiming, who had been worrying about Jiang Wan's 5000 taels all night, walked straight past, his usually straight back a little slumped.

Sun Mo lowered his voice and said: "Recently this one is having a hard time."

Xiao Zhijin shrugged, noncommittal.

The courtiers were not allowed to discuss the prince indiscriminately, so the two did not continue the conversation, and entered the court humbly with each other. After finding their respective positions, they quietly waited for Emperor Hongzhi to come to court.

Emperor Hongzhi seemed to get up late today and waited for a long time before appearing.All the officials knelt down and worshiped, and after the salute, Huang Linzhi, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, came out and said, "Your Majesty Qizuo, I ordered to repair the Mingliang Palace, and found that several palaces were seriously damaged and could not be repaired. Do you want to rebuild them?"

"You can figure it out. You can also build another lotus pond. The Yanhe pond was good last year." Emperor Hongzhi said.

"Yes."

The damaged palaces mentioned by Huang Linzhi are actually just the northernmost rooms of Mingliang Palace. The harem of the Min Dynasty was empty, and there were very few concubines who could go to Mingliang Palace to escape the summer heat every year. It doesn’t matter if those few palaces are abandoned there. It's just that Huang Linzhi is in short supply.

The matter of Huang Lin was not very important, Emperor Hongzhi didn't care about it, he called Xiao Zhijin and asked, "Xiao Qing, how is the second prince?"

Xiao Zhijin was called by name, so he had no choice but to go out and clasped his hands and said: "Return to Your Majesty, His Highness's injury has improved, and the imperial doctor said that he can get out of bed and walk around after a while."

It means that you are still bedridden.

Emperor Hongzhi pulled his face down and summoned Hu Shi, Minister of Dali Temple, to ask about the progress of the case.

Hu Shi came out and said helplessly: "Your Majesty, those assassins are decisive and sneaked into the Yanhe Pond from the water. I am incompetent. So far we have not found one or two of them."

"Bastard, the second prince under the emperor's feet doesn't even know that someone has plotted against him. If it gets out, Min Chao will have no face!" Emperor Hongzhi said angrily.

I just hate that Mo Yichi, in order not to make Emperor Hongzhi sad, asked for an order not to let Emperor Hongzhi go out of the palace to visit, so he can only rely on others to inform him about his condition.

Xiao Zhijin persuaded: "Your Majesty, the assassins have obviously planned for a long time, so naturally they will not leave any evidence. The most urgent thing to do now is to strengthen the security in the city so as not to endanger the royal family again."

"Xiao Qing's words are very true. Hu Qing, you should continue to investigate this matter. As for the defense of the capital...Ji Ji, you should send more people to patrol after you go down to the court, and set up border guards at each city gate. Identify."

"Yes, the minister leads the decree." Ji Ji said.

Zhu Qiming was suspected by Emperor Hongzhi, so he didn't dare to say much. Seeing that his master was quiet, his party members naturally followed suit, and they didn't act like monsters after a morning court.

After the court, Emperor Hongzhi sent Eunuch Li to summon Xiao Zhijin.

Xiao Zhijin followed Eunuch Li to the study. Emperor Hongzhi was busy with his affairs, really hardworking.

"I see Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live."

"Xiao Qing doesn't need to be too polite, let's be flat." Emperor Hongzhi put down the cinnabar pen in his hand, waved his hand to push back the palace servants who were waiting on him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xiao Zhijin stood up and asked, "I don't know what your Majesty's orders are for calling your ministers here?"

"Xiao Qing, let's be honest, how is Chi'er's injury? I'm very worried when I see that the Imperial Hospital is using too much medication these days." Emperor Hongzhi said with a grim expression.

Xiao Zhijin was at a loss for words for a moment, Mo Yichi didn't drink a drop of the medicine, presumably the imperial physician wanted to take this opportunity to get some medicine and go back to hide it by himself, and forgot the dosage for a while.

It's just that I can't tell Emperor Hongzhi about this, and he can only pretend to be distressed: "Your Majesty, I dare not hide it. At that time, the Second Prince was indeed in danger. If he hadn't been hanged with medicine, he might die soon. Fortunately, Your Highness is blessed. Now It's more than half done."

Emperor Hongzhi slapped the table violently, and said angrily: "You bastard, you don't tell me when it's in danger!"

"Your Majesty, the second prince is afraid that His Majesty will worry too much, so he won't let you speak." Xiao Zhizhi said.

Emperor Hongzhi was furious, but he didn't want to take his anger out on Xiao Zhijin, so he could only tell Xiao Zhijin, "Don't hide anything about Chi'er from now on, otherwise I will punish you for deceiving the emperor."

"Yes, I obey the order." Xiao Zhizhi said.

"Chi'er just entered the court, and I know everything better than you. If you don't know anything, you can mention him more, and I will reward you a lot in the future." There was no one else in the room, and Emperor Hongzhi was not afraid to say these things to Xiao Zhijin.

Emperor Hongzhi acquiesced in Mo Yanchi's making friends with officials, the intention was self-evident, Xiao Zhijin looked clear, and said: "I will not disgrace my life, and I will assist Your Highness wholeheartedly."

There are so many people in the palace, the most fearful thing is that the walls have ears, so Emperor Hongzhi asked Xiao Zhijin to go back and take care of Mo Yichi after he said a few words.

Eunuch Li sent the man back, seeing that Emperor Hongzhi was still angry, he asked, "Your Majesty, what's the matter?"

Emperor Hongzhi said: "Now Xiao Zhijin listens to Chi'er, he can say whatever Chi'er asks him to say, and he didn't even disclose the serious injury."

Eunuch Li smiled and said: "The second prince is filial, and he didn't want to make His Majesty worry about it, so don't annoy the Second Prince."

"I'm not annoyed with him, I'm annoyed with myself. After 15 years, I still can't protect her child." Emperor Hongzhi's unintentional words reminded himself that he raised his head suddenly and said, "Li Su, you Could it be someone from the dynasty?"

Eunuch Li has personally experienced the 15 years of war, and he still has lingering fears. Dai Dynasty is an old enemy that Emperor Hongzhi feared all his life.He didn't dare to speak nonsense, and listened to Emperor Hongzhi's words with a sullen face.

"If that's the case, wouldn't Chi'er be more dangerous?" Emperor Hongzhi asked urgently.

The emperor, who has always been stable, experienced a life and death, and was almost at a loss when facing him again. Even when he was young, he fought on the battlefield with countless dead souls in his hands.

Eunuch Li said: "Your Majesty, don't panic, just send more people to the Second Prince. Almost all the people in the Dai Dynasty were wiped out 15 years ago. How can you still have the strength to do these things?"

"I hope I'm worrying too much, so I'll send a few hidden guards to Chi'er, and tomorrow's... also send a few over there." Emperor Hongzhi said.

"Yes."

……

Xiao Zhijin left the palace, guessing that Mo Yanchi hadn't gotten up yet, so he bought two drawers of steamed buns along the way and went back.Mo Yanchi couldn't go out, and his mouth was greedy, so he often asked Ye Min to go out and buy secretly.

When he returned to the Second Prince's Mansion, there was a carriage parked outside the door. When the guards saw him coming back, they greeted him and said that Jiang Wan had come.He nodded, handed over the steaming steamed buns to the servants, and went to the front hall.

Jiang Wan was drinking tea when she saw someone coming, she put the teacup on the table, and said contemptuously: "Hmph, if it wasn't for the eldest prince's request, I wouldn't have come to your poor place."

Xiao Zhijin was in a good mood, so he cooperated with her, raised his eyebrows and said, "Master Jiang is so arrogant, and I didn't invite you here."

"My coming is your blessing for several lifetimes." Jiang Wanli said confidently.

Xiao Zhi couldn't stop laughing, he waved his hands and said, "I won't quarrel with you anymore, why did you come to me all of a sudden?"

Jiang Wan smiled cunningly, and said: "I saw that Qin Huilan was not pleasing to the eye, so I told the eldest prince to put him in the official department as an eyeliner, and you can arrange something for him."

"I'm also planning to do this. Qin Huilan is suspicious, and it's not safe to stay with you." Xiao Zhizhi said, with the left and right officials in his hands, it's not difficult to arrange a small official position for Qin Huilan.

Jiang Wan said: "Then I will return to the first prince when I go back. How is the second prince doing now?"

Speaking of Mo Yanchi, Xiao Zhijin's eyes softened a bit, he said: "He's fine, the people that day just came to scout the way, they didn't fight us to the death, but they knew I had martial arts, so I silenced him .”

"That's good. I think the First Prince also knows about this. Recently, he was so angry that his mouth was blistering." Jiang Wan said gloatingly.