I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 55 Nanjing
Nanjing City.

On a huge three-story pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River, a middle-aged man with a pale face and no beard, dressed like a wealthy businessman, was sitting in a box on the top floor of the boat, leaning on the railing and admiring the night view of the Qinhuai River with boredom.

A graceful woman holding a pipa walked into the room.

"Eunuch Liu, the best girl has been called over." A young man walked over quietly and whispered in the middle-aged man's ear.

"When you go out, call Mr. Liu," the middle-aged man glared at the young man and said in a low voice.

"Little understands."

"May I know your name, young lady?" Mr. Liu said to the girl who came in.

"My name is Lin Ying'er." Lin Ying'er bowed and said. She just felt a little uncomfortable. The guest looked at her strangely.

"What a nice name! I'm sure the voice must be clear and pleasant." Mr. Liu smiled.

"Sir, thank you for your compliment. Please listen to my song."

After a while, beautiful singing rang out in the room.

Mr. Liu's eyes did not linger on Lin Ying'er, but looked into the distance. However, his fingers tapped on the railing to the rhythm of the music.
When the song ended, Lin Ying'er asked, "What do you think, sir?"

Mr. Liu sighed softly, "Your voice is great, but the songs are all clichés. Do you have any new songs?"

"Recently, there are some songs from Huguang with novel styles, which are being sung in various pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River. Would you like to listen to my little girl sing?"

"From Huguang?" Mr. Liu curled his lips slightly. "Well, if there are no other new songs, then let's sing it. If it can be sung by so many people, it must have something outstanding."

"Then I will sing a song 'Daughter's Love' for you, this song is sung throughout the city of Nanjing, and the scholars who come here love it very much." The woman chuckled.

"Then let's sing this one!"

As the sound of the pipa sounded again, Mr. Liu's expression gradually changed.
"Bang!" A wine glass broke on the ground.

"'What about royal power and wealth'? How dare you sing such presumptuous lyrics?" Mr. Liu lost his easy-going attitude and grabbed the woman's wrist.

The woman was so angry that she burst into tears. "Please calm down, my dear guest. I know that the lyrics are a bit presumptuous, but this song is not only sung by me, but also sung by the whole city of Nanjing!"

"The whole city of Nanjing is singing the song? Such a big thing happened under my jurisdiction, and I just found out about it?" Mr. Liu's expression became ferocious and angry.

"Sir, please calm down. Sir, please calm down. It is not appropriate to reveal your identity here." The young man whispered in Mr. Liu's ear.

Mr. Liu thought for a moment and let go of the woman's wrist. The woman fell to the ground, rubbing her wrist which was hurt.

"Sing! Sing to me all those songs from Huguang that you just mentioned."

"Eunuch Liu, there is some result in the investigation of Huguang Quzi that you asked me to investigate." The young man from yesterday had changed into eunuch's clothes and respectfully handed over a stack of papers.

Yesterday, Mr. Liu also changed into eunuch's attire. People familiar with Nanjing's officialdom could recognize him at a glance. He was Liu Bo, the eunuch garrisoning Nanjing.

He had a private hobby, which was to go to brothels in disguise to listen to music when he had nothing to do, which led to what happened yesterday.

He no longer had the anger he had yesterday. He took the paper handed to him by the young eunuch and began to read it.

"Done by King Jing? Is this true? I remember King Jing was only fifteen years old?" Liu Bo said in shock.

"I don't think anyone would dare to impersonate someone like this."

"No wonder so many people dare to sing such presumptuous words, it turns out to be the King of Jing"

Liu Bo continued to flip through the papers, and he read the last page several times.

"Is the new play written by Prince Jing really that good? I remember that a few months ago a troupe of the Zheng family rehearsed "Journey to the West: The Women's Kingdom", but that wasn't very good!" "I have interviewed many people who have watched the new play, and they all praised it highly." The young eunuch said carefully.

Liu Bo put down the paper, his expression much more relaxed than before.

"In addition, I also heard that Mrs. Chen has been in Qizhou for more than a month because she was obsessed with the new play."

"Mrs. Chen? The one from the Chen family in Fujian?"

“Exactly.”

"You can't get enough of watching a new play after more than a month? Mrs. Chen is a well-informed person, how could this be?" A hint of surprise appeared on Liu Bo's face.

"Then I don't know."

The room fell into silence again.

After a long while, Liu Bo slowly spoke: "Liu Zhou, put down your work immediately and go to Qizhou to listen to the new play."

"Yes, sir!" Liu Zhou was about to leave after receiving the order, but he stopped after taking a step and couldn't help asking, "Eunuch, why do you attach so much importance to this new play in Qizhou?"

Liu Bo glanced at him and said, "When did you become so talkative? Is this something you should ask?"

"I deserve to die. I'm leaving now!" Liu Zhou showed panic on his face and knelt down suddenly.

"Forget it. Considering that you are usually quite loyal, it's okay to tell you. It will also help you to improve." Liu Bo stopped Liu Zhou.

"Thank you, eunuch. Thank you, eunuch!" Liu Zhou kowtowed quickly.

"Do you know Eunuch Liu Jin?" Liu Bo said slowly.

"Of course, everyone has heard of Eunuch Liu's name."

"Then do you know how Eunuch Liu became such a popular figure in front of the Emperor?"

"I don't know about such secrets of the inner court. But I believe that Eunuch Liu is smart, capable, and loyal to his work."

"Humph! How can this be considered a secret of the inner court? There are at least eight hundred people in the inner court who can be called smart, capable and loyal." Liu Bo said contemptuously.

"Then I don't know. Please let me know."

"Liu Jin is definitely a man of some ability, but to gain the emperor's favor, he needs a chance to show off in front of the emperor!"

"Then do you know which government office Liu Jin was in charge of when he became a favorite of the emperor?" Liu Bo looked at Liu Zhou with sharp eyes.

"It seems to be the Bell and Drum Bureau?" Liu Zhou said uncertainly.

"Yes! It is the Bell and Drum Department. Have you ever thought that there are 24 government offices in the inner court, 12 above and 8 below, and the Bell and Drum Department is not even ranked among them. Why can Eunuch Liu stand out from them?"

Liu Zhou didn't say anything, but listened attentively.

"That's because I have many opportunities to interact with the Emperor in the Bell and Drum Department! I have many opportunities to show off my abilities."

"How come there are so many opportunities to contact the emperor in the Bell and Drum Bureau?" Liu Zhou couldn't help but ask.

"You still don't understand! The primary responsibility of the Bell and Drum Department is to beat the bells and drums during the imperial court. In addition, the Bell and Drum Department is also responsible for music and dance, acting, and juggling in the palace."

"The Emperor loves music and drama!"

The story of Zhengde and Liu Jin was not made up, it is the historical fact.

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(End of this chapter)