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

Chapter 78 Excited Concubine Liu

Everyone in the hall looked at Zhu Houxun in surprise. You know, this was 5 acres of fertile land, and yet he just refused.

"May I ask why Your Highness Prince Jing refused the imperial edict?" Zhang Yong suppressed his surprise and asked solemnly.

"I am afraid that if I accept the reward from Your Majesty, once this precedent is set, many people will follow suit, which will be detrimental to the country." Zhu Houxuan also said solemnly.

Zhu Houxuan's words were a little vague, but Zhang Yong could understand what he meant.

Zhu Houxuan meant that he was rewarded handsomely for presenting valuable gifts, and once this precedent was set, other royal palaces would follow suit, which would be detrimental to the country.

Zhang Yong couldn't help but look at Zhu Houxuan with higher regard. He could actually think so much at this age.

"The treasure presented by Your Highness is unparalleled in the world and cannot be easily imitated. Please accept the imperial edict with confidence and do not let His Majesty down." Zhang Yong made it clear with a smile and handed the imperial edict and the wooden box closer.

Zhu Houxuan's eyes swept over the wooden box and the imperial edict, without a trace of nostalgia or greed in his eyes. He looked directly into Zhang Yong's eyes and said, "Although the fertile land is good, I am not offering the sword to Your Majesty for these things. I have already told Your Majesty what I want."

"Is this true? Why didn't Your Majesty mention it to us?" Zhang Yong asked in surprise.

"What the king requested has already been stated in the previous memorial."

"In the memorial?" Zhang Yong's brain started to work quickly.

Zhang Yong then burst into laughter: "So that's the case! I wish this sword would be filled with the blood of the barbarians!"

"Your Highness is so kind, please accept my greetings." Zhang Yong bowed to Zhu Houxuan solemnly, "This matter will surely be a good story if it gets out. Your Majesty will certainly be very happy to hear about it. In this case, I will accept your Highness's request and withdraw your order on your behalf."

Zhang Yong only felt that the young man in front of him gradually became similar to the spirited young man in his previous impression.

Zhu Houxuan was indeed not very interested in these fertile fields. He was more concerned about how to maintain his own image.

If a person's character is not maintained from time to time, it will soon collapse.

Just when Zhu Houxuan was about to invite everyone to the banquet again, Zhang Yong took out another imperial edict as if by magic. This was the imperial edict summoning Zhu Houxuan to Beijing.

In fact, when Zhu Houzhao proposed to issue an edict to summon Prince of Jing to the capital, the cabinet ministers all expressed their opposition, but they were all rejected by Zhu Houzhao, because the emperors of all dynasties prohibited the princes from coming to the capital to pay homage to the emperor, and there was no restriction on the emperor summoning the princes, it was just that the emperors of all dynasties rarely used this right.

Therefore, the cabinet ministers could not find any reason based on the ancestral system to oppose this matter.

Just after Zhang Yongxuan finished reading the imperial edict summoning Zhu Houxuan to the capital, the entire hall fell into silence.

It has been so long since the Ming Dynasty's princes were summoned to the capital for an audience with the emperor that people could hardly remember when was the last time a prince was summoned to the capital for an audience with the emperor.

Zhu Houxuan took the imperial edict with a bewildered look on his face. He felt like he had taken a step too big and ended up hurting his balls.

According to his plan, he had to flirt with his cousin the emperor for a few more years before Zhu Houzhao would make up his mind to summon him to Beijing.

As a result, just after he flirted with her for a while, because he flirted too much, Zhu Houzhao actually summoned him to Beijing for a meeting.

This really caught him off guard.

Just when Zhu Houxuan's mind was in a mess, he heard a cry. He looked up and found that Concubine Liu was crying.

Zhu Houxuan hurriedly walked to Concubine Liu and asked softly, "Mother, what's wrong with you? Why are you crying suddenly?"

"Xun'er, I'm happy! I'm so happy!" Concubine Liu held Zhu Houxun's hand tightly.

"It's been more than seventy years! It's been more than seventy years! Since the Jing vassal moved to Qizhou, no one has ever set foot outside of Qizhou."

"Prince Xian (the first Prince of Jing Zhu Zhanji, posthumously named Xian) regretted not being able to pay homage to Emperor Renzong and Concubine Zhang Shun (Zhu Zhanji's biological mother) when he was dying. Many princes of Jing in previous generations also regretted this. Now my son is going to the capital. When you get there, you must go to pay homage to them and kowtow to them on behalf of your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. You must go!" Concubine Liu cried inconsolably.

Concubine Liu's words made everyone around her look gloomy. This was the vassal ban of the Ming Dynasty. In real history, a branch of the Jing vassal state had been thriving in Qizhou for more than 200 years and no one could step out of Qizhou until the end of the Ming Dynasty when Zhang Xianzhong came and conquered Qizhou, looted everything, and finally burned down the Jing Palace. Only then did the story of the Jing vassal state come to an end.

Although Zhu Houxuan did not feel the same way, he also understood Concubine Liu's feelings and comforted her gently: "Don't worry, mother. When I arrive in the capital, I will submit a petition to request to visit the mausoleum. I will make up for the regrets of our ancestors one by one."

"Please accept my condolences, Your Majesty. Last year, I was ordered to pay homage to the imperial mausoleum, and I saw the tablet of Concubine Zhang Shun. People often go to pay homage to Concubine Zhang Shun's tomb, and someone sweeps it every day. Please rest assured, Your Majesty." Zhang Yong also came forward to comfort her.

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Eunuch Zhang." Concubine Liu said after wiping her tears.

"Why does the Concubine say that? The pure filial piety of the Concubine and His Royal Highness the Prince of Jing is admirable." Zhang Yong said hurriedly.

Concubine Liu calmed down, then seemed to think of something and grabbed Zhu Houxuan.

"Xun'er, let's go! Let's go to the ancestral temple and tell our ancestors this good news. Let them also see the imperial edict from His Majesty summoning you to the capital!" Concubine Liu became excited again.

Zhu Houxuan had no choice but to be dragged away by Concubine Liu, who stopped after taking two steps.

"Send someone to call all the relatives from the Jing clan, and let's go to the ancestral temple to worship together!" Concubine Liu said excitedly.

Zhu Houxuan couldn't say no, so he sent people to call all his clan members. The Jing branch was not large in number, so they were quickly gathered together.

After hearing this, the clan members were very excited and went to the ancestral temple together to inform their ancestors.

After the worship, the imperial edict was spread out on the altar for all ancestors to see.

From Zhu Houxuan's perspective, his being summoned to the capital was indeed a huge event for the Jing clan, and his relatives also took the opportunity to vent their frustration of being trapped in Qizhou City.

It took Zhu Houxuan half a day to finish this matter and sent Concubine Liu back to Changchun Palace.

At this time, Zhang Yong came to him alone and told Zhu Houxuan the whole story of how Emperor Zhengde summoned him to Beijing.

"Empress Dowager Zhang also instructed us to let Your Highness take care of Miss Qin Yuelan," said Zhang Yong.

Zhu Houxuan was a little overwhelmed after hearing this. His casual move at the beginning actually played such a big role. Now Empress Dowager Zhang, who was far away in the capital, even knew who Qin Yuelan was.

The most important thing is that he didn't really write much about "The Legend of White Snake".

(End of this chapter)