Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 50 Market Opening

Time flies, and it’s the end of the month in a blink of an eye.

A heavy snow fell last night, turning the city of Beijing into a world of ice and snow.

The chilly wind was roaming the deserted streets, freezing the old Beijingers so much that they were unwilling to get out of bed even though they had to hold their hot urine.

Early that morning, Zhang Yunxiu left his warm bed, put on his clothes, and headed straight for the Forbidden City.

The emperor did business in the Forbidden City. It is difficult to find him even if you look through all the history books, let alone the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

When the news came out, the saliva almost drowned Zhang Yunxiu and the emperor.

Fortunately, Empress Dowager Li made the final decision in the end. Besides, this matter belonged to the inner palace, and officials from outside had no right to interfere.

Therefore, Emperor Wanli found three long corridors in the palace, set up shops in the same style as those outside, and sold goods.

Today was the opening day, so Zhang Yunxiu had to go to the palace to see him.

In less than half an hour, Zhang Yunxiu came to the east warm pavilion. When the emperor saw the visitor, he immediately became excited.

He walked up to Zhang Yunxiu and asked excitedly, "Zhang Yunxiu, how much silver do you think I can earn in a day?"

Zhang Yunxiu thought for a moment and replied calmly, "I don't know, but there are tens of thousands of eunuchs in this palace, and this is the only place that has things to sell, so I should be able to make a lot of money."

"Okay, okay, I usually give them money as a reward, but today I want to earn it all back." Emperor Wanli was extremely excited. He waved his hands and walked back and forth in the room twice, and then said, "I don't have to worry about money in the future."

"The world belongs to the emperor, so there is no need to worry about money."

"Oh, if only everyone thought this way." Emperor Wanli sighed and was about to continue complaining when he looked at the respectful Zhang Yunzheng and suddenly heard someone walk in.

Upon closer inspection, it was Wanhe, the eunuch in charge of the Cining Palace.

Wan He bowed with a smile and asked, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is ready. She sent me to ask you when we can start."

"Tell my mother I'll be there soon."

The scene changed, and a large group of people surrounded the emperor and the two queen dowagers and came to the market.

Looking from here, the market was crowded with people, and a dazzling array of goods spread from one end of the street to the other. The sounds of shouting, yelling, and bargaining were endless.

The snow had stopped by then, and the snow from last night was hanging on the roofs, looking even whiter against the colorful flowers in the streets.

Feng Bao, who was at the back, saw the chaos and was a little confused, so he stepped forward and suggested to Empress Dowager Li and others: "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, there are too many people here. How about I send someone to disperse them first, and then let them come back after you have finished playing."

"My dear friend, you don't understand. Going to the market is fun only when there are many people." Emperor Wanli smiled at him and waved his hand to refuse, "If there are fewer people, it will be deserted. What will it look like?"

"Oh, Jun'er, have you been to the market?" Empress Dowager Chen smiled brightly.

Emperor Wanli didn't dare to say anything, so he spoke vaguely and then turned his gaze to his biological mother.

Queen Mother Li noticed her son's gaze, smiled slightly, nodded and said, "That's right. Without these palace maids, it would be less fun."

As she spoke, Empress Dowager Li led the emperor into the street.

The Emperor and the Empress Dowager walked in front, Feng Bao followed two steps behind, Zhang Yunxiu and Wei Qing lowered their heads and kept some distance from Feng Bao.

"Eunuch Wei, it's been a long time since we last met. You look much better." While the emperor was strolling around, Zhang Yunxiu glanced at Wei Qing and chatted with him with a smile.

"I've been practicing the Five Animal Exercises recently, and I feel much more relaxed." Wei Qing flexed his hands and replied in a shrill voice.

"The Five Animal Exercises are useful, but I think you are just feeling happy because of something good."

"Your great event, Master Zhang, is not small."

Wei Qing smiled and replied. Zhang Yunxiu chuckled, raised his eyebrows, looked at Wei Qing and said, "We are celebrating together, and it is a double happiness."

Then, without waiting for Wei Qing to answer, Zhang Yunxiu asked in a low voice: "I heard that Eunuch Wei has a nephew who is a trial centurion in the Jinyiwei?"

"It's better not to mention this good-for-nothing kid." Wei Qing didn't know why Zhang Yunxiu mentioned him. His eyes rolled and he became alert.

"Given your current status and position, Eunuch Wei, it would be a waste of his talent for him to be a trial centurion."

As soon as these words came out, Wei Qing's eyes lit up and his breathing became faster.

The two looked at each other, a smile appeared on Wei Qing's fair face, and he nodded without saying anything else.

In front, Emperor Wanli was walking around, asking questions here and looking around there. Suddenly, he saw Zhang Yunxiu and Wei Qing whispering to each other, so he stamped his feet and said angrily, "What are you two whispering about?"

The two were startled and hurriedly lowered their heads and walked to the front. At this time, Empress Dowager Li turned her eyes and looked at Zhang Yunxiu carefully.

He had a tall and straight figure, a high nose bridge, eyebrows as sharp as swords, and was wearing a green Taoist robe, which gave him the charm of a romantic and talented man.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Queen Mother." Zhang Yunxiu bowed in a flustered manner.

Empress Dowager Li waved her hand, signaling him to excuse himself, and then teased the emperor, "Emperor, look at how scared Zhang Sicheng is by you. Is this how you scare him normally?"

"Mother, this kid is very cunning. I can't scare him at all." Wanli replied with a smile.

"Thief?" Empress Dowager Li frowned and looked at Zhang Yunxiu again.

Zhang Yunxiu was so nervous that his palms were sweating. He could still treat the emperor as a friend, but towards the empress dowager, he was filled with only fear and admiration.

She was able to defeat Meng Chong and Gao Gong, which shows her political skills.

Feng Bao, who was standing by, came to the rescue and said, "Queen Mother, it's almost time for dinner. There's a restaurant up ahead. Let's go there and take a rest."

"Okay." Empress Dowager Li nodded, turned her head to look at Empress Dowager Chen, and asked with a smile, "We are used to the palace cuisine. Today we will try the cooking outside. Sister, what do you think?"

"That depends on Jun'er." Empress Dowager Chen handed the decision to the emperor.

Emperor Wanli smiled, patted his chest and replied: "Don't worry, my two mothers. I tasted the delicacies outside the palace yesterday and felt that they were not much worse than those in the palace."

After that, the group walked into a restaurant.

The eunuch waiter in the store came up immediately and said flatteringly, "Your Majesty, just tell me what you want to eat."

"Let's have the fried chicken tongue, stewed crucian carp with radish, and... Jinhua ham and steamed duck liver." Emperor Wanli listed five or six dishes in one breath.

Empress Dowager Li and Empress Dowager Chen took it and ordered two more dishes, and that was it.

After a while, a table of dishes was served.

Empress Dowager Li pointed to a plate of thumb-sized things and asked, "Is this fried chicken tongue?"

"That's right." The young eunuch said proudly, "A chicken has only one tongue, and the meat on it is the most tender. Just for this dish, nearly a hundred chickens must be consumed."

"This is such a waste."

Empress Dowager Li frowned and asked, "How much is a chicken outside now?"

The young eunuch looked embarrassed.

Outside, chickens cost ten for one tael of silver, but the purchasing inside the palace was severely exploited, and the reported price to outsiders was only one tael of silver per chicken.

The young eunuch didn't dare to point it out and could only look at Feng Bao pitifully.

Feng Bao did not dare to hide it. He rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "You can buy more than ten ordinary chickens with one tael of silver. But the chickens we usually buy are of high quality, so the price is naturally higher."

"Zhang Sicheng should know this best."

Why are you pulling me?
Zhang Yunxiu was startled by the sudden attack, but he had to answer the question that was on his lips.

Thinking that the Manchu emperor would eat less eggs and buy warships, one tael of silver for a chicken was not too much, he replied: "It is indeed as Eunuch Feng said, the price of chickens does fluctuate greatly."

"This plate alone must cost over a hundred taels of silver, right?" Empress Dowager Li was surprised.

If people eat like this, no matter how much money the imperial court has, it will not be enough.

"Mother, we don't eat it every day." Emperor Wanli picked up a mouthful, swallowed it, and complained, "I only spend thirty taels of silver for a meal. I heard that wealthy businessmen outside spend thousands of gold in one night just to make a beautiful woman smile."

"I am the emperor, but I am not as good as a few businessmen."

After hearing this, Empress Dowager Li narrowed her eyes and scolded, "Thirty taels for one meal, that's one hundred taels a day. Emperor, do you know how many families of three can live on one hundred taels for a year?"

Emperor Wanli realized that he had said the wrong thing and quickly stood up to learn from him.

Queen Mother Chen on the side laughed and said, "Oh, I'm so happy today. It's just a hundred taels of silver. Just spend it. You can earn money again after spending it, right, Jun'er?"

Emperor Wanli nodded and looked timidly at his biological mother.

Empress Dowager Li also felt that she had lost her composure and asked the emperor to sit down and eat.

After lunch, the two Empress Dowagers returned to their respective palaces. The Emperor heaved a long sigh and pointed at the eunuch and cursed, "You bastard, this chicken tongue is so expensive, who told you to bring it up?"

(End of this chapter)