Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 283 The Prince's Conflict

The new bride, Zhang Xianshi, sat in front of a newly made glass and silver mirror dressing table, wearing a rosin-colored robe. She held a filigree gold hairpin in her hand and inserted it into her newly-tied bun. Then she re-applied her lipstick and drew her eyebrows before turning around and looking at Emperor Zhu Houzhao.

Although they had already had sexual intercourse with each other, Concubine Zhang did not dare to speak to Zhu Houzhao. It was her first time to come to the palace, the first time to be possessed by a man, and the first time to know what the emperor looked like.

However, she knew that the reason she was chosen to enter the palace was not only because she was as beautiful as a fairy, but more importantly because she had natural feet. It was because His Majesty the Emperor wanted to advocate the liberation of women's feet and eliminate the bad habit of foot binding that he selected her into the palace and made her a concubine.

Concubine Zhang had seen the pain her cousin suffered when her feet were bound. Although her cousin was not bound because of her parents' doting and her own resistance, she also knew that foot binding was definitely something that would cause women to suffer.

Therefore, she did not feel the slightest bit uncomfortable with the fact that the emperor took her in for the reason of advocating the liberation of women's feet. She felt that the emperor before her was a good emperor, a good emperor who was willing to eradicate bad habits and save thousands of girls from the pain of foot binding.

As for the things about love mentioned in some legendary scripts that have emerged recently, Zhang Xuanshi did not think about it, nor did she dare to hope that the emperor would like her or fall in love with her.

Moreover, she also knew that according to her teacher, it was not a good thing for a woman to let her husband become obsessed with her, but she was interested in understanding the emperor in front of her, especially after she was deflowered by the emperor last night.

When Zhu Houzhao saw that Zhang Xuanshi was looking at him, he just smiled slightly and said nothing more. He was used to the scene of silence after the passion. Almost every young girl would remain silent like Zhang Xuanshi after being taken away by him, as if they were still strangers to each other.

"gone!"

After Zhu Houzhao changed his clothes and washed up, he left Zhang Xuanshi's place.

As an emperor, the residences of these concubines were not his real home, nor were they his offices. They were just places for him to temporarily sow his genes.

He has both feelings and no feelings for these concubines. If he has feelings, it means that once he visits a concubine's residence, they will love and be romantic with each other like real couples. If he has no feelings, it means that he can change the object of his affection at any time.

Zhu Houzhao tried his best not to favor one person, as he knew that what is worrying is the lack of wealth and the inequality of wealth.

As an emperor, he can favor one person exclusively, but once he favors one person exclusively, that person will be envied by other concubines.

In addition, every concubine would try her best to become the favorite one, even resorting to unscrupulous means, which would lead to disharmony in her harem.

Because of this, Zhu Houzhao could only turn himself into a stud and make sleeping with women a political task. He arranged the shifts and did not favor one over the other, so that everyone had the opportunity to have children.

Of course, people are different after all. Zhu Houzhao discovered that his concubines had different personalities. After communicating with them physically and soulfully for a long time, he found that some were quiet and some were lively, some had strong possessiveness and desire for control, some were cold and some were hot, some only knew how to spread their legs on the bed and some were proactive and bold.

What Zhu Houzhao cares about most now is Queen Xia Xiang'er. Sometimes when he meets many women, the first one he meets will undoubtedly become the most cherished one. Otherwise, no one in later generations will often miss their first love.

Of course, Xia Xiang'er has been with him the longest, so they have a stronger sense of family affection and understand each other best.

When Zhu Houzhao came to the Queen, the eldest prince Zhu Zaile was riding the bicycle which was popular recently.

This epoch-making technological product, which embodies the latest mechanical manufacturing technology of the Ming Dynasty, was loved by the playboys in the capital as soon as it came out. They all liked to ride this means of transportation that subverted traditional modes of transportation in the yard or on the street.

"Zhang Daban, don't let go!"

Eunuch Zhang Zhong followed behind Zhu Zailei, holding onto the back seat tightly, and ran with difficulty, while forcing a smile and agreeing.

But in the end, because Zhang Zhong failed to catch up and Zhu Zailei pedaled too fast, Zhang Zhong fell to the ground. Zhu Zailei was also not skilled in the technique. When he saw that he was about to hit the palace wall, he braked too quickly and fell directly to the ground. Before falling, he shouted loudly: "Zhang Daban! Zhang Daban!"

Zhang Zhong hurried over and as soon as he helped Zhu Zailei up, he was kicked by Zhu Zailei: "You bastard, I told you to hold on, where have you been? You made me fall and hurt my butt!"

Zhang Zhong could only quickly apologize.

Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but ask Liu Jin behind him: "When I was young, who was more naughty, me or the eldest prince?"

Liu Jin, who was already in his seventies, didn't dare to answer directly. He thought that if he said that His Majesty was more naughty, it might anger the Majesty. But if he said that the eldest son was more naughty, it would also make the emperor unhappy. After all, no one would tolerate others saying bad things about their own son.

For a moment, Liu Jin could only answer by recalling: "Your Majesty used to love riding horses. At that time, I just followed behind. As for whether he was naughty or not, the eunuchs could not tell. The imperial script is also one of the six arts."

"You are still so careful. This brat is obviously much more naughty than me. At least I didn't kick you just because I fell!"

Zhu Houzhao said.

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty has always been the most compassionate to the eunuchs," Liu Jin said, and couldn't help but touch his waist, the same waist that Zhu Houzhao had kicked when he was young and angry.

Zhu Houzhao then said, "This Zhang Zhong is now the eunuch of the Imperial Horse Administration, but he is willing to be scolded by Zhu Zailei, a stinky boy!"

Liu Jin smiled awkwardly. He couldn't tell him directly that he had arranged for Zhang Zhong to serve the eldest prince so that he could take over his position as the head of the Imperial Household Department in the future. He only replied, "The eldest prince is his master. Even if he is a eunuch in the Imperial Stables, he is still a family slave. It is his blessing to serve the eldest prince, and he is naturally willing to do so."

Zhu Houzhao didn't say anything else. Although he had repeatedly prohibited the Ming people from becoming slaves, he also knew that it was impossible for domestic slaves to disappear all of a sudden.

Even his royal family could not give up the practice of keeping slaves all at once.

Although on the surface these eunuchs and Jinyiwei, who were household slaves, would become internal officials, even Zhu Houzhao himself regarded them as officials of the inner court system, that is, officials serving his own royal family.

But in fact, these eunuchs always felt that they were the emperor's slaves and even took pride in it.

Once a person regards himself as a slave, even if Zhu Houzhao is the emperor, he will not be able to save him.

The lack of enlightenment among the people exists not only among the common people and in the court, but also in the inner court.

Zhu Houzhao came over. When the eldest son Zhu Zailei saw Zhu Houzhao, he hurriedly stood still and saluted: "Your son greets you, father!"

"Zhang Zhong is considered an old man in the palace, and you dare to kick him casually. Do you really think that just because you are a prince and have a noble birth, you are different from others and can abuse and enslave others at will? If you have no progress, you have read books in vain!"

Zhu Houzhao did not know how to educate his children because he had no children in his previous life. As an only child, he did not even have brothers or sisters to take care of. After coming to the Ming Dynasty, although he had quite a few children, they did not need him to take care of them personally, and he did not have them to live with every day, so he actually did not know how to educate his children.

He instinctively educated his children as if they were his subjects, and was even stricter with them because he knew that his children would inherit everything from him.

After all, if an official commits a crime, he can still be ruthless and execute him directly.

But if it was his own son who committed the crime, he couldn't guarantee that he would be able to sacrifice his own son for the sake of justice. Even though he and his child did not have a deep relationship, they were still blood relatives.

"Your Majesty, calm down. His Highness did not scold the eunuch. His Highness was just joking with the eunuch. It was just a joke."

Although Zhu Houzhao taught Zhu Zaile a lesson because Zhang Zhong was beaten by Zhu Zaile, Zhang Zhong did not feel happy or relieved that Emperor Zhu Houzhao helped him vent his anger. Instead, he felt fear and panic. He was really afraid that the Emperor would be angry with the eldest son because of this matter, which would affect the eldest son's succession to the throne.

This is what Zhang Zhong fears the most now. In his opinion, it doesn't matter if the eldest prince breaks one of his legs, as long as the emperor does not vent his anger on the eldest prince because of his broken leg.

Because the eldest prince was his biggest political investment, and Zhang Zhong already felt that he was a lowly person, and he was so lowly that he didn't deserve to let others feel sorry for him because he was beaten.

The eldest prince Zhu Zailei did not say anything. He knew that Zhu Houzhao was his father and king, and no matter how he scolded him, it was right.

But what he couldn't understand was why his father would scold him because of a eunuch, and what he should do to be right.

In Zhu Zaile's view, he did not enslave or abuse Zhang Zhong. He just kicked him to vent his anger. After all, he was his royal slave. What's more, even Zhang Zhong himself said that he was just joking.

Moreover, Zhu Zailei still remembered that he had beaten Zhang Zhong in a fit of anger before, and then felt guilty and expressed his apology, but Zhang Zhong reacted so violently that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, begging him not to apologize. He also said that as his slave, it would be an honor for him whether he, the eldest prince, killed him or beat him.

And as his master, I absolutely cannot express my apology.

This also made him understand that there was no need to treat eunuchs as human beings, and they themselves did not consider themselves human beings. As a royal relative, it would be wrong for him to apologize, because he was the master and he was right no matter what.

But now, after Emperor Zhu Houzhao's reprimand, Zhu Zaile became conflicted.

Zhu Houzhao didn't know the doubts in Zhu Zailei's heart. In his values, no matter who it is, as long as they are human beings, they need to be respected, as long as they are not so-called bad people. He only knows that when Zhu Zailei's behavior is contrary to his values, he needs to reprimand and correct him as a father. Of course, Zhu Houzhao has instinctively believed that his values ​​are the correct values, and he also instinctively used his father's ethical status to forcibly interfere with the formation of Zhu Zailei's values.

Zhu Houzhao did not ask Zhu Zailei what he thought, nor did he realize that he needed to communicate more with Zhu Zailei, because he felt that what he said was right, and telling Zhu Zailei was enough.

Although Zhang Zhong was eager to exonerate Zhu Zailei, Zhu Houzhao had no heart to listen and walked towards the queen.

After Zhu Houzhao left, Zhang Zhong was still kneeling on the ground trembling, thinking frantically about how to help the eldest prince restore his image in front of Emperor Zhu Houzhao.

On the contrary, Zhu Zailei himself was not as worried as Zhang Zhong. He just looked at Zhang Zhong with some disdain and said, "Father has left. Get up!"

Zhang Zhong stood up, apparently having forgotten the pain of being kicked by Zhu Zailei, and only advised Zhu Zailei: "My Lord! You'd better admit your mistake to His Majesty just now. Why are you suddenly silent?"

"According to you, my father was right to reprimand me? So, I have to admit my mistake to him?"

Seeing that Zhang Zhong also came to teach him a lesson, Zhu Zailei did not get angry but laughed instead.

"That's not what I meant. Your Majesty is the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Whatever he said is right. You are both his subject and his son. You must admit your mistakes no matter what!"

Zhang Zhong said earnestly.

"Really? According to what my father meant, I shouldn't kick you, nor should I be so disrespectful to you. In this case, do I need to apologize to you and make amends?"

Zhu Zailei asked.

"My lord, that's not the way to say it. You are a prince, how can you apologize to me? Even if you beat me to death, it would be a blessing for me. But it's different for Your Majesty," Zhang Zhong continued to advise earnestly. He didn't know why the eldest prince could never understand this aspect and had to distinguish right from wrong.

"That's enough! Father said that I shouldn't kick you and humiliate you, but you said that it's your blessing if I beat and kill you. Which one of you is right? I don't understand!"

Zhu Zailei waved his sleeves and left very depressed, leaving Zhang Zhong alone standing there. He wanted to say that the emperor was right and he was also right, but he found that the eldest prince he was loyal to would not seem to be satisfied with his answer.

Queen Xia watched her son Zhu Zaile walk away angrily, and for a moment she could only shake her head. She knew what her son was upset about.

Since she has been the queen for a long time, she is now more and more aware that as a superior, she should have a clear conscience to enslave the people below, because the people below hope that you will feel at ease to treat them as your slaves. If you are not at ease, the people below will also feel uneasy and will worry whether you do not treat them as your own people.

As emperors and princes, they should feel at ease enslaving their own slaves. After all, they are the real masters of the empire, especially the emperor.

But now the reason why his son Zhu Zailei was irritable and confused was because he had a father who was an emperor with weird ideas, a father who did not regard himself as an emperor but was the emperor anyway.

In Queen Xia's view, it was the man in front of her who caused all this. She couldn't help but pout her lips, her face full of anger.

But the moment this man hugged her, she could not complain at all, and even felt relieved. She understood that if this man was not different from others and did not trample on the dignity of others just because he was the emperor, she, the queen, would not be able to live such an easy and comfortable life in this deep palace.

After all, under the rule of an emperor who values ​​equality and does not treat others as his slaves, one can laugh, scold, and cry as he pleases without worrying about breaking the rules or saying the wrong thing.

Queen Xia admitted that she preferred to be alone with Emperor Zhu Houzhao rather than with Empress Dowager Zhang or other concubines.

Although Empress Dowager Zhang was very kind and the other concubines respected her very much, she knew that she had to follow the rules and be careful in front of Empress Dowager Zhang, and she had to set rules and act in a polite manner in front of other concubines.

"Your Majesty! Pay attention to your image!"

Empress Xia pushed Zhu Houzhao away and went to the inner room. After a while, she changed into a phoenix robe and appeared in front of Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, did you scold Lei'er again just now?"

"Well, this kid is now showing off. Zhang Zhong is already over fifty years old, but he kicked and scolded him. What's even more ridiculous is that Zhang Zhong even made excuses for him. This guy is really willing to risk everything to become the head of the Imperial Household Department in the future! He doesn't even care about his own dignity!"

Zhu Houzhao was about to take the mung bean cake from the agate plate, but Empress Xia pushed him back: "Your Majesty, wash your hands before eating!"

Zhu Houzhao understood what she meant and saw a female official coming over with a basin of water, so he quickly washed his hands.

Now Zhu Houzhao has also learned the basic rules of being a superior emperor. For example, when this female official whom he knew brought him water, he could not strike up a conversation with her as if she were a friend, because that would cause a lot of trouble.

Zhu Houzhao still remembered that one summer in the Cining Palace, a female official he knew made tea for him, but he just asked, "Aren't you hot? You're wearing so many clothes." As a result, the female official was scolded by the empress dowager. The reason was that the female official must be too charming to attract the emperor, so she started to chat with her. As a result, the female official was sent to the laundry department.

The emperor himself only found out about this matter after he discovered that the female official was not in the Cining Palace. In the end, he was forced to admit that he did have a crush on this female official, and then he took her into his room to prevent her from ending up living a miserable life because of his unintentional conversation.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao no longer dared to chat with people of lower status than himself. The more approachable he was, the easier it was to hurt others. So he no longer chatted with female officials casually.

Zhu Houzhao discovered that as an emperor he could just go for whoever he liked, and ignore whoever he didn't like.

Now he is learning to do the same and integrate into this era.

The Ming Dynasty was influencing Zhu Houzhao, and Zhu Houzhao was also influencing the people of this era. When Empress Xia saw that Zhu Houzhao looked at the female official Yunxiang a few more times and seemed to want to strike up a conversation but stopped, she couldn't help laughing.

As she had been sleeping in the same bed and whispering in the same ear since she was fourteen years old, she naturally knew what Zhu Houzhao was thinking, and she did not feel jealous because of it. She knew that the emperor wanted to chat with Yunxiang, but he didn't dare to. That's why she couldn't help but laugh.

However, although Empress Xia knew that Zhu Houzhao had no intention of accepting anyone he saw, she still couldn't help but joked: "Your Majesty, if you like it, why don't you accept Yunxiang?"

Zhu Houzhao rolled his eyes at Empress Xia and said, "Why are you bringing up such a topic? You know very well that I only have you in my heart!"

As Zhu Houzhao spoke, he glanced at Empress Xia.

Although Empress Xia knew that the emperor's words were not to be believed, she felt very happy after hearing them. She smiled brightly for a moment and said, "May I ask, Your Majesty, how was the service of Concubine Zhang last night?"

"Not telling you".

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said.

"If you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me!"

When Empress Xia was alone with Emperor Zhu Houzhao, she was also able to let go. She bit her red lips lightly, and became charming and angry.

Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao did not blame his queen for being ignorant of etiquette and speaking in a wanton manner. For a moment, he could not help but pat his knees:
"I now feel that being a dissolute and incompetent ruler is actually meaningless. I have deflowered many beautiful women, but now I think that they were just temporary pleasures. I am actually a little tired of it. It is better to be a wise ruler, expand the territory, and accept the worship of the people. This is the joy of life!"

"Your Majesty, you have just tasted the taste of virginity, and you are acting like a saint. After three or five days, your true colors will be exposed, and you will anxiously hug me and tear my phoenix robe!"

Queen Xia said with a smile.

In any case, she was very glad that she had an emperor husband with whom she could laugh and talk so easily while living in the deep palace. At one moment, she thought of what her emperor husband had just said about Zhang Zhong's excuse for the eldest son Zhu Zailei because he wanted to become the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department in the future. She knew that Zhu Houzhao wanted to make her son Zhu Zailei the crown prince.

Suddenly, as Zhu Zailei's mother, she was naturally even happier, and she couldn't help but come over, hugged Zhu Houzhao's neck from behind, put her warm cheek against Zhu Houzhao's face, and used the tone of her childhood:

"Brother Emperor, please stay here with Xiang'er tonight. Xiang'er will give you yogurt!"

Zhu Houzhao really couldn't stand the fact that the queen, who was already a mature woman, would suddenly act coquettishly. For a moment, he felt that his whole heart was melted. He didn't even have the slightest thought of refusing. He just patted Queen Xia's face and said, "Okay!"

Empress Xia had nothing to be ashamed of in front of Zhu Houzhao. Instead, she smiled and said, "Haha! Xiang'er obeys your command! Just now, you said that Zhang Zhong is close to Lei'er because he wants to be the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department in the future. I don't think he will necessarily become the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department in his lifetime, because my brother the emperor will live a long life and will accompany Xiang'er until old age!"

Queen Xia's unintentional love words made Zhu Houzhao realize that how long he, the emperor, could live would also affect the future of his subordinates. If he lived longer, it didn't seem to be a good thing for many of them.

For a moment, Zhu Houzhao felt a little heavy.

Thanks to the book friend Super Blood Scholar for giving 100 starting coins. This chapter is more life-oriented, I hope it can suit the taste of all the guests.
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(End of this chapter)