Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 28 The Impossible

When Li Zhong arrived at the Palace of Tranquil Longevity again, he had already made up his mind.

He clasped his fists and said to Emperor Hongzhi: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory has not found any signs of the earth dragon turning over."

Zhu Houzhao became anxious and pointed at Li Zhong and said, "Nonsense!"

"Do you guys at the Imperial Observatory understand this?"

Hearing the Crown Prince doubt the professionalism of the Imperial Observatory, Li Zhong asked, "Why did His Royal Highness assert that there will be a sign of the earth dragon turning over?"

Zhu Houzhao informed Li Zhong of the abnormal condition of the water in the well and river.

Li Zhong shook his head and said, "I did not see what the prince said."

How can it be?

It was Liu Jin who discovered it personally. Both I and Brother Chen saw it clearly!
The Minister of Rites Xu Qiong also spoke up at this time to strongly support the Imperial Observatory. After all, it was an agency under the Ministry of Rites, and he couldn't just sit back and watch. If he asked the prince to question the Imperial Observatory, wouldn't that mean the emperor would look down on his Ministry of Rites?
Xu Qiong clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, I am worried about the collapse of the heaven and earth, and my death is on my shoulders. Those who have to work hard to sleep and eat are exhausted. The prince is not attacking the heavens, so please don't waste people's money and money."

Your Highness, when he said that the earth dragon was about to turn over, do you know how much financial and human resources the imperial court had to spend to prevent it?

And there is no real evidence to support this statement.

Xu Qiong had his own political considerations when he said this. He wanted to use the crown prince to consolidate his position as the Minister of Rites.

He was the second place in the first class of the imperial examination in the first year of the Tianshun reign, and he passed the imperial examination. It took him forty years to finally reach the position of Minister of Rites, and he only entered the Ministry of Rites last year. It had been a bumpy journey, and because he was outspoken, his edges had been smoothed out in the past forty years.

He has no foundation in the Ministry of Rites and has only been in the department for less than a year. If he can protect his subordinates well this time, his reputation will soon spread throughout the Ministry.

Which subordinate doesn't want to have such a leader? That's why he would support the Imperial Observatory at all costs.

"You fart!"

Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "How can I still speak so freely about this matter?"

"Father, you must trust me and quickly have the court prepare for natural disasters."

Xu Qiong remained calm and continued, "Your Majesty, please do not waste people's money and time because of a joke."

"you this……"

"shut up!"

Emperor Hongzhi pointed at Zhu Houzhao and said, "Go away!"

Zhu Houzhao's face flushed red, he snorted unwillingly, looked at Xu Qiong fiercely, and cursed all his ancestors in his heart.

After Zhu Houzhao left, Emperor Hongzhi said to Li Zhong: "You must do a good job of monitoring the Imperial Astronomical Observatory and report to me immediately if there are any abnormal celestial phenomena."

"According to the order!"

Emperor Hongzhi said to Xu Qiong: "The Crown Prince is concerned about the people, so don't make this public."

Xu Qiong clasped his fists and said, "As ordered, I will take my leave."

That being said, how could he not make it public? If the people in the Ministry of Rites didn't know what happened today, how could his reputation spread? So Xu Qiong spread the news when he returned to the Ministry of Rites.

After sending away the Director of the Imperial Observatory and the Minister of Rites, Emperor Hongzhi went to the Eastern Palace in person with his hands behind his back.

"Why would I come if Father doesn't believe me?"

Zhu Houzhao looked at Emperor Hongzhi angrily.

Emperor Hongzhi smiled and said, "My son, are you angry because I didn't protect you in the Yangxin Palace?"

"Humph!"

Zhu Houzhao did not indulge Emperor Hongzhi and would speak out directly when he was unhappy.

Emperor Hongzhi sighed helplessly and said to Zhu Houzhao: "Son, you will be in charge of all officials in the future. If you don't have this much wisdom and tolerance, how can you control all officials?" "Okay, don't be angry. Tell me, did you really see the vision?"

"Where did you see it?"

Zhu Houzhao thought for a moment and said, "It was in the East Palace. It's gone now. Liu Jin also saw it. It can't be fake."

Emperor Hongzhi ordered Liu Jin to come again.

Liu Jin naturally agreed with Zhu Houzhao. Since his master did not mention Chen Ce, he had to protect Zhu Houzhao no matter what his considerations were.

Zhu Houzhao was his future shield, so he had to do it even at the risk of deceiving the emperor.

Emperor Hongzhi looked a little solemn. He was weighing the matter in his mind and was a little undecided. After comforting Zhu Houzhao a little, he returned to the Yangxin Palace and called the cabinet members over.

There are now four members in the cabinet, Xu Pu is the chief minister, and Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian are the second ministers.

Emperor Hongzhi informed the four cabinet elders of his concerns, and their reactions were exactly the same as Xu Qiong's.

Alarming the people without any real evidence will only make them panic. If false information is released, it will damage the credibility and dignity of the court.

Therefore, they did not advise Emperor Hongzhi to take any precautions against this nonsense.

Even if we take a step back, disaster prevention consumes manpower and financial resources, and in the end the cost outweighs the gain.

What he said was well-reasoned, and Emperor Hongzhi nodded in agreement. He did not have the courage to do so. Just as the elders had said, if there was no turnaround in the end, both his reputation as the emperor and the crown prince would be lost.

There is no need to take the risk.

The only solution now is to let the Imperial Observatory keep a close watch and not do anything else.

……

In Huaihua Hutong, Zhengyang Street, Chen Ce went to Jie Si to look for many houses and finally found an open area. However, there were too many students pouring into the capital now, and the price of houses outside was very expensive, costing eight cents and a half taels of silver a night. The housing price began to rise at this time.

Such an opportunity only comes once every three years, and it is impossible for these businessmen not to raise prices after seizing the opportunity.

When Chen Ce returned to the courtyard again, he told Mrs. Wu next door that he had found a mansion and asked her if she wanted to move there with him.

After hearing the price, Madam Wu was a little daunted. Chen Ce said, "Don't worry about the money. I can pay for it for you."

Mrs. Wu was still a little reluctant, and Chen Ce said, "The person is gone, what's the point of asking for money?"

Madam Wu still doubted and asked, "Can a dragon really turn over?"

Chen Ce nodded: "Really!"

He went to inform other neighbors, but no one would be willing to live in the mansion if they heard that it cost so much money. To put it bluntly, they still didn't believe that the situation would change.

Chen Ce understood their mentality. Who would spend a lot of money to live in a mansion for such a small matter? It's not like they don't have a home.

Chen Ce did not try to persuade them further, but just reminded them to be careful in the next few days.

Finally, he went to ask Madam Wu again. If it weren't for saving her life, Chen Ce would not have asked her again and again. Madam Wu finally shook her head.

Chen Ce had no choice but to bury some money and items underground in his yard, and then keep a few poultry in a pen near the river outside the backyard.

After everything was packed and he was sure there was nothing else to prepare, Chen Ce went to the residence alone.

The only thing he could do now was to keep an eye on the movements outside, sleep as little as possible, and wait for the imperial court to issue a notice asking the residences and shop owners to be on guard.

After all, no one would believe what he says, and ordinary people would only take official words seriously.

But after waiting for a whole day, there was no action from the government. Chen Ce could not help but suspect that Zhu Houzhao did not take his words to heart. But after thinking about it, he immediately understood the logic and could not help but sigh: "Emperor Hongzhi still does not have the courage!"

(End of this chapter)