Qing Yao

Chapter 265 The Crown Prince is living among the common people?
After receiving the imperial decree, Cao Zhenyong, who worked at the Hanlin Academy, and Moergenge, who worked at the Qianqing Gate, did not immediately set off from Beijing. Instead, they followed the procedure to first report to their respective units and then went to the Grand Council to obtain the relevant approvals.

These permits were intended to facilitate communication between the two individuals and local government officials along the route when necessary.

Normally the process would take only one day, but this time Cao and Mo waited three days before they received the approval to leave Beijing.

I don't know why.

Because it was a secret visit, the two disguised themselves as merchants going to Jiangnan to purchase goods, and did not bring any attendants or servants.

Moergenge was a royal bodyguard and an expert horseman, so he rode a horse the whole way.

Cao Zhenyong was a scholar who had passed the imperial examination but could not ride a horse, so he rode in a carriage.

The coachman was a bondservant of the Imperial Household Department.

Actually, the most comfortable way to travel south from the capital was by boat from Tongzhou, but Cao and Mo thought the boat was too slow and chose to travel by land instead.

Although the carriage was faster than the boat, it was much slower than riding a horse. In order to accommodate Cao Zhenyong, Moergenge had to deliberately slow down the horse, which caused some delays on the road.

Moergeng'e didn't think much of this secret visit, treating it as a routine task and approaching it with the mindset of having some fun.

The reason he was able to become a second-class imperial bodyguard was because his father had made meritorious contributions in the conquest of Taiwan with General Fu. Before becoming a bodyguard, Moergeng'e was a notorious "playboy" in the inner city alleys, indulging in all sorts of vices, including eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring. He would even go to the outer city with others to extort money from Han Chinese.

To put it bluntly, he was a spoiled brat from the Eight Banners who only became a fourth-rank imperial bodyguard because of his father's influence.

If not for imperial decree, it would have been impossible for Morgeng'e to associate with Cao Zhenyong, a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), because the two belonged to completely different circles.

Having lived in the capital for most of his life, Morgeng'e knew very little about the situation outside the capital. Cao Zhenyong took care of all the meals and lodging during the journey, which made him quite happy to have an easy time.

Unlike Moergenge, who treated this assignment as a vacation, Cao Zhenyong found it somewhat strange. His father, Cao Wenzhi, had refused to associate with Heshen a few years earlier, which was why he requested to return home to care for his elderly mother.

Given his father's character, Cao Zhenyong, as the son, would certainly not collude with Heshen. During his tenure at the Hanlin Academy, Cao Zhenyong focused solely on doing his job well, never seeking connections in officialdom, and deliberately maintaining a distance from members of Heshen's faction.

The target of this secret investigation in the south, Zhao Youlu, was a well-known figure in the capital, after all, his promotion of ten ranks in less than a year was big news in the court and among the people.

Besides, that kid was even featured in the newspapers and was specially granted the title of Jinshi by the Emperor.

There are many who envy, but even more who hate.

Cao Zhenyong, a genuine Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), described Zhao Youlu as a sycophantic and petty person.

Rumors circulated that Zhao Youlu was Heshen's man, and Cao Zhenyong also believed so; otherwise, how could he have been promoted five ranks twice in less than a year?

The Emperor is now sending his men to secretly investigate Heshen's people. What signal does this send?
Could it be that the Emperor is going to take action against Heshen?

Cao Zhenyong quickly dismissed his own guess, because Heshen was currently at the height of his power and showed no signs of falling from grace.

This secret visit was most likely because the Emperor had heard about something concerning Zhao Youlu, which is why he sent him and Moergenge to Jiangning to investigate secretly.

Therefore, Cao Zhenyong set the tone for this secret visit: whatever he saw or heard, he should report it truthfully without expressing any opinions, so as not to cause trouble.

After all, Zhao Youlu had Heshen behind him, a man even his father dared not oppose.

After days of bumpy travel, Cao and Mo arrived in Gaoyou, which was under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou Prefecture and was very close to Yangzhou.

It was March, a time of great spring sunshine, and the fields along the way were full of rapeseed flowers. This made Cao and Mo, who had always lived in the capital, feel very comfortable, and their hearts seemed to be much more open.

"Back then, our Qing army marched south along this canal, invincible. The Ming dynasty's soldiers and generals didn't have a single decent leader; they fled at the mere mention of our Qing army's arrival. Only Shi Manzi managed to defend Yangzhou, but it was captured by our Qing army in less than half a day. To intimidate the Ming dynasty's small court in Jiangnan, Prince Yu ordered the massacre of Yangzhou. The Ming dynasty was so frightened that they surrendered immediately."

Morgeng'e's ancestors were Eight Banner soldiers who followed Dodo on his southern expedition. They were promoted to commanders based on their merit in being the first to scale the walls. As a descendant, Morgeng'e was extremely proud when he talked about this history.

Cao Zhenyong, a Han Chinese, felt somewhat awkward listening to these things, but he still occasionally echoed Moergeng'e's words, expressing his high regard for Shi Kefa, who was in charge of Yangzhou.

The reason is that after the old master revised the "Biographies of Traitorous Officials," he highly praised some of the loyal officials of the Ming Dynasty, allowed the common people to worship these loyal and patriotic martyrs, and allowed the court to discuss these people.

It was nearly noon, and the two men were quite hungry. Seeing a restaurant and teahouse by the roadside ahead, they asked the driver to stop and have a meal.

As soon as the carriage stopped, a restaurant waiter with a white towel draped over his shoulder came over and greeted them warmly: "Gentlemen, are you here for a stay or for a meal?"

"Have a meal."

Moergenge dismounted, handed the riding whip to the waiter, and instructed him to lead the horse to the back and feed it some beans, which would be added to the bill later.

Cao Zhenyong led the driver into the shop first, glanced at the menu on the wall, casually ordered a few dishes, and then sat down to drink tea.

"Mr. Cao, what kinds of dishes are these?"

After entering, Moergenge was attracted by the menu on the wall and asked Cao Zhenyong about it out of curiosity.

"This dish is a particularly famous Huaiyang-style pork skin soup, made by frying dried pork skin in oil."

Cao Zhenyong's ancestral home is in Anhui. He lived in Anhui until he was fifteen years old, when his father settled in the capital and he moved there.

Many people from Anhui do business in Huaiyang. Most of the salt merchants in Yangzhou are from Anhui. Influenced by these people, Huaiyang cuisine was also introduced to Anhui. Therefore, Cao Zhenyong had some knowledge of Huaiyang cuisine, so he smiled and introduced it to Moergeng'e.

A waiter came to serve the food and casually asked, "You two sound like you're from Beijing?"

Just as Moergenge was about to say yes, Cao Zhenyong spoke up first, saying, "We two are from Shandong."

"Oh."

The waiter nodded, put the dishes down, and then carried the plates back to the kitchen. He picked up a piece of paper with a portrait written on it and secretly looked at it again and again. Then he quietly slipped out the back door and ran to the canal. He said to a few idle canal workers, "Tell the captain that the person the young master mentioned has appeared!"

"it is good!"

Without a word, the lead canal worker mounted his horse and immediately relayed the message back to the ship's hull.

After Cao Zhenyong and Moergenge finished their meal and rested for a while, they told the driver to continue their journey.

When passing through Yangzhou, Moergenge insisted on going into the city to visit the place where his ancestors rose to prominence, so Cao Zhenyong had no choice but to accompany him for a while, and this visit took up another day.

Little did they know that they were being followed by someone with ulterior motives, and their whereabouts, what they saw, and what they bought were all reported to Jiangning.

The next day, Cao and Mo arrived at Xiaguan Wharf to prepare to cross the river by boat. Just then, a passenger boat was about to depart, and there was just enough room on board to accommodate the three of them and their carriage.

"If the three of you arrive a little late, you'll probably have to wait for the next ferry."

The boatman instructed the boatmen to pull Cao Zhenyong's carriage onto the boat. Moergeng'e led his horse directly onto the boat, glanced at the people on board, including men and women, young and old, all of whom were commoners. After tying his horse to the side of the boat, he sat down on his own.

"Pole the boat!"

With the boatman's shouts, several boatmen struggled to use bamboo poles to push the boat away from the dock and slowly row it towards the river mouth.

There's a distance between Shimonoseki Wharf and the river mouth, and like a large car dealership, the passengers from different places on the boat quickly struck up a conversation.

They were talking about interesting things happening in different places, but somehow the conversation drifted to the old man's six trips to the south of the Yangtze River.

"I heard that whenever the Emperor travels to the south of the Yangtze River, he goes under the alias Master Huang and travels incognito. Once in Suzhou, the Emperor met a local talented woman named Miss Chen. This Miss Chen was not only beautiful, but also proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. The Emperor was completely captivated by Miss Chen and promised to bring her into the palace as a concubine."

The speaker was an old man who looked to be in his sixties. The passengers next to him were so captivated by the story he was telling that they hurriedly asked if the young woman named Chen had been taken into the palace by the emperor.

The old man said regretfully, "His Majesty wanted to bring Miss Chen into the palace, but our Qing Dynasty has rules that Han women cannot enter the palace as concubines. The Empress Dowager also disagreed, so His Majesty had no choice but to leave Miss Chen with a heavy heart."

"Oh, that's such a pity."

The audience sighed repeatedly, feeling that Miss Chen had missed out on a great fortune, and some even thought that the Emperor was a bit heartless.

Cao Zhenyong looked at the old man with curiosity, because the story was true.

He had compiled some secret files about the emperor's southern tour at the Hanlin Academy. The files said that three months after the emperor returned to the capital, he suddenly ordered the construction of eight chastity memorial arches in Suzhou. This matter was related to Miss Chen.

Besides the talented Suzhou woman, Miss Chen, mentioned by the old man, Cao Zhenyong also knew that the Emperor had met a singer named Su Xiaowan while listening to music on Shantang Street in Suzhou. This woman was favored by the Emperor because of her Pingtan skills and her courage to "subtly satirize official corruption." For this reason, the Emperor specially ordered the Jiangning Textile Bureau to give away Taihu pearls and Suzhou embroidery brocade that should have been put into storage to Su Xiaowan.

These records are kept in the secret files of the Southern Inspection Tour and the secret files of the Textile Bureau.

In addition, a salt merchant from Yangzhou presented the emperor with a talented woman named Liu Ruyan, and the emperor even wrote a poem for her: "The twenty-four bridges are locked in mist and rain, but nothing compares to a game of chess with you."

The Liu family, which had already fallen on hard times, regained its hereditary status soon after their daughter was favored by the emperor.

Besides what is recorded in these palace archives, the emperor also had other lovers among the common people. Unfortunately, none of these lovers were brought into the palace and made into concubines, because of the ancestral rule that Han Chinese women were not allowed to enter the palace.

In addition, because Empress Nara strongly opposed it, even going so far as to cut her hair, after that, although the emperor still had many romantic affairs during his southern tours, he never had the idea of ​​taking these Han women from the common people as his concubines again. After having affairs with those Han women, he would just give them some money to send them away.

The old man then told some interesting stories about the emperor's southern tour. Some were true, while others were completely fabricated. Cao Zhenyong was used to this and had no intention of exposing the old man's lies.

What do ordinary people know? They're just looking for fun, there's no need to make a big deal out of it.

At this moment, a woman in her forties interjected, "Do you know that the Emperor has a son who has been living among the common people?"

Upon hearing this, Morgeng'e, who had been watching the spectacle, looked at the woman spouting nonsense. He was about to stand up and rebuke her when Cao Zhenyong gently pulled him back and whispered, "These are just far-fetched stories from the common people. They're not worth getting angry over, you imperial guard. Let them talk."

Only then did Moergenge give up.

The woman, unaware that there were royal guards on board, told a story to the group of gossipy passengers.

During the emperor's fourth southern tour, he met a young woman in Yangzhou and, despite the empress dowager's objections, insisted on bringing her into the palace. This resulted in strong opposition from the empress, leading to a falling out between the emperor and empress.

"That girl had no intention of entering the palace. Furthermore, the Emperor and Empress were embroiled in a bitter feud because of her. Unwilling for the Emperor to continue fighting with the Empress over her, she gritted her teeth and left without saying goodbye. I heard that the Emperor searched for her for a long time afterward."

One of the listeners asked curiously, "Could it be that this girl was already pregnant with the Emperor's child when she left him? Otherwise, how could you say that the Emperor has a biological son who has been raised among the common people?"

"Correct!"

The woman nodded and said, "That girl was indeed pregnant with the emperor's child when she left. When she was born, it was a big, fat boy. It's a pity that the emperor didn't know about this, otherwise that big, fat boy would be a prince. By now, this prince is over twenty years old."

Moergenge couldn't stand it any longer and sneered, "How do you know about this?"

"Because it was my mother who delivered that girl's baby."

The woman turned to look at Morgeng'e, who thought she was talking nonsense, and said, "Many people know about this."

"That's utter nonsense. Even if the palace forbids you and Han women from entering, that woman is carrying the Emperor's own child. How could the Emperor possibly let her stay outside the palace?"

Moergenge's intuition was laughable.

The woman replied, "Because the girl left secretly without the Emperor's knowledge, the Emperor couldn't find her."

"Auntie, every mother in this world hopes for the best for her child. If what you say is true, how could the young lady bear to let her son lose his princely status?"

Cao Zhenyong smiled and offered his small professional opinion.

Unexpectedly, the woman said that the girl did not want the child to enter the palace and become a prince, but only wanted the child to grow up safely, so she gave him the nickname An'er.

"I know you don't believe it, but you're not the emperor, how do you know it's not true?"

"This"

Cao Zhenyong was stunned. Yes, he wasn't involved, so how would he know if the emperor had left "fruit" inside a Han woman in the countryside back then?

What if one or two Han women who had been favored by the emperor secretly became pregnant with his child?

There's no smoke without fire; this woman's story sounded very plausible and believable.

He then chuckled self-deprecatingly, wondering how a dignified Hanlin Academy lecturer could possibly believe the nonsense spouted by these rural women.

There's a folk tale about the Song Dynasty's "Prince Replaced by a Civet Cat," but in reality, Empress Dowager Liu was a virtuous empress. And people say Chen Shimei was the most unfaithful man, but little do they know that Chen Shimei and his wife were actually very much in love.

Seeing that the woman was still talking about the emperor's illegitimate son, and that everyone on the boat was discussing whether the emperor's illegitimate son had the right to inherit the throne, he found it both funny and infuriating. Too lazy to pay attention, he leaned back and dozed off.

When I woke up from my nap, the passenger ship was already in the middle of the river.

I couldn't help but be drawn to the vast river before me, and couldn't help but think of the mighty Yangtze flowing eastward.

(End of this chapter)