Di Ming

Chapter 195 Retreat Three Steps

Zhu Yin could tell from the man's Hebei accent that he was clearly from the Beijing area.

But the monk in charge of reception said, "Laymen, there are plenty of inns and temples in the city. Why do you insist on visiting Ciyun Temple? Please go somewhere else."

The man said impatiently, "What other places! There are many inns and temples, but the only temple next to the examination hall is your Ciyun Temple! Who made you so close to the examination hall! Of course, it has to be Ciyun Temple!"

Clearly, he knew the benefits of Ciyun Temple and was not easily fooled.

The monk in charge of receiving guests could only put his palms together and say, "Amitabha! I hope you will know that the West Guest House was rented by Zhu Xiaojieyuan of Nanzhi for three months. You may have heard of the reputation of that child prodigy from the Ming Dynasty. Please do not make things difficult for our temple."

The monk clearly didn't want to offend the other party, but he didn't back down either. Instead, he directly told the other party that this was the guest house rented by Zhu Jieyuan.

Having said that, anyone who knows the gravity of the situation would understand the consequences of offending a child prodigy and top scholar, and would most likely make an excuse to leave gracefully.

To everyone's surprise, the man's voice grew even more arrogant, "What Ming Dynasty prodigy! Nobody would believe him! Could it be some kind of cheating scandal in the Southern Zhili provincial examination? Forget about Zhu the top scholar or some dog the top scholar, just rent the West Guest House to us!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yin and the others all turned grim. They looked up and saw a magnificent carriage in front of the temple gate, surrounded by twenty or thirty knights in fine clothes and riding spirited horses. Each of them had an arrogant expression and was clearly a powerful and influential person.

This group of people was not only guards and servants, but also included several men who looked like scholars.

Several scholars couldn't help but laugh when they heard "Zhu Jieyuan" and "Dog Jieyuan".

A burly man wearing a mink hat and carrying a knife was raising his arms and shouting in front of the monk who was in charge of receiving guests:
"It's freezing cold! Quickly vacate the West Guest Courtyard, my Fourth Master needs to go in to prepare for his exams! Don't leave us standing here freezing in the wind!"

The monk, who was in charge of receiving guests, frowned and asked, "May I ask your master's honorable name?"

There are many nobles in the capital, and Ciyun Temple is not afraid of ordinary nobles. But those truly powerful and influential figures are a different story.

The burly man gave a thumbs-up, pointed behind him with a cold smile, and said, "My fourth master's name is Zheng Guowang, a scholar who passed the imperial examination in Shuntian Prefecture..."

He suddenly stopped talking, pointing to the sky, "The Imperial Noble Consort in the palace is my master's sister! The Emperor's brother-in-law is here..."

"How dare you be rude!" a voice came from inside the carriage, and then a noble young man in brocade and fox fur stepped down from the carriage.

This man was about twenty years old, with a face as beautiful as jade, and a handsome appearance. He not only had an excellent appearance, but also a scholarly air about him.

He looked like both a scion of a prominent family and a scholar.

However, he had a pair of almond-shaped eyes, and his overall temperament was somewhat effeminate, with a strong hint of effeminacy.

"So it's Zheng Guojiu, this humble monk greets you." The guest monk quickly bowed respectfully, "This humble monk was blind to your greatness, please forgive me."

The Zheng family is someone he can't afford to offend!

Zheng Guowang smiled slightly and said in a seemingly refined manner, "Venerable monk, you are too kind. I have my own place in the capital, but I prefer the tranquility of ancient temples. Your temple is also near the examination hall, so I am staying here for a while. I apologize for the inconvenience."

His words were polite, but his tone left no room for argument.

Zhu Yin, who was about to step forward, hesitated and could only stand still.

When Shang Yang and the others heard the words "Brother Zheng," they all swallowed their anger.

Everyone knows that Consort Zheng's family is the most powerful maternal relative family in the Ming Dynasty. Even the prime ministers, dukes, powerful eunuchs, and princes cannot compare to it.

Consort Zheng enjoyed exclusive favor in the harem, and the entire Zheng family rose to prominence, wielding immense power and influence.

His father, Zheng Chengxian, had no military achievements, yet he had already been promoted to the rank of Vice Commander-in-Chief, a first-rank official.

Consort Zheng had several brothers, most of whom held high-ranking military positions in the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Five Military Commands. Only Zheng Guowang, because of his love of reading, chose the path of the imperial examination.

Since his elder sister became favored, Zheng Guowang's "literary fortune" has arrived.

He first entered Beiyong (the Imperial College in Beijing) with ease, and then last year he participated in the Shuntian provincial examination and passed as a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination).

In an instant, Zheng Guowang became the only person in the Zheng family to pass the imperial examination, which brought great honor to the family. Even his sister, who was granted the title of Imperial Noble Consort, felt proud of him.

However, later, Gao Gui, a secretary in the Ministry of Rites, submitted a memorial stating that the Shunzhi provincial examination of the year Wuzi was rife with favoritism and corruption, and impeached the examiner Huang Hongxian for leaking information involving Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, and others, demanding a thorough investigation.

The investigation revealed that Zheng Guowang's exam paper was incomplete, and several other papers also had problems. Emperor Wanli had no choice but to issue an imperial decree for a re-examination.

But what was the result? Even though Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue were impeached, causing a great deal of trouble and sparking a court dispute, Zheng Guowang, whose exam papers were incomplete, was still a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations) and was not stripped of his academic title.

He will still participate in this year's Spring Examination as usual.

This demonstrates the power and influence of the Zheng family.

Upon realizing this, Zhu Yin immediately lost his competitive spirit.

He can't afford to offend Zheng Guowang!
Even with the backing of Tian Yi, Shen Yiguan, and Hai Rui, he couldn't afford to offend this Zheng Guojiu!
Just as Zhu Yin was about to leave, he saw Zheng Guowang turn around, his peach blossom eyes sweeping over him, and he smiled with a touch of charm: "Young brother, could you be Zhu Lang of Jiangzuo, the child prodigy of the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Yin bowed respectfully, saying, "I am Zhu Yin, a scholar from Southern Zhili. I dare not accept the title of child prodigy of the Ming Dynasty."

"That's quite a coincidence." Zheng Guowang also gave a perfunctory bow. "This guest master mentioned the Great Ming Prodigy, and the Great Ming Prodigy has arrived."

The scholars who were with Zheng Guowang all sneered and looked doubtful when they heard the words "prodigy of the Ming Dynasty".

"It is indeed a coincidence," Zhu Yin said with a faint smile. "It is an unexpected encounter with the Imperial Brother-in-law here. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Zheng Guowang shook his head, "How can we scholars accept the title of Imperial Brother-in-Law?"

"It is said that Zhu Lang of Jiangzuo is the youngest Jieyuan in the country, born with exceptional intelligence. Today, I have met him and he is indeed a person as pure as ice and jade."

Zheng Guowang's tone was unreadable, and his clear, autumn-water-like eyes narrowed slightly. "You've booked the West Guest House of Ciyun Temple? How about giving it to me?"

Zhu Yin nodded without changing his expression, "Alright. It's just a temple. Since Brother Zheng likes Ciyun Temple, then let's give it to Brother Zheng."

Zheng Guowang, with an air of self-righteousness, smiled casually and said, "In that case, I'll have to trouble you to find somewhere else, young man. Please forgive my rudeness."

He tried his best to maintain the refined and gentle demeanor expected of a scholar, but his inexplicable arrogance and rudeness were impossible to conceal.

In Zhu Yin's view, it was like a prostitute trying to act like a lady.

Zhu Yin wished he could kick this damned Zheng Guojiu to death, but on the surface he smiled calmly:
“Brother Zheng, you flatter me. It’s just a trivial matter. Please come into the temple to rest, Brother Zheng. I won’t disturb you any longer.”

"Farewell!"

Zheng Guowang nodded with a faint smile, "Then we'll meet again."

As soon as Zhu Yin turned around, his face immediately turned ashen.

No one spoke; they all silently followed Zhu Yin as he left the square of Ciyun Temple.

As soon as Zhu Yin obediently left, a scholar laughed and said, "What a grand title! He probably got his degree through cheating."

Another scholar shook his head, "I don't believe there can be such a minor top scholar. His reputation is undeserved; he's probably just all show and got it through flattery. The examiners of last year's provincial examination in Yingtian should be investigated."

Zheng Guowang sneered, "Many ministers in the court are using this child prodigy to persuade His Majesty to let Zhu Changluo leave the palace to study and then make him the crown prince."

"What real talent does he have to earn his title of child prodigy? Do you really believe he can be better than Yang Tinghe?"

Several scholars shook their heads and sneered.

Zheng Guowang squinted his beautiful peach blossom eyes, "If he were truly a child prodigy of the Ming Dynasty, a genuine top scholar from the Southern Zhili region, he should have passed the imperial examination this spring! Even if he could only get a second-class ranking, that would be convincing. Can he do it?"

"If he fails the exam, then his title of child prodigy will be a joke. At that time, someone will take action to make sure he loses not only his title of top scholar but also his reputation, losing both face and substance."

"When the time comes, will those who used him as a reason to persuade His Majesty to make Zhu Changluo the crown prince still have the face to talk about this child prodigy? That would be slapping themselves in the face."

He pointed to Ciyun Temple, saying, "Ciyun Temple is indeed the most suitable place for candidates to stay; Zhu Yin is very good at choosing locations. But do you really think I'm staying here to compete with him for a place? Where can't I stay?"

One of the scholars suddenly realized and said, "So, Brother Zheng heard that Zhu Yin had reserved Ciyun Temple and is deliberately coming to compete with him?"

“Indeed.” Zheng Guowang nodded. “My brother is a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. How could he not know about this? Zhu Yin has booked an entire guest courtyard. It would be difficult to keep it a secret.”

"I just wanted to see how he would react when he found out I'd snatched the room he'd booked, hoping he'd get angry and try to take it from me. But today I saw it for myself; he's a cunning fellow, not to be underestimated!"

Whether he's a child prodigy or not is unknown, but he's definitely precocious for his age!

...Only after leaving a short distance did Zhu Yin turn around, his eyes coldly fixed on the direction of Ciyun Temple.

I was bullied. I was bullied by those in power.

Moreover, he was certain that Zheng Guowang's motives were not solely for Ciyun Temple.

The Zheng family dislikes themselves.

This person must have done it on purpose.

"What an arrogant and rude bully!" Han Shang couldn't help but mutter under his breath. "How could someone like this pass the imperial examination? He's a disgrace to scholars and a disgrace to all men of learning."

Shang Yang said in a deep voice, "Brother Zhihu is right. When you encounter this kind of person, what's wrong with giving him some leeway for now? Taking a step back opens up a whole new world. A true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm."

"Take this Zheng Guojiu for example. Even the nobles in the capital dare not offend him. We can only keep our distance and not stoop to his level."

"This person is after your reputation as a child prodigy; he hates you for becoming the crown prince."

Zhu Yin sighed and exhaled a breath of turbid air. "That's the logic, and it's not that I can't stand it. But now that the Ciyun Temple we agreed to stay at has been forcibly occupied by this scoundrel, we have nowhere to go. The other temples and monasteries are definitely full, so we can only go to the inn. The inn is noisy and far from the examination hall, so it's not as good as Ciyun Temple. It's truly hateful."

Han Shang said, "Why don't you go to your teacher, Vice Minister Shen's, residence, Brother Zhihu? You are his junior, so you can stay there and receive his guidance before the exam."

Zhu Yin shook his head: "I brought dozens of followers with me. How can I go to my mentor's residence with such a large entourage? It's not just a few people."

For safety on the road, he brought a large group of people. However, upon arriving in the capital, he discovered that having so many people and horses made finding accommodation a major problem.

Even if we go to stay at the Jiangning Guild Hall, it will be difficult to settle so many people.

In the end, Zhu Yin had no choice but to lead his men out of the inner city and out of the outer city through Chongwen Gate.

Beijing was too big. It took Zhu Yin and his party half a day to find a suitable large inn in Mao'er Hutong in Zhengdongfang, where dozens of people and dozens of horses stayed.

This inn, called Yunxianglou, is the most upscale inn in Zhengdongfang. Even so, it's incredibly noisy and difficult to find peace and quiet amidst the hustle and bustle.

In the year of the grand competition, inns are in high demand, so this is the only way.

This place is almost an hour's walk from the examination hall, much less convenient than Ciyun Temple.

It's only because Zhu Yin was willing to spend money that he could find such a large group of people, otherwise, it would have been difficult to find an inn.

Since there were no independent courtyards available for rent, everyone had to be scattered across various courtyards.

Zhu Yin lived with only four or five other people in three exquisite rooms on the second floor of the East Courtyard. The others lived in other courtyards.

For safety, he shared a private room with Lancha. Han Shang and Shang Yang lived next door.

By the time they settled down, it was already dark.

Thinking about all this trouble, Zhu Yin cursed Zheng Guowang even more in his heart.

Just then, they suddenly heard loud discussions coming from the room opposite.

One person said in an indignant tone:

"This is utterly outrageous! During the Lantern Festival at Aoshan this year, His Majesty accompanied the two Empress Dowagers to the festival, with the Empress and Consort Zheng each accompanying them, and all the concubines also joining in to admire the lanterns. Yet, Consort Wang, the mother of the eldest prince, was not even allowed to stop and watch! Where is the national etiquette?!"

Another person said, "I heard that Consort Wang and the eldest prince have been banished to Jingyang Palace! What kind of place is Jingyang Palace? Of the six palaces in the Imperial Palace, Jingyang Palace is the most remote and desolate! How is this any different from being banished to the Cold Palace?"

"At all the celebrations and banquets in the palace, Consort Gong and her son were practically nonexistent! They were excluded and made invisible, no longer qualified to participate!"

Another person said, "That's not all! News from the palace also says that Consort Zheng, the palace maids and eunuchs are persecuting the mother and son. They are not only lacking food and clothing, but also medical care and medicine. In this cold weather, they have even run out of charcoal! They want the mother and son to die! Let alone the eldest prince going off to study, it will be difficult for him to even survive."

"Even tigers don't eat their cubs! It's one thing for His Majesty to favor Consort Zheng, but to disregard his own flesh and blood is truly shocking! If anything were to happen to Consort Gong and her son, the gossip would be in an uproar, and how would His Majesty face his ancestors?"

Upon hearing the scholars' complaints, Zhu Yin felt compassion for Consort Wang and her son.

This is a mother and child who have suffered a lot.

In the history of the Ming Dynasty, there were two imperial concubines who went blind from crying. One was Empress Qian, who went blind from crying for her husband who was studying in the Oirat Mongols. The other was Consort Wang, who went blind from crying for her son.

Consort Wang often suffered from hunger and cold during her time at Jingyang Palace, and was also bullied by palace servants and eunuchs. Not to mention the mental torment she endured, her material conditions were even worse than those of ordinary people.

She died without ever seeing her son, a situation described as "dying with regret, unable to say goodbye."

She had been dead for four days, and Emperor Wanli showed no reaction, acting as if he knew nothing, to the point that no one dared to claim the body. It was September at the time, and the body was likely already decomposing.

After several memorials from his ministers, Emperor Wanli finally issued an edict to hold a funeral on the ninth day after Consort Wang's death.

After the funeral arrangements were completed, the burial was delayed for a long time. The court officials submitted memorials more than ten times, but Wanli pretended not to hear them.

Later, when one of Prince Fu's concubines died, Emperor Wanli issued a special edict to the Ministry of Works to give her a grand funeral. Ministers seized the opportunity to petition the emperor to bury her along with Consort Wang Gong.

Only then did Wanli agree.

Thus, the dignified mother of the crown prince was able to be buried only thanks to this concubine.

As for her burial goods, there were only two broken silver items in extremely poor condition, so meager that they were not even as good as the burial goods of a moderately wealthy family.

Emperor Wanli's callousness was so extreme that it was chilling to the bone.

Just this year, Luo Yuren, a judge of the Court of Judicial Review, presented a memorial entitled "Memorial on Wine, Women, Wealth and Temper," accusing Emperor Wanli of favoring Lady Zheng, indulging in wine, women, wealth and temper, and having the intention to depose the eldest son and establish the younger son in favor of the younger son, which greatly angered Emperor Wanli.

Zhu Changluo was also a pitiful person.

During the Wanli Emperor's succession dispute, court officials united to criticize the emperor, saying that "it is not in accordance with ethics and morality, and it is unsettling to consider the people's hearts." They strongly demanded that the emperor establish his eldest son as the crown prince and stop using his young age as an excuse.

The insistence of the court officials made Wanli's attitude towards Zhu Changluo even worse.

Zhu Changluo suffered long-term emotional abuse from his father and was persecuted by Zheng Shi. He didn't start school until he was thirteen, and was even deliberately forced to drop out, almost becoming illiterate.

Even after finally being made crown prince, his position was precarious. He couldn't see his mother for a full ten years.

Thirty-eight years of his life were like that of a prisoner. The long-term pressure had worn him down.

Although he eventually outlived the old smoker, he only reigned as emperor for a month before passing away without having the chance to realize his ambitions.

His two sons, one died young under suspicious circumstances, and the other hanged himself on Coal Hill.

The position of heir apparent has always been a source of suffering for him. If he had been just an ordinary vassal king, his life would have been much happier.

Zhu Yin thought to himself, "Zhu Changluo, if I were to reclaim the throne of the Grand Clan, I would actually be helping you."

Just as Zhu Yin was thinking this, someone suddenly shouted:

"How dare they speak ill of the Emperor behind his back and spread rumors! Seize them!"

"When the Embroidered Uniform Guard is handling a case, all others shall recuse themselves!"

Then there was a loud bang as the door was kicked open, followed by shouts, the sound of chains, noisy footsteps, and the sound of steel knives being drawn.

Suddenly another voice shouted, "Stop!"

"This Imperial Censor, acting on the orders of Grand Censor Hai, is inspecting the entire city! With the imperial examinations approaching and this is the year of the grand examinations, who gave you permission to arrest candidates traveling to the capital for the exams? Do you have an imperial edict? How dare you!"

"How dare you lackeys act so presumptuously at the national talent selection ceremony!"

Then another voice boomed, "We are here on the orders of Commander Zheng to investigate slanderous remarks! These scholars have indeed criticized His Majesty! The truth is on our side! Why can't we arrest them!"

The censor sneered, "No matter how right you are, you can't be right as high as Hai Qingtian! Guards! Seize these audacious Imperial Guards! Lock them up in the Censorate prison!"

"Even your Commander Zheng, I will impeach him! Let's see how Consort Zheng protects him!"

P.S.: That's all for today. I'll have to take it easy for now. Thanks for your support, goodnight!

(End of this chapter)