marquis of jingan

Chapter 1426: Old and cunning

Chapter 1426: Old and cunning

Logically speaking, an important official from the northern border like Shen Yi should return to his home to rest for a day or two after arriving in Jiankang, and then wait for an auspicious day for the emperor to summon him to the palace.

But Mr. Shen was already very familiar with the Emperor. He had just arrived in Jiankang, and even when it was already dark, the Emperor still sent someone to take him to the palace.

The three princes escorted Shen Yi all the way to the palace gate. After arriving at the palace gate, the three of them stopped at the same time, bowed to Shen Yi and said, "Uncle, your nephews will escort you here. Please go in and see His Majesty."

Shen Yi looked back at the palace gate, then he reacted and said with a smile: "It seems that the three princes have already left the palace to start their own residences."

The three of them bowed their heads and answered yes.

Shen Yi did not act any more and, under the guidance of several eunuchs, he came to the gate of Ganlu Palace.

After arriving at Ganlu Palace, a eunuch who looked to be about thirty years old, with a white face and no beard, came to Shen Yi respectfully, bowed his head and said, "My Lord, His Majesty invites you in."

Mr. Shen nodded, followed the man, and suddenly asked, "Is it Eunuch Wei?"

The eunuch hurriedly stopped and bowed his head deeply: "My Lord, you have something to tell me..."

"fine."

Shen Yi smiled and said, "In the north, I have also heard of Eunuch Wei's name. It is well-known."

Eunuch Wei bowed his head and said, "My Lord, I am sorry for the trouble you have done to me."

The chief eunuch Sun Jin was replaced by Emperor Hongde eight years ago and sent to guard the imperial mausoleum. The eunuch who replaced Sun Jin in charge of the inner court eight years ago was named Xiao Huai, and is also the chief eunuch of the inner court today.

And this Eunuch Wei is a rising star in the inner court in the past two years, and he is likely to replace Eunuch Xiao.

Not long after Master Shen entered the Ganlu Palace, he saw the Emperor who was reading by lamplight in the back hall. The Emperor was looking through a geographical atlas. Shen Yi stepped forward, bowed his head and saluted: "Your Majesty, I am Shen Yi. I pay my respects to your Majesty."

The emperor heard this, looked up at Shen Yi, then put down the scroll in his hand, and smiled: "Shen Qing is finally here."

Mr. Shen lowered his head quickly and said, "I was just about to apologize to Your Majesty."

"My rebellious son was entrusted with the imperial order, but he ignored it completely. On his way back north, he traveled around the mountains and rivers, causing trouble. He didn't return to Yanjing until more than half a month ago. It was also more than half a month ago that I learned that Your Majesty intended to summon me to the south, so I hurried all the way here."

"I failed to teach my son well. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

"Ai."

The emperor shook his head and said, "When I spoke to Shen Yuan, I just asked him to ask you, and I didn't insist that you come. If there was an urgent matter that required you to come, I would have issued an edict directly to you."

"Come on, come on."

The emperor stood up, pulled Shen Yi's sleeve, and said with a smile: "Let's sit down and talk."

Shen Yi sat down carefully, then looked up at the emperor. Under the dim light, Master Shen looked at the emperor for a few times, and suddenly froze: "Your Majesty..."

The emperor was pouring tea for Mr. Shen. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "What's wrong?"

"you…"

Shen Yi looked at the emperor's head and was a little surprised: "Why do you have white hair?"

Under the light, one can vaguely see that Emperor Hong De has a few more white hairs on his head. Although there are not many, they are clearly visible and are quite a lot.

Emperor Hongde was stunned by this question, then he smiled dumbly: "Next year, I will be forty years old. Isn't it normal to have some white hair?"

Shen Yi took a deep breath and said, "The last time I was in Jiankang, Your Majesty still had black hair..."

He paused, a little dazed: "Even now, Your Majesty is not yet forty years old, and should be in the prime of life."

Emperor Hongde poured tea for Shen Yi, was silent for a while, and sighed: "I didn't have any white hair at this time last year."

"Since the second half of last year, my mother has suddenly fallen seriously ill and has been bedridden ever since. I am worried every day, and coupled with the heavy workload of state affairs, I have unknowingly grown some white hair."

Having said that, His Majesty the Emperor lowered his head to drink tea and looked at Shen Yi.

"It's not easy to be an emperor."

Emperor Hongde exhaled a breath of hot air and said with a wry smile: "It is you, Shen Qing, who has caused me so much suffering."

Mr. Shen was stunned: "Your Majesty, where did you get this from?"

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "If the Great Chen did not have a genius like Shen Qing, it would still be in a remote area in the south of the Yangtze River. Even if I, the Emperor, had great ambitions when I was young and worked hard for ten or eight years, I would naturally become lazy after I reach middle age, and maybe even gradually become senile."

"At that time, it will be much easier and not as hard as it is now."

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor sighed again: "Now, Shen Qing, you have accomplished such a great feat, and together with me, the Emperor, I have become an emperor with a name in the history of the Great Chen."

"It has come to this point. If I were to become a tyrant again, I would be sorry for the spirits of my ancestors in heaven, sorry for you, Shen Qing, and the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Northern Expedition, and thirdly..."

He shook his head and smiled, "I'm sorry to myself."

"I still want to leave a good reputation in history books."

Shen Yi took the tea with both hands, took a sip, then suddenly looked up at the emperor and said softly: "Your Majesty, history books are written by scholars. If you want to leave a good reputation in history books, you must benefit scholars and not offend them."

"In this case, moving the capital..."

Shen Yi took a sip of tea and said, "It's not easy to deal with."

His Majesty the Emperor blinked at Shen Yi, regaining some of his youthfulness: "So, isn't this why I'm asking you to come back, Shen Qing?"

Mr. Shen also blinked and pretended not to hear.

The emperor said with a smile: "Your son has been like a little tyrant in Jiankang this year. I have to take care of many things for him. Shouldn't Shen Qing do more to compensate me?"

Lord Shen smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, I am not afraid of offending those scholars, but if I were to do this alone, I'm afraid it would be extremely difficult. If I'm not careful, I'd be known for coercing the court."

The emperor smiled slightly and said, "So there is no rush for this matter. Let's discuss it carefully."

"We worked together and even drove away Master Zhuli, but we are still unable to defeat those big-headed scholars?"

Mr. Shen smiled and didn't respond.

After chatting about the affairs of the court for a while, Shen Yi finally remembered the business and asked, "Your Majesty, what happened to the Queen Mother? How is her health now?"

When Shen Yi mentioned the Empress Dowager, the smile on the Emperor's face disappeared. The excitement of seeing an old friend was also washed away. After a moment of silence, he sighed silently: "The Queen Mother has always been in good health, but she started to have a high fever last fall. After the winter, she became ill and had difficulty getting out of bed. Later, she started coughing, and sometimes she even coughed up blood."

"The Imperial Hospital can only prescribe remedies for the symptoms, but has not yet found the root cause of the disease."

Emperor Hong De said silently: "Now, she is still bedridden, maybe she will die someday..."

Shen Yi frowned. He stood behind the emperor and suddenly said softly, "Your Majesty, I would like to ask a question that is presumptuous. This matter..."

"Is it related to the position of the Eastern Palace?"

The emperor frowned and looked back at Shen Yi, then shook his head silently and said, "If someone can do this quietly under my nose, or in the imperial city, then I am really in vain as the emperor."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Shen nodded slightly.

What the emperor said makes a lot of sense.

You know, this is not an ordinary emperor, but a shrewd and resourceful emperor. When he was still young, Yang Jingzong was not his opponent. Now the authority of Emperor Hongde is supreme, and no one can do these small moves against the empress dowager quietly.

Mr. Shen thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I want to visit the Empress Dowager."

"It won't work today."

The emperor looked at the dark night outside and said, "Tomorrow, let's go and see our mother together."

“You have a lot of ideas.”

The emperor said softly, "Maybe we can think of a way to take care of our mother."

Shen Yi shook his head and said, "I don't have the ability to heal people, but the Queen Mother is my elder, so I should go and see her."

His Majesty the Emperor lowered his head to drink tea, then put down the teacup, looked up at Shen Yi, and asked a question that had no beginning or end: "Mr. Shen, you have met my three sons today, what do you think..."

Mr. Shen blinked his eyes, looking very innocent.

"Your Majesty, who are you meeting?"

Emperor Hongde smiled dumbly: "My three sons."

"Third son?"

Master Shen shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I rushed all the way to Jiankang and came directly to the palace as soon as I entered Jiankang City. I did not see the Third Prince."

Emperor Hongde glanced at Shen Yi and scolded with a smile.

"Sly, sly!"

(End of this chapter)