The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 404 The Prince's Long Vacation

Zhu Houzhao has arrived in Nanjing.

Just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone else was having family reunions, and he brought the Four King Kong to Jiangnan for fun. At his age, there seemed to be nothing else that would interest him other than playing.

Rather than saying that this is a trip to study, it is better to say that this is his trip to make trouble.

"Is this the city of Nanjing? It's nothing more than that..." Zhu Houzhao crossed the river by boat and was about to enter the city from the water gate of the Qinhuai River. All he saw along the way were some low-rise houses, because it had been raining for the past few days, so that the river was full of smoke.

Sun Che said with a smile: "Young Master Zhu, I don't know, this ancient city in the south of the Yangtze River also has the aura of the six dynasties. It's a pity that you can't appreciate that at your age."

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Liu Jin and the others, then turned around and said, "Who says I can't appreciate it? Does it cost money? How much money?"

"Ahem...that's not what it means." Sun Che couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

He witnessed Zhu Houzhao's generous spending along the way.

At first, I thought it was a down-and-out young man who was going on the road, and his companions on the road were mostly to tease a brat for fun. Who would have thought that he would see how unrestrained this brat spends money on the way.

Whether it's staying at the top of the hotel, or participating in a cultural meeting, buying some souvenirs at the local place...Zhu Houzhao takes care of it all by himself.

He has the talent that is not what a child of this age should have, the wealth that is not what a child of this age should have, and the pride of being "gold and silver" for his friends... This kind of bear child is just like a radiant rich man. Let Sun Che and the others leave Zhu Houzhao now, and they will not leave.

Who wants to be near?We want to protect the dignity of the little prince of the Zhu family who is the personal protector of the law.

Liu Jin leaned over and said with a smile: "My lord, you see that the city gate is here, and there is Nanjing City after that."

Sun Che said: "When you pass the city gate, you have to check the way, so you don't need to get off the boat."

"Lu Yin? Isn't it okay to give money?" Zhu Houzhao didn't have that kind of thing. The cities he passed by on the way either didn't go to the city, or he just spent some money to make some accommodations when he went to the city.

But now in Nanjing City, the situation is different. If you don't even have identity documents, you will have to troublesome to enter the city.

Hu Feng came over and said: "It's okay, I'll go over and meet up. But I'm afraid this kind of money is indispensable...Didn't Young Master Zhu come to Yingtian Mansion to seek relatives? By the way, I should guide you."

"Yes, yes, yes." Zhu Houzhao smiled, "Give me the money!"

Liu Jin is the big housekeeper next to Zhu Houzhao, and when he heard that he wanted to give money again, he couldn't help but look at Hu Feng and the three of them with vigilant eyes, thinking in his heart, he was cheated a lot by these three boys along the way, and now he is going to Nanjing City?
I heard that the consumption level in Nanjing is very high. If these three guys are still allowed to eat and drink, and then go to a place with "Six Dynasties" for a few laps, let alone 3000 taels, even 3 taels may not be enough, and we will lose our lives after the transfer!

Take the prince to find flowers and ask willows...

Liu Jin took out more than one tael of scattered silver and a few copper coins. Zhu Houzhao frowned and said, "Is this possible?"

After speaking, he grabbed a twelve taels of silver ingot from Liu Jin's baggage, threw it to Hu Feng and said, "After the road guide is done, we will also arrange accommodation for entering the city, isn't that enough?"

"This...enough is enough!"

Originally, Hu Feng wanted to take advantage of Zhu Houzhao's inexperience in society, and wanted to tap into it, but when he saw that even his companions, Gong Yeping and Sun Che, looked over with greed, he nodded tactfully.

……

……

Let the boatman dock first.

Then Hu Feng headed towards Shuimen by land, while the boat stopped at the ferry first.

Zhu Hou looked at the boats heading towards the water gate, and there were often gorgeous women coming out of the cabins, either pouring water or washing clothes, and even the river bank was full of human fireworks, he couldn't help staring at them with wide eyes.

Sun Che ran over, sat beside Zhu Houzhao and said, "Young Master Zhu, these are flower boats on the Qinhuai River."

"What is a flower boat?" Zhu Houzhao asked.

Sun Che said with a smile: "Naturally, it is a boat full of red dust women. They go to the city to do business at night, and they will leave the city after the night."

"Cough cough." Liu Jin coughed twice next to him, meaning that you said this to a ten-year-old child, do you have ulterior motives?
Zhu Houzhao asked: "Since everyone has entered the city, it is enough to live in the city, why do they have to go out of the city?"

"This……"

Sun Che was embarrassed for a moment. He didn't expect that the focus of the brat's attention was completely different from that of adults like them.

Gong Yeping added with a smile: "It's because the boat is not a place to live, and besides, Qin Lou girls come from humble backgrounds, even if they have money and want to rent a place to live in the city, no one else wants to live with them, so they can only make their home outside the city."

"Oh." Zhu Houzhao smiled, as if he had learned something new, and asked, "Then their family members and children are also outside the city?"

"Cough cough!"

This time even Gong Yeping was defeated by the brain circuit of the brat.

Liu Jin said: "My lord, those lowly girls have no family."

Sun Che said: "You are wrong about this. Leji girls are half-life wanderers, and they still have to return to their roots. When they are in their twenties, they will definitely find a man from Leji to marry. Otherwise, how do you think the people from Leji in the south of the Yangtze River survive? But their youth is only a few years old. After the past, it is difficult to support their families. Although they are all beautiful now, most of them have a bleak future because they don't even have the qualifications to buy land and farm."

"Wow."

Zhu Houzhao suddenly felt a kind of coldness in the world. After all, there was a childlike innocence and kindness in his heart, and said, "After that, it's time to change everything."

Sun Che asked curiously, "What changed?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "You don't know, a gentleman of mine once told me that there is no distinction between high and low in this world. At first I thought he was fooling me, but now that I think about it, there are indeed many people born poor and humble, so that their lives are miserable. I think this should be changed."

"Hahaha..." Gong Yeping laughed from the sidelines, "Young master, your ambitions are not small. You want to change the traditions that have been left over from the Ming Dynasty for more than a hundred years, or the Chinese traditions that have been left over for thousands of years?"

"Where there is a will, there is a way." Zhu Houzhao scratched his head and grinned.

Just when Gong Yeping was about to say a few more jokes, he saw that not far away Hu Feng had come back, and Hu Feng already had a guide in his hand.

"So fast?" Zhu Houzhao took the initiative to greet him.

Sun Che also asked curiously: "Brother Tai really has a connection, and the relationship with Jinling City is just like this? How much money did you spend?"

Hu Feng said embarrassedly: "I... I didn't spend any money. After I went there, it was said that someone wanted to defect to relatives, so they gave them the way, and said that they could find them for anything in the future."

"Ah?" Gong Yeping and Sun Che heard it as if they were listening to a scripture from heaven.

Even Gao Feng, Qiu Ju and others beside him didn't quite understand.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and go to the city, Liuchao is full of powder, here I come!"

"The money?" Liu Jin immediately wanted to get back the money given earlier.

More than ten liang of silver is not much different from a stone to the prince, but to him, a eunuch with no future, it is more precious than life.

Zhu Houzhao said: "It's Mr. Hu who has the ability. He has the money. After entering the city, he will arrange a residence. By the way, I plan to visit relatives and friends after entering the city, and I will look for you later."

……

……

The boat passed the water gate of the Qinhuai River smoothly.

Ma Yongcheng pulled Gao Feng aside, and asked in a low voice: "Gao Gonggong, do you think it is the news that came out before, Lai Guogong already knew about it, so he sent someone to take care of it?"

"Here... there is no one to contact me." Gao Feng was also very confused.

At this moment, Liu Jin came out to take a breath.

The two quickly saluted Liu Jin.

By the prince's side, whoever gets the favor is the uncle, and now whoever takes the lead...the one who returns to the palace will have a greater responsibility, so even Ma Yongcheng is very sensible and doesn't think too much of himself in front of Liu Jin.

Liu Jin said: "You two, in fact, our family has already secretly informed Master Zhang of the news of the crown prince's going south."

Gao Feng was surprised and said, "Didn't you let our family..."

"Relying on you? Do you know where I can contact Master Zhang? Didn't you realize that someone was secretly protecting you all the way south?" Liu Jin looked very proud.

"No... I haven't seen... No, it seems that after Xuzhou, someone tried to get close to us, but every time it was a different person..." Gao Feng suddenly thought of something.

Liu Jin sneered and said, "If it's always the same batch, the crown prince would have noticed it a long time ago. I believe you two won't let this matter out, right?"

"Ok?"

Gao Feng and Ma Yongcheng couldn't help but look at each other.

They are also wondering, neither of us know such a big secret, what is your intention to tell us?Wouldn't it be easier for one more person to keep a secret?
Liu Jindao: "The prince has asked about finding Master Zhang after entering the city. You should cooperate well. Arriving in Nanjing City is no worse than being on the road. This is a dragon's pond and a tiger's lair. The prince's safety is much more important than the heads on our necks."

"Yes Yes."

Gao Feng agreed for Ma Yongcheng.

……

……

Ships enter the city.

After arriving at the shore, the bustle and bustle of Nanjing City became even more lively.

After Zhu Houzhao landed, he was so excited that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear, and almost ran off into the crowd, but Sun Che and the others blocked him.

"Young master, you are not old enough to run around in the city. Since you want to go to your relatives and friends, you might as well make an appointment for a meeting place first, so we can tell you the location of the residence so that you can come and find it after visiting relatives and friends." Gong Yeping said.

Zhu Houzhao said: "No need, I was going to visit my relatives, but seeing how lively this place is, I decided not to go. Let's go to Wenhui first, my hands are itchy!"

"Itchy hands?" Gong Yeping didn't understand.

It's as if you're going to play a game with others. Haven't you talked enough with others along the way?
It’s always those clichés, and at first we thought it was very fresh, but then we felt... You’re a trick that’s popular all over the world, and you bully the scholars you met on the way south. They didn’t participate in the two essay meetings with you, right?
Liu Jin said: "My lord, let's go."

Zhu Houzhao glared at Liu Jin, as if to say, don't think I don't know what you're feeling.

When Ben Gong finds Zhang, he will find a way to tie me up and escort me back to the capital, and my plan of traveling in mountains and rivers will be in vain.

"Originally, I was concerned about that relative and friend, but after I came here, I thought about it carefully. What if he coveted my former family property and tricked me? I am alone and alone, and I am afraid it will be difficult to compete with my tribe now." Zhu Houzhao spoke like an adult.

Hu Feng saw Qian's eyes open the most, and said with a smile: "Young Master Zhu's words are very true, so you should be on guard. Brothers are still clear about accounts, and distant relatives are even more untrustworthy."

Several people looked at Hu Feng.

It seems that even Hu Feng's companions realized that this is teaching children?If your relatives don't cheat, you start cheating first, who is more trustworthy than whom?

……

……

Hu Feng went to hire a carriage. He had the experience of coming to Nanjing City, and then he found the inn in Chongrenfang.

"... Entering the city from Xishuiguan, this is Jiangning County, in Yingtianfu City, this is the outer city and the old city." Hu Feng said.

"Where is the Forbidden City in Nanjing?" Zhu Houzhao asked with a smile.

Hu Feng frowned and said, "You can't go to the Forbidden City casually. If you get close, even if you look up, you will be held accountable if you are seen by an official. Mr. Zhu has no fame, so don't get yourself into trouble."

"Oh, I'm just asking."

Zhu Houzhao thought to himself.

Isn't that my place?You won't let me go, I really want to see it, and I still want to live there.

I'm mad at you.

"Then where is the mansion of Duke Lai?" Zhu Houzhao said, "Mr. Lai, Zhang Zhou's character is Bingkuan, do you know?"

"Don't talk nonsense." This time, Gong Yeping interrupted Zhu Houzhao, "Since you are descended from Zhang Xueshi's lineage in learning, young master, you should know that the name of the teacher should not be mentioned. Zhang Xueshi does not have a mansion in Nanjing."

"Who said no? Isn't he from Yingtianfu?" Zhu Houzhao wondered.

Sun Che said: "This is about to talk about a past. As far as I know, Xueshi Zhang was just a tribute student in Nanyong, and he was a donated prisoner. As a result, his family fell into poverty and had to sell his property. Later, he got the advice of a god and man, and then became famous in the tribute courtyard. Later, he spared no effort to cure the acne of today's little princess, and won the trust of His Majesty... Needless to say, after being the champion, he made great achievements. Can be said to have gained both fame and fortune. I heard that his beautiful wives are even... tsk tsk..."

"What are you thinking about?" Hu Feng next to him almost wanted to pat Sun Che on the head.

Zhu Houzhao grinned when he heard this.

Although he didn't know a lot about what Sun Che said, he was familiar with the latter part, and he had personally experienced it.

"Even if his family is in decline, there should be a place to live in Yingtian Mansion?" Zhu Houzhao asked.

"I heard that he is now the Secretary of the Ministry of War in Nanjing. He wants to be a poor scholar. In just two years, he has won the Sanyuan Award, and he has been ranked in the central court.

Zhu Houzhao said: "Didn't you say that he has no mentor?"

Sun Che was puzzled and said, "Young Master Zhu, where did you hear about this?"

"Forget it, I can't tell you clearly. Haven't you arrived yet?" Zhu Houzhao looked out from the window of the carriage.

"It's right in front, but recently there is a grand literary event in Nanjing, and people from various schools gather in Nanjing, so there may not be any vacant guest rooms. Later, I will use my contacts to help find a private house. The older three will enter the courtyard. How many of us will live in it. I don't know what Mr. Zhu thinks?" Hu Feng said.

There was Liu Jin sitting in the carriage, and he frowned and stared at him when he heard it.

It's not enough to stay in an inn now, so I need to find a big villa to live in?Feelings are not your money, right?Three admissions?Why not die?For the Sanjin Hospital in Nanjing City, can the rent be reduced?

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said: "No problem, there are still people I know who are easy to handle. It is really true to say that I am going out to meet noble people."

"Ahem, you are humble." Even Hu Feng felt embarrassed.

Speaking of "noble man", the young man in front of him is the one, and the three of them came out with the benefactor as a foil.

……

……

After Zhu Houzhao and the others stayed in the inn.

Following Jin Yiwei's guidance, Zhang Zhou arrived at a rice shop opposite the inn. At this time, the rice shop had been taken over by Jin Yiwei, or temporarily rented.

"The backyard is very big..." Yang Peng came out of the inner hall. He also rushed all the way, and it took him six days to rush from the capital to Nanjing, his eyes bloodshot.

Zhang Zhou said: "Eunuch Yang, you have worked really hard."

"It's not hard work, it's all for His Majesty." Yang Peng looked at Zhang Zhou gratefully, "Thank you, Master Zhang, for finding the prince and escorting him here safely."

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "As long as the prince does not reveal his identity when he goes south, there is basically no need to worry about his safety. After all, he has people with him, and he is on the official road. If this road is not smooth, how can the people of Ming Dynasty live and work in peace?"

"Yes, yes." Yang Peng followed the words, "It's all due to His Majesty's grace, and the world is peaceful. Bandits are extinct."

"It's enough to say that it has disappeared. There are still many bandits in Huguang, Jiangxi, Liangguang, Yunnan and Guizhou. There are even bandits in and out of Fujian. Hasn't His Majesty re-appointed a governor to put the people in peace? As long as Nanjing is safe and sound."

There was a commotion outside.

But a group of students came out of the inn, each one seemed to be shouting slogans, and headed towards the Gongyuan.

These days Zhang Zhou often wandered around the city of Nanjing, so he was naturally used to this kind of scene. This was probably what outsiders called a "grand event in the literary world", but in fact, there was no essential difference in fighting with people from several gangs. It was just that the way of debate was to use words instead of hands.

This is also a headache for Yin Tianfu Yin Wu Xiong.

Yang Pengdao: "The prince lives here, his family history is complicated, and he is easy to get lost. Should we arrange a residence for the prince?"

Zhang Zhou shook his head with a smile and said, "Let him do it first. We must keep a low profile by deploying manpower inside and outside. I have asked Xu Jing beside me to be responsible for this. He knows a lot of people in Yingtian Mansion. They are scholars, so it is easier to keep an eye on them."

Without saying a word, there was another commotion in the inn.

A Jin Yiwei in casual clothes and scholar's uniform ran out and said anxiously: "My lords, there is a fight inside."

"Is there something about the prince?" Yang Peng asked nervously.

"No, the people who were traveling with the prince have already fought for the room, and one of them was pushed down the stairs."

(End of this chapter)