After a long discussion in the living room in the courtyard, Zhu Gaoxu said that he should clean up the dust on his clothes and rest for a while. He left the drawing-room, followed by two henchmen, to another room in the courtyard.

Zhu Gaoxu changed his clothes. When the eunuch fetched water into the house, he washed his face again.

But Zhu Gaoxu did not show up again, and he sent Zhang Sheng, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, to prepare another carriage and select some retinues. With the arrangements in place, he went out the back door and left the mint.

And the eunuch Cao Fu went to the courtyard to announce the decree after a while, and asked the civil and military who were resting everywhere to drive back to the imperial city with Luan. Naturally, the emperor could no longer appear in public.

Maybe some officials will feel a little strange and suspect that the emperor is not on Luan's car, but it doesn't matter. It was relatively easy for the emperor to leave the palace in the early Ming Dynasty; Ministers generally don't care about such things.

When Zhu Gaoxu left the brigade, the place he was going to was Ma Enhui's mansion.

The mint is inside the outer gate, while Enhui's mansion is near the inner city gate. But both places are in the outer city, and both are on the east side of the inner city; Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu took advantage of the fact that he was outside the palace today, so he only had to go north, and he could go to Ma Enhui's house on the other side of Yanque Lake.

I haven't seen Ma Enhui for a long time, and Zhu Gaoxu also wants to see her......

The group walked north along the road. The brocade guards were all dressed in blue and gray robes, and they looked like the ranks of some wealthy family, after all, ordinary people did not have so many retinues.

The road leads to the inner city near Tongji Gate. However, they did not go to Tongjimen, they turned east at a fork in the south in order to cross the Qinhuai River from Zhonghe Bridge. Then the chariots and horses continued their northward detour along a large road near the inner city walls.

Zhu Gaoxu sat alone in the carriage, silently waiting to go to his destination.

He looked back at the scene in the living room of the mint today, and only then did he recall that the atmosphere at that time was indeed a little strange; It was as if he was speaking to himself, but the officials' reaction was a little cold.

Zhu Gaoxu estimated that most officials did not think that those seemingly fanciful ideas were realistic. But no one objected to the refutation.

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while, thinking that such coldness was actually a kind of accommodation and courtesy.

During the period of the "Battle of Crime", the Han Dynasty took the seizure of power by force as the foundation, and there were many military generals, but there were very few civil officials who could be used; Therefore, at present, the civil officials in the court, except for the batch of jinshi selected by the first palace of martial arts, the rest are inevitably mostly people who are in the wrong position.

Zhu Gaoxu promoted the abolition of the princelings to the cabinet, and today promoted Song Li to the chief official of the Zhengsanpin Yamen, and the minister has already felt Zhu Gaoxu's tolerance and sincerity; In this way, all officials who know a little about human feelings should try their best to compromise and be humble to the emperor.

Some of the traditional ideas of the world, even in the modern society hundreds of years later, can easily feel the shadow of it.

Modesty has always been a virtue advocated by Oriental people, and mutual accommodation, courtesy, mutual respect, and interpersonal exchanges are also considered good relationships. People often don't say it, but need the other party to consciously feel and have the consciousness to reciprocate. This euphemistic way is difficult for some people to understand. It is precisely Zhu Gaoxu who can understand it, and of course those officials in the DPRK and China understand it better.

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while, and then exhaled. He suddenly thought of Ma Enhui, who he was going to see today, and suddenly felt even more incomprehensible.

Looking back on the relationship between the two, it is also through mutual goodwill, as if testing each other's minds, and you have inadvertently established a relationship between you and me.

Yongle Chu, because Zhu Gaoxu had no ill feelings towards Ma Enhui, he saved her when she set herself on fire, and brought her some news of Wen Gui, and tried to help her. Later, Ma Enhui told Zhu Gaochu that the secret passage where Jianwen escaped, but Zhu Gaochu also used it. Later, the abolished prince's family was set on fire, and Zhu Gaoxu and Ma Enhui were more or less thinking about each other in that incident. Affection is becoming more and more sincere.

This year, Zhu Gaoxu gave Ma Enhui's mansion and various land deeds, wanting her to live more comfortably. But this time, Ma Enhui not only didn't appreciate it, but her attitude took a sharp turn for the worse, looking a little bad, faintly angry?

Zhu Gaoxu occasionally remembered the last time they met, and never understood: What did I do wrong?

At this time, the attendant on horseback escorted the carriage and arrived outside the door of the mansion. There was no need to knock on the door to report, the door opened directly, it should be Zhang Sheng who sent someone over in advance and arranged everything.

The carriage pulled into the courtyard and stopped next to a hallway. When Zhu Gaoxu got down from the back of the carriage, he saw that Ma Enhui was already waiting there. There were no servants around her, but in this courtyard, Zhu Gaoxu didn't want to make a big battle, so he said first: "Madame, excuse me." ”

"Holy Lord, please." Ma Enhui was stunned for a moment, then bent down and made a gesture.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at her and saw that her expression was calm, her demeanor was calm, and she did not look angry. It's just that this time she was dressed too plainly, with a gray and white dress, and only a cloth towel and a wooden hairpin on her coiled hair. She may not look like a filial woman, but at least she doesn't look like a noblewoman with such a large mansion. But even so, her white face and neck, and bulging chest outline are still quite beautiful. The key to a woman is to grow well.

This house was picked by Zhu Gaoxu, and he had also been here, so of course he knew the general direction, so he took the initiative to walk up a corridor. The two of them walked north along Langwu first.

After being silent for a while, Zhu Gaoxu spoke: "I am only a martial artist, and I used to deal with rough people in the army from time to time, I am afraid that I am not as elegant and decent as those Confucian scholars who are knowledgeable and courteous. If there is a place where you say the wrong thing and do things inconsiderately, Madame will have to take care of it. ”

Ma Enhui's voice immediately said: "The saint is thoughtful, polite in words and deeds, you don't have to be careful. ”

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head to look at Ma Enhui behind him, and saw that her performance was a little weird. Her hands were clenched tightly in front of her abdomen, and her posture was dignified, but her expression was too tight. Ma Enhui also raised her head to look at him when she noticed Zhu Gaoxu's movements, her eyes were faintly melancholy, revealing a pitiful expression.

Enhui said: "There are many state affairs, how can the saint remember that the concubine is here?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu pretended to be relaxed and said: "Today I went to the mint to observe the workshop of the new copper coins. It is on the south side of the Qinhuai River, not far from the upper gate. There is a river that flows into the Qinhuai River. ”

Enhui nodded and said, "The saint said that the concubine already knows where it is. ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said: "When I come back, I also want to go in this direction, so I will come to visit by the way." ”

He thought for a while, took out two copper coins from his arms, turned around and handed them over: "The first batch of new money is given to Madame." He smiled, "This is a real small gift, just two pennies." ”

Enhui reached out and took it into the palm of her hand, looked at it and said, "It's done well." Her face flushed slightly, and she said softly, "Interesting gift, thank you." ”

Zhu Gaoxu just forgot to return the sample and suddenly remembered this thing, but it seems that Ma Enhui likes it quite a lot. When they first met, the inexplicable embarrassment and nervousness soon eased, and the two of them gossiped without a match.

When they walked to the bamboo forest, Zhu Gaoxu looked left and right, and said, "These new bamboos seem to have grown up a bit, and they are even quieter than the last time I saw them. ”

"I guess so, bamboo grows pretty fast." Ma Enhui's voice was also a little lighter, "The concubine sees it every day, but she can't detect it." ”

After walking through the bamboo forest, the line of sight suddenly broadened. Standing on the road, Zhu Gaoxu could also see the Yanque Lake in the distance. However, there is still a wall in the middle, and the colorful water feature of the lake can only be viewed from afar, not up close.

"The concubine thought that she was not very respectful to the saint last time, and the saint would be angry. But as soon as you come, you ask if you have done something wrong or said something wrong. Ma Enhui's voice murmured.

Zhu Gaoxu immediately looked sideways and said in surprise: "Is it really not?" ”

Ma Enhui smiled bitterly, shook her head, and then looked annoyed, and sighed lightly.

Zhu Gaoxu was suddenly even more confused, because he believed what Ma Enhui said just now.

He also guessed that the Jianwen family had too many grievances with the Yan Wangfu, and Ma Enhui might be in an awkward situation. But that time in the Shen family's mansion, on the night of the eve of the Northern Expedition, she clearly said that she didn't want to pay attention to morality anymore.

Ma Enhui wanted to speak and stopped. Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu looked like he was listening.

Unexpectedly, at this time, a maid came out of the attic of the small courtyard next to him. The maid glanced this way, and then walked over with her head down. Ma Enhui immediately stopped talking.

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly looked at the maid very unhappy.

When the maid approached, she gave way. The maid curtsied and said, "Madame explained, don't let the light in front of the Buddha statue go out, the slave maid has added some oil just now." ”

Enhui said: "I know, let's go." ”

"Yes." The maid bent over. After Zhu Gaoxu and the others went first, she re-stepped onto the road and walked into the distance.

Zhu Gaoxu was surprised: "Do you believe in Buddhism?" ”

Enhui said: "Don't you know? ”

Zhu Gaoxu really didn't know yet. There should be someone arranged by Jinyi Wei in this courtyard, and Zhu Gaoxu didn't ask too much about the specific personnel. But Ma Enhui is no longer a figure in the court, so unless Zhu Gaoxu takes the initiative to ask, no one usually reports the movements of people like Enhui.

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu was silent, Enhui said lightly: "Everyone in the world should believe a little, and it is not surprising that they are similar to me." There are gods in the head, and people are always in awe. The concubine worships the Buddha and seeks a state of mind. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I don't believe it at all. Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Nestorianism, and Hinduism are all unbelievers. I think there may be gods, but they are not such gods that humans have figured out themselves. ”

Ma Enhui was slightly surprised when she heard this, but she didn't say anything. Most people are estimated to be similar to her, and they don't care much about other people's religious beliefs.