In May of the first year of Longqing (1567 AD), Wang Chong and Guo Yi were chasing and killing Lin Yiguan in the Ryukyu Kingdom, Tang Jing returned to Nanjing with Zhu Hui, and after Xu Yihou and Zhu Junwang were kidnapped in Korea, they were freed with the help of Ma Wu, and they disembarked on Tsushima Island; At this time, in order to save her father, Xu Linger returned to Japan again......

The new monarch ascended the throne, Vientiane was renewed, and Emperor Longqing began to draft girls to fill the harem, and the rules still inherited the system of the ancestors: all the concubines of the palace of the emperor and the prince were carefully selected for it.

For more than half a year, in addition to the women of doctors, witches, merchants and hundreds of workers, more than 6,000 girls between the ages of thirteen and sixteen were selected from all over the country.

On the first day, the show girls lined up in a line of 500 people, and first eliminated a group of women from the overall appearance, excluding the taller, shorter, fatter, and thinner.

On the second day, every 100 people lined up, the selection process became extraordinarily careful, Wen Po started from the five senses, checked the ears, eyes, mouth, nose, hair, skin, collar, shoulders, back, etc.

On the third day, according to the assessment standards of the palace, the eunuchs first took a ruler to measure the women's hands and feet, and then asked them to walk dozens of steps, and then eliminated those with slightly shorter wrists, slightly thicker fingers, or frivolous behavior.

After three days, there were less than a thousand remaining show girls, and Huang Jin, the chief eunuch in charge of the draft, reported to Emperor Longqing dejectedly: "Long live my lord, the old slaves have been tired for three days, and they have not found the woman surnamed Luo from Huizhou who did not find the physical characteristics that His Majesty said. ”

Emperor Longqing, who was extremely depressed, replied: "This matter must not be made public. After this woman surnamed Luo is a criminal official, I am afraid that she has already changed her surname, so she does not need to go to a private visit again, so as not to provoke criticism from the government and the opposition. ”

Huang Jin bowed to the ground, and then played: "Long live Shengming, the old slave came to check on more than 6,000 beautiful girls in three days, and he was so tired that he was dizzy, looking for a woman surnamed Luo in Huizhou, I don't know which talkative slave passed it out, and the old slave heard that he had been criticized." ”

"Back then, the thief Yan Shifan Xiaoer once said wildly: The son of the Son of Heaven still wants to send me silver. That's what I'm talking about. At that time, as the crown prince, I trembled and walked on thin ice in front of the first emperor and several scholars, and indeed secretly sent silver to Yan Shifan through the father of this woman surnamed Luo. Now, the father of the woman surnamed Luo has been corrected, and I heard that he had sent his family back to the countryside a long time ago. Who's criticizing me? ”

"Wenyuan Pavilion University Scholar Xu Jie."

"Xu Jie! I see. ”

The next morning, before dawn, hundreds of civil and military officials gathered in the Huangji Hall to bow to the emperor.

(Huangji Palace: now Taihe Palace, also known as Jinluan Palace)

Sitting on the dragon chair, Emperor Longqing said: "All Aiqing are flat, you are all old ministers of the first emperor, now that the sea is calm, the Mongolian Tatar tribes have also made peace, it can be said that the whole world is celebrating together, the four seas are peaceful, I want to be a righteous scholar, correct the official evil, peace of the people's livelihood, and use the country, what good plan can you have for Aiqing?" ”

Li Chunfang, a university scholar, came out of the class and said: "Governor Tu of Fujian wrote a letter: Request to open foreign trade and change private sales to public sales. ”

"Who can preside over the affairs of the merchant and the switch?" Emperor Longqing asked.

Li Chunfang replied: "The minister recommends Gao Gong. ”

"Scholar Xu, what do you think?" Emperor Longqing asked again.

Xu Jie replied: "The minister thought that the first emperor was deeply affected by the 'southern and northern captives', and the people still had suffering. ”

Emperor Longqing was very unhappy and asked: "Since I ascended the throne, this is the first time that a show girl has been selected, more than 6,000 show girls have come from all over the country, and I am also sympathetic to the people's livelihood, and only 100 people remain in the palace, isn't this still a strict thrift?" Arresting Taoist priests Wang Jin, Shen Shien, Fang Shi Liu Wenbin and other demons together and putting them in prison for death is not to eliminate evils, punish adultery and eliminate evil? Xu Jie, you're old. ”

After listening to the emperor's self-defense, Xu Jie stopped talking, and after returning home from the next dynasty, he wrote a resignation letter to the old man and return to his hometown.

Xu Jie's request for resignation was quickly approved by Emperor Longqing, but it caused a lot of discussion among the government and the opposition: Zhang Qi and others wrote to impeach Xu Jie, and a group of officials led by Zou Yinglong wrote a letter to retain Xu Daxue, which made Emperor Longqing in a dilemma.

On this day, Gao Gong, who had been deeply valued by Xu Jie, was summoned to the palace, and Emperor Longqing asked: "Gao Gong, Xu Jieshang wants to return to his hometown, what do you think of this matter?" ”

Gao Gong had just returned to Beijing from the land of exile, and it was under the recommendation of Xu Jie, that he entered the cabinet, but he was ranked after Xu Jie, and it was really difficult for him to answer such a question as the emperor.

After pondering for a moment, Gao Gong replied, "Your Majesty, you can ask Hai Rui about this matter." ”

"Why do you ask Hai Jui?" Emperor Longqing asked.

"Your Majesty, I thought that Hai Rui impeached the first emperor, and he should have been beheaded, but it was Xu Jie and others who rescued him and did not kill him, Weichen thought that this iron-clad loyal minister was deliberately left to His Majesty by the first emperor." Gao Gong replied.

"It makes sense, when I first ascended to the throne, the first thing I did was to pardon Hai Rui, reinstate him as an official, and then promoted him to be the secretary of Dali Temple. Gao Gong, let him take a break. ”

So, Gao Gong immediately took out a fold from his arms, handed it to Emperor Longqing through the eunuch, and said: "Hai Rui's fold, the minister is about to present it to His Majesty's Imperial Review. ”

Emperor Longqing took the recital and read one of the passages: Xu Jie, who served the first emperor, could not save the mistakes of the immortal civil engineering, and was afraid that the emperor would maintain his throne. However, since Xu Jie's presiding over the state affairs, he has been worried about state affairs, and his temperament is generous and tolerant, and there are many things to praise, but Qi Kang and others are willing to act as flying eagle lackeys to capture and devour good kinds, and their sins have surpassed Gao Gong.

Seeing this, Emperor Longqing suddenly felt disgusted with Gao Gong, but found that he still looked calm, without the slightest sense of shame, pondered for a moment, couldn't help laughing, and said: "This is really a wonderful move, since this is the case, let Xu Jiejuan go back to his hometown." ”

"Your Majesty Shengming, Weichen's view, Hai Rui is just right, should be promoted to the third grade, reward the title of imperial history, can be released to the governor of Yingtian, Suzhou, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Songjiang, Huizhou, Tianping, Ningguo, Anqing, Chizhou ten prefectures and Guangdezhou, after Your Majesty's mercy business switch, these places are where my Ming money and grain come from, overseas silver will continue to pour into the south of the Yangtze River, if it is not for Hai Rui's character, who can withstand the temptation of this white flower?"

"Gao Gong, Gao Gong, you are killing three birds with one stone, that is, getting rid of political enemies, and pulling out a nail around you, and whether you have such selfishness or not, in short, you have helped me a lot."

"Your Majesty is Shengming, the minister is sincere and afraid, and he has no such thoughts. Weichen believes that Lord Li Chunfang should be the chief of Wenyuan Pavilion and asks His Majesty for permission. ”

"Although Li Chunfang is a kind person, he can't afford to be of great use, if you don't come to the head cabinet, who will open the Zhongxing era for me?"

"Thank you, Lord Ron!"

Through Gao Gong's recommendation, Hai Rui, the head of the Sipin Household Department, went to the next level, and was released by Emperor Longqing to be the governor of Yingtian, and became the feudal official of Zhengsanpin.

On the day of Hai Rui's new appointment, Tang Jing, who had just returned to Nanjing, was wandering on the banks of the Qinhuai River, and in the past six years, his hometown had long been a matter of fact, looking at his high-walled compound with tears in his eyes, but he did not have the courage to knock on the door.

Qinhuai River is said to be Qin Shi Huang, chisel through the square mountain to lead the Huai water, traverse the city, so get this name, from the peach leaf to the two sides of the Zhenhuai Bridge, ten miles of Qinhuai, painting boat Lingbo, rich people gather, green buildings stand in a forest, such a prosperous scene, Zhu Hui see lingering.

"Look, that's my home, it's been six years......" Before he finished speaking, Tang Jing couldn't help crying.

Zhu Hui persuaded: "Brother, don't be too sad, just get home." ”

Tang Jing sighed and said: "You don't know, in the early years, I went back and forth in Guangdong, Fujian and other places to do business, the original wife He had no son, I married the second room Liu outside, gave birth to a son, and brought their mother and son back to Nanjing, who knows, but the He family did not let them in, noisy for half a month, there is really no way, I had to take Liu's mother and son to the sea again, the mother was worried about the little grandson, and also followed, who knew that my family's merchant ship just left the Zhoushan Islands, and met the Japanese Kou, and caught my family to Iki Island, JapanIt's been six years! ”

Zhu Hui helped him to go home, but when he arrived at the door, Tang Jing seemed a little hesitant, stretched out his hand a few times, and did not dare to knock on the door.

Seeing his thoughts, Zhu Hui lay in his ear and whispered a few words, so Tang Jing nodded, handed the jade pendant on his chest to Zhu Hui, and hid in the alley.

So, Zhu Hui stepped forward and knocked on the door, waited for a while, and heard someone inside ask, "Who are you looking for?" ”

Zhu Hui replied, "May I ask if this is Mrs. He's home?" Someone asked me to bring her a gift. ”

A middle-aged man wearing a scarf and gorgeous clothes opened the door of the house, looked Zhu Hui up and down, and asked, "Where are you from?" Who wants to give a gift to Mrs. Ho? I'm the master here, and it's inconvenient for He to come out to meet guests, so just leave it to me. ”

Zhu Hui pretended to be surprised and asked, "In this way, you should be Tang Jing and Tang Daguan?" Disrespectful, disrespectful! ”

"Hehe, then you may have found the wrong door, my surname is Xu, you can go." Saying that, Xu Daguan was about to close the door.

Zhu Hui grabbed the hand of this Xu official, shook his head and said with a smile: "That's right, that's right, it must not be wrong, could it be that Tang Daguan changed his surname to Xu?" ”

Xu Daguan was furious and shouted: "Let go! Where did the wild boy come from, but he dared to spread wild here. ”

Zhu Hui ignored him and shouted loudly: "Sister-in-law Tang, Brother Tang Jing asked me to deliver a letter to you." ”

After a while, a little girl about ten years old ran out of the back room and asked, "What did you say, brother?" Is my father still alive? ”

"Get back in the house!" As he spoke, Xu Daguan glared at the girl fiercely, raised his hand and scared her away.

At this moment, a young woman who was still charming came out and pulled the little girl into the house.

Zhu Hui pushed Xu Daguan to the ground, rushed into the courtyard, and asked loudly, "May I ask Mrs. He?" ”

The young woman walked out of the door, nodded in surprise, and asked, "Where are you from?" ”

Zhu Hui hurriedly bowed down, handed Tang Jing's jade pendant into He's hands, and said, "Sister-in-law Tang, please take a look." ”

He held the jade pendant in his hand, he couldn't believe his eyes, and he couldn't say a word for a long time.

Xu Daguan got up from the ground, ran over and beat Zhu Hui, and scolded loudly: "Where did the wild seed come from, do you know who I am?" Saying it scares you to death, get out of here! ”

Zhu Hui didn't fight back, and replied with a smile: "Xu Daguan, you occupy the magpie's nest, and it should be you who went out from here." ”

"Xu Xi, come and send this kid to the Yamen of Yingtianfu."

A young man ran out of the housekeeper's room, came up to wipe his shoulders and put his back together, tied Zhu Hui up, pulled him up and walked out.

Xu Daguan chased him outside the door and shouted: "Send him to the Yamen of Yingtianfu for me, and tell Master Cai that this person is a widow, who robbed him in broad daylight, and directly beheaded him." ”

At this time, Tang Jing found that Zhu Hui had been tied up and had already understood what was going on at home, but at this moment, he had no choice but to wipe his tears and follow behind them.

After escorting Zhu Hui away, Xu Daguan said: "Even if that dead ghost Tang Jing comes back, he is not afraid!" Committing a sea ban is a capital crime, you stay at home for me, and you are not allowed to go anywhere! My uncle has returned to his hometown, and we have to go back to see it, and by the way, we will buy thousands of hectares of fertile land for my uncle's old age. ”

Mrs. He didn't dare to come out, let alone let the tears fall, so she nodded with grief and took her daughter into the house.

Xu Daguan drank tea and teased the birds in the courtyard for a while, waited for nearly an hour, and still didn't see Xu Xi come back, and said impatiently: "Why is Master Cai so grinding today? ”。

After waiting for another half an hour, the mournful Xu Xi came back, and the official Xu asked, "Isn't it over to hand over the person to Master Cai?" Why wait so long? Go pack my bags and get ready to go back to Songjiang Mansion. ”

"Master, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave tomorrow." Xu Xi replied nervously.

Xu Daguan's eyes widened, and then asked, "What can't you do?" Who can stop me? ”

"Master, it's true that Tang Jing is back, and he followed us to Yingtianfu just now and sued you."

"Sue me ......" Xu Daguan couldn't believe it, laughed loudly for a while, and asked contemptuously: "Then what did Master Cai say?" ”

Xu Xi replied: "Old man, this morning Lord Cai went back to Beijing to report on his work, and a master Hai came to the capital to take up his new post today, and he took Tang Jing's paper." ”

Xu Daguan was taken aback for a moment, and hurriedly asked, "Why is it so fast?" Who is this Haida Master? ”

"Back to the old man, it is the famous Hai Pen Holder, Hai Rui who dares to catch the eldest son of Hu Zongxian's family."

I had heard that Hai Rui was honest and upright, and Xu Daguan had not seen it, but he knew that his uncle Xu Jie, who was as important as a mountain to Hai Ruien, believed that he would not treat himself well, so he said casually:

"Tang Jing wants to sue, let him sue, my uncle has returned to Songjiang, we have to go back and see."