After Meizi left, Zhu Qiming hurriedly finished dinner and wanted to go to Xuanwumen to meet Xu Gong. At this time, Jin Ying brought the emperor's will, and the emperor ordered him to go to the Qianqing Palace quickly.

He originally wanted Yin'er and the others to go to the Xuanwu Gate to give Xu Gong a message, but after thinking about it, he finally dispelled this idea. The stakes are very high, and at this time, it is better to miss the appointment than to let the subordinates be in a daze under the dangerous wall!

The rain showers outside the door have stopped. Zhu Qiming didn't dare to delay a little, and immediately ordered Mama Cui to rush to Qianqing Palace with Jin Ying.

At the intersection of the two palace roads leading to the Qianqing Palace and the Qingning Palace, he met a lady unexpectedly, just look at her familiar appearance, and the palace maids who were obviously from the Qingning Palace next to her, Zhu Qiming knew that she was the Haizhou Qian family!

It was the beginning of the unitary period, and it was still early, and when he glanced at Qian from a distance of less than a zhang, he formed a fairly clear impression in his mind.

Qian is a graceful woman, with a slender figure, a smile, and the colors painted by her bright eyes and teeth are just like a ray of clear light, adding a bit of vitality to the gray Forbidden City. Graceful and luxurious, with a gentle and virtuous aura, with this posture and temperament alone, you can become an excellent candidate for the future queen!

Zhu Qiming had to admire the Empress Dowager's unique vision. Of course, in the major matters involving the main lord of the middle palace, the empress dowager cannot just judge people by their appearance, which must be full of a lot of trade-offs, as well as the overall consideration and proper grasp of the many checks and balances between the former dynasty and the harem.

"Yue Wang Jin'an."

A lady who has been selected and is waiting to be crowned to obtain the corresponding position is inconvenient to talk to the prince rashly, but the Qian family generously gave him a regular salute, and also opened his mouth to say hello, needless to say, it must be because the Empress Dowager mentioned him as the king of Yue on some occasions in front of her favorite queen candidate, as for the purpose of the Empress Dowager's move, this is not something Zhu Qiming wants to worry about.

All he knew was that he had to show the respect he deserved to the lady in front of him. So, he bowed and bowed, and it was a long time before he became right.

Looking at the back of the Qin family leaving, Zhu Qiming was thinking: In case the Qin family is really canonized, how should she be called when she is on the table or by chance? He, the prince, has never been on the table, so he really doesn't know the importance of it, well, I'm afraid I have to find an opportunity to ask Mr. Lu for advice.

"Your Highness, the emperor is still waiting in the Qianqing Palace."

Under Jin Ying's urging, Zhu Qiming retracted his gaze and walked towards the direction of Qianqing Palace.

The twilight was quietly falling, and there was silence all around, and he faintly felt that under the calm surface of the Forbidden City, there were turbulent undercurrents.

There is no such thing as a matter of course in the Forbidden City, and many major events must be secretly torn apart and contested before the final result can slowly surface.

So, is the result of this contest about who will enter the middle palace have anything to do with the fate of him, the prince? In this regard, Zhu Qiming didn't want to think about it, he always thought that it was a bit ridiculous to such idleness, it was better to put his mind on how to deal with the suspect!

"Your Highness, you said that the former dynasty and the harem should be unrelated to each other, but why does the Sprinkle family always feel that they are integrated?"

Zhu Qiming was thinking about the appointment of Xuanwu Gate, and was unexpectedly disturbed by Jin Ying's hidden words that he wanted to reveal and hide. "What does my father-in-law mean by that?"

Jin Ying smiled leisurely, "Your Highness, the world is changing. The Sprinkle family heard that the new branch jinshi likes to worship the disciples of famous people in the court, so there is a protégé and a former official. Do you say that such a major event as a draft girl can be finalized by a group of old internal officials and grandmothers? Are there people with a wide range of people who want to take a shortcut to the south, and secretly make friends with Jiuqing and Xunqi? ”

Hey, that's true! If this assumption is true, then it must be the Queen Mother who will benefit in the end, because the Queen Mother has absolute dominance over the draft, and Jiuqing and Xungui can only reach some kind of deal with the Queen Mother if they want to "care" about the emperor's harem and let their favorite candidates hitchhike. In this way, the dominance of public opinion is bound to fall into the hands of the Queen Mother, and the dream of the Zhou family in the middle palace is no longer out of reach!

However, there is a question here, that is, even if the important ministers of the former dynasty wanted to return the favor and persuade the emperor to appoint the Zhou family who was the queen mother's favor, how could they let their ideas reach the heavens?

"Father-in-law wants to do more, the matter of the harem of the Son of Heaven, how can the hundreds of officials in the court be allowed to put their beaks!"

Jin Ying smiled and shook his head, "Well, Your Highness might as well think about this matter from a different angle." Writing books and saying that they pay attention to small words and righteousness, why is this not the case for monarchs and ministers? The hundred officials talked about trivial matters in front of the emperor, but the emperor had to think of major events and righteousness. Several important ministers mentioned the place of Changping when they faced the saints, and some said that Changping was auspicious from the sky, which means that the emperor's heir is prosperous; Some say that Changping Feng Shui is good, it is the land of Longxing, if the Son of Heaven belongs to Changping, then the world will return to the heart! ”

Changping? Isn't Zhou's origin Changping? The ministers' "prosperity of the imperial heir" is not a hint that the Zhou family has super fertility? And "the world returns to the heart" is not difficult to understand, naturally refers to the establishment of the Zhou family, which is expected by everyone!

Thinking that Jin Ying, an internal official who has always taken a position and treats all the royal relatives well, would never chat with a prince about such secret matters for no reason, Zhu Qiming's heart moved, and he felt a little worried about the empress dowager.

While pondering, Zhu Qiming entered the Qianqing Palace, saw the emperor leave his seat, and walked towards him with a smile, "Third brother doesn't have to be polite." ”

Zhu Qiming walked forward with Chang Li, thinking about the emperor's "third brother", and immediately realized that the emperor had trouble asking him for help.

The emperor led Zhu Qiming into a side room with a dining table, invited him to sit together, and personally poured wine for him.

"Third brother, I heard that you entered the Forbidden City today, I am very relieved! Although you are casual, you can live in Yuefu or live in another courtyard, it all depends on your mood. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. The minister still had some things left in the courtyard, so he occasionally came to clean up. ”

Zhu Qiming glanced indifferently at the room, and saw that the guards were all left outside, and there were no chamberlains, female officials, or palace maids serving indoors. Before the sky is dark, the side room is already lit up, and there are several frames of paintings of flowers, birds, fish and insects hanging on the four walls, and light smoke curls on the side of the incense burner. There are only three dishes on the large dining table, two bottles of wine, and a pot of imperial wine. The scene is both gorgeous and simple.

"Third brother, I'm about to get married, the cabinet ministers and a group of people from the Ministry of Rites are choosing a date, and the emperor's grandmother and queen mother are also concerned about this matter, and I don't know what's wrong, although I am happy in my heart, I always feel uneasy."

When you get married for the first time, you are probably both excited and nervous, and the Son of Heaven is no exception! Zhu Qiming handed the emperor a smile, "It seems that Your Majesty has made up your mind." Your Majesty's wedding, this is an unprecedented event since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, it will be unprecedented, congratulations to His Majesty the Emperor! ”

The emperor grinned for a while, "Eh, it's not my decision, how can I rely on my own temperament for such a big thing?" The queen mother has repeatedly persuaded me, and Guo Jin, the secretary of the ministry, and several important ministers have said some intriguing words, I can only be as good as a stream, hehehehe! ”

Guo Jin? Zhu Qiming was secretly taken aback, thinking that although Guo Jin had not entered the cabinet, he was a dignified official! The official department is in charge of the appointment and dismissal of officials in the world, examinations, dethronement, transfer, and other affairs, ranking first of the six books, and is known as the heavenly official, Otsuka Zai, Dazai, and is the most powerful official, so Guo Jin takes the lead and speaks, and with his influence, he can mobilize a large number of important ministers to echo it!

However, no matter how great Guo Jin's ability is, I am afraid it can only play the role of icing on the cake, and the one who really plays a decisive role is the Queen Mother! Of course, the Son of Heaven does not have to think about such boring questions as the future relationship between his mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but how can a man marry a wife who does not listen to his mother?

Zhu Qiming didn't dare to interject rashly, and laughed with the emperor for a while, just waiting for the emperor to say it himself.

"Third brother, I'll tell you something, just you! I intend to make Zhou the queen. ”

And so it was! Except for Xianxi Palace and the Zhou family himself, this news is bad for almost everyone in the palace! The Empress Dowager was certainly not pleased; When Jingci Immortal Master and Concubine Wu think of the rest of their lives, they may feel chills down their spines; The selected ladies such as the Qian family and the Qin family have to live in fear, waiting for the unexpected fate to come in fear. And he, the king of Yue, doesn't seem to feel a trace of good from it!

The thought of that flower butterfly makes him upset!

As for the emperor, those fifty ladies are all his women, who is the queen or not? It's not just one person left behind and everyone else is gone, how can the young son of heaven make trouble for this?

For a while, Zhu Qiming's mind was spinning, but he only responded with a smile.

"Third brother, the Empress Dowager seems to have some other ideas, her old man has always listened to your words, you go and persuade the imperial grandmother for me, ha."

Is it just a fluttering sentence of "some thoughts" that can explain the past? The Imperial Grandmother will surely be furious! I'm going to persuade the imperial grandmother? It's no wonder if you don't get scolded for being bloody! Besides, how could the Imperial Grandmother ever listen to me? This is a bit unreliable, isn't it?

Zhu Qiming muttered in his heart, and said falsely: "The minister understands what His Majesty means. ”

Next, the two gentlemen and ministers drank and laughed in a relaxed atmosphere, and after being slightly drunk, Zhu Qiming said goodbye.

It was already nightfall, and it was raining heavily outside, so he took an umbrella from the palace maid and hurried to the Xuanwu Gate.

The lights of the Xuanwu Gate illuminated a nearby area more than ten zhang away, and more than ten zhang away was dim. Zhu Qiming took advantage of the dim twilight to approach the palace wall at the east end.

"Why did Your Highness come?" Xu Gong appeared from behind the tree, he had obviously been waiting here for a long time, so his tone was full of irritability.

"Don't mention it, the emperor passed on this king and went to the Qianqing Palace." Zhu Qiming walked quickly to the palace wall and stood next to Xu Gong, "Commander Xu, that day Xining really overheard the news that the Empress Dowager asked this king to go to the Lamp Market. ”

"I expected it in the morning." Xu Gong invited Zhu Qiming to turn around and face the palace wall, "Your Highness, look!" The sky has eyes, and the rare heavy rain for days will drench the palace wall out of a thin crack, and Xining must have stood here against the wall! ”

With the faint light from a distance, Zhu Qiming finally found the crack on the rain-soaked wall, and there seemed to be an object in the crack that emitted a faint reflection.

If you look closely, it is a special jade pendant!