Zhu Di politely rejected Fang Xiaoru's good offer to leave them to eat, and took Shen Ruoyu to leave Fang's house and go to the market outside.

Dressed in the most ordinary civilian clothes, two people walked around the bustling and lively bazaar. Zhu Di bought some snacks everywhere, sat down, and chatted with the stall owner for a few words. Shen Ruoyu accompanied King Yan to make a secret visit on the street, eating around indiscriminately, hoping to fill his stomach.

They passed by a vendor selling duck soup noodles, sat down at the table, and each of them ordered a bowl of duck soup noodles. Zhu Di said while eating:

"Well, it tastes good. If there are few, you taste it; This is the most famous street food in Yingtian. ”

The peddler, who was about forty years old, laughed and said:

"The two guest officers are northerners with accents, right?"

Zhu Di nodded and said, "Yes, both of me are from Beiping." ”

"Peking? The people on King Yan's territory. The peddler sighed and ignored them.

Zhu Di felt strange and asked, "Why boss, it seems that he gets angry when he hears that we are from Beiping?" Have you ever been provoked by the people of Peking before? ”

The peddler shrugged: "How dare you; If there is, it is also your Royal Highness King Yan. ”

Shen Ruoyu asked, "How do you say this?" ”

The peddler said, "No; King Yan remembered that the soldiers usurped the throne and hit Ying Tianlai, but the two of them could arrest people all over the streets here and ask to see if anyone would say that His Royal Highness King Yan was welcome. ”

Shen Ruoyu looked at Zhu Di's angry and somewhat helpless expression. He frowned and smiled incredulously:

"This uncle, you can't say that. We have been in Peking for so many years, and we have never heard that King Yan wants to seize the throne. How did you get to Yingtian, this city is full of wind and rain and it is rumored that King Yan is going to raise troops. Where did the court hear the rumors? ”

"Rumors?" The peddler just snorted coldly.

At this time, an old man who was eating at the same table with them opened his mouth and said: "Twenty-five years ago, Prince Yiwen was ill, and Hong Wuye always wanted to establish King Yan as the crown prince, and the world knew it. If it weren't for the two kings of Qin and Jin, I'm afraid that the crown prince would definitely belong to King Yan. As a result, he didn't get it, with King Yan's ability, can he not hold a grudge. ”

Another vendor next to the duck soup noodle stall heard it and said with a lot of mouth:

"Who said it was because of the two kings of Qin and Jin? Obviously, it's because King Yan is not a concubine at all, just a concubine of a palace concubine. ”

Zhu Di's face suddenly changed: "Who said this?" ”

The peddler scoffed, "What? Do you people in Beiping still think that your Yan Wang Ye is the concubine of Empress Xiaoci Gao? Who doesn't know that Empress Gao only gave birth to the crown prince and the eldest princess of Ningguo, and King Qin Jinyan was just taken away and raised by Empress Gao from the palace concubine. King Qin is the son of Concubine Guo Ning, King Jin is the son of Concubine Sun Guifei, and the biological mother of King Yan and King Zhou is Concubine Qi, or a fresh woman. ”

The vendor selling duck soup powder couldn't hold back and retorted: "How did I hear that King Yan's biological mother was the concubine of Emperor Yuan Shun, Hongjira, who was captured by Hong Wuye and became his concubine, and she was a Mongolian at all. ”

Zhu Di did not speak; Shen Ruoyu saw his eyes, a little flustered, for fear that King Yan would reveal his identity, so he secretly stretched out his hand and pulled him under the table, and said to the vendor who sold duck soup powder:

This claim is certainly nonsense. King Yan is now thirty-nine years old, Xu Da conquered the Yuan Dynasty in the first year of Hongwu, even if he really brought the Hongji clan back to Jingshi, dedicated it to Emperor Gao, and gave birth to a prince, the child is at most thirty-one or twelve years old now. ”

"Thirty-one years old, thirty-nine years old, how big a difference is there in terms of appearance?" The old man said, "King Yan frequently goes out to fight, and the wind and sun are exposed, and no matter how delicate the prince is, he will add a lot of vicissitudes to his appearance. King Yan can completely conceal his true age, and if he talks about ten or eight years more, it will not arouse any suspicion. ”

Zhu Di said coldly at this time: "A few people in broad daylight, discussing this kind of thing, if Emperor Gao is still alive, it is impossible to think about it, right?" ”

The neighbor's vendor said, "That's true." If Hong Wuye is still there, who is tired of talking about the emperor's family affairs on the street, and looking for his own skin. However, the current Son of Heaven is very lenient, and the first thing he did after taking the throne was to vigorously reduce the power of Jinyiwei, and give this group of vicious dogs a look every day, and now they don't dare to arrest people at all. ”

The hawker selling duck soup noodles said, "Besides; We are speaking for the Son of Heaven. If Jinyiwei wants to arrest people, they should all go to Beiping, and they have to arrest them all over the street. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Whether it is a descendant or not, they are all the heirs of Emperor Gao, no matter who ascends the throne, it is still the world of the Zhu family, this is the family affair of the Son of Heaven, it should not be our turn to talk too much, right?" ”

The old man said, "Family affairs? The family affairs of the Son of Heaven are naturally national affairs, and the affairs of the world, how can they have nothing to do with us? What's more, the dispute between the concubines and concubines, how can he say it! ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "Even if it is, but the Son of Heaven can't force the honest vassal king to rebel." King Zhou was not at fault, and the court exiled him to Yunnan, which was too hard-hearted, right? ”

"Just open your mouth to defend King Yan at you Beiping people, you can see that he must have a bad heart." The neighbor's hawker's road.

"In the case of empty words, even the Son of Heaven has no right to cut the feudal domain like this, which violates the "Emperor Ming Ancestral Teachings". Zhu Di said coldly.

"Empty talk?" The hawker selling duck soup powder shouted: "Do you have to wait until the king of Yan raises an army before you can call it a certificate?" Can you cut the domain? I think I should have had you two arrested. ”

His cry was so loud that for a moment passers-by on the street stopped and looked curiously in this direction.

Shen Ruoyu shrugged helplessly and said, "It's not fair for you to say that. You are in Yingtian, you don't want Yingtian to suffer from military disasters, do we Beiping people look forward to King Yan recruiting troops to fight and transfer the food and labor of the whole city to the battlefield? We only have one city, how can we compete with the hundreds of thousands of troops of the imperial court? In this way, when the imperial army breaks through Beiping, you can't slaughter the city? If we don't have King Yan in Beiping, the whole city won't even have enough to eat. Of course, we don't want the court to cut down the feudal domain. You live comfortably with Ying Tian, for fear of seeing others at ease, right? Do you have to kill them all? ”

He pulled King Yan's sleeve and said, "Father-in-law, let's go, don't talk to them." ”

He stood up and reached out to touch the money, but his heart sank; The money bag is empty. When I went out, I didn't think about eating out, so I didn't bring much money; I just walked around the street, and I have already spent a lot of money. Since he was born and landed, he has never bought something without counting the money first.

He was a little embarrassed, and asked King Yan in a low voice, "Father-in-law, do you have any change on you?" I just ran out of money. ”

Zhu Di was slightly stunned, and the expression on his face was a little strange. When the dignified Yan King went out, how could he have brought his own money.

While he was hesitating, the old man at the same table took out a treasure banknote, handed it to the vendor who sold duck soup powder, and said:

"I paid. Countrymen, don't worry about them. ”

The peddler scolded, "I don't scarce their money." Count me out of luck. Uncle, this money is yours, I can't ask for it. ”

Zhu Di and Shen Ruoxiao left through the crowd of onlookers, so they were not embarrassed. Walking to a place where there was no one, Shen Ruoyu comforted softly:

"Lord Wang, the people in the market, you have the same knowledge as them."

Zhu Di was silent for a long time, sighed, and said, "You're right; I may be able to get the throne, but I won't get the hearts of the people. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "At most, you can't get the hearts of the people in this Yingtian City." In addition to Yingtian, there is a whole world. Besides, the people at the feet of the Son of Heaven have always only recognized the emperor's throne in their hearts, and they don't care who sits on the throne. ”

Zhu Di smiled. "Yes, if you become a king or lose a king, you will be the lord if you win the world. When the time comes, all the people in the world will be my subjects, and I am afraid that I will not be able to subdue them. Ruo Xiao, Lone was so uncalm just now that he almost lost his temper. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid this would be a big problem. ”

Shen Ruoxiao said with some sympathy: "It is impossible for anyone to be calm when it is the turn of this kind of thing. Where can people make their own mothers so bad? ”

"? What do you mean? Zhu Di asked absentmindedly.

"Lord Wang, you are obviously the son-in-law born to Empress Xiaoci Gao, but what outrageous rumors are coming out of those people's mouths, Chao * Xianren, Mongolians, and the concubines of Emperor Yuan Shun. To put it more mysteriously, even the color eyes are on it. ”

Zhu Di smiled and said: "These rumors, in fact, I have heard them for a long time. There is also a theory that the Yuan Concubine Hongjira was pregnant before Xu Da conquered Dadu, and then she was taken captive to Jingshi. Therefore, Lone is the son of Emperor Yuan Shun. ”

"Look, it's all nonsense," Shen Ruoyu said with a smile, "If this is true, do you think Emperor Gao will let you live to this day?" So it's nonsense at all, you don't have to take it to heart. ”

Zhu Di asked lightly: "What if what they said is true?" ”

"How is that possible?" Shen Ruoyu said with a smile.

Zhu Di said: "My father and I are indeed very different in appearance. I can't find any similarities with the queen mother. So, not to mention outsiders, even Lone himself, when he first heard these rumors, he was beating a drum in his heart. ”

He looked at Shen Ruoyu and smiled, "You can imagine it." If what they say is true, my King Yan is not the son of Empress Gao, but—for example, the concubine who came to the court, do you care about these things? Do you think there must be a difference? Or, Huaxia must be different from Yidi? ”

Shen Ruoyu hesitated.

"Your Highness......"

"I'll just ask," Zhu Di smiled faintly: "To be honest, I can understand my father's mood back then." In other words, when I became the emperor and set up the crown prince, did I have to establish the eldest son, rather than judge things by actual ability and talent? I really don't know. After all, the mouth of all the people and the hearts of the people in the world are where the emperor's life or failure lies, and I can't help but have some concerns. ”

The two men turned a corner, but were taken aback. The old man who had just eaten duck soup noodles at the same table was standing leisurely at the base of the wall, obviously waiting for them, and when he saw the two of them appear, he greeted him and saluted:

"The grass people knock to see His Royal Highness King Yan."

The two of them were taken aback, and immediately looked around, and saw that there was no one, and then settled down a little. Zhu Di said coldly:

"This old man, you have recognized the wrong person. King Yan is in Beiping. ”

The old man straightened up, looked directly at the two with a smile, and said:

"Your Highness is really cautious. However, if Jin can't even recognize His Highness standing in front of him, then I really lived in vain. This, if you guessed correctly, is the only son of Shen Rufeng, the world's number one master who made the court talk about the tiger in the past, and the world was terrified, and today's Lord Cheng'an Yibin? ”

The two men were taken aback again. The person in front of him instantly disappeared all the old man's old state, his physique was strong, his face was full of red light, his voice was broad and magnificent, his eyes were bright, and he looked at them with some smug surprise, it seemed that he was in his forties, and it was definitely not the old man at the same table just now.

Zhu Di was surprised for a moment, immediately regained his composure, and said disdainfully: "Mr. is so clever in disguise." ”

After saying that, he pulled his legs and was about to leave, but the man said calmly behind him:

"Emperor Gao originally wanted to pass the throne to His Royal Highness, but he had no choice but to do so. Now he is his eldest grandson again, and the palms and backs of his hands are full of meat, so although Emperor Gao felt guilty about His Royal Highness, he still secretly ordered his concubine Mei Yin to assist in protecting his grandson before his death. It's a pity that Jinshang doesn't seem to take much fancy to Mei Yuma, and only ordered him to run for funeral under the Jianghuai Deployment Interception at the beginning, and since then, it has been useless. ”

Zhu Di's heart moved, stopped, turned around, and looked at the man.

"Who is the master, sir? What do you want from Lonely? ”

The man smiled and said, "Your Highness is finally willing to admit that you are ten thousand gold." Beside His Royal Highness, I heard that there is a Yuan Tingyu master who secretly helps? ”

Zhu Di was silent for a moment and said, "Not bad." If you have something to say, please speak up. ”

The man pinched a handful of goat's whiskers on his chin, and said unhurriedly:

In September of the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, when Emperor Gao established the emperor's grandson, a mysterious Taoist appeared in Yingtian City, singing a nursery rhyme all the way, which made people panic in the streets and alleys of the capital, and the palace was also very confused. In the leap month of the 31st year of Hongwu, when Emperor Gao was about to collapse, the Taoist appeared in Yingtian again, walked the streets and alleys, sang the same nursery rhyme loudly, made the city full of wind and rain, and the palace was even more restless. Jinyiwei dispatched the whole city to arrest the Taoist, but before they could dispatch, the Taoist had suddenly disappeared and evaporated from the world. Emperor Gao felt deeply ominous, so he would grant Mei Yuma a secret order on his deathbed. ”

Zhu Di asked softly, "What kind of nursery rhyme is that?" ”

The man looked around, glanced at Shen Ruoliao, and said with a smile:

"This nursery rhyme is only three short sentences: 'Don't chase the swallow, chase the swallow will fly high, fly high God'." ”

Shen Ruoyu's heart was shocked, and he only felt that a strong wind was blowing from his spine, neither hot nor cold, but the strength was amazing, and he almost stumbled.

Zhu Di smiled serenely, looked at the man, and bowed: "Dare to ask Mr. Honorable Name?" ”

The man replied, "I don't dare to be such a big gift to Your Highness." The surname of the contemptible person is Jin, and the single name is a loyal character. ”

Zhu Di was suddenly overjoyed: "It turns out that Your Excellency is Mr. Jin Zhong." Master Dao Yan has praised Mr. for a long time in front of Lone. Lone once begged him to invite Mr. to come to Beiping, but he said that Mr. and Yuan Tingyu were different, and there was no need to write a letter, and Mr. himself would appear. Today it seems to be so. How does the gentleman know who Lone is? ”

Jin Zhong said: "Yuan Tingyu recognized His Highness from ten drunks, why can't I, Jin Zhong?" In fact, His Royal Highness didn't know that I had always had a good relationship with Yuan Tingyu and Master Daoyan, and although Master Daoyan didn't write a letter, Yuan Tingyu sent me a letter on his own initiative and invited me to go north. I heard that His Royal Highness brought Lord Yibin into the palace to congratulate, so Jin specially rushed to Yingtian, confident that he could find His Highness, but he was so lucky that he could also pay for a bowl of duck soup powder for His Highness and Yibin Lang. ”

Zhu Di smiled happily: "No wonder the stall owner spoke ill of him, and Gu still thinks his duck soup noodles are very delicious." There are more talents like Mr. Jin around Lonely, so naturally he eats and sleeps soundly. ”

Jin Zhong said tactfully: "His Highness has promoted Jin; Let His Highness eat fragrantly, Jin can barely do his best; Let you sleep soundly, then only rely on Lord Yibin. ”

Zhu Di said: "Mr. Jin came just in time, and Lone is worried that the Son of Heaven will try his best to prevent me from returning to Beiping. ”

Jin Zhong said: "Your Highness has won the award. Jin Zhong is only loyal to His Royal Highness. His Royal Highness is destined to be a generation of holy monarchs, how can Jin Zhong, a small Jianghu warlock, be able to control him. I only hope to accompany His Royal Highness back to Beiping as soon as possible, and help His Highness achieve the cause of the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible, so that Jin Zhong can be mediocre, and his life is just this little ideal. ”

Zhu Di said with a smile: "There are Master Daoyan and Yao Shude by my side, and now there are Yuan Tingyu and Jin Zhonggao, which can be described as a lonely Shangshan Sihao, so why should I worry about big things." I don't know where Mr. stays? ”

Jin Zhong said: "It's at the Jinghua Inn on Gulou Street." ”

Zhu Di said: "It's farther away." But it's also good to avoid people's eyes. Sir, please go back to the Jinghua Inn for a while, and make an appointment with Zhuo Jing, the head of the household, to visit in the afternoon, and now the hour is almost up. After the orphan visit Zhuo Weigong, he went to find Mr. ”

Jin Zhong said: "His Royal Highness lives in the palace of the capital, but there was no guard yesterday night, that night Wei Guogong will focus the garrison along the river, as well as the Qinhuai River up and down the estuary, fortunately His Royal Highness did not venture out of Beijing. Now that the palace has resumed the guard of the Imperial Forest Army, it is better for His Royal Highness to go back directly after visiting Zhuo Weigong. Jin Zhong will find a way to meet His Highness. Your Highness must not give the truth at this time. ”

Zhu Di took Shen Ruoliao to visit Zhuo Jing, who was waiting at home, and after a polite conversation, both sides were a little sullen. Zhuo Jing invited King Yan and Cheng'an Yibin to have dinner before leaving, and Zhu Di also declined the invitation extremely politely and left Zhuo's mansion.

It was getting late, and neither of them was willing to go back to the palace to wait for them in front of a large table of delicacies from the mountains and seas; Fortunately, before the prescient Jin Zhong said goodbye, he boldly stuffed Shen Ruoyu with a treasure banknote, just in case; The two of them then found a tavern and ordered some simple vegetarian dishes and two taels of sake.

Zhu Di took a sip of wine, looked at the street scene outside the window, and sighed:

"The country has been a soldier for 30 years, and only one has been respected. It's really helpless. ”

Shen Ruoyu looked around; Yan Wang's voice was so soft that no one noticed them. He said:

"The prince thinks that Zhuo Shilang is better than Tie Dingshi?"

Zhu Di looked at him with a smile. "What do you see?"

"I think the two are evenly matched."

Zhu Di said: "Tie Dingshi is far less talented than Zhuo Weigong, and the heavenly officials, the public opinion, the legal calendar, and the military punishment are all knowledgeable. Debating with this person, every word is different. If you exclude talents, if you want to talk about character and appearance, he is indeed very similar to Tie Xuan, no matter which aspect, the two are comparable. However, Zhuo Weigong's talent can be compared to Fangzhengxue, and it is far less old-fashioned than Fangzhengxue. If Fang Zhengxue is like his teacher Song Lian, then Zhuo Weigong is like Liu Ji. ”

"Liu Ji?" Shen Ruoyu was slightly startled, and said in a low voice: "The prince is such a serious person, but he wholeheartedly protects the Jianwen Heavenly Son in every word and deed." I am afraid that he will not be used by His Highness. ”

Zhu Di said: "Don't worry. It is normal for him to eat his own food and do his best. If he's facing me, then I can't believe him. The human heart is not an overnight achievement. I believe that one day, I will get his. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "All the people of Beiping have this belief; I believe that everyone in the world will soon be the same. ”

"Faith? What faith? Zhu Di asked knowingly.

Shen Ruoyu replied knowingly: "'Don't chase the swallow, chase the swallow will fly high, fly high." ’”

Zhu Di smiled quietly, raised his wine glass, drank it all, looked at the hazy night scene of the Qinhuai River outside, sighed and sang:

"Red crisp hands, yellow vine wine, the city is full of spring palace wall willows. The east wind is evil, the joy is thin, a sorrow, a few years away, wrong, wrong, wrong. Spring is like the old, people are empty and thin, and the mandarin ducks are red and silky. The peach blossoms fall, the idle pond pavilion, although the mountain league is here, the brocade book is difficult to trust, Mo, Mo, Mo. ”[1]

Shen Ruoyu laughed softly: "Your Highness, what you chant in your heart is actually another poem. ”

Zhu Dilong raised his eyebrows lightly: "Oh? You've got all in my heart? So tell me, what is it? ”

Shen Ruoyu whispered:

"The wine is still open, and the temples are slightly frosty, so what's the matter? In the clouds, when will Feng Tang be sent! Will hold the bow like a full moon, look northwest, and shoot the wolf. ”[2]

Zhu Di picked up the long flowing beard on his chest and said with a smile: "Am I drunk, or are you drunk?" People are small and big. When I get home, you write it down, and I'm going to hang it on my bedroom wall, face to face with that map, and look at it every day. ”

********

[1] Lu You, "Hairpin Phoenix"

[2] Su Shi, "Jiang Chengzi? Hunting in Michigan