The Forbidden City is still resplendent and solemn.

The second time he came here, compared to the first time, Xia Yuan's mood could be said to be very different, on the way, he saw a few old men in official uniforms from a distance, he just glanced at it and then withdrew his gaze, and he didn't have the heart to guess who the old men in red robes were.

Silently followed the eunuch of the stuffy gourd to the gate of the Qianqing Palace, two eunuchs went in to report, and soon Xiao Jing greeted him with a smile, although he was a feminine eunuch, but the smile on his face also made people feel like a spring breeze.

"Master Xia, we haven't seen you for a long time, I don't know how this year is going?"

"It would have been good." After a moment of silence, Xia Yuan spoke in a quiet tone, it was really good, but today it was not good.

Xiao Jing keenly noticed that he was in a low mood, frowned secretly, and looked at his godson with an inquiring eye, and the sullen gourd eunuch shook his head imperceptibly, indicating that he didn't know either.

Seeing this, Xiao Jing pursed his lips, took a few steps forward, and said in a low voice: "Master Xia, we have to remind you, when you see the emperor later, you must not be like this, as if you are throwing your face at someone, with a respectful expression, and then bring some joy, this Chinese New Year is a happy thing, and naturally you have to be happy, don't you say?"

If you go in with a face, the emperor will definitely not feel very comfortable when he sees it, and if he doesn't get it, he will think that your face is thrown at him, and no one will be able to protect you when the time comes. ”

Xia Yuan nodded while listening, and then sorted out his expression, it was really a very troublesome thing to see the emperor these days, and when he saw him, he not only had to pay homage and salute, but also had to laugh.

That's it, who made people emperors?

Speaking of which, this old man Xiao is good, not only does he talk a lot, but he also speaks very well, and he will kindly remind you of the precautions for meeting the emperor.

Unlike a certain stuffy gourd governor of Dongchang, he can't hit a fart with three sticks, and he also threatens himself with a ghostly smile.

Seeing that Xia Yuan's expression was right, Xiao Jing's brows relaxed, and he smiled: "Eh, that's right, I want to be happier for the New Year, Master Xia, let's go in quickly, but don't make the emperor wait." ”

After that, he took Xia Yuan and stepped into the main hall of Qianqing Palace, and the moment he crossed the threshold, Xiao Jing glanced back at his godson, gave him a look, and his lips opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out.

The stuffy gourd seemed to be a lip-reading person, nodded slightly, and after the two of them entered, he found an inconspicuous corner in front of this hall, and then stood there with a blank face, like an old monk settled.

"I haven't seen Qing for a while, looking at Qing's happy face, it must be a good year?"

"Thanks to Your Majesty's Hongfu, the students have not only had a good year, it is quite good, they are happy all day long, and they are even more happy to see Your Majesty today."

"Haha."

"Haha."

Zhu Youzhu laughed when he heard this, and Xia Yuan felt that it seemed impolite not to laugh, so he also laughed together.

Xiao Jing next to him also laughed, and the laughter of the three people was contagious to each other, and the laughter gradually stopped after a while.

Emperor Hongzhi exhaled slowly, stroked the handle of the chair and said:

"I originally planned to summon Qing a year ago, but when I heard that Qing had returned to his hometown for the New Year, I dispelled this idea.

Now that I heard Qing say that I was quite happy to have a good year, I couldn't help but feel a little glad in my heart, glad that I only found Qing after the beginning of the year, and I didn't disturb Qing's interest during the New Year. ”

This is actually a bit of a shame, as a diligent political affairs and an emperor who works hard, it is also during the Chinese New Year that he can take a long vacation with peace of mind.

In the past half a month of the Chinese New Year, Zhu Youzhu has either cultivated a husband and wife relationship with Queen Zhang, or cultivated a father-son relationship with his son in the East Palace, otherwise Zhu Houzhao would not have held back for half a month before he caught the opportunity to sneak out of the palace.

How could he have the kung fu to disturb Xia Yuan's interest, he still hoped that others would not disturb his interest all day long.

When he heard these two words, Xia Yuan sighed inexplicably in his heart, but he still stubbornly asked, "I don't know why Your Majesty called the students here this time?" ”

Zhu Youzhu didn't go around in circles, and immediately said: "A few years ago, the Jingzhong Temple of Zhihua Temple was blown up by the artillery battle, which really surprised me, according to the prince, the artillery battle was made by Qing, and the gunpowder used in it was only ten catties, but it actually had the power of more than 100 catties of gunpowder. ”

Speaking of this, Emperor Hongzhi paused slowly, and his tone became more gentle, "This kind of formula that can increase the gunpowder by more than ten times is supposed to be Qing's secret, but I still have the cheekiness to ask Qing about the formula of the gunpowder, which makes it difficult for Qing." ”

"Your Majesty just asked the students to come and ask for the gunpowder formula?"

"Is it unwilling?"

"No, no, the students are quite willing, that, does Your Majesty have a pen and paper? I'm going to write the recipe out. ”

Seeing him so happy, Zhu Youzhu couldn't help but be stunned, and a little caught off guard, after all, people in this era attach great importance to their exclusive secret recipes, and often set up many rules, what to pass on men but not women, women not to men, all this is to prevent the secret recipe from leaking out.

This kind of behavior is nothing more than four words, self-cherished.

Zhu Youzhu understood this and understood it quite well, so he summoned Xia Yuan into the palace to ask him personally.

If it sounds good, it shows attention and sincerity, and if it is hard to say, it is called using power to suppress people.

He knew that if he asked for it with the dignity of a dignified emperor, Xia Yuan would inevitably give it, but it should be a helplessness to succumb to power, but now, this face is happy, and even has that kind of impatience.

At this time, Zhu Youzhu was not in a hurry to ask for the formula of the gunpowder, and it was not bad for a while, but now he was thinking about Xia Yuan's performance.

"Can you tell me why Qing agreed so simply, is Qing willing to hand over this secret recipe?"

“？”

Xia Yuan, who asked this, was stunned, the ancient feudal society still paid attention to human rights?

In his impression, in an ancient society like this, no matter what the emperor asks you to do, you have to be grateful, even if he wants to kill you, you have to thank the Lord Longen and shout long live.

Unless you are an orphan and can scold the emperor a few words before you die, otherwise it will be the ascension of the Nine Clans.

In such a society, it is also the people who serve the country, the court, and the emperor, which is a matter of course.

It's not like later generations, which reversed these, at least nominally.

"Students are the people of the Ming Dynasty, and it is appropriate to do something for the country, not to mention that the gunpowder formula is not as good as other things, this thing is a weapon of the country, and the imperial court has always strictly controlled this, and the students have never regarded it as a secret."

Speaking of this, Xia Yuan felt that it was easy to be misunderstood by saying this, so he hurriedly patched it, "Your Majesty, rest assured, the student has not told anyone else about the formula of this gunpowder." ”

"In short, the student was indeed willing to hand over the formula."

(End of chapter)