The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

Chapter 405: Planting a Willow Tree with All My Heart

The emperor threw the article back to him and said, "You should also pay more attention. People have even written the article for you. It's just a matter of adapting it. What's the difficulty?"

The emperor pulled a piece of white paper over and directly helped him to translate the first half with a pen. He handed it to him and said, "Use it like this. Take it and figure out the rest yourself."

King Qing took it and pondered over the article, which was only one and a half pages long.

The emperor shook his head, and when he thought of this matter again in the afternoon, he asked Niu Yu beside him, "Where is Prince Qing? How is his homework going?"

Niu Yu smiled and said, "Prince Qing just came out from the Imperial Tutor's office. It seems that the Imperial Tutor didn't scold him. His article must be well done."

"Did he do that?" The emperor shook his head and laughed, "He just used it. The food has been fed to his mouth, so he can't be unable to open his mouth to eat."

The emperor twisted his neck, and Niu Yu reminded him, "Your Majesty has been sitting for a long time and is tired. Why don't you go out for a walk? There aren't many memorials left. Just review them before dinner."

The emperor looked at the memorial on his left, and felt his mind wandering. He didn't want to move anymore, so he stood up and said, "Okay, let's go for a walk."

Niu Yu was about to escort him out when the emperor suddenly asked, "Where is the master?"

Niu Yu paused for a moment while holding the cloak, and then replied, "Someone secretly reported that the prefect of Changzhou, Chen Shi, was corrupt, demanded huge bribes, and oppressed the people. Mr. Wang went to the Southern Pacification Office to take over this case from the Metropolitan Prosecution Office to relieve His Majesty's worries."

Emperor: "Changzhou Prefecture? Two days ago, the Censorate reported that a shipwreck occurred in Changzhou Prefecture and several people died?"

"Yes, there is an impeachment by the Imperial Censor. This matter involves Chen Shi's son and the person who was demanded for a bribe. The case is about to be transferred to the Dali Temple, and the Censorate and the Dali Temple will jointly investigate it."

The emperor was curious. "Such a case should be handed over to the Censorate and the Dali Temple. Why are you interested in it, sir?"

Niu Yu put a cloak on the emperor and whispered, "Perhaps it is because of Yang Ji, the son of Yang Ge Lao. I heard that the two imperial censors in Nanzhili wrote the letter under the instructions of Yang Ji."

Upon hearing this, the emperor glanced at Niu Yu, put on his cloak and went out.

Yin Song was meditating on the Star-Watching Tower. It was high up, with a broad view and rich spiritual energy. Even if he didn't look at the stars on a daily basis, he liked to meditate here.

The one who liked Wangxing Tower as much as he did was the emperor.

Since he was fourteen years old, he liked to climb high places and look into the distance. There are two high points in the capital.

One is the Star-Watching Tower in the imperial palace, and the other is the Observatory on the edge of the imperial city.

Hearing the familiar footsteps coming from behind him, Yin Song opened his eyes and sighed in his heart. After all, he ran into them.

When the other party stepped onto the last step of the stairs, Yin Song stood up from the ground, turned his head and looked back, then lowered his head and bowed: "Your Majesty."

"No need to be polite." The emperor walked to the side of the building, looked down at the entire palace from a high vantage point, and breathed a sigh of relief, "It's still more comfortable here."

Yin Song smiled and bowed slightly.

The emperor couldn't help but turn his head to look at him, his eyes swept across the futon on the ground, and asked: "Yin Qing, is your cultivation high?"

Yin Song said: "Not bad, but not as good as the junior sister in the sect."

"Huh? You are the senior brother, so you should have practiced for a longer time. How come you are not as good as your junior sister?"

Yin Song explained in a gentle voice: "Some people are geniuses, who have read a lot of books and achieved something at the age of eleven or twelve; but the vast majority of people in this world are still in the enlightenment stage at the age of eleven or twelve, and it is considered amazing if they can pass the examination to become a Tongsheng."

"I am the majority of people, and my junior sister is the genius."

The emperor laughed loudly upon hearing this, and said complacently: "That's true. The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and is rich in talents. There are naturally many young talents."

The emperor asked casually, "How old is your junior sister?"

Yin Song said: "She was born in the ninth year of Xuande."

The emperor was really surprised. "So young? Her kung fu is better than yours?"

Yin Song smiled and nodded.

The emperor liked geniuses, especially young geniuses. He suddenly became uneasy and wanted to leave the palace.

Niu Yu behind him seemed to have sensed his thoughts, and stepped forward, reminding him in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the second day of February is approaching, and the Ministry of Rites has already submitted a memorial urging the start of the plowing ceremony, and all the ministers in the cabinet are watching."

The emperor suppressed his restless heart and asked Yin Song: "I remember that you are from Sanqing Temple in Sanqing Mountain. How long does it take to get to Sanqing Mountain from the capital?"

Yin Song said: "It's not far. It takes five days to get there by horseback, seven days by car, and if you walk, it depends on the person's speed..."

The emperor waved his hand quickly, "I understand."

Yin Song smiled and said, "Your Majesty is having trouble settling down today. Why don't you go to the observatory in the imperial city? From there you can see the entire inner city. If you get some fresh air, you might feel more at ease."

The emperor was just a teenager, at the right age for fun. Besides, he was the emperor and couldn't stand being told "no" the most. So when Yin Song mentioned it, he immediately nodded and agreed, leaving Niu Yu with all the words in his heart stuck in his chest.

The emperor also felt that it was not good for Niu Yu to follow him, so he said to him, "Let Cao Jixiang follow him, and you go back to the Imperial Household Department and sort out all the memorials."

Niu Yu quickly glanced at Yin Song and agreed helplessly.

He felt that Yin Song was a little strange today, but he was not very sure, because occasionally, he would indeed take care of the emperor's mood and help the emperor solve his problems.

Niu Yu suppressed the feeling in his heart, bowed and retreated.

When the emperor and Yin Song arrived downstairs, the guards and eunuch Cao Jixiang were already waiting.

They helped the emperor mount his horse and headed straight for the palace gate.

Outside the palace gate is the imperial city, where the cabinet, six ministries and other government offices are located.

The main gate of the imperial city is commonly known as the palace gate.

It was common for the emperor to come here, so no one tried to dissuade or stop him.

The emperor arrived at the observatory on the edge of the imperial city without any obstruction, and followed Yin Song up to the platform. As soon as he stepped onto the platform, the emperor couldn't help but exhale and smile, "The air here is indeed better than that in the Wangxing Tower."

Standing here, you can see the streets, people, and vendors in the inner city...

The emperor watched quietly, and after a while he pointed to a spot and asked Yin Song, "Mr. Yin, what is that for?"

Yin Song looked at it carefully for a while and said, "It should be a waterwheel."

He explained: "Some people don't have a well at home, so they either go out to fetch water or buy water. I think they went to Haiyan Hutong, where most of the people living are officials. For the sake of face, they don't want to fetch water themselves, or ask their family members to fetch water. So most people who don't have a well buy water to drink."

The emperor asked curiously, "Does Yin Qing have a well in his house?"

Yin Song: "I am lucky. There is a well in the house I rented."

After that, he smiled and said, "Even if there is none, I am not afraid of losing face. There is a well at the entrance of the alley. I can go and fetch water when I am free. If I am not free, I will send my junior sister to do it. It happens that she is in Beijing these days, which saves me a lot of trouble."

The emperor was delighted to hear this and asked, "Is your junior sister in the capital now?"

Yin Song smiled and nodded, "Yes, she came to Beijing to see me."

The emperor turned around immediately and said, "Come on, take me to see her. Yin Qing's cultivation is already very impressive. I want to see what someone who is even more powerful than you is like."

Yin Song readily agreed.

Cao Jixiang was stunned for a moment, then immediately followed.

The chief guard advised: "Your Majesty, we are not prepared in advance. If you leave the palace, what if you encounter danger..."

The emperor didn't care. "It's not the first time I'm out of the palace, and I'm not going to another place, but to Yin Qing's house. Go and prepare the horses. We'll go and come back quickly. We can even catch up to drink a bowl of mutton soup at the mutton soup restaurant outside the palace gate."

Cao Jixiang didn't try to persuade him at all.

He knew this master well, he could only do what he wanted, if he did anything that went against his wishes he would be unhappy.

If they are unhappy, in the end it is the ones who suffer the most.

What's more, leaving the palace was not a big deal for the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Which year did the little emperor not run out of the palace a few times?
Of course, he couldn't run far, so he just walked around the city.

A group of people surrounded the emperor and led him down from the observatory.

It is much closer to leave the city from the observatory. Just less than 300 steps north you will reach the city gate.

They rode their horses directly, but when they reached the city gate, they ran into Yang Shiqi who was sitting in a sedan chair.

When Yin Song saw Yang Shiqi's sedan chair, he sighed and knew that he could not go out today.

It seems that today's divination is quite accurate, with an 80% chance of success, but it still fails at the last minute.

Alas, I should have spoken when I was more confident.

Yin Song reviewed the situation in his mind, but he did not slow down at all and followed the emperor to dismount.

Yang Shiqi also got out of the sedan chair, lifted his clothes and knelt down to salute the emperor.

The emperor also knew that he could not go out today, and he was unhappy. He waited for Yang Shiqi to kneel down and kowtow before letting someone help him up.

The little emperor asked with a smile, "Why is the Lord entering the palace at this time?"

Yang Shiqi also replied with a smile: "I heard that Wang Zhi's investigation of the miners' rebellion in the south had yielded results, so I came to the palace to ask to see Your Majesty."

Yang Shiqi, not noticing that the emperor was about to go out, said, "This is related to the safety of Jiangnan, and the spring ploughing is imminent, so I came in a hurry. Has Your Majesty read the memorial?"

No.

The emperor has not yet reviewed the memorial.

This matter is indeed important.

The emperor wondered in his heart why there were so many problems in Jiangnan in the past two years. Either the gang was colluding with the Japanese pirates to smuggle swords, or the Japanese pirates were hiding treasure maps; the miners were rebelling, and now a prefect of Changzhou had appeared to solicit bribes and embezzle money.

At this moment, the emperor transferred all his anger to Chen Shi, the prefect of Changzhou. As he and Yang Shiqi turned back to the palace, he asked, "I heard that Yang Ji had taken care of this matter. Do you know the details?"

Yang Shiqi really didn't know, but he smiled and said, "Although I don't know about this, Yang Ji has always been eager to serve the public and has a chivalrous heart. Maybe he heard about this illegal thing and couldn't bear to see people suffer, so he took care of it."

Yang Shiqi said: "I will ask the Censorate and the Dali Temple to conduct a detailed investigation and will definitely get to the bottom of this matter."

The emperor nodded and said, "Let the Southern Pacification Office assist."

Yang Shiqi frowned slightly. He didn't want the Jinyiwei to interfere. Once they intervened, it would be difficult to maintain fairness.

Guilt becomes a greater sin, and innocence may become guilt.

But the emperor had already spoken, and he had just intercepted the man, so it was difficult for him to object for the time being.

Yin Song had quietly stepped aside and watched them leave.

From beginning to end, Yang Shiqi didn't see him.

Yin Song didn’t know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

He sighed and thought that it seemed that his junior sister would have to wait for a while longer.

(End of this chapter)