I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 166 A Day as a Crown Prince, Morning
Zhu Yijun got up at five o'clock in the morning, jogged along the tree-lined path in the Western Garden, took a hot bath after coming back, changed into a vermilion dragon robe, put on a wing-shaped crown, and ate a bowl of porridge and two flatbreads.

After leaving Wanshou Palace, he got on the sedan chair and walked towards Xihua Gate.

The sky was bright.

The towering Forbidden City in the distance gradually became clear in the green mist. The faint sound of roosters crowing in the distance broke the silence of the night.

The guards and eunuchs walked on the stone road, and the sound of their soles rubbing against each other was rustling.

When they arrived at Xihua Gate, the door had just been unlocked and they saw Zhu Yijun and his party, so they immediately knelt down to greet them.

Once you enter the Forbidden City, there are more eunuchs and palace maids coming and going.

From a distance, I saw eunuchs and palace maids carrying toilets coming out of their respective palaces and placing them by the door. A team of eunuchs pushed a cart, stacked the toilets on the cart, and slowly pushed it away, leaving a strange smell floating in the air.

There are no sewers in the Forbidden City!

It only has dense pipes for draining rainwater, but no culverts for draining domestic sewage. Moreover, there are no toilets in the entire Forbidden City, and everyone has to urinate and defecate in wooden barrels.

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t want to live in the Forbidden City unless it undergoes a major renovation.

Zhu Yijun sat on the sedan chair, lost in thought.

The group passed Xian'an Gate and crossed the Jinshui River from the small bridge behind the Wuying Palace. Wanfu and his group hurriedly came to meet them.

"This slave has met His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Where did Father rest last night?"

"Your Highness, the Emperor is staying at Wanhua Palace."

"Wanhua Palace?" Zhu Yijun was not familiar with the Forbidden City, but he didn't seem to remember this name.

"To reply to your Highness, it was just changed yesterday. It was originally called Green Calyx Pavilion."

Oh, it’s just a place where concubines and beauties live, and it was changed by my father on a whim.

"Who lives there?"

"Two concubines, Ye and Xu."

As soon as the national mourning period was over, my father, like a little bee, couldn't wait to fly among the flowers.

Zhu Yijun did not comment and continued to ask: "Who is serving beside the emperor?"

"In reply to your Highness, I am the eunuch Meng Chong from the Imperial Household Department."

Zhu Yijun narrowed his eyes slightly and patted the armrest with his right hand. "Who is in charge of the Shangshenjian now?"

"Hai Dafu, the former steward of the Imperial Kitchen and the Supervisor of the Imperial Kitchen, has been promoted to Junior Supervisor and will be in charge of the matter temporarily."

"Hai Dafu, this is a festive name. Does he have a eunuch called Xiao Guizi?"

Wanfu thought about it and shook his head slightly: "No."

"That's good. I will go to my mother later and ask for her grace. She will grant an order to promote Hai Dafu to the position of eunuch in charge of food. This boy used to be in the West Garden and served Grandpa Huang and me very attentively."

"Yes."

The team continued to move forward, and Wanfu followed beside them, neither slow nor fast.

"Hail."

"The servant is here."

"You are an old man who serves the emperor. How long have you been serving the emperor?"

"In the 32nd year of Jiajing, the emperor left the palace to establish a fiefdom, and I followed him out of the palace and served him by his side."

"Fourteen years of friendship, like family, much better than the nine years of teacher-student relationship. You, Wanfu, have the same personality as Li Fang, too honest and loyal.

Now you are in charge of the entire Forbidden City on behalf of your father and mother, and you have little time to serve your father. You should send a few careful and reliable people to serve your father on your behalf."

Wanfu lowered her head and answered slowly, "Your Highness, I have been working as an errand boy in Prince Yu's mansion. Your Highness knows the situation there. There are not many eunuchs and eunuchs under your command, and even fewer who are meticulous and reliable."

"That won't work. Li Fang even knew to adopt a godson and put him in the Imperial Household Department. Why don't you, Wanfu, know to adopt a few more godsons to help you solve your problems?

It’s not too late now, look carefully. People need to be smart, but more importantly, reliable. "

"This slave will remember it."

The group arrived at yesterday's Lu'e Pavilion and today's Wanhua Palace. The sedan chair stopped at the door and Wanfu hurried in to report.

After a while, Meng Chong hurried out behind Wan Fu, and after leaving the palace gate, he knelt on the ground and said respectfully, "Your servant Meng Chong pays respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Well, tell me."

"The emperor asked me to tell His Highness that he is tired, and asked His Highness the Crown Prince to skip the formalities and do as he pleases. Also, he will not go to the Western Garden Ceremonial Office today." Zhu Yijun had expected this outcome and nodded calmly, "In that case, I will pay my respects to my father outside the palace gate to fulfill my filial duty."

He lifted up his shirt, knelt down, and everyone around him followed suit.

Zhu Yijun kowtowed three times towards the palace, then stood up. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped and said to Meng Chong, "Meng Chong, please inform the emperor that tomorrow is the first day of the lunar year, which is the day for the regular court session."

"Yes."

Seeing Zhu Yijun's back as he walked away on the sedan chair, Meng Chong, who was kneeling to see him off, raised his head with a twinkling gaze. He waited until the group turned the corner before he stood up and returned to Wanhua Palace.

Entering the main room of the inner courtyard, Meng Chong stood outside the door, leaning forward with a charming smile on his face.

"Your Majesty, the prince is gone."

Zhu Zaigui inside breathed a sigh of relief, "Finally he left. Didn't say anything, did he?"

"In reply to the emperor's words, I didn't say anything. I just told him that tomorrow is the first day of the lunar year and it's time to hold court."

Zhu Zaigui's wailing voice came from inside, "It's time for another morning court session. Do we still want to live? Who made this rule?"

"Your Majesty, it was set by Emperor Taizu. In addition to the grand court and the regular courts on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, there were also the day court and the noon court, but they were abolished during the Zhengde reign."

"Daytime and noontime? This is even more unbearable. My uncle did some good things. Hmm, next time I go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices, I will burn more incense for him."

A female voice was heard inside, laughing and very charming, "Your Majesty, I think you seem a little timid."

"Why are you so scared? Am I afraid of you two little devils?"

Then there were unbearable sounds of laughter and fighting. Meng Chong stepped aside with a smile in his eyes.

Wanfu accompanied Zhu Yijun to the Qianning Palace, also known as the Central Palace.

Queen Chen had sent people to wait outside the palace gate early in the morning. When she saw Zhu Yijun coming, she immediately welcomed him into the back hall.

"Your son pays his respects to your mother." Zhu Yijun kowtowed three times to Chen respectfully.

"Get up, get up quickly." Chen said with a smile, and asked with a heartache: "I told you to skip the morning ceremony a long time ago, but you are still so stubborn! You are young and need more sleep. How can you bear to get up so early every day?"

Zhu Yijun sat down beside her and replied with a smile: "I am used to getting up early."

Chen asked again: "Have you had breakfast?"

"Mother, I have eaten."

"After you've eaten, have another bowl from me. I asked them to make red date millet porridge."

A palace maid brought a bowl of yellow millet porridge with a few red dates floating in it.

Zhu Yijun's eyes flashed, but he didn't reach out to take it.

"Don't worry, my son. I have checked everyone around me carefully. Anyone who can enter Kunning Palace is safe and can be used."

Zhu Yijun smiled, reached out to take the gold-painted white jade porcelain bowl, and drank from it in small sips.

Chen looked at Zhu Yijun with a smile and continued, "Yesterday, Concubine Li brought the third child, um, the emperor gave him the name Zhu Yihao. They came to Kunning Palace to pay their respects to me."

"Princess Li? What did you say?"

"What can I say? She just wants to be a concubine. She boasts that she gave birth to the emperor's third child, and she wants to be promoted to concubine, and then imperial concubine."

Zhu Yijun smiled, finished a small bowl of millet porridge, put the bowl on the plate, took the towel and wiped his mouth.

"Princess Li is from a small family, and she has too many plans."

Chen smiled and said, "Don't worry about her. Jun'er is not young anymore, he is thirteen years old this year. Your father got married and started a family at the age of fifteen, and you will be married soon too. I have to make arrangements for you."

"I will leave everything to your majesty. But I hope you won't choose someone from a humble family, to save you the trouble."

Chen's eyes lit up and she nodded: "I'll remember what Jun'er said. Don't worry, I will definitely choose the best Crown Princess for you!"

"I thank you, mother."

The mother and son chatted about trivial family matters for a while. Zhu Yijun casually mentioned Hai Dafu, and Chen readily agreed.

Two quarters of an hour later, Zhu Yijun said goodbye, got on the sedan chair, and returned to the Xiyuan Silijian.

"Your Highness, an urgent report has been sent from Liaodong."

Huang Jin saw him and hurriedly reported.

Zhu Yijun's eyes flashed and he reached out to take the urgent report.

(End of this chapter)