I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 232 Someone is going to cause trouble!

Three silver-topped, green cloth sedan chairs came out of Donghua Gate, with more than ten Jingjun guards in front and behind, and more than thirty Jinyiwei military schools outside.

Four eunuchs stood on both sides of the sedan chair in the middle, and walked out of Donghua Gate very low-key, along the street south of Guanglu Temple, heading east.

In the middle sedan chair, Consort Li, wearing a jacket and skirt, sat upright, holding the third prince Zhu Yihao, who was wearing a dragon robe, in her arms.

Zhu Yihao was already six years old. He didn't like being hugged so tightly by his mother and twisted his body twice.

Li said sternly, "Don't move!"

Seeing Zhu Yihao sitting obediently in her arms, Li slowed down her tone and said softly, "Gao'er, you must be obedient. You are a prince, the blood and flesh of the royal family. You must sit, stand and walk properly.

If you are unruly and the people in Xiyuan find out, they will find someone with a bad heart to report you, and then banish you to Gansu or Ningxia to be the king of the frontier, where you will be left to eat sand and drink wind every day. Let's see what you can do!"

Zhu Yihao was unwilling to believe it and said in a humming voice, "Brother Crown Prince is very kind to me, why would he report me? He even brought me some fun things a few days ago."

Li snorted and lowered her voice, "Don't be fooled by these small favors! The man in the West Garden looks young, only a few years older than you, but he has a deep mind! What did your mother teach you?"

"Well, say more nice and flattering words in front of him to please him."

"Yes! He is all-powerful in the Forbidden City. If he doesn't like someone, he will disappear in a few days. Your father doesn't care about things either." Li paused for a moment, her tone became sad, and she continued: "He left us alone and lived a carefree life elsewhere, leaving us alone and helpless and bullied."

Zhu Yihao was stunned, clenched his right fist, puffed out his chest and said, "Mother, who bullied you? I'll go beat him up!"

Li hugged Zhu Yihao tighter, "My darling, if I lose you, how can I live?"

"Mother, who bullied you? I didn't see who dared to bully you."

"Someone is secretly bullying me, but you can't see it."

"Is it father who is bullying mother secretly? He came here once a long time ago and drove me away. Is he bullying you secretly?"

Li's face flushed, and she quickly coaxed him, "Don't talk nonsense, it's because your father likes you."

At this point, she felt a sense of melancholy in her heart, empty and without a clue, and said in a daze, "Your father has not liked me for a long time."

Zhu Yihao rolled his eyes and said, "Mother, next time I see my father, I will tell him to like you again."

Li pulled out a hand, wiped the corner of her eyes, and said with tears in her eyes: "Okay, my son Hao loves mother the most."

The group of people in three sedan chairs passed through Nanxunfang and Chengqingfang, turned north, and soon arrived at Baoen Temple in Chongjiaofang.

Someone came here to report the news a long time ago.

The street intersections were also blocked by Shuntian Prefecture yamen runners, and no outsiders were allowed to approach. The entire temple was surrounded by people from the Wucheng Bingmasi.

The monks in the temple, led by the abbot, were already at the temple gate to welcome them.

"I respectfully welcome the Consort Xian and His Royal Highness the Third Prince."

"No need to be polite." Li's soft voice came from the sedan chair, "Today, I have obtained the emperor's grace and will go out of the palace to Baoen Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. I hope the monks will make proper arrangements."

The fat-headed and big-eared abbot immediately replied, "It is an honor for the cold temple that the queen can come to burn incense and worship Buddha. Don't worry, the poor monks have already cleaned the courtyard and expelled all the strangers, and are waiting for the queen to burn incense and worship Buddha."

"Thank you, great monk."

After waiting for a while, a eunuch came out and reported outside the sedan chair: "Your Majesty, the security has been arranged. Please go straight into the temple with your Highness and stop the sedan chair in front of the Great Hall."

"Okay, let's go into the temple."

Three sedan chairs entered the temple directly from the middle gate, crossed the front yard, and stopped in front of the Main Hall.

Two palace ladies and two palace maids came down from the front and back sedan chairs and walked to the middle sedan chair. One of the palace ladies said, "Your Highness, we are here."

"Ok!"

The palace lady lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, and Li slowly walked out holding Zhu Yihao.

There was a layer of Jingjun inside and a layer of Jinyiwei outside. Several monks stood on the periphery and saluted the two men.

Li took Zhu Yihao and bowed slightly to return the greeting. Then, led by the eunuchs and escorted by the palace ladies and maids, they went up the steps and entered the main hall. Li and Zhu Yihao entered the main hall and knelt in front of the tall gilded Buddha statue. The palace lady brought the lit incense and handed it to Li.

Since the death of Emperor Jiajing, the major Buddhist temples have been living a much better life and the incense business has become more prosperous.

Li looked up and saw a giant Buddha with kind eyes and shining golden light.

"Buddha, please bless my son and keep him healthy. May the emperor still cherish my son and me. I pray that Buddha will use his boundless power to grant me boundless blessings, so that my son can one day sit on the throne of the emperor."

After Li finished reciting her wish silently in her heart, she turned around, and Zhu Yihao understood, and the mother and son kowtowed three times respectfully.

The palace lady took the incense from Li's hand and inserted it into the copper burner in front of the Buddha statue.

The mother and son got up and went to burn incense at the Maitreya Buddha in the middle hall and the Bodhisattva Guanyin in the back hall.

After the ceremony, Li said to the palace lady, "Donate three hundred taels of silver as incense money to Baoen Temple."

"Yes!"

Li looked at Zhu Yihao who was holding her hand, and said in a slow tone: "It's rare for the Third Prince to leave the palace. It's still early, let him play in the yard for a while."

"Yes!"

Zhu Yihao was making a fuss in the courtyard between the rear hall and the middle hall.

Sometimes he squatted under a tree and watched ants, sometimes he used a wooden stick to dig out small insects, and sometimes he waved the stick among the weeds and flowers. Two eunuchs followed him closely.

The palace lady brought a chair from somewhere and placed it under the shade of a nearby tree.

Li sat down on the chair, holding a cup of Ci'en Huaide tea unique to Bao'en Temple, and looked at Zhu Yihao lovingly.

Because the activity area was so large, the Jingjun and Jinyiwei, who were suddenly short of manpower, could only stand at various intersections and guard from a distance.

A man sneaked out from the corner outside the back hall, and while no one was paying attention, he went straight to Zhu Yihao who was squatting under a tree counting ants.

The two Jing soldiers in the distance saw him and shouted, "What are you doing!"

It's just that it's too far away, and I can't catch up if I run over here.

The man walked quickly up to Zhu Yihao, raised the wooden stick in his hand with a grim smile, and swung it towards his head.

The two eunuchs beside him hurriedly surrounded him and shouted, "Someone come and protect the emperor!"

Li was so frightened that the teacup in her hand fell to the ground and shattered. She stood up suddenly, looked at Zhu Yihao with a pale face, and shouted in a trembling voice: "Quick! Quickly protect Hao'er!"

Zhu Yihao, who was squatting on the ground, raised his head without knowing what was going on and looked at the man stupidly.

The Jingjun and Jinyiwei military schools ran towards that side desperately, but they were too far away and saw that the wooden stick in the man's hand was about to hit Zhu Yihao on the head.

Fortunately, the two eunuchs were very brave. One of them stepped forward, stood in the middle, and blocked the wooden stick with his back.

There was a dull thud, and the eunuch staggered and fell forward.

Another eunuch took advantage of this opportunity to rush over and hug the man.

The man missed his first attack, so he tried hard to shake off the eunuch who was holding him and wanted to launch a second attack on Zhu Yihao.

Zhu Yihao then realized the danger and was so scared that he sat down on the ground and cried loudly.

Just as he paused, the Jingjun and Jinyiwei rushed over, pinned down the man with their hands and feet, and tied him up like a meat dumpling.

Li ran over, hugged Zhu Yihao, and fumbled around him. Tears flowed down her cheeks, and she kept saying, "My son, my darling, are you hurt anywhere?"

Zhu Yihao's pants were covered in mud, and his hands were also covered in mud.

At this time, he was very well-behaved, and said in Li's arms: "Mother, the child is fine."

Li hugged Zhu Yihao tightly, her face grim, and she gnashed her teeth and said, "My son, someone wants to kill you! Return to the palace immediately. Even if I have to risk my life, I will go to the emperor to ask for an explanation for you!"

(End of this chapter)