Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 172 The Emperor's Love
Qianqing Palace.

In the east warm room, Emperor Wanli put his feet on the small step in front of the dragon throne, his chin resting on the table with his hands, looking bored.

He was dazzled by the memorials and there was no one to entertain him.

I thought it would be great to be an emperor.

Now that I think about it, I feel that being an emperor is the most difficult thing in the world.

Emperor Wanli was just complaining when Wei Qing came in from outside holding a pile of memorials and said, "Your Majesty, should I read the memorials from the Ministry of Public Administration to you now or in the afternoon?"

"Put it here for now."

"Yes."

Wei Qing put down the memorial and stood respectfully behind the emperor's right.

After a moment of silence, Emperor Wanli frowned and suddenly asked, "When will Mr. Zhang's illness be cured?"

Wei Qing hurriedly stepped forward and replied, "It's hard to say. The imperial physician said that Mr. Zhang was deficient in Qi and blood, which led to the invasion of the disease. If he recovers quickly, it will take at least half a year. If he recovers slowly..."

If you slow down, you might have to spend the rest of your life in bed.

"Alas. I never thought that the daily state affairs would be so heavy. From the safety of the nine borders and the repair of rivers to the promotion and demotion of a local official, all decisions need to be made by me." Emperor Wanli muttered to himself with a look of pain on his face.

Wei Qing on the side didn't dare to respond.

The appointment and dismissal of officials was the emperor's prerogative.

If he dared to interfere in this matter, the emperor would not say anything now, but he would definitely suffer the consequences when he thinks about it later.

Wanting to avoid awkward silence, Wei Qing directed the topic to Zhang Yunxiu: "Your Majesty, Zhang Sicheng and Miss Xu will be getting married in three days, and Zhang Sicheng also said he would like to invite Your Majesty to have a drink at the wedding."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wanli smiled and shook his head, then took a step back to sit on the dragon throne and said jokingly, "This sly guy, inviting me to the wedding wine is fake, I think he really wants me to give him a gift."

"Your Majesty is very observant."

"Forget it. Forget it. Just follow me to the inner storehouse and pick some things for this guy. Otherwise, he won't say anything openly, but will scold me for being stingy and secretly show his disdain."

As they talked, they came into the warehouse.

There were mountains of rare treasures in the treasury.

The finest Shu brocade, agate from Dadian, Yunnan, night-shining pearls the size of an egg, Su brocade from Suzhou, Miyunlong tea from Jiangxi
Emperor Wanli took whatever he saw, and Wei Qing followed behind him, shouting, "Your Majesty, that's enough, that's enough."

"How much?"

"Nearly fifty boxes."

"This is just the beginning. I think I need at least a hundred boxes, otherwise people will think I am stingy." Emperor Wanli curled his lips and continued to search for treasures in the warehouse.

They didn't stop until they had collected a hundred boxes.

That afternoon, Wei Qing led a hundred boxes of jewels, hammered and shattered, and set out from the Imperial City, going along Fugui Street and Qipan Street straight to Denghua Hutong on Dengshikou Street.

Along the way, both sides were filled with people watching the fun.

It was the first time that the emperor personally paid for the bride price. Even the weddings of some unfavored princes were not so grand.

Just this one move, the influence of the Zhang family father and son was once again raised to a higher level in the hearts of the people.

That big man who has ruled the world for more than ten years is still alive.

The world will not be in chaos!
Those officials also secretly clicked their tongues.

Especially those officials who had ulterior motives, who had previously fanned the flames and seemed to have the courage to bring down the Prime Minister.

Now they are all like eggplants hit by frost - wilted.

As the convoy moved forward, Xu Ruoxi's residence also became lively.

At this time, she was sitting in front of a stone table in a small pavilion, embroidering a mandarin duck pillow handkerchief stitch by stitch, with a smile on her face from time to time.

Suddenly, Green Ivy rushed in hurriedly.

"Little miss."

Xu Ruoxi was so frightened that her finger trembled and was pierced by the needle, with drops of blood seeping out.

The pain made her frown.

She put the pillow away, looked at Luluo angrily, and scolded: "You little girl, can you behave like a girl? If you continue like this, I will marry you to the warrior in the courtyard."

Luoluo knew she had gotten into trouble, so she knelt on the ground and apologized to her young lady. Then she said proudly, "Young lady, today the emperor gave you a lot of treasures, more than a hundred boxes in total."

"Who told you this?"

"The news has spread to the soldiers guarding outside, as well as the servants and maids in the mansion. They also said that the Queen Mother will also give you a dowry."

Xu Ruoxi felt warm inside, but on the surface she still kept a straight face and scolded him, "Luolu, you are so stupid. You believe such words and dare to spread them. If anyone hears them, the police will arrest you!"

"This is true, miss." Luoluo shook her head repeatedly and answered very confidently.

"Hearing is believing, seeing is believing. You are so talkative, who knows whether it is true or not?" Xu Ruoxi remained calm, licked her fingers, and then picked up the unfinished thread of the mandarin duck pillow.

When Luoluo saw that the young lady didn't believe her, she became so anxious that she broke out in a sweat.

At this moment, there was a commotion outside the mansion. Green Rose's eyes lit up and she ran out. Looking around, she saw more than fifty wooden boxes filling up the originally spacious courtyard.

She wanted to turn around and call "Miss", but Xu Ruoxi walked out through the hollow door.

Xu Ruoxi just tilted her head to take a look outside, then walked back with a smile on her face and blushing cheeks.

The green ivy raised its neck and walked around outside like a victorious swan.

The maids accompanying them were full of envy. One of the pretty maids said with emotion: "Luluo, our new son-in-law is really amazing. Even the queen mother was shocked by his marriage."

That is.

Luoluo smiled proudly. Her young lady was as beautiful as a fairy and was the daughter of a wealthy family. As long as she married into the Zhang family, her status as a personal maid would naturally rise.

And and.

She knew that she had another mission - to replace her mistress when she was not available.

As she thought about it, a beautiful blush appeared on Green Radish's white neck.

"Luoluo, are you thinking about love?" an older maid joked.

"Hahaha, I think it's probably true. You haven't even married your young lady yet, and you're already thinking about a new son-in-law?"

Everyone started to make fun of her, and Luoluo was embarrassed and covered her cheeks and ran into the yard.

Xu Ruoxi put away the mandarin duck pillow and watched Luluo shyly come in. She couldn't help but tease her, "You almost treated me as a servant at first. Now let's see how you end up."

what?
Luoluo's limbs were cold and her little face was pale with fear.

What if the new son-in-law doesn't want her, then wouldn't she have to marry those servants?
After being with Xu Ruoxi for a long time, her standards naturally became higher. She could never accept marrying a servant.

Thinking of this, Luluo raised her eyes and looked at Xu Ruoxi eagerly.

"Humph, you are scared now, right? Change your temper in the future, and I can go and plead for you."

"I knew that Miss was the best to me."

(End of this chapter)