The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 636: Ascension Soon
The spring rain is drizzling, the grass by the river is growing wildly, the Six Dynasties are like a dream, and the cuckoo is crying in vain.

On the second day after Qingming Festival, Empress Dowager Cisi asked the palace maid Amber to go to Wenhua Hall early in the morning to invite the retired emperor to have lunch with him in Cining Palace.

Amber came back and said that His Majesty had to meditate again today and would not be free until five days later.

Jin Yuji angrily said, "You practice Taoism every day, but I don't know when you will become an immortal."

Yang Qing'er waved away the palace maid and said with a smile:
"If Your Majesty does not cultivate the Mysterious Dao, when will Liu Kan be able to rule the country?"

When Kaner was mentioned, both of them felt a headache.

Jin Yuji was worried: "There was trouble with the new policy in Taicang this time. Many of the people sent by Kan'er were killed. I wonder how they are doing now?"

Yang Qing'er filled the teacup and gently pushed it to Jin Yuji.

"When the enemy comes, we will fight them; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. When Your Majesty was in Kaiyuan, you had to stumble along the way. It's inevitable for children to make mistakes."

Jin Yuji hesitated to speak.

Da Qi is no longer the Kaiyuan of the past.

Dozens of provinces and trillions of people will be affected by the king's words and deeds.

Taking the new policy that Zhang Yunxiu strongly advocated as an example, the emperor's thin edict of a few pages affected the people in dozens of prefectures and counties in Jiangnan.

Empress Dowager Cisheng murmured, "Da Qi can't stand any more turmoil."

Yang Qing'er comforted him, "Zhao Lujiao has passed away, so he should be fine."

The combat effectiveness of the Eighth Corps is obvious to all. Jin Yuji nodded, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"This is the new tea from Jinshan Temple. It's said to be imbued with the spiritual energy of Monk Fahai, and it's refreshing. Why don't you try it?"

When Jin Yuji heard what Monk Fahai said, she frowned slightly.

She has always wanted to see the Leifeng Pagoda where Bai Suzhen was suppressed.

"I wonder when the Emperor will be free. Let's go to Hangzhou."

Seeing Jin Yuji's fascinated look, Yang Qing'er couldn't help but smile and said:
"That's a good idea. It's rare for the two queen dowagers to leave Nanjing, so why would they go to Hangzhou?"

"Unless the Emperor truly hands over Da Qi to Kan'er, then maybe he'll have time to spare."

I guess we'll have to wait a long time.

In the Cining Palace Garden, the cuckoo is singing.

The two women chatted for a while, and Yang Qing'er said casually:
"Blind Ke died of illness a few days ago, did you know?"

"That Ke Zhene who told Yuan Chonghuan's fortune?"

"Who else but him."

Jin Yuji was surprised and said, "The emperor went to see him at the beginning of the year."

The world is impermanent.

The spring scenery is beautiful outside the window.

"Will the Princess return to Nanjing for the Dragon Boat Festival?"

Jin Yuji shook her head and sighed, "Who knows? Let her be."

Princess Liu Yufei has no intention of getting married.

"According to our Han customs, at her age, even if she is from an ordinary family, she should be married."

Jin Yuji smiled and said, "According to Korean customs, it's time for you to get married."

Liu Yufei has always been very opposed to getting married and only wants to stay with her parents. Last year, during the military parade in the first year of Guangde, her brother did not let her come to Nanjing and arranged for the eldest princess to stay in Shenyang.

"She's probably still angry with Kan'er."

Jin Yuji stood up and walked towards the door. The weather was clear and sunny these days, which was a good time to go out for an outing and enjoy the scenery of Jinling.

"On Qingming Festival, only paper money is burned in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. I want to go to the Nanjing temple and burn some as well to commemorate Kan'er's mother."

"It's been so many years, I don't know if she is doing well over there."

Last year, the retired emperor instigated Liu Kan to drive the Zhang family back and confiscated all of the Zhang family's land, leaving only 300 acres of poor land for Zhang Guoji. Jin Yuji and Yang Qing'er both felt that the retired emperor was too harsh.

"Every time I see Concubine Chen, it feels like I'm seeing her."

Jin Yuji shook her head and said, "How can they be similar? Apart from their similar appearance, Chen Yuanyuan is no match for Zhang Yan in terms of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and song." Yang Qing'er smiled and said, "Perhaps she can be compared to Zhang Yan in terms of sleeping with him..."

The two women burst into laughter.

~~~~~~
In April of the second year of Guangde, with the full implementation of the new policy in Jiangnan, the workload of the young emperor and the retired emperor increased sharply.

Liu Zhaosun's originally regular life routine became chaotic.

He could no longer review memorials for five or six hours during the day, study the Heart Sutra with Master Zhang for an hour, and then come to the Cining Palace at night to practice the mysteries with Jin Yuji, Yang Qing'er, Chen Yuanyuan, Liu Rushi, Daphne, Tokugawa Chihime and others as he did before.

Now, the retired emperor has returned to his fanatical state of only sleeping two hours a day. He reviews memorials during the day and stays until late at night. Only when others are asleep does he have time to study the art of longevity.

"Wang Heng's skillful hands, capable of seizing the blessings of heaven and earth, should be sent back to Nanjing by now, right?"

The emperor finished his practice for the day and walked out of the secret room.

Dongfang Zhu had not yet received the report from the Eighth Corps, so he said cautiously:

"Your Majesty, there is still no news from the Ministry of War."

The Emperor donned a Taoist robe, raised the burning incense stick above his head, and prayed loudly to the statue shrouded in smoke:
"Mysterious Heavenly God, True Lord Yousheng, Great Emperor Zhenwu, the Three Pure Ones, all the High True Ones in the heavens, all the great gods, have mercy on me and accept my prayers. May you bestow blessings upon us and protect all of humanity. May you bestow your grace upon us and save us from danger and suffering. Help me escape the sea of suffering and ascend to heaven soon!"

~~~
Jin Yuji and Yang Qing'er have been in Nanjing for more than half a year, but they haven't been out for sightseeing much.

"When I was young, my father told me about the Forty-Eight Scenic Spots of Jinling in the Celestial Empire. Unfortunately, we were separated by mountains and seas, so I never had the chance to see them. Now that my sister and I are staying in Nanjing, we should go out and take a walk."

As he spoke, he handed an ancient book introducing the customs and culture of Nanjing to Yang Qing'er.

The saying of "Forty-eight Scenic Spots of Jinling" originated in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. After several generations of improvement, the famous scenic spots of Nanjing were gradually selected.

The Ming Dynasty painter Zhang Hong once painted "Qixia Mountain Picture".

The ancient "Forty-eight Scenic Spots of Jinling" were once glorious, but many of the attractions have disappeared. Although some attractions are still there, they are on the verge of decline.

The Empress Dowager Dong said with disdain, "What forty-eight scenes? They are all fabricated by literati. A sloping bridge is also called Broken Bridge in Misty Rain, and a ditch is Qinhuai Sunset..."

Jin Yuji was about to retort when she heard someone coughing outside the door.

"Ahem, the Forty-Eight Scenic Spots of Jinling. Wow! I originally thought the Eight Scenic Spots of Junzhou were far-fetched, but I didn't expect them to come up with forty-eight. Let's go! I won't do anything else today. I must go and see it!"

When Jin Yu Ji looked back, she saw Liu Zhaosun wearing a Taoist robe, looking like an immortal, and smiling at the two of them.

Yang Qing'er angrily said, "The sun has risen from the west! Master Liu has finally come out of seclusion?! I haven't seen you for half a month. Have you become an immortal? Are you still building your foundation?"

Liu Zhaosun clapped his hands and laughed:
"Taicang has acquired three million mu of farmland. Zhang Yunxiu is so busy that he has to ask me about everything."

"If one person succeeds, the whole family will ascend to heaven. I will succeed soon, and you two will ascend together."

Yang Qing'er cursed, "You've gone crazy cultivating immortality and becoming a demon. What's the point of saying chickens and dogs ascend to heaven? Yu Ji and I are chickens or dogs!"

Liu Zhaosun laughed loudly.

Jin Yuji winked at Amber, and the palace maid chuckled, lit two sticks of ambergris, closed the palace door, and called a few young palace maids to go out together.

The atmosphere gradually became ambiguous.

Jin Yuji said seriously, "Husband, how long will it take before you can ascend?"

Liu Zhaosun calculated that it would take at least seven or eight years to conquer Japan and kill Tokugawa Iemitsu.

"Five years."

"Five years? By then, Sister Yu Ji and I will have become old women. I'm afraid His Majesty won't take us to Ascension. I can't wait that long. Why not now..."

Jin Yuji laughed and said, "Exactly. As the saying goes, a night of love is worth a thousand gold."

Liu Zhaosun looked out the window. The sun was at its zenith and spring was breaking through.

This is not a fucking night of love.

The two beauties were as fierce as wolves and tigers. Master Liu had no way to retreat and made three rules:
"Then hurry up and ascend. This afternoon, we'll go enjoy the Forty-Eight Scenic Spots. It's been a while since I've played with you guys. When I get back, I need to review the Eighth Corps' expansion plan, Fujian's land survey plan, and the Navy's construction of new ships..."

Jin Yuji Yang Qing'er glared at him and said angrily:

"Shut up!"

Yang Qing'er held the hand of the retired emperor, and Jin Yuji followed. The three of them, couples, embraced each other and went into the tent. It was like a spring dream, and they didn't know where they were.

(End of this chapter)