The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 725 Fish Swimming Under the Pot
Nanjing Longsheng Pass.

Longsheng Pass is close to the Yangtze River and has an excellent port. It has the largest post station, Longsheng Post, and the largest airship docking base in Nanzhili. Therefore, it is very bustling with traffic, and there are many shops in the port. Goods from the north and the south are gathered here. It is one of the largest ports around Nanjing.

Among the many shops and taverns, Zuixianlou was the most luxurious. Most of the people who came to this tavern for banquets were high-ranking officials in the capital, not ordinary people.

After Emperor Guangde ascended the throne, he abolished many old rules that were unfavorable to the circulation of commercial goods and relaxed many restrictions on merchants' business. As a result, commercial exchanges in various parts of Nanzhili became increasingly prosperous, and Longsheng Pass became one of the most prosperous places.

As the year draws to a close, many wealthy businessmen, officials and scholars living in the capital return to their hometowns. Zuixianlou is much quieter than usual, but compared to other taverns, it is still very lively.

"Everyone, have you heard? The Emperor is getting married this month."

"Where is the queen from? Why haven't I heard anyone mention it?"

If we talk about the most tempting topics of conversation in the capital today, there are only two that can be identified.

One of them is of course the wedding of the current Emperor Guangde.

It should be noted that the provinces in the north and south have been busy for more than half a year in order to select the queen. Thousands of ladies have gone through layers of selection, and the various erotic stories among them are all topics that the people talk about with relish.

All the diners at Zuixianlou were either rich or noble, but when they talked about this secret, they were all very excited, and their expressions were very much like Wang Ganniang gossiping in a street teahouse.

"This isn't an open audition. We've already gone through five or six rounds. The final three winners will be chosen by the two Empress Dowagers themselves. They'll choose the current Empress from among them. It won't be made public, so how did you find out?"

"What a pity. I don't think it's that magical. His Majesty rejected the Swedish princess back then. I heard that the princess was truly a beauty, even more beautiful than Yang Guifei..."

A group of diners were so drunk and excited that they lost their composure and said some forbidden and offensive words without knowing the consequences.

The owner of Zuixianlou was so frightened that he quickly came out and signaled everyone to keep their voices down. He bowed to everyone and pointed to the notice posted on the pillar of the tavern:

"My dear guests, my lords, my ancestors, please do not discuss state affairs. This street is full of black-clad procurators. Although the current emperor is lenient, if you let the cat out of the bag, be careful you will end up in the Imperial Prison and eat free food."

The diners clearly didn't take the shopkeeper's words to heart. A Beijing official said drunkenly:
"Manager Wang, your worry is ridiculous, ridiculous. Times are different now. Emperor Guangde is a sage emperor through the ages. Punishing people for speaking out is unheard of in our dynasty. You should have torn up your "Don't Talk About State Affairs" card long ago."

Another guest who looked like a eunuch also laughed and said, "The arrest of people by the Suoyi Guard is so outdated. How can Wang Zhanggu still bring it up now? You are not an official in the court, so how can you understand the current situation..."

"Yes," a drunken officer continued, "It's different from the past. Now civil officials are respected and military men are nothing. Even a commander like Pu Gang can be arrested and his property confiscated at will. The Suoyi Guards are now busy dealing with the commanders of various corps. How can they have the energy to care about your little shop..."

Shopkeeper Wang was so anxious that he was sweating profusely and bowed to everyone. Several straw raincoat guards who were patrolling the area and drinking at the door pretended not to hear these "treasonous" words, hurriedly paid for the drinks, and turned around to patrol elsewhere.

The diners watched the straw raincoat guards in black casual clothes leave their sight and continued to scream at the top of their lungs.

After they finished talking about Emperor Guangde's wedding, they naturally moved on to another topic.

"The eldest princess is coming to the capital? Did you know?"

"I heard that the princess has been living in seclusion in Suzhou Dongzhuang for three years. She hasn't been back early or late, but she has come back at this time. Is this possible?"

"You don't know this. I also heard it from my former brothers in the Eighth Corps. The princess didn't return to the capital alone this time. General Pu was hurt so badly by them. Don't you know? Ningguta has been in chaos for a long time..."

"Is this coming with bad intentions?"

The diners realized that they had unknowingly talked about an extremely sensitive topic and shut up at the same time.

"Here we are! Gentlemen, come and try our Zuixianlou's signature dish, the fish swimming under the cauldron."

At this time, the waiter brought the hot pot stone cauldron and put the cut sea bass into the clear soup.

As the charcoal fire at the bottom of the stone cauldron was ignited, the sea bass swam around in the cauldron, completely unaware that death was approaching.

~~~~~
On the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month of the sixth year of the Guangde reign, the eldest princess returned to the capital from Suzhou by airship, arriving at the Forbidden City before the retired emperor's eighth birthday on the twelfth lunar month to meet her brother, Emperor Guangde Liu Kan. Emperor Guangde was enthusiastic about the eldest princess's sudden return to the capital and dispatched his chief eunuch, Li Juying, to lead a group out of the city to welcome her.

At noon on the sixth day, Eunuch Li led a group of followers to wait at the Longshengguan airship base for an hour before finally waiting for the princess's airship to slowly land.

"Eunuch Li, how is Emperor Guangde these days? I heard the empress has been chosen."

Li Juying smiled widely, her eyes narrowed into a line, and she glanced at the guards standing beside the princess while she said with a smile:
"Thanks to the Princess, Your Majesty is in good health. He was hunting in Shanglin Garden yesterday. The Princess is well-informed. The Empress was chosen just the day before yesterday. She is from Kaifeng Prefecture. Both Empress Dowagers are quite satisfied."

"From Kaifeng Prefecture?" Liu Yufei muttered to herself.

"Kaifeng Prefecture is really famous for its beauties. I remember Empress Dowager Zhang was also from Kaifeng Prefecture."

Li Juying didn't dare to continue. The eldest princess could talk about Emperor Guangde's biological mother, but he couldn't.

"Did the Princess have a smooth journey back to the capital?"

Suzhou is only 400 miles away from Nanjing, and the airship can reach there in three hours. People usually travel between the two places by passenger ship or carriage. The eldest princess has loved to experience new things since she was a child, so she must take an airship every time she travels.

Liu Yufei said calmly, "We encountered a bit of wind and it was a little bumpy, but luckily we were safe."

"The princess is a precious treasure. Emperor Guangde often tells us that the eldest princess is his majesty's closest relative in this world, and that we are to serve her with all our heart..."

The Princess said:

"Emperor Guangde's wedding is coming up, and the palace is bustling with activity. Steward Li has been working very hard lately."

Li Juying quickly said modestly: "These are all my duties. It's my responsibility. There's no question of whether I contributed or not..."

Liu Yufei's expression was stern. "I heard that Eunuch Li went to Ningguta a while ago. It's a long way from north to south, but it only took a few months to get there. Did you also take an airship?"

Li Juying rushed to Ningguta from Nanjing. She initially took the Da Qi Post Road. After arriving at Shanhaiguan, she took an airship to Ningguta.

Since airships were extremely expensive and most of them were owned by the military, according to the regulations of the Great Qi Dynasty, only officials of the third rank and above were eligible to ride them.

However, judging from the eldest princess' tone, it was obvious that she was not pursuing this matter. Li Juying knew that she was blaming Pu Gang.

"Princess, please understand. I was working for Your Majesty and was a little anxious. I accidentally exceeded the rules. Please punish me."

Liu Yufei waved her hand and said disapprovingly:
"Eunuch Li is a great favorite of His Majesty. His status is so prominent that he's second only to the emperor, and he's no less powerful than Dongfang Zhu back then! And I'm just an old princess from the previous emperor's dynasty. Old princesses are worthless, so how could I dare to punish you? If I'm charged with disrespect, wouldn't you, like Pu Gang, confiscate my property and exterminate my clan?"

Li Juying knew that the eldest princess had come back from Suzhou with ill intentions, but she didn't expect her to be so angry and clearly well prepared.

He looked around and saw the guards were murderous and the officials of the Great Qi who were waiting for him at the dock all had unfriendly expressions. They were clearly supporting the eldest princess. He remembered what Emperor Guangde had said before: the eldest princess had followers all over the world. So he quickly knelt on the ground and cried:
"I'm a poor ruler, damned! I didn't expect them to accidentally kill General Pu's family. I only asked them to confiscate anti-government poems, I had no other intentions..."

"Alright," Liu Yufei said, suppressing her smile. "Take me to see Emperor Guangde. Now that someone has died, the former members of the Eighth Corps are furious. The court should give them an explanation."

When Li Juying heard about giving an explanation, she felt a chill on the back of her neck. Based on her understanding of Emperor Guangde, if the situation was really out of control, she would most likely be used as a scapegoat and pushed out for those soldiers to vent their anger.

Thinking of this, he plopped down and knelt down in front of the princess again.

"Please, Princess, save me, save me,"

The guards helped the princess get on the carriage. When she got in, she looked back at Li Juying and said meaningfully:
"If Dongfang Zhu were here, Your Majesty wouldn't have to worry so much. Emperor Guangde trusted you so much, yet you caused such a terrible disaster. Eunuch Li, you are already a fish swimming under the cauldron. Your death is imminent, and no one can save you."

The carriage, surrounded by a group of attendants, drove across the cement road and slowly headed towards the Forbidden City.

(End of this chapter)