Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 363: The Emperor of Han Pays Attention to Beauty and Also Arrives Early

When the imperial concubines were being appointed, the Ministry of Rites had not thought of these seven people at all, and the emperor had forgotten about them. In the end, he was able to get a beauty, distinguished from ordinary palace maids, thanks to Mi Mengshang's subtle mention of her when she was serving the emperor in bed and reporting on her work.

Zhu Changluo agreed and asked Wang An to tell the Ministry of Rites to add them. The Ministry of Rites followed the order and three days before the ceremony, they stuffed the surnames of the seven people behind the word "beauties".

Even after becoming beauties, these seven women still had no chance of meeting the emperor. Zhu Changluo rarely visited the palace except for the Jingren Palace, and he usually summoned them by name. Wang An, the eunuch in charge of arranging this matter, rarely considered them because Cui Wensheng's extramarital affairs were causing instability within the palace. Even when he did place them on the shortlist, he placed them very far down.

If the emperor wanted to warm up the harem and treat everyone equally, and asked who hadn't been favored recently, Wang An wouldn't mention their names. But Wang An could use this covert method to prevent the emperor from taking them to bed, but she couldn't prevent Concubine Shen Mi from stuffing her good sisters one by one into the bed they had slept in together.

Although anti-corruption and redundancy reduction efforts were largely complete, Mi Mengshang's daily workload remained largely unchanged. Every government office, bureau, warehouse, and depot dealing with the flow of money and property was required to submit regular financial reports to the Western Depot for review. Even offices storing high-value goods, such as banks, silver vaults, granaries, and silk warehouses, had officers from the Western Depot's External Inspection Division assigned to them. These officers would submit supervisory reports and performance reports to the Inspection Bureau, all of which Mi Mengshang reviewed.

The sheer volume and complexity of her tasks meant that all she wanted to do the whole day was sleep. She had no time to read or chat with her friends. But the Emperor had summoned her, and she couldn't refuse. Mi Mengshang knew full well that serving in the Emperor's chambers took precedence over her duties at the Western Depot.

If she failed at her duties at the Western Factory, she could retire and peacefully serve as a concubine. But if she failed at her duties as a concubine, she would likely be sent to the cold palace. To maintain her favor, or even ascend to the rank of concubine, she had to do both. However, physically and mentally exhausted, she could no longer bear the emperor's demands, so she had no choice but to bring in her sisters from the First Palace to share the burden.

Concubine Wen was the second concubine to be favored by the Emperor after the Christmas Eve revelry of the previous year, brought by Mi Mengshang. Although Concubine Wen had also been subjected to the Emperor's violent beatings, she was more experienced and fearful, and even weaker than Mi Mengshang, falling into a deep sleep as soon as the attack ended.

Concubine Wen, whose biological clock was out of sync with the emperor's, slept soundly. Zhu Changluo pushed her several times but she didn't wake up. Instead, Mi Mengshang, lying on the other side, was disturbed by the noise and woke up first.

"Master," Mi Mengshang blinked, putting on a lazy and seductive smile. "You're awake too."

"It's your turn to sleep outside." Zhu Changluo turned his head and touched her head habitually.

Mi Mengshang moved closer to the emperor. "Slap her butt like you did last night, she'll definitely wake up."

Zhu Changluo was stunned for a moment. "You come."

"It's between us." Mi Mengshang's fine hair secretly brushed against the emperor's face. "It's not easy to do it."

"I'll give way to you." Zhu Changluo gave up his position.

"I can't take a picture, so I can only..." Mi Mengshang put her cherry lips to the emperor's ear and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Gently caress your dragon buttocks."

"I'm afraid you might touch the dragon scales." Zhu Changluo got goosebumps. "Let her sleep. I still have a way to get down."

The bed was specially made and was large enough for Zhu Changluo to just lie between Lady Wen's shoulders and roll over to the edge of the bed. But just as he was doing this, Lady Wen Jing suddenly woke up.

When Wen Jing saw a broad and strong figure suddenly appear in front of her, she instinctively shrank in horror, but then she remembered where she was, so she reached out and put her arm around the emperor's waist.

Although the man's waist wasn't as thick as before, Wen Jing still remembered the emperor as an insatiable, lustful maniac who had no understanding of tenderness. She only needed to satisfy him, and must, even if she wasn't interested at all. Mi Mengshang had even said the emperor was gentle and there was no need to be so reserved. Liar!
"Master, be gentle." Wen Jing was the most charming of the eight concubines, even more charming than Concubine Kang. She was also very well disguised, her smile reminiscent of Daji, who seduced King Zhou. Her presence instantly ignited Zhu Changluo's entire body. He only needed to lean down slightly to pluck the delicate flower before him.

The evil fire attacked his sanity, but he managed to keep calm.

Zhu Changluo swallowed a mouthful of hot, foul air and uttered two cold words with all his might: "Let go."

"Your Majesty?" Wen Jing's expression froze for a moment, and she subconsciously thought that she had done something wrong.

"Let go!" Zhu Changluo frowned, and his tone sounded impatient, but he was just enduring.

Wen Jing was frightened by the emperor's expression and quickly followed his orders. The next moment, the emperor disappeared from her sight.

Zhu Changluo rolled out of bed, and Wen Jing sat up, her lips pursed as she breathed softly, a faint hint of tears. Wen Jing was charming, but Zhu Changluo had clearly forgotten that on the day he confronted Concubine Zheng, Wen Jing had been by his side, peeling oranges for him with a humble expression. To him then, this woman was nothing more than a tool for displaying power.

However, Wen Jing still clearly remembered the heart-pounding feeling of weightlessness when the emperor pulled her into his arms. The strange tone of the emperor's voice when he sentenced Concubine Zheng's nephew to "dismissal from office, confiscation of property, and repatriation" was a sentence she would never forget.

Zhu Changluo didn't hear Wen Jing's sobs, and just went about finding himself some water. After two glasses of cold water, he finally managed to suppress the anger in his lower abdomen.

"If you don't want to get up, just go back to sleep. You can go back anytime. Don't forget to eat. If you're hungry, just tell me." Zhu Changluo turned around and picked up the clothes hanging on the hanger and put them on. But when he was halfway through putting on the clothes, he saw that Wen Jing's eyes were already misty. These tears were obviously not from yawning.

"What's wrong with you?" Zhu Changluo squatted down and stopped looking down at Wen Jing.

"I am guilty." Wen Jing lowered her head, not daring to look the emperor in the eye.

"What crime have you committed?" Zhu Changluo was completely confused. He didn't even know where the tears in Wen Jing's eyes came from.

Wen Jing slid off the bed and knelt on the ground with a plop. The ground was hard, and her bare knees hurt. But she didn't dare cry out in pain. She only said in fear, "I have failed to serve the emperor well! Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Her memory and associative ability were simply ridiculously good. When Zhu Changluo asked this question, Wen Jing immediately thought of the day on Christmas morning when the emperor asked Eunuch Cui the same question that made him kneel on the ground. After that, Eunuch Cui's back was whipped with a whip. And it was whipped in public. This is a terrible man! Although Zhu Changluo thought this woman was simply incomprehensible, he still softened his heart for no reason. Zhu Changluo stepped forward and hugged Wen Jing. Wen Jing was very light, and Zhu Changluo only used a little force to put her on the bed. Wen Jing's softness and the body fragrance that seemed to penetrate her skin made Zhu Changluo a little distracted, but he just patted her back gently and did not take any further action.

"Have you read Bai Juyi's "Song of Everlasting Sorrow"? " Zhu Changluo asked.

"Yeah." The strong embrace gave Wen Jing a sense of security. She could feel the difference between this morning's embrace and last night's. The previous and last night's embraces were filled with a mad desire that seemed to crush her.

"Then do you know why 'Spring nights are short and the sun rises high, so the king will never attend court early in the morning'?" Zhu Chang let go of Wen Jing and sat down beside her on the bed.

At this moment, Mi Mengshang, who was still lying on the bed, propped up her head with her hands and cast a charming look at the emperor's back: "One glance and a smile brings out all the charms, making all the beauties in the palace pale in comparison."

"No." Zhu Changluo shook his head. "It's the first line: The Emperor of Han loves beauty and wants to conquer the country."

Zhu Changluo patted Wen Jing's head, putting on a righteous air. "I value beauty, but I have to attend court early. Otherwise, people will just blame you for the mistakes. If I don't take care of things today, tomorrow people will call you seductive vixens. Don't overthink it. I don't pick flowers during the day, not because you're not serving me well, but because I have to attend court."

"Isn't the court meeting tomorrow?" Mi Mengshang asked with a smile.

"That's a metaphor." Zhu Changluo turned around and said angrily, "I'm talking to her, why are you butting in? No."

Zhu Changluo was about to say "no rules" but he immediately swallowed his words. He found that these three words often destroyed the harmonious context and made the conversation extremely serious. So he changed his words:
"If you can't sleep and have nothing to do, just get out of bed. After dinner, you still have to go to the government office in Xiyuan."

"Yes." Mi Mengshang lazily pushed herself up from the bed. "Once I get out of bed, I have to go to the government office."

The blanket slipped off, exposing her flawless bare back to the air. But from the emperor's perspective, only her right shoulder was visible. Mi Mengshang hated the restraint of ropes and never wore her bellyband too tightly when she slept. After a night of tossing and turning, the rope had loosened. The colorful silk that held her chest, freed from restraint, danced with her movements. Atop her jade-white ridges, two bright, pink southern cherries occasionally appeared.

"Master. Does it look good?" Mi Mengshang didn't take off or tie her clothes, deliberately maintaining this hazy feeling.

"It's beautiful." Zhu Changluo was stunned. He said sincerely, "It looks like a white seal dipped in cinnabar."

The emperor was so straightforward that Concubine Shen, who always served him with charm, felt embarrassed. She lowered her head and said coquettishly, "My Lord, you really know how to praise people."

"Haha." Zhu Changluo smiled lightly, his eyes following Mi Mengshang. Just as she was about to crawl to his side, Zhu Changluo reached out and embraced Wen Jing, grinning and saying, "I'm not praising you, I'm praising her."

"Master!" Mi Mengshang shouted angrily. Her feigned jealousy was tinged with a hint of genuine bitterness.

"The harem isn't like the previous dynasty. There's no need to be so tense." Zhu Changluo looked at Wen Jing. "I like you very much. As long as you don't do anything out of line, there's nothing to be afraid of."

"Yeah." Wen Jing nodded timidly. There was no more coquettishness or panic on her face, but a hint of realization.

Even on Christmas Day, the emperor, who had been mad all night and was out of breath, still went to the front court.

--------

After breakfast and morning exercise, Zhu Changluo returned to the Qianqing Palace.

He walked to the imperial desk and sat down amid the eunuchs' kowtows and praises. While mixing a drink of salt water, he read yesterday's briefing.

The contents of the briefings were as complex as ever. If one looked at just one day's report, it would be a completely illogical account. But if one paid close attention, one would find that some of the daily records were a continuation of previous events.

If taken individually, they can form a complete development context, and through the appearance of these stories, we can infer the behavior and even psychology of the parties involved in these events.

For example, the day before yesterday, Tang Ruowang and Sun Yuanhua were released by Wei Chao, and then they ran to Ye Xianggao. Because Zhu Changluo did not order the Jinyiwei to increase their surveillance of Ye Xianggao, the Jinyiwei had no tentacles infiltrating the Ye family, and Zhu Changluo did not know what the three of them said.

However, through Johann Adam Schall von Bell's subsequent actions, that is, the letter of resignation in response to the impeachment, which was a retreat in order to advance, and the draft bill attached to the resignation, Zhu Changluo could roughly guess what advice Ye Xianggao gave to Johann Adam Schall von Bell.

But these alone could not satisfy Zhu Changluo, because he not only wanted to remove Johann Adam Schall von Bell from the case, but also wanted to foster a radical and pro-Ming young group within the Jesuit Order.

Of course, if Johann Adam Schall von Bell wasn't even willing to remove himself from the case, insisting on speaking for the beheaded lunatic, then Zhu Changluo would have to consider a new leader. A three-legged golden toad is hard to find, but a two-legged "debating foreign Confucian scholar" is much easier to find. Remember, as early as the 46th year of the Wanli reign, the first phase of the Thirty Years' War began, and one of the key drivers of this war was the Reformation.

However, it now appears that Tang Guanzheng was still highly aware of his actions. So much so that even Zhu Changluo himself was somewhat surprised. The report Wang An submitted to him stated that Tang Ruowang had not visited the Imperial Observatory the entire day yesterday, but had instead taken the initiative to go to the Censorate and request to participate in the translation of the incriminating evidence. Crucially, Tang Ruowang's actions were likely spontaneous, as the investigation report contained no record of Tang Ruowang visiting Ye Xianggao again.

Besides this noteworthy point, the briefing also mentioned the follow-up to the Tianjin corruption case. Jinyiwei's Eastern Division Deputy Captain Lu Wenzhao had already captured Tianjin Central Guard Commander Shen Caiyu and his attendant servants in Hangzhou. Local authorities had already secured their property, awaiting confiscation. By the time this report was issued, the arresting team and the suspect had already departed the area and were heading north back to Beijing, where they would report back within the month.

(End of this chapter)