My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 24: Wise Master Ma
Zhu Biao, Zhu Gang and Zhu Di arrived at Kunning Palace first. When they learned that someone had come from their mother's hometown, the three brothers reacted differently.

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "We are all relatives, we should treat each other with courtesy."

Highlight the politeness.

Zhu Gang was a little impatient: "Humph, you're here to ask for a reward again."

Zhu Di, who was full of energy, said excitedly:
"Is cousin Ma here? Okay, okay, I'll take him horseback riding and archery."

Queen Ma knew it very well. The eldest and third sons were older and more mature, and they knew her attitude towards the Ma family.

So they either act unfamiliar or dismissive.

As for the fourth brother... this silly boy is the purest.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said to Zhu Gang unhappily:

"What's your attitude? Have you learned all the sage books?"

"Be polite when you meet people later, don't let them think we are uneducated."

Zhu Gang did not dare to disobey his father and quickly admitted his mistake, but he disliked the two relatives even more in his heart.

If it weren't for you, would I have been scolded?

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang should not have been here.

His identity was too special, and if the news of him personally receiving two relatives got out, it would easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

But for some reason, he stayed.

As for what people outside think, we don’t care about them. It’s better if they misunderstand us.

Anyway, we can't let Ma Yu get the advantage.

Soon, Mr. Ma Baye and Ma Ye came to Kunning Palace under the guidance of the eunuchs.

They had prepared many words of praise, but the moment they saw Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, their minds went blank.

All he knew was to kneel down and kowtow.

Seeing this, Queen Ma announced the final result directly in her heart.

Zhu Biao didn't say anything, and the smile on his face even widened.

Zhu Gang's eyes were already filled with contempt.

Only Zhu Di looked at Ma Ye stupidly, wondering if this guy with weak arms and legs could withstand his punch.

Zhu Yuanzhang's cheeks twitched. Is that it?
How can we help you?
But when he thought of Ma Yu's smug face, he became furious.

No, we can't let him get away with it.

Then he forced a smile and said, "Stand up."

However, Mr. Ma Baye and Ma Ye acted as if they hadn't heard anything and continued to lie on the ground, not daring to move.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath and said, "Stand up, we are all family, there is no need to kneel down at every turn."

The two of them finally reacted and hurriedly got up from the ground.

When he stood up, he realized that he had not yet thanked the emperor, so he knelt down again.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Then he stood up again.

Zhu Yuanzhang: ...

"You three, come meet your elders and brothers."

Zhu Biao stepped forward with a smile and said, "Hello, Eighth Uncle."

Zhu Gang reluctantly cupped his hands and mumbled, "Eight...Okay."

Zhu Di saluted happily: "Hello, Eighth Uncle."

Under normal circumstances, when the prince salutes you, you must move sideways and then return the salute with a big gesture.

After all, the hierarchy is clear, not to mention that Zhu Biao is the crown prince.

But Mr. Ma Ba actually accepted the gift like this and said:
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, he's really a handsome guy."

Instead, Ma Ye knelt down and kowtowed to the three of them:

"Meet the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince."

Although it is not in line with etiquette, it at least maintains the line between respect and hierarchy.

Zhu Biao narrowed his eyes slightly, then said to Ma Ye with a smile on his face:

"No gifts."

Only then did Ma Ye stand up.

At this moment, Zhu Di came over and slapped him on the shoulder:
"Cousin, I'll take you there later..."

"Ouch..." But when he slapped him, Ma Ye screamed in pain and staggered back two steps.

Zhu Di was also dumbfounded and said hurriedly: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

Ma Ye quickly said, "It's...I was careless. Don't blame the Fourth Prince."

Zhu Yuanzhang finally couldn't hold it any longer and said to Empress Ma:

"I still have official business to attend to, so I won't disturb your family from reminiscing about the past."

After saying that, he ignored the two of them, got up and left.

Empress Ma's face was not looking good either. She said to Zhu Biao and the other two:
"What are you three still doing here? Have you finished your homework?"

The three brothers didn't dare to encounter such bad luck and quickly took their leave, leaving only the reserved Ma Baye and Ma Ye.

Queen Ma took a deep breath, adjusted her attitude, and asked about the situation in her hometown in a gentle voice.

Perhaps it was because there were fewer people, or perhaps it was Queen Ma's attitude that helped him relax his nervous mood.

Mr. Ma was finally able to answer the questions fluently.

What's the point of living in a remote and poor place? No place is good here, while Yingtian is prosperous and you can have everything you want.

Lai Yingtian was entrusted by the clan to come and pay his respects to the Empress.

This answer is almost like saying directly that we want to stay in Yingtian and live a good life.

Then he pushed Ma Ye out, saying that he was the most outstanding son of the family and wanted him to stay by the Empress's side and obey her orders.

"You also need someone you can trust to run errands, right? Outsiders are not as reliable as our own people."

Empress Ma's smile remained unchanged as she turned her gaze to Ma Ye: "Have you ever read a book?"

Ma Ye was gradually adapting to the situation and finally remembered the etiquette rules that his master had told him when he first arrived.

He quickly bowed and replied, "I've read the Thousand Character Classic and the Three Character Classic, and two years ago I started studying the Analects and the Book of Filial Piety with my teacher."

Queen Ma nodded, and then, as an elder, tested his knowledge.

She didn't deliberately make things difficult for Ma Ye, and only asked basic questions.

Compare what loyalty and forgiveness are, and what benevolence is.

Ma Ye answered them one by one. Although they were all "standard answers" summarized by predecessors, at least his answers were fluent.

As for the Book of Filial Piety, his answer was very simple.

I couldn't even recite the content, let alone understand it.

Empress Ma was such a smart person that she immediately guessed that he had never studied the Book of Filial Piety before.

It's likely that he learned it at the last minute before coming to see me.

The reason? Of course, it was to please her.

Even so, to be fair, it is already good to be able to perform like this at this age.

After all, he wasn't from a wealthy family, so he had access to prestigious teachers since childhood. The fact that he was able to master the Analects so thoroughly through a private school in the countryside was truly beyond reproach.

However, it also depends on who you compare yourself with.

With Ma Yu standing there, he seemed too ordinary.

After that, Empress Ma did not do anything extra. She just said a few words of comfort, rewarded them with some money and property, and then arranged accommodation for them.

"Stay in Yingtian for a few days and explore the area. When an official ship sails north in a few days, you can take it back."

"Ah, this..." Mr. Ma Ba looked reluctant, but he was timid and dared not refute.

Instead, Ma Ye bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I dare to stay in the capital and serve you."

"There are many great scholars gathered in Yingtian, and I also want to learn from them so that I can serve the court in the future."

Empress Ma said gently, "It's good that you have this intention, but it's inconvenient to enter and exit the deep palace, not to mention that you are a man."

"As for studying, you need to strengthen your foundation right now. The sensual pleasures of Yingtian will easily distract you."

"Go back home and study hard first. It won't be too late to talk about famous teachers after a few years."

After saying this, without waiting for the two men to plead any further, he ordered them to be taken away.

The two had no choice but to leave, looking back every few steps.

What they didn't expect was that before they even walked out of the palace gate, another eunuch caught up with them.

It was said that His Majesty had found a house for them and asked them to live there first and not to rush back.

Now both of them were confused. The queen allowed them to go, but the emperor refused. Who should they listen to?

It was not until they moved into the new house that Master Ma slapped his thigh and said:
"I understand."

Ma Ye quickly asked, "Eighth Grandpa, what do you understand?"

Master Ma Ba said with a smug look on his face, "The Queen actually wanted to keep us, but we are relatives by marriage after all."

"If I do this, I'm afraid others will talk about me."

"So the Empress deliberately let us go and put on a show for them."

"Then His Majesty came forward to keep us here, and the Queen then went along with it and agreed to let us stay."

"In this case, it is His Majesty's will that we stay, and it has nothing to do with Your Majesty."

"No one else can say anything."

"What's this called... three refusal and three concessions? Yes, it's what they say in the storybooks."

Ma Ye looked confused. Is this what he meant by refusing three times?
But if you think about it carefully, it seems to make sense.

Otherwise, there is no way to explain why the Queen asked us to leave, but His Majesty gave us a house and asked us to live there with peace of mind.

Master Ma, who thought he had guessed the truth, was very proud and said:
"Brothers fight tigers together, and fathers and sons fight together in battle. Although Your Majesty is the Queen, you still need the help of your family."

"My guess is correct, so you can stay here with peace of mind."

Ma Ye was just a child after all, and it was not his turn to make the decision on such a big matter, so he could only stay with them.
-
The news that the queen's relatives came to Beijing, including a cousin who was within the fifth degree of mourning, spread quickly.

Everyone immediately sent someone to investigate the situation.

These are the relatives of the Queen Mother, we cannot neglect them.

Although the Queen had previously refused to reward her relatives, what if she changed her mind?

In this kind of situation, it is better to guess wrong than to do nothing.

If you guess wrong, the worst that can happen is you'll be winking at a blind man, which isn't a big loss.

But if you do nothing, you will offend people.

Then, the news spread that Zhu Yuanzhang personally received them and arranged accommodation for them.

Don’t guess anymore, it’s confirmed.

So each family prepared a generous gift and sent it over.

Because there were so many people giving gifts, the queue was more than a mile long.

At first, Mr. Ma was too scared to accept it, but soon he seemed like a completely different person.

Not only did he accept all the gifts, he also acted like the queen's cousin everywhere.

He also patted his chest and agreed to the compliments of others who asked him to "say a few good words to the queen".

Instead, Ma Ye began to panic.

I advised him several times not to do this, as it would bring trouble.

Mr. Ma Ba said confidently: "What do you know? We just want to make a big splash."

"That way others will know that the Empress's family is here, and no one will dare to disrespect her."

She also scolded him: "What do you know as a child? Don't interrupt when adults are doing things."

Seeing that he could not be persuaded, Ma Ye could only close the door and read.

However, Master Ma pulled him out again:
"What time is it now? What book should I read?"

"First, check the gift list and the bill to make sure you don't get cheated."

Ma Ye didn't dare to refute and could only helplessly become the accountant.

Their actions were naturally seen by everyone.

Some people thought they had found an opportunity and started to flatter.

Some people acted as if they were watching a joke.

Some people also came up with other calculations.

For example, Li Shanchang, after learning about Mr. Ma's operation, sneered:

"madness."

Li Zhong was also puzzled and asked, "I don't know what Your Majesty is thinking. Why does he attach so much importance to them?"

Li Shanchang said, "No one can guess what the superior is thinking, but I do have a plan."

Li Zhong asked doubtfully, "What's the plan?"

Li Shanchang revealed a hint of sneer and said, "You arrange for someone to tell that Mr. Ma Ba that there is a criminal pretending to be a royal relative imprisoned in Yingtian Prefecture Prison."

"The Queen was so angry about this that she lost her appetite."

Li Zhong took a deep breath and said, "If the Queen knew about this, I'm afraid it would be difficult to explain."

Li Shanchang scolded him, "What are you afraid of? Can't you arrange for someone else to do it? As long as we are not found out, that's fine."

Li Zhong did not dare to disobey his father's wishes and had to follow the arrangement.

However, he did not send anyone directly to find Mr. Ma.

Instead, while Mr. Ma was strolling around, he found two people to pretend to be passers-by and told him about the story of impersonating a royal relative.

"That criminal is in the prison."

"I heard that the Queen was so angry that she couldn't eat for several days."

"Alas, Your Majesty lives in the deep palace. There is nothing you can do except get angry."

"Didn't they say that the Empress's relatives are coming? Won't they help the Empress vent her anger?"

"Who knows if they have the courage to do this."

"Forget it, forget it. This kind of thing is not something we ordinary people can worry about."
-
As expected, after hearing this "secret", the clever Master Ma decided to help the Queen vent her anger.

This is to prove that he, the in-law, is not just a figurehead.

So he immediately returned home and took Ma Ye to the Yingtian Prefecture Prison.

(End of this chapter)