The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

The series of demands left Madam Wang somewhat bewildered: "My sister is probably busier than those Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet every day."

Lady Lu was also a little embarrassed: "I was just being silly, I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

Outside the palace, the evening drum sounded deep and resonant, startling the sparrows perched under the eaves. The figures of two elegantly dressed beauties sitting opposite each other, drinking and feasting, resembled a meticulously painted portrait of court ladies.

At this moment, a palace servant came to report that Prince Jing had returned to the palace. Lady Lu immediately ordered, "Bring His Highness here."

The Imperial Noble Consort, her cheeks slightly flushed from the wine, put down her jade wine cup and said, "Alright, Zaizhen is most afraid of me. You two should have a good chat."

"Don't spoil the child's good mood." The Imperial Concubine patted the back of Lady Lu's hand. "I won't keep you any longer. Please come over another day."

Prince Jing was a mischievous and unruly child. The emperor lived in the Western Garden for a long time, and Lady Lu was carefree. It was only through Lady Wang that Prince Jing was kept in check.

Slapping on the hand and being forced to stand as punishment were common occurrences, which made the only person Prince Jing feared was Consort Wang.

"Alright, then I'll take my leave."

After Lady Lu left, an older, beautiful female official walked over lightly. She wore a black gauze hat, a red robe with a round collar and wide sleeves, embroidered with cloud patterns or intertwined floral patterns, a gilded belt buckle around her waist, and black boots. She was Zhao Jingxian, the Shanggong of the Shanggong Bureau.

"Consort Jing is a very fortunate person."

"Yes, it's enviable. She's the one who doesn't care about His Majesty the most, yet she still has a son and is raising him."

Lady Zhao smiled and said, "It's one thing for others to be envious, but what are you envious of? The Crown Prince is growing up, and your good fortune will last a long time."

Wang's eyes flickered slightly as she picked up a wine cup from the table. The wine rippled, reflecting her still beautiful face. Yes, she still had the Crown Prince, and the Empress's position was within her grasp.

In this deep palace, beauty and favor will fade; sons and power are what truly matter.

"Did Consort Shen and Consort Kang not arrive in person?"

There was no empress in the palace, but there were two imperial concubines. One gave birth to the crown prince, while the other had no children of her own and only raised a princess, yet she remained a concubine, which shows the favor she received.

Since the Renyin Palace Incident, the emperor has distanced himself from his former consorts. Now, the concubines remaining in the harem fall into only two categories: those who are raising princes or princesses and can still attend family banquets at the Western Garden a few times a year to see the emperor.

As for those who have no children... it has been seven or eight years since they last saw the emperor, so the harem is practically a cold palace.

"Only a gift has been sent," Zhao Shanggong said in a low voice. "Consort Shen, having been busy with Princess Ning'an, has long lost any desire to compete. But Consort Kang..."

"Du Shi?" The Imperial Noble Consort traced the uncollected wine cup on the table with her fingertips and said with a sarcastic smile, "She is indeed unwilling to admit defeat, but unfortunately..." Her gilded nail guards clinked against the white jade cup, "Mother and son are both of the same kind of good-for-nothing."

Zhao Shanggong said calmly, "Consort Shen is one thing, but we need to give Lady Du a warning. Also, Prince Jing this time..."

"You make the arrangements, but don't involve Prince Yu." Lady Wang glanced at the seat where Lady Lu had just been sitting and said, "Zai Rui only has these two younger brothers; they are still better off than outsiders."

She wasn't worried that Prince Jing and Prince Yu could replace the Crown Prince. There was no precedent for this in the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, even if the Emperor insisted on doing this, he would face countless difficulties. His Majesty was focused on immortality and had no energy to waste on this.

"Immortality, ah..."

...............

After walking back, Zhu Zaizhen's legs felt heavy and weak, and he was slightly sweaty.

"Your Highness, Consort Jing requests your presence."

"Understood." Zhu Zaizhen said to Gao Zhong behind him, "Thank you for your help, Gao. Please take us this far."

"How dare I complain about the hardship when it is my duty?"

"By the way, does Gao Ban know which imperial physician in the Imperial Hospital is most skilled in the art of health preservation, strengthening the body, and nourishing the vital energy?"

After a moment's thought, Gao Zhong said, "Your Highness, as far as I know, the Imperial Physician Zhou is skilled in the Five Animal Frolics and the Eight Pieces of Brocade. He is nearly eighty years old. When I saw him last month, he still had a ruddy complexion and black hair, which shows his skill."

Seeing that King Jing nodded, Gao Zhong took his leave. He had many things to do, and at this crucial moment, he could not afford to slack off in the slightest.

Mai Fu has been in poor health lately and is considering resigning from the position of Director of Ceremonial, which is the position of Chief Eunuch. He naturally wants to take it, although there is also Huang Jin competing for it. However, His Majesty has always disliked favoring people from the Prince's residence.

So far, four people have served as the Director of Ceremonial Affairs in this dynasty: Xiao Jing, Zhang Zuo, Bao Zhong, and Mai Fu. Among them, only Zhang Zuo came from the Prince of Xing's family and was the tutor of His Majesty's late father, Emperor Xian, so he had a long and distinguished career.

The other three all came from the palace, yet they still became the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, which shows that His Majesty values ​​talent and loyalty. He, on the other hand, now holds both directorates and the affairs of the inner and outer camps, so he naturally has a great chance of success.

Zhu Zaizhen headed towards Jingren Palace, where his mother resided. Zhang Xing, his personal attendant following behind, couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, how about I carry you for a while?"

"It's alright, just walk slowly." Zhu Zaizhen shook his head: "Please ask Judge Zhou to come see me tomorrow morning."

"Your Highness," Zhang Xing hurriedly replied, "If it's Dr. Zhou's turn to be on duty at the Imperial Pharmacy, then this servant will definitely be able to invite him tomorrow morning. If it happens not to be his turn..."

The position of Imperial Physician is a sixth-rank official, second only to the Imperial Medical Academy Director. There are two of them in charge of diagnosis and treatment and teaching, and they often take turns working at the Imperial Pharmacy.

At this moment, another attendant, Tao Ze, spoke up: "Your Highness, I heard that another head of the Imperial Medical Academy retired and returned to his hometown of Yangzhou last month. There is no one to fill the vacancy yet, so it seems that Head Zhou will have to guard the Imperial Pharmacy by himself for the time being."

Zhu Zaizhen simply grunted in response, while behind him, Zhang Xing gave Tao Ze, who was smiling obsequiously at him, a sinister look.

Without turning around, he could roughly guess what was going on. In his memory, these two had been undermining each other for quite some time, but it was rarely this obvious.

Although Zhu Zaizhen had been granted the title of Prince, his actual treatment was still determined according to that of a young prince who had not yet left home to study. Apart from the attendant and wet nurse arranged by his mother, he only had two eunuchs with official ranks: the eighth-rank eunuch in charge of food and clothing.

The rest were all without rank. Those who came of age became eunuchs, and those who were underage became junior servants. They all wore blue robes and small hats, swept the palace by day, and studied calligraphy by night, waiting for an opportunity to enter a rank and then climb up step by step.

Zhang Xing silently nudged Tao Ze aside with his shoulder and followed closely behind Prince Jing, step by step.

His heart was in turmoil. His Highness used to love pestering him and playing around, but in the past few months, he seemed like a different person.

Not only did he become increasingly calm, but he also stopped touching all the things he used to be obsessed with. This rendered Zhang Xing's skill in pleasing his master useless, while Tao Ze, that cunning and well-informed scoundrel, gradually showed his face and became smug.

That won't do. Now that the Crown Prince is about to leave home to study, Prince Jing, who is already old enough, will naturally follow suit, and then he will officially receive the treatment of a prince.

…………