The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Zhang Xing used a silver ladle to scoop water and gently rinsed the shoulders and back. Tao Ze rubbed the bath beans specially supplied by the Imperial Household Department in his palms to create bubbles, and used a three-press and seven-lift technique to cleanse the skin. After the whole body was clean, he summoned a massage eunuch to press the Jianjing acupoint and massage the Zusanli acupoint to relax the muscles and tendons.

Finally, Zhang Xing let Jing Wang's hair bun fall into the water, rinsed it with a hair-nourishing soup made from Polygonum multiflorum and soapberry, and then applied pearl almond cream to his face.

At this time, the wet nurse would stand outside the screen and ask Prince Jing if there were any signs of injury on his body. The eunuch would carefully examine him and reply that not even a single bruise or red mark could be missed.

Only then could one emerge from the bath. The eunuch would use a fine cotton towel provided by the Imperial Textile and Dyeing Bureau to wipe away the water stains nine times. The changing eunuch would then present the steamed sleeping robes. Finally, escorted by the eunuch holding a screen, one would return to one's bedroom.

"Be careful! Carry the remaining water to the outside of Xuanwu Gate and splash it. Anyone who dares to slack off and collapses halfway will be in big trouble!"

After seeing His Highness off, Tao Ze turned around and issued orders, smugly reciting the phrase "Cleanse the filth in the Yin position, the best of luck" with great volume.

Zhu Zaizhen's bedroom wasn't large, but he felt at ease returning here. He lay down on the comfortable cypress wood bed with its red lacquer curtains, with a silver-hooked, green-patterned silk canopy above his head and a plain cotton quilt covering him.

His wet nurse, Liu, sat at the foot of his bed and reached in to massage the soles of his feet, asking with loving yet respectful concern, "Your Highness, are you hungry? There's some quail and poria soup warming up outside."

"I'm not eating anymore." After a comfortable bath and lying down, Zhu Zaizhen actually felt less sleepy: "Has my brother returned?"

"His Highness Prince Yu returned half an hour ago."

"Oh." Logically speaking, Zhu Zaizhen should go and talk to Prince Yu, but he was too lazy to move. Besides, he probably wouldn't be pleased if he went. Nobody wants to see someone's sour face, especially someone as taciturn as him.

With a few responses, Zhu Zaizhen fell asleep without realizing it. Liu carefully tucked him in, lowered the bed curtains, and quietly withdrew.

At this moment, Ma Dezhao was instructing the eunuchs on duty in the bedroom to prepare warm water and a chamber pot that might be needed at night, and carefully reminded them to remember the rule of standing silently and not looking out over the bed.

Seeing Liu Shi come out, Ma Dezhao asked in a low voice, "Those two fools said that after Your Highness had lunch with the Crown Prince and Prince Yu, you also had a long meal with His Majesty. Did you have any indigestion?"

Liu shook her head and said, "My abdomen is not swollen, only my legs and feet are slightly swollen."

Ma Dezhao pursed his lips: "Traveling a long distance suddenly will naturally harm your feet and body."

When Prince Jing was a child, he was born with a deficiency and almost did not survive. Many times, he and Lady Liu stayed up for days and nights to help him recover. Even the slightest injury would make them tremble with fear.

The two men left the palace, where Zhang Xing and Tao Ze were kneeling outside the door, hurriedly kowtowing and begging for mercy. Ma Dezhao's eyes remained unmoved, and he coldly said, "You've disturbed His Highness; watch your lives!"

After saying that, the two walked away into the distance. Zhang Xingtao was dragged behind them, his face filled with fear, but his eyes held a deep resentment.

Damn it, you old dog, one day I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!

As the princes grew up, the Grand Chamberlain's power naturally diminished, eventually depending entirely on how much trust His Highness still held in him. And over the years, His Highness had certainly cursed that old dog in front of them quite a bit...

Upon arriving at a side hall, Ma Dezhao sat down and immediately ordered, "Ten strokes for each person to teach them a lesson."

Zhang Xing begged for mercy, but seeing that cold face, he covered his mouth and lay on the ground. With the whistling of the stick, intense pain came from his buttocks, and he could only grit his teeth and groan.

After the ten blows were finished, and the two on the ground had a moment to recover, Ma Dezhao said, "I know that His Highness insisted on leaving on his own, but you couldn't persuade him and allowed him to get hurt. That is your fault, and you deserve to be beaten as many times as you want."

"Yes... Thank you for your guidance, Eunuch... We will remember it... Thank you for your reward, Eunuch..." The two women endured the pain, their voices trembling.

"Hmph, get lost." Ma Dezhao took the teacup handed to him by Xiao Huozhe: "I can't delay tomorrow's business."

Liu stuffed ointment into their hands: "Go back and help each other apply it. Sleep on your stomach for the next few days."

"Yes, this servant will take her leave."

After the two men retreated in a disheveled state, Ma Dezhao slammed his teacup down on the table: "Not a single one of them is any good! They're just a bunch of cunning and deceitful scoundrels!"

Liu instructed the rest of them, "Go and rest."

After the servants left, Liu Shi found a chair and sat down: "Oh, let's take another look. Don't worry too much."

"How can I not be anxious? His Highness is surrounded by people like this. How can I not feel at ease?"

"With you, the true Buddha, watching over them, how could these two brats possibly cause trouble?" Liu and Ma Dezhao worked together to manage everything around Prince Jing. For more than ten years, one played the good cop and the other the bad cop, and they had long since developed a tacit understanding.

"With me here, I can naturally keep him in check. However, His Highness is getting older and has long been fed up with my control. When he goes to his fiefdom in a few years, he will most likely not take me with him." Ma Dezhao sighed. "Sending me back to Jingren Palace is a small matter. I'm afraid that His Highness will lose his restraint in his fiefdom and cause a huge disaster."

After a moment of silence, Lady Liu thought for a moment and suddenly spoke up: "His Highness has been acting a little differently these past few months. Has Your Highness noticed anything amiss?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Dezhao's expression became serious: "I have noticed something, but I think it's because they're growing up. I've heard that children at this age are most prone to personality changes."

"That should be so." Madam Liu nodded and said, "His Highness remembers the matter clearly. He was talking to me about things from three or four years ago just a few days ago."

Ma Dezhao said in a deep voice, "Because of His Majesty's cultivation of metaphysics, matters concerning gods and ghosts are easily spread in the palace. This matter must not be mentioned again, and in particular, the palace servants around His Highness must not be allowed to spread rumors and gossip. Otherwise, once disaster strikes, it will be difficult to control!"

"Yes, I will go down and give them a heads-up." Madam Liu also knew the importance of this matter, otherwise she wouldn't have only brought it up with Ma Dezhao now.

"No, I'll handle this myself."

The two of them were the ones in the palace who knew Prince Jing best. They spent every day and night with him. Even Consort Jing could only see Prince Jing a few times a month due to ancestral rules. If she wanted to show him more care and concern, she could only do so through them.

"I'm relieved to leave it to my father-in-law. It's getting late, you should get some rest too."

As Liu was about to leave, Ma Dezhao stopped her, got up, walked to her side, took out a bag of silver from his pocket, and handed it to her, saying, "I heard that your daughter is getting married. Consider this a small token of my appreciation for her dowry."

"Oh dear, father-in-law, how can you do this? I've saved up quite a bit over the years, enough for the siblings to have a grand wedding."

Liu refused to accept it. She knew Ma Dezhao's character best. He never withheld money from his subordinates, nor did he accept any gifts. The little money he had was for his future retirement.

…………