The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

When Zhu Zaizhen arrived at the West Garden, the emperor was leading his officials on an inspection tour of the Da Gao Xuan Hall, which was still under reconstruction. It was estimated that it would take another two years for the renovation to be completed.

Zhu Zaizhen quickly stepped forward and performed a grand salute. With his head held high, he spoke in a clear and joyful voice: "Your subject Zhu Zaizhen greets Your Majesty and wishes Your Majesty a long and prosperous life, forever receiving the Mandate of Heaven."

"Get up," the Jiajing Emperor said with a smile to Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Cheng, who was standing beside him. "My son is the most clever of all."

"Your subject pays respects to Your Highness Prince Jing." Zhu Xizhong, Yan Song, and the others bowed to Prince Jing and then said, "Your Highness Prince Jing is always intelligent and filial, far superior to those wretched children in my family. He truly deserves to be called a son of the dragon and a grandson of the phoenix."

"Huang Jin, go and lead him to offer incense, and then ask Master Tao to check if there is any trace of illness or misfortune on his body."

"Yes, Your Highness." Huang Jin walked to Prince Jing's side. "Let's go to Qingfu Palace first, and come back later."

"Alright." Zhu Zaizhen seemed somewhat reluctant to part. Jiajing looked at his son, whose features resembled his own, and smiled, "You don't need to go to class this afternoon. Stay and keep me company."

"Thank you, Father Emperor."

Watching Zhu Zaizhen's retreating figure, the emperor suddenly sighed with emotion: "When I was his age, my late father passed away. It was entirely thanks to the assistance of Yuan Gong, the chief secretary of the Prince's Palace, that I was able to take over the Prince's Palace as the heir apparent. Two years later, I entered the capital to assume the imperial throne, and I have remained so ever since..."

The scenery of the West Garden is truly incomparable to that of the palace. No wonder the emperor is unwilling to return to the inner palace. Zhu Zaizhen looked around and saw pavilions scattered about and flowers and trees flourishing. He imagined that it would be even more beautiful, like a fairyland, in the height of summer.

They arrived at their destination quickly. Tao Zhongwen did not come out to greet them, but instead ordered two young Taoist boys to lead Prince Jing to offer incense and pay respects to the gods. Huang Jin was greatly displeased by this, but since His Majesty trusted this Taoist priest, there was nothing he could do.

Zhu Zaizhen didn't say anything, but circled around burning incense and praying for blessings. After waiting for a long time, Tao Zhongwen finally walked out unhurriedly, and with a flick of his sleeve, a talisman flashed out between his two fingers.

With a gentle shake, the talisman spontaneously combusted, billowing blue smoke. The old Taoist, following the steps of Yu, circled Zhu Zaizhen, chanting: "I respectfully instruct the ailing body, the five internal organs, the nine palaces and seven celestial bodies, the twelve divine chambers, the four limbs and bones, the skin and blood vessels..."

Even if one's body and mind are free from evil, the liver from disease, the lungs from treachery, the kidneys from confusion, the spleen from fear, and the stomach from impurity, with the whole body pure and clean, no evil can intrude. Officials and soldiers will guide and lead, and the five spirits will attend and follow the flow of water!

The old Taoist priest chanted rapidly, and after completing a set of practiced steps, he had the young Taoist give Zhu Zaizhen a bowl of talisman water and a small white porcelain bottle containing several round, golden pills.

I definitely wouldn't dare to eat it, but I couldn't show my disgust either. I could only obediently accept it and have my companion put it away.

"This elixir, when taken with water from a rootless place, can cure diseases, avert disasters, prolong life, and increase health. I must continue to refine elixirs for Your Majesty, so I will not be able to serve Prince Jing any longer. Please forgive me."

Having said that, he turned and headed towards the alchemy room without looking back. Seeing this, Huang Jin, fearing that Prince Jing would feel wronged, quickly coaxed him, "That's how people from the secular world are; they don't care about worldly etiquette. Even the Grand Secretaries rarely have a word to say to them. Your Highness, please don't do this in front of His Majesty later..."

His Majesty now places great faith in this path. Throughout the history of this dynasty, only one person has held the titles of "Three Sovereigns." If Prince Jing were to recklessly file a complaint and displease His Majesty, although he might not be severely punished, he would find it difficult to have an audience with His Majesty in the future.

Zhu Zaizhen sensed Huang Jin's goodwill and immediately replied, "Thank you for the reminder, Elder."

The most valuable quality in a person is self-awareness. At present, whether from the perspective of the emperor or the court, Prince Jing is neither the eldest son nor the legitimate heir, so he is not considered very important. In the future, he will just be an ordinary member of the royal family raised in his fiefdom.

Seeing that Prince Jing truly understood his meaning, Huang Jin exclaimed, "Your Highness has really grown up."

If you really count them, all of these princes were raised and cared for by Huang Jin, who sent them out of the palace to be raised and brought them back to the palace for education, and who constantly looked after their situation.

Just as they were about to return to Yongshou Palace, they suddenly heard a few meows, and then saw a small cat with a slightly bluish body and bright white eyebrows jump out, followed by four or five eunuchs.

"Meow~"

This cat wasn't afraid of people, perhaps because it had never seen Zhu Zaizhen before. After observing him from a distance for a while, it deliberately came closer and sniffed him, occasionally rubbing against him to leave its scent. However, it was still somewhat wary, and if you bent down to grab it, it would definitely run away.

"Oh dear, how did this little rascal get out here!"

Huang Jin quickly squatted down: "Come here, come here. If His Majesty can't find you, he'll be worried. Be good, come here quickly."

The cat was clearly only curious about Zhu Zaizhen. It glanced at Huang Jin but showed no intention of going over to him, and even turned its rear end towards him.

The eunuchs who were in charge of serving the cat, along with three palace maids behind them, all gathered around.

Zhu Zaizhen had also kept cats in his previous life, but they weren't such a rare breed; they were just a silly little orange cat.

Zhu Zaizhen leaned down slightly and slowly stretched out his hand. Shuangmei was startled but couldn't help being curious. She sniffed her fingers a few times and then stuck out her pink, prickly tongue to tentatively lick them.

Seeing this, Huang Jin waved his hand, signaling the others not to approach, and slowly stepped forward, smiling, "Thanks to Your Highness, this cat is His Majesty's treasure, the most beloved by the Emperor, named Frost Eyebrows."

After licking the human's hand enough, the cat began to sit on the ground and concentrate on licking its own fur, clearly forgetting that it was still on the run.

Zhu Zaizhen carefully picked it up and placed one hand under its feet to prevent it from feeling weightless and panicking.

Huang Jin leaned closer and said, "Your Highness, please be careful and don't get too close to her face. Although Shuangmei is gentle, she is still sharp-tongued."

"Yes, don't worry, I often hold cats at my mother's place too."

When the emperor has a particular fondness for something, those below him will follow suit. The emperor loved cats the most, so cat rooms flourished in the palace. The concubines would also keep a few cats, which both kept away rats and pleased the emperor.

The ones that could be delivered to the imperial concubines were all carefully selected. They had to be cute, clever, and have good meanings, as well as be gentle and docile, not shouting or biting wildly.

These cats also had names; the male cats were called "Servant" and the female cats were called "Girls." Zhu Zaizhen's mother, Consort Jing, kept one servant and two maids.

The best among them, like Shuangmei before us, not only have a more unique and pleasant-sounding name, but also a high salary that would make officials weep with envy.

There were four eunuchs and a dedicated imperial chef just to serve it. Tao Zhongwen could be too lazy to pay attention to him, but when he saw this cat, he had to obediently stroke his whiskers and praise it as an auspicious and divine beast.

At this moment, a palace attendant hurried over: "Your Highness, His Majesty summons you to Yongshou Palace for an audience."

"it is good."

Zhu Zaizhen held the cat's paws, letting its back rest against his chest, and with his other hand around its chest and abdomen. He tried to take a few steps and saw that Shuangmei looked forward like a child, without any sign of struggling. So he carried it and, led by Huang Jin, headed straight for the palace.

The journey wasn't far. Huang Jin was still telling about the strangeness of Shuangmei, the cat. This cat was quite clever. Whenever the emperor got up or went out, it would act as his guide. When the emperor went to bed, it would stay by his side.

If it is hungry or thirsty, or needs to relieve itself, it will only leave when its owner wakes up. It will only leave to play when there are many people around the emperor. Seeing this, the emperor cherishes it like a treasure.

.........