The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

The Yongshou Palace features a gilded green-tiled roof resembling a Taoist crown, a gilded double phoenix on the roof ridge, octagonal patterns on the window frames, and a caisson ceiling painted with the true forms of the Five Sacred Mountains, making it seem like the residence of an immortal emperor.

Inside the hall, the emperor sat high on his throne, reading memorials from the cabinet. Upon entering the hall, one's eyes were immediately drawn to the double-tiered white marble imperial road paved with dragon carvings.

The person serving the writing brush and ink at the imperial desk was Mai Fu, the Grand Master of Ceremonies. Upon seeing Prince Jing arrive, he put down what he was doing and bowed.

When the emperor saw his son carrying the cat, a bright smile appeared on his face, much more enthusiastic than when he had just seen his son.

Just as Zhu Zaizhen was about to bow, the emperor said, "No need for formalities, don't crowd my cat."

"Meow~"

The usually obedient Shuangmei started to struggle. Zhu Zaizhen put it on the ground, and the cat immediately ran towards its owner on the carved jade path, meowing incessantly as if being affectionate.

"My Frosty Eyebrows have returned."

Huang Jin smiled and explained, "It was quite a coincidence. Shuangmei probably ran out to Qingfu Palace to find His Majesty, and she happened to run into Prince Jing. It was quite a coincidence, and I guess she recognized the young master."

After cuddling with the emperor for a while, the cat got a little tired of it and lay down next to him, lazily squinting its eyes, clearly having had enough fun and wanting to sleep.

The emperor looked at the cat for a while before remembering his son, but for a moment he didn't know what to say until he saw the son touch his belly.

Are you hungry?

Zhu Zaizhen nodded without hesitation: "I'm hungry."

"A half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home." At his age, he feels as if the food he just ate has vanished into thin air if he moves around. Even if he's not that hungry, he can still eat quite a lot.

"I don't have that many meat dishes here."

"Your subject has never been a picky eater since childhood."

"Prepare the meal."

Huang Jin happily went to make the arrangements. The emperor got up and led his son to the alchemy room in the side hall. The passageway was covered with heavy gauze curtains, and in front of the alchemy room was a huge three-legged bronze furnace.

The lid of the stove is carved with a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) pattern, and faint smoke continuously wafts out from the openwork. There is an altar in front of the main wall, on which are enshrined the tablets of the Three Pure Ones. On the side wall is a picture of Zhenwu the Great with disheveled hair and bare feet.

As usual, he would meditate and regulate his breathing before meals, and if necessary, he would also take a few pills.

Zhu Houcong sat cross-legged on the bright yellow prayer mat under the spirit tablet, his hands forming hand seals as he slowly closed his eyes to rest, while his mind was pondering the memorial he had just seen.

Xia Yan is dead, and Yan Song's family has become the only powerful one, which is not what he wanted to see. Is Xu Jie a suitable candidate?

After paying his respects to the Three Pure Ones' memorial tablets, Zhu Zaizhen curiously wandered around the side hall, finding the various decorations quite interesting.

Suddenly a voice came: "Do not take the pills that Master Tao gave you for now."

Zhu Zaizhen was quite surprised, but he didn't dare to ask any further questions. He turned to the emperor and simply said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

The emperor fell silent, and Zhu Zaizhen continued to wander around the hall. In front of the carved window was a long table made of rosewood, on which were placed many Taoist scriptures and several letters that had been opened and placed on the table.

It clearly states, "Yesterday, after I prepared and drank the medicine according to the instructions, I initially felt a slight rumbling in my stomach, but afterwards I felt nothing. Medicines do not necessarily have to work quickly; the longer they are taken, the greater their benefits become. Please allow me to take it again to verify."

"I took the pill again today. After taking it, I felt something moving around in my navel and abdomen, warm and full, just like last time. But it went up to my chest and diaphragm, like I had eaten my fill."

"This pill, as I see it, is made of cinnabar. It contains silver specks resembling mercury and has a slightly sweet taste, as if it were mixed with jujube wine. I suspect it is a cinnabar made by combining lead and mercury. I have not felt any effects after taking it now, but I wonder what will happen in the future?"

"I would like to report to Your Majesty again that I will take the pills again and stop once they are effective. If I take too many, even if they are suitable, they will turn into harm. This applies to all herbal medicines. As for lead and mercury, they are minerals and are already very hot in nature."

Your subject previously advised against taking the medicine lightly, and I was precisely worried about this. For the past few days, I have felt a persistent heat from my navel to the top of my head, which indicates the potency of the medicine. Therefore, I respectfully obey and stop taking it.

All three letters bear the same signature: Yan Song.

Zhu Zaizhen couldn't help but feel admiration. This was truly risking his life to please the emperor. He deserved his current status.

He dared not touch anything else, and the room was not spacious. After walking around, he carefully returned to the emperor's side. Since there was only one futon, as a son, he could not stand there looking up at his father.

I could only sit on the ground, and I tried to sit in the emperor's posture. After a while, I felt my buttocks getting cold and numb, and I felt restless.

Emperor Jiajing valued tranquility in his residence and did not allow anyone to come in and serve him. This little disturbance made him somewhat uncomfortable.

The emperor opened his eyes helplessly and said, "Go take a walk. You don't need to stay here with me."

If it were the Crown Prince or Prince Yu, they certainly wouldn't have left, but Zhu Zaizhen didn't want to be too conventional with Jiajing, so he immediately jumped up: "Your subject has recently taken to reading. I'm already tired of the books the Imperial Scholar taught me. I see there are quite a few books and classics on Your Majesty's desk. May I browse through them?"

After thinking for a moment, Jiajing noticed that besides the Taoist classics he often read, all the memorials from the Grand Secretariat on his desk had already been approved and sent away.

The only thing left to look at is the account books that the Ministry of Revenue submitted a few days ago. I figured the child wouldn't understand them anyway, and there's nothing that my son can't see.

The emperor reached out and grasped the chime pestle, striking the bronze chime. A long, resonant sound echoed and lingered. Before the lingering echo had even faded, Huang Jin led two eunuchs in, their steps quick yet almost silent.

The three men knelt before the emperor, their heads clattering to the ground. Jiajing slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "Take them to the front hall and show them what's on the table."

"promise."

Back in the front hall, after asking Prince Jing what he wanted to see, Huang Jin ordered someone to bring over a rosewood chair with armrests and a small table, and then personally went to fetch the books from the imperial desk.

After Zhu Zaizhen sat down, he briefly flipped through the documents. There were Taoist books such as the Tao Te Ching, the Taishang Laojun Shuo Chang Qingjing Jing, and the Gaoshang Yuhuang Xinyin Miaojing, as well as some account books submitted by the Ministry of Revenue.

It was a bit of a pity that there were no memorials from the six ministries of the cabinet. Although his status was quite high, he had been confined to the inner palace for more than half a year and had not had much opportunity to access information about the court.

At most, they would hear some gossip about the court and the harem through eunuchs and palace maids, such as how tragically Grand Secretary Xia Yan died, and how his body was abandoned in the marketplace for a long time without anyone collecting or burying it.

There were also stories about which palace maid had gained favor and been promoted, and which concubine had fallen out of favor with the emperor and been banished from the West Garden, slinking back to the inner palace in disgrace…

Indeed, when the emperor moved to the Western Garden, in addition to the cabinet offices moving with him, many more of his newly acquired concubines also came along.

Whether elixirs can prolong life is currently unknown, but whether they can make an immortal person vigorous and energetic is obvious.

The emperor had no children for twelve years after his ascension to the throne, but he was able to have children one after another thanks to the elixirs and secret methods offered by Shao Yuanjie, a Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain.

Although no princes or princesses have been born in the palace for nearly ten years, the emperor's continued diligence suggests that the "strengthening essence and vital energy soup" and the secret pills described in Tao Zhongwen's writings must have played a significant role.

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