The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 85 Admonition

"Your son Zhu Zaiji pays respects to your father and wishes Your Majesty a long and prosperous life."

Prince Yu's head was pressed tightly against the floor, with the Ice Mirror not far from him, while Jiajing remained behind the heavy curtains, scrutinizing his son whom he hadn't seen for so long.

Emperor Jiajing neither told him to rise nor offered him a seat. After a long while, a voice from behind the curtain asked, "How long have you been standing outside?"

Prince Yu was taken aback. He dared not lie and had no time to find the right words, so he could only honestly reply, "Your Majesty, I don't remember very clearly, but it was about a quarter of an hour."

There was no sound behind the curtain. Prince Yu's heart was pounding, and he wished he could swallow back what he had just said.

Did I say something wrong? Did I make Father Emperor think I was complaining?

In his haste, he added, "Your Majesty, I don't think it's been long. I'm willing to wait. It's my blessing to be able to await Your Majesty's summons."

"I'm willing to wait." Jiajing repeated his words, then asked, "What brings you here?"

His mother and tutor had both taught him these words, and Prince Yu finally felt more confident. He answered straightforwardly, "Your subject has not paid his respects to Your Majesty for a long time, and I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's tireless efforts in managing state affairs day and night—"

"Alright."

Jiajing's voice was not loud, but it was like a bucket of cold water poured down his head, instantly dredging up the filial piety speech that Prince Yu had been preparing for half a day.

"Who taught you these words?"

Prince Yu's face turned pale instantly. He wanted to say that no one had taught him, but if he said that, he would be lying to his father, which would be a crime of deceiving the emperor.

If it was taught by his mother or his teachers, then he would betray them. Prince Yu opened his mouth, unable to utter a single word for a moment, sweat dripping down his forehead, which he dared not wipe away.

A very soft sigh came from behind the curtain, a sigh without anger.

"Get up," Jiajing finally said, his voice carrying a hint of boredom.

"Please take a seat."

Huang Jin quickly moved a round stool over and placed it in the middle of the hall. Prince Yu thanked him and carefully sat down, only daring to touch half of the stool, while keeping his upper body straight.

"What books has your teacher been teaching you to read lately, and what are your thoughts on them?" Jiajing asked again, his tone slightly gentler than before.

He also comforted himself, saying that this son had always been like this since he was a child, unlike that brat Zaizhen, who was shameless.

Prince Yu's spirits lifted; he had prepared for this. He quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I have recently been reading the *Zizhi Tongjian*, and have reached the Tang Dynasty section. Scholars say that reading history allows us to understand the rise and fall of dynasties, and I believe—"

He suddenly remembered Tao Zhongwen's saying that one should be taciturn and not argumentative, and his tongue got tied. He swallowed the rest of his words and said in a low voice, "Your subject has only dabbled in it and dares not claim to have any insights."

Jiajing was clearly not satisfied and could only ask in more detail: "Then tell me, where did the An Lushan Rebellion lie?"

Prince Yu's mind went blank for a moment. He was indeed reading the Tang Annals, but the teachers were highlighting the prosperous era and the wise ruler's governance, while the An Lushan Rebellion was only mentioned in passing, as a case of a villain causing chaos in the government, which was not a good thing for a ruler.

He opened his mouth, but only managed to squeeze out a few words: "The chaos lies in the power of the regional military governors and the emperor's loss of control."

"That's written in the book. What I'm asking you is your own opinion."

Prince Yu could only lower his head and answer with some shame, "Your subject has not thought about it yet."

No further questions were asked from behind the curtain. Jiajing tapped his fingers lightly twice on his knee, a gesture he made when he was getting impatient reading memorials.

Upon seeing this action, Huang Jin knew that Prince Yu had indeed failed in his attempt to refute the original proposal.

He lowered his eyes, thinking to himself that if His Highness Prince Jing were here, he would probably be quoting extensively and eloquently, even if it was all fallacious reasoning, at least it would be his own words.

"Heh." Jiajing finally couldn't help but sneer: "Your teachers teach you from sunrise to sunset every day, wishing they could chew up the classics and historical texts and feed them to you, but they just let you recite them verbatim without letting you think about them."

And if they don't teach you, won't you think about it yourself?

Reading is not simply about copying the words from a book into your brain and calling it a day!

Prince Yu knelt down again with a thud: "Your subject is foolish and stupid, please punish me, Father Emperor."

"I have no reason to punish you."

Jiajing's tone returned to its initial calm and indifferent tone.

"Go back now."

Prince Yu wanted to leave immediately, but he also wanted to talk to his father some more. However, he dared not argue and could only bow respectfully and take his leave.

Huang Jin escorted him out of the West Garden. When he returned, he saw that the emperor had already stepped out of the curtain and was pacing back and forth where the two princes had knelt.

Huang Jin thought the Emperor would talk to him about the two princes' performance that day, but Jiajing's first words were: "The timing is not right. Prince Yu stayed with Master Tao for quite a while."

Huang Jin didn't say anything after he returned, but the Emperor still keenly noticed it.

Only then did he lower his head and report truthfully: "This servant accompanied Your Highness to Qingfu Palace. Master Tao invited Your Highness and this servant inside for a cup of cool tea, saying that the spell would require some time to prepare, so this servant returned ahead of time."

"oh."

Jiajing simply responded thoughtfully, without asking why he had returned ahead of him, nor did he intend to summon Tao Zhongwen.

"Your name is Jinyan, your name is Shenxing, and your name is Xiaoshuang!"

Jin Yan and Shen Xing are two round orange cats with warm yellow fur and an endearing appearance, while Xiao Shuang is clever and well-behaved with smooth and delicate light blue fur.

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Once Chang'an has fully recovered, she can choose a companion herself. Judging from the preferences of ordinary women, she would probably prefer the pretty Xiao Shuang. Zhu Zaizhen doesn't care much, as he prefers the adorable orange cat.

He reached out to scratch Jin Yan's chin, and the orange cat immediately rolled over, purring. Shen Xing, not to be outdone, also came over and rubbed against his fingers.

Keeping cats in the palace is a simple matter. Feeding them, cleaning up their litter boxes, and trimming their nails are all taken care of. He only needs to come over and pet them occasionally.

When it came time for dinner that night, Zhu Zaizhen suddenly noticed that there were more than a dozen more dishes than usual in front of him, which looked like the Crown Prince's portion.

The round table couldn't hold everything, so two small square tables were added next to it, and a dazzling array of dishes were laid out, including cold dishes, hot dishes, soups, and desserts, all arranged in a neat and orderly fashion.

The appetizers alone include four dishes: crystal sashimi, pickled goose feet, mixed shredded vegetables, and honey-preserved kumquats. The hot dishes are even more diverse, featuring delicacies from land and sea, including crab meat lion's head meatballs and honey-glazed ham, which are not usually seen.

Zhu Zaizhen looked at his attendant beside him, and Ma Dezhao smiled slightly: "It wasn't arranged by this servant. These are the dishes that the Imperial Kitchen sent today."

Zhu Zaizhen smiled and picked up a piece of fish from the very center with his chopsticks; the taste was exceptionally fresh and rich.

Where are they?

"The head of the kitchen is waiting outside the hall."

"Let them in."

A moment later, a stout middle-aged eunuch squeezed in, glanced at the dining table, and bowed deeply: "This servant, Hong Yuan, the head of the Imperial Kitchen, greets Your Highness."

"No need for formalities, the fish is exceptionally delicious today."

Naturally, the fish were delicious. Before dawn, he sent a special messenger on horseback to the palace to select wild white fish weighing around one pound each, with glossy scales, and to keep them in a wooden bucket filled with fresh water.

Along the way, the water was constantly changed and the area was shaded from the sun. The fish were escorted all the way to the palace, where they were then handed over to a special person from the Imperial Kitchen to draw fresh water from Yuquan Mountain to keep them quiet for half a day, so that they could expel all the mud and dirt from their bellies.

As dinner approached, the imperial chef personally caught and slaughtered the animals, carefully scraping off their scales, removing their gills, opening their bellies, and cleaning out the black membrane and blood vessels inside. Then, he used cold water from a deep well, along with fine salt and clear honey wine, to repeatedly rinse and rub them, thoroughly removing any earthy or foul smell.

The fish is coated inside and out with aged fermented rice wine, and its belly is stuffed with tender ginger shreds and premium scallions—then placed in a cedar wood dragon-shaped steamer and slowly steamed over a low flame for three quarters of an hour, allowing the steam to gently permeate the lotus leaves—

The most painstaking part was the delivery of meals. After the meal was finished, the food was immediately placed in a double-layered food box, with the inner layer filled with pure snow and crushed ice stored in the inner ice cellar to keep it cool and fresh. Four chief chefs would then walk quickly and respectfully around the shady corridors of the palace, delivering the food to the palace in a short while.

Fortunately, it seems that it was all worthwhile, and His Highness saw their sincerity.

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