The princess mansion of the eldest princess of Ningguo is located in the Chaoyang Gate in the northeast corner of the palace. It was given by Taizu to Princess Ningguo when she got married. Although it occupies a small area, it is surrounded by mountains and rivers and has beautiful scenery. There is a small lake in the middle of the mansion. Meiyin named it "Crescent Lake" because of its shape. The pavilions and pavilions are reflected in it, which is very poetic and picturesque.
In the early morning of early autumn, the air was fresh and cool, and Mei Yin was walking by the lake with her hands behind her hands. Looking ahead, the Purple Mountain is shrouded in clouds and mist, and the lush green mountains are always covered by white clouds, either hidden or visible.
Mei Yin couldn't help but recite: "The hero has been here for thousands of years, and the king's spirit is lush and colorful. The rock tiger town is the mountain breeze and the grass is cut, and the dragon in the pond is breathing and the water star is shining. The sky has opened for thousands of years, and the king has been here, and the earth has been opened for thousands of years. In Xian Dynasty, the six dynasties were replaced by Heng, Zhenzhen in the front and Jiazhen in the back." It is an old poem by Taizu.
Zhu Yuanzhang was born into a poor family and had no literary background. He was self-taught and loved to write poems and articles. His use of words and sentences was very mediocre. However, the majestic momentum and lofty artistic conception far outweighed the shy pretentiousness of the literati in the eyes of Prince Consort Mei. Mei Yin chanted, full of pride. Shouldn't men and husbands learn from Taizu's mind
Passing through a clump of golden chrysanthemums in bud, Mei Yin saw Zhu Ruhua's figure by the lake in the distance. She felt happy and wanted to go over to say hello. The sounds of several maids chatting could be heard in my ears.
"King Yan's treasure is said to be sparkling!" Mei Yin was startled and stopped.
"King Yan held up the treasure and shouted 'Fengtian Jingnan', and then a strong wind blew up!" Another maid said vividly.
"I also heard that there is a dragon in the sky!"
"I also heard that it was a golden dragon!"
"The team of King Yan also sang a song called 'The way of heaven cannot be violated, Buddha bless Yan Xing'. Do you think it is the Bodhisattva who is protecting King Yan?"
Several maids talked lively, and Mei Yin turned pale when she heard this. She parted the flowers and yelled, "What are you talking nonsense about?"
Behind the flowers were the princess's four personal maids. Seeing the sudden appearance of the prince-in-law, they became furious and hurriedly knelt down and shouted: "My prince-in-law, please forgive me!"
Mei Yin said angrily: "How bold! Where did you hear these lies?"
Several maids had never seen the prince-in-law so furious, and they were trembling with fear. A maid replied quietly: "It's the palace, everyone in the palace said so."
Mei Yin was furious: "Which palace? Who said that?"
At this time, the eldest princess of Ningguo heard her husband's voice and came over. Seeing Mei Yin being so angry, she was disapproving and asked, "Xiaozhu, what's going on?"
Xiaozhu said in a trembling voice: "Princess, forgive me! The maidservants in the palace heard everyone talking about King Yan's treasure, which is sparkling, windy, and has a golden dragon and so on."
Xiao Ju next to her tried to defend herself: "Princess! That's really what everyone in the palace said!"
Zhu Ruhua couldn't help but change her expression and looked at her husband.
Mei Yin looked solemn and said: "Ruhua, let's quickly enter the palace to report to the Holy Emperor and the Queen Mother." He then raised his voice and said: "Come here! Take these four into custody!"
The couple changed into court clothes and rushed to the palace. At this time, the emperor was in the morning court, and the two of them went directly to Kunning Palace. The Queen Mother was a little surprised that it was so early and it was rare for a prince-in-law to come. After hearing Ge Ren's announcement, she agreed to invite him. Seeing that the two of them looked nervous, they hurriedly asked what was going on. Mei Yin carefully reported what he heard in the morning.
The Queen Mother and the Queen looked at each other in shock after hearing this. This is a serious matter! Who is so bold and lies in the palace to confuse the public
The Queen Mother called Ge Ren, and the Queen called Shi Qin. After careful questioning, it turned out that there were the same rumors in Kunning Palace and Jiaotai Palace. When asked where they heard it from, the two of them hesitated. They only knew that everyone had heard it so, and it seemed that it came from the Qianqing Palace or the Provincial Gong Palace.
The Queen Mother was furious: "I don't know, I don't know! Are you dead? Why don't you repay the Ai family for such a bold and evil talk?"
Ge Ren lay on the ground and trembled: "I don't dare. I heard a group of young eunuchs say this in the Provincial Gong Palace. I scolded them, but the eunuch boys said it was the exact words in the urgent battle report and not a rumor."
Mei Yin frowned: "Did you say it was from the battle report?"
Ge Ren nodded repeatedly: "Yes, it is in the battle report."
Mei Yin looked at the Queen Mother, who waved her hand: "Go down. Let the Emperor come over as soon as he leaves the court." Ge Ren and Shi Qin stepped back, their whole bodies still trembling.
The eldest princess of Ning Kingdom couldn't help but was the first to say loudly: "It must be Wang Zhi! Apart from the emperor, only eunuch Bingbi can see the battle report. He must be talking nonsense!"
The Queen Mother frowned: "That's what I said, but Wang Zhi is an old minister and has not had any trouble for decades..." As usual, Ma Shuyi did not speak and only looked at the Queen Mother.
The eldest princess of Ning Kingdom curled her lips and said, "You are always old, and nothing will happen if nothing happens." She still remembered the old enmity with Wang Zhi in the past.
Just as he was talking, Zhu Yunwen came in. On the way, I saw the Queen Mother shouting anxiously, and she had already asked Ge Ren the reason. At this time, she was also frowning and looking worried.
The Queen Mother winked at Ma Shuyi, and Ma Shuyi smiled at the eldest princess of Ningguo: "Huanggu, I made a new embroidery pattern yesterday, and I'm a little unsure. Can you accompany me to have a look?" Then she pulled Zhu Zhu up. The picturesque hand walked out. The eldest princess of Ning Guo looked at Mei Yin and signaled from afar, then followed her out.
The Queen Mother sighed: "Although Ruhua is straightforward, what he said is not wrong. If this is what was mentioned in the battle report, wouldn't only Eunuch Bingbi know about it?"
Zhu Yunwen remained silent. At that time, when I saw this battle report written by Sheng Yong, I thought it was ridiculous. The strong wind and the golden dragon were just excuses for defeat, or hallucinations when tired from the battle. I was also afraid that these words would disturb people's hearts, so I didn't even show Huang Zicheng, and just kept them in the drawers of the provincial cabinet. The only person who knows is indeed Wang Zhi...
Mei Yin said softly: "Your Majesty! At best, this is a lie to confuse the public; at worst, it is slander. If this rumor spreads, the morale of the army will definitely be weakened!"
The Queen Mother said bitterly: "Now that all the eunuchs and maids in the palace know about it, what can we do?"
Mei Yin said: "Your Majesty! Queen Mother! There are so many people in the palace, and the law does not punish everyone, and the punishment is too large, but it is known to everyone, and the rumors are confirmed. Now we can only kill one person to scare others, and denounce it as a monster, and the palace will naturally calm down. As long as it is not If it spreads outside the palace, it will be fine."
The Queen Mother did not wait for Zhu Yunwen to object, and turned her head and ordered: "Call Wang Zhi!"
After a while, Wang Zhi's short and thin figure appeared. Seeing the Queen Mother's face full of anger, the Prince Consort Mei's face solemn, the Emperor frowned, not knowing what was going on, and hurriedly paid homage.
The Queen Mother said angrily: "Wang Zhi, do you know your crime?"
Wang Zhi was stunned and looked up at the Queen Mother. His thoughts were racing but he couldn't think of anything going on at this time. Could it be that someone knew about the last conversation he had with King Yan in Jinshen Hall? No, no one was around at the time.
Wang Zhi gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know, old minister!" Sweat was already oozing out from his forehead.
The Queen Mother gave a loud "hum" and said, "You've done a good job! It's a capital crime to lie to deceive the public, don't you know?" Wang Zhi's heart trembled, and sweat was dripping from his forehead.
Zhu Yunwen originally didn't believe that Wang Zhi was talking nonsense, but when he saw that he was nervous and guilty, he couldn't help but feel shaken.
As the Minister of Guan Ming, Mei Yin always felt that he had a heavy responsibility, and asked with a serious face: "I have been with Taizu for decades, so of course I know that I can't say this to others? Now everyone in the palace knows it, doesn't it? Is it because of companionship?”
Wang Zhi was sweating drop by drop. He was so moved by King Yan's sincere treatment that day that he told King Taizu's last words, which was indeed a bit impulsive. But, but how come everyone knows it
When the Queen Mother saw that Wang Zhi was silent, her anger grew stronger and she shouted loudly: "Come here!"
Wang Zhi trembled with fright, fell to the ground and shouted: "Your Majesty!"
Zhu Yunwen remained silent. At this time, he looked at Wang Zhi's pleading eyes and waved his hand. The Queen Mother snorted and said nothing.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Wang Zhi and remembered Taizu's dependence on Wang Zhi when he was still alive. He remembered that he had played and studied in the Qianqing Palace of the Provincial Gong Palace when he was a few years old, and how Wang Zhi had taken care of him for many years. I originally thought that he would be sixtieth birthday the year after next. .
Zhu Yunwen sighed: "Wang Banban, you really shouldn't be punished this time. According to the palace regulations, you will be punished with death. I remember that you are an old minister of Taizu who has worked hard for many years, so I will exempt you from the death penalty. But the palace cannot keep you, you, you go now Bar!"
Wang Zhi choked up and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The Queen Mother asked anxiously: "How is this possible?"
Mei Yin also said: "Your Majesty! This goes against the teachings of our ancestors!"
Zhu Yunwen said slowly: "If the emperor's grandfather were here, he would definitely not be able to bear it." When Mei Yin and the Queen Mother heard what the emperor said, they had no choice but to stop talking.
Zhu Yunwen leaned over and helped Wang Zhi up: "I'm just going with you. Those rumors must not be mentioned again. What golden dragon, what violent wind, how can such ridiculous things be taken seriously?"
Wang Zhi was wiping his tears and was stunned when he heard this: "What?"
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly: "Yes, it's best to just forget about it." He waved his hand and said, "Take care of me all the way!" He couldn't bear to look at Wang Zhi anymore.
Wang Zhi complained in his heart, it turned out that it was not because of Taizu's last words! This is so ridiculous! The Golden Dragon Storm was Sheng Yong's memorial. He had never told anyone about it. What happened if everyone in the palace knew about it
Wang Zhi looked at the emperor, and Zhu Yunwen had already turned around. Wang Zhi sighed, bowed to the ground three times, and followed Ge Ren out of Kunning Palace.
Ge Ren escorted Wang Zhi back to his residence, hurriedly packed a package and walked out of the palace. Wang Zhi had been in the palace for more than thirty years and did not have many external possessions. He only saved some silver and a few old clothes from his salary. A package was slung on his shoulder, but his steps were extremely heavy.
There was a sound of footsteps, and someone behind him shouted: "Banban, wait a minute!" It was Hai Shou's voice.
Wang Zhi felt happy, turned around and saw that there were only Lian Hua and Hai Shou, and his heart sank again. Just these two people would not make the emperor change his mind and keep him. Yes, the emperor has gone to the extreme in protecting the Queen Mother from the death penalty.
Lianhua walked over quickly: "Banban is leaving now? Where are you going?"
Wang Zhi saw that Lianhua was out of breath and her hair was a little disheveled. He guessed that she had just come here after hearing about it. He was moved and sighed: "My hometown is in Yuanping, Shanxi. I haven't been back for more than 40 years, so I will go back and see it now." look."
Lianhua asked: "Is there anyone else at home?"
Wang Zhi shook his head: "When I left home when I was twelve years old, there was no one around."
Lianhua was a little worried: "What will happen if Banban goes back? If Banban doesn't mind, how about going to North Korea? My mother and Brother Wang are both in Seoul, and they will definitely take good care of you."
Wang Zhi looked at Lian Hua with sincerity in his clear eyes, and smiled bitterly: "Thank you for your kindness. It's just that the leaves have fallen to their roots, so I should go back to my hometown." At that time, North Korea was an uncivilized land in the minds of the Central Plains people. Although Wang Zhi did not He didn't want to go home, so he looked at Lianhua and said, "I can probably find a few of my childhood neighbors and friends."
Lianhua looked at Wang Zhi and believed it. After thinking for a while, she pulled out a hosta from her head and gave it to Wang Zhi: "I'm in a hurry. I'll take this companion with me to exchange for a few acres of land. I'll bring you a letter then." Lianhua always comes. If she doesn't wear any jewelry, she only has this hairpin on her body.
Seeing her sincerity, Wang Zhi stopped refusing and took it with tears in his eyes. He bowed to the ground three times and said, "Please take care of yourself, empress." Lianhua felt uncomfortable in her heart, and tears filled her eyelashes when she thought of all the care Wang Zhi had taken for her since she entered the palace.
Wang Zhi looked at the lotus, feeling really worried. If you didn’t create the rumor this time, then who was it? Who could see the memorial from the Provincial Gong Palace and deliberately spread these words in the palace? What is it for
Wang Zhi thought of the poisoning incident a few years ago. Is that person still in the palace
Ge Ren, who was waiting next to him, was a little anxious. Due to the fact that Lianhua didn't dare to urge him, his face looked a little impatient. Wang Zhi let out a long sigh, turned around and walked out of the palace. Once you leave the palace gate, the world is vast, but who is the shadow going to
The autumn wind was howling, and a lone goose that had lost its flock was spreading its wings and flying south, with bursts of mournful cries ringing in the air.
Lotus stared blankly at Wang Zhi's back, tears falling drop by drop.