In the past few days, the officials in the capital city have been quite miserable, because the emperor would give a speech every day when he went to court to praise the Chen family for their good deeds, repeating over and over again how kind and righteous the Chen family is. It seemed that his words implied that except for the Chen family, they were not good people. Of course, those who could become officials were not fools, and the emperor's meaning was self-evident, but no one took the lead in raising funds for charity.
The emperor's face became more and more irritable day by day. Several officials had been scolded by him, and two low-ranking officials were even beaten with sticks. Finally, after the crown prince privately donated 60,000 taels of silver, and Prince Yong and Prince Kang also donated 50,000 taels of silver, the officials had to bite their teeth and pay the money.
In this way, hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were raised in just a few days. Together with the gold from the Chen family, the problem of disaster relief money was solved, and it was more than enough.
The officials had no choice but to pay the money and lost their fortune. They did not dare to offend the emperor, but the Chen family became the target of public criticism. Who made the head of the Chen family show off his power and be the first to donate money? They had no place to vent their anger and could only vent it on the Chen family.
Officials who used to be on good terms with the head of the Chen family lost their enthusiasm when they saw him, and some even mocked him to his face, saying that the Chen family was the most "benevolent and righteous family" in the world, and other families were inferior to them. In the future, if there is any problem in the court, they will definitely donate the most.
But it is not surprising that the officials blamed them. Although they donated the same amount of money, only the Chen family received the emperor's edict of praise. They all became foils. The Chen family was the culprit that caused them to lose money. If they did not blame the Chen family, they would be saints.
The head of the Chen family was helpless in the face of everyone's cold words. He was really not willing to donate this gold. This was all a trap set by the emperor. He used their Chen family as a raft and gave him a high hat in order to obtain the officials' charity money.
But no matter whether the emperor used the Chen family as a pretext or the cold words of the crowd, the head of the Chen family accepted it, as long as his son was released. However, he paid 50,000 taels of gold, but it didn't work at all. His son was still in prison. Facing the expectant eyes of his mother and wife, he was afraid to go home. Who could he go to for justice? It was really hard to express.
The relief money was solved, and Emperor Mingzheng was in a good mood. He went to Kunning Palace and laughed loudly, "Ru'er, the two sons you gave birth to are still the ones I like. If it weren't for Aze's accidental discovery and the prince's quick reaction, the relief money would not be so easy to solve. Those officials, humph!"
They are all selfish.
The emperor praised her son, and the queen was of course happy. She smiled and said, "Prince Yong and Prince Kang are both good children. They each donated 50,000 taels of silver this time. They have made great efforts. I think there is no silver left in the palace. I will reward them with some later so that they don't have no money to spend. After all, they are princes of the dynasty."
Emperor Mingzheng snorted, "How could they not have money? When they saw that the crown prince donated 60,000 taels of silver, Concubine Li privately gave 50,000 taels of silver to Prince Yong. The 50,000 taels of silver to Prince Kang were also given by Marquis Xuanping. They didn't pay a penny themselves. Humph, I asked them to pay the money, but none of them were willing to do so. It seems that in their eyes, my words are not as important as those of Prince Yong and Prince Kang... ...
The Queen found it funny that the Emperor was still angry about the officials not taking the initiative to donate money for disaster relief a few days ago.
Emperor Mingzheng added, "The private funds in the hands of the Crown Prince and Aze all come from us. I know how much wealth they have. Aze has the gold given by the Chen family, so don't worry. I will give the Crown Prince a subsidy, so there is no need to embezzle your private funds."
The queen stood up and saluted, smiling and saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for thinking of me."
Emperor Mingzheng helped her sit down and said, "We are husband and wife, there is no need to be so polite."
The queen smiled and sat down, saying, "The second son of the Chen family has been in prison for half a decade. Although he offended Aze, he also indirectly helped the emperor. After all, he didn't commit any serious mistakes. Why not let him go?"
Emperor Mingzheng did not intend to keep Chen Junxiong in prison. He had been busy with disaster relief these days and had no time to care about the boy. Moreover, the court officials hated the Chen family so much that no one pleaded for the boy. So he just forgot about him. He looked at Hu Deyang behind him and said, "Give him twenty strokes of the cane and throw him out."
"Hey!"
The corner of Hu Deyang's mouth twitched slightly. He finally understood how much the emperor disliked Chen Junxiong. After all, he was helping you with the disaster relief money. You had locked him up for half a decade, and you still wanted to beat him with twenty boards. However, as long as the master was happy, he as a servant would be happy. Chen Junxiong had offended Prince Chun, so he deserved to be beaten with a board.
The queen did not plead for mercy. Compared to the emperor, she hated Chen Junxiong more. She beat him with twenty boards to teach him a lesson and let him know that the capital was not his home and he could not say anything he wanted.
On the ninth day of the eighth month, Emperor Mingzheng’s birthday was not a full birthday celebration. He did not want to spend lavishly because the natural disaster had just happened. The Empress held a banquet in Kunning Palace, and all the concubines in the harem and Emperor Mingzheng’s descendants and grandchildren were present.
The Queen raised her glass, looked at Emperor Mingzheng, and said sincerely: "I wish Your Majesty good health and prosperity for the country!"
"The Queen knows what I am thinking!"
May the dragon be healthy and the country prosper!
The Queen's blessing touched Emperor Mingzheng's heart. He looked at the Queen with great satisfaction and drank the wine in one gulp in a very good mood.
The harmony between the emperor and the empress hurt the eyes of the concubines below. With the empress around, the emperor could not see these concubines even though they were young and beautiful.
Concubine Li clenched her fingers and smiled, "Your Majesty, since I couldn't find anything precious, I wrote a Buddhist scripture myself and offered it to the Buddha for 9981 days, hoping that it would bless Your Majesty and make everything go smoothly."
"Concubine Li is thoughtful." Emperor Mingzheng said with a smile, "Accept it quickly."
Concubine Li had a bright smile on her face and personally presented the Buddhist scriptures to Emperor Mingzheng.
Emperor Mingzheng flipped it open, took a look, and praised: "Concubine Li's handwriting is getting better and better."
Concubine Li smiled proudly, "It is worth it for me to practice calligraphy since I was a child to receive a compliment from the emperor."
Emperor Mingzheng looked at her playfully, the smile in his eyes faded, and he closed the Buddhist scripture and placed it on the table.
Han Ze keenly noticed the coldness in Emperor Mingzheng's eyes, raised his eyebrows, and asked loudly: "Father, can the Buddhist scriptures really bless you to have everything go well?"
Concubine Li returned to her seat and heard Han Ze's words. The sudden sharpness in her eyes was hidden by her lowered eyes.
As soon as Han Ze opened his mouth, Prince Yong's heart tightened. What did Prince Chun want to do
Emperor Mingzheng smiled meaningfully, looked at Han Ze and asked, "Why do you ask that?"
He didn't know whether the Buddhist scriptures could bless him to have everything go well, but he knew that Concubine Li gave him Buddhist scriptures every year. Since she gave him Buddhist scriptures every year, he guessed that was what Concubine Li thought in her heart, at least she wanted him to think so.
Han Ze frowned. "That year, there was a flood in the village. All the crops in the fields were submerged. The villagers went to burn incense and pray to the Buddha, but it was useless. The crops still died. When the autumn harvest came, there was nothing. Grandma said that the Buddha was very busy. There were so many sentient beings in the world, and he didn't have enough time to ask about everything."
The emperor laughed out loud, "Your grandmother is right. Even the Buddha cannot know every living being in the world."
Concubine Li could no longer maintain the smile on her face. She said, "Your Majesty, sincerity is the key to success. I pray to the Buddha to bless you every day. One day he will be moved by me and bless you."
Emperor Mingzheng raised the corner of his mouth. Even if everything went smoothly, it might not be due to the Buddha's blessing. For so many years, he had been the ruler of the world. This world was conquered bit by bit by himself and his subordinates, not by relying on the Buddha's blessing.
Han Ze opened his eyes wide: "How much sincerity is needed to impress the Buddha?"
The emperor looked at her and smiled more deeply: "Since Concubine Li is so thoughtful, you should recite the Buddhist scriptures silently in front of the Buddha every day from now on. Perhaps the Buddha will see your intentions."
Reciting Buddhist scriptures in front of the Buddha every day? Concubine Li looked so ugly that she was about to cry. She hated Han Ze in her heart. In her opinion, giving Buddhist scriptures was the safest gift. It was not outstanding and would not arouse jealousy. In previous years, Buddhist scriptures were given as gifts, and the emperor was not dissatisfied. But this year, Prince Chun appeared. He was really everywhere.
Han Ze said, "If Father doesn't get everything he wants, doesn't that mean he's not sincere?"
Prince Yong's face changed drastically, "Third brother, don't talk nonsense!"
Concubine Li's face was as gloomy as water, and she looked at Emperor Mingzheng with tears in her eyes: "Your Majesty, I have no insincerity."
Han Ze tilted his head and said, "Oh, no wonder people always say I'm stupid. I've thought about it for a long time and still don't understand. If everything goes well for my father, is it because Concubine Li's mother prays to the Buddha every day? Or is my father just wise and can do anything he wants?"
Concubine Li's face suddenly turned pale, and cold sweat broke out on Prince Yong's forehead.
Han Ze's words did not stop: "If this is the reason why Concubine Li's mother prayed to Buddha, doesn't it mean that Father is not wise and can't do things as he wishes? If Father is the Son of Heaven and God blesses him, why did Concubine Li's mother still pray to Buddha?"
Concubine Li held the handkerchief tightly and said anxiously, "The emperor is the Son of Heaven. God will bless him. It has nothing to do with worshiping Buddha and copying Buddhist scriptures."
Even if she was beaten to death, she would not dare to admit that the emperor was not wise.
Han Ze asked curiously, "Since my father is blessed by heaven and wise, and the whole world is under his control, why did Concubine Li send him Buddhist scriptures?"
Concubine Li gnashed her teeth and said: "..."
The queen glared at Han Ze: "Enjoy your meal, what nonsense are you talking about?"
The emperor laughed loudly: "Okay, Aze is telling the truth. Of course, Concubine Li is also kind-hearted, although this kindness may be useless. Aze, stop being curious."
In just one sentence, Concubine Li's mission of delivering the Buddhist scriptures was deemed to be in vain.
Concubine Li had an unpleasant look on her face, but she couldn't say anything. She couldn't compete with a fool.
The others were gloating and sat aside to watch the joke.
Prince Yong looked at Han Ze gloomily and waited to see what would happen.
Han Ze looked at him blankly. Why are you glaring at me
Prince Yong glared at him again and said, I will deal with you sooner or later.
Han Ze also glared at him, then looked at the emperor unhappily: "Dad, Prince Yong glared at me!"
Prince Yong: “…”
You idiot, go to hell! You are so old, and you still complain!
Emperor Mingzheng looked at Prince Yong and saw that he looked furious. For some reason, he felt a little sympathetic. Why did he pick on Aze when there were so many people he could pick on? He asked, "Prince Yong, why are you glaring at Prince Chun?"
Prince Yong made an unpleasant excuse: "Father, Prince Chun was mistaken."
Han Ze snorted, "I wasn't seeing things!"
Prince Yong: “…”
Emperor Mingzheng laughed and said, "In that case, apologize to King Chun! It's not a big deal. You are brothers and should live in harmony."
Prince Yong gritted his teeth secretly: "Yes, father!"
The author has something to say: Han Ze: Please call me a snitch, thank you!
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