"Third Young Master..."
Ji Yuan looked at the backs of Yin Zhaoxian, Yin Qing and others who were leaving in a hurry, and muttered to himself. Thinking back, he first heard this name at Zhuangyuan Ferry on the other side of Tongtian River outside Gyeonggi Prefecture.
"This emperor does have some sentiments!"
…
At the front gate of Yin's mansion, Yin Zhaoxian, accompanied by his wife and son, and several servants, walked in small steps to the gate. After tidying up their clothes, they all went outside. The guards and carriages over there did not move, and the people in the carriages did not get off. They were just waiting for Yin Zhaoxian to come.
Yin Zhaoxian and his family quickly walked out of the mansion, went down the steps, and then walked in front of the carriage. Everyone bowed together.
"Your Highness, I, Yin Zhaoxian, and my family are here to pay our respects to Your Majesty!"
"Greetings, Your Majesty!"
The people behind him repeated it in unison.
At this time, the curtain on the carriage was lifted again, and the guards placed the step stool at the same time. A eunuch came down from the carriage first, and then he helped the person out to get off. It was the current Dazhen Hongwu Emperor Yang Hao.
"Everyone, please stand up quickly without formalities!"
Emperor Hongwu walked a few steps closer to Yin Zhaoxian and personally helped Yin Zhaoxian to stand up.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Haha, my beloved Lord Yin, I left the palace today without making a fuss. I came to your house for a private visit and brought my family with me. You should come down as well!"
Emperor Hongwu addressed the first half of his sentence to Yin Zhaoxian, and the second half to another carriage behind. Then the curtain of that carriage was opened from the inside, and two women walked out one after another. One was older but elegant, and the other was beautiful and graceful.
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Virtuous Consort, and Princess Changping!"
Yin Zhaoxian and his family members behind him bowed respectfully again.
"No need to be so polite, everyone. We and the Emperor are here to visit you today. I hope we are not disturbing you."
Defei brought the princess to the side of the emperor and asked Yin Zhaoxian and Yin's mother with a smile. Especially the latter who had an imperial edict and would occasionally enter the palace to chat.
"No, no, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, and Your Highness the Princess, it's getting dark and it's freezing outside. Let's go into the mansion and warm up. Yin has already asked the kitchen to prepare a sumptuous dinner."
No matter what the emperor came for, he couldn't just stand outside and talk. Yin Zhaoxian invited the emperor into the mansion and had already instructed the servants and the kitchen staff to make preparations before he came.
"Okay, today I will try the dishes from Prime Minister Yin's residence!"
"It just so happens that we have some special sauces from my hometown in Ning'an County, which Your Majesty can try. Your Majesty, please!"
Yin Zhaoxian extended his hand to invite the group of people into the mansion slowly. Yin Qing didn't say much the whole time. He just followed his father and kept an eye on Yin Chong. However, he found that Concubine De and Princess Changping would actually look at him from time to time.
This made Yin Qing frown, and after a little thought, he suddenly thought of a ridiculous possibility.
Several heaters had been lit in the guest hall of Yin's mansion, and servants had prepared tea and cakes. A group of people came here through the door and corridor, and they felt a wave of warm air coming towards them as soon as they entered the door.
This large living room is filled with calligraphy and paintings. Most of the words were written by Yin Zhaoxian, while the paintings were basically painted by Yin Qing. The Yin father and son are well-known in this regard both inside and outside the court.
After several people sat down, Emperor Hongwu's eyes lingered on the calligraphy and paintings in the room. He looked at them for a long time and exclaimed in admiration.
"Everyone says that Lord Yin is an honest official, but in fact you are not short of money at all. Your home is full of treasures. Just look at the calligraphy and paintings in the living room. I wonder how many wealthy and powerful people have been willing to pay a lot of money to buy them but have been unable to do so!"
Yin Zhaoxian drank his tea and smiled.
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. Others are just flattering me because I, Yin Zhaoxian, hold a high position!"
"Prime Minister Yin is too modest. I, a woman, have heard of him many times in the harem. I know that Prime Minister Yin is a great calligrapher of the time, and your son Yin Qing's wonderful brushwork is also renowned. Every stroke of his pen is worth a fortune. Both you and your son are extremely talented!"
Defei was good at speaking and was well aware of the position of Yin Zhaoxian in the emperor's heart. Emperor Hongwu had talked to her about Yin Zhaoxian many times on the bedside table, most of which were words of praise and even admiration.
Yin Zhaoxian will become the prince's tutor in the future. From another perspective, it can be said that if Yin Zhaoxian really thinks that a prince is incompetent and unworthy of the responsibility, then no matter how much he likes that prince, he will not be the choice for the crown prince.
In addition, the common people and even the civil and military officials had long heard a rumor that Yin Zhaoxian was a virtuous and great scholar of the time, with a righteous spirit, who understood the world and eradicated evil spirits, just like the result of the blood silk case.
To this day, people in Lishun Prefecture, Yunbo Prefecture and even the entire Wanzhou have been praying for Yin Zhaoxian every year. Yin Gong temples have been built in many places, which have a quite magical atmosphere.
"Yes, Prime Minister Yin, your talent is well known to everyone in the court and the country, and the same is true of Minister Yin's painting skills."
Princess Changping echoed and looked at Yin Qing, who was sitting on the edge, just bowed slightly to express his thanks and didn't say much.
"By the way, Lord Yin, Minister Yin has already passed the age of thirty, but he has not yet married. But has he made an engagement with someone?"
Yin Zhaoxian looked at Yin Qing who was drinking tea with his head down and answered.
"I am not engaged."
"Oh, then Minister Yin has a lover?"
Emperor Hongwu asked Yin Qing this time, and the latter had to answer respectfully.
"In reply to your Majesty, Yin Qing does not have a sweetheart. He is just busy with government affairs and has to find time to study, so he has no time to think about romance."
Emperor Hongwu nodded.
"As expected of you, you are the son of Prime Minister Yin. You are also a pillar of the country. But you have to get married when you are old enough. The Yin family's incense must continue, right? What does Prime Minister Yin say?"
Yin Zhaoxian smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Your Majesty is right, Qing'er, it's time for you to get married."
Yin Qing has never married. On the one hand, it is because he is too busy and has too many things to take care of. On the other hand, there are some concerns that prevent Yin Qing from considering getting married.
One reason is that the Yin family’s current status in the government and the country is very prominent but also somewhat embarrassing. They actually lack the foundation and cannot take a wrong step.
Secondly, the Yin family itself is also very special, and they may come into contact with some mysterious things, so things like choosing a daughter-in-law also require extreme caution.
Others might not think so much, but Yin Qing thought deeply about it. He knew very well that it was impossible for him to marry an ordinary woman now, and marrying a lady from a famous family would mean being implicated with the other party's family. The incident of the previous emperor forced him to think again and again.
But given the situation today, there was no way to avoid it, so Yin Qing could only smile but didn't say anything.
Defei was whispering to Yin's mother at the moment, and then she winked at Yin's mother, who understood what she meant.
"Oh, Qing'er, this is the first time that Princess Changping comes to my Yin Mansion. Why don't you take her around the mansion?"
Yin Zhong muttered to Yin Qing.
"What's there to do in such a cold weather?"
Yin Qing had no choice but to look at Princess Changping.
"Your Highness, would you like to take a walk?"
The latter nodded politely with a smile.
"Thank you, Minister Yin. I am also very curious about the inside and outside of Yin Mansion."
Now that things had come to this, Yin Qing couldn't refuse. After Princess Changping put on the fluffy cloak, he took her out.
Yin Zhong looked at his brother and then at the situation inside the house, then walked to Yin's mother and whispered.
"Mother, can you go with my brother?"
"What are you going to do? You are not allowed to go!"
Hearing what Yin's mother said, Yin Zhong frowned. His brother was gone, and the emperor and the empress were still here. The atmosphere was depressing and not fun.
"Then, I'll go find Mr. Ji..."
Muttering softly, Yin Zhong walked to Yin Zhaoxian's side and respectfully saluted the emperor, empress, and his father in turn.
"Your Majesty, Madam, Father, Hu'er feels hot here and wants to go out for a walk."
"Haha, Hu'er is in great shape. None of my princes can compare to Hu'er."
Emperor Hongwu also liked this child who studied with the princes. Yin Zhaoxian said "you're great" and turned to Yin Chongdao.
"Why are you leaving? Are you going to cause trouble for your brother?"
"No! I'll go find Ji first..."
Yin Zhong was a quick-witted kid and only lowered his voice halfway through his speech. Yin Zhaoxian, on the other hand, didn't seem to be surprised and just shook his head and pushed his hand away.
"go Go."
The emperor didn't know Ji Yuan, so he just treated him as an ordinary friend from his hometown. Yin Zhaoxian didn't know that Ji Yuan knew Yan Chang, because Yan Chang never talked about this outside. When he faced the late emperor and gave him mooncakes, he just called him "an immortal."
After Yin Chongxing left in a hurry, Emperor Hongwu and Yin Zhaoxian looked at each other and smiled, feeling that there was a good relationship between the monarch and his subject.
"Are there guests at Lord Yin's house?"
"Your Majesty, there is indeed a guest here. He is a close friend of Yin's from Ning'an County, where we were originally neighbors."
Best friend
Emperor Hongwu became a little interested. The main thing today was for his daughter, Princess Changping. Since she had already gone out with Yin Qing, he could naturally talk about whatever he wanted.
"Is Lord Yin's best friend also a scholar?"
Yin Zhaoxian thought about it.
"I certainly read books, but I am not a scholar in the ordinary sense who studies hard for fame."
"Oh, to be able to be friends with Lord Yin, you must be quite talented, right?"
Yin Zhaoxian tasted something when he heard it and just smiled and said to the emperor.
"Mr. Ji is certainly talented, but he has already said that he has no intention of becoming an official. Instead, he prefers to travel around the world, drink tea, listen to books, and play chess."
Emperor Hongwu seemed to be thinking about something, and then said to Yin Zhaoxian.
"He is a leisurely and elegant man. When the banquet is about to start, we should invite him to have dinner with us."
Yin Zhaoxian was stunned.
"Well, my friend is a commoner after all, and he doesn't like the etiquette of the rich and powerful. He is afraid of offending His Majesty, so..."
"Hey, my dear Lord Yin, I'm not such a petty person in your heart, am I?"
Emperor Hongwu also smiled. God had created good conditions for him. He also wanted to be a wise ruler throughout history, so of course he would not mind such trivial matters.