Emperor Hongwu showed such magnanimity that Yin Zhaoxian, as a minister, was naturally very pleased. However, if it were someone else, the emperor would have ordered him to meet the emperor no matter what. But now the target is Ji Yuan.
To be honest, in Yin Zhaoxian's mind, between the monarch's subjective intention and Ji Yuan's subjective intention, the latter is more important.
To put it bluntly, who is Mr. Ji? In fact, there is no need to care too much about the face of an emperor.
But Yin Zhaoxian believed that based on his understanding of Ji Yuan, he could ask Ji Yuan as a friend to do him a favor and meet Emperor Hongwu. Ji Yuan would definitely be willing to do so, but the problem was that Yin Zhaoxian himself was reluctant to do so, so after hesitating for a while, he still asked Emperor Hongwu.
"It's rare that Your Majesty is willing to meet a commoner. This is naturally an honor for my friend Yin. I also appreciate Your Majesty's generosity, but... Mr. Ji is a bit strange. How about this, I will teach him some basic etiquette later. After all, etiquette cannot be abolished, so as not to really offend Your Majesty..."
After hearing this, Emperor Hongwu became even more curious. What happened to Prime Minister Yin? Was his friend so shameful
If it were someone else, Emperor Hongwu Yang Hao might have felt that he was jealous of someone else's talent and was afraid that his friend would steal his limelight, or even that the friend was a bad person. But the person in front of him was Yin Zhaoxian, so this was absolutely impossible.
Emperor Hongwu actually had a little secret that he had never told anyone, not even to extremely close concubines like the Empress and Concubine De. That was that he had two strange dreams before and after he ascended the throne.
The first dream was about his father, the late Emperor Yuande.
This dream was relatively simple. Emperor Yuande had just passed away, and the dream occurred before the funeral.
At that time, Yang Hao was in a state of excitement being the majority and sadness being the minority all day long. Even this sadness was not entirely due to his father, but a considerable part of it was taken away by the death of his mentor.
The content of the dream was that Yang Hao was sleeping in bed and was then pushed awake by someone. When he woke up, he saw his father sitting beside the bed. Although he could not remember that his father was dead, the fact that his father was looking at him in his bedroom still made Yang Hao a little panicked, so he wanted to get out of bed to greet him.
However, Emperor Yuande's attitude at that time was very different from his previous impression. He seemed incredibly kind. He just said a few simple words to him and said that he was leaving and going to a very far place. He reminded him to take good care of Dazhen's family, and to ask Yin Zhaoxian if he encountered any difficulties. He also told him not to forget what he had said at the bedside before.
As soon as Emperor Yuande left, Yang Hao got over from the bed. It was just dawn, and he naturally remembered the last words of Emperor Yuande on his deathbed, which asked him not to let Yin Zhaoxian be harmed by treacherous villains.
The second dream was about his childhood. After leaving Hongwenguan, he worshipped Li Mushu as his junior teacher. He now had a mentor who was caring and far-sighted.
That day in Li Mushu's study, Yang Hao, who was probably only fourteen or fifteen years old, was reading a book. Li Mushu was listening beside him with his eyes closed, pointing out the key points of a part of the book from time to time, and one hand was always patting a stack of books on the corner of Yang Hao's desk.
When he was reading a passage about what a king should do, Li Mushu, who had his eyes closed, suddenly interrupted him and came close to Yang Hao and said.
"Your Highness, I am old, and one day I will leave you, either by intrigue or illness. But your Highness, you still have a long way to go, and you will surely ascend the throne and hold the great treasure in your hands in the future!"
"Teacher, I also think I can be the emperor, that's what I think."
Yang Hao smiled and answered the teacher.
The strange thing about the dream is that Yang Hao almost forgot about being an emperor, as if he was still the young boy he was before. But even so, he still had a kind of clarity and a strong premonition about ascending the throne.
Li Mushu nodded and moved his right hand away from the stack of books.
"Your Highness, the author of these books is a great talent and sage who has never been seen since the founding of Dazhen. When Your Highness ascends the throne and becomes emperor in the future, although I may not be there to see it, I must have him be there to witness it. This man is loyal to his country and the people of the world, and he has a great spirit that even ghosts and gods admire!"
Li Mushu pushed a stack of books in front of the young Yang Hao, which included "On Birds" and "Knowing Righteousness".
"Please read these books carefully and read more in the future. I want to go back!"
"Got it, teacher!"
The young boy Yang Hao nodded in agreement. When he opened the book, he suddenly had an idea. He remembered that he was in the study room in his teacher's house, so where did the teacher go
When I looked up, I saw that the door of the study was a little hazy and there was a dark shadow standing there. The teacher bowed to it before leaving.
Then Yang Hao woke up. When he woke up, every detail of the dream was vivid in his mind. He remembered it clearly. It was probably a dream from his deceased mentor.
These two dreams made Yang Hao, who already attached great importance to Yin Zhaoxian, pay more attention to the Yin family. So even though Yin Zhaoxian was already very clear about the trust that the current emperor had in him, Yang Hao's trust in Yin Zhaoxian was actually deeper than Yin Zhaoxian himself thought.
…
Yin Qing took Princess Changping out of the living room and walked along the corridor to the garden. Yin Qing has always been eloquent, and even though the person in front of him was the princess and even though the emperor had special intentions, he was not too nervous.
"Your Highness, let's just walk around the corridor, then walk through the two gardens to see the scenery, and then go to the dining hall to wait. Our Yin Mansion is not like the Imperial Palace. If we just walk around casually, there will be nothing to see. If we go back too early, the emperor and my father will probably blame me."
Princess Changping looked at Yin Qing.
"Minister Yin, don't you like to go shopping with me?"
Yin Qing hurriedly explained.
"Of course not, but the emperor and my father probably want us to be alone for a while. It's freezing outside, but my mother thought of it. Wouldn't it be more comfortable for us to sit in front of the stove in the dining hall and chat? We can even ask the kitchen to prepare some delicious food."
Princess Changping was stunned for a moment, then she laughed. Actually, she couldn't say that she liked Yin Qing. Although she didn't hate him either, she was still relatively unfamiliar with him.
However, most women waiting to get married have no choice, let alone those in the royal family. Even if they are favored by their father, they still cannot decide their own life-long affairs.
Fortunately, although Yin Qing is far inferior to Yin Xiang, he also has some talent. At least Princess Changping has seen Yin Qing's paintings, and his painting skills are indeed very good.
"Then listen to Minister Yin. We can just stroll around and then go to the dining hall. But I also want to see the Yin Mansion's study, which is said to be the most literary place in the world."
"Okay, I will satisfy your request. Your Highness, please come this way."
Yin Qing graciously invited Princess Changping to visit the Yin Mansion, mainly to stroll around the garden and see the study that Princess Changping was curious about.
There are several study rooms in the Yin Mansion. Yin Qing and Yin Zhaoxian each have a separate one. It is impossible for Yin Qing to take Princess Changping to Yin Zhaoxian's study, but it is possible for her to show her his own.
As soon as Princess Changping entered Yin Qing's study, she became a little dazed.
The room was filled with portraits depicting rural folk customs, mountains and rivers, a small courtyard with a canopy tree, animals such as a yellow dog and a fox, a scholar holding a pen and somewhat similar to Yin Xiang, and even a hazy immortal flying in the wind.
Each painting is vivid and lifelike, and more outstanding than those works that have been leaked outside. Princess Changping can feel the unique artistic conception from each painting.
Looking at the bookshelves and desks in the study, they are piled with books. There are many open books on several tables, with circles, dots and notes all over the pages, showing the owner's dedication to reading.
After Princess Changping asked Yin Qing for his opinion, she picked up a book at random to see what Yin Qing had annotated. What she saw was not just an ordinary scholar's interpretation of the meaning, but also some extensions and acne, but it seemed that he grasped the key points at once and exposed the essence of the book's content.
Books, paintings, unfinished drawings, unfinished essays… All these should make the study messy, but it has a strange sense of order, with a unique charm in the faint scent of ink.
Princess Changping was also a smart and well-educated woman, and she couldn't help but feel some ripples in her heart.
"This doesn't seem like what many people say, that he rose to prominence under the protection of his father..."
Princess Changping looked to the side and saw Yin Qing finally looking a little embarrassed.
"Minister Yin, your painting skills are so good, can you help me draw a portrait someday?"
"The princess has given an order, and Yin Qing must obey it. Well, we have been looking at the study for longer than expected, so we don't have to go to the dining hall early. Princess, we really should go there, otherwise we will miss dinner."
"Yes, yes, I understand!"
Princess Changping returned the direction and angle of the book in her hand to their original positions, then stood up with a smile.
The two of them took another path to the dining hall and passed by the guest house where Ji Yuan was from a distance. When Princess Changping looked around, she saw a man in white sitting at a stone table in the courtyard of the guest house, fiddling with a chessboard and asking Yin Qing, who was already familiar with him.
"Minister Yin, who is that person? He doesn't look like a servant in your house."
Yin Qing looked at Ji Yuan's profile, then explained as they walked with the princess.
"This is an elder from my hometown. It's a rare occasion for him to visit the capital. He is staying at my house for a while. He prefers quietness, so we won't disturb him."
"Um!"
When the two people passed by, Ji Yuan's mind was no longer on the chessboard. He was just holding the chess pieces for show. The same was true for a fox squatting under the table and a paper crane landing on Ji Yuan's shoulder. Of course, the "Sword Intent Letter" was not taken out, otherwise it would have been even more lively.
Hu Yun leaned forward and looked into the distance with a look of curiosity.
"Mr. Ji, who is the woman next to Yin Qing?"
"It should be a princess. Seeing how he took her for a stroll alone, the emperor's purpose for coming to Yin's mansion is worth pondering."
Hu Yun was stunned for a moment and looked up at Ji Yuan.
"This woman wants to be Yin Qing's wife?"
Ji Yuan was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and he looked down at the fox.
"You are just a fox practicing in the mountains, how can you know so much?"