three
On the first day of the Double Ninth Festival, the ladies of the Xu family were ordered to enter the palace to meet the empress dowager.
In Chengfu Palace, the whole family surrounded Empress Dowager Xu in the seat of honor, with the emperor on the right and Empress Wang on the left.
Empress Dowager Xu was chatting about family matters with her sisters from her natal family, and she would occasionally laugh out loud with her hands covering her mouth.
Shang Rui was playing with crickets with his eldest son Ran Jun, when suddenly, for some unknown reason, both father and son burst into laughter at the same time.
Queen Mother Xu couldn't help but look at them and said happily, "My son is already this big, but I'm still acting like a child king." Then she turned around and raised her hand to pull Queen Wang on the other side, "It's also thanks to you that you treat Ran Jun as your own son and spend a lot of time and effort on him."
"Actually," Wang Xiaoxiang continued after trying to figure out the Queen Mother's expression, "In fact, in my opinion, we should still remove Jun'er's mother from the palace..."
Before she finished speaking, Empress Dowager Xu's face had already fallen: "A woman who doesn't follow her duty and only flatters the master is worthy of entering the palace?"
The originally harmonious atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense. Shang Rui waved his hand lightly and asked someone to take the child and the katydid cage out.
He didn't even remember what Ran Jun's biological mother's maiden name was, or maybe he had never asked her. She was just a palace maid he pulled into his bed with one night when he was drunk in the Shunzhou Palace.
Thinking of this, Shang Rui ignored the gazes of others, half raised his mouth, and suddenly smiled. It can be seen that he is indeed a tyrant who indulges in sensual pleasures, extravagance and debauchery.
At some point, the Queen Mother in the room began to chat and laugh with others in a friendly manner. The Queen tried to avoid these topics, but would look at her husband from time to time. Shang Rui stared blankly at the gloomy sky outside the window. Suddenly, a eunuch from the Kangning Palace said that Wang Qing was asking for an audience in the Qiantai Palace, so Shang Rui happily got up and said goodbye to his mother.
The man waiting for Shang Rui in the study was wearing the official uniform of the third rank Xuanhu official. He was white and plump, with a kind face. This man was called Wang Qing, working in the Censorate. He was the eldest son of Prime Minister Wang Ji and the elder brother of Queen Wang Xiaoxiang.
Wang Qing brought a list of official position changes in various places at the end of the year.
Shang Rui looked back and forth for no less than half an hour this time. Wang Qing kept his head down and did not speak. There seemed to be a strange atmosphere floating in the imperial study.
"Ha-" In the end, Shang Rui's laughter broke the dullness. He laughed as he closed the memorial, "Everything else is approved, but I don't want Hongwu to go to the Southern Region. I like Hongwu, so I have to keep him."
Wang Qing said: "General Hong is a rare and powerful general in our dynasty. If he were placed in the capital, I'm afraid..."
Shang Rui smiled and glanced at him: "Are you afraid that it would be a waste of talent? Brother-in-law, who do you think would not be a waste of talent if they stayed by my side?"
Wang Qing bowed his head: "I am terrified."
Shang Rui thought for a moment, opened the memorial, picked up a pen and changed a name: "Let Xu Yang go. He is my uncle's son. When you show it to the Queen Mother, tell her my original words."
"However, the Xu family is the only one in power, and they are afraid of criticism from the court..."
"Wait a few more days and let the Queen Mother see. She will make a choice."
What if the Queen Mother just wants to take it and won’t give it up, Wang Qing pondered.
One third of the imperial army was placed in the Western Region to be led by Xu Jingye to intimidate the Wusun Kingdom, one third was placed in the Southern Region to be led by Li Bingli to guard the barbarian tribes, the Imperial Guards were under the command of Hongwu, and the rest were all under the control of Xu's cronies.
Now Li Bingli suddenly wants to retire and return home.
If the Queen Mother only takes and does not give up, then this world...
Wang Qing couldn't help wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. When he left the house, he calculated the days. Fortunately, the autumn hunt was coming, and the emperor could take a break. Maybe the empress dowager always asked him to take care of some unimportant government affairs in the court, and she really got sick from being suffocated.
Four
In mid-October, as in previous years, the royal family went hunting in Changyang Garden. Since the previous Emperor Sejong, there has been a national trend of advocating martial arts, and the princes and the crown prince have been learning both civil and military skills since childhood.
The palace started preparing half a month in advance.
Changyang Garden is located in the south of the capital, with flat terrain. It was built by order of Emperor Taizu, who founded the country, so that future generations would not give up military careers.
At this time of year every year, Shang Rui would be in high spirits.
Xu's family is full of military commanders. I don't know if it was inherited from his mother's family, but he has an active temperament. When he was a prince, he was often punished for this in the Imperial Academy. Besides, he was the youngest among the nine sons of the previous emperor. He was young and had no other thoughts. His biggest dream was to fight in the frontier with his grandfather, riding a horse and shooting arrows, and shedding blood on the battlefield. He always thought that was the most heroic way to live.
At night, we arrived at Changyang Garden, where the emperor had set up camp. The campfire was so bright that half the night sky was red. Not to mention jackals and wild beasts, even birds would have been chased away for miles. It was very boring.
Thinking of this, Shang Rui's mouth curled up into a wicked smile. He also had a way to deal with them. He dismissed all the palace maids and eunuchs, pretended to rest and go to bed, and then changed into the uniforms of the imperial guards brought in by Hongwu.
"Your Majesty, I still think it is inappropriate." Hongwu was a straightforward person and he did not keep anything to himself. He just said whatever he thought.
"Aren't you the bravest warrior in our dynasty? What are you afraid of?" Shang Rui was getting dressed while talking. Although this set of armor for an ordinary soldier was not complicated, it was enough to keep him busy for a long time. He wanted to ask Hongwu for help, but after looking at his rough black hands holding the sword, he gave up.
Hongwu shook his head hastily: "I am not afraid, I am just afraid..."
Shang Rui suppressed his smile and said angrily, "Why is a grown man so shy? Are you afraid or not?"
"For the sake of Your Majesty, I am not afraid of anything, even mountains of swords and seas of fire."
"That's all. As long as you accompany me for a walk, I won't ask you to die. Let's go." After Shang Rui finished speaking, he picked up his helmet and patted Hongwu on the shoulder, letting him go first and he followed behind.
The soldiers all recognized Hongwu and thought he was just coming out of the emperor's main tent with his subordinates for a routine inspection. The sharp-eyed people saw the black imperial longbow with a dragon pattern on the back of the man walking behind Hongwu and were slightly surprised. Just as they were about to reach the gate of the camp and send someone out to get the horses, Xu Jingye suddenly sent someone to find Hongwu and discuss with him the route for the imperial hunting trip tomorrow.
"I..." Hongwu hesitated about how to refuse the other party.
Shang Rui, however, looked as if it had nothing to do with him, and said with a smile: "Sir, military orders are as heavy as a mountain, you can go without worry, there are still... uh, subordinates here."
Hongwu looked at him and muttered to himself: It is because of you that I dare not go.
Shang Rui saw that Hongwu was willing to die rather than let him go, so he frowned and glared at him, silently saying two words "Go quickly". Shang Rui was a little impatient. If Xu Jingye noticed something was wrong and came to invite Hongwu in person, would he still be able to get away
Hongwu had no way to deal with him, so he stamped his feet helplessly and said, "I'll be back soon, please wait for me." He had no choice but to leave with him.
Seeing them go away, Shang Rui wanted to slip away, but then he thought, if Hongwu really couldn't find him when he came back, with his personality, he might tie himself up and run back to the empress dowager to apologize overnight, or even draw his sword and slit his own throat on the spot.
So he had no choice but to take off the bow on his back, throw it aside, and fall on the haystack with his arms behind his head. Not far away, the soldiers who had just been relieved sat together, drinking around the fire to resist the spring chill at night, teasing each other while drinking, and laughing from time to time.
"Hey!" One of them turned around and saw Shang Rui sitting there alone, staring at them in a daze, so he gestured for him to come over.
Shang Rui paused and pointed at himself: "Me?" After he was sure, he slowly walked over. The man threw a crude cowhide wine bag to him.
"Are you new here? I saw you with Lord Hong just now. Why are you just sitting there by yourself instead of having fun with everyone else?"
Shang Rui smiled, sat on the ground with them, pulled out the wooden cork, tilted his head back and poured the wine into his mouth.
This was a type of Shaodaozi that he had never tasted before. It was spicy and of poor quality, but after it went down his throat, it unexpectedly left a hint of sweetness in his mouth.
The spilled wine flowed down Shang Rui's neck and into his collar, wetting an area. It was a little too cool mixed with the night breeze, but he felt extremely happy in his heart.
"What's your name?" the man asked.
Shang Rui glanced at the burning wood next to him and replied, "Chai Wei."
The man pointed at himself and said, "My name is Yao Chuang."
The man on the left said, "My name is He Chuyi."
Then the others introduced themselves one by one in a concise and clear manner.
"Tian Hui."
"Wang Yuan."
"Gold and rich."
…
After a dozen people finished speaking, Shang Rui nodded, savoring the taste of wine in his mouth while listening attentively.
Yao Chuang said with a smile: "You are new here, right? There are too many people here at once. Take your time, and you will recognize them all in a few days."
Shang Rui poured another sip of wine and smiled: "Your name is Yao Chuang, the young man next to you with his sleeves rolled up is He Chuyi, the one adding firewood is Wang Yuan, and the one with the most festive name is you, Jin Fugui..." He repeated the names of more than a dozen people one by one without any haste, without missing a word or a person.
Everyone was a little surprised.
"Have you been educated?" Yao Chuang asked.
"Hmm." Shang Rui took a sip of wine.
Li Jia's eyes widened: "Damn - this guy who has read books is really too smart."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Tian Hui accidentally saw the bow that Shang Rui had placed beside him and asked, "How is it?"
Shang Rui tilted his head: "Probably okay."
Every time he went hunting and drew his bow, he was inevitably praised to the sky by the group of people behind him. He was also aware of these flattering tricks. However, he had never known what humility was since he was born, and now saying "probably OK" sounded quite arrogant to others.
Little did he know that these were the most humble words he had ever said in his life.
Li Jia, who had a full beard, was the most dissatisfied: "Our second brother Yao is also good at horseback archery, why don't you two have a competition?"
Yao Chuang kept silent as they were not familiar with each other and he was afraid of hurting the relationship.
Shang Rui's eyes lit up, and he replied, "Okay."
"How to compare?" Yao Chuang asked.
At this moment, a clear bird cry similar to a baby crying was heard not far away. It was the signal before the blood magpie hunted.
Shang Rui suddenly came up with a good idea. The corners of his lips curled up and he raised his eyebrows and said, "Since you are good at riding and shooting, then let's have a riding and shooting competition in the opposite woods. Just shoot the blood magpie, and the one who shoots first wins." Since Hongwu didn't ask him to go far, it would be okay for him to wander around.
The blood magpie is a bird unique to Dongyuan, and it feeds on poisonous black snakes in the bushes in this area. It usually appears at night, so its eyesight is very good. When it encounters any disturbance, it will quickly fly back to the sky, flying very fast, making it difficult for ordinary people to catch and shoot it.
Shang Rui came up with this topic. First, it was a test of eyesight. There was no moonlight or starlight in the night sky, and it would be difficult to tell east, west, south, and north in the dark woods, let alone find a dark red bird. Second, it was a test of horseback riding. Blood magpies were extremely smart, and would quickly take off once they sensed danger. It would be interesting to ride a sturdy horse in this dense forest to chase something the size of an egg.
Yao Chuang was also a competitive person. Not to mention among this group of brothers, even in the entire military camp, there were few archers who could match him. He also became interested and added with a smile: "Whoever rides out of the forest first loses."
"Okay!" Shang Rui agreed, took the reins they handed over and jumped on the horse. He held the bow in his right hand, but remembered something, pulled out all the sharp arrows in the quiver behind him and threw them on the ground, leaving only one. He looked at Yao Chuang provocatively and said, "One shot will hit the target." After speaking, he rode out of the camp.
Shang Rui went ahead, and when he arrived at the camp gate, someone naturally blocked his way. Shang Rui's eyes flashed, he glanced at the guard and shouted, "Get out of the way!" He didn't even slow down, and the man was so scared that he subconsciously stepped aside to make way.
Yao Chuang followed immediately.
The two horses rushed into the dark forest at lightning speed. The blood magpies noticed the movement in the forest, cried in the bushes, and quickly spread their wings and scattered. Unfortunately, in the panic, two blood magpies could not find a gap to soar into the sky because of the dense and intertwined branches and leaves in the forest, so they flew rapidly between the tree trunks.
The two of them rode side by side, crouching as they shuttled between the trees.
The branches and leaves were too dense, and occasionally a few branches grew very low. When people and horses passed by quickly, they could not withstand the impact and broke.
The two blood magpies shuttled back and forth quickly.
Suddenly, one of them finally found an opportunity, broke through the branches and leaves, and escaped by chance.
There is only one left.
Because there was only one chance to shoot, neither of them dared to act rashly, and they saw it trying to find the exit and fly up into the sky. If they waited for it to succeed, it would be difficult to succeed.
At this time, Shang Rui no longer hesitated, loosened the reins, simply clamped the horse's belly with his legs, and pulled out the arrow from the quiver behind him with his backhand.
He had just straightened his back when, with a "swish", a tree branch scratched his face fiercely. He seemed unaware and stayed on the horse, his back as straight as a tree, bow drawn, calmly waiting for the opportunity.
At that moment, he seized the opportunity, narrowed his eyes, loosened his fingers, and suddenly released the arrow.
At the same time, a smug smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
He thought he had definitely won.