In fact, Wanshou Palace is not called Wanshou Palace now, but should be called Yongshou Palace.
Emperor Jiajing dreamed of living forever with heaven and earth, so he named his sleeping palace Yongshou Palace. It was not until the 40th year of Jiajing's reign that Concubine Shang had a sudden idea while serving him in bed. She tried to set off small fireworks in the sable tent of Yongshou Palace as a way to create a little romance. However, the idea went too far and the fireworks burned down the Yongshou Palace. After the Yongshou Palace was newly built the following year, Emperor Jiajing renamed it "Wanshou Palace".
Although Yongshou Palace was right next to Wuyi Palace, Zhu Ping'an, as an outsider, could only seek an audience with Emperor Jiajing in this way. The eunuchs would pass the request to Yongshou Palace, and Zhu Ping'an could only enter after being summoned by Emperor Jiajing.
Yongshou Palace was the bedroom of Emperor Jiajing. If an outsider entered the emperor's bedroom without being summoned, it would be a suicidal act. Not to mention outsiders, even if the emperor's brothers and uncles entered the emperor's bedroom without being summoned, it would be a capital crime.
For any emperor, entering the bedroom without being summoned is considered a taboo.
For example, during the Qing Dynasty, one of the reasons why Emperor Kangxi deposed the Crown Prince (the eldest son Yinreng) was that when Emperor Kangxi was touring the frontier, the Crown Prince approached his tent at night and peeked inside through the gap.
Entering the emperor's bedroom without being summoned could, firstly, confuse the royal bloodline. The concubines in the harem who were not favored by the emperor and could not see men were all as fierce as wolves and tigers. If the emperor was not careful, he would have a grassland on his head. Secondly, it could threaten the emperor's personal safety. What do you want to do by entering the emperor's bedroom without being summoned? Are you plotting treason and assassinating the emperor? You should know that the concubines who served the emperor in the Qing Dynasty were all naked and rolled up in quilts before being carried into the harem.
So, after Zhu Ping'an finished writing the memorial, he went to find the eunuch who was in charge of Wuyi Sizhi, and the eunuch was a young eunuch.
"Please inform the eunuch that Zhu Ping'an, the Imperial Academy Reader, the Imperial Secretary, and the Taicang Treasury Inspector, wishes to see His Majesty."
Zhu Ping'an handed the written memorial to the eunuch in Wuyi Sizhi, asking him to report to Yongshou Palace and request an audience with Emperor Jiajing.
This young eunuch who served as Sizhi in Wuyi Palace had very handsome features. Perhaps because he was castrated at a young age, he had almost no male hormones and his voice was soft and feminine.
"Oh, it's Master Zhu. I'm honored to be here."
After the young eunuch took the letter, he didn't even look at it. He just looked at Zhu Ping'an with a forced smile, raised his hand lazily, as if swatting a mosquito, and spoke in a soft voice.
"Please inform the eunuch that Zhu Ping'an, the inspector of Taicang Silver Treasury, wishes to see His Majesty. It is about the inspection of Taicang Silver Treasury." Zhu Ping'an bowed again and repeated it.
Taicang
No matter whether you have a large warehouse or a large warehouse.
The young eunuch narrowed his eyes, opened the letter and glanced at it, then put it back in Zhu Ping'an's hand without paying any attention, and shook his head with a fake smile, "Master Zhu wants to see the emperor... However, I may disappoint Master Zhu, so please forgive me for being unable to help you today."
Zhu Ping'an was not angry at the young eunuch's arrogance.
There are many eunuchs like this in the palace who don't even look at others with their eyelids. They serve the most powerful emperor of the Ming Dynasty, so they can't help but feel superior.
During the reign of Emperor Taizu of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, these eunuchs were still restrained, but they became more and more arrogant as time went on, and eventually the dynasty became the one with the most serious eunuch monopoly. Liu Jin, the leader of the "Eight Tigers" during the reign of Emperor Jiajing's brother, was so powerful that he almost usurped the throne. Although Emperor Jiajing learned from his brother's lesson and became much stricter with the eunuchs, their power was not reduced much, and slowly, the eunuchs' status rose again.
In the early period of Jiajing, when Zhang Cong was the Prime Minister, the eunuchs in the palace would bow and salute from a distance when they saw him, but Zhang Cong would ignore them; when Xia Yan was the Prime Minister, when Xia Yan entered the palace, the eunuchs would look at Xia Yan straight, and Xia Yan would nod to the eunuchs; and when Yan Song was the Prime Minister, Yan Song would take the initiative to greet the eunuchs with a bow, and would give them red envelopes from time to time.
From this we can see the change in the status and mentality of the eunuchs. These eunuchs have been spoiled.
"Please make it public."
When Zhu Ping'an took the memorial, he put a piece of silver into the young eunuch's hand.
The young eunuch squeezed the silver in his palm and accurately weighed it, five taels of silver. The smile on his face also became brighter with the addition of this ingot of silver.
"Haha, I didn't pass the message to Lord Zhu not to embarrass him, but for his own good. Today, His Majesty was in a bad mood. This morning, Zhejiang Province Censor Li Chenghua submitted five items for the inspection of officials, but was stopped outside the second gate. Not only was Eunuch Wan, who delivered the memorial, scolded, but Censor Li was also reprimanded by Lord Yan."
The young eunuch put the silver into his sleeve, looked around and seeing that no one was paying attention, he tugged at Zhu Ping'an's sleeve, leaned close to Zhu Ping'an's ear and whispered softly.
"Thank you for telling me, otherwise Ping'an would have to repeat the mistake of Censor Li." Zhu Ping'an bowed to express his gratitude.
"No, no, I just get along well with Lord Zhu." The young eunuch smiled and shook his head.
Get along
Zhu Pingan rolled his eyes in his heart, with a look of pride on his face, and then asked, "I wonder if you know what the emperor is worried about. Although Pingan is stupid, he also wants to share the worries for the emperor."
"Master Zhu, do you know what the masters in Wuyi Palace are writing today?" the young eunuch asked with narrowed eyes.
"But Qingci?" Zhu Pingan said.
“Yes and no…” The young eunuch smiled slightly and shook his head, looking mysterious.
"Please enlighten me, sir." Zhu Ping'an said as he quietly stuffed a silver ingot into the young eunuch's hand.
Just give him what he likes.
Zhu Ping'an "likes" to deal with people with such hobbies.
The young eunuch squeezed the silver in his palm, and the smile on his face became more vivid. He put the silver into his sleeve, looked at Zhu Ping'an and asked softly: "Master Zhu, do you know what day it will be in two days?"
Zhu Ping'an shook his head and said, "I only know that in three days the door of the Taicang Silver Vault will be replaced. As for what day it will be in two days, I don't know."
"In two days it will be June 19th, the day when Master Cihang attained enlightenment," the young eunuch explained.
Master Cihang?!
Zhu Ping'an was stunned for a moment, thought for a moment, and thought of some classical fairy tales he had read in modern times, and then remembered the person named Cihang Zhenren. This person also appeared in "The Investiture of the Gods". He was a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun and one of the "Twelve Golden Immortals" of Taoism. Cihang Zhenren, also known as Cihang Guanyin, is one of the most classic gods in ancient Chinese legends. His Taoist temple is located in Luojia Cave on Putuo Mountain, and the magic weapons he uses are the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi and the Pure Colored Glaze Bottle.
Does this image look familiar
Isn’t it exactly the same as Guanyin Bodhisattva
Generally speaking, the general public believes that Cihang Taoist and Guanyin Bodhisattva are the same person, but Taoism calls them Cihang Taoist, Buddhism calls them Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the people call them Guanyin Niangniang.
However, for professional religious people in Taoism and Buddhism, there is a difference between the two, especially for Taoism. Cihang Zhenren and Guanyin Bodhisattva are different gods and Buddhas, and there is a very clear and obvious difference between them.