From that day on, when officials who were supposed to go to work arrived at the yamen, the first question they would ask was no longer "Have you eaten?" but "Have you heard about it?" Then the news that Zhu Ping'an was fined to the point of bankruptcy and forced to do business part-time would be brought up again.
"What a joke! If he sells calligraphy and paintings, he might be able to make a little money and not have to starve all day. But if he does business, I heard he wants to open a restaurant. I can guarantee that Zhu Ping'an will lose all his money."
"Confucius said that there is no distinction between high and low in education and writing. But when it comes to running a restaurant, Zhu Ping'an, a bumpkin from the countryside, has no knowledge of food. He can't think that a small restaurant in the countryside can make a living by just cooking a few dishes that are not presentable, and he thinks that he can make money in the capital. What is the level of restaurants in the capital? Can his restaurant in the countryside compare to them? He still wants to make money, just dream on."
"Zhu Ping'an must have lost his mind. Books can hold beautiful women and golden houses, but he didn't study the books properly and chose to degenerate into a money-making business. I think the punishment His Majesty gave him was too light."
"Young people, you are still too young. You won't turn back until you hit the wall. Doing business is different from studying. Alas, young people just don't listen to advice."
"Haha, he still wants to open a restaurant to make money... I think he will cry because of the losses..."
"You never know, maybe Zhu Ping'an can make some money, right? Hahaha..."
"Make money? Hahaha, if he can make money, I will write my name backwards."
What people say are basically bad-mouthing Zhu Ping'an. It can be said that nine and a half out of ten people are not optimistic about Zhu Ping'an, and the remaining half did not make any comments due to their own self-cultivation, but in fact they also feel unhappy in their hearts.
Some people were pessimistic, while others were laughing.
It is no exaggeration to say that this piece of news about Zhu Ping'an provided half of the laughs in the Beijing officialdom and healed a lot of people.
Deep in the Western Garden Palace, the air was filled with the scent of incense from burning sacrifices, and the breeze brought bursts of sandalwood. A group of people crossed the Golden Turtle and Jade Dragon Bridge and went straight to the back palace.
If Zhu Ping'an were here, he would recognize that the young man in the four-clawed python robe who left first was the young man with a thick beard in the backyard of the pastry shop in the morning. However, the only difference was that this time the young man's face was white and clean, and there was no thick beard, but only a thin fuzzy beard on his lips.
This person is one of the only two surviving princes of the Ming Dynasty, the third prince of the Ming Dynasty - Prince Yu Zhu Zaihou.
Following closely behind Prince Yu was a lively and willful young girl, wearing a bright red phoenix skirt, with her hair covered in pearls and jade, and her little face full of arrogance and disdain. In her white and pink hand was a piece of rice paper, rolled into a tube.
If Zhu Ping'an were here, he would recognize this girl. She was the problematic girl in the backyard of the pastry shop that morning.
Being able to walk freely in the deep palace, she is naturally not an ordinary person. This girl is the third princess of the Ming Dynasty and the eldest princess most favored by Emperor Jiajing (the eldest princess among the existing princesses) - Princess Ning'an Zhu Lu'ai.
"Royal brother, please stay in the palace for a few days. Concubine Du has told Ning An several times that she misses you." Princess Ning An stepped forward, stretched out her little hand and tugged at Prince Yu's sleeve, and said in a coquettish tone.
Prince Yu was slightly startled when he heard this, and paused. Then he shook his head, showing a look of worry and helplessness on his face, and said softly: "Ai'er, you know that I have already set up a residence and cannot stay in the palace. Besides, my father has always disliked my coming to the palace. It was only because my mother was slightly ill today that I was able to enter the palace to visit her."
"It's all that old bull nose Tao's fault. He talked nonsense like two dragons should not meet each other and deceived father. He caused my brother to be unable to enter the palace." Princess Ning'an said angrily.
The palace maids and eunuchs behind the two men all lowered their heads and stood by with their hands hanging, as if they were deaf and dumb, and there was complete silence.
"My sister, be careful with your words." Prince Yu had a nervous look on his face. He quickly glanced around and whispered to Princess Ning'an, "Be careful, there are ears on the other side of the wall. Master Tao is deeply trusted by my father. If my father knew that my sister slandered Master Tao behind her back, it would be bad."
"What are you afraid of? These are servants that my sister trusts. If anyone dares to gossip about them, he will be dragged out and beaten to death." Princess Ning'an glanced at the palace maids and eunuchs behind her, pursed her lips, and said something.
"I dare not."
The palace maids and eunuchs knelt down and reported tremblingly, their tone humble and respectful.
"Get up. As long as you do your duty, I will not treat you unfairly. Do you know how you got back if your mother asks?" Princess Ning'an said lightly, and then asked as if nothing had happened.
"The princess is in Qingyi Zhai copying scriptures and praying for the imperial concubine." The palace maids and eunuchs answered in unison.
Upon hearing this, Princess Ning'an nodded with satisfaction, a beautiful curve on her cherry lips.
Prince Yu on the side smiled and shook his head.
The group continued to move forward.
"Royal brother, what do you think the exhibitionist Zhu Ping'an meant by sending me a poem?" When Princess Ning'an mentioned the poem Zhu Ping'an wrote, the smile on her lips gradually faded. She frowned and tilted her head, saying with a look of disgust, "What does my naivety have to do with him? He rushed to send me a poem. Humph, who does he think he is? Who cares about his crappy poems?"
Of course, although Princess Ning'an said this with a look of disgust, there was still a hint of smugness on her face.
It's just like when a little girl receives a love letter from a little boy in school. No matter whether it is torn into pieces or thrown into the trash can, she can't help feeling proud and happy in her heart, and her vanity is greatly satisfied.
Humph, this girl is just so beautiful, talented, and so likable.
I didn't give Zhu Ping'an the slightest bit of face just now, and yet he still took the initiative to send me a poem.
If you treat him with a little bit of kindness, he will definitely become even more arrogant, and I wonder what kind of attentive behavior he will do...
snort
Who cares!
Princess Ning'an finished speaking, and without waiting for Prince Yu to reply, she recited silently to herself:
"Lying in Spring"
Dark Plum Flower
Lying on a branch with deep hatred
I heard it from afar, lying like water
Easy to see through to spring green.
The shore is green
The shore is green
The shore seems to be dark green. "
After reciting silently, Princess Ning'an shook her head with a look of disgust, "What kind of crappy poem is this? The artistic conception is good, but the lines don't rhyme, the rhythm is wrong, and there are repeated words. I really don't know how he got the top spot in the imperial examination."
"Well, this poem is a bit strange. The rhyme and rhythm all violate the cardinal taboos of poetry... but the artistic conception is extremely beautiful." Prince Yu nodded and said softly.