In the dim night, Huang Jin returned from Zhishan Palace and walked into the palace where Emperor Jiajing practiced alchemy. When Emperor Jiajing practiced fasting, he spent most of his time in this palace, taking newly made elixirs to fast.
Entering the palace is like entering a furnace.
Although the temperature outside the hall had gradually become cooler as the sun set and the evening breeze picked up, the temperature inside the hall remained high.
The burning incense, the lit candles, the seven-colored flames in the alchemy furnace... all of them release heat.
Huang Jin had long been accustomed to this temperature.
In front of the alchemy furnace with two dragons playing with a pearl, which was more than one meter tall, in the middle of the hall, there stood a purple wooden desk. Behind the desk stood a handsome middle-aged man in a blue cloth Taoist robe. The robe was very low-key, with black thread instead of gold thread sewn on the edges. His chest was unrestrained and his hair was only tied up with a dragon-head Taoist hairpin, and most of it was loose.
The whole person looks very unruly and handsome.
This person was none other than the master of the Ming Dynasty—Emperor Jiajing.
When Huang Jin came in, Emperor Jiajing was standing in front of his desk, writing with a brush. His words were as unruly as his personality.
"Your Majesty."
Huang Jin bowed respectfully and greeted Emperor Jiajing softly.
Emperor Jiajing remained motionless. He waved his left hand slightly, signaling Huang Jin not to disturb him. He continued to write with his right hand. He waited until the last stroke was finished. He admired the written words before looking up at Huang Jin.
"Your Majesty."
Huang Jin bowed respectfully again to greet him.
"Well, I'm back. Come here and take a look at my handwriting." Emperor Jiajing nodded and waved his hand.
Huang Jin walked forward with a hunched back and looked at the desk.
On the desk, there was a calligraphy piece written by Emperor Jiajing with a total of eight characters: "Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all your grace."
"In my opinion, the emperor's calligraphy has become more and more immortal. With each stroke, it looks like an immortal riding on clouds and mist, coming and going without a trace, unrestrained. It seems to be formless and invisible, but it encompasses the universe. It comes from nothingness and returns to emptiness. Every dot, horizontal stroke, left stroke and right stroke contains the spiritual energy of heaven and earth..."
Huang Jin bent his waist, looked at the words written by Emperor Jiajing carefully, and spoke very seriously.
Great wisdom appears foolish, great skill appears clumsy, great sound appears silent, great image appears invisible; this is Lao Tzu's description of the highest realm of "Tao".
Huang Jin's comments on Emperor Jiajing's calligraphy start from the point that "the elephant has no form", and he reflects the Tao through the calligraphy. It seems that he is talking about the calligraphy, but in fact he is saying that Emperor Jiajing's practice of Taoism is becoming more and more profound and mysterious, and he is getting closer and closer to becoming an immortal.
Huang Jin has been with Emperor Jiajing for decades, so he naturally knows what kind of words Emperor Jiajing likes to hear.
"Huang Ban, you have been led astray by Wei Zhong. You are becoming more and more dishonest as you get older..." Emperor Jiajing shook his head and scolded with a smile.
The "Wei Zhong" mentioned by Emperor Jiajing refers to Yan Song, whose courtesy name is "Wei Zhong".
"I am ignorant and can only speak the truth..." Huang Jin was scolded, but he felt like he was being praised.
Emperor Jiajing smiled slightly and shook his head without saying anything else. He put the brush in clean water and shook it gently. After washing off the ink, he lifted the brush out of the water, absorbed the remaining water with absorbent paper, and hung the brush on the pen holder.
After doing this, Emperor Jiajing looked at Huang Jin and asked, "What's the situation ahead?"
"Your Majesty, I followed your instructions and asked the people in the imperial kitchen to put down their chopsticks and not place them on the table when serving the three adults." When Huang Jin replied, he couldn't help but smile when he thought of the scene when the dishes were served before.
When serving the meal, do not give chopsticks to Zhu Ping'an and others. This was what Emperor Jiajing instructed Huang Jin.
If you were an ordinary person, and you invited someone to dinner, and the dishes were very sumptuous, with big fish and big pieces of meat, but you didn't give them chopsticks, wouldn't it seem unkind, as if you were looking for trouble? The friendship could easily be overturned.
I'm not India. How can I eat if you don't give me chopsticks
but
Emperor Jiajing was obviously not an ordinary person. As the person with the highest status and power in the Ming Dynasty, he was busy with all kinds of affairs every day and naturally would not be idle and look for trouble.
It seemed that a pair of chopsticks was forgotten at the banquet, but in fact it was a test by Emperor Jiajing on Yang Guoliang, Zhang Juzheng and Zhu Pingan.
A test that determines their future.
In the past few days, Emperor Jiajing has asked Yang Guoliang, Zhu Ping'an and Zhang Juzheng to give lectures to Prince Yu and Prince Jing. He does have some intention of observing and testing them, and is preparing to invite another lecturer for the two princes to strengthen their study and education.
However, the candidates have not been determined yet, and it does not mean that they must be among Yang Guoliang, Zhu Ping'an, and Zhang Juzheng. Choosing a teacher for the prince is a very serious and important matter. In the plan of Emperor Jiajing, some officials and great scholars will be ordered to give lectures to the two princes in the near future.
Observe and compare for a period of time, and then select the best teachers.
However, Concubine Lu Jing and Concubine Du Kang have been coming to Emperor Jiajing these past two days, and their constant whispering has affected Emperor Jiajing's practice. Besides, a husband and wife are bound by a hundred days of grace, and Emperor Jiajing is not a heartless man.
In addition, Yang Guoliang's Confucian classics were still very outstanding. Emperor Jiajing observed Zhang Juzheng for several years, and Zhu Pingan also observed him for a period of time.
Therefore, Emperor Jiajing planned to choose a prince lecturer from among the three of them today.
What determines the fate of the three of them is today's imperial meal.
The test question was the forgotten pair of chopsticks.
"Well, what next?" Emperor Jiajing flicked his sleeves, sat on the dragon throne, and asked with squinted eyes.
"After the imperial kitchen served the imperial meal, Lord Yang Guoliang discovered that there were no chopsticks. He hesitated for a moment but did not say anything. Then he sat upright without touching a single dish. He just poured himself a cup of tea, and after drinking it, he poured himself another cup of tea. When the old servant came, Lord Yang had already drunk almost a pot of tea... hehe..." Huang Jin couldn't help laughing when describing Yang Guoliang's reaction.
"Haha, you are good at maintaining the status quo but not at advancing progress. You are not qualified to be a teacher to the prince." Emperor Jiajing smiled slightly and shook his head.
"When Lord Zhang Juzheng found that there were no chopsticks, he called the eunuch and asked him to add a pair of chopsticks," Huang Jin continued.
After hearing that Zhang Juzheng had taken the initiative to ask the eunuch for a pair of chopsticks, the smile on Emperor Jiajing's face gradually disappeared, and his eyes fell on the words that had just been written on the table.
Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the Lord.
It seems that Zhang Juzheng still doesn't understand this sentence. It seems that he needs to suppress it for a few more years to temper his temper before he can be reused.
What I give you is yours. If I don’t give it to you, you can’t ask for it.
I give you a royal meal
You want more.
What if the young Huoer and Zhener gave the meal
"He'er and Zhen'er are young, and Zhang Qing is not a good teacher." Emperor Jiajing said lightly, and then asked, "What about Xiao Zhu?"
"Haha, as soon as the dishes were served, Lord Xiao Zhu couldn't wait to grab a lamb rib. He ate it so deliciously. In the blink of an eye, Lord Xiao Zhu had eaten two lamb ribs. I was watching from behind the screen and my mouth was watering..." Huang Jin replied with a smile.
"Haha, good."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jiajing was delighted, laughed out loud and said the word "good".