The army arrived in the capital in late February. Princess Lee Hyun-hye of Joseon remembered that Zhu Gaoxu had told her that it was the most beautiful season in the capital.
As the ferry sailed across the vast river, Li Xianhui stood by the railing on the deck, looking at the long city walls, clusters of houses, towering pagodas, and looming towers on the east bank of the river. The vast city was on the other side. The most prosperous capital in the world was getting closer and closer.
She completely forgot about the bumps and fatigue along the way, and her heart was filled with inexplicable excitement.
The cool breeze on the river surface carried a faint fishy smell. In the distant harbor, a ship as big as a palace floated, and the sound of copper bells could be heard faintly. The dock on the other side was full of people. In addition to the crowd waiting there to welcome the emperor, there were also many porters, merchants and pedestrians carrying things.
The Daming Palace in the evening was very beautiful. The eaves of the palace were shimmering with dreamy light, and the lacquer paintings on the side facing the setting sun became more vivid; and from a certain angle, the elegant shapes of other pavilions and towers had become hazy, and the shadows highlighted their outlines, which aroused people's reverie.Perhaps because this is a completely unfamiliar place thousands of miles away from home, even though it is so peaceful and comfortable, Li Xianhui still feels a little uneasy. From time to time, she looked at the brick road outside the palace gate, as if expecting something.Mrs. Park, who has a pair of double eyelids and almond-shaped eyes, said in familiar Korean dialect, "My wife won't be able to see the Holy One tonight, and I won't see him in the next few days."Li Xianhui's eyes suddenly flickered as her thoughts were revealed. She subconsciously refused to admit it, "No...I wasn't thinking about th
The emperor had just returned to Beijing yesterday, and today he held a banquet in Fengtian Hall to celebrate the meritorious soldiers in the Northern Expedition. The palace was busier than usual. But at this time, the queen actually came to the courtyard south of the Imperial Garden to visit Guo Yan.The queen exchanged a few words in the living room and then handed a letter to Guo Yan.At this time, Guo Yan had just read the contents of the letter. The letter was written by their father, Guo Ming, Marquis of Wuding: Guo Ming requested an order to send Guo Yan to live in Fengyang!Guo Yan knew exactly what it meant once a member of the royal family was sent to Zhongdu. He will probably be completely abandoned and forgotten by the world, and live a secluded life. Of course, most of the time there will be a very grand rhetoric, which is called etiquette, law and morality.In an instant, Guo Yan seemed to hear a "buzz" and her mind went blank.Afte
After the Ming Emperor returned to Beijing, he probably would not summon Chen in a short time. But the day after he returned to Beijing, he did go to Rouyi Hall to work, and Queen Chen of Annan lived here.Many people wanted to meet the emperor immediately. The empress and concubines wanted his care. The ministers needed to see him and let him decide their opinions. The envoys from foreign countries also wanted to see him as soon as possible because they knew that the emperor's words were the most effective. However, Chen had lived in the Ming Dynasty for a long time, and even she herself felt that Zhu Gaoxu did not need to rush to see her.So she knew that Zhu Gaoxu was very close, but she couldn't get close to him.She could only sit in the hall at the back of the palace and read sometimes, but would soon stand up and pretend nothing had happened at the door, looking towards the main hall to the south.Chen had no urgent business to attend to, and sh
Zhu Gaoxu stopped persuading, picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of tea. At this time, he paid attention to Chen's face and eyes, and he immediately realized that his long speech seemed to be in vain.Because he had long seen that Chen had already been loyal to the Ming Dynasty; and her son had also been learning Chinese since he could read. This was probably one of the reasons why Zhu Gaoxu insisted on supporting this queen.(During the Yongle reign, the Ming army marched into Annan on a large scale, costing countless lives and military supplies. Although Zhu Gaoxu had always disapproved of the court's immediate direct rule over Annan, because he believed that since the Song Dynasty, Annan had gradually developed its own civilization and identity, and it would not be easy to re-sinicize; but since the Ming Dynasty had invested so much, he did not want the rulers of Annan to hate and reject the Ming Dynasty, causing the court to lose all its money.)
The sky was clear in the morning. Zhu Gaoxu did not go to the north of the imperial city or attend the court. He went straight to the Rouyi Palace to work. During the northern expedition, there were many government affairs that Zhu Gaoxu did not ask about; at this time, he wanted to take a general look at the files to understand the government affairs recorded by the cabinet over the past few months.The eunuch on duty today to serve Zhu Gaoxu was Hou Xian, the junior eunuch of the Imperial Household Department. He was a eunuch with clear facial features and a square appearance.As soon as Zhu Gaoxu entered the Rouyi Palace, he looked into the backyard. But Hou Xian was not Cao Fu, and he didn't seem to know much about some things. Hou Xian brought a few eunuchs and delivered the latest memorials.Since the stack of memorials had already been placed on the table, Zhu Gaoxu planned to take a quick look at them and then send them to the Wuying Palace in the no
Before noon, Zhu Gaoxu stayed in Rouyi Palace without going out. During this time, he did not see Queen Chen of Annan again.Zhu Gaoxu spent the entire morning reading recent memorials, but he did not review most of them. Instead, he handed them over to the cabinet for processing; even so, it took half a day.There was another memorial from a foreign envoy that caught Zhu Gaoxu's attention. The funeral document sent by the Japanese envoy was signed by "Prince Minamoto Yoshimochi of Japan" and reported the death of his father Minamoto Yoshimitsu.Minamoto no Yoshimitsu (Ashikaga Yoshimitsu) once accepted the title of "King of Japan" from Emperor Jianwen of the Ming Dynasty and conducted Kango trade with the Ming Dynasty by paying tribute.(Zhu Gaoxu understood the so-called Kange trade as a kind of official trade with political overtones. Japan sent envoys and merchants to the capital to pay tribute, and the court granted the merchants the goods they ne
Minister of War Qi Tai returned to the capital with the emperor and has been back for three days.Qi Tai left the military office before the twelfth hour this afternoon. As soon as he returned to his home in the southwest of the imperial city, he saw Yang Yunniang washing clothes in the corner of the yard.Yunniang was the young lady arranged and awarded to him by the emperor. She looked very similar to someone he met many years ago.Qi Tai immediately stood beside the cave entrance, silently observing the young lady not far away. He felt very complicated, and even felt that time was hazy and unreal.Last year, after he brought Yunniang back home, he left the capital for official business and went to the north to prepare food and fodder. After that, he had a lot of things to do and didn't have time to think about his own affairs. More than half a year later, when Qi Tai returned to the capital and saw Yunniang, he felt so strange.It is said that
The next day, Yao Ji sent a letter out of the palace. The letter to her brother Yao Fang was sent by the eunuch to Qingshou Temple, outside Taiping Gate, the northeast gate of the inner city, because Yao Fang was still living in the temple.He lived in the temple for so long, but he never became a monk and made no contribution to Qingshou Temple.At first, the monks were in awe of Yao Fang because of his status as a royal relative. But when the new abbot, Monk Qinghui, failed to ask Yao Fang to save Qingyuan, he gradually realized that Yao Fang seemed to have been abandoned by the emperor, and the monks' attitude became more and more disrespectful.In addition, Yao Fang had been staying for nearly a year, and the monks finally began to get impatient with him. They only provided vegetarian meals because of his family background.Yao Fang also had no money, and by this time he had already lived like a beggar, and was very depressed every day. The Yao fam