The night wind has not stopped, and a few apricot flowers and spring rains are slanted and sparsely hitting the window frames under the eaves. The half-open sparse windows are wet and the candlelight sways.

Zhu Zhongjun's face was obscure.

Gu Jinzhi also never spoke for a long time.

Both of them have their own thoughts.

In the remaining middle of the night, neither of them slept much.

As soon as he arrived at Yinzheng, Zhu Zhongjun got up.

You can still hear the drizzle of spring outside the window,

The brocade quilt was warm, and Gu Jinzhi didn't want to stretch out his hand, but just called the maid to come in and serve Zhu Zhongjun to change his clothes. If the weather was not cold, she would get up by herself.

"...Can you come back early today?" Gu Jinzhi asked through the brocade tent.

Zhu Zhongjun said: "If you can, I will come back in the afternoon."

Then he said, "I'll go and see Tongtong, will it wake her up?"

He accompanied Gu Jinzhi last night, and Tongtong went to bed very early again, and he didn't see enough. On weekdays, Zhu Zhongjun was not at home, so Gu Jinzhi always put Tongtong in his bed, just like when Yanshan was a child.

When Zhu Zhongjun came back last night, Gu Jinzhi temporarily handed Tongtong over to her wet nurse.

The wet nurse arranged Tongtong in the warm room of the main courtyard.

"It's okay, Tongtong sleeps soundly, she won't wake up even if she is not hungry." Gu Jinzhi said with a smile.

Zhu Zhongjun smiled.

After he washed up, he didn't have time to eat breakfast and went to the warm room to see Tongtong.

Tongtong is still sleeping.

Her small arms were tilted on her shoulders and her mouth was thrust, which looked very much like Yan Ying when she was a child. Yan Ying and Tongtong looked very much like Zhu Zhongjun.

Zhu Zhongjun thought about wanting to kiss the child’s cheek yesterday because his cheek was a little cold. The child was crying by ice.

He put his hands into his sleeves, and when both hands were warmer, he stepped forward and gently touched the child's face.

Tongtong didn't feel it, and she was still sleeping very well.

Zhu Zhongjun looked at it for a moment and then got up and left. He was afraid of waking up the child and delaying his going out. But after walking a few steps, he felt unwilling to accept it.

He didn't see enough.

With a cruel heart, Zhu Zhongjun walked out.

He went straight into the palace.

The emperor had already risen and summoned the ministers in the imperial study.

The morning court had not yet begun, and all the ministers of the cabinet and the six ministers were waiting outside the imperial study room.

Zhu Zhongjun greeted several familiar adults, then passed over them and headed towards the imperial study.

He stepped into the imperial study room lightly.

In the imperial study, the prince and Gu Yantao knelt side by side.

The emperor sat upright on the couch. He held the edge of the couch tightly with one hand, his face pale.

He kept coughing.

The emperor was not fat at all.

When Zhu Zhongjun went to pick him up, he felt that he had lost weight, but he didn't think he could see it. Now, looking at him again, he was wearing the dragon robe he used to be, but he was so loose. He looked a little scared.

From this perspective, the emperor's face turned paler.

The thin and pale emperor has no dignity and majesty as a ruler of the world.

His angry look was not deterrent.

"...You will defeat all the ancestors." The emperor was scolding the prince. He coughed violently. After cursing for a few words, he had to cover his mouth and cough hard for a long time.

The eunuchs following Xiang Liang and Liu Shu were nervous and wanted to persuade him but dared not.

"In just one year, there have been thirteen rebellions in the southwest; eight water bandits in the southeast; there were droughts last autumn in Huguang. Tens of thousands of people were killed or injured, but the court still had heavy taxes. They were forced to rebel?" The emperor continued to curse.

The prince was stubborn.

He really wanted to say something back.

Who is the fault of the southwest rebellion? A few years ago, Annan quelled the rebellion, but it abolished the Annan vassal state and established the Annan Provincial Administration. The Annan people were dissatisfied and had a long resentment. When they heard that there was war in the northwest of the court, they took the opportunity to start an army.

Is this the prince’s fault?

The Southeast Water Bandits have also been many years. Seven or eight years ago, the Southeast Water Bandits have been constantly attacking the people. The court has been delaying again and again, refusing to send heavy troops. Every time they send teams to drive them away, the result is that there are more and more water bandits, and this is the court tolerating the traitors.

Is this the prince’s fault?

As for the drought in Huguang last year, the imperial court refused to reduce taxes, but was it because of the Northwest War? The Northwest War had huge expenses and no taxes. How to supply it?

Is this the prince’s fault?

The prince can refute the emperor's scolding.

The prince was also wronged.

However, now he has to suffer grievances. The emperor arrested his uncle Tan You in the Eastern Palace. If he was giving the prince an acquaintance with foreign ministers and conspiring to rebel, the prince would be unable to tell the truth.

The prince's uneasiness covered up his grievances.

He lowered his head and did not dare to say a word.

"......It's only been a year, and the treasury is so empty. Where has my family been?" The more the emperor said, the more angry he became.

He roared.

With such a roar, I felt a big cough again.

He was so coughing that he couldn't breathe.

The treasury has been extremely empty in the past six months.

The Ministry of Revenue has reported more than once that there was a problem with the taxes collected.

The prince also ordered the Ministry of Revenue to investigate, but he couldn't find out what the problem lies.

Not only the prince and the Ministry of Revenue were confused, but even Gu Yantao's arrogant and shrewd people were confused. The emperor came back to see the account book and vomited blood in anger, but he couldn't understand it.

The only person in this room who knows it should be Zhu Zhongjun.

Zhu Zhongjun stood silently and landed on the ground.

No one paid attention to him except him coming in.

The emperor only cursed the prince and Gu Yantao.

Some words are not suitable for cursing in the court, so I can only curse first in private.

In the past year, the government has not only been the same.

The emperor continued to curse.

The more he said he became more and more angry, and when he coughed again, he coughed out a mouthful of blood. This was not the first time the emperor coughed up blood. The fishy and sweet smell made him almost vomit.

In order to suppress this disgust, his face turned red.

"Your Majesty..." Xiang Liang stepped forward and gently supported the emperor.

The emperor took a deep breath and suppressed the feeling of vomiting.

Zhu Zhongjun could see that the emperor had just coughed up blood, so he immediately brought tea from the table next to him and personally brought it to the emperor.

The emperor seemed to have seen Zhu Zhongjun. He took the tea from him and nodded slightly to him.

Xiang Liang saw it and took the spittoon from the side.

During the whole process, Xiang Liang's eyesight was not comparable to that of another eunuch Liu Shu.

The emperor rinsed his mouth, and the prince and Gu Yantao wanted to go forward to serve, but they didn't dare to, so they still knelt down.

Zhu Zhongjun reminded the emperor: "Brother, it's already Chenchu. Should I be on the morning court?"

Officials above the third rank waited outside the imperial study room for almost two hours. Those below the third rank were not summoned to the palace, and they also waited for almost one hour in the Qianqing Palace.

In March, the spring is chilly and the cold wind is still biting.

The drizzle outside did not stop.

Even if those ministers held an umbrella, they were wet half of their bodies by the rain. They were cold, tired, and uncomfortable enough.

"Go to go to court early." The emperor scolded him for being tired and was a little tired. He was unable to snuggle up with the lead pillow and stopped gently for a while.

"You go first." The emperor said to the prince and Gu Yantao.

During the whole process, the prince and Gu Yantao did not dare to refute it without saying a word, and let the emperor curse. At this moment, they kowtowed and stood up. They said, their voices were a little dry.

Liu Shu went to instruct the ministers waiting outside the imperial study room to go to the main hall first.

Zhu Zhongjun and Xiang Liang were in the imperial study, accompanying the emperor.
To be continued...