Many people regarded Zhu Gaochi's move of the capital as an episode in the imperial court meeting, but some people felt other meanings in the emperor's words.
Especially at the end of the court meeting, amid the unanimous objections of all the ministers, the emperor appointed Prince Yan to the South Study Room as counselor.
~~
"The king of this dynasty lives inside, and the king lives outside!"
The court meeting dispersed, and except for the ministers in the south study room, all the ministers dispersed in twos and threes.
Jie Jin held a cup of tea in his hand, stood next to the south study room, looked out the window of the snack room, and whispered.
"Today, the emperor made an exception and appointed the Crown Prince of Yan Fan as the Minister of the South Study?" Xie Jin said, looking back at Li Jinglong who was sitting and eating snacks, "Do you think this will become a rule in the future?"
After that, he added, "In the future, will the children of the royal family be able to be officials and take the imperial examination? Isn't this different from what the Supreme Emperor originally decided?"
Li Jinglong slowly ate the freshly baked walnut cake and said with a smile, "Let's not worry about it!"
"What you are saying is wrong!" Xie Jin shook his head and said, "The emperor's move is indeed intriguing! Prince Yan entered the South Study Room as the king's minister? Tsk tsk!"
"We will do whatever your Majesty says. If you think too much, be careful!" Li Jinglong joked, then lowered his voice and said, "It is said that you wrote the plaque for Zhang Shangshu's bank account?"
"Exactly!" Xie Jin said with a smile, "Huitong Tianxia, I just finished writing it yesterday and sent it to the Confucian Temple for mounting and pasting!" He said with a rather embarrassed smile, "Actually, writing large characters is not my specialty.
Although the character is handsome, it lacks grandeur, and I don’t know if it will be criticized by others!”
"It goes without saying that your handwriting is good. If you can't write well, then no one in the Ming Dynasty can write well!" Li Jinglong held his hand and continued to ask, "Do you know when it will be officially implemented?"
Xie Jin paused, "That hasn't been said yet!" He said, smiling at Li Jinglong, "Zhang Butang is also very strict with his mouth. He's not as easy to talk with me as I am!"
"Haha! You!" Li Jinglong was not annoyed when his mind was broken. He stood up and walked out with a big smile.
"Where is Duke Cao going?" Xie Jin asked with a smile.
"The Lifanyuan goes to appease the envoy from Nawala!" Li Jinglong flicked the peach crumbs on his clothes and said with a smile, "The emperor has ordered us to serve him with delicious food and drink, so that he can take a good look at the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty!"
Xie Jin smiled and nodded.
As soon as Li Jinglong went out, a civil servant from the General Affairs Department came in with his hands lowered, "Xie Xie, someone is looking for you!"
"Who is it?" Xie Jin paused, then looked out subconsciously, and happened to make eye contact with a person at the door of the south study room.
"Yixing? What do you want from me?" Xie Jin said with a smile.
The person who came was Li Zhigang, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, in the same year as Xie Jin.
Li Zhigang turned around and walked over, bowed his hands and said, "Thank you, Bachelor!"
"Look, there is no bachelor between you and me. Is it possible that I still want to call you Li Shilang?" Xie Jin smiled and nodded to the clerk. The latter lowered his hands and stepped back. In the dim sum room, there was only
Expose the two of them.
"Calling you a bachelor is a helpless move!" Li Zhigang said with a smile, "I wanted to call you Xie Xianggong, but I know you are not a public person!"
"Don't let me go!" Xie Jin said in shock, "We're going to fall in love with each other?"
"Bachelor is so self-effacing!" Li Zhigang said with a smile, "As the Minister of the Southern Study, you are a minister with unknown affairs, so it is not an exaggeration to call me my father-in-law!"
"It's too much!" Xie Jin waved his hands and said, "Let outsiders hear..." He said and smiled, "You think I am a rabbit?"
Li Zhigang was stunned, and it took him a long time to react. He smiled and said, "Jie Xie is really funny." After saying that, he sighed, "Among the Jinshi in this subject, you are the most straightforward..."
"Don't put your hat on me yet!" Xie Jin sat down and smiled, "Yi Xing, since you and I are in the same year, we should call each other by names. One is a bachelor, and the other is you. If you are not tired, I will be tired of listening!"
"Hey, after all these years of being an official, I have seen through people's hearts. That is to say, you, the great gentleman, are as open-minded as ever." Li Zhigang said with a smile, "When I talk to you, I don't have to think deeply about the way I'm talking. I still have to think about it when I say it!
"
Xie Jin smiled without saying anything and poured two bowls of tea with his own hands.
"Minister Nan Shufang is just a person who sounds nice and has no grades. What's the point?" Xie Jin pushed the tea over and said, "What do you want from me?"
Li Zhigang heard this and looked outside, obviously a little worried.
"Let's say it first. Don't speak to people you don't want to see. I don't want to hear it either!" Xie Jin said with a smile.
"No way!" Li Zhigang smiled and whispered, "A few days ago, didn't we, Lao Xia of the Ministry of Rites, ask the emperor to designate the mausoleum, and then made Long Yan furious? In the past few days, everyone in the Ministry of Rites has been very careful.
I’m also unsure about this, so I’m here to ask you. Gentleman, don’t you violate any taboos?”
"What kind of taboo is this? It's something that everyone in the government and the public knows!" Xie Jin said with a smile, "Forget it if the emperor's temper has broken out before!" He said, after a slight pause, "The person who was punished was Shi Lang Xia, why are you and everyone in the etiquette department following this cautiously?
?”
"You don't know about Lao Xia. If he is not happy in his heart, others will not be happy either. He is unlucky. Who dares to smile in front of him. In the past few days, in the yamen, several colleagues have been involved in some trivial matters.
, let Lao Xia have a fit!" Li Zhigang sighed, "Hey, it's hard to be an official!"
Hearing this, Xie Jin still smiled lightly and said nothing.
He was waiting, waiting for Li Zhigang to ask what he really wanted to ask.
"Great Gentleman, at today's imperial meeting, the Crown Prince of Yan Fan...?"
Jie Jin grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the plate, ate them and nodded, "Well, what's wrong?"
"The Crown Prince of Yan Fan said that the capital should be moved!" Li Zhigang asked in a low voice, "What do you think..."
"What do I think?" Xie Jin said with a smile, "Yixing, can you stop being so hesitant? I remember you were a very neat person before!"
Li Zhigang smiled, then hesitated for a long time, "Do you think the Emperor...?" He said quickly, "You are a close official of the Emperor, so you should know it well, right?"
Jie Jin paused, frowned and said, "Why do you ask this?"
Then, he suddenly smiled and said, "Well, it's not a good idea to try to figure out your intentions!"
We are all officials, so everyone knows the meaning of these words.
The so-called guessing the emperor's will is to do what he likes. Once the official reaches this position, it is as difficult as climbing to the sky. But if the emperor's temper is right, then it is another matter.
Li Zhigang smiled awkwardly, "I'm just asking casually!" He said with a smile, "Besides, I'm just asking you, how can I dare to ask others like this?"
"It's not a big deal!" Xie Jin ate melon seeds and said with a smile, "This dynasty is open to the public. What Crown Prince Yanfan said makes sense. It's not surprising that the emperor is tempted!"
After saying that, he paused and continued, "I remember that when the prince was here, he visited Xi'an, Luoyang and other places in order to inspect the capital. Although Jinling is good, it is not as prosperous as the north after all!"
Li Zhigang listened and kept nodding his head, with other thoughts in his mind.
~~
Then, he watched Li Zhigang leave the palace from Duanmen with great satisfaction.
Jie Jin, who was standing by the window, suddenly sneered. The melon seeds in his hand were still on the side, and he laughed and cursed in a low voice, "You have a lot of lawsuits on your head, why are you looking for a cure for yourself?"
Then, he shook his head and cursed, "Everyone thinks I'm good at telling tricks? But who can trick me into telling lies?"
At this moment, he suddenly saw several eunuchs carrying tables and chairs walking towards the south study room, and the fat Crown Prince of Yan Fan came out of Qianqing Palace alone and full of worries.
"See Your Highness!" Xie Jin stepped forward and saluted.
"Don't dare!" Zhu Gaochi turned sideways.
At this time, the ministers in the South Study Room also heard the sound, and they all came out to greet him and greeted him one after another.
"Place the prince's table next to me!" Wei Guogong Xu Huizu said.
Zhu Gaochi was grateful. Even though these people were polite to him on the surface, they were not sure how to guard against him. If he didn't know his taste, it would be bad for him to be around anyone.
It has to be my uncle who sees through it but doesn't tell him. Let him be next to Wei Guogong and everyone will be safe.
"Although I am the heir apparent, I am still a junior in front of you sirs. I will have a lot of support from you sirs in the future. If you sirs don't mind, I will be the host tonight. How about Dongfeng Tower?" Zhu Gaochi said with a smile.
Before anyone else could say anything, Xu Huizu said with a smile, "If you want to drink this wine, everyone will go with you!"