565: Meeting with Zhu Houzhao

Bringing Yin Li, Daiqisi and Xiao Zhao with him.

Walking in the Forbidden City, Jiang Che followed Zhu Wusi all the way towards the Imperial Palace of the Forbidden City.

After entering the Forbidden City, the two girls, Xiao Zhao and Yin Li, kept looking left and right along the way, and were curious about all the new things around them.

This was their first time in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, so they were naturally curious about everything they saw.

In comparison, Daiqisi is much better.

After all, she had been to the Forbidden City several times before, so she would not be like Xiao Zhao and Yin Li, who found everything strange.

After riding in the carriage for about an hour, Jiang Che was finally greeted by Zhu Wusi and led directly into the palace.

Zhu Wusi’s reputation and status in the entire Ming Dynasty court were extremely high, and everyone was in awe of him.

Although he always wanted to replace his good nephew and become the emperor himself.

But Zhu Wusi never revealed even a hint of such thoughts on the surface.

As a shrewd and ambitious man, he certainly would not do such a stupid thing before he decided to completely break off relations.

Even the four spies who were loyal to him did not notice his rebellious heart at all, let alone others.

In the eyes of Shangguan Haitang and others, Zhu Wusi has always been an image of a prince who is dedicated to his duties and loyal to his country.

After entering the palace, Zhu Wusi had always wanted to have a chat with Jiang Che, but Jiang Che’s attitude towards him had always been lukewarm, which made Zhu Wusi very depressed.

He felt a little annoyed and didn’t understand why Jiang Che had always been so indifferent to him. He also didn’t remember that he had ever offended this big Buddha before!

Zhu Wusi was extremely unhappy because he was rejected.

It was obvious that Jiang Che didn’t want to bother with him too much, so he didn’t continue to make himself unhappy.

After wandering around in the palace for about two quarters of an hour, Zhu Wusi finally brought Jiang Che to the hall where Zhu Houzhao was.

“Your Majesty, the exiled immortal has arrived…”

After entering the hall, Zhu Wushi walked in front of Zhu Houzhao with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, bowed and saluted with a very respectful and humble attitude.

“Thank you, uncle…”

“Uncle, please take a seat and rest…”

Zhu Houzhao said a few words of comfort, then stood up from the dragon throne, walked directly in front of Jiang Che, bowed and saluted.

“I have long admired Mr. Ming. I have long been fascinated by him.”

“So, I heard that you are about to arrive in my Forbidden City, so I dared to wait for you. If I have been negligent, I hope you will forgive me.”

Zhu Houzhao’s words were very humble and respectful.

He didn’t even dare to call himself “I” in front of Jiang Che, and he was very humble.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Wushi, who had just sat down, changed his expression slightly, and a barely perceptible gloom flashed across his eyes.

Isn’t Zhu Houzhao’s words… just insulting him to his face?

Doesn’t he know what Jiang Che’s identity is? How could he be so negligent?

“Your Majesty, there is no need to be so polite. The Iron-hearted Marquis is polite and gentle, and he is not the least bit rude. Your Majesty is overthinking.”

After taking a deep look at Zhu Houzhao in front of him, Jiang Che waved his hand casually.

Wow, this uncle and nephew are really interesting.

Zhu Houzhao humiliated Zhu Wusi in front of him, knowing that this old conspirator would not show his displeasure on the surface, and he was venting his anger.

“That’s good…”

“Sir, ladies, please take your seats.”

Zhu Houzhao let out a long sigh, as if he had let go of a heavy burden. He directly invited Jiang Che and his group, not leaving out the three women around Jiang Che.

Since they were able to follow Jiang Che into this forbidden area deep in the palace, Zhu Houzhao knew with just a thought that the relationship between these three women and Jiang Che must be extraordinary, so he naturally did not dare to neglect them in the slightest.

“Your Majesty is too polite…”

Xiao Zhao and Yin Li waved their hands hurriedly, looking a little reserved.

It was the first time that they were treated like this by an emperor, a true dragon emperor. They had never been treated like this before. It would be a lie for the two little girls to say that they were not nervous.

After all, they are not Jiang Che, and have not seen so many storms and waves. They have long been accustomed to the flattery between emperors of various countries. =

Daiqisi on the side performed much better than the other two girls.

After all, she is an old bird who has experienced countless hardships. Even if the person standing in front of her is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, she will not have any psychological burden.

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566: Their boss is Minmin Temur

After they sat down, Zhu Houzhao arranged for the palace maids to present all kinds of fine wines and delicacies, including mountain and sea delicacies.

Then they arranged for the dancers to start dancing in the center of the hall.

These palace maids were dressed in pink long skirts, with slim and graceful figures.

She has a light body and a graceful figure.

The soft white, slender legs hidden under the hazy long skirt are very tempting and make people fantasize.

They tapped their toes and began to dance rhythmically in the hall.

The orchestral music sounded, and the extremely pleasant melody began to echo in the hall.

The sound lingers on the three pillars for a long time.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

As the atmosphere at the scene gradually heated up, Zhu Houzhao also started chatting with Jiang Che.

“Sir, you have been in our Ming Dynasty for a while. I wonder what our Ming Dynasty is like in your eyes?”

Zhu Houzhao raised the wine glass and gestured to Jiang Che, then drank the wine in the glass. He asked curiously.

He really wanted to hear what this living immortal thought of his Ming Dynasty.

“Very good, the scenery is beautiful, and the people are simple and warm. However, due to the harassment of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the people in some places have been displaced and are complaining bitterly.”

“It would be better if Your Majesty could properly place these people.”

Jiang Che did not refuse either. He also drank the wine in the glass and then expressed his views and opinions on the current Ming Dynasty.

It’s very pertinent, without exaggeration or belittling.

Jiang Che just told everything he saw and heard along the way.

The Ming Dynasty did have many good points, but it also had many shortcomings.

One obvious thing is that the people were often harassed by the Northern Yuan cavalry.

If Zhu Houzhao could not properly handle the relationship with the Northern Yuan Dynasty, he would not be considered a good emperor or a good monarch.

Of course, putting himself in Zhu Houzhao’s shoes, Jiang Che naturally understood Zhu Houzhao’s current difficulties and was afraid that he was powerless.

With Zhu Wusi eyeing him covetously outside and responding to his call, and with Liu Xi and Cao Zhengchun inside, big eunuchs needing a close eye, he would of course be unable to cope with all the responsibilities.

On the one hand, he also had to keep a close eye on the underworld forces to prevent them from becoming bigger and stronger and waiting for an opportunity to rebel. Of course, he did not have the extra time and energy to deal with the Northern Yuan cavalry.

Moreover, for Zhu Houzhao now, even if he wanted to deal with it, he would probably be powerless.

“Sir, you are right. I will keep this in mind and will definitely deal with the issue of the Northern Yuan cavalry in the future.”

Zhu Houzhao laughed at himself, a trace of gloom flashed across his face, and his expression was a little depressed.

Recently, the Northern Yuan cavalry has been hanging around various border checkpoints of the Ming Dynasty, and even crossing mountains and specifically climbing up those plateau mountains that are not guarded by soldiers to enter the Ming Dynasty to burn, kill and loot.

Zhu Houzhao had always known about this matter and had always sent people to encircle and suppress the invading enemies from the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Cut constantly, the rationale is still chaotic.

These Northern Yuan cavalrymen kept haunting Zhu Houzhao, which also annoyed him greatly.

Because of its special geographical location, it is adjacent to the East China Sea and is located on the same horizontal line.

Like the Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was also trampled by the cavalry from the northern grasslands from time to time.

However, after the last battle of Xiangyang, the people of the Northern Yuan Dynasty were frightened by Jiang Che. Knowing the position of this living immortal, they dared not continue to attack the Song Dynasty.

All attention was directly shifted to the Ming Dynasty and several other small countries nearby.

The Song Dynasty even took the opportunity to recover lost territories, which made Zhu Houzhao extremely envious.

Therefore, as soon as he heard that Jiang Che had entered the Forbidden City, he arranged for Zhu Wusi to go and greet him personally.

He tried to please Jiang Che in every possible way, just to get closer to him, so that he could use the situation to scare the Northern Yuan cavalry and divert their attention again. It would be best if they could directly fight with the Jurchens of the barbarian tribe, so that he could reap the benefits.

“By the way, (Hello, King) Shen Hou, I heard that the enemies from the Northern Yuan Dynasty who have invaded recently are organized. Who is the one who called them together?”

As if he suddenly thought of something, Zhu Houzhao turned to look at Zhu Wusi who was calm and composed beside him. He frowned, a hint of anger flashed in his eyes, and asked in a deep voice.

Recently, the Ming Dynasty has been harassed by the Northern Yuan cavalry, and each time these guys fight in an orderly manner.

He didn’t believe at all that there was no leader.

“She is Princess Minmin Temur of the Ruyang Palace. She also has a Chinese name, Zhao Min…”

Recalling it in his mind, Zhu Wusi replied.

567: Xiao Zhao: Mother, how did you and father get together back then?

“Minmin Temur… Very good, I will remember this name!”

Zhu Houzhao’s eyes flashed with rage and undisguised murderous intent towards Zhao Min, and his eyes became increasingly cold.

How dare this crappy princess be so unscrupulous? Does she really think she has no one in the Ming Dynasty?

But now is obviously not a good time to settle accounts with Zhao Min.

His top priority was to quickly accompany Jiang Che in front of him.

As for Zhao Min’s matter, he could have waited until the dinner was over before arranging someone to deal with it.

Thinking of this, Zhu Houzhao took a deep breath, forced himself to suppress the anger in his heart, turned his head to look at Jiang Che again, a smile appeared on his face, and said.

“Sir, please …”

“please……”

The banquet lasted a long time.

It was not until the sun was setting and night fell that Jiang Che brought the three women and, under the arrangement of the palace maids, stayed in Palace 163 which Zhu Houzhao had prepared in advance.

After returning to the main hall, Jiang Che waved away the palace maids serving on both sides.

He picked up the blushing Yin Li and headed towards the hot spring in the distance, intending to take a bath with his new little wife.

Yin Li’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and she buried her little head in Jiang Che’s chest, too embarrassed to even look up.

Of course she knew what it meant to follow Jiang Che this time, but she didn’t have any resistance in her heart, just a little shy like a girl.

Looking at the two people’s backs as they walked away, Xiao Zhao pouted in dissatisfaction, her face puffed up, and she stomped her feet in anger.

Yin Li has been pestering Jiang Che these past two days, making it impossible for her to ask her own master questions, which makes Xiao Zhao extremely depressed.

My goodness, it was obviously her who came first, okay?

Everything should be based on first come first served!

Xiao Zhao couldn’t help but wonder, was it the right choice for him to rush to get to know his mother?

“Why, are you envious?”

Seeing Xiao Zhao’s angry look, Daiqisi just found it extremely funny.

He asked with interest, crossing his arms over his chest.

In her impression, her daughter has always been very well-behaved and rarely shows such an expression.

No one knows a girl better than her mother. Although Xiao Zhao never mentioned it, Dai Qisi could still see her little thoughts about Jiang Che.

After all, Xiao Zhao grew up under her care, and the two of them lived together for more than ten years.

She met Xiao Zhao in the desert when she was eighteen years old and traveling from Persia to Middle-earth.