“No, I just remembered something.”

Zhu Houzhao returned the Zhenwu Sword and said to Jiang Ning with a smile: “Speaking of Wudang Mountain, I think of Emperor Taizong Wen.”

The Emperor Taizong Wen that Zhu Houzhao was referring to was Zhu Di.

“Emperor Taizongwen had been suppressed and persecuted by Emperor Jianwen before he ascended the throne. Later, Emperor Taizongwen was forced to raise an army to resist, and thus the Jingnan Campaign began.”

Zhu Houzhao and Jiang Ning left the lake and continued walking in the palace. Zhu Houzhao talked about this history as he walked.

“After Emperor Taizong Wen started his rebellion, he seemed to be assisted by God and fought all the way to the capital and completely reversed his fate to the throne. This is how Emperor Yongle, who later made five expeditions to the northern desert, seven voyages to the west, and established the Yongle Era of Prosperity, was born.”

When talking about his ancestor Zhu Di, Zhu Houzhao’s eyes lit up. He had great respect and admiration for this ancestor.

Jiang Ning nodded silently.

“I got so excited that I went off topic.”

Zhu Houzhao laughed and returned to the topic: “When Emperor Taizong Wen ascended the throne, he announced to the world that it was the Great Emperor Zhenwu who secretly helped him ascend the throne, so he conferred the title of True Lord Yousheng on the Great Emperor, and later built temples in the capital and Wudang Mountain.”

Zhu Houzhao looked at Jiang Ning and smiled, “Brother Jiang, do you know why Emperor Taizong Wen built the Zhenwu Great Emperor Temple on Mount Wudang?”

Jiang Ning said: “It is rumored that the Great Emperor Zhenwu is the incarnation of the ancient Emperor Zhuanxu, and the place where Wudang Mountain is located is the former Chu State. Emperor Zhuanxu is the founder of the Chu State, and the Great Emperor Zhenwu is enshrined on Wudang Mountain. Wudang Sect is also a major Taoist sect. So Emperor Taizong Wen built the Great Emperor Zhenwu Temple on Wudang Mountain?”

Zhu Houzhao laughed and said, “Brother Jiang is very knowledgeable. Yes, Emperor Taizong Wen did choose Wudang Mountain as the place for sacrifice for this reason.”

Jiang Ning nodded.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, “Speaking of the Wudang Sect, I heard that it is a big sect in the martial arts world. Their current leader is called Chongxu, and he seems to be quite powerful. Brother Jiang, have you seen him?”

Jiang Ning nodded. “Have you also met Taoist Chongxu?”

Zhu Houzhao laughed and said, “No, I did meet him a few times when my father was alive.”

Zhu Houzhao’s father was Emperor Hongzhi Zhu Youxuan.

Jiang Ning nodded.

As the two of them walked in the palace, Jiang Ning suddenly asked.

“Is the imperial court behind Wudang?”

Zhu Houzhao was stunned when he heard this, turned to look at Jiang Ning, and nodded after a moment.

“Yes.”

Zhu Houzhao said: “I will not hide it from you. Wudang is actually a chess piece that the imperial court has planted in the martial arts world.”

Jiang Ning nodded and said nothing more.

In fact, he had anticipated this.

Although the Jianghu people hated the imperial court and tried their best to distance themselves from it and avoid being called the imperial court’s lackeys by other Jianghu people, how could they ignore the imperial court when they were in the Jianghu? And how could the imperial court watch so many Jianghu people with special skills wreak havoc in the Ming Dynasty?

The imperial court may not take action, but it will definitely have its own pawns planted in the underworld.

“I won’t hide something from you. In fact, the court has always been very annoyed with these lawless people in the martial arts world and has wanted to suppress them. Before the Hongzhi Dynasty, the court was able to suppress these people in the martial arts world, but after the Hongzhi Dynasty, it could no longer suppress them. Various forces in the court were fighting each other, fighting openly and secretly, and the army was in disarray, which led to the current situation.”

Although Emperor Hongzhi was Zhu Houzhao’s father, Zhu Houzhao showed no mercy when evaluating Emperor Hongzhi.

Because in his opinion, the fact that the Ming Dynasty could reach such a point was closely related to the entire ecological environment of the Hongzhi Dynasty.

Chapter 550: Mother and Son

There is a saying that a son should not speak of his father’s faults, but Zhu Houzhao did not have a very good opinion of Emperor Hongzhi. It was obvious that he had a lot of opinions about Emperor Hongzhi.

“But we can’t blame him entirely. He’s helpless too.”

Zhu Houzhao said softly.

As the only surviving son of Emperor Hongzhi, he understood Zhu Youxuan’s helplessness very well, because Zhu Youxuan had to face not only the court, but also the harem.

The ministers in the court seized power, and the Empress Dowager Zhou controlled the harem, so Zhu Youxuan had no chance of turning things around.

In the past, Zhu Houzhao did not see these things clearly, but after he ascended the throne, he could feel the helplessness of his father when he was in this position.

However, Zhu Houzhao did not tell all these things. These were secrets of the imperial palace and there was no need to tell them to Jiang Ning.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty.”

Just at this moment, several eunuchs came over from a distance and said to Zhu Houzhao.

“what’s up?”

Zhu Houzhao frowned when he saw these eunuchs.

Because they are from Kunning Palace.

One of the eunuchs knelt on the ground and said, “Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager heard a noise in the Qianqing Palace garden and thought that Your Majesty was not feeling well, so she asked us servants to come and pay our respects.”

Zhu Houzhao said expressionlessly: “Report to the Queen Mother that I am fine.”

After Zhu Houzhao said this, the eunuchs did not leave. The eunuch just now said again: “Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager heard that Your Majesty summoned a commoner. I don’t know why. Now the Empress Dowager wants Your Majesty to go to Kunning Palace.”

After hearing these words, Zhu Houzhao’s face turned pale for a moment, then returned to normal.

“I understand.”

Zhu Houzhao turned to look at Jiang Ning and said with a smile: “Brother Jiang, I am afraid I don’t have time to talk to you today. I will ask my companion to take you back and invite you to the palace to talk tomorrow.”

Although Zhu Houzhao’s expression changed quickly, Jiang Ning still caught it.

Jiang Ning looked at Zhu Houzhao, then at the eunuchs. He could keenly sense the subtle atmosphere in the room.

“it is good.”

Jiang Ning nodded, and Zhu Houzhao asked the eunuch who had just brought Jiang Ning into the palace to escort Jiang Ning out of the palace.

“Mr. Jiang, please.”

The eunuch said respectfully.

Jiang Ning left the palace under the guidance of the eunuch.

Along the way, the eunuch was very respectful, bowed slightly, and was very awed by Jiang Ning.

“Master Jiang, your accent sounds familiar to me. May I ask where you are from?”

The eunuch, who had been silent all the way, suddenly spoke, his tone careful and cautious.

Jiang Ning looked at him and replied.

“Shaanxi.”

“Hero Jiang is from Shaanxi?”

The eunuch was surprised when he heard this.

“Oh, what a coincidence.”

Jiang Ning smiled and said, “Why? Are you from Shaanxi too?”

“Master Jiang, my hometown is Xianyang, Shaanxi. So Master Jiang and I are from the same hometown. This is really a blessing for our family.”

Jiang Ning glanced at him. “What’s your name?”

“Our Liu Jin.”

……

After saying goodbye to Jiangning, Zhu Houzhao did not go to Kunning Palace immediately, but returned to Qianqing Palace to take a bath before leaving.

“Did your Majesty summon me here to tell you something?”

Zhu Houzhao went straight to the point.

In the past, Zhu Houzhao would not have behaved like this, but as his relationship with Empress Dowager Zhang became worse and worse, Zhu Houzhao’s attitude became more and more straightforward.

Empress Dowager Zhang, who originally wanted to show concern for him, also cooled down.

“I heard that the emperor summoned a commoner?”

Zhu Houzhao laughed.

“The Queen Mother is well-informed.”

Empress Dowager Zhang also ignored the sarcasm in Zhu Houzhao’s tone and said with a sullen face: “What is there to see about a commoner?”

“This is my son’s private matter.”

Zhu Houzhao said with a smile.

“There is no private matter in heaven!”

Empress Dowager Zhang said this in a serious tone, and then continued: “You are the emperor, and you are in charge of the Ming Dynasty. You cannot do whatever you want. You actually let that commoner bring a sword into the palace. What if he has bad intentions towards you?”

Zhu Houzhao laughed, “You are worrying too much, mother. With his skills, if he wants to kill me, it doesn’t matter to him whether he has a sword or not. If he really wants to kill me, he can just rush into the palace, kill me, and then leave.”

“nonsense!”

Empress Dowager Zhang said something.

“Do you think all these guards in the palace are just for show?”

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said nothing.

Empress Dowager Zhang thought he was backing off, and emphasized, “After all, you are the emperor. You shouldn’t be with these commoners. How will the ministers in the court see you? What you should do now is to focus on state affairs and listen more to the ministers in the court. Only in this way can you become a sage monarch.”

Zhu Houzhao just smiled and said nothing.

Seeing him like this, Empress Dowager Zhang did not continue talking and changed the subject.

“Have you found out who killed Marquis Jianchang?”

Marquis Jianchang is Zhang Yanling.

Zhu Houzhao shook his head: “No.”

“No?”

Empress Dowager Zhang raised her eyebrows. “It’s been two years, and the murderer hasn’t been found yet? What are the East Factory and the Imperial Guard doing?”

Zhu Houzhao said: “Marquis Jianchang died in his own mansion. He was burned to a charred corpse when he died. The murderer left no trace and there is no way to find out.”

After Zhang Yanling was killed in Jiangning, there was a big commotion in the capital. Many Jinyiwei and Dongchang men were investigating, which caused a sensation in the whole city. But in the end, nothing was found. The murderer could not be found at all, and it became an unsolved case.

When Zhu Houzhao mentioned that Zhang Yanling was burned to a charred corpse, Empress Dowager Zhang couldn’t help crying.