My father is Jiajing

Chapter 306 Prince Yu’s Attitude
After seeing off Zhao Zhenji and Li Chunfang, Zhu Zaigui asked someone to call Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng over.

When Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng saw Zhu Zaigui, they greeted him and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

Zhu Zaigui smiled and said, "Gentlemen, please stand up."

Then Zhu Zaigui ordered Meng Chong to serve tea.

Zhu Zaigui looked at Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng and asked calmly, "What's the situation outside?"

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng glanced at each other, and Gao Gong spoke first: "I went to the outside of Chongwen Gate and saw Haigang Peak. The guards there are tight and there will be no mistakes."

Zhu Zaigui nodded slightly and said, "I am very confident that Haishen can handle the affairs of the court. Since he can keep a tight watch over there, this is a good thing."

Then Zhu Zaigui looked at Zhang Juzheng and asked, "What about Mr. Zhang?"

Zhang Juzheng listened to the conversation between Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, as well as his previous brief talk with Gao Gong in the warm room in front of the mansion. This made Zhang Juzheng feel a little uneasy.

Zhang Juzheng said, "I went to the outside of Wenyuan Pavilion and met with Lord Xu. Lord Xu told me that the young Lord had already submitted a memorial to the emperor to impeach Wang Youzhao and Hai Rui. His Majesty did not issue any special instructions, but the young Lord mobilized the three judicial departments to intervene and thoroughly investigate Wang Youzhao's dereliction of duty and Hai Rui's concealment."

After listening to Zhang Juzheng's statement, Zhu Zaigui asked Zhang Juzheng: "What does Lord Xu mean?"

When asked this by Zhu Zaigui, Zhang Juzheng's eyelids couldn't help but twitch, feeling that there was something fishy going on.

Zhang Juzheng said: "Lord Xu didn't say anything."

Zhu Zaigui was surprised. He never expected Xu Jie to be so cautious and not say a single extra word.

But what Zhu Zaigui didn't know was that Xu Jie had already come up with an idea, which was to sacrifice Hai Rui.

However, after careful consideration, Zhang Juzheng decided not to report the matter for the time being, because he felt that the problem here was definitely not as simple as he had imagined.

If he said something wrong, it would make Prince Yu have a bad impression of Xu Jie, which would not be a good thing for Zhang Juzheng.

After all, he was Xu Jie's disciple, and he entered Prince Yu's Mansion on the recommendation of Xu Jie.

If he always conveyed Xu Jie's intentions to Prince Yu, wouldn't it be confirmed that Lord Xu was trying to curry favor with the prince and that Zhu Zaigui was secretly making friends with court officials?
These were all taboos in the imperial court, so before he could see the facts clearly, Zhang Juzheng thought it was better to be safe.

Let's talk about the important part first. As for Lord Xu's suggestion, let's keep it secret for now and wait for the situation to develop and see how it goes.

Zhu Zaigui said, "Since Lord Xu is so mature and prudent, I am relieved. Mr. Gao, you can take Mr. Zhang to Chongwenmen later to help Hai Rui deal with this emergency. Unless there is a warrant issued by the three judicial departments to arrest or search, no one is allowed to set foot inside, even if the king of heaven comes."

Gao Gong was secretly shocked when he heard what Zhu Zaigui said.

He originally thought that Zhu Zaigui was just playing a trick on Yan Shifan in this matter, but he didn't expect that Zhu Zaigui was determined to drag Yan Shifan into the trap.

Gao Gong stood up and bowed, saying, "I obey your command."

Zhang Juzheng also followed suit and bowed in the same way.

But in the end, Zhang Juzheng asked Zhu Zaigui again: "Your Majesty, what about Shuntian Prefecture?"

Zhu Zaigui spread his hands and said, "How should I know? Shuntian Prefecture is an office of the imperial court, not my subordinate, so they can do whatever they want. Besides, Shuntian Prefecture is also the number one prefecture in the world, so it should have some face and ambition of its own, right?" When Zhang Juzheng heard what Zhu Zaigui said, he understood.

Zhang Juzheng understood that Zhu Zaigui would not interfere in the affairs of Shuntian Prefecture, nor would he say a word to help Shuntian Prefecture. As for how things would develop in the end and how Shuntian Prefecture would choose to stand on the side, Zhu Zaigui would not care at all.

This means that if Wang Youzhao tried all kinds of methods out of desperation and did something irrelevant, the Prince Yu's Mansion would at most just watch and would not have any reaction.

Zhang Juzheng bowed again and said, "I understand!"

Zhu Zaigui looked at Zhang Juzheng's reaction and was also impressed by Zhang Juzheng's quick reaction.

Zhu Zaiqi continued to say to them, "Since this is the case, time is running out and I will not keep any food for you. Gentlemen, hurry to the outside of Chongwen Gate and help Hai Shen to overcome the difficulties. I can ignore others, but if anyone dares to bully the people in Prince Yu's Mansion, I will never let it go!"

Zhu Zaigui's words expressed an attitude, and this attitude deeply moved Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, because they were also members of Prince Yu's Mansion.

Now Zhu Zaigui made such a statement in front of them, firstly to emphasize the importance of Hai Rui, and secondly to send a signal to them that as long as they were still tutors and lecturers in Prince Yu's Mansion, as long as they still regarded themselves as Zhu Zaigui's teachers, then Zhu Zaigui would stand by them through thick and thin and face future matters and problems together.

Such an important attitude is actually no less than a great promise.

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng bowed again excitedly: "We will definitely carry out the prince's instructions and will never allow anyone to forcibly arrest Hai for trial without any official documents from the court."

Zhu Zaiqi nodded with satisfaction and said, "Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen."

Zhu Zaigui saw Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng off from the palace.

Watching the two of them riding in a carriage heading towards Chongwenmen, Zhu Zaigui felt emotional and thought how nice it would be if they could always stay like this.

But who can predict what will happen in the future?

After all, it is only the end of the 30th year of Jiajing, and it is still a long time away from the 6th year of Longqing.

And if I am really lucky and really live longer than Emperor Longqing, then all these worries and regrets will naturally disappear.

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng were sitting in a carriage. Zhang Juzheng continued to look at Gao Gong and asked, "Brother Suqing, what exactly is going on outside Chongwen Gate?"

Gao Gong said, "The matter is still the same, but the problem is not the same. We just need to follow the prince's instructions and help Hai Rui stop the harassment and prevent anyone from intruding without the court's order."

Gao Gong's words actually directly told Zhang Juzheng the result.

After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng felt relieved. He was glad that he had made a timely judgment and did not convey Xu Jie's intention to Zhu Zaigui.

At the same time, Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but look forward to how this matter would end.

After all, the three judicial officials have all been involved, which is a huge move. If it is just a lot of noise but little action, it does not seem to be in line with the style of the young minister.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but look forward to it.

(End of this chapter)