My father is Jiajing

Chapter 581 The Unhappy Prime Minister

"Yuan Wei is dead?"

Emperor Jiajing, who was meditating in the Wanshou Palace, was shocked when he heard Chen Hong come in to report that the cabinet had sent someone to report that Yuan Wei had died on his way back home.

Emperor Jiajing was expecting that after Yuan Wei ate the elixir he had bestowed upon him, he would be able to survive until his hometown.

You have to know that Emperor Jiajing spent a lot of money and used countless rare materials to refine that elixir!

I don’t know how many kilograms of lead and mercury, the core materials for alchemy, were used!
In order to improve the quality of the elixir, Emperor Jiajing also transferred several professional Taoist priests who were good at precision purification from the Palace of Divine Medicine to help him remove the impurities in the elixir that he had tried every means to remove in the past.

Emperor Jiajing originally wanted to keep this furnace of top-notch elixirs for his own use at the critical moment.

But unfortunately, Li Shizhen's doctor's orders forbade him to take the elixir anymore, so after Yuan Wei resigned and left, Emperor Jiajing remembered Yuan Wei's diligent contribution in writing Qingci for him over the years.

He reluctantly gave up the elixir and gave it to him.

As a result, now that the elixir has been given to him, he is not lucky enough to enjoy it. He is truly a man with no blessings.

Chen Hong looked at the slightly surprised expression of Emperor Jiajing and replied carefully, "Your Majesty, please take care of your body. It was his fate that Yuan Ge Lao passed away. Your Majesty, please don't be sad about it and damage your body."

Emperor Jiajing sighed, "I was just surprised. I didn't expect that he would die on the way without even returning home. If I had allowed him to retire and return home earlier, maybe he would have died of old age."

Chen Hong hastily consoled him, "Your Majesty, please do not blame yourself. Before Yuan Ge Lao left Beijing, Your Majesty had already rewarded him with unlimited honors. Although he died on his way home, he has no regrets in his life."

Emperor Jiajing sighed again and said, "Send an order to Prince Yu, asking him to discuss with the cabinet to posthumously confer a title on Yuan Wei, as well as a posthumous title. By the way, remember to tell Prince Yu that Yuan Wei has served the emperor for many years and has made many contributions. Give his son an idle official position, which can be regarded as the last honor I give him."

Chen Hong listened to what Emperor Jiajing said, and he immediately replied: "The Emperor is so gracious, if Lord Yuan knew about it, he would surely be grateful and shed tears to thank the Emperor for his grace."

Emperor Jiajing said, "Okay, go and pass on the order. I want to be quiet for a while."

Hearing Emperor Jiajing's request for quietness again, Chen Hong's voice and footsteps immediately became lighter. He carefully retreated out of Emperor Jiajing's abode, then glanced at Li Fang who was waiting at the door.

At this moment, Chen Hong also straightened his back, put on a cold look, and said to Li Fang in a condescending manner: "The emperor is in meditation in the abode, you all should serve carefully here. If I know that any of you made a noise while the emperor is meditating and affected his mood, I promise to tear your mouths apart one by one!"

Li Fang had long been accustomed to Chen Hong's behavior. Although they had gone to Prince Yu's Mansion together, their life experiences were always different.

Chen Hong gained the favor of Emperor Jiajing early on, and moved from the Shunyi Industrial Park to the Imperial Household Department and served in the imperial court.

Although Li Fang was promoted by Emperor Jiajing and became the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, he remained in Shunyi.

Therefore, even though he was now serving Emperor Jiajing, he was still a step behind and could not be compared with Chen Hong, who was now the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department and the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Depot.

Therefore, now that Chen Hong was acting so condescendingly and showing off in front of him, Li Fang could only bow his head and endure it obediently. He did not dare to contradict Chen Hong in person and embarrass Chen Hong.

After all, from the time Emperor Jiajing began to plan to move to the Wanshou Palace until now, Chen Hong has been extremely favored by the emperor. In the past, without the Emperor Jiajing's order, he did not dare to take the initiative to enter the temple to serve.

But now Chen Hong was able to take small steps into the temple without waiting for Emperor Jiajing's order.

From this we can see that Chen Hong is now completely different from the past, and is gradually beginning to replace Huang Jin's role.

Li Fang bowed to Chen Hong and said, "Yes."

After hearing "yes", Chen Hong saw Li Fang's respectful look out of the corner of his eye, and felt extremely satisfied.

Then he walked towards Wenhua Hall with confident and high-spirited steps.

After Chen Hong left, Li Fang looked around and when he was sure that he was the only one outside the temple, he carefully entered.

When Emperor Jiajing heard the slight noise in the temple, he knew that it was Li Fang who came in. He was not surprised at all. Instead, it seemed as if it was something he was used to.

Li Fang walked gently to the front of Emperor Jiajing, bowed respectfully to him, and then took out a well-sealed thermos jar from her underwear.

"Emperor, it's time for soup."

The "soup" that Li Fang was holding was the medicine that Li Shizhen prescribed for Emperor Jiajing. However, Emperor Jiajing was rather averse to the word "medicine". Therefore, every time Li Fang secretly brought medicine in for Emperor Jiajing to use, he used "soup" instead.

Moreover, this is an important matter entrusted to him by Huang Jin. No one except him can know a single cent!
Therefore, every time Li Fang made sure that there was no one around, he would quietly enter the temple and offer the "soup" to Emperor Jiajing.

Emperor Jiajing looked at the thermos jar that Li Fang carefully lifted up and hummed lightly, "Put it aside."

Li Fang quickly said, "Our ancestors said that we should drink this soup while it's hot, not let it get cold."

Emperor Jiajing chuckled, "This old man Huang Jin is quite nosy. Forget it, just give it to me."

After hearing what Emperor Jiajing said, Li Fang couldn't help but feel relieved, and quickly raised the thermos in her hand higher so that Emperor Jiajing could reach it.

Emperor Jiajing took the thermos jar that Li Fang raised in his hand. He could still feel the warmth on the jar. It was obvious that Li Fang had put a lot of thought into maintaining the temperature of the jar.

Emperor Jiajing unplugged the thermos jar and looked at Li Fang and said, "I'll give you a task. Do you dare to do it?"

Li Fang immediately bowed and said, "As long as it is the Emperor's order, this servant will not hesitate for the slightest."

Emperor Jiajing looked at the soup in the pot. Although he didn't want to drink it, in order to live longer, he still endured the discomfort and swallowed it in one gulp.

Seeing that Jiajing had finished his soup, Li Fang quickly brought a cup of tea for rinsing his mouth and handed it to him, "Emperor, rinse your mouth."

Emperor Jiajing caught the tea for rinsing his mouth, took a sip and rinsed it in his mouth. Li Fang also took advantage of this gap to bring an exquisitely crafted spittoon to Emperor Jiajing.

Emperor Jiajing took the opportunity to spit the mouthwash in his mouth into the spittoon.

Li Fang immediately put the spittoon aside and held up a tray with a clean towel in front of Emperor Jiajing.

Emperor Jiajing picked up a towel and wiped the water stains from the corners of his mouth, then tidied his beard. Then he threw the towel in his hand into the tray and asked Li Fang to take it down.

Li Fang packed these things carefully, and Emperor Jiajing began to speak: "I plan to make you the governor of Nanhaizi, responsible for the guards and palace bans in the Western Garden. Do you have the confidence to do a good job?"

Li Fang stopped packing her things and quickly turned around and knelt down, "I will never let you down, my Lord!"

Emperor Jiajing laughed and said, "It's settled then. I'll give you an imperial decree later, and you can take up your post immediately."

Li Fang bowed again: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." Emperor Jiajing looked at Li Fang kneeling so excitedly and seriously, and said again: "When you have nothing to do, remember to go and see Huang Jin, and don't let him be bullied over there."

Emperor Jiajing was still worried about Huang Jin, but at the moment, Chen Hong was more useful than Huang Jin.

Therefore, for the sake of what was to come, Emperor Jiajing had no choice but to let Huang Jin suffer and let Chen Hong take over and do some of the things that he was unwilling to let Huang Jin do, in order to preserve Huang Jin's later years.

On the way to Wenhua Hall, Chen Hong did not stop at all.

He was also very clear that after Emperor Jiajing, the master of the Ming Dynasty would be his previous master, Prince Yu.

So when he came to Prince Yu, Chen Hong was extremely respectful and did not look like a eunuch in the palace at all.

"Your Majesty, I, Chen Hong, pay my respects to you."

When Chen Hong entered the Wenhua Hall, he immediately performed a flattering ceremony the moment he saw Zhu Zaigui.

At this time, Zhu Zaigui was still sighing with Gao Gong about Yuan Wei's sudden death.

Although everyone knew that Yuan Wei would not live long, no one expected that he would die so quickly that he didn't even make it to home.

Zhu Zaigui secretly guessed that Yuan Wei's death might be due to the elixir that Emperor Jiajing later sent someone to bestow upon him, but even Zhu Zaigui could not bring up such a taboo topic.

After all, if this were to be treated as gossip, the consequences would be quite serious.

Therefore, during this period of time, Zhu Zaigui and Gao Gong only sighed about the impermanence of life and did not discuss any other topics.

Now Chen Hong came suddenly. Zhu Zaigui and Gao Gong looked at him and knew why he came without having to guess.

Zhu Zaiqi glanced at Chen Hong calmly, raised his hand slightly and said, "Get up, there is no outsider here, no need to be so cautious."

Chen Hong quickly said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Zaigui asked: "Yuan Wei is dead, what is your majesty's will?"

Chen Hong replied, "Your Majesty has asked me to pass on the order to His Majesty, asking the cabinet to propose a posthumous honor for Yuan Ge Lao, and then a posthumous title. Then, His Majesty will choose an official position for Yuan Ge Lao's son, which can be regarded as the last honor bestowed by the Emperor on Yuan Ge Lao."

Zhu Zaigui nodded and said, "I understand. You go back and report to His Majesty. After I have discussed with the cabinet, I will submit the proposed posthumous title, posthumous name, and official position to be given to his son."

Chen Hong bowed again: "I obey your command."

Then Zhu Zaiqi glanced at Meng Chong beside him and said, "Go and see Chen Hong off."

Meng Chong also responded with a yes, and then went to send Chen Hong back.

When Chen Hong saw Meng Chong coming, he did not show any arrogance. He knew very well that although Meng Chong was far inferior to him in position rank, he was the eunuch who served Prince Yu.

As long as Prince Yu becomes the sole owner of the Forbidden City one day in the future, it is not impossible that Meng Chong will advance to the Imperial Household Department at a very fast speed, and even replace his current position.

Therefore, when dealing with Meng Chong, Chen Hong also maintained a very friendly smile, as if the two of them were close old friends for many years, and he did not treat him condescendingly like he did with Li Fang.

Zhu Zaigui and Gao Gong watched Meng Chong and Chen Hong disappearing from the sky.

They both looked away at the same time and said, "Your Majesty, can you let me notify the cabinet to come over?"

Zhu Zaigui said, "No need. Yuan Wei is dead. You are also the Minister of Rites and are qualified to discuss his affairs after his death. You can go to the cabinet to discuss Yuan Wei's posthumous honors and posthumous titles on my behalf. This will also help you get familiar with the working atmosphere of the cabinet in advance."

After hearing these words, Gao Gong's heart was also burning with excitement. The time had finally come.

Gao Gong bowed to Zhu Zaigui and said, "I obey your command!"

Zhu Zaigui looked at Gao Gong who was so excited and sighed in his heart. What he did was actually a little compensation to Gao Gong, allowing him to enjoy the feeling of discussing important matters in the cabinet.

Take a good look at the differences in the working styles of the Cabinet Grand Secretary and the general Shangshu.

After he arrives in Nanjing, he can get into work with ease.

Gao Gong excitedly bid farewell to Zhu Zaigui and headed towards Wenyuan Pavilion, which was separated from Wenhua Hall by a wall.

In the lobby of Wenyuan Pavilion, the remaining three elders were currently discussing Yuan Wei's posthumous arrangements in advance.

At the same time, they were also waiting for an audience with Emperor Jiajing or Zhu Zaigui, but what they got instead was Gao Gong.

Xu Jie, Li Chunfang and Yan Ne were a little surprised to see Gao Gong coming to the cabinet at this time.

As the chief minister of the cabinet, Xu Jie felt somewhat displeased when he saw Gao Gong, who hardly followed the rules in bowing and greeting when he entered the room. He felt that Gao Gong was becoming more and more unruly.

You have to know that he is still a member of the cabinet. When he meets a cabinet minister who is of a higher status than him, even if he does not perform a full bow, he must at least perform a half bow to show respect.

As a result, Gao Gong entered the Wenyuan Pavilion, just raised his hand and saluted, and came in without waiting for the Zhongshu Sheren in the Wenyuan Pavilion to report, as if he was also a cabinet minister here.

"Mr. Gao, how did you get in?"

Xu Jie didn't even call Gao Gong by his name, but directly used the unfamiliar "Mr. Gao" to address the impolite Gao Gong.

Gao Gong looked at Xu Jie, raised his hands slightly and bowed, "I am here on the orders of the prince to discuss with you all the affairs of Yuan Ge Lao after his death. Have you made any progress with Yuan Fu, Brother Zi Shi (Li Chunfang), and Brother Min Qing (Yan Ne)?"

Xu Jie felt a little unhappy when he heard Gao Gong's reply.

Li Chunfang and Yan Ne also heard that Gao Gong's tone of voice was different from the past. It seemed that Gao Gong now really regarded himself as someone who could be on par with the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet.

However, Li Chunfang and Yan Ne did not mind this matter too much. After all, they were not the Prime Minister. If they were really humiliated by Gao Gong, it was because of Xu Jie's incompetence. What did it have to do with them?
Moreover, Li Chunfang was the key person who recommended Gao Gong to go to Nanjing, and Yan Ne did not express any objection to this.

So at this moment, the two of them were definitely unwilling to show off too much, so as to prevent Gao Gong from hating them when he went to Nanjing in the future.

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Asking for a monthly ticket~~
(End of this chapter)