Chapter 16 The Use of Sons
Chapter 16 The Use of Sons
Just because it’s late at night doesn’t mean everyone will rest.
Because there are always some night owls in this world who are different from ordinary people and have different lifestyles from ordinary people.
But in the Ming Dynasty, it was actually quite pitiful to have a night owl whose schedule was different from that of ordinary people.
They have no cell phones and no nightclubs, so they can only sit alone, stare blankly, and calculate people's hearts to pass the time.
Emperor Jiajing, who had been sitting cross-legged in the abode for a day of cultivation, was now looking at the pile of memorials that Huang Jin had brought in with great energy.
Huang Jin has served Emperor Jiajing for decades, and he has long been accustomed to the Emperor Jiajing's lifestyle.
Therefore, even Huang Jin, who did not practice Taoism, had to stay up late with Emperor Jiajing, an "immortal" who was not aware of cold or heat, day or night.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in from outside the monastery, blowing up countless curtains, and the lights inside the monastery began to sway.
Huang Jin immediately took action upon seeing this, wanting to close the doors and windows of the temple.
But Emperor Jiajing stopped it.
Emperor Jiajing said: "This is the prince coming to bid me farewell, don't move."
Emperor Jiajing's words made Huang Jin's heart skip a beat, and he couldn't help but look cautiously at the empty hall in front of him.
But Huang Jin saw nothing. But since Emperor Jiajing said that it was the prince who came to say goodbye, then it was the prince who came to say goodbye.
So Huang Jin also followed the words of Emperor Jiajing and said: "The prince's filial piety moved heaven. After ascending to heaven, he did not forget to come back to visit the emperor. This servant really loves the emperor."
Emperor Jiajing stood up, wearing only an extremely thin Taoist robe that fluttered in the wind, like an immortal descending to the earth. His eyes looked deeply into the void in the distance, as if he had seen through layers of obstacles and into the heaven of the immortals.
"The difficulty of cultivating immortals lies in establishing immortal roots. When things come to an end, the true nature will be revealed."
"Food and sex cannot change a gentleman's character, but money can easily change a villain's heart."
"Who is not afraid of death and rebirth? Love and hate are both different."
"If you want to become an immortal, you must forget yourself. As long as my heart is not dead, there is no way to the Tao."
Emperor Jiajing recited a Taoist poem written by Lu Dongbin in a vague voice, expressing his feelings about the difficulty of practicing Taoism, while also lamenting the sudden death of Crown Prince Zhu Zaigang.
"It's a good thing that the Crown Prince ascended to heaven. I shouldn't be sad."
After saying this, Emperor Jiajing couldn't help but wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes.
Although Emperor Jiajing had practiced Taoism for a long time and almost became an immortal, the pain of separation from his family still touched his heart and reminded him that he was still a human being.
Huang Jin couldn't help but shed tears when he heard Emperor Jiajing feel sad for the dead prince.
"The Emperor is also an immortal. When he ascends to the immortal world in the future, he will naturally meet the Crown Prince again. I only ask the Emperor to take care of himself now and not hurt the dragon body."
Huang Jin looked at Emperor Jiajing standing in the cold wind and said this with genuine pain.
But Emperor Jiajing did not feel cold, although he was standing in the cold wind and wearing thin clothes, but because the elixir he took daily was too hot and contained too much lead and mercury, Emperor Jiajing's perception of the surrounding environment was also different from that of ordinary people. Sometimes when others should wear thick clothes, he felt comfortable in the cold wind, and sometimes when others wore thin clothes, he felt comfortable in thick clothes.
It can be said that the long years of cultivation and taking elixirs have brought about fundamental changes in the physical condition of Emperor Jiajing. However, Emperor Jiajing mistakenly believed that his cultivation was successful and his mortal body was transforming into an immortal body.
Emperor Jiajing looked at the worried Huang Jin and laughed, "I am an immortal. The cold wind from the mortal world cannot invade my body."
After saying this, Emperor Jiajing opened his arms and felt the cold wind blowing in from outside more comfortably.
The wind blew up the sleeves of his Taoist robe, as well as his hair and beard. Standing in front of the door of the temple, he looked like a banished immortal in the world who could stir up the wind and clouds.
After the wind blew for a while, when it died down, Emperor Jiajing turned around and looked at Huang Jin, and said in a somewhat friendly tone: "Huang Ban, do you know? San'er is fine, he was just frightened by the news about the prince. This child has been timid since he was young, do you think he can win the fight?"
Huang Jin also laughed when he heard what Emperor Jiajing said. Huang Jin came over and supported Emperor Jiajing's arm, saying, "Your Majesty, you are really worried about me. When I went to see Prince Yu today, Prince Yu was very powerful and almost beat up the imperial physician. In my opinion, Prince Yu is a man who will make a big splash if he doesn't make a big splash."
When Huang Jin said this he was not speaking for Zhu Zaigui, but for Emperor Jiajing.
Who would be so foolish as to follow the emperor's words and say that the emperor's son is not good enough?
Although Huang Jin was a close companion of Emperor Jiajing, it did not mean that Huang Jin could disparage the prince at will.
When Emperor Jiajing heard that Zhu Zaigui wanted to beat the imperial physician, he immediately became interested and said with a smile: "Tell me what's going on?"
Huang Jin said: "Prince Yu has an upright character and a pure and filial heart. He was unable to accept the news of the crown prince's ascension to heaven and fainted from anger. When he woke up, the imperial physician was checking his pulse. Prince Yu was so angry that he could not hold back and punched him. Who knew that the imperial physician was also stupid and tied Prince Yu up directly."
"When I went to visit Prince Yu as ordered by the Emperor, Prince Yu had already recovered and realized his impulsiveness. He took the initiative to apologize to the doctor who came to treat him, and made up a story from the Compendium of Materia Medica to coax the doctor into a trance. In the end, he took the initiative to thank Prince Yu again."
"So in my opinion, Prince Yu is very smart and has the demeanor of an emperor."
After hearing what Huang Jin said, Emperor Jiajing smiled, "Really? Not bad, not bad. I thought he was always weak and worried that he couldn't stand the storm. Now it's good, I'm relieved."
After saying this, a meaningful look appeared in Emperor Jiajing's eyes again. He looked at the bright moon in the sky from afar, as if he felt that everything was back under control.
As for the deceased prince, he is no longer within the consideration of Emperor Jiajing.
What Emperor Jiajing is considering now is how to balance the power between Yan Song and Xu Jie.
In the heart of Emperor Jiajing, Yan Song is a good dog, but he cannot be allowed to be too fierce, as that would be counterproductive, so someone has to restrain him.
Originally, Emperor Jiajing wanted to use Zhang Zhi, but after transferring Zhang Zhi from Nanjing, Jiajing discovered that Zhang Zhi was really old and could no longer support the banner of confronting Yan Song.
Therefore, in order to ensure the checks and balances in the court, Emperor Jiajing promoted Xu Jie to the position of Minister of Rites, so that he could replace Zhang Zhi at any time and become the second assistant of the cabinet.
Now that the crown prince has died suddenly, these two forces will inevitably focus their attention on the successor to the crown prince.
So after reading the memorial submitted by Lan Daoxing stating that Prince Yu did not suffer from amnesia, Emperor Jiajing became cheerful.
What pleased him was not whether Prince Yu was in good health, but that his two sons were just right and could become his tools to control his ministers and provide constant support for his great cause of cultivating immortals.
(End of this chapter)