GBP Chapter 86 Empress Ma: Stop learning to brag from your father!
Chapter 86 Empress Ma: Stop learning to brag from your father!
Seeing Jin'er bowing gracefully, Zhu Biao quickly stood up and reached out to help her up, saying, "Sister Jin'er, please rise quickly."
From now on, we can no longer treat Jin'er like an ordinary palace maid.
As the saying goes, if you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way. Since you've already decided to recognize Yu'er as your godparent, isn't Yu'er's twin sister Jin'er also your godparent? Since they're godparents, you can't treat Jin'er like an ordinary palace maid anymore.
After Jin'er got up, Zhu Biao pointed to a stool next to him and said, "Please sit down, Jin'er."
Empress Ma smiled and said, "Please sit down. From now on, we're family."
After Jin'er carefully sat down, Empress Ma smiled and said to Zhu Biao, "Go and make the arrangements. Have someone take Jin'er and Yu'er to Ningyang County. If they really fall in love, then I will arrange their marriage. If they are not destined to be together, then come back as soon as possible. Our daughters are not worried about getting married."
Empress Ma's words made Jin'er's heart pound.
What does it mean to take Jin'er and Yu'er to Ningyang County?
Could it be that the sisters married at the same time?
If that's really the case... it would be great if twin sisters could marry the same husband, but what exactly is this Magistrate Yang capable of that the imperial family would go to such lengths to get him to do so?
If the intention is truly only to cultivate them into loyal ministers, then the effort put into this is far too much, and it even seems to underestimate the talents of Jiangnan. After all, Jiangnan produces talented individuals, and some of those talented individuals are willing to become loyal ministers.
Jin'er's mind was racing. She wanted to hurry back and tell her younger sister Yu'er the news, but she was also thinking wildly about the magistrate surnamed Yang. One moment she thought it would be great for the sisters to marry together, but the next she was afraid that the magistrate surnamed Yang would become a lone official and would inevitably meet a bad end. What would become of her and her sister then?
After all, she was only a seventeen-year-old girl. Even though she had been by Empress Ma's side for a long time and had seen many grand occasions, when it came to the lifelong affairs of her and her sister, a girl's thoughts were hard to hide, and even more so from the well-informed Empress Ma.
Empress Ma smiled slightly, first calling Jin'er to sit down beside her, and then taking Jin'er's hand.
"Don't worry," Empress Ma said with a smile, "His Majesty would never want that Magistrate Yang to be a lone official. Even if His Majesty were willing, I would never want to part with you two sisters."
Jin'er lowered her head shyly and only gave a soft "hmm," her voice barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz.
Empress Ma patted Jin'er's hand and smiled, "You must remember what your mother said. If you truly like Magistrate Yang, your mother will stand up for you two sisters. If you don't like him, you don't have to force yourself. Do you understand?"
Jin'er hummed softly again, "Yes, Jin'er has remembered it all."
Empress Ma smiled and said, "Alright, go and talk to Yu'er. Let's hear what that clever girl has to say. If she doesn't want to go, I won't force her. As I always say, our daughters are not worried about getting married."
After Jin'er took her leave, Empress Ma sighed softly and said, "With Jin'er and Yu'er here, can you two rest assured?"
Zhu Biao chuckled and replied, "Don't worry, Mother's arrangements are perfectly fine for me."
After a slight pause, Zhu Biao continued, "How about we have the second and third princes, along with the Chang brothers, Chang Mao and Chang Sheng, escort Jin'er and Yu'er to Ningyang County? The reason? Just say that my father wants the princes to see the hardships of ordinary people."
The second and third sons that Zhu Biao mentioned were Zhu Shuang, the second son of Emperor Zhu Chongba, and Zhu Gang, the third son. These two sons, along with the fourth son Zhu Di and the fifth son Zhu Su, were all born to Empress Ma, just like Zhu Biao. They were raised and cared for by Zhu Biao from a young age, and were truly the closest of brothers.
As for the brothers Chang Mao and Chang Sheng, they are Chang Yuchun's two sons, the younger brothers of Chang's wife, and thus Zhu Biao's future brother-in-law.
Arranging such a luxurious escort for Jin'er and Yu'er...
Empress Ma frowned slightly, not immediately agreeing to Zhu Biao's suggestion: "Even if Magistrate Yang has extraordinary talent, aren't you afraid that if you treat him like this, he will become arrogant in the future?"
Zhu Biao smiled and shook his head, saying, "If it weren't for the fact that the fourth and fifth sons are still too young, I would actually like to let them come along too."
"It's not that I want to praise Magistrate Yang too much, but I want my second, third, fourth, and fifth sons to go out and see what real life in the countryside is like. It would be best if they could experience some hardship."
"Besides, even if Magistrate Yang becomes arrogant and lazy, it doesn't matter. As long as he's not a god who can fly or disappear, I can handle him."
Empress Ma glared at Zhu Biao and snorted coldly, "You talk as if you've suffered some great hardship? Have you suffered more than half as much as your father? And you always think you can manipulate this person or that person. Stop learning to brag from your father. Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"
After reprimanding Zhu Biao, Empress Ma took out another letter and handed it to him, saying, "Take a look at this one. After you've read it, tell me what you think."
Seeing that Empress Ma spoke solemnly, Zhu Biao did not turn to the last page as usual, but slowly read from the beginning. After reading it two or three times, Zhu Biao let out a cold laugh.
“My dad is right. Some people are just insatiable and greedy.”
"Just like many scholars who say they would rather die than serve as officials and to remain loyal to the Tartar emperor, while there are certainly some who are truly loyal to the Tartar emperor, the vast majority only miss the Tartar court's 'lenient governance' and are thinking about how to collect taxes as before and how to ride on the necks of the common people to bully them."
"These gentry are the same. The reason they went into the deep mountains and forests when the Tartars withdrew from Shandong was to avoid the war and to see how the Ming Dynasty court and government treated them. They rushed to ask for land on the day of their leave, with this in mind."
"Unfortunately," Zhu Biao said with a sneer, "they ran into Magistrate Yang, who doesn't follow the rules, and my father, who has hated them and the Tartar government since he was a child. Before they could even use their usual invincible methods, my father had them all killed."
Empress Ma nodded slightly and said, "The northern lands are newly annexed and not yet stable. The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun are still in the hands of the barbarians. If these local gentry start a riot, how should we deal with them?"
Zhu Biao waved the letter in his hand: "Hasn't my father already set an example? Those who should be killed should be killed, and those who should be exiled should be exiled. As long as Uncle Xu and Uncle Chang and those other nobles don't cause trouble, the army won't fall into chaos. If the army doesn't fall into chaos, what are a few local gentry worth?"
At this point, a gloating look appeared on Zhu Biao's face: "I originally thought my father was going to be in trouble. After all, those civil officials have the power to write, and who knows how they will talk about my father and me in the future."
Empress Ma said "Oh," and Zhu Biao continued, "But now I've changed my mind, because my father has sent Liu Hongchang and the men of Master Geng's family to Ningyang County. From now on, it's Magistrate Yang who will be the one to worry about!"