20demayo Chapter 18 Sending him to the Prince's Mansion
Chapter 18 Sending him to the Prince's Mansion
The sudden appearance of the term "elder nephew" sent shivers down Li Jinglong's spine.
Then they started complaining, "Whoever is Zhu Laosi's nephew never ends up well. Let's not even talk about Zhu Yunwen, you stole his throne."
Zhu Yunwen, you imprisoned him for his entire life, and you didn't even spare your original nephew!
"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Yan!" Respectful etiquette must be observed, so Li Jinglong cupped his hands in greeting.
"Why are we being so polite!" Zhu Di pulled Li Jinglong aside and exclaimed, "Four years have passed in the blink of an eye! My cousin passed away, and we didn't even go back. I feel ashamed!"
"His Highness Prince Yan is ordered to guard the border. My father understands, and so do I!" Li Jinglong said, but in his heart he kept sizing up the Yongle Emperor in front of him.
The Jingnan Rebellion, the voyages to the Western Ocean, the five campaigns against the Mongols, and the compilation of the Yongle Encyclopedia—his civil and military achievements, even on a historical scale, deserve the title of Emperor Taizong.
Of course, behind Zhu Di's civil and military achievements, there were two major background figures: Zhu Yunwen and Li Jinglong.
Faced with Zhu Di's enthusiasm, Li Jinglong had a slight unease, but it quickly disappeared without a trace.
Unlike his relationship with Zhu Biao, which was more like that of an elder and a junior, Zhu Di's relationship with Li Jinglong was more like that of brothers.
This further solidified Li Jinglong's belief that the original owner was just an actor, and that the entire Jingnan Campaign was a conspiracy between the imperial clan and Wu Xun to betray Zhu Yunwen!
"Enough of that! It's all in the past!" Zhu Di changed the subject abruptly. "Come on, it's been a long time since we've met, we should drink until we drop!"
"Let's drink to our hearts' content!" Li Jinglong replied with a smile.
The banquet was held directly inside the Prince of Yan's residence. The two grown men, amidst clinking glasses and exchanging toasts, reminisced about the past.
"Time flies! I remember back then, you, Sixth Prince, and Twelfth Prince were all my little shadows!"
"Ha! Every time something happens, it's always me and Prince Xiang who get punished. My great-uncle's shoe sole hit me right in the face that time!"
"The mere mention of the twelfth prince makes me miss him terribly. I haven't seen him since the year my mother passed away, and I wonder how he's doing in Jingzhou?"
"Him? He's living the high life! Last year when he went to his fiefdom, I was the one who saw him off from the capital!"
Li Jinglong put down his wine cup and inquired about the letter he had written to Zhu Di a few days ago. "Let's not talk about the twelfth prince for now. Did you receive the letter I sent you a few days ago?"
"Received it! The day after I received it, I got an imperial decree saying you were coming over, so I didn't reply!"
Zhu Di nodded. "However, regarding what you mentioned in your letter—the Hu women and Mongolian chefs—I can procure them for you, but Arabs are scarce even in Beiping!"
After saying that, Zhu Di asked with a curious look, "I haven't asked you yet, why are you buying these Hu women?"
Li Jinglong smiled slightly: "It's a secret of heaven! You'll know when you get to Nanjing!"
"Don't play games with me!" Zhu Di rolled his eyes at Li Jinglong and snorted, "Return to the capital? Who knows when I'll be back! You know perfectly well that without the Emperor's decree, who dares to leave their fiefdom!"
Seeing Zhu Di's distressed expression, Li Jinglong also felt some sympathy for Zhu's sons, not for their material plight, but for their spiritual suffering.
Take Zhu Di for example. He was made a prince at the age of ten and took up his fief at the age of twenty. He was kicked from the bustling capital to the border region of Beiping by the old Zhu. As for Prince Xiang, Zhu Bai, he was even worse off. He took up his fief at the age of fifteen!
Not only were they all alone, but their fiefdoms were all in harsh, desolate border regions. They were also required to lead troops into battle at any time, and without imperial decree, they were not allowed to leave their fiefdoms, thus restricting their freedom.
However, Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, and Prince Qi, Zhu Fu, are not worthy of any sympathy. They committed all sorts of evil deeds in their fiefdoms. According to Li Jinglong's idea, the most suitable fiefdom for them is to guard the ancestral tombs in Fengyang.
"I've set up a club in Nanjing, and I plan to use maids from countries like Arabia, Semu, and Silla. As for the food, it has to have flavors from all over the world!" Li Jinglong revealed to Zhu Di.
"A private club?" Zhu Di asked, his face full of doubt. "Now that you mention it, it sounds a lot like a brothel!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jinglong smirked, "No, a brothel is a brothel. My club is a place to listen to music and drink tea, with some delicious food and hot springs on the side!"
"Just imagine, soaking in a hot spring while drinking and listening to music, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"You really know how to enjoy life!" Zhu Di said with envy. "The Qinhuai River! Come to think of it, it's been seven or eight years since I've been there!"
"It's not like there aren't any in Beiping!" Li Jinglong naturally didn't believe it.
"Even if I were there, I'd have to be able to do the divination!" Zhu Di said irritably. "You know what kind of temper my female scholar has!"
Fine! You, Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun, I'm not getting involved!
"Drink! Drink!" Li Jinglong laughed, raising his cup. He then leaned closer to Zhu Di and whispered, "Which place in Beiping is the best? I want to go and see for myself!"
Zhu Di glanced at Li Jinglong: "I've never been there!"
After saying that, she whispered, "I heard them say that Yuexianglou is the best!"
Li Jinglong gave a knowing smile, and the two exchanged a knowing smile.
After a couple of drinks, Zhu Di asked, puzzled, "You just inherited the title, why is Father Emperor assigning you to the position of Imperial Censor?"
Upon hearing Zhu Di's question, Li Jinglong pondered whether he should reveal the truth to Zhu Di, since Zhu Di had been in Beiping for a long time and, as a local strongman, would know a lot of information.
"To be honest, although His Majesty sent me to inspect the operation of the opening ceremony in various towns along the border, I came here specifically to see Marquis Yichun!" Li Jinglong said.
"Marquis Yichun?"
"Hmm!" Li Jinglong nodded.
"Could it also be because of the caravan incident?" Zhu Di guessed.
"How did you know?" Li Jinglong was startled and asked.
Zhu Di curled his lip and said disdainfully, "Some time ago, Zengshou wrote to me saying that the grain his family's caravan brought was not allowed to be stored in the Tongzhou granary, and he wanted me to look into it."
But even when I sent people, it didn't work out. In the end, I had no choice but to sell it to the Marquis of Yichun's mansion. Later, I found out that Huang Bin was the one who interfered. The people at the border only recognized the Huang family's caravans!
"Even the merchant caravans of the Duke of Wei's mansion have been kicked out?" This time, it was Li Jinglong's turn to be surprised!
When Xu Da was stationed in Beiping, Huang Bin was under his command. Unexpectedly, Huang Bin showed no gratitude whatsoever, and even Zhu Di's words had no effect.
Li Jinglong was a little confused. Where did Huang Bin get such confidence?
"Could it be that your Cao State Duke's caravan has also been kicked out?" Zhu Di looked Li Jinglong up and down and guessed.
Li Jinglong gave a wry smile and nodded.
"That bastard! He's so ungrateful! Back when he was under the command of the Prince of Zhongshan and my cousin, they protected him a lot!" Zhu Di was furious.
After the founding of the country, although the meritorious generals also began to enjoy themselves, they still made many contributions and received awards, whether in border defense or in battle.
But Huang Bin was different. Since being enfeoffed as a marquis in the third year of Hongwu's reign, Huang Bin not only did nothing but also indulged in wine and women and became depraved.
Xu Da and Li Wenzhong noticed the frequent mistakes but didn't dwell on them.
"Your Highness, do you or Xu Zengshou have any leverage over us? Although I am only on inspection this time, if this grudge is not avenged, Huang Bin will definitely look down on my Cao State Duke's Mansion. So I am going to teach him a lesson!" Li Jinglong asked, a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes.
Zhu Di looked at Li Jinglong in surprise: "Even if Huang Bin is not the best, he is still a founding marquis. What you're doing is stirring up infighting among the nobles!"
"It was Huang Bin who acted ungratefully first, what does it have to do with me?" Li Jinglong said nonchalantly.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Di smiled and nodded, saying nothing more. Looking at the somewhat messy table, his eyes flickered, and he said, "Let's go, let's find another place and continue!"
"Want some more?" Li Jinglong glanced at the empty wine pot on the table. Although it was yellow wine with a low alcohol content, the two of them had still drunk quite a bit.
"Let's go somewhere else. Aren't you curious?" A barely perceptible smile flickered across Zhu Di's lips.
Upon hearing this, Li Jinglong immediately stood up: "Let's go!"
Yuexianglou, the most famous brothel in Beiping, was where Li Jinglong and Zhu Di stayed until night.
Although it cannot compare to the Jiangnan region, its location on the frontier gives the local Hu women and Semu people a unique charm.
However, when Li Jinglong looked at the bill that amounted to five hundred taels, a constipated expression immediately appeared on his face.
Damn it, I was careless!
No wonder Zhu Laosi ran faster than anyone else just now!
You brought me here without paying the bill? Is that something a human being would do?
Li Jinglong grew angrier the more he thought about it. No wonder you made all this fuss, you were just waiting for me here!
"Li Er, put this on the Prince of Yan's tab, and have them send the note to the Prince of Yan's residence later!"
"Young master, this..." Li Er's lips twitched. Was this even possible?
Li Jinglong waved his hand: "We'll treat everyone when we get to Beiping. What if the Prince of Yan blames us later? Do as I say. I'm going back now!"