Chapter 99 The real person in power in the Ming Dynasty, Ma Xiuying!
Kunning Palace.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Jin has arrived."

When Wang Jinghong's voice sounded, Zhu Gangren had already stepped into Kunning Palace.

"Dad, Mom, what do you want from me?"

Zhu Gang sat down next to Zhu Biao, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang who was leaning on the couch, and Empress Ma who was sewing shoe soles, and asked.

"A few days ago, I heard that you asked your mother for an imperial decree, and then went to our inner storehouse to move a few treasures back?"

Seeing Zhu Gang take his seat, Zhu Yuanzhang slowly spoke.

"Well, there is such a thing."

Zhu Gang nodded without even thinking about it.

"My Jin Palace is short of famous paintings and treasures for decoration, so it's not too much to go to your inner storehouse to move two treasures, right?"

After a pause, Zhu Gang spoke again.

"It's not too much, but Dad is really reluctant to part with that original Lu You painting."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand casually, with a hint of heartache in his eyes, and said, "So, Third Brother, send it back to Dad, and you can go to the inner treasury to pick two treasures, how about that?"

"Unless you have Wang Youjun's calligraphy, no need to discuss this."

Zhu Gang curled his lips.

"Wang Youjun?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly stunned. Is this a great calligrapher?

"hehe."

Zhu Fan sneered.

Zhu Biao also looked at Zhu Yuanzhang helplessly.

"You have been studying books all your life, but you don't even know the nickname of the calligrapher Wang Xizhi."

Empress Ma rolled her eyes at Zhu Yuanzhang before speaking.

Wang Xizhi, also known by his courtesy name Yi Shao, was a famous calligrapher during the Eastern Jin Dynasty and was known as the "Saint of Calligraphy".

He was born in Linyi, Langya, and came from a noble family. He served as General of the Right Army and Internal Historian of Kuaiji, so he was called "Wang Youjun".

Wang Xizhi's calligraphy attainments were extremely high. His representative work "Lanting Preface" is praised as "the best running script in the world". Its brushwork is exquisite and its structure is varied. It has both the natural fluency of Taoism and the rules and regulations of Confucianism, and has a profound influence on calligraphy in later generations.

After thousands of years, it is still highly respected.

Even Zhu Gang sent people to collect Wang Xizhi's authentic works, hoping to get a glimpse of the style of the calligrapher!
"I remember, of course I remember, I just forgot about it for a moment."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled awkwardly.

"You little bastard! I haven't even seen the authentic works of the Sage of Calligraphy yet, and you still want to get my hands on them!"

However, Zhu Yuanzhang changed the subject and looked at Zhu Gang, speaking unhappily.

"So, I refuse."

Zhu Yuanzhang was not happy about it, but Zhu Gang still refused without caring.

Anyway, it’s useless for Zhu Yuanzhang to say anything today!

After all, this authentic work of Lu You has almost become the treasure of Yi Jiangnan, so if it is returned to Zhu Yuanzhang, wouldn't Zhu Gang be at a huge loss?
"Then send it to the palace so that we can admire it, right?"

In response, Zhu Yuanzhang still looked at Zhu Gang with a smile.

"this is OK."

This time Zhu Gang did not refuse but nodded.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Wang Jinghong who was guarding the door and shouted, "Go to the Prince of Jin's Mansion and get back Lu You's original work for us."

"Wait.! So fast?"

Zhu Gang was slightly stunned, obviously not expecting that Zhu Yuanzhang would want to watch it now?
"What? What do you think?"

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Gang and said.

"No problem, but I'll have someone get it."

"After all, that original Lu You painting is my treasured collection, so no one except my confidants knows where it is."

Zhu Gang shook his head.

"Sister, do you want to leave the palace?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang ignored Zhu Gang, but turned to look at Empress Ma and asked.

"Ok?"

Queen Ma raised her head, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

"Let's take you out of the palace today."

"Let's go to the third brother's mansion and take a look at our original painting of Lu You."

Zhu Yuanzhang still looked at Empress Ma with a smile.

"Yeah. It just so happens that I haven't left the palace for a long time."

Queen Ma immediately understood and nodded with a smile.

"Um??!"

In response, Zhu Gang's eyes widened.

Once Old Zhu and Old Ma leave the palace, wouldn't all the things he did with Zhu Biao be exposed?

Furthermore, where in the Prince of Jin’s Mansion was there an authentic work of Lu You for Zhu Yuanzhang to appreciate?
Isn’t that Reminiscing about Jiangnan?

etc.
“Why does this feel like a trap?”

Zhu Gang slowly turned his head and looked at Zhu Biao beside him, and saw that there was no strange expression on Zhu Biao's face.

He immediately understood that Old Zhu might have already known about their brothers' activities, otherwise, given Zhu Biao's temperament, he would definitely not let Old Zhu leave the palace today.

But this guy hasn't dared to say a word until now. Isn't that enough proof?

"Dad, could it be that we, father and son, have already doubted each other to this extent?"

Zhu Gang, who had figured it out, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and sighed.

"Well, what does that mean?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Gang and raised his eyebrows.

"Old man, just say what you want to say. Don't beat around the bush, okay?"

As soon as Zhu Gang finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly stood up and kicked Zhu Gang with his leg.

"Ouch!"

As Zhu Gang's screams rang out, Zhu Biao couldn't bear to watch and chose to close his eyes.

Empress Ma, who was sitting nearby, watched with great interest as Zhu Yuanzhang beat Zhu Gang.

As for why she did not stop it, it was because Empress Ma knew that Zhu Yuanzhang would not really beat her.

After all, the one who loves Zhu Gang the most in the Zhu family is Zhu Yuanzhang in front of him, right?

So the most he could do was to teach Zhu Gang a lesson, but there was no way he could really use any harsh measures.

"Old man, if you hit me again, I will fight back. Hey hey hey hey!"

"Father and son have a deep bond. It's inappropriate for you to draw your sword!"

Zhu Gang finally managed to toughen himself up, but he didn't expect that he would be so angry that he drew the sword of the guard next to him.

"Fight back?"

"You little brat, your dad beat you up, and you still want to fight back?"

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and raised his leg again!
These kicks are so hard!

Fortunately, Zhu Gang is not a cripple, otherwise, Old Zhu would really catch Zhu Gang's good leg and kick him hard!
"Okay, okay, you are awesome, I was wrong, I was wrong!"

After a long time, Zhu Gang, who was slightly bruised and stiff all over, quickly stretched out his hands, put them in front of him, and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang to beg for mercy.

"Humph!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, but his foot finally stopped.

"You won't stop me?"

But he changed the subject and glanced at Zhu Biao beside him, with a hint of sneer in his tone.

"I'm afraid you won't enjoy it."

When Zhu Biao was asked, he was a little confused for a moment, but he still scratched his head awkwardly.

"Not having fun?"

"Then you let Dad have all the fun!"

As he spoke, Old Zhu kicked Zhu Biao again.

For a moment, Zhu Biao's howling was heard again in Kunning Palace, and it did not stop until a long time later.

Afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was tired of fighting, looked at his two sons with bruised faces and noses, and said unhappily, "Prince, Prince Jin, please explain to us, what's going on with Yi Jiangnan?"

"Sure enough!" Zhu Gang said in his heart.

"Chang Mao did it!"

"The third brother and I did it!"

But the two brothers looked at each other and then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang together.

Just uh uh
As the voice fell, Kunning Palace fell into silence instantly, leaving only two brothers who were a little embarrassed.

"It seems that Prince, Prince Jin haven't come to an agreement yet. Do you need to go out and discuss it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyes slightly, his tone still somewhat playful.

"Ahem. We did this together with Chang Mao."

Zhu Gang thought about this and shook his head.

"Brother, confess. The old man knows everything."

Unlike Zhu Gang, whose face remained calm and whose heart was not beating, Zhu Biao covered his eyes and spoke.

As soon as these words came out, Zhu Gang's eyes widened.

"Boss, you are not kind!"

"Since you have confessed everything, I just arrived at Kunning Palace, can you give me some hints?"

Zhu Gang immediately looked at Zhu Biao with an unhappy face and shouted.

"Who said I didn't give you any hints?"

"Fuck it, my eyes are almost crooked, and you didn't even look at me!"

Zhu Biao curled his lips.

As soon as Zhu Gang arrived at Kunning Palace, Zhu Biao's eyes almost popped out, but Zhu Gang didn't react at all. So could Zhu Biao be blamed for this?
"Damn it, you only know how to blink when something happens. Can't you give me some other hints?"

But in response, Zhu Gang still glared at Zhu Biao and cursed.

Just poor and arrogant.
"My grandma is also your grandma!"

Zhu Biao also looked at Zhu Gang and shouted, not wanting to be outdone.

Queen Ma:?

"How did my mother provoke you two?"

Seeing that the two brothers were cursing more and more outrageously, Empress Ma, who had been watching the show, could no longer bear it. She stood up and walked in front of Zhu Biao and Zhu Gang, while pulling one of their ears, and then spoke.

"My lady, be gentle, it hurts!"

The two brothers, whose ears had just been pulled by Queen Ma, felt a sharp pain instantly and cried out in unison.

It would be fine if Old Ma didn't take action, but once he did, he was even more ruthless than Old Zhu!

"Wrong, wrong!"

Seeing that Empress Ma still refused to let go, Zhu Gang and Zhu Biao quickly admitted their mistakes, but they glared at the two brothers before letting go.

"Now let's talk about it."

"We have issued a clear order prohibiting officials from engaging in business, and we have also suppressed merchants, but you two brothers are openly violating our national policy?"

After Empress Ma sat back down beside him, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the two Zhu Gang brothers and continued, "Do you need to give us an explanation for this?"

"It's easy to explain, actually. In short, it's just that we're short of money."

Zhu Gang directly spread out his hands, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said: "If you have silver, then your son does not want to do business. After all, the court, where does not need silver?"

"Yes."

Zhu Gang also nodded with some emotion.

"Don't even mention him as the fourth brother. Look at my eldest brother. He lives a simple life in the East Palace. He does the same old things all day long. It makes me feel sad when I see him."

"And your mother's Kunning Palace, apart from the banquets you entertain the nobles and ministers, is almost always occupied by the same old things every day. As a son, how can I not feel distressed when I see this?"

"So I teamed up with the eldest brother of the Chang family to create Yi Jiangnan, hoping to make some money."

Having said this, Zhu Gang raised his head again and said, "After all, you called me back to the capital, but you never gave me a penny of salary from beginning to end."

To put it bluntly, since the day he returned to Beijing, Zhu Gang has been taking out money and has never taken any money back.

In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang is now clearly a hands-off boss. Except for government affairs, which Zhu Gang does not need to be involved in, almost everything is handled by Zhu Gang and his brothers.

But the treasury has only recently become rich in silver, and it cannot be moved lightly.

After all, it involved the operation of the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes, so most of the expenses were figured out by Zhu Gang and Zhu Biao after racking their brains.

"Didn't you reject the salary we set for you?"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand nonchalantly.

"So you really won't send it?"

Zhu Gang said with his eyes wide open.

"Aren't we waiting for you, a stinky boy, to make up your mind again?"

Zhu Yuanzhang glared back, not wanting to be outdone.

"Then you should issue an abdication decree now and give the throne to the boss directly. We will discuss matters with the boss in the future."

"Since you have to let us make decisions for you on everything, what's the point of being the emperor? Do you really want to use your son as a laborer? Don't even think about it!"

In response, Zhu Gang sneered and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with disdain, "And if you continue like this, I will not take care of this mess. You find someone to take over, and I will go back to Taiyuan to enjoy my life."

"Forehead"

After Zhu Gang's verbal criticism, even Zhu Yuanzhang, who was thick-skinned, couldn't help but feel a little hot.

Indeed, recent days have been too carefree. He has money and a good life. Apart from dealing with state affairs, he also loves the concubines in the harem.

Tsk tsk, these days are indeed quite pleasant.

After all, my sons are now grown up and have great abilities.

The eldest brother, Zhu Biao, assisted in the administration of the government, and all civil and military officials dared not disobey his orders.

The second son, Zhu Chong, went to the south of the Yangtze River in imperial robes and performed the three tasks of allocating land tax, measuring farmland, and requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes together without any fault.

As for the third brother Zhu Gang, he stayed in the capital, stabilized people's hearts, solved the drawbacks of the Ming Treasure Notes, and brought the credibility of the Ming Treasure Notes to a new height!
So, as a father, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with Lao Zhu being a little indulgent, right?

While Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking, Zhu Biao's eyes also showed a trace of resentment and said: "Indeed, my son hasn't spent a long time with Qingyun and Xiongying. How about letting my son take a break?"

"Well, there's also the third child. Isn't it time for him to get married too?"

After a pause, Zhu Biao pointed at Zhu Gang again.

As soon as this sound was heard, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that something bad was going to happen!
really!

As soon as she finished speaking, Empress Ma put down the sole of her shoe, stretched out her hand to strangle Zhu Yuanzhang's collar, and said coldly: "Isn't it time for my son to get married?"

An explosion like the roar of a lion!

It echoed throughout the Kunning Palace!

Old Zhu was so frightened that his face turned pale!

Although Empress Ma is usually quite gentle, once Zhu Gang's marriage is involved, this woman will explode in an instant.

"It should be done!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the angry Queen Ma and nodded repeatedly.

He was afraid that this woman would hit him in front of his son.

"Then find Xie Cheng and discuss the marriage."

Queen Ma then stopped and let go of Old Zhu's collar.

"Uh-huh."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Gang, who shrank his neck, and waved his hand at Wang Jinghong at the door, saying, "Go and ask Xie Cheng to come to Kunning Palace."

"According to the order."

Wang Jinghong bowed, put it down and stepped back.

"continue."

Seeing this, Queen Ma waved her hand with satisfaction.

"Forehead"

Zhu Gang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Yuanzhang looked at each other with bitter smiles in their eyes.

The real person in power in the Ming Dynasty is Ma Xiuying!
"Anyway, Yi Jiangnan is already open, and you want me to close it, which is impossible."

"so."

Zhu Gang paused for a moment, then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said with a smile: "Why not redefine the commercial tax?"

"What do you think?"

After saying this, Zhu Gang and Zhu Biao both looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated for a moment, but still shook his head.
　There is still one today. Because I am in the countryside of Guizhou and am still busy, I will find time to update it. I will post it in the evening at the latest. Thank you brothers!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)