Chapter 22

The spring day was warm, with a light breeze.

Wei Qing and several young Eunuchs led a young girl, walking slowly from the direction of the Wanli Emperor.

The girl appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen, her face like a flower, her skin like snow, and her temperament like an orchid.

Her almond eyes fluttered, her nose was petite and exquisite, her lips were red like rose petals, her neck was fair and delicate, and her breasts were the size of eggplants.

She wore a tight-fitting red palace gown that accentuated a waist as slender as a willow, a natural beauty.

This girl was none other than the future Zheng Guifei.

Five days ago, Zhang Yunxiu had found Xu Jue and asked him to speak with Feng Bao, saying he wanted to find a palace maid.

Although Feng Bao was suspicious, he still helped with this favor.

Soon, Zhang Yunxiu met Zheng Yufeng.

At the very first sight of this woman, Zhang Yunxiu understood why she was favored.

She was beautiful without being gaudy, charming without being seductive; though she had entered the palace, she still possessed the liveliness and daintiness of a girl from the outside world.

It was no wonder she could bewitch the Wanli Emperor to the point of losing his soul.

When the two met, Zhang Yunxiu did not mince words and asked directly, "Are you named Zheng Yufeng? Do you have an older brother named Zheng Guotai, a father named Zheng Chengxian, and are you from Yingtian Prefecture?"

Zheng Yufeng became alert, then nodded with difficulty.

Next, Zhang Yunxiu's words left her dumbfounded. "If you want to climb higher, wait for me at the Huangji Gate in five days. I will grant you a great fortune."

Zheng Yufeng looked wary and hesitated, "This young master, although I do not know what methods you used to find me, I am a palace maid and you are an outside official. It is already against protocol for us to meet, and the Huangji Gate is where the Emperor holds court."

"I only ask you one thing: do you want to climb higher?" Zhang Yunxiu interrupted her.

"I do!"

Zheng Yufeng nodded in agreement.

Upon entering this palace, what woman did not want to gain the Emperor's favor? Although Zheng Yufeng prided herself on her beauty, her family was not wealthy, and she had no money to bribe the Eunuchs and matrons; she had only been in the palace for a few months, yet she had already experienced the cruelty of the deep palace.

Without money or power, one was not even as good as a dog.

Seeing her interest, Zhang Yunxiu continued to entice her: "As long as you want to, I can give you a chance. Do you dare to gamble? Will you continue to cower here,"

"waiting for the Emperor to summon you, or will you take a gamble with me? If you win the bet, you will rise to great heights, and perhaps even I will have to rely on your favor."

"And if I lose the bet?"

"If you lose, I can still protect your life and ensure your family's wealth." Zhang Yunxiu smiled at her and added, "As long as I am still around."

"Very well, I will gamble on this with you, Young Master." Zheng Yufeng nodded, then suddenly asked with a smile: "I still do not know which family you belong to, Young Master, that you can come and go in these palace quarters."

"You will naturally know in five days." Zhang Yunxiu turned and walked away.

Thus, today's meeting took place.

After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Zheng Yufeng walked before the Emperor. The warm sun fell from the dome, spilling onto Zheng Yufeng, making her look indescribably beautiful.

"You... who are you?" The Wanli Emperor swallowed hard.

"This servant is a palace maid who entered the palace last year, named Zheng Yufeng," Zheng Yufeng replied daintily.

"Then what are you doing here?"

"This servant... this servant has been in the palace for half a year and has yet to see the Emperor, so I snuck to the place where the Emperor holds court to take a look."

Before the Emperor could speak, Wei Qing, who was to the side, stiffened his face and shouted: "Audacious! You are a mere palace maid; you should stay in the Chuxiugong Palace instead of running to the Huangji Hall. Do you have no sense of propriety?"

Zheng Yufeng's body trembled upon hearing this.

"Shut your mouth!" The Wanli Emperor looked at the beauty and pointed at Wei Qing, scolding him.

"Ah? Yes."

Wei Qing had tried to flatter but ended up hitting a hoof; his face was full of bitterness. Zhang Yunxiu smiled and stepped in to smooth things over: "Your Majesty, Eunuch Wei also had good intentions; this palace maid is indeed not following the rules." "Hmm, however, she also misses me dearly." The Wanli Emperor said, taking the initiative to grab Zheng Yufeng's cold little hand, smiling as he said, "Let this be an exception, but I cannot let you off so easily."

"I... I will punish you by having you return to the palace with me."

"This servant accepts the punishment!" Zheng Yufeng blushed and replied daintily.

Afterwards, the group surrounded the Emperor and returned to the Qianqing Palace.

Zhang Yunxiu felt a surge of heat in his heart; he took his leave of the Emperor and headed straight for the residence of his fourth brother, Zhang Jianxiu.

As it happened, he was resting today, and Zhang Yunxiu strode inside.

The two brothers arrived at the parlor and sat down according to the etiquette of host and guest.

Zhang Yunxiu's face flushed, and he said impatiently: "Fourth Brother, it's done!"

"What's done?" Zhang Jianxiu was completely confused.

"Our family's future wealth, it's done."

"You mean that Zheng Guotai and Zheng Chengxian?"

"That's right," Zhang Yunxiu clapped his hands, stood up, and said, "Today, we led the Emperor to the Huangji Gate, and it just so happened that the daughter of that family bumped into the Emperor."

"You didn't see the look on the Emperor's face when he saw that woman. Tsk tsk, 'from now on the monarch will not attend morning court'—that is exactly the kind of woman they were talking about."

Zhang Jianxiu did not believe it at all, shaking his head: "The Emperor has three thousand beauties in his harem; for a woman to be favored for a year or two is already an honor. To want to remain favored without decline, you are thinking too simply."

She was favored for over thirty years.

She was not only favored but also had the endurance to outlive the Wanli Emperor himself.

Zhang Yunxiu curled his lip, too lazy to argue with his fourth brother about this, and said seriously: "Father's health is slightly better now, but the reforms have offended too many people. Once the Emperor stops supporting our family, our family will immediately be doomed."

"That is true." Zhang Jianxiu nodded.

"That is why I am trying every way to please the Emperor, coaxing and deceiving him. This Emperor is like a donkey that must be stroked in the direction of its fur. Otherwise, he won't say anything to your face, but he will kick you in the dark, and it will be our family that suffers."

"What devious idea do you have now?" Zhang Jianxiu asked with a smile.

"I heard that the Wuqing Earl, Li Wei, had his request to be enfeoffed as a Count rejected by our father."

"That is true," Zhang Jianxiu nodded slightly, opened his eyes wide, and asked, "You... you aren't planning to persuade our father to agree to this just to please the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, are you?"

"Are you out of your mind?"

"I am not crazy." Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and sighed, "In any case, it is a noble title of the flowing rank; does the imperial court lack that bit of his salary? Besides, that salary is not paid by our family, so I do not know what Father is being so stubborn about."

"Two words: 'authority'." Zhang Jianxiu held up two fingers and said earnestly, "In order to manifest his authority as Senior Grand Secretary, sometimes he must do things that make the Emperor unhappy."

"Our father is also a tiger."

"But the Emperor is a dragon, of the dragon seed. Although a tiger can suppress a young dragon for a time, once the young dragon grows up and the tiger passes away, we young tigers will suffer greatly."

As the two were speaking, Wang Ling walked in.

Zhang Yunxiu stood up to offer a salute, and Wang Ling smiled faintly and returned the salute.

"Madam, why have you come?" Zhang Jianxiu asked.

"Nothing much, it is just that Father has arrived and says he wants to see you," Wang Ling replied.

"The old father-in-law?" Zhang Jianxiu stood up at once and looked at Zhang Yunxiu apologetically, "I am sorry, why don't you wait here, and I will come to attend to you after I have arranged for the old father-in-law?"

"Why say such things to me? Since Minister Wang is both a high-ranking official of the ministries and an elder, what do I count as?" Zhang Yunxiu also stood up and waved his hand, "You just go ahead; I happen to have some things to attend to as well."

Saying this, Zhang Yunxiu cupped his hands and left the main hall.

(End of this chapter)