Chapter 61: Princess Selects a Husband

After the Palace Examination concluded, Zhang Yunxiu spent five consecutive days in a state of extreme excitement.

For one, the policy regarding Artisans paying money to redeem themselves from the Artisan Registry had begun to be implemented, and throughout the Zhili region, twenty thousand Artisans responded enthusiastically.

This amounted to two million taels of silver, though it was unknown when it could be collected.

But the account was owed there.

As for how this silver would be distributed, Zhang Juzheng had originally intended to have it all turned over to the Ministry of Revenue.

Ultimately, after weighing the pros and cons, and also to curry favor with Feng Bao and Li Taihou, he set aside fifteen percent for the expenses of the Inner Palace.

This fifteen percent had to be split among three people: the Emperor, Feng Bao, and Li Taihou.

The Emperor was extremely dissatisfied with this, so he anxiously urged Zhang Yunxiu to go to sea and earn money quickly.

After the hour of Chen passed that day, Zhang Yunxiu received an order from an imperial Eunuch, saying that the Emperor summoned him to enter the palace.

How dared he linger? He packed his things and headed straight for the Qianqing Palace.

Inside the palace, the Emperor was dressed in his bright yellow dragon robe, sitting upright on the dragon throne.

Seeing Zhang Yunxiu enter, before he could perform the kowtow, the Emperor excitedly said, "Zhang Yunxiu, I am selecting a husband for Princess Yongning; tell me, how much silver is appropriate for the Ministry of Revenue to provide?"

What the hell? Princess Yongning is selecting a husband?

Zhang Yunxiu had thought he was going to discuss matters of going to sea, but he did not expect it to be his younger sister selecting a husband.

Wait, this Princess Yongning wouldn't be the one who was eventually matched with a consumptive ghost by Feng Bao, would she?

Since the founding ancestor, in order to prevent relatives of the imperial family from interfering in politics.

Whenever there was a royal marriage, they were strictly forbidden from marrying into the families of princes or nobles; therefore, not only were the Empresses from humble backgrounds, but the Princesses' Imperial Son-in-laws were also one worse than the other.

Whoever became an Imperial Son-in-law, his entire family and close relatives were strictly forbidden from participating in the Imperial Examination.

Any scholarly family with a bit of ambition would avoid the Princesses as if they were a flood or a wild beast.

To scoundrels and commoners, however, the Princess was a fragrant piece of cake.

"Zhang Yunxiu! I am asking you a question," seeing Zhang Yunxiu silent and not speaking, the Wanli Emperor glared and barked.

"Ah?!" Zhang Yunxiu woke as if from a dream, looked up at the Emperor, and asked in a low voice, "What did Your Majesty say?"

The Wanli Emperor gritted his teeth and repeated the question he had just asked.

"Your Majesty's grand wedding used a total of two hundred thousand taels of silver; in this subject's view, twenty thousand taels is appropriate for Princess Yongning's wedding," Zhang Yunxiu pondered for a moment and spoke slowly.

"Very well, twenty thousand taels it is."

The Wanli Emperor clapped his hands and stood up from his chair.

He immediately wrote two imperial decrees, ordering the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Ministry of Rites to jointly handle the matter.

Seeing the Emperor happy, Zhang Yunxiu smiled and took the opportunity to advise: "Your Majesty, in one month's time, this subject has already mobilized seventy ships; it is estimated that it will not be long before we can head out to sea."

"Hmm, where do you want to go?"

"The first stop, this subject wants to go to Joseon, just to test these sea-going ships."

"Joseon, Joseon is merely a vassal state of Great Ming, where would they have wealth?" The Wanli Emperor frowned and asked suspiciously.

"No matter how small, it is still a country, and there are quite a few powerful officials and wealthy merchants there," Zhang Yunxiu stepped forward and said, "Moreover, this subject has already thought of a way to make money; Your Majesty just needs to watch."

"Fine, I will not ask how you make money, I just want to see tangible benefits!"

"As you command."

Zhang Yunxiu acknowledged the order, and the Wanli Emperor said a few more words of encouragement before waving his hand to dismiss him.

After leaving the palace gate, Zhang Yunxiu did not go straight home, but came to the Feng residence to meet Xu Jue.

Once the two were seated, Zhang Yunxiu said impatiently: "Go tell your master quickly, he must not compete for Princess Yongning's husband selection; take a step back and let Zhang Jing have it."

"Why?" Xu Jue asked, puzzled.

A Princess selecting a husband—that was a source of great profit.

Zhang Yunxiu stood up, walked to Xu Jue's ear, and whispered a few words. Xu Jue's eyes lit up as he heard this, and he clapped his hands, shouting, "Great! This time our master will definitely take down that dog Zhang Jing; let's see how he can still challenge our master."

Saying this, Xu Jue snuck off to the Directorate of Ceremonial. He saw Feng Bao and explained Zhang Yunxiu's idea.

After hearing this, Feng Bao almost broke out in a cold sweat.

If he did this and was caught by Zhang Jing, offending the Emperor and Li Taihou, where would he have a foothold in this palace?

"Good, this time we shall settle the new and old accounts with him together," Feng Bao snorted fiercely, a trace of venom flashing in his eyes.

That very day, Feng Bao claimed illness, and the task of selecting a husband for the Princess naturally fell to Zhang Jing.

At first, he was somewhat disbelieving; what kind of person was Feng Bao?

He was a man who would turn somersaults in a money pit. It was not until the Emperor's edict came down that he truly believed it.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, incense mist curled and candlelight flickered red.

The Emperor had already removed his dragon robe and was sitting on an embroidered couch wearing only a silk sleeping robe.

In front, Zhang Jing knelt on the ground, constantly pledging his loyalty: "Your Majesty, rest assured, as soon as the twenty thousand taels from the Ministry of Revenue arrives, this servant will first allocate some silver to your Inner Treasury."

That's more like it.

The Wanli Emperor nodded slightly, signaled for Zhang Jing to rise, and encouraged him: "In the entire Great Inner, I can only speak some intimate words with you, Zhang Jing."

Praised like this, Zhang Jing's eyes narrowed, but his heart felt as sweet as if he had eaten honey.

From the Emperor's words, he sensed the Emperor's dissatisfaction with Feng Bao.

Now that Feng Bao was bedridden, it was the perfect moment for him to continue whispering in the Emperor's ear and shake the Emperor's inner resolve.

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Feng..."

Zhang Jing brewed his thoughts, but before he could speak, an attendant suddenly came to report to the Emperor that the De Consort requested an audience.

How could the Wanli Emperor have the heart to listen to Zhang Jing's chatter? With a wave of his hand, he dismissed him.

Zhang Jing was unhappy and paced out of the palace gate.

At the entrance, he saw a bright and beautiful palace consort of seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a white Western-cloth pleated skirt, walking in.

Zhang Jing squeezed out a smile and said with a chuckle, "This old servant Zhang Jing pays his respects to Defei."

Defei nodded slightly, neither cold nor warm, and then brushed past Zhang Jing directly toward the main hall. A trace of ruthlessness flashed through Zhang Jing's eyes, vanishing in an instant, and he then hurried down the long steps at the entrance of the hall.

On this side, Defei entered the Emperor's bedchamber, and the Emperor immediately walked down from the dragon throne, embraced Defei's soft body, and headed straight for the sleeping quarters.

Defei knew the Emperor's intent, her face flushed red, and she chided, "What are you trying to do?!"

"Go to bed!" the Wanli Emperor chuckled.

"You only ever think about that business; I haven't been feeling well lately and want to rest," Zheng Defei pouted and said softly.

The Wanli Emperor clearly showed a trace of disappointment. Defei saw it clearly, covered her lips and laughed, saying, "Look at that face of yours, it's just like a donkey's face, and your skin is as wrinkled as an old nurse's."

Teased like this, the Wanli Emperor was not angry at all; instead, he played along, saying, "Oh, you dare to curse me? Let's see how I deal with you today."

Defei begged for mercy repeatedly and added, "If Your Majesty is willing to grant your concubine one thing, then your concubine will let the Emperor have his way."

"You aren't, hmm?"

"Your concubine was just lying to you."

"Oh, you've committed another crime—the crime of deceiving the Emperor!" The Wanli Emperor's words were harsh, but in reality, he was overjoyed.

Without waiting for Defei to speak, he added, "Tell me, what exactly is the matter? I will consider it first."

Defei smiled, first putting in a few good words for Zhang Yunxiu, and only then asking for official posts for her father and brother.

"I thought it was something else," the Wanli Emperor curled his lip and muttered, "Even if you didn't say it, I would have rewarded them. Is such a small matter worth you speaking up?"

"To you, the Emperor, it is of course a small matter, but to my father and to Director Zhang, it is a big matter." Defei smiled faintly, hooked her hands around the Emperor's neck, and breathed like an orchid, "If it weren't for Director Zhang, your concubine wouldn't know when she would be able to see Your Majesty. Your Majesty should reward him."

"Alright, alright, I know it all," the Wanli Emperor waved his hand impatiently, scooped up Defei, and walked toward the dragon bed.

(End of this chapter)