Chapter 50

June 20th.

Grand Tutor, Pillar of the State, Count of Ding'an, and Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Hall, Gao Gong, claimed illness and did not attend court.

The Emperor and the two palaces sent imperial physicians to visit; Gao Gong thanked them, replying that he was old and frail, and requested to be dismissed.

The Emperor, pitying Gao Gong for his heavy workload, discussed the matter with the Cabinet.

Gao Gong was relieved of his post as Minister of Personnel, and the Emperor instructed him to recuperate well.

On the same day, due to the accumulation of Cabinet affairs, an envoy was sent to recall Grand Secretary Gao Yi, who was away on leave, ordering him to return to the Cabinet immediately to handle affairs.

And by Cabinet discussion, Lu Shusheng, Vice Minister of Personnel, was promoted to Minister of Personnel.

By the proposal of Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng, Shen Shixing, Vice Minister of Rites, was promoted to Senior Vice Minister of Personnel.

By the proposal of Grand Secretary Gao Yi, Wen Chun, former Left Assistant Administration Commissioner of Huguang, was reinstated as Junior Vice Minister of Personnel.

On this day, Zhu Chengxun, Count of Wujin, Right Regional Commander in charge of the Central Military Commission, died after a long illness.

The Emperor, together with the Cabinet, held a noon court, following the proposals of Grand Secretaries Zhang Juzheng, Gao Yi, and Lu Diaoyang.

Gu Huan, Marquis of Zhenyuan, was reinstated to be in charge of the Central Military Commission.

June 21st.

Chen Daji, Marquis of Ningyang, Right Regional Commander in charge of the Central Military Commission, died.

Following the proposal of Grand Secretary Yang Bo, Huo Ji, former Minister of War, was reinstated as Right Hai Yushi-in-Chief, overseeing the Beijing Camps and the Five Military Commissions.

Upon the arrival of the edict, he was to depart from Shanxi to the capital immediately.

Additionally, Ma Ziqiang, concurrently serving as a reader-in-waiting of the Hanlin Academy, was promoted to Junior Vice Minister of Rites, assisting Minister Zhang Siwei in compiling the Veritable Records of the Shizong Emperor.

On the same day, by the discussion of the Ministry of Rites and the Cabinet, it was memorialized that the grace of the two palaces was immense and equal, and the rites of honor should not be different; therefore, two characters should be added to Empress Dowager Li's title.

The Emperor, moved by filial piety, honored his birth mother, the Empress Dowager, as the Empress Dowager Cisheng.

He also bestowed example silver and the Emperor's old items from the Eastern Palace upon Princess Yanqing.

June 22nd.

On this day, Grand Tutor, Pillar of the State, Count of Ding'an, and Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Hall, Gao Gong, became even more ill and could not handle affairs.

He submitted a memorial requesting the Emperor to open the channels of speech and expand the imperial hearing, to glorify the legacy of the late Emperor.

He recommended several people, among whom the reinstatement of Hai Rui, former Right Assistant Hai Yushi-in-Chief, was the most eye-catching.

The Emperor gladly agreed and submitted it to the court for discussion; the majority of court officials did not approve, and it did not pass the court discussion.

On the same day, Grand Secretary Gao Gong submitted a memorial requesting to be dismissed.

The Emperor and the two palaces kept it in the palace and did not issue it.

The Cabinet held another court discussion in the afternoon, proposing the reinstatement of Hai Rui, promoting him to Left Assistant Hai Yushi-in-Chief.

The Emperor reluctantly followed this.

June 23rd.

It was exactly twenty-seven days since the late Emperor passed away.

This also meant that the days of mourning for the previous sovereign and father had ended.

On this day, the Emperor attended affairs at the Xuanzhi Gate in mourning clothes, and the officials performed the ceremony of thanking for the grace edict; the officials removed their mourning clothes.

King Li Yan of Joseon sent his accompanying officials, including Park Min-heon, a total of thirty-eight people, to thank for the grace; the Doganxuan Pacification Commission, including the Tibetan monk Lama Wen, sent a total of sixteen people in two groups to offer tribute, all were rewarded according to precedent.

Afterward, the Emperor changed into a plain Yishan crown, linen robe, and waist sash, and distributed melons and fruits to the officials.

After the meeting, logically speaking, Zhu Yijun should either go to the daily lecture or the court discussion.

But now that the matters were finished, there was no need to keep sitting in court discussions and suffering.

It was enough to hold small meetings when there were matters—he suddenly understood the Shizong Emperor a little.

As for the daily lecture, because the classic mat was to be opened, the daily lecture officials also had to be re-selected.

Some daily lecture officials had been reading for the Crown Prince, and their qualifications might be sufficient, but now that the Crown Prince had ascended the throne and was selecting the Emperor's lecturers, some people had to move.

Of course, he was not entirely without things to do.

Because, after the mourning period ended, he had to restart his studies in imperial archery.

Although logically it should start in the afternoon, Zhu Yijun arrived at the drill ground early.

Calling it a drill ground, it was actually a large flat area outside the Jingyun Gate.

When Zhu Yijun arrived, Jiang Keqian and Gu Chengguang were already dressed in armor, waiting on the spot.

The two were now considered personal guards, and naturally needed to accompany the Emperor for imperial archery.

Besides the two of them, there were some half-grown boys, all selected from the Beijing Military Academy.

Well, of course, they weren't selected based on martial arts, but on family background.

However, at least those who could be selected to be by the Emperor's side were not too weak or stupid.

If their basic quality was not good, causing disgust would be a disaster rather than a blessing.

Zhu Yijun signaled for irrelevant people not to approach, and then walked toward Jiang Keqian and Gu Chengguang.

He looked at the two curiously: "Why are you just waiting? Since there's nothing to do, why don't you two have a contest and let me open my eyes?"

Watching the Embroidered Uniform Guard spar or something sounded very exciting; in his previous life, he had only seen it on TV, so naturally, he wanted to feast his eyes on it now.

He just didn't know which of the two was more capable.

But Jiang Keqian smiled bitterly and apologized: "Your Majesty, Commander Gu has been on the battlefield; I'm afraid I can't take two or three of his punches."

Zhu Yijun shook his head in disappointment.

Sure enough, the relatives and nobles could only do construction work and bully corrupt officials; if they really wanted to do something serious, they had to look at the military nobles.

He picked up a large bow from the rack and tried to pull it: "Commander Gu, have you really been on the battlefield, or were you just planning in the rear with the Marquis of Zhenyuan?"

After suppressing Gao Gong, Zhu Yijun's speech became much more casual.

He just asked out of curiosity.

Although Gu Chengguang was the nephew of Gu Huan and considered a rising star, he was already over forty.

With broad shoulders and thick legs, he looked very powerful, like Wu Song from the old TV shows.

Hearing this, he said somewhat restrainedly: "When my uncle was the Viceroy of Liangguang, he took me to the battlefield. I charged with the central army a few times; although I didn't have any kills, I did see blood."

Zhu Yijun looked at him with some surprise.

He didn't expect that he had really been on the battlefield; he thought he was just padding his resume.

He put down the motionless large bow and picked a smaller one.

Skipping over this, he asked again: "What did the Marquis of Zhenyuan say about the matter I entrusted to him?"

Gu Chengguang was about to bow and answer, but Zhu Yijun stopped him: "There's no need for this on the drill ground while wearing armor; just speak directly."

Since the Emperor had spoken, the minister naturally complied.

Gu Chengguang replied directly: "My uncle said that he does have some family assets, but, the Central Military Commission..."

Zhu Yijun interrupted directly: "It's temporary. After my late father is buried in August, I will have him take charge of the Beijing Camps again."

The Five Military Commissions and the guard stations had rotted to what extent.

Sooner or later, they would all have to be torn down and rebuilt; there was no need to patch them up now.

On the contrary, the Beijing Camps were, after all, real military power.

Gu Chengguang was still somewhat embarrassed: "That would at most allow Your Majesty to train two hundred elite soldiers."

So few?

Zhu Yijun frowned: "There's no need to use all of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's private soldiers and family retainers; use them to build a framework, and use the people from the Beijing Camps for the rest."

"It will be listed as a separate camp at that time."

Private soldiers were naturally illegal, but discussing this in the Ming Dynasty was somewhat laughable.

Every famous general had more or less private soldiers; the specific numbers just varied.

From county magistrates and battalion commanders to the Li family army and the Qi family army, they were all like this.

This was also due to the national situation.

The imperial court owed military pay for years; how could regular troops who didn't receive pay have any combat effectiveness?

To get things done, one naturally had to think of other ways.

The first is mercenaries, often seen in the guest armies of minority groups.

The second, naturally, is private soldiers and family retainers.

Reorganizing the Beijing Camps was not something that could be done in a day.

It was a long-term process involving an army of 100,000; such things required money, lots and lots of money.

It couldn't be rushed at all.

What was imminent now was to form a camp that belonged to Gu Huan on the surface, but actually belonged to the Emperor.

Not many, a few hundred people would be enough; they were urgently needed for now.

The Lianghuai salt tax was to clear up salt taxes, and in the process, there would inevitably be "civil unrest."

When Hai Rui went to trouble Xu Jie, he fell into this trick.

Now that he had invited someone to come out of retirement, how could he not provide the necessary equipment?

Those who needed to be lured by profit should be given authority, and those who needed to be coerced should be given manpower; in short, to get people to do things, one had to have this basic attitude.

Anyway, the Viceroy of Grain Transport, Wang Zongmu, was also in charge of military affairs; when the time came, just have Gu Chengguang hang his name under him.

Gu Chengguang said hesitantly: "There is enough manpower... but the Beijing Camps have also been in arrears for a long time."

This meant there was a lack of money.

One couldn't empty out the family assets to train people and still subsidize the silver, right? Even being loyal to the country couldn't be done by shearing sheep like this.

This put Zhu Yijun in a difficult position; everyone was short of money, the Ministry of Revenue had no money, and the Imperial Treasury naturally had no money either.

He pondered for a moment and said: "At least eight hundred people are needed; I will solve the problem of silver."

Gu Chengguang breathed a sigh of relief, bowed, and accepted the task.

Zhu Yijun pulled the bow for a long time but couldn't pull it open, feeling annoyed.

He called out to let the two teach him how to ride a horse first.

While letting Zhang Jing change his attire, he looked at Jiang Keqian: "Has the matter of the Marquis of Ningyang, Chen Daji, been investigated clearly?"

A few days ago, Zhu Chengxun, Count of Wujin, Right Regional Commander in charge of the Central Military Commission, died after a long illness, so he took the opportunity to reinstate Gu Huan to be in charge of the Central Military Commission.

As a result, just after the edict was drafted, Chen Daji, Marquis of Ningyang, Right Regional Commander, died suddenly.

Yang Bo took this excuse to reinstate Huo Ji of the Jin faction to keep an eye on Gu Huan.

With such a coincidence, he didn't believe it.

Jiang Keqian nodded, obviously prepared, and replied immediately: "Besides the Imperial Academy of Medicine, I also sought out some physicians from outside."

"However... it was indeed a death from illness."

Zhu Yijun was stunned: "Really died from illness?"

Jiang Keqian deliberated and replied: "Currently, there are no signs of harm by outsiders."

Zhu Yijun nodded thoughtfully.

Even so, let's just pin the blame on the Jin faction!

He made a note of it in his heart.

After getting dressed, Zhu Yijun didn't rush to get on the horse.

Under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, he recalled the health exercises from his previous life and did them to prevent waist and leg pain the next day.

Afterward, he let the two, and even the eunuch Zhang Jing, get on the horse to try it out, confirming that it was a gentle horse.

Only then, with everyone attending to him, did he learn horse riding.

Although the whole process was Jiang Keqian leading the horse in front and Gu Chengguang carefully blocking behind him.

But after all, he rode five or six laps, which allowed Zhu Yijun to master some techniques.

Just like this, alternating between horse riding and practicing boxing with the instructors of the Beijing Military Academy.

The morning was about to pass.

Zhu Yijun took off his wooden armor and let Zhang Jing carefully wipe his sweat; Li Jin suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

He watched Li Jin trot over and waved Zhang Jing away.

Before long, Li Jin walked up, calmed his breath, and said: "Your Majesty, the Count of Ding'an and the assistant ministers are requesting an audience."

Zhu Yijun was stunned and asked suspiciously: "Did the Count of Ding'an not submit his resignation in the court discussion today?"

Using Gao Gong to manipulate the court officials and let Hai Rui be reinstated could be said to be the end of the play.

Gao Gong should have resigned today, and then everyone would be happy; why request an audience?

Li Jin hesitated: "He did request to resign, but the Count of Ding'an said he wanted to bid farewell to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager in person."

Zhu Yijun frowned for a moment and soon realized.

This was because Empress Dowager Chen hadn't appeared for a few days, and the court officials were worried, so they made this final move.

Zhu Yijun nodded helplessly: "Let them wait in the side hall of the Qianqing Palace; I will tidy up and invite the two palaces to meet them together."

Now that the situation was settled, it was time for the ministers to see the two palaces.

To avoid any strange rumors.

After Li Jin reported to the Emperor, he received an order to notify Empress Dowager Li.

He immediately rushed to the Cining Palace without stopping.

Empress Dowager Li was teasing her second son, Zhu Yiliu.

Seeing Li Jin come, she let the palace attendants take him away.

After hearing Li Jin tell the whole story, Empress Dowager Li snorted coldly: "Farewell? He still has the face to bid farewell!?"

"I'm not going."

"Go and tell Gao Gong that after he resigns, he must immediately rush to Songjiang Prefecture and not stay idle in the capital!"

Li Jin was helpless and had to agree.

Just as he was about to withdraw, Empress Dowager Li called him back.

Empress Dowager Li said somewhat jealously: "Also, tell the Emperor."

"Don't forget he still has a birth mother; he runs to the Ciqing Palace all day and hasn't been seen for three or four days."

Li Jin explained: "There has been a great amnesty and rewards, and the Emperor is busy summoning officials to thank him; he is truly unable to attend to everything."

Empress Dowager Li glared at him.

Muttering: "His own family is not as considerate as Feng Bao."

Then she shooed him away: "Go, go, remember to bring the message."

Li Jin wiped his sweat and carefully withdrew.

Since he couldn't invite her, he naturally couldn't force her.

Li Jin had to return to serve the Emperor.

Halfway there, he saw Zhang Hong inviting Empress Dowager Chen's carriage, also heading toward the Qianqing Palace.

The two sides met, and Li Jin bowed and waited on the side of the road for the Empress Dowager to pass first.

After the group passed, Empress Dowager Chen looked back and asked casually: "Is this Li Jin?"

Zhang Hong responded carefully.

Empress Dowager Chen handed the cat in her arms to the palace attendant on the side and said lazily: "My sister can not come, but she insists on inviting me."

"Is the outer court afraid that I will be poisoned?"

Zhang Hong had some understanding of this person after serving her for two days.

He smiled and said: "Not at all; it's the Count of Ding'an who said that the Empress Dowager occasionally listened to lectures with the late Emperor, so there is some teacher-student friendship; now that he is resigning, he wants to pay his respects to you in person."

Empress Dowager Chen remained noncommittal.

Suddenly she sat up straight and looked down at Zhang Hong: "Go, tell my son that Princess Yanqing is a little older and needs to start her education next year."

Being under house arrest was one thing, but she still had to come out and sell her wares.

Not taking the opportunity to ask for some benefits for her daughter would be unreasonable.

Zhang Hong smiled bitterly and accepted the order, rushing to the Qianqing Palace a step faster.

Zhu Yijun cleaned up and changed his attire.

Only then did he go around from the side hall to the throne.

Several assistant ministers had been waiting for a long time and quickly stood up to salute: "May Your Majesty be well."

Zhu Yijun nodded: "I am well."

While signaling the eunuchs to grant seats to the assistant ministers, he asked: "My ministers, why have you come to see me together?"

Lu Diaoyang stood up first and said: "It was the Count of Ding'an who requested to see Your Majesty."

"But the court discussion just now decided on the posthumous title for the late Emperor, so we came together to listen to Your Majesty's teachings."

The late Emperor died at the wrong time.

It was the dog days of summer.

Now that the coffin was in the palace, it already had some smell; it was better to decide as soon as possible, so that the funeral could be completed and he could be buried quickly.

Of course, this was just a plausible reason; Zhang Juzheng and he still wanted to come and see if Empress Dowager Chen was missing any arms or legs.

Seeing that everyone was coming, the other two couldn't be left behind, so they came together.

Zhu Yijun nodded: "Minister Lu, you might as well present it to my mother later; their wishes are my wishes."

Being an Emperor also means learning to slack off.

It was best to throw such useless and energy-consuming things to the two palaces.

Zhu Yijun looked at Gao Yi again: "Has your cold improved, sir?"

Well, Gao Yi went on vacation to some water stream, took the name of Canglang Stream, and washed his feet in the water, resulting in him getting sick.

A bit like someone who said "a straw raincoat in the rain" and then got a high fever.

Gao Yi hurriedly stood up and replied: "I must thank Your Majesty for your grace; the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician is very good, and it was almost healed yesterday."

While replying, he looked up at this disciple.

Only a few days had passed since he left, and the situation in the court had changed drastically.

Although everyone tacitly kept him in the dark, he had been floating and sinking for many years.

On the first day he returned, upon receiving the reward for the secondary assistant, he immediately saw the trick.

Then, through Gao Gong's silence and the Emperor's stammering.

Combined with Feng Bao's inexplicable death, while Gao Gong was conferred the highest honors.

Gao Yi soon reached the answer.

It was obvious that the Chief Grand Secretary's actions were too extreme; not only did he want to dismiss the Directorate of Ceremonial, but he also used extraordinary means to kill Feng Bao.

As a result, he aroused the suspicion of the two palaces, who wanted to dismiss Gao Gong.

The Emperor had no choice but to reward him as much as possible to make compensation.

Alas, I heard that this disciple also hinted to Lu Diaoyang that he wanted to rebuild the Lingyan Pavilion to complete the posthumous names of the ministers.

Sure enough, he keeps his word.

Everyone was chatted with by the Emperor and exchanged pleasantries for a while.

Finally, it was Gao Gong's turn.

Zhu Yijun wondered: "What is the Count of Ding'an here for?"

He hadn't attended court for a few days and should have rested well, but today, his face was visibly aged.

Zhu Yijun sighed secretly; he looked exactly like his former colleague, who was already emaciated after only one day in Qincheng.

Gao Gong sighed and replied: "This old minister truly feels unable to support himself recently, so I have come to resign to Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun stood up and walked slowly to him.

Sincerely: "Is the Count of Ding'an really going to abandon me?"

Gao Gong shook his head: "When I am in the high temple, I can worry about the people; when I am far away in the rivers and lakes, I can also worry about the ruler."

Zhu Yijun could not hold him back.

Just then, Zhang Hong came around and whispered two sentences in Zhu Yijun's ear.

Zhu Yijun stood up and said: "It's my mother who has come; I will go to welcome her first."

Having said that, he walked out of the hall.

How could the assistant ministers sit still? They followed him out as well.

Seeing Empress Dowager Chen walking from afar, Zhu Yijun could clearly see Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Lu Diaoyang breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and smiled.

He hurried forward to support Empress Dowager Chen: "Mother, the Count of Ding'an is resigning due to illness and wants to bid farewell to you."

As he said this, he nodded, hinting that he would keep the matter of Princess Yanqing's education in mind.

Empress Dowager Chen nodded with satisfaction.

Only then did she face the assistant ministers and return the salute.

Then she looked at Gao Gong: "Teacher Chen left the year before last; I didn't expect that Teacher Gao would also resign today."

The "Teacher Chen" Empress Dowager Chen referred to was Chen Yiqin.

If one were to say who sheltered the Prince of Yu's mansion the most, it would be Chen and Gao.

Gao Gong sighed: "Spring and autumn have their times; this old minister is no longer suitable."

The two looked at each other in silence.

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun summoned Zhang Hong: "Go, take fifty taels of example silver from the Imperial Treasury for me; I want to prepare travel expenses for the Count of Ding'an myself."

Zhang Hong accepted the order and left.

Empress Dowager Chen looked at the Emperor: "Your Majesty, can you let Chen Mingyan send the Count of Ding'an off for me?"

Gao Gong was also a poor man; don't look at his honor, but the mountains are high and the waters are long, and if he encounters any bandits, it will be a matter of a knife.

There is naturally a difference between escorting and traveling lightly.

Zhu Yijun nodded: "This is natural; I will send someone to notify him later."

Even if Empress Dowager Chen didn't say it, he would do the same.

With Gao Gong's reputation, going to Nanzhili would make many people sit on pins and needles.

Without an escort, he might die of illness on the road.

The group exchanged pleasantries for a while, and seeing that it was almost time for lunch, Empress Dowager Chen left.

Zhu Yijun invited the assistant ministers to lunch, but they all declined.

Gao Gong also said goodbye, saying only that he would pack up and rush to Songjiang Prefecture.

Zhu Yijun insisted on sending him to the outside of the Imperial City personally.

Afterward, the Emperor and the Chief Grand Secretary, with courtesy, sent him off along the central axis of the Forbidden City to the outside of the Wumen Gate.

The three bid farewell reluctantly.

The Emperor led the Chief Grand Secretary to the Wumen Gate tower to watch from afar.

Zhu Yijun stared at Gao Gong, who was walking away, and his somewhat hunched back, and said: "Chief Grand Secretary, when will the 'Examination Law' have a plan?"

Zhang Juzheng also looked at Gao Gong's departure from the tower, his expression complex: "I guess it will be in September; the Ministry of Personnel still needs to clear out some people."

"Next month, I will let Shen Shixing get the framework out, and the Cabinet will have to discuss the details."

Zhu Yijun nodded.

The authority of the Ministry of Personnel was now divided into three.

Lu Shusheng, Minister of Personnel, was a rubber stamp; this person sought fame and reputation, and often claimed illness to return home as soon as he got an official position.

The previous position of Vice Minister of Personnel had never been served for a single day.

To put it bluntly, it was just occupying a pit, making it convenient for the Cabinet to lead directly, and it could be taken back into his own hands at any time.

Shen Shixing, Senior Vice Minister of Personnel, was a member of the New Party; from now on, he would be the one to cooperate with Zhang Juzheng to implement the Examination Law.

Wen Chun, Junior Vice Minister of Personnel, was a good friend of Gao Yi and also a loyal and patriotic person.

Of course, he also had no ability or temper; he was probably a character who would only speak when the Emperor had an opinion.

Zhang Juzheng glanced at the Emperor: "What errand did Your Majesty give the Count of Ding'an?"

Before Gao Gong left, he recommended Hai Rui; he didn't believe this was just to disgust the court officials.

Zhu Yijun shook his head repeatedly: "Nothing of the sort; since the Count of Ding'an is retiring, how can he be used excessively? I just let him recuperate well."

Zhang Juzheng curled his lips, not believing a word.

He only heard the Emperor change the subject naturally: "How much silver does the Ministry of Revenue have now?"

Zhang Juzheng hesitated for a moment: "It's hard to say; I have to wait for Zhang Shouzhi to retire before I can calculate it."

Zhu Yijun sighed: "Confiscate Feng Bao's family assets; there should be a little bit."

Zhang Juzheng looked at the Emperor with a strange expression.

Zhu Yijun met his gaze and said helplessly: "Don't look at me like that; it's also because the Count of Ding'an has no flaws in his private morality, and his family is impoverished."

"Does the Chief Grand Secretary believe that if the Count of Ding'an were also a prominent family like Zhang Shouzhi, a grandson of a Prime Minister, he would already be in prison?"

It must be said that this group of people, Gao Gong and Gao Yi, were truly strange.

If it were some four-generation family, the result of several generations of effort, he would certainly not be soft-hearted when confiscating their homes.

On the contrary, this kind of poor person with no flaws in private morality was truly an egg without a seam in the officialdom.

Zhang Juzheng felt that these words were somewhat connotative, turned his head unnaturally, and said: "The national treasury is in great deficit; how can confiscating homes stop the decline?"

Zhu Yijun nodded, indicating he had learned.

Seeing Gao Gong's back disappear completely, he sighed: "It will be hard for the Chief Grand Secretary to be in charge in the future."

Then he turned around and was about to go down the tower.

Zhang Juzheng bowed and followed the Emperor.

The sun was in the sky; it was the time.

It cast a large and a small shadow of the two, walking side by side.

"Your Majesty should open the classic mat."

"Let the Cabinet discuss it, and add Shen Shixing as well."

"So what does Your Majesty want to do by reinstating Hai Rui?"

"Wasn't that the Count of Ding'an's intention? Chief Grand Secretary, don't talk nonsense. By the way, the matter of Gu Huan..."

The two walked and talked, gradually unable to hear the sound.

(Volume One, End.)

(End of chapter)