Volume 1: Concealing One's Light, Chapter 4: The Grand Wedding

  The grand wedding of King Xian took place at the end of 1624, when the eunuch party was rampant in the capital and wreaking havoc on the country.

  Tianqi 4th year November 25th at 5am moved;

  December 8th at noon wear a crown; on the 16th day of the same month at dawn time receive the imperial edict and set off; on the 21st day settle into the bed.

  On the twenty-seventh day of the first month of Tianqi's fifth year, at the hour of Mao, the face was opened; on the third day of the second month, at the hour of Mao, the wedding ceremony was held, and Xinfeng Wang left the mansion to get married. On the fifth day of the second month, all officials came to Xinfeng Wang's mansion to congratulate him. On the sixth day of the second month, he went to the ancestral temple with his wife to pay respects. In between, there was a span of two months, and Zhu Yinglong was like a wooden puppet being manipulated by others. It wasn't that he didn't want to take the initiative, but he couldn't bear these complicated rules, so he simply followed them.

  The four joys of life, a long drought meets sweet dew, the golden list is named, the bridal chamber is lit with candles, meeting old friends in a foreign land, a long drought meets sweet dew. He doesn't worry about food and clothing, but may not be able to enjoy it temporarily. The golden list being named is out of the question, he's not destined for that kind of glory. Meeting old friends in a foreign land, looking around there are no relatives, but everyone can be considered an old friend anyway. The bridal chamber lit with candles makes up for the trauma in his heart, unexpectedly he also has a day to marry a wife, and surprisingly marries three at once, it's like being in a dream.

  The candlelight flickered, casting a red glow on Zhu Yinglong's face as he stood in his bright red wedding attire, looking dazed under the lamp. Although they hadn't consummated their marriage yet, after nearly two months of living together, Zhu Yinglong had already become familiar with the three women. The history books hadn't lied to him - all three women were rare beauties, especially Tian Shi, whose beauty surpassed that of Zhou Shi and Ye Shi. Born with a stunning face and figure, she exuded an otherworldly charm. If not for the fact that Zhu Yinglong's current body was only fifteen years old, his mature mind from his past life at twenty-five would have long since given in to temptation and indulged in carnal pleasures with the three women.

  Today, the gift is complete, and Zhu Yinglong also brought three queens to formally move into Xinfeng Palace. Empress Zhang also assigned her trusted eunuch Wang Chengen to Zhu Youjian. The palace maids and eunuchs of Kunning Palace all belonged to the current Xinfeng Palace.

  The first night he stayed, he began to worry. According to the grand wedding etiquette, he should have spent the first night in the room of his legitimate wife, Zhou Tingning, but he was afraid that he could not hold himself back and indulge in lust, which led to the situation where he stared blankly under the lamp earlier.

  "Your Highness, it's time for you to rest!" Yanhong reminded Zhu Yinglong with a red face, as the personal maid of King Xian, she had the responsibility to remind the young king. In the hazy and mysterious imperial palace, she had long been familiar with the affairs between men and women. As the saying goes, "time breeds affection", the little maid had already tied a thread of love to this young king, but vaguely, even she herself was not aware of it. Zhu Yinglong had long seen through it, but he knew that the maid liked the previous King Xian, Zhu Youjian, and not the current one, so Zhu Yinglong could only smile bitterly in his heart, and responded vaguely to Yanhong's reminder.

  The little girl left the palace, feeling much freer and less restricted in her actions. She had fulfilled her responsibilities and decided to leave first. The room was now left with only two people: Zhu Yinglong, sitting at the desk with a headache, and a beautiful and elegant young girl sitting on the edge of the dragon and phoenix bed. Her cheeks still had tears on them, and she must have felt helpless about her fate. She had hoped to marry a man of her dreams, but ended up marrying a foolish and stupid husband. Although she was a princess, her happiness for the rest of her life was already ruined?

  It was decided, Zhu Yinglong stood up, his current body's age is still young, not suitable for that kind of thing between men and women, so he'll wait two more years. With two years' time, he can cultivate some feelings first, it's easy to make the three girls fall in love with him using his own abilities. Although he also thought about having a harem, one needs to have the means to enjoy it. So he firmly suppressed his body's desires for now and calmly walked to Zhou Tingning's front, gently wiping away her tears, softly saying: "You sleep alone tonight, I'll go to the study to sleep." After finishing speaking, without explaining further, he opened the door and left, leaving behind a confused Zhou Tingning sitting in the room.

  The breath of early spring still carried a hint of moisture, Zhu Yinglong took a deep breath, the Xinfeng Mansion was already familiar to him, he walked into his own study, which should have been his uncle King Hui's study, lit the candles, although he had come many times before, but this study was the first time he came, the room had long been cleaned spotless, walked to his seat and sat down, it was a round chair, Ming Dynasty furniture industry is world-renowned, round chair is a unique type of furniture in the Ming Dynasty, many chairs in later generations were designed based on the round chair.

  Looking at the books on the bookshelf, they were all about Zhu Xi's Confucianism, some of which were famous historical works. Zhu Yinglong hated Zhu Xi's theory of "preserving heavenly principles and eliminating human desires" the most, which was simply a distortion of Confucius' true teachings. The weakness of the Song Dynasty and this distorted Confucianism had a great relationship, even affecting the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The infamous eight-part essay in the imperial examination was the greatest poison that bound the minds of scholars. Zhu Xi and his followers were truly guilty of a great crime. Therefore, Zhu Yinglong didn't even bother to look at them, but instead went to find books on strange phenomena. After searching for half a day, he finally found a copy of "Shan Hai Jing". Having no other choice, he began to read it under the lamp, one word at a time. Before he had finished reading the first page, he yawned and fell asleep with his head on the table.

  Waking up refreshed, the candle had burned out and it was already bright outside. Zhu Yinglong practiced a set of Tai Chi in the courtyard, having been practicing for four or five years now. With each movement, he could feel the profound subtlety of Tai Chi's inner energy. Unfortunately, he didn't know if true internal energy existed in this world. Tai Chi is an internal martial art that cultivates one's energy, and he had managed to grasp its flavor quite well. However, he had never experienced the so-called "qi" before. Nevertheless, it was a great exercise for physical fitness. With regular practice, his weak body would show significant improvement within a year. At least, he wouldn't get out of breath after walking just a few steps.

  "Good fist, Your Highness!" Zhu Yinglong was fully focused on his boxing, not noticing at all that someone had appeared behind him. He was startled and regretted being too confident, lowering his guard. Turning around, he saw it was Wang Cheng'en, and immediately felt relieved. In history, Wang Cheng'en was a loyal and upright eunuch, one of the better ones among many in the Ming dynasty. He was also a confidant of Empress Zhang and not on good terms with Wei Zhongxian. This person could be used. Zhu Yinglong thought quickly to himself, having already seen through this scene today. If he continued to pretend to be foolish and ignorant, it would only make things worse. Moreover, up until now, he still didn't have a single trustworthy person. A clever woman can't cook without rice, Zhu Yinglong knew that if he didn't create a loyal team for himself, forget about changing history, even saving his own life would be difficult. After all, the historical Zhu Youjian had already become him.

  "You've all seen it?" Zhu Yinglong said coldly.

  Wang Chengen was shocked by Zhu Yinglong's fist method, and he had never heard that Xing Wang would be good at martial arts? He unconsciously praised a sentence, and in his current view, the Xing Wang in front of him suddenly seemed to have changed into another person. The immature face suddenly showed maturity that did not match his age, and his heart trembled involuntarily, as if he had thought of something. He quickly knelt down and said, "The slave has seen it."

  "What do you think of this king's fist method?" Zhu Yinglong asked lightly.

  The calmer he was, the more terrifying he became. Wang Chengen actually broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead in front of this young prince, which had never happened before, not even when facing Empress Zhang. It was as if he was being roasted by fire. He lowered his head and said: "Your Highness's fist technique is quite good, but it's all show and no substance, not suitable for actual use."

  Zhu Yinglong knew what Wang Chengen was thinking in his heart, but he could still speak the truth under the circumstances, and suddenly had a better impression, and his heart was more convinced. He said: "I suppose you have guessed something too. I want to know, will you tell anyone about what you saw today?"

  Wang Chengen would be a fool if he didn't understand now. He also knew that although he was the eunuch in front of the empress, he had been entrusted to Xing Wang by the empress, and Xing Wang was his future master. He should know who to be loyal to. He hastily said: "Your humble servant will not tell anyone, from now on your humble servant will only listen to you, Your Highness."

  Intelligent and aware of the situation, Zhu Yinglong knew that someone like Wang Chengen couldn't be subdued immediately. In fact, he also knew that at most, he would just go back and tell Empress Zhang, and even if Empress Zhang found out, she would just keep it in her heart and wouldn't speak recklessly, let alone tell Wei Zhongxian. So he was relatively at ease, smiling as he said: "Get up, from now on don't call yourself 'slave' again, I don't like those two words."

  "Ah, I understand now." Wang Chengen stood up, having already guessed that King Xiang's foolishness was just an act, and he had actually fooled everyone. The young king's cunning was really too deep. Wang Chengen felt a chill in his heart, and respectfully stood aside. Having mixed around the palace for so long, he knew what to ask and what not to ask.

  Zhu Yinglong suddenly remembered something, that is, in the wild history, it was rumored that after Li Zicheng entered Beijing, more than 30 million taels of silver were found in the inner treasury, and there were also over a million taels of gold. However, Emperor Chongzhen asked his ministers and relatives to raise grain and money to defend the city. Logically speaking, with so much money in the inner treasury, it was not necessary, which is estimated to be unreliable. According to Zhu Yinglong's inference, these monies were probably squandered by Wei Zhongxian long ago. Later generations pinned the crime of losing the country due to greed for wealth on Zhu Youjian's body, anyway, he was a king who lost his country, and one more crime didn't matter. "Xiang En?"

  "I'm here!"

  "Do you know how much congratulatory gifts and rewards from the palace were given on the occasion of my royal wedding?"

  "Three thousand four hundred and twelve pieces of silk, satin and brocade, three hundred and eighty-four pieces of pearls, jewels and jade, one hundred and thirty thousand taels of white silver, three thousand taels of yellow gold..."

  Zhu Yinglong was startled by the numbers spoken by Wang Chengen, and he suddenly had so much money. He said, "Apart from these, how much does the imperial court give to our king each year?"

  "Ten thousand taels of silver, one million stones of rice, twenty pieces of brocade, one hundred and fifty pieces of silk, fifty pieces each of gauze and Luo, five hundred pieces each of winter and summer cloth, two hundred bundles of salt, one thousand catties of flowers, five hundred catties of horse fodder per month..."

  "Really that much?" Zhu Ying Long exclaimed in shock.

  "The king in the palace, all expenses are free and the internal supervisor is responsible for providing, but once he comes out, it's different. Except for the eunuchs assigned by the court and the palace maids with official duties, all expenses are borne by the king from the treasury. Now there are only three queen consorts, if the king takes in a few more concubines in the future, these may not be enough. However, once the king has his own fiefdom, he won't have to worry about it, and he can afford to support many more people." Wang Chengen explained.

  Yes, not being the head of the household doesn't know how expensive firewood and rice are. It seems like a lot, but when used, it's like flowing water, splashing around. He waved his hand to let him go busy with his own affairs first. He needs to think carefully about how to increase income and reduce expenses. Moreover, establishing his own team will definitely cost a lot of money. Unfortunately, he has been studying chemistry, but in the past two years, he has put all his energy into writing. Many things can't be thought of for the time being, but vaguely remembered are some methods of steelmaking. Can't let himself open an ironwork shop first? This thing makes guns and cannons to make money, making machinery also makes money, but I don't know what the structure of a steam engine is. Although he knows the principle, there is no time for him to study it. Making nails, rakes, scissors, etc. may not be worth much, but without this foundation, even if future things are invented, there will be no capital to manufacture them, and that would be a joke. Zhu Yinglong also wants to create an invincible army equipped with all-new firearms. Therefore, steelmaking and ironwork must be done, but who should do it? Zhu Yinglong is worried, he can't personally operate it, he needs to find a partner, who must be loyal and reliable, and preferably have a flexible mind. Zhu Yinglong only now realizes that doing things is not as easy as he thought, the situation is often more complicated than expected, but maybe he's just too impatient.

  "Your Highness, the three princesses are inviting you to have breakfast!" A petite figure with a rosy complexion suddenly appeared in Zhu Yinglong's line of sight.

  "Alright, I'll go now." Zhu Yinglong casually responded and followed Yan Hong's footsteps to the dining hall.

  On the table were four sets of bowls and chopsticks, with the top one left empty, presumably for Zhu Yinglong. The three girls sat in a row, although they were still young, but each was a beautiful girl. In another year or two, they would be even more charming. Zhu Yinglong felt a wave of happiness, although this marriage was not voluntary on both sides. However, as soon as he saw the three girls, he liked them. Tian Shulan's gentleness, Ye Lianwei's indifference, and Zhou Yuning's charm... If you add Yan Hong's slender beauty, Zhu Yinglong sat down, picked up his bowl and chopsticks, but the three girls didn't move at all. He was surprised - wasn't he called to have breakfast? Why had he already started eating, while they weren't moving? So he put down his bowl and chopsticks, looked at Zhou Yuning, whose eyes were red from crying. Ye Lianwei's gaze was flat, not looking directly at Zhu Yinglong. Tian Shulan kept an eye on Zhu Yinglong, but since Zhou Yuning and Ye Lianwei weren't moving their chopsticks, she naturally couldn't either.

  "Alas, what's wrong with you all?" Zhu Yinglong asked in surprise.

  Silence, still silence. Zhu Yinglong began to regret using this breakfast, but the three women were now his wives and he couldn't abandon them. First, he asked Zhou Tinging: "Tinging, you are my empress, tell me what's going on with you all?"

  Three girls with three different thoughts, naturally wouldn't say anything in front of others. It's all because Zhu Yinglong made a mistake, asking like this would still have no answer even by next year. No one had the heart to eat breakfast anymore. Summon Yan Hong and let the maids send each girl back to their own rooms, and also bring breakfast over at the same time.

  Wang Chengen came to report that Li Youlin, a Hanlin Academy scholar, had arrived to give lectures to the king. He was actually a man of Wei Zhongxian's faction. Zhu Yinglong had to muster up his energy to deal with him, but this Li Youlin was really garrulous and greedy, lecherous, and yet he spoke about Zhu Xi's philosophy and Confucius' teachings. If it weren't for the fact that his backing was too strong, Zhu Yinglong would have kicked him out long ago.

  After listening to Li Youlin's chatter for a long time, Zhu Yinglong's ears began to automatically filter out his voice. Whatever he said was either unheard or unclear. Perhaps Li Youlin also knew that this foolish and stubborn king had not yet recovered and didn't mind. He spoke his own thoughts while Zhu Yinglong indulged in his own wild fancies below, neither interfering with the other, and it was surprisingly peaceful.

  It's easy to get through Li Youlin, this eunuch party's running dog, his exhausting bombardment. He doesn't come every day, although the Hanlin Academy is a clear water yamen, he naturally doesn't want to stay inside for a lifetime. As for Wei Zhongxian transferring him to the Xining Palace to give lectures to the king, he is one hundred percent unwilling, but has no way out, and is currently moving up and down to find a place for himself!

  Li Youlin pulled him to attend some class, Zhu Yinglong was thinking of Zhou Yining in his heart. She was his wife who had formally married into the family, although there were no feelings between them now, but he absolutely couldn't ignore her, so after class, he went to Zhou Yining's room to have a good talk with her. The future is long, and he doesn't want trouble at home.

  Zhou Yingning also had her own personal maid, a little girl named Qiao'er. When she saw Zhu Yinglong walk in, she automatically walked out and even closed the door behind them.

  The breakfast on the table hadn't been touched, and Zhu Yinglong couldn't help but feel a pang of distress. At 16 or 17 years old, it was a critical period for growth, how could she not eat? He said, "Ai Fei, people are made of iron, food is steel, skipping one meal will make you hungry, why aren't you eating?"

  This is a sentence that people in later generations often say, Zhu Yinglong said it without thinking, but in the eyes of people in this era, such a precise metaphor they had never heard before, instantly attracted Zhou Yining's attention, and thought to herself, how could a king who was known for being foolish say something so precise? Seeing Xiao Yatou looking at him with a surprised gaze, Zhu Yinglong couldn't help but scold himself, his mouth was too fast. However, this one sentence made Zhou Yining completely change her opinion of Zhu Yinglong, and she said softly: "Thank you, Your Highness, I am grateful."

  "You and I were originally husband and wife, what's the point of talking about gratitude or not. Let me have someone reheat these dishes for you, how about accompanying you to dinner?" In Zhu Yinglong's eyes, Zhou Tingning in front of him was just a pretty little girl, knowing that she was his own wife, but always feeling that she should be his younger sister instead, maybe it was just a temporary state of mind that hadn't adjusted yet, Zhu Yinglong explained to himself.

  Zhou Yingning's body was even weaker than her own, and she suddenly felt a surge of compassion. She naturally walked over and wrapped Zhou Yingning in her arms, holding her small hands, which felt icy cold to the touch. Her affection grew stronger, and she tucked Zhou Yingning into her own brocade clothes to warm her up.

  Zhou Yingning never thought that Zhu Yinglong would make such a move, her heart was racing, and she was suddenly wrapped in his arms. Her face turned bright red as she struggled to free herself, but Zhu Yinglong's strength was much greater than hers, especially since she was already on the verge of fainting from hunger. She had no choice but to accept this intimate contact with Zhu Yinglong, who surprisingly did not take advantage of her. This was also one of the reasons why she felt at ease in his arms - at least he didn't seem like a lustful person.

  Zhu Yinglong almost coaxed and deceived Zhou Tinging into drinking two bowls of white porridge, and the emotions between the two suddenly took a step closer. At this time, Zhou Tinging also knew that her husband was not the foolish person rumored by outsiders, and her resentment disappeared instantly.

  Tian Shulan is much more gentle than Zhou Yingning. In history, this talented and artistic girl received unlimited favor from Chongzhen, but she was spoiled and arrogant. Zhu Yinglong did not want this to happen to him. In fact, it's not her fault. If she were in a different environment, she should be a virtuous wife and mother. What Zhu Yinglong wants is that kind of environment, where he can stand tall as a giant in the East.

  The only one that made Zhu Yinglong worried was Ye Lianwei. There was no description of this woman in the history books. Looking at how cold she was to herself, she must be a Li surname woman. He didn't have the skills to turn this hundred-refined steel into a soft and delicate thing yet, but he still had to go. At breakfast, she didn't seem like Zhou or Tian's women, she ate cleanly, and practiced sword in her courtyard, which scared Zhu Yinglong and made him stop and watch for a while. Compared to his own fancy moves, hers were much better, swift and cold as flying flowers chasing the moon. Moreover, Ye Lianwei could even jump into the air and create seven or eight feet of sword flowers before landing.

  Zhu Yinglong was shocked, his qinggong (light skill) had been seen by someone, and that person was his own wife. Zhu Yinglong began to suspect whether this was the late Ming dynasty in history or perhaps it was a different time and space, one that just happened to be identical to the late Ming dynasty.

  "Prince, sneaking a peek at others practicing martial arts is a major taboo for those who practice martial arts!" Zhu Yinglong was still in a daze and didn't notice that Ye Liangwei was already standing in front of him, staring at him with a frosty face.

  "Hey, I'm her husband after all. How can she speak to me like that?" He said displeased: "I am your husband, can't a husband watch his wife practice martial arts?"

  "No way, unless I permit it, even the Emperor is not allowed." Ye Liangwei said coldly.

  What a big tone, really don't know the height of heaven and earth, this girl is afraid that she will get into trouble sooner or later. She said lightly: "Impudent, married woman follows her husband, three obediences and four virtues, your grandfather won't have taught you without them?"

  "I, Ye Liangyi, have always been quick to distinguish between kindness and resentment. What are these 'Three Obediences and Four Virtues' that you're talking about?" Ye Liangyi said with a slight curl of her lip.

  "If you didn't know this, how could you be chosen and become my concubine!" Zhu Yinglong asked.

  "This girl is happy." Ye Liangwei said with a cold smile.

  Zhu Yinglong's nose was twisted with anger, and his first assistant Ye Xianggao was a man of high moral character, although his talent was limited, but he was still considered a virtuous person. How could he have such an arrogant granddaughter? She turned her sleeve and prepared to leave.

  "Halt!"

  "What business do you have with me?" Zhu asked, furrowing his brow.

  "The day after tomorrow, this girl is going to see her grandfather off back to his hometown. They said that before they go out, they need to get your approval."

  "Alright." Zhu Yinglong said without thinking, and it's best if you don't come back. He turned around and left without looking back.

  "Miss, isn't he the Prince?" asked Mei'er, Ye Liangyu's maid with concern.

  "What's wrong with the prince, I..." Ye Liangwei suddenly shut her mouth because she saw Zhu Yinglong turn back again.

  For Ye Xiangao, Zhu Yinglong wanted to see him alone. A civil official actually raised such a bold and powerful granddaughter, there must be some unknown secrets in it. He also wants to understand what's so special about being the "Timely Rain" in the list of candidates selected by the Eunuch Party. So he turned back and threw out a sentence: "Later, King Japan will go with you!"

  "Miss, from now on when you see Wang Ye, it's best not to use the term 'Ben Gu Niang' anymore?" Mei Er reminded.

  "What should I call you then?"

  "You should call me 'your concubine'."

  "I am a concubine, not a minor wife. Why should I refer to myself in such a way? Isn't that degrading?"

  I don't know what Zhu Yinglong would think if he heard this, perhaps he would sigh and think that she was indeed a naive little girl who had not yet fully developed mentally.

  In less than ten days, Li Youlin jumped up and down to walk the relationship, and was indeed called by Wei Zhongxian to the Ducha Yuan. He was replaced by an old Hanlin with blurred eyes, who didn't ask or care about anything, and only knew how to read books in class. Zhu Yinglong was not in that so-called classroom for eight or nine out of ten times. However, Emperor Tianqi was quite concerned about his homework and asked several times. He received a reply that although the king had not fully recovered, he had already improved a lot. The emperor then issued an edict to reward Wang Tiqian and Wei Zhongxian, saying they were diligent in serving the king and loyal to the country.