38 Chapter 38: Kneeling

The front of the main hall of Fengyi Palace is paved with bluestone slabs. There is no grass or trees. The white marble steps are magnificent, but walking on them in this quiet afternoon gives people a deep sense of depression.

Mu Hanzhang followed the eunuch who led the way to the main hall. Perhaps because of the hot weather, the queen was not in the hall, but placed a phoenix couch in the corridor. Two palace maids held long-handled peacock fans and slowly fanned the couch. The queen, wearing a gorgeous dress with a golden phoenix, sat on the phoenix couch and looked straight at Mu Hanzhang stepping up the jade steps step by step.

"I have seen my mother. May you live a thousand years!" Mu Hanzhang walked to the corridor calmly and knelt down to salute.

The queen took the cup, took a sip, and then touched the corner of her mouth elegantly with her handkerchief, and then said calmly: "Get up, sit down quickly, this is the treasure of King Cheng, if you kneel and hurt it, I can't afford to pay."

Mu Hanzhang lowered his eyes, as if he couldn't hear the sarcasm in the queen's words, thanked her politely, and sat on the square stool brought by the maid.

Seeing that Princess Cheng was not as nervous as expected, she sat down as soon as she was asked to sit down, and her behavior and etiquette were impeccable, which made the queen, who was ready to reprimand her, swallow her breath back.

Jing Shao entered the South Study Room. The underage princes had finished their nap, but they hadn't started their afternoon homework. They were just quietly reviewing their homework in the room, waiting for the teacher to arrive. Because the weather was getting hot, Emperor Hongzheng exempted the princes from the martial arts class in the afternoon and changed it to literary classes.

Standing outside the study, watching these children under ten years old holding their books seriously, Jing Shao recalled the situation in the South Study when he was a child. At that time, the Queen Mother was still alive, and people would send fresh fruits and vegetables to him and his brother at this time every day, not only for him and his brother, but also for his eldest brother and Jing Yu. Jing Yu always felt that what others had was better than his, and he often wanted to exchange with his brother because he was young. If his brother didn't care about him, he would exchange with him, but Jing Shao couldn't stand it, and would punch him if he made too much trouble.

Later, the Queen Mother came to power, and there were no more fruits and vegetables to eat in the afternoon. Since then, there has been no new prince born in the palace for a long time. The eldest prince left the palace to build a mansion, and only the three of them were left in the study. Every day, someone would specially send snacks and fruits to Jing Yu, but they were all unique...

"Third brother!" The baby voice brought Jing Shao back to his thoughts. Looking down, a little fat boy who only reached his legs was pulling his clothes. It was the seventh prince Jing Yi.

Jing Shao reached out and touched his head, calling him "Jing Yi". The little fat boy immediately smiled: "Third brother, you still recognize me!"

"It's not like we haven't seen each other for a few years, how can I not recognize you?" Jing Shao picked him up, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Have you gained weight again?" Because Jing Yi was still a fat boy when he grew up, Jing Shao remembered him more clearly. He didn't see the other brothers often, so if someone pulled him, he could only calculate the ranking based on age.

"Third brother..." Several people in the room turned around when they heard the noise and stood up.

"I just came to see you on the way, you guys should study." Jing Shao waved his hand and asked them to sit back.

"Third brother, I heard that you defeated 100,000 Huns. When I saw you during the New Year, I wanted to hear you talk about how you fought, but you were sitting in the front, and I couldn't get through." Jing Yi became bolder because he was held by his brother. After being put down, he didn't return to his seat. He held Jing Shao tightly and asked him to talk about his deeds on the battlefield. Other princes did not say anything, their eyes were full of expectation.

"Third brother, do all the Huns have big beards?"

"Third brother, are there wolves in the desert?"

"Third brother..."

When Emperor Hongzheng came in, he saw Jing Shao surrounded by several brothers. He was at a loss for what to do, and he could not help but soften his expression.

"My mother, it was the prince's intention not to take concubines, and I was not aware of it." Mu Hanzhang bowed his head politely, and answered the queen's words, which were more and more harsh, in a gentle voice without saying a word.

"You are older than the prince, can't you persuade him? He is about to go to war, and he doesn't have a child. If something happens, wouldn't such a high prince title have no successor? After all, he has passed the imperial examination, why is he so unreasonable?" The queen used the cup lid to slowly stir the tea in the cup, saying that she only likes men. Could it be that the concubines in the Chengwang Mansion before were just decorations? Today in the imperial study, the emperor just mentioned that Jing Shao should take his niece as a concubine, and he said that he didn't like women, which was clearly a slap in her face!

What do you mean by "what if"? What do you mean by "no successor"? It's the worst thing to say before going to war! Mu Hanzhang, who had been patiently responding, heard this and slowly clenched his fist hidden in his sleeves: "The title of prince is not hereditary. Even if it is a concubine's son, he can only inherit the title of general of the state..."

The queen knocked the cup on the small table fiercely: "What do you mean by this? Are you blaming me and the emperor?" The maids around knelt down after hearing this.

"I dare not." Mu Hanzhang hurriedly stood up and knelt on the ground.

"What else are you afraid of? As a royal princess, you exclude concubines, are jealous and favored, and now you don't allow the prince to have children. It's really bold!" The queen's words were aggressive and every word was heart-wrenching. Mu Hanzhang just remained silent. In this situation, the queen was obviously angry and embarrassed, and the more she said, the more mistakes she would make.

Then he took the handkerchief handed over by the palace maid and wiped his hands stained with tea, glanced at Mu Hanzhang who was kneeling on the ground, sighed softly and said: "I don't want to embarrass you, but since I married into the royal family, You have to think about the royal family. Let’s go and kneel on the jade steps, and when you figure it out, get up again.”

When Mu Hanzhang heard this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself. Do you want to understand? The Queen didn't even say anything for him to reflect on, so how could he want to explain it clearly?

The jade steps are the flat land above the jade steps in front of the palace. The white jade has been exposed to the scorching sun for several hours and has long since dried like charcoal. Mu Hanzhang lifted his hem gracefully and knelt down on a stone slab in the middle. The midsummer afternoon is when the sun is at its strongest, burning your exposed skin and you will soon feel pain.

The queen asked everyone in the palace to stand up, took a cup of freshly brewed tea, and drank it slowly, leaving the princess alone to kneel and receive the punishment. She wanted to see how "love is stronger than gold" between King Cheng and Princess Cheng.

Miao Xi stood behind a row of palace maids, secretly worried, but had no chance to leave.

Sweat slid down his handsome face and down his graceful chin, dripping on the hem of the purple court dress. Mu Hanzhang lowered his eyes and retracted his hands into his sleeves without leaving a trace. The sun was in the south, and only his back was exposed to the sun, so his skin was not sunburned. However, the court uniform had more than one layer and soon became soaked with sweat. The hot stone slabs let the heat seep into his body bit by bit.

Mu Hanzhang thought about the purpose of the Queen's singing today, in order to divert his attention and reduce the body's perception of pain. Today, Jing Shao directly refutes the matter of the harem, and the emperor did not force him. The queen felt embarrassed and wanted to use this method to let everyone know that she had the final say in the affairs of the harem. She was also trying to knock Jing Shao not to talk nonsense. .

When the queen drank the second cup of tea, she couldn't help but get up to go to the toilet.

Sweat hung on her long eyelashes, and the scene in front of her eyes was instantly dyed with a colorful halo. Mu Hanzhang thought in amusement that maybe the queen just wanted to say something, and she didn't know how it would end. It's a pity that he is a man, not one of those concubines with weak blood and shortness of breath. It is estimated that he will not be able to do anything good after the sun goes down. Should I pretend to be unconscious so that I can find a step for her?

Miao Xi took the opportunity to follow the palace maid who went to the water room to change tea. She turned around the corridor and quickly stepped aside. When no one was paying attention, she ran out quickly. She has walked the roads in the palace every day since she was a child and has long been familiar with them. However, today's road to the south study seems to be particularly long. Miao Xi was so anxious that she was sweating profusely, but she didn't dare to run too fast for fear of being suspected by the guards. Such a gentle and gentle gentleman, the prince is usually reluctant to even say harsh words, but he has to kneel on the stone slab under the scorching sun. The prince knows that he is heartbroken to death!

"My son wants to bring peace to the world for his father. As for the children and grandchildren, there are two royal brothers here. What's more, the fourth brother will get married next month." Jing Shao saw that his father was in a good mood today, so he remembered Jun Qing was still in Fengyi Palace, so he put on a loyal and honest face, "My son and the princess have been married for less than four months, and now they really like her very much. I really don't want to marry anyone else."

"Hahaha..." The third son, who only wanted to lead troops to fight, now knew what love was like. Emperor Hongzheng couldn't help laughing when he heard this.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Miao Xi stumbled in and was stopped by the guards in front of the study door.

When Jing Shao and Emperor Hongzheng heard this, they both turned to look.

"Wonderful!" Jing Shao saw the visitor's expression clearly and knew something was wrong with Jun Qing, and his expression suddenly changed.

"What's going on?" Emperor Hongzheng frowned and motioned to the guards to let her in.

"My slave, please bow to your Majesty!" When Miao Xi saw Emperor Hongzheng there, she knelt down on the ground with a plop, kowtowed her head and then started to cry, "Please Your Majesty, please save the princess! The princess was kneeling down in front of Fengyi Palace. She was already kneeling under the scorching sun. It’s time!”

"Your Majesty, the maid from Prince Cheng's Mansion is missing," Duolu looked around and whispered in his ear, "I just heard that Prince Cheng has also entered the palace and is in the south study room."

Jihou snorted coldly: "With her going, I want to see how capable he is as a king!"

Mu Hanzhang knelt not far away, so he could clearly hear what he said clearly, and couldn't help but feel anxious secretly. If Jing Shao broke into Fengyi Palace without hesitation, the crime would be serious!

"I have seen the emperor. Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!" The guards and maids at the foot of the jade steps suddenly knelt down and shouted three times: long live the emperor.

After hearing this, his hand shook, and the sapphire tea cup immediately fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.

"Jun Qing!" Jing Shao confessed to his father and rushed up the jade steps in a few steps.

When Mu Hanzhang heard the sound, a sneer appeared on his face that had always been downcast. Since the emperor was here, he would not stop doing anything and would simply make the matter bigger. So, he weakly raised his head, glanced at the approaching Jing Shao, and called out softly in a hoarse voice: "Your Majesty..." Then he closed his eyes and fell back softly!