Fu rarely acted so forceful, dragging him in front of the mirror, pinching his chin while kissing his shoulder, asking with a glance, "Does Your Majesty remember now?"
Zhu Ci looked at his own body, adorned only with these chains, narrowed his eyes at the Grand Secretary, who remained impeccably dressed. He broke free from his restraint, turned around, said, "This doesn't look good on me; it would only look truly stunning on the Grand Secretary."
Whether it was because Fu's complexion was so pale that he seemed less than human, if he wore nothing but these gemstone chains and maintained a more solemn expression, he would truly possess a sense of divinity.
Fu allowed the Emperor to do as he pleased, saying with great indulgence, "It seems Your Majesty does not care for these chains, but it matters not; I have prepared something else."
When Zhu Ci saw him take out the bead chain, he couldn't help but fall silent for a moment.
Is this.. self-taught?
The self-taught Grand Secretary Fu was actually on guard in his heart; why was he suddenly being impeached for such a thing?
Since ascending the throne, the Emperor's attitude has been very clear: unless it involves actual crimes or violations of the law, do not waste his time with messy impeachments over trivial matters.
Even if Fu's intimacy with others in the carriage were partially seen, it would only be considered a breach of public decency, not a violation of the law.
Moreover, even if he and Zhu Ci were being intimate in the carriage, no one would be left nearby, so no one would see them.
Therefore, this memorial was nothing more than baseless speculation; after Zhu Ci read it, he began to act, simply because he didn't take it to heart.
But if one time is ignored, what about two or three times?
The two of them were not together every single day either.
Fu felt that something was not quite right, so he immediately sent someone to investigate secretly.
The news brought up next indeed confirmed his suspicions: someone was already questioning the relationship between the Emperor and him.
Everyone in the Grand Secretariat is already quite accustomed to the Emperor's favoritism; over the many years, the imperial court has not lacked the appearance of handsome new Top Scholars, Second Place Scholars, Third Place Scholars.
Especially the Third Place Scholar; if one isn't good-looking, one can't become the Third Place Scholar.
In the end, it seemed no one had caught the Emperor's eye, which was not a very good sign.
There were also others who, when the Emperor went out or visited a subject's home, would arrange for handsome boys to serve him, yet the Emperor never seemed to take any of them special notice.
Just what kind of charm does the Grand Secretary have? How can things continue like this?
As a result, some people began to harbor twisted thoughts; the Emperor and the Grand Secretary clearly had feelings for each other, at their age, neither of them had married.
If the Grand Secretary had someone else on the side, would His Majesty still tolerate him?
This is the true source of this inexplicable impeachment memorial.
From beginning to end, the people impeaching Fu were not attempting to separate the Emperor and the Grand Secretary on legal grounds.
It was not that they did not want to, but rather that they lacked the ability.
This Emperor before us has truly fought battles in the south and north to turn the tide and restore the Great Ming; he still holds military power, the civil officials cannot suppress him at all.
As for worrying about a successor for the nation.. that is a bit too early. The Emperor is in good health and still very young, being only twenty-two years old; there is no need to worry about a successor just yet.
So they simply did not want to see Fu maintain control over the imperial court from the very beginning.
Once Fu knew, he could only sigh and let the matter drop. He could have retaliated, but this matter was essentially a test of the trust between him and the Emperor, it involved not just this person, but others as well.
He could not yield either.
If he yielded, then the next people these people would pressure would be the Emperor.
The scholar-officials all longed for the past, feeling that the days when the Emperor did not interfere and listened to his ministers were the good days.
How could Fu comply with their wishes?
Moreover, these people will stop at nothing to gain power and status.
Can't you see that even if the Emperor shows no favor, people still incessantly try to present him with people?
They didn't miss the chance to send gifts to the Emperor, it was even easier to send people to the Prince of Yue's Mansion; one truly cannot overestimate the lack of integrity in these officials.
What surprised Fu the most was that the Japanese had also brought many young boys and girls as offerings this time.
Zhu Ci said with great dissatisfaction, "Do they take me for a Dragon King? Offering them young boys and girls?"
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: If you really take me for the Dragon King, then hand over your territory, you can leave. A little kitty sits cross-legged with its dragon horns and dragon tail. jpg
Next update at 12:00 PM~
Chapter 298
Fu was drinking water when he heard this and suddenly choked, unable to help but laugh and say, "I actually think their purpose is to help Your Majesty enrich the harem."
Zhu Ci was shocked after hearing this: "What kind of joke is this? Do they think I am blind?"
Although the Japanese envoys repeatedly claimed to have brought beauties, by Zhu Ci's standards, those were at most merely delicate.
The main problem was that they were all far too young, only about ten years old, so thin and small that they were like little chicks.
He also hadn't expected that the aesthetic standards over there would have already begun to take shape.
Fu looked at him, his eyes wide with surprise, said with a suppressed laugh, "If Your Majesty does not like it, then do not have it. It is nothing more than them expressing their attitude.
Indeed, the attitude Japan displayed was close to submission.
He asked with some confusion, "Why did they suddenly bow their heads?"
Although Japan was indeed a vassal state during the height of the Great Ming's power, their actual rulers, the Shoguns, were all appointed by the Emperor of the Great Ming, Japan refused to acknowledge this once the Great Ming began to decline.
The Great Ming has only just caught its breath; why are they suddenly willing to bow their heads?
Fu said, "They want to beg for grain seeds."
"Seeds? What seeds?" Zhu Ci frowned.
After the Japanese envoys arrived, Zhu Ci had no intention of receiving them.
They are merely envoys and are not worthy of a personal audience with him; if the General Jingyuan were to come, he would have that qualification, but unfortunately, the highest-ranking envoy arriving this time is nothing more than an Old Middleman.
The Old Council consists of members of the highest administrative body of Japan, the Council of Elders, totaling four or five people. They are all selected from among the daimyo of Pro-min-zhe and are specifically responsible for various affairs, including diplomatic matters.
However, no matter how much you talk about it, the Lao Zhong is not the supreme leader of Japan, so Zhu Ci has been responsible for everything from beginning to end.
Zhu Ci was already qualified as the Minister of Rites, not to mention that he also held the status of a Prince.
Japan has never possessed the status to stand on equal footing with the Great Ming, so when the Japanese Mission requested an audience with the Grand Secretary or the Vice Grand Secretary, Zhu Ci rejected them outright.
And naturally, Japan's requests were also reported by Zhu Ci to the Grand Secretariat.
Fu said, "Naturally, it is the best seed."
"They're dreaming," Zhu Ci said, rolling his eyes quite ungracefully.
Aside from young boys and girls, the tribute brought by Japan this time consisted of gold, silver, sulfur, copper, as well as swords, Japanese fans, maki-e lacquerware, painted screens, dried goods such as sea cucumbers and abalone.
It was so shabby that Zhu Ci didn't even want to look at it; it wasn't as if he hadn't seen fine things before.
It seems they still habitually follow the old custom of "giving much and receiving little."
Zhu Ci had no intention of indulging them. Recognizing them as vassal states brought no benefits to the Great Ming; instead, they tried to fleece the Great Ming every single day. What kind of pleasant dream were they dreaming?
However, the dignity of a celestial empire must still be maintained, so Zhu Ci thought for a moment and said, "As for the return gift, let it be some glassware. Hmm, things like thermometers can actually be included in that."
Don't be fooled by the thermometer's unassuming appearance; in this era, it is indeed considered a rare commodity.
Due to the limitations of productivity, only research institutions and wealthy families can afford to use them at this time.
There shouldn't be such a thing in Japan.
Zhu Ci set aside the matter of the return gift and asked instead, "That's not right, how do they know what kind of seeds we have?"
Although the seed varieties have been continuously iterating, the first batch of seeds capable of adapting to the current environment has long since begun to be promoted.
However, this thing cannot be achieved overnight; it must be taken slowly, especially since the common people will certainly maintain a wait-and-see attitude toward new seed varieties at first.
They do not have the luxury of making mistakes, so they will certainly be more conservative.
To promote it on a large scale, the state must formulate subsidy policies, arranging everything from seed prices to procurement channels, so that farmers can work without any worries.
Unfortunately, the state does not have enough money right now, so it can only implement pilot subsidies, choosing the Capital and the areas surrounding the municipalities.
Information is so scarce these days that people in other places likely have no idea that new grain varieties even exist. How could Japan, separated from them by the sea, possibly know?
Could there be Japanese spies in the imperial court? Or are there Japanese spies within the Research Center?
Zhu Ci instantly became vigilant, he looked at Fu and said, "This matter must be thoroughly investigated."
Fu Qingsheng said, "Your Majesty, do not forget Alna. When we began researching grain seeds, he had not yet gone to Japan, so knowing about this matter is nothing new to him."
At that time, he had arranged for people on the Qing Court's side, the Qing Court certainly had people arranged on this side as well; in fact, there wouldn't even need to be arrangements from the Qing Court, as those Ming officials who had surrendered surely still had clansmen or students here.
Even if Fu arranged for people to investigate, the connections surrounding those people are incredibly complex; sometimes, even those who seem to have no connection on the surface might be in close contact.
The process of researching new crop varieties needs to be kept secret, but the results do not need to be kept secret; in fact, they should be widely publicized to bolster the confidence of the court officials and the citizens.
Alna was Dodo's confidant at that time, so it was no difficult task to pry into these matters.
Especially since the Japanese's request was for the best grain seeds; clearly, they also did not know to what extent the grain seeds of the Great Ming had evolved, so there was no specific direction to it.
Zhu Ci narrowed his eyes: "The Prince of Qi saw him this time?"
No," Fu said. "Of course he wouldn't dare to see the Prince of Qi.
Zhu Ci had already started a new life; all those rumors about him from before had been debunked by Zhu Ci.
Even if he hated Alna, it would no longer have any effect on his emotions.
On the contrary, Alna needs to be extremely careful. If he dares to appear before Zhu Ci on his own initiative and says anything he shouldn't, he will most likely die here.
Zhu Ci snorted, "He is quite bold to actually dare to set foot on the land of Great Ming."
Not only that, but he even sought out Lu Zheng.
Hmm?" Zhu Ci was somewhat surprised. "He actually took the initiative to seek out Lu Zheng?
Fu nodded and said, "Yes, he found out when Lu Zheng was on his scheduled break and took the initiative to come to the door."
"What does he want to do?" Zhu Ci was truly curious this time.
If it were anyone else, having finally attained the status of a hatamoto in Japan, they would certainly have stayed there to take root and never return for the rest of their lives. Yet, not only did he return, but he even came looking for him proactively.
What on earth is he trying to pull?