The Forbidden City in Nanjing, Fengtian Hall.
All the civil and military officials were gathered together, waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's arrival.
Usually, at this time, the Hall of Heaven's Tribute should be quiet, but today was different. Everyone was whispering to each other, causing the entire court to be in chaos.
"Hey, have you heard? The Crown Prince seemed to have gone missing last night.”
"Nonsense, His Highness the Crown Prince is not a child. How can a living person be lost?”
"That might not be the case. I heard that last night, the two Crown Princess Consorts rushed to the Palace of Heavenly Purity in a hurry and cried. It seems that something big has really happened!”
"No, if something really happened to the Crown Prince, how could the Imperial Palace be so quiet?”
"That might not be the case. You might not know this, but last night, the emperor went to the imperial prison.”
"Heavenly prison? Oh right, didn't the Emperor put His Highness the King of Qin in the imperial prison yesterday morning? It was possible that the Crown Prince's disappearance had something to do with him.”
"I see. Then it makes sense. It's not like you don't know what His Highness the King of Qin can't do. The Crown Prince is also kind-hearted. It's most likely that when he went to visit the prison, he was pulled by his younger brother and was not allowed to leave.”
"If that's the case, why haven't I seen His Highness the Crown Prince for so long? The emperor has already gone to the imperial prison, so he should resolve this matter!”
"Should we ask Lord Huang? Isn't he the study partner of the Eastern Palace?"
"Lord Huang didn't come today. He said he took a sick leave.”
"Hmm?"
“…………”
As everyone discussed, two people did not say a word and did not participate in it at all.
They stood side by side, both wearing the court robes of a first-grade official. One had a smile on his face, while the other had a worried expression.
The latter was Liu Bowen, and the former was Li Shanchang.
As the two military strategists under Zhu Yuanzhang, the two of them were good friends when they were young. However, time had passed, and now they only had a harmonious expression on their faces.
At this moment, footsteps came from the back of the Hall of Heaven Tribute. Accompanied by Chen Hong's shout," The Emperor has arrived." Zhu Yuanzhang walked over in his dragon robe.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. Long live our Emperor!”
All the civil and military officials in the court quickly shut their mouths and followed Li Shan Chang and Liu Bowen.
"Haha…all my beloved ministers, please rise.”
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and waved his hand. He sat on the dragon throne and asked curiously,
"We didn't come just now and heard you guys arguing. What are you guys arguing about?”
The moment Zhu Yuanzhang said this, all the officials in the court were stunned. They looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.
Seeing this, Lee Shan Chang raised his head slightly and saw Zhu Yuanzhang with two dark circles under his eyes. He was afraid that Zhu Yuanzhang had not slept all night. His eyes flashed as he stepped forward and cupped his hands.
"Your Majesty, I heard that something happened in the Eastern Palace last night and was very worried, so I wanted to ask all of you. I don't want to cause a ruckus.”
The moment Li Shan Chang said this, all the civil and military officials in the court were moved.
If the Prime Minister does not report to the emperor, he will really report to the emperor if something happens.
On the other hand, the person beside him was far from it.
In fact, Li Shan Chang also had his own considerations. As the founding father of the country, Zhu Yuanzhang could not put him in prison just because he caused a commotion in the court. At most, he would reprimand him.
What was the point of being a scapegoat? What Lee Shan Chang wanted was to take the opportunity to gain a wave of goodwill in the court, suppress Liu Bowen beside him, expand Huaixi Group, become bigger and stronger, and create more glory!
The truth was as Li Shan Zhang had expected. Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said,
"It's fine, it's fine. Actually, it wasn't a big deal last night.”
At this point, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows. He seemed to have thought of something and slowly took out a piece of paper from his pocket.
"Oh right, it just so happens that everyone is here today. I recently got a good poem for you to appreciate.”
After saying that, Zhu Yuanzhang handed the paper in his hand to the eunuch Chen Hong.
Chen Hong hurriedly took it with both hands. When he took a closer look, he realized that it was written by Zhu Xiong's " Linjiang Immortal ". His expression instantly became strange.
Li Shan Chang and Liu Bowen looked at each other and saw a hint of confusion in each other's eyes.
His Majesty had never been interested in poetry, so why was he acting all artsy today?
The rest of the court officials were also curious, but Chen Hong handed the paper to Li Shan Chang and Liu Bowen first.
The two of them reached out and took the paper. They held it left and right and looked down at it together. In the next second, their eyes widened and they sucked in a breath of cold air.
"Hiss ~"
Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon throne and was extremely pleased with himself.
Although he was already the Son of Heaven, due to his humble background and lack of literary talent, in the eyes of some civil officials, he was far inferior to the emperors of the past dynasties.
Now that the state affairs were busy, even if Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to study, he did not have the time. However, as long as his son's literary talent surpassed all the civil and military officials in the court, wouldn't it also indirectly prove his ability?
"How is it, Bowen Shanzhang? You guys have been looking at this phrase for a long time. What do you think? Is it still pleasing to the eye?"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen with a smile.
"Naturally, naturally."
Liu Bowen and Lee Shan Chang nodded quickly without any intention of ingratiating themselves. They said honestly,
"This poem is extremely wonderful and rarely seen in a hundred years. It's no longer good or bad. It's completely a world-shocking work!”
"That's right, Your Majesty. This lowly subject has the same thoughts as Brother Bowen, but I wonder who wrote this phrase? Could it be His Majesty's handwriting?"
Hearing this, the rest of the officials couldn't believe their eyes. They couldn't help but take a step forward and look.
When the " Linjiang Deity " on the paper came into view, everyone's pupils constricted into the shape of a needle tip without exception.
"Good lyrics, good lyrics!"
"The green mountains are still there, and the sunset is red.”
"There's also this sentence. How many things have happened since ancient times?”
"Heavens, the person who can write such a poem must be extremely talented. If he can enter the court as an official, he will definitely be a pillar of our dynasty!”
“…………”
Seeing that all the officials in the court, including Liu Bowen and Li Shanchang, were full of praises, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately raised the corner of his mouth into a smug smile. He swept his gaze across the ministers and said again,
"Haha…My dear ministers, you all know that I don't have much ink in my stomach, so I naturally can't come up with such a good phrase.”
"Therefore, I asked all of you to appreciate this poem today because I wanted to ask you out of curiosity, can you make such a poem?”
As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang said this, the entire Fengtian Palace fell silent. No one dared to say anything.
All the civil and military officials in the court looked at the " Linjiang Deity " on the paper and weighed themselves. They did not even have the courage to try, let alone confidence. They immediately shook their heads at Zhu Yuanzhang.
Liu Bowen and Li Shanchang were no exception. Although scholars looked down on each other, this poem," Fairy by the River ", was too well written.
"Your Majesty must be joking. Only a rare talent in ten thousand years can come up with such a phrase. This lowly official is ashamed of his inferiority.”
"This humble subject is the same. Let alone now, even if this humble subject was ten years younger, this humble subject would never be able to come up with such words!”
Zhu Yuanzhang grinned and stood up from his throne. He looked at the ministers proudly and said,
"Haha…in that case, do you all want to know who wrote this phrase?”
Li Shan Chang and Liu Bowen nodded without hesitation. The rest of the court officials also cupped their hands together,
"Of course, Your Majesty, please tell me.”
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and smiled at the ministers,"
"Haha…Since you all want to know so much, then let's not keep you in suspense.”
"Actually, you've already met the person who wrote this poem. It was written by our second son, the King of Qin, Zhu Xi!”
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