Ming Dynasty: Empress Ma and I swapped clothes!

Chapter 11 The harem must not interfere in politics

"Girl."

Upon seeing Ma Xiuying, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been frowning just moments before, instantly relaxed.

He met this "female strategist" who was uniquely his.

Zhu Yuanzhang, arms outstretched, strode forward with a joyful expression, his eyebrows raised.

Ignoring Zhu Yuanzhang's greeting, Ma Xiuying walked straight past him and sat down in the seat next to the imperial desk.

Seeing that her lunch for the day was still unfinished and untouched, Ma Xiuying had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not annoyed by his sister's attitude.

He just scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly before sitting back down in his original seat.

As soon as he sat down, Ma Xiuying turned her head and said, "If you, Zhu Chongba, had nothing to do, you would never have come looking for your sister."

"How could that be?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately understood that his sister was angry with him, so he quickly explained, "Sister, look, that's why we came to find you today, wasn't it?"

"My husband and I haven't sat down to eat together in a long time, don't you think?"

"Yunqi, is this the imperial edict we just gave you?"

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang opened his voice, he immediately turned his attention to Yun Qi, shouting and winking at him as he did so.

Ma Xiuying also looked at Yunqi at this moment.

Now Yun Qi was truly in a dilemma. In the end, he could only lower his head and slowly say, "Your Majesty did indeed instruct me in this way just now."

But his expression clearly showed he was lying.

Everyone in the palace, from top to bottom, even the youngest eunuch who has just entered the palace, can probably tell the difference.

Ma Xiuying wasn't about to let Zhu Yuanzhang off so easily. She glanced down at the food and asked, "Why is it all cold?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's heart tightened again. He looked around and, finding no suitable scapegoat, could only continue to let Yun Qi take the blame: "Yun Qi, what's going on? Is this how the Imperial Kitchen prepares our meals?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Your Majesty, please forgive me."

Yun Qi shuddered, then immediately understood and prostrated himself on the ground, kneeling down.

Judging from his smooth movements, this was clearly not his first time.

"Look, girl, it's all the fault of these subordinates, it has nothing to do with us."

Zhu Yuanzhang stood there, waving his hands around frantically, trying to explain.

Ma Xiuying then let him off the hook for the time being, and said calmly, "Then let's have dinner, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this unfamiliar address, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that his sister was still angry, so he quickly coaxed her, "Sister, we know we were wrong. These dishes are all cold. You've worked so hard to recover, don't let these cold foods ruin your health."

"I really want to see you, but I've been too busy with official business lately, and I just can't find the time."

"I promise, if I'm not busy anymore, I'll spend every day with you. If I don't see you for a day, I can't eat or drink, and I can't sleep a wink at night."

After Zhu Yuanzhang's persistent pleading, this matter was barely resolved.

Zhu Yuanzhang gave him a look.

The next moment, everyone who was supposed to leave the Qianqing Palace vanished, leaving only the founding couple.

"Girl."

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled, abandoning his imperial airs like a peasant man. He then shook his head and scratched his head, finally revealing his purpose with embarrassment: "These past few days, I've been thinking about this matter of bestowing a title upon someone, tossing and turning all night."

"Don't even mention us, even Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, Tang He, and Xu Da in the court have been pondering this for countless hours. It's time to settle this matter. What do you say, sister?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked on with great anticipation.

He was truly unsure how to handle the situation on his own, so it was only natural that he thought of his capable wife and his good sister.

"I said?!"

Ma Xiuying suddenly smiled, her chest heaving, and looked straight at Zhu Chongba.

Some things are different from before.

This body of mine changes every ten days.

Although we now know that Ma Wenxiang is a good kid, we still have to be careful.

Matters within the inner court, however significant, can never surpass the power of Heaven.

Ma Xiuying was confident that even if things went wrong in the backyard, she could still get things back on track with her abilities.

But if it involves the previous dynasty, once it is implemented, countless people will die needlessly, which she does not want to see.

Perhaps after learning more about Ma Wenxiang's character and abilities in the future, I will be able to truly put my mind at ease.

But definitely not now, much less at this moment.

"As I wish."

Ma Xiuying smiled slightly, revealing two dimples at the corners of her mouth. Although she was getting on in years, she was still playful and cute, and her charm remained. Her tone was firm and powerful.

"The inner court must not interfere in politics!"

"This matter of nobility is a matter of great importance to the nation, concerning the fate of the dynasty. Your Majesty should ponder it carefully on your own."

He finished speaking.

Ma Xiuying then left without lingering and departed shortly afterward.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared blankly at the departing figure, his head buzzing.

Only when the people outside the palace slowly approached did Zhu Yuanzhang ask Yunqi, "What have we done to upset the girl lately?"

Yun Qi pondered for a long time. He couldn't ignore this question, nor could he give a perfunctory answer. He could only rack his brains to guess: "Perhaps Her Majesty was too tired a few days ago. Although she didn't fall ill, His Majesty didn't go to visit her?"

He paused, then added, "I heard from people in the palace that all the princes were there that day."

"right!"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly stood up, took these words to heart, paused for a moment, and then nodded emphatically.

"This is it."

He pointed forward and waved one finger up and down repeatedly, saying, "Let's see what's going on. This girl is just being a little temperamental."

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang's lips curled into a slight smile, his expression one of excitement and joy, as if he had just eaten ice on a hot day: "The inner court should not interfere in politics, that makes sense, but she's my sister, isn't she an outsider?"

"Just now we almost thought that the girl had abandoned us and was leaving us to fend for ourselves. That won't do, absolutely not."

"My girlfriend and I are the founding couple, we're different! Let's not talk about anything else, even this dragon throne, the one we sit on, my girlfriend sits on too."

Zhu Yuanzhang kept muttering to himself, whether he was trying to convince others, himself, or perhaps he suddenly felt lost and empty, and was truly panicked.

This girl wasn't like this before...

……

The private school in Majia Village.

When classes begin and end, the wind chimes hanging in front of the door latch ring out continuously, like the echoing of a clear spring.

Ma Wenxiang was writing furiously at that moment.

After being tormented by Ma Xiulin at home and learning from Wang Xiucai at the private school, he now has a good understanding of the content of the preliminary examination.

There are only four items.

The first item, "Pasting the Scripture," is similar to a fill-in-the-blank exercise in modern times. The examiner would take a page from the scripture, cover the left and right sides, and record only one line in the middle. The candidate would then have to fill in the words or phrases that were covered up.

The second item, "Silent Translation," involves writing down the entire passage of scripture from memory and adding annotations.

The third item, "Poetry Writing," required composing a poem on a given theme; the fourth item, "Essay Writing," later became known as the eight-legged essay.

Although the eight-legged essay was not yet fully finalized at this time, it had already taken shape and required a fixed format and paragraphs.

And he is Ma Wenxiang.

Aside from being a health expert, the only other major offered in university was the humanities, particularly Chinese language and literature, which was almost universally discouraged from pursuing.

"There is no Empress!"

"I, Ma Wenxiang, will definitely pass the imperial examination and obtain the title of Juren."