RPAGF Chapter 54 Gift of Silver Badge Township
Chapter 54 Gift of Silver Badge Township
On the tenth day after Princess Jiangdu's marriage, the prince consort paid homage to express his gratitude and performed the five-bow ceremony.
The first thing Zhu Jingyi did upon returning to the palace was to go to the vegetable garden to find Zhu Gaoxi.
"Zhu Gaoxi, I heard you agreed to let Xie Jin return to his hometown for the New Year's Day?" Zhu Jingyi picked up a piece of peanut brittle and gave it to him.
"Well, it's the Lunar New Year, people should be able to go home and reunite with their families, right?" Zhu Gaoxi took the candy and put it in his mouth.
"He's gone, who will take care of the school?" Zhu Jingyi asked worriedly.
"If all else fails, let Guo Ming go over and manage things for a couple of days," Zhu Gaoxi said, turning his head to examine the simple-minded girl closely.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Zhu Jingyi felt uncomfortable being stared at.
"Are there many rules in the Geng family?" Zhu Gaoxi asked with a grin, picking up the jade bracelet from Zhu Jingyi's hand, wanting to take it off and examine it closely.
Crystal clear and smooth as jade, it is clearly a fine product.
Zhu Jingyi quickly dodged away, looking nervous. "Don't touch it, you can't afford to pay for it if you break it."
"It's just a bracelet, how valuable can it be?"
As a prince, Zhu Gaoxi received an annual stipend of 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), yet he couldn't afford a bracelet?
"This was a gift from the prince consort's grandmother," Zhu Jingyi said proudly. "It's their family heirloom."
"Madam Geng?"
Zhu Gaoxi roughly calculated that Geng Bingwen's mother is probably over eighty years old now.
"Yes, she's eighty-two, still sharp-eared and sharp-eyed. She told me that if Geng Xuan dares to disobey, she'll whip him with her cane," Zhu Jingyi's face was full of "favored."
No wonder, Zhu Gaoxi immediately understood; he had someone backing him up.
Geng Bingwen's father, Geng Junyong, was one of the twenty-four generals of Huaixi who were among the first to follow Zhu Yuanzhang in conquering the country. When he was leading troops to defend Yixing, he was ambushed by Zhang Shicheng's large army and died fighting bravely. From then on, his troops were handed over to Geng Bingwen to lead.
This old lady Geng had a knack for educating her children. Her youngest daughter was well-educated and sensible, and Zhu Yuanzhang arranged for her to marry his most trusted adopted son, Mu Ying, as his second wife.
Mu Ying's first wife, née Feng, was the daughter of Duke Feng Sheng of Song and the daughter of Feng Guoyong.
Feng Guoyong was fond of reading and knowledgeable in military strategy. He held a very important position in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, and it was he who first proposed the grand plan of capturing Nanjing.
Zhu Yuanzhang trusted him greatly, entrusting him with a confidant's responsibility and letting him command his personal guards. After capturing Nanjing, he appointed him as the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards.
In the nineteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty's Zhizheng era, Feng Guoyong died suddenly of illness while attacking Shaoxing. Zhu Yuanzhang wept bitterly and posthumously conferred upon him the title of Duke of Ying in the third year of the Hongwu era, placing him eighth in the Temple of Meritorious Officials.
Feng died shortly after giving birth to Mu Ying's eldest son, Mu Chun.
After Geng married, she and her husband lived in harmony and had a son, Mu Sheng, the second son of Mu Ying.
It is worth mentioning that Xu Zengshou's wife was Mu Ying's second daughter, Mu Xue.
The intricate and complex kinship relationships among dukes and marquises were truly mind-boggling, Zhu Gaoxi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"How is it? Valuable, isn't it?"
Seeing that Zhu Gaoxi was lost in thought, Zhu Jingyi went up to him and asked.
"From now on, sister can act with impunity," Zhu Gaoxi joked.
"Of course," Zhu Jingyi said confidently. When the imperial eunuch Lin De came to inform her, she stuffed the rest of the peanut brittle into Zhu Gaoxi's hands and went to the Qianqing Palace with a happy smile.
No sooner had she left than Sanbao invited Dai Sigong back.
Zhu Gaoxi hurried a few steps forward and helped Dai Sigong out of the sedan chair. "Dr. Dai, you've worked hard. We need to trouble you to go to the Prince's Mansion."
"Old Chen feels extremely honored to be able to serve the prince."
Although he was four years older than Zhu Yuanzhang, Dai Sigong was much healthier than Zhu Yuanzhang due to proper care. However, it was said that he had just recovered from a cold a few days ago, so Zhu Gaoxi specially sent Sanbao with a sedan chair to invite him.
Upon arriving at the Prince of Wu's residence, Yin Changlong was so moved by the news that the prince had specially invited a renowned physician for him that he was speechless with emotion and almost burst into tears.
After resting for a while, Dai Sigong focused on taking Yin Changlong's pulse.
"Your stomach is upset and needs to be recuperated. Here's what I'll do: I'll write a prescription for you to use first," Dai Sigong stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and then picked up his pen to write the prescription.
"Dr. Dai, could you prescribe some medicinal diet recipes for him to use in his daily life, so that he can take care of himself?" Zhu Gaoxi asked with concern.
"Medicinal cuisine is naturally more effective, but it takes a lot of time and effort..." Dai Sigong hesitated, wondering how important this Lord Yin was to the King of Wu, that he would go to such lengths.
"Doctor Dai, please prescribe the medicine. Lord Yin will definitely take it on time," Zhu Gaoxi immediately dispelled Dai Sigong's doubts.
The King of Wu's generous treatment deeply moved Yin Changlong. He was speechless for a moment and stood there with his face flushed.
After seeing Dai Sigong off, Yin Changlong slowly came to his senses and followed behind Zhu Gaoxi, saying repeatedly, "Your Highness, this is too troublesome. I can just take a few doses of medicine; I don't need medicinal cuisine."
Zhu Gaoxi stopped and said seriously, "Your health is the foundation of everything. If your body can't even digest the food you eat, how can you do anything? You must listen to Dr. Dai. I will have Wu Zao supervise you."
"Your humble servant...thanks to Your Highness...Your Highness's great kindness is beyond my ability to repay. I can only repay it with my life and dedicate myself to the cause," Yin Changlong said solemnly.
Zhu Gaoxi laughed and said, "I want you to manage the palace for a long time, not just work yourself to the bone and ruin your health."
"Your Majesty, I obey your command... Your Majesty, I will certainly listen to you," Yin Changlong replied apologetically.
Just then, Xie Jin, having settled matters at the school, rushed back. Upon seeing Zhu Gaoxi, he immediately came over and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Highness."
"Jie Jin, come and sit down, I have something to ask you," Zhu Gaoxi beckoned to him.
"Your Highness, what do you wish to ask me?" Xie Jin obeyed and sat down.
"I have decided that, starting tomorrow, you and Lord Yin will be granted a half-month leave to return to your hometowns and visit your parents," Zhu Gaoxi said, beckoning to Li Hui, who then led the eunuchs to bring up the silver that had been prepared in advance. "This is a small token of my appreciation; you two must accept it."
Zhu Gaoxi rewarded each person with one hundred taels of silver as expenses for returning home for the New Year.
Before coming to the Wu Prince's Mansion, Yin Changlong was a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a sixth-rank official. Now he has been promoted to a fifth-rank chief secretary, a promotion of three ranks, which can definitely be considered an exceptional promotion.
Before Xie Jin was ordered to return to his hometown with his father, he served as the Supervising Censor of Jiangxi Circuit, a position of the seventh rank.
A fifth-rank official receives a monthly salary of sixteen shi (a unit of dry measure), totaling one hundred and ninety-two shi per year.
A sixth-rank official receives a monthly salary of eight shi (a unit of dry measure), totaling ninety-six shi per year.
A seventh-rank official's monthly salary was seven and a half shi (a unit of dry measure), totaling ninety shi (another unit of dry measure) per year.
One tael of silver was converted at a rate of 600 coins per shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice and 1,000 guan (another unit of dry measure) of silver.
A fifth-rank official receives an annual salary of 115 taels and 200 coins.
A sixth-rank official receives an annual salary of fifty-seven taels and six hundred coins.
A seventh-rank official receives an annual stipend of fifty-four taels of silver.
The extra reward given by Zhu Gaoxi was a bonus in addition to his fixed salary, and he considered himself to be a generous boss.
Both were deeply moved and bowed in gratitude.
Zhu Gaoxi gestured for the two men to dispense with formalities and said to Xie Jin, "Your elder brother, Xie Lun, is also a Jinshi of the Wuchen year. Would you be willing to come and manage the school? I also plan to open a bookstore next year, and you certainly won't be able to handle it all by yourself."
"If such an opportunity arises, I, your elder brother, will certainly do everything in my power to repay the Prince's kindness in recognizing my talent," Xie Jin said, taking it upon himself to agree on behalf of his elder brother.
Zhu Gaoxi chatted with the two men for a few more minutes before getting up to return to the palace.