As soon as Liu Jin returned to the palace, he took advantage of his psychological control over Zhu Houzhao and showed his face in front of Empress Zhang and Zhu Houzhao.

At this time, he made full use of this tense juncture of the mother-son relationship with the Ming Dynasty, who had the supreme imperial power, and placed himself in a position of "loyalty and filial piety" in a timely manner, winning the appreciation of Empress Zhang.

Queen Zhang felt that Liu Jin was very good at doing things. If it weren’t for the wrong occasion, she might have spoken directly to commend her.

Zhu Houzhao got what he wanted was to leave the palace every few days, and even stay outside the palace without a night.

Empress Zhang's request was also met, that is, to take into account both the mother's kindness and filial piety, and let Zhu Houzhao protect her identity and status, so that Zhu Houzhao can act properly to the greatest extent.

This is a happy ending.

The biggest loser was actually Xiao Jing. He still did not gain Zhu Houzhao's trust, but instead made Liu Jin, who had just returned to the palace, be glorious. This made Xiao Jing, who was originally in a very embarrassing position, almost lose his core power. It was just because Zhu Houzhao had just ascended the throne and could not move him for the time being, which made Xiao Jing temporarily preserve his power.

After coming out of Kunning Palace, Zhu Houzhao didn't say anything. She seemed angry, but in fact she was very proud, because now he has been recognized by Queen Zhang and can enter and exit the palace freely. In the future, he doesn't even have to hide or pretend to be eunuchs. He can leave the palace by changing into a piece of clothing. A large group of people behind him protect him, and it's a glorious thing to think about it.

"Eunuch Liu, you do things well and I will stay with me in the future... As for the arrangement of errands, you will complete the affairs of the Ministry of War first. The war ahead is important. After you have handled it, you will return to me. Every time you leave the palace, you will be with me... You have promised your mother to protect my safety!"

Zhu Houzhao gave Liu Jin high affirmation and extremely high authority when he came up.

Although Liu Jin has not been promoted to his official position, as long as he can stay with Zhu Houzhao, the official position is just a matter of one sentence. Liu Jin knows this truth well, so he will not fight for anything with Zhu Houzhao. He quickly saluted: "It is the responsibility of the old slave to share the worries of Your Majesty and the Empress Dowager. Your Majesty, I wonder when you will leave the palace?"

Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and said, "No one knew about leaving the palace except you. Even when I went to Jiangnan before, only my father and a few people in the palace knew about it. You must not speak out to the outside world... Today is the palace examination period. Let's do this. The palace examination will be released in two days. At that time, you go out with me to see the situation. I heard that the capital will be very lively when the palace examination results are released. I want to go out and join in the fun!"

Liu Jin said: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will help you arrange it. But... I can't mobilize the guards to protect you for the time being, look..."

Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and nodded, "Yes, you promised your mother before, saying that you would bring people to protect me, so let's do it. I'll give you a token when I go out of the palace. Every time you leave the palace, you bring more than a dozen people to follow me, and then send dozens of people to protect me secretly... These people think it should be enough!"

Liu Jin was a little surprised: "Your Majesty, the lower the key you leave the palace, the better. How can you bring so many people? Your Majesty can keep up with three or five masters to protect him, just like an ordinary rich young man. If you bring too many people, you will be missed by the thief. The old slave will arrange for some people to protect him secretly, but the number will not be too many... When Your Majesty leaves the palace, as long as you are not known by someone, no one will be detrimental to Your Majesty!"

Zhu Houzhao was a little impatient: "Okay, okay, since you think it's OK, then it's up to you! It's true that when I left the palace alone, I didn't see any danger, but my mother was fussing... Oh, by the way, the person you are looking for must be trustworthy. If they gossip, I will kill them... You explain it to them first!"

Liu Jin didn't know the ridiculous things Zhu Houzhao had done after leaving the palace, but understood Zhu Houzhao's mentality of doing something wrong and worried that people would find it. He immediately saluted: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will arrange everything in my life!"

...

...

On the second day of April, it was the day when the Yichou test of the 18th year of Hongzhi was released.

Zhu Houzhao went out of the palace to have fun on this day, just to join in the fun. He planned to go to the secret courtyard after noon, hang out with the women there, and return to the palace at sunset.

This time, Zhu Houzhao left the palace and brought six people. In addition to four palace guards providing protection, there were two eunuchs, namely Liu Jin and Dai Yi. As for Zhang Yuan, who had been smart before, chose to be "neutral" between Empress Zhang and Zhu Houzhao, he was not allowed to follow him out of the palace.

This time, Zhu Houzhao took his men out of the Forbidden City from Bei'anmen Square, first heading towards Gulou, and heading along Shuntianfu Street to the Imperial College in Chongjiaofang.

The palace examination will be released at the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial College at the same time, but it will take until noon. Because the Ministry of Rites is located in the Daming Gate, located in the south of the capital, and the Imperial College is located in the north of the city, the pattern of one south and one north makes the students waiting for the release of the exam scattered. The north side of the city is not as lively as Zhu Houzhao imagined.

After the national mourning period, the capital of Daming did not return to its former prosperity. Even when spring was warm and flowers bloomed, it was still a bleak scene.

Zhu Houzhao took people through the streets and alleys, feeling a little emotional: "When I left the palace, the street was full of people, and it was very lively. Now there are so few people, so I don't know what happened? Could it be that my father died of illness and had such a great impact on the capital? Huh? Why didn't I see an official carriage or sedan chair?"

Liu Jin explained: "Your Majesty, the few people in this capital city are just a testament to the loyalty of the Ming people, and the people expressed condolences for the death of the emperor. Even the court did not ban the dance music in the capital city, and there was no sight of singing and dancing in peace... Even the Jiaofangsi is still closed!"

Zhu Houzhao was a little angry: "This is exactly what I am not satisfied with. The Jiaofangsi should have opened the door to welcome guests long ago. Is there something dirty and dirty hidden inside? The door is closed on the surface, but in fact it hides dirt, and the back door may be open..."

Speaking of the Jiaofangsi, Zhu Houzhao was indignant, and Liu Jin immediately understood that the little emperor needed women and had no place to have fun.

Because this is the first time Liu Jin has followed Zhu Houzhao out of the palace, and Li Xing has prepared a woman for Liu Jin. He thought it would be difficult for Zhu Houzhao to find a woman outside the palace, so he said, "Your Majesty, what do you think I'll arrange for you?"

"oh?"

Zhu Houzhao widened her eyes, "Eunuch Liu, let me tell you, how are you going to help me? You don't want to smash the door directly and let me in?"

Liu Jin smiled and said, "Your Majesty may not know about this. Although the Jiaofang Department is closed and not open to the public, if there are high-ranking officials and nobles who need to host a banquet at the mansion, it is understandable to invite a few people from here. As long as you spend the money, everything can be solved. If someone is invited to the mansion, even if something happens, it has nothing to do with the Jiaofang Department, right?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "It's still Eunuch Liu that you understand the truth. This relationship is good. Eunuch Dai, you should learn more from Eunuch Liu in the future!"

Dai Yi looked miserable. He knew that he was not as talented as Liu Jin in some things. He was not successful in the palace because he did not know how to adapt.

Liu Jin did not ask Zhu Houzhao for silver. He went south to be a local eunuch and went out to fight with Chen Xi. Before leaving, Chen Xi gave him a pen to reward him as a purchase. Now he had some money on hand, so he arranged it first and asked Zhu Houzhao to wait in a nearby teahouse first. He quickly went to the Jiaofangsi in Dongsi Pailou to invite the girl.

Unlike Dai Yi, Liu Jin knows how to use power in his hands very well and knows how to use power to suppress others.

When Liu Jin arrived at the place, he reported his identity and said that a noble man in the palace needed a woman. The Jiaofangsi did not even dare to collect the money, so he asked Liu Jin to take the person away.

Zhu Houzhao went to the teahouse to have a cup of tea. She was waiting a little impatiently. Liu Jin arrived in a hurry, but Liu Jin was alone and there was no woman behind her. Zhu Houzhao was full of expectations and was a little dissatisfied with this: "Eunuch Liu, aren't you going to help me find someone? Where are the people?"

Liu Jin smiled and said, "Why are you anxious? The old slave has arranged it and sent it to a residence in the east of the city. This residence is the residence of an old friend of the old slave. He has retired and returned home. There are no people living there, and no one knows that others have cleaned it. Isn't you calm down after you go?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "It's still Eunuch Liu who can do things. Oh, by the way, from now on, don't call me Your Majesty, just call me Master Zhu. If you are outside, don't let someone know my identity, Eunuch Liu thinks?"

Liu Jin smiled and said, "What Mr. Zhu said is that Lao Nu is just the housekeeper in your house. Mr. Zhu can call Lao Nu the housekeeper Liu, and Eunuch Dai... it should be your accountant!"
Chapter completed!