Chapter 188 The Talkative Old Zhu
Chapter 188: The Talkative Old Zhu
After returning to Yingtian Prefecture, Ye Xuan immediately went to the Zhenfu Division to surrender his duties and went to the palace to meet Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed very happy to see Ye Xuan coming back.

After Ye Xuan explained the details of the Qingtian trip, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression suddenly became solemn.

"Are you saying that someone secretly poisoned Liu Bowen? Liu Bowen is the Earl of Sincerity. Who on earth has the guts to murder a founding hero?"

Ye Xuan lowered his head and said nothing. Zhu Yuanzhang must have already had his suspicions in his mind about this matter. He was just a small character who wanted to make a cameo appearance, so it would be better for him not to express his opinions casually.

Sure enough, after a while, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have made a decision. His expression became relaxed again. He patted Ye Xuan on the shoulder and praised:

"You are worthy of being my favorite. You did a great job. Not only did you stop the thieves' actions, but you also saved Liu Bowen twice. What do you think I should give you as a reward?"

Ye Xuan immediately put on an expression of devoting himself to the cause and dying for it, and said modestly: "This is all because of your Majesty's foresight and foreseeing the thieves' intentions in advance. I dare not take credit for it."

"Even if His Majesty didn't ask me to go, any Jinyiwei would be more cautious if His Majesty sent them in advance, and thus discover the thief's conspiracy."

Zhu Yuanzhang was obviously very satisfied with Ye Xuan's attitude of not feeling proud of himself at all.

Although Lao Zhu was rather stingy, he still understood that only by clearly distinguishing rewards and punishments could his subordinates work hard, so he waved his hand and said, "No need to be modest, those who have made contributions should be rewarded!"

"But I have rewarded you with an imperial plaque. If I want to promote you, you will probably refuse. As for gold, silver and jewelry, I have already rewarded you with a lot. Young people should live a simple and contented life. Too much reward will be disadvantageous to you."

Ye Xuan couldn't help but complain in his heart when he heard this.

Just be stingy if you want to be stingy. We don't need any rewards, so why are you talking about such a big principle?

However, Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand with a heroic gesture and said: "Just tell me what you want. As long as it is not excessive, I can grant it."

Hearing this, Ye Xuan couldn't help but think in his heart: I want silver, will you give it to me?

But he continued to be humble, "I really don't need anything. If Your Majesty insists on giving me something, I hope Your Majesty will agree to one thing for me."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, "Speak!"

Ye Xuan bowed his hands and said righteously: "I often hear people say that Your Majesty has to get up before dawn to review memorials every day, and work hard until midnight every day before he is willing to rest. This is so disregarding of your health. After hearing this, I am both impressed and saddened."

"So I hope Your Majesty can promise me that I must take good care of my health in the future. As the saying goes, health is the capital of the country. Your Majesty must not overwork yourself!"

Yun Qi got goosebumps after hearing these words, and thought that it made sense that Captain Ye was so appreciated by His Majesty.

Such disgusting flattery would be considered outstanding even among the eunuchs who make a living by flattering others.

However, what Ye Xuan said was that pleasing Zhu Yuanzhang only played a small role. The most important thing was that Ye Xuan could see it.

This old Zhu is a double-faced person. He wants to reward himself but is reluctant to spend money. However, he is still too proud to say that he will reward himself and let me make my request.

What can I ask for in front of you, Zhu Yuanzhang? You are reluctant to give me money, and you are unwilling to be promoted. I can't ask you to marry a few princesses to me, right?
As far as Ye Xuan knew, although the princesses of the Ming Dynasty did not have a golden ticket to immunity from death, as long as the case was not serious enough to break the bottom line, at least they would not be implicated for no reason.

Then just say something nice and everyone will keep it a secret.

However, although Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy after hearing this, he seemed to be serious about it.

"It's rare that you have such filial piety. Okay, I promise you that I will take good care of yourself in the future. But..." Zhu Yuanzhang paused and said, "This is not a reward. You are too cunning. Say one more thing."

Ye Xuan thought hard but couldn't find something he wanted that wouldn't disgust the stingy Zhu Yuanzhang. Then he realized that the saying "serving the emperor is like serving a tiger" is really true.

After thinking for a long time, I remembered that there had been some chaos in the house due to too many women, so I immediately paid attention to it.

"Your Majesty, I have a headache and I don't know how to deal with it."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said with a smile: "Oh, there are things that you, a little rascal, can't handle. Tell me and I will give you some advice."

Ye Xuan said distressedly: "You know the Chang sisters, they haven't been very active recently. They really like to stay in my humble house. This is originally an honorable thing, but a single man and a single woman living in the same room will always affect the reputation of the two princesses."

"I want to persuade them to go back to their own homes, but I am too embarrassed to speak up. Does Your Majesty have any good ideas?"

"So it's just this little thing." Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and teased, "If ordinary people had your good fortune, they would be overjoyed, but you still feel a headache."

"I have also heard about these two girls. After all, they are the daughters of the King of Kaiping. It is really not right for them to live in a man's house without any status. Why don't you marry them? I will personally grant you a marriage, which will be your reward!"

When Ye Xuan heard this, he was so scared that his soul flew away. He couldn't drive her away even if he tried. How could you, Old Zhu, still want to grant me the marriage? Are you thinking that I am not dying fast enough?
If they were just ordinary sisters, they would get married at will, which would add to the joy of the boudoir.

But just think about it, the daughter of King Chang Yunchun of Kaiping and two princesses married into the family, and he himself was a small fifth-rank captain. At that time, who would be the husband to lead the wife, or would the wife be the husband to lead?

Asking Ye Xuan to be a henpecked man would be more painful than killing him.

The ultimate goal is that if I marry these two great gods, I will still have to think about a life of luxury and debauchery in the future.

This is simply ruining your sexual happiness for the rest of your life.

Seeing Ye Xuan's distorted face, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily, "I knew you wouldn't want to do that. I'll have someone tell Chang Sheng to take his two unruly sisters back."

"But..." Zhu Yuanzhang changed the subject and brought up the old matter again: "You honestly said that you wanted to marry and have children, but you didn't want this princess who came to your door. You are not deceiving me, are you?"

At the end of his words, the arrogance of a great leader suddenly came towards him.

Ye Xuan had to admit that his heart did skip a beat at this moment.

Then he quickly replied: "How dare I deceive Your Majesty, it's just that I can't have any romantic feelings with the Chang sisters."

(End of this chapter)