At the beginning of the establishment of the Dayu Dynasty, in order to avoid tragedy caused by the struggle for power among the princes, Emperor Taizu set a rule to establish direct heirs and elders.
To set up a direct descendant is to grow up, not to be virtuous; to set up a son to be noble, but not to grow up.
The first child born to a head wife is often the noble eldest son and the undoubted candidate for the crown prince.
But not every generation of queens can make a difference. At this time, the eldest will be given priority, or if the legitimate son is extremely young, the eldest son of the concubine will still be preferred.
This was a loophole that was gradually discovered by favored concubines in the development of the times - it turned out that as long as the eldest son was born in advance, and there were no legitimate children or legitimate children in the middle palace, the inheritance rights could be competed.
Concubine Ju was able to successfully give birth to the eldest prince, but the status of the subsequent second princes was extremely humble. The third one was just a princess, and the fourth one was disabled, which shows her great honor and favor.
However, the fifth prince's direct descendants still weighed on the eldest prince.
If the direct descendant is not respected, the elder will be the first.
Queen Yan's death may have been due to her own inner depression, but Chang Yan's departure was definitely not accidental. A young boy may not be able to survive alone in the deep palace, but staying away can give him a bit of life.
But he disappeared too completely.
So much so that he was completely hidden from the hustle and bustle of the world. In the eyes of some aristocratic families, he was even no different from a dead person, and gradually faded out of the center of power.
Even if he came back in a weak body, without any ability or support, he could not stop the concubine's sharp edge and determination to win the crown prince's position.
In the eyes of the Ju family, it was indeed time for the Tian family to establish a crown prince, but the request for a crown prince should have been made by the Ju family or the Min family, not by the Jiang family, the Dou family, and others.
Looking at the bent ministers in the field, most of them were from the hostile camp. As long as the head of the Ju family was not stupid enough, he would have noticed something was wrong.
In his haste, he quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is wise, it's time to establish a mature and stable prince to share your worries, benefit the people of the world, and contribute to the country."
These three statements sound good in themselves, but the word "mature and steady" takes on a different meaning.
The fifth prince, who is the direct descendant, is only fourteen years old, but the eldest prince is already eighteen years old. If judged by age alone, most people would think that the eldest prince is more mature and stable.
Tianjia, who was sitting on the dragon chair, raised the corners of his mouth in a sarcastic manner.
Jiang Jizong didn't care about that and just sneered, "Is the head of the Ju family recommending the eldest prince? He is indeed mature and steady at the age of eighteen. He just had trouble with the girl from the Min family in the street a few days ago. I heard that he and the It’s related to the pregnant wife in the prince’s palace.”
The first wife has not yet entered the marriage, and her first wife is pregnant.
A serious family would not allow such a thing to happen. Even Concubine Ju had to be the concubine who entered the imperial palace before she dared to rest assured that she was pregnant and gave birth to the eldest prince Zhu Changhong.
Now in the next generation, the more we live, the more we go back.
Coupled with the quarrel between the ladies in the street, "mature and steady" is really written all over the place.
The head of the Ju family's face immediately looked like cooked pork liver, black and purple, but he could not refute anything.
When literati argue in the Jinluan Palace, the tit-for-tat exchanges are always steady, accurate and ruthless.
"You...you must have read it wrong." After a long while, the head of the Ju family held back a sentence, "The eldest prince and the girl from the Min family are getting along well. If you don't believe me, you can ask Min Cifu."
The head of the Min family, who was dragged in without a clue, said, "..."
In any case, the Min family was currently in the eldest prince's camp, so he could only lower his eyelashes and make a vague sound.
It's like nodding, and it's like shaking his head.
Jiang Jizong suddenly beamed, "It turns out that the head of the Ju family is really recommending the eldest prince. It's just that the crown prince of the Chongqing Dynasty will give priority to his direct eldest son. If there is a direct eldest son, but if there is no direct eldest son, the eldest prince will probably be ranked behind the fifth prince."
"Jiangshan Sheji is of great importance, and the veteran does not dare to recommend it easily." The head of the Ju family responded quickly, "On the other hand, Jiang Cifu may have some relationship with the fifth prince, but I can't tell it on ordinary days."
This is a hint that the Jiang family is hooking up with the direct prince.
The Ju family is the maternal family of the eldest prince, and the head of the Ju family is also the eldest prince's biological uncle, so there is nothing wrong with helping his nephew.
But the fifth prince has nothing to do with the Jiang family. Secretly contacting him is tantamount to forming a clique for personal gain. It can also be counted as a crime when necessary.
The head of the Ju family was making crazy calculations in his heart: These five princes, who are not showy, actually hooked up with the Jiang family, one of the four major aristocratic families. Coupled with the Yao family as a vassal, I am afraid that the chance of winning is no less than that of the eldest prince.
If he raised his head, he would see the compassion in Jiang Jizong's eyes, he would find the indifference in Tianjia's eyes, and he would even notice the interaction between Dou Weiming and Jiang Jizong.
Regarding the reasons behind the establishment of the crown prince, and who should be appointed as the crown prince, only the Tian family and the Jiang Jizong clan in the entire Jinluan Palace knew clearly.
Dou Weiming was confused, but he had a close relationship with the Jiang family and the two of them were standing close to each other. He simply raised his eyebrows secretly and asked: Are we really going to establish a prince this time?
Jiang Jizong nodded without squinting.
Dou Weiming's expression was solemn: establishing a direct line?
Jiang Jizong continued to nod in response.
Dou Weiming straightened his back and looked at Tianjia's position: He also knew?
Jiang Jizong still nodded in response.
Now Dou Weiming has a toothache and seems to not understand why he is acting in a big drama here since everything has been decided.
When he saw the eyes of the head of the Ju family, the answer came to the surface - establishing a crown prince was the top priority, and the courtiers always had to be convinced, and the world always had to give an explanation.
Perhaps this also contains the selfishness of an old father - as long as the Ju family can see the situation clearly, the eldest prince can honestly be a wealthy man and live without worries forever.
"For your information, Your Majesty, the Jiang family has no private contact with the fifth prince." Jiang Jizong said with cupped hands, "The Jiang family will always support orthodoxy and the rules left by our ancestors."
According to the rules, the direct heir can only be the fifth prince.
The head of the Ju family turned dark again, "Your Majesty, these princes have all grown up under your nose. You should know better which one can take on the important responsibilities."
This is a subtle reminder to Tianjia of the strong love between father and son.
Jiang Jizong curled his lips contemptuously, but before he could speak, Dou Weiming took a step forward and said, "To report to the emperor, Emperor Taizu did say at the beginning that when a direct descendant establishes an elder, the direct descendant precedes the elder."
When both the Jiangdou family expressed their support for the fifth prince, the Ju family's chances of winning became even smaller.
Before the expression of the head of the Ju family could get darker, the head of the Sun family took two steps forward and said softly, "I would like to report to the emperor, it is true that the firstborn will be the first, and the firstborn will be the first."
If you just took advantage of the trend to ask for the crown prince, then now you are taking sides.
The head of the He family no longer hesitated and decisively walked the first two steps, "The direct descendant is better than the elder."
The head of the Yao family also handed over his hand, "The direct descendant is better than the eldest son."
The ministers who were willing to invite Prince Li just now also took turns to come forward, but the most surprising one turned out to be the Chu family, "To report to the emperor, the direct descendants do come first."
The fourth prince... actually stood up to the fifth prince.
