In the square outside the Meridian Gate, dark clouds gathered, covering the sky and the sun. A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, and large raindrops began to fall sparsely, hitting everyone's heads.
"Boss, it's raining..."
After all, they are pampered clan members who are not afraid of serious trouble when they make trouble. However, after the impulsive energy subsides, most of them are still afraid.
You know, although as members of the Tian family and royal relatives, they can always be unscrupulous, they also need to bear corresponding responsibilities.
To put it bluntly, most of these people are expected to inherit the title. To a certain extent, they actually represent the face of each prince's palace.
This special status is actually a double-edged sword!
Outsiders will look down upon them because of this, but everything they do will also involve the family being held responsible.
This is not reflected in normal times, but don't forget that now they are in the capital, at the feet of the emperor. When they make mistakes, it is often their family who is directly reprimanded.
Therefore, although they were very happy when they were making trouble, now that they were kneeling outside the palace, the emperor still had no words to give any orders, and these people couldn't help but feel a little upset in their hearts.
Of course, there are also those who are not afraid of trouble. For example, Zhu Fanzhi, who took the lead in making trouble, heard the timid voice of the people behind him. The Prince of Xiangling turned his head and glared at him irritably and said.
"What's wrong with it raining? Are you still afraid of getting caught in the rain?"
"Uncle Wang and Yin Zhen have been called in now, and we don't know how they will be scolded. Let's kneel down outside and get wet in the rain, and we can't stand it anymore?"
Zhu Fanzhi was a tall man and usually had a hard fist. In addition, he was worried about Zhu Yinqi's situation in the palace at the moment, so he spoke in a bad tone, which suddenly made other clan members afraid to speak.
However, complaints are definitely inevitable, and some of the clan members have even begun to regret why they followed Zhu Fanzhi to the Tenth Prince's Mansion to cause trouble.
At this time, among the clan disciples, a slightly thin but resolute young man could not help but frown and spoke.
"Fan Zhi, what you said is wrong. King Xiang is domineering and bullies the clan members wantonly. Now he has offended the deceased great uncle of King Min. He deserves to be scolded and beaten. We are all descendants of the great ancestor, how could we do this? Don’t you have any responsibility?”
"I know that you are worried that Yin Xi and Uncle Wang will be criticized in the palace, but what's the use of worrying at this time?"
"We are all kneeling here, getting caught in the rain and getting sick. If something happens to Yin Zhen and Wang Shuzu, we won't even have the strength to go to the palace to complain to them!"
This young man was young, only sixteen or seventeen years old, but he looked quite calm and resolute, and his words were clear and logical. He immediately won the support of many clan members.
"Yes, yes, boss, we are not afraid of getting wet in the rain, but we can't do it in vain. Then His Majesty will think that we are really causing trouble for no reason!"
"Cheng Lian is right, we have to save our strength. When the time comes, we can go to His Majesty to complain, but we don't dare to get sick."
"Boss, the rain seems to be getting heavier..."
Looking at the clan children who suddenly became messy, Zhu Fanzhi felt angry. However, when he raised his head and met the eyes of the young man who had just spoken, he suddenly lost his temper.
The young man who just spoke was named Zhu Chenglian. He was the direct son of the current acting king Zhu Shixi, and he was also the crown prince who had been canonized by the imperial court.
In terms of seniority, he is one generation lower than Zhu Yinxi and Zhu Fanzhi, but in terms of status, he can be regarded as the first echelon among the clan members.
Of course, in Zongxue, this status is of little significance. After all, the clan is different from ordinary lords and ministers.
The latter two attach great importance to status, because their status directly determines their future power in the court.
In the circles of the capital and the imperial court, power means many things.
However, for the children of the clan, the difference between whether you are a prince or a county prince is not much different.
After all, it is impossible for various fiefdoms, even between princes and princes, to be subordinate to each other, or even to influence each other.
To put it bluntly, if the emperor hadn't set up a sect, these people might never see each other in their lives. Even if they were offended, they would never have any contact with each other. Anyway, anything that could threaten them , such as granting titles, granting names, marriages, fiefdoms and salaries, are all in the hands of the court, and no one else, whether a prince or a prince, can interfere.
Therefore, in the small circle of Zongxue, as long as the difference in status is not too big, such as the difference between a prince and a concubine of a general's family, basically everyone prefers to associate with people with similar temperaments, and even seniority does not matter. Speaking of which, if you have a good relationship, you should treat each other with courtesy according to your age and peers.
Of course, this difference in status is not completely without impact. The most obvious one is in daily life, food, clothing, housing and transportation.
The children who were born in the vassal princes' palaces or were favored children had a better life and more followers because of the higher salary in the palace. Other children with lower status or who were not favored had less money in their hands. , occasionally living a little hard, that's all.
In fact, Zhu Yinqi and Zhu Fanzhi, although they have different personalities, are very popular among the sects. A large part of the reason is that they are generous enough.
The same is true for the Prince Zhu Chenglian who just spoke.
Unlike Zhu Yinqi who is outstanding in talent and learning, and Zhu Fanzhi who is impulsive and reckless, although Zhu Chenglian has a noble status, he is usually very low-key, even dull.
Speaking of which, this is related to his childhood experience.
The line of Dai Wang was first granted the title of Zhu Gui, the thirteenth son of Taizu's concubine. Compared with other brothers, this Dai Wang was much luckier.
As one of the kings of Sai conferred by Taizu, he was once deposed as a commoner during the Jianwen period. However, after Taizong ascended the throne, he quickly restored his title. Although he offended His Majesty Taizong several times and was repeatedly punished, he was always He did not change his domineering character, and, more importantly, he lived long enough.
This first-generation king did not die until the eleventh year of Zhengtong. He lived for a full seventy-two years and tortured his sons to death.
The current acting king is Zhu Gui's grandson Zhu Shi㙻, but to be honest, this new acting prince has been living a very bad life.
As for the reason, it is actually very simple. During the Jianwen period, Zhu Gui was demoted and kept in isolation, and he lived a hard life.
After Jingnan, although he regained his title, he attributed the reason why he was targeted by Emperor Jianwen to his princess Xu.
In Zhu Gui's view, Emperor Jianwen would not have chosen him to take the lead if it were not for the fact that his Princess Xu and the then Princess Yan, who later became Queen Xu, were the same mother.
For this reason, Zhu Gui treated Xu and her son, Zhu Shi's father Zhu Xunxuan, very badly. He not only took back all the servants and maids in his service, but also refused to give them gold, silver and rice, and drove them to a desolate place. The manor was left to fend for itself, and the prince and concubine were forced to work in the fields to make a living, and were often bullied by Zhu Gui's concubine and two concubines.
For this matter, everyone from Taizong to Xuanzong issued decrees to rebuke and even punish him. However, Zhu Gui became so domineering that he did not even acknowledge the imperial edict.
In fact, many ministers in the court at that time speculated that if it weren't for the fact that the Xu family was personally canonized by Taizu, had a gold seal treasure book to act as the royal concubine, and was the sister of Empress Taizong, Zhu Gui's character might not have been directly killed. It's possible for the Xu family to be involved.
Mrs. Xu was like this, and as her son, Zhu Xunxuan's life was naturally very sad, and he died in depression at the age of twenty-six.
In the second year of Xuande's reign, Princess Xu was seriously ill. Before her death, her last memorial to the court was to ask for the title of conferment for her two grandchildren, the two children left by Zhu Xunxuan.
Yes, Zhu Gui treated Xu's mother and son so harshly that even his two direct grandchildren refused to write a genealogy, forcing Princess Dai to break the rules and write the genealogy herself before she died of illness.
When the memorial arrived at the court, Emperor Xuanzong, who had already reprimanded Zhu Gui several times, had no choice. After discussing with the Ministry of Rites, he simply bypassed Zhu Gui and directly canonized Zhu Xunxuan's eldest son Zhu Shi'er as his grandson.
However, after all, Xuanzong was Zhu Gui's grandnephew, and the sky was high and the emperor was far away, so the court could only do so much.
Although Zhu Shi'er was canonized by the imperial court and had the status of a descendant, the entire Daiwang Palace was still controlled by Zhu Gui's two favorite concubines, King Guangning and King Lucheng.
It was not until the seventh year of Zhengtong that the acting royal palace chief Shi couldn't stand it anymore. He risked the accusation of deceiving the emperor and went against his conscience to report that Zhu Gui was "old and sick for a long time and unable to govern", so the court directly issued an edict to take away Zhu Gui. Gui and his two concubines handed over the agency power to Dai Wangfu to his grandson Zhu Shi, which finally put Dai Fan on the right track.
However, Zhu Shi'er himself had a cowardly character, and although Zhu Gui was reported to be "old and chronically ill" by the long history, he was actually in good health and could beat people on the street without any problem. Therefore, although Zhu Shi'er gained the power to act in government affairs, he could not After all, Dai Fan was Dai Wang's Dai Fan, and he was still beaten and scolded by Zhu Gui at every turn.
As the eldest son of Zhu Shi'er, Zhu Chenglian grew up in such an environment. Although he was the eldest son of Dai Wangfu, he had suffered from the contempt and neglect of his great-grandfather since he was a child, and he had also seen his father's cowardice and helplessness.
Perhaps for other people, going to the capital to study is a chore, but for Zhu Chenglian, even now that Zhu Gui is dead and his father has become the real acting king, he still hates that place and does not want to A place to go back to.
Or perhaps because of this, he was very envious of clan members like Zhu Yincheng who could be protected by his grandfather in everything. After arriving in the capital, the place he visited the most was Prince Min's Mansion.
What kind of person was Zhu Yinxi? After learning about Zhu Chenglian's experience, he quickly understood his emotions. Therefore, under the instructions of the old King Min, the entire Prince Min's palace treated Zhu Chenglian as the young master in the palace.
Although the seniority is a bit confusing, for Zhu Chenglian, this short one-year life in the capital did make him feel the long-lost feeling of family affection. Even when he was in Prince Min's Mansion, he regarded the old Prince Min as his Grandfather looked at it.
It was precisely because Zhu Fanzhi knew this that it was difficult for him to accuse Zhu Chenglian. In the sect, the three of them had the best relationship. Therefore, Zhu Fanzhi knew that when King Min died, Zhu Chenglian was no less sad than Zhu Yinqi, and for Xiang Xiang The same goes for the king's anger.
But he still couldn't figure out what Zhu Chenglian was thinking at this time...
As if sensing Zhu Fanzhi's doubts, Zhu Chenglian raised his head and looked at him, his eyes slightly red, and said in a deep voice.
"Fan Zhi, don't do useless things. Don't worry. If your Majesty favors King Xiang this time and blames Yin Zhen and his son, I will personally beat the Dengwen drum. If the Dengwen drum doesn't work, I will go to the Ancestral Temple to cry at the temple. If it doesn't work, I will go to the Ancestral Temple to cry at the temple. , I will go to Fengyang Ancestral Tomb to cry at the mausoleum."
"If an unfilial and unjust man like King Xiang can still stand in the capital with such a great deal after such a thing, then I will fight for my position as the heir to the throne and drag King Xiang with me to Fengyang High Wall. !”
After the words fell, everyone present fell into a daze, even Zhu Fanzhi was stunned for a while.
As a good friend of the prince, he knew that Zhu Chenglian was very boring, but also very troublesome. However, he did not expect that he would be so troubled.
Zhu Fanzhi suddenly felt ashamed of himself. He kept saying that he was loyal, but if he really risked everything to seek justice like Zhu Chenglian, he asked himself that he couldn't do it.
Moreover, he knew very well that Zhu Chenglian's character, since he said it out loud, meant that he had already made up his mind.
For a moment, Zhu Fanzhi didn't know whether to persuade him to calm down or to support him in stabbing his friend...
However, he didn't have to decide, because just when the clan members were stunned, a sharp shout suddenly came from beside them.
"Nonsense!"
"The King of Zhennan is out!"
Everyone turned around and saw that not far from the palace gate, Prince Zhennan and his son were standing in front, followed by a group of civil and military ministers with equally shocked faces.
Further back, there was King Xiang with a gloomy expression, riding on a carriage.
However, the sharp shout just now was not made by King Xiang, but by King Zhennan.
As for King Xiang, he just glanced coldly at the clan members present, then gave an order and asked his subordinates to carry the shoulder carriage and leave the palace gate.
However, before leaving, he took a deep look at the leaders Zhu Fanzhi and Zhu Chenglian, wondering what he was thinking.
Seeing this situation, everyone suddenly stopped talking and hesitated for a moment. After the conversation just now, Zhu Fanzhi glanced at Zhu Chenglian, said nothing, stood up first, and stepped aside.
With him as an example, other clan members also stood up and moved out of the way.
After King Xiang's companions passed by, a group of civil and military ministers walked up to King Zhennan. They didn't know what they said, and then they all left. However, King Zhennan and his son always stood there, motionless, waiting. After all the ministers had left, Zhu Fanzhi and Zhu Chenglian took a few clan members and surrounded Prince Zhennan and his son...
