The weather in early spring is always very cold, and the snow and rain two days ago made the entire Forbidden City feel a bit deserted.
In the Qingning Hall, the fire was not extinguished. Zhu Jianshen had just finished reading at the sutra banquet all morning, and he leaned on his chair tiredly and fell asleep.
Counting the New Year's Eve that just passed, His Royal Highness is already fourteen years old, and his body is running very fast. Although his face still has a childish look, but from the appearance alone, he is no different from the prime of life.
Wan Zhen'er stood behind him and gently rubbed his shoulders, making his brows relax slightly.
At the same time, Liang Fang stood at the bottom and reported the information he had collected one by one.
"... Mr. Chen of the Metropolitan Procuratorate died of illness three days ago in his mansion. According to His Highness's instructions, I have sent Young Master Zhan Shizhou to pay homage on His Highness's behalf."
"Yesterday, the palace issued an edict, ordering Wang Aoqian, the Minister of the Ministry of War, to be the Censor of the Left Capital and in charge of the affairs of the Procuratorate of the Capital. Yu Qian, the Censor of the Right Capital of the Young Masters, was moved to be the Minister of the Ministry of War. This matter was discussed a lot in the court, and everyone felt that it was different from the previous one. It has something to do with the fact that Master Shao came to this book again to ask for Jiubian..."
So, Zhu Jianshen opened his eyes, nodded slightly and said.
"This matter is obvious. The strategy of the Nine-Border Military Town seems to have been proposed by Master Yu, but in fact it coincides with His Majesty's wishes. Master Yu has gone to the border inspections several times before for this matter, but the previous Disasters have occurred in various places in recent years, and the imperial court's financial resources have been tight, so it has been pressing hard. The weather has been good these past few years, so it is natural to prepare in advance. However, for such a major event, the DPRK and China must be quarreling for a while. "
According to convention, the prince will officially start to listen to politics when he is fifteen years old. However, Zhu Jianshen's status is different. He has been participating in the regular court meetings every ten days a few years ago. Although he is still unable to participate in them, his sensitivity to politics has long been Cultivated.
However, after what happened with Xu Youzhen, there were very few people in the entire East Palace who Zhu Jianshen dared to trust. Among the ministers, except for Yu Shiyue who sincerely helped him, there were only Zhou Hongmo and Ni Qian who had taught him since childhood. Two teachers.
Others, such as Shen Jing, Yu Yan, and even Liu Dingzhi, Chen Wen, Li Shao and others who entered the East Palace a little later, may be because they are former ministers of Prince Tan's palace and have close friendship with Wang Wen and others, or because they have once He was very close to Xu Youzhen, so he couldn't be completely trusted.
You know, although Xu Youzhen's previous impeachment was successfully settled, those in the DPRK who targeted the East Palace did not remain calm for long.
Over the past few years, Zhu Jianshen's life has still been quite difficult. He has to deal with all kinds of open and secret attacks from time to time. Only by returning to his own dormitory in Qingning Palace can he relax a little.
After straightening up slightly and signaling Wan Zhen'er to step back, Zhu Jianshen continued to ask.
"I asked you to find out before. The New Year Festival has passed for less than half a month, but there are still several vassal kings in the capital who have not left the capital. Why? Is there any news?"
After hearing this, Liang Fang thought for a moment and said.
"Back to Your Highness, there is no definite news yet. However, in the past few days, in addition to summoning several vassal kings to meet with you, Your Majesty also summoned the great uncle of the Ministry of Rites. Therefore, I feel that the previous rumors are most likely true. Your Majesty does intend to change the vassal system again."
"Uncle Zong?"
Zhu Jian frowned deeply. You must know that this old man is eighty-four this year. He has basically not even been in court in the past two years. It seems that things are not simple when he is suddenly invited out this time.
"I know, keep paying attention..."
"yes……"
Liang Fang responded, but her expression was quite hesitant and she did not retreat.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Jianshen also felt a little strange and asked.
"Anything else?"
So, Liang Fang hesitated and said.
"Going back to Your Highness, there is indeed one more thing... It is... there is news from Fengyang recently, saying that after the Supreme Emperor arrived in Fengyang, he was too worried and has been suffering from illness. In winter, it is getting worse and worse. , it is said that I am afraid... I am afraid that I will not be able to survive this spring."
Although Zhu Qizhen has now been deposed as a commoner, most people are still used to calling him the Supreme Emperor in private.
Hearing this, Zhu Jianshen's expression was a little complicated, but in the end, he didn't say anything.
At this moment, a servant suddenly came in from outside to report, saying.
"Your Highness, Your Highness King Rong wishes to see you."
"Second brother?"
Zhu Jian frowned deeply. Thinking of the news he just heard, an ominous premonition suddenly surged in his heart. He let out a breath, stood up and prepared to greet him, and gave instructions at the same time.
"Let him in."
So, not long after, a slightly thin, elegant young man walked in from outside the palace, wearing a light blue royal robe, deerskin boots, and a thick cloak behind him. This man was Zhu Jianshen's younger brother. , is also the only remaining prince of the Nangong lineage, Prince Rong Zhu Jianqing.
Under the leadership of the chamberlain, Zhu Jianqing strode into the palace, then bowed his hands upright and said.
"My brother has met His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Looking at the slightly alienated young man in front of him, Zhu Jianshen smiled bitterly, stepped forward and took his hand, pulled him to sit down together, and said.
"I have told you so many times that you and I are brothers. There is no need to be so polite. Just call me brother. Calling me your highness the prince is too alienating."
As he spoke, Zhu Jianshen turned around and ordered people to bring the stove and mats up, and continued.
"It's cold outside. Sit down quickly and warm yourself up. Zhen'er, bring me the tribute tea your Majesty gave you last year..."
Therefore, Wan Zhen'er, who was following Zhu Jianshen, immediately got a blessing and prepared to go down to make tea. However, what people didn't expect was that upon hearing this, Zhu Jianqing showed a look of disgust on his face and said.
"There is no need to trouble Mr. Wan. I just came to have a few words with His Highness the Crown Prince, and then returned to the palace to accompany my mother and concubine. I will not drink this tea."
This is obviously showing off, and even people with no eyesight can see it, let alone Wan Zhen'er who has been in the palace for so many years. So, for a moment, the latter's pretty face immediately changed. Looking a little pale, she couldn't help but bite her lower lip, looked at Zhu Jianshen, and shouted softly with a hint of grievance.
"Your Highness..."
Seeing this scene, Zhu Jianshen's face became slightly ugly, and his attitude became slightly colder. However, after all, he was his own brother in front of him, so he didn't have much to say, so he had to wave his hand and said to Wan Zhen'er. .
"In that case, you should retreat first and stay outside. Don't let anyone disturb Gu and his second brother's conversation."
Seeing Wan Zhen'er who was unwilling to withdraw, Zhu Jianqing's face finally looked better. Turning his head, he set his eyes on Zhu Jianshen. After a moment of silence, he spoke.
"Brother, do you know that my father is seriously ill in Fengyang?"
As soon as the words were spoken, the Qingning Palace was silent for a moment, and Zhu Jianshen couldn't help but sigh heavily... Sure enough, he came here for this matter.
You must know that there are four princes and four princesses in this lineage of Nangong. However, apart from him, King Xin Zhu Jianshi died in the fourth year of Jingtai, and King Xu Zhu Jianchun died in the sixth year of Jingtai. Among the princes, there are only Prince Rong Zhu Jianqing, who was half a year younger than him, and several princesses grew up healthily.
Unlike Zhu Jianshen, who was canonized as a prince since childhood and has always lived in the East Palace, Zhu Jianqing has always lived in the Nangong Palace with his mother, Concubine Wan Chen. In other words, he is the prince who truly grew up under their father's knees.
Although Zhu Jianshen is the prince, he has always been able to clearly feel that Zhu Qizhen loves Zhu Jianqing, the second son, more than he does.
Because of this, the relationship between Zhu Jianqing and Zhu Qizhen is much deeper than that between Zhu Jianshen and Zhu Qizhen.
After the Nangong Incident, Zhu Jianqing, who was less than nine years old at the time, even secretly went to beg Queen Qian, hoping to follow Zhu Qizhen to Fengyang like her.
Of course, the result was that he was scolded by Queen Qian and sent directly back to Concubine Wan Chen's palace to be grounded to prevent him from continuing to mess around.
Later, Queen Qian followed Zhu Qizhen to Fengyang. After being grounded for several months, Zhu Jianqing gradually became more honest.
Although something like this happened to Nangong, fortunately, the emperor was kind and not only retained their princely status and allowed them to continue studying in the main hall, but also visited them often, allowing Zhu Jianqing to live peacefully in recent years. I live a stable life with my sisters in Nangong.
However, for this reason, in Zhu Jianshen's opinion, his character was a bit too simple. When he heard the news about Fengyang, he had a vague premonition. Looking at it now, his premonition just now is completely clear. not bad……
"Know."
After a moment of silence, Zhu Jianshen nodded slightly.
Such a short answer obviously did not satisfy Zhu Jianqing. He stared directly at Zhu Jianshen's face and said.
"Brother, that's our dad!"
"I know that he made a big mistake and raised an army to rebel. His crime is unforgivable, but no matter what, he is your biological father who is connected by blood."
"The past has been a big mistake, and I don't want to and can't make any excuses for him. But as a son of a man, my father is seriously ill and is dying. Even if you and I can't stay at his bedside, we should still go and see him one last time. This is filial piety for the Son of Man, isn’t it?”
"what you up to?"
Zhu Jianshen's brows suddenly wrinkled deeply, he sat up straight and asked Zhu Jianqing seriously.
However, facing his posture, Zhu Jianqing also had no fear and sat upright and said.
"I have prepared a petition to request Your Majesty's permission to go to Fengyang to visit my father..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhu Jianshen suddenly stood up and shouted sharply.
"Nonsense!"
"Do you know what the hell you're doing?"
These two sentences were stern, enough to show how shocked Zhu Jianshen was at the moment. However, Zhu Jianqing was not an easy person to deal with. This time he had made up his mind. Faced with Zhu Jianshen's reprimand, he was slightly stunned at first. For a moment, his face also darkened, he stiffened his neck, gritted his teeth and glared at Zhu Jianshen, refusing to give in at all.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Jianshen became even more angry. He took a long breath and walked around the Qingning Hall two or three times in annoyance. Then he managed to suppress the anger in his heart, turned around and sat down again, looking at the place in front of him. Zhu Jianqing tried his best to calm down his tone and said.
"Brother Qing, I know that you care about your father in your heart. You are right. My father is our biological father. No matter how big a mistake we make, the blood relationship will always be cut off. In terms of filial piety, you want to go There is nothing wrong with seeing my father again."
After saying these words, Zhu Jianqing's face finally became a little more beautiful, so Zhu Jianshen's tone became slightly serious and he continued.
"But... don't forget, you and I are not ordinary people, and the mistakes my father made are not ordinary mistakes. Born in the royal family, every move has many implications. Yes, I know, my uncle has treated you and me over the years, We treat them all as if they were our own children and take great care of them.”
"But what you need to understand more is that my uncle is not just an uncle, but also the supreme emperor. There is a saying among the people that accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. When you are in front of the emperor in the palace, there are some things you cannot say and some things you cannot do."
"To this day, Nangong and his father are a taboo topic in the court. As you and I, it is right to live a low-key life. If you rashly go to see your father, not to mention what your uncle will think, you will If it spreads to the DPRK, do you know how big of a commotion it will cause?"
"What's more, the court has rules. Even if the emperor dies, the vassal kings are not allowed to leave the vassal territory without authorization and are not allowed to attend funerals. What's more, with our current status...how can we act rashly?"
These words were spoken with sincerity, but after Zhu Jianqing heard this, his originally gentle expression turned ugly again, and he frowned. He looked up at Zhu Jianshen and retorted.
"I went to see my father to fulfill my filial piety as a son of man. All ministers in the court read the books of sages and adhere to the principles of benevolence and filial piety. If this is the case, what kind of trouble will it cause?"
"What's more, when my father rebelled, my uncle remembered the family ties of the Tian family and never killed him. Now that my father has been deposed as a commoner, I am not joining the vassal. I am just going to see my father off for the last time, and to be with the court. Why do you want to control it? I invite you to go to Fengyang. This is based on etiquette and filial piety. His heart is pure and his intention is sincere. How could my uncle not know? How could he not be allowed to do so?"
(End of chapter)
