Chapter 21 The Crown Prince of Qin
There were bursts of mournful music and bursts of crying.
The mourning music that many people are familiar with was actually very rare in ancient times. Only when high-ranking officials and dignitaries held funerals could a whole band be brought together. Play solemn mournful music.
In the midst of mourning and music. Countless soldiers were wrapped in white gauze.
The prince was also present at this moment.
In fact, it is not appropriate for the prince to be present on this occasion. Although the prince is in charge of this matter, in terms of etiquette, although the deceased is the elder, there is also a difference in dignity. The prince and the King of Qin are brothers, but they are one king and one minister.
Seeing the coffin of King Qin, it is wrong for the prince to pay homage to him. But it would be inappropriate not to worship.
Therefore, it is usually held before the funeral and does not appear during the funeral.
This is true even if the prince takes care of this matter.
In fact, what the prince was really busy with was not King Qin's funeral. To put it bluntly, the funeral of King Qin was naturally handled by the Ministry of Etiquette. What really kept the prince busy was the tomb of King Qin. The death of King Qin was very sudden. I had never thought about being buried in Nanjing before. Naturally, the tomb was not dug in advance.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked the prince to make it grand, so the size of King Qin's tomb must not be small.
Even if the prince had made a decision to build the underground palace first, and then build the above-ground buildings after King Qin was laid to rest, even so, he would not be able to make up for the time. The prince had no choice but to be aware of Zhu Yuanzhang and keep King Qin's coffin in the Xiang Hall of Xiaoling for a while.
The tomb of King Qin was built on the Xiaoling Mausoleum. Although Xiaoling Mausoleum is Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum, in fact, the construction of Xiaoling Mausoleum began very early. It's been finished a long time ago. Even the Mausoleum of King Qin was selected based on Xiaoling Mausoleum.
Of course, it is far away from Xiaoling. Because the closest thing to Xiaoling is the prince's own position. It’s not King Qin’s turn yet.
This choice, starting work, stopping the spirit, already involves etiquette, taboos, etc. There are so many things to pay attention to. They all need the prince to make the decision. Therefore, although the prince came to preside over the funeral, he actually did not spend much time in the Qin Palace.
Perhaps because the prince felt a little guilty, or for some other reason, after King Qin's coffin left the palace, the prince led the East Palace to offer sacrifices on the road, led by Zhu Yunwen. Of course, the prince would not be worshiped, so Zhu Yunwen offered sacrifices to King Qin on behalf of his father.
The prince looked at the prince of Qin and felt pitiful in his heart.
The child in his early ten years was wearing linen and mourning, making his body look even more petite. He was holding the memorial tablet of King Qin, and the two children behind him were holding various other things. The journey from Prince Qin's Mansion to Nanjing City is several miles long and can only be done on foot.
The prince was also worried that the child would not be able to bear it.
The prince said to the prince of Qin: "If you really can't walk, just say it and I will let you ride a horse. From now on, if you have anything to do, come to me. I will replace your father and take good care of you."
Prince Qin suddenly raised his head, looked at the prince and said, "Is it true?"
The prince touched the head of Prince Qin and said, "Of course it is true."
The prince felt a little guilty about the death of King Qin. After all, in history, King Qin did not die now. After all, it was his actions that changed history. After all, he lacked some ruthlessness in his heart. How could he not feel pity for this orphan and widowed mother?
Not to mention, King Qin is no longer here. The King of Qin's lineage was no longer a threat to him.
Whether it's because of the prince's nature or politics, the prince will take good care of the prince of Qin.
It's just that the prince never expected that the following words of Prince Qin would be so earth-shattering.
Prince Qin said: "Your Highness, I am willing to transfer my title to anywhere. Just don't kill me, don't kill my mother and concubine, okay?"
The words of Prince Qin had a somewhat childlike feeling. But extremely vicious.
After hearing this sentence, the prince did not react for a moment. In an instant, his face turned red and his ears were red. He glanced around. Today is the funeral of King Qin. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered a grand ceremony. It can be said that all the famous people from the entire Ming Dynasty came.
The prince saw Xu Da, saw Feng Sheng, saw the envoys of various vassal kings, and so on.
And the coffins of the Crown Prince of Qin and the King of Qin were the absolute focus of this occasion. It can be said that countless people watched. The Prince of Qin said this in a loud voice. The prince was determined not to be the only one to hear it.
The prince felt his head buzzing and felt that countless eyes were directed at him like sharp swords.
Everyone seemed to be asking with their eyes: "Did you kill your brother? Are people like you still qualified to live in the world?" and so on.
The prince didn't know what to say for a moment?
say what? Say it was not me who killed your father. Talking to a child about something is wrong in itself. And on this occasion, no matter how you say it, you have to hide it. But I don't deny it. I don't know what will happen to the rumors that were originally suppressed tomorrow.
He Xi was not far from the prince and heard this sentence clearly.
He thought to himself: "What a vicious move."
He Xi felt that this sentence was not necessarily the original intention of Prince Qin. After all, the child is still young, and this time is the funeral of King Qin. It can be said that the top dignitaries of the entire Ming Dynasty are here. It is not difficult to arrange for someone to contact the Prince of Qin and say something misleading.
Of course, He Xi did not rule out that this was the original intention of Prince Qin.
Because as a person from the royal family, no matter how high He Xi is, he will never serve the country.
But anyway?
This is going to ruin the prince's reputation all at once.
If someone is hiding behind the scenes, it can only be said that this person is extremely vicious. I don’t know who took action. I don’t know whether it was aimed at the prince himself and wanted to seize the direct heir, or it was aimed at Zhu Yuanzhang, or it was aimed at the Ming Dynasty.
After all, the prince has too much to do with it.
If investigated in this way, He Xi would be suspected. After all, the only person who wants to compete for the power vacuum after Zhu Yuanzhang's death is He Xi.
On the contrary, it is difficult to investigate.
However, no matter what the outcome was, the prince of Qin was miserable. Don't talk about the prince. Even Zhu Yuanzhang would not let him go. Will he even be the king of Qin in the future? It’s hard to say.
This is all for later.
The top priority is to cover up this matter.
He Xi immediately stepped forward, as if he had not heard what Prince Qin said, and said, "Don't delay. If you delay any longer, you will miss the auspicious time. Let's go quickly."
So, He Xi intervened forcefully and introduced the funeral into the normal process. Everyone started moving again.
It seemed like nothing happened.
But the prince was still where he was, motionless. He Xi hurried over and said, "Your Highness, Your Highness."
The prince coughed violently several times and covered his mouth with his hands, but He Xi still saw a trace of bright red in his fingers, and the prince vomited blood.
No wonder.
People are different.
Even if his son died, Zhu Yuanzhang would only be sad for a while, and then calmly analyze the situation. Even coldly assuming, what would happen if the prince did it? It seems that he doesn't care about King Qin's life at all. It's not that he doesn't care, it's just that he has seen too much.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very fond of his nephew Zhu Wenzheng, the king of Nanchang. But what happened in the end? When it's time to kill him, he won't show any mercy.
But the prince is different.
The prince was educated by Song Lian from an early age to be benevolent, righteous, courteous, wise and trustworthy, and to be a humble gentleman. Facts have proved that the prince also learned well. In politics, he is skillful, principled and ambitious, but he also has a bottom line.
The prince would think about things like brothers fighting each other when he was angry. But it’s just a thought.
After all, no one wants to destroy the world if they do not care about their actions.
Even King Yan, the prince thought about it for a while, but still let it go.
He really couldn't bring himself to kill his brother.
Not to mention, King Qin was not killed by him.
A humble gentleman values his reputation more than his life.
Yes, the prince himself knew that as a prince, it was wrong to be burdened by fame. Yiwei's pursuit of good reputation is not what an emperor should do. But many things are known. What is done is done.
The prince's reputation has been maintained very well, which is something the prince feels proud of. But at this moment, he is labeled as brother-killer. It's still the kind that can't be explained, and the more you describe it, the darker it gets.
When the prince thought that for a thousand years, others would mention this incident when talking about him, Zhu Biao, he couldn't bear it in his heart.
Not to mention, this sentence was asked by my nephew. Being regarded by his own nephew as the enemy who killed his father, the prince felt for a moment that he was incapable of running the family and was running the country in a bad way. What face is there between heaven and earth?
Breaking the defense.
