Zhu Wanqing didn't sleep long before she woke up from pain again. Looking at her bloody and bloody hands, she felt hurt and scared.
"Dad, am I disabled?"
"...it's okay." Zhu Qizhen looked at the bright red little hands and couldn't help but feel a flash of heartache, but he soon became determined again, "Wanqing, daddy wants to ask you, do you really want to be a princess?"
"I don't dare anymore, I don't dare anymore." She shook her head, still frightened.
Zhu Qizhen said warmly: "Just say what you are thinking, your Uncle Li is not here."
Zhu Wanqing looked around and saw that Li Qing was really not there, so she felt relieved: "Think about how majestic the princess is. She can live in such a big house, and who can't bend down when seeing her? She can do whatever she wants..."
She carries beautiful longings, blah blah blah...
"You can do whatever you want..." Zhu Qizhen smiled bitterly, "Not to mention the princess, not even the emperor can do this. You are too naive."
After a pause, "It is true that the status of a princess is very noble, but do you know the price behind this glamor?"
"Is there a price to pay for being a princess?" Zhu Wanqing was surprised, "Tian Huanggui, what price can there be? The price of enjoying happiness?"
"...Xiao Qian, you tell her."
Qian sighed and said: "Princess is a noble person. There are many people who are humble and serve you wholeheartedly, but all the glory comes before you get married. Once you get married, the hard days begin!"
"Why?"
"Because..." Qian glanced at her husband.
Zhu Qizhen took over and said, "When a Ming princess reaches a marriageable age, the court will arrange for the selection of a consort. However, in order to prevent relatives from interfering in politics, the husband of the princess cannot obtain fame or enter an official career;
In other words, except for the founding of the People's Republic of China, the subsequent Ming Dynasty princesses all married children from poor families. "
Zhu Qizhen sighed: "My dear daughter, the Ming Princess seems precious, but in fact... to put it harshly, no ambitious man would fall in love with the princess, because marrying the princess means that he will never have a chance to have an official career. "
"Isn't anyone willing to be an official as high as the Prince Consort?" Zhu Wanqing didn't believe it.
"The official position is quite big, but what's the use?" Zhu Qizhen sighed, "I don't have any real power. In addition to receiving the fixed salary from the court as usual, there is no money to be made, and I can't take concubines, let alone divorce my wife. Visiting a prostitute is a major sin.”
Qian added: "That's okay. Even if the princess is married, she can only live in her own mansion. She can't live with her parents-in-law, nor can she live with her husband-in-law. When the couple meets, it's like celebrating the New Year, alas... …”
Zhu Qizhen nodded: "All of the above have led to the fact that talented people with status, knowledge, and ambition are unwilling to become consorts, because it is a kind of torture for them."
"It's true for the prince-in-law, but why not for the princess?" Qian sighed, "Royal women have to set an example for the world. They can't show themselves in public. They can only stay in the mansion all day, and they can't even meet their husbands easily. Isn’t that kind of life a kind of torture?”
Zhu Wanqing was puzzled: "Why can't we live together?"
"Because the princess is noble." Zhu Qizhen said, "When the prince-in-law meets the princess, he must obtain the consent of the female official. This is the rule."
"How could the emperor set such a rule?" Zhu Wanqing was puzzled: "She is his daughter. How could he bear to have his daughter live such a miserable life?"
Zhu Qizhen smiled: "If father is still the emperor, father will bear it. For the emperor, not to mention his daughter, his son can be wronged, even sacrificed and abandoned."
Zhu Wanqing's face turned pale. She could feel that her father was not trying to scare her, "Why, why?"
"In the eyes of the emperor, there are only two things that are most important." Zhu Qizhen narrowed his eyes. "One is the country and the other is the imperial power. Nothing else is important."
The little girl was unwilling to give in: "My daughter is not important?"
"It's not important!" Zhu Qizhen said lightly, "Don't take yourself too seriously. Daddy loves you because daddy is Mr. Zhu. If daddy is Emperor Zhu, haha."
"Daddy is not such a person." The little girl said with a tearful voice. She was very panicked when her sense of security suddenly disappeared.
"Mom, daddy won't do this, right?" the little girl confirmed with tears in her eyes.
Qian just smiled bitterly. Frankly speaking, the queen was just like that. She was lucky enough to meet the affectionate Zhu Qizhen. If it were someone else, she would be nothing more than a doormat and a fertility tool.
But even so, she had to be cautious and walk on thin ice in front of the powerful Queen Mother Sun.
They were even harmed secretly. This is the ruthlessness of the royal family.
That splendid palace, to put it bluntly, is a field of power. In the whirlpool of power, who can be alone?
How can one word "difficult" describe it?
Seeing her mother like this, the little girl shook her head like a rattle, "Daddy, I don't want to be a princess anymore, shall we live here?"óΠъ.oяＧ
She couldn't imagine how painful it would be to be away from her parents and unable to see her eldest brother.
It was more uncomfortable than Uncle Li spanking her!
"Dad, you...do you want to go back?"
Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said warmly: "Dad just wants to be your father, not your father."
After a pause, his face became serious: "This matter must not be known to others. No one can tell him, including your big brother, otherwise our whole family will be in trouble."
Qian added seriously: "At the least, he will be imprisoned until death, but at the worst... he will die accidentally!"
"Ah?" Zhu Wanqing opened her mouth in surprise and said nonchalantly: "The emperor wants to kill our family?"
She was really smart. She understood it immediately and grasped the key points, but she was also a little disbelieving: "Dad, aren't you the emperor's eldest brother?"
"Just the eldest half-brother." Zhu Qizhen said calmly, "Even if they are biological brothers, they will not show mercy when it comes to the throne."
"Then aren't we... there is a possibility of being killed at any time?" She was extremely scared.
Zhu Qizhen said: "If you don't talk loudly, we won't be discovered, and your Uncle Li will protect us;
Also, don't have any superiority, we are just here to seek refuge with others, don't be unruly and willful in the future, no one has the obligation to spoil you, remember! "
"Yes, daughter... I remember it." The little girl nodded slowly. The strong sense of disparity and fear made her unable to accept it for a while, and she was extremely sad.
Zhu Qizhen sighed and said, "Xiaoqian, please advise this kid, I'll go for a walk."
"Yeah, okay." Ms. Qian nodded in agreement and held her daughter in her arms, "Wanqing, don't blame your Uncle Li. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have a family. It was he who went through thousands of troops and endured hardships alone. Just brought your father back;
Mother's ability to escape from the palace and reunite with your father was all due to his operation. Qian sighed: "Ordinary people have a way out, but people like my parents have no way out. It was your Uncle Li who forcibly opened up a way out for us;
Do you know how much risk he took? "
…
"I feel good." Li Qing hummed a little tune, flicking the wicker in his hand, and his thoughts were clear.
When they came to the front yard, Zhu Gaoxu was exercising with the little old man, and he called him a big brother. After all, the two of them looked... almost the same.
It could be seen that the little old man was already a little annoyed with him, and he almost couldn't hold back and wanted to fuck him several times.
Li Qing quickly stepped forward and grabbed Zhu Gaoxu: "Have a rest. Let's go and have a drink."
Zhu Gaoxu was a little reluctant, but he couldn't resist Li Qing and was pulled to the pavilion by him.
"Where's the wine?" Zhu Gaoxu looked around and wondered, "Didn't you say you want to drink?"
"...You really drink." Li Qing rolled his eyes, "Didn't you see that my master wanted to beat you just now?"
"Uh...hehe..." Zhu Gaoxu scratched his head and said in disbelief, "Is that little old man really your master?"
Li Qing nodded: "How can this be false? No...you don't want to live forever, do you?"
"Not really, I'm just a little curious." Zhu Gaoxu said, "Looking at him, he seems to be about the same as me. He seems to be there when the wind blows. Is he really stronger than you?"
Li Qing said with a smile: "Let's put it this way, when you were at your peak in the past, ten of you combined could not defeat him. This is still a conservative estimate;
Even now, he beats me like a child. You can imagine how powerful he is! "
"This big brother is really awesome." Zhu Gaoxu smacked his lips, "I thought you would let him."
"...I can't fight back, can't I run?" Li Qing said helplessly, "But the fact is, I can't even run away."
After a pause, "Also, don't call him big brother again, otherwise the time you spend with your father will be greatly shortened."
Zhu Gaoxu: "..."
"By the way, have you told the emperor about me?" Zhu Gaoxu asked, "Now that the emperor has changed, does the new emperor still recognize him?"
Li Qing nodded: "The new emperor has a kind heart. You are his elder after all, so I will never refuse. I just mentioned it, but the real decision must be made in person."
"Do you want me to go to the capital?"
"If your physical condition permits, it would be better to go there. Anyway, you have to go sooner or later." Li Qing said, "Don't you want to pay homage to Taizong while you are still alive?"
"Shall I worship him?" Zhu Gaoxu sneered repeatedly, "Have I not suffered enough from him in my life?"
Li Qing said silently: "Actually, he also wants to stabilize the overall situation;
Your father is not a good person, let alone a good father, but from an emperor's point of view, he is very good, far better than most emperors;
You have to understand him, he is not only your father, he is the emperor of Ming Dynasty. "
To be honest, Zhu Di's life is really not easy. If possible, Li Qing would also like to resolve the conflict between father and son. Although Zhu Di is no longer here, Zhu Gaoxu is still alive.
The fact that this knot can be solved is something worth celebrating for both the dead Zhu Di and the living Zhu Gaoxu.
"Second brother, after so many years, you still haven't let go?" Li Qing sighed softly, "You have let go of the throne, why can't you let him..."
"Okay, okay, let's not talk about this." Zhu Gaoxu was a little irritated, "I'm not that generous. He tricked me so badly, I will never forgive him."
"It's up to you." Li Qing smiled helplessly, "By the way, where do you want to be buried then?"
"Imperial Mausoleum!"
"Nonsense, I'm asking who is closer, Taizong, Renzong, or Xuanzong?" Li Qing asked.
Zhu Gaoxu stood up and said, "I haven't thought about it yet. Let's talk about it when the time comes."
"We agreed to drink, but it made me so angry. It's really..." He leaned on crutches and left angrily.
Looking at his back, Li Qing smiled softly: Hanhan was finally relieved.
Taizong, Renzong, and Xuanzong seem to be multiple choices, but in fact they are just single-choice questions. Neither I nor the eldest nephew are fools, and only Renzong can be chosen.
But Hanhan did not choose Renzong, which shows that he still recognized and recognized his father in his heart.
Li Qing felt bitter and relieved, and finally turned into a long sigh, as if a long-cherished wish had been fulfilled.
Unknowingly, he has played the role of the patriarch, both the patriarch of the Ming Dynasty and the Zhu family.
Li Qing himself didn't know this.
After so many years, he has completely integrated into Ming Dynasty. He no longer looks at problems from the perspective of future generations, and no longer demands Ming Dynasty according to the standards of future generations.
He understood that this was unrealistic, let alone impossible.
People in this era, from the emperor to the officials and gentry, to the common people, have been thoroughly corrupted by thousands of years of feudal thinking. Their ideas have been severely restricted, forming a strong barrier of rules.
Want to break? It’s too difficult!
And if there is no better way to carry it out, not only will the breakthrough not become better, but it will become worse.
As a latecomer, he can only do things within the existing rules. When he has spare time, he will try his best to make subtle changes, in a subtle and subtle way.
However, this would take too long and would be more difficult than incorporating the grassland into the Ming Dynasty's territory.
…
ps: There are two chapters today.
