Talking about a deal with Zhu Di was actually Chen Kan's helpless move.
Now that Zhu Di's reward for him has been announced to the world, there is no room for him to refuse.
The only thing Chen Kan could do was to find ways to reduce his losses as much as possible when the deal was already done.
The religion issue was brought about by Zhu Di. Now throwing the problem back to him is both a transaction and a reasonable thing.
Zhu Di invited Dao Yan to come and meet Chen Kan, which was a way of comforting Chen Kan.
Zhang Sanfeng said that Chen Kan was likely to die young. Chen Kan believed this without a doubt. If Chen Kan had not died young, Chen Kan would not have come to the Ming Dynasty.
But early death was associated with princes.
All of this cannot be explained clearly in just one or two sentences.
Zhu Di is the emperor, and the emperor cannot die young. Otherwise, the three or five sects that destroyed Buddha in history may turn into three or two sects that destroy Buddha and Taoism.
But Chen Kan, a prince, could die young.
Chen Kan had never doubted the power of religion at all. Whether it was Buddhism or Taoism, their power was not comparable to that of smaller sects such as the Mingjiao White Lotus Sect and the Tenri Sect.
This is also the reason why Chen Kan made plans early on to avoid disasters by losing money.
After the transaction was completed and after a tasteless meal, Chen Kan said goodbye to Zhu Di and left the hall.
A group of generals under his command were supposed to stay overnight in the imperial city to show their favor, so Chen Kan did not wait for them.
It was getting dark and the palace gate was locked, so Chen Kan climbed out of the imperial city tower in a hanging basket.
On New Year's Eve, the capital was full of joy and celebration, but the palace was completely silent.
Both sides of the Qinhuai River are covered with lanterns, illuminating the entire river like a jade belt.
The boats along the river were bustling with people, and the shouts of hawkers on the streets were even more constant.
Seeing all kinds of scenes in Chen Kan's eyes, he suddenly had the illusion that the prosperous age had arrived.
Standing on the edge of the Qinhuai River, looking at the sparkling water with the help of firelight, Chen Kan couldn't help but sigh.
Chen Kan had a share of the credit for the Ming Dynasty, but the higher his position, the more he felt that he couldn't help himself.
Seeing that Chen Kan was not in high spirits, Zhang Dong took out a few copper coins from his arms and exchanged them for a few bunches of candied haws-lubs from a passing candied haws customer.
Xiao ran forward and handed a bunch of candied haws to Chen Kan, and said with a smile: "Master Marquis, would you like to skewer the candied haws?"
Chen Kan came to his senses, took the candied haws from Zhang Shou, fiercely tore off a hawthorn and chewed it, as if he was chewing not a hawthorn, but someone's flesh and blood.
Zhang Dong leaned close to Chen Kan and suddenly whispered: "Master Marquis, if you are not happy in the capital, let's go to Beijing. Why stay and suffer such birdiness?"
Hearing this, Chen Kan was stunned, then shook his head and said: "The capital is just a pool of muddy water. You can do whatever you want before you get in, but after you get involved, it's difficult to escape cleanly. It's very difficult. ....."
Zhang Dong scratched his head, bit off all the hawthorn on the bamboo stick, and didn't say much in the end.
A group of people fell silent and slowly walked along the lively street towards Qinhuai River Wuyi Lane.
Just when he reached the entrance of Wuyi Lane, Chen Kan stopped.
"Master Hou..."
Yuncheng led three teenagers to stop at the entrance of Wuyi Alley, and the four of them surrounded Chang Ning, who was becoming more emotionally mature.
Chang Ning held a sleeping little chubby girl in her arms.
"I'm back."
Chen Kan opened his arms and greeted the people with a smile.
There were tears in Chang Ning's eyes, and she pursed her lips, trying to say something, but in the end she just shed silent tears.
The faces of the three and a half-year-old teenagers were full of excitement and joy.
The leader, Zhu Zhanji, has begun to lose weight. He is no longer as obese as before, and his height has also surged to about the same height as Chang Ning.
Hua Shi has the potential to enchant all the girls in the boats on the Qinhuai River. Her young face is long and her peach blossom eyes seem to be filled with deep affection.
Zhu Zhanhe is still thin and small, but he is already two years younger than Zhu Zhanji and Hua Shi, and he should be almost human-like in two years.
"teacher!"
Zhu Zhanji spoke, and the boy in the voice-changing stage had a drake voice, like a eunuch.
Chen Kan nodded, walked to Chang Ning, and raised his hand to wipe away Chang Ning's tears.
"I'm back. It's a happy reunion. Why are you crying?"
Chang Ning sobbed a few times, stopped her tears, couldn't help but burst into laughter, and then handed the baby in her hand to Chen Kan.
"Your daughter is over one year old and she hasn't met her father yet."
Chen Kan reached out and took the little chubby girl, who was over one year old, into his arms. The sleeping baby seemed to be awake, its long eyelashes trembled slightly, and then it opened a pair of big, smart eyes.
The little chubby girl was really fat. When Chen Kan held her in his arms, she seemed to have no bones. The two lumps of soft flesh on her face were like two big meaty buns.
The two little hands were also fleshy and they were pinched together tightly.
The small, pink and tender lips made Chen Kan's heart soften all of a sudden.
The father and daughter looked at each other. The chubby Fengyang's eyes were full of doubts, as if he was thinking about who the unshaven old man in front of him was.
His eyes rolled around twice, but he didn't expect that the little fat girl would suddenly start crying when his mouth became deflated.
Chang Ning hurriedly said: "Baby, aren't you making trouble every day to find daddy? This is daddy."
"Wow~"
The little chubby girl cried loudly, her little body kept struggling, and her little milky voice shouted intermittently: "Wow, wow, wow, mother, the baby wants mother, hug, mother, hug... ..."
The little guy, who was just over a year old, couldn't say a complete sentence, so he could only call his mother intermittently.
Chen Kan touched his nose in embarrassment. He didn't expect that the little guy would reject him so much.
Chang Ning hurriedly took the little guy from Chen Kan's hand and said at a loss of whether to laugh or cry: "The little guy is a little too naive."
Chen Kan nodded to express his understanding. He was now full of masculinity, which even he himself found difficult to accept, let alone a little guy who was over one year old.
"Okay, let's go home first."
Chen Kan spoke with a smile, Chang Ning nodded, handed the little guy to Zhu Zhanji to hold, and held Chen Kan's hand unwilling to let go.
A group of people returned home in a grand manner. Yuncheng immediately took people to prepare hot water, and the cook also hurriedly started preparing midnight snacks.
Chen Kan's arrival brought the entire Hou Mansion to life.
Looking at the newly renovated Hou Mansion, Chen Kan smacked his mouth and then smiled.
The Hou Mansion now is different from before. I remember when I moved to Beijing, I even had to move the bed.
But now, the bed is still the same bed, and other things have been replaced by various luxurious things made of wood.
Even the round table in the dining room is priceless when placed outside.
A group of people came to the dining room to chat. Not long after, the midnight snack prepared in the kitchen was brought up.
Chen Kan didn't eat enough when he was in the palace. Now when he returned home and saw these familiar dishes, he couldn't help but ate them immediately.
Seeing Chen Kan start eating, Chang Ning and the three and a half-year-old boys tacitly closed their mouths and began to feed Chen Kan.
With one chopstick per person, Chen Kan's bowl was piled like a hill.
Only the little chubby girl Fengyang looked at Chen Kan blankly, her big eyes full of doubts.
She felt that she might have fallen out of favor. In the past, her three brothers and her mother always revolved around her. Why were they taking care of this weird guy today?
After finishing his late-night snack, Chen Kan burped, and Yuncheng happened to come to report that the hot water was ready.
Chang Ning threw the little chubby girl to Zhu Zhanji and followed Chen Kan to the backyard.
Chang Ning was always in charge of Chen Kan's washing, so the maid in the backyard stepped out in a wise manner.
After stripping off all his clothes, Chen Kan got into the steaming tub. The warm water covered his whole body. Chen Kan couldn't help but close his eyes in comfort.
Chang Ning began to clean Chen Kan's body skillfully. While washing, he asked: "Husband, do you plan to accept the three rewards my father gave you today?"
"There's nothing I can do about it. I can't accept it."
Chen Kan responded, with a wry smile on his face.
Chang Ning bit her lips and said softly: "How about I go to the palace and ask my mother to persuade my father to take back his life, and our family can go to Beijing to live a good life?"
"It's useless. Since His Majesty wants His Highness the King of Han to lead the Eastern Expedition, then it is a foregone conclusion to appease His Highness the Crown Prince. Even if our family runs to Beijing, we will be caught by His Majesty."
Chang Ning could see through the essence of the three wills, and Chen Kan didn't find it strange at all.
After all, she was Zhu Di's favorite daughter, and there was no need for Zhu Di to hide these things from her. But Chang Ning was a woman after all. Although she could see through the essence of the three wills, she could not see through the deeper things.
Zhu Di is now in his prime, but his three sons have all grown up.
If this kind of thing is placed in the homes of ordinary people, it often means that the family is prosperous, but if it is placed in the royal family, it means that Zhu Di has several legitimate competitors for the throne.
Therefore, it is certain that Zhu Di will suppress several of his sons, especially the prince.
As the only heir to the throne, the prince's threat to the throne can be said to be close to the appearance.
But Zhu Di just couldn't suppress the prince.
Because he knew very well that the prince was the most suitable successor to the throne to control the Ming Dynasty.
The reason is the same as why Tang Taizong Li Shimin chose Li Zhi as his successor instead of Li Tai, who was obviously more capable.
The Ming Dynasty went through three emperors, Hongwu, Jianwen, and Yongle, and these three dynasties were all engaged in war and expansion without exception.
The Hongwu Dynasty fought against the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the Jianwen Dynasty fought a civil war, and in the Yongle Dynasty, they simply fought on all sides. Therefore, the next successor of the Ming Dynasty can only be the king of Shoucheng, otherwise it will be easy to get away with it like the Sui Dynasty.
Zhu Di has already seen through this truth after being the emperor for so many years.
Therefore, Zhu Di suppressed Zhu Gaochi, but he would not easily suppress him. As for Zhu Gaoxu, he was simply Zhu Di's tool to train Zhu Gaochi.
Zhu Di only needs to praise the King of Han from time to time, and Zhu Gaoxu will be willing to work for Zhu Di. However, when the prince Zhu Gaochi sees that Zhu Di favors and trusts Zhu Gaoxu, in order to keep his position as the prince, he will only focus on fighting Zhu Gaoxu, thereby neglecting his concern for the throne. desire.
This is the essential truth. It sounds cruel to say, but it is the truth.
Royal people are not people, but machines of power. Since they are machines, how can there be such a thing as feelings?
That's why Chen Kan said that he couldn't escape. Even if he escaped to Beijing, he would still be caught by Zhu Di and used as a tool.
Of course, it is normal for Chang Ning not to think of this. After all, her thinking is that the ethics and morals of the Three Cardinal Principles and the Five Constant Rules are the mainstream.
Chen Kan can see through these things because he stands on the shoulders of giants. Various research materials and experts from later generations have already studied Zhu Di thoroughly. He only needs to directly apply the experience of later generations.
Not only Chang Ning, but in fact most people in the Ming Dynasty think like this.
Otherwise, no one would choose to bet on Hanwang.
After listening to Chen Kan's words, Chang Ning was silent for a while, and sighed secretly: "Tell me, why can't my father not see us children living a good life?"
As soon as these words came out, Chen Kan was stopped.
Why doesn't Zhu Di want everyone to live a good life?
Maybe it's because he is not an emperor who is accustomed to stability at heart.
The great men of later generations have said: "Fighting with heaven is endless fun, fighting with earth is endless fun, fighting with humans is endless fun."
Obviously, Zhu Di is such a person.
It was impossible for him to stop in this life.
In the Hongwu Dynasty, he fought with Bei Yuan, in the Jianwen Dynasty, he fought with Jianwen, and in the Yongle Dynasty, he fought with his sons and the wise men of the world.
And everyone in the Ming Dynasty was a tool that he could use to fight, including Chen Kan, his son-in-law.
He can live a stable life in the capital for seven years, which is already considered the limit.
If Chen Kan guessed correctly, when the Japanese kingdom in Liaodong and the domestic religious land dispute came to an end, it would be the day when Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing and continued to fight against his old rival Beiyuan.
After a while, Chen Kan murmured: "Maybe it's because His Majesty is one of the few wise emperors in ancient and modern times."
Hearing this, Chang Ning was silent again for a moment, and then quietly began to rub Chen Kan's back.
The couple basically stopped talking about the topic. After all, it would be taboo to talk too much about some things.
After a while, the water in the tub turned into dark, dirty water.
Chen Kan, on the other hand, felt refreshed.
After changing a basin of water to clear his body, Chen Kan put on home clothes under Chang Ning's service.
The couple came to the front yard hand in hand, and the little chubby girl was already sleeping in Zhu Zhanji's arms, drooling all over her mouth, and there were still glistening milk stains on the corners of her mouth.
Chen Kan took the chubby little girl from Zhu Zhanji's hand. This time, the little fat girl didn't wake up and make a fuss. Instead, she arched into Chen Kan's arms a few times, sniffed and smelled the smell, and then lay on Chen Kan's chest. He slept soundly in Kan's arms.
Seeing that the three disciples were hesitant to speak, Chen Kan waved his hand and said: "Master knows that you have many doubts in your hearts, but if you have anything to say, we will talk about it tomorrow."
Chang Ning said gently: "Your teacher has just returned home, let him have a good rest first."
The three and a half-year-old teenagers looked at each other in confusion, but Chen Kan and Chang Ning both spoke, so they could only suppress their doubts and salute the two of them to leave.
