When Zhu Yunjing came out of the prison with a satisfied smile on his lips, Wang Jiu knew with just one glance that His Highness’s wishes had come true, and he also became delighted. After all, if His Highness was not happy, it was these servants who would eat fallen melons. Only when His Highness was happy could they have a good life.
Dali Temple Prison officials courteously saw off the Crown Prince’s carriage. Before getting on the carriage, Zhu Yunjing glanced at the prison guard kneeling in front of him, and reminded him in a deep voice: “The matter Gu came here for, you are not allowed to talk about it outside.”
The other party lowered his head and said: “Your Highness, rest assured that I will not dare.”
The carriage rattled away, and the officials who had knelt on the ground didn’t get up until the carriage disappeared. They were all sweating profusely in the middle of winter, wondering what had just happened.
In the carriage, Zhu Yunjing closed his eyes and rested, telling Wang Jiu: “Later, find someone to deliver a message to the Duke’s Mansion. Tell that kid, Xie Xuanming to help Gu handle this matter.”
“Yes.” Wang Jiu hurriedly replied.
Returning to the palace, it was already Sishi. Emperor Zhaoyang was reviewing memorials in the warm pavilion of the imperial study. Zhu Yunjing went in and greeted him politely. Emperor Zhaoyang called him to his side, asking: “Why didn’t I see you come to court today?”
“Last night, it snowed suddenly. I caught a cold, and felt a little uncomfortable.” Zhu Yunjing gave a random reason.
“Did you let the imperial physician check on you?”
“It’s not a big deal. I’ve just taken two doses of medicine and I’ll be fine. Father Emperor, you don’t need to worry.”
Emperor Zhaoyang felt relieved, and then spoke to him about another matter: “The Zhengyuan army will return to the capital at the beginning of next month. You will go to Deshengmen to welcome them for me. After so many years, the north has finally been pacified, thanks to our ancestors’ blessings. After a hundred years, when I pass away, I will also have to meet my ancestors with dignity.”
Emperor Zhaoyang sighed to himself, his eyes revealing an undisguised joy and excitement.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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However, Zhu Yunjing was thinking about something else. With the triumphant return of the expedition army, the He family and his second brother Zhu Yunxun would surely be even more proud.
After Emperor Zhaoyang explained the matter, he took advantage of his pleasant mood and mentioned something else: “Yesterday, I went to Yongshou Palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager. She mentioned that you are now seventeen years old and it is time for you to marry. Your mother left early, and this was my negligence. You are my Crown Prince. Getting married and establishing your own family as soon as possible is also a contribution to the state.”
Zhu Yunjing cupped his hands: “I will follow Father Emperor’s decision.”
Emperor Zhaoyang was very satisfied with his obedience, and casually reminded him: “A few days ago, I heard some ridiculous rumors in the capital. Although they were not credible, they may affect your reputation. In the future, you must act more cautiously and solemnly, and avoid giving people cause for gossip.”
Zhu Yunjing was not surprised that the news of his and Xu Shixian’s affair reached Emperor Zhaoyang. There were always people who wanted to keep him from having a good time. Regardless of his thoughts, he had to humbly accept the emperor’s advice: “Erchen avoids it from happening.”
Emperor Zhaoyang nodded: “The wedding is not urgent. The Empress Dowager will also help you find a suitable partner. If you have any ideas, you can go and talk to the Empress Dowager.”
Zhu Yunjing smiled: “Erchen has no particular ideas. Father Emperor and royal grandmother will choose the best for Erchen.”
Afterwards, Zhu Yunjing helped Emperor Zhaoyang review some memorials, and had lunch with him. In the afternoon, he returned to the palace to take a nap, and then went to Chonghua Hall to study.
Chonghua Hall is where the princes study. Zhu Yunjing entered the court at the age of twelve and followed Emperor Zhaoyang to learn how to deal with political affairs. There was also a contemporary scholar appointed as the prince’s teacher to teach him books and lectures. He only came to Chonghua Hall with other princes once every three days to listen to lessons from the imperial teacher. It was what Emperor Zhaoyang meant, and he was afraid that he would be estranged from his brothers.
As soon as Zhu Yunjing entered the door, all the brothers who had arrived earlier stood up to greet him. Emperor Zhaoyang had many heirs, including eight sons. Zhu Yunjing was not familiar with most of his younger brothers, so he nodded perfunctorily, and then walked to his own seat and sat down.
An afternoon passed quickly, and when the sun set, it was finally time to finish studying. Zhu Yunjing got up, and invited his fifth younger brother, Zhu Yunxuan, to have dinner together in the East Palace.
Zhu Yunxuan was the younger brother of Zhu Yunjing, born to the same mother. He was fourteen years old. Their mother died of dystocia when giving birth to this little brother. On weekdays, Zhu Yunjing cared for Zhu Yunxuan a lot. Among all his brothers, he was closest to Zhu Yunxuan.
Zhu Yunxuan’s personality was cheerful and carefree. When there were no outsiders around, he approached Zhu Yunjing and asked him with a smile: “Royal Brother, did Father Emperor mention arranging a marriage for you?”
Zhu Yunjing glanced at him and asked: “How did you know?”
“Yesterday I went to pay my respects to Grand Empress Dowager, and overheard her and Father Emperor talking. According to her, she intends to betroth her grand niece to you. Father Emperor neither agreed nor declined.”
Zhu Yunjing sneered: “The Zhao family is not qualified to marry into the royal family.”
Although this Zhao family was related to the Empress Dowager’s mother’s family and had received nobility titles, the Empress Dowager came from a humble background. She used to be a palace maid in the past and her current status was entirely due to the dignity of her son. Therefore, her family’s daughter was not suitable to become the Crown Prince’s consort, let alone the future Empress.
Zhu Yunjing knew that his Father Emperor would not be so foolish as to agree to the Empress Dowager’s proposal immediately. He stalled for time, leaving a chance for negotiation. Worst case scenario, he could marry her grand niece only as a concubine. Zhu Yunjing was not worried about this matter.
Zhu Yunxuan thought deeply: “Exactly. Her grand niece is far worse than the noble family girl that Second Brother is going to marry. Since the news of his military victory and the Northern barbarians’ submission has spread, Second Brother has been very proud of the spring breeze these days. Father Emperor even sent him an errand today. It is unlikely that he will come to Chonghua Hall anytime soon.”
Zhu Yunjing had already heard about this matter earlier. Zhu Yunxun was indeed gaining a lot of attention lately. Some officials in the court even suggested Emperor Zhaoyang to consider dividing and conferring property on his sons. Once Zhu Yunxun received a royal title, he was really only one step away from being the Crown Prince.
Zhu Yunjing and Zhu Yunxun never got along. Zhu Yunxun was born two days later than the emperor’s eldest son. He was the son of a concubine, while Zhu Yunjing was the legitimate son of the Empress. The first Empress was the daughter of Guogong. The imperial concubine’s family was also a family of loyal military generals. In terms of family background, the imperial concubine and the Empress were not much different. It was just back then that the Empress Dowager favoured his mother because of her good fortune in giving birth and gave her the Empress position. The imperial concubine had been holding a grudge ever since and later lost a move when she failed to give birth to the Crown Prince before the Empress did. Although Zhu Yunjing’s mother died early, Emperor Zhaoyang was probably afraid that the imperial concubine and her son would have the desire to seize the throne. Even after the imperial concubine died of illness two years ago, he did not make her son the legitimate heir. Originally, Zhu Yunjing won a complete victory, but in the past two years, his good luck seemed to have come to an end.
First, before the imperial concubine died of illness, she begged Emperor Zhaoyang with her last breath to betroth the legitimate daughter of a prestigious family to Zhu Yunxun as his wife. The imperial decree had been issued. They were just waiting for him, Zhu Yunjing, the eldest brother, to marry the Crown Princess first before they could proceed with the wedding. Furthermore, the ancestral home of his mother, Xie Guogong’s Mansion, was repeatedly punished for some trivial matters that angered the Emperor. But there was no one in the mansion worthy of great responsibility. On the other hand, the maternal family of the imperial concubine, the He family, had distinguished members. For example, her elder brother He Yuanzhi was ordered by the Emperor to lead 500,000 troops to fight the Northern barbarians. He died in battle, contributing to the country. Later, He Yuanzhi’s son, He Huailing, took on the heavy responsibility of being commander-in-chief of the expeditionary army at the age of seventeen. He made outstanding achievements on the battlefield, and personally beheaded the king of the Northern barbarians. This was an extraordinary contribution that made everyone in the court look up to him. Emperor Zhaoyang even issued three imperial decrees, lavishing him with praise. And now, Zhu Yunxun, who was isolated from the court, finally had an errand, and Zhu Yunjing’s only advantage would soon disappear.
Zhu Yunjing’s thoughts turned and turned, and finally curled the corner of his mouth: “It’s nothing. After the war is over, the expeditionary army will return to the court. Those who are brave enough to shock the Emperor will be in danger, like killing the donkey when grinding is done. It has always been like this.”
“That’s right,” Zhu Yunxuan couldn’t help feeling a sense of sympathy for the General He who was about to return to the court, but quickly dismissed the thought. The topic returned to Zhu Yunjing’s marriage, and he teased him with a smile, “Royal Brother, didn’t you really like that Tanhualang before? I thought you really had feelings for him. Now that he has committed a crime, aren’t you going to intervene?”
“A man from a humble background, do you really think he can become the Crown Prince’s consort?” Zhu Yunjing snorted, “Gu is giving him face just by considering him. He doesn’t know how to appreciate it.”
“Then he is going to die. It’s a pity. He looks so good and has so much knowledge. He is going to lose his head at such a young age.”
“Don’t you see what he did? The magistrate of Jingzhou committed the biggest taboo of the Emperor. He deserves to die a thousand times.”
Zhu Yunxuan pondered for a moment: “But I think the magistrate of Jingzhou doesn’t look like that kind of person. He is an old man with children and it’s only after becoming tired of his life that he thought of rebelling. I think it is very likely that he offended someone and was falsely accused.”
Zhu Yunjing disagreed: “So what? That poem he wrote in his correspondence with Xu Shixian was clearly subversive, even if it was a bit far-fetched. But Father Emperor said it’s anti-poetry, then it’s anti-poetry.”
At first glance, it seemed absurd for an ordinary poem to be labeled as anti-poetry. However, in fact, this act was actually a means of exposing the intentions of the censor or, rather, the people behind him who had accurately gauged Emperor Zhaoyang’s thoughts. Despite being raised by the Empress Dowager, Emperor Zhaoyang was not the legitimate heir as he was born to a palace maid. Later, he was criticized for his illegitimate status, which led to much concern and unrest. The poem was impeached for disrespecting the emperor. Emperor Zhaoyang sent people to investigate. It was found that the magistrate of Jingzhou had made unwarranted remarks about state affairs and his words seemed to have the intention of conspiracy. That’s how he was convicted. However, there was not much solid evidence as to whether he actually had treasonous thoughts or whether he really had criticized the imperial court and Emperor Zhaoyang in private. Despite this, Emperor Zhaoyang said he was a traitor, and so he was.
It’s just a pity that Xu Shixian, at such a young age, ruined his bright future.
As for overturning the case? Zhu Yunjing didn’t know if Xu Shixian was really that naive and couldn’t see the situation clearly, or if he was driven to a dead end and had delusional thoughts. He, Zhu Yunjing would never attempt such a stupid thing.
Although it was said that the ruler’s words were not a joke, he was only a half-monarch at the moment. Besides, what he promised Xu Shixian was not about overturning the case.
This is getting interesting.. Thanks for the chapter!
Scum crown prince hahaha
This is more complicated than it seems at the first glance… And only now, after adding this novel to my reading list, I noticed that I read this author’s other works! XD I hope I will last till the end, haha~ And I also noticed that author-sama likes to add many brothers in their historical novels 😂
Thank You for the chapter (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡