Chapter 157: A silence

After coming out of the Palace of Supreme Harmony, Li Weizheng did not return to the mansion, but turned to the East Palace. At this time, the East Palace was already a place of convergence and focus. Whether the prince re-established has become the most concerned issue in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang did not prohibit the prince from meeting all officials. In the past, the East Palace had been full of traffic, and there were endless people coming to pay homage to the prince, but now this scene is invisible. Zhu Yuanzhang issued a strict order, and no one was allowed to disturb the prince without his approval.

Li Weizheng came to visit the crown prince Zhu Biao because he received the order of Zhu Yuanzhang. Although he did not want to visit him at this time, the holy intention was difficult to disobey. As soon as he arrived at the East Palace, Yang Ning, the commander of the Eastern Palace guard who had already received the news in advance, immediately came up with two guards. When he saw Li Weizheng, Yang Ning wanted to speak but stopped. He finally sighed and said, "Fifth Brother, your highness is awake, please follow me!"

When he walked into the East Palace, Li Wei saw that there were no outsiders next to him, he whispered to Yang Ning: "What is the situation of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

Yang Ning looked gloomy, he shook his head and said, "Fifth brother, don't ask. The emperor strictly prohibits the imperial doctor from revealing the prince's condition to anyone. In fact, we don't know, we only know that it's not good."

Li Weizheng was speechless. He knew the final result of Zhu Biao in history, but he didn't know the specific details. Now his fate is connected with Zhu Biao. Today, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to let him go, but some substantial problems have not been solved. The final ownership of Danluo Island, what should I do if the more than 10,000 Han slaves on the Ryukyu island? And the fishermen in Taiwan, what are their fates? These problems will have to be settled sooner or later, so if the prince can speak for him, it will be of great benefit to solve these problems.

While thinking, Li Wei was coming to the prince's bedroom. After waiting at the door for a while, a eunuch led him in. The pungent smell of medicine was filled with the bedroom. Dozens of imperial doctors sat at several large tables, thinking hard or focusing on the classics. The prince's bed was separated by a curtain of gauze. Two palace maids stood on both sides. The prince was lying on his back. The eunuch went in to report and then came out to repeatedly remind Li Wei: "Your Highness, please come in, don't talk much. You will take your leave after visiting. You can't let Your Highness worry."

Li Wei was walking in, and saw Zhu Yunwen accompanying him. When he saw Li Wei coming in, his expression was very complicated, he turned his head away. The prince Zhu Biao was leaning halfway on the bedside reading a book. He was very thin, his originally plump cheeks were deep indented, his cheekbones were high and protruding, his face was pale, and his spirit was very haggard. It was obvious that his deadline was coming. Li Wei was thinking about his kindness to him, and he couldn't help feeling sad. He knelt down and said in a choking voice: "My minister, Li Wei, meets the prince."

Zhu Biao put down the book in his hand, smiled slightly and said, "I have heard of your affairs a little, but it turns out that you won't be calm anywhere."

"I am worried about your highness."

Zhu Biao's voice was very small and low. After saying a few words, he felt a little difficult. Zhu Biao took a breath and said, "Of course I'm worried. Some of my confidants, such as Li Jinglong, were transferred from Huguang to Shaanxi to train soldiers. Chang Sheng and Lan Yu went to Shanxi to recruit soldiers. Now you are impeached again. I'm really a little worried but not enough!"

He was a little excited and immediately coughed violently. Zhu Yunwen quickly rubbed his back gently and whispered: "Father, don't say anything more."

Li Weizheng also stood up and wanted to say goodbye first, but Zhu Biao waved his hand and said, "I'm fine, you, wait a moment."

He struggled to sit up and took out a letter from under the pillow, saying, "I wrote this letter to you. I only wrote it to a few confidants. Don't read it now. When one day you think you can read it, open it. In addition, you must keep a low profile this year and next two years. In my current situation, someone will start to attack you. You must learn to protect yourself, do you understand?"

Li Wei was taking the letter and nodding silently. He pondered for a while, but he couldn't help but say, "Since your highness knows that he is a wolfish ambition, why do you recommend letting him go?"

Zhu Biao smiled bitterly, shook his head and said, "I can't help myself, don't blame me."

Li Weizheng bowed and said, "I dare not. I will remember your highness's words and ask your highness to take care of your illness. I will say goodbye first."

Zhu Biao nodded and said to Zhu Yunwen: "You can see me off."

Zhu Yunwen dared not refuse to obey, so he had to say to Li Wei righteously: "Mr. Li, please!"

Li Weizheng bowed to the prince again, turned around and retreated. Zhu Yunwen followed behind without saying a word. He did not say a word, nor did he look at Li Weizheng, and followed him coldly, with the atmosphere very awkward.

When he walked to the gate of the East Palace, Li Wei was just standing. He glanced at Zhu Yunwen and said to him earnestly: "If you don't have a long-term plan, you will have immediate worries. If you really think about your father, from now on, you will strive to be the position of the crown prince."

After saying that, he bowed his hand and left. Zhu Yunwen looked at Li Weizheng's back in shock and couldn't speak for a long time.

It was unknown how long it took for Zhu Yunwen to finally recover. He returned to his father's bedroom. As soon as he entered the door, Zhu Biao asked him, "What did Li Wei say to you? You are only back now."

Zhu Yunwen did not dare to hide it, so he whispered: "He let the child look far and strive to be the position of the crown prince."

Zhu Biao was shocked, and he slowly closed his eyes. After a long time, he sighed and opened his eyes and asked, "What do you think?"

Zhu Yunwen knelt down and said sadly: "How can a child have such a traitorous idea!"

‘Great rebellion?’ Zhu Biao stared at his son’s eyes, his face gradually swelled and red, and his hands trembled and pointed at Zhu Yunwen, saying, “It’s extremely stupid. I am like this. Can I still inherit the throne? If you don’t want to inherit your father’s ambition, do you still have to watch your father move out of the Eastern Palace for your father?”

"But there are so many emperor uncles..." Zhu Yunwen shook his head repeatedly and said, "How could it be the child's turn?"

Zhu Biao felt extremely tired. He slowly relaxed his body and wanted to lie down. Zhu Yunwen quickly helped his father lie down. Zhu Biao adjusted his breathing and then said calmly: "Li Weizheng is right. The prince is the eldest grandson. As long as I am alive, the King of Qin cannot be the eldest. You have grown up. Your emperor's grandfather is very likely to let you inherit my position. From today on, you should not be as naughty as before, do you know? I will ask Fang Xiaoru and the others to teach you well. Li Jinglong, Chang Sheng, Li Weizheng are all my confidants. I have asked them to help you."

Zhu Yunwen didn't dare to make his father angry anymore. He nodded softly and said, "The child will obey his father's order."

It was already late autumn in the 24th year of Hongwu. There was a lot of rain in the autumn of the capital this autumn. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the autumn rain continued to underground. It was almost difficult to encounter bright and cool days in autumn. Even the late rice was harvested in gloomy weather, and this year's harvest was significantly inferior to previous years.

From the morning, piles of dark gray clouds pressed the earth low. About the evening, light rain finally drizzled in the sky. In the dark gray rain and fog, there was no pedestrian on the street. The gate of the Qin Palace suddenly opened. A carriage drove out of the gate under the strict protection of nearly a hundred guards and rushed to the east. About half an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of the back door of a large restaurant called "Xihuai Renjia". Several burly bodyguards protected King Qin Zhu Rong quickly walked into the restaurant and went up the third floor.

The second floor was on high alert. More than 20 great men stood at the stairs and were not allowed to go up. Obviously, there were big figures waiting on it. After the King of Qin arrived, the guards participating in the alert became even more dense, and even the restaurant staff were not allowed to go up again.

There are four rooms on the third floor in a row. Several big men stood at the door of the room on the far left. When the King of Qin came over, the big men all knelt down and saluted. Zhu Ren pushed the door into the room with expressionless expression.

The lights in the room were soft, and a middle-aged man stood by the window. He was watching the autumn rain outside the window with his back. When he heard the door ringing, the man turned around, but it was Zhan Hui, the Minister of Personnel. When he saw that it was the King of Qin coming in, he hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down and said, "My minister Zhan Hui, please see His Highness the King of Qin."

"Mr. Zhan, please get up! Please get up!"

Zhu Chuang hurriedly helped him up. From a personal perspective, Zhu Chuang did not like Zhan Hui, and some even hated him to the core. Zhan Hui once expressed his loyalty to him, but just after he was unlucky at the beginning of the year, he immediately turned against him. His son ran to beg him, but he even refused. If Zhu Chuang could ascend the throne now, the first person he wanted to kill was Zhan Hui. Betrayal was sometimes more hateful than the enemy.

But now, Zhan Hui is now the most powerful official in the court. Recently, he has spared no effort in creating public opinion for himself. It can be seen that he wants to repair the rift between the two in the past, and that he will be of great use to him in the future. Therefore, after receiving the invitation from Zhan Hui, Zhu Ceng arrived at the restaurant on time.

Zhu Chuang helped Zhan Hui up, patted his arm and smiled, "We don't need to be polite like this, just be as easy as possible."

Zhan Hui laughed and said, "Your Highness is very right, please sit down!"

Zhu Ren sat down, picked up the official kiln teacup in front of him and sucked it carefully. While looking at the luxuriously decorated room, he asked with a smile: "I once heard a rumor that this Xihuai restaurant was opened by Lord Zhan's brother-in-law, but that's the case?"

Zhan Hui sat down, but shook his head and said solemnly: "The rumors are not trustworthy. The emperor strictly prohibits officials from involving business. I will not take this risk. However, this restaurant is indeed owned by one of my fellow countrymen and grew up with me."

Zhu Ren smiled, and he changed the subject and asked, "Mr. Zhan invited me today, but what is important?"

Although the King of Qin is a prince, if we talk about actual power and influence in the court, the King of Qin is far inferior to Zhan Hui. In Zhan Hui's view, they are just an exchange of interests to some extent. The King of Qin wants to obtain his help and eventually enter the Eastern Palace, while he wants to achieve the continuation of power, not only himself, but also in his children and grandchildren. If the King of Qin can eventually enter the Eastern Palace and even ascend the throne in the end, then should he have the merit of Zhan Hui? Although Zhan Hui even longs to sign a written contract with the King of Qin, he knows that no requirement can be raised now, and it is only after they have formed a tacit understanding between them.

The reason why Zhan Hui decided to put his future on the King of Qin was due to his accidental discovery. He found that although the King of Qin was exempted from the crime seemed to be the result of the prince's pleading, he carefully analyzed the prince's words and deeds in the Xi'an Prefecture and could see that he hated the King of Qin's various bad virtues. What's more, the evidence of the King of Qin's private equity army was conclusive. Whether from private or private, as the prince, it was impossible to protect the King of Qin who committed the serious crime. What's even more strange is that almost the same day the prince publicly pleaded for the King of Qin, the King of Qi, the King of Chu and other princes also wrote a letter to beg for forgiveness of the King of Qin. This coincidence is really memorable. Zhan Hui could almost assert that letting the King of Qin was actually Zhu Yuanzhang's meaning. Why did he let the King of Qin go? Is it the father's kindness to his son? Maybe there is that

That's right, but this is by no means the real reason. The real reason Zhan Hui suddenly realized after learning that the prince was seriously ill. The emperor finally faced the reality. The prince's weak body was absolutely impossible to inherit the throne. The emperor decided to change the prince. According to the emperor's deep-rooted principle of establishing a predecessor, the King of Qin should be the first heir. This can explain why the emperor pardoned the King of Qin at this critical moment and erased all the crimes he committed. It was just ambiguous and slightly made a small mistake. In this way, the situation was very clear. Even if the emperor had more than one candidate, the King of Qin must occupy an important position in it. Therefore, after thinking about it for a while, Zhan Hui resolutely decided to put the future and fate of the Zhan family on the prince he knew best.

"Does Your Highness want to know the latest condition of the prince?" Zhan Hui asked calmly with a smile.

Zhu Chuang sat up straight and stared at Zhan Hui tightly. Why didn't he want to know that the prince's condition will directly determine the emperor's determination and progress to establish a new crown. From the degree of the prince's condition and some subtle manifestations of his father, we can infer that the father's bias towards the new crown is crucial. Zhu Chuang tried to inquire, but knew nothing. His heart was pounding nervously. Although he tried his best to restrain himself, his voice still trembled a little, "Please tell me by Lord Zhan."

"Your Highness, don't ask me where the news comes from. I will only tell you that the prince will have at most half a year, and this news is very reliable."

"Half a year!" Zhu Chuang murmured to himself, which means that the new prince was about to be confirmed within half a year. He seemed to have entered a state of meditation, staring blankly at the roof, completely forgetting Zhan Hui beside him. Seeing that he was dazed, Zhan Hui coughed heavily. Zhu Chuang suddenly woke up and asked quickly: "Mr. Zhan, what should we do now?"

Zhan Hui was secretly proud. He knew this King of Qin too much. He was polite and mean. He had a noble shell, but he was very stupid in his bones. He gave Xiaohui a little and hooked him up. Since the King of Qin's thoughts had been following him, Zhan Hui immediately said: "Your Highness, know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated in every battle. Your Highness must first know who his competitor is? At the same time, he must exert his kindness, so that the emperor can see that Your Highness has both a kind side and a majestic skill. The way to win is to match both civil and military."

"I have thought about this question. If the prince goes, I will be the leader, followed by King Gang of Jin, King Di of Yan and King Zhou of Zhou. These three guys are all ambitious. King Zhen of Chu is a little better and is more responsible. However, King Jing of Qi is also a wolf-like ambitious person. Although he is dependent on me now, he will never let him go as long as he has the chance."

Speaking of this, Zhu Chuang said with certainty: "If I guessed correctly, the new prince must have emerged from the five of us."

"Your Highness has never thought about the possibility of the crown prince?" Zhan Hui asked with a faint smile.

"Impossible!" Zhu Lu said without hesitation: "Why should you establish a grandson with a son? The father has more than 20 sons, so you can't be unfilial! Besides, Zhu Yunwen is cowardly and grew up in the deep palace since he was young. Even his father is not as good as his father. Can he inherit the iron-blooded kingdom he has built?"

Zhu Chuang was full of disdain for his nephew. More importantly, he always believed that Zhu Yunwen was not the true eldest grandson. The true eldest grandson Zhu Xiongying died at the age of eight. If he was also called the eldest grandson, then after Zhu Biao died, he was not the eldest son of the eldest son. Why didn’t his father consider himself first?

Seeing that he was confident, Zhan Hui stopped talking. He changed the topic and said, "Then let's talk about how to spread the moral character. I heard that Your Highness recently donated 3,000 stones of rice to the drought-affected area in Shandong. This is very good, but just doing one thing seems to be deliberately doing it. I remember that not long ago, the emperor lamented that many widowed elderly people were only remembered on the Double Ninth Festival. I suggest that Your Highness make a fuss about this matter, respecting the elders and being old, does Your Highness understand what I mean?"

Zhu Chuang pondered for a moment and said, "What do you mean is that I will use Lumi Zhou Ji again?"

Zhan Hui couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The King of Qin was indeed a little dull and could not hear what he meant. He patiently explained: "What does it mean to 'respect my elders and the elders of others'? In other words, your highness treats other old people well, and the emperor will naturally think that your highness is filial. This is much more subtle and clever than other princes who directly try to please the emperor. Does your highness understand what I mean?"

Zhu Rui understood what he meant, and he nodded repeatedly and praised: "Gao! Sure enough, Gao is smart, Lord Zhan is scheming, I admire him very much."

Zhan Hui smiled and asked again: "With Bude, has your Highness ever thought about how to show his power? This is also very important. I think that giving kindness and power is the method of the emperor. What does your Highness think?"

Zhu Rou let out a heavy 'hum!', and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "Of course I thought about it. I will kill someone soon. This person is not only the prince's confidant, but also almost killed me. If he doesn't die, I am unwilling to accept it."
Chapter completed!