King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 757: What are your plans for Lao Liu?

September 25th, Yunyang Palace.

When Yunyang Prince Zhu Jingze learned of the opinions of the court and the public, he was so frightened that he dropped the teacup in his hand while listening to a song.

Behind him, the eunuch who was reporting thought he was too happy and was still speaking excitedly.

"My Lord, this is good..."

Before the eunuch could finish his words, Zhu Jingze slapped him in the face, knocking the eunuch dizzy.

Then he turned around and asked sternly: "When did you know about this?"

"I heard about it a few days ago!"

"Why didn't you tell me after hearing about it?" Zhu Jingze scolded.

"I only heard it from others, I dare not make false accusations..."

Before the eunuch could finish his words, Zhu Jingze stood up, approached him, and kicked him in the chin.

"Asshole, idiot!"

Zhu Jingze was really furious. In addition to punching and kicking the eunuch, he also picked up a stool nearby and hit the eunuch hard.

Seeing this scene, the people serving around were frightened so much that they all stood still and no one dared to step forward to dissuade them.

So, one of the eunuchs in charge of the Yunyang Palace was beaten to death by Zhu Jingze.

Just after the eunuch died, Zhu Jingze fainted and fell to the ground. The people around him then hurriedly gathered around and carried Zhu Jingze to the bedroom.

Half an hour later, after the imperial physician had examined him and left, Zhu Jingze opened his eyes very promptly. Beside his bed was Princess Liu.

"Princess, a disaster is about to happen!" Zhu Jingze lamented.

"You mean... about the throne?" Liu asked.

Zhu Jingze sat up and said with horror: "These rumors will kill us!"

"This... shouldn't be like this..."

"The eldest, the second, the third...how did they die? Have you forgotten?"

"They want to compete for the throne, but we don't have that intention. We are all outsiders..."

"But if Old Thirteen becomes suspicious, wouldn't that be a disaster?"

"Thirteenth brother has a broad mind..."

In Liu's opinion, the two families had a good relationship, and Zhu Jinghong was an open-minded person, so he should not suspect that her family had the intention of competing for the throne.

"Stupid woman, what do you know!"

Because the Yunyang Palace did not fight or compete, Liu did not have a deep understanding of these things, so she had a relatively superficial thinking.

But Zhu Jingze is different. He pretends to be ignorant even though he knows the truth. He sees everything clearly.

"Listen carefully. I killed someone in public today to show that I have no intention of competing for the throne, but this is not enough..."

"In the afternoon, no... now, you go to the Xiangwang Mansion and tell the Xiangwang Concubine that this is a rumor. We have no intention of stealing the throne. Tell her that the position of crown prince must belong to the Thirteenth Brother!"

While digesting the news given by her husband, Liu realized the seriousness of the situation and quickly agreed.

But she immediately asked, "Why don't you tell these words to your Thirteenth Brother in person?"

Lying back on the couch, Zhu Jingze replied: "I am sick. From now on... until the throne is established, my illness will not be cured!"

"What are you..."

"Don't worry about my business, hurry to Prince Xiang's Mansion!"

"okay!"

Seeing Liu about to leave, Zhu Jingze called out again, "Princess, our safety depends entirely on you!"

This sentence once again made Liu nervous and she took the matter even more seriously.

Half an hour later, Liu entered Prince Xiang's mansion and was led to the back garden by a maid.

It is now late autumn and it is starting to get a little chilly, but the back garden of Prince Xiang's mansion is bustling with activity.

Liu came to the east side of the garden. Before she got close, she heard laughter and joyful chatter. When she looked up, she saw a kite flying in the sky.

At this moment, Liu just remembered that she seemed to have not flown a kite for many years. Five years, or seven years?
While Liu was thinking, the maid who was leading the way had stopped and said very carefully: "Your Majesty, our princess is over there, please come in!"

"it is good!"

After agreeing, Liu continued walking forward. After turning around a few trees in front of her, she saw a meadow.

At this time, on the grass, some people were playing hide-and-seek with their eyes blindfolded, some were taking a walk further away, and of course some were flying kites.

The person Liu was looking for, Princess Xue Baochai of Prince Xiang, was flying a kite, and beside her was Xiangyun, laughing and directing the group.

The kite flew higher and higher, but a gust of wind came from nowhere and blew the kite to the ground again.

"Look, you didn't listen to me, and now this is what happened!" Xiangyun immediately shirked the responsibility.

Baochai smoothed her hair and scolded with a smile, "It's all because of you that I let it fall down, and now you blame me!"

While they were talking and laughing, Baochai saw Liu in the distance, so she said to Xiangyun, "You are more capable than me, come here, come here!"

Taking the kite string from Baochai, Xiangyun said proudly: "I will do it, and it will definitely fly to the sky!"

"Okay... then I'll leave it to you. Don't cry if you can't fly later!" Baochai joked.

"Humph!"

Seeing Xiangyun take a few steps back, Baochai turned around and walked towards Liu who was not far away.

Seeing her coming, Liu hurried to greet her.

"Fifth sister-in-law, when did you come? These servants... didn't even inform you!"

"Princess, I just arrived too. I saw you were having so much fun, so how could I ruin your mood!"

Walking slowly up the path, Baochai replied, "You are being too polite. You are a distinguished guest, so you should welcome him. What's the point of playing?"

Liu's views on major issues may be shallow, but his ability to observe people's words and expressions is extremely powerful.

For example, when Baochai said "distinguished guests should be welcomed respectfully", she knew that it was just a polite remark, and her sister-in-law was not really a distinguished guest.

Who in this world can be her honored guest...

Liu thought about it and found that except the emperor, there was no one else. She felt better.

"Thirteenth brother is not here today?"

"I went to the Valiant Battalion and heard that there was some military exercise going on. I don't understand what they were talking about!"

The two chatted for a few more words and then walked to a pavilion not far away, where they could see the surrounding situation.

After serving tea, Baochai asked, "Sister-in-law, are you here for something?"

Talking about business, Liu deliberately adjusted her sitting posture and answered very solemnly: "There is an important matter that I need to report to the princess!"

"What's the point of reporting it or not? Just say it directly, Fifth Sister-in-law!" Baochai smiled brightly, appearing particularly kind.

"There have been rumors in the capital recently that the Yunyang Palace is interested in competing for the throne..."

When she heard the word "compete for the throne", the smile on Baochai's face slowly disappeared, and she picked up the teacup on the table again. "I don't know who is making up this rumor. Our husband spends his days singing and dancing, how could he have such an arrogant idea!"

"I learned about this today and thought it was a lie spread by a servant in the mansion. I got angry on the spot... and beat the person who gossiped to death!"

"He was a straightforward person, but he was so angry about this that he fainted!"

Stirring the tea in the cup, Baochai said calmly: "Fifth brother, why bother to get angry with those people!"

"I said that to him, too. Later, the imperial physician came to see him and said that it was caused by the sudden anger... Let him rest!"

"Later, when he woke up, he told me... that among all the brothers, the most suitable person for the position of crown prince is Thirteenth Brother. He also asked me to come over immediately to tell him that he fully supports Thirteenth Brother to be the crown prince!"

When Liu was halfway through her speech, Baochai already understood her purpose.

Seeing that she had finished speaking, she replied, "Fifth sister-in-law, who will be the crown prince is decided by our father, and it is not something that a minister should discuss!"

"I understand what you mean, but what you said today... I'll just pretend I didn't hear it!"

The difference in levels is revealed here. For example, at this moment Liu was suspicious and didn't know what Baochai meant.

The most important thing is that she didn't know how to answer appropriately.

But her instinct told her that it would be best to continue speaking at this time, so she replied, "I will remember the princess's teachings!"

At this time in Prince Anle's Palace, Yuanchun and Zhu Muchun were arguing, and the focus was on the issue of the crown prince.

The rumors in the capital naturally spread to Prince Anle's Palace. As early as three days ago, Yuanchun had sorted out her thoughts and was persuading Zhu Muchun to show his loyalty to Zhu Jinghong.

Today was her fourth time to persuade him, and it was obvious that she had failed the first three times.

This also shows that Zhu Muchun, the "eldest grandson", did have unrealistic fantasies about the position of crown prince.

"Chun'er, wake up... You can't beat your Thirteenth Uncle!" Yuanchun was already begging.

"Mother, these are just rumors, why bother paying attention to them!"

"Besides, the succession of the crown prince position is up to the Emperor's decision. Whoever he chooses will be the crown prince!"

After hearing these words, Yuanchun asked, "Do you have the will to compete for the throne?"

"Mother, I just said that the matter of establishing a crown prince is all up to the Emperor's decision!"

"Why did you meet with your old ministers yesterday?" Yuanchun no longer tried to hide the truth and asked directly.

"Don't you want to fight for it?"

"Do you know how dangerous this matter is? You must know that your father..."

Yuanchun's earnest words sounded like chatter to Zhu Muchun's ears, and he seemed more and more impatient.

"Mother, the position of crown prince originally belonged to my father. Now that he is gone, according to the imperial precepts of the Ming Dynasty..."

Zhu Muchun stopped pretending and expressed his true thoughts, which shocked Yuanchun greatly.

Now that the situation is so obvious, is there still hope of winning?
Thinking that Zhu Muchun is now seventeen years old and it is normal for him to be young and frivolous and ignorant of the world, Yuanchun can only continue to persuade him.

But this annoyed Zhu Muchun, and he even retorted: "It is natural for a mother to teach her son... But my mother also taught me that everything should be done according to the rules of propriety. Now I am the heir to the royal family..."

When Yuanchun heard that Zhu Muchun was using the former Crown Princess to put pressure on her, she felt like a basin of cold water was poured on her heart, making her feel cold all over.

Zhu Muchun's mother was Zhu Jingyuan's first wife, and was indeed more noble than Yuanchun. It was reasonable for the former to suppress her at this moment.

"So, mother, I will take charge of these matters from now on. You don't need to worry about them!"

After saying this last sentence, Zhu Muchun turned around and left the room, leaving Yuanchun standing alone, sadly.

After a long time, she walked out of the flower hall and returned to her bedroom.

She came to the study, took out a portrait, opened it and looked at the deceased prince, and Yuanchun shed sad tears.

She sat like this for a long time before she carefully put away the portrait. Then she found a box to put it in and placed it in the deepest part of the cabinet.

Zhu Jingyuan didn't listen to her and kept making mistakes, and now Zhu Muchun was stubborn and self-willed. The inherited stupidity of these father and son, coupled with Zhu Muchun's heart-piercing words today, really made Yuanchun give up.

From now on, she will no longer care about these things and just leave it to fate how things will develop.

As for Zhu Jinghong, he went outside the city yesterday and is expected to stay in the military camp for five or six days.

There are many tasks in this military exercise. In addition to testing the newly issued weapons and ammunition, it is also necessary to examine the training results of the newly formed army, as well as the coordination and cooperation between the Beijing Camp and the Imperial Guards.

Of course, he knew all the rumors in the city, but he didn't take them too seriously.

How can you control others when your mouth is on them? What's more, these people are a mob. Paying attention to them would be a compliment to them.

On the first day of October, Zhu Jinghong returned to the capital and went directly to the palace to report the military situation to the emperor.

It was already noon when he arrived at the Qianqing Palace. The emperor was having lunch, so the father and son ate together.

After listening to Zhu Jinghong's report, the emperor's appetite improved a little and he even ate one more bowl of rice than usual.

Zhu Xianming was of course very satisfied that these military affairs were handed over to Zhu Jinghong, so he didn't ask any more questions.

"Let's go out and take a walk!" Zhu Xianming said calmly.

So Zhu Jinghong stepped forward and, together with the eunuch on the other side, helped Zhu Xianming up from the chair.

Zhu Xianming has lost a lot of weight in recent days, but he still has no problem walking, so he struggled to get away after standing up.

"I'm not too old to walk!"

Zhu Jinghong didn't say much, so he just followed the emperor out obediently, always lagging half a body length behind him.

After waving away the eunuchs and palace maids who were accompanying them, the two of them walked along the corridor.

"Have you heard all the rumors in the capital?"

"There are so many rumors in this city, I don't know which one you are talking about, Dad!"

Zhu Xianming didn't waste any words and asked directly: "Recently, some people in the city have been discussing the position of crown prince. What do you think about this?"

"The position of crown prince is decided by you, father. It's not for these people to worry about it!"

"If they really care about the country, they should speak out in the memorial... instead of discussing it in private!"

Hearing this, Zhu Xianming smiled and then said, "They say to establish the eldest son, the legitimate heir, the eldest legitimate heir... but they don't establish the most virtuous one!"

"In the past year, a large number of officials have been replaced in the court, but the situation remains the same... How can you see this?"

Zhu Jinghong was flattered to be named "Lixian" by the old man, but when he heard the question, he could only quickly calm down.

"They keep changing, they are all scholars and officials. They say they have changed... but in fact they haven't changed!"

"Recruiting military honors and promoting land reclamation are not what they like. It's strange that I can win their favor!"

Seeing that Zhu Jinghong still had a clear understanding, Zhu Xianming nodded in affirmation and then said, "To resist foreign aggression, we need military men, but to rule the world, we need scholars. They are dissatisfied with you... How will you use them in the future?"

The emperor's words were just short of saying that he would pass the throne to Zhu Jinghong, which made the latter slightly excited.

"There are so many of these people, and there are always some opportunists among them. We can control them by dividing and winning them over, and then slowly train them!"

"It doesn't matter, if they obey, they will be employed, if they don't, they will be dismissed. My son doesn't need their loyalty, he just needs them to obey!"

Seeing the emperor's surprise, Zhu Jinghong continued, "Besides, there may be people among these people who are willing to be loyal to their son!"

Zhu Jinghong had just finished speaking when Zhu Xianming suddenly asked, "How are you going to treat Lao Liu in the future?"

(End of this chapter)