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Chapter 20 The Wanli Emperor
It took a lot of effort to convince the emperor to appoint his eldest son as his heir, but no matter how he looked at it, he felt that it was not safe.The emperor didn't seem to care about the prince's life or death at all, and he didn't even pay him a monthly salary.If Chen Ju hadn't revealed the news to the female official next to him, I'm afraid the prince would have to go to the Queen Mother's Renshou Palace to beg for food in two months.

As the Queen, of course she has the right to intervene in this matter. After asking the relevant personnel to ask, she felt relieved a little.It’s not that anyone deliberately didn’t pay the prince a salary, but they completely forgot about it.

Nowadays, the emperor basically does not go to court, and spends all day huddled in the harem and lazing around. All official matters must be communicated through the cabinet and the Supervisor of Ceremonies.As a result, the emperor didn't reply seriously. Eight out of ten things he said he only said he knew and didn't say anything further.The Ministry of Household Affairs wanted to pay a salary to Donggong but could not get approval and could not pay it casually.

When he asked the Superintendent of Ceremonies to bring the memorial from the Ministry of Revenue to show it to the emperor in person, he actually stared and asked Chen Ju why he didn't submit it earlier.Please, Zhu Biao knew three words on it, but he still brought it up, why should he approve it again?
But the matter didn't seem to end there. Soon after dinner, the female official Chunxi received a secret report from the East Palace, saying that in the past two days, the prince had only listened to the Sutra banquet on time, and had been bored in the room writing and drawing without seeing anyone. It was very late. Just went to bed.

Why would the Prince of the East Palace report the situation to the female officer next to the Queen?Hey, this can be regarded as a common practice, especially for this cowardly prince, all the forces in the harem have placed spies around him.

Some are trying to grasp the situation in time to prevent someone from finding an opportunity to harm the prince; some are deliberately looking for opportunities to attack the prince, and if they fail to do so, they will stand on the wall and watch the fun, ready to turn around at any time.

Looking sideways at the paper on the table, Queen Wang felt agitated for no reason.Not only could I not understand the words and pictures written on it, but neither could the female officials and eunuchs around me.It is said that the prince drew a table full of similar things. What on earth was he doing?

"Chunxi, stop it..." After hesitating for a moment, Queen Wang decided to tell the emperor about the matter.Although he would prefer to make his eldest son the crown prince, if that boy is really unreliable, he cannot cover it up, lest something happen to him in the future that would implicate him.

"Queen, please don't rush me. My memorial has not been approved yet." In the Dongnuan Pavilion, Emperor Wanli also leaned against the wall, but his eyes, ears, mouth, and brain were all busy.Every time Chen Ju next to him finished reading a memorial, he had to think about it and make a decision.When I saw the queen coming, I thought she was urging her to sleep again, so I was a little impatient.

When he was not in court, he was too lazy to see the faces of the courtiers, but the work he had to do did not decrease. He had to approve dozens of memorials every day.These are still urgent and major matters selected by the Supervisor of Ceremonies. If you look at them by yourself, the number would be dozens of times higher.

There was no shortage of work and no less scolding. Every now and then, a courtier would accuse the emperor of not being diligent enough.diligence?Weren't you diligent enough when you first took charge?I am so busy with Zhang Juzheng inside and outside every day, but in the end, I still hate you to the core.

Since it is not good to work too much, it is not good not to do it, and you will be scolded no matter how much you do. You don’t want to hear what I said, and I don’t want to hear what you say, so just meet less and be out of sight, out of mind.

But even in the harem, it was difficult not to think about it. The Queen was virtuous, respectful and filial, and was a rare master of the harem, but it was not to his liking. The two of them couldn't just sit across from each other and stare at each other.

But if you go to Concubine Zheng's palace all day long, others can ignore her, but it doesn't look good on the Queen, so she has to endure it.Being an emperor is almost as good as being a bastard. Unless you get anxious and take a bite, most of the time you will have to shrink your head and pretend to be dead.

"Your Majesty, this is what the prince painted. I have been thinking about it for a long time and still have no clue." Queen Wang waved her hand casually, indicating that Chen Ju did not need to salute. She walked quickly to the emperor and put the painting in her hand on the emperor's lap. superior.

When Emperor Wanli heard that it was the prince's business, he could only cheer up and sit up straight, holding the paper and watching carefully.Although he doesn't like the eldest son very much, he is already the prince after all, so he can't ignore it both in public and private affairs and pretend not to see it.

"...Wanhua, what are the princes doing these days?" But I turned it over and over several times and still couldn't see what was drawn or written on the paper.On the issue of establishing the crown prince, she could only and must stand with the eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Changluo.Without it, it is for long-term considerations.Concubine Zheng has always been favored. She has a perverse and domineering personality, and often encourages the emperor to do some outrageous things.For example, making a private agreement to confer her son Zhu Changxun as the crown prince was simply nonsense without any rules.

If such a woman is allowed to be granted the title of Queen of the West Palace based on her son's worth, one can imagine her fate in the future.If the wind blows, even the position of the Empress Dowager may not be saved.

In comparison, Zhu Changluo and Concubine Wang Gong have more responsibilities. Even if their mother becomes the empress dowager in the future based on her son's worth, they will not be too excluded and the possibility of getting along well is relatively high.

As for which prince's succession would be beneficial to the court and the country, she really didn't know and there was no need to bother to find out.According to the ancestral system, the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics. According to the interests of the family, whoever is beneficial to them should be in power.I owe nothing to either public or private persons!
"Long live your Majesty, your Majesty is a thousand years old, Your Highness the Crown Prince is making a chiming bell..." In fact, Chen Ju had already peeked at what was on the paper without picking it up. Although he didn't recognize it, he could make a rough guess.

"Luo'er knows how to make a chiming clock?" Queen Wang pointed to the chiming clock placed on the pillow, her expression was a bit exaggerated, and it ruined her mother's dignity in the world.

"Nonsense..." Emperor Wanli shook his head with disdain on his face.

He has always looked down upon this son. His humble background was on the one hand, and his submissive, wilting, and incapable of kicking character since he was a child was on the other hand.

He has a strong say in what qualities are needed to be a qualified emperor. He was taught by Zhang Juzheng when he was less than five years old. It has been almost thirty years since he ascended the throne at the age of ten. During this period, he has experienced government reforms, suppression of vassals, and foreign wars. I know how uncomfortable this seat is.

The eldest son, Zhu Changluo, was reluctantly crowned the crown prince because of his background. He would definitely not get much support after inheriting the throne one day. If he had to compete alone with the courtiers, nobles, and various forces in the inner palace, the outcome would be very tragic.

This truth was only realized after I took charge. There were some erratic shadows behind the queens and concubines in the palace.All the ancestral laws were distorted by those shadows.

Yes, all the women who were selected into the palace were from a small family with an innocent background and did not have the background of a wealthy family. However, they could not resist the fact that they had been infiltrated and influenced by wealthy families before entering the palace.

Do you want to stand out in the palace?Do you want to gain the emperor's favor as soon as possible?Do you want to occupy the Sixth Palace of East and West as soon as possible?If you think about it, they can help.But it is not a white gang. The price for asking them to intervene is often to form an alliance to advance and retreat together.

As for Zhu Changluo's biological mother, she was unplanned and had not received much attention in the first place, so she was not contaminated by those people.If he didn't neglect the mother and son, he would be involved sooner or later.

But fate is really stubborn, and despite all the twists and turns, the foolish son still did not escape his bad luck, and was still pushed to the forefront.Now, in addition to the interference from the outer court and the jealousy from the inner palace, I am unable to intervene even if I want to.

(End of this chapter)