Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 105: Fighting rabbits

Princess Anqing is now a widow, and Zhu Yunhuan's second and third sisters are almost of marriageable age.

Old Zhu was taking the initiative and giving Zhu Yunhuan a direct warning, so that he was unable to react for a while.

But after reacting, Zhu Yunhuan immediately became bolder, "Grandfather, I have never stopped these things. I care more about my aunt's matter than anyone else. I found it in the Five Military Commandery."

Old Zhu asked, "What do you think? Our daughter can't just marry casually."

"Now she is my aunt. She has some prejudices against Ouyang Lun." Zhu Yunxun sighed and said, "So when I think about these things, I still have to see what my aunt thinks."

Old Zhu snorted coldly and said, "It's her parents' order and the matchmaker's words, why should she think too much about it?"

If Lao Zhu really said so, there would be nothing wrong with it. Not to mention the current feudal society, this kind of situation will exist even hundreds of years later.

"That can't be done casually. My aunt is still young after all." Zhu Yunhuan said, "I think this matter can be handled easily or difficultly."

Old Zhu understood this logic very well. After all, Princess Anqing was now a widow and almost thirty years old, which was a little embarrassing.

Zhu Yunxun then added, "It's still too early for my two sisters. Don't think about it this year or next year. The earliest you can do it is after the New Year after next."

Old Zhu immediately scolded, "What kind of talk is this? Can he be kept in the East Palace forever?"

"You should still observe the mourning period. You can't rush now, right?" Zhu Yunxun said confidently, not giving in at all. "If anyone dares to argue about this, I will fight him to the death!"

Old Zhu was speechless for a moment. As it came to the matter of mourning, he couldn't say much.

Old Zhu said directly, "After the mourning period is over, your elder sister will be married to Geng Xuan, the son of the Marquis of Changxing. You have also seen that man. He is quite promising at a young age."

Zhu Yunhu had a stern face and said nothing. According to history, his eldest sister was promised to Geng Xuan.

"I've made up my mind about your second sister. After the imperial examination next year, we'll choose a northern scholar who is unmarried." Old Zhu said directly, "Since we want to win people's hearts, we should do this. We are willing to marry our legitimate daughter to a commoner, so your sister should do the same."

Zhu Yunhuan thought about it and felt it was inappropriate. "Grandfather, do you think it is appropriate? Most of those Jinshi have families. What would it mean if we asked them to divorce their wives and remarry?"

Old Zhu was silent for a moment, because generally speaking, a Jinshi would not be young, and passing the imperial examination when approaching thirty was considered a promising young age.

As for the less than twenty Jinshi, they are really pitifully few.

Zhu Yunhuan said, "If that's the case, I'll go see if there are any widower scholars. If they're good-looking, talented, and have a good family, I'll go ask my aunt if she likes them!"

Old Zhu was furious and said, "Let your second sister marry him, that's the way to win people's hearts!"

"I know, but I can't let my aunt be single forever!" Zhu Yunhuan said immediately, "But we have to be careful on this trip. It would be best if there is a Jinshi, but it doesn't matter if there is no Jinshi. No matter what else, my aunt must live a happy life in the future."

Old Zhu really likes and is happy for this grandson who values ​​his family more than his own eyes. But sometimes this child gets stubborn, which is a headache.

I had originally planned to just scare him to settle some things, but I didn't expect this little bastard to have both great moral principles and all kinds of tricks, and he actually resolved the situation.

Men should get married when they are old enough and women should get married when they are old enough. Zhu Yunhu naturally understood this truth.

He also understood that whether it was his own marriage or that of his sisters, the marriages actually had very strong elements of political marriages.

He would not have any reason to resist this. Free love was rare in that era, not to mention that he was born into a royal family, so he could not expect too much.

However, Zhu Yunhuan never objected to trying to choose a more suitable one when there was almost no space, and this was also something he was working hard on.

Old Zhu, who failed to scare Zhu Yunhuan, also felt a little emotional. It seemed that he was really old. He used to be unable to scare his son from time to time. Now, he couldn't scare his grandson either.

Quickly adjusting his mentality, Lao Zhu said, "You go to court tomorrow, so we won't go."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded, but still asked, "Is there nothing serious going on in the court?"

After Old Zhu nodded, Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "Then I will just listen and not say anything. Just let the morning court go smoothly and don't make any decisions on my own."

Old Zhu was thinking the same thing and said, "My subordinates must be worried about my illness but they don't dare to ask. You don't have to say anything, just be hesitant. Since you are young and have no opinion, they will believe you."

Zhu Yunhuan also thought so. Since he wanted to add fuel to the fire, he should give some people a chance so that the fire would appear to be more prosperous.

Fortunately, there are not too many major events at the moment, so even if Old Zhu and Zhu Yunhuan join forces to play a big chess game here, it will not cause much turmoil. It just makes some ambitious people surface and make them unable to help but start jumping up and down, which has little impact on the overall situation.

Old Zhu continued, "You have been thinking of a solution these days. Most of those nobles are military men who don't know how to read. They often rely on their achievements to become arrogant, go beyond the boundaries of etiquette, and even abandon the law and live extravagantly. If you suppress them, those civil officials will think you have other intentions."

Zhu Yunhuan also had his own thoughts on this point. It was because some nobles were making too much trouble. Zhu had imitated the Tang and Song dynasties in terms of titles, salaries, etiquette, etc.

The trend of extravagance is becoming more and more prevalent. Lan Yu has many adopted sons in the army. There are also too many people in the duke's mansion, which exceeds the normal standard.

"Duke Wei, he is a cautious person." Zhu Yunhuan said, "Let him release some people first and return to his hometown to serve the people."

Slaves, the guards bestowed by Zhu Yuanzhang, or the servants collected from farmers, etc., are all considered people of the Duke's Mansion, which is a bit excessive.

Old Zhu nodded and said, "Where is the Kaiping Palace?"

"It's already being reduced. Only the Duke of Wei's Mansion and the Prince of Kaiping's Mansion can take the lead, and other nobles will follow suit." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "It's just my cousin in Jiujiang. He likes luxury."

Old Zhu immediately snorted coldly. He liked Li Jinglong's elegance and extraordinary bearing, but he did not expect that this kid Li Jinglong had somewhat forgotten his family traditions.

You should know that both Li Zhen and Li Wenzhong were frugal in character, but Li Jinglong was the most luxurious among the noble families.

"You should go and give them a warning." Old Zhu said, "The Xu family, Chang family, and Li family are our relatives, but they are also role models of nobility."

The three great nobles of the Ming Dynasty were all relatives recognized by Zhu Yuanzhang. Sometimes he valued and trusted them very much, but when it came time to establish his authority, he also needed to start with them.

Zhu Yunhuan thought it was not a big deal. "Xu Huizu is a smart man and very cautious. He will release the person if I tell him. The Prince of Kaiping is just thinking about my reputation, but it doesn't matter. What do you think, cousin? Just give him some face. This matter will be easy to handle."

Old Zhu nodded with satisfaction. On the surface, his grandson had a good control over the three military giants. But this was not enough. He hoped to see Zhu Yunhuan completely control these giants.

Old Zhu said proudly, "We start to suppress the nobles. People who don't know the situation will think we are no longer capable. You are afraid that the nobles will become too powerful. Show some mercy to the Chang family so that people will think you rely on them more."

"Of course, otherwise we can't appease people." Zhu Yunhuan echoed, "The original intention was to discipline the nobles, and this time they were targeting the civil officials. The nobles are just catching rabbits while picking grass, and they just need to do some minor rectification."

Old Zhu was originally a master at taking advantage of a situation to make a point, and his grandson is now doing the same, so Old Zhu is naturally extremely pleased.

After having dinner with Old Zhu, Zhu Yunhuan returned to the Eastern Palace.

"Big sister, do you know if my aunt has anyone she likes?" Zhu Yunxun asked in a low voice after finding Zhu Yourong. "Grandfather will be anxious if we don't find her a husband."

Zhu Yourong said quickly, "My eldest aunt had asked around before, but she also said that my young aunt had been in the palace since she was a child, so how could she meet an outsider. But my young aunt doesn't like Ouyang Lun, she likes a great man!"

Zhu Yunxun nodded slightly, and then asked, "What kind does Big Sister like?"

Zhu Yourong was stunned for a moment, and quickly said, "What nonsense are you talking about! I still have to observe mourning!"

"I know this, but you have to have someone you like, right?" Zhu Yunhuan said, "If grandfather is really anxious, this matter will be difficult for us to handle."

There are some precedents for this. Chang Yuchun died suddenly in the army. According to etiquette, Chang should observe mourning.

However, Zhu Biao was very satisfied with his daughter-in-law. He did not break off the engagement because of Chang Yuchun's death. Instead, he could not wait to let Zhu Biao marry her even though Chang's mourning period was only 22 months.

Zhu Yourong thought about it carefully and said, "It's better not to find a small family. Now everyone knows that you are good to me and Youling. Little brother, which noble family can be of great use to you?"

Zhu Yunhuan was touched, but still said, "No need."

Zhu Yourong was anxious, "Why not? Youling and I have discussed it. Either you marry them to a family that can be of great use to you, or to a family that has not yet returned to you. If your second sister and I marry them, won't they be yours?"

"Forget it, I can't explain this to you!" Zhu Yunxun was both angry and amused, "Sister, let's talk about this later."

Zhu Yourong was furious, and chased after Zhu Yunhuan and said, "Your second sister and I are not very talented, but at least we were born here, so why don't we need it? In the past, with my status, I might have been able to help you win over an entire country!"

"Even during the Han and Tang dynasties, when they were so prosperous, they still wanted princesses to marry. Why does the Ming Dynasty need that?" Zhu Yunhuan said, "You don't have anyone you like, so I'll help you find a talented person! The Ming Dynasty does not want princesses to marry, does not pay tribute, does not cede land, and does not become a vassal!"

After driving away the annoying sister, Zhu Yunhuan was concerned about them. But when they started nagging, it was annoying!

(End of this chapter)