Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 157 Differential Treatment of Imperial Clan Members

When the princes of the vassal states returned to the capital, things became interesting. Of course, on the surface they seemed to be brothers in arms.

After the morning court session of the new day ended, the first thing Zhu Yunhuan did when he returned to Wenhua Hall was to call Jiang Li.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at the Jinyiwei commander with a serious expression, "I know you are loyal to His Majesty, this is a good thing. Normally, you don't need to hide the matter from His Majesty when I arrange things for you, you know this."

Jiang Li's heart suddenly shuddered. As the emperor's lackey and minion, being the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was sometimes a tough job that required him to do some shady things and be extremely loyal.

There is no doubt that Jiang Li is loyal. In the past two years, he has become accustomed to some rather strange situations, or he has long been accustomed to them.

The commander of the Ming Dynasty’s Embroidered Uniform Guard must not only be loyal to the emperor, but also to the crown prince. This is also the bottom line.

But they also need to be smart. There are some things the emperor does not want the crown prince to know, but if the crown prince asks, how to answer is something these Jinyiwei need to learn to deal with.

If there are things that the crown prince does not want the emperor to know, whether he should report it or not depends on how he responds.

Mao Xiang in the past and Jiang Li now were sometimes caught between the emperor and the crown prince. Now Jiang Li's fate is coming again, this time it's the crown prince.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Jiang Lin who was kneeling down, and slowly stood up. "Why are you not talking?"

Jiang Li quickly replied, "Your Highness, I dare not."

"Don't dare?" Zhu Yunhuan asked deliberately, "Do you dare not not reply to my words, or do you dare not hide it from Your Majesty?"

Jiang Li gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, I dare not deceive Your Majesty, nor do I dare not disobey Your Highness's orders."

Zhu Yunxun laughed and said, "What I want you to do is not treason, nor is it deceiving the emperor. It will not implicate your entire family."

After hearing what Zhu Yunhuan said, Jiang Lin became even more afraid. This audacious grandson of the emperor really dared to say anything!
What Jiang Li was thinking was not that important. Zhu Yunxun said firmly, "If I ask you to do something, you should do it conscientiously for me. If you succeed, you will be rewarded. If you fail, you will be punished. I have always been like this, and you should understand!"

Jiang Li immediately responded, "Your Highness is clear about rewards and punishments. I admire you!"

This flattery was average, but Zhu Yunhuan didn't care. "The Prince of Qin is now leading troops outside, and Shang Bing is now in Yingtian Prefecture and can't go back. The Prince of Qin's Mansion doesn't have a princess now, you should also understand."

Zhu Chong led his troops to war, and the crown prince Zhu Shangbing returned to Beijing. If we talk about the Qin Palace, there must be a Qin Princess. But the prototype of Zhao Min has always been locked up in the cold palace by Zhu Chong and ignored. His favorite concubine Deng had long been executed by Zhu.

So theoretically speaking, there is no one in charge of the Qin Palace now.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "Go and check for me, find out some things. Xu Guan is also in Xi'an now, you two should find out how much evil the King of Qin has done in the palace over the years. The most important thing is to find out for me how many palace people have grudges against him. If anyone wants to poison him, find out!"

Jiang Li suddenly looked up, his eyes full of shock, fear, and disbelief.

Zhu Yunxun looked at Jiang Lin with a cold face, "Find out about this, especially the old women who are in charge of his meals. Don't alert me. Once you find out, keep an eye on it and report to me immediately!"

Jiang Li was terrified and said, "I will go and check it myself!"

This is the King of Qin, the leader of all the kings of the Ming Dynasty. What would happen if someone poisoned him?
But reality is often so absurd. In history, Qin Wang Zhu Chong was poisoned to death by three old women. Emperor Jiajing was almost strangled to death by a palace maid.

Zhu Yunhuan nodded slightly and said, "Only you can do this. Don't let His Majesty know, and don't let the King of Qin know. Remember, if it is really true, don't let my second uncle get killed."

Jiang Li was even more trembling with fear, and quickly said, "I dare not!"

Zhu Yunhuan nodded in satisfaction and said, "Go ahead. There can be no mistakes in this matter. If you really make a fool of yourself, I will hold you accountable!"

The bad thing about being close to the emperor is that if they are not careful, they may bring disaster upon themselves.

Sometimes knowing a lot of things can be a kind of distress, because you need to find ways to deal with and solve some problems.

When Jiang Li was carrying out some top-secret tasks with trepidation, Zhu Yunhuan also sighed.

The troublesome second uncle must be rescued, and it would be best if he could be rescued. Not only can it prevent Zhu from suffering the pain of losing his son again, but it is also an opportunity for Zhu Yunhuan to further win over the royal family.

And if his second uncle was gone, his third uncle would start to feel awkward. Before a series of things in the northwest were completed, Jin Wang Zhu Gang could not become the first one to stand out among the royal family, as that would not be in the interests of the Ming Dynasty.

Just thinking about the series of bad deeds of his second uncle, some things naturally need to be punished. If this thing is done, it can be regarded as finding some reasons, and maybe it can make him restrain himself a little. While Zhu Yunhuan was still planning, the fat man Zhu Gaochi slumped on the ridge of the field.

Looking at this happy fat grandson, Old Zhu felt distressed and disappointed, "No wonder Yunxun always told you to move more. You've only cut a few handfuls of rice and you're already exhausted!"

Zhu Gaochi replied weakly, "Grandfather, please forgive me. I am really too tired."

"Look at Jihui!" Old Zhu said, "He came back before dawn and is now harvesting rice properly!"

Zhu Jihui was also shot while lying down, but he carefully observed it and found that his grandfather was not really angry, which made him feel relieved.

I thought that if Yun Hun agreed, some things would not reach the ears of the emperor's grandfather. But it seems that this is not the case at all. He was resting in the mansion of the Duke of Ying, and the emperor's grandfather knew about these things.

Old Zhu pointed at Zhu Shangbing and said, "Look at Shangbing. He is younger than you. What a good boy! He works hard, unlike you who are cunning and sly. He is the prince of Qin, and he doesn't flaunt his status. There are many people who want to curry favor with him. Look at which noble he is in contact with."

After hearing the praise, Zhu Shangbing swung the sickle in his hand even more vigorously. It seemed that he was still deeply loved by his grandfather.

Zhu Gaochi, who was being criticized, was stunned for a moment, and then realized that he had suffered an unprovoked disaster.

Zhu Jihui was stunned. How could he not hear it now? This was the emperor's grandfather criticizing him for going to the Duke of Ying's mansion and for having some dealings with the nobles.

But in all conscience, as the eldest of the grandsons of the old Zhu who was still alive, and the first to get married, Zhu Jihui never had any dishonest thoughts. When he went to the mansion of the Duke of Ying, not only did he not see the Duke of Ying, he did not even see the Crown Prince Fu Zhong.

He was also trying to avoid suspicion and just let his wife go to meet his family. He did this simply because he loved his wife.

Although he felt a little guilty, Zhu Jihui was not afraid.

The reason is very simple. As grandsons of Zhu, Zhu Jihui and others also understand that their royal grandfather has always been undisguisedly partial. He is partial to his uncle the crown prince, to his deceased eldest brother King Yu Huai, and now to Zhu Yunhuan.

Everyone can see that the emperor's grandfather is partial to him, but his doting on his family is also real.

So now, even if there are sarcastic sarcasm and criticisms, just listen to it and correct your mistakes. There is no need to be particularly afraid.

"Learn from Yun Hun. Look how much Yun Hun has improved!" Old Zhu drank a sip of tea and said to his busy grandchildren, "When it comes to playing, none of you combined are as good as him. It's true that he likes to play, but he also knows how to play! Even though he is such a playful child, he goes to court before dawn and handles government affairs in an orderly manner. Which of you has this ability?"

Zhu Jihui said quickly, "Grandfather is wise and wise, and I am far inferior to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"You are the most useless!" Old Zhu continued after scolding him, "Let's not talk about anything else, just look at these two acres of land. He doesn't mind the dirt, tiredness, and filth, and thinks about making manure and compost. Can you, the princes and descendants of the dragon, smell that stench? Look at Yun Hu, who, while dealing with important matters in the court, also thinks about making good use of manure to increase the production of grain for the people!"

Zhu Gaochi struggled to get up and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince cares about the people, which is a blessing for the country."

Old Zhu was very satisfied with this answer and said, "You also need to improve yourself. You studied and grew up with him, and you will also guard important places in the future. I will arrange some things for you when I return to Beijing this time, so that you won't become useless. I don't care how much you can help Yunxun in the future, but we will be thankful if you don't cause him any trouble!"

After saying that, Old Zhu took the sickle from Zhu Youdun's hand and said, "Watch this, hold the crops with your hand here, and keep the blade slanted and close to the ground. This will cut the rice well and make bundling easier."

Looking at the golden rice and his grandchildren busy harvesting rice, Old Zhu nodded with satisfaction.

It is better to have many children and grandchildren so that you can have less worries.

The sun was about to set when Zhu Yunhuan arrived late. "Brothers, hurry up and harvest the rice and bundle it. I have prepared a banquet."

Zhu Jihui straightened his aching waist. If his grandfather hadn’t been next to him, he really wanted to yell.

Old Zhu asked with a smile, "Are you tired today?"

"Not bad." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "I just approved some official documents, and drafted some opinions that I was unsure about and sent them to grandfather. Please take some time to take a look."

Lao Zhu smiled and said, "Okay, let me check it for you."

The amiable old Zhu suddenly turned around and yelled at Zhu Gaochi and the others, "A lazy donkey will only produce shit and piss if it is on a millstone! You have only harvested this little rice in a day. If it were an ordinary person, they would have starved to death! Forget about the banquet. Go back and rest when it gets dark. Come early tomorrow to harvest the rice and I will teach you how to thresh it!"

Zhu Yunhuan glanced at his brothers and followed Lao Zhu. I would rather die than have my fellow Taoists die. I don’t want to go to the fields to harvest rice!
(End of this chapter)