Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 169 The Quarrel between the Crown Prince and the King of Qin
Zhu Chong's mood was extremely complicated, especially as he got closer to Yingtian Prefecture, his mood became more complicated.

He was born in this city. When he was born, Zhu had already established a firm foothold in Yingtian Prefecture. At that time, there was still chaos and war, and Zhu was just a local lord who was not very powerful.

Therefore, since childhood, Zhu Chong and his brothers had to wear leg wraps and often go in and out of the military camp. They had to study hard and practice diligently, and they had to consider going to the battlefield at any time, or fighting tigers together as brothers, or fighting as fathers and sons, and so on.

When he was young, Zhu Chong was intelligent, stern and brave, but he could never compare with his brother who was only one year older than him.

You could say he gave up on himself, or he felt that without the suppression of his father and brother, all the grievances and resentment in his heart were instantly released, because no one could restrain him anymore, so he naturally did whatever he wanted, doing whatever he wanted, and even what he had not dared to do before. Anyway, this was the Zhu family's kingdom now!
But this time when he returned to Beijing, Zhu Chong felt extremely complicated and nervous.

When he was nearly poisoned, Zhu Chong was naturally extremely terrified. The food and drinks mixed with the poison had already arrived at his table, and he was about to raise his glass and chopsticks, but only a few breaths were left.

Having brushed shoulders with death, there is naturally a lot of fear and terror in one's heart, as well as a lot of anger, etc.

But Zhu Chong forced himself to calm down, and now he was thinking about whether his position as the King of Qin could be saved. It seemed that he was almost poisoned and seemed to be an innocent victim. But if he really started to look for the reason, Zhu Chong also knew that he had made a big mistake.

Two years ago, his father deliberately bypassed him, the Prince of Qin, to appoint the grandson as the crown prince. As the eldest son of Zhu Yuanzhang and the leader of all the kings, Zhu Chong's status is too special. He originally thought that he had "made peace" with his nephew, but now he has handed over such a big handle with his own hands, which is simply courting death.

On the other hand, Zhu Chong was very uneasy about Xu Guan, the local official specially sent by his nephew, and the Jinyiwei stationed in the Qin Palace. He was grateful for his nephew's life-saving grace, but he was also afraid of his nephew's methods.

Perhaps in the nephew's mind, his second uncle was also a hidden danger, so he went to great lengths to arrange a bunch of people in Xi'an and in the Prince Qin's Palace. There was a reason for all this.

Zhu Yunhuan didn't know what his second uncle was thinking. Looking at the billowing smoke and dust in front of him, he felt calm.

Xu Zengshou rode on horseback to report, "Your Highness, the vanguard of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin is approaching!"

Zhu Yunhuan waved his hand and said, "Got it, go and catch the King of Qin."

Zhu Yunhuan knew that Zhu Chong was getting closer, and Zhu Chong also knew that his nephew was waiting for him outside the city.

The guards of the King of Qin naturally dispersed as well. They had already arrived in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and had already arrived at Yingtian Prefecture. It was naturally not appropriate for these guards in helmets and armor to continue following.

Looking at the dusty and disheveled Zhu Chong, Zhu Yunxun asked with concern, "Second Uncle, is everything okay?"

"I won't die." Zhu Chong answered with a big laugh, seemingly very generous. "I still have to thank my nephew for his concern, otherwise I would definitely not have been able to escape this. Who would have thought that the old man who served me for twenty years would be so vicious!"

Zhu Yunhuan said, "When my third uncle was on his way to Taiyuan, he whipped his cook for a trivial matter. My grandfather warned him that the cook was in charge of food and that if he punished him arbitrarily, he might be poisoned. He also said that during his conquest of the country, he punished everyone who made a mistake, but he did not dare to blame the cook Xu Xingzu for the past 23 years."

Zhu Chong was so embarrassed. Although he was not poisoned by the chef, but by an old palace maid who was closer to him and had watched him grow up, it made him even more at a loss as to what to say.

Because according to common sense, the loyalty of such an old man is beyond doubt. But such a trustworthy person was forced to poison, which can only show that Qin Wang Zhu Chong is a failure.

Looking at Zhu Chong, Zhu Yunxun said, "Second Uncle, can you blame me for arranging people in the Qin Palace?"

Zhu Chong stared into Zhu Yunhuan's eyes and said, "That doesn't count as your manpower. Everyone knows that there are people from the imperial court in the palace!"

This is also the truth. Which of the royal family princes doesn't know that there are some people from the imperial court in his own palace?

We all turn a blind eye to this. As long as we don't interfere too much in their lives, there is no need to take it too seriously.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Chong and said with a smile, "Second Uncle, this trip was just a false alarm. Grandfather is very angry. There are some things I shouldn't have said. What happened in the Prince Qin's Mansion is your business. But killing the palace maids in the palace and making everyone feel insecure is not appropriate, right?"

Zhu Chong said somewhat unhappily, "Your Highness, I am just locking up the palace and abusing my power. Those are my servants and retainers, many of whom I captured when I went to war. They have nothing to do with the laws of the court, right?"

Such cold-blooded words seem to have some truth to them, and are not necessarily outrageous.

In such a feudal dynasty, not to mention princes of the royal family like Zhu Chong, even some wealthy families did not treat the servants in their houses as human beings. Abuse and even killing were commonplace.

Zhu Yunxun said seriously, "Second Uncle, some things are supposed to be like this. But aren't your methods a little bit vicious?"

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "If someone in the mansion really made a mistake, they should be punished. But abusing lynching, burying people in the snow to freeze to death, tying them to trees to starve to death, isn't this a bit too much?"

Seeing Zhu Chong's grim expression, Zhu Yunhuan continued, "Before that, my second uncle led the army to suppress the rebellion, and my grandfather did everything he could to settle and comfort the people of the 18 native tribes. But what about my second uncle? What happened to the abducted people?" "Enough!" Zhu Chong said directly, "I am the King of Qin. Is it wrong to punish some servants who made mistakes? My father often punished people in the palace for some minor mistakes. Now, I am guilty of this?"

Zhu Yunhuan stared at Zhu Chong, even more seriously, "Grandfather, at least you wouldn't use those means to punish me! According to the law, the criminals in the Qin Palace should be sent to the capital to be punished. Isn't it against the court's law to do this? When did the Qin Palace have the power to punish people?"

Zhu Chong looked at Zhu Yunxun with red eyes, "Those high-ranking families, those nobles and military families, the people in their houses died unclearly, and the court is asking about them one by one?"

"If they really find out, the court will definitely not forgive them!" Zhu Yunhuan refused to give in and said directly, "Even if those people treated the people in the palace, they wouldn't be as vicious as the King of Qin, right?"

Hearing that Zhu Yunhuan and Zhu Chong had started arguing on the street, Zhang Fusheng and others knelt down one after another, including Fu Zhong, Tang Yu and others who had accompanied them. They all knelt down one after another, not daring to look up for fear of hearing more.

The two of them were arguing so hard that their faces turned red and their necks became thick, which was in stark contrast to the previous image of the uncle and nephew getting along well with each other.

The angry Zhu Yunhuan didn't intend to pay any attention to Zhu Chong, and Zhu Chong didn't intend to talk to Zhu Yunhuan either.

Two people mounted their horses one after the other, and the others rode horses or walked, escorting the two back to the city.

After entering the palace, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Second uncle went to Fengxian Hall by himself, grandfather probably won't go there."

Zhu Chong asked in a muffled voice, "Are we going to worship our ancestors or kneel as punishment?"

"First worship the ancestors, then kneel down as punishment." Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "When grandfather calms down, maybe he will pass away. Fifth uncle is also over there, you can ask him if you have any questions."

Zhu Chong asked, "Why is Lao Wu back?"

Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "Because of my second uncle's matter, my grandfather recalled all the princes outside the country."

Zhu Chong's legs instantly went weak. He could argue with Zhu Yunhuan because he considered himself the King of Qin and the elder. He also considered himself the victim, so he must have some confidence, and he could still argue even if he was forcing himself.

But when he heard that his other brothers had been called back, Zhu Chong felt that he must be really angry this time. According to such an attitude, he, the King of Qin, was in great danger, and this matter might not be easily revealed.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Chong and said meaningfully, "Originally, Shang Bing was in his hometown, and we had arranged for him to visit the uncles. But after this happened, the other brothers had to go there, so he had to come back first."

Zhu Chong was anxious, "Grandson, this is all my fault. What does Shang Bing have to do with it?"

"Shang Bing will go back to Xi'an to take charge of the situation." Zhu Yunhuan said, "Second Uncle, I'm not saying anything too much, but I have done my best to get Shang Bing to go back now."

Zhu Chong seemed to understand when he heard it, "You won't destroy me, will you?"

Seeing that Zhu Yunhuan was silent, Zhu Chong also said, "If you want to depose me, depose me. The title must be given to Shang Bing."

It seems that Zhu Chong also knew what was going on with his actions, and he also knew that he would definitely be convicted for what he had done.

Zhu Chong naturally went to Fengxian Hall. There was a set of procedures for the princes to return to the capital. Moreover, this time he was not just a prince returning to the capital, but also there was some punishment involved, so he had to kneel down.

Zhu Yunhuan went straight to Wuying Palace, "Second uncle seems to be fine, just a little tired after rushing back."

Old Zhu was relieved, seeing is believing, "That beast did such an ugly thing, he is lucky!"

"Grandfather, let's go see my second uncle." Zhu Yunhuan naturally understood that what Old Zhu said was not sincere, and said, "I had a quarrel with him. My second uncle is more or less aware of his crimes, but he is just holding back and not letting it go."

Old Zhu snorted coldly, "He has been like this since he was a child. When he did something wrong, he would try to cover it up. He tried to cover up some small mistakes and turned them into big ones."

Zhu Yunxun said, "Let's go and take a look. This way we can feel at ease."

How could Old Zhu, who cared so much about his offspring, not want to see his son, especially now that he was getting older and older, and he could only see his son once a year at most, which made him even more worried.

But Lao Zhu still said, "No!"

(End of this chapter)