Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 44: After the Hero
After having dinner with Old Zhu, Zhu Yunhuan returned to Rouyi Palace. He had no time to meet the Jinyiwei, mainly because it was too late.

Playing with the token in his hand, Zhu Yunhuan said to himself, "Even the Jinyiwei let me try to make contact. I must be far ahead of Yunwen!"

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a little proud and happy.

The chance of survival has been greatly improved!

This is obviously not just a casual remark, the position of crown prince must be seized!
Not to mention the temptation brought by the supreme throne, not to mention the opportunity to change history. To put it simply, one's own destiny must be changed, otherwise there will be only a few years of good life!
In history, he would be imprisoned and executed by Zhu Di, but what Zhu Yunwen did left people with no way to survive.

Zhu Yunhuan had no chance of becoming a Taiping Prince. If he didn't become the crown prince, he would be dead!
A new day began. After breakfast, Zhu Yunhuan naturally went to the coffin again. Zhu Chong and others were not here. They had been keeping vigil here yesterday and only hurried over during the morning court session.

Several major princes had been keeping vigil for almost the entire night without sleep, and they were already exhausted from rushing back to Yingtianfu from their fiefdoms, so they looked even more haggard.

However, when several heavyweight princes appeared in the court, it would still attract a lot of attention from the civil and military officials. Especially at this sensitive moment, the appearance of these princes in the capital and the court was even more sensitive.

At this tense and sensitive time for many people, the leader of the kings, the Prince of Qin Zhu Chong, cried like a cuckoo, begging the Emperor to appoint the Crown Prince as the Crown Prince. His left and right princes, the Prince of Jin Zhu Gang and the Prince of Yan Zhu Di, also echoed him.

The former crown prince was of high moral character and friendly to his younger brother, and the whole court was very supportive of him. Now that the crown prince is gone, it is naturally a great tragedy, but Zhu Chong and others firmly believe that although the crown prince is gone, his offspring is of the right age and can be the crown prince!

Watching the performances of Zhu Chong and others, many civil and military officials breathed a sigh of relief, as if they were not too surprised.

There had indeed been some calls to continue to appoint the crown prince, but these calls were not very loud and everyone understood the emperor's thoughts.

However, no matter what the reason is for Zhu Chong and others to express their intentions, it has become more clear that the court will only have a crown prince, not a crown prince. This can also make more people feel at ease.

After Zhu Yunhuan finished guarding the spirit, he thought carefully and asked, "Did my grandfather tell me where I should go to meet someone?"

Rouyi Palace is definitely not an option, as it was Zhu Yunhuan’s bedroom and his two sisters also lived there.

The Great Hall was not allowed either, as that was where the emperor's sons and grandsons studied. The Fengxian Hall was even more forbidden, as it was where ancestors were worshipped.

Wuying Hall is where the emperor works. Zhu Yunhuan wants to go to Wenhua Hall where the crown prince works, but Zhu Yunhuan will never agree to it now. If he goes to Wenhua Hall, it must be because the crown prince has been established.

Zhang Fusheng said, "His Majesty has ordered that Your Highness can find a side hall to summon the Royal Guards."

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but complain, "There's no official government office, so you just find a side hall? Then I can't go to Qianbu Gallery or any other government office?"

No matter how much he complained, Zhu Yunhuan would not go too far.

Zhu began to delegate power, but one thing was clear: the power in Zhu Yunhuan's hands was temporary and could be taken back at any time. This was fundamentally different from having a formal office location and taking on a job in a certain department.

Even if Zhu Yunhuan were to come into contact with the sensitive organization, Jinyiwei, Zhu was always relatively low-key, so Zhu Yunhuan naturally had to be more low-key as well.

Jinyiwei, this notorious institution in history, is not simple. The emperor's personal army, they are not only good at handling cases, but also responsible for spying on the enemy's military intelligence, etc. They are also guards of honor, these personal soldiers are to guard the Meridian Gate.

But many people now call the Jinyiwei the Tiqi. They only know that under the leadership of Mao Xiang, the commander of the Jinyiwei, they have become the emperor's minions, interrogating and torturing prisoners on a large scale.

The Jinyiwei were active in the three major cases, namely the Hu Weiyong case, the empty seal case, and the Guo Huan case.

Mao Xiang was also executed after the Hu Weiyong case ended. On the one hand, it was to appease the public anger, and on the other hand, he knew too much.

The current commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is Jiang Lin, and it was he who took the lead in initiating the Lan Yu case in history.

A burly middle-aged man came up to Zhu Yunhuan and bowed four times, "Jinyiwei Zhenfu Envoy Zhu Zhong, I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Grandson of the Emperor."

Zhu Yunhuan immediately asked with great interest, "Zhu Zhong? A family member?"

Zhu Zhong immediately explained with a panicked look on his face, "I dare not try to curry favor with the royal family. Your Majesty granted my father the imperial surname in his early years." "Then he is one of our own!" Zhu Yunhuan laughed and said, "Who is your father?"

Zhu Zhong lowered his head and said, "My late father, Zhu Wenxun."

Zhu Yunhuan stood up immediately. This was also one of Zhu's most outstanding adopted sons.

Zhu Wenxun, General Hei and Hua Yun, one of the twenty-four generals of Huaixi, defended Taiping Prefecture. They died when facing Chen Youliang's army. He led a small number of soldiers out of the city to form a battle array, but was outnumbered and died in battle. Hua Yun was captured after the city was captured, and was killed after cursing Chen Youliang.

Zhu Yunhuan sighed and said, "How come you are only a fourth-rank official?"

Zhu Zhong was not embarrassed and said directly, "After my late father passed away, I am the only one left. Your Majesty was kind enough to let me and Hua Wei serve the late Crown Prince in school. I am not good enough and cannot study well."

Zhu Yunhuan laughed and scolded, "Forget it, I won't say anything to you. But you are the descendant of a meritorious official and a member of our family, so how can you be in the Jinyiwei? Go to the emperor's grandfather in a few days to ask for mercy, and learn from Hua Wei to find a job in the Five Military Commandery."

Zhu Zhong didn't care and just said, "Your Highness, I like being in the Jinyiwei. I was still young when my father died in the war, but I still know that both my father and I have been saved by your majesty, so how can I cherish my life! If so, even if I see my father one day, I will not be able to face him!"

Zhu Yunhuan looked at this honest middle-aged man and was very angry. "Okay! Okay!"

"I can't transfer you now, so you just stay in Jinyiwei!" Zhu Yunhuan pointed at Zhu Zhong and scolded him angrily, "People outside only know that Jinyiwei is the emperor's personal army, how could you not know that? If you have a little ambition, it won't be difficult to find a job. If not for yourself, think about your descendants!"

Zhu Zhong looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "Your Highness, I am already a low-ranking fourth-rank official. In two years, I may even be promoted to the full fourth-rank official. I am not inferior to those court officials. The ministers of the six ministries dare not even look at me more than a few times when they see me!"

The fourth rank official is really not small, the left and right assistant ministers of the six ministries are of the third rank, and the fourth rank officials are qualified to attend the morning court. And in the five temples such as the Dali Temple, the left and right junior officials are of the fourth rank.

From the fourth rank, he was at the same level as the Imperial College's chief priest. In local areas, he was only half a level lower than the prefect, which was considered a high-ranking official.

After the performance, Zhu Yunhuan said, "If you work hard, you will naturally have the opportunity to be promoted in the future. First, don't let the emperor down, and most importantly, don't humiliate the reputation of Yi Bo!"

Zhu Zhong knelt down again and saluted formally, "I obey your command!"

Zhu Yunhuan then asked, "Grandfather asked you to come here, what did he have to say?"

Zhu Zhongze replied, "Your Majesty ordered me to follow Your Majesty's orders, and there is no other order."

Zhu Yunhuan said, "That's fine. Go and keep an eye on the princes who come to the capital. Just remember who they have met, and don't ask what they have heard. Remember, the princes are all descendants of the royal family, and they must not be disturbed."

After saying this, Zhu Yunhuan stood up. Monitoring the princes was just a formality. He had to keep an eye on them, but there was really no need to keep an eye on them too closely, and there was no need to find out what they were saying.

Just remember who you have met. If you really want to find out, there is no need to let Zhu Chong and others speak.

Our family members should be more respectful. If the civil and military officials who have close contacts with the princes do not know how to behave themselves, we can let them speak first. This is actually not difficult.

After returning to Rouyi Palace, before he could even rest, Zhu Yourong came to him and said, "Little brother, Second Uncle asked you to go over there when you have time."

"Second Uncle?" Zhu Yunxun asked, "Okay, I'll be there soon."

Zhu Youling said angrily, "Second Uncle and his men went to the East Palace before."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and comforted them, "They should go to the Eastern Palace. Father is gone, but the Crown Princess is still here. The court has a law that when a prince returns to the capital, he should first see the emperor and then pay homage to the Eastern Palace."

But Zhu Yunxun immediately asked curiously, "How did you know?"

Zhu Yourong said, "That's what Concubine Ning said!"

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help laughing. It was old Zhu who got angry first!
(End of this chapter)