golden scales

The 21st year of Chongzhen was the most stable year for Zhu Cihong to stay in the palace in the past five years.For four full months, Zhu Cihong never left the Forbidden City, and the farthest he could go was horseback riding and archery at Longevity Mountain, which was considered a sport.Because of this opportunity, Zhu Cihong has more and more contact with his family, but it is not warm and joyful.

In this family, Zhu Cihong already has the elders and the younger, and there are younger brothers and sisters beside him.His younger sister, Kunxing, married a good son-in-law, and now the couple is happy, so he doesn't need to worry about it.Among the two younger brothers, King Yong is interested in military affairs, and he can enter the capital lecture hall when he is older, and he can become a feudal state after graduating from the Military Academy, so there is nothing to worry about.

However, his compatriot's younger brother Ding Wang made Zhu Cihong somewhat displeased.

His Royal Highness King Ding is 17 years old.At this age, Zhu Cihong has already been able to train troops and go out to fight, and show off the king's banner.However, Ding Wang Zhu Cijiong did not show his talents in any aspect, and he did not have the slightest interest or talent in military, politics, history, literature, economy, art... various fields.

Zhu Cihong once worried that King Ding was bewitched by a villain, and he practiced the strategy of keeping a low profile... This kind of behavior is not only unnecessary, but also very stupid.Could it be that the real crown prince, who holds the power of the empire, is worried that his younger brother will be disobedient?The so-called keeping a low profile is actually delaying one's best learning age and delaying one's life.

However, under Dongchang's investigation, one point was finally confirmed: King Ding was not just hiding his strengths and biding his time, but just a mediocre person.

Zhu Cihong didn't know how much this conclusion hurt him, but he was sure that he would rather learn that Cijiong wanted to rebel than believe that he was just a "mediocre".

A 17-year-old mediocre person, without any ideals and ambitions, without any hobbies that are beneficial to his family and country, just wants to be perfunctory to adults all day long, waiting to be released from the feudal kingdom, and live the life of a corrupt prince... Zhu Cihong's heart shudders when he thinks of this .He even tried to recall when he was 17 years old in his previous life.In order not to judge my younger brother harshly with the two lives.However, the result of the memory made him more painful. When he was 17 years old in his previous life, he had already determined the major he wanted to study, and he was working hard to study day and night for his ideal university.

"Actually, Ding Wang may just be undecided. When he is settled, he will naturally know what he likes." Duan defended Ding Wang in a low voice, just like an elder sister-in-law should do.

"It's not a matter of being in a state of mind." Zhu Cihong said: "If he likes to visit gardens, he should think about the advantages of various gardens; if he likes to listen to operas, he should think about what kind of plays are good; if he likes fine wine, Food, there are also things that can be pondered... I am an enlightened person, no matter what he wants to do, I will support him to go on. But what about him? Everything he does is a waste of time! If this continues, Nothing will happen!"

Duan followed behind Zhu Cihong.Restraining hands and feet, he said in a low voice, "Not necessarily everyone will have the same achievements as you in re-creating the universe."

"Wrong!" Zhu Cihong said firmly: "One's achievements are not compared with others, but with oneself! Shangtang engraved 'Gou Rixin, Riri Xin, and Rixin' on the bathtub, which is to warn future generations not to be vain. Throw time away. Don’t stick to the old. How much can I expect him to achieve? I just hope that he will be ‘new’ every day, and don’t live a life in vain.”

Duan has never seen her husband so angry.The courtiers insisted on competing with him these few days, but they have never seen him so angry.

"King Yong likes military affairs, so I asked him to learn. Speaking of which, what military talent does he have? I don't know how many people are better than him in the army. Does Ming Dynasty want him to fight?" Zhu Cihong pulled Yongwang out to compare: " But people should have their own hobbies and goals, not to be unprecedented, but just to be a 'new citizen'!"

Duan suddenly chuckled and said: "Looking at the young master's behavior, he seems to be treating his son rather than his younger brother."

Zhu Cihong choked: "An elder brother is like a father! Don't just look at me when I say Cijiong, you are the same too. I think the future will be long, so I didn't mention you."

Duan blushed and said, "What's wrong with the concubine?"

"You yourself are an immature person. You were able to practice horseback riding every day last month. You have ridden three times this month. A mandarin duck handkerchief was embroidered with great effort before, but I took it out two or three times in the past few days. I threw the needle away. After reading other people’s handwriting, I felt that I wanted to practice handwriting. I bought you a set of treasures of the study, but I didn’t even see you writing until I practiced it...Why are you crying? Where am I? wronged you?"

Duan has never been trained like this since she was a child.Hearing her husband's series of accusations, she was filled with shame and anger. At first she just bit her lip, trying to suppress the soreness in her nose, but finally she couldn't help sobbing.

Zhu Cihong felt chest tightness and took a deep breath, only to feel that the scent of sweet-scented osmanthus in the air was also cloyingly sweet, as if everyone was against him.

"Don't cry, the emperor's father and mother are still waiting." Zhu Cihong slowed down his tone.

Duan choked back crying, choked up and said: "It turns out that the concubine is so unbearable in Your Highness."

"It's not too bad." Zhu Cihong went over and stroked Duan's back: "It's just a little ignorant. As I said before, why can some people succeed and others can't? It's nothing more than a difference in perseverance. This matter can be cultivated slowly, and there is no rush."

Only then did Duan feel that his chest was relieved, and he choked up and said: "En."

Zhu Cihong wiped her tears with his handkerchief again, and then continued walking.Today is to enjoy the osmanthus and fruits in the orchard, Chongzhen deliberately wants Zhu Cihong to combine work and rest, and he is not allowed to ask for leave.Zhu Cihong has been in Beijing for a long time, and the accumulated things have been sorted out one by one, but he is indeed free, and has more time to study the physics and chemistry of the Ming system.

Now that he has learned the pinyin of Daming, it is no problem to look it up in the dictionary at last.

When Chongzhen saw his son coming with his daughter-in-law and grandson, he felt relieved.Especially the recent inscriptions sent by the Secretary of the General Administration are all good things. For a while, it seems that the sky is blue, and the prosperous age is approaching. Naturally, I am in a good mood, and I am smiling all day long.In Chongzhen's view, as long as he can maintain this state and pass on the emperor's throne, he can become the Supreme Emperor with peace of mind.

Zhou Hou and Zhang Hou were surprised to find that the Crown Princess had tears on her face and her eyes were red and swollen.They all know the temper of "Brother Chun" very well, and when they get angry very rarely, they know how to restrain themselves in everything.Then who else could make the Crown Princess cry like this besides Brother Chun?

"What's the matter at home?" Zhou Hou pulled his daughter-in-law over and asked in a low voice.

Duan quickly shook her head, and glanced at the crown prince with a slight resentment.

Zhu Cihong curled her lips, turned her head and pretended not to see it.

Zhou Hou also glanced at his son.This time I saw that I was a perfect person, and there was no possibility of any mistakes, so I advised my daughter-in-law: "I'm already a mother, how can I be petty? The way of family harmony is to follow the husband's wishes in matters big and small. .”

Duan felt even more aggrieved when she heard this, so she nodded.

"Mother," Zhu Cihong went up to relieve the siege, "she cried because of the words she wrote, it's not a big deal."

Zhou Hou and Zhang Hou burst out laughing, and even Duan himself couldn't help laughing.

"I still keep your ugly characters!" Zhou Hou pretended to be annoyed, and gave his son a look, which was considered to comfort his daughter-in-law.

Duan was also quite surprised, and said: "Young master also wrote ugly characters?"

Chongzhen couldn't help laughing and said: "At that time, I just picked up the pen, and it was so crooked that it was simply unsightly. It was supposed to be burned, but Zhonggong refused, so I must keep it for future generations to see."

"I also ask His Majesty Father to issue an order that all the books written by my son before the age of three will be sealed in the inner library, and will never be opened." Zhu Cihong joked pretending to be serious.

"My will can't be controlled by Zhonggong, you asked the wrong person." Chongzhen stroked his beard and laughed.

Zhou Hou laughed heartily and said, "See if you don't come to beg me?"

Zhu Cihong had no choice but to go forward and call "Mother", as a pleading, which made the empress, empress Zhang, and the princess laugh so hard.

Chongzhen laughed for a moment, then stopped suddenly, and sighed: "My family can finally enjoy the family happiness, but the loss of relatives and vassals is embarrassing." Country, can't help but feel sad.Especially the Kingdom of Rui, originally the fifth son of the Shenzong concubine, who was very close to the emperor's family, was also killed by Zhang Xianzhong.

Zhu Cihong also fell silent.It was difficult for him to understand where his father's concept of family affection came from.None of those princes he had ever seen.Now Fufan, who is the closest by blood, is the grandson of the temple. He had never met the emperor 20 years ago in Chongzhen.His vassal blood relationship is even further.

"I heard that King Jing has been dead for two years, but his son is still unable to take over the title. I wonder what the twists and turns are?" Chongzhen asked.

King Jing's family is the sixth son of Renzong, and it has been passed down to one generation longer than the imperial family.Regarding the issue of King Jing's succession, the Clan Mansion has been reporting it for the past two months. The most serious one is that if King Jing's son is not allowed to inherit the title, he will starve to death.

Of course, it is impossible for Zhu Cihong to believe such exaggerated words.

"It's indeed my son who suppressed me." Zhu Cihong said frankly.

"Is there something out of integrity in the King Jing family?" Zhou Hou also asked.

Zhu Cihong was also very concerned after seeing Zhang, knowing that this was a family matter, and he had already violated the authority of adults by recklessly handling it.However, the Tian family has no personal affairs. It is said that it is a family matter, but it is also a national event.

With theoretical support, Zhu Cihong also gained confidence, saying: "Father, Queen, and Auntie." He paused, and then said: "The huge cost of the vassal state, the harm of the country will be revealed to the world. So the minister wants to Change the ancestral system, only enfeoff the virtuous king, and those who are not worthy of the ancestors will not be entrusted."

Chongzhen was speechless for a moment.He knew that the vassal king's consumption of the court's finances had reached the point where he had to face up to it, and he also knew that with the current number of surviving suzerains, the same problem would happen again within 200 years.But according to what the crown prince said, he only named the virtuous king, which is a bit difficult.

The key point: how do you know who is good and who is not?

Ps:

Ask for a recommendation ticket, ask for a monthly ticket~~~!