Zhu Heyu couldn't resist Zhu Hejian's stubbornness and finally went back directly.
After entering the sedan chair, looking at the cold wind, although Zhu Hejian was feeling unwell, he still adhered to the rules and did not go home to rest. He just stood there and respectfully saw him off. His face was extremely pale, but his expression was as humble as ever. Respectfully, Zhu Heyu couldn't help but frown slightly.
He knew that as long as he did not leave, Zhu Hejian, who adhered to etiquette and rules the most, would always wait for him. In desperation, he could not stay any longer and just let the bearers get up.
In Zhu Heyu's eyes, Zhu Hejian seems to be easy-going and submissive, but in a certain way, he is more stubborn and pedantic than himself. He is also obsessed with "Xiao Dai Li Ji", "Zhou Li", "Etiquette", etc. I always use this to ask myself and those around me, and although I am respectful to Zhu Heyu, when the two have conflicting ideas, it is often Zhu Heyu who gives in first.
Regarding Zhu Hejian's temperament, Zhu Heyu often had a headache and was helpless.
But Zhu Heyu did not realize that it was precisely because Zhu Hejian was stubborn in his eyes and he valued human ethics the most, so he trusted Zhu Hejian so much.
When the sedan chair left Zhu Hejian's mansion, Zhu Heyu couldn't help but sigh when he thought about Zhu Hejian's body and temperament.
"Here comes someone."
Following Zhu Heyu's call, the attendant beside the sedan hurriedly responded: "Your Highness, please give me your instructions."
Zhu Heyu frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "Didn't your father give you some wild ginseng a few days ago? After returning home, pick some good ones and send them to Lao Qi's house tomorrow so that he can recuperate. Tell him not to be frugal and make do, but to use what is needed, and to drink ginseng soup often. This stuff is the most replenishing, and if you run out, come back and ask for it again... That's it. Simply send all those wild ginseng to Lao Qi's house. Otherwise, given his temperament, he would never take the initiative to ask for it from me, and I won’t be able to use it here anyway…”
"I understand, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
The chief responded respectfully.
Chang Sui was not surprised at all by Zhu Heyu's instructions. In fact, everyone in the Prince's Mansion knew that as long as there were good medicinal materials in the Prince's Mansion, Zhu Heyu would always think of Zhu Hejian immediately. Never before. Not stingy at all.
Zhu Heyu was not at ease. After pondering for a moment, he added: "By the way, I heard that Fuhe Pharmacy in Beijing is best at preparing tonics. Please invite the doctors there to the East Palace tomorrow and tell them that I have something to ask them. Also, , you can ask people to find some cooks who are good at making medicinal meals tomorrow, and then pick the two best ones and send them to Lao Qi’s house, hey. Don’t look at Lao Qi’s stubborn temper, every time he takes medicine, he looks like It’s like he’s being tortured, and I don’t know how he has managed to survive all these years.”
Hearing that Zhu Heyu was uncharacteristically chattering non-stop, and his usually stern expression actually showed a hint of softness at this time, Chang Sui couldn't help but smile and said: "Prince, you are really considerate of His Highness the Seventh Prince."
Zhu Heyu shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Although I have many brothers, he is the only one born from the same mother. He is the only one who can treat me sincerely. It's a pity that God has no mercy. Lao Qi's body was born like this. , his temper is stubborn, and he doesn’t know how to fight for anything. Every year, he always picks out the poorest things that his father gives to the princes and kings, and his father never cares about him. If I don’t take more care of him. Some, who will take care of him?"
………
Just when Zhu Heyu was thinking about Zhu Hejian's body, in front of Zhu Hejian's house, after watching Zhu Heyu's sedan leave, Zhu Hejian suddenly swayed and was about to fall down.
However, the attendants around Zhu Hejian were all well prepared and quickly got close to support him, and then hurriedly sent him to the mansion.
Zhu Hejian has been weak since he was a child and cannot stand for long periods of time. Today, at Emperor Deqing's birthday ceremony, he was allowed to stand for three or two hours. After that, the lantern viewing and palace banquets and various other activities were not considered rest. In fact, they were already resting.
I can't hold on any longer.
However, in front of Prince Zhu Heyu, he still looked like he could persevere.
The reason why he did this was not to make Zhu Heyu feel at ease, but because he didn't want to make his body look too sick.
In some respects, being weak is a good thing, and it is also a good disguise. If he had been healthier, given Zhu Hejian's age, he would have been granted the title of king and left the capital long ago, and would have been far away from the center of the Ming Dynasty - the prince of the Ming Dynasty was certainly at ease.
Freedom, but that is not what Zhu Hejian wants.
But Zhu Hejian has always understood the principle of "too much is not enough". No one would put their fate on a sick man who could have an accident at any time.
Therefore, Zhu Hejian's health and condition have been "stable" over the years. When his health is better, he behaves weaker, and when his health becomes worse, he behaves healthier. In short, Zhu Hejian's physical condition has been stable over the years.
In the eyes of outsiders, he always looks like "you need to stay in Beijing for a long time to recuperate, but you can recover as long as you get proper treatment."
Today, the reason why Zhu Hejian urged Prince Zhu Heyu to leave was because he found that he could no longer hold on after passing through Emperor Deqing's birthday ceremony, and he did not want to let himself appear too weak and be taken away by Prince Zhu.
Heyu saw that although this appearance would make Emperor Deqing and Zhu Heyu worry and feel more at ease with him, he had only "became ill" once in the Prince's School a few days ago. If he became ill again in a short period of time,
, once spread, it will affect his image of "he can recover as long as he takes proper treatment."
Zhu Hejian has always paid great attention to image and details.
………
After being helped to the bedroom by a servant, someone had already fed him some prepared ginseng soup. Zhu Hejian's condition finally improved. Although he was still sitting weakly on the bedside, his pale face finally became rosier.
After resting for a while, Zhu Hejian regained some strength, slowly opened his eyes, and sighed: "The tonics given by Divine Doctor Wen are very useful. I can persist for such a long time today thanks to the pills he prepared for me."
I don't know when, a middle-aged Confucian scholar came to Zhu Hejian's bedside, silently looking at Zhu Hejian's weak appearance, his eyes were calm, but he seemed to have a little admiration.
Even with the help of pills, Zhu Hejian's body was able to persist for such a long time today, mostly due to perseverance and the fierceness in his heart.
And this is one of the reasons why this middle-aged Confucian scholar is optimistic about Zhu Hejian.
After carefully observing Zhu Hejian's face for a moment, the middle-aged Confucian scholar shook his head and said coldly: "That pill only overdraws the body's vitality. Don't use it too much. Your Highness, you should focus on taking care of your body. You have finally gotten better these days.
After today's overdraft, I'm afraid you won't feel well in the next few days. Is it worth it?"
Zhu Hejian smiled slightly and said: "Of course it's worth it, father's birthday ceremony. I have to go no matter what, this is filial piety. What's more, I have a special status. If I don't go today, I don't know if I want to meet Zhao Junchen openly.
How long will it take?"
The middle-aged Confucian scholar frowned slightly and said, "Are you too hasty? And after such contact, Your Highness may be able to guess your true identity."
Zhu Hejian shook his head slightly, coughed twice, and said slowly: "We have to be more anxious. Then Zhao Junchen's power and reputation have grown too fast these days. On the other hand, our power and reputation are weak now. If we continue to delay, we will wait for him in the future.
If I establish friendship and express my position after I have truly gained momentum, I am afraid that he will look down on me instead. After all, for the powerful ministers of the foreign dynasty, it is better to support some younger princes than to support me, a sick man."
After a pause, Zhu Hejian narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he didn't want others to see the unclear thoughts flashing in his eyes, and said: "As for him guessing the details, I'm not worried. If he can really guess me,
The bottom line is that he is a smart person, and I like to cooperate with smart people."
After hearing what Zhu Hejian said, the middle-aged Confucian scholar fell silent.
As Zhao Junchen guessed, Zhu Hejian has indeed reached a tacit understanding with the eunuchs in the inner court to some extent. This is Zhu Hejian's trump card.
However, if you want to compete for the throne, it is not enough to just get the support of the inner court, you must also have the support of the outer court.
Nowadays, the only foreign forces in the DPRK are Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao, Huang Yourong and Zhao Junchen. However, the person Zhu Hejian wants to form an alliance with is Zhao Junchen, who has the weakest foundation and weakest reputation and is not even qualified to join the cabinet.
!
Without him, compared with the other three, Zhao Junchen has the least prestige, so he has less room for choice. Zhu Hejian does not have to worry about being controlled; and Zhao Junchen faces the greatest crisis, so he least wants Crown Prince Zhu Heyu to succeed him.
Moreover, Zhao Junchen is the youngest. Unlike Zhou, Shen, and Huang, who may return to their hometowns at any time, if they can form an alliance with Zhao Junchen, they can bring longer-term support to Zhu Hejian.
Therefore, after learning in detail what Zhao Junchen had done over the years, Zhu Hejian showed his goodwill to Zhao Junchen for the first time. When they met for the second time, Zhu Hejian revealed his position and trump card to Zhao Junchen.
And like Zhao Junchen, Zhu Hejian is also looking forward to their third meeting.
………
While talking to the middle-aged Confucian scholar, all the physical strength Zhu Hejian had saved up with great difficulty seemed to have been completely consumed, and his voice became weak after speaking.
Obviously, Zhu Hejian needs to rest.
However, the middle-aged Confucian scholar didn't seem to see it at all. After a moment of silence, he suddenly spoke again: "I just got the news that senior He Ming has agreed to come out again and succeed Xiao Wenruan as the crown prince's grand master."
He Ming, Xiao Wenruan's former crown prince, was good at teaching the emperor's mental skills, but that method was too dark, and Prince Zhu Heyu didn't like it. Emperor Deqing didn't want Zhu Heyu to be exposed to it too early, so the prince was too
The position of division commander was taken over by Xiao Wenruan.
Now Xiao Wenruan plans to become an official, and also intends to reverse the strategic disadvantage of Prince Zhu Heyu, so before he becomes an official, he has been secretly contacting He Ming, hoping to ask him to assist the prince again.
Hearing the news from the middle-aged Confucian scholar, Zhu Hejian's expression flashed with nostalgia: "Master He Ming? I remember that the prince didn't like him before, but he was pestered by me all day long. Unfortunately, I am not the prince, so he doesn't like me.
, and I only learned some superficial things from him, but it is precisely because of these superficial things that I can run the business I do today."
The middle-aged Confucian scholar shook his head and said: "Your Highness, why should you be so humble? With your Highness's intelligence and sagacity, you can learn by yourself without a teacher with just a few superficial knowledge. Now I am afraid that you are already better than your master."
Zhu Hejian smiled softly and did not deny it. He just murmured: "It's a pity. I asked Master He Ming to come out many times, but he just didn't agree. Now he agreed to come out to assist the prince... I am not the prince after all. It's a pity.
Since Master He Ming is already old and is no longer in his hometown to take care of himself, why bother going out to work?"
At this point, Zhu Hejian's expression flashed with sadness, and he added: "Find a way... to send him on his way..."!