Li Ru'an has a very good memory. Although due to the rush of time, he only quickly read through the secret box when he peeked at it, and did not pay attention to the wording, hints and other details, but he still remembered all the general contents, and also
I wrote all these contents in a letter and told Zhu Hejian.
With Zhu Hejian's intelligence, he could naturally guess what kind of psychological changes occurred after Emperor Deqing read the secret letter from Prince Zhu Heyu.
In short, Emperor Deqing must have thought that the loyalty and filial piety of the crown prince Zhu Heyu was moved to heaven and earth, and he also thought that Zhu Heyu had finally grown into what he expected. However, Emperor Deqing's plan to abolish the crown prince is now
The arrow was already on the string and had to be fired. Under such circumstances, I had no choice but to endure the pain and continue to push forward with the deposed matter, but I already felt guilty in my heart.
This also means that even if the prince Zhu Heyu is deposed in the future, there will be a possibility of a comeback in the future! Even if Zhu Hejian successfully ascends to the position of crown prince, his status will not be as stable as Mount Tai, and the fault tolerance rate will be greatly reduced!
Therefore, after Zhu Hejian read the contents of Li Ruan's secret message, his expression suddenly changed, and he immediately understood many things.
No wonder Emperor Deqing's attitude during this period has been so strange! No wonder Emperor Deqing has not held a court meeting in recent days! No wonder Emperor Deqing has not continued to attack Zhu Heyu's reputation in recent days!... Also
No wonder Emperor Deqing did not try his best to protect Zhu Hejian in court this morning!
Especially what happened in the morning meeting today, Zhu Hejian originally thought that his performance and response at that time were very appropriate. Although he could not be said to be firm and proactive, it also reflected his loyalty, filial piety, responsibility, and self-discipline, and he was ready to challenge anyone.
Nothing wrong.
However, a person's performance does not only depend on himself, but also needs to be compared with others. Compared with Zhu Heyu's willingness to sacrifice his position as prince to relieve Emperor Deqing's worries, Zhu Heyu
Chao Shang's performance this morning seemed too tactful and cunning.
Therefore, it is no wonder that after Emperor Deqing saw Zhu Hejian's statement in court this morning, his expression was only satisfied, without any joy or relief. However, it turned out that it was because Zhu Hejian's pearls were in front of him.
Zhu Hejian's performance was just barely passing, and it might even make Zhu Hejian lose points in the heart of Emperor Deqing!
Zhu Hejian was originally thinking seriously about how he should deal with Zhou Shangjing's matter, but after reading the contents of Li Ru'an's secret letter, he no longer cared about Zhou Shangjing's matter.
Under the current circumstances, the top priority is to recover the loss of points in Emperor Deqing's heart as soon as possible. Compared with Emperor Deqing's wavering attitude, Zhou Shangjing's hostility is only a secondary matter.
Therefore, Zhu Hejian did not hesitate and immediately expressed his intention to enter the palace to meet Emperor Deqing.
*
Seeing Zhu Hejian's performance, Jia Lun hesitated for a moment, thinking that Zhu Hejian had other important matters at the moment and could not be distracted, so he still did not tell Li Ru'an about Li Ru'an's abnormal performance today, planning to wait until Zhu Hejian met Emperor Deqing.
.
In this way, Zhu Hejian hurriedly left the Seventh Prince's Mansion and rushed to the palace in a sedan chair.
After Zhu Hejian arrived at the palace, he soon received news that Emperor Deqing was now in the palace of the imperial concubine Wan.
Upon hearing the news, Zhu Hejian's heart sank again.
The imperial concubine Wan Shi was the biological mother of Zhu Heyu and Zhu Hejian, but her attitude toward her two sons was completely different.
After the imperial concubine Wan gave birth to Zhu Heyu, she was soon given the title of noble concubine by the Jin Dynasty based on her son's wealth. Therefore, Wan always believed that the birth of Zhu Heyu was a gift from God. From the beginning,
He had great expectations and preference for Zhu Heyu.
But Zhu Hejian was completely different, because not long after Wan gave birth to Zhu Heyu, she became pregnant with Zhu Hejian again, and her body had not yet recovered. The delivery was not only extremely painful, but also full of dangers, so Wan's childbirth was full of dangers.
I didn’t really like Zhu Hejian from the beginning - although Zhu Hejian is actually more similar to her character.
It is precisely for this reason that when Emperor Deqing had the idea of abolishing the crown prince, Wan Shi had been strongly opposed to it - even the seventh prince who succeeded Zhu Heyu as crown prince was also her biological son -
When Wan's attitude was the most intense, she even resorted to crying, making trouble, and hanging herself. She was once reprimanded as a "shrew" by Emperor Deqing.
As a result, Wanshi gradually lost her favor in the harem. In the past six months, Emperor Deqing rarely went to Wanshi's palace to spend the night. He always avoided it and hid whenever he could. Instead, he asked Li Jiamin to
Zhao Ying'er and other girls popped up.
Now that Emperor Deqing took the initiative to go to the palace of the imperial concubine Wan, this in itself means that Emperor Deqing's attitude has undergone subtle changes.
Zhu Hejian is a person who does great things. When he realized this, his mood became more and more anxious, but his mind became calmer.
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Hejian did not immediately enter the palace of Concubine Wan Gui to meet Emperor Deqing. Instead, he waited silently outside the palace.
At the same time, Zhu Hejian asked Jia Lun to secretly contact Wu Xinquan, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, and sent a message.
In this way, after Zhu Hejian waited outside the palace for nearly an hour, the person in charge of the ceremonial department suddenly reported to Emperor Deqing that the official rectification in Shaanxi and Gansu had achieved the first stage of results.
In the past six months, due to the glorious victory in the Shaanxi-Gansu War, Zhao Junchen's military and political influence in Shaanxi-Gansu has been at its peak. This situation has always made Emperor Deqing very uncomfortable, so after the Hetao War, Emperor Deqing immediately
A large number of factory guards were dispatched to the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu to join forces with Liang Fuchen to purge the officialdom of Shaanxi and Gansu, hoping to clear away Zhao Junchen's local influence in one fell swoop.
Therefore, this matter can be said to be one of the things that Emperor Deqing has attached most importance to recently.
However, the matter itself was not particularly urgent and did not require Emperor Deqing to make an immediate decision. The Chief of Ceremonies originally planned to wait until the next day before reporting to Emperor Deqing. At this time, he suddenly changed his mind and reported to Emperor Deqing in advance.
, obviously due to Zhu Hejian's suggestion.
After Emperor Deqing came to the palace of the imperial concubine Wanshi on this day, he has been comforting Wanshi and trying to ease the relationship with Wanshi. Unfortunately, Wanshi has always been thinking about Zhu Heyu, both in words and in words.
The intention is still to hope that Emperor Deqing will change his will and continue to support Zhu Heyu as the crown prince.
But just when Emperor Deqing was gradually feeling impatient, he suddenly received a report from the Chief of Ceremonies. In addition, Emperor Deqing himself indeed attached great importance to this matter, so he took the opportunity to leave the imperial concubine Wan.
's bedroom.
*
When Emperor Deqing left the palace of the imperial concubine Wan, it was already dusk, but at a glance he saw Zhu Hejian waiting outside the palace despite the cold wind of early spring.
Zhu Hejian was already in poor health, and now he has been waiting for nearly an hour under the cold wind of early spring. His appearance is quite pitiful and his face is pale.
Seeing this situation, Emperor Deqing was shocked and said quickly: "Old Qi, what are you doing standing here? Have you been waiting for me? How long have you been waiting? Why don't you enter your mother's palace to see me?"
"
Zhu Hejian's cheeks were frozen, and he forced a smile and said: "I'm just waiting for a moment, it's okay."
When Emperor Deqing saw Zhu Hejian like this, how could he believe Zhu Hejian's statement? He turned to stare at Jia Lun behind Zhu Hejian and said, "How long have the Seventh Prince been standing here?"
Jia Lun showed hesitation, but in the end he was "forced" by the majesty of Emperor Deqing and "did not dare to lie", and replied softly: "His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince has been waiting here for more than an hour."
Emperor Deqing frowned, looked at Zhu Hejian and said again: "Why would you rather wait here than send someone to inform me to see you?"
After Zhu Hejian was silent for a moment, he smiled bitterly and said: "In the past six months, your father and your mother have been at odds with each other. Now that I see your father taking the initiative to see my mother and concubine, it is obviously to repair the relationship. I feel in my heart
Although he was happy, he naturally didn't dare to show up and disturb him, and...he didn't really like his son and concubine in the first place. In the past six months, because of the abolition of the crown prince, his attitude was even more indifferent, and he often scolded his son for having no conscience...
So if I go to see my mother and concubine at this time, it will only make everyone feel embarrassed."
After hearing Zhu Hejian's explanation, Emperor Deqing couldn't help but sigh.
He had long known that the imperial concubine Wan was extremely partial to Zhu Heyu, but Emperor Deqing originally did not think there was anything wrong with this situation. After all, Zhu Heyu was the crown prince, and it was natural for him to be favored. Who would have thought
Zhu Hejian was about to succeed Zhu Heyu and become the new crown prince. Not only did Wan's attitude not change, but it became more extreme.
In the eyes of Emperor Deqing, Zhu Hejian was pushed to his current position by force. Zhu Hejian and Zhu Heyu have always been examples of brotherly harmony. They did not want to take away the crown prince's position from his brother, so Zhu Hejian
Nowadays, the relationship with Zhu Heyu has become estranged, and the relationship with Concubine Wan Gui is getting worse, all because of himself.
Therefore, when Emperor Deqing saw the pitiful appearance of Zhu Hejian who would rather wait for a long time in the cold wind than dare to meet Concubine Wan Gui, he also thought that under such circumstances, Zhu Hejian still insisted on entering the palace every morning to pay homage to his father.
Emperor Deqing could not help but feel pity for his mother and concubine's filial piety, and felt that he not only owed Zhu Heyu, but also owed Zhu Hejian.
Thinking of this, Emperor Deqing ordered someone to quickly fetch a fox fur cloak and put it on Zhu Hejian himself. Then he patted Zhu Hejian on the shoulder and sighed: "I am not a good father. I always do things too hastily.
I owe you too, you... have been wronged."
Zhu Hejian quickly replied: "As long as I can share my father's worries, I will never feel aggrieved no matter what happens to me."
Emperor Deqing shook his head and said: "You must have something to do when you come to see me in the palace. I also happen to be going to the imperial study to handle court affairs. Just follow me. If you have anything to do, go to the imperial study to discuss it later."
After saying this, Emperor Deqing ordered two chariots to be prepared and took Zhu Hejian to the Imperial Study Room.
After arriving at the imperial study, Emperor Deqing first read the memorials sent from Shaanxi and Gansu. He soon smiled and nodded lightly. He was very satisfied with the results of Liang Fuchen and the factory guards in purging the officialdom of Shaanxi and Gansu.
Then, Emperor Deqing turned his attention to Zhu Hejian again and said, "Tell me, what's the matter with you rushing to see me?"
Zhu Hejian immediately replied: "To inform my father, I have something to do with the court today! After the morning court, I returned to the mansion and thought about it, but gradually I felt that what Zhou Shoufu said made sense. The court was investigating the affairs of clans in various places.
It is best to leave the responsibility for violations of discipline and government to members of the royal family, and this candidate is indeed the most suitable candidate!
If the foreign ministers are allowed to take charge of this matter, not only will their hands be tied, but it will also be difficult to convince all parties...Father, you have now handed over this matter to Wang Youlun, and deliberately promoted Wang Youlun to Zuo Duyu.
However, his prestige and qualifications are somewhat insufficient after all, and he may not be able to handle this matter properly...
Therefore, after careful consideration, I still feel that I cannot hide behind, I should do my part and take the initiative to take responsibility, even if I just serve as the deputy imperial envoy to help Mr. Wang stay in charge, I hope my father will learn from it!"
After hearing what Zhu Hejian said, Emperor Deqing immediately smiled, and his expression was quite gratifying.
Zhu Hejian's previous guess was not wrong. Emperor Deqing was not particularly satisfied with Zhu Hejian's statement in court this morning. Zhu Hejian's positive attitude at this time, coupled with the pitiful appearance he had just deliberately shown as a foreshadowing, was finally redeemed.
It reflected the loss of points in Emperor Deqing's heart.
Then, Emperor Deqing shook his head again - of course he would not let Zhu Hejian get involved in the quagmire of the clan - and said with a smile: "Of course there are some responsibilities that you need to bear, but there are also some responsibilities that you have to stay away from, at least in the future.
Until you have a firm foothold, it is best not to touch some things! Zhou Shangjing’s words are certainly reasonable, but they also dug a hole for you. I finally filled this hole, so why do you need to do it yourself again?
Digging a hole and jumping in?"
A hint of joy flashed in Zhu Hejian's eyes, knowing that his pretense was a trick, and when he saw Emperor Deqing mentioning Zhou Shangjing's digging a hole for him, he couldn't help but feel moved in his heart, and took the opportunity to say: "My ministers also noticed it, Zhou Shoufu
This morning, the court deliberately wanted to suppress Erchen, but Erchen couldn't understand. Erchen and Zhou Shoufu had always had no grudges, so why would he do what he did?... What's more, in Erchen's impression,
Zhou Shoufu is a veteran who knows how to advance and retreat and his duty, and he never interferes in royal affairs. His performance today really surprised me."
Zhu Hejian's words were obviously an eye-opener for Emperor Deqing, implying that Zhou Shangjing wanted to interfere in the abolition of the crown prince and had violated his duties as a minister. Emperor Deqing naturally heard it, but Emperor Deqing did not
I don’t think there is anything wrong with Zhu Hejian’s statement.
Emperor Deqing was also very unhappy about Zhou Shangjing's arrogant behavior today!
Therefore, Emperor Deqing looked slightly cold and said slowly: "I can't understand Zhou Shangjing's thoughts. I'm afraid he has become old and confused and has completely forgotten his duty... Naturally, I will not let him go easily.
7. Don’t worry. When I summoned Wang Youlun alone today, I already explained some things to him, just to retaliate for Zhou Shangjing’s transgression today... Oh, Zhou Shangjing wants to use clan affairs to make things difficult for me, so I can use it too.
The clan affairs caused him to stumble! Zhou Shangjing has been in power and opposition for too long, and it’s time to completely change the situation in the temple!"
Hearing Emperor Deqing's statement, how could Zhu Hejian not hear what Emperor Deqing meant? Apparently Emperor Deqing had thought of him together and planned to implicate Zhou Shangjing for the clan's crimes.
Therefore, Zhu Hejian was immediately overjoyed, but on the surface he just said: "Father, the Holy Ming!"
*
Next, Zhu Hejian chatted with Emperor Deqing for a few more words. Seeing that his goal had been achieved and the sky was getting dark, he quickly resigned and left.
After leaving the palace, Zhu Hejian returned to the Seventh Prince's Mansion in a sedan chair, but he still kept the secret letter from Prince Zhu Heyu in his heart, and still regarded it as a hidden danger.
"After the third brother was deposed... I'm afraid he won't be able to stay..."