After meeting Prince Zhu He, Emperor Deqing's expression did not show any abnormality, and his attitude was even warmer than usual. .
"This memorial... is well written." After reading the memorial, Emperor Deqing gave a rare compliment: "You have thought of all the things I hope you will reflect on, and you will be more introspective... However, this memorial Are all the contents in it your own thoughts and writings? Or was it the guidance of that Zhao Shancai?"
Prince Zhu He remembered Zhao Shancai's repeated instructions and knew that at this time, everything must be done to restore the trust of Emperor Deqing, so his expression was always respectful and he said: "Since it is reflection and self-examination, you can rely on yourself and don't dare to fake it. For others, this memorial was naturally completed by Erchen alone, and Zhao Shancai was not involved from beginning to end."
After hearing Prince Zhu He's answer, Emperor Deqing seemed to have a flash of hesitation in his eyes.
But in the next moment, Emperor Deqing returned to his usual deepness and said slowly: "Very good, I am very pleased that you can reflect deeply on your mistakes! You are now the crown prince and will be the prince in the future. Everyone will open his eyes to Big eyes are watching your every move, and your few words will trigger countless speculations. Every decision may affect the fate of everyone in the world, so how can you follow your own temper? So you must guard against arrogance and impetuosity in the future. , No matter what you do, you must think twice before you act, otherwise how can I safely leave the country in your hands?"
Prince Zhu He lowered his head to listen to the instruction and said: "What my father taught me, I should keep it in my heart!"
Emperor Deqing nodded, seeming very satisfied with Prince Zhu He's attitude: "I hope you will remember the lesson this time and never do it again in the future... Well, starting from tomorrow, you can continue to participate in court meetings. During this period, The situation in the temple has been relatively stable since then. Although you missed the ten days of court meetings, you didn't delay too many things."
After hearing Emperor Deqing's instructions, a hint of joy flashed across Prince Zhu He's face, thinking that the matter was finally over, so he quickly said: "Thank you, Father! I will be cautious in doing things in the future and think carefully before making decisions." , I will definitely not make my father feel embarrassed again.”
Emperor Deqing still nodded with satisfaction, but suddenly the topic changed, and he seemed to have thought of something accidentally, and said: "By the way, Lao Qi's health has improved greatly recently, and he is almost recovered. I know that you and Lao Qiyi Xiang has the best relationship with him, but you have been retreating to the East Palace to think about your past, and you have not had the chance to visit him. After you leave the palace today, go and see him as soon as possible, otherwise it will be difficult for you two brothers to have a relationship with him again in the future. Here’s a chance to meet.”
Prince Zhu He was stunned for a moment and asked, "My father, I cannot understand what I mean."
Emperor Deqing sighed and said: "You also understand the rules of our dynasty! When the princes reach adulthood, they must be enthroned in the throne, stationed in fiefs, and stay away from the center of the capital! Lao Qi has been an adult for a long time, but his body has always been No, he couldn’t withstand the fatigue of traveling, and there were no imperial doctors to attend to him at any time after leaving the capital. I was worried that he would have an accident, so I kept delaying the matter! But now, Lao Qi’s health has improved greatly. Then this matter cannot be delayed any longer... A few days ago, the Duke of Jing, Chen You, also submitted a memorial, hoping that I would confer a throne and a fief for the seventh prince. I have been thinking about this matter during this time."
Hearing Emperor Deqing's explanation, Zhu He couldn't help but be stunned again.
He and the seventh prince Zhu Hejian are brothers, and they have always had a harmonious relationship. In addition, Zhu He is still a little worried about Zhu Hejian's physical condition, so after hesitating for a moment, the prince Zhu He couldn't help but said: "Look, Yi Erchen
Come on, the seventh brother's health has just improved. In order to prevent the disease from recurring, it is better to let him stay in the capital for a while... As for the matter of enthroning the throne, you can wait until after the year. There is no need to be so anxious. After all,
According to custom, princes are always canonized after the new year."
After hearing what Prince Zhu He said, Emperor Deqing's eyes flashed with disappointment, and he sighed secretly in his heart, and made up his mind that Zhu He was indeed not a qualified prince!
The sudden talk about the seventh prince Zhu Hejian was a test for the prince Zhu He by Emperor Deqing.
By now, Prince Zhu He should be very clear that he not only made enemies with several powerful officials in the court, but also had a not harmonious relationship with Emperor Deqing. He also failed in several errands one after another, and his position as crown prince was already unstable.
signs!
On the other hand, the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian is of noble birth, of the right age, and has always stayed in the center of the capital. Moreover, his reputation is not too far behind that of Prince Zhu He. If Prince Zhu He's position as crown prince is shaken,
Then the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian is the most likely candidate to succeed him!
Under such circumstances, if Prince Zhu He is a little politically sensitive, he should try his best to eliminate all hidden dangers and let the seventh prince Zhu He leave the capital as soon as possible!
However, because of the so-called "brotherhood", Prince Zhu He became soft-hearted when he shouldn't have been. He was completely unaware of Emperor Deqing's verbal hints. Instead, he hoped that the seventh prince Zhu Hejian would continue to stay in the capital...
Emperor Deqing was naturally disappointed with such political sensitivity.
In fact, Emperor Deqing still had some father-son feelings for Prince Zhu He. Although he already had the idea of exchanging reserves, he was still hesitant after all. Today's conversation is about Emperor Deqing's feelings for Prince Zhu He.
The last test!
Unfortunately, Prince Zhu He's performance still disappointed Emperor Deqing.
So Emperor Deqing finally made up his mind!
After making the decision, Emperor Deqing felt quite complicated, with some regrets, some sighs, and some relief.
But soon, Emperor Deqing's mood returned to calm again.
Then, after Emperor Deqing took a deep look at Prince Zhu He, he suddenly said: "I heard that when I was patrolling the south, you and Huang Yourong, the former cabinet minister, stayed in the capital. There were many conflicts, and in the end it was Lao Qi.
After advising you, you finally suppressed Huang Yourong, is this true?"
After hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, Prince Zhu He hesitated slightly. He originally planned to conceal the matter.
But Emperor Deqing had now received the news, and Prince Zhu He did not dare to forcefully argue, so he finally nodded and admitted: "During that time, the seventh brother did help."
Emperor Deqing's eyes flashed and he said: "Oh? That's interesting! Tell me in detail what happened at that time!"
On the second day, the life pattern of the officials was still the same. They went to the palace to attend the court meeting at nine o'clock. After the court was over, they went to their respective yamen to handle official business. At noon, they returned to their respective mansions to eat and rest, and in the afternoon they went to the yamen again.
Office.
The same is true for Zhao Junchen.
As the time approached noon, Zhao Junchen left the Hubu Yamen and returned to Zhao Mansion in a sedan chair.
The situation in the court has been relatively stable these days, but Zhao Junchen still did not take it lightly, sitting in the sedan chair and secretly thinking about his next plan.
"Soon, Liang Fuchen will return to the capital to take up his post. As the 'Beijing Inspection' approaches, there is a variable that needs to be paid attention to..."
"Counting the time, Huang Yourong and Gu Quan should have arrived in Nanzhili. Unfortunately, they are thousands of miles away, so I don't know if the plan is going well. I just hope that my secret arrangements can work, otherwise there will be a lot more
trouble……"
"There are also the movements of the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian... Emperor Deqing's attitude during this period is quite suspicious..."
"In addition, the two daughters of the Zhao family, Zhao Yinger and Zhang Zhaodi, have now learned all the court etiquette. It is time to send them to the palace..."
Lin Lin, Zong Zong, has many thoughts.
Zhao Junchen now occupies a high position, holds great power, and is very ambitious. He rarely has leisure time on weekdays. There are countless major and minor matters that need to be carefully considered, secretly prepared, and handled carefully at any time.
Just as Zhao Junchen was thinking secretly, the advancing sedan suddenly paused for a moment, and then he heard Xu Qingyan's voice coming from outside the sedan.
"Master, someone stopped the sedan."
"Who is it?" Zhao Junchen frowned slightly and asked.
Xu Qingyan replied: "It's Zhao Shancai's servant boy. He said that Zhao Shancai is waiting for the young master in a teahouse not far away and wants to meet the young master for a secret talk."
"Zhao Shancai..." Reciting the name softly, Zhao Junchen's expression was a little complicated, and then he sighed softly and said: "Since it is Zhao Shancai, let me meet him and get off the sedan chair!"
Following Zhao Junchen's instructions, the sedan fell to the ground, and Xu Qingyan quickly opened the sedan curtain for Zhao Junchen.
After Zhao Junchen stepped out of the sedan, he looked up and saw a young man dressed as a book boy standing not far away. It was Zhao Shancai's book boy Zhao Mu!
"I remember...your name is Zhao Mu, right?" Zhao Junchen walked up to the book boy Zhao Mu and asked, "Where is Zhao Shancai? Take me to see him."
Hearing Zhao Junchen's question, the book boy Zhao Mu was slightly shocked.
He didn't expect that Zhao Junchen could still remember the name of a little person like himself, which shows how much Zhao Junchen valued Zhao Shancai.
However, Zhao Mu had followed Zhao Shancai for many years and had developed some scheming skills, so he did not show any abnormality. He just raised his hand sideways and said softly: "My young master is in the Liu family tea house not far away. Mr. Zhao
Please come with me."
After saying that, Zhao Mu led the way first, while Zhao Junchen followed behind.
On the way, Zhao Junchen asked Zhao Mu: "I heard that Zhao Shancai's physical condition has been very bad recently. Has it improved now?"
Zhao Mu looked sad and said in a low voice: "The young master's physical condition is very bad... As for the specific situation, Master Zhao, you will understand it after meeting the young master."
Liu's Tea House is not far away, it only takes two sentences to get there.
After entering Liu's teahouse, Zhao Junchen glanced around and found that the teahouse was empty and there were no other guests. It seemed that the entire teahouse had been booked by Zhao Shancai.
Then, more than a month later, Zhao Junchen met Zhao Shancai again.
At this time, Zhao Shancai was sitting in the corner of the teahouse. His body was extremely thin. It would be an exaggeration to say that he was skinny and bones. His body was paralyzed and weak. He was just leaning against the wall. It seemed that he didn't even have the strength to straighten up.
All gone, a gust of wind could blow him over; his cheeks and eye sockets were sunken, his face was sallow and almost lifeless, and his lips were purple and black.
Just by looking at him from a distance, you can clearly feel the despair and death on Zhao Shancai! Anyone who sees such an image will think that the person in front of them has a short life!
Although he had already been mentally prepared, Zhao Junchen's heart skipped a beat when he saw the image of Zhao Shancai! It took him a long time to realize that the person in front of him was Zhao Shancai!
The once handsome young master has turned into this!
After a moment of silence, Zhao Junchen walked towards Zhao Shancai.
After getting closer, Zhao Junchen discovered that there was still something about Zhao Shancai that had not changed. His eyes were still bright and deep!
On the other side, after seeing Zhao Junchen approaching, Zhao Shancai squeezed out a smile on his pale face and said slowly in a weak voice: "Shancai has been feeling unwell recently and cannot visit Mr. Zhao in person. He has to trouble Mr. Zhao to move.
It's really rude to meet each other, I hope Mr. Zhao will forgive me!"
Zhao Junchen couldn't help but sigh softly, came to sit in front of Zhao Shancai, and said: "You... are already like this, it's better to rest more, why waste time and effort on planning? Why bother?
?”
Zhao Shancai's voice was weak, but his expression was calm and free, as if he had seen through life and death, and said: "Looking at my current situation, I will have plenty of time to rest after a long sleep, so it is better to spend more energy while I still have some energy left.
, otherwise there will be no chance in the future!”
Zhao Junchen sighed again, with a look full of regret, and said: "I knew your illness was serious, but I didn't expect it to be so serious... There are only a few people in the court who can take my fancy, and
You are one of them, and if you are no longer here in the future... it would really be a pity."
Zhao Shancai smiled half-smilingly and said slowly: "Oh? Does Mr. Zhao not know my current physical condition? With Mr. Zhao's hands and eyes, what thing in this capital can be hidden from Mr. Zhao? Let alone me.
Dr. Zhang, who diagnoses and treats me, has always lived in Mr. Zhao's house... After Mr. Zhao saw me like this, I'm afraid he was more than happy, right? After all, I will never cause trouble to Mr. Zhao from now on.
"
With that said, without waiting for Zhao Junchen to refute, Zhao Shancai continued: "What's more, since I chose my own path, I have thought about the possibility of today... After all, there are too many people who don't want His Royal Highness to gain a foothold.
, after I assisted His Highness the Crown Prince, I blocked the way for others, and it was natural for me to be plotted against."
After hearing Zhao Shancai's words, Zhao Junchen was slightly startled.
He originally thought that Zhao Shancai was not aware of the real cause of his illness, but he did not expect that Zhao Shancai had already seen through the truth and guessed that someone was plotting against him.
However, Zhao Junchen still pretended to be confused in the end and asked: "Oh? Is it possible that Shancai's illness was caused by someone else? But who did it? Does Shancai have any guesses in his mind?"
Zhao Shancai still smiled half-smilingly and said: "Master Zhao really doesn't know? There is a reason. There are only two people in the whole court who have the ability to harm me!"
"Who?" Zhao Junchen asked.
"Master Zhao...and the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian!"
Zhao Shancai looked calm and said calmly.
…
ps: Due to family reasons, Chongzi has more time from Monday to Thursday, but does not have much free time from Friday to Sunday. Originally, I planned to save some manuscripts from Monday to Thursday and wait for the weekend when there are more readers.
I once thought that my laziness was already terminal, and I had no intention of typing since I had the manuscript in hand.
Therefore, Chongzi decided not to save manuscripts, but to publish as much as he wrote every day. Of course, it was still at least 4,000 words every day.
Above, there will be another update around early this morning!