According to the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, after a clan member is canonized or married, he can no longer live in the palace.
Because this means that you have reached adulthood and have to live independently.
Although Zhu Youjian will leave the capital in a few days, he still has to move.
On the night of their wedding, he had already moved to a mansion in the inner city that had been vacant for many years.
"Your Highness, all the luggage has been packed. Now we only need to wait for His Majesty's imperial edict and the ceremony of the Ministry of Rites."
After hearing the little eunuch's report, Zhu Youjian sat in a daze in the garden without making any movement.
His schedule has already been arranged, so he doesn't need to worry about it at all.
Now he just hopes to leave the capital, a place of right and wrong, as soon as possible, so that he doesn't have to feel so uncomfortable.
"I know this, please step back."
Just as the young eunuch left, Princess Guang Zhou also walked in with heavy steps.
"Why should your highness be worried? When your highness leaves the capital and arrives in Guangzhou, your majesty will naturally let down his guard."
"Your Highness and Your Majesty are brothers after all. Your Majesty will not harm His Highness."
Zhou looked at her husband's worried face and knew what he was thinking in his heart.
That's why he spoke words of comfort.
The reason why she knows so many things is actually because Zhu Youjian told her.
For several months, he was not even allowed to leave the palace, and was completely grounded.
Moreover, it was an order personally given by his brother, who had always cared for him very much and whom he respected very much.
This caused a huge change in his mentality.
He didn't understand why the emperor's brother had such a big change in attitude and was so cruel to him after he became emperor.
Finally, after repeated thinking and recall, he seemed to have found the reason.
Maybe it's because my own ideas are too different from those of the emperor's brother.
He still vaguely remembered the way the emperor looked at him and his harsh tone when he advised the emperor not to kill officials indiscriminately and abuse torture.
But he still insisted on his own opinions and ideas. He had read a lot of books and had a deep understanding of the consequences of a cruel monarch.
If given the chance, he would still insist on his advice, hoping to reduce the number of killings.
But even though he had figured it all out, he never asked others why, nor did he confirm his own thoughts.
Because he is very afraid, afraid that if he leaks something or says the wrong thing, he will suffer a more serious consequences.
It wasn't until he married the woman in front of him that he dared to reveal his inner thoughts and bitterness.
After hearing his bitterness, Mrs. Zhou felt the same way.
Because everything her husband has experienced is not much better than hers.
After listening to his wife's words, Zhu Youjian smiled self-deprecatingly and said:
"What will happen when we get to Guangzhou? Although we will immediately put an end to right and wrong, we will also completely lose our freedom and will be locked in the cage of the palace for the rest of our lives."
Just as they were sighing, an uninvited guest came.
A guard came to report that an official from the Ministry of Rites had arrived and wanted to see him in person.
This surprised Zhu Youjian. He had never had any contact with court officials, so how could someone come to see him specifically?
And isn't this just putting yourself in trouble? You know, vassals are forbidden to interact with officials, let alone meet in private.
Seeing Zhu Youjian's hesitation, the guard immediately said:
"If His Highness does not see you, I will let him go."
Who can be the bodyguard in Zhu Youjian's mansion? It was naturally arranged by Zhu Youxiao.
Therefore, the meaning of this guard's words is very obvious, that is, if you don't want to see him, I will drive him away.
Zhu Youjian thought about it for a while, then nodded and let him go.
But not long after, he came to report again, saying that it was due to ceremonial matters during the itinerary and he needed to be informed.
As a last resort, Zhu Youjian could only see him.
"Sun Liang, the head of the Ministry of Rites, please see His Royal Highness Prince Guang and His Royal Highness the Princess."
Seeing Sun Liang in front of him, Zhu Youjian immediately asked:
"Is there anything I can't tell you until I see this king?"
"His Majesty's decree is very clear, isn't it? Full authority is left to the Ministry of Rites to make arrangements."
When Sun Liang heard Zhu Youjian's cold tone, he didn't feel good about himself and didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked around with the corner of his eye, and then said:
"This matter is related to the life and safety of His Highness. The itinerary cannot be disclosed. I also ask Your Highness to allow the rest to leave."
Who else could be in this garden? Apart from Zhu Youjian and his wife and himself, there were only two maids and two guards.
Fortunately, Zhu Youjian was smarter, or maybe he didn't want to get into trouble, so he replied decisively:
"There are no idle people here. Do you distrust the princess's accompanying maids, or do you distrust the two guards who protect the king's safety?"
And one of the guards also answered:
"President Sun, it is an exception to allow you to come in to meet His Highness. My two brothers will have to bear the military stick."
"If you have anything to do, you'd better tell me quickly. Otherwise, don't blame me for telling our general. If Your Majesty finds out about this matter, it will be difficult to handle."
The soldiers brought out by the emperor himself were different. This courage alone was not what ordinary soldiers had.
In the past, how could a soldier dare to talk to a civilian official like this, let alone a court official, who would have to ruin his family even if he didn't die.
"Okay, it's okay to let me decide. However, the itinerary of His Highness and the Princess will be left to you and the two of you to make full arrangements."
"You guys will sign and pledge it later. If anything goes wrong, you two will bear all the responsibilities. How about that?"
Sun Liang was not an easy man either. When it came to this conspiracy, the two leading soldiers were no match for him.
The two of them definitely dare not take responsibility and cannot afford it.
Sun Liang's hating was really too big, and they couldn't bear it, so they had no choice but to leave the garden.
Seeing that there were only three of them left, Sun Liang stepped forward slowly, closed the distance with Zhu Youjian, and began to get close to each other in terms of words.
Said softly:
"We haven't seen you for a few months. Your Highness looks much more mature and steady."
Zhu Youjian was confused for a moment, what was going on?
"Why did Lord Sun come here?"
Sun Liang ignored his question at all and continued to talk to himself:
"If I look at it from my perspective, Your Majesty is not as good as His Highness. It's a pity that His Highness was born too late. If he was the eldest son of the late emperor, then I would have been able to live in the Ming Dynasty, but he is not like this now."
Sun Liang blurted out such a sensitive topic, which frightened Zhu Youjian into a cold sweat and he was at a loss on the spot.
He quickly asked the princess to go to the garden gate to see if the two guards had gone far.
After Mrs. Zhou waved to him, he relaxed a little.