It has been more than four months since the imperial examination ended, and the palace examination is still far away. At this time, the emperor's return date has not yet been determined, but there are rumors that the emperor will be captured in Nanjing.
Zhu Hao knew how ridiculous the prisoner presentation ceremony led by Wang Shouren was. The final result was that Zhu Houzhao had had enough fun in the south and returned home in September...
This involves a major issue that Zhu Hao is concerned about recently. He has to ensure that the rolling wheels of history will not deviate and allow Zhu Houzhao to develop in accordance with history and fall into the water and get sick.
Su Xigui rushed to Nanjing in June.
Huang Zan left for his appointment one step ahead of Su Xigui.
Before leaving, Su Xigui told Zhu Hao a little-known secret, that is, Zhu Houzhao had been taking elixirs for a long time, and his health was not as good as before. He had vomited blood in the middle of April.
This made Zhu Hao keenly aware that Zhu Houzhao's death was not simply because he fell into the water and contracted an illness. If he was infected with wind-cold and got pneumonia, and his death lasted until the next spring, and more than half a year passed in between, wouldn't it be too much?
drag?
Obviously, before Zhu Houzhao fell into the water, his body showed signs of deterioration, which is why Su Xigui insisted on meeting Zhu Hao before leaving.
"...Zhu Hao, are you saying that the emperor is not in good health?"
When Zhu Hao taught Zhu Si, he did not mention Zhu Houzhao's vomiting of blood. He only said that his cousin was in poor health due to long-term use of elixirs provided by Taoism and Buddhism.
This is actually a disguised warning to Zhu Si, planting the stereotype that "elixirs are the medicine of tigers and wolves". Even if it cannot prevent him from taking elixirs as an emperor and empress, it can at least make Zhu Si more cautious and come to him for consultation when he is indecisive.
his opinion.
Zhu Hao nodded: "I predict that some kind of accident will happen to the emperor on his way back to the capital. Once he returns to the capital, his body will be in a state of collapse... Speaking of which, in less than a year, you will ascend the throne as the emperor and become the lord of the Ming Dynasty...
…”
"This...can't be accurate, right?"
Zhu Si's eyes widened, obviously not believing it.
After Zhu Hao's influence, Zhu Si now has a strong view of materialism and is half-convinced about ghosts and gods. Even if such prophecies came from Zhu Hao's mouth, he would not dare to completely believe it.
Zhu Hao smiled faintly, looking like an expert from outside the world, and said: "Just wait, the news should come soon."
…
…
Zhu Hao wanted to give Zhu Si an illusion and make him think that if something unexpected happened to Zhu Houzhao, it was related to his careful planning.
It was like asking Zhu Si to remember his feelings.
Of course, it is very difficult to convince Zhu Si, and it is even more undesirable to say it explicitly.
It is to create various illusions, impose various psychological hints on them, let them guess in their minds and gradually deepen the impression. In the end, even if he digs deeper, Zhu Hao can completely shirk it, I didn't do anything, how can you think so?
Mutual tacit understanding is the best way.
Is Zhu Hao going to tell Zhu Si that I will assassinate the emperor?
Whether Zhu Si believes it or not is another matter. What if Zhu Houzhao did not have an accident? Zhu Si can't care about it now. When he becomes emperor, won't he send someone to investigate?
If Zhu Hao didn't say anything and just let Zhu Si think so, then even if Zhu Si wanted to find out in the future, he would not be able to find out.
Zhu Hao originally wanted to use Su Xigui's theater troupe, which he had personally trained, to hold back Zhu Houzhao, but now it seems that he can't even control Zhu Houzhao's schedule. He wants Zhu Houzhao to complete a certain thing at a specific time and in a specific area.
Certain things are unlikely to be achieved.
…
…
End of July.
The heat in the capital has just dissipated.
Jiang Lun brought back the news, informing the Ministry of Rites that a memorial had been submitted, asking the emperor to complete the inheritance of Prince Xing as soon as possible so that Zhu Si could return to Anlu to take care of Prince Xing's palace.
Zhu Si has been in the capital for nearly a year. The long-term presence of the foreign vassal king in Beijing is illegal in itself. The central government originally had the idea of keeping Zhu Si in the capital as a hostage and "prince". Zhu Houzhao immediately after the incident in Jiangnan
Putting Zhu Si on the throne is convenient, quick and easy to control.
Now that Emperor Zhengde has made it clear that he will accept prisoners in Nanjing, Wang Shouren drafted the victory report again, recording the achievements of the emperor, Jiang Bin, Zhang Zhong and others in pacifying Prince Ning. The date of the emperor's return has basically been determined. Since everything is fine, then
It is no longer necessary for Zhu Si to stay in the capital.
At first, Empress Dowager Zhang felt that it was necessary to suppress Zhu Si appropriately just after King Xing's death, so as to plant the seeds in his heart of fearing the Tian family and not coveting the throne.
After this year, all parties were stable. Empress Dowager Zhang felt that leaving Zhu Si in the capital was simply superfluous. What threat could a child pose to herself and her son? It was best to release him as soon as possible and keep him out of sight.
Under this situation, all parties were not very interested in whether Zhu Si stayed in the capital. On the contrary, some people felt that Zhu Si's stay in the capital was a challenge to the imperial power... Since he is not the prince, how can he let the world have troubles?
Is it the illusion that you stay in the capital to become the heir apparent?
As King Xing, Zhu Si was just a puppet who came and went at the request of the imperial court. Now he felt that Zhu Si's stay in the capital was a burden, and the court would not be polite. He would only wait for the Ministry of Rites' report to be approved, and then "Zhu Si" would be removed.
I rushed back to Anlu and stayed in Anlu City from now on, unable to go anywhere.
On the second day of August, Zhu Hao met Zhu Wanhong.
Zhu Wanhong did not mention the Zhu family affairs to Zhu Hao, but instead enthusiastically congratulated Zhu Hao for being a tribute.
"What has uncle been doing these past six months? Is he busy with official duties and has no time to see my nephew?"
Zhu Hao asked with a smile.
Zhu Wanhong said: "My dear nephew, even if you will be a Jinshi in the future and become an official in the court, your elders will always be your elders. You must understand how to respect your teachers... Oh, the principle of respecting your elders. You should listen to what your elders say. You should not ask questions.
Yes, it’s best not to ask.”
Seeing that the other party was putting on airs when he came up, Zhu Hao was amused and asked, "Is that uncle going to meet me?"
"Don't see the outside, don't see the outside."
Zhu Wanhong said with a smile, "We are from the same sect and are closely related by blood, so why should we meet outsiders? My uncle is in a tight financial position recently..."
Zhu Hao interrupted him, shook his head and sighed: "I don't have much money recently, and it's hard to do business."
Zhu Wanhong asked in surprise: "Do you think it's hard to do business? I heard that the cloth produced in your workshop is almost sold out in the capital. It is of high quality and low price, and everyone praises it. The rich and powerful are asking around. In the end,
Where does this cheap and good cloth come from? If the uncle tells them... Of course the uncle won't say it. The uncle is just making an assumption. If they really know the inside story, will you..."
threaten!
The threat of Chiguoguo!
Zhu Hao narrowed his eyes and said, "Uncle is not only short of money, I think he is also short of heart!"
"How to talk to elders?"
Zhu Wanhong scolded with a straight face.
Zhu Haodao: "I mean, uncle can earn benefits by leaking this matter, so why keep it a secret? I also want to use uncle's mouth to make my cloth famous... I haven't done much in the market recently.
Shipping, isn’t it because Boss Su took away all my goods, saying that he wanted to transfer them to Jiangnan as military supplies..."
The old and the young talked a lot to each other.
Zhu Wanhong found out why he couldn't get any bargains at all. He quickly changed his strategy and said: "Your grandmother is thinking about arranging a marriage for you recently."
Zhu Hao: "..."
You talk to me for a long time and finally tell me that the Zhu family is planning to use marriage to regain control of me? You should have said it earlier!
"Zhu Hao, you don't know how famous you are now. Everyone in the capital knows that you are a young talent. You have won two yuan in a row... In addition to the previous child examination, you have won five yuan in a row. If you were around twenty years old,
It may not be surprising to be a scholar, but you are still young, and you can be said to be young and successful!"
Zhu Hao frowned: "Uncle, what do you mean?"
Zhu Wanhong smiled and said: "I mean, if your family arranges a marriage for you and a little bit of news spreads, a large number of people will send their daughters to your doorstep. Every family chooses a son-in-law based on their potential. Young talents may be
You can achieve great things in the future, but your future is unpredictable, and you don’t need to mention your potential here, you will become famous directly, you are a hot potato, do you know?"
Zhu Hao smiled bitterly and said, "I don't need my grandmother to worry about my marriage, right?"
"If your elders don't worry about you, who will? I know what you think, and I don't support your grandmother doing this, but your mother...she doesn't have much knowledge, and she doesn't have a wide network of contacts. She can only work in Anlu at most.
How can I compare with the Zhu family if I give you some help? Actually, think about it, it is reasonable to ask your grandmother to help you get married as soon as possible."
Zhu Wanhong was talking nonsense, but what he said made some sense.
Getting married these days is definitely the order of the parents. According to the matchmaker, what kind of beautiful wife can you get in a small place like Anlu? But in the capital city, with the Zhu family's background of guarding thousands of households in royal clothes, and Zhu Hao, who is a prospective Jinshi
With your identity, you can naturally attract good people.
"Isn't that right? I heard that even the granddaughter of the official Lu Shangshu family wants to marry you." Zhu Wanhong said with a smile.
Zhu Hao almost vomited blood after hearing this.
Sure enough, the matter of Lu Wan's marriage still involves him, and it is actually the Zhu family who wants to take the initiative to pull the strings?
Zhu Wanhong sighed: "But everyone knows that Lu Shangshu is not going to die soon, and most of his family members will be confiscated and appointed as officials. Therefore, women can never achieve great things. Your grandmother has no foresight in this regard."
Zhu Hao frowned: "Uncle is quite well informed..."
"Aren't you well-informed? My uncle knows that Lu Shangshu still has a good life for two or three months at most. Even if he has secret dealings with Pinglupp, Pinglupp will not help him in this kind of matter, and will even add insult to injury.
, Literati are like this, they will take you seriously when you succeed, but if you are unlucky, not only will they not help you, but they will even step on you."
Zhu Wanhong suddenly laughed, "Look at my nephew, my uncle has helped you with the marriage. Do you think..."
After all, it's just to ask for money?
Zhu Hao said: "Uncle, as a member of the Imperial Guard, is so short of money?"
"What's wrong with Qianhu Jinyiwei? This has nothing to do with lack of money or not. Others can blackmail officials, and some people are flattering. Maybe there is no shortage of money. You know uncle, I have nothing to do with my sleeves..."
"Uncle, we are real people, just tell us."
"Oh, look uncle, I'm only responsible for keeping an eye on Prince Xing's Mansion. No one wants to fawn over me. I have a wife at home but she's old, and I don't even have a concubine around me. I usually have to socialize outside, and it's not all free money.
?"
This is really "direct".
Zhu Hao said: "Okay, I will raise fifty taels of silver when I go back today and send it to my uncle early tomorrow morning. Please give me the address."
I said this, but I was cursing in my heart, damn, I was deceived and deceived by this old guy again into fifty taels, wait, I will get back all my capital and profits back.