Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 337: I am not inferior to you, my father!
Ancestral Temple.

Black cloth was hung all over the eaves.

There were many icicles hanging from the eaves, which were extremely hideous and frightening, like daggers that could pierce the heart, hanging in the air, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any time. However, before these icicles had time to grow into sharp swords, they were directly cleared away by the eunuchs who had discovered them.

The eaves became smooth again.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked very quickly, with the strides of a dragon and a tiger, and arrived at the Taimiao.

He glanced at the guards who were guarding here and asked, "The prince has been in there the whole time? He hasn't moved around at all?"

The guard bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the prince has been staying inside since he came to the Imperial Temple five days ago. Apart from eating, he does not see anyone and does not allow anyone to stay around him. We do not know what happened to the prince. I hope Your Majesty will punish him."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

He still knew Zhu Biao's temper.

Once a person gets angry, it is not easy to persuade him.

It’s up to him.

He waved his hand and said, "Go, ask the palace chef to prepare some delicious food, and we will bring it to him in person later."

"Yes."

Zhu Yuanzhang was not in a hurry to go in. Instead, he asked Pu Gou'er: "I have given you a few days. Have you found out what Xia Zhibai said to the prince that day, which made the prince ignore the government affairs and go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple?"

Pu Gou'er said in panic, "This old slave is incompetent."

"I didn't find out."

"Only Your Highness and Xia Zhibai were in Wenhua Pavilion that day. No one else was allowed in the palace. I tried to find out from many sources, but I didn't get any information. Xia Zhibai was very sensitive about this matter, so he just asked me to ask Your Highness in person. He also said that Your Highness was not disobeying Your Majesty, but wanted to prove something to Your Majesty."

"What's the matter?" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

Pu Gou'er lowered his head even lower and said tremblingly, "Xia Zhibai said that His Highness wanted to tell Your Majesty that His Highness has grown up and his ambitions are no less than Your Majesty's, and he is confident that he can govern the Ming Dynasty well."

Zhu Yuanzhang smacked his lips and said with a smile, "Boss, what do you want to prove to us? How can we not know who our son is? We have already made him the crown prince, but it still cannot prove our trust in him. Why do you have to go through this with us? Really."

"What else?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked again.

Pu Gou'er's heart tightened, and he quickly shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, there is no more."

"Xia Zhibai has been tight-lipped about what was said that day. He said that once His Highness has figured it out, he will tell His Majesty. And His Highness's ideas are different from his. Even if he tells them, he will only be expressing the thoughts of Xia Zhibai, a minister. His ideas are useless to His Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered: "These scholars are really good at talking."

"If you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me. I don't want to hear it."

"But Park Gou'er, please analyze this for us. What does our boss want to prove to us? Is there anything else he needs to prove?"

Pu Gou'er gave a bitter smile, shook his head blankly, and said aggrievedly: "Your Majesty, this is really embarrassing for me. I have been a eunuch since I was young and I don't even have children. How can I know these things? Your Majesty asked me, how can I answer this."

Zhu Yuanzhang glared at Pu Gou'er.

He also knew that Pu Gou'er was telling the truth, and that he had indeed asked the wrong person by asking a eunuch.

Not a moment.

Then a eunuch came with hot meals.

Pu Gouer subconsciously wanted to reach out and take it, but Zhu Yuanzhang got there first.

Zhu Yuanzhang ordered: "Wait outside the palace. No one is allowed to come in without my order. I want to go in and talk to our Zhu family ancestors, and by the way, ask our eldest brother what he is thinking. Why does he have to stay in the Taimiao instead of being the crown prince?!"

After giving the order, Zhu Yuanzhang strode into the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The temperature in the Taimiao was a little low, but the lights in the house were bright.

It doesn't look gloomy.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not slow down his pace, but walked in with the gait of a dragon and a tiger. Zhu Biao was sitting cross-legged beside a spirit tablet. He looked a little thin, but the pen in his hand never stopped writing. He did not care about Zhu Yuanzhang's arrival at all, as if he was immersed in it wholeheartedly.

Zhu Yuanzhang approached.

He did not interrupt Zhu Biao.

He just put the food aside, then walked lightly behind Zhu Biao and carefully read what Zhu Biao was writing. When he noticed something strange behind him, Zhu Biao frowned and was about to get angry. When he turned around, he found that it was Zhu Yuanzhang behind him. He was also startled and quickly stood up and said, "Your son pays respect to your father."

Zhu Yuanzhang ignored Zhu Biao and just reached out and picked up what Zhu Biao had written.

He asked, "You wrote these recently in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?"

Zhu Biao nodded.

Zhu Biao had calmed down and said calmly, "I talked with Xia Zhibai a few days ago, and I deeply understood a truth. The more I want to get the emperor's approval, the less I will get it, because I do what the emperor wants me to do."

"Some of these things are what I want to do, but some are not what I want to do."

"As a subject, it is only natural for me to obey the imperial edict."

"I have never been dissatisfied."

"However, as the crown prince, I seldom have my own ideas. I have never insisted on one thing from beginning to end. I have always been following the path designed by my father. I am very tired, not only physically, but also mentally."

"I am also very scared."

"I'm afraid I won't do well, my father will be dissatisfied, and my brothers will have opinions."

"I am under too much pressure."

"I can't stand it any more. The path that Father has paved for me is of course very good, but I can't just follow Father's ideas. Father made me read a lot of books and understand a lot of principles, but he didn't give me any chance to display them. I also know that I am stupid and can't compare with my third brother, but I have passed the age of thirty, but I have never done anything according to my own ideas."

"I am becoming less and less confident now."

"If this continues, I'm afraid my head won't be able to bear it."

"I dare not tell Father, so I can only stay in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and look at the tablet of my mother. Only with the comfort of her tablet can I find a moment of peace. What Father is holding in his hand now is my own thoughts on governing the country, which I have sorted out through my own thinking."

"Xia Zhibai is right."

"Every emperor of the Ming Dynasty should have his own ideas!"

"It's just that we need to follow the main line set by father, but the other branches that appear will vary from person to person. I can't become father, nor can I achieve the image of the crown prince that father envisions. I have always wanted to achieve that, but now I have figured it out."

"That's not my son, and certainly not Zhu Biao."

"Zhu Biao is a human being, an independent person with his own ideas."

"I don't want to live in such a muddle-headed way anymore. I want to prove to my father that I have made great progress in many aspects."

"even."

"Not inferior to my father!"

(End of this chapter)