I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 82 The Crown Prince

The setting sun made half of the sky red.

The clouds in the western sky are stacked layer upon layer, like the golden scales on a koi fish.

Emperor Jiajing wore a navy blue Taoist robe, with his hair tied up in a simple bun and a jade hairpin inserted in it, and a few strands of gray hair fell down in a messy manner.

Standing on the steps outside the Wanshou Palace, with his hands in his sleeves, he tilted his head and stared blankly at the sunset.

In the towering palace with red walls and yellow tiles, his figure looked so lonely and isolated.

"Your Majesty, the prince is back." Huang Jin walked up to him and said softly.

Emperor Jiajing turned his head suddenly and saw Zhu Yijun's figure appear at the corner of the steps of the main hall.

A faint smile appeared on his old face, with a gleam in his turbid eyes. He tilted his head, motioning Zhu Yijun to stand beside him.

Zhu Yijun, wearing a navy blue dragon robe and a winged hat on his head, walked up slowly and stood beside Emperor Jiajing, with his hands in his sleeves and his head tilted, they looked at the sunset in the distance together.

Huang Jin looked at the grandparents and grandchildren whose expressions were in sync. His nose felt sore, his eyes swelled, and he wanted to cry.

He sniffed, waved his hand quickly, signaling the eunuchs to retreat, and he also tiptoed away to a slightly farther place.

After a long while, Emperor Jiajing spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Jun'er, your fourth uncle is gone."

"Grandpa Emperor, I heard the news at Prince Yu's Mansion."

"The old man sends the young man away." Emperor Jiajing smiled bitterly, "What's your father's reaction?"

"Howled twice."

"Are there any tears?"

“I can’t squeeze it out.”

"Normal. If he died, the fourth brother would have howled a few times, but he couldn't even cry.

Jun'er, this is how ruthless the royal family is. See? This majestic Forbidden City stretches for dozens of miles, awe-inspiring to the world, but it cannot tolerate the slightest bit of kinship."

"Yes, Grandpa Huang, I know."

"Tell me what you know."

"The human heart is unpredictable. The greater the temptation, the more unpredictable the human heart is."

Emperor Jiajing was stunned. He couldn't help but turn around and look at his eldest grandson.

The setting sun cast a golden hue on his young yet resolute face.

Thinking back to the past two years, he has brought me enough surprises.

The Coordinating Office, and then the Coordinating Bureau, seized the financial power and formed the Shaofu of the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Jiajing knew very well what Jun'er was planning at the Beijing Military Administration Supervisory Office.

But he is willing!
As Yan Song, who was very familiar with him, said, Emperor Jiajing was strong-willed throughout his life. He fought for power with his ministers all his life and kept the power firmly in his hands.

What he feared most was that his descendants and grandchildren would be incompetent and be fooled by the civil officials. As soon as he closed his eyes, the civil officials would instigate him to issue a confession of guilt, and his reputation would be completely ruined.

The third brother, Zhu Zaigui, is deaf and no one can persuade him.

The fourth son, Zhu Zaizhen, is a coward. He wants it but doesn't dare to fight for it. You don't fight for it, and wait for the throne to fall on your head?
Finally, Jun'er is born.

Emperor Jiajing turned his head, looked at the sunset, and continued, "Jun'er, you have a younger brother now."

"Yes, that's right. Father has given his grandson a younger brother. Grandpa Royal, Father asked me to hang around you a few more times so that you know that although Fourth Uncle is gone, you still have him, and you still have many children and grandchildren."

"A house full of children and grandchildren!"

Emperor Jiajing suddenly raised his head and blinked hard.

"What's wrong, Grandpa Huang?"

"It's okay, sand just blew into my eyes."

"Oh. Do you want your grandson to help you blow it?" "No, dear grandson." Emperor Jiajing quickly recovered his mood, "Do you still remember what your fourth uncle looks like?"

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment, "In the 40th year of Jiajing, when my fourth uncle was enfeoffed in De'an Prefecture and came to Renshou Palace to bid farewell to the emperor, I met him once. I can't quite remember it, it's very vague."

"When he and your father were younger than you, they always loved to hang around me. At that time, there was also your second uncle, my Crown Prince Zhuangjing. The way they played and fought and competed to recite to me seemed like it was just yesterday.

On March 15, the 28th year of the Jiajing reign, I performed the ceremony of crowning your second uncle, and on the 16th he was crowned. On the 17th he suddenly fell ill, and within two days, he died. He was only 14 years old. 14 years old.

Emperor Jiajing spoke in a low voice, full of helplessness and sadness. "Before your second uncle, I had an eldest son, Prince Ai Chong, but unfortunately he died at the age of just a few months. In the sixteenth year of Jiajing, the year when your father and your fourth uncle were born, I lost two imperial sons in succession.

Later, in the 17th and 18th years of Jiajing's reign, two more princes were lost.

In the twenty-eighth year of Jiajing's reign, your second uncle suddenly passed away again, and I was scared.

They said that this was a story of two dragons not meeting each other. Regardless of whether it was true or not, I would rather believe it than not. After your father and your fourth uncle were moved out of the palace to be raised, and the three of us no longer met, they really grew up. "

Emperor Jiajing looked west, closed his eyes, and said sadly, "The fourth son has retired to the state and has submitted a petition to the palace to bid farewell to the emperor. I thought, let's not meet him, we may never see each other again, so let's meet behind the curtain.

For more than ten years, I have not been able to remember what he looks like. When I arrive in Heaven, the Second Ancestor will ask me about it. I don’t even know what my own son looks like. Isn’t it a joke?

But when I looked again, it was gone in less than four years, not even a person was left to beat the banner or smash the bowl. "

Zhu Yijun listened to his grandfather, the Emperor Jiajing, muttering on and on without interrupting or answering.

He knew that the emperor now just needed someone to listen to what he had to say.

As he spoke for about half an hour, the sky darkened and dusk began to fill the sky and the earth.

"Okay, Jun'er, you must be hungry after listening to me for so long. Let's go eat together. Huang Jin, ask the imperial kitchen to serve the meal."

"Yes."

"Grandpa Emperor, wait a minute."

Emperor Jiajing was stunned and turned to look at Zhu Yijun.

"Mr. Huang, which way is south?"

Huang Jin's heart trembled, he pointed to the south, and replied in a hoarse voice: "Prince, the south is that way."

Zhu Yijun faced south, knelt down, and kowtowed three times respectfully.

"Fourth uncle, your nephew Zhu Yijun kowtows to you, and you will ascend to heaven soon!"

Emperor Jiajing stared blankly to the south, and finally couldn't hold back his tears, which slowly flowed down his wrinkled face.

Zhu Yijun ate his dinner with big mouthfuls, and Emperor Jiajing watched him beside him with eyes full of love.

When Zhu Yijun finished eating, he patted his bulging belly and said loudly: "Grandpa Emperor, your grandson is full. Let's go digest the food."

Emperor Jiajing said happily: "Okay, let's go and digest the food together."

The next morning, Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Yan Ne, and Guo Pu, who was newly appointed to the cabinet, sat down in the cabinet's meeting room, ready to begin the meeting, when suddenly a clerk came running in and reported at the door.

"Four ministers, the eunuch Huang, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, is here."

The four of them stood up suddenly and went out to greet them.

Huang Jin, who was dressed in a python robe, walked over with a calm expression, cupped his hands and said, "I am sorry to bother you four old gentlemen."

Xu Jie, the chief minister, stood in the front and asked, "Eunuch Huang, do you have any purpose for coming to the chamber?"

"Mr. Xu is right. We are here to pass on your orders."

Xu Jie and the other three all fell to their knees.

"Rongshu Kangfei Du, filial and respectful, was posthumously named Empress Rongshu Gongshun Kang.

The third son of the emperor, Zhu Zaigui, was kind and generous, and had a profound and silent mind. He was naturally gifted, generous and kind, and should be the successor to the throne. He was removed from the throne of Prince Yu and made the crown prince to prepare for the throne.

"The eldest grandson, Zhu Yijun, is a man of great wisdom and intelligence, both civil and military. He deserves to be honored by the imperial family and inherit the great order of heaven. He will maintain the prosperity of the country without boundaries and pass down the unchanging traditions of hundreds of kings. He is made the crown prince."

(End of this chapter)