Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 285: Cut the Gordian knot! Character!
The carriage rolled forward.

In the carriage, Yang Rong whispered, "Your Highness's marriage is no small matter. Do you want to think about it carefully? Or, let the ministers discuss it?"

There were only two of them in the carriage at this time.

Gu Panjun was in another carriage.

"No need." Zhu Yunxun shook his head and said, "As long as we investigate thoroughly and find that his background is clean and his character is not problematic, we can quickly decide on him."

"This matter must be handled quickly. Don't delay. Once we report this to Grandpa Emperor, we can finalize it."

He stretched, lifted the curtains, and looked at the street outside through the glass window.

Although it was dark at this time, the street lamps nearby had been turned on and the light was not dim.

After traveling to this era, Zhu Yunhuan did not have any idea of dating before getting married.

Anyway, in the society of later generations, the so-called love affairs mostly involve boys working hard to "pursue" the girls, and only then can the girls enjoy the happiness of being pursued.

The love experience between the two is completely different.

Even if you are as rich as Principal Wang, you still have to say some cheesy love words to please girls, not the other way around.

However, Zhu Yunhuan had no interest in pursuing girls at all.

In his worldview, if you like someone, you will run towards them in both directions, and if you don’t like someone, you will need to “chase” them.

As an ordinary man, he would rather die than be a bootlicker, so he has been single.

Just stay single, it’s not a big deal anyway. The love that requires him to “pursue” is not as real as the love that costs 150 yuan in the alley.

In fact, the history of free love is actually very short, from the fall of the Qing Dynasty to the founding of New China.

The ancients did not have such thoughts.

In the ancients’ worldview, “parents’ orders and matchmaker’s words” are the foundation of marriage.

Even in the short history of free love, there were many external factors that interfered.

Parents, relatives, friends, even the aunties in the neighborhood committee, as well as the unit and society...

Marriage has never been a matter between just two people, but a union of two families.

However, as a time traveler, Zhu Yunhuan still hopes to know the situation of his future wife in advance, and he can't stand opening blind boxes.

That's all.

It is enough to know what the other person looks like, what kind of personality he has, general character, family background, etc.

Zhu Yunhuan didn't care about anything else.

As the future emperor of Ming Dynasty, he will definitely have many concubines in his harem, and he has no interest in coming to Ming Dynasty to play the game of Pure Love God of War.

As a descendant of the Zhu family, he also bears the heavy responsibility of having children, so it is absolutely impossible for him to marry only one or two.

Given that he has three thousand beauties in his harem, the wife he wants to marry must first be an excellent manager who can help him manage the harem, and only then a wife.

Considering it from this perspective, Gu Panjun's beauty is only a trivial factor; her ability to manage is more important.

But managing the harem is itself a very important power, involving all aspects.

Zhu Yunhuan would not feel at ease if the harem was left to one person.

Xu Miaojin's role was then revealed.

Only with her as a rival can the harem be "stable".

When he watched TV dramas in the past, he always couldn't understand why those women in the harem were fighting and struggling.

After all the fighting, isn't it the emperor who has the final say?
Now that he is in the middle of it, Zhu Yunhuan truly feels the significance of competing for favor in the harem.

Just as ministers fight for power, sometimes it is not a question of whether they want to fight or not, but that the emperor wants them to fight.

If the ministers are all harmonious, it will be difficult for the superiors to control them.

Similarly, everyone in the harem was in harmony and no longer jealous of each other. The one who was probably feeling uneasy was probably the emperor himself.

In fact, the emperor’s food, clothing, housing and transportation were all arranged by the harem.

In a sense, it can be said that it is a matter of life and death.

This is why Zhu Yunhuan proposed marriage to the Xu family.

Gu Panjun is a very smart woman. With her around, she is enough to assist Zhu Yunhuan in managing the harem.

However, Zhu Yunhuan would not feel at ease if all affairs in the harem were decided by Gu Panjun alone.

Human nature cannot stand the test!
In later societies, many people have repeatedly warned people not to test human nature.

As a person in a high position, handing power over to others is testing human nature and putting yourself in danger.

Unless it is someone like Empress Ma, the emperor should not easily hand over the harem to others.

But many times, a person's energy is limited.

He wanted to rule a vast empire, and he didn't want to become the hardest-working "oxen and horses" in the world like Zhu Yuanzhang, so he had to distribute power to the people below and let them assist him in handling government affairs, court affairs, and harem affairs.

In order to prevent subordinates from seizing power, decentralization and checks and balances become a crucial layout.

Xu Miaojin was born into a noble family. She had a good family background and was also smart.

The ties between the Xu family and the Zhu family are also deep enough.

Zhu Yunhuan's idea was to use Xu Miaojin to check and balance Gu Panjun.

As long as Xu Miaojin is in the harem, it will be impossible for Gu Panjun to monopolize power.

It is better to confirm your position as the legal wife as soon as possible without any delay.

Otherwise, there will be another big commotion in the court surrounding this matter.

This is just like choosing a crown prince, a quick decision must be made.

As time went on, it was like roasting both Gu Panjun and Xu Miaojin on the fire.

Many emperors in history seemed to have absolute power and were high and mighty.

But in reality, not many people can choose a queen or crown prince according to their own wishes.

Stronger than Emperor Yongle, even though he disliked Zhu Gaochi very much, he still had to let him continue to be the crown prince and inherit the throne.

At least he can still make his own choice now. Once Old Zhu comes to his rescue and forces a woman he doesn't like or understand on him, it will be too late to regret.

So, when it is time to cut off, cut it off.

It would be wise to cut the Gordian knot and settle this matter quickly.

……

Xu family.

Xu Miaojin sat aside angrily, while Xu Huizu had a complicated expression.

"It seems that my sister has made all the plans, but in the end, she still..." Xu Huizu sighed, then smiled and said, "I thought His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was not interested in women, but I didn't expect that he would be such a person. However, he is not too old, so he is a good match for my sister."

"Humph!" Xu Miaojin yelled angrily, "If he was really like an ordinary man, mesmerized by my beauty, that would be fine. But look at his eyes, he didn't even peek at me a few times, how can he have the nerve to say that he admires me too?" Xu Huizu shook his head and said, "If he really had no interest in you, he wouldn't have come to propose marriage. As for not peeking, the saints said, 'Don't look at what is not proper.' As the grandson of the Ming Emperor, he should abide by the etiquette."

Xu Miaojin smiled bitterly and said, "I'm not a three-year-old child. I've been traveling since I was a child and have seen all kinds of people. I'm very familiar with the way men look at women."

"The Book of Songs says, 'A graceful lady, a zither and a pipa, is her friend.' Men will always have different reactions to women they particularly like. Etiquette and laws cannot restrain them."

"But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince didn't have any special reaction to me. At least, I didn't notice it!"

"He came to the Xu family to ask for marriage, saying that he wanted to marry me. He just wanted to have someone in the harem who could check and balance Gu Panjun."

Xu Miaojin seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "Mr. Gu Pan's age was probably deliberately exaggerated at the instigation of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"In this way, he can naturally make Gu Panjun the Crown Princess and me the concubine."

"I can't think of any reason to object."

"After all, Gu Panjun is already my adopted sister. As a younger sister, how can I be above my sister?"

"The Xu family is a family of meritorious service and has deep roots in the imperial court."

"One day, he will inherit the throne, Gu Panjun will become the queen, and I will become the imperial concubine, then the harem will be balanced."

Xu Huizu pondered, "He is worried that the power of the relatives by marriage is too great, and he is unwilling to make you the Crown Princess. So even if you marry him, what is there to fight for? Isn't it nothing after all the fighting?"

Given the Xu family's status and position, if Xu Miaojing married Zhu Yunhuan, she would at least be a concubine, and in the future she would be an imperial concubine.

She didn't need to fight for it.

As Zhu Yunhuan was unwilling to give the position of empress for the sake of checks and balances of power, it seemed that there was really nothing to fight for.

"How can it be that easy?" Xu Miaojin sighed, "I'm afraid that by then, I won't be able to control myself."

Xu Huizu frowned and said, "Then I will go to His Majesty the Emperor and cancel this marriage."

Xu Miaojin shook his head and said, "Your Majesty will not agree."

"If the women of our Xu family do not marry someone from his Zhu family, they can only marry into ordinary families and cannot find someone of the same social status as them."

"If not, then the only option is to sever worldly ties and enter the Buddhist path."

Xu Miaojin's face flashed with bitterness, and he said, "Most men in the world are mediocre, but most of them are self-righteous, arrogant without any talent, but in fact, they are all empty-headed and useless."

"If I were to marry a man like that, it would be better to spend the rest of my life with a green lamp and an ancient Buddha."

When she said this, the corners of her mouth suddenly curled up, and she said, "At least His Royal Highness is a talented person. His skills and abilities are top-notch in the world. It's not an exaggeration to say that no one in the world can match him."

"Besides, he is my age, so marrying him won't be a disgrace to me."

Xu Huizu did not hear the "hidden meaning" from these words. He raised his eyebrows, his expression changed a little, as if he thought of something, and said indignantly:
"But he is having an affair with Gu Panjun, and at the same time he is asking to marry you, and he is unwilling to give you the position of his principal wife. This is really unfair to my sister. It is better to cancel the engagement. At the worst, I will risk offending His Majesty the Emperor, but I will fight for my sister this time."

"What are you arguing about?" A blush suddenly appeared on Xu Miaojin's face.

Xu Huizu was stunned for a moment, and said, "Of course it is for my sister's lifelong happiness. The status of an imperial concubine is not worth fighting for for my Xu family. If my sister enters the palace in the future and is unhappy for the rest of her life, it will be my fault, my brother."

He was trying to persuade his sister just now, but when he saw that his sister really disagreed, he immediately changed his position.

Compared with the future situation of the Xu family, he cares more about his sister's lifelong happiness.

Xu Miaojin laughed and said, "No, I think His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is quite interesting."

"Fun?" Xu Huizu was confused and asked, "But you just said that he didn't have any romantic feelings for you, and he wasn't fascinated by you."

"If he is completely mesmerized by my beauty after only seeing me once, then I really won't like him."

Hearing this, Xu Miaojin suddenly burst into laughter: "If that's the case, then what's the difference between him and ordinary men in the world?"

Xu Huizu frowned and said, "But he treats Gu Panjun..."

"Gu Panjun didn't charm him either." Xu Miaojin said firmly, "The way he looks at me is no different from the way he looks at Gu Panjun."

"In other words, Gu Panjun didn't charm him either."

"He wants to marry Gu Panjun because he is impressed by her ability and wants her to help him manage the harem and handle household chores."

"I think that His Royal Highness is more interesting than I thought."

Xu Huizu quickly asked, "What do you mean?"

Xu Miaojin's eyes flickered slightly, and the previous scene seemed to reappear in front of her eyes. She smiled and said, "According to the intelligence information I collected before, he is very talented, but also very 'reckless'. He often dares to do things that ordinary people dare not do, or even dare not think about."

"So, in my analysis, he should be a 'warrior' who combines bravery and strategy. His personality is about 70% similar to that of the Prince of Yan's brother-in-law."

"But when I actually met him, I realized that it was not like that at all."

Xu Huizu's heart sank. He was also very interested in Zhu Yunhuan's personality traits, so he couldn't wait to ask, "So what kind of person do you think he is?"

"Calm." Xu Miaojin laughed and said, "He is much calmer than I thought."

"He is obviously a teenager, but he seems to have experienced a lot and seen through everything in the world."

"No wonder he could write lines like 'A pot of muddy wine brings joy to our reunion, and all the events of the past and present are turned into jokes'."

"I always thought it was too strange for him to write such poems when he was only a teenager. I even suspected that someone was ghostwriting for him."

"After meeting him today, I realized that he was born to be this kind of person."

"Young people are so steady! They are teenagers, but they have the mentality of people in their 40s and 50s, but they don't have that old-fashioned look. It's great!"

After hearing what he said, Xu Huizu couldn't help but think about it carefully, and it seemed to be true.

Not to mention anything else, just talk about the young man Mu Ai. It is very difficult for a young man to control himself in front of beauty.

Only those who are used to it can remain calm.

Even though he seems to be able to perform with ease now, he has actually gone through some training to achieve his current abilities.

Zhu Yunhuan was much younger than him, but seemed to be unaffected at all.

This "perseverance" alone is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

However, Xu Huizu's focus was not here, but on the tone of Xu Miaojin's speech.

The tone of a person's speech is often more important than the content of his speech.

When Xu Miaojin talked about Zhu Yunhuan, she did not feel unhappy at all. On the contrary, she was very excited, with a hint of joy.

Xu Huizu couldn't help but glance at his sister's expression, and saw that her pretty face was red like a ripe peach.

Is my sister eager to get married?
Are you interested in Zhu Yunhuan?

Was her previous angry look just because she hated Zhu Yunhuan for not being charmed by her?

Xu Huizu suddenly realized.

He didn't say anything else, stood up, glanced at Xu Miaojin who was still smiling and reminiscing, then turned and left.

Until he walked away, Xu Miaojin kept laughing, as if she had thought of something extremely interesting and fun.

One person was laughing very happily.

……

(End of this chapter)