Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"Your Highness."

Qin Fang asked cautiously,

"If the lady of the house behaves strangely, what should I do?"

"If she shows any abnormalities..."

Lu Chen hesitated for a moment.

"Bury the letter, purchase some famous local wine in Biyang County, and have it delivered to Chengtian Prefecture to Yang Bingzhong."

In either case, you should leave Biyang County and return to Linqing first. Meet with Sun, the head of the Eastern Depot, and tell him that I have been enfeoffed as the Prince of Ying. Ask him if he would be willing to serve in my Prince of Ying's mansion.

If he is willing, send someone by fast horse to report that I will prepare a memorial requesting his transfer.

Lu Chen has always believed that people tend to subconsciously overestimate the sunk costs they have already incurred.

Having already forged a deep bond with him through two joint operations, Sun Dexiu and a certain high-ranking official in the Eastern Depot behind him would never give up easily.

Like Gao Mingqian, they had also boarded their own ship. As long as Sun Dexiu came, there would be someone of their own in the eunuch system of the Prince of Ying's mansion who could handle secret matters.

Unfortunately, the civil service system itself couldn't really get involved.

"After you finish this matter, make another trip to Huoxian County in Shuntian Prefecture to find a man named Li Wei for me."

Lu Chen continued to give instructions,

"I don't know what this person looks like. I only know that he might be a bricklayer, or a boatman, or both. He is probably around thirty years old."

There are two more clues: his wife's surname is Wang, and they have a son named Li Wenquan.

"Your Highness, it has a name, age, occupation, and even the wife's surname and son's name."

Qin Fang said confidently,

"As long as this person is still in Huoxian, we will find him within three days."

"After finding this person, what should I do?"

"Find a reason to bring his whole family to Linqing."

Lu Chen thought for a moment,

"This person may have other children. Remember to bring his whole family along, and don't leave any of them out."

After returning to Linqing, you and Shen Zhui will wait for the Ministry of War's orders. When you come to Chengtian Prefecture, bring Li Wei's family along as well.

Sending Qin Fang to Huoxian to find Li Wei's family was another desperate measure that Lu Chen devised after realizing he could not go to the capital to have close contact with Prince Yu, Zhu Zaiji.

Many people only know that the Jiajing Emperor had few children, and after his crown prince Zhu Zaiyi died at the age of twelve, he did not appoint another crown prince.

The third prince, Prince Yu, Zhu Zaiji, and the fourth prince, Prince Jing, Zhu Zaizhen, were the same age and both were sons born out of wedlock.

With the crown prince's title still undecided, the two brothers lived in the capital for a long time. Consort Lu, the mother of Prince Jing, Zhu Zaizhen, was favored and there were rumors of a power struggle for the throne.

Emperor Jiajing was actually observing the situation and was hesitant to establish a crown prince. On the one hand, he wanted to avoid the crown prince becoming too powerful once the title was confirmed, and on the other hand, his two sons were not capable enough and had no offspring.

Prince Yu and Prince Jing should have been well aware of this, and both of them were very diligent in this regard.

It may really be a genetic issue, but Prince Jing, Zhu Zaizhen, was unable to conceive any woman until his death at the age of twenty-nine, and had no offspring who either miscarried or died young.

According to modern medicine, Zhu Zaizhen should be completely infertile.

But in reality, Prince Yu, Zhu Zaiji, wasn't much better!

The Longqing Emperor had four sons. His eldest son, Zhu Yiyi, died at the age of five, and his second son, Zhu Yiling, died before he was one year old.

Only two survived in the end.

Zhu Yijun, the third son born in the 42nd year of the Jiajing reign, later became the Wanli Emperor.

Zhu Yiliu, the fourth son born in the second year of the Longqing reign, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Lu. This happened after Zhu Zaiji ascended the throne.

In other words, after the death of Prince Jing, Zhu Zaizhen, the Jiajing Emperor was actually the only son in three generations.

He himself only had one son, Prince Yu, Zhu Zaiji, and Prince Yu only had one son, Zhu Yijun.

Emperor Longqing was a famous emperor who was obsessed with the harem, and his fertility was actually quite worrying.

In another dimension of history, only one woman gave birth to a son for Zhu Zaiji who did not die young!

Zhu Yijun and Zhu Yiliu were born of the same mother, Empress Dowager Li!

Lu Chen may not be able to get in touch with Zhu Zaiji, but he can find Empress Dowager Li in advance!

If it were an ordinary concubine, Lu Chen would have virtually no way of knowing her background, but this Empress Dowager Li was different.

Because she was not only the birth mother of the Wanli Emperor, but also had a connection with another famous historical figure.

That was the famous Zhang Juzheng!

It was precisely because he formed an alliance with Empress Dowager Li and Feng Bao, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, that Zhang Juzheng was able to control the Ming Dynasty court and implement reforms.

There are so many novels and films about Zhang Juzheng in later generations!

These works, when discussing Zhang Juzheng, inevitably involve Empress Dowager Li, whose family members also frequently appear.

Before transmigrating, Lu Chen had read many works about Zhang Juzheng and knew almost everything about Empress Dowager Li's family background.

Empress Dowager Li's father was named Li Wei, a native of Tongzhou, Beijing. Before his daughter rose to prominence, he worked as a bricklayer and a boatman. Later, after accumulating some savings, he also started a small business.

Tongzhou in Beijing was originally Huoxian County of Shuntian Prefecture.

During the Wanli reign, Li Wei was granted the title of Marquis of Wuqing. His age is accurately recorded; he is 29 years old this year.

Li Wei had three sons and one daughter. Empress Dowager Li was the third child. There are two completely different accounts of her age in different works. Some say she was a few years older than Emperor Longqing, while others say she was a few years younger.

In these works, Empress Dowager Li's name is Li Caifeng.

In ancient times, very few women in the imperial harem were able to leave behind their full names. Even empresses dowager often only left behind their maiden surname.

The names that appear in later film and television works are mostly creations of the screenwriters.

As a result, it often happens that the same character has completely different names in different film and television works.

For example, Consort Ling, the concubine of Emperor Qianlong, and Empress Xiaoyichun, the birth mother of Emperor Jiaqing, had two completely different names in two TV series released in the same year.

But in fact, it's all a fabrication; historical records only state that her surname was Wei.

The name Li Caifeng is probably unreliable.

In this current dimension, Lu Chen no longer has the ability to verify historical records.

Given Li Wei's age, there is definitely a possibility that his third daughter has already been born.

Of Li Wei's children, only his eldest son, Li Wenquan, is clearly recorded as being older than the Longqing Emperor. Therefore, the only clue Lu Chen gave Qin Fang was that Li Wei's wife's surname was Wang and that he had a son named Li Wenquan.

After Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, he indulged in nightly revelry and slept with at least a hundred concubines, but only Li Caifeng gave birth to another son for him.

When Lu Chen watched a TV series about Zhang Juzheng years ago, he once lamented that if Zhu Zaiji had not met Li Caifeng, the lineage of Emperor Shizong of Jiajing would have ended without an heir for two generations, just like his cousin Emperor Xiaozong.

Now, this Prince Ying is Jiajing's only younger brother. If Prince Yu also has no son, the throne will inevitably fall to him in the future.

If there's no chance to get close to Zhu Zaiji, is there no other way?

After Qin Fang brought Li Wei's family to his territory, His Highness Prince Yu would never have the chance to see the only woman who could bear him an heir again.