Chapter 99: The Emperor's Family Feuds Are Hard to Explain

  People all say that imperial families are heartless, but in fact the relationships within the palace are complex and multifaceted, who can fully understand them?

  Take Zhu Youxiao for example. He was the younger brother of Emperor Xiaozong Zhu Youjian, with a different mother, whose mother was Consort Shen. The mother of Emperor Xiaozong was Consort Ji. To say that both Consort Shen and Consort Ji were people with many twists and turns in their fate when they were young.

  The Consort Zheng was originally from a poor family, so her father sold her to the eunuch in charge of Hangzhou. She entered the palace through this route. Because she was well-read and courteous, and also beautiful, she later caught the eye of Emperor Xianzong, who favored her and made her pregnant with an imperial son, thus allowing her to rise to the rank of Noble Consort due to her son's status.

  Ji Fei was originally the daughter of a barbarian tribal official. During the Chenghua period, Emperor Xianzong conquered the barbarians and Ji Fei was captured and entered the palace. After being favored by Emperor Xianzong, she also became pregnant with a dragon son. However, her child was conceived earlier than that of Zhen Fei, so he was the third imperial son, while the fourth imperial son was Zhu Youxiao.

  When Ji Fei was pregnant, Wang Guifei was in favor of the harem. Wang Guifei was a narrow-minded and ruthless person who persecuted all pregnant women in the harem. Ji Fei was no exception and suffered several times at the hands of Wang Guifei.

  Fortunately, however, Ji was helped by Empress Sheng and gave birth to the third son of Emperor Xianzong. The first two sons of Emperor Xianzong had both died young, so the third son, Zhu Youcheng, became the eldest son and the first in line to inherit the throne. He eventually succeeded to the throne as the Ming Xiaozong Emperor.

  Imagine if Consort Shun did not lend a helping hand to Consort Ji at that time, then the Emperor would have been unable to survive in this world. As a result, Consort Shun's fourth son Zhu Youjian would have become the first in line to inherit the throne. It was precisely because of Consort Shun's timely assistance that Zhu Youjian missed his chance at the throne.

  Now Zhu Youxiao is again plotting to take back the throne, from a certain perspective, what he wants to take can also be said to be something that originally belonged to him. Zhu Youxiao's attempt to seize the throne has now led to the death of his own son; if one traces it back to its origin, can't it be said that Empress Sheng herself was responsible for the death of her own grandson?

  Of course, fate is sometimes predetermined and cannot be thought of in this way. If you think so, it's like drilling a well into an eternal dead end that can't be turned around.

  In Qingning Palace, Zhu Youxiao knelt in front of his mother, tears streaming down his face.

  According to the Ming Code, a prince cannot leave his fief at will without the emperor's permission. Those who do so shall be punished for intending to rebel. Therefore, after Zhu Youxiao was made Duke of Lu, he rarely saw his mother again. It is said that every family has its own difficulties, but what about being a prince and an imperial relative? The separation of mother and son in different places is also a misfortune.

  Shaoyi Fei's eyes were already dim with age, she reached out to touch Zhu Youzhang's face, and leaned in close to take a good look. Her trembling hands carefully felt around on Zhu Youzhang's face, as if trying to use her sense of touch to recall his appearance in her mind.

  "My son..."

  "Empress Dowager!" Zhu Youxiao also cried out in sorrow, leaning into the arms of Empress Shao and weeping bitterly.

  At this moment, Zhu Houzhao was sitting in the Qianqing Palace reviewing memorials, with Liu Jin standing beside him. Zhu Houzhao asked Liu Jin: "Has Prince Xingxian arrived in the capital?"

  Liu Jin nodded: "To answer Your Majesty's question, I had just entered the capital and after entering the palace, I went to Qingning Palace to pay my respects to Empress Shun."

  Zhu Houzhao nodded after hearing this, and Liu Jin asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, do you want me to summon Xing Xian Wang over now?"

  "It's not necessary." Zhu Houzhao shook his head, and heaved a slight sigh: "Xing Xian Wang Shu is reminding me that his mother, Consort Shen, had kindness towards my father emperor and imperial grandmother. If I am too severe with him, it would be ungrateful and unfilial."

  Zhu Houzhao sneered, seemingly speaking to Liu Jin and also to himself: "He doesn't even think about it. If not for the sake of Empress Shu's face, I would have easily bypassed him this time? To become an emperor, one must have the destiny of an emperor. A person with such a fate will ascend to the throne even if they do nothing. Without such a fate, one can only be a slave for their entire life. Liu Jin, do you think what I said is right or not?"

  Liu Jin's heart suddenly shrank and he immediately nodded his head in response: "Your Majesty is wise, what Your Majesty says is absolutely right."

  Zhu Houzhao glanced at Liu Jin lightly and smiled faintly before falling silent, continuing to review his own memorials.

  After more than an hour, Zhu Houzhao had almost finished reviewing the memorials in front of him. Then Zhang Yong walked in from outside Qianqing Palace and saluted Zhu Houzhao, saying: "Your Majesty, King Xingxian requests an audience."

  "Pass." Zhu Houzhao nodded.

  "Xuan Xing presents the king for an audience." Zhang Yong shouted loudly.

  Zhu Youxiao walked in from outside the palace gate, and after seeing Zhu Houzhao, he immediately knelt down on the ground and shouted loudly: "Your minister pays homage to Your Majesty, wishing you a long life of ten thousand years."

  "His Imperial Highness may dispense with the formalities and stand at ease." said Zhu Houzhao.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhu Youxiao stood up and immediately ordered the small eunuch standing at the palace gate: "Grant a seat to King Xing of Ying."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty," said Zhu Youxiao.

  Two eunuchs brought over a chair, and Zhu Youjian had just sat down when Zhu Houzhao said lightly: "Imperial Uncle, do you know why I have summoned you this time?"

  Zhu Youdun immediately knelt down and said: "Your Majesty's unworthy son Zhu Houxi mistakenly recognized evil people and inadvertently entered an evil cult. Your Majesty's teaching is not good, asking the Emperor to forgive his crime."

  "This time, Zhu Houzhao did not call Zhu Youxiao again, but said lightly: 'The prince is young and does not know loyalty or treachery. It's no big deal if he makes a mistake for the time being. However, that day's gathering was not an ordinary demonic cult, but a group of demons with the purpose of rebelling against the emperor. Although the prince was deceived by others, he still violated the laws and regulations of the Ming dynasty. I have investigated this matter and found that only the prince was involved, and no one else was related to it. I specially summoned the imperial uncle to enter the palace, just to ask the imperial uncle what you think I should do with him?"

  "The unfilial son colludes with evil people and associates with those who disturb the hall. This act not only violates the ancestral laws and regulations, but also cannot be tolerated by the Ming dynasty's laws. Therefore, I believe that severe punishment must be meted out to uphold the law."

  Zhu Youzhang spoke extremely calmly, without even a slight change in tone, as if the words were spoken directly without any emotional undertones.

  After listening to Zhu Youxiao's words, Zhu Houzhao said: "Since the imperial uncle thinks so, let's do it according to the imperial uncle's idea. Alas... The crown prince is still young, and occasional mistakes are normal, why be so severe."

  After finishing, Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and said: "I'm tired, Uncle Huang, you can retire. Since you've come to the capital, stay for a few more days. Anyway, my birthday is approaching, let's get together as a family at that time."

  "Yes, your subject obeys." After Zhu Youxiao knocked his head three times in front of Zhu Houzhao and got up, he said "Your humble minister retires" before leaving the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

  As he walked out of the palace gate, Zhu Youxiao's eyes suddenly turned red. He clenched his fists and his whole body began to tremble slightly.

  Born as a human being, his own father said that his son should die, what kind of torture is this. But he can't say anything, because Zhu Houzhao is looking for an attitude from him.

  Just as Zhu Houzhao's last sentence was hypocritical to the extreme, "Why must it be so severe?" and "Let's do it according to the emperor's meaning." These two sentences determined that Zhu Houxi's death was Zhu Youxiao's own idea. In this way, Zhu Houzhao also took on the notorious name of slaughtering his brothers and relatives.

  "Xi'er, your father owes you an apology. However, your father promises you that your death will not be in vain."

  After finishing speaking, Zhu Youxiao took a deep breath and calmly walked out of the palace.

  At this moment, Zhu Houzhao hesitated for a moment and then said to Liu Jin: "Remember, add more manpower to protect Jiang Xia in Xiangyang Mountain Villa, and don't let him get hurt."

  "Yes, your humble servant obeys." Liu Jin replied.

  Then Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhang Yong with a smile and asked, "By the way, it's been many days since I've gone to Xiangyang Mountain Villa due to busy affairs. What has Jiang Xia been up to recently?"

  Whenever Zhu Houzhao spoke, he would mention the two words "Jiang Xia" three times. Liu Jin was both envious and jealous in his heart. What is called being favored by the emperor, this is what it means to be favored by the emperor.

  Zhang Yong knew a lot about Jiang Xia's affairs, and he smiled as he said: "To answer Your Majesty's question, Jiang Xia recently opened a pharmacy on Sanlihe Street. It is said that business is booming, with daily earnings of thousands of taels of gold. All the high-ranking officials in the capital go there to buy medicine, and every day's supply of medicine cannot meet demand."

  "What kind of medicine is so fierce?" Zhu Houzhao suddenly became interested, and he silently added a sentence in his heart: "Good, making silver without calling me to join in, this big brother is not very considerate."

  Zhang Yong smiled and said, "According to legend, the Jiuyang Feifeng shop in Jiangxia only sells two kinds of medicine. One is the Feifeng Dan that can restore a woman's youth and beauty, and the other is the Jiuyang Dan that can make a man strong and vigorous."

  "Is it as potent as a dragon and as fierce as a tiger?" Zhu Houzhao's interest was piqued, he immediately stood up and excitedly said: "Such good medicine, why not let me try it?"

  But soon Zhu Houzhao softened again, sat back on the dragon chair with a look of despair, and muttered to himself: "Forget it, if I take that medicine, it will only torture me."

  "Alright, let's go to the Xiangyang Mountain Villa and see him again. In a few more days, it will be the day of the imperial examination, and when he becomes my subject, I'll see if he still dares to be so arrogant in front of me." After saying this, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but burst out laughing again.

  The story splits into two threads, let's talk about Zhu Youxiao's side first. After leaving the imperial palace, he went straight to the Yunlou Inn.

  After finding Xiao Wu in the Yun Ge to replace him as a coachman, Zhu Youxiao opened a room for himself and sat inside waiting.

  Before long, a knock at the door was heard outside, and Zhu Youxiao said faintly, "Come in."

  The door was pushed open and in came Fu Bo. He slightly bowed his head to Zhu Youxiao and called out, "Your Highness."

  Zhu Youzhang nodded and said: "Have you all inquired clearly?"

  "I've heard that Jiang Xia used to be a servant in a brothel, but it was shut down by Li Taifu. Then, he opened the Xiangyang Mountain Villa. It's said that the villa itself was given to Zhang Yong by Shi Wei, the former Minister of Works, but there are rumors that the emperor has shares in it too. All the information I've gathered suggests that Jiang Xia's relationship with the emperor is far from simple. Also, recently, he opened a pharmacy on Sanlihe Street."

  Fu Bo simply mentioned Jiang Xia's deeds, and when Zhu Youxiao heard Fu Bo say that Jiang Xia and Zhu Houzhao had a complicated relationship, his eyes narrowed. He spoke in a low, cold voice: "If it's not simple, then kill him, only then will he feel pain."