Hu Shanwei

When Arei heard this, his first reaction was: "Ah? Isn't it too early?"

Hu Shanwei said: "When the emperor was the same age as the crown prince, he had already married Empress Renxiao, and the next year he gave birth to the current crown prince, becoming a father."

Zhu Zhanji was sixteen, and Zhu Zhanhe was fourteen, both of them were of marriageable age. Even A Lei was sixteen this year, so logically she should have gotten married.

However, Chunwei and his wife suffered from the lack of freedom in their marriage. Hu Shanwei turned against his father and stole the female official who was in charge of the household examination to escape from the world. Mu Chun cut himself with a knife and destroyed himself to show his determination to resist his father's arranged marriage for him.

The two gave their daughter Arei the freedom to marry, and never urged her to get married. They let everything take its course. Arei devoted herself to mechanics and appreciated the conversion and fit between gears. Although she was mature, she had never thought about love and marriage.

After all, love can't make watches for her, so it's not something she considers.

Now, suddenly knowing that Brother Xiaoji and Brother Shuikeng, who grew up together, were going to get married, Arei felt as if his heart and mind were hollowed out by something. He lost his balance and felt as if he was treading on a bale of cotton, swaying back and forth.

Growing up brought her many things, but it also took many things away from her. A Lei understood that she had freedom of marriage, but the marriage of Brother Xiaoji and Brother Shuikeng was decided by the imperial power, and they had no say.

Once these two get married and start a family, she will have to stay away from them.

A Lei couldn't accept this fact for a moment, but he couldn't remain silent, so he asked casually: "The Crown Prince and the Prince of Han also know that the selection is for them, right?"

Hu Shanwei said, "You should know that their marriages are all waiting for the emperor to decide, and the Eastern Palace and the Han Palace can't interfere. It's not just the two imperial grandchildren in the capital who have reached marriageable age. There are also more than 20 imperial grandchildren in the princely palaces of various places who have reached marriageable age, all waiting for the selection and the emperor to arrange marriages. There are also the sons of princesses and generals who also want to use the selection to find good wives for their sons. It would be honorable to have the emperor grant marriages."

Arei didn't know what she felt, but she felt uncomfortable. She also didn't know why she felt sad suddenly. She made an excuse to go back to draw the blueprint and left in a hurry.

She appeared calm on the surface, but her steps were very fast, almost jogging, as if she could get rid of the unhappiness if she just walked fast enough.

Hu Shanwei noticed that A'lei was suddenly in a low mood. She was about to chase after her to find out what was bothering her daughter, but Shen Qionglian came over with a look of anticipation on her face and said that Concubine Zhang had something urgent to discuss with her.

"Prince An and his wife Princess An had a fight, accusing each other of wrongdoing. Now the Emperor has summoned Prince An, and Concubine Zhang is trying to appease Princess An, and wants Concubine Hu to go over and help."

Prince An is the 22nd son of Emperor Gaozu and is only in his thirties.

Princess An, Xu, was the first wife of Prince An. She was the half-sister of Empress Renxiao and the daughter of Xu Da, Prince of Zhongshan. Empress Renxiao was born to his first wife, Xie. She was the legitimate sister-in-law of Emperor Yongle. Emperor Gaozu trusted Xu Da and arranged marriages for all three daughters of the Xu family to his three sons. The Xu family had three princesses.

Princess An is of noble birth, of high seniority, and has a bad temper, so Concubine Guo is unable to handle her on her own.

Hu Shanwei had no choice but to give up chasing his daughter and followed Shen Qionglian to the Yanxi Palace, asking questions all the way:

"Is it a real fight or just a quarrel?"

"It was a real fight. Princess An was born into a military family and knew martial arts. Prince An was a man and very strong, but he didn't dare to fight back with all his strength. Both of them had some minor injuries."

"How did the fight start?"

"Princess An has never given birth, and Prince An has not allowed him to take a concubine. Prince An has a mistress outside, and she secretly gave birth to two sons. Prince An thinks it is impossible for Princess An to get pregnant at her age, but if the An Palace has no heirs, the family line will be extinct, and the title will be taken back in the future, so he told Princess An about the two illegitimate children and asked her to bring the mistress and the illegitimate children to the palace, acknowledge their identities, and record them in the jade disc, so that he can be canonized as the crown prince and inherit the title in the future..."

When Hu Shanwei heard this, he immediately felt something was wrong. "Princess An and her sister, Queen Renxiao, have the same temper. How could they allow Prince An to marry without telling her? No wonder they started a fight."

In the Palace of Yanxi Xi, a female doctor was using an egg to roll on Princess An's face to reduce the swelling. There were clear fingerprints on the princess' face, probably because she was slapped by Prince An during the fight between the couple.

Concubine Zhang is now more and more like Yang Yuhuan, a concubine of the Tang Dynasty. She has completely let go of her worries and is plump and happy. Princess An is childless and she was once banished to the cold palace for her obsession with having offspring. She understands Princess An very well.

Concubine Zhang comforted Princess An, "Princess, you have been wronged today. Although having children is important, we cannot abandon the dignity of the royal family. Prince An should not have taken action against you. The Emperor will definitely punish Prince An."

Prince An is a man, but he beats his wife. It's abominable. Concubine Zhang wants to remain neutral and uphold justice, but she stands on the side of Princess An in her heart.

But Princess An looked down on Concubine Zhang. Concubine Zhang was a daughter of a duke, and the three sisters of the Xu family were also daughters of dukes. With you in charge of the six palaces and the most favored concubines in the harem, you are just a concubine. My sister is the queen, and the prince has to call me aunt. Half of the royal family has the blood of our Xu family, and my family also has two dukes.

As Princess An, she didn't want to talk to Concubine Zhang. It's no wonder, because no one would like her brother-in-law's favorite concubine.

Princess An was indifferent to Concubine Zhang and did not respond. Concubine Zhang was a little embarrassed. Fortunately, Hu Shanwei came and peeled a lychee by himself, "Princess An, calm down. You are sick because of anger. It is your own fault. It cannot be transferred to others at all."

Hu Shanwei was a familiar face. Princess An ate a lychee and became more and more angry. Her eyes turned red and she complained bitterly:

"When Prince An and I got married, it was Consort Hu who held the princess's seal and saw me get married. Back then, we were newlyweds and had a good time. During the Jingnan Campaign, because Empress Renxiao was my elder sister, Prince An was suspected by Emperor Jianwen, but he did not divorce her because of wealth and status. We survived the most difficult time. Since the Emperor ascended the throne, our lives have been better, but we have become more and more alienated."

Princess An choked up and said, "I can't give birth to a child, but he gave birth to two bastards without a matchmaker or marriage, so I have to acknowledge them? I am a princess, and I can't confuse the royal bloodline and lose my responsibility as a princess because I am eager to have an heir. Although we have no children, there are so many royal grandchildren in the royal branch. According to the rules, an adopted son will inherit the title of Prince An. I haven't really cut off the incense, so what right does he have to scold me for being unvirtuous? It is said that young couples will accompany each other in old age, but this is all nonsense to coax women. How many people live in harmony for a lifetime and grow old together? Most of them lose their love before they grow old!"

At Hu Shanwei's place, Princess An suddenly opened up and cried about how she had met the wrong person. She also cried about her second sister, Princess Xu:

"For a woman, no matter how prominent her family is, or how outstanding her character and talent are, once she gets married, her happiness for the rest of her life can only be controlled by her husband, not by herself. I can't have children, but my second sister gave birth to a legitimate son, so what? The King of Dai took in a bunch of concubines and encouraged them to bully my second sister. How can the daughters of our Xu family be easily bullied?"

"My second sister fought back a little, and the King of Dai couldn't stand it. He wanted to divorce my sister and depose my nephew from the throne. Fortunately, the emperor is sensible and made the decision for my second sister, rejected the King of Dai's letter, and reprimanded him. This time I came to the palace to ask the emperor to make the decision for me like he supported my second sister."

In fact, the truth behind the Princess of Dai’s “return of color” was that she ordered someone to boil a pot of paint and poured it over the heads of the two concubines who had caused the trouble. It was a real hardcore return of color. The two concubines were disfigured on the spot, and after they recovered from their injuries, their bodies were covered with leprosy and they fell out of favor from then on. Even the King of Dai, who wanted to be a hero and save the beauty, was splashed with hot paint, just like a tattoo, leaving a permanent colorful scar.

The Prince of Dai was furious and wanted to divorce his wife, and wanted to abolish the Crown Prince born to the Princess of Dai. However, Emperor Yongle did not allow the Prince of Dai to divorce his wife or abolish the Crown Prince for the sake of Empress Renxiao's face. He was worried that the couple would fight again and someone would die, so he built another house, and the Princess of Dai and the Crown Prince moved out of the Prince of Dai's mansion. The couple lived separately and became strangers.

Princess An stood up and bowed in the direction of Kunning Palace. "If my elder sister, Empress Renxiao, were still alive, how could Prince An and Prince Dai dare to be so presumptuous!"

The Xu family has three concubines, all of whom have strong personalities and cannot tolerate their husbands' infidelity. Unfortunately, Empress Renxiao was lucky enough to meet Emperor Yongle, and the couple had a deep love. The two younger sisters married the Prince of Dai and the Prince of An. The two couples who once loved each other have become enemies and are determined to humiliate each other.

Princess An was venting her grievances, heartbroken and distressed, while Hu Shanwei was silently listening to her. Marriage, especially royal marriage, is a gamble with more losses than wins. The once proud daughters of wealthy families have become shrews in the eyes of others. Fortunately, Princess An and Princess Dai have a good sister to protect them, otherwise the fate of these two princesses would be worrying.

In the Qianqing Palace, the imperial physician stopped Prince An's bleeding and bandaged him. Princess An was unable to beat her husband with her bare hands, so she picked up the sword on the wall and stabbed him. The daughters of the Xu family all knew martial arts to some extent. Prince An was unable to beat the princess, and had several sword wounds on his body. However, although Princess An was angry, she was still rational and did not hurt Prince An's vital parts.

Prince An accused the princess of her crime: "… She is trying to murder her husband. Fourth brother, this life is unbearable. I want to divorce her!"

Emperor Yongle was furious, "Now you have become successful, you can even beat a woman!"

Prince An: "It was that fierce woman who attacked first! If I don't fight back, I will probably die under her sword. Fourth brother, please make the decision for me."

Emperor Yongle said coldly: "The three of us brothers married the three daughters of the Xu family. It was all granted by Emperor Gaozu. Divorcing a wife is disobeying the emperor's order and is unfilial."

Prince An looked at Emperor Yongle and shuddered. "With such a vicious woman by my side, I don't know when she will chop off my head. Since I can't divorce her, I should place her somewhere else like the Princess of Dai. I don't want to see her even for a moment."

Emperor Yongle had long received information about the bloody incident in Prince An's mansion from Ji Gang. "Princess An is moving out. Are you planning to hand over the household affairs of the mansion to that woman you married without any prior notice and without any matchmaker or engagement? Are you blatantly raising your illegitimate child in the mansion?"

After hearing this, Prince An knelt down and begged, "Your Majesty, these two sons are my own flesh and blood. Princess An is jealous, she can't have children, and she doesn't allow me to take concubines. I'm worried that my family line will be cut off, so I chose a virtuous woman from outside, who is not beautiful, but has good character. I'm not a lustful person. This woman didn't care about status, and followed me. Soon she got pregnant. I'm worried that the princess, this tigress, is as cruel as her sister, and will pour a bucket of hot paint on the pregnant woman, killing two people."

"So they have been raised outside. Now the eldest son is eight years old, and the youngest is four. They have to recognize their ancestors, but the princess refused to let the three of them enter the palace. She kept calling them bitches and bastards. She is simply a street shrew. She doesn't look like a daughter of a marquis. She even beat me. I was so angry that I slapped her. Who would have thought that this vicious woman would actually draw her sword against me and fight me to the death. Please, Your Majesty, help me."

Emperor Yongle was displeased when he heard this, and thought that the sentence "as cruel and ruthless as her sister" sounded harsh. He knew that Prince An was referring to Princess Xu of Dai, but Empress Renxiao was also Princess An's biological sister.

Empress Renxiao died too early. She was the eternal white moonlight in Emperor Yongle's heart. She is now buried in Changling Mausoleum in Beijing, which is also the reason for her "longing for you, breaking your heart."

Emperor Yongle was already suspicious in his old age, and felt that Prince An was speaking with hidden meanings. He had only loved Empress Renxiao in his life, and only wanted the children she gave birth to. Children born out of wedlock would lead to disputes between legitimate and illegitimate children, and family troubles would arise from within the family. It was better not to have such a source of trouble.

What's more, Prince An was a prince of the previous generation, but in this generation, no matter whether it was the Prince of the Eastern Palace or the Prince of Han, they were all born to Empress Renxiao Xu. In terms of blood, they were closer to his aunt, Princess An, rather than Prince An.

Therefore, no one sympathized with Prince An, and everyone stood on the side of Princess An.

Emperor Yongle scolded Prince An and ordered him to kneel before his ancestors in Fengxian Hall. As for the woman and her two illegitimate children, they were arrested and taken to the Imperial Clan Court on charges of confusing the royal bloodline and instigating discord between Prince An and his wife. They were then confined far away in Liaodong and were not allowed to set foot in the capital for the rest of their lives.

Prince An was beaten by the princess and knelt in front of his ancestors for a day and a night. His wounds became infected and his brain was confused. When he returned to the palace, he found that his concubine and son were missing. He was heartbroken and forced Princess An to hand over his wife and children like a madman. The couple started fighting again and were pulled apart by the Jinyiwei.

The sick Prince An was isolated and did not feel well that night. He was bedridden for half a year and finally passed away.

Princess An cried, laughed, cried again, and then let it go. Emperor Yongle discussed with her about choosing a son from the royal family to adopt, and Princess An said coldly: "The man is dead, why bother about the empty name of an incense. What's more, if there is one less prince, the Ming Dynasty will have one less expense to support the prince. It would be better to keep this money to build the canal or turn it into military rations. From now on, the title of Prince An... will be gone."

When Emperor Yongle heard this, he thought it was indeed true. If he had one less prince, his descendants could save at least half the money for building the Grand Canal. So he removed the title of Prince An, and Princess An became a Concubine Dowager. She lived happily in the Prince An's Mansion and enjoyed her old age. After her death, the clan office took back the mansion.

Because of the tragic marriages of his two younger brothers, Emperor Yongle felt that his father, Emperor Gaozu, was really far-sighted and established the basic rule of "selecting from the fields and marrying from the people". How much trouble will it save in the future! In the royal family, if the daughter-in-law's maternal family is too powerful, it is easy to cause trouble and unrest.

Emperor Yongle then asked Hu Shanwei to follow suit and select the concubines according to the rules of that year, strictly controlling the origins of the concubines.

This was the second large-scale folk beauty pageant in the Ming Dynasty, after a lapse of twenty years. Today, the Crown Princess Zhang and Di Guo of the Eastern Palace both stood out from the first beauty pageant. The Eastern Palace has always stood firm despite the ups and downs, and these two virtuous wives have made great contributions.

Judging from the current harmonious situation in the Eastern Palace and the smart eldest grandson Zhu Zhanji, the talent show hosted by Concubine Hu was a successful one, a victorious one, and a united one.

In addition to the most important Crown Prince, the marriage issues of the grandchildren of the princes' palaces also have to be resolved.

The prince's palace, especially the eldest grandson who was to inherit the title, needed the clan office in charge of royal family members to decide everything from choosing a name and entering the royal jade record to getting married and having children. The prince's palace had no right to choose daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law for themselves. Emperor Yongle himself was of princely birth, and after he came to power he reduced the power of the princes. As for the future prince's wives, he certainly hoped that the status would be as low as possible and the more honest they were, the better, so as not to boost the strength of the prince's palace.

Emperor Yongle attached great importance to this selection and specifically instructed Hu Shanwei to strictly screen and select good women, although they must have humble backgrounds, but their intelligence and character must not be low.

Hu Shanwei suddenly felt that the task was arduous. Appearance and IQ could be seen in each round of auditions, but character might not be seen through even after ten or twenty years. Moreover, people would change. From a young girl of common origin to a princess in a high position, the change in status and the temptation of power were the most challenging to a person's character.

So character is basically impossible to measure. Just like the talent shows six hundred years later, the "show girls" initially passed the test by relying on their looks and wisdom. Everyone wanted to show their good side to the audience, so they established various personalities. Some personalities would collapse quickly, while others could last for ten or eight years, or even a lifetime.

Hu Shanwei was busy with the selection. After hearing the news, neither of the two real grooms showed surprise or shyness, which are the standard expressions of a groom-to-be.

The first person to know the news was the Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji. His mother, the Crown Prince's Consort Zhang, was born in a talent show, so she naturally paid special attention to the talent show. Although she did not have the power to personally select her son's daughter-in-law, she could choose according to her son's preferences, eliminate those he did not like, and keep the types he liked as much as possible.

So now the question is, what kind of girls does my son like

The Crown Princess thought for a long time and found that among her three sons and one daughter, she knew nothing about her eldest son.

Yes, she really knew nothing. Not to mention the girl she liked, she didn’t even know what her son liked to eat.

The eldest son never showed his true nature in front of her and always tried his best to play the role of a perfect son and take care of her emotions.

Because her lame husband's position was always precarious, Zhang also became a coward. She never dared to extend her hand beyond the Eastern Palace. The lame prince also secretly bribed the young eunuch Wang Zhen to be his spy and placed him in the Crown Prince's Palace (although he had been seen through by Zhu Zhanji and instigated to rebel).

The Crown Princess thought about it and decided to ask her eldest son in person. After all, they were mother and son, and some things would be better to say openly rather than testing each other - besides, she did not have the ability to test her eldest son's true thoughts.

In the evening, when the Crown Prince came to the East Palace to pay his respects to his parents, the Crown Princess said straight to the point, "You are sixteen years old this year, and it is time for you to get married. You will have children for the royal family. The Emperor has ordered Hu Shanggong to preside over the selection of concubines, following the example of Emperor Gaozu who 'selected concubines from the people and married them to the land', and selected concubines to marry into the royal family. Hu Shanggong has sent female officials to the princes' palaces in various places to assist in the selection. The concubines from various places will be able to enter the city in two months. The six bureaus in the palace are cleaning up the Chuxiu Palace and preparing to accommodate the concubines from various places..."

When he was fifteen, Emperor Yongle held a grand ceremony for his favorite grandson to show that he had become an adult. A man should start a family and get married to gain recognition from mainstream society, so he would definitely get married after the ceremony.

Zhu Zhanji calmly knew that this day would eventually come, and he prepared himself every day to welcome this day. But when it really came, he found that his preparations were far from enough, like a leaky fence to welcome the overwhelming waves.

Vulnerable.

The moment he heard about the talent show, his ears immediately started ringing and his head was filled with a buzzing sound. He had no idea what the Crown Princess said the rest of the words.

I am getting married, and I am going to lose the only glimmer of light in my heart forever.

In the short 16 years of my life, I have been arranged and manipulated. Everything I should do is to be a perfect son, grandson, and crown prince. As long as I can remember, I have never given in to my own wishes.

If you want to be a perfect son, grandson, or crown prince, the first thing you need to do is to forget yourself and castrate yourself.

Only when facing A Lei did he remember that he also had a self. The only light in his heart would give up half of his own share when A Lei was forbidden to eat meat during the mourning period, and foolishly share half of the "killing" for him; he would do somersaults like Sun Wukong for him and make him laugh...

The affection they had for growing up together was a mixture of family, friendship and love, and even he himself could not tell which emotion he had more. But he was very sure that Are would arouse all his hidden emotions, and his castrated self would make him feel that he was also a mortal.

He always loses his temper, makes a fool of himself, speaks without thinking, does stupid things, and tells lies in front of Are. He can take care of everyone's emotions, and even mediate the complicated relationship between the Crown Prince and the Emperor with ease, but he just "can't get along" with Are. It's not that he automatically lowers his IQ and EQ, he just leaves the only bit of truth he has for her.

At this moment, Zhu Zhanji's mind was not happy at all, but full of sadness and anger. The only bit of light he had was about to be lost. The road ahead was so long and full of thorns, and he had to walk it alone.

Zhu Zhanji's soul flew away, leaving only a calm and composed body. The Crown Princess asked twice, "What kind of woman do you like? Although I am incompetent, I can help you choose."

Zhu Zhanji had no reaction.

When the Crown Princess asked for the third time, he woke up as if from a dream and gave a standard answer, "Of course, a woman who can be filial to her parents."

In feudal society, loyalty and filial piety were the most popular. Women rarely had the opportunity to achieve anything in terms of "loyalty" and could only focus on "filial piety". There were many more filial daughters than filial sons.

The concubines are all filial daughters, so it makes no difference whether Zhu Zhanji said anything or not.

The Crown Princess had no choice but to refine her target. "The beauties selected by the female officials from all over the country are naturally good, but people have hundreds of appearances and thousands of personalities, such as tall, short, fat, thin, oval, round, gentle, quiet, lively, joking, cheerful, introverted, and so on. You are in the royal family, so you can choose the one you like. Whether it is the principal wife or the concubine, they are the people you will spend your whole life with, so you can't make do with them. Tell me, what kind of appearance and personality do you like?"

The Crown Princess had already said this, so she classified the concubines and Zhu Zhanji could just select them. They were all commoners anyway and the royal family could choose them at will.

But no matter what kind of options the Crown Princess gave, Zhu Zhanji only had one person in his mind.

Except for her, I've been okay with all the other women.

And this was something he couldn't bring himself to talk about.

Logically, she was a commoner girl of humble origin and was eligible to participate in the selection. Even without the powerful backing of Lady Hu, her appearance and character were good enough for her to live in Chuxiu Palace. However, among so many commoner girls in the world, she was the only one who would not participate in the selection.

She herself made watches in the palace, but it was impossible for her to enter the palace because she was not a woman who could be chosen by anyone.

I didn't have any chance, she could only stay with me until I was 16. From then on, we went our separate ways.

Zhu Zhanji was like a walking corpse. He seemed to hear another person saying, "My son has never thought about this problem. A woman's moral character is the most important thing. As a daughter-in-law of the royal family, she can have some means, but her mind cannot be crooked. Besides, my son is very busy. In the future, they will spend more time with their mother in the harem. Mother should also choose a daughter-in-law with the right temperament for her."

The standard answer given by Zhu Zhanji was still flawless, well-reasoned and did not sound like a perfunctory answer.

The Crown Princess had an idea in her mind and stopped asking questions.

Zhu Zhanji did not return to the Crown Prince's Palace. His state of mind had collapsed. He was like a nest of ants dispersed by a flood, wandering around aimlessly, not knowing where he was going.

"Your Highness, this palace has been locked, and the watchmakers have gone back to rest."

"Your Highness?"

Zhu Zhanji took a closer look and found that it was the palace where A Lei had customized the clock for Emperor Yongle, but now it was deserted.

Hu Shanwei agreed to let his daughter work in the palace, but the only condition was that she had to go in and out of the palace with her and could not work night shifts because A Lei's eyes would not allow it.

"Your Highness, it's time to go back for dinner."

Zhu Zhanji didn't want to go back to the Crown Prince's Palace, so he turned around and "went to the young army camp."

Young military camp in the north of the city.

His cousin Zhu Zhanhe was leading a group of "young soldiers" who were much older than him in a very distinctive evening class. This was a tradition formed when Mu Chun was a coach: fighting in the ring, and if you lose, you have to sweep the toilet, no matter if you are a captain or a small soldier, the winner is the king, and the loser has his feces smeared on the wall.

Someone challenged Zhu Zhanhe. Zhu Zhanhe was only fourteen years old. He looked and had the physical strength of a twenty-four-year-old. He knocked the opponent down in one fell swoop.

Seeing Zhu Zhanhe waving his fists excitedly and laughing loudly, Zhu Zhanji, who was in a very bad mood, thought to himself that I can't be the only one suffering, I have to make you feel bad too, because you are laughing so happily.

Zhu Zhanji bullied his younger brother again.

In the bathroom, Zhu Zhanhe was taking a shower with cold water when his eldest cousin behind the screen suddenly said, "Grandpa Emperor has announced a talent show. You and I will get married in about half a year."

Gulp—ah!

Zhu Zhanhe was caught off guard, and a bucket of cold water that was raised high fell down on him. His big toe was hit by the edge of the bucket, and he jumped in pain.

Hearing his cousin's scream, Zhu Zhanji suddenly felt a little better. He pretended to be a good man and wiped his cousin's toes with medicinal wine. He took the opportunity to stab his brother again, "What kind of girl do you like? It's not too late to tell me now. I can ask mother to keep the type you like."

We are brothers. I will not allow myself to bear the pain alone. I must share it with my good cousin.

"Be gentle." Zhu Zhanhe took a breath and said, "I don't like any of them. I only like Sister A Lei."

Boom!

It was as if someone had dug out his thoughts that were buried deep in his heart and publicly executed him. Zhu Zhanji felt as if two thunders had exploded in his head. "What did you say?"

"Oh, it hurts! Let go, I'll do it myself." Zhu Zhanhe snatched the medicinal wine, "I like Sister A Lei."

"Do you want to marry her?" Zhu Zhanji's eyes quickly turned cold.

Zhu Zhanhe shook his head while rubbing the medicinal wine, "No, besides, someone like Sister A Lei would not marry into the royal family."

Zhu Zhanji: "Then why do you say you like her?"

Zhu Zhanhe said seriously, "It is because I like her that I will not marry her. The royal family is a gorgeous cage of fame and fortune. You and I were born here, and we have no choice. We are both life sentences, prisoners of fame and fortune. I used to think that I could ignore fame and fortune, not participate in the fight, and stay out of it - but the explosion during the Tiance Guards exercise made me feel that all this was just my wishful thinking."

Zhu Zhanhe lay on the bed, using his hands behind his back as a pillow, stretching out his swollen toes and drawing circles on Zhu Zhanji's face, "Actually, I think this is a very good thing. My father finally gave up and went to Qingzhou to serve as a vassal. But who can tell what will happen in the future? A woman who marries me is actually quite miserable. She could end up in poverty and ruin. How can the eggs in the nest be safe? I have the courage of a common man, but I can't protect my wife. I can't let Sister A Lei suffer."

Zhu Zhanji felt that he had always underestimated this silly cousin. He wrapped ice cubes in a handkerchief and applied them to Zhu Zhanhe's toes to reduce the swelling. "I swear, no matter what happens in the future, I will protect you. Don't you believe me?"

"I believe in you, big brother." Zhu Zhanhe said with a smile, "I just don't believe in the imperial power. Under the imperial power, big brother can't do anything about many things. Liking Sister A Lei is my own business. Seeing her freely doing what she likes makes me happier than marrying her and making her worry. As a person, the most important thing is to be happy. Big brother, don't you think so? Let go too."

Zhu Zhanji paused with his hand holding the ice cube, "Don't talk nonsense."

Zhu Zhanhe held Zhu Zhanji's hand very seriously, "Brother, I have never asked you for anything in my life. This time, please don't set your sights on Sister A'lei. Don't drag her and our brothers into prison. Sister A'lei is devoted to mechanics and has never thought about marriage, but isn't what Lady Hu meant obvious enough? She and Lord Mu have always been on guard against our brothers. They will never agree. The three of them are eagles flying freely in Yunnan. The day when the Ming Dynasty moves its capital to Beijing is the day they return home. I also think this is the best destination for A'lei."

Zhu Zhanji tried to shake off Zhu Zhanhe, but his silly brother held on too tightly and he couldn't get rid of him. The ice in his palm quickly melted in the hands of the two brothers.

Zhu Zhanhe, whose mind is as sharp as a hornet's nest, also understands what Zhu Zhanhe understands.

In the end, I just feel unwilling and can't let it go!

Zhu Zhanhe knew his elder brother's methods and the power of the emperor. If he really wanted to get it, he could get it. He had to make his elder brother give up completely and not marry her if he liked her.

Zhu Zhanhe gave a negative example, "Once you marry into the royal family, you have no control over your own affairs. Let's not talk about the distant past. Does Big Brother know Xie Zaixing?"

Zhu Zhanji: "You think you can tell the name of our great-great-grandfather? Don't tell this to others."

Xie Zaixing was a former founding hero of the Ming Dynasty. He was the father-in-law of Xu Da, the first founding hero, and the grandfather of Empress Renxiao Xu Miaoyi.

Zhu Zhanhe said, "My great-great-grandfather had no sons, but only two daughters, who were beautiful and intelligent. In that era, they were known as the twin gems of Wu. The elder Xie married our uncle, Zhu Wenzheng, the King of Nanchang, and the younger Xie married our grandfather Xu Da. At that time, everyone said that the sisters had a good marriage, but what happened later? How did the Xie family end up? How did the sisters end up?"

Zhu Zhanji was suddenly speechless.

It’s not that he couldn’t answer, but the end of the Xie family and the Xie sisters was too cruel.

The entire Xie family was executed. The eldest sister Xie committed suicide to follow her husband, and the youngest sister Xie died of depression shortly after giving birth to a daughter, Empress Renxiao.

Zhu Wenzheng is the nephew of Emperor Gaozu Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Wenzheng's father left his food rations to his younger brother Zhu Yuanzhang and starved to death. From then on, Zhu Yuanzhang treated the orphan Zhu Wenzheng as his own son and cultivated his talents in both civil and military affairs. He was capable of everything, especially in the Battle of Hongdu. Zhu Wenzheng with only 50,000 defenders resisted the siege of 600,000 troops of Han King Chen Youliang and held out for three months, creating a miracle and becoming famous.

Zhu Wenzhen was much more popular than Zhu Biao, the prince of Wu at that time. His father-in-law was Xie Zaixing, a general who held military power. Zhu Yuanzhang was afraid of his nephew Zhu Wenzhen. "Coincidentally" someone accused Zhu Wenzhen and Xie Zaixing of treason, so Zhu Yuanzhang used thundering means to wipe out Xie's entire family and imprisoned and forced Zhu Wenzhen to death.

The Xie sisters were once extremely glorious. The desperate elder Xie committed suicide to follow her husband. Even though the younger Xie was protected by her husband Xu Da and had a lovely daughter like Empress Renxiao to raise, she still died of depression after watching her natal family being wiped out and her own sister committing suicide.

The prosperity of the Xie family has faded, and the pavilions and towers that once existed have all turned to dust.

The Xie family, once the twin pearls of Wuzhong, who were more beautiful than flowers, also quickly withered away.

Empress Renxiao is the grandmother of Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Zhanhe. These two have the blood of the Xie family and naturally understand the origins and secrets of their ancestors.

My great-great-grandfather Xie Zaixing and my cousin Zhu Wenzhen did not actually plot a rebellion. They died because of Emperor Gaozu's suspicion.

A bloody lesson.

Zhu Zhanji was silent for a long time, until the ice in his hand melted into water and his palms were numb from the cold, then he said: "Not every woman who marries into the royal family has such a miserable end. Didn't the emperor grandfather love grandmother all his life?"

Empress Renxiao is the eternal white moonlight in Emperor Yongle's heart.

Zhu Zhanhe asked in return, "Our grandmother, Empress Renxiao, fought in military uniform as a woman to protect Beijing, which injured her roots. She was plagued by injuries and illnesses from then on. She died at the age of 46 and was only empress for five years. Do you think this ending is good?"

Zhu Zhanji, who was always eloquent, was once again left speechless by his silly cousin.

Zhu Zhanhe has a simple mind and can see some issues more clearly than he does.

Seeing that his elder brother was convinced, Zhu Zhanhe let go. Zhu Zhanji's hand was free again, but he did not move. There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart. From then on, the only light in his heart was going to disappear, and he would spend the rest of his life in darkness - he was only sixteen years old!

Zhu Zhanhe seemed to see through his brother's thoughts. He patted his shoulder and comforted him, "I'm here with you. Let's spend the rest of our lives together as brothers. Don't harm Sister A'lei."

Zhu Zhanji had a dark mind and seriously suspected that his cousin had stabbed him twice on purpose.

Zhu Zhanhe can love someone so much that he lets go, but Zhu Zhanji finds it difficult to do so because Zhu Zhanhe has at least been loved by his parents since he was young. The King of Han and his wife both indulge their eldest son and scold him for not living up to his expectations, but they love him very much in their hearts. Zhu Zhanhe has never lacked a sense of security since he was a child, and he can be upright and be able to take on and let go.

But Zhu Zhanji couldn't do that. He was too sensible to be a good son, a good grandson, and a good crown prince. He had been suppressing himself and seemed to be pure and free from desires, but in fact, he had been burning with anger. If he lost A Lei, he would really have nothing.

He feels insecure, and Are is his last straw. How can he just let him go

However, the tragedy of the Xie family, my great-great-grandfather's family, came before us, and the imperial power crushed everything. Even someone as powerful as Zhu Zhanji did not dare to pat his chest and say, "I will protect you."

Not to mention that he was the crown prince, didn’t even his grandfather, the Yongle Emperor, lose the love of his life, Empress Renxiao, early on

Zhu Zhanji was wavering, and his countless worries suddenly turned into countless knots in his heart that could not be untied no matter what he did.

At night, Zhu Zhanhe, who had been training soldiers all day, began to snore against his pillow. Zhu Zhanji, who had been playing tricks all day, tossed and turned in bed. It seemed as if his soul had left his body, floating on the bed curtains and looking coldly at his own body.

Soul Zhu Zhanji said sarcastically: "In fact, there is a way to marry A Lei, and both Hu Shanggong and Godfather will agree to it, but you don't dare, or you don't want to do that for A Lei."

Zhu Zhanji: "That step?"

Soul Zhu Zhanji: "If you give up the position of the Crown Prince, won't you always be stuck between the Crown Prince and the Emperor and suffer from the bullying? Don't you still have two biological brothers and eight illegitimate brothers? Without you, the Ming Dynasty is still the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has never lacked a crown prince."

"As long as you leave the royal family, you can control your own marriage and marry Alei. This is your only choice."

Zhu Zhanji: "It is not easy to leave the royal family."

Zhu Zhanji: "Because it is not easy, this kind of love is particularly precious. In order to marry Hu Shanggong, my godfather conspired for several years. After many twists and turns, he finally escaped from the control of the family, secretly married Hu Shanggong, and retired to Kunming. You want love, but don't want to make any sacrifices. How can you win A Lei's heart? Is the watch not fun, or is the free life not easy?"

In the middle of the night, Zhu Zhanji woke his unlucky cousin up.

Zhu Zhanhe was a small man with a bad temper. He pushed his elder brother away and said, "Don't think I won't beat you just because you are the crown prince!"

Zhu Zhanji said, "I want to talk to you about business. Didn't Godfather say that an army that has never fought a real battle has no soul? We need a big battle to inject soul into the young army, otherwise it will always be just talk on paper."

When he heard about the war, Zhu Zhanhe immediately woke up and asked, "Who to fight?"

"Japanese pirates." Zhu Zhanji pointed to the map of the coast. "There are Japanese pirates in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. The Japanese pirates are fierce. They are just right for the young soldiers to test their skills."

Zhu Zhanhe wanted to go right away, "But the Emperor's grandfather—"

"I'll go and convince the emperor." Zhu Zhanji pressed his cousin's shoulder carefully. "However, pacifying the Japanese pirates is only one of my goals. I have another purpose..."

Zhu Zhanji whispered a few words to Zhu Zhanhe.

Zhu Zhanhe was like a frightened wild cat. He didn't care about the pain in his toes and jumped up from the bed. "Do you know the consequences of doing this? Are you really going to give up everything for Sister A Lei?"

"You must help me. I only trust you." Zhu Zhanji was calm as usual. "I have lived for others until I was sixteen. This is the first time I want to do something for myself, follow my own heart, and live for myself. What godfather did for Hu Shanggong, I can do for A Lei."

The author has something to say: After 15 days, Shanwei and Chunchun are back together. Knock knock, are you still here? If you are, please leave a comment. I will send out 500 red envelopes to celebrate my return and to celebrate the publication of my other novel, The Great Earl Tang. I hope you will support me. There is also a reposting activity on Mulanzhou Weibo to win a new book. You can also try your luck. Thank you for waiting for me. I will continue to update tomorrow. Good night, babies. Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution~

Thanks to the little angels who cast [mines]: Zhulin Renjia, Qujin 1;

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated [nutrient solution]:

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Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!