Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 579 Thunder
It is said that King Wen of Zhou had 100 sons, so the Zhou royal family flourished. Guo Ziyi had 8 sons and 8 sons-in-law, so the Guo family had many descendants and a large population. As for the current emperor, he has 7 or 8 concubines, but only 4 sons and 5 daughters. Zhu Jing's first wife had passed away, and his second wife, Jiu Niang, only had 2 sons and 1 daughter. Considering their status, it can be said that their offspring were actually a bit thin.
So, when the emperor said this, there was a buzz of discussion in the Wenhua Hall.
But even if most people agreed with what the emperor said - put themselves of the emperor and the Duke of Zhao and think about it. If Zhang Shou was really the son of either of them, then even for the sake of their offspring, they would definitely recognize him. But... what if the three people were mixed up when they were born, so the three parties couldn't tell them apart?
And the words that the emperor said next made everyone in the Wenhua Hall seem to stop breathing.
"What happened back then was my fault. I thought the world was peaceful, so I wandered around in my white dragon fish costume all day. That day, I even asked my cousin, Duke of Zhao Zhu Jing, to bring Concubine Yu, who was pregnant at the time, and Lady Zhao to the temple to pray for blessings. That's when King Ye, who was always looking for loopholes, took advantage of the opportunity. I think many of you know what happened later."
"But there are some things you don't know. When the situation was most critical, it was Concubine Yu and Madam Zhao who gave all the guards to me and Zhu Jing, and asked us to climb over the wall and leave first, leaving the two pregnant women to escape on their own. On the way to escape from behind the temple, they saw Widow Zhang who had snatched the knife and killed someone to escape, so the three of them teamed up and worked together to fight their way out and escape..."
The emperor had never seen how the three women escaped, but he was an eyewitness of the Ye Wang Rebellion, and most of his ministers knew that he himself had also narrowly escaped death. However, the emperor was very secretive about such an ignominious matter, and when he mentioned it today, everyone was naturally horrified. Some people even secretly glanced at the empress dowager, but they didn't expect that the empress dowager just sighed and didn't stop them at all.
When the emperor talked about how Concubine Yu and Lady Zhao Jiuniang fled to Zhang's house, and because they overexerted themselves, they were about to give birth. Widow Zhang went to the next door to ask for a midwife with her big belly, but the midwife was drunk from drinking too much. Even those moral gentlemen who usually claimed to be righteous and not to look at or hear anything indecent, all pricked up their ears and listened to every word.
It was not until the emperor mentioned that Concubine Yu and Lady Zhao had almost given birth to daughters one after another, and that Widow Zhang suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. At this moment, everyone had an idea in their mind - the main point of the play is here!
Sure enough, the next moment, the emperor said indifferently: "When Widow Zhang was about to give birth, the midwife was so drunk that she could hardly deliver the baby. Moreover, she had a difficult labor. Concubine Yu and Madam Zhao, who had just struggled to give birth, were unable to help. The only thing they could do was to give her a pair of boiled scissors. Although she fought hard to give birth to the child, she lost too much blood and had no choice but to entrust her son to the care of others before she died."
"As for Concubine Yu and Madam Zhao, they naturally felt ashamed and heartbroken when they came to their senses. But when they came to their senses and looked at their own children, the midwife was already drunk to death, and the two girls were mixed up, and they couldn't tell who was who."
The matter involved her own life experience, but her grandmother and parents were unwilling to mention it to her. They always talked about old things and refused to tell her the details. Zhu Ying had been listening very carefully, hoping to know what happened when her mother gave birth to her.
Therefore, since the emperor suddenly brought up this matter because of the second prince's questioning of Zhang Shou, she did not care that the emperor had clearly said to drag the people out. After the two eunuchs grabbed the eldest prince and the second prince, they did not take them away immediately. Instead, they just listened attentively to what the emperor said.
But when she heard the last sentence, she was completely stunned. She subconsciously looked at Princess Yongping, but she looked extremely calm, as if she was not hearing about her own life. When their eyes met, she found that Princess Yongping even smiled at her, but the smile was full of bitterness, and she suddenly realized it.
Miss Zhu was just too lazy to use her brain, but she was not really stupid, so how could she not understand? Although she had only learned the truth about her life experience today, Princess Yongping had obviously heard about it from somewhere a long time ago!
Because she knew this, Princess Yongping had always been at odds with her! Perhaps Princess Yongping had always been worried about her background, so she always disliked her!
Zhu Ying had no idea what she was feeling at the moment. She couldn't help but look at her father and brother, but she saw Zhu Jing's face was as gloomy as water, and Zhu Tingfang's face was full of shock and anger. She knew that her father was an insider, and her eldest brother was probably also kept in the dark. She didn't want to look at others anymore, didn't want to show weakness and helplessness in front of outsiders, but unconsciously, her eyes turned to Zhang Shou.
This time, she immediately discovered that Zhang Shou was also looking at her. When their eyes met, she saw Zhang Shou smiled at her in a comforting manner, and his lips moved slightly. Although she was not very good at lip reading, she understood the few words that Zhang Shou had not said as if she had received a blessing from her mind.
Don't worry...I'm here...
Zhu Ying immediately glared at Zhang Shou angrily. It's such a big deal, and you told me not to worry. Besides, you were also involved in that incident. Can you help determine whether I am the emperor's or my father's daughter? Having said that, her panic-stricken mood just now seemed to have eased a lot, and she was able to calmly go to see the emperor and the empress dowager.
Although the empress dowager's gaze when she glanced at her was no different from usual, she could see some kindness and pity in it; and the emperor's gaze was even more obvious, and he even smiled at her with a hint of guilt.
When she went to see Zhu Jing again, she saw her father, who had always held her in his hands since she was a child, coughed guiltily, and there was even some guilt in his eyes when he looked at her.
As for her eldest brother Zhu Tingfang, he seemed expressionless at the moment, but suddenly he elbowed Zhu Jing without making a sound. As for her father, who was always dignified, he took the blow without even frowning. What made her laugh even more was that after seeing her eldest brother hit her like this, her second brother also secretly hit her father.
Even so, Zhu Jing did not move at all. Facing this scene, Zhu Ying's mood completely improved. Big brother, you guys can show off now, but when you go back, Dad will definitely make you suffer!
Seeing that the emperor had stopped talking, apparently giving the audience time to digest his words, Zhu Ying suddenly smiled and said, "No wonder I have always felt that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor are like my own elders in front of me! It seems that I am really lucky. In addition to my parents and my elder brothers, I also have others who love me!"
"Apart from my parents and grandmother, I have powerful backers that others can't even imagine. Let's see who dares to mess with me in the future!" Zhu Ying looked around at everyone arrogantly. She saw that some of the ministers held their foreheads with their hands, some avoided her sight, some sighed dejectedly, and some... just like Ge Yong, smiled and gave her a thumbs up. She laughed even more happily.
"I now have two fathers, two mothers, and two grandmothers. Who in this world could be luckier than me? Besides, compared to Ah Shou, I am really much more blessed. Your Majesty, please don't treat me like a child. You should have told me this earlier so that I wouldn't be sad and sigh and cry. I, Zhu Ying, am not that weak!"
Zhang Shou had not expected Zhu Ying to compare him to someone else, and he burst out laughing. Seeing that the emperor was amused by Zhu Ying's words, he said calmly, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for answering my questions. I didn't know my origins since I was a child, and it was only after I came to the capital that I heard from Lady Zhao and Concubine Yu, but neither of them could explain it as thoroughly as Your Majesty did."
"I admit my misconduct in front of the Emperor, but I do not regret it. If it were not for the Wenhua Palace, I would have kicked the Second Prince more than a few times just because he dared to slander my mother! As for the First Prince..."
Zhang Shou turned his head to look at the eldest prince, who was already gagged and had his arms twisted, struggling like a prisoner. He finally said calmly, "I don't want to argue with him, but I can't tolerate him slandering the teacher. The teacher's kindness is as great as a mountain. Please, Your Majesty, give the teacher justice!"
Hearing Zhang Shou say this, Zhu Ying keenly sensed the double meaning in his words. Seeing that the emperor looked at the eldest prince with a murderous look in his eyes, she muttered unhappily, "One is just making wild guesses. The other is just parroting what others have said. Nine out of ten times, he is just copying what others have passed on to him and saying it in public. He is desperate and fighting like a trapped beast."
"But when have Ah Shou's mother and Grandpa Ge ever offended them? How could they be humiliated by them like this!"
Pretending not to hear Zhu Ying's obviously very loud muttering, Zhang Shou bowed his head and said word by word: "I can't achieve what I have today without the grace of my late mother giving birth to me, the grace of my adoptive mother raising me, Yingying's favor and recommendation, and the support of my students, but more importantly, the guidance and support of my teachers, so that I can be recognized by the emperor."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for clarifying my life story in public today. However..."
This time, the emperor finally did not wait for Zhang Shou to mention Ge Yong again. Just kidding, it was true that he was Zhang Shou's teacher, but Ge Yong was also his mentor! If he was humiliated and disgraced by his eldest son, who had completely disappointed him, wouldn't his respect for teachers become a joke?
He coughed loudly, interrupting Zhang Shou's words.
"Since he has been expelled from the clan, he can no longer be called a prince. Since the Zongzheng Temple is full of holes, anyone can sneak in and give him a false name. So, send him to Chengde Imperial Farm and let him farm the land himself. He will not work and will not get food. Let him experience the hardship of farmers!"
"If a son is not taught well, it is the fault of his father. For his own selfish reasons, he even slandered my teacher, Grand Master Ge, whom he should call his ancestor. As a father, I am not only ashamed, but also derelict in my duty! I will personally copy the entire book of "Book of Rites" and give it to the royal family to teach them to respect their teachers in the future!"
"As for his disrespect for teachers and his wanton slander, he has wasted more than ten years of study! In the future, when the farming season is slack, I will have someone urge him to copy the Book of Rites a thousand times. If he copies less than fifty pages a day, he will not be given any water or rice!"
At this moment, all the ministers were in an uproar. Even Yue Shanzhang, who had originally wanted to follow up on what the eldest prince had said and try to see if he could shake Ge Yong's prestige and influence on the emperor, was now extremely glad that he had not rashly intervened.
The eldest prince never thought that his father would punish him in this way. His face suddenly became as pale as the white clouds in the sky - in fact, it seemed as if he was stepping on light white clouds at this moment, so soft that he couldn't even stand without someone to support him.
Being imprisoned in the Zongzheng Temple, although everyone knew that he was doomed, at least he would not be deprived of food and clothing. He was just like a trapped beast. But if he was thrown into the imperial farm to farm, how could he have any dignity? With his little ability , how could he farm? How many days could he live!
Farming was not enough. His father even ordered him to copy books. How much effort would it take to copy fifty pages a day? And if he didn't copy fifty pages, he would be deprived of food! Wouldn't his hands be broken if he copied the Book of Rites a thousand times?
However, even though he was sad and angry, even though he was crazy, his arms were tightly twisted and his mouth was blocked by a cloth, so he could neither struggle nor roar. The eldest prince, who had thought that he might be able to provoke his father's anger when he just started the attack and had chosen a wiser path than the second prince, now felt that he was worse than a stray dog at this moment.
But when he heard his father's next words, his heart, which was about to explode with anger, suddenly calmed down.
"As for the second brother, thanks to you, I can finally make the life stories of Mingyue, Yingying and Zhang Shou public, so that people in the streets can avoid all kinds of speculation. It will soon be made into a popular opera!" The emperor paused and then laughed, "Zhang Shou was right just now. The lewd will see lewdness, and the evil will see evil. Then you should reflect on your lewdness and evil!"
"I originally wanted to wait until mid-October before letting you set off, but now there is no need to wait... Take him to Tianjin immediately and have someone prepare a boat to send him to Qiongzhou Prefecture! If we can't plant the sacred tree that can cure malaria all over the island of Qiongzhou Prefecture, he will never come back in this lifetime!"
Plant sacred trees all over the island...
At this moment, even Zhang Shou, who knew the most about how big Hainan Island would be in the future, couldn't help but twitch his mouth. You know, it took him a long time to get from Haikou to Sanya by car! Not to mention the third prince alone, even if there were 10,000 people, it would be hard to say how long it would take to plant cinchona trees all over Hainan Island. Because transplanting in a changed environment has a survival rate!
The emperor's wrathful decision did not end there, but he continued word by word: "Princes cannot be granted titles without merit. This is the old system of Emperor Taizu, but in the years since, it has gradually become an empty title because of the emperor's favoritism. Although there is no royal title, when these princes go out, not to mention dukes and nobles, even the prime ministers have to show respect to them. It is simply a waste of Emperor Taizu's painstaking efforts!"
"From now on, the princes and royal family members will take four quarterly exams and one grand exam every year. If they fail the quarterly exam three times, their royal salary will be stopped. If they fail the grand exam twice, they will be removed from the family tree! As for these two... one has already been removed from the family tree, so let's remove the other one as well! I would rather have no descendants in the future than have such a waste tarnish my reputation!"
