Zhou Shuqing and Zhou Ying were actually very clever. Knowing that they had little chance to meet those powerful and wealthy young men, they began to cultivate Zhou Shuqing's gentlemanly image so that those people would take the initiative to meet him.
He did work hard, and two years ago, at the young age of thirteen, he passed the imperial examination and became a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations). In addition, Zhou Yongli would often mention his son, who pleased him, to his colleagues, and Zhou Shuqing's reputation grew.
Over the past year, Zhou Shuqing has actively participated in various book clubs and literary examinations, and his reputation as a gentleman has spread throughout the capital.
He deliberately stopped taking the provincial examination for two years because he wanted to make a name for himself in the provincial examination and get a high ranking.
Those who knew him were all certain that he would pass the provincial examination next year, and therefore admired him even more.
He will be sixteen next year. A sixteen-year-old who becomes a Juren (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) is a rare occurrence in the entire history of the Hong Dynasty. It must be said that he is indeed quite talented.
With his reputation established, those in power wanted to see the true face of this young gentleman, Zhou Xiaojun. Upon seeing him, they found him to be handsome and dashing, with striking eyebrows and bright eyes, even surpassing the appearance of Zhou Yongli, the former third-ranked scholar. They became even more certain that this man was destined for greatness.
After several attempts to get to know him, Zhou Shuqing finally met the person he wanted to see: the current Fifth Prince, Prince Huai.
If Song Xia hadn't known the ending, she would have admired Zhou Shuqing's talent. The Fifth Prince was indeed a strong contender for the throne, and the one who ultimately prevailed.
His Majesty has a large number of children, and His Majesty is still vigorous in his old age. As the princes have emerged one by one and grown up one by one, a situation of many sons vying for power has now formed.
The older His Majesty gets, the more suspicious he becomes. He always suspects that this son wants to harm him or that son wants to usurp his throne, so he has not yet established a crown prince.
However, although every prince has a chance, some have a greater chance because they have the backing of their maternal family.
The Fifth Prince is not the most powerful member of his maternal family, but the most powerful one was imprisoned by His Majesty last year under some pretext.
If you think about it carefully, there aren't many princes who are still competitive. The eldest prince died on the border many years ago, leaving behind only a posthumous child. The second prince's maternal family was impeached for corruption and oppression of the people. After the purge, the second prince is like a stranger in the capital. The third prince has been living a peaceful life these years, but unfortunately, he is in poor health and still has no legitimate son. The fourth prince is the most low-key among the older princes, but because of his unfavorable birth, he is not favored by His Majesty.
The remaining prince is the Fifth Prince. His mother is the current Consort De, who is the Empress's cousin. She is always respectful and courteous. Because His Majesty loves the Empress, he also favors Consort De.
To outsiders, the Fifth Prince had the Empress and Consort De as his backers, as well as the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion behind the two empresses.
The Marquis of Chengen held a high position and wielded considerable influence in the court. Furthermore, the eldest prince, born to the Empress, had died young, leading some scholars to believe that the fifth prince was the rightful heir. The fifth prince was also extremely courteous and respectful to scholars, hence the strong calls to establish him as the crown prince.
Two years ago, there were rumors that the Eighth Prince would be made Crown Prince, but after His Majesty heard about it, he immediately found a pretext to demote the Eighth Prince's mother to the lowest rank of concubine. The Eighth Prince's momentum was instantly extinguished. However, the Fifth Prince, who has always been so popular, was not affected. This shows that His Majesty has a special place in his heart.
The remaining princes, including the tenth, twelfth, and fifteenth princes, were also favored by His Majesty and came from good families, but they were born later and were not as powerful as their older brothers.
So no matter what, the Fifth Prince has the best chance.
But no one expected that, just when the Fifth Prince had the upper hand, the throne would fall to the posthumous son of the First Prince who had died young.
His Majesty was critically ill and had not yet written an edict to establish a crown prince. Therefore, the court officials knelt and begged the Empress to establish a crown prince on his behalf to stabilize the court.
The Empress was the Fifth Prince's maternal aunt, and almost all the people who urged the Empress to establish the Crown Prince were also the Fifth Prince's people.
Everyone thought the Empress would appoint the Fifth Prince as the heir apparent, but to everyone's surprise, after the court session, she appointed the First Prince's posthumous son as the legitimate heir apparent in the name of legitimacy.
She was the Empress, and the eldest prince was the only legitimate son, and the eldest prince's posthumous son was the only legitimate grandson. What she did was indeed without fault, and no one could find fault with it.
Then something even more shocking happened. After the crown prince was established, the empress quickly banished Consort De to the cold palace on the grounds that she harbored disloyal intentions. The Marquis of Chengen also betrayed his own family and gathered evidence to send his second brother, who was Consort De's biological father, to the prison of the Prefect of the Capital.
Afterwards, the eldest grandson of the crown prince led his troops back to the capital, and the scholars who had previously supported the fifth prince changed their tune one by one, praising the eldest grandson of the crown prince as the rightful heir.
The situation changed so quickly that there was no turmoil in the capital. After His Majesty passed away, the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the Fifth Prince was demoted to a commoner and imprisoned in the Prince Huai's residence. In the end, only the families that insisted on supporting the Fifth Prince were purged. His Majesty also granted favors to the princes who had failed in their struggle for the throne.
Until the very end, I doubt anyone could have predicted this outcome!
It can only be said that the Empress plotted in the abyss, and the Crown Prince was decisive in his methods. They used the Fifth Prince to eliminate the threat and finally took the throne themselves.
Although the Fifth Prince was from the same family as them, from the perspective of the Empress and the Crown Prince, how could a nephew be closer than a biological grandson? How could being an idle prince be better than being the emperor?
For so many years, the Empress has always been the elder sister and Consort De the younger sister. If the Fifth Prince ascends the throne, wouldn't the Empress have to live at the mercy of her younger sister? How could she tolerate that? She would rather be the one and only Empress Dowager in the world.
Until the moment before the Empress announced the decree, most people thought that the Fifth Prince's throne was secure, so Zhou Shuqing's current efforts to curry favor with the Fifth Prince show that he has some foresight.
The Fifth Prince valued his reputation highly and loved associating with scholars. After Zhou Shuqing gained a reputation as a gentleman, the Fifth Prince wanted to meet him.
"Why does Your Highness care so much about a mere scholar?"
“You don’t understand.” The Fifth Prince smiled meaningfully. “His talent alone is not enough to warrant this trip from me. What I’m after is the power behind him.”
“Isn’t he a son of a concubine? And Vice Minister Zhou of the Ministry of Rites has no real power.”
“But his stepmother is the Princess of Rongcheng, who is the legitimate daughter of Prince Cheng. His father is suspicious, and over the years, the only person he has trusted the most is Prince Cheng.”
The servant was puzzled: "But would a legitimate mother help a son born out of wedlock? I seem to remember that the Princess of Rongcheng has a legitimate son who became a disciple of Ye Xiangwen."
"You also know that her legitimate son went to paint with Ye Xiangwen, which means he will definitely stay away from the court in the future. If her legitimate son has no ambition, who else can she cultivate if not her illegitimate son?"
The servant suddenly realized, "Your Highness is indeed very thoughtful. If Zhou Shuqing and His Majesty are of one mind, then if Prince Cheng speaks well of him in the future, the position of Crown Prince..."
The Fifth Prince picked up his teacup. If this connection worked out, he would make a fortune. Even if it didn't, he wouldn't lose anything; he would only have to meet Zhou Shuqing once.
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