Chapter 14 Identifying Talent
Zhu Zhanji carried his daughter into the courtyard and helped her straighten her cloak to prevent Zhu Yuhuan from catching a cold. Then he asked, "Where did you catch the crickets in such a cold weather?"
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and shook his head, refusing to say where the cricket came from. It was obvious that he was deliberately keeping the suspense.
Zhu Zhanji tapped her forehead and said, "Why don't you tell me now? Otherwise, I'll complain to your mother. You actually have the leisure to raise crickets every day. I'm afraid your studies have also been neglected."
Zhu Yuhuan cried out, quickly covered Zhu Zhanji's mouth, and said, "Daddy, don't talk nonsense. I clearly study and write well every day."
Zhu Zhanji pulled her hand down and said, "Speak now, or Daddy will really become a villain."
Zhu Yuhuan had no choice but to explain obediently, "I also heard about this from Hu Shanggong a while ago. She said that the weather was getting colder, and the palace people, as a show of filial piety to Hu Shanggong, dug fire ducts and chimneys underground to warm Hu Shanggong's room. It's even warmer than the room where flowers are grown in the palace, and you can even use the stove to make snacks. So I thought maybe I could raise crickets in that room, so I asked someone to ask Hu Shanggong if it was okay. Unexpectedly, Hu Shanggong agreed immediately and raised several for me. I picked the best-looking one and gave it to my father as a birthday gift."
When Zhu Zhanji heard the words "Hu Shang Gong", his eyes moved and he asked, "Hu Shang Gong? Did she help you raise her?"
Although he liked fighting crickets, he also knew that playing these games all the time would inevitably lead to loss of ambition. More importantly, if the emperor knew about it, he would definitely be disappointed in him. If this matter was known by Hu Shanggong, it would probably be spread to Zhu Di soon, and he might even suspect that he had asked his daughter to do this to avoid punishment.
Seeing him frown, Zhu Yuhuan could guess what he was thinking. So, covering his mouth with one hand, he leaned close to Zhu Zhanji's ear and said, "I specifically told Hu Shanggong that she must keep it a secret for me. This is a surprise that my mother and I gave to my father. After hearing it, Hu Shanggong agreed immediately. She must have thought that this would make my father happy."
Zhu Zhanji was stunned, and then he thought that raising crickets is not a one-day job. If Hu Shanwei intended to inform on Zhu Di, he should have punished him last time. Why wait until he returned from the expedition?
After all, Hu Shanwei and he were related by marriage, so even if Hu Shanwei was loyal to Zhu Di, he would still have some reservations.
Zhu Zhanji looked down at his daughter and then said, "Huanhuan, do you know who else contributed to your great-grandfather's entry into the palace during the Jingnan Rebellion, besides the ministers?"
Zhu Yuhuan shook his head honestly and said, "I don't know."
The glory of the Yongle era had overshadowed everything, and of course she knew nothing about it. However, she did vaguely remember that Empress Xu and her brothers were in Yingtian. It was likely that the two sides had informed each other, which made it particularly smooth for Zhu Di to bypass Jinan. After all, well-informed intelligence is also very important in war.
"Of course it's the palace maids in the imperial city." Zhu Zhanji's voice remained the same, albeit with a hint of gloominess. He continued, "If you're talking about the people who know Jianwen's movements best, it's the palace maids. Although their influence may be insignificant, they're quite useful. Every one of them went to curry favor with your great-grandfather. Hu Shanwei was already a palace maid at that time. If she hadn't deliberately overlooked it, how could those palace maids have gotten to your great-grandfather's feet?"
Zhu Yuhuan finally understood. No wonder Zhu Zhanji disliked Hu Shanwei so much. It turned out that he thought she was playing political games.
Zhu Zhanji pinched her cheek and said, "Huanhuan, if someone can betray others today, he can betray you tomorrow. Such people are often cunning and useless."
Seeing that he had long been prejudiced against Hu Shanwei, Zhu Yuhuan knew that even if Hu Shanwei offered this method, it might not be able to immediately clear her image in Zhu Zhanji's mind, but it was better than being put on Zhu Zhanji's "blacklist" all the time.
Zhu Yuhuan said seriously: "But Mr. Mianren (Yang Rong) also once went to seek refuge with Grandpa Zeng..."
"Shh." Zhu Zhanji made a hushed gesture and then said, "Huanhuan, don't talk nonsense."
Zhu Yuhuan had no choice but to respond: "Oh..."
"Knowing and employing people is extremely important. Moreover, Hu Shanwei has been managing the harem for a long time. He is capricious and cannot be trusted. How can he be compared with Mr. Mianren?" Zhu Zhanji tapped the tip of her nose and said, "You must never speak carelessly in front of her. Otherwise, even if she sells you out, you won't even know it."
Zhu Yuhuan looked at him and then said, "I understand, Dad."
Ultimately, Zhu Zhanji still wasn't sure he could capture Hu Shanwei. After all, if, as Zhu Zhanji claimed, Hu Shanwei had been Zhu Di's "spy," then as the head of the Six Shangs, who knew how many palace maids and eunuchs Hu Shanwei commanded to do her bidding? This number was probably too numerous to grasp, so Zhu Zhanji didn't even think about controlling Hu Shanwei; he just wanted to get rid of her.
Now Zhu Yuhuan could understand why Zhu Zhanji was determined to depose Hu Shanxiang. With all the collusion in the harem, Zhu Zhanji probably couldn't sleep well. He might even dream about his descendant, a famous immortal emperor, who was almost strangled to death by a palace maid a hundred years later.
But in addition to this, Zhu Yuhuan also vaguely read another meaning from Zhu Zhanji's words.
——He looked down on people like Hu Shanwei. Besides the fact that Hu Shanwei was despicable as a "spy", another reason was that Hu Shanwei was a woman.
Zhu Yuhuan felt a little complicated for a moment. Thinking of Zhu Zhanji's favor for her, she couldn't help but wonder how much of that was true.
When her brother is born and her mother loses power, can the current situation continue? Probably not.
Zhu Zhanji put his daughter down in his arms and said, "Okay, go to the backyard to find your mother and tell her to protect Concubine Sun Ci well."
Zhu Yuhuan stood on the ground, staring at Zhu Zhanji for a moment, and finally said, "Dad, if someone has real talent and can do real work, should we abandon them just because of her status?"
Zhu Zhanji looked at his daughter, squatted down, and said patiently, "Huanhuan, everyone in this world has their own responsibilities. Men should study and practice martial arts, and women should take care of household affairs. If everyone does not abide by the rules and do their own duties, the world will be in chaos. Do you understand?"
Zhu Yuhuan blinked, then finally nodded and said, "I understand, Dad."
She watched Zhu Zhanji return to the front hall, and silently looked at the hanging flower door that separated the front hall and the back yard, clearly dividing the men's and women's areas.
It is clearly spring, but the winter chill seems to have never dissipated, making people feel inexplicably cold.
"Daughters' families" are not only excluded from power, but even excluded from the "family". If Zhu Yuhuan wants to maintain the current situation, he has to become an "irreplaceable" tool.
Zhu Yuhuan shook his head, put the mess out of his mind, and started thinking about another thing.
Sun Mengqiu wasn't one to be competitive, and she wasn't sure whether she was pregnant with a boy or a girl, so why was she trying to build up such hype for herself? From Zhu Zhanzhen to the palace maids, everyone was saying she was pregnant with a boy. Wasn't that just flattery?
Although Hu Shanwei was the head of the Six Shangs, she had been an official in the palace since the Hongwu period. She knew better than anyone that she had to be cautious in her words and actions. How could she possibly do something so obvious that the mastermind could be identified at a glance? Not to mention Zhu Zhanji, even a child like Zhu Zhanzhen knew that there were certain things not to say carelessly. Hu Shanwei would never do such a foolish thing.
Who is it?
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