Chapter 6: Retreat and Advance
Zhu Yuhuan's intelligence was naturally clear to his father Zhu Zhanji, not to mention that Zhu Yuhuan had received instruction no less than that of the crown prince since he was a child, and also received guidance from Empress Dowager Zhang.
Zhu Zhanji grew up with Zhu Di, so he naturally understood better than anyone how much suffering a child would have to endure when growing up in such a complicated environment as the palace. However, he did not regret sending Zhu Yuhuan to Zhu Di to please him.
Without this experience, how could Zhu Yuhuan be what she is today? She already enjoyed rights far beyond those of ordinary princesses, could study and practice martial arts, and even interact with court officials.
It is often said that "When God wants to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make his heart and mind suffer." Those who can endure it will surely achieve something. If they can't, it doesn't matter. Even if you follow him like Sun Mengqiu, you will never be treated harshly.
Knowing this, Zhu Zhanji believed he had done nothing wrong to his daughter, and at least he would not let her suffer. However, judging from Zhu Yuhuan's tone and the implicit meaning of his words, he was clearly feeling aggrieved, and he must have heard some rumors.
Zhu Zhanji still had high hopes for his daughter, and naturally did not want the relationship between father and daughter to be hurt by such a trivial matter, so he simply made it clear to his daughter directly.
Zhu Yuhuan had deliberately expressed her feelings so frankly so that Zhu Zhanji would just regard her as a somewhat intelligent daughter and not suspect her of having ulterior motives.
Therefore, after hearing Zhu Zhanji's question, Zhu Yuhuan took the opportunity to back down and muttered softly, "Huanhuan doesn't dare... Daddy is the emperor, and naturally he has many more things to consider than me..."
Zhu Zhanji saw that she said this, but there was still an aggrieved look on her face. He raised his hand and touched her cheek, saying, "Huanhuan, no matter what others say, you are still my father's daughter and the princess of the Ming Dynasty."
What he meant was that he had made up his mind to depose Hu Lisun, and now he just wanted to give a preemptive shot, test everyone's attitude, and by the way, play a role of gradual progress.
However, he did not expect that the rumors among the people would spread more and more widely and more complicated, and even the news of the abolition of Queen Hu came directly from the Sun family, which damaged the reputation of Zhu Zhanji and the Sun family. So he planned to urgently enthrone Zhu Yuhuan to reassure everyone.
Zhu Yuhuan nodded slightly, but his eyes were red. He said, "Huanhuan understands. Mother told Huanhuan a long time ago that the position of the principal wife did not originally belong to her. She has always felt guilty, so she has been taking good care of Empress Sun for many years, but..."
Zhu Zhanji was slightly stunned and asked, "Just what?"
Zhu Yuhuan choked up for a moment, then whispered, "I'm just worried about affecting my father's reputation."
Of course, Hu Shanxiang would never say such words. These were all made up by Zhu Yuhuan in order to make Hu Shanxiang leave a good impression on Zhu Zhanji so that he could make other requests. After all, after deposing Hu Shanxiang, Zhu Zhanji did have some regrets. Although this was mostly because the dethronement of the empress had invisibly damaged his reputation as a wise emperor, he also felt a little guilty towards Hu Shanxiang.
As soon as she said this, Zhu Zhanji felt a little guilty and asked, "Did your mother really say that?"
In his impression, Hu Shanxiang was always silent and meticulous in front of him, not even like a woman. She never revealed her feelings to her husband, and seemed to not care about him at all. Unexpectedly, she would talk about his affairs with her daughter and even care about his reputation.
Zhu Yuhuan nodded obediently and said, "Mother knows that Father is determined to carry on the legacy of Great-Grandfather and Grandfather. He has great ambitions and works hard to govern the country, only for peace and benefiting all people. That's why he has been diligently taking care of household affairs, not wanting to distract Father... But now the rumors are spreading, leaving Father caught in the middle, in a dilemma. Mother is very upset and has cried secretly several times, but she didn't dare let others see."
Zhu Zhanji felt a little guilty when he heard this and said, "Your mother never talks about this on weekdays. She must be hiding something in her heart."
Zhu Yuhuan straightened her chest, the sobbing tone gone from her voice. She said seriously, "Mother said that a real man should have ambitions for the world and shouldn't be distracted by trivial matters. As a wife, I should make sure my husband has no worries."
Zhu Zhanji vaguely saw a hint of Hu Shanxiang's expression in her, but she no longer had the impatience of the past, but was more hesitant.
In addition to the affairs of the harem, Zhu Zhanji also had many government affairs to deal with, and of course he couldn't devote too much energy to such matters.
What's more, Sun Mengqiu now has only one daughter, and her family has not made any great achievements. She has no legitimate reason to be the queen. Zhu Zhanji certainly cannot openly discuss the matter of deposing the queen with the ministers for her sake. That would only damage Zhu Zhanji's reputation.
Zhu Yuhuan guessed that Zhu Zhanji still had plenty of emotions and was not completely heartless, so he made such remarks.
She was not sure whether Zhu Zhanji would abolish the queen. After all, Zhu Zhanji basically did not need to obtain Zhu Yuhuan's consent. However, it was still necessary for Hu Shanxiang to leave a good impression in front of Zhu Zhanji.
Now Hu Shanxiang also has things she wants to do. If she can gain some points in Zhu Zhanji's mind, it will be easier for her to get things done.
Hu Shanxiang was respectful to Zhu Zhanji but not obedient, and her temperament was incompatible with his. She did not give birth to a son for Zhu Zhanji. In addition, Hu Shanwei was her sister, a female official who was considered opportunistic by Zhu Zhanji. In addition, Zhu Zhanji himself liked Sun Mengqiu more, so Zhu Zhanji naturally wanted to depose Hu and make Sun the regency.
After all, Zhu Zhanji himself knew that Hu Shanxiang had been diligently taking care of Zhu Zhanji's life and backyard for many years without any mistakes or omissions. He really had no legitimate reason to abolish Hu Shanxiang's position as queen.
Therefore, the more "good person" Hu Shanxiang was, the more troublesome she became to Zhu Zhanji. He could only use the reason of "no child" to find a way to depose Hu Shanxiang from the position of queen.
Noticing Zhu Zhanji's momentary hesitation, Zhu Yuhuan continued, "Mother is still in charge of the affairs of the harem. If father needs it, mother will soon hand over all matters to Empress Sun and retreat to the cold palace. Huanhuan and Tongtong are also willing to move to the palace with mother. Everything is for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, and we will never embarrass father."
Zhu Zhanji couldn't help but sigh in his heart, waved his hand and said: "There is no rush for this matter, Dad still needs to consider it carefully."
It was reasonable for Sun Mengqiu to feel wronged for being a concubine, but she was indeed inferior to Hu Shanxiang, who took the overall situation into consideration and endured it.
Zhu Yuhuan pretended not to notice Zhu Zhanji's hesitation, and just nodded slightly, saying, "Huanhuan understands."
She was sure that Zhu Zhanji still cared about his reputation as a wise ruler, so she resorted to this tactic of retreating to advance.
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