Chapter 9: Clear Words
Zhu Yuhuan looked at Sun Mengqiu, whose expression was unpredictable. He walked in front of her and asked seriously, "Are you worried that my mother will give birth to a brother for me?"
Sun Mengqiu came to her senses and realized that Zhu Yuhuan had stood before her without her noticing. She was startled and quickly avoided Zhu Yuhuan's gaze, denying it, "I...how could I have thought that...Your Majesty and Your Majesty are husband and wife, and having children is a matter of righteousness. How could a concubine like me have any say in that..."
Seeing her insincere expression, Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He then said, "Empress Sun, why are you denying it so outright? Everyone knows how much Father loves you. If it weren't for this love, why would Father have delayed until today to take action?"
Zhu Zhanji was the emperor now. What was there that he couldn't help or was forced to do? He did this for his own sake, and another reason was naturally to ensure that Sun Mengqiu, his beloved, could stand by his side. As for other matters, even if Sun Mengqiu didn't handle things well, he was willing to cover for her, not to mention that Sun Mengqiu herself was not bad.
If Hu Shanxiang were in Sun Mengqiu's situation, she would probably be like the concubines buried with Zhu Gaochi, living in obscurity all her life, and in the end only leaving behind a line of words "buried alive with the emperor" in history books.
Sun Mengqiu clenched her fists when she heard that. She looked at Zhu Yuhuan and said firmly, "The princess won't understand. For Your Highness, the status of a noble is innate. But if I don't fight for it, I will have favor but no power. The final outcome will not be a good one, no matter in the ancient dynasties or today." After she finished speaking, she was stunned and looked around subconsciously in fear, obviously realizing her "slip of the tongue" just now.
Fortunately, the servants in the inner palace were all her trusted palace maids, and Huai'en was always by Zhu Yuhuan's side, so the news would surely not leak out.
Zhu Yuhuan thought of Hu Shanxiang's previous analysis of Sun Mengqiu's psychology, in which she mentioned Sun Mengqiu's past growing environment, which must be the source of her awkward psychology.
Childhood experiences will inevitably affect a person's life. Even though Sun Mengqiu already has a lot, she is still anxious and tries to grasp something to ensure her own safety.
In a sense, Hu Shanxiang and Sun Mengqiu both understood that Zhu Zhanji's favor meant nothing.
However, Hu Shanxiang understood this because she had never been favored, and Sun Mengqiu gradually realized this problem while being favored.
Zhu Yuhuan looked at Sun Mengqiu and said, "My mother has always given in and never intended to hurt you or Hanjia. Do you understand, you, Madam Sun?"
Sun Mengqiu was slightly stunned, as if she didn't quite understand what Zhu Yuhuan said.
Zhu Yuhuan looked at her quietly, her tone lacking the anger Sun Mengqiu had imagined. She simply said, "Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each relying on their own abilities. Even my grandmother never brought harm to her children. Empress Sun has been in the palace since she was young, so she must know this, right?"
Sun Mengqiu finally understood what Zhu Yuhuan meant. Anger welled up in her heart, and she asked, "Is the princess worried that I might attack the Second Princess?"
Zhu Yuhuan didn't deny it, nodding openly and saying, "Yes. Once a fight begins, even if you don't want to, someone will push you into it. There are very few people who can stick to their original intentions. Isn't Empress Sun afraid of me?"
When Sun Mengqiu remained silent, Zhu Yuhuan vaguely sensed her fear. Sun Mengqiu naturally had no fear of Hu Shanxiang, and Zhu Yuhuan could only think of himself.
Sun Mengqiu was exposed by her and clenched her hands immediately. After a long while, she said, "Is the princess afraid too?"
"I am afraid," Zhu Yuhuan said softly, "and precisely because I am afraid, I will never allow anyone to harm my mother and Tongtong. If anyone makes the slightest move, I will immediately fight back."
Who doesn't like picking on the weak? If he can't fight back immediately, the other party will only intensify their attack. Zhu Yuhuan certainly won't allow this to happen.
Sun Mengqiu stared at her for a long time before finally speaking: "Princess, you are looking down on me. I would not do anything that the princess despises."
Zhu Yuhuan turned around and sat back in his seat, his eyes fixed on Sun Mengqiu, and said, "Since Empress Sun can make such a promise, I am willing to believe you."
Having said that, they both knew that people's hearts were fickle and they couldn't easily believe each other's words.
In such an era and environment, it is really difficult to trust others.
The hall fell silent again, so quiet that one could almost hear the wind outside.
Sun Mengqiu took a sip of tea and spoke after a long pause, "Just now the princess said, 'Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each relying on their own abilities.' The only condition is that you don't bring harm to your family, right?"
Zhu Yuhuan smiled slightly and said, "The Hu family never participates in court affairs, so I don't want to see any attacks on the Hu family. Miaosu and my aunt do have a master-disciple relationship, and my mother has taken good care of her. Empress Sun should also know this..."
Sun Mengqiu smiled bitterly and said, "Of course I know."
After her contact with Wu Miaosu, she realized that Wu Miaosu was full of gratitude to the Hu family. It was really not easy to win her over to her side, and being able to live in peace was already the best outcome.
The smile on Zhu Yuhuan's face faded a lot, and then he said lightly: "As for the Sun family, it depends on what Queen Sun decides."
Her implication was that if the Sun family got involved, Zhu Yuhuan would consider taking action against them. Zhu Yuhuan said this, firstly, hoping that Sun Mengqiu would think things through and limit the conflict to the palace, and secondly, to prevent Sun Mengqiu and Sun Xianzong from suspecting Zhu Yuhuan of instigating the conflict. Although neither of them seemed to have considered this, it was still a good idea to have an extra layer of insurance.
Sun Mengqiu bit her lips, her face showing confusion and hesitation. Although it was winter, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Zhu Yuhuan meant that the Hu family would not be allowed to get involved, which would be a disadvantage for Hu Shanxiang and her daughter. However, if Sun Xianzong and the Sun family could get involved in the court, it would be a great help to Sun Mengqiu, but it also meant that the Sun family would bear the risk of unknown consequences.
Zhu Yuhuan leaned on the armrest of the chair and tapped the paint surface lightly with his fingertips.
Sun Mengqiu lowered his eyelids, took a deep breath, then looked up at Zhu Yuhuan and said, "Princess, you won't blame me for bullying the weak, right?"
Zhu Yuhuan knew that she had decided to involve the Sun family in this mess, but he was not surprised. If she were in his place, she would have considered this as well.
Controlling both the harem and the imperial court was the true double insurance policy, and any normal person would choose the strategy with the greater chance of winning. However, the Hu family and the Sun family were in different situations. They lacked political sensitivity and the ability to be favored by the emperor. Not to mention Zhu Zhanji himself had no trust in the Hu family. If he rashly involved the Hu family, it would most likely lead to the destruction of the Hu family and would not benefit Zhu Yuhuan himself.
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "You just said that we all rely on our own abilities, and these are also 'abilities'."
The two looked at each other for a long time before Sun Mengqiu said, "In that case, it's a deal."
Zhu Yuhuan nodded solemnly and said, "Okay."
Since the conversation between Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Yuhuan, the rumors inside and outside the palace gradually subsided. In addition, with the arrival of the New Year, Zhu Zhanji announced that a ceremony would be held to confer a title on Zhu Yuhuan in mid-spring. Such an honor to be conferred before getting married was extremely rare, so the rumors of the deposed queen were soon put to rest, and the lives of Hu Shanxiang, her mother and daughter naturally returned to normal.
However, Hu Shanxiang learned that Zhu Zhanji and his daughter had once had a conversation. She vaguely understood something, but did not say much.
Zhu Yuhuan originally wanted to leave the palace as soon as possible, but she was busy learning the etiquette and procedures of the enthronement ceremony, and she also had to prepare a farm cart, so she could only put it off again and again. It was not until March of the first year of Xuande that Zhu Yuhuan had time to prepare for her first trip out of the palace.
Zhu Yuhuan knew a little bit about the gossip about the Zhu family, but he had no idea how ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty lived. Most of the palace servants around him had been in the palace for many years and had gradually forgotten about life outside the palace. They only knew what was popular outside by occasionally asking others to buy them some things.
Therefore, Zhu Yuhuan simply prepared some small change for buying things based on the information he had learned before.
After all, I have to leave the palace. Not to mention observing the outside world, I have to at least bring some gifts from outside the palace back to my mother and sister.
Although the government strictly prohibits the use of gold and silver in transactions, the street vendors outside are not fools. When they see the Ming Dynasty treasure notes, they would rather not do business than accept this piece of waste paper. They even use small change to trade in order to avoid the risk of being caught.
Zhu Yuhuan looked up the revised "Taizu Shilu" himself and understood the reason. It was because too much paper money was issued without sufficient reserves, which led to inflation. In addition, Baochao could not be exchanged for gold and silver, and additional processing fees had to be paid to replace old and new Baochao. It was strange that such paper money with no credibility could become popular.
Zhu Yuhuan thought to himself, no wonder people say the royal family is acting like hooligans. They collect the gold and silver from the people into their own treasury and don't circulate it outside. If this isn't hooliganism, what is?
Zhu Yuhuan also specially asked the palace servants to make a simple set of clothes for him, and the preparations took several days. Wu Miaosu, who had originally come to Kunning Palace to study with Hu Shanxiang, only then learned that Zhu Yuhuan was going to leave the palace in disguise, and she couldn't help but show an envious expression.
Wu Miaosu held the ivory plate handed to her by Zhu Yuhuan and said with emotion: "His Majesty really values the princess. He actually gave her an ivory plate that allows her to go out." Her fingertips stroked the ivory plate, as if she felt the breath of freedom from it and couldn't let it go.
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "Dad wants me to go outside the palace and see how the people live, so that I can understand the responsibilities of being a member of the royal family."
Wu Miaosu nodded when she heard this. The beads on her cheek swayed slightly with her movements. The golden tassels cast a golden glow on her shoulders because of the sunlight. She agreed, "The princess is right."
After being crowned as a concubine, Wu Miaosu was considered favored. She seemed to have good food, clothing, and daily necessities. Zhu Zhanji even gave her rewards from time to time. Although she could not be called a favorite concubine, she lived a good life. Sun Mengqiu, on the other hand, maintained a good relationship with Wu Miaosu and did not forget to hold on to Zhu Zhanji. After all, now that the reign had changed and it was almost a year since the late emperor's death, Zhu Zhanji should consider the issue of his harem heirs.
Zhu Youtong, who was following Hu and Wu and could read and write, couldn't help but look up, his tone full of longing, and said, "It would be great if I could leave the palace with my sister."
Hu Shanxiang couldn't help but smile when she heard this. She reached out and touched her daughter's head, saying, "Let's talk about it when you're older. Your sister is still a child and has never seen the outside world. What if she gets dazzled and loses you?"
Zhu Youtong pouted and said, "I'm smart. I can protect myself so I won't get lost..."
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but snicker. After noticing her sister's protesting look, she said seriously, "Tongtong, don't worry. I will definitely bring you something fun from outside."
"All right……"
Wu Miaosu finally returned the ivory plaque to Zhu Yuhuan. Seeing that she was so well prepared, she warned her, "Princess, you must bring a few strong and capable palace servants with you when you go out. Otherwise, if you encounter any danger, Huai En alone may not be able to protect you."
Zhu Yuhuan was slightly stunned and asked, "Danger?"
"It's all very well for the princess to just wander around the inner city where the royal family lives, but I think she'd rather visit where the common people live." Wu Miaosu said earnestly, "Then we'll have to go to the outer city. It's probably not as safe there as the inner city, so it's better to bring a few more people with you. When I first came to the capital, I passed through the outer city and realized that even if you grew up in the capital, you're not always safe."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, Dad said he would assign a few Jinyiwei personal soldiers to protect me. Master also agreed and even sent some reliable people."
Zhu Yuhuan had originally planned to visit Liu Yongcheng's residence first, but Zhu Zhanji was closely watching her every move, and their close relationship was not a good thing for both Zhu Yuhuan and Liu Yongcheng. Besides, Zhu Yuhuan also wanted to visit the farmers' greenhouses and inquire about whether the new farm carts would be used during the busy spring farming season. However, it was obviously too busy to handle so many things in one day outside the palace. Fortunately, leaving the palace was a long way off, so there was no need to rush.
Wu Miaosu suddenly realized and said, "I was mistaken. I forgot that His Majesty would definitely order someone to protect the princess."
Seeing that she had arranged everything properly, Hu Shanxiang nodded slightly. She then raised her hand and tapped Zhu Youtong's forehead, who was distracted, and said, "You, hurry up and finish memorizing this volume. It's been over a month now, and you can't delay any longer."
"oh……"
Seeing Hu Shanxiang instructing Zhu Youtong in her studies, Zhu Yuhuan then looked at Wu Miaosu and exchanged glances with her. Wu Miaosu then stood up and said, "I have bothered Your Majesty for too long. I believe Your Majesty still needs to take care of the princess's departure from the palace. I will be leaving early today."
Hu Shanxiang smiled slightly and said, "Go ahead."
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