Chapter 69: Debate
Zhu Qizhen never returned, and Zhu Yuhuan dealt with some of the officials under the pretext of dealing with incidents related to Wang Zhen, in order to make an example of him.
Needless to say, the civil and military officials in the court were terrified. Xue Huan was more afraid than anyone else that Zhu Yuhuan would use him as an example to the royal family.
Xue Huan was the husband of Zhu Qizhen's biological sister. Now that Zhu Qizhen is gone, he is forgotten. Zhu Hanjia is of royal blood after all, and Zhu Yuhuan will not make things difficult for her openly. But it is different for her brother-in-law Xue Huan.
Everyone saw how Xue Huan tried to please Zhu Qizhen before. Now the situation is different, and Xue Huan only regrets that his actions at that time were too obvious.
Even his elder brother who inherited the title repeatedly reminded him to be cautious, and his words also hinted at the need to draw a clear line between him and Xue Huan.
Seeing officials in the capital and Wang Zhen being dealt with one after another, Xue Huan became more and more anxious. He made friends everywhere, trying to find out what Zhu Yuhuan was thinking. When he met the princess as usual every month, he often spoke disrespectfully.
Although Zhu Hanjia could not enter the palace, he had a good relationship with Zhu Youtong and Lin Yuanzhen. In particular, Lin Yuanzhen had more free time and would go to the palace from time to time to visit Hu Shanxiang and Wu Miaosu. This matter naturally reached Zhu Yuhuan.
Firstly, Zhu Hanjia was a royal princess and respected Xue Huan, so there was no reason for her to be offended. Secondly, Zhu Hanjia and Xue Huan did have a bad relationship, so divorce was a normal thing.
Xue Huan did not commit any serious crime, and Zhu Yuhuan had no reason to kill people. Besides, everything has a beginning, and Zhu Hanjia was the best opportunity.
Therefore, Zhu Yuhuan immediately discussed with the cabinet and issued an order to allow Princess Changde and her husband to divorce. This made the cabinet and the six ministries a little confused.
If the princess and her husband were not in harmony, they could have just separated. Why bother with such a grand and elaborate process of divorce? More importantly, this decree was distributed individually. On the small hand, it showed that the emperor loved his younger sister, and on the big hand, it influenced the customs and habits of everyone.
Not to mention what the people will say, the people in the Censorate will inevitably start to report to the higher authorities.
I dare not say much about big things, but this kind of trivial matter is perfect for making a big fuss.
Could the emperor really kill the prince consort and all of them just to get the princess divorced?
However, Zhu Yuhuan's statement was very firm. It was obvious that he wanted to win a name for divorce for Princess Changde and "kick Xue Huan out of the house."
Just as Zhu Yuhuan expected, the Censorate immediately wrote to him asking him to reconsider.
Zhu Yuhuan only took a quick look around and figured out these people's routines, then distributed these memorials to the female officials of the Shangyi Bureau and the Shanggong Bureau, asking them to reply on his behalf. They simply cited ancient examples and quoted some famous sayings. In fact, there was no technical content, and it felt a bit like a composition with a given topic. Both sides mainly relied on the human wave tactic.
Anyway, Zhu Yuhuan himself was not very tired, so he just handed it over to Han Guilan for review.
It would be a waste of Zhu Yuhuan's time to take any longer than necessary to read the stuff written by the censor.
"Well, I wrote well, didn't I?"
Zhu Hanjia flipped through the book Zhu Youtong handed her. Thinking of the women's books he had read as a child, he couldn't help but sigh and said, "Second sister's ideas are indeed different..."
Zhu Youtong raised his head proudly and said, "That's right. I spent so much time thinking about this before writing it that I almost lost all my hair."
Zhu Hanjia looked at her seriously for a long time, "You seem to have lost some hair."
Zhu Youtong was startled when she heard this. He hurriedly asked the palace maid next to him for a mirror, and asked, "Is it really missing? Even Jiajia said it's missing..."
Zhu Hanjia couldn't help but chuckle when he saw this.
"You...finally smiled."
Zhu Hanjia was slightly taken aback and whispered, "Have I caused trouble for His Majesty? His Majesty has just ascended the throne and is busy with government affairs. He also has to deal with... the hidden dangers left behind, and he has to worry about my affairs. He didn't even have a good rest during the Emperor's Birthday, and he hasn't stopped for a moment since the New Year..."
Zhu Youtong sighed and said, "Jiajia, you have to have faith in me. You don't have to blame yourself. I have my own reasons for doing things, and I'm not targeting people."
Zhu Hanjia nodded slightly, but still felt a little uncomfortable.
It was precisely because Zhu Yuhuan always stuck to the facts that she felt even more guilty.
In the Song Dynasty, princesses were not allowed to divorce at will, and by the time of Emperor Taizu, there was no such thing.
Zhu Yuhuan wanted to stand up for his sister, which inevitably led to conflicts with ministers and even more people...
Zhu Youtong knew that she was thinking deeply, so he comforted her: "Sister thinks more deeply than others, and you shouldn't think that she only does this because of you..."
Zhu Hanjia just responded softly.
Zhu Youtong didn't want her to worry too much, so he just said, "Wait until the divorce is over, then how about we edit the book together? You're much more meticulous than I am, so I won't have to worry about so much then. I can just focus on the illustrations, which will be much easier."
Zhu Hanjia met her bright eyes and nodded involuntarily, saying, "Okay."
Zhu Youtong said excitedly, "Sister said that in a year or so, she'll let me take a boat south to Nanzhili to enjoy the scenery. We can go together then! Sister also said that when she went to Nanjing to worship her ancestors last time, local officials invited her to enjoy the scenery on the Qinhuai River. The scenery on both sides of the river is so beautiful in spring. When Sister went there, she happened to see the "Flowers Flying All Over the City". It's a pity I wasn't there at the time, otherwise I would have definitely painted it... How about we go there in the spring?"
Zhu Hanjia listened to Zhu Youtong's chatter about his plans for the future, and his originally nervous heart gradually calmed down.
As they were talking, Zhu Qiyu had already been led into the palace by the palace servants. He said to the two of them, "My younger brother greets my elder sister."
Zhu Youtong asked with some confusion: "Where's my sister? Didn't she say she wanted to come together to discuss Jiajia's divorce?"
Zhu Qiyu's face was somewhat bitter as he said, "Your Majesty has been delayed. There is a report of treason coming in, and Your Majesty needs to deal with it."
The two sisters were now surprised. Zhu Youtong hurriedly asked, "Why is there suddenly news of a rebellion? Did your sister tell you?" After she finished speaking, she felt something was wrong and said, "This is government affairs, you shouldn't know..."
Speaking of this, Zhu Qiyu's expression became even more helpless, and he said, "Big sister specially asked me to stay as an auditor..."
Zhu Youtong noticed the change in address and asked, "What do you mean... I specifically asked you to listen? Does this have anything to do with you?"
Zhu Qiyu nodded gravely and said, "Yes... During the Yi Wang's birthday celebration, he was disrespectful to my sister. The Henan prefect and the Yi Wang Palace's ancestral temple submitted a petition stating that the Yi Wang had privately said that Your Majesty's seizure of the throne was an unlawful act, and that since ancient times, there has been no reason for a princess to succeed to the throne. Logically, it should have been... it should have been me... and the Yi Wang Palace's guards had repeatedly behaved inappropriately, so they were convicted of treason..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhu Youtong and Zhu Hanjia already understood what Zhu Qiyu meant.
No wonder Zhu Yuhuan kept Zhu Qiyu to listen to the news before returning.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com