Chapter 16 Plot
Prince Xing Zhu Youlang had only one son, Zhu Houcong.
If Zhu Houcong died, the threat posed by Prince Xing's line to the royal orthodoxy would no longer exist, Empress Dowager Zhang would no longer be able to focus on Anlu, and Zhu Wanhong, the eldest son of the Zhu family, would no longer be troubled by others. This would be a good opportunity for the Zhu family to turn the tables.
But Zhu Jia had no better solution.
After seeing Captain Lin off, Zhu Jia came to the bedroom to the east of the main house and saw her husband lying on the sickbed.
Although my husband is unable to speak and express himself most of the time, he can still hear and understand what is said.
When she roughly recounted what Captain Lin had said, Zhu Mingshan's eyes showed helplessness.
"Master, our Zhu family has been in Huguang for so long. If we can really complete our mission, we can settle down here peacefully from now on, and the eldest brother can be the deputy captain of the Jinyiwei in the capital... There was a message from the palace before, saying that the eldest brother has the opportunity to be in charge of a school alone..."
Zhu Mingshan closed his eyes sadly without any further expression.
Zhu Jia's eyes became more determined: "For the Zhu family, even if it means risking the world's disapproval, we must do it. The late emperor once arranged people in the Anlu Realm to help you, and there are many good fighters among them. If there is a chance... just do it... Don't attack Prince Xing, only the little prince. Don't insist on it, Master."
It turned out that the Zhu family had long planned to assassinate Prince Xing or Prince Xing's son.
After Prince Xing arrived in Anlu, he only gave birth to two sons in all these years, and one of them died shortly after birth. There was a reason behind this.
Zhu Mingshan did not open his eyes, which was considered as his agreement with his wife's thoughts.
…
…
Zhu Hao has been wandering around Anlu Prefecture these days.
In name, the mission was to investigate the city's commercial layout, but in reality, the focus was specifically on Prince Xing's Palace.
"According to the ancestral precepts of the Ming Dynasty, the throne is passed down to the younger brother after the elder brother's death. In the end, Zhu Houcong was able to become emperor because he was Zhu Houzhao's cousin. He was originally adopted into the lineage of Hongzhi Emperor Zhu Youtang. If Zhu Houcong died, the lineage of Prince Xing would never be able to get involved in the throne again, even if Zhengde died and Prince Xing was alive..."
Zhu Hao went around Prince Xing's Palace several times in a few days.
The palace has four gates, due south, due north, southeast and southwest.
The exterior looks a bit like the Forbidden City in Beijing. According to the layout of the Forbidden City that I visited in my previous life, the prince should live on the east side of the palace, but it is too difficult to enter the palace.
For the time being, there is no sign that Prince Xing's Mansion is recruiting servants or slaves, which means there is not even the slightest chance of getting in.
To the east of Prince Xing's Palace is a flower and bird market, where many wealthy merchants and gentry live, and they have a need to be refined. Zhu Hao went into the market and looked for opportunities. He heard that Prince Xing Zhu Youju was very fond of antiques, calligraphy and paintings, just like the old Prince Ning Zhu Quan, who was suspected by Zhu Di and had a good ending by keeping a low profile.
Zhu Youqiu knew very well the danger he was facing.
Emperor Hongzhi Zhu Youtang had only one son, Zhu Houzhao, but Zhu Houzhao still has no son...
This is forcing someone to do something!
Zhu Youjun likes to play with cultural relics and often buys some from the market. Where there is demand, there is supply. A cultural relics street has been formed around the flower and bird market on the east side of the palace. Restaurants and teahouses have sprung up and it is becoming more and more lively. This area is considered a gathering place for scholars and scholars in the state. Zhu Hao has been in and out many times, but he can't find a breakthrough.
He was bored that day, so he bought two sesame cakes on the street and ate them. Suddenly, he saw a bird vendor pushing a wooden cart from a distance, shouting along the street while going to Prince Xing's Palace.
There was nothing unusual about doing business, but this vendor found a vacant spot in the flower and bird market to sit down. When he lifted the hem of his shirt slightly, his exquisite leather boots were revealed.
How could a small street vendor afford to wear expensive boots?
Zhu Hao observed carefully and found that from time to time people would sit down next to the bird stall, apparently to admire the birds. However, he saw that the vendor looked around vigilantly, his lips moving, as if he was telling something.
From this point alone, Zhu Hao judged that this was someone who had plans for Prince Xing's Palace.
…
…
The vendor left within half an hour of setting up his stall.
Zhu Hao smiled and walked over to the old woman who was selling flower pots and asked, "Is there someone selling birds over here? I want to buy a starling to play with."
The old woman looked at Zhu Hao with a strange look, as if to say, You want to buy a starling, and you actually come to me, a flower pot seller, to talk about it?
"gone!"
The old woman looked impatient.
Zhu Hao asked in confusion: "Why did he leave? Old man, don't you know him? Where can I find him?"
The old woman shook her head in disdain: "I don't know him."
"Are there many people selling birds here?" Zhu Hao persisted.
The old woman was angry and glared at Zhu Hao, saying, "If you want to buy a bird, go inside. There are many stalls selling it. Don't stand here and get in the way... Which blind kid is making trouble?"
It was obvious from the moment he heard that the old woman had been setting up the stall for a long time, and Zhu Hao finally found his target.
Zhu Hao asked the price, and then spent two cents to buy a small flowerpot. The old woman's brows instantly relaxed, and she was willing to talk to Zhu Hao.
Zhu Hao asked, "Old man, I want to ask, is that the palace next to you? The walls are so high and the gate is always closed. Is there anyone coming out to buy things here?"
The old lady opened the shop, in a good mood, and said with a smile: "They are nobles, would they care about the junks here?"
"Then if you don't have any children, why don't you come out and buy a mynah bird, or something new and interesting like me?" Zhu Hao shifted the question to his own focus.
The old woman's smile froze, and after a moment's thought, she seemed to recall something: "Two or three months ago, when the weather was not so hot, a few people came out of the small gate on the east side of the palace. There was a kid about your age, with a very delicate voice, who came over to ask if anyone was selling rabbits... Strange things happen every year."
Buy a rabbit?
This is a useful clue for Zhu Hao.
When Zhu Hao was observing the terrain of Prince Xing's Mansion, he thought of a question. Children love to play by nature. Even if they are strictly disciplined at home, they will still find ways to find new and interesting things. Could it be that Zhu Houcong is willing to stay in the courtyard and not be exposed to the outside environment?
Zhu Houcong should live on the east side of the palace, and to the east is a bustling flower and bird market. If I were Zhu Houcong, I would definitely find a way to sneak out.
"I'm an expert at catching rabbits. Can I set up a stall next to you to sell rabbits?" Zhu Hao asked with a smile.
The old woman glared at Zhu Hao and said, "You little rascal, you have bad intentions. Are you here to buy the starlings, or to tease me, an old woman?"
Zhu Hao threw down a copper coin and said, "Thank you, old man. Next time I will bring a few rabbits to set up a stall. If there are more children coming out of the palace, I will sell the rabbits for money... Old man, please keep an eye on them for me. Thank you!"
…
…
The old woman didn't seem to be lying, but it was hard to say whether the child who came out to ask about buying rabbits was Zhu Houcong himself.
But Zhu Hao felt that this was probably the biggest breakthrough he had found in the past few days.
As for who the person who set up the stall to sell birds was, Zhu Hao didn't care, but he roughly guessed that it might be related to the Zhu family's mission to move to Anlu.
Precisely because the Xingwang Mansion is so big that it attracts attention, it acts so low-key. You should know that Xingwang Zhu Youlang rarely has contact with people from local government offices and is cautious in his life because he doesn't want to give people a chance to talk about him.
Zhu Hao returned home.
The first thing to do was to get a few rabbits and set up a stall outside Prince Xing’s Mansion.
Even if you get lucky, it's better than waiting for death.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Niang called him over and said, "Xiaohao, Yu San just sent a letter back from Wuchang Prefecture, saying that he has found a buyer . He will bring people to Anlu to pick up the goods and go through the Han River in the next two days."
Zhu Hao said, "Mom, can't you just contact them? Why are you asking me?"
"Xiao Hao, do we really want to sell the salt to others? In fact, we can keep it and sell it ourselves... It's not impossible."
Zhu Niang was obviously worried about getting into trouble from selling contraband salt, but in fact, the salt left in the shop was all genuine official salt, and there was a traceable trace. It was just that Zhu Niang was too cautious and careful, and she had never done anything illegal before, so she couldn't help but feel nervous when the time came.
Zhu Hao grinned: "Why are you so hesitant, mother? Now that we have a buyer, what are we afraid of? By the way, mother, didn't I ask you to contact my aunt? She is in Jingshan County, and she can also help sell some salt..."
Zhu Niang said, "I was in a hurry and didn't have time to inform you...Looking ahead and looking back, this word is not bad, but you haven't opened your eyes yet, where did you learn these new words from?"
Zhu Hao smiled and brushed off the question: "I heard it from someone else, and I wrote it down because I thought it sounded good."
As a child who should be illiterate, Zhu Hao sometimes uses words that are indeed not suitable for children of his age to say.
Before, Zhu Niang's attention was all on whether the shop could be preserved, and she didn't pay too much attention to her son's choice of words and sentences.
Now that she was more relaxed, she immediately realized the problem.
"Mother, you'd better ask your husband to come back earlier..."
Zhu Niang seemed to have made up her mind to let her son learn to read. "I can't let you run around outside all the time. I have no choice but to do business. And you...you must not become a peddler when you grow up. If you do, I will be so sorry to your father."
The mother wanted to express her feelings, but she saw her son trotting behind the counter: "Mom, give me two cents of silver, or two hundred coins will do, I want to go outside the city to hire a few people to do the work... Don't worry, mom, I won't spend money recklessly."
Zhu Niang looked at her son's sincere expression and felt a little confused.
"Why do you hire people?"
Although Zhu Niang was puzzled, she had no reason to doubt since her son had been the one who had built the salt pond. So she went over and took the two strings of money and gave them to her son.
Zhu Hao said: "I'll explain it to mother later. This involves whether I can stay with mother in the future... Just consider it as a token of gratitude to the gods."
"Thank the gods?"
Zhu Niang was completely confused.
Zhu Hao touched the back of his head and nodded, "Of course I have to thank the gods. Otherwise, how do you think I can come up with so many good ideas? I'm going to the temple to thank the gods for giving me a smart mind. Mom... I won't say anymore. I'm going first!"
Zhu Niang wanted to call her son to tell him about looking for a teacher, but she saw Zhu Hao running out of the door without looking back.
"This child is too wild. We must find a way to make him behave himself, otherwise his future will be worrying!" Zhu Niang looked helpless.
