Zhu Ci looked at the chaotic Small Flower Hall and the bonsai pot shattered on the ground, saying with some regret, "Such beautiful flowers."
He looked up at that Green Jade Wurtz Tree, feeling a sudden surge of desire for it.
This is truly fine craftsmanship; the jade quality and the carving are both superb. If it were placed in a later era, its value would be immeasurable.
He couldn't help but ask, "Who sent this?"
Nong Liangping bowed and said, "Reporting to His Highness, it is the Marquis of Huating."
The Marquis of Huating?
Zhu Ci stood up and said, "Go back to the study and say that this tree is to be moved to the study as well."
Someone will come to clean this place in a moment; it is no place for conversation.
That Green Jade Wurtz Tree would, of course, be placed somewhere he could see it; such a wonderful thing made his mood feel much brighter just by catching a glimpse of it.
Once in the study, he tapped the armrest of the grand armchair and said, "Tell me about this Marquis of Huating."
There is always a motive behind such heavy gifts; it's just that I don't know what this person wants.
Nong Liangping pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve and said, "All the information regarding the Marquis of Huating is on here."
He had prepared this long ago; that Green Jade Wurtz Tree was truly eye-catching, as soon as he saw it, he knew the "Crown Prince" would ask about it sooner or later.
Zhu Ci gave him an approving glance and reached out to take the paper. Although the traditional characters were somewhat tiring to read, he fortunately possessed an innate talent for conversion, so even if he read slowly, he ultimately finished it.
The Marquis of Huating, named Fu, courtesy name Unshheng, was a native of Songjiang Prefecture. He was twenty-four years old, well-versed in the classics, came from a merchant family.
Hmm?
Zhu Ci was somewhat surprised to see this. A merchant family?
It was not easy for families of merchants to hold official positions, let alone be granted a marquisate.
As he continued reading, he realized it was no exaggeration to call the Fu Family of Songjiang Prefecture a clan of merchant magnates; their family business included grain, silk, porcelain.
In addition to this, the Fu Family even had an entire fleet engaged in maritime trade.
Of course, this refers to the Fu Family as they are now. Before Fu took charge, the Fu Family was merely an ordinary grain merchant. Fu took charge at the age of fifteen; he was highly capable, in the nearly ten years since, the Fu Family has developed like a rocket.
Before Zhu Yousong ascended the throne, Fu's influence extended beyond just Songjiang Prefecture, reaching across more than half of Jiangnan.
And his ennoblement as a Marquis also occurred after Zhu Yousong's ascension to the throne; at that time, he had put in a tremendous amount of effort.
Although the Donglin Party had been forced to agree to support the Prince of Fu, Zhu Yousong, because they had been one step behind at the time, they did not give up their struggle. They made a scene directly during the enthronement ceremony, claiming that the Ministry of Revenue was empty and that there was no money to hold the ceremony.
An emperor without an enthronement ceremony would be ridiculed even if he ascended the throne, it might even happen that the scholars across the realm would not even know a new emperor had ascended.
Although the Prince of Fu had money, he could not support an entire enthronement ceremony. At this critical moment, Fu appeared, providing money and goods directly; whatever he had, he gave, if he lacked something, he would find a way to obtain it.
After Zhu Yousong successfully ascended the throne, he naturally returned the favor by setting aside all opposition to enfeoff Fu as the Marquis of Huating. The Fu Family underwent a sudden transformation into imperial merchants; not only that, but Zhu Yousong even granted the Fu Family special permission to trade in salt and iron.
After reading it, Zhu Ci had only one impression of this Marquis of Huating: he was bold, meticulous, possessed immense courage.
Although the rewards are great, the initial investment is also substantial, one could easily lose everything if they aren't careful.
From this perspective, it is highly likely that the Marquis of Huating sent the Green Jade Wurtz Tree because he wanted to build a good relationship with the next Crown Prince in advance.
Although this item was precious, it was nothing compared to what he had invested in Zhu Yousong.
Then it's fine.
Zhu Ci casually placed that piece of paper onto the desk.
This person did not need attention for the time being, although Fu had indeed left a deep impression on Zhu Ci.
At this moment, his focus shifted back to the Fourth Prince.
Just then, a servant arrived to report that the Small Flower Hall was ready, which couldn't help but make Zhu Ci think of the harsh words the Fourth Prince had left behind before his departure.
Zhu Ci turned to look at Nong Liangping. "What did the Fourth Prince mean just now when he said he hoped I could hold out a little longer than my two brothers?"
Nong Liangping said in a low voice, "The Fourth Prince was referring to your two elder brothers, who were also once honored as Crown Princes, but have since been deposed."
Zhu Ci asked while twisting his wrists, "Deposed Crown Princes? Which ones?"
Both of them.
Hmm?
Author's Note:
----------------------
Zhu Ci: I knew being the Crown Prince was a high-risk profession! Let me go home! *Cat pounding on door. jpg*
Chapter 4
The first two were both deposed? No wonder he could become the Crown Prince despite being the third in line.
Zhu Ci sat in the chair, leaning against the backrest, looked out the window as he asked, "Why were they all deposed?"
Nong Liangping lowered his head and said, "Treason."
Zhu Ci turned his head to look at him. "Both of them?"
Nong Liangping lowered his eyes and nodded.
Hiss, the probability of both crown princes committing treason.. I won't say it's less likely than a comet hitting the Earth, but it's certainly not something that happens easily.
The main thing is, there is no historical record of such a shocking event? Theoretically, there should be.
Zhu Ci pondered for a long while before asking, "What did they do?"
"The one in the first position used to have close dealings with the Minister of War." After Nong Liangping said this, he fell silent.
Zhu Ci asked casually, "Who is the Minister of War?"
The current Minister of War is the Grand Secretary of Wuying Hall and Grand Protector of the Crown Prince, Shi Kefa.
Shi Kefa? That name sounds a bit familiar.
Zhu Ci lowered his head in thought for a long while, suddenly remembered that in the web novel he had read before, there seemed to be a minor boss named Shi Kefa.
That book mainly tells the story of the male protagonist growing from a lowly soldier into a prince of a different surname. The historical setting is the Qing Dynasty; when the male protagonist started his rise, it was the early Qing period, he was born a Manchu slave.
As a Southern Ming general, Shi Kefa was killed by the male lead, after which the male lead was promoted several ranks at once, officially entering the ranks of high-level generals.
Zhu Ci's expression became extremely unsightly. Although he had already made some guesses from the Crown Prince's name, he had harbored a sliver of hope until he had concrete evidence; now, he was almost certain of the era he was currently in.
If that novel was not fiction, then the time he was currently in was very likely the Hongguang Era of the Southern Ming, because Shi Kefa had already died before the Hongguang court fell.
The emperor of the Hongguang Era was Zhu Yousong, who was the Prince of Fu before his ascension. This Prince of Fu, who was greedy and lustful and loved drinking and watching plays, served as emperor for less than a year.
Thinking of this, Zhu Ci felt his vision go dark. He supported his forehead and asked weakly, "What is the time right now? State the year, month, day clearly."
Nong Liangping was somewhat confused as to why the person who had just been arrogant enough to strike the Fourth Prince now looked so utterly despondent.
He observed carefully as he spoke, "It is currently the ninth month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen. Once the New Year passes, the era name will change to Hongguang."
The heart that had been hanging in suspense finally settled.
He took a deep breath and asked again, "When will the current Emperor ascend the throne?"
Nong Liangping lowered his eyes, his thoughts unreadable, simply said, "June this year."
June, then. That means this damn imperial court will be finished by next June.
This is truly exciting.
Wait a minute.. something isn't right.
It is currently September. This emperor has deposed two crown princes in just three months of his reign? Is the crown prince of the Hongguang Era a monthly subscription service?
Zhu Ci could not help but look up at the ceiling, wondering if he had committed some heavenly crime to have been thrown in here.
After being lost in melancholy for a while, he began to think seriously. To save his life, he had two primary tasks: first, to strive to survive at the hands of this dog emperor, second, to strive to make his escape before the Qing army arrived.
As for things like overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming, or vying for hegemony over the world.. those were not things he could achieve. He was just an ordinary man; how could he possess such immense capability?
Given his current status, it would be impressive enough if he could just keep his own life.
Zhu Ci steadied his mind. While he was thinking, Nong Liangping stood by his side, appearing like a truly dutiful Chengfengzheng.
Oh, that's not right. Since Zhu Ci is now the Crown Prince and Nong Liangping has not been replaced, he should also be promoted along with him. This is what it truly means for one to rise and fall together.
He turned to look at Nong Liangping and sighed, "It seems that even becoming the Crown Prince is not peaceful. In the future, I fear you and I will have to rely on each other for survival."
Nong Liangping lowered his head and said, "This old servant will certainly do his utmost to assist His Highness."
Zhu Ci could not see the expression in his eyes, so he naturally did not know whether he was being sincere or deceitful.
However, Zhu Ci did not care much; he treated Nong Liangping with both trust and suspicion, remaining wary of being backstabbed by the man.
He asked, "Is there anything else I need to do? Is there anything I should be careful about?"
Nong Liangping thought for a moment, shook his head, said, "Your Highness only needs to await the imperial decree."
Zhu Ci asked, "An imperial decree?"
Nong Liangping explained, "After His Highness is enfeoffed, he should be granted a banquet for the staff of the Eastern Palace, but since the officials of the Eastern Palace have not yet been arranged, he can only wait for His Majesty's decree."
Zhu Ci's mind shifted as he asked, "Who could the members of the Eastern Palace's staff possibly be?"
Although Nong Liangping was merely a eunuch, the power of the Ming Dynasty eunuchs was no ordinary thing, even if he was only a Chengfengzheng of a prince's manor.
Nong Liangping shook his head. "This old servant does not know."
Zhu Ci looked at him with a half-smile, "Is it that you do not know, or that you do not want to say?"
Nong Liangping said immediately, "I truly do not know. It could be someone from the Donglin Party, or someone from the Grand Secretary, or perhaps someone else entirely. This.. no one can say for certain."
The Donglin Party.. the Grand Secretary.. others.. Zhu Ci tried hard to recall his high school history knowledge, he strongly suspected that these "others" might be related to the military officers.
However, military officials in the Great Ming Dynasty were truly being suppressed heavily; how else could military officials plant people?
Zhu Ci clasped his hands within his sleeves and gazed out the window, lost in thought. Based on his historical knowledge, once the decision was made to crown the Crown Prince, the staff of the Eastern Palace would certainly be fully appointed first, allowing the Crown Prince to begin working as soon as he took office.
Unless the Crown Prince is too young.
And this body was fourteen years old this year, at an age where one could attend school and also be exposed to state affairs; the Eastern Palace should have been provided with attendants by now.
It was very strange that even after the ceremony had concluded, the Eastern Palace had not a single official.