Chapter Eleven Zhang Yan

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  He was still a bit tender, and Zhu Yinglong secretly blamed himself in his heart. This time, if it wasn't for Zhou Huai'an's insider help, he would have been thoroughly understood by others long ago. Just thinking about it made the back of his neck feel cool. As a result, Zhu Yinglong became even more cautious in his actions. Especially that night when he ordered the beating of Left Thousand Households, Wei Zhongxian probably suspected whether he was really stupid or if his foolish illness had already recovered. However, Wei couldn't grasp any evidence from this because his cheap brother would be overjoyed if Zhu Yinglong's illness had indeed improved. Therefore, for him, the news that Zhu wasn't stupid only brought bad news and no good news. Wei Zhongxian probably wouldn't tell Tianqi Emperor even if he knew, because only if Zhu was still ill could his "rare goods" strategy be effective!

  When Zhu Yinglong was secretly planning to rescue Xiong Tingbi by replacing the beam, an imperial edict came down. His fiefdom was sealed in Kaifeng, Henan, and he was ordered to set off immediately. The court also allocated 100,000 taels of silver as a settlement fee and 20,000 mu of land in Kaifeng and surrounding areas. All the princes who were externally sealed had this standard. Zhu Yinglong was caught off guard by this news. Although this was what he wanted, he didn't want to rush to his fiefdom so quickly. He wanted to leave some roots in the capital and wait for his own use when he returned to Beijing in the future. Just as he had a clue, Wei Zhongxian destroyed it. It seemed that others had already taken precautions against him. Zhou Huai'an's identity was confirmed by Xiong Hu, and his brother Xiong Chaoqi also contacted him. It seemed that they should take action ahead of time. The sky was about to change.

  Zhu Yinglong let Wang Chengen go to the inner palace to stir up some activity, and immediately knew why he was suddenly sent to his fiefdom. Wei Zhongxian appeared to be silent about the beating of the Left Thousand Households, but in reality had already hated him, so he manipulated things in front of Emperor Tianqi, wanting to kick him out of the capital as soon as possible. Emperor Tianqi was deceived by Wei's flowery words and truly believed what he said, issuing an imperial edict that sent his younger brother to his fiefdom. However, their fraternal bond was deep, and this cheap older brother gave more rewards than his three uncles, the Wang princes, had given in previous years. He also promised to let him set a date for leaving the capital and would personally see him off, which truly moved Zhu Yinglong. If it weren't for Wei Zhongxian getting in the way, where could he find such a good older brother? However, this was only the superficial reason; perhaps only Wei Zhongxian understood the deeper reasons.

  He had just received the imperial edict when news came from inside the palace that Empress Zhang wanted to see him. Zhu Yinglong was perplexed, but he still got up and rushed to the imperial palace.

  In the Kun Ning Palace, Zhu Yinglong met Zhang Huanghou, a wise and virtuous woman who was only twenty years old. She was the daughter of Taikangbo Zhang Guoji and was known in history as the benevolent Empress Yi'an. This intelligent and chaste woman had a strong personality and never trusted Wei Zhongxian. Zhu Youjian was able to ascend to the throne smoothly thanks to her help, and she was also the object of Zhu Yinglong's affections. Unfortunately, he did not possess the body of Zhu Youxiao; otherwise, they would have been a perfect couple who could have changed the course of fate. However, he was grateful that he had possessed the body of Zhu Youjian, as his younger brother suffered from severe uremia, an incurable disease in later generations, and it was even more hopeless in this time and space.

  "My brother, Zhu Youjian, has seen the Empress Dowager!" Zhu Yinglong hadn't seen Empress Zhang in a long time and couldn't help but steal a glance at her. He found that her beautiful face had become even thinner, and the worry in her eyes had deepened. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her and feel helpless. Although Zhu Youjian treated her fairly well, marrying such a husband was still the greatest misfortune for a virtuous woman.

  "Come on, get up and sit down." Empress Zhang looked at Zhu Youjian, oh no, now it should be Zhu Yinglong's gradually maturing face seemed a bit distracted, stunned for a moment, and didn't even notice Zhu Yinglong's title, anyway she had already accepted the change from "sister" to "imperial sister-in-law", the distance between them had already opened up.

  "Thank you, Imperial Sister-in-law." Zhu Yinglong uneasily got up and sat down on a nearby embroidered stool, his mind involuntarily speculating about what matter Empress Zhang had suddenly summoned him for.

  "Alas, after the vassal king's coming of age and marriage, he must go to his fiefdom to reside, it is not allowed to stay in the capital, this is the ancestral rule, I am also powerless, your body is not good, on this journey you must prepare sufficiently, leaving late is no problem, the emperor only has you as a younger brother, will not blame you." Empress Zhang said after thinking for a long time.

  "My brother knows, my brother thanks you for your concern." Zhu Yinglong replied in a formulaic manner.

  Suddenly, Zhu Yinglong found that the atmosphere in the space where he was located was somewhat different. The air emitted an unclear fragrance. When he looked up, a scorching gaze was staring at him. This gaze belonged to Empress Zhang. Her eyes were focused and filled with tenderness. Zhu Yinglong's heart skipped a beat as his heart was lifted to his throat. He felt extremely nervous, wondering if Empress Zhang had feelings for Zhu Youjian. This would be the biggest scandal in late Ming history. However, he immediately felt ashamed of his dirty thoughts. How could such a virtuous woman have an affair? Her status as the motherly figure of the empire and her relationship with his younger uncle made it absolutely impossible. He was still a virgin after all these years, and this conclusion was reached after much deliberation. This gaze full of emotions must be that of sisterly love, for he remembered Yan Hong telling him that Zhu Youjian used to call Empress Zhang "sister". The way she looked at her younger brother should be like this.

  "This time to Kaifeng, my sister can also send you, this is a jade pendant, my sister has been wearing it since childhood, it has the ability to drive out evil spirits, you just wear it." Empress Zhang took off an ancient jade from her neck and handed it to Zhu Yinglong's hand.

  Zhu Yinglong was shocked, and on the jade pendant, there was also a "Yan" character. He knew it was one of Empress Zhang's most treasured possessions, often used as a token of affection between lovers. Suddenly, she gave this jade pendant to him - could it be that their relationship was truly just sibling affection? Zhu Yinglong subconsciously touched the still warm jade pendant and fell into a daze. What if Empress Zhang really had feelings for Zhu Youjian? What should he do? Somewhat flustered, he said: "Elder sister, such a precious gift, I cannot accept!" He stretched out his hand to return the jade pendant.

  "By checking, don't you even understand a little bit of sister's intention? Since you woke up, you haven't called me 'sister' again. Do you know how sad it makes sister feel?" Empress Zhang suddenly remembered everything from before and said with a sorrowful expression.

  Zhu Yinglong's mind was racing, today's events had completely exceeded his knowledge of history. Had Empress Zhang, after losing hope in her husband, shifted her affections to Zhu Yijian, who was four years younger than her? In later generations, it wasn't uncommon for couples with age gaps of several decades to be together, and even in this era, the emperor would select a new imperial concubine every few years, with significant age differences. As someone with modern thoughts, age wasn't an issue for Zhu Yinglong, but what he couldn't accept was that Empress Zhang had developed feelings for her husband's younger brother - a scandal of epic proportions in the imperial court. Suddenly feeling like he was being roasted over an open flame, yet his hands and feet felt icy cold, Zhu Yinglong's forehead broke out in a thin layer of sweat.

  "By checking, what's wrong with you? Are you uncomfortable or...?" Empress Zhang furrowed her brow and leaned forward slightly towards Zhu Yinglong, noticing that he seemed a bit off. She called out softly, and by the time they were speaking, she had already dismissed the attendants around them, not fearing being seen for the moment.

  "Oh no, sister, the jade pendant is your treasured item, I couldn't possibly accept it." Zhu Yinglong said somewhat flusteredly, in front of Empress Zhang, he felt that even though he had lived for twenty-five years, he was still just a younger brother.

  "Empress Zhang's eyes were already slightly red, and she said: 'Sister knows that you have married three princesses, and your heart has long forgotten about sister. Now, even a little bit of sister's intention, you are hesitant to accept, pushing three and blocking four. You're leaving now, and sister is afraid that this lifetime will not see you again. Sister was afraid that you would forget about sister, so she gave you this jade pendant, hoping that you wouldn't forget about sister. Who knew that before you even left, your heart had already cast sister aside.'"

  After listening to Empress Zhang's grievances, Zhu Yinglong was drenched from head to toe, as if he had been washed by water. These were words of parting between lovers, but now they were being spoken between uncle and aunt. If Zhu Yinglong still couldn't hear the deep affection in Empress Zhang's words for Zhu Youjian, he would have to jump into the Golden Water River. But he was no longer the old Zhu Youjian, and he was now shouldering this messy account himself, at this very moment. Zhu Yinglong's mood had turned sour.

  Opening his mouth to speak again, Zhu Yinglong discovered that his voice was actually a bit hoarse, which was really deadly. A man's hoarse voice is a sign of affection for women, so even if the words themselves are not emotional, they become emotional when heard. He had no choice but to continue speaking, saying: "Sister, don't say it like that, I haven't forgotten your kindness, it's just that this jade pendant is too valuable, and I really can't accept it. If it were something else, I would absolutely not refuse."

  Empress Zhang was also a clever person, and as soon as she heard the implication of the words, Zhu Youjian wanted to leave, and she herself became somewhat disordered. Although the things sent out could be taken back, the emotions sent out could not be retrieved. There was originally nothing between this uncle and aunt, but Emperor Tianqi favored Wei Zhongxian, and "Empress Sheng" indulged in palace affairs. Although it was said that she had not been neglected as empress, the deep palace was desolate, her husband was infatuated with carpentry, and she could only talk to this uncle who was four years younger than herself. As a result, they developed feelings for each other. When Zhu Youjian fell to the ground in a coma, she secretly cried, and after waking up, she became silly and stupid. She not only cried once but also constantly recited scriptures to pray for his blessings. After Zhu Youjian's grand wedding, tears filled her cheeks in her dreams. Suddenly wanting to go to the fiefdom, it was possible that they would never see each other again in their lifetime. As soon as Zhang Yuan understood what it meant to miss someone, she couldn't wait to see Zhu Youjian. Firstly, she wanted to express her feelings, and secondly, she wanted to end this unknown uncle-aunt romance, which might be the only one in her life. When leaving the capital, it was also a time of broken love. After Zhu Youjian left, she was still the empress who was the motherly model for the world, and Zhu Youjian was truly her uncle, with no other relationship between them. She firmly handed over the gift and said, "This is sister's heart, Youjian, you don't have to decline."

  Zhu Yinglong had no choice but to put away this deep feeling that was hard for him to express.

  When the love is broken, it's also the beginning of a new romance. Because he is not that Zhu Youjian, and Zhang Yan's fate will be rewritten because of him, will it? This beauty who may put herself on the throne, how should she face her future self? Zhu Yinglong left the Forbidden City with Jiaoren's jade pendant, filled with melancholy.

  Zhu Yinglong couldn't help but fiddle with the jade pendant in his hand, this matter was completely unexpected and would probably not be written in history books even if someone knew about it. After all, Empress Zhang and Zhu Youjian's relationship was one of reason and emotion, they didn't do anything shameful. Later historians would never have thought that Emperor Chongzhen had a romantic relationship with Empress Yi'an, the reasons behind Zhu Youjian's ascension to the throne are worth pondering. Alas, everything is in disarray, history is still history, but it's not the history Zhu Yinglong knew. Zhu Yinglong put away the jade pendant that was troubling him and went to discuss with Wang Cheng'en how to rescue Xiong Tingbi.

  Zhou Huai'an agreed to repay the kindness, but this matter was too dangerous. He had to wait until the dead prisoner he replaced died before he could leave the Brocade Guard. Everything had to be arranged without a hitch. Xiong Hu's brother, Xiong Chaoqi, had also been taken in by Zhu Yinglong. By the time Xiong Hu found out, it was already too late.

  By now, Xiong siblings have been completely controlled by Zhu Yinglong.

  Immediately following the news from the inner court, Wei Zhongxian framed Hou Tongmeng for treason based on his praise of Hou in "Liaodong Biography", and he was sentenced to death. The news arrived, Zhu Yinglong decided to switch people out the night before he left Beijing, then hide him in a carriage to go to their fiefdom Kaifeng with him. With Zhou Huai'an's assistance, they quickly found a very similar prisoner who was willing to die in Hou's place for a large sum of money given to his family, using fake death methods to bring him out of prison, waiting for that night's arrival.