Chapter Thirty: Out of Control

  Just as the sun had turned into a red big ball, slowly sinking down, Zhu Ciwen was in the Portentous Virtue Hall, standing beside Princess Changping, teaching this younger sister to write a hanging scroll.

  His writing is now very famous in the palace, so he is qualified enough to teach the princess.

  To be honest, it's not just an excuse to ask for help. The princess is also inconvenient to come over, after all, they are already adults, and the etiquette is strict, even siblings can't meet often.

  Normally, except for Chongzhen and Zhou Hou, no one would come to his palace without a reason. These two were in charge of national affairs and the six palaces respectively, and they were extremely busy people. As long as Zhu Ciyan made an appearance in front of them every morning and evening, he wouldn't have any trouble.

  As for his studies and internal affairs, they are also proceeding in an orderly manner according to the previously set schedule. Wang Zhong, a lecturer at the Eastern Palace, was sent back to Jiangnan by him, and this person's role in Nanjing is probably greater than staying in the capital.

  As for Wu Weiye and others, after several attempts to sound them out, it was discovered that they were a bunch of useless chatterboxes... but keeping them around as a facade to cover oneself was sufficient.

  After several twists and turns, the Crown Prince had already tamed Xiao Wu into submission, especially when Wu Weiye saw the bigger picture and planned to escape south, but was exposed by Zhu Ciyan in person, revealing his true intentions with one sentence.

  At that time, Ng Wai-yip's face turned red and white, and it took a long time for him to regain his composure.

  Scholars should at least have a loyal and respectful mind, being seen through is naturally embarrassing, especially being seen through by the emperor... This matter was an unforgivable stain for Wu Weiye, so in helping the crown prince with his homework, Wu the great poet also did a good job of covering up...

  So on Chongzhen's side, everything in the East Palace of the Crown Prince was as usual, quiet and peaceful. Zhu Ciyu's calligraphy was getting better and better, and his inner cultivation was said to be practiced with great skill, although he didn't have that stunning performance like the night of the Dry Clear Palace concert, but this eldest son was constantly growing, occasionally discussing state affairs with his father, Zhu Ciyu's answers were also very much in line with Chongzhen's intentions. So at the end of the 16th year of Chongzhen, Crown Prince Zhu Ciyu's position within the palace became more and more stable, and his reputation had already spread beyond the inner court, deviating from the original historical path, except for his name and ending, there was almost nothing that would make people mention him.

  At least in this era, the Crown Prince has already been evaluated as "brave, wise and intelligent".

  But in private, Zhu Ciyan was even more vivid and vocal!

  The emperor's relatives and nobles have already taken over twenty or so households, but on the surface, there is still no movement in the capital. The Shanxi merchant Fan family was personally handled by him, and several other families had also been present to direct, but more were just entrusted to the departments to handle, while he sat in the rear, through the reactions and attitudes of all parties, as well as the process of these vassals taking action, gathering various messages and intelligence... In short, after summarizing, he analyzed the implications, whether the danger level had increased, and to what extent it would trigger a backlash... There were also rewards and distribution of gold and silver to subordinates, negotiations with the Ministry of War to manufacture armor and weapons, sending people outside the city to purchase war horses, building hidden stables and granaries in several places outside the city... These things were extremely complicated and difficult, many times, Zhu Di had to order Li Jiye to ask Wang Chengen, and then issue an edict from the palace, only then could things be done.

  Several times, Wang Chengen has already begun to investigate what the young master is doing, and pay attention to the movements in the East Palace. Even internally, there are signs of instability... In short, after a month of searching to this extent, it should be enough to stop!

  As for recalling the harvest... Zhu Ciyan's mouth also revealed a hint of a smile, so obvious that even Longping Princess beside him noticed it. The girl blinked her beautiful eyes and asked Zhu Ciyan: "What's wrong? What makes you so happy?"

  Under Zhu Ciwen's guidance, she has already filled a whole sheet of paper. It can be seen that the princess is also very clever and her progress is quite obvious.

  The girls in the imperial family, of course, need to receive more artistic training than those outside, apart from learning needlework, they also have to read and write, it's just that the requirements are not high.

  "Hehe, I just thought of something really funny, so I laughed."

  "What's wrong?"

  "Girls, stop gossiping...” Zhu Ciwen rubbed the princess's head hard, provoking the little girl to roll her eyes.

  "Here, take this silver box, the gold ornaments inside are not bad either, pick and wear them!"

  "Brother, where did you get so much money?"

  Changping was greatly puzzled and asked, "Father Emperor has been so worried that he can't eat his meals recently. Alas, I went to Qianqing Palace to pay my respects, and the eunuchs and palace maids inside were all scared to death..."

  "His Majesty's affair is a national matter, requiring over a million taels of silver. This small silver box only costs a few coins, yet you have so many words to say!"

  Now that it's been said, Chang Ping naturally dispelled the doubts in his mind and happily looked at the silver jewelry box, opening it himself to start looking at the decorations inside.

  To be honest, the emotions in the royal family are very dull, and it is even more so between brothers. The princes all live in Nan San Suo, with their own eunuchs serving them, reading books and practicing calligraphy. Normally, except for seeing each other once in the morning and once at night, they would not meet casually. When they are sent to a vassal state, it is even more likely that they will never see each other again in their lifetime.

  It's better if the prince and princess can meet often in the future and have a good relationship.

  Zhu Ciyan was very fond of this younger sister, but for Chongzhen, he found it difficult to have a truly father-son relationship, and as for his other brothers, they were just polite and courteous, without any real affection. Only with Zhou Hou and Zhang Ping, Zhao Ren did he have some genuine familial feelings.

  If a person lives in this world without any emotional attachment or dependence on others... it's really too frightening.

  "Little master..." The brother and sister were discussing the jewelry, Li Jiye coughed softly outside the hall, and when Zhu Ciwen turned around, he said in a low voice: "The slave has something to report back."

  "Alright, I understand."

  Zhu Ci hurried out and nodded at Li Jiye, saying: "Speak."

  "Yes, as you instructed, I bribed one of the emperor's attendants with a few pieces of gold..."

  There must be an ear-reporting god by Chongzhen's side, which is also the meaning of this topic. The emperor and the crown prince are not only father and son, but also monarch and minister. Although the royal family doesn't have much affection in the Great Ming, several decades ago, Wanli was still thinking about replacing him, Chongzhen didn't have such thoughts, but what happened around the emperor was also an important source of information for Zhu Ciyan.

  Fortunately, with money, things are easy to handle. Li Jiye and others first ate their fill of the prince's imperial reward, and their loyalty greatly increased. Now that they have been entrusted with matters, Zhu Ciyan has a lot less to worry about.

  Of course, the source of money is absolutely confidential, and subordinates are used separately, not allowed to meet, let alone have any dealings. So, to the greatest extent, his own safety is still guaranteed.

  Today, at the cabinet meeting, Chongzhen did not find it strange that Zhu Ciyan failed to raise funds from the civil officials. The fact that imperial power was declining step by step in Chongzhen's hands was an indisputable fact. As the orthodox representative of imperial power, the civil officials had nothing to say at least on the surface, and many people were indeed relatively loyal to Chongzhen.

  When Chongzhen died, the reason why the Ming dynasty could no longer govern by drawing a boundary along the Yangtze River was precisely because imperial power had declined.

  Although Zhu Youjian succeeded to the throne, apart from Ma Shiying's clique, no one in the Southern Ming court considered him a trustworthy emperor.

  Huang Zongxi and other Donglin Party members never acknowledged the legitimacy of the Fu king, and these people even secretly colluded with warlords, attempting to use military force to either overthrow the Fu king or seize actual power.

  The Qing army has attacked the Huaiyang area, and the Ming army is still killing each other. If the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty regarded imperial power as a trivial matter, how could it be like this?

  "Alright, I understand."

  But Chen Yan and Wei Decao's conversation after leaving the cabinet is quite interesting.

  Because of anger, the two old men were about to order the Imperial Guards to investigate the case again, so their voices were very loud... so the content was all heard clearly.

  Li Jiye did not quite understand the severity of the matter, so he simply recounted it truthfully. Seeing that Zhu Ciyan had no further expression, he bowed and retreated.

  "Come," Zhu Ci Yun's face was displeased, thought for a moment, and ordered: "Summon Qiu Zhong to come."

  "The slave has seen the young master."

  Qiu Zhi Zhong hastily arrived, bowed and stood below, Zhu Ciwen asked him: "Has there been anything unusual with the inner guards these past few days?"

  "Return to Young Master," Chu Zhi Zhong thought for a moment and replied: "There are two matters that I was just about to report."

  "Hurry up and say it!"

  "Firstly, several hundred households have not come to take their turns for the past two days, including Duan, Ren and Zhan. Secondly, just now a slave reported that Duan Baihu has bought goods worth several thousand silvers in the inner market, which is quite eye-catching."

  "So he's come to buy New Year's goods, isn't he? This guy is indeed rich and generous." Zhu Ciyan smiled slightly coldly, waved his hand and said: "Continue to keep a good eye on that side, don't wait for me to ask, come back early."

  "Yes, I know."

  As soon as all the eunuchs went down, Zhu Ciyan's face turned very ugly.

  After so many days of drilling, the entire Donggong inner guard, from military officers to camp soldiers, had all received thorough training. Moreover, since Zhu Ciyan had personally commanded several times, his prestige greatly increased, and controlling the inner guard was also no problem.

  Moreover, the inner city is within the Forbidden City, and it's also very convenient for inspection.

  But even so, due to the constant plundering and killing, although the blade is as sharp as a precious sword, it has become rich in murderous aura and its attacking power has increased. However, like a bandit's actions, having killed many people, this knife has become too sharp, and if one is not careful, they will end up cutting themselves!

  These days he has not left the palace, apparently, there are also signs of losing control outside.

  It seems it's time to stop and make a real cleanup, and he has been hiding in the East Palace for these few days, all because of this matter...