The Ming Dynasty 1626 Enlightenment

Chapter 14 The Marriage of Prince Xin, Zhu Youjian

"Consort Rong sent a message back saying that Empress Dowager Cixi is eating and sleeping well at the palace!" Zhang Yan replied softly.

"Okay!" Zhu Ming breathed a sigh of relief, afraid that the Apocalypse Explosion might frighten the child and kill him!

These past few days, he finally received some reassuring news.

After all, everyone in the court was using the Tianqi Explosion to cause trouble. If he relaxed even slightly, he wouldn't be able to control those chattering scholars.

Now, the trap... no, the scheme is set, just waiting for those officials who occupy their positions without doing their jobs to jump in.

And Zhu Ming... Zhu Youxiao's only son, might also be used as a pretext.

Therefore, with everything in place, there's no way this prince can be allowed to get into trouble.

"Don't worry, with General Qin's White Spear Army and my Phoenix Guards here, nothing will happen!" Zhang Yan sensed some worry in Zhu Ming's tone and continued.

"I trust you to handle things, sister!" Zhu Ming opened his eyes, looked at Zhang Yan's stunningly beautiful face, and then continued, "By the way, when will Consort Rong and Empress Dowager Cixi arrive?"

"We'll be able to enter the city before noon tomorrow," Zhang Yan said, massaging Zhu Ming's temples. "General Qin has already made arrangements, and there will be Imperial Guards escorting us along the way, so there won't be any problems."

Zhu Ming hummed in agreement and closed his eyes again.

The bedchamber was quiet for a moment. Zhang Yan dismissed everyone around her, leaving only the soft crackling of the candlelight.

Zhang Yan's fingers paused on Zhu Ming's temple for a moment, she hesitated, and then spoke: "Your Majesty..."

"Um?"

"There is something I wish to say, but I am not sure if I should."

Zhu Ming opened his eyes, looked at Zhang Yan's hesitant expression, and suddenly laughed: "Little sister, when did you learn this habit of stammering? Just say what you want to say, I'm not going to eat you."

Zhang Yan bit her lip, as if she had made a great decision: "Your Majesty, how long has it been since you visited any of the other concubines?"

Zhu Ming blinked but didn't say anything.

"I've counted, from the beginning of the year until now, you've visited Consort Rong thirteen times, Consort Hui once, and..."

Zhang Yan counted on her fingers for a while, then put her hands down and looked at Zhu Ming seriously, "You have never visited the other concubines, and when you did visit Consort Rong, you only went to see Empress Dowager Cixi."

"..."

Zhu Ming was speechless. As a self-disciplined person, he also wanted to degenerate, but when he thought of the famine and death in the late Ming Dynasty, the 300 years of dark enslavement rule of Daiqing Gulun, and the century of humiliation in modern times, he was also speechless.

He has no time to indulge in the company of his three thousand concubines or his life of pleasure. He wishes he could immediately conjure up the Dongfeng 5C and first subdue the Jurchens, then destroy his little life.

"Your Majesty," Zhang Yan's voice carried a subtle helplessness, "it's very difficult for me to do this. There are so many concubines in the harem, all girls sent from respectable families. How can I explain this to them when you show such favoritism?"

Zhu Ming rolled over, buried his face in Zhang Yan's legs, and mumbled, "I understand."

I neither respond nor resist, but I just don't want to go. In short, nothing beats handcrafted weapons!

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Yan sighed, patting Zhu Ming's back. "With you like this, it's very difficult for me to live in the harem. Last month, Consort Fang sent someone to ask if she had done something wrong, since Your Majesty hasn't visited her. What could I say? That Your Majesty is busy? No one would believe me. Even if Your Majesty is busy, he does have time to go to Cining Palace."

Zhu Ming opened one eye and glanced at her. "Little sister, are you trying to get rid of me?"

"I'm trying to reason with you," Zhang Yan said, gently flicking his forehead. "Which of these concubines in the harem weren't chosen by you? You take them in and then ignore them, leaving them alone in their empty rooms. If word gets out, people will say I'm jealous and that Your Majesty is heartless."

"Moreover, His Majesty's offspring are dwindling; he should consider contributing to the continuation of the royal bloodline!"

Damn! It was Zhu Youxiao who took a concubine, not Zhu Ming... But there's nothing wrong with that statement!

But, there's no rush to spend money on Mitsuba and such!

After all, he's only twenty-two years old, still young and strong!

"I know!" Zhu Ming could only reply helplessly.

"?" Zhang Yan was stunned for a moment. It was always the same excuse, but he never took any action, which made her very distressed. So she could only put on a stern face and say, "Your Majesty, what I mean is that you can't always stay here with me."

"Those concubines outside are also your wives and concubines. If you neglect them like this, what will they think? If they go back and tell their families, they will gossip in court, and then..."

Zhang Yan had no choice but to explain to Zhu Ming that if he were to be the sole favorite, the civil officials in the court would be eager to see the drama unfold and would definitely cause trouble.

"What then?" Zhu Ming sat up, his expression suddenly becoming somewhat subtle. "What if their families impeach me in court for 'favoring the empress and deposing the concubine'? Or for 'abusing power and monopolizing the emperor's favor'?"

Zhang Yan fell silent.

Zhu Ming looked at her face, which had suddenly dimmed, and felt a lump in his throat.

He reached out and took Zhang Yan's hand, gently squeezing it: "I know what you're worried about. You're afraid people will use this to their advantage, saying you're like 'Daji and Baosi,' right?"

"...Your Majesty, I dare not."

"You may not dare, but I dare to speak for you," Zhu Ming sighed, gripping Zhang Yan's hand even tighter. "You are my Empress, the Mother of the Ming Dynasty. If anyone dares to throw dirty water on you, I will be the first to object."

Zhang Yan's eyes reddened slightly, and she lowered her head without saying a word.

Over the past year, as Zhu Ming's efforts in the court have become increasingly sophisticated, Zhang Yan's concerns in the harem have also grown.

She began to learn to weigh the pros and cons, to read between the lines, and to wrap herself in layers of rules and etiquette, living as a "standard empress and virtuous mother of the nation."

Sometimes Zhu Ming felt that the rules of the Ming Dynasty were like countless invisible chains, binding everyone tightly.

While he was out there battling wits with the ministers, Zhang Yan was in the harem trying to appease the concubines and maintain his dignity. Both of them were exhausted in their respective positions.

At least in the Cining Palace, when they were alone together, he could rest his head on Zhang Yan's lap, like tonight, letting down all his masks and defenses, and being an ordinary husband.

"By the way," Zhu Ming said, noticing Zhang Yan's expression, then remembering something, he changed the subject, "How are things going with Fifth Brother's side?"

Zhang Yan wiped her eyes and looked up: "Is Your Majesty referring to the matter of Prince Xin choosing a consort?"

"Hmm," Zhu Ming nodded. "The fifth prince has come of age this year and should be settling down. If I, as his elder brother, don't take care of things, the censors in the court will start grumbling again."

Zhu Ming was not in a hurry, since he already had a prince; so he left the matter of having more sons to his other brothers.

Prince Xin, Zhu Youjian, is seventeen years old this year, and has reached the age of coming of age. Isn't there a ready-made scapegoat to take the fall?

In the original history, this Prince Xin later became the Chongzhen Emperor. However, in this timeline, since the Ming Dynasty has arrived, they naturally won't allow that to happen. His son, Zhu Cijiong, sits firmly in the position of Crown Prince.

Prince Xin should just obediently marry a princess and have several children, since Emperor Chongzhen already had quite a few children.

"We've chosen six girls; their portraits are all on the table," Zhang Yan said, gesturing towards the dressing table. "Your Majesty, please take a look tomorrow when you have some free time."

"You can just look at it," Zhu Ming said, waving his hand. "I trust the one you chose."

Zhang Yan shook her head: "Prince Xin is the Emperor's younger brother. Such a big matter as choosing a consort cannot be decided by me alone."

"Let Consort Liu oversee things as well," Zhu Ming yawned. "You can decide these matters yourselves!"

"Yes! Your Majesty!" Zhang Yan took a deep breath, slowly calming herself down. Suddenly, she remembered something. "Oh, right, speaking of Prince Xin, General Qin sent me something else!"

"What is it?" Zhu Ming frowned, looking puzzled.