Chapter 80: A Rescue Attempt

Chapter 80: A Rescue Attempt

The imperial dynasty governed with the principle of filial piety.

It emphasized the importance of honoring and favoring relatives to demonstrate respect and uphold the virtue of filial duty.

Thus, following Zhu Yan's elevation to imperial consort, sycophants in the court submitted petitions, cleverly interpreting this as an indication of imperial favor, suggesting that honors be bestowed upon her maternal family.

At that time, the Emperor was irritated by Zhu Yan's reluctance to return from the country palace to the capital, realizing even taking her son A Si away couldn't sway her decision. It dawned on him that his leverage over Zhu Yan was minimal.

Noting Zhu Yan's cordial relationship with Mo Wangzhi, he had an epiphany: despite her strained relations with her father Zhu Qingyun and stepmother, the Zhu family wasn't limited to them. Zhu Yan surely had amicable relations with others in her family, particularly her mother and elder brother Zhu Jin.

Realizing the crux of the matter.

He made a strategic move, summoning Zhu Qingyun back to an official post in the capital, granting him a residence in Shengye Fang near the Imperial City, along with lavish gifts, allowing the family to settle in the capital, but then left them to their own devices.

Yet, the world never lacked flatterers.

As long as Zhu Yan held her position in the palace, the Zhu family's doorstep would never be deserted.

The Emperor hadn't anticipated Zhu Yan's aversion, not wanting Zhu Qingyun to bask in any reflected glory from her, even resorting to the unusual measure of returning the birthday gifts to diminish their status. Consequently, he issued an imperial edict, appointing Zhang Zhongguo to reprimand the Zhu family for accepting excessive gifts and indulging in lavishness, serving as a stern warning.

Upon returning from the Zhu residence, Zhang Zhongguo specifically reported to the Emperor, "Zhu Qingyun conveyed through me that the Zhu family intended to return the birthday gifts, citing Consort Zhu's virtues and disapproval of her family accepting such lavish gifts."

“He's indeed a clever man,” the Emperor praised, recognizing Zhu Qingyun's shrewdness in turning the situation to promote both Zhu Yan's and the family's reputation, seizing the opportunity to curry favor with him even before the task was completed.

No wonder Zhu Yan said her father reached the position of a fifth-grade chief historian in the governor's office by flattery.

From this perspective, Zhu Qingyun indeed possessed such a talent.

Not only is he intelligent, but he's also exceptionally adept at understanding and catering to others' intentions.

Such a person, if not managed well, can easily become a treacherous official.

He didn’t shy away from using treacherous officials. To him, as long as they were capable and obedient, he was willing to employ them. Good performance could lead to wealth and noble titles.

Zhu Qingyun, with strong initiative and bolstered by the Emperor's verbal admonitions, managed to return all the birthday gifts he had received a month earlier by the third day.

The Emperor, upon receiving this news in the palace, grew even more convinced of Zhu Qingyun's talents.

It seemed somewhat regrettable.

The Emperor personally informed Zhu Yan of the outcome, concluding with, "Let's put this matter to rest. From now on, let him serve out his days as the Deputy Supervisor of the mutual markets, without any promotions."

"Having him in the capital, under your watchful eye, is better. If he really does something wrong, you can send someone to reprimand him at any time. It’s far better than him acting in your name in a distant place, where we only find out after a long delay. It's much more convenient here in the capital," the Emperor added, trying to justify his decision.

Zhu Yan reluctantly agreed with the dog Emperor's reasoning.

From then on, as if inspired, Zhu Yan lit up a certain skill. She asked the Princess of Xiangyang to keep an eye on the Zhu residence from outside the palace, focusing on Zhu Qingyun's lifestyle issues. She sent Xing En to the Zhu residence periodically for admonition. In less than half a year, all the officials in the capital understood that Zhu Qingyun was not in favor at the palace.

Zhu Qingyun, unable to bear it any longer, eventually resigned from his post.

Only then did Zhu Yan cease this activity.

These are stories for another time.

For now, with Zhu Yan agreeing to his perspective and not causing further trouble, the dog Emperor considered the matter smoothly resolved and turned the page, easing his mind.

At the end of the year, the capital buzzed with excitement as princes from various regions came to pay homage. The usually quiet and empty residences of the princes in the eastern part of the city were now overflowing with people. The dog Emperor, upon receiving reports from the Ministry of the Royal Clan, noted that except for a few aged uncles who had been exempted from court attendance since the previous Emperor's reign, all others who were expected had arrived.

"The Emperor was quite satisfied with the outcome."

"By late December, the Emperor was either in the Qianyuan Hall or visiting the princes' residences, leaving him almost no time to step into the inner palace."

"Only then did the Chancellor Xie Wu and his peers realize that the so-called marriage alliance proposed by the Emperor was to have the princes marry princesses from the Khitan kingdom. Xie Wu, who had been apprehensive about the Emperor potentially causing trouble with this matter, was relieved."

"The incident started when Prince Qi, Zhang Han, beat up Prince Guangling, Prince Qinghe, and Prince Liaoyang inside the princes' residence, reportedly drawing blood."

"Prince Guangling was the Emperor's own elder brother, a peer of Prince Qi."

"However, Prince Qinghe and Prince Liaoyang were uncles to Prince Qi."

"Since the establishment of the dynasty, the feudal princes had been behaving recklessly in their territories, from extortion to cruelty, leading to a poor reputation. Their unruly behavior in the capital stirred up a storm, prompting officials to petition the Emperor for stern and prompt action."

"Even the three beaten princes were not spared by these officials."

"They believed these princes must have had issues too; otherwise, why would Prince Qi single them out? A thorough investigation was demanded."

"Everyone has their secrets."

"Prince Guangling, Zhang Yi, the first to be unsettled, ignored his injuries and bruises, and hurried to the Qianyuan Hall, pleading to his younger brother the Emperor, 'Ninth brother, you must stand up for your elder brother and punish that damned scoundrel Zhang Han.'"

"'Is your face alright?' The Emperor, having already heard of Prince Guangling's severe facial injury and sent a royal physician to the princes' residence, was still startled to see the extent of the bruising and swelling."

"This third brother of his had always been proud of his appearance."

"'It should be fine.'"

"Prince Guangling was also worried. Usually, he would look in the mirror at least ten times a day, but he had avoided it entirely these past few days. Every time he thought of looking, he wished he could beat up Zhang Han again, but he couldn't defeat him and feared causing a disturbance by gathering a crowd."

"If it were in his own territory, he would have already settled old and new scores with Zhang Han."

"'Ninth brother, you don't know how detestable Zhang Han is. Ever since we were kids, he bullied us brothers, relying on his strength and our imperial grandmother's favor. We suffered under his oppression until our father, the late Emperor, sent him back to his territory after our grandmother's death.'"

"Angry, Zhang Yi brought up old grievances, 'Our grandmother was biased. She even praised him for his bravery, likening him to Emperor Taizong. I avoided him during this visit to the capital. Uncle Qinghe and Uncle Liaoyang didn’t provoke him either, yet he attacked us without reason, showing no brotherly affection or familial bond.'"

"Ninth brother, you must stand up for your elder brother." Zhang Yi approached the Emperor directly, "It would be best to strip him of his fief and send him back to be King of Chenliu again."

Empress Dowager Zhuang Su had two sons: the eldest was the former Emperor, and the second was the father of King Zhang Han of Qi.

The second son was initially titled King of Chenliu. Later, when the former Emperor ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager, favoring her second son, thought his fief too small. Conveniently, the title of King of Qi became available due to a lack of heirs, and she secured it for her second son. Zhang Han, as the heir to King of Qi, always stayed in the capital to serve his father and the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager favored her second son, and Zhang Han's mother, the chief consort of King of Qi, was also from the Deng family. Thus, Zhang Han, her grandson, was more favored in the palace than any of the Emperor's sons.

When the Empress Dowager passed away, the Emperor was only five years old. He was raised by the former Emperor and, being young, was not bullied by Zhang Han, but he did have some recollection of Zhang Han's arrogance in the palace.

However, regarding this incident, he sided with King Zhang Han of Qi.

"Really without any reason?" the Emperor questioned, looking at his third brother’s swollen face, wondering if it would heal, planning to summon the court physician later to check.

"Of... course," King Zhang Yi of Guangling began to assert, but hesitated under the Emperor’s slightly narrowed eyes, feeling somewhat guilty.

The Emperor further inquired, "Before he hit you, what were elder brother and the two uncles doing?"

"Just talking, chatting."

The Emperor let out a cold laugh.

King Zhang Yi of Guangling, in desperation, blurted out, "Ninth brother, for the past six months, elder brother has written you several letters, only asking for your permission to divorce his wife from the Deng family. The two uncles have the same problem. So, we gathered to discuss how to persuade you to allow our divorces from the Deng women. Zhang Han is born of a Deng woman and willing to marry one, but why can't we divorce ours?"

"My wife, confident because she was married into the royal family by the Empress Dowager, has acted more domineering than me in our household. It was only this year, when the Deng family was impeached and demoted, that she started to behave."

Zhang Han, speaking of his sorrows, nearly brought himself to tears, lamenting his misfortune, "Ninth brother, please pity your elder brother. I’m over thirty without a legitimate son, facing the prospect of my lineage ending, with no one to continue the ancestral rites."

Such a situation necessitated a lament about the succession system for princes in the national dynasty.

To ensure the order of legitimate and illegitimate succession, the consorts of regional kings must be conferred by the court. If there is no legitimate son, the fief is dissolved, and the remaining sons are demoted to commoners with a one-time reward of one hundred thousand guan.

If there is a legitimate son, he is conferred by the court as the heir, inheriting half of the fief. The other sons are demoted to dukes, sharing the remaining land equally. This continues with each generation: the second generation is demoted to marquises, the third to earls, the fourth to viscounts, and the fifth to barons.

After five generations, the descendants become commoners.

Therefore, since the founding of the dynasty, there have hardly been any powerful regional kings. The fiefs of successive kings have progressively diminished, and every generation has seen several lose their fiefs due to a lack of heirs. There have been cases where illegitimate sons were passed off as legitimate, but upon discovery, not only was the fief dissolved, the entire royal family was exiled.

"This system led to each prince, in order to ensure the continuity of their title, prioritizing the birth of a legitimate heir and the appointment of a crown prince as their first act upon succession. The entire princely household yearned for a legitimate son."

"Initially, this system was heavily criticized."

"Just like the imperial succession, nobody could guarantee the continuous birth of legitimate sons in each generation."

"However, the court later realized that this system helped to restrain the power of the princes. With each generational handover, the blood relation to the royal family became more distant, weakening the princes’ power and preventing the kind of major troubles caused by powerful feudal lords in previous dynasties."

"The practice of reverting the territory to the state in the absence of an heir effectively reduced the national burden, as the court gained more land and population, which was well-received."

"'If my elder brother truly wishes to divorce his wife, I can agree to that,' the Emperor suddenly relented."

"Upon hearing this approval, Prince Guangling, Zhang Yi, was so surprised that he forgot his sorrow, overjoyed at the prospect, 'Really, Ninth Brother, you really agree? I can finally rid myself of that vile woman Deng! Hurry and issue an order to inform the Directorate of the Imperial Clan. No, I'll go there myself to meet Uncle Zhao.'"

"'Wait, elder brother,' the Emperor called out, 'After the divorce, I hope you will marry a Khitan princess as your new wife.'"

"Marry a Khitan princess?"

"Hearing this, Prince Guangling's legs trembled, and he fell to the ground, face first."

"The Emperor quickly went to help him and called for the royal physician, wondering if his brother's face could still be saved?"

"Author's note:"

"Today's update, kisses~~"