If not abolished

Chapter 278 Leaving

East Palace, Rouyi Palace

The Crown Prince is now with the Crown Princess. Wu Cheng told the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess the news that Zhu Zhanji was invited to the Qianqing Palace when he came back to get something for Zhu Zhanji.

So at this moment, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess are waiting anxiously together.

The prince looked at the worried look on the princess' face and asked in confusion, "This isn't the first time that Agui has been called to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Why are you so worried this time? Is there something that happened that I don't know about?"

"Your Highness, please forgive me for my crime of deceiving others." The Crown Princess suddenly knelt down and apologized.

"Stand up first, what's going on?"

"This is what happened..." The Crown Princess gave a brief account.

"Aren't you guys fooling around? I'm afraid that the emperor has found out about this. He will certainly not tolerate such a thing. Not to mention that the emperor is afraid of me seizing power, he has always been biased towards my second brother's family. His Majesty may not blame Agui for this matter, but he will most likely put the blame on me." The prince immediately thought of the key to the matter.

"Then Your Highness..." The Crown Princess felt even more uneasy after hearing this.

"Since my father will report this matter sooner or later, I will go to His Majesty and take the responsibility myself. At least I have to protect Agui. His Majesty will certainly be reluctant to punish Agui, and it is just right for me to give him a way out now." The prince understood his father. He was reluctant to give up his grandson, but his son didn't care.

"But if His Majesty is furious, then Your Highness might be..."

"Okay, you don't have to worry too much. Under the current circumstances, my father will not do anything to me. At most, he will scold me a few words, but that's all." Zhu Gaochi knew that Zhu Di would never depose him, and that all the people in the court were his people. This was why he had always been warned and feared.

"You wait for news here first, I'll be back soon." After the prince said this, he walked out, and the princess followed behind him.

Just as the two of them walked out, they saw Zhu Zhanji coming in from outside.

"Father and Mother, why did you come out?" Zhu Zhanji asked as he looked at the two of them in a hurry.

"Agui, you are finally back. Let your mother see you. Is everything okay?" The Crown Princess immediately pulled Zhu Zhanji to look around.

"What are you talking about, mother? How could anything happen to me? The emperor just called me over to say something. It's nothing. You don't have to worry." Zhu Zhanji comforted the Crown Princess.

"Since you're back, come with me to the study." The prince looked worried about his son just now, but now that he saw that he was fine, he immediately became stern again.

"Yes." It seemed that his father knew about it. Zhu Zhanji looked at the Crown Princess.

The Crown Princess said awkwardly: "I thought you..."

"It's okay, I'll go over first." Zhu Zhanji was prepared to be beaten. So as soon as he entered, he immediately knelt down and admitted his mistake.

"Father, I am wrong. Please punish me."

"Oh, really? Then tell me where you went wrong?" asked the prince.

"I shouldn't have done this. My father said that I shouldn't act like my second uncle and others, but I didn't do it." Zhu Zhanji said sincerely.

"Hey, what should I say to you?" The prince wanted to scold the man, but after thinking about the matter carefully, it was not entirely his fault.

"My father can beat me and scold me."

"Hmph, aren't you afraid of being laughed at if you tell others about it? You're almost going to be a father, and you still want to be beaten. Isn't it shameful?" The prince didn't want to hit him.

"No matter how old your son is, he is still a child in front of you, isn't he?" Zhu Zhanji said with a smile.

"Okay, I won't beat you. Just reflect on yourself and be more careful next time. You also quarreled with your wife. You must bring her back in a few days. If His Majesty finds out, you will really be beaten." The prince pointed at him and said.

"I understand. I'll go tomorrow." Zhu Zhanji also felt that he had handled the matter of Hu Shanxiang inappropriately.

"I'm glad to know." Just as the father and son finished their conversation, they heard someone coming to report.

"Your Highnesses, His Majesty has come to the East Palace, and the Crown Princess asked you to come out and prepare to receive him."

When the two heard Zhu Di coming, they looked at each other immediately. Zhu Zhanji saw from Zhu Gaochi's eyes, "What did you say to His Majesty?"

Zhu Zhanji was also confused, "I don't know what's going on here."

"Forget it, let's go out and welcome the emperor first." Zhu Zhanji immediately came over and helped Zhu Gaochi out.

Soon Zhu Di arrived at the gate of the East Palace. "Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live forever."

"Everyone, get up." Zhu Di said and walked in. "The Crown Prince and I will come over. Agui and the Crown Princess can leave first."

"Yes." Zhu Zhanji and the Crown Princess returned to their own palace as instructed.

Zhu Di sat at the top, and the crown prince stood on one side. It was still a bit difficult for Zhu Gaochi to stand like this. Zhu Di saw that he was struggling to stand, and then said, "The crown prince, please sit down."

"Yes." Zhu Gaochi felt as if he had been pardoned. His legs and feet could no longer bear the pain.

"Do you know what Agui did?" Zhu Di asked casually.

"It's my fault. I neglected to discipline Agui, which led to such a thing. As the saying goes, if a son is not taught well, it is the fault of the father. If Your Majesty wants to punish someone, please punish me." The prince did not answer Zhu Di's question immediately, but admitted his mistake first.

Zhu Di was very satisfied with his attitude. "You must be punished. Whether you knew about this matter or not, you are indeed wrong. Do you know why?"

"Your Majesty, I am stupid. Please explain to me clearly." Actually, Zhu Gaochi was considered smart, but it depended on who he was compared with. Compared with his brothers, he was okay, but when it came to comparing with his father, he was afraid that there were few people in the whole world who could guess what His Majesty was thinking.

"The first one is, of course, the lack of concern for Agui that you mentioned just now. The second one is that you still cannot convince the people. Look, I have sent Gao Xu to Le'an, but his people are still jumping around you. Tell me, you... Furthermore, you are still too indecisive in doing things. If you hadn't often done things unreliably, would Agui have to worry about you every day?" Zhu Di couldn't help but complain.

"Your Majesty is right." Zhu Gaochi naturally would not refute.

“I have always wanted Agui to be stable. I have paved his way step by step. The road to the throne for several generations in my Ming Dynasty was not smooth, so I wanted to make Agui’s road smoother so that he wouldn’t have to get involved in those messy things. But look at him now…” Zhu Di himself was a senior scholar of the art of thick black. Maybe he subconsciously hoped that Zhu Zhanji would not be like him, and could stand in that position recognized by everyone.

"Your Majesty's wish is naturally what I hope for Agui, but as long as he is in the capital, as long as he is in this vortex of power, such things will happen frequently. Your Majesty wants to protect him, and I want to protect him too."

"So there is something that I came here specifically to discuss with you." Zhu Di talked for a long time and finally expressed his thoughts.

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"Since it is not safe for Agui to stay in the palace, let him stay in Zhongdu for a while, and the Crown Princess can go with him." Zhu Di suggested.

"It's so sudden, I'm afraid it will cause speculation." The prince expressed his concerns.

"Since those people like this, why not let them not see the situation clearly? If someone is blind, he will take action at this time. Wouldn't that be better?" Zhu Di said.

"Your Majesty's intention is to deliberately let others think that Agui has lost his holy heart, so that if there are people with bad intentions, they will definitely take action."

"The only two people who would have bad intentions towards Agui are the King of Han and the King of Zhao, right? If they behave themselves this time, I will not pursue the matter any further. But if they really do something, don't blame me for being disloyal."

"Your Majesty, you are still here? My two brothers are not so brave, it's not just that."

"What if I am gone? Gao Chi, this is what I am most worried about. As long as I am still here, they will naturally not dare to do anything out of line. But one day, I will leave. You have to hold on to that position. I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty can no longer withstand repeated coups."

"I understand. I will do my best to prevent this from happening."