Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 154: It’s a lie! There’s a thief in the house!
In order to reassure Princess Yongfu, Zhu Houcong deliberately did not call himself "Zhuang" and just called himself "Brother" like ordinary people.

After hearing what Zhu Houcong said, Princess Yongfu couldn't help but blush, but her eyes and eyebrows were indeed less worried.

Zhu Houcong knew that Princess Yongfu was aware that she would have to move out of the palace in the future and was afraid that she would not be able to spend time with her mother, brothers and sisters as before, so she worked harder than before doing housework for her family.

of course.

Zhu Houcong also knew that it was possible that Princess Yongfu wanted the emperor to pay more attention to her choice of a son-in-law.

No matter what his thoughts were, even though Zhu Houcong had a lot of things to do now, he didn't dare to really take it lightly.

Firstly, this concerns his imperial power. If the people below really act recklessly, it will also damage his prestige.

Secondly, as a person of later generations, in addition to family affection, he also has a humanistic concern for his sister that transcends this era.

Thirdly, he was also familiar with history and knew what kinds of weird things the officials and eunuchs in charge of the marriage selection for the royal family of the Ming Dynasty would do.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong did not dare to do the same as Jiajing in history, because he was young and did not know the dark side of the inner court and the badness of human nature, and ignored this matter. As a result, Princess Yongfu in history married an arrogant and rude person.

The name of this prince consort in history was Wu Jinghe.

According to historical records, Wu Jinghe was of average appearance and was from Suzhou.

Generally speaking, the most important thing to consider when choosing a prince consort is appearance.

People with average looks shouldn't be able to make it to the "finals."

But in history, Wu Jinghe was admitted, and when a banquet was given in the inner court, other candidates were very reserved and polite, but he drank and ate as usual, seemingly not caring about royal etiquette.

It stands to reason.

This should be understood as disrespecting the royal family.

But perhaps, Empress Dowager Zhang and the literati at that time intended to suppress the imperial power and suppress Jiajing's imperial prestige, so in the historical materials recorded by literati, it was said that Wu Jinghe's behavior was quite in line with the legacy of Youjun's open-heartedness, so the empress dowager was very satisfied, said that he was a person who could enjoy the blessing of heaven, and let him marry the princess.

Because in history, Jiajing only succeeded in winning the Grand Ceremony in the third year of Jiajing's reign.

Before that, under the pressure of the powerful ritual protection faction such as Yang Tinghe, he compromised in the first year of Jiajing and recognized Zhang as his mother.

Therefore, in history, whether Jiajing was selecting a concubine for Princess Yongfu or getting married himself, the person who decided on the son-in-law and the queen was Empress Dowager Zhang at the time.

As for this matter, it is not known whether Empress Dowager Zhang deliberately suppressed Jiajing because of her growing desire for power due to the support of the ritualists, or because Jiajing in history was young and domineering, so he did not have a good relationship with Empress Dowager Zhang, which led her to deliberately choose a man who did not know the rules and had an ordinary appearance to be Jiajing's brother-in-law.

Anyway...

Judging from Jiajing's later attitude towards Zhang and Zhang's behavior in the selection of his son-in-law and queen, Jiajing should have hated her a long time ago.

The reason why Wu Jinghe was said to be arrogant and rude was because he not only did not follow the rules when selecting a son-in-law and when giving a banquet, but also later in history, when Jiajing asked him to guard the Western Garden and write esoteric texts, he actually declined on the grounds that he was not familiar with esoteric principles.

The original text in the historical records is: "I was ordered to direct the Western Garden and write profound texts, but I was not familiar with profound theories. The emperor was not pleased."

Followed by.

In history, Emperor Jiajing needed ministers to perform a ceremony to celebrate the founding of the country during an event in Qingfu Palace. However, Wu Jinghe came out directly without waiting for the ceremony to be completed.

When Zhu Houcong rewarded ministers who performed well, he rewarded all the ministers, and his name was on the list.

This made Zhu Houcong even more unhappy in history.

In short.

According to conspiracy theories, Wu Jinghe did not take the emperor seriously and supported the ritualists, which was why he was dissatisfied with the emperor and had no respect for the imperial power. To put it mildly, he was arrogant and rude.

Regardless, it is certainly arrogant and rude.

In history, Princess Yongfu also died prematurely after marrying Wu Jinghe, and it is not ruled out that the princess died prematurely due to anger.

Otherwise, Jiajing would not have punished Wu Jinghe so harshly after Princess Yongfu passed away, demoting him from his post and sending him back to his hometown.

If he had not taken into consideration that he was a relative of the emperor, he would have been put to death.

It was not until Longqing ascended the throne and Xu Jie came to power that Wu Jinghe was posthumously awarded the title of Shao Bao and was given a relatively good posthumous title of "Rong Jian".

visible……

Wu Jinghe from Suzhou did have a good relationship with the literati in Jiangnan. Not only did the literati praise his unruly behavior as the legacy of Wang Xizhi from the Wei and Jin dynasties, but they also posthumously bestowed him with good honors after the death of Emperor Jiajing.

And if we follow the conspiracy theory, perhaps Wu Jinghe was able to become a royal consort in the first place because of a plot by the ritual-protecting faction of the Nanzhi gentry.

of course.

Now that Zhu Houcong has decided not to ignore his elder sister's choice of a son-in-law, he will not let Princess Yongfu die prematurely as happened in history, nor will he allow Wu Jinghe, a plain-looking and possibly arrogant man, to become a son-in-law, nor will he allow someone who may have other problems to become a son-in-law.

to this end.

Zhu Houcong specifically instructed Qin Wen that evening:

"Send an order to the Ministry of Rites to submit candidates for the Imperial Household Department's imperial consort. Only military personnel from Northern Zhili are allowed to be selected!"

Zhu Houcong thought about it and felt that no matter what, Northern Zhili was near the capital, and when there were only a dozen candidates left in the final round, he could let the Jinyiwei go directly to the local area for a detailed investigation.

If we really choose someone from other places, it would become more difficult to send the Jinyiwei to investigate the details.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong added this condition.

Zhu Houcong's casual condition made Tang Chang very angry after he knew about it: "Damn it! Who told him to add such a rule? I have to spend money to change my household registration again!"

Tang Chang had to come to Hua Wei again.

And then.

Tang Chang found Cui Ping again and gave him another generous gift.

Cui Ping disagreed and said, "Don't worry too much. The emperor is indeed meticulous, but he never thought that we have already contacted all the people involved in the selection process. You just need to report your new household registration to me. I will ask the Ministry of Rites to send someone to investigate and forge insurance policies for you from your neighbors."

"Thank you so much."

Tang Chang thanked him with a smile and hurriedly reported his new household registration to Cui Ping.

And it wasn't just Tang Chang who was working on selecting a son-in-law.

Many people are working hard to select a prince consort.

Although becoming a consort to the emperor's wife does not mean he can become an official, this time the emperor is selecting a consort to the emperor's sister. It is a good opportunity to infiltrate the royal family and find out the situation around the emperor.

Therefore.

Many forces want their people to become the prince consort.

Yuan Zonggao, whose old illness had improved considerably due to proper care, also said to Shen Xueli, a student he had found by imperial order who was suitable to be a consort:

"Although you are only in your twenties and should continue to study, you offended the officials because you were too serious when reviewing the Huangce. So, although you are obviously talented, you were charged with cheating in the provincial examination. This is because the officials are unwilling to let you pass, especially the clerks!"

According to Ming system.

The Yellow Book of the World, which is placed in Xuanwu Lake, is re-measured and compiled every ten years.

After each list is compiled, the Imperial College will select students to review it.

This was the rule set by Zhu Yuanzhang. The review of the Yellow Book by the students of the Imperial College was a compulsory labor, equivalent to the corvée labor of the students of the Imperial College.

At the beginning of the country, completing this corvee could also earn you priority in selecting officials for the Imperial College.

but now……

Because basically students of the Imperial College were not selected as officials, but officials were selected mainly through imperial examinations, it became a job with no benefits at all and only offended the officials who made the yellow books in various places.

Therefore...

As a result, no student would review the yellow book seriously when it was his turn.

However, there are indeed a few loyal, fearless and upright students who will review carefully, but the consequence of doing so is often that they will be targeted by officials all over the world.

Shen Xueli is just one of them.

Shen Xueli nodded solemnly: "I understand! This time, I was able to clear my grievances and keep my reputation, all thanks to your majesty's wisdom and your help. Whether it is to repay the emperor's grace or your grace, I am willing to be the prince consort!"

"You are loyal and upright. If you become a royal consort, it will help prevent the royal family's secrets from being known to the outside world. It can also be regarded as another way to repay the court."

Yuan Zonggao laughed.

Shen Xueli nodded: "You are right, benefactor!"

"Go ahead. The selection of the internal officials is imminent. Avoid spicy food during this period."

Yuan Zonggao gave another instruction.

Shen Xueli bowed and agreed.

After leaving Yuan's house, Shen Xueli returned home.

And Tang Chang also came out of Cui Ping's mansion.

Tang Chang was in a bad mood because he thought about spending a large sum of money again.

In addition, the recent clerk reforms had made Tang Chang dissatisfied with the emperor.

Now, because of Zhu Houcong, he encountered setbacks in the election for the imperial son-in-law, so he couldn't help but curse Zhu Houcong in his heart and even forgot to look up and look at the road.

then.

Tang Chang accidentally bumped into an oncoming manure cart.

Tang Chang suddenly fell to the ground with feces all over his head. He fell quite hard and was unable to stand up for a while.

But passers-by all held their mouths and noses and no one came to help him.

Shen Xueli came over, endured the stench, and helped Tang Chang up: "Brother, are you okay?"

After Tang Chang stood up, he thanked him and said, "My waist was slightly sprained, but it's not a big deal."

talking.

Tang Chang couldn't help but be shocked when he saw Shen Xueli's appearance.

He thought that he was one of the most handsome men in the world.

But he had to admit that Shen Xueli's appearance was far superior to his, and the key was that there was a sense of righteousness between his brows.

Although he is also a man, he can't help but feel a liking for her.

but.

Then, Tang Chang became jealous and began to worry hysterically that Shen Xueli would compete with him for the position of a royal consort. He said, "This brother is as handsome as Pan An. I guess he will also be selected as a royal consort, right?"

Although Shen Xueli is honest and sincere, he is not really stupid and foolish, but he is unwilling to play tricks.

Therefore, after receiving Yuan Zonggao's instructions, he also knew that he should not reveal too much about his true situation to strangers, so he smiled and said, "I don't mean that."

Tang Chang had seen countless people before, and had already seen the hesitation in Shen Xueli's eyes, as if he was lying, but he did not expose him. He just said it was a pity and continued to ask: "May I know your name and where you live? I will come to thank you someday."

"Call me Shen Erlang. I live in Chongjiaofang. If you want to come, just go there and ask."

Shen Xueli said this and left.

Tang Chang smiled coldly.

And the next day, he recruited a few gossipy women, bribed them with some money and said: "Spread the word that there is a man named Shen Erlang in Chongjiaofang, who has a serious disease and likes to go to places of prostitution, but he concealed this matter in order to become a royal consort."

These women were willing to do so and really spread the rumor everywhere.

Yuan Zonggao entered the palace next.

Whether it was choosing a prince consort for his sisters or choosing concubines for himself, Zhu Houcong did not intend to only go through the eunuchs and other court officials. He also asked his most trusted elders in the palace, such as Yuan Zonggao, to choose for him in secret.

"Sir, are you here to see me regarding my sister's selection of a consort?"

Zhu Houcong started asking questions when he saw Yuan Zonggao.

Yuan Zonggao stood up and saluted, "It is for this matter that I have selected a young man of both good character and appearance for Her Royal Highness the Princess. He is a native of the capital, a member of the Jinyiwei, a descendant of a loyal and brave man. He was originally a student of the Imperial Academy under the protection of his father, but was wrongly implicated because he offended officials all over the country when he examined the Huangce in the Southern Direct Court."

"I know this person, his name is Shen Xueli?"

Zhu Houcong asked as he spoke.

"Yes!"

Zhu Houcong nodded and said, "I hope my sister will be interested in him by then!"

……

It didn't take long for the Internal Affairs Bureau to select the candidate for the prince consort.

That day, Cui Wen took the list and was about to submit it to the Ministry of Rites for review.

but.

Huang Jin, the new secretary of the Imperial Household Department, suddenly came to the Internal Affairs Department and said, "Give us the list."

Cui Wen was stunned: "The Emperor wants to see it too?"

Huang Jin nodded.

Cui Wen had no choice but to hand the list to Huang Jin.

Zhu Houcong saw the list soon after.

"Tang Chang, Wu Jinghe, Shao Jing..."

Zhu Houcong frowned more and more as he looked at it, thinking, "Why is Shen Xueli not here?"

"Huang Jin, there's a thief in the house!"

Zhu Houcong suddenly said with a sullen face.

(End of this chapter)