When Zhou Weizhao expressed his desire to go to Hubei at this time, Emperor Jianzhang couldn’t help but furrow his brows and exclaim sharply: “Nonsense! One of precious status should not sit in a precarious hall—how could that be a place for you to go?! Moreover, you’re about to be married. If anything were to happen to you…”
However, Zhou Weizhao laid everything out thoroughly and clearly: “Grandfather, although Father and Uncle Gong have committed grave errors, it’s just as Grandmother said—these things could originally have been avoided. As long as the matter didn’t reach you, as long as Xiaoyi hadn’t gone to hand those people over to Lai Chenglong, Uncle Gong at least would definitely have been fine. That way, even if Grandmother had already hardened her heart against Father, you would at least have had one more option.”
His grandson had always been a perceptive person. Emperor Jianzhang glanced at him and raised his hand to stop him from continuing: “There’s no need to mention this matter again. Now, regardless of whether it’s true or not, and regardless of what that girl from the Song family truly intended, once the matter was exposed, it was exposed. She did nothing wrong. She didn’t go spreading it around outside—she only told me. I am both sovereign and family head. When my son committed wrongs, she had no other recourse. If she hadn’t come to seek justice from me, wouldn’t she have lost her life for nothing?”
“Moreover, you yourself know that with your father and your uncle in their current state, you, the Grand Prince, have become critically important. How dare you speak of going to Hubei and putting yourself at risk?” He tossed a stack of memorials before him: “Look through these reports Lai Chenglong submitted. I’ve always felt sorry for my sons, always worried they wouldn’t have enough to spend. I never reduced their income, yet your father and your uncle—each and every one of them—were skilled at reaching out their hands and amassing wealth.” One had reached into the gold mines—two gold mines had been discovered near Taiyuan. The produce from mines on princely fiefs was supposed to be reported to the court, but Prince Gong had concealed the reports. As for the Crown Prince, there was even less to say—the silver sent to him from Zhejiang alone was countless, all of it silver meant for the soldiers fighting the Japanese pirates, yet he had the audacity to embezzle it.
After Zhou Weizhao finished reading, he heard Emperor Jianzhang ask him: “Your grandmother has already dealt with your father’s situation, but what about your Uncle Gong? He’s currently in Langfang, quite seriously ill. In your view, how should I deal with him?”
Emperor Jianzhang had practically stated outright that even if Prince Gong didn’t end up as disabled as the Crown Prince, he would absolutely never have another chance to get near that position in the future. Zhou Weizhao naturally understood the implication. After thinking briefly, he looked at Emperor Jianzhang: “Our dynasty has no precedent of princes entering the capital. In the previous dynasty, even when princes remained in their fiefs, many sent their legitimate eldest sons to the capital as hostages.”
Emperor Jianzhang immediately grasped his grandson’s meaning—no precedent of princes entering the capital meant that in the future, the old rule borrowed from the previous dynasty of princes coming to court once every three years could be abolished, ensuring Prince Gong would never again think of returning to the capital. As for sending the legitimate eldest son to the capital, that went without saying—it was naturally meant to restrain the princes.
Prince Gong was, after all, Emperor Jianzhang’s son. With the Crown Prince already in such a state, he didn’t want both his sons to be ruined. Hearing Zhou Weizhao speak thus, which coincided perfectly with his own thoughts, his expression remained impassive as he discussed with Zhou Weizhao the matter of changing positions: “After the ceremonial formalities with the Ministry of Rites are completed in the eighth month, rest for a while first. After your wedding in the eleventh month is finished, when the new year begins, go to the Ministry of War to gain some experience.”
Zhou Weizhao truly had some talent in military affairs. He had handled the Yangquan rebellion cleanly and decisively in just under half a year. Before the Crown Prince’s stroke and before all these troubling matters came to light, everyone had actually understood clearly the weight of Zhou Weizhao’s position as Grand Prince—with the Crown Prince in such a sickly state, the Grand Prince naturally needed to be cultivated early.
Emperor Jianzhang had held this intention before, and now that such events had occurred, his resolve was even stronger. Though the Crown Prince’s health had never been good, he had begun his studies early and entered the cabinet to read. It was only later, when his health deteriorated too severely and he suffered one misfortune after another, that there was no choice but for him to remain an ineffectual Crown Prince for all these years, no different from a stagnant pond.
Now, however, Zhou Weizhao was different. The Crown Prince’s generation was essentially ruined. Since all hopes were now placed on Zhou Weizhao, he naturally couldn’t be treated like the Crown Prince—fishing for three days and drying nets for two, developing into someone who disregarded the rise and fall of the realm and cared only for his own survival.
Zhou Weizhao understood Emperor Jianzhang’s meaning. Neither arrogant nor impatient, he didn’t bring up going to Hubei again. After speaking for a while longer, he was sent back to rest by Emperor Jianzhang.
But he couldn’t concern himself with rest. He went first to Qingning Palace—he knew his imperial grandmother’s temperament well and feared she might make things difficult for Song Chuyi. As soon as he left Emperor Jianzhang’s study, he hurried straight there.
However, he hadn’t expected to miss Song Chuyi and only saw his mother. Empress Lu, upon seeing him, felt both joy and anger at once—joy that he had finally awakened after sleeping for so many days, anger that as soon as he woke up, his thoughts were on his future wife. Xie Siyi had said he came directly from Emperor Jianzhang’s study—if not for Song Chuyi, then for whom?
But before she could vent her anger, Zhou Weizhao stepped forward, grasped her hand, and called out, “Grandmother.”
Compared to Emperor Jianzhang, Empress Lu was more susceptible to this approach. Her eyes immediately reddened. The complaints she had been about to voice regarding Song Chuyi’s ruthlessness ultimately remained unspoken—she couldn’t speak them. Her grandson was the most pitiable one; the Crown Prince and Prince Gong had brought everything upon themselves. Song Chuyi had acted entirely with Zhou Weizhao’s interests at heart. If she criticized Song Chuyi for being too hardhearted, wouldn’t that be tantamount to saying that what Prince Gong and the Crown Prince had done wasn’t such a grave mistake?
She glanced at Crown Princess Lu, then looked at Zhou Weizhao again, and sighed before nodding: “Enough, there’s no need to say anything more. I understand everything now.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Siyi brought news: “Prince Gong has already been escorted back to the capital by an Imperial Guard captain and a deputy captain of the Feathered Forest Guard. He has returned to Prince Gong’s manor for now, with Master Hu and Imperial Physician Liang accompanying him throughout the journey.”
Xie Siyi hesitated for a moment before adding: “I’ve heard that His Highness’s cold has worsened. He can no longer even get out of bed now.”
Gravely ill. Empress Lu lowered her eyes and glanced at Zhou Weizhao: “Can his illness be cured?”
This question was really asking about Emperor Jianzhang’s intention. Naturally, if Emperor Jianzhang wanted him to recover, he could recover; if he didn’t want him to recover, he couldn’t. For all these days, Emperor Jianzhang had never taken a clear stance and refused to reveal how he intended to deal with Prince Gong. Empress Lu had been anxious about this very thing.
Zhou Weizhao nodded and told Empress Lu about his conversation with Emperor Jianzhang just now, then added: “It’s just that in the future, Grandmother won’t be able to see Uncle Gong again.”
As long as he was alive, what did it matter whether she could see him or not? Empress Lu shook her head and finally felt completely at ease. She no longer found Song Chuyi’s desperate gambit so detestable. Instead, she felt a sense of relief—before, she had always had to rack her brains and exhaust herself trying to figure out how to cover up for the Crown Prince and Prince Gong. Now that everything had been brought to light, she felt lighter instead.