Chapter 104: Unlucky Bachelor

Zhu Yunwen escaped, and only Princess Jiangdu and Xiao Fan were left in the huge side hall.

Princess Jiangdu looked at Xiao Fan who was bowing to apologize in front of her, and her pretty face turned red. She hurriedly took a few steps to the side. This was a completely subconscious action. For some reason, although she was the princess, she just didn't want to be treated by Xiao Fan, which made her feel a sense of distance, as if the identities between the two were separated by a chasm like a natural chasm. She didn't want to do this, or she would rather deceive herself than see this chasm.

"Sir Xiao... Sir, you don't have to be too polite, I can't afford it." Princess Jiangdu blushed like a cooked crab, and hurriedly gave him a gift.

Xiao Fan wondered. He never knew that the descendants of the Zhu family were so polite. Those who were princesses could not afford to be the ritual of a fifth-rank official? Is there such an etiquette in the court?

"Mr. Xiao, you men like to watch... do you guys like to watch... that kind of thing?" The princess's voice was so low that she couldn't hear it. After asking, her head was almost hanging down to her breasts.

This question is a bit difficult to answer. I don’t know what other ancient people think. Anyway, Xiao Fan, who has seen strong winds and waves, has no interest in those paintings that are not very beautiful and are completely unrealistic enough. The erotic photos and videos of this and that in the previous life have long tempered Xiao Fan to the point of being in a state of great difficulty.

"Your Highness the Princess misunderstood. In fact, I don't like those things at all. I am a gentleman who is strict with myself. You can prove it." Xiao Fan said with a righteous face.

Princess Jiangdu pursed her lips and smiled, shyly and with a bit of teasing, and said with a light smile: "I don't like it at all... Do you even bring it into the Eastern Palace to show the grandson?"

"Ah?" Xiao Fan was a little worried and almost forgot that he was also helping Zhu Yunwen take the blame.

"Your Highness Princess, what's going on..." Xiao Fan said with awkward expression, "... I just saw Mr. Huang not coming in Chunfang, so I came to look at his desk. As a result, I happened to find the album. When I opened it, I was shocked and then filled with righteous indignation. Mr. Huang was too distorted. How could a model teacher not share good things with students... Ah, no, a model teacher has such a bad morality. As a lecturer in Chunfang, Mr. Huang really misled his children. In a rage, he confiscated the album and took it to the East Palace to study with His Royal Highness the Grand Prince..."

Xiao Fan did not object to taking the blame for Zhu Yunwen, but he did not object to taking the blame alone. Huang Zicheng was just as big and thin as he was, and he and Xiao Fan had something in common - everyone was loyal ministers. Loyal ministers were born to take the blame.

"Since it is a morally corrupt thing, why do you still have to study with Taisun?"

"...If you want to criticize it, you must understand it!" Xiao Fan was as serious as a guardian who vowed to defend feudal ethics to the death.

Princess Jiangdu had a pretty face red, lowered her head and said nothing for a while, then covered her mouth and chuckled slightly, her thin shoulders swayed slightly, and finally she burst out with unstoppable laughter.

"Mr. Xiao..." The princess's voice was filled with a pleasant smile.

"I'm here."

"It's fine if you help Yunwen take the blame, why bother to pull Mr. Huang in? If Mr. Huang knows, he will have to hit you..."

Xiao Fan was shocked and said, "How did the princess know..."

The princess blushed and spat: "Go to you! You two sang together, do you really treat me as a fool?"

"I...shamed!"

None of the children of the Zhu family are fools, they are more intelligent than ghosts, except Zhu Yunwen.

The princess looked at Xiao Fan's awkward expression and couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckled, her big eyes curled up into crescent moons: "Mr. Xiao, Yun Wen is fooling around, you are his attendant, you can't spoil him, let alone make trouble with him."

Xiao Fan listened to Princess Jiangdu's tone, as if he was familiar with him, and he was so close. Xiao Fan couldn't help but wonder, "What's wrong with Princess?" We have only met twice in total, and once was sexually harassed by you. Apart from that, there was no contact, so I was not familiar with this, right?"

"I... remember... uh... Your Highness, there are still many official duties in the yamen waiting for me to deal with, and I will leave."

This woman speaks strangely, and I don’t know what to do, so it’s best to leave.

Princess Jiangdu seemed to have not expected Xiao Fan to leave without any nostalgia. Fang Xin was suddenly disappointed and blurted out: "Ah? Are you... leaving now?"

After pausing, the princess quickly coughed lightly as she covered her face and said, "...Mr. Xiao is in business, go and do it. State affairs are important."

"I'm leaving."

After Xiao Fan bowed and gave the gift, he stood up in a hurry, turned his back and left, and hurriedly tried to put out the fire. His figure flashed a few times and disappeared outside the side hall.

Princess Jiangdu looked at Xiao Fan's escape in panic, and couldn't help but pouted angrily, muttering: "Hmph! Why are you running? Am I that scary? Apart from the twelve-year-old girl in your family, you can't stand any other woman in your eyes?"

After saying that, Princess Jiangdu slammed her long sleeves hatefully and walked out with resentment. She forgot that she came to Zhu Yunwen to touch Xiao Fan's character today. Her graceful figure flashed slightly in the garden outside the side hall, and then disappeared.

In the screen behind the side hall, Zhu Yunwen was chewing dried fruits all over his mouth, staring at the outside of the hall with his eyes full of confusion, and muttering to himself while chewing: "When did my sister be so familiar with the situation at Shiduo Xiao's house? Even a twelve-year-old lady in his family knows that she is even more powerful than the spy of the Jinyiwei... Also, my sister's tone today is not right, could it be... But didn't the emperor's grandfather make a marriage for her? Could it be that she is going to Xiao's house... Then my brother-in-law..."

"hiss--"

Zhu Yunwen chewed the dried fruit and suddenly grinned, and he felt a little tooth pain.

Wuyi Lane, Yanwang Villa.

Today, the King of Yan held a banquet to invite several brothers of the vassal kings. During the banquet were the emperor's fifth son, King Zhou, King Zhu Su, King Qi, Zhu Jing, and King 17th son, King Ning, Zhu Quan.

The banquet was very lively, and the kings were in their fiefdoms. The brothers had not seen each other for several years. They were always far apart and there was no conflict of interest, so the relationship between the brothers was quite sincere.

Among the several vassal kings, Ning Wang Zhu Quan was the youngest, only nineteen years old this year, and his temper was the most straightforward. At the same time, the vassal state he guarded (now Ningcheng County, Nei Damo), also bordered the Beiping Prefecture of King Yan Zhu Di. The troops under the two kings often cooperated with each other to fight against the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and held joint military exercises from time to time. The border of the Mingyuan Dynasty often used more than 100,000 people to use swords and guns, and their murderous aura was very terrifying. They often scared the regular army in the name of the Northern Yuan court to turn the light into darkness and turn into underground anti-Ming guerrillas. The Northern Yuan Emperor had a headache with these two vassal kings.

Because of this origin, among the kings, the brothers of King Yan and King Ning have the deepest feelings. Although King Ning is young, he is strong in shape, strong in temper, fierce, and fierce in war. He is the most brave in horses and fights with the honor of the prince. Even a ruthless character like King Yan has to give him three points.

King Ning picked up the wine bowl, took a big sip of wine, then slapped his mouth with his sleeve indifferently, and said loudly: "Fourth Prince, I heard that you offended our nephew Yunwen a few days ago, and my father found out. Later, you ran to the palace to carry the thorns and apologize?"

When he mentioned this, Zhu Di's smile suddenly became gloomy, and his eyes were flashing with a sharp light.

Zhu Su and Zhu Jing looked at each other when they heard this, hurriedly picked up the wine bowl as if nothing had happened, and drank in a light drink, pretending not to hear anything.

Zhu Di sighed, his expression suddenly turned faint and sighed: "Our nephew Yunwen has grown up, and he is no longer the child who followed us and called him the emperor's uncle. I have been used to jokes with him since he was a child. I didn't notice it a few days ago and forgot his identity as a grandson, so I was so obsessed with it... Alas! Several emperor brothers, the times have changed, and now it is not the same as before. We, the vassal kings who guard the border, should keep their duties. Don't do anything extraordinary like me. You should take this king as a warning!"

King Ning Zhu Quan hummed and said, "Yun Wen is as old as me, but I am his uncle. Now that he is the grandson, did he take off his airs and see no uncles who work hard to guard the border for him? Can the uncles tell a few jokes to his nephew?"

When Zhu Di heard this, his face changed and shouted in a deep voice: "Seventeenth brother, are you drunk too much? How can you speak so unreasonably! His Highness the Grandpa is the crown prince appointed by his father, and my future lord of the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty you and I will serve in the future. In the Tian family, we will first discuss the monarch and ministers, and then uncles and nephews. Do you even understand this?"

Ning Wang was stunned, then snorted in disappointment, raised his head and drank a big sip of wine, and couldn't make a sound.

Zhu Di looked at the King of Zhou and King Qi who were drinking silently, and suddenly sighed: "You and my brothers are full of high expectations of their fathers. They guard all the places with their princes. They have worked diligently for so many years to fight against the Northern Yuan Dynasty. They dare not slacken in one day. Today I invite all the emperors to gather together, not to mention these unpleasant things. We have a deep brotherhood. This time we gather in the capital and we will meet again next time, but we don't know when and where..."

King Zhu Shi of Zhou was a little silly and honest. Although he was a little smaller than Zhu Di, his face was much older than Zhu Di. He was dark and thick, and he looked like an old farmer who made a living by farming.

The King of Zhou smiled silly and said, "The Fourth Emperor Brother is intent. The Emperor Brother is stationed in Kaifeng, Henan, south of Beiping. Thanks to the Emperor Brother leading his army to fight against the Northern Yuan over the years, I thought I was a barrier in Kaifeng, which made me not have any military disasters in Kaifeng. Thank you here."

Zhu Di laughed and said, "Brothers, why do you do these kind words? You and I are guarding the border for the father and taking responsibility for their own responsibilities. The country and country in the Ming Dynasty are stable, and we have all made contributions to it, haha!"

As he said that, Zhu Di suddenly looked gloomy and sighed: "It's a pity... I may not guard Beiping Prefecture again in the future. The emperors should take care of themselves in the future!"

This sentence was like a thunder sounding on the ground. The kings present at the seat immediately looked at Zhu Di with a shock. King Ning was stunned for a moment, then jumped up and said loudly: "Fourth Prince, what do you mean? Could it be that the father wants to change you to another place?"

The King of Zhou and the King of Qi also stared at Zhu Di in shock, looking in disbelief.

Zhu Di sighed and said, "This time I went to Beijing, I saw my father's old age and his words and deeds became increasingly strong. As a prince, I felt so heartbroken. Thinking about how many years have been separated from my father and could not be filial to my father's knees, it would be useless to be a son! Therefore, I plan to submit a memorial to my father in a few days, asking to withdraw the Beiping vassal state, or re-entrusted other brothers to guard Beiping, and I stay in the capital to honor my father and emperor every day on behalf of all my brothers, and do my duty as a son..."

The three of them looked at Zhu Di in disbelief when they heard this, with their faces sometimes blue and sometimes white, extremely complicated.

"Fourth Emperor, you are older than me. Your filial piety is a good example for the emperors. We should learn from you, but...Fourth Emperors, loyalty and filial piety cannot be achieved at the same time! Let us defend this country on behalf of our father, so that our father can rest assured. Isn't this another kind of filial piety? Four Emperors, you are a natural general, and you have won many battles in the Northern Yuan Dynasty and have outstanding military achievements. Beiping Prefecture is my country of Ming Dynasty. If you stay in the capital, who can guard it? Four Emperors, think twice!" King Zhou took the lead in exhorting earnestly.

Zhu Di was silent for a moment, and suddenly his tiger's eyes blinked and burst into tears. He held his forehead and choked and said, "My brothers, I don't want to guard the border on behalf of my father. I'm really scared!"

"What are you afraid of?" the three of them asked in unison.

"I spoke rudely a few days ago and offended His Highness the Grand Prince. I am really afraid that my father will be dissatisfied, and I am even more afraid that His Highness the Grand Prince will hold a grudge. In the future, I will be suspicious and harmed by my vassal king who has a strong military presence. I... I, Zhu Di, swore to the sky that I will never be indifferent to the court and the emperor, but who would believe me? Instead of ending up being killed and scouted at that time, I might as well hand over the military power and stay alone in the capital. This body will be handed over to my father and grandson from now on, whether to kill or cut, they will be!"

At the end of the conversation, Zhu Di was crying loudly.

The three vassal kings were shocked and angry when they heard this. The bravery and military achievements of the King of Yan were obvious to all the kings. Now, they are just a joke. It is not okay to apologize for apologies. Is Zhu Yunwen jealous and wants to kill him? How can a nephew be so over-the-top to his uncle?

King Ning slapped the table and said furiously: "It's outrageous! Yun Wen... The grandson is getting older, but how can he become smaller and smaller? Can't even tolerate his uncle? We worked hard to guard the border, sleep in the open with the soldiers, and fight with the Tartars in blood. Why did we come from?"

Zhu Di was shocked and hurriedly reached out and stopped him, "Seventeenth brother, don't talk nonsense! When did I say something about Taisun's timidity? Don't harm me, I'm just afraid that he has a grudge against me and wants to express his feelings to him, but I'm afraid that he doesn't believe in my loyalty, so I have to hand over the military power of Peking and die of old age in the capital from now on..."

King Ning said angrily: "Fourth Emperor Brother, what's wrong with you? A man of Ang Zang, he is never ruthless in killing Tartars. Who doesn't praise you as a famous hero? Why are you so cowardly and afraid today? I don't believe that the grandson will harm you for this little thing! Don't be afraid, we brothers will jointly submit a memorial to our father tomorrow to guarantee you. As for the words of quitting power and staying in Beijing, don't mention it again! If you are missing from the Peking Mansion, who has the ability to defend the country?"

Zhu Di shook his head and sighed, remained silent for a while, then covered his face and burst into tears, his sadness and panic were beyond words.

After seeing off the emperor's brothers, Zhu Di stopped crying and his expression gradually became gloomy.

Monk Daoyan quietly walked to him and said with a smile: "Your Highness's move is indeed amazing. You should retreat as advance, show it as weakness. If you use these princes to speak out, your highness's panic will soon be heard by the emperor today. I believe the emperor will feel more at ease with your highness."

Zhu Di smiled coldly and said calmly: "Is the news confirmed?"

Daoyan said seriously: "It's OK. This morning, Eunuch Qing in the palace sent a message from someone. The day before yesterday, the emperor summoned the grandson, Huang Zicheng and Xiao Fan, and they discussed it in the hall for a long time. Eunuch Qing only got close to him and listened to a few words. It seemed that the emperor was suspicious of the vassal kings and had the intention to reduce the vassal..."

Zhu Di's eyes twitched, and his eyes were full of sternness.

Daoyan continued: "Your Highness, we must find a way to make the emperor eliminate the idea of ​​reducing the vassals! Your Highness has been managing Peking for many years, and has many powerful generals and strong elite soldiers. This is the capital for your highness to compete for the country. If the emperor really makes up his mind to reduce the vassals, your highness will be completely in vain for many years..."

Zhu Di frowned and said, "Father is so good, why did he think about reducing the vassal state?"

Daoyan sighed, "It's not the root that His Highness planted in the Imperial Garden that day..."

Zhu Di patted his forehead with annoyance: "I have neglected one step by step!"

Daoyan continued: "Huang Zicheng offered the so-called "Ten Strengths for Slashing the Vaticans" to the emperor, but the emperor did not adopt it, but the man named Xiao Fan said a very critical thing..."

Zhu Di said coldly: "What did he say?"

"Xiao Fan said, whether to cut or not is all in the mind of the emperor. If the emperor decides to cut the vassal states, he can just write a order. The kings dare not refuse to follow. If the emperor hesitates, the so-called strategy of cutting the vassal states is simply a bunch of nonsense..."

Zhu Di gasped, his expression became ugly, and he said hatefully: "This Xiao Fan, with such a poisonous look, can see clearly the essence of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vassal of the vas

"Your Highness, now is not the time to sigh. Your Majesty has been shaken. We must come up with a countermeasure to stop Your Majesty from depriving the vassal."

"Sir, do you have a wonderful method?"

Daoyan smiled faintly and said leisurely: "The capital is not a place for a long time. Why don't your highness escape from the shells and force the emperor to ask you to return to Beijing to guard the border quickly?"

Zhu Di frowned and thought for a while, then his eyes lit up, and his eyes showed a terrifying light, and he said in a deep voice: "Sir, you are right. You immediately secretly send someone to send a letter to Peiping, secretly order Zhang Yu to send a small force to go north to the grassland, find the Beiyuan Qierjis tribe, and provoke them, forcing them to go to war, and then order Zhang Yu to pretend to be defeated and retreat, attracting Qierjis tribe to attack, and it is best to force their troops to come to the city of Beiping, and finally ask Zhang Yu to send an 800-mile fast cavalry to report to the capital..."

Daoyan smiled and said, "Your Highness is indeed both wise and brave. In this way, the Northern Yuan invaded the border and the country was in danger. Your Majesty had to temporarily eliminate the intention of reducing the vassals. He had to send Your Highness back to Peiping to preside over the fight against the enemy, and to surround Wei and save Zhao!"

Zhu Di also showed a gloomy smile on his face.

"Sir, that Xiao Fan... can't stay anymore."

"I understand."

Xiao Fan is very busy now.
To be continued...