Reader ID - 56374675
Zhu Mo thought,
If Prince Yu truly suspected him of being of royal blood, he wouldn't have tried to kill him. The prince's actions clearly aimed to tarnish his reputation, thus preventing him from ascending the throne...
Recalling his journey so far, he had always been blinded by the Yan family's hostility, assuming everyone was targeting him to stop the reforms. He had forgotten that Prince Yu was indifferent to whether the reforms passed or not; the throne was what mattered most to him. After a moment's reflection, seeing that he could make such a significant mistake when facing his own matters, he was drenched in sweat. It was often said that Zhang Juzheng was skilled in governing the state but clumsy in managing his own affairs; in reality, it was the same for anyone...
But at the same time,
In his panic, another thought faintly emerged—
If he were indeed related to the royal family, wouldn't it be easier to contend for the throne? Once his goals were achieved, he could simply "share the world with all," abolishing imperial power entirely? But what secrets lay in his own background? Could he really be a fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Jianwen? That would be too melodramatic...
In truth,
It didn't matter who he transmigrated into; his sole purpose was to save the Great Ming with his memories from his past life.
In that moment, his thoughts a whirlwind, he sighed and awoke to find Xu Wei already packing his luggage.
"Zi Xuan, think it over carefully. We should leave now! From here to Anlu, it would be faster to go through Jiangyou first, but since Jiangyou is troubled, we'll take the land route! If we ride fast horses, we should arrive in three to four days!"
Ta-Duh Novel - App, fully open-source - free web novel site
"Yes, yes,"
Zhu Mo vigorously shook his head and said,
"Brother Wenchang, you must not refuse the silver this time! The Xiangshan Salt Field is my private property, not government funds. Don't be afraid of them investigating you!"
Haha,
Xu Wei emerged with a smile, a bundle already on his back, and said,
"Zi Xuan, you still haven't seen through it! Let's go!"
...
The two of them rode their horses quickly. Fortunately, they had plenty of money, and their journey was smooth. They arrived at Zhongxiang County on the afternoon of the third day.
To avoid drawing attention, they disguised themselves as traveling merchants, bought some goods in Zhongxiang, and attended two banquets with several shopkeepers, leaving behind some traces. The next day, they finally arrived at the Prince's Mansion.
This place was completely unfamiliar to them. The highest-ranking official was the Governor-General of Chu and Hu, followed by the Governor of Huguang, a situation similar to Jiangnan. The difference was that Anlu was also Chengtian Prefecture, its status equivalent to Ying Tian Prefecture and Shun Tian Prefecture. Two guards, totaling ten thousand men, guarded it. Chengtian Prefecture, being a high-ranking entity, was mostly responsible for ceremonial matters. The actual authority lay with the Magistrate of Zhongxiang County.
Original text from Ta*Duh Novel
Xu Wei, having served in Hu Zongxian's governor's yamen for a long time, was very familiar with such matters. He said,
"The Magistrate of Zhongxiang County was appointed by Yan Song when he accompanied the Emperor on his pilgrimage. If we want to meet Prince Jing, we cannot let this person know... We need a proper plan. Otherwise, not only will we fail to see him, but we might also be accused of a grave transgression..."
"Mm-hmm,"
Zhu Mo naturally understood the seriousness of the situation. If he were to be accused of colluding with Prince Jing again, he would never be able to clear his name, even if he jumped into the Yangtze River. However, meeting the prince was indeed troublesome. The two of them stood on Tianshou Mountain behind the Prince's Mansion, gazing at the mansion, which seemed like a forbidden area, feeling a sense of detachment from worldly affairs.
Zhu Mo suddenly thought of someone and said,
"Wenchang, do you think this might work? Hmm, we can spend a lot of money, an amount that cannot be refused. We should be able to persuade the Prince's Mansion's Chief Clerk... As for our identities, we can say we were sent by—"
He leaned in and whispered,
"Say we were sent by Mu Chaobi..."
"Him?"
Xu Wei blurted out in surprise.
This novel's first publication site is Ta*Duh Novel.
But after a moment's thought, he suddenly felt it was a brilliant plan and smiled,
"That's excellent! The Chief Clerk of the Prince's Mansion would naturally know that Mu Chaobi would be concerned about Prince Jing's safety. Moreover, with the current rumors in Jiangyou about 'Prince Bai's descendant, who flies high like Yan,' anyone with insight would guess that someone from Emperor Jianwen's lineage is restless and has come to verify the truth. As long as no trouble arises, and there's a substantial sum of money, why wouldn't they cooperate? Besides, even if trouble occurs, Mu Chaobi's reach wouldn't extend here... Zi Xuan, this is a superior strategy."
"Mm,"
Zhu Mo said,
"Let's spend more this time... You can impersonate Supervisor Yang of the Directorate of Weaving, sent to procure lignite wood, and I'll say my surname is An, a Qianhu from Kunming Prefecture... Wenchang, look at this—"
He pulled out a string of agate beads and smiled,
"This was given to me by Mu Chaobi. When we were in Yongchang Prefecture, he promised to support the reforms. As a farewell gift, I gave him ten firearms, and he gave me these beads... The good thing about this is that there's an inscription on it, stating it was made by the Yongchang Military and Civilian Prefecture. Heh, the Chief Clerk won't have any reason not to believe it."
"Good!"
Xu Wei played with the beads for a while and said,
"I'll head into the city now and chat with those merchants. However, heh heh, Zi Xuan, I didn't bring any bank notes with me..."
Site: Ta. Duh Novel, welcome to download.
Zhu Mo took out a thick stack of hundred-thousand tael notes and said,
"The sooner, the better!"
Xu Wei immediately left for the capital, while Zhu Mo went to a nearby Taoist temple to offer incense and donate money. He stayed in a guest room that night. The next day, as dusk approached, Xu Wei rushed back and, upon entering the room, whispered,
"It's done! There's a merchant here who deals in Han embroidery and has some business dealings with the Directorate of Weaving in Jiangnan. He's also a close friend of the Prince's Mansion's Chief Clerk... I impersonated Shen Yishi's elder cousin, gave him your string of beads, and spent fifty thousand taels. He couldn't resist, haha! The Chief Clerk received the money this afternoon and said we could go tonight, but only for half an hour, and we can only look through the door..."
"Hoo~"
Zhu Mo had always been poor. Now that he finally had so much money, spending it like this made his heart ache. That string of beads alone was worth tens of thousands of taels, and it was gone in an instant. As for the other fifty thousand taels, who knew how they would split it? The Chief Clerk had directly profited from this transaction.
But the matter was of great importance now, so he could only go all out. He immediately smiled and said,
"We are from the Mu family, so we naturally have to be generous... I thought it would cost at least a hundred thousand taels. Heh, after all, this is a poor place..."
The two waited until the beginning of the Hai hour. The merchant arrived. They took a circuitous route and saw no one. Upon reaching the entrance of the Prince's Mansion, a middle-aged scholar in official attire was already waiting.
The merchant, Shi Weiming, said in a low voice,
"Steward Li, this is Boss Shen from Hangzhou. This is Qianhu An from Kunming Prefecture..."
"Qianhu An?"
Steward Li, although he had heard from Shi Weiming, was surprised to see a young man. Shi Weiming smiled, "Old Li, most of the hereditary commanders in Yun and Gui are indigenous officials. This Qianhu An is a Tusi from Zhanyi Guard. He inherited the title at the age of sixteen..."
"Oh, oh."
"No wonder, no wonder..."
Steward Li said with a wry smile, "Qianhu An is so young and already holds a substantive military post. He's much better off than people like us. It shows that one must rely on a strong backing..."
Zhu Mo bowed and also said with a smile,
"You, sir, are a heroic figure, fond of making connections. This task, you have long said you would owe your gratitude."
Haha,
Steward Li was truly overjoyed. Not only had he received money from this transaction, but he also likely gained a powerful connection, which was like a windfall. He had long heard that Mu Chaobi was widely connected and a steadfast lord. If he needed a small favor in the future, it would be enough to stir up this stagnant Prince Jing's Mansion.
Ta*Duh Novel — Free. Ad-free. No pop-ups. -*-* Can also interact with fellow book lovers -- . . .
He immediately led the two inside and soon arrived at Tianxiang Tower.
Steward Li said,
"Everyone else is resting. Aside from me, no one else knows you were here... But there's one thing, Qianhu An, you must be careful—"
He lowered his voice and said,
"That Prince Jing is quite mad and might injure someone. You two should just look through the door. If anything happens, it would be terrible..."
"Mm-hmm,"
Zhu Mo nodded and pulled Xu Wei to the courtyard gate of Tianxiang Tower. Steward Li and Shi Weiming watched from a distance.
Through the crack in the door,
The two saw a young man with disheveled hair running around in the courtyard, seemingly unaware of their arrival.
Xu Wei felt that the figure was somewhat familiar. Although he couldn't see clearly, the face was one he had seen somewhere before. In his memory, Prince Jing and Zhu Xue had some resemblance. After many years without seeing each other, he couldn't identify him.
ID - 56374675
Zhu Mo didn't care who this person was. The key was whether he was truly mad or faking it. In any case, the person in front of him was either Zhu Zaizhen or Zhu Xue... In the end, they were all members of the Zhu family. Wouldn't it be the same for Yan Song, no matter who he enthroned?