Chapter 777 Seek

Zhengde's serious illness is basically confirmed as lung disease, and the hope of cure is basically zero. Although the important ministers who know the inside story are very sad about this, the top priority at this moment is the question of who will take the helm in the Ming Dynasty after the death of the emperor.

In all dynasties, the court has never shy away from paying attention to the issue of the handover of imperial power. The reigning emperor also attached great importance to this matter. If the emperor is sick or a little older, this problem is often directly raised. The reason for the crown is to extend the imperial power and for the sake of the imperial foundation. The so-called country cannot be without a king for a day, and there is a reserve candidate, which is called preparedness. To put it, this is a act of loyalty, not rebellion.

However, Zhengde is only 22 years old. It is reasonable that no one has touched the mold at this time, but in fact, someone has written about this matter a long time ago. Of course, this is related to Zhengde's confirmed infertility, which is not bad but weak, and it has been found to be an incurable disease of tuberculosis. The issue of the handover of imperial power has become the focus of attention at this moment.

If there is a prince, the inheritance problem of the emperor's heir will be much simpler, but unfortunately, the matter becomes extremely complicated. The mood of the ministers is also very complicated and entangled. On the one hand, they are very worried about this matter, but on the other hand, they are a little excited.

Once the emperor and the courtier, once the new emperor establishes the candidate, the pattern in the court will certainly change greatly. Some people with infinite scenery may become people, while others may reach the peak of power and become hot people in the court; and who will contribute the most in inheriting the unification will get good things in the future. The more everywhere, everyone knows this truth, so in the current situation, it is expected to know that Zhengde is seriously ill and that each party intends to operate actively. After all, no one will let go of such an opportunity.

In this situation, the original iron court also had a disagreement. The news of the emperor's critical condition was originally known only by several university scholars in the cabinet, and this secret was limited to being hidden in the belly of cabinet university scholars. However, the issue of the selection of imperial heirs in the cabinet made Yang Ting and Liang Chu almost anti-purpose. Fire rope.

Another person who is very concerned about this matter is the Empress Dowager Zhang in the harem. Although Zhengde is her son and the Empress Dowager Zhang never want her son to die of illness, Empress Dowager Zhang has begun to actively look for the future inheritance of Zhengde's infertility, which was detected by her first-hand plan. Candidates for the industry. For the whole Daming foundation, personal feelings are nothing. Of course, Empress Dowager Zhang can't let the Ming Dynasty fall into the dilemma of ownerlessness. She has to solve this problem before, which is her great responsibility as the Empress Dowager.

A few months ago, Empress Dowager Zhang began to make a large list of all the eligible royal children, excluding many weak-blooded candidates. More than a dozen royal children met the conditions, which actually did not include the eldest son of King Ning. His bloodline is too far away to meet the standards of the Empress Dowager Zhang. Empress Dowager Zhang was not unable to speculate on the intention of King Ning to live in the palace with his family. She suspected that King Ning had the intention to let his eldest son inherit Zhengde, but the Empress Dowager Zhang did not say anything, but just pretended not to know about it.

However, with the screening of the list of people, there are fewer and fewer qualified people. Either these princes have a bad reputation, they are too old, or some other inconsistencies. Empress Dowager Zhang is quite worried about this matter. Empress Dowager Zhang told her troubles recently. I often come to the palace to meet Liang Chu, a cabinet scholar, and ask Liang Chu to give me some advice. Liang Chu actually said bluntly, "The Empress Dowager's identity is too small, but all Taizu's bloodline can be the choice of the emperor's heir. As long as this son can bear a great responsibility, he can be a wise king. In fact, the bloodline far and near cannot be an obstacle."

Empress Dowager Zhang thought about it and thought it was reasonable. As long as he was the bloodline of the Zhu family, the Ming Dynasty was still surnamed Zhu. Maybe the scope she had circled before was still a little selfish. No matter how close the bloodline was, it was not the legitimate son of Zhengde, so there was no need to worry about these.

So, the eldest son of King Ning fell into the eyes of the Empress Dowager. King Ning has a good reputation for his strict tutoring. Although his eldest son is young, he is clever, intelligent and has a sweet mouth. His arrival has added a lot of vitality to the dead harem. Even the Empress Dowager Zhang has to admit that this boy is very pleasant.

After a few months, everyone from the harem to the empress dowager to the female officials praised the little prince, and everyone loved him very much. This boy is also very conscientious. Whoever likes to eat, who likes to wear what, who likes what, and who hates everything, he always brings something he likes when he goes out of the palace. Knowing that the Empress Dowager likes to collect Buddhist scriptures, she didn't know where she got the authentic King Kong Sutra copied by Shaolin Temple in the Tang Dynasty to honor the Empress Dowager, which made Empress Dowager Zhang happy for many days.

But even so, Empress Dowager Zhang was still a little hesitant at the beginning, because the intention of Zhu Chenhao, the king of Ning, was a little too obvious, which made the Empress Dowager Zhang feel that there was some design elements in it, and she always felt a littlegeng sai. But in November, Zhu Chenhao suddenly said goodbye to the empress dowager, saying that she had been in the capital for too long. The old princess in Nanchang Ning Palace missed her grandson very much and brought a letter to ask her family to return to Nanchang for the New Year's reunion. Empress Dowager Zhang suddenly realized that the lovely child around her was someone else's grandson, and she always wanted to return to the south. Chang went there. It turned out that she only lived in the palace for the time being, and she still didn't have a real grandson after all, which made Empress Dowager Zhang feel very sad.

On the evening of November 19, the Empress Dowager Zhang held a banquet in the palace and practiced for King Ning's family. Empress Dowager Zhang drank a few glasses of wine and stroked the head of the little boy leaning against her. The wine came up with reluctant emotion and said, "Good boy, you are leaving tomorrow. I really don't want you to leave. You are gone. There will be no more vitality. If only you could stay with your family for the New Year.

The little boy was very clever and smiled and said, "The child also wants to accompany the empress dowager, but my father said that we must go, otherwise some people will be unhappy; my father doesn't want to teach people to be unhappy, so we can only leave and let my father take me to kowtow to the empress dowager after the Spring Festival."

Empress Dowager Zhang was very surprised and asked Zhu Chenhao, "What do you mean that someone will be unhappy?"

Zhu Chenhao stared at the child and scolded a few words, and said with a smile, "The child is talking nonsense. Don't care about the empress dowager. It's nothing. It's completely my mother's order to resist.

Empress Dowager Zhang frowned and said, "Say it clearly, otherwise you will not be allowed to go back. We are royal relatives. Your family came to live in the palace. Why would anyone be unhappy? Is it the emperor? Or did Corning say that?

Zhu Chenhao hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed and said, "Neither. How can the emperor and the princess say such a thing? Hey, since the empress dowager inquired, I will not hide it. My whole family came to the capital and was loved by the empress dowager, and the children were also deeply favored by the empress dowager. Originally, the Empress Dowager liked children, which was his blessing and the glory of our family, but the more so, the more we couldn't stay in the capital, because I'm afraid there will be trouble if we stay.

Empress Dowager Zhang was surprised and said, "Let's make it clear."

Zhu Chenhao sighed for a long time, "Although this kind of thing is ridiculous, it makes people angry. Some people said that my family came to Beijing to please the Empress Dowager, and said... and..."

Zhu Chenhao suddenly stopped talking. Empress Dowager Zhang waved her hand to let the palace eunuchs retreat and frowned and said, "There are no outsiders here. If you have anything to say directly, don't hesitate."

Zhu Chenhao pulled Princess Ning and knelt on the ground and said, "If I have any rash words today, please forgive me."

Empress Dowager Zhang frowned and waved her hand and said, "Come on, I'm so anxious to mourn your family. I will forgive you for your innocence."

Zhu Chenhao straightened up and said, "I heard rumors outside that the emperor... said that the emperor could not have children and would have no children in the future. Chen Hao would never believe such words. When he heard it, he also smiled. These are all things fabricated by boring people. The emperor is young and healthy. How can there be such a thing? But recently, there was a rumor that Chen Hao took his family to live in the palace and knew that the emperor had no children. He also said that the empress dowager was looking for a candidate to succeed the emperor's royal family. He said that I brought my son into the palace to please the empress dowager, so that the empress dowager would adopt my Zhu Chenhao's son to the emperor and compete for the position of heir. Empress Dowager, Chen Hao swore to heaven that if Chen Hao had this intention, he would teach heaven to destroy the earth. After thinking about it, Chen Hao couldn't stand this words. He had arranged the trip of the twelfth lunar month, but he had to leave early after thinking about it.

Empress dowager Zhang was very surprised. It turned out that there were rumors of the emperor's infertility outside. The people who knew about this matter were only herself and Yang Tinghe and Liang Chu, as well as several people in the palace. The Lu Yuan, who was in control of this matter, was sentenced to have committed suicide. How did this news be revealed? Liang Chu and Yang Tinhe should not disclose it. Did Lu Yuan reveal the news before his death?

Empress Dowager Zhang shook her head and threw away the complicated thoughts in her mind and said lightly, "What do you listen to these rumors about? The mourning family will order a department to investigate and spread rumors. Why do you need to care about such things?

Zhu Chenhao shook his head and said, "There must be a reason for the wind in the hole. Whether it's true or not, I can't stay here anymore. Chen Hao doesn't want to be involved in this matter and can only stay away from suspicion. The Empress Dowager is very grateful for her love, but she has to leave anyway.

Empress dowager Zhang bit her lower lip and thought for a moment and suddenly said, "If the mourning family is really seeking a stepchild for the emperor, don't you want your son to become one of the candidates?"

Zhu Chenhao's face is like water and said in a low voice, "God's grace is vast. The person selected must be the person of destiny, and it is by no means a delusion. Although Chen Hao is stupid, he knows this. These are God-given orders, beyond the reach of human resources, and delusions are never a good end.

Empress Dowager Zhang nodded slightly and said, "Well said, delusional people are often counterproductive. The mourning family wanted to find someone to talk about this very early. Today, since that's the end is said, the mourning family will not hide it; let me tell you, what you have heard about the emperor's infertility, the mourning family selection The matter of the emperor's heir is not a rumor. It's really true.

Zhu Chenhao's face changed greatly and said in a daze, "This... Empress Dowager, are you kidding?"