Chapter 34

The imperial messenger had come to summon Zhao Junchen to the palace for an audience.

It was clear that due to the Southern Tour, Emperor Deqing and the entire court were at odds, and for these past few days, they had been eagerly awaiting news of Zhao Junchen's return to the capital—Zhao Junchen had always been responsive to his requests and was highly skilled in financial management, making him the only hope for Emperor Deqing to break the deadlock.

Therefore, not even half an hour after Zhao Junchen returned to his residence, Emperor Deqing had already received the news and was eager to see him.

Understanding the urgency in Emperor Deqing's heart, Zhao Junchen did not dare to delay. He took the fastest carriage from his residence and followed the imperial messenger to the Forbidden City.

If one were to ask who was the most important person to Zhao Junchen in this era, there was no doubt that it was Emperor Deqing. It was foreseeable that for a long time to come, Zhao Junchen would rely on Emperor Deqing's support and assistance.

However, on the way to meet Emperor Deqing, what Zhao Junchen was considering was not how to respond when he saw Emperor Deqing, but rather how to handle his relationship with Fang Ru.

To be precise, he was pondering how to deal with Fang Ru in the future.

Previously, Xu Qingyan had described Fang Ru as shrewd, radical, and ruthless. Zhao Junchen had thought it was an exaggeration, but after truly interacting with Fang Ru, he found that Xu Qingyan's description was not exaggerated at all.

Fang Ru, with her lowly status as a concubine in the Zhao household, had taken it upon herself to manage the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue and the Inner Treasury in Zhao Junchen's absence. Not only did she manage everything efficiently, but she also made the Minister of Revenue Li Chengru and the Chief Cabinet Minister Zhou Shangjing, two high-ranking officials, suffer losses. Such astonishing performance spoke volumes.

Especially when Fang Ru talked about her actions over the past two months, the ambition in her eyes made Zhao Junchen secretly wary.

Having capable people around was a good thing, and having ambition was not a bad thing. Zhao Junchen was confident he had the magnanimity to accept it, but the prerequisite was that these people could not pose a threat to him.

However, Zhao Junchen had taken Fang Ru's place and did not know her well. She could not even be considered his confidante, making it difficult to trust her.

Given Fang Ru's ambition and the隐患 from the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, Zhao Junchen could not determine whether keeping Fang Ru around to help him was a good or bad idea.

If he kept Fang Ru around to help him, not only would her unpredictable nature and experiences be a ticking time bomb, but entrusting major state affairs to a concubine did not align with Zhao Junchen's principles.

However, if he distanced himself from Fang Ru, it would waste her abilities. Zhao Junchen was currently in need of such a helper. Moreover, so far, Fang Ru had acted in his best interests and had done a lot for him. If he suddenly distanced himself or even deliberately suppressed and antagonized her, it would surely dishearten those who knew the truth.

Involuntarily, Zhao Junchen recalled the conversation he had with Fang Ru before he left the residence.

...

At that time, Zhao Junchen was about to follow the imperial messenger to the palace, but Fang Ru secretly pulled him aside and asked softly, "Sir, among the many crises you mentioned just now, is the one that cannot be resolved referring to the current Crown Prince Zhu Heyu's hostility towards you?"

Zhao Junchen nodded and said, "That's right, but the Crown Prince is not the emperor, and it's only a possibility. There might be a way to resolve it. There's still a long time ahead, so there's no need to worry too much."

Fang Ru, however, smiled, her expression bright and her eyes sparkling with a meaningful light. She said, "Sir, you have hit the key point. The Crown Prince Zhu Heyu has repeatedly made things difficult for you. I have also been keeping an eye on his movements and found that after he was made Crown Prince, the current emperor initially treated him very well and deliberately cultivated him. However, in recent years, the emperor has become increasingly cold towards him and even suppressed him. Have you ever thought about the reason for this change?"

Hearing Fang Ru's words, Zhao Junchen was taken aback. He had never noticed this change.

Logically, although Zhu Heyu was hostile towards Zhao Junchen, he was an excellent Crown Prince and was seen by many as the savior of the Ming Dynasty. In recent years, he had gained a reputation for virtue...

Suddenly, Zhao Junchen thought of Emperor Deqing's grandiose and self-centered nature, and a realization dawned on him.

"Are you saying..." Zhao Junchen looked incredulous, "that the current emperor is jealous of Zhu Heyu?"

A father being jealous of his son, an emperor being jealous of the Crown Prince, seemed incomprehensible, but considering Emperor Deqing's nature, it made sense to Zhao Junchen.

Emperor Deqing considered himself a wise and virtuous ruler, highly self-regarding, and fond of grand achievements. However, since Zhu Heyu became the Crown Prince, in just a few years, he had received more praise and a reputation for virtue than Emperor Deqing. Many scholars were already eager for Zhu Heyu to ascend the throne. How could Emperor Deqing be happy about this? Even without jealousy, he must have felt threatened, especially given the ruthless nature of imperial succession. There had been instances where a son's growing power forced the father to abdicate and let the son take the throne.

Moreover, the most common praise for Zhu Heyu was that he would be the savior of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty had already been revived once during Emperor Chongzhen's reign. Now, after Emperor Deqing's rule, it needed to be revived again. Wasn't that saying that Emperor Deqing had been squandering the empire? Wasn't that saying that Emperor Deqing was incompetent?

Given all this, no matter how capable and wise Zhu Heyu was, how could Emperor Deqing, with his nature, like him?

On the other side, hearing Zhao Junchen's speculation, Fang Ru smiled lightly and said, "Sir, what you think is also my speculation. However, the specifics need to be explored by you with the emperor."

...

Fang Ru's shrewdness was evident in this conversation. Although Zhao Junchen was skilled in strategy, he was far inferior to Fang Ru in understanding human nature.

Since his arrival in this era, the hostility of Crown Prince Zhu Heyu had been a heavy burden on Zhao Junchen's heart. But Fang Ru's speculation made him realize the key to dealing with Zhu Heyu. If the speculation was true, then deposing Zhu Heyu from the position of Crown Prince was not impossible.

Thinking about all that Fang Ru had done for him and that she had never wronged him, Zhao Junchen sighed softly, unable to make up his mind to deal with her.

"Let's keep her around for a while and observe her. After all, although she is a隐患, she has also helped me a lot."

With this thought, Zhao Junchen called out to the carriage, "Qingyan, come here, I have something to tell you."

In no time, Xu Qingyan jumped into the carriage and asked, "Young Master, what is it?"

After a moment's thought, Zhao Junchen instructed, "I know you have been secretly monitoring Fang Ru, but you didn't dare tell me. From today, you can increase the monitoring. Report any abnormalities to me promptly, but do it discreetly so that Fang Ru doesn't notice anything."

Hearing Zhao Junchen's words, Xu Qingyan knew that Zhao Junchen was finally wary of Fang Ru. A hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes, and he said softly, "Young Master, since you are wary of Fang Ru, why continue monitoring her? Keeping her around is a隐患. Why not just..."

At this, Xu Qingyan made a throat-slitting gesture.

Zhao Junchen frowned and sighed, saying, "A隐患 is still a隐患. It's Cao Cao's way to kill a thousand innocents to catch one guilty. Fang Ru has never wronged me and has helped me a lot. If I deal with her just because of suspicion, who will trust me in the future? Just to be safe, a bit of monitoring is enough."

At this moment, the carriage stopped, and the voice of the imperial messenger sounded from outside the carriage.

"Lord Zhao, we have arrived at the palace. Please get out and walk."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PS: Another update before midnight!

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends