Chapter 37

Zhu Heyu came to seek an audience with Emperor Deqing, holding a thick stack of memorials in his hands, all of which were from the Crown Prince's faction, urging Emperor Deqing to abandon his southern tour.

Upon learning that Zhao Junchen had returned to the capital, Zhu Heyu felt a sense of foreboding. Zhao Junchen was Emperor Deqing's "financial backbone," and as long as he was back, Emperor Deqing's resolve for the southern tour would be much stronger.

Therefore, Zhu Heyu planned to make one last attempt to persuade Emperor Deqing before he met with Zhao Junchen, to express the views of the ministers and dissuade the emperor from his southern tour.

However, the time spent writing these memorials ultimately delayed him. When he saw Zhao Junchen walk out of the imperial study, Zhu Heyu knew he was too late, and this trip would likely fail to achieve its purpose.

Inevitably, Zhu Heyu's hatred for Zhao Junchen grew even more.

On the other side, when Zhao Junchen saw Crown Prince Zhu Heyu, a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes. He did not want to meet the Crown Prince at this moment.

Because, according to the memories he inherited, every encounter with Crown Prince Zhu Heyu left Zhao Junchen with nothing but unpleasant memories.

Unfortunately, things often do not go as one wishes.

Soon, Zhu Heyu walked up to Zhao Junchen but did not rush to seek an audience with Emperor Deqing. Instead, he stopped and coldly stared at Zhao Junchen.

Zhao Junchen sighed inwardly but did not hesitate, bowing respectfully to Zhu Heyu.

"Minister of Revenue Zhao Junchen, I pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."

However, Zhu Heyu did not let Zhao Junchen rise, allowing him to kneel before him in silence, clearly determined to make Zhao Junchen feel humiliated.

Zhao Junchen, coming from the future, was not accustomed to kneeling, let alone for an extended period. He frowned.

Was Zhu Heyu going to remain silent, making him kneel indefinitely?

Considering that he and Zhu Heyu were ultimately enemies, Zhao Junchen finally decided not to yield and said again, "Minister of Revenue Zhao Junchen, I pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."

This time, Zhao Junchen's voice was louder.

But Crown Prince Zhu Heyu still remained silent, keeping Zhao Junchen on his knees.

"Minister of Revenue Zhao Junchen, I pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhao Junchen said it again, his voice even louder.

However, Zhu Heyu still did not speak, clearly resolved to keep Zhao Junchen kneeling.

But Zhu Heyu forgot that they were outside the imperial study. The loud voice of Zhao Junchen would have been heard by Emperor Deqing, who was reading memorials inside.

So, Zhao Junchen stopped speaking and waited quietly.

Sure enough, not long after, a eunuch came out of the imperial study, approached Zhao Junchen and Zhu Heyu, and smiled ingratiatingly before announcing, "By the emperor's command, Crown Prince Zhu Heyu and Minister of Revenue Zhao Junchen, receive the imperial edict."

Zhao Junchen was already kneeling, and Zhu Heyu quickly knelt beside him.

The eunuch then announced, "By the emperor's command, Minister of Revenue Zhao Junchen, for his meritorious service in the relief efforts in Lu'an Prefecture, is specially granted two jade discs, a thousand taels of silver, and ten bolts of silk."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhao Junchen bowed in gratitude.

The eunuch then turned to Zhu Heyu and said, "By the emperor's command, Crown Prince Zhu Heyu, for unjustly harassing a court minister, is found to lack character and is punished by being sent back to the Eastern Palace to copy the 'Xunzi: Cultivating Virtue' and submit it to the emperor for review in three days."

"Your humble subject... accepts the edict."

Upon hearing Emperor Deqing's edict, Zhu Heyu's face turned dark.

Emperor Deqing's reward and punishment were clearly in support of Zhao Junchen.

After both of them rose, because Emperor Deqing was in the adjacent Yangxin Hall, Zhu Heyu no longer made things difficult for Zhao Junchen. However, understanding the purpose of Zhao Junchen's actions, Zhu Heyu's gaze towards him was filled with even more hatred.

Or perhaps, a hint of surprise. The former Zhao Junchen, though arrogant and tyrannical, would never have dared to scheme against him like this.

On the other side, noticing Zhu Heyu's gaze, Zhao Junchen sighed inwardly again but maintained his usual composure and said to Zhu Heyu, "Your Highness, since that is the case, I will take my leave."

With that, he bowed to Zhu Heyu and turned to leave.

"Wait!!"

Although Zhao Junchen wanted to leave, Zhu Heyu finally spoke.

Zhao Junchen turned and asked, "Your Highness, is there anything else you need?"

Zhu Heyu's voice grew even colder, "What did you say to my father in the Yangxin Hall? Speak the truth!!"

Zhao Junchen looked helpless and said, "Your Highness, that would be against the rules, wouldn't it?"

Zhu Heyu glared and said, "The national treasury is empty, and the people are suffering. The court needs to be frugal to serve the state, the nation, and the people. Your father's southern tour at this time would be detrimental. Your usual corruption is one thing, but if you dare to mislead my father and disrupt the court, I will not forgive you!"

Hearing Zhu Heyu's threat, Zhao Junchen's expression did not change. He only sighed and said, "Your Highness, you are mistaken. Only a foolish and incompetent ruler can be misled. The current emperor is a wise and just ruler who will never be misled. Please remember this, Your Highness."

Seeing that Zhao Junchen was unyielding, Zhu Heyu huffed and finally ignored him, turning to the imperial study to pay homage to Emperor Deqing.

...

"Upright and incorruptible is a virtue, and hating evil is also a virtue, but please remember, being too rigid can lead to breaking. A balance of firmness and flexibility is the key to success."

Watching Zhu Heyu's departing back, these words were on the tip of Zhao Junchen's tongue, but he ultimately held back from saying them.

Since Zhu Heyu would definitely not listen, why humiliate himself?

In truth, from the heart, Zhao Junchen did not want to oppose Zhu Heyu. First, Zhu Heyu might become the future emperor, and second, Zhu Heyu was upright, close to virtuous officials, and hated corrupt officials, valuing the state and caring for the people. If he could ascend the throne, he would be a good emperor.

If Zhu Heyu had a broader mind and could overlook past grievances to accept Zhao Junchen, not harboring hostility because he was once a corrupt official, then Zhao Junchen would not mind becoming a clean official and serving under Zhu Heyu, working wholeheartedly for him.

Unfortunately, Zhu Heyu was too upright and too stubborn. In his eyes, a corrupt official was always a corrupt official, and such officials should be executed. He could not even show a semblance of courtesy to Zhao Junchen, let alone change his view of him or accept him. It was foreseeable that if Zhu Heyu were to ascend the throne, his first edict would be to execute Zhao Junchen and confiscate his property.

This had been proven again just now.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen could only continue to be a corrupt official, and a corrupt official who formed cliques. He would cooperate with other corrupt officials and villains to oppose Zhu Heyu and find ways to remove him from the position of Crown Prince.

This had nothing to do with morality; it was all for self-preservation.

Although it sounded unreasonable and irresponsible, the fundamental reason why Zhao Junchen was still a corrupt official was because of Zhu Heyu's "uprightness and incorruptibility" and "hatred of evil"!