Chapter 6: Another Opinion

Zhu Gaoxu led Wang Gui into a nearby study. Before he could ask, Wang Gui said anxiously, "I followed the prince's instructions. I bought a horse yesterday but didn't bring it back to the palace. This morning, before the city gate opened, I went to get the horse and rushed to Jinchuan Gate. But when I got there, I saw that the situation was wrong! There were people at the city gate holding portraits, and they only checked the people who left, not the people who came in... I quickly changed the city gate, and I couldn't get out after trying four gates in a row!"

"So fast? No one has said how to deal with the matter yet, but they're already investigating?" Zhu Gaoxu was a little surprised.

Wang Gui looked overwhelmed with fear.

Zhu Gaoxu frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "Do you remember the person I met at Fuleyuan?"

Wang Gui nodded hurriedly, "His name is Wang Zhenliang, his father is the Prince Consort Wang Ning, and his mother is Princess Huaiqing!"

Zhu Gaoxu hummed, and whispered, "Wang Zhenliang is my cousin and childhood playmate. We still have an old friendship. You should go find him first and let him settle down temporarily."

Wang Gui was immediately grateful, "Your Majesty, you went to so much trouble for me, asking me..."

Zhu Gaoxu stopped him and said, "Don't say that. You have been serving me all the time and have done nothing wrong. How can I just sit there and watch?" He paused and sneered, "That was a bit unexpected, but since I did it, I have to do it to the end! How can I give in easily?"

Zhu Gaoxu stretched out his hand, and Wang Gui immediately ran to the table, picked up a used brush, licked it on the tip of his tongue a few times, put his hands in Zhu Gaoxu's hands, and then put the paper down. Zhu Gaoxu wrote two lines in no time, and the writing was very exquisite in cursive, not like the writing of a warrior.

"Hurry up!" Zhu Gaoxu urged.

Wang Gui hurriedly and carefully collected the letter, bowed deeply, and said, "I'll take my leave."

Zhu Gaoxu then left the study and met his third brother Gao Sui in the corridor. Gao Sui shouted anxiously, "Second brother, why does it take so long to go to the toilet? Someone from the palace has come to deliver the order, second brother, come quickly!"

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and glanced in the direction where Wang Gui left. His face looked unhappy. Without saying a word, he went to the front yard with Gao Sui.

When they arrived at the courtyard, a group of people had already set up their presence. The gate was wide open, and a team of armored soldiers stood in the hallway. Several eunuchs stood in the courtyard, waiting for Zhu Gaoxu with a somewhat impatient look.

When Zhu Gaoxu and others came over, the eunuch in the middle raised his head and walked forward, saying in a sharp voice, "The emperor has given an order, Prince Gaoyang accepts it!"

Zhu Gaoxu and the other four exchanged positions with the eunuch, letting the eunuch stand on the north side, and then they knelt together. The eunuch then said, "The actress Du was the one who instigated the discord, and the servant Wang Gui was guilty of instigating it. The officials will arrest her and put her in jail immediately! Reprimand Gaoxu and order him not to do it again... I decree this!"

"We accept your order and thank you!" The prince and others kowtowed together.

Everyone finished their work in an orderly manner, and the scene immediately changed. The eunuch bent over and said with a smile , "Duke Wei is here too." Xu Huizu said, "I just heard about the ridiculous things my nephew did, and I was so angry that I came here to question him!"

The scene was as if a play had just been performed seriously and then people started to greet and chat behind the scenes.

The eunuch looked at Zhu Gaoxu and asked, "Prince Gaoyang, where are the two people the emperor wants to arrest?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked, "I don't know where he went. Has my elder brother seen him?"

The prince was stunned. "Wang Gui has always been a servant serving my second brother. How did I know?"

Zhu Gaoxu calmed down and turned to the eunuch and said, "Sir, do you want to search the mansion?"

The eunuch hesitated for a moment, waved his hand and said, "That's not necessary. The officials will catch the criminals. However, if those two return home, I'll trouble you to report to the authorities."

At this moment, the prince suddenly knelt on the ground, his voice choked and he burst into tears.

"..." Zhu Gaoxu was stunned.

The eunuch and Zhu Gaoxu hurried forward to support him. The eunuch said, "Don't be afraid, my prince. The emperor has no intention of harming the life of Prince Gaoyang. Even if he couldn't catch the criminal, he wouldn't do this."

The prince then struggled to get up and said with a worried look on his face, "Please report to His Majesty that my second brother deeply regrets and has no intention of harboring a criminal. The three of us brothers are grateful for His Majesty's tolerance and kindness."

The eunuch nodded immediately and agreed, "Okay, okay. It's not easy for the prince to be a brother... Oh! I'm wasting time. I dare not stay for long. I have to report back. Please stay, stay."

"See the eunuch out." The prince bowed very politely.

Xu Huizu said, "It's getting late. I'm leaving too. Gaoxu, take care of yourself." After saying this, he looked directly into Zhu Gaoxu's face with a very complicated look.

"With uncle's instruction today, I, the second brother, will never dare to slack off again." The prince immediately responded.

...At this time, Wang Gui and Du Qianrui had found Wang Zhenliang's house and handed over Zhu Gaoxu's sealed letter.

But they did not see Wang Zhenliang. A servant quickly drove out and hurriedly took them out of the mansion.

As they approached Shangyuan Gate, they could see Mufu Mountain and stopped at a place called Xiaozi Lane. The small street was paved with old stone slabs, and on both sides were shops selling incense, candles, paper money, paper dolls and the like. Every few steps there were several large earthenware jars filled with water for firefighting.

There was an inconspicuous yard, which was used as a warehouse for storing cotton yarn, and Wang Gui and his companions were sent here. There was an old couple guarding the warehouse in the yard.

Not long after, Zhu Gaoxu's "good friend" Wang Zhenliang came alone.

Wang Gui and Du Qianrui, who were in the room, stood up and were about to perform the ceremony, but Wang Zhenliang extended his hand downward and gestured, "Save the customary ceremony."

Wang Gui still bent over and said, "Greetings, Mr. Wang. Is my master all right?"

Du Qianrui was a little surprised when she heard the name... She had seen this person before. She had met "Master Hong" Zhu Gaoxu twice in Fuleyuan and called himself "Master Wang". Now she saw him again and realized that Master Wang was not just a son of an ordinary family, but an official. She couldn't help but speculate further that Zhu Gaoxu and Master Wang's meeting in Fuleyuan was probably not just for drinking, listening to music and having fun.

"Prince Gaoyang is fine," Wang Zhenliang said, "but I'm afraid you two will have to hide for a while. The emperor is furious and has vowed to bring you to justice."

Wang Gui said with a pale face, "I have caused such a disaster..."

"Prince Gaoyang knows what's going on. This kind of thing can easily implicate people around him." Prince Wang said calmly, "Fortunately, Prince Gaoyang had foresight and thought of your loyalty, so he made arrangements in advance."

When Wang Gui heard this, he burst into tears.

Wang Zhenliang glanced at him and said nothing more, his words were still calm, "The situation is tense these days, so you should stay at home. Wait for a while and see what Prince Gaoyang thinks, then make arrangements." He paused and said, "By the way, the old man who delivered the meal is surnamed Li."

Wang Gui knelt on the ground, "Thank you very much, Mr. Wang, for saving me!"

Seeing this, Du Qianrui also hurried to thank him.

"Get up, I'm just entrusted by someone." After Wang Zhenliang said this, he turned around, opened the door and left without saying anything extra.

The two of them walked him to the door and watched him leave.

At this time, Du Qianrui asked Wang Gui, "Who is Mr. Wang?"

Wang Gui hesitated for a moment, then said frankly, "The son of the Prince Consort." Wang Gui looked around and said, "The royal family is rewarded with silk and cotton yarn, which is inexhaustible. I guess his family is selling those things, and the emperor's favor is not as good as before."

Du Qianrui kept nodding.

Wang Gui glanced at her and said, "Let me say something kind to Miss Du. You can only rely on the prince for your future survival. You have no family background and no one to back you up. If something like this happens, won't people take it out on you? Even a little finger of others can crush you to death!"

Du Qianrui hurriedly said, "Thank you for your kind words, eunuch." Her expression was uncertain, changing subtly, and she murmured, "If it weren't for the prince's arrangement, I'm afraid we would never see the light of day again."

"I'm glad that Miss Du understands." Wang Gui said.

...

Xu Huizu and the old eunuch who delivered the imperial edict left the prince's mansion together. When the person who delivered the gift to the gate went back and closed the door, Xu Huizu looked back and immediately asked the old eunuch, "Mr. Wu, who came up with the idea for this imperial edict?"

The eunuch thought for a moment, then bowed his head and whispered, "Master Huang, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

Xu Huizu stamped his foot, the vertical lines on his brows deepened, and he sighed in a serious tone, "Alas!"

Seeing this, the eunuch hurriedly asked, "What different opinions does Duke Wei have?"

Xu Huizu did not answer, but said directly, "I want to see you and tell the Holy Master in person that Duke Wu has returned to the palace to report the edict. Can you please let me know by the way?"

The eunuch immediately replied, "Of course! Duke Wei wants to see His Majesty, how can our family not inform him!"

Xu Huizu and the eunuch's chamberlain then entered the Meridian Gate unimpeded and stopped outside Fengtian Gate, waiting for the eunuch to go in first and report. The eunuch said, "The Holy Lord, who is in charge of the imperial affairs, should still be inside now. The Duke of Wei is here, waiting for news."

"Thank you, Mr. Wu." Xu Huizu stood here, even his tone of voice was much more polite than before, and his voice was a little lower.

In the city of Nanjing, which is full of beautiful mountains and rivers and pavilions and towers, there is not even a tree on either side of the Imperial Road. There are only empty roads and magnificent palaces, creating a desolate and grand scene. Even though Xu Huizu was very tall, he looked very small standing under the palace that embodied the imperial power.

After waiting for a long time, I heard repeated words coming from inside, "Announce, Xu Huizu, Duke of Wei, is here to see the emperor!" "Announce, Xu Huizu, Duke of Wei, is here to see the emperor..."

The palace, which is home to tens of thousands of people, is filled with empty echoes.

Xu Huizu adjusted his hat with both hands, pulled at his collar, and strode towards the imperial gate.

When he arrived at Fengtian Gate, he dared not look around, nor could he look up at the emperor behind the imperial desk. He first bowed outside the door. He could only vaguely see a few civil servants sitting on both sides of the desk; the emperor on the throne was dressed in yellow.

The voice of Emperor Zhu Yunwen came from inside, "No need to be polite, come in and talk."

Perhaps because Zhu Yunwen was too young, his voice was not strong enough, but a little thin, and his speech speed was also fast... Compared with the desolate and grand imperial city, it always felt out of tune. However, Xu Huizu did not dare to be careless and walked in carefully and prudently.

Zhu Yunwen's voice continued, "Prince Gaoyang caused trouble. I heard that Duke Wei had objections to the punishment?"

Xu Huizu was bending his body with his eyes fixed on the floor tiles. He then plucked up his courage and slightly tilted his head to take a closer look at the civil servants working inside the imperial gate. They were Qi Tai, the Minister of War, and Huang Zicheng, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

He was a little hesitant, but it seemed impossible for him to make a secret report to the emperor alone... He had to answer the emperor's question, so he said, "Your Majesty, I think it will be useless to punish Du and Wang Gui. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to imprison the princes of King Yan in the palace?"

"Oh?" Zhu Yunwen made a sound.

Xu Huizu said, "When Gaoyang County Prince was young, he was cunning and fierce, and Taizu didn't like him. Now in the capital, he is still arrogant and fierce. If he is allowed to wander around the capital, he might cause trouble again.

This time he violated the law first, so it is reasonable to just ban him as a punishment. It can prevent him from committing the crime again, and it can also keep the princes of the King of Yan under control, so that they can't find ways to collude with the inside and outside..."

"That makes some sense." Zhu Yunwen murmured.

At this moment, Huang Zicheng did some small action, and Xu Huizu noticed from the corner of his eye that the emperor seemed to turn his head and glance at the side of the palace.

After a short pause, Zhu Yunwen's tone changed, "However, I have already issued an order, so it cannot be taken lightly. Besides, Gao Chi, Gao Xu, and Gao Sui came to Beijing to commemorate the anniversary of the death of our great grandfather. Why should I find a reason to imprison them?"

Xu Huizu was stunned after hearing this, but he soon understood...

The imperial court would sooner or later deal with the Prince of Yan if they were to reduce the power of the vassal states...Although the news had already spread far and wide, the imperial court had not publicly acknowledged it; the correspondence with the Prince of Yan also remained harmonious. Once the matter was brought to light, it would be difficult to explain how to use the Prince of Yan's sons to deal with the Prince of Yan.

Moreover, most of the ministers from various factions in the central government of the imperial court still had some suspicion and reservations about him, Xu Huizu. Xu Huizu knew this, so he would not say it out loud.

Xu Huizu understood the emperor's intention and could only bow and say, "I am a foolish minister, but I only have my own opinion. I hope the emperor will make a wise decision."

Zhu Yunwen's voice said, "I understand. I will think carefully first. Duke Wei, please don't worry."

After hearing this, Xu Huizu bowed and said, "I thank you and will take my leave."

He performed the formalities and left the imperial gate, and for a moment he could not help but sigh. The emperor even allowed Huang and Qi to accompany him when handling government affairs, which showed that he was very favored by the emperor. No wonder the princes and ministers who advocated the "Enfeoffment Law" hated Huang and Qi's "reducing vassal faction" so much.