Zhengde is seriously ill, and after it is basically confirmed to be tuberculosis in the lungs, the hope of cure is basically zero. The important ministers who know the inside story are of course very sad about this, but for them, the top priority at the moment is the question of who will be at the helm of the Ming Dynasty after the emperor's death.

In all dynasties, the court has never shied away from caring about the issue of the transfer of imperial power, and the reigning emperor also attaches great importance to this matter. The reason for the crown is to extend the imperial power and think about the emperor's foundation. The so-called country cannot be without a king for a day, and a reserve candidate is called being prepared. Speaking of which, this is an act of faithfulness, not a great rebellion.

However, Zhengde is only twenty-two years old, and it stands to reason that no one has touched the mold at this time, but in fact, someone has made a fuss about this matter a long time ago. Of course, this is related to Zhengde's confirmed infertility and no future, both without a queen but weak in health, and was found to be an incurable disease such as tuberculosis, and the issue of the transfer of imperial power has become the focus of attention at this moment.

If there is a prince, the succession of the imperial heir will be much simpler, but unfortunately, there is no queen of righteousness, and this matter has become extremely complicated. The mood of the ministers is also very complicated and entangled, on the one hand, they have a headache for this matter, and on the other hand, they are a little excited.

Once the son of heaven is a courtier, once the new emperor is determined, there will be huge changes in the pattern of the court, some people who are now in unlimited glory may be reduced to people, while others may reach the pinnacle of power and become hot people in the court; And everyone understands the truth of who contributes the most in the matter of inheriting the great unification and the more benefits they will get in the future, so under the current circumstances, it is not surprising that Zhengde is seriously ill and has little time to go, and that all parties plan to actively operate. In the final analysis, no one will let go of such an opportunity.

Under such circumstances, there was also a difference of opinion in the originally monolithic outer court, and the news that the emperor was critically ill was originally known only to a few cabinet scholars, and this secret was only hidden in the belly of the cabinet scholars. However, the issue of the selection of the imperial heir in the cabinet made Yang Tinghe and Prince Liang almost opposite. Flames.

Another person who is extremely concerned about this matter is the Empress Dowager Zhang in the harem, although Zhengde is her own son, and the Empress Dowager Zhang never wants her son to die of illness, but a year ago, she planned to find out that Zhengde suffered from infertility, and the Empress Dowager Zhang has begun to actively look for candidates to inherit the ancestral inheritance in the future. For the entire Ming Dynasty, personal emotions are nothing, of course the Empress Dowager Zhang can't let the Ming Dynasty fall into the dilemma of no owner, she has to solve this problem before, this is her heavy responsibility as the Queen Mother.

As early as a few months ago, Empress Dowager Zhang set out to make a big list of all eligible royal children, excluding many candidates with weak blood, and there are still more than a dozen royal children who are eligible, which actually does not include King Ning's eldest son. His bloodline is too far away and does not meet the standards in Empress Dowager Zhang's mind. Empress Dowager Zhang did not speculate about King Ning's intention to live in the palace with his family, she suspected that King Ning had the intention of letting his eldest son pass on to Zhengde, but Empress Dowager Zhang did not say anything, but just pretended not to know about it.

But with the screening of the personnel list, there are fewer and fewer people who are eligible, either these princes have a bad reputation, or they are too old, or some other inconsistencies, and the Empress Dowager Zhang is quite troubled by this matter. Empress Dowager Zhang told her troubles about the recent past. I often come to the palace to meet with Liang Chu, a scholar of the Cabinet University, and ask Liang Chu to give an opinion. Prince Liang actually said bluntly: "The queen mother's identity is too small, but all the bloodline of Taizu can become the choice of the emperor's heir, as long as this son can be a great responsibility, he can be a Ming monarch, and the distance of the bloodline cannot actually become an obstacle." ”

Empress Dowager Zhang thought about it and felt that it made sense, as long as he was the bloodline of the Zhu family, the Ming Dynasty would still be surnamed Zhu, maybe the scope of his previous circle was still a little selfish, no matter how close the bloodline was, it was not Zhengde's son-in-law, so why bother with these.

As a result, King Ning's eldest son fell into the eyes of the Queen Mother. King Ning has a good reputation and a strict family education, although his eldest son is young, but he is clever and intelligent, with a sweet mouth and a hot mouth, his arrival has added a lot of vitality to the lifeless harem, even the Empress Dowager Zhang has to admit that this kid is very likable.

In the past few months, everyone in the harem, from the queen mother to the female officials, praised this little prince, and everyone loved him very much. This kid is also very conscientious, who likes what to eat, who likes to wear, who likes what to wear, who likes what to keep in mind, and when he goes out of the palace and enters the palace, he will always bring something he likes to do what he likes. Knowing that the Queen Mother likes to collect Buddhist scriptures, she actually got the original hand-copied Diamond Sutra of the Shaolin Temple in the Tang Dynasty out of nowhere to honor the Queen Mother, which made the Queen Mother Zhang happy for many days.

But even so, Empress Dowager Zhang was still a little hesitant at first, because Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao's intentions were a little too obvious, which made Empress Dowager Zhang feel that there were some design ingredients in it, and she always felt that there was some infarction in her heart. But in November, Zhu Chenhao suddenly resigned to the Queen Mother, saying that he had been in the capital for too long, and the old princess in the palace of Nanning missed her grandson very much, and brought a letter to ask the family to return to Nanchang for a reunion for the New Year.

On the evening of November 19, Empress Dowager Zhang set up a banquet in the palace to practice for King Ning's family, Empress Dowager Zhang drank a few glasses of wine, stroked the head of the little boy leaning on her side, and said with reluctance: "Good boy, you are leaving tomorrow, the mourning family is really reluctant to let you go, you go, the mourning family will be lifeless in this palace, if you can stay with the mourning family for the New Year." ”

The little boy was very clever and said with a smile: "The child also wants to accompany the Queen Mother, but my father said that we must go, otherwise someone will be unhappy; My father didn't want to teach people to be unhappy, so we had to leave, and let my father take me to kowtow to the Queen Mother after the New Year. ”

Empress Dowager Zhang was very surprised and asked Zhu Chenhao: "What do you mean when you say someone will be unhappy?" ”

Zhu Chenhao glared at the child and scolded a few words, and said with a smile: "Children talk nonsense, the Queen Mother doesn't care, there is nothing to do." It is completely the mother's order and cannot be resisted. ”

Empress Dowager Zhang frowned and said: "Make it clear, otherwise the mourning family won't let you go back, we are relatives of the royal family, your family comes to live in the palace, why are some people unhappy?" Is it the emperor? Or is it what Corning said? ”

Zhu Chenhao hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "No, how could the emperor and the princess say such things, hey, since the queen mother inquired, I won't hide it, since my whole family came to the capital, I was loved by the queen mother, and my child was also deeply favored by the queen mother." Originally, the Queen Mother liked Xiao'er, which was his blessing and the glory of our whole family, but the more this is the case, the more we can't stay in the capital, because if we stay, I'm afraid we will have to give birth to right and wrong. ”

Empress Dowager Zhang was surprised: "Make the words clear." ”

Zhu Chenhao sighed for a long time: "Although this kind of thing is ridiculous, it is a bit angry to say it. Some people say that my family came to Beijing to please the Queen Mother, and they also said...... He also said......"

Zhu Chenhao suddenly stopped talking, Empress Dowager Zhang waved her hand to let the palace maids and eunuchs retreat, frowned and said: "There are no outsiders here, if you have anything to say, just say it directly, no need to swallow and spit out." ”

Zhu Chenhao pulled Princess Ning to kneel on the ground and said, "If I have any reckless words today, I will ask the Queen Mother to forgive me." ”

Empress Dowager Zhang frowned and waved her hand and said: "Say it quickly, you are in a hurry to mourn your family, and you are not guilty." ”

Zhu Chenhao straightened up and said, "I heard rumors outside that the emperor ...... said that the emperor could not have children, and there would be no children in the future, Chen Hao would never believe such words, and he laughed when he heard it, this is all a matter fabricated by boring people, the emperor is young and strong, how can there be such a thing? But recently, there have been rumors that Chen Hao took the whole family into the palace to live because he knew that the emperor had no children, and said that the queen mother was looking for a candidate to succeed the emperor's royal children, saying that I took my son into the palace to please the queen mother, so that the queen mother would inherit my son Zhu Chenhao to the emperor and compete for the position of the emperor's heir. The Queen Mother, Chen Hao swore to the sky, if Chen Hao had this intention, he would teach the heavens and the earth to perish, thinking about it, Chen Hao couldn't stand this words, and originally arranged the itinerary of Layue, thinking about it, but had to leave in advance. ”

Empress Dowager Zhang was very surprised, it turned out that there were rumors of the emperor's infertility outside, and the people who knew about it were only herself, Yang Tinghe, a cabinet scholar, and Prince Liang, as well as a few people in the palace; The Lu Yuan, who handled the matter, had committed suicide and died, how did this news come out? Liang Chu and Yang Tinghe should not leak it, could it be that the Lu Yuan revealed the news before he was sentenced to 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?" The mourning family will issue an order to investigate the people who spread rumors, so why should you worry about such things. ”

Zhu Chenhao shook his head and said: "There must be a reason for the groundlessness, whether it is true or not, I can't stay here anymore, Chenhao doesn't want to get involved in this matter, so he can only stay away from suspicion." The Queen Mother is very loving, and I am grateful to the whole Ning Palace, but I am leaving anyway. ”

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

Zhu Chenhao's face was as pale as water, and he said in a deep voice: "The grace of heaven is vast, and the person chosen must be the person of destiny, and it is definitely not a delusional obtain." Although Chen Hao is stupid, he knows this. These are God's orders, beyond the reach of man, and wishful thinking will never end well. ”

Empress Dowager Zhang nodded slightly and said: "That's right, wishful thinking often backfires, the mourning family has wanted to find someone to talk about this matter for a long time, and since today's words are here, the mourning family will not hide it; Sue you, what you have heard about the emperor's infertility and the selection of the emperor's heir by the mourning family are not rumors, this matter is indeed true. ”

Zhu Chenhao's face changed greatly, and he said dumbfoundedly: "This ...... Queen Mother, you're not kidding. ”