"The candidate proposed by the queen mother is the son of King Ning, and the queen mother thinks that this son is smart and clever, loyal and benevolent, although he is young, but he has good conduct, and he is the appearance of a wise king."

Although it was an expected answer, when Song Nan heard the words Ning Wang Shizi, he was still shocked in his heart; Zhu Chenhao is clever, and in such a short period of time, he has won the support of the Queen Mother, making his son a candidate for the future prince; During this time, Song Nan was fighting outside, and his ears and eyes were not smooth, although he knew that King Ning had made plans to move his family to the capital for several months, but after all, he had no time to take care of this matter.

"I also have a good impression of this son, King Ning is humble and kind, his son should not be too bad, and it is rare that this son and the queen mother fell in love, and the queen mother treated him like a grandson; I watched the queen mother and the child happily together, and I was very relieved. I couldn't let the queen mother hold the emperor's grandson, at least let the queen mother choose an eye-catching step-prince, I am at peace, and I can get along well in the future. ”

"Has the emperor already decided?" Song Nan said.

Zhengde nodded and said: "I have promised the queen mother in the morning, and when the annual leave is over, the early resumption of the dynasty will announce this matter." ”

Song Nan said: "Doesn't the emperor need to ask for the opinions of the cabinet scholars? ”

Zhengde said: "Yang Tinghe and the queen mother have differences on the issue of candidates, and it may be difficult to reach an agreement on this matter. In this way, a lot of troubles can be avoided. Although Yang Ting and them would be unhappy, he couldn't come up with an inappropriate reason for King Ning's son, and he would not dare to oppose my will. ”

Song Nan thought for a while and said: "Since the emperor has decided, it is inconvenient for the ministers to say anything, although the matter of establishing an heir is too big, and it should be cautious and cautious, but with the decision of the queen mother and the emperor, it is not the turn of the ministers to worry." The minister only does what he does. ”

Zhengde heard that there seemed to be something in Song Nan's words, and asked sideways: "Song Nan, I told you that I want to listen to your opinion, and before the holy decree is issued, this matter will be inconclusive." To be honest, although I made this decision, I actually felt a little uncomfortable in my heart, although I also liked the prince of King Ning, but in the final analysis, it was because of the strong recommendation of the queen mother. In fact, I have an indescribable feeling in my heart, I don't know whether to be happy or frustrated, in short, the mixed tastes are indescribable. ”

Of course, Song Nan understands Zhengde's feelings, and with a holy decree, the prince of Naning will become the future master of the Ming Dynasty, how can Zhengde be willing in his heart? In addition, this is not his own son, although in terms of general reasoning, it is the continuation of the Zhu family, but how can he be so open-minded in his private heart.

"Your Majesty, how dare the minister have any opinions, if the emperor makes a decision, the minister will be the first to raise his hand in favor; However, the matter of establishing an heir is too heavy, and if the emperor really needs to listen to the minister's opinion, the minister has a few words to say. ”

"Oh? And you say, I want to hear your opinion. ”

"Thank the emperor, the minister said bluntly; The emperor is in the palace, and it is difficult to know everything about the outside world; The minister is the commander of the Jinyi guard, and a large amount of information is gathered on the desk every day, and some ministers will consider it, and some ministers will just laugh at the rumors, but some of those rumors may not be unfounded. Although the minister has been committed to changing the investigation methods of the Jinyi Wei Yamen, if it involves major events in the DPRK and China, or things that have a bad impact, the minister will still encourage his subordinates to find out, at least give the person concerned a clean slate, and severely punish the rumor-mongers. ”

"I am very relieved of you, and the Jinyi Guard Yamen is better in your hands than the previous dynasties, but what do you say you are doing? I don't want to listen to the operation of your Jinyi Guard's yamen. ”

"Your Majesty, the minister means that the emperor's matter of making Wang Shizi the prince of Ning is too heavy, and a person who is about to become a prince must not have the slightest stain and fault."

"It's a strange thing for you to speak today, what faults and stains can a seven or eight-year-old child have?"

"The emperor is graceful, there are naturally no faults and stains on the seven or eight-year-old children, in fact, the prince of Ning Wang is indeed a smart and clever person as the queen mother said, but if he becomes the prince, it will not be his business alone; His parents and grandparents are relatives within several generations, and they need to be innocent people, if these people have stains and serious mistakes, or if they have committed adultery, it will definitely affect the evaluation of these seven or eight-year-old children, I don't know if the emperor thinks so. ”

Zhengde nodded slowly and said: "This makes sense, but King Ning's family is not at fault, I have never heard of bad remarks about King Ning's Mansion, going back to four generations, the first King Ning Xian is the seventeenth son of the grandfather, and the soldiers and horses along the border are shared with King Yan, and the following generations have guarded Nanchang Mansion, and there is nothing wrong with it." ”

Song Nan wanted to say: Although Zhu Quan, the king of Ningxian, was once difficult to swallow the throne, there was a precedent for seizing the throne. But how can Song Nan say that, if there is no Yan Wang Jingnan, how can Zhengde be in charge of the future affairs of the great tomorrow, for Zhengde, Zhu Quan and Yan Wang Jingnan are not rebellions, but have made great contributions.

"Your Majesty, the minister said that there are some rumors reported on the desk every day, including many people who involve princes, ministers, nobles, and relatives, including Zhu Chenhao, the current King of Ning."

"Oh? Are there any bad rumors about Zhu Chenhao? Zhengde was a little surprised, in his opinion, King Ning is a kind and interesting person, and he is quite good friends, among the vassal kings, if anyone can say that he can talk about his heart, then there is no one else except King Ning.

"Emperor Shengming, the rumors are indeed about King Ning, although the minister treats these things as a joke, but now that he wants to make his son the emperor's heir, it is necessary to inform the emperor of all this."

"What are the rumors? When you say it, I also open my eyes. ”

Song Nan was sitting precariously and said in a low voice: "It is rumored that King Ning has close contacts with officials in Fengyang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, Nanjing and other places, and there is a suspicion of forming a gang in private. King Ning and some ministers in the court also had a close relationship, and also purchased several Qinglou to train singers and prostitutes. Female gifts are given to ministers and local dignitaries in the DPRK and China. ”

Zhengde smiled dumbly and said, "These are the things? Is this a big deal? Although the king of the Ming Dynasty did not take charge of government affairs and did not lead soldiers and horses, it did not prohibit them from making friends with people. As for giving away the song and the prostitute. Women's affairs are even more absurd, this kind of thing is very popular among officials in private, Zhu Chenhao is not exempt from vulgarity, but that is not a fault, at most it is a little damage to reputation. I will strictly order him to sell the green house immediately, so as not to give it to others. These things are nothing at all, but those who report these things must be strictly investigated, and even such things must be reported, and when it is obvious that there will be no chaos in the world. ”

Song Nan rolled his eyes and arched his hand: "What the emperor said is that in addition to these, there are some rumors. ”

Zhengde smiled: "Song Nan, I really pity you, I drown in these trivial things every day, but I have wronged you." I think you should put some energy into national affairs, and another day you will put forward a candidate and step down from the position of commander of the Jinyi Guard, and I can't bear that you are still bound by these trivial matters. You're the one who does big things. ”

Song Nan said: "Thank you for the emperor's care, and the ministers also have this intention." But the minister's words are not finished, and the rumors about King Ning are not just those trivial things. ”

Zhengde got up and said: "Shu is a little tired, you accompany Shu back, these things will be talked about another day, today is the Chinese New Year's Eve, you should also go back to accompany your family and relatives, Shu is not good old to occupy you, you will be accused by your wives and concubines of being unreasonable." ”

Zhengde walked down the pavilion, and Song Nan's voice came from behind him: "Your Majesty, someone reported that King Ning had malicious intentions and conspiracy to usurp the throne. ”

Zhengde's body trembled, stopped and turned around: "What did you say?" ”

"The minister received a report that Zhu Chenhao, the king of Ning, privately expanded the guards and sent people to Guangzhou Mansion to purchase leather armor iron ingots and other things, which was unconventional. It has been reported that he colluded with local officials to purchase military equipment from these officials, embezzled people's land in Nanchang Prefecture, and did not allow private clans to operate rice, salt, and other industries, and also harbored and colluded with local bandits in Jiangxi. ”

Zhengde's face changed drastically, and he exclaimed, "What? Is there such a thing? ”

Song Nan said slowly: "These are all reports received by the minister, the minister remembers the emperor's teachings, and it is inconvenient for the clan to interfere in the strict investigation, maybe these are all rumors, and the minister also hopes that it is a rumor, but if the prince of Ning Wang wants to succeed as the prince, the minister has to build yì The emperor allows the minister to investigate these matters." If these things are true, whether the prince of Ning Wang can still be a candidate for succession needs to be carefully considered by the emperor. ”

Zhengde covered his chest and coughed loudly, Song Nan hurriedly stepped forward to wipe Zhengde's chest and smooth his breath, Zhengde closed his eyes and gasped for a long time, holding on to the pillar in the pavilion to stabilize his crumbling body and said: "Song Nan listens to the order." ”

Song Nan hurriedly saluted and received the order.

"I will give you ten days to find out these rumors before the tenth day of the first month, and if they are false, we must severely punish those who spread the rumors, and if they are true...... I...... I'm calculating. ”

"The minister obeys the order, and will give the emperor evidence and answers within ten days, the emperor must not be upset about this matter, the minister does not want the emperor to bother about this matter again."

Zhengde sighed and smiled: "I won't, I just want to know the truth, I want to know what kind of surprise these loyal vassal courtiers will give me." Xiao Yongzi, help me go back, Song Nan, you can retire. ”

Zhang Yongyuan heard Zhengde's call, and hurriedly trotted over, and Zhengde took Zhang Yong's arm and went down the pavilion without looking back.

Song Nan stood on the pavilion for a long time, sighed and strode out of the Qianqing Palace.