Chapter Nine, The Feudal Lords (2)

Chen Jin glanced at the Fuwang, who had not yet stepped onto the stairs and entered the Silver Luan Hall. He noticed that the Fuwang showed no reaction, so he clearly performed a respectful bow to both the Fuwang and Zhu Youcong before stepping out to send off Wang Gongming and the others

However, the next day after Zhu Yousong got up, he heard some bad news, so after washing up, he commanded: "Li Banban, take me to see Father Wang in the morning!"

Zhu Changxun wanted to say something else when Chen Jin, the Right Attendant of the Chengfeng Division, approached Zhu Changxun to report: "Your Highness, the Henan Prefecture is still waiting outside the residence!"

"Not good!" Zhu Yousong shook his head and said, "The child and the empress are very worried about the king. They hope the king enjoys fine wine, but also wishes for a long life!"

In fact, not only Zhu Youxiong cannot disembark, but even Zhu Changxun and the Yao family cannot disembark

After a short while, Zhu Changxun was forced to open his eyes due to shortness of breath, exclaiming, "Who is there!"

This official, Wang Gongming, the governor of Henan Prefecture, leads the officials of the entire prefecture to pay their respects to His Royal Highness, the Prince of Fortune, wishing him a long and prosperous life!

The Prince of Fu immediately shed tears: "Alright, alright, Father agrees to you, may you drink fine wine and live a long life..."

However, the carriage of Prince Fu did not stop at the main gate, but was directly carried into the residence, all the way to the Silver Luan Hall, where Zhu Changxun and Zhu Yousong, who were also in the carriage, subsequently emerged one after the other

Thus, Zhu Yousong and his family spent their first day after arriving in Luoyang

Zhu Changxun pretended not to hear and said to the Yao family: "Take Fu Ba to settle down! I am also tired!"

Therefore, throughout this journey, Zhu Yousong was in high spirits; however, the problem was that he could only sit on the boat and could not disembark to explore and see the authentic Ming Dynasty towns and villages.

In fact, whoever is expelled from the capital and loses the opportunity to ascend to the throne would undoubtedly harbor lingering resentment. Moreover, with such a significant matter as the Prince of Fu establishing a fief, if the governor does not come, and the two fief officials do not come, and the councilors do not come either, it is only natural for the Prince of Fu to have a grim expression. However, it is we, the minor officials, who suffer the most

However, after a month and a half of arduous travel by boat, the family of Prince Fu finally arrived in Luoyang City

Leaving Beijing and completely losing the opportunity to take control of the Forbidden City must have been extremely painful for Prince Fu. However, for Zhu Yousong (Zhang Mingda), it was akin to breaking free from a cage and escaping into the world of books.

Having spoken, Zhu Changxun sat back inside the sedan chair, and the eunuch from the Chengfeng Division immediately pulled up the curtain of the sedan chair and commanded, "Set off!"

To think that one can still aspire to a high position under such circumstances is truly an overestimation of one's own capabilities

Indeed, the first meeting with the Prince of Fortune was not pleasant, and I fear it will be difficult for us in the future

Having said that, Zhu Changxun turned and left. Chen Jin, who was sent by Concubine Zheng to take care of the Prince of Fu's family, was at a loss. At this moment, Zhu Yousong, speaking in a tone befitting a little adult, instructed Chen Jin: "Go tell that whatever mansion, Father is tired, so let them go back!"

As they spoke, Wang Gongming was the first to enter the sedan chair, and then he ordered the bearers to take a shortcut to arrive ahead of the Fuwang's entourage, and once again awaited at the entrance of the Wang residence before the Fuwang and his party arrived

Zhu Changxun shook his head and tried hard to open his eyelids: "Fuba, what are you doing! This is not Beijing, can you let Father Wang rest in peace from now on!"

Zhu Yousong immediately understood Zhu Changxun's meaning, but still pretended not to notice and held onto Zhu Changxun's robe, feigning ignorance and saying: "Father's words are quite strange, the son does not understand!"

Li An's smile appeared at the corners of his mouth as he took Zhu Youzong to the sleeping quarters. As a result, they heard that Zhu Youzong intended to pay a morning visit to the Prince of Fortune. The internal servant Zhao Lu, who was responsible for taking care of the Prince of Fortune, became somewhat flustered: "Young Prince, His Highness was completely intoxicated yesterday and is still in a deep sleep. How about this: you first go to pay your respects to the Princess, and then come to see His Highness!"

Indeed, the scenery along the way is not particularly beautiful for Zhu Yousong, who possesses memories of parallel worlds—of course, Zhu Yousong did not witness the scene of the empire's decline—but leaving Beijing means that he has initially escaped from the cage and will soon begin to develop in a furtive manner, away from the scrutiny of the civil official group

The procession marched grandly past the officials of Henan Prefecture, heading straight towards the residence of Prince Fu

"How beautiful!" Zhu Yousong exclaimed involuntarily as he surveyed the surroundings. "Father, will we be living here from now on?"

Looking at the crowd of people in front of him, Zhu Changxun said with a gloomy expression: "Governor Wang, please do not stand on ceremony. This time, I have come to Henan to take up my fief, and I apologize for disturbing the local area. I hope for your understanding"

Zhu Changxun nodded at Zhu Yousong and said: "Fuba, I must trouble you!"

Apart from being unable to disembark, Zhu Changxun and the Yao family were even prohibited from contacting outsiders. As a result, the congratulatory envoys sent by the residences of the King of Lu, the King of Zhou, the King of Lu, and the King of Zhao were all received by the Chief Historian of the Fuwang residence. Even after arriving in Luoyang, the congratulatory envoys sent by the nearby residences of the King of Tang, the King of Qin, the King of Chong, the King of Shen, and the King of Zheng could only be received by the Court of Compliments of the royal residence. Zhu Changxun was unable to exchange even a single word with them, which made his family feel like prisoners. It is no wonder that Zhu Changxun was so unwilling when he first heard about being enfeoffed.

Father, it is time to get up

The Fuwang Mansion is said to have been constructed at a cost of 560,000 taels of silver. Whether anyone embezzled funds during this period, and how much was embezzled, remains unknown to outsiders. However, it is certain that at least several hundred thousand taels of silver were spent. The entire mansion appears to be absolutely magnificent, far more splendid than the Fuwang residence in the capital.

Indeed, in Zhu Changxun's view, this was merely a compensation from his father, so he bitterly said: "Fuba, from now on we will live here and also die here"

Yao touched the corner of her eye, then, as if letting out a long sigh, she laughed and scolded, "This little monkey is talking nonsense again"

Zhu Yousong said nothing, forcefully pushing aside Zhao Lu who was blocking his way, and rushed into the sleeping quarters. Zhao Lu, unable to stop him, could only jog behind. He saw Zhu Yousong burst into the heavily scented chamber, diving headfirst onto Zhu Changxun's bed, and then pinched Zhu Changxun's nose with his hand

"Alright, everyone stop talking," Wang Gongming admonished. "We may not be of much concern to the Prince of Fortune as we follow the Wang residence's entourage, but we still need to fulfill our duties properly"

Indeed, the provincial officials of Henan, in order to avoid the accusation of handing over the fief to the prince and also to show their loyalty to the Eastern Palace, did not send anyone to congratulate Prince Fu on his fiefdom. Of course, later on, they will certainly come to pay their respects to Prince Fu and say a few grandiloquent words. However, while others may not come, how could the Henan government, as landlords, not make an appearance

The officials of the Henan government, who had been met with coldness, immediately began to discuss: "The Prince of Fortune is truly unaware of the situation, how could he be so arrogant!"

In this situation, Zhu Yousong should actually comfort Zhu Changxun, but Zhu Yousong is only 7 years old at this moment, so how could he express adult sentiments? Therefore, he turned to Yao and said: "Why is mother crying?"

More importantly, during the construction of the Prince of Fu's residence, it coincided with the reconstruction of the three main halls and the Palace of Heavenly Purity following the fire at the Forbidden City. As a result, Emperor Wanli chose to postpone the repairs of the Forbidden City in favor of prioritizing the construction of the Prince of Fu's residence. This clearly demonstrates Emperor Wanli's affection for Zhu Changxun