Chapter 177: A Strange Family

Under the Ming dynasty’s system, princes who were enfeoffed as kings were granted gold tablets and treasures, an annual salary of ten thousand bushels of grain, and their own officials. They were accompanied by between three thousand and nineteen thousand guards, all under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. Their coronation robes, carriages, flags, and residences ranked only one tier below those of the emperor. Dukes, marquises, and ministers would bow in reverence, never daring to treat them with equal respect. Throughout history, only the princes of the Han dynasty had surpassed these dukes and ministers in status.

Yet although Emperor Yongle, Zhu Di, seized the throne under the pretext of quelling rebellion, his measures to weaken the princely powers were even more drastic than those of Emperor Jianwen. At least now, those princes who thought they could act lawlessly just because their elder brother became emperor were either demoted or had their guards reduced. The rest could at most rule tyrannically in their own provinces, with little real power left. Even Zhu Di’s own younger brother, the Prince of Zhou, mostly stayed within the Zhou royal palace.

There was only one Zhou royal palace, but there used to be four Han royal palaces. In the second year of Yongle’s reign, after enfeoffing his crown prince Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Di made Zhu Gaoxu the King of Han, with his domain in Yunnan. Yet despite the palaces already being built, Zhu Gaoxu never went there and instead constructed a magnificent Han royal palace in Nanjing. Later, Zhu Di forced him to go to Qingzhou in Shandong, but he still refused. When he finally went, he allowed his troops to plunder and massacre the people, nearly being deposed and forced to rule in Le’an in resentment.

Thus, alone in Shandong, there were two Han royal palaces: one in Qingzhou and another in Le’an. Even though Qingzhou was no longer under the rule of King Zhu Gaoxu, the palace still stood. Unless the emperor spoke of it, no one dared mention tearing it down. With this pretext, Zhu Gaoxu would occasionally take his entourage to visit the palace, and Zhu Zhan Tan, the crown prince of Han, also came there frequently.

Although he was not in good health and did not inherit his father’s extraordinary bravery, Zhu Zhan Tan was quite shrewd. Though Le’an was officially a prefecture, it had originally been just a small county town. There was a salt field by the sea to the northeast of Le’an. Since the Han royal palace moved there, Zhu Gaoxu naturally took control of the salt field, but it was difficult to develop it for real purposes. Qingzhou, on the other hand, had always been an important town in Shandong, so he frequently traveled between Le’an and Qingzhou under various pretexts.

One day, a carriage pulled by eight tall horses, accompanied by nearly a hundred guards, stopped in front of the west gate of the Han royal palace. It was more like a mobile small house than a mere carriage.

The carriage was framed in brass, over four feet high, with red-painted strips and rings all around. The floor was covered with a red carpet, and the seats were padded with red fabric embroidered with gold. Red silk curtains with blue edges hung in front of the seats, while the front curtain was made of a carpet adorned with gold threads and blue and green patterns. Such trivial words as “luxurious” simply couldn’t capture the grandeur of all those decorations.

The sickly Crown Prince Zhu Zhan Tan was helped out of the carriage by two attendants. As he stepped up the stairs to enter, he saw Zhu Zhan Qi rushing out. Noting his angry expression, he called out to him and asked with a frown, “What’s going on? Did you argue with Father again?”

“Are you mocking me, elder brother? How dare I argue with him?” Zhu Zhan Qi sneered, a fierce look appearing on his face. “If he could kill our mother with a single sword, he can surely kill me too! I merely told him that Grandfather has sent his trusted men to Shandong, clearly with ill intentions, and he smashed things and drove me out! Hmph! If it weren’t for the troubles caused by this King of Han, I wouldn’t be in this mess either. Who wants to remind him of such things?”

Upon hearing Zhu Zhan Qi mention their deceased mother, Zhu Zhan Tan’s expression also changed slightly. Having always been accustomed to following his father’s wishes, though he also hated this matter deeply, he never dared to show it openly. So he snapped, “What nonsense are you talking? Don’t bring trouble to Father! It’s common for the court to transfer officials. Just take care of yourself—that’s what matters. Have you forgotten the flogging you received after causing a scene at the Duke of Ying’s residence?”

Zhu Zhan Qi’s expression grew even darker as he snorted at Zhu Zhan Tan again. “Of course I haven’t forgotten! Elder brother, when it came to choosing the heir, how many people spoke well of Father? What was the result? Qiu Fu died in the northern expedition, and those military generals became mute, refusing to stand up for Father. Even Zhang Fu isn’t any better! Now Grandfather has forgotten what’s important. I merely beat a minor from the Zhang family, and yet he used that as an excuse to flog me and even gave away so many gifts. Am I not his grandson?”

“Enough!”

“Stop putting on the airs of a crown prince in front of me!”

Zhu Zhanqi inherited his father Zhu Gaoxu’s violent temper. In a fit of anger, he paid no attention to Zhu Zhan Tan at all. Pointing at his elder brother’s nose, he said viciously, “Elder brother, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to! You may act humble in front of the Duke of Ying, but I know exactly what you’re plotting. Indeed, it was I who reported Zhang Yue to the Jinyiwei. I spent so many years in Nanjing back then; I still have some informants there! If you want to file a complaint, go ahead. Let me tell you—I’m known for avenging even the slightest offense!” After saying these harsh words, Zhu Zhanqi ignored Zhu Zhan Tan’s pale face, strode past his brother angrily, rushed out, mounted his horse, and left. The guards behind didn’t dare be rude; they stepped aside to pay their respects before hurriedly chasing after him. By the time the group had vanished in a flash, Zhu Zhan Tan felt utterly weak. Thanks to those supporting him, he didn’t collapse on the spot. Even so, his exhausted appearance scared everyone around him to death.

“Your Highness!”

“It’s fine. Bring the sedan chair; I want to see my father.”

Although King Han Zhu Gaoxu was indeed exiled to Le’an Prefecture, neither the Ministry of Works nor the local authorities dared to slack off in building his palace, given his notorious violent reputation. This King Han’s palace occupied almost half of Le’an Prefecture’s town area, with hundreds of rooms. It also had a pond created by channeling purified water from the Xiaoqing River—known as Huaqing Pool. This pond, named after the famous one in Emperor Tang Minghuang’s Lishan Palace, was inscribed by Zhu Gaoxu himself, reflecting his ambitions. There were countless more pavilions and towers.

King Han Zhu Gaoxu spent his days in Yaoguang Pavilion. Though called a pavilion, it was actually similar to a palace hall. As Zhu Zhan Tan was helped down from the sedan chair, two eunuchs immediately came to support him on either side, carrying him inside without touching the ground. Once inside, he saw his father sitting on the throne. He quickly shook off the two eunuchs and bowed respectfully to the ground.

Zhu Gaoxu was proud of his martial prowess. Though no longer young, he still had a large appetite and strong health, so ordinary horses couldn’t carry him. For this reason, he despised his elder brother, who was fat, weak, and incompetent. Seeing his eldest son in such poor health, his expression darkened: “Why is your body still so useless?”

Seeing the few people on either side who were clearly the commander of the guards, the deputy commander, and the assistant commander of the Tiance guards, Zhu Zhan Tan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Straining to lift his spirits, he said, “Father, forgive me. As the weather gets colder, my old asthma flares up.”
“Having such an illness since birth is truly unlucky!” Zhu Gaoxu snorted in dissatisfaction. Then he waved his hand to signal Zhu Zhan Tan to sit up, quickly sending all the serving maids and eunuchs away before saying, “Prince Zhao sent a letter yesterday, saying that Father is now paying extra attention to matters in Shandong. I know Father has his eyes fixed on this place the whole time. He doesn’t even think that it was I who helped him conquer this land. Now, not only does he abandon me after helping me, but he also ignores our father-son relationship!”
Those military officers, partly due to their warrior temperament and partly because they were already enriched by Zhu Gaoxu’s favors, couldn’t help but feel indignant. Watching from the sidelines, Zhu Zhan Tan saw Zhu Gaoxu fully roused by anger and interjected, “Father, generals, perhaps Father’s concern for Shandong has other reasons. From what I’ve learned, the Jinyiwei has discovered that members of the White Lotus Sect are operating secretly in Shandong. Maybe all those changes are…”
Before he could finish, he felt something flying at him. In a critical moment, he instinctively dodged to the left, hearing a thud—though he didn’t know what hit the wall behind him. Looking at Zhu Gaoxu glaring fiercely at him, knowing further provocation would only anger him more, he had no choice but to swallow his words.
“What White Lotus Sect? That’s just an excuse!” Zhu Gaoxu, as if he hadn’t thrown that golden cup at all, snorted disdainfully at such foolish nonsense. “If it were just for such trivial matters, would Father send his trusted aides? That Du Zhen, who never speaks up, still knows how to persuade Father to spare Liang Qian. Why didn’t he speak up when I was driven to such a desolate place like Le’an? All those civil officials are the same—hypocrites who should all be killed!”
Zhu Zhan Tan had intended to advise that to gain power, one should win the hearts of the people. Hearing Zhu Gaoxu speak like that and seeing the other generals agree, he felt a metallic taste in his mouth, taking some time to suppress it. After that, Zhu Gaoxu assigned many tasks, and unsurprisingly, Zhu Zhan Tan had no say in them—nor did any of his brothers.

It seems that ever since Ji Gang was killed, Zhu Gaoxu became increasingly stubborn and self-willed. Fortunately, although his father did not value him as the crown prince, others did, so he was still able to accomplish quite a bit. Since he could not persuade his father to give up his obsession with the throne, all he could do was help as much as he could. At least, if utilized well this time, there was much potential for success.

After a noisy court meeting, he left Yaoguang Pavilion. Seeing two eunuchs come to assist him onto his sedan chair, he thought for a moment before shaking his hand and saying, “Go to Xuanji Courtyard to see the Queen.”

Zhu Gaoxu’s first legitimate wife was Lady Zheng, who gave birth to his eldest son and second son—Crown Prince Zhu Zhan Tan and Prince Shouguang Zhu Zhan Qi. However, Zhu Gaoxu was violent by nature. When he failed to seize the throne, he was exiled to Qingzhou Prefecture in Shandong. In a fit of rage, after Lady Zheng failed to dissuade him, he stabbed her to death, an incident that caused a great stir at the time. Although Emperor Yongle, Zhu Di, was furious, he still selected a new wife for him from a prominent family—Lady Wei. Though she was a stepmother, she was about the same age as Crown Prince Zhu Zhan Tan.

Xuanji Courtyard was Lady Wei’s main residence. The five rooms there were naturally grand and magnificent. The maids standing in the courtyard wore silk jackets in lotus-colored hues, covered with blue satin armor, all with their heads bowed and hands clasped. When they saw Crown Prince Zhu Zhan Tan arrive, the maids bowed together. The maid at the door immediately lifted the curtain high and announced his arrival inside.

Although regular visits were required, Zhu Zhan Tan was not in good health, so these visits were usually just formalities with his younger siblings. He rarely came here alone. Moreover, Lady Wei was young and unable to control the numerous beautiful concubines in the Han Prince’s mansion, so her status as queen was mostly nominal. Thus, upon hearing of the prince’s arrival, though surprised, she remained seated. Zhu Zhan Tan simply bowed slightly, and she smiled, waving him to sit while wondering what his purpose was.

Seeing that the room was filled with maids dressed in red and green, but no flamboyant concubines, Zhu Zhan Tan understood immediately. After saying a few words, he suddenly started coughing. Lady Wei was not quite sure what was going on, but an older maid beside her realized something and ordered all the maids to leave, keeping only another trusted maid with her. Then she took matters into her own hands and asked, “Prince, have you come here to convey something to the Queen?”

Glancing at the dragon-head porcelain bead vases on the carved lacquer stand in the corner, Zhu Zhan Tan smiled slightly and said, “The furnishings in the Queen’s room are truly remarkable. Those dragon-head porcelain bead vases must have been bestowed by the palace, right? Permit me to speak frankly—although my father has countless concubines, his interest in women pales in comparison to his focus on state affairs. Those concubines, thinking they are young and beautiful, look down on the Queen. Won’t they abandon her like old trash when they grow old?”

Princess Wei was only eighteen. Even as a noblewoman, she had at most learned how to manage a household. Faced with a husband as noble yet cruel as Zhu Gaoxu, she probably didn’t even have time to consider such things. As for those flamboyant concubines, she indeed disliked them, but even if she did, she had to pretend to be unjealous as the legitimate wife. So though she understood what Zhu Zhan Tan said was meant as kindness, she didn’t quite grasp it.

At that moment, the lady-in-waiting beside her spoke up, her tone even more polite than before: “Thank you, Your Highness, for the reminder. To speak frankly as well, since the wedding, the King of Han has rarely visited Xuanji Courtyard. This is truly…”

Zhu Zhan Tan waved his hand, leaned forward slightly, and said in a low voice, “After all, the Queen is the King of Han appointed by the court. If she competes for favor with those who only know how to flatter men, not only will her methods be inferior, but she’ll also become a laughingstock. Since my father values state affairs, why doesn’t the Queen cater to his interests? When she’s free, she might as well go out. I heard that…”

Hearing Zhu Zhan Tan’s words, Princess Wei didn’t feel much, but her two ladies-in-waiting’s eyes lit up, and they immediately became deeply grateful to the prince. After Zhu Zhan Tan left, the two immediately persuaded Princess Wei with countless words, eventually getting her—who had never stepped outside her home since childhood—to agree.