Chapter 375: Calm Composure vs. Fierce Momentum

The list jointly prepared by the Imperial Clan Office and the Court Protocol Bureau included forty-two names in total. But Zhu Ning, who already had her mind made up, naturally wouldn’t remember all of them—she only selected those with clean reputations and, according to rumors, good character. At that moment, she told Du Wan some details about the families of these individuals, and suddenly remembered something strange, causing her to laugh.
“A few days ago, that old fool Huang Yan even said to me with a smile, ‘Your Zhang family’s fourth son isn’t bad. Though he’s a year younger than me, he has decent character and knowledge.’ At that time, I almost slapped him in the face. If I really chose someone from your Zhang family, not only would the emperor be angry at my lack of judgment, but your family would also face trouble. The second branch has just been granted the title of earl, and now the eldest branch wants to marry a princess—this isn’t good at all; it will surely cause chaos!”
“How could our fourth brother be included in this? That’s completely absurd!”
Since this was Zhu Ning’s private matter, Xiao Wu, Ling Xi, and the others stayed away. Even Du Wan frowned upon hearing this. Although marrying Zhu Ning as a sister-in-law seemed like a good thing, having experienced so much, she knew it was nothing but delusion. Marriages between the royal family and nobles were common—Princess Lanyang, the second daughter of Prince Zhou, married Xu Maoxian, the grandson of Xu Da. Yet the Xu family was no longer as powerful as it once was, while in the Zhang family, besides Zhang Fu, Zhang You now also held military power.
Zhu Ning picked up her teacup and took a sip to moisten her throat before resting her hands on the table and looking at Du Wan with a half-smile. “If you can’t choose either, just roll up those names I mentioned into balls and decide by drawing lots. I’ve already realized that even the most carefully chosen husband might turn out to be superficial. Marriage is ultimately a matter of luck. I have no other demands—only that heaven grant me a healthy child. As for those concubines, as long as they don’t cause trouble in front of me, it’s fine!”
Just as Du Wan was about to respond, she suddenly heard noise outside. Looking up, she saw Zhang Yue entering. Noticing his unusual expression, she prepared to stand up, but as soon as she moved, Zhang Yue stepped forward and gently pressed her shoulders.

“Is something wrong?” Zhu Ning, who was always good at reading people’s expressions at the Royal Court, could easily tell from Zhang Yue’s changing expressions as she came and went. Frowning, she asked, “Is it something related to your elder brother? Or has something happened in Jiaozhi again? Or has someone accused you or spoken ill of Lord Du? No, I haven’t heard any rumors beforehand…”

Before she could finish speaking, Zhang Yue said in a firm voice, “Someone has secretly accused Prince Zhou of rebellion!”

At first hearing this, Zhu Ning didn’t react immediately. But once she understood the meaning of those few words, her expression changed drastically. She pushed hard on the table to sit up, then slowly sat back down, her face gradually returning to calm. After pondering for a while, she couldn’t help but look up at Zhang Yue and take a deep breath.

“Of course you wouldn’t make such a serious claim without reason.”

Glancing at Zhang Yue’s expression, she said with a wry smile, “I knew it. You’re always able to plan ahead and have your own methods. I’ve seen it this time. Since you’re being direct with me instead of beating around the bush, it means you don’t treat me as an outsider. In that case, I won’t treat you as one either. The Prince of Zhou’s family has many spies and informants in Beijing. Even if I hear about it later than you, I’ll find out sooner or later. It’s just that…”

“This is already the fourth time since the emperor ascended the throne!”

Zhu Ning smiled calmly and bent her fingers one by one. “The first time was after Prince Qi rebelled in the fourth year of Yongle; someone accused my father of rebellion. The second time was after the emperor returned from his northern campaign in the twelfth year of Yongle; again, someone accused my father of rebellion. The third time was after Prince Gu’s rebellion failed in the fifteenth year of Yongle; someone else stepped forward to accuse him. Although the emperor didn’t pursue these cases each time, my father would still write letters admitting his faults in fear, and inevitably fall ill afterward. He’s only interested in herbs and medicines; he’s never had any thoughts about the throne. Sometimes I think it would be better for him to give up his title as prince!”

Seeing that Zhang Yue remained silent, Du Wan couldn’t help but ask, “So, Sister Ning, what do you plan to do?”

“What should we do?” Zhu Ning let out a soft sigh, then said seriously, “Before the news leaks, I naturally have to do as usual and act like I know nothing. Once it can no longer be hidden, I’ll humbly admit my fault and see what the emperor’s decision will be. Logically, my father is the emperor’s full brother; as long as treason is still used as an excuse, it’s a blessing rather than a curse—at least those three guards can be handed over. In short, you can’t help with this matter, and I don’t want your help either. Just understand the situation.”

Zhang Yue and Du Wan were sensible people and knew that Zhu Ning wasn’t being polite but speaking honestly. After her initial shock, Zhu Ning reverted to her calm and composed self. After chatting idly for a while, she got up to leave, never mentioning the marriage topic she had joked about earlier. Zhang Yue personally saw her to the gate. Seeing Zhu Ning walk a few steps toward the carriage before turning back and waving at him irritably, telling him to go back and stay with Du Wan, he was stunned.

If someone who didn’t know the situation saw this, how could they think Zhu Ning knew such earth-shattering news?

With such a serious matter on his mind, Zhang Yue was distracted as he walked back. As he passed through the screen door and the shadow wall, he almost collided with someone. Looking up, he realized it was the butler, Gao Quan. He nodded perfunctorily in response to Gao Quan’s greeting and headed inside. As Zhang Yue walked away, Gao Quan, who had been stunned for a moment, remembered there was still something he needed to report to Zhang Yue at the clan school. He initially planned to chase after him but abandoned the idea after thinking it over.

Seeing that his master seemed in a bad mood, it would be better to report it to Du Wan the next day rather than risk offending him by approaching now. Since it was related to the Du family, Du Wan could handle it by approaching that Mr. Du.

Zhang Yue returned to his western courtyard. After lifting the curtain and entering, he suddenly exclaimed, “That’s not right!”

The maids who had just left hadn’t returned yet. Du Wan was lying there, wrapped in a blanket, lost in thought. Hearing his words, she was startled. Seeing Zhang Yue standing at the door, still holding up the curtain, his brows tightly furrowed as if thinking of something important, she quickly asked, “What’s not right? Have you thought of something?”

Zhang Yue finally put down the curtain in his hands, took a few quick steps forward, sat down beside Du Wan, and whispered, “The princess put it simply, but you must know that the information I’ve received states that there is solid evidence of Prince Zhou plotting rebellion! The very use of the word ‘solid’ shows this isn’t baseless… Although I don’t believe Prince Zhou would actually rebel, the severity of this situation goes without saying. If the emperor truly intends to punish Prince Zhou severely, he likely won’t show mercy just because they are brothers born of the same mother—let alone the princess…”
“Even if the princess was once favored by the emperor, it won’t help this time?”
Even though Zhang Yue didn’t finish his sentence, Du Wan was smart enough to fill in the rest. Thinking of Zhu Ning leaving just as usual, she clenched the handkerchief in her hand anxiously and said, “Although the kings who rebelled before were merely demoted to commoners, their descendants were trapped in imprisonment for life, never seeing the light of day. The princess has always been resolute; if anything really happened to Prince Zhou, she certainly wouldn’t stay safe just because of the emperor’s favor.”
“Sister Wan, don’t you think this situation is very strange? According to what the princess said, the first time someone accused Prince Zhou of rebellion was after Prince Qi’s rebellion, the second time was when the emperor was dissatisfied with the crown prince after returning from the northern campaign, and the third time was when the emperor punished King Gu. Whether there were only these three accusations or not, at least these three are evident, showing that the emperor also intends to intimidate others. So what’s the reason this time? If it’s because of the death of Concubine Wang and the emperor’s changed mood, yet when he summoned me before, he was still orderly and wouldn’t act arbitrarily. Moreover, officials who accuse the royal family never end up well!”
By this point, Zhang Yue felt he had a rough idea of what was going on. Since Zhu Yuanzhang founded the dynasty, the Ming dynasty had always protected the royal family absolutely. Ordinary officials dared not interfere in their affairs, and even if they did accuse them, they would pay a heavy price—even people like Fang Xiaoru who supported reducing the power of the princes were still prepared to be sacrificed by Emperor Jianwen when the northern army approached the city. It could be said that accusing Prince Zhou, the emperor’s own brother, was not something ordinary officials could do.

Seeing that Du Wan was still pondering, Zhang Yue stood up again and faced her directly: “Do you remember how the princess once sent us a warning, saying that among many of the Zhang family members remaining in Kaifeng, quite a few had close ties with several princes under King Zhou? I reported this to my grandmother, who then sent people to inform the elders there. If it wasn’t the emperor’s own decision but someone else’s scheme, could that scheme not target just King Zhou? And if it wasn’t just King Zhou or just the Zhang family, could it also include the emperor?”
Faced with this possibility raised by Zhang Yue, Du Wan quickly understood his meaning: “The princess just told me about her attempts to advise the emperor earlier—first the empress passed away, then Concubine Zhang, and now Concubine Wang. The emperor no longer has any confidants around him. Even if he remains reasonable when summoning you, it’s inevitable that his temper becomes more irritable than usual. If he acts in a fit of anger, it’s quite possible he might act on impulse…”
“It’s not just that! You must know that the emperor’s illness is most aggravated by anger and haste. If he falls ill due to repeated provocation… Although the crown prince and the grand crown prince have been summoned, there are countless matters in Nanjing, and they haven’t set off yet!”