binnovel Chapter 562: Many Thoughts
Chapter 562: Many Thoughts
The Crown Prince was discussing various matters concerning the worship of the ancestors with officials, while the Tenth Prince Qin Mingzhen and the Eleventh Prince Qin Mingcong were squatting idly under the wall in a corner of the post station.
The cold spring breeze wrapped around the smoke from the kitchen, and they both had no appetite.
The Eleventh Prince stared at the damp earthen wall and the moss winding in the cracks. He wanted to stretch out his finger to press it, but the Tenth Prince grabbed his wrist.
"Don't move, dirty."
"Know, know."
The eleventh prince stretched out his other hand and asked the servant behind him for a hairpin, and used the hairpin to pick at the wall. The wall peeled off, revealing the yellowed straw inside.
"What a lousy place, Tenth Brother! I think I know why Father wants the two of us to suffer together."
"Ah."
The tenth prince Qin Mingcheng nodded.
They knew it from what the Crown Prince's ninth brother had told them that Duke Yansheng would be raised by him in the future.
A thousand-year-old family that harbors filth and corruption and leaves a legacy of harm to the place, the Kong family of Yanshenggong is like this, and the Zhang family of Yunjinshan is no less so.
In the previous dynasty, the Zhang family gained power and authority in front of Emperor Dao Zong, monopolizing the ordination certificates of the Tianshi Dao sect, which were passed down from generation to generation. If there were capable people, they would be given the surname Zhang, making the family look like a country within a country.
To say that his family is low-key is only compared with the Kong family. After all, scholars speak louder in the world. And because the current court does not issue certificates of ordination, the suppression has almost reached the extreme, and now it is almost reaching a critical point.
The Daoluo Si had to be established, and ordination certificates had to be issued. It was time to release the floodgates, so my father allowed my eldest and third brothers to become monks, one in Buddhism and the other in Taoism, and promised Zhang Mengxian, the daughter of Zhang Qinian, a Taoist scholar in Yunjin Mountain, to my eleventh brother.
"Father is building branches of these two aristocratic families to thin out their wealth. Once the imperial edict conferring the title of Duke of Yansheng on Ninth Brother is issued, what do you think the Zhang family will do?"
"There's no point in reacting. Father was already very lenient by not sending a large army."
"The Kong family isn't important, and neither is the Zhang family. Father asked us to come, and our reactions are more important. We can't take the throne, so Father...isn't he going to make us kings?"
The eyes of the tenth prince Qin Mingcheng and the eleventh prince Qin Mingcong lit up and they looked at each other, "Crowd him!"
"Father told us that he quite liked the previous dynasty's system of conferring titles on princes. If he is really conferred the title of Duke, it would be better not to have it." The tenth and eleventh princes slapped each other's thighs.
The princes of the previous dynasty were granted the title of Duke and above.
Just like the eldest brother’s only son, the Duke of England, he is called the Duke of a certain country, so it would be better to just call him His Royal Highness the Prince.
"At least he's a prince. We are legitimate children after all."
"Then why don't we confer titles on others? Should we confer titles on someone?"
"No, no, no."
The Tenth Prince and the Eleventh Prince pushed each other's hands away, stood up, and pushed each other.
The Tenth Prince Qin Mingcheng suddenly said seriously, "So Your Highness should cherish and love the Tenth Prince's Consort, and love her as much as you love her."
"Except for my brother-in-law who was conferred the title of Duke Yansheng, and the blood relatives of the Tenth Prince's wife, Your Highness will protect them even if it means a conflict with the Crown Prince. This is because the Kong family is in trouble, and the trouble is from within. The worry lies within, not outside."
The worries are not only because the Kong family has lost its moral integrity, has let down the ancient sages, and has disgraced the gatekeepers, but also because of the internal power struggle, which has brought down the thunder from heaven to eliminate the evil, and the secondary branch has replaced the main branch.
After Qin Mingcheng finished speaking, he became depressed and placed his arm on the Eleventh Prince's shoulder, putting his weight on him. "I didn't expect that I would have a role in this Kong family drama."
The prince was upright and used his power to coerce and murder the unworthy descendants of the sage, and restored order to the land of Lu. As his younger brother, it was better not to mention it.
Set an example for the Zhang family.
Although he really likes the Tenth Prince's Consort Kong Jiayi, why would he feel so uncomfortable if the news of his deep feelings for her got out like this?
Just because he is a twin, his reputation is so bad. I am tired of it and don’t love him anymore.
"That's it for now, let's eat first."
After the meal, he had to write a memorial, stating that he was protecting his wife's maternal family as a fig leaf for the sake of justice. Once he entered the city, he had to humble himself and "please" his father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law, as they were all as close as a family.