Women Wearing Men: The Growth Path of the Bastards of the Aristocratic Family

Hearing Zhou Minqing say that he wanted to fight to the death with Li Jinche, Li Jinze's heart trembled instinctively.

Li Jinze is not a ruthless person. Although he and Li Jinche have never dealt with each other, they are brothers who grew up together after all. For him to kill his brother, he cannot do it yet.

However, Li Jinze knew that Zhou Minqing would not harm him. As his teacher, Zhou Minqing had been a high-ranking official for most of his life, and he had spoken the true words before his death.Even though Li Jinze found it difficult to accept it for a while, he could not deny that Zhou Minqing was right.

Zhou Minqing held his hand tightly, and his voice was old and distant, as if he was guiding Li Jinze through time: "I know that your highness often feels inferior and self-pitying because of his background, but your highness must remember that I have always been a court official." When it comes to inheriting orthodoxy, we all follow our father rather than our mother.”

"No matter who your biological mother is, you are His Majesty's eldest son. As the eldest son of the Emperor, you are the most noble person in the world besides the Emperor. They say the eldest son, the eldest son, the eldest son, but what is the eldest son? Can only those born from the first wife be born? Is a son called a legitimate son? No, only the one who inherits the great clan is called a legitimate son!"

"One day, His Highness will inherit the throne and be the richest man in the world, then you will be the great prince; no matter how favored the second prince is, he will be a prince at most, and he can only be a small prince. Don't say that you are the prince in the first place, even if you are just a bystander. If you belong to the clan, as long as you ascend to the big position, the rest of the people must bow their heads."

Zhou Minqing stared directly into Li Jinze's eyes, and his tone became excited: "What does it matter if your biological mother is of noble birth? What does it matter if your Majesty prefers you? As long as you are the crown prince, you are the legitimate son, and the second prince was born in the belly of the imperial concubine. Yes, that can only be a concubine."

After listening to Zhou Minqing's words, Li Jinze's mind went crazy. The dark clouds that had been lingering in his heart for many years instantly dissipated, and he couldn't help but get wet in his eyes.

He took a deep breath and slowly calmed down: "I have remembered everything the teacher said, and I will never belittle myself again in the future."

Zhou Minqing nodded, with a gratified smile on his face: "It's best for Your Highness to think like this. As long as you have confidence in yourself, there is nothing you can't do. Compared with His Highness, the second prince's advantages are only in two aspects. First, The biological mother is in power and has the help of the maternal clan; secondly, His Majesty is partial to him and has been favored since he was a child."

"However, the Liu family is unreliable. They have caused so many troubles in the past few years, which made His Majesty extremely disappointed in them. Although they have gained momentum again, they are just clowns and should not be feared. As for His Majesty's preference, Then there is no guarantee.”

"Your Majesty is already suspicious. When he gets older, even the people closest to him will not be able to escape his suspicion. When the second prince grows up and has full wings, there will definitely be a large number of supportive ministers following him. At that time, in the eyes of Your Majesty, , the second prince is not his son, but the person who threatens his throne."

At the same time, looking back at Li Jinze, there is an entire East Palace team behind him to advise him. Even if Zhou Minqing dies, the power he left behind will still be there, and the Zhou family will continue to support him.In addition, he is the legitimate prince, which means that even neutral ministers will usually default to his side.

After such an analysis, it stands to reason that Li Jinche has almost no strength to compete with Li Jinze.

However, Zhou Minqing's expression became serious: "If it is just the above, the second prince is not enough to be your highness's opponent, but now your highness must be careful about another person - Fang Zigui, who will be appointed soon. "

"...Fang Zigui?" Hearing this name suddenly, Li Jinze felt a little unfamiliar. He recalled it and said, "I remembered that Fang Zigui was the Imperial Academy's sacrificial wine. He seemed to be the second best candidate in Jingfeng's fifth year. It is said that he was originally in I worked in the Hanlin Academy, but somehow I ended up in the Imperial College where I sat on the bench."

"You are right." Zhou Minqing nodded slowly, "Not only that, Fang Zihui is the only son of Fang Shu, the chief minister of the dynasty. This man has outstanding abilities and was very young when he entered the official position. He is a rare good prospect. Your Majesty had a desire to temper him, and because of some unforeseen circumstances, he was transferred to the Imperial College to refine his character."

"However, in the eyes of the veteran, Fang Zigui is capable, but he is not a law-abiding person. On the contrary, he is very ambitious and will retaliate against others. He seems to be unknown in the Imperial College these years, but in fact he has been secretly communicating with the second prince for a long time. I am ready to use the prince's power to return to the center of power of the imperial court."

Li Jinze's expression changed slightly: "What the teacher means is... Fang Zigui will support the second child?"

Zhou Minqing gave a bitter smile: "I'm afraid it's not about to happen, but I have been supporting it for many years. Back then, Fang Zigui was implicated in the imperial examination fraud case, and he changed from a promising Hanlin noble to an unpopular scholar at the Imperial Academy. It’s a time of frustration.”

"It just so happened that the gambling debts of the Liu family and his son were exposed at this time. His Majesty was furious. Not only did he demote the Liu family, but he also suppressed the rules for the second prince to go to the Wenhua Palace to study, and completely threw him into the Imperial College. Two princes. When two frustrated people get together, isn't it just a matter of hugging each other for warmth and commiserating with each other?"

Li Jinze was obviously aware of the seriousness of the problem, and his face gradually became ugly: "One is a favored prince, even if he is temporarily ignored, he will inevitably appear in the center of the court as he grows older; the other is a powerful and promising prince. The young ministers, even if they are sitting on the bench, will return to the center of power sooner or later based on their family connections."

"The two of them not only help each other, but also use each other. They both want to use each other's strength to go higher and further. Not to mention that Fang Zi is still Fang Shu's son. If he wants to support the second child, Fang Shu will definitely not follow. If he sings the opposite, there is no guarantee that the entire cabinet will not be influenced by him..."

When he thought that he was about to lose his teacher, but Li Jinche had gained a great help from Fang Zigui, Li Jinze couldn't help but feel panicked, and anxiously asked Zhou Minqing for help: "The second brother got Fang Zigui, we can't underestimate him from now on." ,Teacher, what should I do?”

Zhou Minqing patted his hand and comforted him: "Your Highness, don't panic. Fang Zigui has supported the second prince well, but he alone may not be able to mobilize all the forces associated with the Fang family. Forget about the second prince. If the Fang family’s support is to be fully grown, it will not be achieved in a day.”

"Until the Second Prince has the strength to challenge you, Your Highness can do a lot of things. Besides, the battles in the imperial court are complicated and the situation is ever-changing. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Second Prince can win over Fang Zigui, and His Highness can of course win over him as well. other people."

Speaking of this, Zhou Minqing changed the subject: "I recommend a person to His Highness. If he can help, His Highness will be even more powerful, and the throne will be as solid as Mount Tai."

"who?"

Zhou Minqing looked into his eyes and slowly uttered a few words: "Gu Yunji, the prefect of Shaoxing." (End of this chapter)