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

"...Gu Yunji?"

Hearing this name, Li Jinze was stunned at first, and then quickly realized: "I know that he is the governor of Shaoxing Prefecture and also the governor of Zhejiang Province. He can be said to be one of the great heroes in the southeastern anti-Japanese war. Before that, he was in Shuzhong At that time, high-yielding potatoes from America were introduced, which saved countless people from famine."

"I still remember that before I was named the prince, I met Gu Yunji by chance at a palace banquet. I was young at that time, and I only remember that he spoke kindly and was a good person. Although he has been a local official in recent years, his political achievements have not been the same. Fei Ran, his influence in Beijing is not low."

Speaking of this, Li Jinze raised his eyes to look at Zhou Minqing's expression: "...Why, the teacher wants me to win over him?"

Zhou Minqing nodded: "Yes. Not only that, Gu Yunji was born in the Gu family of Songjiang and was Gu Yuanhui's nephew. His background was as good as Fang Zigui's. In terms of connections in the court, he even surpassed the Fang family. In the end, The key thing is that he and Fang Zigui are sworn enemies and will not side with the second prince no matter what."

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Li Jinze's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately became interested: "Are Gu Yunji and Fang Zigui sworn enemies? But as far as I know, Fang Shu and Gu Yuanhui have always had a good personal relationship. As juniors of the two families, why would they? A stalemate? Is there any grudge between the two of you?"

"I don't know about that..."

Zhou Minqing kept talking for a long time, but gradually lost his strength: "I only know that the two of them have had a grudge for a long time. They were both Hanlin officials a few years ago, but in the end one was sent to the southwest as a local magistrate, and the other Going to the Imperial College and sitting on the bench is exactly the result of their fight and frame-up."

"Gu Yunji is a capable minister. He has made great achievements in the southwest and southeast. Since he is a capable minister, there is no reason to keep going outside. If nothing else, when the situation in the southeast is completely stabilized, Gu Yunji should You have returned to Beijing, and that is the time for His Highness to show off your talents."

Li Jinze looked hesitant: "The teacher makes sense, but how can I win over Gu Yunji? It's true that he has a grudge against Fang Zigui, but this can only mean that he will not side with the second child, but it does not represent him. will support me."

"What if he doesn't want to participate in the struggle to seize the direct line, or if he just wants to be a pure minister? If that's the case, wouldn't all my efforts to talk about it be in vain?"

After hearing Li Jinze's words, Zhou Minqing smiled, and his words were a bit confusing: "Your Highness, there are so many things in this world that you can't control yourself, and nothing can be decided by just 'thinking' or 'not wanting'. ? Gu Yunji has too many forces involved in him. Although he has not yet joined the game, he is already a part of it. "

Li Jinze was confused and seemed to understand: "Teacher, I don't understand."

Zhou Minqing said: "It doesn't matter if you don't understand. You will understand gradually. Your Highness, just go ahead and do it and try your best to win over Gu Yunji. When the time comes, the situation will push you away. At that time, you will have nothing to think about. Just go with the flow.”

"Your Highness, you must remember that Gu Yunji values ​​​​love and righteousness. You would rather put your purpose out in the open and lure him with benefits than deceive him. Otherwise, even if you succeed in wooing him, sooner or later you will fail. There will be a backlash...cough cough cough!"

While Zhou Minqing was talking, he suddenly coughed violently. Li Jinze was so frightened that he quickly stroked his back, looking worried: "Is the teacher okay? Why don't you stop talking and I'll call the doctor in to take a look at you?"

After saying this, he stood up.

"Your Highness! Ahem...come back..."

Zhou Minqing grabbed Li Jinze's sleeve and pulled him back.Just such a violent movement caused Zhou Minqing to take a few deep breaths. The rosy color on his cheeks gradually faded away, and his voice became weaker and weaker: "Old minister... I'm about to die... Your Highness, listen carefully, don't waste any more time." …”

Li Jinze suppressed the soreness in his eyes and choked up: "...Teacher, I will listen to what you say." Zhou Minqing spoke intermittently: "...Gu Yunji has a future and ability. When he is transferred back to the central government, he will definitely attract a large number of people. They are rushing to build relationships and flatter each other. By then, Gu Yunji will be tired of socializing, and His Highness will most likely find it difficult to win his heart."

"If you want to win over Gu Yunji, Your Highness must take action as soon as possible. It is better to provide help in the snow than to add icing on the cake. Although Gu Yunji is not in a dilemma now, if Your Highness shows kindness to him at this time, his weight in Gu Yunji's heart will be two times greater than that of other latecomers. point."

Li Jinze was puzzled: "But Gu Yunji is far away in Zhejiang, and as the crown prince, I can't leave Beijing easily. How can I get in touch with him, thousands of miles away?"

"The prince can't leave the capital easily, but it's not impossible to leave the capital. As long as you use some methods, it's not impossible." Zhou Minqing said, waving to him, "Your Highness, please come closer, I will speak to you."

After listening to Zhou Minqing's words, Li Jinze looked hesitant: "Is this okay, teacher? My father has always been strict, so I'm afraid he won't agree to my extraordinary request."

Zhou Minqing slowly lay back on the bed and said feebly: "... Even though His Majesty is like this now, when he first came to the throne, he was also a very enterprising young man... In the name of patrolling the Yellow River, he led a large group of The ministers left the capital and went south, and when they got there, they temporarily said that they would go to Jiangnan on the way."

"The incident happened suddenly. Everyone was unprepared and refused to agree to anything... But His Majesty was very stubborn and said that if we were not willing, he would take the Feiyu Guards to Jiangnan. That would not work. Who dares to take a The king of the country is left alone outside? We have no choice but to follow him..."

Recalling the past, Zhou Minqing showed a smile and his pupils began to dilate: "It is said that the second prince is most like His Majesty's character, but in my opinion, it is not like him at all. The second prince is so arrogant, unstable, and Your Majesty just looks like him."

"His Majesty was much stronger than him when he was young. He has an unyielding spirit in his bones... He hasn't even secured the throne yet, but he spends all his time thinking about how to defeat us old guys who helped him ascend to the throne..."

Zhou Minqing rambled on, his voice getting quieter and quieter, and finally he lost his voice completely.

Li Jinze's heart trembled, he felt his breath, and his mood collapsed instantly: "Teacher——"

Outside the door, the Zhou family members cried one after another:

"Dad——" "Grandpa!" "Father..."

……

On February 13, the [-]th year of Jingfeng's reign, Zhou Minqing, the imperial tutor and crown prince's grand master, passed away at home. The emperor bestowed the posthumous title "Wenzhen" on him.

After the funeral ceremony was completed, the Zhou family complied with his last wish and carried the coffin back to his hometown to be buried in his ancestral home in Suzhou.Prince Li Jinze was so grief-stricken that he fainted on the spot when he was seeing him off at the city gate. He fell ill and the emperor allowed him to stay in the palace to recuperate without seeing any outsiders.

And a month later, on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, a young man with low-key clothing and extraordinary bearing stood on the bow of the ship and looked into the distance: "Master Cheng, we should be arriving at Songjiang Mansion soon, right?"