The Contention for Noble Titles

If Zhu Zijin was considered lucky to have reached this point, then his subsequent life could only be described as tragic.

After Zhu Su's death, Zhu Youdun inherited the title of Prince of Zhou. He still had no son, so he became very fond of raising his nephews.

Zhu Zihou, Zhu Zifang, and others were sent to Prince Zhou's Mansion at a young age, under the guise of filial piety to their grandfather on behalf of their fathers, allowing the late Prince Zhou to enjoy the happiness of family.

However, Zhu Su died of illness when Zhu Zihou was three and Zhu Zifang was four. After that, Zhu Youdun, the new Prince of Zhou, raised them.

As soon as their biological father died, Zhu Youxian felt he had a chance again. He reported to the Emperor every now and then, claiming Zhu Youdun intended to rebel.

Zhu Youdun constantly had to defend himself.

After many consecutive years without a child, Zhu Youxian's thinking shifted. He stopped mentioning Zhu Youdun's alleged treason and instead began to fight for custody and guardianship of Zhu Zijin.

He threw tantrums and cried to the Emperor, complained to the imperial clan, and in short, his message was: Zhu Zijin is my son, I can't bear to part with him, Prince Zhou must return my son!

Zhu Youxian's tantrums were too much. Zhu Youdun endured for a few years and, unable to stand him any longer, returned Zhu Zijin to him.

Zhu Zijin was twelve years old at the time.

Zhu Youxian's fight for Zhu Zijin was not because he loved his son so much, but because Zhu Youdun had no heir. If Zhu Youdun died, then he, the legitimate second son of the late Prince Zhou, would be the first in line to inherit.

If Zhu Zijin was still Zhu Youdun's adopted son, what chance would he have?

However, Zhu Youdun also had his pride. Like his father, he intensely disliked this younger brother and would rather give his title to a younger half-brother than to this full brother.

After Zhu Zijin was taken away, Zhu Youdun focused on educating the several nephews in the mansion and maintained a close relationship with his fourth brother, Zhu Youjue.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Youxian couldn't stand it and resorted to his old tricks of slander, accusing Zhu Youjue of being too close to Prince Han Zhu Gaoxu.

The Emperor at the time was the late Emperor Xuanzong. Xuanzong did not have his father's good temper. After investigating and confirming it was a false accusation, he also uncovered many illegal activities of his uncle, and decisively demoted him to commoner status and confined him to Beijing.

Zhu Zijin, who had been Zhu Youdun's adopted son and heir to Prince Zhou, naturally became implicated. He was also demoted to commoner status and confined to Beijing along with his father.

"Confinement" actually meant being penned in a plot of land within the Imperial Clan Court's enclosure, a village in the suburbs.

Besides imperial clan members who had committed offenses, there were also stewards and tenant farmers working on the Imperial Manors.

They received no subsidies from the court and had their freedom restricted, so they could only cultivate the land. Thus, although Zhu Zijin was only five or six years older than his two cousins, he looked more than ten years older than them at this time.

This illustrates how bitter his life had been over the years.

After Pan Yun finished reading the important records about Prince Zhou in her past life's timeline, she immediately noticed a difference.

In her past life's timeline, Zhu Youdun died in the Fourth Year of Zhengtong. However, here, this year was the Seventh Year of Zhengtong.

In her past life's timeline, Zhu Youdun never took Zhu Zijin back before his death. Therefore, after his death, his fourth brother Zhu Youjue inherited the title of Prince of Zhou. It wasn't until the Jingtai Era that the Jingtai Emperor released Zhu Zijin and sent him back to Kaifeng.

This was very interesting. Pan Yun looked up at the sickbed.

Tao Ji had returned after finishing the prescription and was currently discussing the way of health preservation with Prince Zhou.

The late Prince Zhou was a master of medicine. Although Prince Zhou had not inherited his father's mantle, he possessed relevant knowledge.

Especially in the past few years, when he had frequently fallen gravely ill and hovered on the brink of death, he had developed his own insights into health preservation, so he and Tao Ji were getting along well.

While they were having a pleasant conversation, the Prince's Household Administrator finally arrived.

Prince Zhou beckoned him, "Yuansong, I need you to write a memorial to the throne."

Zhao Yuansong immediately stepped forward to receive the order.

Prince Zhou panted, "I want to request the enfeoffment of the Heir of Prince Zhou and the Grandson of Prince Zhou. You will write it for me."

Zhao Yuansong quickly agreed.

Princess Consort Gong immediately said, "Quickly go prepare writing materials."

The maid beside her immediately obeyed and soon returned with writing materials.

Zhao Yuansong ground the ink and, according to Prince Zhou's wishes, requested the enfeoffment of the adopted son Zhu Zijin as the Heir of Prince Zhou and the adopted grandson Zhu Tongqie as the Grandson of Prince Zhou.

Just as the memorial was finished and Zhao Yuansong was about to affix his seal, hurried footsteps were heard from outside. The curtain was abruptly lifted, and everyone turned to look.

A stern-faced middle-aged man strode in, "Elder Brother--"

His gaze swept across Pan Yun, Xuan Miao, and Tao Ji, lingering on Tao Ji. He stepped forward and said, "I heard Qie'er was found?"

Prince Zhou's gaze was gentle. He nodded, "He has been found."

Zhu Zihou and Zhu Zifang stepped forward and called out "Father." Zhu Youjue waved his hand and his gaze fell on the child in Zhu Zijin's arms. He frowned, "Who found this child? How was he found? Has it been investigated? We've searched the Central Plains for the past six months and still haven't found the child..."

Because Zhu Youjue's interruption, the memorial stalled at the step of affixing the seal.

Pan Yun's gaze swept over the expressions of everyone in the room and she internally clicked her tongue. There were now four Princes of Zhou in the room, yet the most anxious were the current Princess Consort and those around her...

Princess Consort Gong at this moment wished she could step forward, press the seal, and immediately have someone send the memorial to the capital.

As if sensing his wife's anxiety, Prince Zhou gently patted her with his withered hand and smiled slightly at her, continuing to deal with Zhu Youjue, "The child is fortunate. He met three Daoist priests who recognized his extraordinary origins and brought him back."

"Therefore, those rumors are baseless," Prince Zhou said with a flushed face. "I am not infertile. Now I not only have a son, but also a grandson!"

He said to the administrator Zhao Yuansong, "Affix the seal. Send someone to the Emperor immediately. I can still live for a while longer, and I want to see them enfeoffed as Heir and Grandson."

Zhao Yuansong then "clanged" the seal down and stood up solemnly, "Your Highness, I must personally travel to Beijing to see His Majesty and urge the Imperial Clan Court to re-register the adopted son under your and the Princess Consort's names."

"Good, good," Prince Zhou's eyes shone. "You set off immediately. Take plenty of money to pave the way, so they can register them quickly and put my son's mind at ease."

Zhu Zijin held the child and knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, "Father..."

"Why are you crying? A grown man shouldn't shed tears so easily. How will you protect your mother and wife if you're like this?" Prince Zhou admonished. "The entire Prince Zhou's Mansion will depend on you in the future. You need to be strong."

Zhu Zijin tearfully agreed.

Zhu Youjue hadn't expected the Household Administrator to act so quickly, nor that his elder brother's will would be so resolute. He fell silent for a moment.

His gaze landed on the child, and he said with an unreadable expression, "This child is indeed lucky. He's very much like Second Brother in this regard. Second Brother was always incredibly lucky from a young age, able to turn danger into safety no matter what trouble he got into."

Consort Gong's face darkened. "What are you saying, Fourth Brother? Zhu Youxian has already been demoted to a commoner. What kind of luck is that?"

She took the child from Zhu Zijin's arms and gently patted him. "Our Qie'er is nothing like him. Such good fortune! Just looking at these eyes, they're exactly like yours, my Lord."

Prince Zhou smiled and nodded. "Yes, they're exactly like my eyes."

"Congratulations, my Lord, congratulations, Princess Consort," Xuan Miao said with a slight smile. "Double happiness for the Prince Zhou's Mansion! With this good fortune, if my Lord strictly follows the doctor's orders and recuperates carefully, his illness will surely be cured, and the Princess Consort will also enjoy longevity and well-being."

Prince Zhou murmured, "Longevity and well-being... I accept the Daoist priest's auspicious words. Guards, give another reward!"

Consort Gong's eyes reddened as she listened, holding the child tightly.

Zhu Youjue, on the other hand, was filled with anger that had nowhere to go, causing a painful tightness in his chest.

The title of Prince was practically already in his grasp. Who would have thought his elder brother would suddenly remember Zhu Zijin and request his release?

Zhu Youjue made one last effort. "Elder Brother, Second Brother is still alive. If he knew Zijin was the heir again, then..."

Prince Zhou waved his hand dismissively. "I'm already dying. How many more years does he have? He was stripped of his title for committing offenses, unlike our Zijin. It wasn't easy for him to be released."

Consort Gong nodded repeatedly.

Seeing that they had finished speaking and that the Prince's intentions were clear, Zhao Yuansong withdrew to gather guards to head to Beijing.

He dared not be careless at this time.

If he had never doubted Prince Xiangfu Zhu Youjue before, then ever since Zhu Tongqie was abducted, he no longer trusted Prince Xiangfu.

This memorial to the throne would decide the succession of the Prince Zhou title, and he couldn't afford any mishaps along the way.

Prince Zhou's health was very poor. The mansion's physician had delivered the verdict early this morning; he likely only had a day or two left.

He had to deliver the memorial to the capital as quickly as possible. After all, before this, the court and Prince Zhou's Mansion had reached an understanding: after Prince Zhou's death, the title would pass to Prince Xiangfu.

Even though Prince Zhou had taken back his adopted son six months ago, the succession had never been officially settled. Logically, the adopted son should inherit, but Zhu Zijin was still registered under Zhu Youxian, and the Imperial Clan Court hadn't made any changes yet.

The reason for the delay was that Zhu Tongqie had been abducted and gone missing shortly after arriving in Kaifeng Prefecture.

Some said Prince Zhou was naturally fated to harm his children, others that Zhu Zijin was fated to harm his parents, and some even said Prince Zhou and the late Prince Runan's lineage interfered with each other.

Zhu Zijin and his father belonged to the late Prince Runan's lineage. They were supposed to never meet Prince Zhou in this life to remain at peace. Otherwise, once they met, one would surely be harmed.

Now Zhu Tongqie was harmed; next time it might be Prince Zhou.

Prince Zhou... believed it somewhat.

This Prince Zhou was good in every way, except he was a bit superstitious.

So for half a year, due to these rumors, he had never officially confirmed Zhu Zijin's status as his adopted son.

Yet, he couldn't bear to send the child away.

After all, he was a child he had raised himself. Seeing him suffer so much, how could Prince Zhou bear to send him to the capital for house arrest?

Moreover, after Zhu Zijin arrived in Kaifeng, he showed the utmost filial piety. He managed everything around Prince Zhou, feeding him medicine and meals, even bathing and changing his clothes, and carrying him out to the courtyard to bask in the sun every day...

Although servants could also do these things, they weren't as meticulous.

And he had been sick for a long time. The servants attending him, while not daring to complain, were inevitably impatient, and their movements lacked gentleness and care.

Zhu Zijin, however, took care of him like a child.

While Zhu Zijin cared for him, Prince Zhou was constantly reminded of when he himself had cared for a young Zhu Zijin.

Zhu Zijin was less than a month old when he was brought to their couple. As a first-time father, he and Consort Gong had fumbled through raising him, nurturing him bit by bit until he was twelve years old...

Because of these memories, and because of Zhu Zijin's filial piety, even with his superstitions, he had delayed sending the boy away.

Superstition was a double-edged sword; it could support the idea of mutual obstruction, and naturally, it could also support the idea of mutual achievement.