Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Zhu Shenzhui's home is not far ahead.

This is just an ordinary courtyard.

The descendants of the old Zhu family are numerous. Although Zhu Shenzhu is a member of the Jin clan, his relationship with the current Jin clan is very distant. Even the lineage of his ancestor, the King of Jiaocheng, has already passed five generations.

The beauty of a gentleman will be cut down in five lifetimes.

Beyond the fifth degree of mourning, the relationship between relatives has long since faded.

Moreover, their Jiaocheng prince lineage had long been stripped of its title. In the 26th year of Jiajing, the last Jiaocheng prince, Zhu Biao, was promoted to General of the Auxiliary State. He inherited his elder brother's title as a cousin, surrendered himself and usurped the title, and did not inherit it again. He died in the 4th year of Longqing and was stripped of his title.

After the title of Prince of Jiaocheng was removed, Zhu Shenzhui's family returned to the jurisdiction of Jin. However, their family had been separated for hundreds of years. Although they were still relatives, there were also close relatives, right? Moreover, the Prince of Jin's mansion was in Taiyuan, and Zhu Shenzhui was in Pingyang. According to the rules of the royal family, Zhu Shenzhui could not go to Taiyuan at all, let alone meet the current Prince of Jin, that is, his nominal cousin Zhu Qiugui.

Zhang was busy in the yard. The yard was not big and was no different from an ordinary farmyard.

Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, Zhang looked up and saw that it was Zhu Shenzhu who came back. She quickly put down the work in her hands and stood up.

"Sister-in-law!"

"Uncle is back..." Zhang said, and seeing that Zhu Shenzhui was covered in snow and had mud on his feet, she quickly invited him into the house.

Zhu Shenzhui sighed, brushed off the snowflakes on his body and then went into the house. It was much warmer inside than outside.

There was a baby lying on the kang and sleeping soundly. This was Zhu Qiaoer, the daughter of Zhu Shenzhui's eldest brother and also his niece.

Zhu Shenzhui took the hot water that Zhang poured for him, thanked her, put the cup aside, reached into his arms and took out a purse with a few taels of silver and a large string of leather coins (money from other provinces) and put them on the table.

Seeing this, Zhang's face suddenly showed a hint of joy. She was still worried today. As the weather was getting colder, the food at home was almost gone, but the family had no money left. If there was no more income, how would they survive this winter?

"Where...where did this come from...?"

"This is the clan salary, please accept it, sister-in-law." Zhu Shenzhui said with a smile.

"Is it issued by the Prince of Jin's Mansion? Why is it so quick this time? Isn't it usually... No, uncle, you didn't go to the government office again...?"

"Haha, don't tell anyone about this. I got this money with great difficulty. Just keep it in your heart and keep it carefully." Zhu Shenzhui gave Zhang a knowing look. Zhang immediately understood what he meant. She picked up the money and turned around to get on the kang. There was a box at the head of the kang. Zhang opened the box and carefully hid the money inside the box.

Zhang was the wife of Zhu Shenzhui's elder brother Zhu Shenyi, but his elder brother Zhu Shenyi and his father Zhu Xinyan had passed away before Zhu Shenzhui came to this era. As for Zhu Shenzhui's mother Wang, she died when the two brothers were still young.

Zhu Shenzhu had an older sister, Zhu Xiuer, who had married several years earlier. After his father and brother passed away, only Zhu Shenzhu, his sister-in-law Zhang, and a niece who was less than two years old were left at home.

Zhu Shencui is only nineteen this year, and his sister-in-law Zhang is not very old either. In fact, she is one year younger than Zhu Shencui.

In this era, women were required to follow the three obediences and four virtues and obey their husbands after marriage. It was very difficult for a young widow to remarry, especially for a family like Zhu Shenzhui, which had the title of royal family. It was impossible for them to be as casual as ordinary families.

Zhang's husband had died and she had a breastfeeding child, so it was impossible for her to return to her parents' home. Zhu Shenzhu was only eighteen years old at that time, and the family had not been divided when her father was alive. With the passing of the two pillars of the family, the family was half broken.

If he stayed in the Zhu family, at least he could make a living by relying on his status as a royal family member. If he left her and his newborn daughter, he would not be able to survive at all. In this way, Zhu Shenzhu, Zhang and his niece lived together and endured the hard days.

Since Zhang was able to marry into the royal family, she must have a good appearance. Although she was not gorgeous, she was dignified and attractive. She was not very old, only eighteen years old. In later generations, girls of this age would still be in college.

After giving birth to her niece, the young girl had more charm of a mature woman. Zhang, who was lying on the kang hiding the money, moved her back towards Zhu Shencui's delicate body, and the exquisite figure under her coarse cloth robe was faintly visible. Zhu Shencui, who glanced at her inadvertently, couldn't help feeling a little hot. He couldn't help but move his throat slightly and swallowed a mouthful of saliva, but his eyes were fixed on the roundness that was within his reach.

With a light click, seeing that Zhang had already hidden the money, Zhu Shenzhui struggled to move his eyes away from Zhang's back, calmed down, picked up the hot water on the table, and drank a sip in disguise. After hiding the money, Zhang smiled a little more: "The food at home is almost gone, I will go buy some tomorrow. It's getting cold today, so it's a good time to add some firewood and coal to the house..."

"Sister-in-law, you take care of the things at home. We need to buy what needs to be bought. I will find a way to ask for some salary in a few days." Zhu Shenzhui nodded and said.

Just after he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something, took out another oil paper bag from his arms and handed it to Zhang. Zhang took it and opened it, and saw that there were two sesame cakes inside. The sesame cakes were full of ingredients and had a strong aroma of sesame. Because they had been hidden in Zhu Shenzui's arms, they were still warm to the touch.

"One is for Qiao'er, and the other is yours." Zhu Shenzhui said with a smile, and explained that he took the two pancakes when he went to the government office to ask for his salary today. Anyway, no one saw it, so he might as well take it.

"You, you are so grown up but still act like a child!" Zhang was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"What's the big deal? If you want to save face, you can just starve. Eating is the most important thing in the world. Why should we be so particular in this world?" Zhu Shenzhui said nonchalantly.

Although she complained about Zhu Shencui, Zhang knew in her heart that the family could only survive thanks to Zhu Shencui.

After her husband and father-in-law died unexpectedly, if it weren't for Zhu Shenzui, the family would have collapsed long ago. It was all thanks to this brother-in-law, otherwise Zhang and the children really didn't know how they could survive.

Although sesame cakes are common, they are also a rare food in the Zhu family. Zhang carefully wrapped the sesame cakes again, put them aside and said that they would share them when the porridge was cooked. Zhu Shenzhu waved his hand and said no, he told Zhang that he had already eaten some at the prefectural government office and would not eat them in the evening, so she and the child could eat them together.

As she was talking, Zhang suddenly remembered something and stood up to get an old robe. She said it was cold, so she cleaned up at home today and found this robe. This robe was left by his eldest brother. Zhang sewed it and gave it to Zhu Shenzhui to try and see if it fits. If there is anything that doesn't fit, she will go and alter it.

After trying on the robe, Zhu Shenzhui's current figure was similar to that of his elder brother when he was alive, so it was a good fit. Looking at Zhu Shenzhui wearing the old robe, whose face was very similar to her late husband Zhu Shenyi, Zhang was a little absent-minded. After a moment, she came back to her senses and couldn't help feeling a little sad again.

After thanking Zhang and talking for a while in the room, Zhu Shenzhui got up and returned to his room. Zhang did not try to keep him, but just saw him out and reminded him to rest early.

Although the two have lived under the same roof for such a long time, after all, one is the sister-in-law and the other is the brother-in-law, so they still need to pay attention to etiquette. Moreover, it is getting dark, and if they continue to stay here, there will inevitably be gossip if people find out.

Zhu Shencui lived in the east wing. Logically, after his father and brother passed away, Zhu Shencui became the head of the family, and since the family was not divided at the beginning, Zhu Shencui should have moved to the main house.

However, Zhu Shenzhui did not do so. After all, when his eldest brother was alive, his sister-in-law and niece lived in the main room. It was inappropriate to change now. We were all family, so why would it be necessary? Even though Zhang had mentioned it several times in private, Zhu Shenzhui refused on the grounds that he was used to living in the east wing.

After entering the house, Zhu Shenzhui closed the door, and sat cross-legged on the kang. His expression was no longer as calm and composed as it was in front of Zhang just now. Instead, he was filled with an indelible sadness.

He went to the prefectural yamen today, and his purpose of going there was naturally to ask for money.

As a member of the royal family, Zhu Shenzui's family had a hard time. After several generations, they had no real estate and no shops. They depended on salaries to live. Moreover, after the changes from Hongzhi to Wanli, the salaries they received each year were getting less and less.

But no matter how little it is, it is still an income! If it can be paid on time, it is not a problem to support Zhu Shenzhui, his sister-in-law Zhang and his niece's family of three. But now the salary is discounted and often in arrears. Zhu Shenzhui doesn't know about other families. For his family alone, the salary owed for two generations is a huge sum.

The imperial court now has a permanent quota, which makes it difficult for people to get enough money. What's more terrible is that the permanent quota is nominally allocated to the royal family, but in fact, this power is in the hands of local officials. If local officials don't allocate money, how can the royal family get money to distribute it? Moreover, the Ming Dynasty's management of the royal family is extremely strict. Although the royal family sounds good in name, in fact, many royal family members live worse than ordinary people.

At least, ordinary people still have a chance to change, such as farming, doing business, studying, etc. Farmers can support themselves through labor, businessmen can make money, and as for studying, it goes without saying that everything is inferior except studying. If you pass the examination for a scholar, pass the examination for a juren, pass the examination for a jinshi, and then rise to the top and become an official, there is always hope in these days.

But the royal family is different. The royal family is destined to live their lives from the moment they are born. According to the royal family rules, royal family members cannot do anything. No matter how good you are at farming, how business-minded you are, or even how knowledgeable you are, you will never be able to make a name for yourself in this life.

None of these jobs could be done; doing them would be against the rules, and the scope of activities for the royal family was also restricted. For example, Zhu Shenzui's home was in Pingyang Prefecture. According to the rules, royal family members like Zhu Shenzui could only move around in Pingyang Prefecture on weekdays. Not to mention going to other places, they were not even allowed to leave the city.

Some people think that in ancient times people moved freely and went from one place to another as they pleased. But the fact is not like that at all. I don't know about other dynasties, but the Ming Dynasty had very strict household registration management. Ordinary people had the Lijia system and the Huangce system to complement each other. If you want to leave your place of living and go to other places, you can't just leave whenever you want. You have to apply for a report in advance, stating the reason, time, place, etc., and then be guaranteed by someone, and bring your household registration certificate and official permission (letter of introduction) to travel.

Every time we arrived at a place, we had to check and verify. If we didn't have these things, we were refugees. Refugees had no personal rights at all. If they were caught, the lucky ones would be re-registered or sold as slaves. If they were unlucky, they would be directly taken to the mines to work and die of exhaustion without anyone knowing. Some people might even encounter ruthless officers and soldiers who would mistake them for Mongolian Tartars and chop off their heads to kill innocent people in order to claim credit for their crimes.

Common people are like this, let alone the royal family who are subject to even stricter control. The stories described in novels about traveling around the world with a sword are simply nonsense.

(End of this chapter)