Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1183 Identity
The visit to Bian Yujing was just an episode. After leaving here, Zhu Minlan let go of the matter. The jade pendant he gave to the other party when he left was his personal belonging. Ordinary people would probably just think it was a good piece of jade, but in the eyes of people who understand this jade pendant, it is not an ordinary jade pendant.

Whether it is Bian Yujing or Wu Meicun, one is one of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai who were once famous all over the world, and the other is the Director of the Nanjing Imperial College of the Ming Dynasty, a fifth-rank official of the imperial court (the highest director was the fourth rank). They were not ordinary people and naturally understood the origin of this jade pendant.

Giving this jade pendant to Bian Yujing can be regarded as a gift from Zhu Minlan to her today, and this gift can be of great use. As long as Bian Yujing shows the jade pendant to Wu Meicun, Wu Meicun will naturally recognize the origin of the jade pendant with his eyesight. With it, if Bian Yujing asks Wu Meicun for something again, Wu Meicun will definitely not refuse.

Zhu Minlan didn't know whether this was a good thing, but as he said to Bian Yujing, since they met today and drank her tea, this jade pendant could be regarded as a bond between the two of them, and it would help her resolve her long-standing regret.

Zhu Minlan had no intention of thinking about what would happen to Bian Yujing and Wu Meicun in the future. He just gave Bian Yujing a chance out of regret. As for the rest, it all depended on what happened to them in the future.

They continued to walk eastward, along the official road to Shanghai County in Songjiang Prefecture. On the third day, they arrived at Songjiang Prefecture and the Wei family.

The Wei family is not only a noble family of the Ming Dynasty, but also a prominent family in Songjiang Prefecture. As early as the pre-Yuan Dynasty, the Wei family was well-known in Songjiang Prefecture. After the ancestors of the Wei family followed Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang to join the rebel army and made great contributions, several generations of the Wei family fought for the court, and finally achieved today's prosperity.

Wei Anding is a descendant of the same clan as Wei Shichun, the Earl of Xuancheng, and also the great-nephew of Wei Shichun. Although they are five generations apart, the head of the Wei family in Songjiang Prefecture is Wei Anding's grandfather Wei Shiyuan. Therefore, Wei Anding is considered the main branch of the Wei family in Songjiang, and is listed as the northern and southern branches together with the branch of Wei Shichun, the Earl of Xuancheng, and is extremely famous in Songjiang.

Songjiang Prefecture has produced many celebrities. In addition to the Wei family, there is also the Xu family of Huating. The most famous member of the Xu family of Huating is Xu Jie, the first minister during the Jiajing period. In addition, there is another Xu family in Songjiang Prefecture, but it is not related to the Xu family of Huating. It is the Xu family of Shanghai County. This Xu family is the family of Xu Guangqi, the second minister of the cabinet.

In addition, there is the Qian Longxi family in Huating County. Qian Longxi was promoted to the Minister of Rites during the Wanli period. The Qian family is also a prominent family in Songjiang Prefecture. In addition, there are the Chen family, the Gu family, the Lu family, etc. These are all families with a long history and were once glorious. However, as the ancestors of the families passed away one after another, there are not many promising descendants. At present, the Wei family is the most famous.

After arriving at the Wei Mansion, he learned that Wei Anding had brought his classmates from the Imperial College back home. Old Master Wei was extremely happy and immediately sent a housekeeper to welcome them into the mansion.

Mr. Wei is old, so he specially went to the Central Courtyard to meet his grandson and Zhu Minlan and others. Accompanying Mr. Wei was Wei Anding's father Wei Xuhua, and Wei Xuhua's brother Wei Xuliang.

After entering the mansion, the housekeeper led everyone to the middle courtyard. Wei Ding'an saw that his grandfather, father and uncle were all there, so he hurried forward to pay his respects. Zhu Minlan and others followed behind and paid their respects to them as juniors. Seeing that his grandson had returned and brought friends with him, Old Master Wei was very happy. He smiled and raised his hand to let them sit down and served tea. When he was about to ask Wei Ding'an if they had a smooth journey, Wei Xuliang, who was sitting below Old Master Wei, suddenly changed color, hurriedly stood up, and looked straight at Zhu Minlan.

“Too…too…” Wei Xuliang didn’t care at first, but when his eyes fell on Zhu Minlan, his face suddenly changed. He quickly recognized who this young man was who followed his nephew to the Wei family.

To everyone's astonishment, Wei Xuliang hurriedly took a few steps forward, and when he got closer and made sure that he was not mistaken, Wei Xuliang knelt down in front of Zhu Minlan with a plop, kowtowed repeatedly, and called him "Your Highness the Crown Prince".

"What! Prince?"

Wei Xuliang's action shocked everyone, especially the smiling old man Wei. But he knew that Wei Xuliang was not a reckless person. Since he said that the other party was the prince and was so polite, he would definitely not admit his mistake.

Immediately, Old Master Wei stood up in a hurry, and Wei Xuhua beside him hurriedly supported his father. The two of them took two steps forward and paid great respects to Zhu Minlan. At this time, Wei Dingan and Nie Chi were both a little dazed. Although Nie Chi had guessed Zhu Minlan's identity, he had never dared to think about the prince. After all, the prince's identity was too precious, and Zhu Minlan had been using the surname Wang to the outside world. At first, Nie Chi only thought about the current second-in-command Wang Jinwu, thinking that Zhu Minlan was a member of the Wang family, but who would have thought that the other party would actually be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

As for Wei Dingan, he never considered these things. Moreover, since they met and came all the way from Nanjing, Zhu Minlan never revealed his identity. They were all equals, chatting and laughing all the way. Who would have thought that this prince was actually the prince?

Among the people present, only Xie Guangwei knew the inside story, but because Zhu Minlan specifically told him to, Xie Guangwei never told anyone else about Zhu Minlan's true identity. He originally thought that this matter could be kept secret, but he didn't expect that an accident would happen after he arrived at the Wei family. Zhu Minlan was actually recognized by Wei Xuliang, so his identity could no longer be concealed.

With a wry smile, Zhu Minlan did not expect such a situation to happen. He carefully looked at Wei Xuliang and felt that he looked familiar, but he could not remember where he had seen him. "How did you recognize me?" Zhu Minlan asked curiously.

Wei Xuliang said quickly, "I was an officer in the Xuanfu Army three years ago. I went to Beijing with General Hei Yunlong to report on my work. At that time, the military academy temporarily transferred General Hei Yunlong to help. I stayed in the military academy with General Hei Yunlong for a week, so I had the honor of meeting His Royal Highness the Crown Prince twice."

After Wei Xuliang's explanation, Zhu Minlan suddenly remembered that this was indeed the case.

At that time, Zhu Minlan was still studying at the military academy, and it was the year before graduation. It happened that Hei Yunlong returned to Beijing to report on his work, and brought several of his subordinates with him. The military academy was giving students military professional courses at that time. Considering that the border guards had rich combat experience, they specially invited Hei Yunlong to teach students at the military academy. In this way, Hei Yunlong took a few days out of his busy schedule to teach a few classes at the military academy, and Zhu Minlan, as a military academy student, naturally attended the classes.

When Zhu Minlan was listening to the class, his attention was focused on Hei Yunlong who was teaching, but he ignored the generals who came with Hei Yunlong. He didn't expect that among these people there was someone from the Songjiang Wei family, and he was Wei Anding's uncle Wei Xuliang. It was because of this that Wei Xuliang was able to recognize Zhu Minlan.

"So that's how it is. I forgot that you and I have met several times before. I didn't expect to meet here today." Zhu Minlan said with a smile and waved his hand for them to stand up without bowing again.

"It is a blessing for me and the Wei family that I can meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince today. Please take a seat, Crown Prince." Wei Xuliang said quickly. At this time, Mr. Wei and others also reacted and quickly invited Zhu Minlan to take a seat. Zhu Minlan nodded, walked forward generously, and sat in the seat under the gaze of everyone.

After sitting down, Zhu Minlan politely asked Mr. Wei and others to take their seats, and specially asked Mr. Wei to sit on his right. Mr. Wei said he dared not, but Zhu Minlan smiled and said it was okay, he was the guest today, and the Wei family was the host, how could the guest ignore the host? Moreover, the Wei family was a noble family of the Ming Dynasty, and was a family of founding heroes. Mr. Wei was old, and although he was the prince, he was also a junior, so it was natural that Mr. Wei should take his seat.

Unable to refuse, Mr. Wei had to take a seat, and after him, the Wei Xuliang brothers sat on the left and right of the table below, followed by Xie Guangwei, Wei Anding and Nie Chi.

After sitting down, Wei Anding and Nie Chi looked at Xie Guangwei with inquiring eyes. Xie Guangwei smiled and bowed to them apologetically, looking aggrieved. It's not that Xie Guangwei didn't want to say it, it's Zhu Minlan who didn't let him say it. There's no other way. The prince's brother-in-law is the most important, so he can only wrong these two friends. Now Zhu Minlan's identity has been revealed, which is not what he could have expected.

"The prince came to Songjiang Prefecture this time..." Wei Xuliang asked hesitantly.

"I came here because of a matter concerning the Zongli Yamen. I had His Majesty's permission before leaving Beijing, but I don't plan to mobilize a large force, so not many people know my identity." Zhu Minlan said with a smile.

Wei Xuliang understood immediately and nodded carefully. Old Master Wei directly called the butler at the door and whispered a few words to him. After receiving the order, the butler hurried out. It seemed that he went to arrange to block the news. The prince's coming to the Wei Mansion was not a trivial matter. Since the prince did not want to reveal his identity, then he would do as he wished. This news would never be leaked.

Looking at the arrangements made by the Wei family, Zhu Minlan was still satisfied. The Wei family was indeed a prominent family and a noble family. They did things in an orderly manner, and such arrangements also made him feel at ease.

Afterwards, Zhu Minlan asked Wei Xuliang, since Wei Xuliang had previously served under Hei Yunlong, shouldn't he be in Xuanfu? Why did he return to Songjiang?
"To reply to Your Highness, I was transferred from Xuanfu not long ago, and will go to Yunnan to take up my post today. Because I have not been back to my hometown for many years, I have specially requested grace, and the court gave me a three-month vacation, so I returned to Songjiang to live for some time to see my family. I didn't expect to meet Your Highness coming to the Wei family not long after I came back. This is a blessing for the Wei family!" Wei Xuliang replied respectfully.

"Yunnan?" Zhu Minlan's heart moved slightly, and he asked Wei Xuliang about his position in Yunnan. He learned that he was going to Dali, Yunnan to serve as a guerrilla general and concurrently the commander of the local garrison.

After learning of this arrangement, Zhu Minlan understood his father's intentions a little. As the crown prince, he knew a little about the emperor's plan for Yunnan. Although Mu Tianbo's loyalty was not a problem, Yunnan had serious problems. The court had intended to reform the native chieftains in Yunnan, but this matter could not be rushed. To rectify Yunnan, the issue of the native chieftains in Yunnan had to be considered first, and then there was the stability of the local area. As a member of the Wei family and a general in the army, transferring Wei Xuliang from Xuanfu to Dali to take up this position should be a leisurely move by the emperor, and he would definitely be useful in the future.

(End of this chapter)