The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 195: Persuading Separation Instead of Reconciliation

The farce was about to end, because Ma Xun, the culprit, was about to be called away by the emperor. The others naturally did what they had to do, and there was no way to continue the farce.

Ma Xun was a little unwilling and said to Li Wenzhong, "If it weren't for the summons from His Majesty, I would have continued to argue with these people."

"Uncle, that's enough." Li Wenzhong was good-tempered. "If you really keep arguing, I'm afraid the Minister of Rites will be so angry that he will die."

Tao Kai, the nominal head of the six ministers, was grabbed by the collar by Ma Xun, and Zhan Tong, the actual head of the six ministers, was also grabbed by the collar and scolded in the face by Ma Xun. The old man's dignity and official authority were shattered to the ground.

Ma Xun was still unwilling to accept it, but then he said, "I caused trouble and it has implicated you."

Mu Ying smiled and said, "Uncle, you are being polite. We are all family, why are you saying these things?"

Li Wenzhong also said, "Uncle, I should have been the one to take the lead in these matters. Now you are in the front and I can only hide behind. This is wrong of mine."

The three of them were talking and laughing, and there was no need to be too formal. As for being summoned by the emperor, there was no need to feel pressured.

Arriving at the Qianqing Palace, Ma Xun went straight in. Li Wenzhong and Mu Ying, on the other hand, were punished to stand outside the gate.

Ma Xun immediately felt the pressure, because he felt the atmosphere was strange, the emperor and the queen were obviously angry with each other. The prince looked like he was watching the fire from the other side of the river, and it could be said that he could not get a word in.

Ma Xun stood with his head down. Regardless of whether there was anything wrong or not, he had to admit his mistake.

After standing there for about ten minutes, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly threw a memorial over. "What a great show! The Shangshu said to beat him and he did it! It is often said that the nobles are domineering, but which of those nobles really beat the Shangshu?"

Ma Xun quickly explained, "I didn't hit anyone!"

It was just some physical contact and the tone of voice was a little intense, how did it escalate to assault?

Rumors, this is a rumor, this is a slander against Ma Xun!

Ma Xiuying also spoke up, "Since you are so rude, you should be stripped of your title, dismissed from office, and driven out of the court. Then no one will dare to disobey the emperor. It would be best if you are imprisoned. The court's laws are there, which is exactly what you want!"

The atmosphere became even more wrong. Ma Xun didn't know if he had met with an unexpected disaster. The emperor and the empress were now quarreling with each other, and he was innocently implicated.

It is also possible that he was a catalyst, making the already angry emperor and empress even more angry.

Zhu Biao could only cast a helpless look. If he opened his mouth at this moment, he would only bring trouble upon himself, and all the fire would be concentrated on him.

Zhu Yuanzhang became even more annoyed. Could he sabotage them at this time?
With a few heavy snorts to express his dissatisfaction, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "If you are not in Zhongdu, who asked you to come back?"

"The prince summoned me." Ma Xun told the truth, betraying his nephew was also very handy, "I was ordered to return to the capital, I wonder if I have committed a crime?"

Zhu Yuanzhang and Ma Xiuying immediately glared at Zhu Biao. Instead of trying to solve the matter himself, he called his uncle back and involved him in it. Is this how a nephew should be?

Zhu Biao drank tea with a guilty conscience. If I could handle those things, would it be necessary to do this?
Besides, if you want to get some things done, you really can only ask your uncle or uncle-in-law to step in.

It’s a pity that my uncle is not willing to take care of these things, which means that my uncle really protects the second brother.

Ma Xiuying looked at Ma Xun, feeling a little disappointed. "You usually don't like to go to court and don't like to get involved in court disputes. What are you doing back this time? Don't you know how difficult these things are?"

"Then what should we do?" Ma Xun said bluntly, "You don't feel sorry for the second child, but I do."

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up suddenly and scolded directly, "I don't feel sorry for my son, so why should you, as his uncle, feel sorry for him?"

Ma Xun looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, his aura was not weak, "If you really love the second brother, how could this happen? Now that they are quarreling in the court, isn't it you who has something on your mind?"

"He is a prince!" Zhu Yuanzhang became even more angry. "All of you only care about the second prince. Why don't you consider the country? If the second prince really wants to, he can just take the girl from the Deng family as his concubine!"

Ma Xun instantly became even more angry, "The second child is only one year younger than Biao'er, but brother-in-law still thinks the second child is a threat, right?"

"Asshole!" Zhu Yuanzhang grabbed the teacup and slammed it to the ground. "You, what are you up to?"

Zhu Biao rushed to Zhu Yuanzhang, hugged his old father and advised, "Dad, take a break."

Ma Xiuying stood in front of Ma Xun and quickly advised, "Say less."

Ma Xun continued, "We know Wang Baobao can't surrender, but we still feel uneasy even if he surrenders. Now he is doing this just to block the second brother's path!"

"Is it wrong to do this?" Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at Ma Xun and questioned, "He is a prince, how can he not have any thoughts about that position?"

Ma Xun had a strong aura, "How can you tell that the second child has something on his mind? He's grown up now, so you're worried? Is it that the second child has other thoughts, or is Biao'er unable to control the second child, or are you too partial to him!"

Zhu Biao became even more anxious and tried to stop his old father, "Uncle, stop talking!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little angry, he really had such thoughts. In the past, the brothers were friendly and respectful to each other, but that was because they were young. Now that the children have grown up and are exposed to more things, their thoughts may have changed.

Did Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin have deep conflicts when they were young?
Didn’t Li Chengqian and Li Tai have a loving and respectful relationship with each other when they were young?

Isn’t it that your identity is constantly changing, and your understanding of some things is also constantly changing!
"When did the second prince have power?" Ma Xun said, "It's not right for him to marry the Duke of Wei, so should the other princes marry the civil officials?" Zhu Yuanzhang became even more angry, "Don't use that rhetoric to deceive me, I'm not those scholars!"

Zhu Biao also spoke at this time, "Dad, the second sons are all doing their duty."

"This is all for your own good!" Zhu Yuanzhang said directly, "The stability of the country is the most important thing. You are the crown prince and you want to be the emperor. How can you hold on to the throne if you are a nagging mother-in-law?"

Ma Xun spoke first, "You should do it for Biao'er's own good, but why don't you think about Lao Er? He is so stubborn, you force him to give in. Then what about in the future? Let him be stubborn on purpose and make him angry with you. Is this helping Biao'er?"

"I dare you!" Zhu Yuanzhang said even more confidently, "He is my son, and I gave him all the wealth and honor!"

Ma Xun was immediately furious. "You gave him his life and wealth, so he should obey you in everything?"

Ma Xiuying was also a little angry at this time and said, "It is only right that the country should be given to Biaoer, and the second son is also your son. It would be fine if he didn't have someone he liked, but you insisted on not letting him get what he wanted. What kind of thing is this?"

"Isn't it enough to give him the King of Qin?" Zhu Yuanzhang became even more angry. "Sister, you are also a reasonable person. Is it wrong for me to do this? Let me ask you, is it wrong?"

Ma Xiuying was angry and said, "When did you, Emperor Zhu, ever do anything wrong? We discussed this matter in private, but you had to bring it to the court. Now that I've beaten someone, how can we just let it go?"

Ma Xun quickly explained, "Sister, I didn't hit anyone!"

"How can we accomplish this without bringing the matter to court?" Zhu Yuanzhang said, expressing his good intentions. "Only when the matter is settled, will the Second Brother and Deng Yu have nothing to say. Why not compensate them afterwards?"

Ma Xiuying suddenly vented her anger, "You, Emperor Zhu, are becoming more and more overbearing! The second son is no longer your son!"

This time things changed. It was Ma Xun who quickly stopped Ma Xiuying. The emperor and the empress were really arguing.

"Womanly kindness!" Zhu Yuanzhang said loudly, "Is it worth it for a woman?"

Ma Xun said disapprovingly, "Brother-in-law, it depends on the person! The second son is stubborn and has chosen the girl from the Deng family."

"I've already said that, let her be a concubine!" Zhu Yuanzhang turned his firepower to Ma Xun, "What does this have to do with you? It's your turn to say when my son gets married?"

Ma Xiuying was extremely annoyed, "He is the second uncle, why can't he speak?"

Zhu Biao was most troubled at this time and just hoped that his uncle would come as soon as possible.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was furious, pointed at Ma Xun and said, "Your wealth and honor were also given by me, remember this!"

Then he looked at Ma Xiuying and said, "The harem is not allowed to interfere in government affairs. I have said it long ago! You keep interfering in government affairs, and you think you are right!"

Zhu Biao felt that things were not going well and that his mother and uncle might run away!
Ma Xiuying stared at Zhu Yuanzhang for a few seconds, then turned around and walked towards the bedroom. Ma Xun did not stop her, but just stood aside, which emphasized the relationship between the monarch and his subjects.

A moment later, Ma Xiuying appeared with a bag on her back, "Little brother, let's go."

Zhu Yuanzhang panicked. No matter how fierce the quarrels were in the past, they had never been like this.

Ma Xun immediately stood up, took Ma Xiuying's bag, turned around and was about to leave.

"Where are you going?" Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at Ma Xun, "I gave you the place to live and the clothes you wear, so where are you going?"

Ma Xiuying went straight to take off her hairpin, and then she went to pull Ma Xun's court robes, "I'll leave them all to you! To save face for my brother and me, there's no need to take them all off and give them back to you, okay?"

Zhu Biao ran over in a panic, "Mom, Dad was just saying that in anger."

"He said that in anger. I think he was speaking from his heart." Ma Xiuying was very angry. "He just doesn't think highly of your uncle! He doesn't count his contribution in saving Chang Yuchun, nor does he count his contribution in treating your illness. He did his job conscientiously when he was asked to do it! None of this counts. It was only because of the grace of Emperor Zhu that my sister and I were able to survive!"

Zhu Biao quickly persuaded her, "Mom, Dad didn't mean that."

Ma Xun said, "I know some medical skills, so I can make a living. Call Shuning, and let's go."

Ma Xiuying said directly, "We won't go back to Suzhou. He gave us the land there. If we eat his rice, we should be under his control. We won't tolerate his bullying!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was really panicked. Let’s just quarrel. It was the same as before.

Why are you going back to your parents' home now? It's because I have a younger brother and my parents' home, which gives me confidence.

"Ma Xun!" An unhappy voice came, and Li Zhen looked unhappy. "Why are you interfering in the affairs of your brother-in-law and your sister? They should have tried to reconcile them instead of separating them, but you are the one fanning the flames!"

The next moment, Li Zhen was even more angry. "You don't appreciate your luck to have such a wife who is the head of the family. Why do you yell at outsiders and your wife? Zhu Chongba, you are so capable!"

Zhu Biao was relieved that his mother would not go back to her parents' home.

As for the old father, he will definitely be criticized.

(End of this chapter)